In these difficult economic times, CISE recognizes the importance ofÌýattracting and retaining talented young individuals in the computingÌýresearch and education enterprise.Ìý We need your help in ensuringÌýthat the increased investments we are planning to make in PEOPLE haveÌýoptimal impact:
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New Ph.D. Graduates:Ìý Like you, we are concerned that the young menÌýand women graduating with PhDs in computing fields this year willÌýhave more limited research career opportunities, as new facultyÌýopenings in academe and new research positions in industry areÌýcurrently few in number.Ìý Thus, through a new $15M award to theÌýComputing Research Association (CRA) and the Computing CommunityÌýConsortium (CCC), we are sponsoring the Computing Innovation FellowsÌý(CIFellows) project, to support the appointments of up to 60ÌýCIFellows in colleges, universities, industrial research laboratoriesÌýand other organizations dedicated to advancing computing.Ìý To beÌýeligible to apply for CIFellows support, applicants must haveÌýcompleted their Ph.D.s between May 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009.ÌýImportant information about the CIFellows project is available atÌý . Ìý
Please note that time is of the essence --Ìý*CIFellows applications are due to CRA by June 9, 2009* -- so shareÌýthis information with colleagues and students within yourÌýÌýinstitutions as soon as possible.Ìý We need to reach both potentialÌýapplicants, and organizations and mentors interested in hostingÌýCIFellows.Ìý Also, please be assured that CISE and CRA are deeplyÌýcommitted to ensuring that the project supports the appointments of aÌýdiverse cadre of CIFellows in a range of host organizations.
Graduate students: CISE is doubling its investments in NSF’sÌýprestigious Graduate Research Fellowships (GRF) program this year,Ìýand with President Obama’s recently expressed commitment to tripleÌýNSF support for GRF over the coming few years, we expect to continueÌýto increase our GRF investments in the future.Ìý To make theseÌýinvestments as effective as possible, we need your help in increasingÌýthe number of GRF applications NSF receives from talented young womenÌýand men interested in pursuing their graduate studies in computing.
Please encourage the promising undergraduates and first year graduateÌýstudents you know and work with to submit GRF applications andÌýprovide them with the support and guidance that will ensure theirÌýapplications are competitive.Ìý More information on the GRF program isÌýavailable at:
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Undergraduates:Ìý This year, CISE has increased support for ResearchÌýExperiences for Undergraduates (REU) supplements and sites byÌýapproximately 50%, providing research stipend support for a largerÌýnumber of undergraduates, some of whom may be facing financialÌýhardship in these trying times.Ìý REU experiences have been shown toÌýbe highly effective in encouraging undergraduate students to pursueÌýgraduate studies; thus, we encourage you to always consider includingÌýundergraduate students in your research projects.Ìý More informationÌýon obtaining support from our REU program can be found at
ÌýÌýWe in CISE look forward to working together with our colleagues inÌýacademia and industry on the stewardship of the next generations ofÌýcomputing researchers, educators, and professionals.Ìý Thank you inÌýadvance for your participation and support of these efforts.
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ÌýJeannette M. Wing
CISE, Assistant Director
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