Reed's Ruminations: The Past, Present, and Future
Reflections on science, technology, and computing — leavened by personal experience
Category: Innovation
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A Plain of Excellence: Dan’s New Adventure
I will be joining the University of Iowa as Vice President for Research and Economic Development and holder of Iowa’s inaugural University Computational Science and Bioinformatics Chair, with joint appointments in Computer Science, Electrical and Computing Engineering and Medicine. For details on this, see the University of Iowa announcement.
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Online Higher Education
I think this is time of profound change, of punctuated equilibrium when the confluence of technologies, social expectations and economic pressures will necessitate substantive change in our university structures and how we deliver educational materials. We must move carefully and thoughtfully, embracing opportunity while diligently preserving that which we cherish and value.
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Reflections on the B20 Meeting
Last week, I have the privilege to participate in the B20 meetings in Los Cabos, a prelude to the G20 economic summit. My takeaway is that the global economic situation is not going to get better any time soon. The Chinese economy is clearly slowing, the Eurozone crisis seems endless, and the U.S. situation is…
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A Question to Ponder
What probability of successful return would you accept to be the first human to set foot on Mars? The question speaks to the centrality of our humanity, our insatiable curiosity and our hope to be remembered for having done something new, for having made a difference.
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My Big Scientific Data Are Lonely
An old joke defines data mining as (insert possessive gesture here) data are mine. Sadly, this hoary saw is more often truthful than humorous. We must find a new way forward that defines the principles and processes for protecting intellectual property while also creating appropriate cultural and economic rewards for data sharing and sustainability. This…
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No, Maybe, Yes, Obviously: Telling the Future the Past
In high-performance computing, we have seen many technology transitions, as vector supercomputers were supplanted by symmetric multiprocessors (SMPs) then by commodity clusters. The latter were recently augmented by GPUs. Each of these disruptive discontinuities brings community challenges. Indeed, the Kubler-Ross model of the stages of grief is sometimes apt – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and…