Reed's Ruminations: The Past, Present, and Future
Reflections on science, technology, and computing — leavened by personal experience
Category: Science Policy
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When Petascale Is Just Too Slow
Evolution or revolution, it’s the persistent question. Can we build reliable exascale systems from extrapolations of current technology or will new approaches be required? There is no definitive answer, as almost any approach might be made to work at some level with enough heroic effort. The bigger question is what design would enable the most…
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Extraordinary Times, Challenges and Opportunities
The American research university has changed radically and repeatedly over the past century. It emerged from Cold War as a government-funded instrument of social change, economic competitiveness and national security. There is no reason, indeed ample precedent to the contrary, to believe that it will not continue to evolve rapidly and radically. The current culture…
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Electronic CACM Is Now Live
In an earlier post, I mentioned that the Communications of the ACM (CACM) was about to “go live,” together with a series of blogs, including one written by yours truly. CACM is now live, and the blog (Blog@CACM) is live as well. My first two blog entries are entitled Pipelining, Computing Innovation and Economic Growth…
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CRA Taulbee Survey: Computing Enrollments
The latest edition of the CRA Taulbee Report has just been released, and it shows that enrollments in computer science, which is one part of the larger information technology educational ecosystem, are increasing. The CRA’s official press release is available here, with comments from yours truly. Moreover, John Markoff did a story for the NY…
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Stimulus Thoughts Redux
The CRA Computing Research Policy Blog summarizes the results of the conference committee reconciliation, including funding for basic research.
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A Few Thoughts on the Stimulus Package
Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, recently spoke to the U.S. House Democratic Caucus Retreat. Although you can read the complete speech, I would like to highlight a few excerpts that emphasize Microsoft’s strong support for innovation and the importance of continued investment in basic research.