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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Innovation: The Fierce Urgency of Now
Today, we face economic challenges that are unprecedented in the memory of most of the living. The proposed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 (aka the economic stimulus package) emphasizes investment in infrastructure construction, reminiscent of the CCC and WPA, health care, education, efficient energy and one of the key foundations of our…
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Where There Is No Vision, the People Perish
I have often reflected on the critical ingredient to discovery and innovation. Is it knowledge? Without doubt, for each discovery builds on the vast and interconnected web of previous discoveries. Is it talent? Certainly, as anyone who has ever taught a class knows and understands. Is it persistence? Absolutely, for Edison was right; discovery is…
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Interesting Times Indeed: Science Debate 2008
I write a quarterly column for the Computing Research Association (CRA)’s newsletter, Computing Research News (CRN). The following is a preview of my upcoming column, which will appear in the November 2008 issue.
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Preserving the Past: Educating the Future
Even with an army of government clerks, there is a limit to how many pieces of paper the federal government could produce. However, the explosive growth of digital communications and document preparation has far outstripped the processes and technology available to the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). However, it…
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The Long Race for Innovation
I’ve always enjoyed the fact that the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) staff members rearrange our seating at each PCAST meeting. It gives me a chance to have sidebar conversations with different people during each meeting. At our most recent meeting, I happened to be sitting next to Norm Augustine, the former head…
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Research, Teaching and Service: Dynamic Balance
The following is a preview of my regular column for Computing Research News (CRN), the newsletter of the Computing Research Association (CRA), which will appear in September 2008. I worry that we are devaluing teaching and service, to the possible detriment of academia in general and computing in particular. I