Turn over in the top ranks of the NSF CISE team

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Ed Lazowska posted over the weekend about the impending, and possibly highly disruptive, change in the senior ranks of the NSF’s directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) — if you aren’t involved in academia, these are the folks that fund major computer science research around the country

…many of you are aware that Jeannette Wing will be leaving CISE on June 30, after a truly spectacular run as CISE AD that has led to a dramatic increase in the recognition of our field as a “player” and as central to advances across-the-board.  We’ll have more to say about that in a subsequent post.  You may not know, though, that Debbie Crawford also is leaving her role as Deputy AD.  Debbie, too, is a star — she has been an extraordinary contributor.  In addition, all three CISE Division Directors are nearing the ends of their IPA appointments – Sampath Kannan (CCF), Ty Znati (CNS), and Haym Hirsh (IIS).  Sampath, Ty, and Haym — like Jeannette and Debbie — are tough acts to follow.  For the past few years we have had some of our very best in leadership positions at CISE.  Nothing could be more important than continuing this trend.  It’s all about leadership.

Wing’s home institution is Carnegie Mellon, where she is the President’s Professor of Computer Science, where she has also been a department head and Associate Dean. Her nickname is the Dragon Lady (given by undergraduates, according to this article in Pittsburgh Magazine). Wing’s appointment to the NSF was announced Jan 31, 2007. In that position she was responsible for about 600 million dollars of CS funding. Interesting stat: CISE pays for 86 percent of all federally funded research in computer science.

Crawford is an NSF professional, having joined the NSF in 1993 after leaving the Jet Propulsion Lab. In 2006 she helped establish the Office of Cyberinfrastructure.

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Comments

  1. Actually the Teragrid is funded by the OCI (Office of CyberInfrastructure) not CISE.