How does computing technology make a difference in your life?
The targeted research initiatives in Smart Environments and Enabling Discovery are motivated by challenging societal problems today as well as the existing faculty research strengths at UB. These initiatives will enable applications such as:
- building smart spaces that interact seamlessly and intelligently with humans,
- improving the quality of life for the elderly,
- designing new drugs,
- developing disaster warning systems, and
- understanding complex natural phenomena.
These clusters also reflect national priorities and grand challenges. The recent report from the President’s IT Advisory Committee (PITAC) states that computational science is “one of the most important technical fields of the 21st century because it is essential to advances throughout society.” [1] As evident from this and other similar reports [2,3], computational science is transforming many fields, from the life sciences and natural hazards to chemistry and marketing.
The importance of information science and human-computer interaction was highlighted in a recent report produced by the Computer Research Association (2003) which identified five “Grand Research Challenges” for the 21st century [4]. The primary challenge identified was the creation of pervasive information and computing environments. Human-computer interaction was identified as a key component of at least four of the challenges, including: researching methods for supporting coordinated responses to extreme events such as disasters as part of a “ubiquitous safety net”; creating models and methods for effective information sharing, task allocation, and coordination among teams of humans and automated, cognitive agents in a “cognitive partnership”; supporting “learner-centered networks” through visualization and interfaces to digital libraries; and designing usable software that supports effective and error-free computer system administration. National priorities in homeland security, transportation safety, disaster preparedness, and intelligence analysis all require the design of effective command and control, information assessment, and management systems.
References
[1] President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee “Computational Science: Ensuring America’s Competitiveness,” (PDF) June 2005.
[2] NSF SBE-CISE Workshop on Cyberinfrastructure and the Social Sciences (PDF), Berman Brady, May 2005.
[3] President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee Report to the President of Cybersecurity: “A Crisis of Prioritization,” (PDF) February 2005.
[4] Computing Research Association, “Grand Challenges in Information Systems Research,” (PDF) 2003.
