The Internet. Google. The Web browser you’re using
right now. These are just a few of the advances arising from
National Science Foundation (NSF) support that have made information technology indispensable
to everyday life. Today, NSF continues to fund cutting-edge
computing research and education activities that are leading
to tomorrow’s innovations.
NSF’s investment in computing-related research supports
advances that will provide for a more powerful wired and
wireless Internet and one that is more reliable, secure and
trustworthy. Sensors and sensor networks projects are exploring
the fundamental principles and technologies needed to create
systems for monitoring the environment for pollutants, bioterrorism
threats or imminent earthquakes.
Robotics researchers are experimenting with new ways of
interacting with computers and of adding intelligence to
robotic tools for assisting humans at home and for conducting
search-and-rescue operations. Research into grid computing,
data mining, digital libraries and informatics will combine
computing and data resources into systems that are more powerful
than the sum of their parts. And NSF-funded investigators
are pursuing research into bleeding-edge technologies such
as quantum computing to take computers beyond the limits
of silicon chips.
In addition, activities spanning all of NSF are focused
on cyberinfrastructure—integrated technologies that
are poised to revolutionize all fields of science and engineering.
NSF’s goal for cyberinfrastructure is to assemble powerful
computing, information, networking and instrumentation resources
into a seamless environment as reliable and easy to use as
the electricity and water in our homes. These capabilities
will support the research needed to strengthen buildings
against earthquakes, make more accurate severe weather
forecasts, improve air and water quality, and better
understand the universe and the planet Earth.
The fundamental computer science and engineering research
that NSF supports are essential to creating the information
systems of the future, as illustrated by the selected Grand
Challenges described here.
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Universal Safety.Net - A web of systems
in place to mitigate the impact of and coordinate
the response to natural and man-made disasters. |
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Systems
You Can Count On - The information systems
of tomorrow designed and developed to be inherently
reliable, secure and available. |
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Team of Your Own - A team of robots
to amplify physical abilities and software agents
to carry out specialized thought processes in your
pursuit of complex goals. |
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Teacher for Every Learner - Virtual "one-on-one" instruction
for students of all ages, tailored to their learning
style, in an environment of unlimited digital resources. |
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The
Taming of Complexity - Large-scale information
systems designed and developed according to methods
that ensure success despite their complexity. |
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