Technology is crucial for innovation—and innovation in technology is critical to innovation in just about every other arena. Why? Because it’s the forward march of technology that allows us to do more with less, improving our lives in the process. Just look at how we’re living right now. We communicate worldwide via email or Skype. … Continue reading “Is Technology Crucial for Innovation?”
Author: Ed Lazowska
Ed Lazowska holds the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, where he also serves as the founding director of the University of Washington eScience Institute. His research and teaching concern the design, implementation, and analysis of high performance computing and communication systems, and the techniques and technologies of data-intensive discovery. He also has been active in public policy issues, ranging from STEM education to federal policies concerning research and innovation. He serves on the executive advisory council of the National Center for Women & Information Technology, and on the National Research Council's Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine. He recently served as co-chair of the Working Group of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology to assess the government's $4 billion information technology R&D portfolio. He has been a member of the technical advisory board for Microsoft Research since its inception, and is a technical adviser to a number of high-tech companies and venture firms.
How Code.org Is Charging Up Computer Science Education
Computer Science Education Week falls on the second week of December each year, coinciding with the birthday of Navy Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer in 1944. CS Ed Week was kind of a snoozer until Hadi Partovi founded Code.org, hatched the idea of the … Continue reading “How Code.org Is Charging Up Computer Science Education”
Ideas for Diversity, Education, and Computer Science
On December 24 2009, Xconomy published a column in which I reflected on the preceding decade and predicted for the coming one. I still quote that column in talks, because it’s the one time I can remember when I was actually right: I said that this would be the decade in which computer scientists put … Continue reading “Ideas for Diversity, Education, and Computer Science”
Of Patent Rats and Blaming Teachers
[Editor’s Note: We asked selected Xconomists a series of questions designed to zero in on the big issues of the year, including “What issues would you be willing to throw a punch over?”] There are two. The first is the state of the patent system, particularly as it affects computing hardware and software (broadly construed). … Continue reading “Of Patent Rats and Blaming Teachers”
Technology That Finally Helps Learning
[Editor’s note: As a New Year’s exercise, we asked a select group of Xconomists to answer this question: “What’s the craziest idea out there that just might succeed?”] That technology can actually play a significant positive role in education. The false promises go back at least 100 years—to extravagant claims by Thomas Edison. Certainly “computers … Continue reading “Technology That Finally Helps Learning”
Steve Jobs: A Technology Guy For the Rest of Us
It’s impossible to overstate Jobs’s contributions. First, monumental contributions to design. Design is at least as much about what to omit as it is about what to include, and Jobs was a master of both. As you saw in the New York Times last month, Jobs’s design patents ranged from the Mac Air, the iPhone, … Continue reading “Steve Jobs: A Technology Guy For the Rest of Us”
Red Hot: The Computer Science Job Market
It’s no secret that there’s extraordinary competition right now for computer scientists. Both nationally and regionally, new graduates from strong programs at all degree levels are receiving extraordinary offers. This year’s UW Computer Science & Engineering seniors have reported starting salaries as high as $105,000 (that’s the highest I’ve heard – there may be higher) … Continue reading “Red Hot: The Computer Science Job Market”
Four Ways Michigan Can Reinvigorate Its Economy (And One Way to Enjoy the Journey)
1. Invest substantially in targeted initiatives at the University of Michigan, and in programs that encourage the state’s best students to attend. Michigan is one of the nation’s truly great universities, public or private. It has superb programs in biomedicine and in engineering. It is a huge attractor of out-of-state funding—a highly successful multi-billion-dollar business. … Continue reading “Four Ways Michigan Can Reinvigorate Its Economy (And One Way to Enjoy the Journey)”
Exponentials R Us: Seven Computer Science Game-Changers from the 2000’s, and Seven More to Come
Forty years ago, in 1969, Neil Armstrong left footprints on the surface of the moon. It was an extraordinary accomplishment. Also in 1969, with much less fanfare and at much less expense, Len Kleinrock’s programmer Charley Kline sent the first message over ARPANET. (The message was “lo” – the first two letters of “login.” Then … Continue reading “Exponentials R Us: Seven Computer Science Game-Changers from the 2000’s, and Seven More to Come”
The Stimulus, UW, and Washington State
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, or “the stimulus”) totaled approximately $787 billion. Of this, approximately $21.5 billion (2.7 percent) was for the support of R&D—$18 billion for the conduct of research and $3.5 billion for facilities and equipment. Why R&D as part of the stimulus? Because it employs people (that’s what … Continue reading “The Stimulus, UW, and Washington State”
Washington’s State Budget and Washington State’s Competitiveness
I’d like to throw out a few factoids for your consideration: 1. Washington is a high-tech state. For example, we rank 4th among the 50 states in the number of individuals in science and engineering occupations, as a proportion of our workforce. 2. However, most of these high-tech workers are imported from other states. We … Continue reading “Washington’s State Budget and Washington State’s Competitiveness”
A Clear Choice on Science, Technology, and Innovation
Washington’s economy is one of the most technology-intensive in the nation. Software. Precision agriculture. Aerospace. Biomedicine. E-tailing. New media. Alternative energy. Public and private research institutions. Even narrowly defined, the technology sector is responsible, directly or indirectly, for nearly 50 percent of the jobs in Washington. East to west, north to south, we are driven … Continue reading “A Clear Choice on Science, Technology, and Innovation”
Washington: All Geared Up To Fight the Last War
By now you’ve seen the 2008 Milken Institute “State Technology and Science Index.” Washington ranks fifth, behind Massachusetts, Maryland, Colorado, and California. Not too shabby? Let’s take a look under the covers. At the outset, it’s important to acknowledge that all such rankings have a huge bogosity quotient—they’re highly sensitive to the precise criteria that … Continue reading “Washington: All Geared Up To Fight the Last War”