Computer and Information
Science and Engineering
The Computer and Information Science and
Engineering (CISE) Directorate's programs
improve fundamental understanding of
"computing and information processing" in the
broadest sense of the terms, enhance the
training of scientists and engineers to contribute
to that understanding, and encourage and
facilitate the use of state-of-the-art
computational techniques in scientific and
engineering research. Computing and
information processing includes the creation,
representation, storage, transformation, and
transmission of information. Special attention is
given to the computing and communications
technologies--including software--employed to
manage these processes, and to selected areas
of application. Parallel processing, automation
and robotics, large-scale integrated electronic
systems, scientific computing, and networking
are current areas of emphasis.
CISE is inherently multidisciplinary, supporting
not only computer and information scientists
and engineers but also electrical engineers;
mathematicians; artificial intelligence and
cognitive scientists; and behavioral, economic,
and social scientists. Its fields are unique in
combining science and engineering methods
and in the close coupling of basic and applied
research methods. Support is provided through
individual, group, and center research awards;
instrumentation grants; research initiation
grants; and infrastructure improvement grants
to academic institutions.
In addition to supporting research, CISE
provides access for the general scientific
community to exceptionally advanced
computing and networking capabilities. National
supercomputer centers give access to extremely
powerful computing resources, train users, and
develop the required software for effective use.
Networking activities build as well as offer a
national infrastructure for computer and human
interaction and communication for research and
education. CISE also supports capabilities for
rapid prototyping of microelectronic
components and systems for research and
education. In addition, CISE supports
educational development through such activities
as educational infrastructure and educational
supplements.
Scientists and engineers initiate proposals,
which are usually submitted on their behalf by
their employing institutions. The Foundation
welcomes proposals from all qualified scientists
and engineers and especially encourages those
initiated by women, minorities, and persons
with disabilities.
The most frequent recipients of support for
basic projects are colleges, universities, and
nonprofit research organizations. In special
cases, as noted in this Guide's introduction,
grants also go to other types of institutions and
individuals. In these cases, before a proposal is
submitted, preliminary inquiry should be made
to the appropriate program officer.
Support may be requested for projects involving
one or more researchers. Awards are made for
projects in a single discipline as well as those
that cross or merge disciplinary lines.
Deadlines
Proposals may be submitted at any time unless
otherwise noted, and six months should be
allowed for processing. To be funded in a
particular fiscal year (which ends September
30), proposals should be received by NSF no
later than December of that fiscal year.
For More Information
Additional details or answers to specific
questions may be obtained by contacting the
appropriate division director, National Science
Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington,
Virginia 22230.
Areas of Research
Several CISE programs described below, such
as Institutional Infrastructure, Instrumentation,
and Educational Infrastructure, cover all fields
of computer and information science and
engineering and are managed on a cross-
divisional basis.
- Theory of Computing--Supports research
aimed at improving the practice of
computing and enhancing understanding
of fundamental issues of computation.
Includes research in foundational issues
such as structural complexity theory and
the meaning of programs, and research
aimed at developing better algorithms
for selected core areas and techniques
for analyzing the complexity of
algorithms.
- Software Engineering--Supports research
on all aspects of software development
and management, thereby leading to
improvement of software productivity
and quality. Topics include construction
and maintenance, analysis and
evaluation, architecture, processes, and
environments of software. Focus is on
advancing both the science and
engineering practice of the construction,
analysis, and maintenance of software.
- Programming Languages and Compilers-
-Supports research on programming
languages and compiler development,
with special attention to further
integrating programming language
research with advances in high
performance computing. Includes
research related to the translation of
programs written in high-level
programming languages for execution on
a variety of computing systems, including
parallel and distributed ones.
- Operating Systems and Systems
Software--Supports research on operating
systems, run-time systems, software tools,
and libraries for all levels of computers
and networked resources, with emphasis
on systems software for high
performance computing environments.
Includes research in computer security
and fault-tolerant, distributed, and real-
time systems, and seeks to foster
experimental research to integrate
software systems work with advances in
high performance computing.
- Numeric, Symbolic, and Geometric
Computation--Supports research aimed
at strengthening the computational
infrastructure for science and
engineering through theoretical
investigations, design and analysis of
algorithms, adaptation of algorithms to
emerging computer architectures, and
development of software platforms.
Topics include numeric methods,
symbolic and algebraic computation,
computational geometry, optimization
and mathematical programming, and
automated theorem proving.
- Computer Systems--Supports research on
design, evaluation, analysis, and
development of computer systems and
issues associated with computer graphics.
Topics include work on general and
special purpose computer architecture at
the theoretical, representational,
algorithmic, and software levels, and the
simulation and implementation of this
architecture. Also focuses on computer
architecture at a high level of
abstraction, with special emphasis on
parallel computation.
- Database and Expert Systems--Supports
research fundamental to the design,
development, management, and use of
database and knowledge-based systems.
Topics include conventional databases,
scientific databases, knowledge-base
extensions, database support in
distributed systems, knowledge
engineering and expert systems, and
information retrieval.
- Information Technology and
Organizations--Supports research
fundamental to the design and use of
computer and communications systems
to coordinate work and decisionmaking.
Topics include theory and models of
information processing in organizations,
information systems in networked
environments for scientific collaboration,
distributed artificial intelligence, and
impacts and policy implications of
information technology on society.
- Interactive Systems--Supports research
fundamental to the design of systems
that mediate among humans, computers,
and information systems. Topics include:
visualization; animation and simulation;
human language technology, including
speech recognition and natural language
understanding; interactive modalities
such as gesture; sound-based interfaces;
and virtual environments to combine
synthetic and real objects for interactive
computing with shared resources.
- Knowledge Models and Cognitive
Systems--Supports research fundamental
to knowledge representation and to the
design of computer systems for dealing
with uncertainty, automated reasoning,
and problem solving. Topics include
formal models of knowledge
representation, search and inference
mechanisms, innovative computational
paradigms such as neural nets, and
cognitive systems for problem solving
and learning.
- Robotics and Machine Intelligence--
Supports research fundamental to the
design of systems for implementing some
characteristics of intelligence. Topics
include machine vision, sensor-based
control in intelligent robots, and
automatic reasoning and planning for
complex tasks involving temporal and
spatial relationships. Emphasis is on
developing more intelligent and robust
behavior in hopes of minimizing
dependence on human intervention, and
facilitating end-user implementation of
robotic systems.
- Design, Tools, and Test--Supports
research that explores the design process
for both integrated circuit (IC) chips and
IC circuits, with emphasis on automating
the design process in new, existing, and
mixed technologies. Research areas
include: theoretical foundations of IC
chip and system design, including
models, algorithms, and methodologies;
tools and frameworks for designing IC
chips and systems; design synthesis,
including logic synthesis and silicon
compilation; methods for simulation of
designs; and design testing and
validation.
- Systems Prototyping and Fabrication--
Supports research on technologies, tools,
methodologies, and services for
prototyping experimental information
processing systems, with emphasis on:
issues in rapid system prototyping for
experimentation and manufacturing,
including use of field programmable gate
arrays; new interconnect technologies
(e.g., multichip modules and
optoelectronics) for building high
performance computing systems; novel
fabrication technologies; and systems
issues, including interfacing, standards,
and tool integration. Design tool
research focuses on implementation
issues and the physical level of system
design. Support of microelectronics
education includes workshops,
conferences, development of curricular
and courseware materials, and
educational support services such as the
Metal Oxide Semiconductor
Implementation System (MOSIS).
- Experimental Systems--Supports
research projects that involve building
and evaluating information processing
and computing systems. These are
goal-oriented projects usually undertaken
by teams of designers, builders, and
users. Emphasis is on the building of the
system and on research experiments
involving the system that address
significant and timely research questions.
The building of the system must itself
represent a major intellectual effort that
advances understanding of information
processing systems architecture. The
system prototypes being built should be
suitable for exploring applications and
performance issues.
- Microelectronic Systems
Architecture-Supports basic research on
computing systems and methods for their
design. Computing systems deal with
computer architecture, hardware
implementation, system software,
networking, and data storage. Research
is encouraged on the fundamental
aspects of computing systems
architectures and scientific design
methods that better utilize existing or
emerging technologies, support systems
software, or address important
applications whose computational
requirements cannot be met by
conventional architectures. The program
emphasizes physically realizable systems
and, when necessary, limited
proof-of-concept prototyping.
- Circuits and Signal Processing--Supports
basic research in the areas of digital
signal processing, analog signal
processing, and supporting hardware and
software systems. This research is
typically driven by important applications
and emerging technology. Based on
signal characteristics, applications, and
technology, research areas include:
One-Dimensional Digital Signal
Processing (1-D DSP), which is
concerned with the representation of 1-D
signals (e.g., audio and EKG signals) in
digital form and the processing of such
signals using digital technology;
Multidimensional Digital Signal
Processing (M-D DSP), which is directed
toward signals that are inherently
functions of two or more independent
variables; Very Large-Scale Integration
(VLSI) Signal Processing, which deals
with algorithms/architectures that can be
mapped onto VLSI circuits; and Circuits
Research, which is concerned with better
understanding of nonlinear and
high-frequency circuits.
- New Technologies--Develops software for
high performance computing for use in
the solution of scientific and engineering
problems. Supports computer scientists,
mathematicians, and particularly
interdisciplinary teams involving a
scientific or engineering discipline.
Research products may include: new
software to support the use of parallel
systems, including heterogeneous
systems; techniques to assess and predict
the performance of such systems; or
novel approaches to problem solving
through the integration of such topics as
artificial intelligence, visualization,
database management, and programming
languages.
- Postdoctoral Research Associateships in
Computational Science and Engineering
-Provide support across all NSF
disciplinary areas for young scientists to
conduct research at academic research
institutions using high performance
computing systems.
- Supercomputer Centers--Provide
scientists and engineers with access to
high performance computers or
supercomputers at four national
supercomputer centers. These facilities
are dedicated to serving long-term needs,
including training for the use of
advanced computing by the academic
research community. Facilities are
continually updated. Descriptions of
facilities are available from this division.
Proposals for access should be directed
to the centers.
- Metacenter Regional Alliances-Enable
effective collaboration between existing
advanced computing and
communications facilities serving a local
and state region and the NSF
supercomputer centers to diffuse high
performance computing and
communications capabilities and thus
facilitate broad involvement in the
emerging national information
infrastructure.
- Networking and Communications
Research-Supports research in
communications, information, and
network technology. Fundamental
research pertaining to the
communications and networking aspects
of backbone and regional or local
networks (WAN, MAN, LAN), network
transmission links, wireless and wired
network access, personal
communications systems, and
internetworking of various types of
networks is supported. Research
priorities include: coding and coded
modulation; data compression;
information theory; storage channels;
communications signal processing; radio
systems and networks; mobile network
management; protocol theory, design,
and engineering; network interface
architectures; dynamic network control;
lightwave network architectures; network
security; switching systems; fundamental
limits of networking; and networking of
applications.
- NSFNET--Encourages and facilitates
scholarly communication and
collaboration by providing data network
access to researchers and educators,
supercomputer centers, and information
resources. NSFNET supports expansion,
operation, and use of the NSFNET
backbone network service and assists
mid-level networks and supports network
connections from institutions of higher
learning to mid-level networks. With
joint funding from other nations,
supports links between NSFNET and
research and education networks around
the world. Supports promising
developmental and demonstration
networking projects deriving from
networking and communications
research. NSFNET is the principal
network of the Federal National
Research and Education Network
(NREN) Program.
- Educational Infrastructure--Supports
innovative educational activities at the
undergraduate level in computer and
information science and engineering that
transfer research results into the
undergraduate curriculum. Projects
supported are expected to act as a
national model of excellence by being a
prototype of educational experiences for
use by a broader segment of the CISE
community. Proposals may address a
variety of educational activities, including
but not limited to the development of
courses, instructional technologies,
software, and other educational
materials. Significant cost-sharing is
required (usually at least one-third of the
total cost). Only one proposal per
institution will be accepted in any one
fiscal year.
- Institutional Infrastructure for
Research--Supports the enhancement of
experimental research capabilities in
computer and information science and
engineering by providing experimental
research facilities, technical staff, and
maintenance. The program makes no
distinction between large- and small-
scale activities, instead emphasizing
support for research groups whether they
be within departments or across
departments or institutions. Significant
cost-sharing is required. A separate
element, CISE Minority Institutional
Infrastructure, is focused on computer
and information science and engineering
activities at schools with predominantly
minority enrollments. For this element,
prospective proposers are strongly
encouraged to discuss possible proposals
with the program officer before
submitting a proposal.
- Instrumentation--Provides support for
the purchase of special-purpose
equipment for research in all fields of
computer and information science and
engineering. The equipment should be
necessary for the pursuit of specific
research projects, be needed by more
than one project, and be the kind of
equipment that would be difficult to
justify for one project alone. The total
cost must be at least $30,000. Significant
cost-sharing is required (usually at least
one-third of the total cost).
- Postdoctoral Research Associateships in
Experimental Science--Provide support
for young scientists to conduct research
in experimental science in CISE
disciplines at academic research
institutions.
- Special Projects--Support activities to
expand opportunities for women,
minorities, and persons with disabilities
in computer and information science and
engineering. Support is also provided for
special workshops, symposia, and
analytical studies of interest to the CISE
Directorate. Prospective proposers are
strongly urged to discuss possible
proposals with the program officer
before submitting a proposal.
