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Title  : pr96-47 - JURIS HARTMANIS TO LEAD NSF'S DIRECTORATE FOR COMPUTER AND
         INFORMATION SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Type   : Press Release
NSF Org: OD / LPA
Date   : September 5, 1996
File   : pr9647




Beth Gaston                      September 5, 1996
(703) 306-1070                         NSF PR 96-47

                  JURIS HARTMANIS TO LEAD NSF'S DIRECTORATE
FOR COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE AND
     ENGINEERING

   Juris Hartmanis, an expert in the theory of computation
and computational complexity, has been appointed Assistant
Director of the National Science Foundation Directorate of
Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE).
Hartmanis will lead the directorate which has responsibility
for NSF's efforts with the Internet, supercomputers, robotics
and intelligent systems, information processing systems and
computational research.

     "We are thrilled to have someone with the perspective
and expertise of Dr. Hartmanis," said NSF Director Neal Lane.
"He will be an exciting leader of the directorate at a time
when computers are affecting nearly every aspect of American
life and changing every field of science and engineering."

   Since 1965, Hartmanis has been with Cornell University,
where he helped create the computer science department and
served as its first chair. Prior to that he helped bring
computer science research to General Electric Research
Laboratory.  He is a member of the National Academy of
Engineering and in 1993 received the Turing Award, the
highest award in computer science.


     "It's been a magnificent ride, like sitting in a cockpit
and observing a brand new science being created.  I am
delighted and surprised at what impact computer science is
having," Hartmanis said.  "When I decided to be a computer
scientist, I couldn't imagine the dramatic impact it has
had."

     Hartmanis was born in Latvia and emigrated to Germany
after World War II.  He observed a world in disarray, with
not only physical ruins but also social chaos.

     "Everything was in ruins, except that science was still
functioning," Hartmanis said.  "At that time I was going to
be a scientist.  It was one of those untouched beautiful
things that existed in the ruins."

     He received his undergraduate degree in physics from the
University of Marburg, then came to the United States to
receive a master's from University of Kansas City and a
doctorate from the California Institute of Technology, both
in mathematics. Hartmanis then taught at Cornell and Ohio
State University before being "lured away" by GE, he said.

     Hartmanis sees the exponential growth in computing power
coupled with the growth in communications capabilities as one
of the most exciting aspects of computer science today.

     After receiving NSF support for some 30 years, Hartmanis
feels it is time to serve.  In 1992, he chaired a National
Research Council Study which resulted in the book "Computing
the Future: A Broader Agenda for Computer Science and
Engineering." The two years' work with the committee, he
said, helped focus his interest on computer science policy.

     NSF is an independent federal agency created by Congress
in 1950 to promote and advance scientific progress in the
United States.  The CISE directorate awards more than $275
million annually.
                            -NSF-




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