Computational and Data-Enabled Science and Engineering (CDS&E) is a new program. The program will be collaborative with relevant disciplinary programs in other NSF directorates and offices. CDS&E is now clearly recognizable as a distinct intellectual and technological discipline lying at the intersection of applied mathematics, statistics, computer science, core science and engineering disciplines. It is dedicated to the development and use of computational methods and data mining and management systems to enable scientific discovery and engineering innovation.

CDS&E is built on the area of Computational Science and Engineering, growing out of scientific computation and the explosion in production of digital data. We regard CDS&E as explicitly recognizing the importance of data-enabled, data-intensive, and data centric science. CDS&E broadly interpreted now affects virtually every area of science and technology, revolutionizing the way science and engineering are done. Theory and experimentation have for centuries been regarded as two fundamental pillars of science. It is now widely recognized that computational and data-enabled science forms a critical third pillar. CDS&E includes new methodologies for science and engineering that are indispensible to the nation's welfare, competitiveness, and standing in the international scientific community and global economy.

CDS&E is fundamentally important to the long-term NSF strategic initiative called CIF21: Cyberinfrastructure Framework for 21st Century Science and Engineering. The NSF CIF21 vision calls for a "comprehensive plan for education and outreach in computational science to support learning and workforce development for 21st century science and engineering."

NSF can make a strong statement that will lead the Foundation, researchers it funds, and US universities and colleges generally, by recognizing CDS&E as the distinct discipline it has clearly become.

NSF Fellowships for Transformative Computational Science using CyberInfrastructure (CI TraCS), NSF 10-553, Program Solicitation