The National Science Foundation has awarded a five-year, $5 million grant to the University of California, San Diego, the 91探花 and the University of California, Berkeley to develop , a suite of managed services to simplify public cloud access for computer science research and education.

Driven by the ongoing emergence and potential of the public cloud and the associated complexity in using it, CloudBank will serve both novice and advanced users, providing a comprehensive set of user-facing and business operations functions and services to the computer science research and education community.

Project participants include the UW’s , UC San Diego’s Information Technology Services Division and the San Diego Supercomputer Center, and UC Berkeley’s Division of Data Science and Information. Initially, CloudBank will provide access to Amazon AWS, Google GCP, and Microsoft Azure. Others may become available over time.

“We’re delighted to once again partner with UCSD and UC Berkeley on a project of broad importance to the computer science and data science communities,” said CloudBank co-principal investigator , a professor of computer science and engineering at the 91探花and founding director of the eScience Institute. “The public cloud represents the future.”

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NSF awards an additional $4M to the West Big Data Innovation Hub co-led by the 91探花eScience Institute

Data- and computation-intensive research and education are at the forefront of addressing many national and societal challenges 鈥� and they increasingly benefit from access to cloud computing platforms, which provide robust, agile, reliable and scalable computing infrastructure.

“Public cloud has become an essential resource for computer science research and education, but with the rapid growth in the diversity of resource offerings, users increasingly encounter pain points to adoption that limit the potential of these resources in their work,” said Michael Norman, principal investigator of CloudBank and director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center. “CloudBank will address these pain points by providing ‘on-ramp’ support that helps researchers overcome challenges such as managing cost, translating and upgrading research computing environments to an appropriate cloud platform, and learning cloud-based technologies that accelerate and expand research.”

CloudBank offers a long-term vision for service and sustainability that will broaden the impact of public cloud computing across all sciences and help ensure that students entering the workforce and research enterprise will be able to contribute and compete in the global economy.

“We are excited to be a partner in this initiative that democratizes cloud technology for research and education,” said CloudBank co-principal investigator David Culler, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley. “It will enable a robust and scalable infrastructure across a diverse range of institutions and settings.”

CloudBank will support the full spectrum of cloud users, from early-stage to advanced, providing on-ramp support that reduces researcher cloud adoption pain points, including managing costs, translating and upgrading research computing environments to appropriate cloud platforms, and learning cloud-based technologies that accelerate and expand research and education. These services, which will support multiple cloud vendors, will be accessed via an intuitive, easy-to-use user portal that gives users a single point of entry.

“The CloudBank pilot will significantly advance the use of cloud computing resources in computer and information science and engineering research and education,” said Jim Kurose, an assistant director for computer and information science and engineering at the NSF. “The close collaboration between the CloudBank project, public cloud computing providers, researchers and students will enable research and education, while also providing a unique opportunity to develop and study a new model of public/private partnership in the service of the scientific enterprise.”

“CloudBank will provide innovative financial options that will give researchers more flexible cloud terms tailored for their needs and contribute to the sustainability of CloudBank operations,” said CloudBank co-principal investigator Vince Kellen, chief information officer at UC San Diego.

“This wide-ranging collaboration between UC San Diego, UC Berkeley and the 91探花 brings together a team with the expertise to significantly broaden access to and education about cloud computing across just about every area of computer science research,” said Norman.

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Adapted from releases by and .

Grant number:

Each of the hubs will receive $4 million over four years for a total investment of $16 million, double the budget for the first round of Big Data Hubs awards. The 91探花, in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Diego, will continue to coordinate the , or West Hub.

“For more than a decade, the eScience Institute has worked to bridge government, business, and cross-disciplinary academia in order to advance data-intensive discovery in the broadest imaginable range of fields,” said , Principal Investigator of West Hub, Founding Director of the eScience Institute and a 91探花professor of computer science and engineering. “Through our partnership with Berkeley and UCSD in leading the NSF’s West Hub, we have been extending this to the 13-state western region.

The 91探花leadership team for this collaborative award also includes West Hub Deputy Director and Co-Principal Investigator , who is also Executive Director of the eScience Institute, along with Co-Principal Investigator , an associate professor in the 91探花Information School.

The West Hub’s first three years of operation have included a diverse set of application-focused projects: 听develop data analysis and tools to ; better understand disease through ; and . The Hub also supports cross-cutting efforts to produce frameworks and resources useful to multiple areas of inquiry and practice, from data sharing and cloud computing to responsible data science.

The next four years will include an emphasis on developing and enabling translational data science, with signature initiatives including:

• Fire and water: regional data collaboratives for the future of natural resource management. Building upon the momentum from regional roundtables, workshops, , , the open-to-all and other efforts, the West Hub will focus on collaborative, user-focused projects that leverage new shared data and open access tools. This summer and fall, with additional funding from the Water Foundation and Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, the West Hub will work with journalists from mainstream and ethnic media, offering fellowships that connect impacted communities with research and education efforts around water data.
• Housing instability: trusted data collaborative for responsible data management. Racial biases in eviction practices, rapidly increasing housing prices and complex interactions between services to support homeless families have led to neighborhood-level inequities in urban environments and a lack of transparency in the efficacy of interventions. Through a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft and the , the West Hub will integrate data from multiple jurisdictions to study questions about how neighborhood change, service delivery and demographics influence outcomes for homeless families. In preliminary work, the West Hub supported the , which extracted information from thousands of evictions case reports and uncovered extreme racial disparity, leading directly to a 鈥� increasing the response time allowed to tenants. As part of this work, the West Hub is expanding the scope of the , a socio-technical platform for responsible data governance initially used for mobility data, to support housing and population health data. The effort is designed to balance competing objectives among stakeholders, improving fairness in analytic methods, preserving privacy, protecting data owners’ proprietary information and promoting transparency.
• Stress-testing access for road video: understanding risk and opportunity in data sharing. After hosting a six-month nation-wide series of community problem-solving sessions, technology demonstrations and discussions focused on transportation safety, the West Hub will strengthen a partnership with the NSF and the to investigate the reversibility of tools used to de-identify video data from automobile drivers. Tied to a three-year data collection effort that produced data for more than 3,000 drivers, including 1,500 crashes and 3,000 near-crashes, this project will include community dialogue about privacy and bias.

“By catalyzing partnerships that integrate academic researchers into the fabric of communities across the U.S., we can accelerate and deepen the impact of basic research on a range of societal issues, from water management to efficient transportation systems,” said Beth Plale, one of the NSF program directors managing the Big Data Hubs awards.

Leveraging lessons learned from four years of the 91探花, the West Hub will host a training course and develop a guide for organizations interested in creating programs pairing student fellows with data scientist mentors and project leads from academia, government or the private sector. The West Hub’s focus on societal-facing challenges will drive collaborations in topics such as transportation, public health, sustainable urban planning and disaster recovery.

“The continued support from the National Science Foundation for the West Big Data Innovation Hub confirms the importance of the Hub in bringing together diverse local, regional and national partners to engage in using modern data science to tackle societal challenges,” said 91探花Provost Mark Richards.

As part of their efforts to increase workforce readiness in the region, the West Hub will partner with The Carpentries to host data science Train-the-Trainer workshops, especially aiming to engage underrepresented groups and geographic areas that are not currently served by cognate programs. The partnership builds upon prior that included local government leaders across the western region and the .

“Developing innovative, effective solutions to grand challenges requires linking scientists and engineers with local communities,” said Jim Kurose, NSF assistant director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. “The Big Data Hubs provide the glue to achieve those links, bringing together teams of data science researchers with cities, municipalities and anchor institutions.”

An example of the unique team formation resulting from West Hub community engagement can be found in the growth of an NSF-funded project at Boise State University’s School of Public Policy, which focused on criminal justice and police data, public safety and community trust.

“By facilitating data sharing with industry partners, and connecting researchers from Idaho with police departments in Washington and Arizona, we supported work that led to new levels of collaboration and new connections for national-scale initiatives,” said West Hub Executive Director and Co-Principal Investigator Meredith Lee.

Many of the West Hub’s continuing initiatives and collaborations will highlight challenges surrounding data ethics and responsible data science, bringing communities together through opportunities such as workshops on , efforts and .

As a new service to the community, each Big Data Hub will maintain a seed fund for translational data science collaborations as part of its project budget. This seed fund will provide small grants to pilot early feasibility studies for innovative new solutions to grand challenges of importance to the region. The West Hub’s requests for collaborative seed projects will serve to gather compelling, timely and actionable community ideas throughout the year. Embarking on the next phase of growth and national coordination, the Hubs will also work with the NSF and additional partners to host an All Hands community data science meeting which will be open to the public as a signature event in 2020.

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The 91探花 took an ambitious step today to assert its leadership in computer science education, research and entrepreneurial innovation with the establishment of the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. The Board of Regents voted Thursday to name the school after Allen 鈥� the internationally renowned entrepreneur, philanthropist and computing pioneer 鈥� in recognition of his longstanding support for the mission of the University and CSE. A $50 million endowment for the new school will propel the 91探花to the forefront of computer science education and innovation for generations to come.

鈥淭here鈥檚 probably no institution that has had a greater influence on me than the 91探花. I spent hour after hour in the University library devouring everything I could on the latest advances in computer science. And it was access to 91探花computers as a high school student that served as a springboard for the eventual launch of Microsoft,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淪o it is a great honor to have the school of computer science and engineering named after me. We are entering a new golden age of innovation in computer science, and 91探花students and faculty will be at its leading edge. My hope is that the school will have the same influence on them as it did on me 鈥� that they will continue to dream big, breaking through technological barriers and using their skills to solve some of the biggest problems our world faces.鈥�

The move to elevate CSE from a department to a school signifies its growing size, stature and impact, and acknowledges the increasing importance of computer science in the modern university and in the modern world. By naming the school after Allen, the 91探花is linking in perpetuity its top-tier computer science program with a visionary renowned for game-changing innovation.

鈥淲e have a deep commitment to both access and excellence. We want our doors to be open to the full range of visionaries, and we want to help them become the best in their fields so that they can have a positive impact on our world,鈥� 91探花President Ana Mari Cauce said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e truly fortunate to have such a generous supporter in Paul Allen, who not only shares our commitment to fostering broad-based excellence, but who has demonstrated it throughout his career. We鈥檙e honored to name our new School of Computer Science & Engineering for such a forward-thinking, steadfast supporter of our University and our region.鈥�

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aNyn-13XE4&feature=youtu.be

The creation of the school is also a tribute to Allen鈥檚 vision of the role that science should play in society, by coupling technological innovation with the quest for solutions to humankind鈥檚 greatest challenges. This vision led him to establish the Allen Institutes for Artificial Intelligence, Brain Science and Cell Science. These leading-edge research institutes have opened new frontiers of discovery and new collaborations with 91探花faculty and students.

The $50 million endowment for the school comes in the form of $40 million from Allen, enhanced by a gift of $10 million from Microsoft Corporation in Allen鈥檚 honor.

鈥淲hen Paul Allen and Bill Gates founded Microsoft in 1975 with a vision of a computer on every desk and in every home, they ignited what would become the modern-day software industry. While much has changed in the past 40 years, one ideal endures: computer science education is a gateway to progress, innovation and opportunity. We are delighted to honor Paul鈥檚 tremendous impact on our company, and his continuing support for computer science will have a lasting impact on generations to come,鈥� said Brad Smith, president of Microsoft.

With his latest gift, Allen attains the rank of Regental Laureate, an honor reserved for those whose lifetime giving to the 91探花totals $100 million or more.

Allen has a longstanding connection to and affinity for 91探花CSE. As a student at Seattle鈥檚 Lakeside School in the late 1960s, Allen would visit the 91探花campus to access the leading-edge computers of the day. Just over three decades later, in 2003, doors would open to the state-of-the-art Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering at the heart of the 91探花campus, which catalyzed 91探花CSE鈥檚 growth into one of the top computer-science programs in the nation. CSE has risen to prominence by generating innovations with global impact and by advancing leading-edge research in emerging areas of the field:

Mobile health: 91探花researchers are leveraging increasingly sophisticated sensors in smartphones to diagnose and manage disease in ways that will improve the quality of life for people around the world.

Neural engineering: 91探花is at the forefront of groundbreaking research at the intersection of computing and neuroscience 鈥� developing novel brain-computer interfaces that could enable people suffering from paralysis to move again.

Artificial intelligence: 91探花has developed formidable expertise in one of the most exciting and dynamic areas of the field, spanning artificial intelligence, computer vision, machine learning, natural language processing and robotics. Several 91探花researchers split their time with other leading AI organizations, including the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

Next-generation data storage: 91探花and Microsoft Research have launched an ambitious project to revolutionize data storage based on DNA. Last year the team set a world record for the amount of digital data encoded and retrieved using strands of synthetic DNA.

Data science: 91探花is a leader in the data science revolution, advancing the tools and techniques of data-intensive discovery and putting them to work in the physical sciences, life sciences, environmental sciences and social sciences.

As the Allen School, 91探花CSE will have the flexibility and resources to build on these successes and compete at the highest level for faculty, students and new investments in research 鈥� aggressively pursuing new opportunities to accelerate discovery and real-world impact. The school will provide a creative springboard for young innovators to boldly drive forward technologies that change the world for the better, inspired by the example set by Allen himself.

鈥淚n becoming the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, we will be forever linked with an internationally revered pioneer and visionary 鈥� an 鈥榠dea man鈥� who left an indelible mark on science, on technology, on the Pacific Northwest and on the world,鈥� said Ed Lazowska, Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering at the UW. 鈥淭he aspirational and reputational value of this connection is incalculable. Thanks to him, CSE will be more nimble, more competitive and have an even greater impact on students, on science and on society.鈥�

鈥淥ur school and its contributions to education and innovation will become part of Paul鈥檚 legacy, along with the many outstanding research institutes he has independently created,鈥� said Hank Levy, Wissner-Slivka Chair in Computer Science & Engineering and director of the new school. 鈥淓very day, every one of us will work hard to make Paul as proud to be associated with us, as we are to be associated with him.鈥�

The endowment comes in addition to 91探花CSE鈥檚 efforts to raise $110 million for a across the street from the Paul G. Allen Center. 91探花CSE broke ground on that project in January. Allen鈥檚 latest gift comes in the midst of the University鈥檚 most ambitious philanthropic campaign in its history, 鈥�Be Boundless 鈥� For Washington, For the World.鈥� The campaign seeks to raise $5 billion by 2020.

For more information, contact Ed Lazowska at lazowska@cs.washington.edu.

The architect of Word and other core Microsoft programs and the founder of , is an innovator and philanthropist who has pushed the boundaries of technology and space travel. , who holds degrees in corporate communication and international management, is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who serves on the boards of multiple civic and cultural organizations, including the 91探花Foundation Board. The couple鈥檚 gift will help fund construction of a new 135,000-square-foot building that will provide space for the 91探花Department of Computer Science & Engineering to double the number annual degrees it awards.

A major feature of the new building will be spaces designed to give undergraduate students a strong sense of belonging and purpose. The most prominent of these spaces will be a 鈥渉ome away from home鈥� for CSE majors on the east end of the main floor. This space where students will be able to study and collaborate will be named the Charles & Lisa Simonyi Undergraduate Commons in recognition of the couple鈥檚 generous support.

鈥淚nnovation is at its best when it includes a variety of insights and perspectives, and this generous gift will provide a space where our students can gather to share ideas and begin the next wave of discovery in the world of computer science,鈥� 91探花President said. 鈥淚 want to thank Charles and Lisa Simonyi for their investment, which will help provide an enriched student experience and better position the 91探花to meet the region鈥檚 workforce demands.鈥�

鈥淭he need for more computer scientists and computer engineers in the Puget Sound region to build on the legacy of innovation here is well known, and this new building will help the 91探花meet that need,鈥� said Charles and Lisa Simonyi. 鈥淲e are pleased to support this expansion of the UW鈥檚 CSE program and are excited to see what new ideas and opportunities for collaboration will be inspired by the commons space.鈥�

91探花CSE is raising $110 million from public and private sources for a second building to complement the and dramatically enhance the department鈥檚 ability to serve Washington鈥檚 students and employers. At a time when companies are clamoring for qualified employees, two-thirds of qualified 91探花students seeking to pursue computer science or computer engineering degrees are being turned away for lack of space.

In addition, students in all fields recognize the value of computer science knowledge in today鈥檚 technology-driven economy. Demand for 91探花CSE鈥檚 introductory courses is booming, with total enrollment surpassing 5,000 in the most recent year.

In addition to the Charles & Lisa Simonyi Undergraduate Commons, key elements of the new CSE building include the 250-seat Amazon Auditorium, a flexible event space to be known as the Zillow Commons, a sophisticated maker space, workspaces for computer animation and other capstone projects, a 3,000-square-foot robotics lab, and the Microsoft Caf茅, which will serve as an interaction hub for all 91探花Engineering programs located in that part of campus.

The building, which broke ground last month, is expected to be completed by the end of 2018 and ready for occupancy in early 2019.

鈥淓xpanding access to computer science capacity is not only important to students looking to take part in the digital economy, but to every single employer in this state,鈥� said Brad Smith, president of Microsoft and leader of the CSE campaign committee. 鈥淲e hope that commitments such as the Simonyis’ gift will continue to inspire others to support this project, which is so vital to the future of Washington state.鈥�

For more information, contact Ed Lazowska, Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering, at lazowska@uw.edu.

, which houses a portfolio of the largest real estate and home-related brands on mobile and web, has committed $5 million toward the development of a on the 91探花鈥檚 Seattle campus.

The new building will allow the university to double the number of CSE degrees it awards each year, and reduce the number of qualified students who are turned away from the program each year.

Zillow Group鈥檚 pledge is a natural extension of its longtime partnership with 91探花CSE. The company鈥檚 donation will help fund construction of a new 130,000-square foot, state-of-the-art facility 鈥� slated for completion in 2019 鈥� that will provide much-needed classroom, laboratory and collaborative spaces. One of the building鈥檚 highlights will be the 鈥淶illow Commons,鈥� a 3,000-square-foot event and multiuse space to be used by students, faculty and the community.

鈥淭he 91探花鈥檚 CSE program plays a vital role in our region鈥檚 technology ecosystem and is a recognized leader in education, as well as diversity in tech,鈥� said Zillow Group COO Amy Bohutinsky. 鈥淗aving founded our company in Seattle, we have long benefited from this wealth of talent and are proud to be able to support the expansion of such an extraordinary program. As Zillow Group鈥檚 first corporate donation, our hope is that this gift will help expand the education opportunities in our state and ensure more young people have access to high quality STEM education.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e truly grateful for this gift both because of what it will mean for our students and state, and because of how it represents Zillow Group鈥檚 commitment to our region,鈥� said 91探花. 鈥淚t鈥檚 heartening to have such tremendous support from a home-grown company. Zillow Group鈥檚 dedication to innovation and education has helped it grow as an industry leader and as a strong partner in Washington鈥檚 innovation ecosystem.鈥�

鈥淪tudents are clamoring for a CSE education, but we have to turn away roughly two-thirds of students who meet the prerequisites due to lack of space,鈥� said , the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering. 鈥淎t the same time, our innovative companies are clamoring for more CSE graduates. By generously supporting our expansion, Zillow Group is laying the foundation for a brighter future for Washington鈥檚 students and our economy.鈥�

For more information, contact Lazowska at lazowska@uw.edu or Camille Chotzen, Zillow Group, at press@zillow.com.

Amazon is giving a major push to the campaign to build a second Computer Science & Engineering building on the 91探花 campus with a $10 million gift, the university announced Thursday.

鈥淥ur state鈥檚 economy 鈥� and the world鈥檚 economy 鈥� depends on innovation and on innovators. 91探花graduates with skills in computer science are highly sought after, yet we are turning away excellent students who want to pursue studies in the field because we simply don鈥檛 have enough room,鈥� said 91探花President Ana Mari Cauce. 鈥淭his generous gift from Amazon brings us closer to doubling our capacity and allows us to better meet both student and workplace needs, which will benefit our state and nation.鈥�

A long-time supporter of the 91探花鈥檚 Computer Science and Engineering programs, Amazon鈥檚 gift is a significant boost in the UW鈥檚 public-private partnership to raise $110 million for a new 130,000-square-foot building. The new building will provide the space needed for 91探花to double, to more than 600, the number of degrees awarded annually by the Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CSE).

鈥淭he 91探花 is a world-class institution, and we are lucky to have thousands of 91探花graduates inventing and pioneering in Seattle 鈥� including right here at Amazon,鈥� said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon. 鈥淲e鈥檙e proud to support 91探花as they expand their computer science program, which will benefit the whole community.鈥�

The 250-seat Amazon Auditorium and Gallery will be one of many new features that enhance the 91探花CSE student experience. Other key elements of the building include classrooms and educational labs, a sophisticated maker space, an undergraduate commons where students can study and collaborate, and research labs, including a 3,000-square-foot robotics lab.

The gift is only the latest way in which Amazon has supported the UW. For example, in 2012 Amazon established two $1 million endowed professorships in CSE 鈥� the Amazon Professorships in Machine Learning 鈥� to assist in recruiting two highly sought-after machine learning faculty members. The company also launched the Amazon Catalyst program 鈥� a collaboration with select universities aimed at identifying, funding and supporting bold, risky, globally impactful projects 鈥� at the 91探花last fall.

鈥淥ver the past 20 years, Amazon has grown into one of the leading and most innovative companies in the world, 91探花CSE has grown into one of the leading and most innovative computer science programs in the world, and Seattle has grown into one of the one of the leading and most innovative technology hubs in the world,鈥� said Ed Lazowska, UW鈥檚 Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering. 鈥淎mazon鈥檚 gift will help make it possible for 91探花CSE to prepare more of Washington鈥檚 students for careers in Washington鈥檚 booming technology sector. It鈥檚 an investment in our collective future.鈥�

to kick off the largest philanthropic听campaign in 91探花history on Oct. 21.

According to the Washington Student Achievement Council, the workforce gap in computer science 鈥� the gap between available jobs and prepared graduates 鈥� is far greater than in any other field. At the UW, student demand far outstrips program capacity: more incoming 91探花freshmen list CSE as their first choice major than any other field, and 91探花CSE currently can accommodate just one out of three qualified students who apply to the major. In addition, students in all fields recognize the value of a basic knowledge of computer science, so the demand is even greater 鈥� in the most recent year, 5,000 students enrolled in 91探花CSE鈥檚 introductory courses.

鈥淎mazon is a global company, but it鈥檚 also a Seattle company,鈥� said Hank Levy, 91探花CSE鈥檚 Wissner-Slivka Chair and department chair. 鈥淲e are extremely thankful to Amazon for their support of 91探花CSE, and for the amazing impact they鈥檝e had on Seattle and on the world.鈥�

Seattle-based LMN Architects are designing the building with a goal to break ground in January 2017 and open in 2019.

For more information on the , contact Lazowska at lazowska@cs.washington.edu.

The ability to access, analyze and draw insights from massive amounts of data is already driving innovation in fields from medicine and manufacturing to the way cities are managed. To accelerate this emerging field, the NSF is establishing four “Big Data brain trusts” to catalyze new collaborations among university researchers, tech companies, national labs, local and state government and non-profits.

“Our selection to help lead the West’s Big Data Hub affirms our position as a leader in data science and our track record in building successful partnerships,” said , the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering and director of the . “The Puget Sound region in particular is an excellent laboratory for this.”

Drawing on regional strengths and challenges, each Big Data hub will help initiate collaborations that apply data science to real-world problems 鈥� such as helping scientists sequence DNA faster, building more efficient mass transit systems or making sure supplies reach the people who need them after a natural disaster.

The Western Regional Big Data Hub will focus on five areas:

• Big data technologies 鈥� The Western states are home to the vast majority of companies and universities driving the data revolution
• Managing natural resources and hazards 鈥� The Western states experience extreme environmental events such as flooding, earthquakes and landslides and have robust disaster response expertise
• Precision medicine 鈥� The transformation of our nation’s sickness industry to a personalized wellness industry has been driven by data science, with much of the activity stemming from this region
• Metro data science 鈥� The 91探花recently established its initiative that includes partnering with the City of Seattle to test data-driven solutions through a “Smart Cities” initiative announced by the White House this fall called the
• Data-enabled scientific discovery and learning 鈥� The UW’s eScience Institute and other partner universities have pioneered the use of data science to enable learning and research breakthroughs in fields ranging from oceanography to sociology to biology

The NSF program builds on the White House National Big Data Research and Development Initiative announced in 2012. It aims to make partnerships easier by reducing coordination costs; offering opportunities for sharing ideas, resources and best practices; and bringing top talent to bear on pressing regional issues.

Other hubs will be coordinated by Columbia University (Northeast Hub), the University of North Carolina and Georgia Tech (South Hub), and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana (Midwest Hub).

The program has commitments from more than 280 partner organizations 鈥� including universities, cities, foundations and Fortune 500 companies 鈥� with the ability to expand further over time. The Western hub obtained commitments from universities and federal laboratories across the West, private research organizations and companies including Microsoft, Google, Tableau Software and Amazon.

“The BD Hubs program represents a unique approach to improving the impact of data science by establishing partnerships among likeminded stakeholders,” said Jim Kurose, NSF鈥檚 head of Computer and Information Science and Engineering.

“It enables teams of data science researchers to come together with domain experts, with cities and municipalities, and with anchor institutions to establish and grow collaborations that will accelerate progress in a wide range of science and education domains with the potential for great societal benefit.”

91探花leadership on the project also includes eScience Institute associate director , senior data scientist and program director .

For more information, contact Lazowska at lazowska@cs.washington.edu.

Microsoft Corp. is awarding a $10 million gift to kick-start a campaign to build a second (CSE) building on the 91探花 campus, Microsoft General Counsel and Executive Vice President announced on Friday.

“This is an investment in students who will become the innovators and creators of tomorrow,” Smith said. “We hope this first corporate commitment to a new 91探花CSE building inspires others 鈥� individual donors, companies and those in state government 鈥� to support a project vital to the future of our state.”

Microsoft’s gift represents the first corporate commitment to a public-private partnership to assemble $110 million in funding to construct a new 130,000-square-foot CSE building. The new facility will provide the space to enable the 91探花to double the number of computer science degrees it awards annually, from 300 to 600 鈥� an important step in closing a large “workforce gap” in computer science in the state. According to the Washington Student Achievement Council, Washington needs to produce an annually to meet projected employer demand.

Yet today, 91探花CSE is able to accommodate only one out of three qualified students who apply to the major, even after a concerted effort by the University and the Legislature to expand enrollments. Microsoft has made closing the workforce gap a major focus, around which it built its initiative to create opportunities for young people in the state of Washington and around the world.

91探花CSE 鈥� by far the state’s top supplier of computer science graduates to companies of all sizes and a nationally recognized leader in attracting female students 鈥� has outgrown its current space. Classrooms, lab space, offices and even auditoriums are at capacity. Tonight’s CSE has been moved to the basketball arena at because graduates and their families no longer fit into , which holds 1,200.

“The goal for our investment is to spur an expanded program that makes the joy, awe and the beauty of computer science available to more students,” said , Corporate Vice President, . “ 91探花graduates are a source of talent for Microsoft and our extensive research collaborations benefit the region鈥檚 computer science prowess.听All of us at Microsoft want to see their computer science program continue to grow and thrive.”

The planned second building will complement the , which opened its doors in 2003 and helped catapult the department into the first tier of the nation’s computer science programs.

“Kids who grow up in the state of Washington deserve the opportunity to be educated for jobs at the forefront of our region鈥檚 innovation economy,” said , UW鈥檚 Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering. “It鈥檚 incredibly painful to have to turn away highly qualified students from our program due to lack of space and funding. Microsoft provided the first corporate gift to the Allen Center. We can鈥檛 thank them enough for once again leading the way.”

91探花CSE is also experiencing unprecedented demand from nearly 5,000 non-majors annually who recognize basic computer science knowledge as a prerequisite for success in today’s technology-driven economy. These introductory classes have helped hook students from diverse backgrounds on computer science. In the past 10 years, 91探花CSE has , an achievement last month by an award from the National Center for Women & Information Technology. Roughly one-third of the undergraduates receiving degrees in computer science tonight are women, more than double the national average of peer institutions.

“The new building will enable 91探花CSE to build on our recent success in recruiting and retaining world-class faculty, expand opportunities for our students to conduct cutting-edge research and educate more undergraduates from Washington,” said , Wissner-Slivka Chair in Computer Science & Engineering and CSE department chair.

“Microsoft has consistently, over decades, invested in 91探花CSE. When combined with anticipated strategic investments by the state, these resources will allow us to increase our capacity and prepare more of Washington’s students for Washington’s leading-edge jobs.”

They are data scientists — students, faculty members and staff — who are building the tools and crafting the methods to help researchers analyze vast amounts of data now abundant in every field, from the physical and social sciences to the humanities, natural sciences and engineering. The very nature of their skill set is interdisciplinary, but the university system doesn’t always reward them for the time they spend developing techniques and software to advance science.

These data scientists are sought after by industry — to mine customers’ preferences for more targeted advertising or to analyze traffic patterns to build more sensible roadways — and also are needed in academia to process gene sequences or astronomical amounts of star data. But traditional university career paths can be a poor fit for these experts.

This dilemma, and what universities can do to change it, is the topic of a symposium Feb. 15 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Jose, California. The session, “,” is led by 91探花 faculty members and brings together experts from the University of California, Berkeley, and New York University.

At the UW, an interdisciplinary organization called the , which recently was awarded several prestigious grants, is advancing the research and practice of data-intensive discovery across campus, in part by attracting data scientists to explore new career paths that blend independent research, interdisciplinary consulting and teaching, and development of new software and methods.

, associate director of the eScience Institute and co-organizer of the conference symposium, will talk about how the UW’s programs are designed to help researchers interact with industry partners, particularly to make big-data analysis techniques and methods easier for everyone to use.

“We are trying to centralize these data-scientist roles at universities and give them the prestige and autonomy they would receive in similar industry jobs,” Howe said. “This could ultimately attract more early career researchers and practitioners to the field.”

The eScience Institute also has established a new postdoctoral fellow program to explicitly identify and reward young researchers who operate at the intersection of their own domain and data science. By building a community of these rising stars and helping to position them for prestigious faculty positions, 91探花eScience aims to promote a model of interdisciplinary data-intensive science as the norm rather than the exception, Howe added.

The UW’s presenters will talk about their early successes in bringing data science to campus, including:

• A new : A physical space on campus open to anyone who needs help with big data or wants to exchange ideas and techniques for working with large datasets. The UW’s studio opened in January and has been busy, Howe said, citing the in-person, “water-cooler effect” aspects as important for the collaborations that are happening.
• The : Research labs from across campus send one person to work side by side with data scientists two days a week for the academic quarter. The goal is to train researchers to tackle their big-data projects, then bring those skills back to their respective labs. The studio also hosts more informal office hours for researchers to ask for guidance on smaller projects.
• A data science : Brings together thought leaders from universities and industry to talk about topics related to data analysis, visualization and applications to other fields.
• A new doctoral track in big data: Graduate students in a number of participating departments take courses and focus a portion of their research on methods in data-intensive science.

The symposium’s presentations and speakers are:

Ed Lazowska, 91探花

Cecilia Aragon, 91探花

Joshua Bloom, University of California, Berkeley

Juliana Freire, New York University

Fernando Perez, University of California, Berkeley

Bill Howe, 91探花

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For more information, contact Howe at billhowe@uw.edu.

The UW, along with the University of California, Berkeley, and New York University, are partners in a new five-year, $37.8 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation that aims to accelerate the growth of data-intensive discovery across many fields.

“All across our campus, the process of discovery will increasingly rely on researchers’ ability to extract knowledge from vast amounts of data,” said 91探花project lead , a professor of computer science and engineering and director of the .

“To remain at the forefront, the 91探花must be a leader in advancing the methodologies of data science and putting them to work in the broadest imaginable range of fields.”

The new initiative was announced Tuesday (Nov. 12) as a featured talk at a event highlighting public-private partnerships that support big data research.

The UW’s award with UC Berkeley and NYU builds upon existing investments in the eScience Institute 鈥� created in 2008 to focus on data-intensive discovery across campus 鈥� and the , now almost 15 years old. More than a dozen faculty members are working to implement the initiative at the UW.

At the UW, the grant will mainly fund salaries for new research positions, including five data scientists who specialize in software and will work with researchers across campus, four postdoctoral data science fellows pursuing interdisciplinary research and four partially funded research scientists stationed in other departments and centers. A dedicated “data science studio” on campus will have meeting areas and drop-in workspaces to encourage collaboration across the UW’s colleges and schools.

These new resources will allow faculty members to submit short-term project proposals that require data science expertise, which could include analyzing a large dataset, accessing cloud resources or scaling up a statistical method, said , co-lead of the new effort and a 91探花affiliate assistant professor of computer science and engineering. A social scientist could, for example, learn how to mine data from social media channels to help with a research project. Or, a geographer might want to know how weather data affect a landscape in real-time.

Faculty participants in the program would send a graduate student or research staff member to physically relocate for a period to work directly with the data scientists. The idea behind this embedded approach is to learn techniques, collaborate and then bring that knowledge back to individual labs and departments.

“We see enormous potential in the cross-pollination that happens by having participants co-locate in the data science studio,” Howe said. “These projects will help expose common problems and enable collaboration as we continue to scale up our investment in data science expertise.”

The 91探花also has received a $2.8 million Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship grant from the National Science Foundation. Together, the two grants will fund several dozen graduate students from a variety of departments to learn how to tackle big data in their research fields. The need to analyze vast amounts of data now touches nearly every department and discipline, and both grants will boost the university’s ability to prepare students.

Faculty members see this initiative as advancing the capacity for data-intensive scientific research and boosting Seattle’s leadership in data science, while attracting more top talent back to universities at a time when big data is more pervasive than ever before.

“These data scientists are coveted in industry as well as in academia,” Howe said. “One of the missions we have in this effort is to provide competitive career paths and roles that allow these experts the freedom to apply their skills to the most important problems in science.”

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For more information, contact Lazowska at lazowska@cs.washington.edu or 206-543-4755 and Howe at billhowe@cs.washington.edu or 206-221-9261.