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NSF PR 02-78 - September 25, 2002
Awards will Advance the State of Information Technology's
Art
Research also expected
to spur advances in fields from biology to physics
The National Science Foundation (NSF) will support
new approaches to software development and computer
networking and communications that will in turn provide
scientists with entirely new ways of working with
large data sets, visualizing what the data represent
and sharing knowledge around the globe. The grants
were made under NSF's Information Technology Research
(ITR) program.
From the study of biological phenomena at the cellular
level to enhancing earthquake prediction to efforts
to advance the design and development of "embedded"
software systems that help to run automobiles and
aircraft, the third year of ITR grants will provide
scientists with powerful new analytical and communications
tools. They will also simultaneously advance the state
of the art in computer science.
Peter A. Freeman, who heads NSF's Computer and Information
Science and Engineering directorate, announced the
new round of ITR awards in Washington D.C.
"This year's grants," he said, "will not only advance
the United States' role as the world leader in computer
and information science, but also advance the frontiers
of several scientific disciplines."
The ITR program is designed to spur fundamental research
and innovative uses of IT in science and engineering.
The grants are cross-directorate and multidisciplinary.
NSF this year awarded a total of $144 million in new
grants under the program. The newly funded projects
were selected from over 1,600 competitive proposals.
They include seven large projects that will each total
between $5 million and $13.5 million over five years.
Another 95 mid-sized projects will each total $1 million
to $5 million for three to five years, and 240 smaller
projects will receive up to $500,000 each for up to
three years.
Freeman noted that the range of ITR projects funded
this year strongly demonstrates how vital information
technology is to advancing scientific knowledge across
disciplines.
"As the breadth and scope of these awards indicate,
software engineering, hardware development and other
aspects of information-technology research have the
potential to materially advance not only how we solve
scientific problems but even how we conceptualize
those problems themselves," he said. "Computers and
software are far more than mere tools. Rather they
provide entirely new methods for tackling scientific
questions."
Among the large grants, one project will link locally
stored data with global data storehouses and analytical
tools to allow ecologists and other researchers to
tackle research problems that previously were too
complex to even attempt. Another large award will
allow researchers to develop new ways of creating
more robust "embedded software" programs that are
found throughout modern society, from automobiles
and aircraft to radios and telephones to toys and
even weapons.
In an entirely different realm, ITR will support a
project to create a national information infrastructure
for researchers who hope to improve the ability to
predict earthquakes as well as to understand such
phenomena as the role of mountain building in the
evolution of climate and life. Two large ITR awards
will deal with aspects of the biological sciences,
including biophysics at the sub-cellular level and
efforts to understand the functions of proteins, which
could lead to the development of new drugs.
Advances in the use of new materials to enhance the
use of information technology also are part of the
initiative. An ITR grant this year will help to speed
the development of a device called the OptIPuter,
which will use optical networks to communicate over
wide areas. Another large ITR project seeks to develop
new and more robust, large-scale distributed systems.
For a searchable database of ITR awards, see: http://www.itr.nsf.gov/
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