Computing research: A looming crisis
On June 11, Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn received computing's highest prize, the A.M. Turing Award, from the Association for Computing Machinery. Their Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), created in 1973, became the language of the Internet. In the May 6 issue of Science [1], we used this as the "news hook" for an invited editorial on the current state of computer science research in the United States. "Where will the next generation of groundbreaking innovations in IT arise?" we asked. "Where will the Turing Awardees 30 years hence reside?" Our conclusion: "Given current trends, the answers to both questions will likely be 'not in the United States."' We take this opportunity to explore in greater depth the issues we raised in that editorial. What are the trends that concern us? What can all of us, as computer scientists, do to reverse them?
computing research innovation