COMMENTARY AND ADVOCACY

1997 April 29
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has put a statue of a student reading in front of its Engineering Library. This seems a reasonable thing to do until you look at what the student is reading. It turns out to be pages 62-63 of the infamous 1992 report Computing the Future from the National Research Council. The student is not studying science or engineering but merely reading a policy report - one that can't distinguish between science and engineering. (See below). For all eternity, this student will be reading this obsolete report. Is it currying favor - or merely stupidity?

I wonder how long it will be before the University of Illinois Engineering School deans wish the student had been shown reading some actual engineering book.

I thank Eugene Miya for telling me about this matter.

1996 June 2
I just noticed a 1995 report from the from the Computer Science and Technology Board of the National Research Council entitled Academic Careers for Experimental Computer Scientists and Engineers. The report identifies experimental computer science with applied computer science. There is no mention of basic experimental computer science. Thus experiments and experimenters in search, theorem proving, planning, quantum computation and game playing are not mentioned.

There needs to be a report that treats these topics, and here is a proposal for a report BASIC TOPICS IN EXPERIMENTAL COMPUTER SCIENCE.

1996 May 15
CSD Web pages discusses improving the CSD Web page and its subordinate pages.

1996 May 15
We propose an International Institute for Nuclear Explosions which would conduct research in the scientific and technological uses of nuclear explosions.

1996 May 14
AI Needs more Emphasis on Basic Research was published in AI Magazine in 1983 a a president's message when I was President of AAAI.

1996 April 2
Here are some ideas about THE FUTURE OF SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATION. It discusses the advantages, technological problems and economic problems of getting all scientific publication on line. The document may be referenced, but it is subject to revision.

1996 April 13
In 1992 the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council issued a report entitled Computing the Future. The report was harmful in that it merged computer science and computer engineering into "computer science and engineering" and left almost no place for computer science. This event was part of a fit of practicality, perhaps initiating in Congress. An electronic Petition for Withdrawal of the Report was circulated and received about 950 signatures.