[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 246 (Thursday, December 23, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80853-80854]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-32279]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Designing a Digital Future: Federally Funded Research and
Development in Networking and Information Technology
AGENCY: National Coordination Office (NCO) for the Networking and
Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program,
National Science Foundation.
SUBJECT: Request for Information: Report ``Designing a Digital Future:
Federally Funded Research and Development in Networking and Information
Technology''.
ACTION: Request for Information (RFI).
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SUMMARY: Networking and Information Technology Research and Development
(NITRD) Program; National Coordination Office (NCO); Request for
Information (RFI) Regarding the President's Council of Advisors on
Science and Technology (PCAST) Report Entitled ``Designing a Digital
Future: Federally Funded Research and Development in Networking and
Information Technology''
This document is a request for comments on strategies for meeting
the goals and recommendations of the recently released PCAST report on
networking and information technology research and development (see
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/pcast).
DATES: Comment Date: To be assured consideration, comments must be
received at one of the addresses provided below, no later than 5 p.m.
on January 31, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods
(please do not submit duplicate comments).
Electronically: You may submit electronic comments on this request
for information at http://www.nitrd.gov/pcast-2010/report/nitrd-program/comments. Emailed comments will be accepted at
[email protected]. Attachments should be in OpenOffice,
Microsoft Word, or Adobe PDF formats.
Regular, Express, Overnight Mail, or Courier: National Coordination
Office for the Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development Program, 4201 Wilson Blvd, Suite II-405, Arlington, VA
22230. Please submit one original and two copies. Please also allow
sufficient time for mailed comments to be received before the close of
the comment period.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joan Stanley, National Coordination
Office for the Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development Program, 703-292-4873.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Inspection of Public Comments: All comments received before the
close of the comment period will be available for public inspection,
including any personally identifiable or confidential business
information that is included in a comment. Please do not include any
information in your comment submission that you do not wish to share
with the general public. Such information includes, but is not limited
to: A person's Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license
number; State identification number or foreign country equivalent;
passport number; financial account number; credit or debit card number;
or any business information that could be considered to be proprietary.
We will post all comments received before the close of the comment
period at http://www.nitrd.gov/pcast-2010/report/nitrd-program/comments. Follow the instructions on the Web site to view public
comments.
I. Background
On December 16, 2010, the President's Council of Advisors on
Science and Technology (PCAST) released an important new report
entitled ``Designing a Digital Future: Federally Funded Research and
Development in Networking and Information Technology'' (the PCAST
Report). (The full report is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/pcast and at the NITRD Web site http://www.nitrd.gov). PCAST is an advisory group of the nation's leading
scientists and engineers who directly advise the President and the
Executive Office of the President. PCAST makes policy recommendations
in the many areas where understanding of science, technology, and
innovation is key to strengthening our economy and forming policy that
works for the American people. PCAST is administered by the Office of
Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). NITRD seeks public comment on how
the PCAST report's recommendations may best be addressed.
II. Solicitation of Comments
NITRD seeks comment on the questions below. Comments on other
aspects of the PCAST report are also welcome.
1. The PCAST report calls for national, long[hyphen]term,
multi[hyphen]agency research initiatives on networking and information
technologies (NIT) for the health, energy, transportation, and
cyberinfrastructure sectors.
a. What are the most important NIT R&D challenges in each of these
sectors?
b. What NIT R&D challenges are common across all of these sectors?
c. What emerging innovations in these or other sectors could be
used to achieve a leap forward in progress?
2. The PCAST report recommends collaborative programs to support
high risk/high reward R&D in the following frontier areas: Fundamentals
of privacy protection and protected disclosure of confidential data;
human[hyphen]machine and social collaboration and
problem[hyphen]solving in networked, on[hyphen]line environments where
large numbers of people participate in common activities; data
collection, storage, management, and automated large[hyphen]scale data
analysis; and advanced domain[hyphen]specific sensors, integration of
NIT into physical systems, and innovative robotics.
a. What are some high-risk concepts that carry the potential for
fundamentally changing the landscape in these frontier areas?
b. What limitations in NIT hold back progress today in these
frontier areas? How might these limitations be overcome?
c. What efforts currently underway in these areas could be
accelerated through collaboration, cooperation, and coordination?
3. The PCAST report calls for fundamental changes in K[hyphen]12
STEM education in the United States, including the incorporation of
computer science (CS) as an essential component.
[[Page 80854]]
a. What CS concepts and approaches are most important to effective
elementary, secondary, and post-secondary curricula? Among these, which
are commonly found in curricula today? Which are missing?
b. What do teachers need (including preparation and training,
tools, and resources) to be able to deliver CS education effectively?
c. What factors are important in promoting student interest in CS?
Dated: December 17, 2010.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2010-32279 Filed 12-22-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P