FROM COMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH TO SCIENCE OF INTERACTION: A Year in the Life of an NSF Program Officer

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FROM COMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH TO SCIENCE OF
INTERACTION        A Year in the Life of an NSF
Program Officer

• Sirin Tekinay
• Program Director
• Theoretical Foundations

National Science Foundation
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OUTLINE

• Locating the Communications Program in NSF
• Communications Research Landscape
• Examples from NJIT
• Growing the Communications Program at NSF
• GENI
• SING
• Science of Interaction

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National Science Foundation
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CISE Organization
Office of the Director
Office of the Assistant Director for CISE
CCF Computing and Communications Foundations
CNS Computer and Network Systems
IIS Information and Intelligent Systems
OCI Office of Cyberinfra- structure
(formerly SCI, now an NSF-wide mission,
reporting to Director of NSF since 2006)
Clusters
Clusters
Clusters

• NeTS
• CSR
• CRI

• EMT
• CPA
• TF

• HCC
• III
• RI

Crosscutting CISE Emphasis Areas
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Computer and Network Systems Division (CNS)

• Computer Systems Research (CSR)
• Distributed systems embedded and hybrid systems
  next-generation software parallel systems
• Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS)
• Programmable wireless networks networking of
  sensor systems networking broadly defined
  future internet design (GENI)
• Computing Research Infrastructure (CRI)
• Equipment and infrastructure to advance computing
  research
• Cross-Directorate Emphasis Areas Activities
• Cybertrust (CT) Science of Design (SoD)
  Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) IT
  workforce and special projects REU sites, IGERT,
  ADVANCE, CPATH

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Information and Intelligent Systems Division (IIS)

• Human-Centered Computing (HCC)
• Digital society technologies human computer
  interaction universal access intelligent spaces
  (active displays, sensory devices, immersive
  experiences) and personal agents (feature-rich
  gadgets and appliances)
• Information Integration and Informatics (III)
• Digital government digital libraries archives
  information, data, and knowledge management
  science engineering information integration and
  informatics
• Robust Intelligence (RI)
• Artificial intelligence cognitive science
  computational neuroscience computer vision
  human language communication robotics

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Computing andCommunication Foundations Division
(CCF)

• Emerging Models and Technologies for Computation
  (EMT)
• Computational biology quantum computing
  nano-scale computing biologically-inspired
  computing
• Foundations of Computing Processes and Artifacts
  (CPA)
• Advanced computation research compilers
  computer architecture design automation
  (micro/nano) graphics visualization software
  engineering languages
• Theoretical Foundations (TF)
• Communication theory, information theory, signal
  processing numeric symbolic/graphic computation
  theory of computing computational algebra and
  geometry

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Theoretical Foundations
CC Game theory, auctions, incentives, pricing,
cooperation Network algorithms Scale,
complexity, interactivity Network
design Reliability Security, privacy, intrusion
detection Massive data sets Geometry and
visualization of networks CSP Signal
processing for wireless comm Multimedia signal
processing Collaborative/distributive signal
processing Hybrid networking CCSP Power
efficiency Computation versus communication
tradeoff compression, coding Cooperation Reducti
ons between problems Distributed
control Interaction of theory applications
Internet Algorithms, Social Computing
Computer Networks
Communications
CC
CSP
CCSP
Computing
Signal Processing
Operations research
Physical, Biological, Social Sciences
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Information, Communications, and Networks
BITS DATA INFORMATION KNOWLEDGE WISDOM
PHY MAC NET APP
Electrical Engineering Computer Science
Computer Engineering Information Systems
Conventional layering, based on the bottom-up
approach from bits onwards, and the distribution
of research and education among CISE disciplines
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Trends in Communications and Networking

• Cross Layer
• Research, optimization, design
• Wireless
• Ad hoc, sensor, infostation
• Mobility
• Friend or foe?
• Scalability
• Complexity
• Power efficiency
• Cooperation
• Security, reliability, intrusion detection
• AI concepts, distributed control

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Trends -2
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Geography of Radio Resources

• Bandwidth
• Interference
• Propagation

• Power- compute, transmit, receive, store,
• relay, amplify, process
• Wireless node distribution
• Mobility

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Motivations behind NG concepts
Capacity enhancement of 3G cellular systems
Specialized applications
Compromise mobility for high data rates
Automotive industry
Military
Emergency rescue operations
Consumer electronics
WLANS
infostations
Rooftop systems
Mesh systems
Ad hoc networks
Augmented cellular architectures
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Example NG applications with mobility
Battlefield display
Car 1s Whos around me display
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ST Research _at_ NJIT

• with Amer Catovic and Renita Machado

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Communications ProgramFUNDING

• 7M in program element in 2006
• Operating budget 4M
• Total of 16M in cluster reserves
• Trend shrink program elements, grow cluster
  reserves
• Clustering still experimental
• Question new cluster structure?

?? SP COMM NET ??
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2007 Funding

• Expected overall increase
• Still in CRI (Continuing Resolution Increments)
• Co-funding from CNS, DARPA, AFOSR

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GENI a CISE Initiativewww.geni.net

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MOTIVATION
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GENI Initiative

• Global Environment for Network Investigations
• a facility concept being explored by the US
  computing community
• Goal
• to increase the quality and quantity of
  experimental research outcomes in networking and
  distributed systems, and
• to accelerate the transition of these outcomes
  into products and services that will enhance
  economic competitiveness

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GENI Planning and Working Groups

• -Planning group
• -Working groups
• Research Coordination
• Facility Architecture
• Backbone Network
• Distributed Services
• Wireless Subnets

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Next Generation Internet- a Simplified Picture?
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SING a TF Initiative
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TF Cluster

• New solicitation in 2006
• Scientific Foundations of Communications
• Scientific Foundations of Computing
• Scientific Foundations for Internets Next
  Generation (SING)
• Delayed solicitation posting
• Access 2007 funds
• Same areas in 2007
• Open solicitation, deadline February 19, 2007

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SING- Core Theory

• expanding information theory
• formulating a new communication framework
• considering the temporal and spatial distribution
  of information and power
• ties to physical, biological, and social sciences
• relationships to theoretical foundations of
  social computing, economic theory, game theory,
  and computational biology quantum theory
• an evolution theory for computing and learning
  with mobile information sources
• the role of location from spatial behavior of
  propagation to place

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SING- Fundamental Algorithms

• cooperative communications,
• scalability, complexity, interactivity problems
• security,
• adaptive compression, signal processing
  techniques to support content analysis
• power aware processing studies on the tradeoff
  between communication versus computation and
  storage
• models for mobility enhanced information
  dissemination
• search and information retrieval, complex
  queries, full text search,
• peer-to-peer communications,
• auctions,
• manipulating massive data sets
• algorithmic distributed mechanism design
  distributed control
• mobility based information dissemination, quality
  of service driven mobility

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SING- Applications

• multimedia signal processing
• wireless communications mobile and sensor
  networks, ad hoc networks,
• smart displays,
• enabling pervasive computing and communication
  environments

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SING 2006

• Received 100 proposals
• Funded out of cluster reserves
• Co-funding from CNS, AFOSR, DARPA
• 2006 success rate 8, and increasing
• Topics
• Network theory
• Wireless networking, security
• Network optimization, algorithms
• Large scale, distributed systems
• Ties to biology, switching,

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SING next steps

• 2007 TF Solicitation
• Scope narrowed down to exclude EMT, CPA topics
• 2008 CCF CNS cross-divisional program

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Science of Interaction- enabler and catalyst
of 21st century sciencean NSF Initiative?
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Objective

• To unlock and utilize natures means, from
  sub-particle to galactic scales, in storing,
  using, and conveying information, and controlling
  systems in order to advance manmade systems for
  intelligence, health, education, prosperity, and
  security of individuals and societies
• by harnessing natures signals, codes and
  communications, feedback and control systems

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Science of Interaction

• basic, trans-disciplinary field
• mathematical, physical, social, biological, earth
  and computing sciences, with applications in
  every engineering discipline

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Motivation

• the Earth and space are populated with
• complex, heterogeneous, interconnected,
  interdependent manmade systems
• transportation, communication, distribution
  (food, supply, power) and sensor networks
• the dynamics of these systems increasingly
  resemble natures own physical, chemical,
  cellular, social, atmospheric, fluid interactions
• Insights into the artificial may lead to insights
  into the natural, and the reverse

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An Old Example

• Two particles in free space
• Have a constant center of mass
• Move on conic trajectories
• (precessing conics in GR)
• Have positions that can be predicted exactly by a
  simple calculation
• Three particles in free space
• May have chaotic orbits
• Have no prediction method that is better than
  simulation
• Sundman-Wang convergence is too slow
• Do have properties that can be proved
  analytically
• Any non-colliding oscillatory solution is
  contained in a finite sphere. (Painleve)

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Whats New?

• Interesting questions are increasingly complex
  and computational
• Exact answers only possible by watching and
  waiting (computation)
• Computing insights may give partial answers.
• Biology how do proteins control structure and
  function?
• Economics what is market equilibrium in the
  face of dynamic and incomplete information?
• Meteorology what will the weather be next week?
• Computing how will an ensemble of a million
  interacting computers behave?
• Communication how will a protocol change affect
  internet congestion?

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Computational Discovery
New
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Underlying Themes

•  Exploring and modeling natures interactions,
  connections, complex relations, and
  interdependencies, scaling from sub-particles to
  galactic, from cellular to societal, in microns
  to light years, in order to understand them,
  mimic them, synthesize them, and exploit them
  (examples include science of design, theory of
  networked computing, plant genomics, control
  systems, management sciences, prediction, risk
  assessment, decision making, distributed data
  driven application systems, sustainability
  engineering, social, behavioral sciences,
  economics, politics)
• Coupling of the physical world with the cyber
  world, integrating natural sciences with social,
  and computing sciences and engineering (examples
  include logistical systems, supply chains, power
  networks, all sensor related applications, signal
  processing, quantum computing, molecular
  computing, bioinformatics, communications
  systems, cognitive sciences, learning, artificial
  intelligence, biomedical engineering
  applications, human computer interface, virtual
  or smart environments, health systems,
  interactive games)

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Moores Law
General Architecture
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CMOS ICs
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Lattice-Gas Architecture
TX-2
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QC Roadmap
1
MIPS
ENIAC
Quantum Dots
10-3
Conventional Computer Roadmap
10-6
Differential Analyzer
1850
2000
1900
1950
2050
Babbage Engine
Year
Liquid NMR
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Synergies with Other NSF Initiatives

• GENI
• communication and computing systems are organic,
  mobile, and evolving
• covering the Earth, carried on humans,
  transportation vehicles, and satellites,
• integrated with the environmental, biomedical,
  surveillance and tracking sensor systems, and
  measurements,
• on land, on water, underwater, and in air,
  expanding into space
• ITR, IGERT, DDDAS

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Potential Focus Areas

• -         Convergence problems in the theory,
  simulation, and experiment spiral.
• -         Computational modeling or simulation of
  dynamic interconnected systems with complex
  interdependencies, distributed systems or
  applications. Multi-scale computing.
• -         Reduction of problems across complexity
  classes and scales, decompositions, autonomous
  subsystems.
• -         Innovative research and education
  models collaboration, assessment, feedback
  models.
• -         Integration of information management,
  computing, networking, and human-computer
  interfaces augmenting human senses, aiding
  disabled humans.
• -         Innovations in control systems,
  decision making, cooperative and non-cooperative
  games, investigation and prediction of
  equilibria.
• -         Findings in network science, network
  information theory, and relationship science,
  with applications to information systems to
  social systems.
• -         Rigorous mathematical methods for
  verification of system behavior.
• -        

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Food for thought

• Problem
• Basic science is under funded
• Were publishing nuggets continually
• Looks like were a bargain!
• Solution 1
• Stop producing nuggets
• Bad solution
• Solution 2
• Recognize new Sputnik era
• Define vision cutting edge to dominate
• Revolutionary, high impact, unconventional,
  multidisciplinary research enabling the vision

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Contact

• Dr. Sirin Tekinay
• Program Director, Theoretical Foundations,
  Communications Research
• National Science Foundation
• 4201 Wilson Boulevard
• Suite 1115
• Arlington, VA 22230
• 703-292-8910
• stekinay_at_nsf.gov