NEWS ARCHIVE

Advancing a Vision for Privacy-Enhancing Technologies

Advancing a Vision for Privacy-Enhancing Technologies

(July 1, 2022)
FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE / NEWS / PRIVACY

Imagine a future where researchers can analyze a broad and diverse swath of medical records – without accessing anyone’s private data – to develop tools for physicians to identify early signs of cancer and reduce health disparities. Or a future where cities and states can rapidly share critical public health data with each other without revealing personal information about individuals. Or where smart infrastructure could be optimized to manage traffic flows, while preserving drivers’ privacy during both data collection and analysis. The development of Privacy-Enhancing Technologies, commonly known as “PETs,” can provide a pathway toward this future by leveraging data-driven technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), while preserving privacy.

87-FR-39567

Request for Information on the Federal Big Data Research and Development Strategic Plan Update

(July 1, 2022)
BIG DATA / FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE / NEWS

The NITRD NCO and NSF, as part of the NITRD Big Data interagency working group (BD IWG), request input from all interested parties as the IWG prepares updates to the Federal Big Data Research and Development Strategic Plan. Through this RFI, the NITRD NCO seeks input from the public, including academia, government, business, and industry groups of all sizes; those directly performing Big Data research and development (R&D); and those directly affected by such R&D, on ways in which the strategic plan should be revised and improved. The public input provided in response to this RFI will assist the NITRD BD IWG in updating the Federal Big Data Research and Development Strategic Plan.

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NITRD’s 30th Anniversary Symposium Recap – Panel 5: How Technology can Benefit Society: Broadening Perspectives in Fundamental Research

(June 30, 2022)
EVENTS / NEWS / NITRD 30TH ANNIVERSARY

All the panels featured throughout the day at the NITRD 30th Anniversary Symposium had two common threads: highlighting the astronomical advancements we’ve experienced in computing over the past few decades and mitigating the risks associated with these new advancements. Topics included matters of algorithmic bias, non inclusive technologies, privacy invasions, security risks – the list goes on. One thing the panelists did agree on was that there was hope for change and all discussions touched on a path forward towards more ethical and responsible computing. Moderated by Alondra Nelson (Office of Science and Technology), Panel 5 “How Technology can Benefit Society: Broadening Perspectives in Fundamental Research” featured relevant discussions by panelists, Janet Abbate (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), Deborah Estrin (Cornell University), Charles Isbell (Georgia Institute of Technology) and Ramayya Krishnan (Carnegie Mellon University).

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NITRD’s 30th Anniversary Symposium Recap – Panel 4: Privacy and the Internet of Things (IoT)

(June 23, 2022)
EVENTS / INTERNET OF THINGS / NEWS / NITRD 30TH ANNIVERSARY / PRIVACY

Privacy has become a huge topic of conversation not only among the computing research community, but across all disciplines in both academia and industry. Adverse privacy effects stemming from the availability of large-scale datasets are being multiplied by the interconnected sensors, devices, and actuators that make up the Internet of Things (IoT). Moderated by Charles (“Chuck”) Romine (NIST) and featuring field experts Ed Felten (Princeton), Marc Groman (Groman Consulting), Katerina Megas (NIST), and Sunoo Park (Cornell), Panel 4: Privacy and IoT discusses important topics such as the tradeoffs between data use and privacy and potential research goals to help in achieving effective policy solutions.

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NITRD’s 30th Anniversary Symposium Recap – Panel 3: Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning

(June 21, 2022)
AI / EVENTS / NEWS / NITRD 30TH ANNIVERSARY

Arguably one of the greatest areas of progress in computing research over the last decade has been Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. The field has seen an AI/robotics revolution, and an explosion of new technologies, establishing itself as one of the underpinnings of society. Panel 3: AI/ML, moderated by Liz Bradley (University of Colorado Boulder) and starring panelists Charles Isbell (Georgia Tech), Chad Jenkins (UM), Talitha Washington (CAU), and Patti Ordóñez Franco (UPRRP) celebrated these federally funded advances and discussed the challenges these new innovations bring with them.

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NITRD’s 30th Anniversary Symposium Recap – Panel 2: Networking and Security

(June 16, 2022)
CYBERSECURITY / EVENTS / NEWS / NITRD 30TH ANNIVERSARY

Technological advancements are growing at an explosive rate around the world. As new technologies arise so do new security vulnerabilities and opportunities for infiltration of the networks that underpin these advances. Moderated by Bob Bonneau (OSD/DOD), Panel 2: Networking and Security, at NITRD’s 30th Anniversary Symposium, led a discussion between field experts Deborah Frincke (Sandia NL), Jim Kurose (UMA), and Chris Ramming (VMware) about key challenges and necessary advancements to ensure secure and trustworthy networks.

NITRD 30th Symposium Panel 1 Recap

NITRD’s 30th Anniversary Symposium Recap – Panel 1: Computing at Scale

(June 14, 2022)
EVENTS / HPC / NEWS / NITRD 30TH ANNIVERSARY

This post is the first in a series highlighting the panels from that day, starting with Panel 1: Computing at Scale, moderated by Ben Zorn (Microsoft) and featuring distinguished panelists Luiz André Barroso (Google), Ian Foster (Argonne NL), Timothy Pinkston (USC), and Kathy Yelick (UCB). The panel led a riveting discussion celebrating the incredible past achievements of high performance computing (HPC) and cloud computing, as well as looking ahead to where this technology is going and how it is affecting society.

87-FR-35250

Request for Information on Advancing Privacy-Enhancing Technologies

(June 9, 2022)
FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE / NEWS / PRIVACY

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) – on behalf of the Fast Track Action Committee on Advancing Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing and Analytics of the Subcommittee on Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) of the National Science and Technology Council, the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office, and the NITRD National Coordination Office – requests public comments to help inform development of a national strategy on privacy-preserving data sharing and analytics, along with associated policy initiatives.

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NITRD 30th Anniversary Symposium Recap

(June 8, 2022)
EVENTS / NEWS / NITRD 30TH ANNIVERSARY

The NITRD 30th Anniversary Symposium was held in Washington D.C. at the National Spy Museum. The event provided an opportunity for the computing research community to come together and celebrate the impact that federal funding has had on computing technologies, innovations and the world at large.