NSF Expeditions Awarded : The Quantum Pontiff

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Dave Bacon is a theoretical ski bum who is also a pseudo professor. His research is on quantum computing, his scientific passions extend to everything in physics, mathematics, computer science and beyond, and his personal pleasures include making wine, playing poker, skiing, camping, and daydreaming (although not all of those at the same time.) Nothing he says on this blog should be construed as having anything to do with his employer or his dog.

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NSF Expeditions Awarded

Category: Computer Science
Posted on: August 18, 2008 7:25 PM, by Dave Bacon

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"Expeditions in Computing awards" are ten million dollar NSF grants from the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering to pursue long-term research agendas. My favorite kinds of projects: high risk, high reward, and long term. Today the first four award winners have been announced. The winning programs are

Open Programmable Mobile Internet 2020
The Molecular Programming Project
Understanding, Coping with and Benefiting from Intractibility
Computational Sustainability: Computational Methods for a Sustainable Environment, Economy and Society

Of note for the theoretical computer science crowd is the third of these, won by a Princeton area team (lead by Sanjeev Arora), which is going to establish a "Center for Intractability" at Princeton. Very cool. And now I know where to go if I ever need a traveling salesman.

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Comments

And now I know where to go if I ever need a traveling salesman.

Yes, but what's the most efficient way to get there?

Posted by: Chad Orzel | August 18, 2008 9:20 PM

"Yes, but what's the most efficient way to get there?"

There isn't one; the problem is intractable.

P.S. It's 'intractability' and not 'intractibility.'

Posted by: Ian Durham | August 19, 2008 8:36 AM

"Yes, but what's the most efficient way to get there?"

There isn't one; the problem is intractable.

Of course there is a most efficient way to get there; the difficulty is identifying the route. Or more precisely: how to get there and visit your collaborators at umpteen other institutes all in the same trip.

Posted by: Eric Lund | August 19, 2008 9:48 AM

with videoconferencing you don't have to worry about getting there any more.

Posted by: Jon | August 19, 2008 3:47 PM