A Stimulus for Science
President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 today, a move that is critically important for computing research.
Indeed, this economic stimulus bill is absolutely critical for science, providing $7B in supplemental research funding that will lead to new discoveries and, ultimately, new innovations and economic growth. The computing research community is particularly supportive of the bill (see this statement of support by the CRA, in which I am quoted), as it provides a good start on restoring funding levels for computer science research to pre-2000 era levels. It also takes a step towards doubling the funding for several key science agencies (including NSF) over a 7-10 year period, as called for in the America COMPETES Act.
Some of our faculty, however, aren’t waiting for the government assistance. Luis von Ahn, for example, has posted on his blog a fairly unique approach to fundraising. As the Department Head, it’ll be my job to monitor this closely and compare the financial impact of the stimulus bill vs these, um, unconventional approaches… :-)
Peter Lee @ February 18, 2009
Luis approach is the best one, far better than president Obama’s one. And the best part is it will also keep the students engaged in the class if he takes the steps mentioned in the comments :)
Its good to hear that science will begin to see some of this stimulus package. It truly is an investment in all of our future.