COMPUTING RESEARCH ASSOCIATIONGRAND RESEARCH CHALLENGES IN INFORMATION SYSTEMSReport of the First Conference – Information SystemsAs we begin the 21st century, it is appropriate for the research community to consider theresearch challenges that exist on many fronts and to clarify our priorities. With the leader-ship of the Computing Research Association, we have inaugurated a series of GrandResearch Challenges conferences to explore priorities for information technology research.This report documents the conclusions from the first conference. The focus of this meeting was information systems. Software and hardware link physicalentities and people into networks that could not have been created just a few decades ago.We are still struggling to understand the implications of these changes and to realize theirpotential. Leading computer science and engineering researchers came together in June 2002 at AirlieHouse in Virginia to discuss and debate the systems research challenges of the future. Asparticipants in the technological change that is reshaping our age, we are excited by boththe vitality of the intellectual community that is driving progress in information systemsand the pace of discovery that has resulted. This conference represented an attempt to gaina larger perspective on our efforts, to suggest directions in which our energies and talentscan be used for the betterment of society, and to underscore the long-term technologicalissues that must be resolved for us to be successful. — Anita Jones, Chair of the Organizing CommitteeACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Funding for this conference was provided by National Science Foundation Grant No. 0137943.We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Mr. Charlie Feigenoff in the preparation of this report.Copyright 2003 by the Computing Research Association. Permission is granted to reproduce thecontents provided that such reproduction is not for profit and credit is given to the source.To request additional copies, send an e-mail to: [email protected] or call 202-234-2111.COMPUTING RESEARCH ASSOCIATIONA Conference Series on Grand Research Challenges in Computer Science and EngineeringINTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1GRAND CHALLENGE 1. Create a Ubiquitous Safety.Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5GRAND CHALLENGE 2. Build a Team of Your Own. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11GRAND CHALLENGE 3. Provide a Teacher for Every Learner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17GRAND CHALLENGE 4. Build Systems You Can Count On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23GRAND CHALLENGE 5. Conquer System Complexity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29APPENDIX A. Conference Attendees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34INSIDE BACK COVER. Report from the Front Lines of the ConferenceOrganizing Committee MembersT ABLE OF CONTENTS1Information technology has amplified our intellectual and physical abilities more than any-thing since the development of the written word. Engineering marvels such as the Internet,the global positioning system, and the human genome project became possible only withadvances in information technology. Today there are eight billion computers in the world.Most are embedded invisibly in products, making goods and services safer, more secure, flex-ible, and energy-efficient, and less expensive than ever before. The tremendous advances inproductivity that we have witnessed in the past decade rest on this foundation. By one estimate, we have seen a 1,000,000,000,000,000-fold decrease in the cost of computationin the last 100 years, that is, it is 1015 times more cost-effective to work with a modern computerthan a turn-of-the century mechanical tabulating machine. We are hard-pressed to think of changeof comparable magnitude in human history. Quantitative changes in performance andaffordability have led to qualitative changes inapplications of computing. The recent past hasseen explosions in cellular telephony, digitalphotography, digital video, and electronic com-merce as the costs of these computer-enabledapplications decrease. Networking, in particu-lar, has enabled new businesses and new waysto link people. We have already moved beyondstand-alone computers or components to build large, integrated, distributed information sys-tems that are in service to society.In the future, we can expect our computational infrastructure to offer an even more impres-sive range of social and economic benefits as it grows to include billions of people worldwide.Information technologies have the potential to reduce energy consumption, provideimproved health care at lower cost, enhance security, reduce pollution, enable further creationof worldwide communities, engender new business models, and contribute to the educationof people anywhere in the world. These new benefits will be facilitated by geometric advancesin semiconductor and magnetic storage, as well as in electronic and optical communications. INTRODUCTIONIn the future, we can expect ourcomputational infrastructure tooffer an even more impressiverange of social and economicbenefits as it grows to include billions of people worldwide.2Grand Research ChallengesIn June 2002, the Computing Research Association, with financial assistance from theNational Science Foundation, convened a group of about 65 researchers from the public andprivate sectors. During a three-day conference these researchers discussed the specific andurgent research challenges related to building the systems of the future. As a result of the discussions, participants selected five Grand Research Challenges that willprovide a focus for more directed and more immediately relevant research. They are:1. Create a Ubiquitous Safety.Net. Providing a ubiquitous Safety.Net will save livesand minimize damage from disasters through timely prediction, prevention, miti-gation, and response.2. Build a Team of Your Own. Building cognitive partnerships of human beingswith software agents and robots will enhance individual productivity and effec-tiveness.3. Provide a Teacher for Every Learner. Tutoring each individual in a tailored, learner-cen-tered format will enable people to more fully realize their potential.4. Build Systems You Can Count On. Assuring
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