Computer Science at the NSF 2000–2025

For more than four decades, the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) has played a central role in advancing computing research in the United States. This book provides a detailed examination of the directorate’s evolution, organization, funding priorities, and influence on the development of computer and information science during a period of extraordinary technological change.

Drawing on historical records, federal budget documents, archived NSF materials, and firsthand experience, Peter Brass presents a distinctive perspective on the inner workings of federal research funding. Rather than focusing exclusively on senior leadership, the book examines CISE from the perspective of its program directors, whose decisions and interactions with the research community help shape the direction of scientific discovery.

The volume traces changes in organizational structure, research programs, budgets, proposal evaluation, and funding patterns, while documenting major initiatives in computing foundations, artificial intelligence, networking, cybersecurity, advanced cyberinfrastructure, education, and interdisciplinary research. It also examines significant awards, institutional developments, and the individuals who have guided CISE through changing scientific priorities and federal policies.

Combining historical documentation with informed analysis and personal observations, this book offers valuable insight into the relationship between government research investment, academic institutions, and technological progress. It also considers the challenges facing publicly funded scientific research and the future of the NSF.

An important resource for computer scientists, historians of technology, research administrators, policymakers, and scholars of science and technology policy, this volume preserves an essential chapter in the history of American computing research.

© 2026 ACM Books (E-bog): 9798400732119

Udgivelsesdato

E-bog: 20. oktober 2026