[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 246 (Thursday, December 23, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80853-80854]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-32279]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Designing a Digital Future: Federally Funded Research and 
Development in Networking and Information Technology

AGENCY: National Coordination Office (NCO) for the Networking and 
Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program, 
National Science Foundation.

SUBJECT: Request for Information: Report ``Designing a Digital Future: 
Federally Funded Research and Development in Networking and Information 
Technology''.

ACTION: Request for Information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: Networking and Information Technology Research and Development 
(NITRD) Program; National Coordination Office (NCO); Request for 
Information (RFI) Regarding the President's Council of Advisors on 
Science and Technology (PCAST) Report Entitled ``Designing a Digital 
Future: Federally Funded Research and Development in Networking and 
Information Technology''
    This document is a request for comments on strategies for meeting 
the goals and recommendations of the recently released PCAST report on 
networking and information technology research and development (see 
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/pcast).

DATES: Comment Date: To be assured consideration, comments must be 
received at one of the addresses provided below, no later than 5 p.m. 
on January 31, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods 
(please do not submit duplicate comments).
    Electronically: You may submit electronic comments on this request 
for information at http://www.nitrd.gov/pcast-2010/report/nitrd-program/comments. Emailed comments will be accepted at 
[email protected]. Attachments should be in OpenOffice, 
Microsoft Word, or Adobe PDF formats.
    Regular, Express, Overnight Mail, or Courier: National Coordination 
Office for the Networking and Information Technology Research and 
Development Program, 4201 Wilson Blvd, Suite II-405, Arlington, VA 
22230. Please submit one original and two copies. Please also allow 
sufficient time for mailed comments to be received before the close of 
the comment period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joan Stanley, National Coordination 
Office for the Networking and Information Technology Research and 
Development Program, 703-292-4873.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Inspection of Public Comments: All comments received before the 
close of the comment period will be available for public inspection, 
including any personally identifiable or confidential business 
information that is included in a comment. Please do not include any 
information in your comment submission that you do not wish to share 
with the general public. Such information includes, but is not limited 
to: A person's Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license 
number; State identification number or foreign country equivalent; 
passport number; financial account number; credit or debit card number; 
or any business information that could be considered to be proprietary. 
We will post all comments received before the close of the comment 
period at http://www.nitrd.gov/pcast-2010/report/nitrd-program/comments. Follow the instructions on the Web site to view public 
comments.

I. Background

    On December 16, 2010, the President's Council of Advisors on 
Science and Technology (PCAST) released an important new report 
entitled ``Designing a Digital Future: Federally Funded Research and 
Development in Networking and Information Technology'' (the PCAST 
Report). (The full report is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/pcast and at the NITRD Web site http://www.nitrd.gov). PCAST is an advisory group of the nation's leading 
scientists and engineers who directly advise the President and the 
Executive Office of the President. PCAST makes policy recommendations 
in the many areas where understanding of science, technology, and 
innovation is key to strengthening our economy and forming policy that 
works for the American people. PCAST is administered by the Office of 
Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). NITRD seeks public comment on how 
the PCAST report's recommendations may best be addressed.

II. Solicitation of Comments

    NITRD seeks comment on the questions below. Comments on other 
aspects of the PCAST report are also welcome.
    1. The PCAST report calls for national, long[hyphen]term, 
multi[hyphen]agency research initiatives on networking and information 
technologies (NIT) for the health, energy, transportation, and 
cyberinfrastructure sectors.
    a. What are the most important NIT R&D challenges in each of these 
sectors?
    b. What NIT R&D challenges are common across all of these sectors?
    c. What emerging innovations in these or other sectors could be 
used to achieve a leap forward in progress?
    2. The PCAST report recommends collaborative programs to support 
high risk/high reward R&D in the following frontier areas: Fundamentals 
of privacy protection and protected disclosure of confidential data; 
human[hyphen]machine and social collaboration and 
problem[hyphen]solving in networked, on[hyphen]line environments where 
large numbers of people participate in common activities; data 
collection, storage, management, and automated large[hyphen]scale data 
analysis; and advanced domain[hyphen]specific sensors, integration of 
NIT into physical systems, and innovative robotics.
    a. What are some high-risk concepts that carry the potential for 
fundamentally changing the landscape in these frontier areas?
    b. What limitations in NIT hold back progress today in these 
frontier areas? How might these limitations be overcome?
    c. What efforts currently underway in these areas could be 
accelerated through collaboration, cooperation, and coordination?
    3. The PCAST report calls for fundamental changes in K[hyphen]12 
STEM education in the United States, including the incorporation of 
computer science (CS) as an essential component.

[[Page 80854]]

    a. What CS concepts and approaches are most important to effective 
elementary, secondary, and post-secondary curricula? Among these, which 
are commonly found in curricula today? Which are missing?
    b. What do teachers need (including preparation and training, 
tools, and resources) to be able to deliver CS education effectively?
    c. What factors are important in promoting student interest in CS?

    Dated: December 17, 2010.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2010-32279 Filed 12-22-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P