This proposal seeks NSF support for OSDI'10 student travel scholarships. The PIs are requesting $20,000 to support between 20 and 40 students to attend the conference. The ninth international USENIX Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation (OSDI'10) will be held in Vancouver, BC, Canada, October 4-6, 2010. The ninth OSDI seeks to present innovative, exciting research in computer systems. OSDI brings together professionals from academic and industrial backgrounds in what has become a premier forum for discussing the design, implementation, and implications of systems software. This award is to make travel scholarships available to students and universities not typically represented at OSDI in order to improve the conferences impact and outreach.
This funding supported students traveling to the major operating systems conference in 2010 known as OSDI (the Operating Systems Design and Implementation conference). Because of this funding, over twenty students were supported in their effort to attend this premier venue. Attending a conference, and participating in research discussions about the latest operating systems research, is a critical part of the development of a young researcher. By going to such a conference, students learn about the latest research, see how presentation of such material is performed, learn how to ask and answer research questions about research, and in general see how the conference forum can help increase the impact of research on a field. Students also gain valuable experience in their work scribing the notes for the conference. A scribe takes detailed notes about the work that is presented, as well as any question and answer session afterward. By performing this duty, a scribe learns how to understand research at a detailed level as well as how to communicate such work to a broader audience. These communication skills are critical for future researchers as well as members of industry. In summary, the experience of attending a conference such as OSDI is invaluable. This funding enabled a large number of students to attend, and thus helped to improve their careers. In turn, as they enter industry or the academy, the benefits of this experience will be spread to the rest of the nation.
