Computing Research is a very young research area. In the past few years it has become clear that computation is joining experimentation and mathematical analysis, providing a basic new scientific paradigm for how science gets done. In such a new and rapidly changing field, communication among researchers is particularly important. However, the conference structure in computer science and engineering is highly fragmented and works against such communication. Important new research results are seldom presented at broad based national meetings. Consequently, broad based meetings are seldom attended by active researchers. The Federated Computing Research Conference will address this problem. This conference will retain the advantages of smaller specialized meetings while at the same time facilitating communication among researchers in different subfields. Additional benefits of this meeting include: (1) economies of scale, (2) providing an educational function for the public, (3) stimulating new research.
