Longstanding programs in Human-Computer Interaction, Universal Access, and Digital Society and Technologies have been combined into a single "cluster" on Human-Centered Computing as part of IIS Division's new solicitation entitled "Information and Intelligent Systems: Advancing Human-Centered Computing, Information Integration and Informatics, and Robust Intelligence" (NSF 06-572). This is funding to support one of a pair of 1.5-day workshops to be held at NSF in September, 2006, in response to this reorganization. Each workshop will bring together (a different group of) current NSF PIs whose ongoing research spans the broad spectrum of topics now included in HCC, along with selected additional members of the research community with related interests. The primary goals of the workshop are to educate the research community about the new HCC cluster and the related solicitation, and to help NSF identify emerging trends in the field. Participants will discuss and prioritize the important subfields of HCC that the scientific community believes will have a major impact in the near-to-medium term. Because the workshop will take place in September, there will be sufficient lead-time for the event to affect proposals submitted by the research community for the upcoming solicitation deadlines (October-December, 2006). In addition, workshop feedback to NSF will occur before proposals are reviewed and funding recommendations made.
Broader Impacts: This workshop will present a unique opportunity for current PIs and other members of the rapidly growing HCC research community to discuss the state of the art and to engage in strategic planning toward shaping the direction of this new and interdisciplinary research area with major implications for the future of society. The workshop will broaden awareness among PIs of the rich variety of research topics that comprise HCC. It will foster networking across the inherently interdisciplinary focus areas of the field, and will also afford young researchers a chance to receive constructive feedback on their current work and future plans through interaction with more senior investigators with related interests. The workshop organizers will produce a comprehensive workshop report, and the workshop website will become a permanent repository of the workshop discussions, breakout group reports, etc for general access by the research community at large.
