Computing and information

Of all of the areas in which the Academy has played a role in building the infrastructure for modern science and technology, none has been as influential as computing. From its efforts to improve ballistics to the development of the Internet, the Academy has served as a vital intermediary among government, academia, and industry in motivating research and guiding the direction of the field. Nathan Ensmenger, associate professor of informatics and computing at Indiana University, detailed the Academy's early involvement with computing, which grew out of the institution's publication of mathematical tables between the wars. Robert Kahn, president and chief executive officer of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, discussed some of the early days of electronic computing and how difficult it is to predict the future of the field. Janet Abbate, associate professor of science and technology in society at Virginia Tech, drew from computing several broad lessons for the nation's investments in science and technology. David Farber, Distinguished Career Professor of Computer Science and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, pointed to several problems that are likely to extend the Academy's influence in computing.