Catalyzing Inquiry at the Interface of Computing and Biology (CSTB)

Released 12/5/05

Advances in computer science and technology and in biology over the last several years have opened up the possibility for computing to help answer fundamental questions in biology and for biology to help with new approaches to computing. Making the most of the research opportunities at the interface of computing and biology requires the active participation of people from both fields. While past attempts have been made in this direction, circumstances today appear to be much more favorable for progress. To help take advantage of these opportunities, this study was requested of the NRC by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy. The report provides the basis for establishing cross-disciplinary collaboration between biology and computing including an analysis of potential impediments and strategies for overcoming them. The report also presents a wealth of examples that should encourage students in the biological sciences to look for ways to enable them to be more effective users of computing in their studies.

Basic Research in Information Science and Technology for Air Force Needs (BMSA)

Released 12/15/05

The U.S. Air Force is developing new force capabilities appropriate to an emerging array of threats. It is clear that advances in information science and technology (IS&T) are essential for most of these new capabilities. As a consequence, the Air Force is finding it necessary to refocus its IS&T basic research program to provide stronger support for reaching these goals. To assist this effort, the AFOSR asked the NRC for a study to create a vision and plan for the IS&T-related programs within the Office’s Mathematics and Space Science Directorate. This report provides an assessment of basic research needs for Air Force systems and communications, software, information management and integration, and human interactions with IS&T systems. The report also offers a set of priorities for basic IS&T research, and an analysis of funding mechanisms its support.

FORCEnet Implementation Strategy (NSB)

Released 9/26/05

FORCEnet is the Department of Navy’s approach for enhancing its capability to perform network-centric operations. In 2002, the concept was introduced by the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) who incorporated it into the Navy’s Sea Power 21. A NRC study, Network-Centric Naval Forces, was instrumental in the establishment of FORCEnet. Nevertheless, an accepted definition of FORCEnet is still lacking. To help resolve this issue, the CNO asked the NRC to advise it on the adequacy of the definition first announced by the CNO and on actions required to implement FORCEnet. This report provides an illustration of a FORCEnet vision of networked operations, characteristics required to achieve this vision, and challenges facing implementation. It also presents analyses of these challenges and recommendations for an implementation strategy.

Summary of a Workshop on Using Information Technology to Enhance Disaster Management (CSTB)

Released 9/30/05

The aftermath of the recent hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico has dramatically heightened awareness of the role of effective communications in managing such disasters. The NRC is in the process of studying this issue for FEMA as a result of language that appeared in the E-government Act of 2002. The study is examining the use of information technology (IT) to enhance preparedness, response, and consequence management of natural and human caused disasters. As the first phase of this study, a workshop was held to provide an information base from the perspective of federal, state, and local officials. This report provides a summary of that workshop focusing on the critical and evolving role of and research directions for IT in disaster management; and on collaboration, coordination, and interoperability issues.

Asking the Right Questions about Electronic Voting (CSTB)

Released 9/13/05

High profile problems in recent elections have resulted in calls to accelerate the use of information technology in the voting process to help avoid such problems in the future. Such an approach, however, is not straightforward as is suggested by an emotional public debate that has arisen about electronic voting. While election officials believe electronic voting systems offer the promise of conducting and administering elections more effectively and at lower cost, a number of concerns have been raised about security and other aspects of these systems. To help address these points, the National Science Foundation asked the NRC to examine electronic voting issues. This report provides an extensive list of questions that must be addressed by election officials, policy makers, and the public about the use of electronic information technology in the election administration. In addition, the report provides a number of conclusions to help set the questions in perspective.

Report Summary

Building an Electronic Records Archive at the National Archives and Records Administration: Recommendations for a Long-Term Strategy (CSTB)

The federal government generates and increasingly saves a large and growing fraction of its records in electronic form. In 1998, the National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) launched it Electronic Archives (ERA) program to create a system to preserve and provide access to federal electronic records. To assist in this project, NARA asked the NRC to conduct a two-phase study to provide advice as it develops the ERA program. The first two reports (phase one) provided recommendations on design, engineering, and related issues facing the program. This report (phase two) focuses on longer term, more strategic issues including technology trends that will shape the ERA system, archival processes of the ERA, and future evolution of the system. It also provides an assessment of technical and design issues associated with record integrity and authenticity.

Amendment of the Commission’s Rules to Facilitate the Use of Cellular Telephones and Other Wireless Devices Aboard Airborne Aircraft (BPA-CORF)

Allocation of frequency spectrum for commercial use by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can have a significant effect on scientific research such as radio astronomy. This report is one in a series from the NRC’s Committee on Radio Frequencies (CORF) that examines the needs for radio frequency requirements and interference protection for scientific and engineering research, coordinates the views of the U.S. scientists, and acts as a channel for representing the interests of U.S. scientists in the work of the inter-union commission on frequency allocations for radio astronomy and space science (IUCAF) of the International Council of Scientific Unions. This report presents CORF’s assessment of an FCC proposal to require the use of picocells and to modify emissions masking of cell phones that would be used aboard aircraft. Such actions could reduce the possibility and severity of harmful emissions.

Signposts in Cyberspace: The Domain Name System and Internet Navigation (CSTB)

The Domain Name System (DNS) enables user-friendly alphanumeric names—domain names—to be assigned to Internet sites. Many of these names have gained economic, social, and political value, leading to conflicts over their ownership, especially names containing trademarked terms. Congress, in P.L. 105-305, directed the Department of Commerce to request the NRC to perform a study of these issues. When the study was initiated, steps were already sunderway to address the resolution of domain name conflicts, but the continued rapid expansion of the use of the Internet had raised a number of additional policy and technical issues. Furthermore, it became clear that the introduction of search engines and other tools for Internet navigation was affecting the DNS. Consequently, the study was expanded to include policy and technical issues related to the DNS in the context of Internet navigation. This report presents the NRC’s assessment of the current state and future prospects of the DNS and Internet navigation, and its conclusions and recommendations concerning key technical and policy issues.