Computer Systems Research (CSR)

Computer systems are being applied to increasingly demanding applications. The environments in which they function and the resources they manage are increasingly diverse, distributed and dynamic. While the time scales for control decisions are shrinking, the scale and complexity of the systems are increasing.  Further, many of the assumptions behind today’s most common computer systems no longer hold. As a result, these systems often fail in unpredictable ways, become compromised or perform poorly.  Accordingly, the frontiers of computer systems research must be moved forward, and new bold research directions must be established to draw upon interdisciplinary research capabilities across science and engineering.

The Computer Systems Research (CSR) Program supports innovative research and education projects that:

• increase our understanding of large-scale and increasingly data-intensive computer systems and applications, through the creation of new knowledge needed to improve their design, use, behavior, and stability;

• capitalize on research opportunities provided by new technologies and new classes of systems;

• expand the capabilities of computer systems by developing highly innovative new ways to exploit existing technologies;

• lead to systems software that is quantifiably more reliable, easier to use, and/or more efficient; and

• produce innovative curricula or educational materials that better prepare future generations of computing professionals. 

CSR-funded projects will enable significant progress on challenging high-impact problems, as opposed to incremental progress on familiar problems.  Collaborative CSR projects that actively involve industry or other academic communities are particularly welcome.  For example, to stimulate breakthroughs in human-aware computer and software systems and applications, multi-investigator, multidisciplinary proposals are encouraged.  Further, CSR PIs should describe credible plans for demonstrating the utility and potential impact of their proposed work, for example, through empirical prototypes disseminated to and evaluated by the community. 

The FY 2008 competition invites innovative, forward-looking research projects in the following three areas:

• Distributed and Mobile Systems and Services (DMSS);
• Parallel Systems, Computing and Execution (PSCE); and
• Embedded, Hybrid, and Critical Systems (EHCS).

Proposals may be submitted in one of the following three categories:

• Small - projects with total budgets up to $450K and durations of up to 3 years (with maximum annual budgets of $150K).
• Team - projects with total budgets up to $2.0M, and durations of up to 4 years (with maximum annual budgets of $500K).
• Other- including planning grants, workshops, Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER), and other community building activities. Planning grants and SGER proposals will be funded at levels up to $100K/year for up to two years.  Workshops in new or emerging areas in computer and software systems research and education will be funded at levels up to $50K for one year.  Prior to submission of any proposal in the "Other" category, PIs must get permission to submit their proposals from a CSR Program Officer.