Computing Innovation Fellows Project 2021

Due to the pandemic and the resulting uncertain circumstances, academic institutions are facing major hiring disruptions. This leaves the computing research community at risk of losing yet another class of young researchers who cannot afford to wait out the current disruption and thus may leave the research career path permanently. It is not a stretch to anticipate that the loss of this workforce in the research pipeline will have long-lasting downstream effects on computing innovation and impact.

The Computing Innovation Fellows (CIFellows) Program addresses these issues by providing funding for two-year postdoctoral positions for recent PhD graduates in computer information science and engineering to provide a career-enhancing bridge experience that will give them the opportunity to remain in the academic research community and retain a cohort of early career professionals in areas under the umbrella of NSF CISE.

With funding by the National Science Foundation, the CIFellows 2021 program will offer two-year postdoctoral opportunities in computing, with cohort activities to support career development and community building. This program is open to researchers whose work falls under the National Science Foundation Computing and Information Science and Engineering Directorate and who have completed or plan to complete their PhD between 1/1/20 - 12/31/21. Applicants will work with a mentor from a US academic institution for their postdoc.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.