Academic Careers for Experimental Computer Scientists and Engineers (1994) / Chapter Skim
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1 What is Experimental Computer Science and Engineering?
1 What is Experimental Computer Science and Engineering?
Pages 9-33
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From page 9... ...
computers fits the definition given above, the field did not emerge until perhaps the mid-1960s as an identifiable research discipline distinct from either numerical computation or what has since become known as theoretical computer science. With the need for ECSE faculty greatly exceeding the supply, the Feldman reports in 1979 identified the limited availability of computer hardware as the principal constraint on the production of Ph.D.s in the field.
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From page 10... ...
To the extent that these latter views are valid, there are several major implications. In the absence of a fair and balanced academic reward system for ECSE faculty, promising and talented experimental computer scientists and engineers may well forsake academic life in disproportionate numbers, leaving an academic community unduly weighted toward theoretical work and increasingly irrelevant to computing practice.
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From page 11... ...
ORGANIZATION AND SCOPE OF THIS REPORT The remainder of this chapter sets experimental computer science and engineering in context, defines it, describes defining characteristics of its research methodologies, and then elaborates on the need to conduct ECSE research at universities. Chapter 2 describes the requirements of academic career development in ECSE, along with the infrastructure and support needs of experimental computer scientists and engineers.
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From page 12... ...
Although each of these subdisciplines has an experimental and a theoretical component, all but the last have been domains of intensive experimental research. Another description of the field, "Computing as a Discipline" (also known as the Denning report)
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From page 13... ...
The Denning report must continually append to the design component the phrase "and implementational issues" to make the connection to constructing artifacts. A formulation recognizing an experimental and a theoretical component in each topic area might have been more descriptive of the field.
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From page 14... ...
194) , the definition of theoretical computer science is discussed in "A Note on Terminology." Although the assertion that theory is usually construed too narrowly is certainly true, the revised definition, "all nonexperimental work in CS&E intended to build mathematical foundations and models for describing, explaining, and understanding various aspects of computing," is somewhat vague because experimentation could equally be defined as "all nontheoretical work ...." In fact, formulating models for describing, explaining, and understanding various aspects of computing in whatever form is fundamental to the field as a whole, whether the research is experimental or theoretical in nature.
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From page 15... ...
The less constrained quality of this synthetic discipline can be at once liberating to the imagination and at odds sometimes with the traditional assumptions of academic career development in the sciences. In later chapters, this point is discussed further.
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From page 16... ...
suite, structural descriptions such as the Utah Tea Pot, and so on.8 Other things that experimentalists build and study might be classified as artifacts by some, but not all practitioners would agree. Programming languages, architectures, protocols, and methodologies, such as object-oriented programming, the spiral approach to software development, and domino logic, are examples.
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From page 17... ...
Consequently, the processes, algorithms, and/or mechanisms must be implemented so that the behavior of the system and the interaction of the components can be observed in action. Artifacts serve three easily identifiable roles in ECSE research, although there are probably others.
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From page 19... ...
Proof of Concept An artifact acting in the proof-of-concept role demonstrates by its behavior that a complex assembly of components can accomplish a particular set of activities, behavior that could not be argued simply by logical reasoning or abstract argument from first principles. To illustrate by analogy this role in helping ECSE researchers understand complex systems, imagine that frogs did not exist but were being created for the first time.
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From page 20... ...
The demonstration of the device conveyed the essence of the new phenomenon beyond any amount of description of how or how well it worked. Summary The three roles of artifacts are described above in the order of the frequency with which they are likely to appear in ECSE research: the proof-of-existence role (mentioned last)
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From page 21... ...
The processor required 1.1 million transistors, and so the resulting computer contained more than 1 billion transistors devoted to active logic, not memory.1l A1though this project may be less complex than the superconducting super collider or an array telescope, it should be kept in mind that the I-machine is not a mega-project supporting an entire field. It is the experiment of a single, moderate-size research team a typical contemporary machine design project, of which there are several ongoing at any time.
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From page 22... ...
Indeed, reducing complexity may itself be a creative accomplishment of significance. Yet when the ECSE researcher is successful in reducing complexity, the allure of a more ambitious goal reintroduces additional complexity and complicates the creation of artifacts in a new way.
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From page 23... ...
Experimental software artifacts require significant software technology infrastructure, although this is not widely appreciated. Such software takes different forms, including developmental tools such as advanced programming languages or "tool kits," subsystems for performing sophisticated kinds of analysis such as dependence analysis or symbolic expression transformers, and standard "parts" such as symbol tables, YACC, and window systems.
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From page 24... ...
Because there is no reason in principle that the functionality of a precarious artifact cannot be incorporated into or used in conjunction with an artifact currently under development, the expectation generally is that it must be. A familiar computing application, document preparation, illustrates this phenomenon, but it occurs widely in more technical situations: the original text editors, which simply allowed the easy creation of files of characters, soon became "word processors" with the addition of sophisticated formatting and laser printing capabilities.
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From page 25... ...
That is, theoreticians in computer science tend to prove theorems, and the standards for demonstrating correctness are very similar to those traditionally used in mathematics. A good deal of modeling work, which in other engineering disciplines might be considered theoretical in nature, is conducted by experimentalists.
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From page 26... ...
Although many of the subareas within CS&E are studied theoretically, research in theoretical computer science is coupled to experimental work only in certain specialized topics in which the idealized problem aligns well with the practical problem. For example, language theory underpins the parsing component of compilation, and complexity theory underpins data encryption.
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From page 27... ...
The fact that experimentation and theory are today largely independent areas with little interplay introduces the possibility that a computer science or engineering faculty member might not be well acquainted with research methodologies in the "other" specialty.15 That possibility raises serious concerns about how professional accomplishments are to be evaluated for the purposes of promotion (see Chapter 4~. A Succinct Definition of Experimental Computer Science and Engineering With the foregoing background, a succinct definition of ECSE can be formulated: ECSE involves the creation of, or the experimentation with or on, computational artifacts.
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From page 28... ...
become the subject of academic study and because they are not well treated in terms of their scientific content in secondary schools, college science "literacy" classes, or the popular scientific press, artifacts may not be as widely understood as, say, biological phenomena. This section elaborates further on artifacts and their roles in ECSE.
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From page 29... ...
Simulation is a powerful methodology, and ECSE researchers use simulation extensively. Occasionally it is asked, Why create the artifact at all?
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From page 30... ...
A considerable amount of engineering research is devoted to improving artifacts; thus, aerospace engineers try to build better planes, civil engineers try to build better roads, and experimental computer scientists and engineers try to build better computing systems. However, despite the importance of the end user, a great deal of engineering research is devoted to improving these artifacts in ways that are not necessarily obvious to the end user (e.g., the artifact is made easier to manufacture)
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From page 31... ...
, designers of computing artifacts nearly always have greater functionality as a design option, principally because no physical constraints prevent it. WHY UNIVERSITIES SHOULD PERFORM ECSE RESEARCH Because industrial products grow quite naturally out of the artifacts of ECSE, it could be asked, Why shouldn't ECSE be the exclusive province of industry?
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From page 32... ...
Individual institutions develop their own research styles and foci, and if the institutions doing such research are too few, important avenues of investigation may be overlooked. Many universities have become more competitive in ECSE research over the past dozen years through programs such as the NSF's Coordinated Experimental Research program, the Defense Department's University Research Instrumentation program, and corporate equipment donations.
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From page 33... ...
Universities offer different advantages, including the enthusiasm and imagination of graduate students and a wide freedom to select topics for study. Despite these differences, both settings have produced important experimental research ideas in recent years.
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