Call for Nominations - NRC project on Information Fusion and Data Mining

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Lin, Herb" <HLin () nas edu>
Date: November 1, 2004 10:52:31 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Call for Nominations - NRC project on Information Fusion and 
Data Mining

Dave - given the interest of your constituency in this subject.. We'd 
surely appreciate a posting of this notice, since you have access to a 
broader range of people than we normally have.

Thanks.

herb




CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

for a National Research Council study on

Technical and Policy Dimensions of Large-scale Government Use of

 Information Fusion and Data Mining

PLEASE POST WIDELY

(and apologies for duplicate postings)

The subjects of data mining and information fusion are in the forefront 
of many public policy discussions about how the nation should exploit 
information technology for purposes such as counter-terrorism, law 
enforcement, and public health.  Recognizing the concerns raised in 
such discussions, the National Research Council is launching a project 
that will examine technical and policy issues associated with the 
large-scale government use of information fusion and data mining for 
such purposes.  In addition to examining the technical problems and 
needs, it will consider the social and policy issues, such as privacy, 
that arise with the prospect of such use and consider how alternative 
approaches to both technology and policy can help to resolve them. 

 The National Research Council (NRC) is the operating arm of the 
National Academies (<http://www.nationalacademies.org>), which include 
the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, 
and the Institute of Medicine.  The National Academies were created by 
congressional charter to advise the nation on matters of public policy 
that involve science and technology.  The NRC - a non-profit 
organization - works outside the framework of government to ensure 
independent advice to the government through the use of committees 
composed of the nation's top scientists, engineers, and other experts 
-- all of whom serve pro bono in the national interest to examine 
specific topics and issues.  Within the NRC, this project is being 
undertaken by the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board 
(<http://www.cstb.org>) in cooperation with the NRC's Committee on 
National Statistics (<http://www7.nationalacademies.org/cnstat/>).

For this project, a broad range of perspectives is required on the 
committee that will oversee this project.  Individuals with expertise 
are sought in fields such as distributed systems, databases and 
information retrieval, data mining, intelligent agents, system 
security, systems integration and architecture, economics, sociology, 
statistics, political science, intellectual property, privacy, and 
civil liberties. 

 Committee membership (limited to about 15 individuals) will be based 
on personal expertise and a dedication to drawing conclusions based on 
the analysis of data and information, and not on satisfying 
requirements for political representativeness.  And, while it seeks 
nominations from a wide variety of sources, the National Research 
Council reserves the exclusive right to determine the membership of the 
committee. 

 In accordance with NRC policy for all of its studies, committee 
members will also be vetted for both bias and direct financial 
conflicts of interest, both in selecting the members initially and also 
by the committee itself in closed session, when it meets for the first 
time. 

 Committee members should be

 **  willing and able to work collegially with other committee members 
of differing perspectives to reach consensus on information-based 
analysis.  They should have a demonstrated ability to consider opposing 
views carefully and respectfully, and be willing and able to act as an 
individual rather than a representative of any organization or 
movement.

**  sufficiently senior in their fields to warrant broad respect for 
their intellect, fairness, and stature.

**  able to put in the time needed on this project (perhaps 6 meetings, 
each of 2-3 days, over the course of 18-21 months, plus inter-meeting 
work such as reading and commenting on report draft materials). 

 During the course of the project, the study committee expects to hear 
from many other individuals through panel briefings, testimony, white 
papers and other channels for input.  

 Obviously, committee membership is limited (probably 15 or so 
individuals) and thus additional perspectives will be sought through 
briefings, a major convening, and a call for input that will be issued 
shortly.

A good illustration of the kinds of persons sought for this project is 
provided by the committee assembled in 1994-1996 to study national 
cryptography policy, another highly controversial area.  The committee 
was chaired by a former Deputy Secretary of State, and included (among 
others) a former Deputy Director of the National Security Agency, a 
former Attorney General of the United States, a former Deputy Attorney 
General, the inventor of public-key cryptography, the director of 
research and development for the Digital Equipment Corporation, and the 
creator of Lotus Notes.  Persons of comparable stature are sought for 
this project as well.  (This report can be found at 
<http://books.nap.edu/catalog/5131.html>.)

Please forward nominations (self-nominations acceptable) to 
DMIF-INPUT () NAS EDU.   Submitted nominations should include contact 
information, biographies (including relevant published works, public 
statements, and current or former positions of relevance), and 
indications of relevant expertise and the perspective on the subject 
that the nominee will bring.  The "subject" line of the e-mail should 
say "committee nomination."  While nominations may be submitted at any 
time, nominations received after November 22, 2004, or without the 
information described above, may not be fully considered.

More information about the project can be found at 
http://www.cstb.org/project_infofusion.html.



___________________________________________
Herb Lin, Senior Scientist
 Computer Science and Telecommunications Board
 The National Academies
 (202) 334-3191 voice || (202) 334-2318 fax || hlin () nas edu
 www.cstb.org || Where the nation turns for independent and informed 
assessments of computing, communications, and public policy

 

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