EAGER: Exploring the History and Impact of the Computing and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate of the National Science Foundation

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The purpose of this project is to study the role of funded initiatives and investments as they impacted computing research, infrastructure and education. It explores and documents the important milestones in the NSF support of computing, providing a thematic framework for NSF development of organizations, programs and initiatives that catalyzed the fledgling field of computer and information science and engineering. The project also explores the NSF role in the context of national and federal investments in information technology. This study will document and describe the arc of computing history in terms of institutional evolution and programmatic thrusts that have served to move computing forward in the Nation. It will bring together in one place public documents relevant to the organizational history of CISE from FY1985 to FY2016.The outcomes of the Study (milestones, organizational history, relevant documents and thematic framework) will provide a resource for historians and policy experts in a publicly accessible manner. The data collected will enable and simplify the future work of historians of science, national study committees, and policy makers. The narratives will simplify the work of some of these groups, as well as to serve as useful sources for a wide variety of educational usages.Specifically, the study will:1. Examine how the roles of NSF's Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) programs have evolved as other NSF units, federal agencies and industries have modified their focus and level of support for computing research, education and infrastructure;2. Identify national, federal, NSF and CISE special initiatives with background and context, including the reports that help define or assess these initiatives;3. Describe the role of organizations and individuals in implementing programs and initiatives;4. Develop a series of evolving themes that characterize NSF's investment strategy for computer and information science and engineering research, education and infrastructure;5. Develop a series of accessible narratives.The project team will establish a Study Advisory Committee, which will review interim reports, databases, and other artifacts developed during the study.