Computing Research for Sustainability

Description

The National Academies Press, 2012. - 173 pages.The focus of this book is "greening through IT," the application of computing to promote sustainability broadly. The aim of this report is twofold: to shine a spotlight on areas where IT innovation and computer science (CS) research can help, and to urge the computing research community to bring its approaches and methodologies to bear on these pressing global challenges. The book focuses on addressing medium- and long-term challenges in a way that would have significant, measurable impact.The findings and recommended principles of the Committee on Computing Research for Environmental and Societal Sustainability concern four areas: - the relevance of IT and CS to sustainability; - the value of the CS approach to problem solving, particularly as it pertains to sustainability challenges; - key CS research areas; and - strategy and pragmatic approaches for CS research on sustainability.Contents Relevance of Information Technology and Computer Science to Sustainability The Value of the Computer Science Approach to Problem Solving Systems—Scale, Heterogeneity, Interconnection, Optimization, and Human Interaction Iteration Computer Science Research Areas Strategy and Pragmatic Approaches Emphasize Bottom-Up Approaches and Concreteness Use Appropriate Evaluation Criteria for Proposals and Results Apply CS Philosophy and Approach Foster Sustainability Research Through Funding Initiatives Foster Needed Multidisciplinary Approaches Blend Sustainability and Education Opportunities to Achieve Significant Sustainability Objectives Built Infrastructure and Systems Ecosystems and the Environment Sociotechnical Systems Illustrative Examples in Information Technology and Sustainability Toward a Smarter Electric Grid Sustainable Food Systems Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructures Conclusion Measurement and Instrumentation Coping with Self-Defining Physical Information The Design and Capacity Planning of Physical Information Services Software Stacks for Physical Infrastructures Information-Intensive Systems Big Data Heterogeneity of Data Coping with the Need for Data Proxies Coping with Biased, Noisy Data Coping with Multisource Data Streams Analysis, Modeling, Simulation, and Optimization Developing and Using Multiscale Models Combining Statistical and Mechanistic Models Decision Making Under Uncertainty Human-Centered Systems Supporting Deliberation, Civic Engagement, Education, and Community Action Design for Sustainability Human Understanding of Sensing, Modeling, and Simulation Tools to Help Organizations and Individuals Engage in More Sustainable Behavior Mitigation, Adaption, and Disaster Response Using Information from Resource-Usage Sensing Conclusion Computer Science Approaches for Addressing Sustainability Toward Universality Education and Programmatics Evaluation, Viability, and Impact Analysis Conclusion A Summary of a Workshop on Innovation in Computing and Information Technology for Sustainability B Biographies of Committee Members and Staff