Last week, the federal government I finish Hundreds of research grants for Harvard University professors from a wide range of study fields. This comes in the wake of the conflict between Harvard University, among other universities, and Trump administration.
To summarize: Trump administration has accused Harvard not doing enough to combat anti -Semitism on the campus and making a series of Demand To the university. Harvard has to reject To comply, on the pretext that the demands violate the first amendment and rise to the amount that the government is limited to. The Trump administration took revenge by ending the grants to Harvard from National Science CorporationNational Institutes of Health and others.
Yesterday, the administration Propagate Cut all the remaining federal funds to Harvard.
Vijay Janaba Rafda He is an associate professor of engineering and applied science at Harvard University and he specializes in Computer structureSpecifically edge devices such as Smart watchesand Smartphonesand Independent vehiclesAnd more. His team focuses on making Edge computing More sustainable by rethinking how these systems are designed and published in the real world. He is also a member of IEEE.
Last week, while his group was working hard to meet the deadline for the abstract presentation of the distinguished Nervousness Conference, Janaba Rafdi learned that three of his grants had been terminated. IEEE SICTRUM He caught with him about his experience and how the Trump administration’s actions will affect his field of study.
How and when you discovered that your giving was terminated?
Vijay Janaba Redda:It was around 10 pm when the interior emails that cut the grants came out. We were deep in the application mode for Nervousness The deadline, so I felt surreal. Initially, I tried to stay concentrated, and do business as usual. But as the news sank the next day, the scale of the disorder became evident.
What is the most likely trying to keep reality simultaneously: proceed with your work, while watching the foundation below it also begins to collapse. This cognitive dissonance is difficult to carry.
What did you do under these grants?
Janda Rafdi:One grant focused on Sustainability On the extreme edge, where computing should work in strict limits settings on energy, cost and available materials. These systems are published in places such as food supply chains and agricultural fields, Environmental sensorsAnd health care Diagnosis In disadvantaged areas. In such environments, computing can not be simply adding. It should be re -imagined to fit within the preparation restrictions while continuing to achieve a meaningful effect.
For example, food damage monitoring is not only related to linking a daily computer slice to a can of apple to monitor food deterioration. In many cases, the cost of this slide will exceed the value of the food itself. The deepest question is how to mainly redesign computing to be a developed and sustainable process in resource -bound contexts. This challenge led us to explore new types of devices, including flexibility, Non -silicon micro processors Based on the open RISC-V. The instruction group. These systems are subject to low -cost, and suitable for real applications where traditional computing models limit. Work is in line with United Nations sustainable development goals It seeks to bring technological innovation to the places you need more.
Another project we were working on was through mlcommonsNon -profit organization where I work as vice president. Help MLCOCOMONS create some of the original industry Automatic learning standardsEnhancing joint evaluation criteria all over the field. One of our modern research initiatives focuses on supporting development The basis forms of scientific applications. We have worked to build an open source ecosystem that enables contributions to the broader society, while coordinating a set of criteria designed for artificial intelligence.
The other grant was intended to support a community workshop that we were organizing to bring researchers on the challenges and common opportunities. This effort was part of our broader commitment to education General participationThat is compatible with National Science CorporationThe task of ensuring that research provides knowledge and access to a broader audience.
What is the effect of this on your research?
Janda Rafdi:The immediate effect is cLear: I must stop or evaluate without financing. The deepest anxiety is what happens after that. Search does not descend like switching. For all of us, relax slowly and take time to restore the lost momentum. It is somewhat similar to stopping the shipping train. You can’t stop it immediately, and as soon as it stops, transferring it again takes more energy and time. The search is the same. This depends on people, planning and long -term vision, which can not be restarted overnight.
What do long -term effects see these cuts?
Janda Rafdi: I still believe in the strength of the ecosystem for American higher education and research. It has a long history of height in challenges, converting restrictions into incentives for innovation. But moments of such a test are our flexibility. The global visualization of American research is at risk. The disturbances such as these send a message related to the next generation of scientists, engineers and innovators all over the world. This is concerned because what makes American research exceptional not only the level of financing but the fixed flow of talent, the diversity of thought, the culture of open competition and cooperation.
Perhaps the most important thing to be aware is that the research itself is almost secondary. Start with people. If you look at any company with a trillion dollar market value and ask what is paying the long -term technology road map, it is not the agent of Amnesty International drawn. It is the people behind it, the people who build, interrogate them, imagine, and create them. If we do not invest in training these people at the highest level, where will the next wave come from innovation?
What do you want to see forward?
Janda Rafdi: Silence from those who have benefited from higher education is the most described – the people who obtained their certificates, built their lives on this basis, and know the number of doors that you can open. If we want our children to have the same opportunities that we have done, we cannot take these opportunities as a Muslim in it. As beneficiaries of this system, we have a responsibility not only to protect it but to renew it, so that these doors are still open and still lead to greater possibilities.
This is especially true in areas such as sustainable computing, where challenges are urgent and tangible effect. Whether this reduces food waste or building energy -saving intelligence systems, these efforts cannot be stopped indefinitely. We also presented our work to Nervousness Last week, he reminded me of why this is important. We are not just writing papers. We are trying to build a more intelligent, more sustainable and more just future. To do this, we need a system that still believes in investing in the future.
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