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 ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as eugen@leitl.org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/ ----- End forwarded message ----- -- Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> ______________________________________________________________ ICBM: 48.07078, 11.61144 http://www.leitl.org 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE http://moleculardevices.org http://nanomachines.net [demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type application/pgp-signature]