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From: David Farber <dave@farber.net>
Subject: [IP] Gates: Lack of Computer Science Spending Is 'Kind of a Crime'
Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2005 17:56:58 -0400
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Gates: Lack of Computer Science Spending Is 'Kind of a Crime'
By Darryl K. Taft
July 19, 2005
In a wide-ranging discussion Microsoft chairman and chief software=20=20
architect Bill Gates offered his views on the decline in government=20=20
funding for computer science research, hiring in the industry,=20=20
solving hard IT problems and bringing more women into the field,=20=20
among other issues.
At the sixth annual Microsoft Research Faculty Summit at Microsoft's=20=20
Redmond, Wash., headquarters, Gates and Princeton University Dean of=20=20
Engineering and Applied Science Maria Klawe sat down for a chat on=20=20
the issues facing the industry overall and the research community.
Speaking on the decline in federal government funding for research in=20=20
computer science, Gates said, "It's kind of a crime that as computer=20=20
science is about to solve some of the most interesting problems=85and=20=20
is becoming the toolkit for all the sciences," the government should=20=20
pull back on some of its funding.
Gates said that although much of the funding from Defense Department=20=20
and classified agencies has been reduced, he would expect other=20=20
sectors of the government, such as the National Institutes of Health,=20=20
to pick up the slack. Meanwhile Defense-related funding "has become=20=20
shorter-term or more focused," Gates said.
"We want to be as strong an advocate as we can be that the government=20=20
is making a mistake here," Gates said, noting that computer science=20=20
"is the change agent of the time."
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Are investors betting on .Net? Click here to read more.
Moreover, Gates said there are two barriers the U.S. high tech=20=20
industry "must be very clever about." One is the boundary between=20=20
academia and commercial research, and the second is the barrier=20=20
within companies between their research groups and their product groups.
Gates cited the example of Xerox Corp.'s Palo Alto Research Center=20=20
and all the technology it spawned, which helped Microsoft and Apple=20=20
Computer Inc. and a host of other companies.
"We're saying to companies 'You ought to invest more in R&D,' this is=20=20
our competitive edge," he said. "If you look at our competitors=97put=20=20
aside IBM, they're sort of a special case=97the investment [in R&D] is=20=
=20
pretty small."
Indeed, Microsoft is concerned about staffing its research and=20=20
product groups, Gates said.
"I'm very worried about it," Gates said. "Microsoft is trying to hire=20=20
every great college graduate that has computer science skills=85"
Microsoft taps both native-born talent and foreign talent, but Gates=20=20
said he is frustrated that more U.S. students are not going into=20=20
computer science. "The fastest growing major is physical education,"=20=20
he said. "The Chinese are going to wake up and say we missed this=20=20
opportunity," he joked.
In particular, Gates said finding recruits who have project=20=20
management skills is difficult. Management overall is an area of=20=20
need, he said. Indeed Gates said he welcomes students coming out of=20=20
engineering management career tracks.
"We often have to push people into it," he said, noting that not so=20=20
many programmers want to get involved in managing people. "We can=20=20
promise people in this career path most of their work won't be coding."
Moreover, "the competition for somebody who's got the right=20=20
background is phenomenal," Gates said.
In the '80s Microsoft looked at things a little differently when it=20=20
came to hiring, Gates said. "We weren't looking for a specific skill,=20=20
we wanted somebody who understood the field," he said.
"We look for people who have written reasonable programs=97that gives=20=20
us a sense of would they enjoy this for the long run," Gates said.=20=20
"If they said they'd read 'The Art of Computer Programming' and they=20=20
did all the problems, I'd hire them right away!"
Klawe chimed in: "So would I!"
Gates went on to say "What you're really teaching about design is=20=20
pretty much the same information you used to teach 30 years ago=85=20=20
There may be some rich runtimes we could give the person to make them=20=20
feel they are working with something cool and interesting."
Meanwhile, Gates said the industry now faces problems that need to be=20=20
solved.
"We have an interesting dilemma coming up in that clock speeds are=20=20
not going up much from 3 to 5 gigahertz," he said. "That turns out to=20=20
be one of the great unsolved problems. We need brilliant people=20=20
thinking about that problem" and others, Gates said.
One place to find new blood for the computer industry is among women.=20=20
Klawe noted that "computer science is the only field in science and=20=20
engineering where participation of women has gone down."
Klawe said computer science lags behind math, and "we're behind=20=20
physics in some areas." And Klawe said Asia is not better in terms of=20=20
numbers of women in the field.
In fact, the top two countries for women in computer science are=20=20
Ireland and Turkey, Klawe said. "Part of that is this is the dominant=20=20
economy in Ireland right now=85and there is a lot of single-sex=20=20
education there and girls find their way into particular programs."
In contrast, Klawe said the number of women in law and medicine has=20=20
reached parity with men. Why? "I think there is a correlation with TV=20=20
shows," that even when Klawe was a teenager, showed women happily at=20=20
work in those fields. "I think computer science is a lot more=20=20
creative than the jobs doctors and lawyers have," she said, asking=20=20
why Hollywood doesn't do more with the IT field.
Replied Gates with a chuckle: "Say a bunch of movie cameras went over=20=20
there to that Microsoft office building with cameras, it wouldn't be=20=20
so exciting."
Klawe said she doubts the average law firm or medical practice would=20=20
be so entertaining either.
Meanwhile, Gates touched on a few of his favorite Microsoft things.=20=20
"Every student should have a Tablet," he said. Also, "the Xbox is=20=20
sexy because it's a video game. The first year we knew we didn't have=20=20
the credibility or the skill set to be the leader," but now Microsoft=20=20
is in the thick of the game," he said.
Web search is another area Gates singled out. Web search "is an=20=20
example of a competitor doing well and we have to catch them and get=20=20
ahead of them."
In addition, "I've always had a small bias for the things we do that=20=20
help people at work."
But Gates also spoke of how Microsoft technology helps make change in=20=20
less developed countries in areas such as healthcare. He mentioned a=20=20
doctor in Mozambique that uses an Access database to track the health=20=20
history of people in the village where he works.
"This technology, because it's now very low-cost, high-volume stuff,=20=20
can be used at a very low cost," Gates said.
Rick Rashid, senior vice president of research at Microsoft, said=20=20
Microsoft is trying to "make sure computer science remains one of the=20=20
top areas people want to go into." He said the past year has been a=20=20
"really great year" for Microsoft Research," having published more=20=20
than the division ever has before.
<http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1838435,00.asp>
W
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