Challenges in Computer Science in Brazil

W hat do the following research topics have in common: analyzing the performance of a wireless network with millions of nodes, forecasting erosion effects of human occupation around a lake, studying a new medication’s long-term effects on human metabolism, simulating crowd behavior in an emergency evacuation, and estimating the impact of the flight of a hummingbird in the pollination of flowers in a given area? Answer: They’re examples of possible research proposals within one of the five Grand Research Challenges in Computer Science proposed by the Brazilian Computer Society (SBC) in 2006.1 This specific challenge concerns computational models of phenomena, whether artificial (the wireless network), natural (pollination), social (crowd behavior), or a result of human interaction with nature (erosion). Model design and implementation are key issues within these challenges. Why did SBC lead the effort to identify the challenges? It detected the need for novel proactive actions to foster long-term planning and research in computer science in Brazil. Furthermore, SBC hoped to enhance cooperation with other scientific domains and provide input to public R&D policymakers. How were the challenges identified? They were the result of a two-day Grand Challenge workshop organized by SBC in May 2006, with funding from the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and the Ministry of Education foundation that promotes the development of graduate and research programs (CAPES). What are these Grand Challenges? They represent five broad long-term research directions in computer science. They are intimately related with issues whose solution will advance science and have technological, social, and economic impact in Brazil. Table 1 lists the challenges, indicating for each a key research factor involved.