The US National Science Foundation is funding a makeover for the computing industry with a two-year project called New Image for Computing. The WGBH Educational Foundation and the Association for Computing Machinery will be researching and designing new messages to more accurately portray the computing field. The project will test messages that appeal to college-bound high school students, focusing on Hispanic girls and African-American boys. The project, which will launch in June, is intended to make computing a more attractive option for high school students. The project will assemble a coalition of parents, teachers, counselors, college and university groups, and those in the computing community. "We will mobilize thousands of computer professionals to help deliver messages that illuminate the rich diversity of work in the computing field, not just in technology companies but in the many industries that rely on computing technology," stated ACM Executive Director John R. White. The team will also collaborate with iCompute, a national effort of the Image of Computing Task Force. US computer-science enrollments have been on the decline in recent years, creating concern that there will be a shortage of computer scientists.

In-demand technology specialists and other job seekers are accepting new positions at lower salaries, according to Jobfox. The firm’s May survey of the 25 most-in-demand professions found that median salary ranges that those jobseekers asked for dipped by $10,000 compared with the previous month. The median salary range for software designers and developers fell to $85,000-$95,000 in May, down from $95,000-$105,000 in April. The median salary range for product managers fell to $85,000-$95,000, while networking and system administrators earned median salaries in the $65,000-$75,000 range in May. Except for finance and government contract administration, median salaries for the remaining in-demand jobs remained unchanged in May. “Overall, workers remain confident, both about current employment and about their abilities to find new jobs," stated Rob McGovern, Jobfox CEO. "However, like businesses, workers realize that the economy is a bit bumpy and they may have to slightly lower their salary expectations to land the jobs they want."

Sun Microsystems plans to cut 2,500 jobs, about 7 percent of its workforce, in the wake of flat third-quarter revenue. The $3.23 billion in sales generated last quarter was off 5 percent from the $3.28 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. The company’s third-quarter net loss of $34 million, or 4 cents per share, compared with net income of $67 million, or 7 cents per share in the third quarter of 2007. "The U.S. economy presented Sun with significant challenges in the third quarter, masking our progress in developing nations and economies across the world," stated CEO Jonathan Schwartz. Sales doubled in India and Brazil, and sales of the Solaris-based Chip Multi-Threading systems tripled.

Check Point Software Technologies and Tel-Aviv University are partnering to create an information security research institute. The institute, managed by IBM Laboratories researcher Ran Canetti, will finance dozens of academic research studies in various IS fields. The institute will operate a research lab and hold academic conferences. Amos Fiat, head of the university’s School of Computer Science, which enrolls 900 undergraduates and 300 graduates, said Israel's strength depends on a trained and quality workforce.

The US National Science Foundation credits its Math Science Partnership for helping close the achievement gap between African-American and Hispanic students and white students in elementary-school math, and between African-American and white students in elementary- and middle-school science. The partnership links higher-education faculty from science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines with K-12 teachers. The STEM faculty provide professional development and mentoring to math and science teachers to help the teachers improve their content knowledge. The improvement was noted in student scores on state proficiency tests in math and science collected over three different school years.

Despite the slowing economy, strong growth is forecast for the information security industry, largely because it has become a critical business imperative. (ISC)2’s 2008 Global Information Security Workforce Study, estimates that the number of IS professionals worldwide will grow to 2.7 million by 2012, up from today’s 1.7 million—a 10 percent compound annual growth rate. The survey, which garnered more than 7,000 responses, also found a strong outlook for professional development; a majority of respondents expect either stable or higher future training budgets. Spending on IS personnel was stable in most regions, although spending increases were forecast for the Asia-Pacific region. Top training topics included security administration, application and systems security, business continuity and disaster recovery planning, privacy, and information risk management. Furthermore, 78 percent of hiring managers deemed certifications important. “This fourth edition of the study demonstrates more than ever before that information security has become a business imperative for organizations of all sizes, with far-reaching concerns such as corporate reputation, the privacy of customer data, identity theft, and breach of laws and regulations driving information security governance,” said Rob Ayoub, an industry manager for Frost & Sullivan, which conducted the survey.

The rate of entrepreneurial activity among women dropped sharply in 2007 while the activity rate among men and immigrants surged, according to a national assessment of entrepreneurial activity by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. According to the foundation’s index of entrepreneurial activity, 495,000 new businesses per month were started in 2007, slightly up from the previous year. Immigrants were more likely to start a business than native-born Americans; in 2007, 0.46 percent of immigrants were entrepreneurs, up from 0.37 percent in 2006. Only 0.27 percent of native-born Americans started businesses in 2006 and 2007. Men were twice as likely as women to start a business. In 2007, 0.41 percent of men started businesses, compared with 0.35 percent the previous year. The percentage of women entrepreneurs declined to 0.20 percent in 2007, down from 0.23 percent the previous year. More Latinos started businesses in 2007; 0.40 percent, compared with 0.33 percent in 2006.

Google is previewing an application-hosting tool that developers can use to build scalable Web applications on top of Google’s infrastructure. The company said its Google App Engine is designed to make building and scaling applications easier for Web developers, freeing them from focusing on system administration and maintenance. The engine enables applications to be deployed right after the code is written and allow for absorption of traffic spikes. The preview release, intended to solicit input, is limited to the first 10,000 developers that sign up. The developers will be given 500MB of storage and enough CPU and network bandwidth to sustain 5 million page views per month.

Science Applications International Corp. Technical Fellow Katherine L. Morse has received the IEEE Computer Society's 2007 Hans Karlsson Award. A technical expert in modeling and simulation integration, Morse has been involved in the standardization of modeling and simulation technology for more than a decade. The award recognizes Morse "for leadership in development of modeling and simulation standards and exemplary collaboration in establishing the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) Standards Activity Committee (SAC) as an IEEE standards sponsor." Morse is the chair of the SISO SAC. The award was established in 1992 in memory of Hans Karlsson, chairman and father of the IEEE 1301 family of standards.

The Anita Borg Institute is auctioning off meetings with its board members and advisers as a means of raising money to help industry, academia, and government recruit, retain, and develop women leaders in the field of high tech. The inaugural Women of Vision Auction Fundraiser auction will go live on eBay on April 28 and close 11 days later. Participants can bid on lunch meetings with Alan Eustace, Google senior vice president of engineering and research; Bill Unger, a partner emeritus in the Mayfield Fund; Fran Berman, a professor of computer science and engineering at University of California San Diego; Justin Rattner, Intel CTO; Kathy Hill, senior vice president of access networking and services group at  Cisco Systems; Penny Herscher, firstRain president and CEO; Rick Rashid, senior vice president of research at Microsoft; Telle Whitney, president and CEO of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology; and Rami Branitzky, managing director of SAP Labs North America.

The computer, mathematics, and engineering professions continue to be among the five most secure professions, according to a Delaware risk analytics company. In Scorelogix’ February job security index, the computer and mathematics profession ranked 206, flat compared with the previous month, while the engineering profession ranked 201.8, slightly down from January. The only professions that ranked higher were the legal and education, training, and library professions. Overall, Scorelogix’ job-security index fell to 136.3 in February, marking its third consecutive decline. More than 90 percent of occupational categories the firm tracks declined in February. The spread between the states with the highest and the lowest job security rose from 91.9 in January to 94.3 in February. Hawaii and Michigan had the highest and lowest levels of job security, respectively.

Three federal reports show an increasing supply of scientists and engineers, in addition to a strong labor market. According to the National Science Foundation, in 2006, there was a 4.3 percent increase in the number of people working in science and engineering, and a 2.5 percent unemployment rate, the lowest since the early 1990s. The NSF sought the input of those with at least a bachelor's degree in science, engineering or related degrees or occupations through the National Survey of College Graduates, the National Survey of Recent College Graduates, and the Survey of Doctorate Recipients. Together, the surveys are known as the Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System, or SESTAT. The survey of college graduates indicated no shortage of jobs for scientists and engineers. (http://nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08305/). The 2.5 percent unemployment rate for scientists and engineers compared to unemployment rates of 6 percent and 4.7 percent respectively for the entire U.S. labor force. The survey of recent college grads found that 1.9 million new science and engineering grads—about half of them women—entered the workforce or continued their education.

After surveying more than 1,000 CIOs around the world during the first three months, Gartner stands by its projection that enterprises will increase their IT budgets by about 3.3 percent this year. However, the survey uncovered some evidence that the slowing economy was making itself felt in some IT budgets. While 62 percent of CIOs reported no change in their 2008 IT budgets, 23 percent indicated a decline, and 15 percent an increase in their budgets. Those reporting declines said they pared an estimated 10 percent from their committed budgets. And those reporting additional spending pegged the increases at 15 percent. “Overall, the majority of CIOs reported no change in their 2008 committed budgets. This indicates that IT budgets are not the target-rich environment for cost-cutting they have been in the past,” stated Mark McDonald, group vice president and head of research for Gartner Executive Programs. McDonald added that there was some softness, particularly in the United States where overall IT budget growth rates have slowed to 2.3 percent, from previous 3.1 percent levels.

Lower-than-expected sales across all business segments prompted AMD to scale back its revenue projections and implement a restructuring that would eliminate 1,600 employees, or 10 percent of its workforce. In the wake of that announcement, published reports began circulating that AMD’s technology chief Phil Hester, who was in charge of AMD’s microprocessor products, would leave the company. AMD has delayed release of its quad-core Barcelona chip for the server market, while rival Intel has gained steam. AMD said it expects its first-quarter revenue to be down 15 percent from the previous quarter.

Innovation First, a maker of educational and competitive robotics products, and Autodesk, a maker of 2D and 3D design software, are teaming up to develop a new curriculum for VEX Robotics Design System Classroom Lab Kits. The curriculum will feature Autodesk’s Inventor software, which is used by professional robotics engineers. Available beginning this spring, the curriculum is designed to bring real-world experience to science and technology teaching methods in secondary and post-secondary education settings. It will comply with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education standards, and contains 18 modules, each containing its own lesson, concept and activity. “Studies have shown, and teachers have told us, that they need hands-on activities in the classroom to help students get engaged in all the important subjects of STEM,” stated Jason Morrella, senior director of education and competition at Innovation First. The VEX system is being used in more than 2,000 classrooms.

The technology industry added jobs nationally and in each state in 2007, although growth was a meager 1.6 percent and down from the previous year, according to AeA. The high-tech trade association's annual Cyberstates report estimated that the industry increased by 91,400 net jobs in 2007, a decline from 139,000 in 2006, but still slightly ahead of the 87,400 jobs added in 2005. Software services, which expanded by 82,600 positions in 2006, and engineering and tech services, which increased by 45,800 jobs, continued their three-year growth streak. However, 29,800 jobs were lost in high-tech manufacturing, with 2006 declines in all manufacturing sectors except for defense electronics and electromedical equipment. The communications sector shrank by 7,200 positions, less than half of the 16,900 lost the year before. "While we are certainly pleased to report that the technology industry added jobs nationally and across nearly every state, national tech growth slowed in 2007, making the story good but not great," stated AeA CEO Christopher Hansen. With wages that are about 87 percent higher than overall private-sector wages, tech jobs make a major contribution to the economy, Hansen added.
 

Technology companies' annual competition for scarce foreign-worker visas resulted in a rush of about 200,000 applications this week, according to news reports. Immigration attorneys had expected about 150,000 applications for the 65,000 H-1B visas the government approves each year. Although the government awarded 195,000 H-1B visas annually between 2001 and 2003 due to the Internet boom, the number has been capped at 65,000 since then, resulting in the quota being quickly exhausted. Technology companies such as Microsoft have lobbied long and hard for the cap to be raised to erase what they see as a skilled-labor shortage. However, US technology workers have countered that relying on foreign workers is a ploy that companies use to get away with paying lower pages. The H-1B visas are good for three years, and can be extended an additional three years. The American Immigration Lawyers Association estimates that qualified applicants have only a 30-percent chance of their applications being accepted, noting that the cap has been exhausted before the fiscal year starts for the past five years.
 

The electronic design automation industry experienced a 6.7-percent revenue surge in the fourth quarter of 2007, with employment up 7.7 percent, according to the EDA Consortium Market Statistics Service. The tracked companies employed 27,563 people in the fourth quarter of 2007, up 7.7 percent from the 25,586 employed in the year-ago quarter. Robert Gardner, executive director of the EDA Consortium, stated that Japan experienced double-digit growth. Revenue in the computer-aided engineering sector, the EDA's largest, increased by 13.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, while sales in the IC physical design and verification sector, the EDA's second largest, increased by 14.3 percent year over year. Services revenue experienced a modest 3-percent growth, while revenue for semiconductor intellectual property and circuit board and multi-chip modules declined by 6.3 percent and 10.4 percent respectively, year over year.
 

HP has launched a women's health-training program as part of an effort to improve conditions for its supply-chain workers. The company, which also revealed a list of its biggest suppliers, developed the HERproject (Health Enables Returns project) in response to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation's study of women's reproductive health in Mexico and China. The HERproject is being introduced next month at Pegatron Technology and Foxconn in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in partnership with Business for Social Responsibility. The project will assess female workers, train peer educators, and share health knowledge. Breast cancer, diabetes, hypertension, human papillomavirus, cervical cancer, obesity and nutrition, family planning and reproductive health, domestic violence prevention, and childcare will be among the issues addressed. The HERproject will also be launched in China.
 

Senior-level jobseekers report that they are being called in on fewer interviews due to the slowing economy. However, even so, they still expect to land a job in six months or less. In its quarterly job-market report for executives, TheLadders.com found that three-quarters of its respondents had noticed a decline in calls for interviews. Boston, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington, DC remained the best locales for finding executive positions paying more than $100,000 a year. According to TheLadders, hiring firms are mostly in the technology and pharmaceutical fields. Abbott Laboratories, Cisco Systems, Expedia, Genzyme, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, and Sun Microsystems were among the companies with the most open positions.