The Center for Research on Computation and Society solicits applications for its Postdoctoral Fellows Program for the 2009-2010 academic year. Fellows are given an annual stipend of $55,000 for up to three years to engage in a program of original research, and provided with additional funds for travel and research support.

For the past several years, we have recruited outstanding fellows in the specific focus areas of Privacy and Security. This year, we are broadening our search to additional areas related to Computation and Society including (but not limited to):

• Economics and Computer Science
• Health and Medical Computing Technology
• Human Computer Interaction
• Sustainable Computing
• Privacy and Security

Ideal candidates combine a strong technical background in one or more of these areas with a desire to work on key, interdisciplinary issues that are relevant to society. Examples of such issues include privacy and utility for medical record data mining; security and usability for electronic voting; and mechanisms for ensuring security in electronic markets.  Given the purview of the Center, as described below, we are looking especially for researchers with broad interdisciplinary interests, desire to work with both computer scientists and colleagues from other disciplines, and demonstrated interest in connecting their research agenda with societal issues. Fellows work with computer science faculty and others from across Harvard University on their own research.

Harvard University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. We are particularly interested in attracting women and under represented groups to participate in the CRCS Fellows Program.

The Center for Research on Computation and Society

The Center for Research on Computation and Society was founded to develop a new generation of ideas and technologies designed to address some of society’s most vexing problems. The Center brings computer scientists together with economists, psychologists, legal scholars, ethicists, neuroscientists, and other academic colleagues across the University and throughout the world, to address fundamental computational problems that cross disciplines, and to create new technologies informed by societal constraints to address those problems.

Research initiatives that have been launched throughout industry and academia study the intersection of technology and society in two distinct manners: they investigate the effects of information technology on society or study ways to use existing technologies to solve societal problems. The approach of the Harvard Center for Research on Computation and Society is unique in its forward-looking scope and integrative approach, supporting research on innovative computer science and technology informed by societal effects, not merely examining the effects of existing technology on society.

Harvard University provides the ideal venue for this cross-disciplinary research initiative because of the strength and depth of the faculty across schools and academic disciplines. The Computer Science Program at Harvard comprises world-class teams of researchers in artificial intelligence, cryptography and algorithms, learning theory, systems (including networks, databases, programming languages, and operating systems), and computational economics. The Center’s intellectual scope is broadened and strengthened through participation by faculty and associates across Harvard, including the economics, government, and psychology departments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, as well as the Law School, Kennedy School of Government, and Business School.

For further information about the Center and its activities, see http://crcs.seas.harvard.edu/.

Application Procedure

Applicants should send a cover letter, CV, research statement, and copies of up to three research papers, and have up to three letters of reference sent to:

Postdoctoral Fellows Program

crcs-apply@seas.harvard.edu
Center for Research on Computation and Society
Maxwell-Dworkin Laboratory 343
Cambridge, MA 02138

The application deadline for full consideration is February 15, 2009.