Wayne State sustainable computing and computer systems expert to serve as NSF program director

Detroit  - Weisong Shi, Wayne State University professor of computer science, will serve as a program director in the Division of Computer and Networked Systems (CNS) for the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate of Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE).

Shi, a sustainable computing and computer systems expert, will oversee the NSF's "gold standard" merit review process and recommend funding decisions for the Computer Systems Research program within the CNS division, as well as for several other programs that cross the CISE directorate along with other directorates and divisions in NSF. Shi will have the ability to influence new directions in the fields of science, engineering, and education, support cutting-edge interdisciplinary research, and mentor junior researchers.

He will take a temporary leave from Wayne State and begin his new role in Arlington, Va., starting this fall.

"On behalf of the College of Engineering, I congratulate Weisong on this prestigious honor," said Wayne State College of Engineering Dean Farshad Fotouhi. "This is a wonderful opportunity for him to use his academic experience and expertise to help shape a renowned NSF program. His time at NSF will also benefit our college and university, as the knowledge and experience he gains as a result of program participation at such a high level will be helpful upon his return."

Added Shi, "I look forward to gaining experience in the development, coordination and management of large and complex Federal programs, especially those crosscutting programs, such as Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability, Smart and Connected Health, Big Data, and more. This experience will, in turn, help me better understand and identify research problems from a much broader perspective, especially the social, behavioral and economic impact of our current research. "

At Wayne State, Shi directs the Wayne State Mobile and Internet SysTems Laboratory and co-directs the university's Laboratory of Sustainable Computing and the Wireless Health Initiative, investigating performance, trust, power- and energy-efficiency issues of networked computer systems and applications. He also serves as the graduate program officer of the computer science department.

Shi's research has been supported by a variety of governmental and industrial organizations, including the NSF, Department of Veteran Affairs, Air Force Research Laboratory, Gates Foundation, Swedish Research Council and Michigan Life Science Corridor.

He has authored a book and published more than 120 publications, which have been widely cited—more than 2,600 times, according to Google Scholar.

He has chaired several conferences and workshops, and served on technical program committees for numerous international conferences. He is the chair of the IEEE CS Technical Committee on the Internet, and serves on the editorial board of Elsevier Sustainable Computing, the Journal of Computer Science and Technology and International Journal of Sensor Networks.

Shi is a recipient of the National Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Award of China (2002), the NSF CAREER Award (2007), Wayne State Career Development Chair Award (2009), and four best paper awards. He is a senior member of the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM) and IEEE, and a member of the USENIX Association. 

Shi received his B.E. from Xidian University in 1995 and his Ph.D. degree from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2000, both in computer engineering.

###

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering 370 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 29,000 students. For more information about engineering at Wayne State University, visit engineering.wayne.edu.

Contact info

Julie O'Connor

Director, Research Communications
Phone: 313-577-8845
Email: julie.oconnor@wayne.edu