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I M A G E F R O M S H U T T E R S T O C K . C O M

the City University of New York, and Cornell University, with 63 postdocs participating since the start of the program) led by Shih-Fu Chang and Julia Hirschberg; a consortium of the three research universities in Arizona led by Chitta Baral and Partha Dasgupta at Arizona State University and including the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University ( 47 postdocs since the start of the program); and a single CS department program at the University of Washington ( 50 postdocs since start) led by Brian Curless. Each group includes evaluators to conduct surveys and focus groups, measuring the effect of the programs implemented. We will refer to the three sites by state name or university in this Viewpoint.

The purpose of this Viewpoint is two-
fold: to raise awareness right now about
the need to serve the often neglected
THE NUMBER OF postdoctoral fellows in computer science (CS) has risen dramatically in recent years. Studies how that U.S. and Canadian
Ph.D.’s taking postdoc positions have
tripled since 2000, 7 and the total number
of postdocs in the U.S. rose to new, sus-
tained highs over 2009–2014.6 It is now
clear that postdocs are a substantial
constituency in research-focused uni-
versity departments.

The Computing Community Consortium (CCC), whose mission is to promote the vitality of computer science research, observed that postdocs in CS now play a much enhanced part in the conduct of research and education at universities. Postdocs are in training positions yet, anecdotally, most departments pay little heed to the training they receive. Certainly, support for postdocs is not on par with the education of graduate students. CCC asked: what are best practices in supporting the computer science postdoc population? An early document by Jones and Gianchandani3 analyzed such best practices and a 2013 Communications Viewpoint2 raised issues for the CS community more broadly. In the broader context of science and engineering, efforts to improve postdoctoral experience are discussed by Davis. 1

Historically, postdocs have been “in-
visible”: they work closely with their fac-
ulty advisers and that adviser’s group,
but have had little standing in the de-
partment or university. In essence they
have not been “first-class citizens.”
This situation warrants investigating
the best ways to support the career and
contribution of postdocs. Concerns
to address include the quality of train-
ing the postdoc receives, the quality of
mentoring, the development of new
skills, and the participation of postdocs
in the community—both in their uni-
versity department community and in
the research community.

To address these concerns and learn more about the postdoc experience, CCC created a program, with NSF’s financial backing, to develop, implement, and institutionalize best practices for supporting postdocs in CS. Competitive awards were made in 2014 to three groups that by design are quite different from one another: a consortium of New York universities ( Columbia University, New York University,

Viewpoint
Ask Not What Your
Postdoc Can Do for You …
Seeking more effective strategies for training
and nurturing CS postdocs to ensure their success.
DOI: 10.1145/3163918