[论文解读] The Imperative for Grand Challenges in Computing

William C. Regli, Rajmohan Rajaraman+6 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Jan 2, 2026

Scientific Computing and Data Management被引用 0

一句话总结

本文认为计算需要定义并追求自身的重大挑战，提出一个框架来识别、扩展并将这些挑战转化为科学和社会的行动，呼吁社区行动。

ABSTRACT

Computing is an indispensable component of nearly all technologies and is ubiquitous for vast segments of society. It is also essential to discoveries and innovations in most disciplines. However, while past grand challenges in science have involved computing as one of the tools to address the challenge, these challenges have not been principally about computing. Why has the computing community not yet produced challenges at the scale of grandeur that we see in disciplines such as physics, astronomy, or engineering? How might we go about identifying similarly grand challenges? What are the grand challenges of computing that transcend our discipline's traditional boundaries and have the potential to dramatically improve our understanding of the world and positively shape the future of our society? There is a significant benefit in us, as a field, taking a more intentional approach to "grand challenges." We are seeking challenge problems that are sufficiently compelling as to both ignite the imagination of computer scientists and draw researchers from other disciplines to computational challenges. This paper emphasizes the importance, now more than ever, of defining and pursuing grand challenges in computing as a field, and being intentional about translation and realizing its impacts on science and society. Building on lessons from prior grand challenges, the paper explores the nature of a grand challenge today emphasizing both scale and impact, and how the community may tackle such a grand challenge, given a rapidly changing innovation ecosystem in computing. The paper concludes with a call to action for our community to come together to define grand challenges in computing for the next decade and beyond.

研究动机与目标

• 推动将重大挑战作为计算领域主动研究方向的必要性。
• 探讨为何计算尚未在物理学或天文学的尺度上产生重大挑战。
• 提出一个跨学科而且具有社会影响力的重大挑战识别框架。
• 强调转化与现实世界影响作为计算重大挑战的核心要 components。
• 向社区发出呼吁，在未来十年及更长时间内定义并追求重大挑战。

提出的方法

• 分析科学与计算领域过去重大挑战的历史经验。
• 刻画当今重大挑战的属性，聚焦规模与影响。
• 讨论跨学科参与与协作的策略。
• 概述将计算进展转化并显现对科学与社会影响的途径。
• 提供计算社区如何识别并追求未来重大挑战的路线图。

实验结果

研究问题

• RQ1 在当今，什么可以构成计算领域的重大挑战？
• RQ2 为何过去的重大挑战并非主要围绕计算，以及如何改变这一点？
• RQ3 计算社区如何识别超越传统边界的重大挑战？
• RQ4 需要哪些机制将计算进展转化为科学与社会影响？
• RQ5 社区在未来十年内定义并追求重大挑战应采取哪些步骤？

主要发现

• 需要在计算领域设定重大挑战以点燃想象力并吸引其他学科的研究者。
• 重大挑战在定义时应同时考虑规模与影响。
• 转化与实现对科学与社会影响的策略需要有意图性。
• 论文提供了在快速演进的创新生态系统中识别和应对重大挑战的框架。
• 社区需要共同定义和追求未来在计算领域的重大挑战的行动呼吁。