Good year to hire in CS theory

It’s hiring season and many departments are in the midst of deciding who to bring in for interviews.   When discussing the possibility of hiring theorists, here are a couple of reasons why this might be a particularly good year to do so:

1) This year there is an exceptionally strong and deep pool of theorists on the job market, due in part to the closing of the Microsoft Research Silicon Valley lab.  Many departments should be able to hire strong candidates (including ones not from MSR SV) who would be hard to get in a typical year.

2) Theory has a large role to play in many of the current priority areas for hiring, such as big data, machine learning, privacy, and security.  Many theorists can also serve as bridges to other departments, such as math, physics, economics, OR, EE, and more.

Simons Graduate Fellowships in Theoretical Computer Science

The Simons Foundation has put out a call for applications for the Simons Award for Graduate Students in Theoretical Computer Science program. From the solicitation: “These awards will be made to graduate students with an outstanding track record of research accomplishments.” “…the foundation seeks to identify and support these emerging stars by providing additional support to enable them to freely pursue their research interests.” “The award is not intended to replace the regular academic-year support of these outstanding students.”

The awards are for a period of two years (June 2015 to May 2017) for up to $24,000 per year.

Application deadline: February 12, 2015.