Inspired by the broad agenda of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ACM COMPASS 2020 aims to publish significant and original research from a broad array of computer and information sciences, social sciences, environmental sciences and engineering fields that support the growth of sustainable societies worldwide, especially including under-represented and marginalized communities. The ACM COMPASS 2020 conference aims to explicitly promote interdisciplinary research work—including new methodologies, systems, techniques, applications, and behavioral, qualitative, and quantitative studies—that addresses key societal challenges related to sustainability, gender equality, health, education, poverty, accessibility, conservation, climate change, energy, infrastructure, and economic growth, among others. We also welcome research on the ethics of technology, especially from a critical perspective, to discuss limitations and concerns with technology-led solutions for sustainable societies.
To ensure strong research contributions, the ACM COMPASS 2020 conference will review papers based on focus tracks corresponding to the research areas they draw upon. The key focal tracks are:
Computing Systems: Chaired by Arjuna Sathiaseelan, Gaius Networks
Human-Computer Interaction: Chaired by Patrick Olivier, Monash University
AI for Social Impact: Chaired by Daniel Neill, New York University
Health: Chaired by Shameer Khader, Astra Zeneca
Energy, IoT and Smart Cities: Chaired by Jay Taneja, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Development, Economics and Social Policy: Chaired by Samuel Fraiberger, World Bank
Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability: Chaired by Priya Shyamsundar and Niraj Swami, The Nature Conservancy
Deployment Experiences and Practitioner Reports: Chaired by Mercy Julia Borbor Cordova, ESPOL and Ayorkor Korsah, Ashesi University
CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS
General conference chairs
Daniel Ochoa, ESPOL (Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral)
Lakshmi Subramanian, New York University
Program committee chairs
Aaditeshwar Seth, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and Gram Vaani
Lakshmi Subramanian, New York University
Steering committee
Richard Anderson, University of Washington
Nicola Dell, Cornell Tech
Melissa Densmore, University of Cape Town
Carla Gomes, Cornell University
Jennifer Mankoff, University of Washington
Aaditeshwar Seth, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Lakshmi Subramanian, New York University
Milind Tambe, University of Southern California
Bill Thies, Microsoft Research
Ellen Zegura, Georgia Tech
Computing Systems Track
Track chair: Arjuna Sathiaseelan, Gaius Networks
This track takes paper submissions on the design, implementation, and deployment of all forms of networked and software systems for sustainable societies. Topics of interest may include (but not limited to):
Connectivity solutions
Mobile systems and applications
Network planning and measurements
Spectrum management
Content distribution
Low-cost computing devices
Middleware systems
Blockchain systems
Security and privacy issues
Program committee for the computing systems track
Talal Ahmad, Google David Johnson, University of Cape Town Gareth Tyson, Queen Mary University
Nishanth Sastry, Kings College London Ignacio Castro, Queen Mary University Senka Hadzic, Research ICT Africa
Josiah Chavula, University of Cape Town Mahesh Marina, University of Edinburgh Adnan Noor Mian, ITU Punjab
Marco Zennaro, ICTP Kurtis Heimerl, UWash, Seattle Aruna Balasubramaniam, Stonybrook University
Elizabeth Belding Royer, UCSD Shaddi Hasan, Facebook
Human-Computer Interaction Track
Track chair: Patrick Olivier, Monash University
This track takes paper submissions on new research related to, but not limited to:
User interfaces for underserved populations
Human-centered AI
Information and computer ethics
Experiences with information systems
Information system and technology design methodologies
Technology adoption dynamics
Social relationships and information flows within and across communities
Gender and intersectionality
Other topics related to interactions between technology and society
We especially encourage contributions on critical perspectives about technology, that may impose limitations on technology-led solutions for sustainable societies.
Program committee for the human-computer interaction track
Shaimaa Lazem, Informatics Research Institute Pushpendra Singh, IIIT Delhi Tom Bartindale, Monash University
Aditya Vashistha, Cornell University Judith Odili Uchidiuno, CMU Marcus Foth, Queensland University of Technology
Delvin Varghese, Newcastle Univeristy Ishtiaque Ahmed, University of Toronto Nic Bidwell, International University of Management
Matt Jones, Swansea University Saiph Savage, West Virginia University Neha Kumar, Georgia Tech
Agha Ali Raza, ITU Punjab Anirudha Joshi, IIT Bombay Beth Kolko, University of Washington
Nicki Dell, Cornell Tech Nithya Sambasivan, Google
AI for Social Impact
Track chair: Daniel B. Neill, Machine Learning for Good Laboratory, New York University
This track takes paper submissions for new research and development of AI/ML and data science techniques in the context of sustainable societies. Topics may include, but are not limited to:
Methods for large-scale data analysis, participatory sensing and crowd-sourced data collection.
Handling of missing, messy, and biased data, including data cleaning, data wrangling, data integration, and domain adaptation methods.
Analysis of massive, complex data sources, such as networked data, satellite data, mobile phone data, time-series, and spatial-temporal data.
Data privacy, security, and anonymity.
FATE (fairness, accountability, transparency, and ethics) in AI and ML.
Methods may be applied to relevant areas including but not limited to agriculture, poverty mapping, disease surveillance, speech interfaces, computer vision techniques, etc. We encourage (but do not require) real-world deployment and evaluation of methods in collaboration with public sector partners such as government or NGOs. Submitted papers are expected to present an argument for the (either realized or potential) social impact of the work.
Program committee for the AI for social impact track
Fei Fang, CMU Rayid Ghani, CMU Skyler Speakman, IBM Research Africa
Bistra Dilkina, USC Sriram Somanchi, Notre Dame William Herlands, CMU
Joe Bullock, UN Global Pulse Brendan O’Connor, UMass-Amherst Ernest Mwebaze, Makerere University
Kit Rodolfa, CMU Vanessa Frias-Martinez, UMD Barry O’Sullivan, University College Cork
David Shmoys, Cornell Mallory Nobles, MIT Lincoln Labs Afsaneh Doryab, University of Virginia
Global Health
Track chair: Shameer Khader, Astra Zeneca
This track takes papers on all aspects pertaining to the use of computing solutions to address challenges in global health. Topics may include (but not limited to):
AI/ML techniques for global health
EHR analysis
Health policy interventions
Randomized control trials
Bioinformatics and genomics for global health
Disease surveillance
Maternal and child health
Infectious diseases
Chronic illnesses
Mobile health platforms
Health care management and hospital care
Program committee for the global health track
Benjamin S. Glicksberg, Digital Health Institute Vinod Scaria, CSIR Manikandan Narayanan, IIT Madras
Sriram Sankararaman, UCLA Bhanu Duggal, AIIMS, India Rachel Hodos, Benevolent AI
Niyati Parekh, NYU JR Rizzo, NYU School of Medicine Prashanth Suravajhala, Birla Institute of Scientific Research
Sanjeev Bhavnani, Scripps Health Koundinya Desiraju, THSTI Brett Beaulieu-Jones, Harvard University
Lana Garmire, University of Michigan
Energy, IoT, and Smart Cities
Track chair: Jay Taneja, University of Massachusetts Amherst
This track takes paper submissions on topics related to the application of computing and communication technologies, including but not limited to:
IoTs and other systems for improving infrastructure (buildings, energy systems, roads, water and sanitation systems, etc.)
Computing technologies applied in energy and electricity networks
IoTs and other systems in agriculture
Systems for measurement, monitoring, and/or management of urban environments
IoTs and other systems for community engagement and governance
Techniques for demand-side management and dynamic pricing of energy
Deployment of sensing and communications technologies, case studies, and lessons learned
Security and privacy in energy, IoT, and smart cities applications
Program committee for the energy, IoT, and smart cities track
Naveed Arshad, LUMS Simone Fobi, Columbia University Jacqueline Klopp, Columbia University
Noah Klugman, UC Berkeley Reginald Bryant, IBM Research-Africa Rebekah Shirley, UC Berkeley and PowerForAll
Mohit Jain, MSR India Krithi Ramamritham, IIT Bombay Srinivasan Keshav, Cambridge
Vijay Arya, IBM Research India Sam Sudar, Google
Development, Economics and Social Policy Track chair: Samuel Fraiberger, World Bank
This track takes a broad array of paper submissions from the areas of economics, social sciences and policy that pertain to sustainability and socio-economic development. Specific topics include but are not limited to:
Randomized control trials
Causal inference using observational data for policy evaluation
Methods and analyses of biased, selective, or incomplete observational social data
Non-traditional data (administrative, satellite, social media, mobile, etc.) for measurement and policy evaluation
Computational methods Developmental economics studies
Large-scale/online social experiments for policy evaluation
Social network analysis and interventions
Text analysis and natural language processing (NLP) for policy evaluation
Technology policy studies and implications
Applications and experience of using ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) for development
We encourage development, economics and policy papers agnostic of the domain of application including public health, financial services, education, agriculture, gender equality, livelihood, employment, governance systems, and labour rights, among others.
Program committee for the development, economics, and social policy track
Jonathan Hersh, Chapman University Ciro Cattuto, ISI Foundation Kweku Opoku-Agyemang, UC Berkeley
Alex Rutherford, MIT Ingmar Weber, QCRI Vedran Sekara, UNICEF
Nancy Lozano, World Bank David Newhouse, World Bank Joao Pedro Azevedo, World Bank
Jim Savage, Schmidt Future Pedro de Alarcon, Telefonica Pablo Astudillo, University of Oxford
Bilal Siddiqi, CEGA Katherine Hofmann, NYU Anca Balietti, Heidelberg University
Sveta Milusheva, World Bank Alice Duhaut, World Bank
Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability
Track chairs: Priya Shyamsundar and Niraj Swami, The Nature Conservancy
This track takes papers on all aspects of sustainability of the planet pertaining to environmental sciences, climate change and environmental policy. We encourage submissions across a broad spectrum of topics in this space, including but not limited to: Climate change modeling
Environmental scientific studies
Impact of climate change on populations
Sustainable management of natural resources
Environmental policy studies
Environmental economics
Measuring and evaluating the impact of nature-based strategies
Institutional systems and changes required for effective use of technology
Program committee for the environment, climate change, and sustainability track
Nick Woolf, The Nature Conservancy Timothy Boucher, The Nature Conservancy Jennifer Dunn, Northwestern Argonne Institute
Ben Miller, Northwestern University Zack Ferdana, The Nature Conservancy Thomas Diettrich, Oregon State University
Abdul Salam, Purdue University
Deployment Experiences and Practitioner Reports
Track chairs: Ayorkor Korsah, Ashesi University and Mercy Julia Borbor Cordova, ESPOL
This track takes long papers on deployment experiences and short papers on practitioner reports, related to any of the above tracks. Topics of interest include, but are limited to:
Evaluations of impact from technologies deployed in the field
Financial sustainability
Failures
Reflections from long-term deployments
Problem statements that can lead to new research directions
ACM COMPASS 2020 specifically aims to forge stronger relationships between practitioners and researchers.
Program committee for the deployment experiences and practitioner reports track
David Nemer, University of Virginia Andrew Cross, Everwell Health Martin Mubangizi, UN Global Pulse Lab
Sunandan Chakraborty, Indiana Univ Dipanjan Chakraborty, BITS Hyderabad Rajesh Veeraraghavan, Georgetown University
Leandro Navarro, UPC, Spain Brian DeRenzi, Dimagi Daniel Mutembesa, Makerere University
Rikin Gandhi, Digital Green