Hi all,

ACM COMPASS 2020 Call for Papers

Deadline for submission of full papers: March 2nd, 2020

The conference will be held in June 2020, at ESPOL, Guayaquil, Ecuador
 

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
• Human-Computer Interaction
• AI for Social Impact
• Health
• Energy, IoT and Smart Cities
• Development, Economics and Social Policy
• Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability
• Deployment Experiences and Practitioner Reports

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

Submission instructions

Full papers will be archival submissions with a length of up to 10 pages, plus references. Papers should represent polished, significant contributions. Authors are encouraged to submit a paper of length proportional to its contribution.

In addition, COMPASS 2020 will have a Posters track for preliminary projects or late-breaking results. Posters will not be archival and are intended to allow presenters to share their latest results or get early feedback on projects. Poster submissions will be limited to 2 pages plus references. There are two poster submission deadlines (March 2nd and Apr 20th) to allow for earlier travel planning as well as late-breaking work.

ACM COMPASS 2020 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

Track chairs
Mercy Julia Borbor Cordova, ESPOL
Samuel Fraiberger, World Bank
Jay Taneja, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Ayorkor Korsah, Ashesi University
Shameer Khader, Astra Zeneca
Daniel Neill, New York University
Patrick Olivier, Monash University
Arjuna Sathiaseelan, Gaius Networks
Priya Shyamsundar, The Nature Conservancy
Niraj Swami, The Nature Conservancy

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