NSF PR 03-18 - February 3, 2003
Media contact:
David Hart
(703) 292-8070
dhart@nsf.gov
Program contact:
Peter Freeman
(703) 292-8900
pfreeman@nsf.gov
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RELEASES NEW REPORT FROM ADVISORY COMMITTEE
FOR CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE
Report envisions a future cyberinfrastructure that will "radically
empower" the science and engineering community
ARLINGTON, Va. - The critical needs of science and rapid progress in
information technology are converging to provide a unique opportunity to
create and apply a sustained cyberinfrastructure that will "radically
empower" scientific and engineering research and allied education,
according to the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Advisory Committee
for Cyberinfrastructure. The committee details its recommendations in a
report, released today, entitled Revolutionizing Science and Engineering
through Cyberinfrastructure.
Like the physical infrastructure of roads, bridges, power grids,
telephone lines, and water systems that support modern society,
"cyberinfrastructure" refers to the distributed computer, information
and communication technologies combined with the personnel and
integrating components that provide a long-term platform to empower the
modern scientific research endeavor.
Cyberinfrastructure is "essential, not optional, to the aspirations of
research communities." For scientists and engineers, the report states,
cyberinfrastructure has the potential to "revolutionize what they can
do, how they do it, and who participates." The seeds of this revolution
are seen in community-driven efforts, supported by NSF and other
agencies, such as the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulations
(NEES), the Grid Physics Network (GriPhyN) and the National Virtual
Observatory (NVO).
"We've clearly documented extensive grass-roots activity in the
scientific and engineering research community to create and use
cyberinfrastructure to empower the next wave of discovery," said Dan
Atkins, chair of the advisory committee and professor in the University
of Michigan School of Information and the Department of Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science. "NSF has been a catalyst for creating
the conditions for a nascent cyberinfrastructure-based revolution. We're
at a new threshold where technology allows people, information,
computational tools, and research instruments to be connected on a
global scale."
While identifying the opportunities, the committee warned that the
cyberinfrastructure that is needed cannot be created today with
off-the-shelf technology. As a result, they called for increased
fundamental research in computer science and engineering.
In addition to NSF's support for projects such as NEES, GriPhyN and NVO,
the report calls out NSF's leadership in the Partnerships for Advanced
Computational Infrastructure (PACI) program, the TeraGrid effort, the
NSF Middleware Initiative (NMI), the Digital Libraries Initiative and
the Information Technology Research program as providing a solid
foundation for the future cyberinfrastructure.
Its unique breadth of scientific scope and prior investments position
NSF to lead an interagency program to develop an advanced
cyberinfrastructure for the nation, according to the report. To reach
critical mass, an advanced cyberinfrastructure activity would require
interagency partnerships as well as collaboration between the physical
and life sciences, computer science, and the social sciences.
"On behalf of NSF, I want to extend a strong thanks to the Advisory
Committee for Cyberinfrastructure for the excellent job they have done
in highlighting the importance of cyberinfrastructure to all of science
and engineering research and education," said Peter Freeman, NSF
Assistant Director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering
and NSF's coordinator for cyberinfrastructure. "The extensive efforts
they have made in bringing together in one place the ideas and visions
of all segments of the science and engineering community will be
extremely useful to NSF as we move forward to exploit the opportunities
they have identified."
The report recommends that a cyberinfrastructure program encompass
fundamental cyberinfrastructure research, research on science and
engineering applications of the cyberinfrastructure, development of
production-quality software, and equipment and operations.
The report emphasizes the importance of acting quickly and the risks of
failing to do so. The risks include lack of coordination, which could
leave key data in irreconcilable formats; long-term failures to archive
and curate data collected at great expense; and artificial barriers
between disciplines built from incompatible tools and structures.
The opportunity is evidenced by both progress from developments in
information technology and the mushrooming of cyberinfrastructure
projects for specific fields, initiated by scientists in those fields.
The NSF has a "once-in-a-generation opportunity," according to the
committee, to lead the scientific and engineering community in the
coordinated development and expansive use of cyberinfrastructure.
-NSF-
Cyberinfrastructure report is available from:
http://www.cise.nsf.gov/evnt/reports/atkins_annc_020303.htm
For more on the NSF Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure:
http://www.cise.nsf.gov/evnt/blu_rbbn/
NSF is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research
and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an
annual budget of nearly $5 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states
through grants to nearly 2,000 universities and institutions. Each year,
NSF receives about 30,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes
about 10,000 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $200 million in
professional and service contracts yearly.
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