CNI: Coalition for Networked Information

Advancing Intellectual Discovery Through Computational Science: Discussion of a Recent Report of the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee

Alan Inouye
Coordinator, PITAC
National Coordination Office for NITRD

José-Marie Griffiths
Professor & Dean, School of Information and Library Science
University of North Carolina

Christopher R. Johnson
Director, Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute
University of Utah

In its recent report Computational Science:  Ensuring America’s Competitiveness, the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) concluded that computational science has great potential to advance intellectual discovery in science, engineering, the humanities, and key areas such as national security and public health.  However, there are a number of obstacles to realizing this potential.  The organizational structures and incentive systems in both academia and the federal government inhibit the development of effective research and education in computational science.  Research and development efforts lack adequate coordination and a consistently supported infrastructure.  Technology investments are not focused on the most promising opportunities (e.g., unprecedented volume of data available for analysis) or the most urgent needs (e.g., crisis in software).  This project briefing focuses on policies and strategies that may help to overcome these impediments and foster more rapid progress in computational science.

http://www.nitrd.gov/pitac/reports/20050609_computational/computational.pdf

Handout (PDF)

PowerPoint Presentations

Advancing Intellectual Discovery Through Computational Science: Discussion of a Recent Report of the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee

Alan Inouye
Coordinator, PITAC
National Coordination Office for NITRD

José-Marie Griffiths
Professor & Dean, School of Information and Library Science
University of North Carolina

Christopher R. Johnson
Director, Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute
University of Utah

In its recent report Computational Science:  Ensuring America’s Competitiveness, the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) concluded that computational science has great potential to advance intellectual discovery in science, engineering, the humanities, and key areas such as national security and public health.  However, there are a number of obstacles to realizing this potential.  The organizational structures and incentive systems in both academia and the federal government inhibit the development of effective research and education in computational science.  Research and development efforts lack adequate coordination and a consistently supported infrastructure.  Technology investments are not focused on the most promising opportunities (e.g., unprecedented volume of data available for analysis) or the most urgent needs (e.g., crisis in software).  This project briefing focuses on policies and strategies that may help to overcome these impediments and foster more rapid progress in computational science.

http://www.nitrd.gov/pitac/reports/20050609_computational/computational.pdf

Handout (PDF)

PowerPoint Presentations

The American Council of Learned Societies, Commission on Cyberinfrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences: Review of Project and Current Status

Charles Henry
Vice Provost and University Librarian
Rice University

Steven Wheatley
Vice President
American Council of Learned Societies

Scholars in the humanities and social sciences are transforming their practices of collaboration and communication with increasingly sophisticated and innovative uses of digital tools and technologies. New forms of scholarship, criticism, and creativity proliferate in arts and letters and in the social sciences, resulting in significant new works accessible and meaningful only in digital form. For their part, scientists and engineers no longer see digital technologies merely as tools enhancing established research methodologies, but as a force creating environments that enable the creation of new knowledge. The recent National Science Foundation report, “Revolutionizing Science and Engineering through Cyberinfrastructure,” argues for large-scale investments across all disciplines to develop the shared technology infrastructure that will support ever-greater capacities, including new tools, shared facilities, and expertise and assistance.

The needs of humanists and scientists converge in this emerging cyberinfrastructure. As the importance of technology-enabled innovation grows across all fields, scholars are increasingly dependent on sophisticated systems for the creation, curation, and preservation of information. They are also dependent on a policy, economic, and legal environment that encourages appropriate and unimpeded access to both digital information and digital tools. It is crucial for the humanities and the social sciences to join scientists and engineers in defining and building this infrastructure so that it meets the needs and incorporates the contributions of humanists and social scientists.

In 2004, ACLS convened a national commission to investigate and report on these issues. The Commission was charged to:
• Describe and analyze the current state of humanities and social science cyberinfrastructure
• Articulate the requirements and the potential contributions of the humanities and the social sciences in developing a cyberinfrastructure for information, teaching, and research
• Recommend areas of emphasis and coordination for the various agencies and institutions, public and private, that contribute to the development of this cyberinfrastructure

This Project Briefing will review the work of the Commission to date; summarize the major points and recommendations of the current draft of the report; and discuss the larger digital environment in which the final report (to be published in the spring of 2006) will appear.

http://www.acls.org/cyberinfrastructure/cyber.htm

The American Council of Learned Societies, Commission on Cyberinfrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences: Open Forum

Charles Henry
Vice Provost and University Librarian
Rice University

Steven Wheatley
Vice President
American Council of Learned Societies

Peter B. Kaufman
Director, Strategic Initiatives
Intelligent Television

This is an open forum where participants are invited to discuss the work of the ACLS Commission on Cyberinfrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences and its recently released draft report. A report on the Commission and its current status were provided during an earlier scheduled project briefing; attendance at the overview session is not required for attending this open discussion forum.

See also the ACLS Cyberinfrastructure Commission, Review & Status Project Briefing page.

http://www.acls.org/cyberinfrastructure/cyber.htm

The ASERL LOCKSS-ETD Initiative: Developing Preservation Strategies for Libraries that Publish E-Scholarship

Robert H. McDonald
Associate Director of University Libraries for Technology & Research
Florida State University

Jody Combs
Director of the Digital Library
Vanderbilt University

John Burger
Executive Director
Association of Southeastern Research Libraries

Thomas Stuart Robertson
Assistant Director and Technical Manager, LOCKSS Program
Stanford University

The ASERL LOCKSS-ETD Initiative is a joint project between the LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) Program at Stanford University and the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL). Participating in the project are the following ASERL Libraries: Florida State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Kentucky, University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt University, and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. This group is utilizing the latest version of LOCKSS (1.10.5) to harvest electronic theses and dissertations from each institution using the OAI-PMH. The OAI-PMH is used to create a LOCKSS archival unit for collections such as ETDs which are continually updated. The LOCKSS caches at each institution allow for multiple copies of ETDs in geographically dispersed locations thus offering an additional layer of preservation for each ETD collection as well as a cooperative open-source model for organizations that support E-Scholarship publishing initiatives.

Handout (PDF)

PowerPoint Presentations

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