How can Science be improved by e-Science

Swedish Research Council

Stockholm Malcolm Atkinson

Director e-Science Institute & e-Science Envoy

www.nesc.ac.uk14th February 2007

Overview> Five Years of Successful e-Science in UK

Three Significant Strengths Established

ESFRI, EGEE, NDGF, et al. thriving in Europee-Science & Cyberinfrastructure everywhere

Building e-Science Communitiese-Science Institute, NeSC & e-Science CentresAll Hands MeetingsSupport for Discipline specific communitiesEducation and Training

Communities & Breadth

Projects e-Infrastructure

Defining e-Science

e-Science: Systematic Support for Collaborative Research

Multi-disciplinary, Multi-Site & Multi-NationalAll disciplines contribute & benefitEnabling wider engagementBuilding with and demanding advances in Computing Science

UK e-Science Diversity

Thriving CommunityAll disciplines & all Research CouncilsIndustry & AcademiaMany universities & research institutesUK e-Science All Hands MeetingsProductive collaboration

Essential Collaboration

CollaborationRequires Commitment and StrategyA challenge to build and maintainWe have done it repeatedlyCan we capture and clone the recipes?Can we support it well for all research?For all citizens?

New Patterns of Communication

EdinburghEdinburgh

www.nesc.ac.uk/esi/

eSI Mission

To facilitate the e-Science community

Slide from Dr Anna Kenway

e-Science Institute

• The meeting place for e-Science researchers in the UK

• Interdisciplinary• ‘Space to think’

Slide from Dr Anna Kenway

Important Goal

To address the perceived ‘disconnect’ between

applications scientists and technical experts.

Slide from Dr Anna Kenway

Catalysing Thinking

The e-Science Institute runs two principal types of activity:

• Research meetings– Conferences– Workshops– Schools– Training

• A Visitors’ programme

Slide from Dr Anna Kenway

Activity

… we have had a very busy programme.Slide from Dr Anna Kenway

Thematic Mode

• The e-Science Institute has developed a thematic mode programme that concentrates on in-depth and sustained investigation of a topic– 6 months or a year– Supported theme leader– Research focus– Bridging the perceived “disconnect”

Slide from Dr Anna Kenway

Current Themes

Theme 3: Adoption of e-Research Technologies (Dr Alex Voss, Aug 2006, with NCeSS, Profs Rob Procter and Tom Rodden)

e-Infrastructure should underpin research in all disciplines. What are the obstacles to this “democratic e-Research”, and how can we encourage wider use of e-Research technologies?

Theme 4: Spatial Semantics for Automating Geographic Information Processes (Dr Femke Reistma & Prof Werner Kuhn, Jan 2007)

Up to 80% of information is spatially referenced in some way, yet that information is often unusable without expert interpretation. We seek to formalise the semantics of geographical data

Slide from Dr Anna Kenway

Themes in 2007

.Theme 5: Distributed Programming Abstractions (Dr Shantenu Jha, Mar 2007)Computing infrastructure is changing yet scientists still use the same programming methods for distributed computing they use on isolated machines. How should scientific programming change to fit the new world of distributed computing?

Theme 6: e-Science in the Arts and Humanities (Lorna Hughes, Apr 2007, with AHESSC)The arts and humanities have substantial commonalities with e-Science, from highly dispersed content, to deep data and text mining, to visualisation and simulation. This theme will show how e-Infrastructure can support innovative research in the arts and humanities, expanding its use beyond the early adopters

.

Slide from Dr Anna Kenway

e-Science Centres in the UK

LeicesterLeicester

LeSCLeSC

BirminghamBirmingham

White Rose GridWhite Rose Grid

BristolBristol

LancasterLancaster

ReadingReading

OxfordOxford

EdinburghEdinburgh

BelfastBelfast

CambridgeCambridgeCCLRC DaresburyCCLRC Daresbury

ManchesterManchester

UCLUCL

NewcastleNewcastle

SouthamptonSouthampton

CardiffCardiff

CCLRC RALCCLRC RAL

Access GridSupport CentreAccess GridSupport Centre

Digital Curation CentreDigital Curation Centre

National GridService

National GridService

National Centre fore-Social Science

National Centre fore-Social Science

National Centre forText Mining

National Centre forText Mining

National Institute forEnvironmental e-Science

National Institute forEnvironmental e-Science

Open MiddlewareInfrastructure Institute

Open MiddlewareInfrastructure Institute

GlasgowGlasgow

YorkYorkLeedsLeeds

SheffieldSheffield

Coordinated by:Directors’ Forum

& NeSCwww.nesc.ac.uk

e-Science All Hands Meetings

Everybody (>650) engaged in e-ScienceKeynotes, Papers, Posters, Tutorials & BoFsInternational & Industrial engagementBooths (Centres & Research Councils), Demos

Workshop 1: Kyra Norman and Orchestra Cube; Photo: Rob Bristow, June 2006 Slide: Angela Piccini

Arts & Humanities BoF at AHM 2006

Educate or Waste Investment

Abraham Lincoln

If you think the cost of education is expensive, consider the cost of ignorance

Complementary Approaches

• Training– Targeted– Immediate goals– Specific skills– Building a workforce

• Education– Pervasive– Long term and sustained– Generic conceptual models– Developing a culture

• Both are needed

Society

Graduates

EducationInnovation

Invests

PreparesCreate

Enriches

Organisation

Skilled Workers

TrainingServices & Applications

Invests

PreparesDevelop

Strengthens

Emphasis here in times of change

TimelineTimeline

Today

BroadcastingBroadcasting100 years100 years

BroadcastingBroadcasting100 years100 years

TelecommunicationsTelecommunications170 years170 years

TelecommunicationsTelecommunications170 years170 years

PrintingPrinting600 years600 yearsPrintingPrinting

600 years600 years

WritingWriting5,000 years5,000 years

WritingWriting5,000 years5,000 years

Grunts andGrunts andbody languagebody language500,000 years500,000 years

Grunts andGrunts andbody languagebody language500,000 years500,000 years

SpeechSpeech300,000 years300,000 years

SpeechSpeech300,000 years300,000 years

Home ComputersHome ComputersInternet and WWWInternet and WWW

Mobile phonesMobile phonesGrid and Web 2.0Grid and Web 2.0

Web 3.0 and Ubiquitous connected devicesWeb 3.0 and Ubiquitous connected devices30 years30 years

Home ComputersHome ComputersInternet and WWWInternet and WWW

Mobile phonesMobile phonesGrid and Web 2.0Grid and Web 2.0

Web 3.0 and Ubiquitous connected devicesWeb 3.0 and Ubiquitous connected devices30 years30 years

ICEAGE

• International Collaboration– Grid Education

http://www.iceage-eu.org/

• Forum 57 members– 40 attended 9 countries– Aim to influence

• Services for Educators– Digital library– Self-paced learning– Educate the educators

• Summer Schools– Five in 2006 – 230 students– ISSGC07 in Mariefred– Five in preparation

• T-Infrastructure– Advances driven by Summer Schools

www.iceage-eu.org/issgc07

Focus on Research Communities

• Collaborate on building communities

• Collaborate on developing education

• Collaborate on encouraging multi-disciplinary thinking

• Collaborate on propagation of e-Science

• Collaborate on eSI themes - highlight research into e-Science methods

www.iceage-eu.org/issgc07www.nesc.ac.uk/esi/