IU hosts international thought leaders to tackle scientific data challenges
Data that advance science and research are growing at an unprecedented pace. Much scientific discovery now relies on computer analysis of data. Researchers are grappling with how to preserve and conveniently share these vast amounts of data.
In January 2012, the Data to Insight Center, part of Pervasive Technology Institute at Indiana University, hosted a National Science Foundation-sponsored workshop in Indianapolis that brought together approximately 70 researchers from around the world to tackle these challenges.
The goals for the workshop, "Data 2012: Coming Together Around Data," were to exchange information, create a broader discussion, and plant seeds for collective efforts that advance scientific sharing and data preservation worldwide.
"The workshop was unequivocally a huge success," said Beth Plale, director of the Data to Insight Center and managing director of the Pervasive Technology Institute. "It was a veritable who's who in scientific data. We covered topics of relevance to the involved NSF projects, and, more broadly, laid the foundation and groundwork for international cooperation in this critically important area."
Attendees of the invitation-only event represented NSF-funded projects that are part of the Sustainable Digital Data Preservation and Access Network Partner (DataNet) and the Community-based Data Interoperability Networks (INTEROP) and included key partners from other institutions.
The workshop prompted the beginnings of an open organization, the proposed Data Science Consortium, which will create best practices to foster the goals of sharing, preserving, and governing critical scientific data.
Participants firmly agreed that the organization must be open to all and have strong ties internationally. The organization's primary objective will be to influence how people manage, access, govern, and store data by providing protocol standards, best practices, and other tools.
The Consortium will be of particular interest and relevance to digital library and information scientists, computer scientists, domain scientists, policy experts, program funding officers, data center managers, and other similar industry leaders.
To join the discussion, receive progress reports, and review notes, go to: http://d2i.indiana.edu/data2012.
Attendees of the invitation-only event represented NSF-funded projects that are part of the DataNet and INTEROP programs and included key partners from other institutions.
