Building a Cyberinfrastructure for the Biological Sciences (CIBIO)

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

The 21st Century Biology subcommittee of the Advisory Committee for the Biological Sciences Directorate (BIO AC) held a two day workshop to address the current status, anticipate the potential, and provide guidance to the Directorate on how NSF Bio can best empower the biological sciences community to utilize the extraordinary impact of modern information technology, which will lead to a more effective, productive environment for research and education. This is made possible by a new, underlying, NSF-driven, infrastructure empowering people, their ideas and their use of tools for discovery. The numerous advances in the basic and applied fields, within all performance domains, for computer and information science and engineering (notably, funded by CISE) have been extraordinary. After several decades of exponential advances in hardware and software, information technology has become an intrinsic component of our economy, our sciences, our industry, and our society. The pervasive, ubiquitous, embedded, seamlessly available technology not only has become the singular most important cog in the Nation's industry, but also the central cog in world wide research and development, commerce and communication. Correspondingly, by consolidating and accelerating the components, NSF can exploit the convergence of these exponential trends, which are said collectively to have passed a threshold in applicability and importance, to create a comprehensive foundation, a cyberinfrastructure (CI), on which to build the Science, Technology and Education of the 21st Century. CI is perceived as being as transformational for science, technology and commerce as Gutenberg's invention of the printing press was for society, setting the stage for growing literacy, public dialogue for growing populations, and ultimately, democracy. CI promises the same open access to literacy, public dialogue and democratic rewards. CI is indeed ideally suited for the cottage industry that is biology, due to the revolution in grid services, data integration, and modern information technology, coupled with the advent of a biological research approach, focused at a systems level, that is integrative, synthetic and predictive, or what NSF calls 21st Century Biology. The BIO AC Workshop of the 21st Century Biology subcommittee addressed the key questions for BIO's involvement and role within the NSF fabric, and at the conclusion of the workshop provided BIO with a short white paper, along with presentation material, containing relevant policy advice. Further steps to involve and empower the full biological sciences community were outlined at the workshop. The two review criteria for consideration by NSF are deeply intertwined in this proposal. That is, the intrinsic scientific merit of the activity and the potential contribution arising from the proposed activity to the Nation's infrastructure, and other related goals of NSF beyond supporting the best research per se, are fully coupled in the outcome of the workshop. Not only is CI international in scope, but also, the implementation of CI will require breaking down the digital divide. Already, the universities and states without tier 1 research institutions are preparing proposals and working on implementing CI to enable their science. CI for BIO is ideal in democratizing access to information and resources, and meeting the needs of the entire community. Community Colleges, Minority Serving Institutions such as Tribal Colleges, Hispanic Institutions, Colleges for Research and Education, Historically Black Colleges and Universities will all have increased opportunities to participate. The web has already provided novel access to all. CI infrastructure will empower many new ways in which all scientists, and students, will be able to contribute to the Nation's research endeavors, and enhanced modes of training will be established. It would be hard to find an activity that will contribute more in terms of outreach and also of societal impact.