S2I2: Impl: The Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI) for the Democratization and Acceleration of Science

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

Science gateways are user-friendly web portals that make advanced computing, data, networking and scientific instrumentation accessible and easily usable by scientists at all levels, including students, thereby revolutionizing how research and education is done in science. For example, scientists are conducting biomedical studies through Galaxy, a science gateway for data intensive biomedical research, as well as engaging citizens in investigating lion density using Snapshot Serengeti, a science gateway for citizen science. By being easily accessible via the Web, science gateways expand and democratize access to supercomputers, telescopes, sensor networks, unique data collections, collaborative spaces that enable the multidisciplinary collaborations needed to solve complex problems, and analysis capabilities. Thus, science gateways expand and broadening participation in science - an important goal of the National Science Foundation (NSF). By increasing participation, science gateways increase the NSF's return on investment in advanced technologies and facilities. The Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI) will speed the development and application of robust, cost-effective, sustainable gateways to address the needs of scientists and engineers across the sciences. The work of the institute will increase the number as well as the effectiveness and usability of gateways to science and engineering. This will result in broader gateway use and more widespread conduct of science ranging from professionals to citizen scientists, thus, directly amplifying the impact of the SGCI. Further, and very importantly, the Institute's community engagement and exchange activities will, over time, increase the audience for its services, and its partnerships with minority professional organizations will ensure involvement in training and workforce development from underrepresented groups. Science gateways are user-friendly web portals that make advanced computing, data, networking and scientific instrumentation accessible and easily usable by scientists at all levels, including students, thereby revolutionizing how research and education is done in science. Gateways enable scientists to test their assumptions more quickly, providing them more time for deeper thinking about the types of problems that have yet to be solved. In this way, gateways become "research amplifiers". They also enable synthetic science - by using modelling and simulation tools powered by high-performance computing - across ecosystems, geographic distances, methodologies, and disciplines. However, and despite the presence of gateways for many years, development of these environments is often done with ad-hoc processes, limiting success, resource efficiency, and long-term impact. Developers of gateways are often unaware that others have solved similar challenges before, and do not know where to turn for advice or expertise. Thus, projects waste money and time re-implementing the more basic functions rather than building the value-added features for their unique audience. Many gateway efforts fail. Some fail early by not understanding how to build communities of users; others fail later by not developing plans for sustainability. The Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI) has been designed to address the above limitations while providing career paths for gateway developers and for students. The five-component design of the SGCI is the result of several years of studies, including many focus groups and a 5,000-person survey of the research community. Its Incubator component will provide shared expertise in business and sustainability planning, cybersecurity, user interface design, and software engineering practices. The Extended Developer Support component will provide expert developers for up to one year to projects that request assistance as well as demonstrating the potential to achieve impacts on their research communities. The Scientific Software Collaborative component will offer a component-based, open-source, extensible framework for gateway design, integration, and services, including gateway hosting and capabilities for external developers to integrate their own software into Institute offerings. The Community Engagement and Exchange component will provide a forum for communication and shared experiences among gateway developers, within NSF, across federal agencies, and internationally. Finally, with its training programs the Workforce Development component will increase the pipeline of gateway developers, with special emphasis on recruiting underrepresented minorities, and by helping universities form gateway support groups. In short, the work of the institute will increase the number, ease of use, and effective application of gateways to science and engineering, resulting in broader gateway use and more widespread conduct of science ranging from professionals to citizen scientists. The Institute's community engagement and exchange activities over time will increase the audience for its services, and its partnerships with minority professional organizations will ensure involvement in training and workforce development from underrepresented groups.