Infrastructure for Biology at Regional to Continental Scales

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The AIBS project on "Infrastructure for Biology at Regional to Continental Scales" (IBRCS) has the following goals: (1) educate the scientific community about the need to increase physical infrastructure capacity for data collection, analysis, and database networking within and among field biology, other areas of biology, and other areas of science; (2) provide for communications within the scientific community and with the National Science Foundation regarding the future development and focus of relevant infrastructure and data-networking projects, and (3) serve as a public information source on these projects. The scientific community will thereby become better able to determine the benefits and utility of particular existing or proposed infrastructure and data-networking projects to their areas of research. The AIBS IBRCS project will be led by a Working Group consisting of biologists from the AIBS membership of scientific societies and organizations, plus technical advisors from other areas of science. AIBS and the Working Group will:- Summarize and evaluate past workshops on relevant infrastructure and data-networking projects, and maintain a rolling summary of future workshops and related activities.- Conduct collaborative and consensus-generating activities, including Working Group meetings, joint-sessions at the annual AIBS Council meeting, workshops, presentation and discussion sessions at scientific conferences, and coalition meetings with other scientific organizations. The goal is to involve many kinds of biologists and other scientists in thinking about and working together on scientific activities, questions, and applications that can be better addressed with enhanced infrastructure and data-networking capacities. - Make the biological community aware of relevant infrastructure and data-networking activities in other scientific/technical communities such as geology, chemistry, toxicology, hydrology, remote sensing/GIS, engineering, nanotechnology, bio-sensors, mathematics, computer science, and data management/IT.- Serve as a key source of information about relevant infrastructure and data-networking projects for the scientific community, the public policy community, the media, and the general public. Included will be printed materials (brochures and reports), articles in the AIBS publication, BioScience, and a new website covering past activities (e.g., past workshop summaries and evaluations, etc.), present activities (e.g., current workshops and other meetings, reports, program announcements, lists of existing networks, a matching service for scientists seeking to partner with other PIs to develop funding proposals), and future activities (e.g., upcoming workshops and other meetings, etc.).