CI-TEAM Implementation Project: Using Cyberinfrastructure to Develop Next Generation Civil Infrastructure

托马斯·A·芬霍尔特，密歇根大学06-36300CI-团队实施项目：使用网络基础设施开发下一代民用基础设施许多科学家和工程师都希望实现NSF网络基础设施蓝丝带小组所设想的优势(Atkins等人。2003年)，但难以确定最佳做法和工具。为了满足这一需求，我们的CI团队实施项目将使专注于工程水泥成分(ECC)的国际研究人员能够使用和分析Sakai，这是一个开放源码的协作和学习环境。通过评估ECC社区的经验，我们将产生可推广到其他科学和工程社区的经验教训。这些经验教训包括改进远距离联合活动的协调，更有效地在分散的地点转让程序性知识，以及加快研究成果的实际应用。该项目的一个关键智力贡献是演示了如何实现基于CI的工具的好处，而不需要特殊的个人或组织环境，例如依赖于精通CI的个人。在更广泛的影响方面，我们的项目将扩大ECC在民用基础设施系统(如桥梁、隧道、道路、管道)中的使用，并相应降低这些系统因正常磨损或地震等灾难性事件而恶化的脆弱性。此外，我们的项目将激励和激励研究人员通过降低参与门槛的网络基础设施组织更多活动。例如，学生可以通过Sakai中包含的博客、聊天和讨论工具直接与领先的研究人员互动。最后，我们的项目将展示如何利用网络基础设施来提高妇女、代表性不足的少数民族和普通公众对下一代民用基础设施的尖端研究的兴趣。

Thomas A. Finholt, University of Michigan06-36300CI-TEAM Implementation Project: Using Cyberinfrastructure to Develop Next Generation Civil InfrastructureMany scientists and engineers would like to realize the advantages envisioned by the NSF blue-ribbon panel on cyberinfrastructure (Atkins et al. 2003), but struggle to identify best practices and tools. To address this need our CI-TEAM implementation project will enable and analyze the use of Sakai, an open-source collaboration and learning environment, by an international community of researchers focused on engineered cementitious composities (ECC). Through evaluation of the ECC community's experience we will produce lessons-learned that can be extended to other scientific and engineering communities. These lessons include improved coordination of joint activity at a distance, more effective transfer of procedural knowledge across distributed sites, and accelerated practical application of research findings. A key intellectual contribution of this project is demonstration of how to realize benefits of CI-based tools without special individual or organizational circumstances, such as dependence on CI-savvy individuals. In terms of broader impacts, our project will expand use of ECC in civil infrastructure systems (e.g., bridges, tunnels, roadways, pipelines) with a corresponding decrease in the vulnerability of these systems due to deterioration through normal wear-and-tear or catastrophic events like earthquakes. Additionally, our project will inspire and motivate researchers to organize more activity via cyberinfrastructure where barriers to participation are reduced. For example, students are able to interact directly with leading reseachers via blog, chat and discussion tools that are included in Sakai. Finally, our project will show how cyberinfrastructure can be used to increase interest among women, underrepresented minorities, and the general public in cutting edge research on next generation civil infrastructure.