COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Cyberinfrastructure for a Virtual Observatory and Ecological Informatics System (VOEIS)

蒙大拿大学理查德·豪尔的EPS-0919557与肯塔基大学研究基金会的EPS-0918856合作研究：虚拟天文台和生态信息学系统的网络基础设施这个奖项是根据2009年美国恢复和再投资法案(公共法律第111-5条)资助的。蒙大拿-肯塔基(MTKY)网络联盟是两个州的主要研究大学--蒙大拿大学(UM)、蒙大拿州立大学(MTSU)、肯塔基大学(UK)、路易斯维尔大学(UL)、东肯塔基大学(EKU)、蒙大拿州弗拉塞德湖生物站(FLBS)--的合作伙伴关系肯塔基州的汉考克生物站(HBS)由默里州立大学(Musu)、伊利诺伊大学香槟分校国家超级计算应用中心(NCSA)、思科系统公司(Cisco Systems，Inc.)NCSA和思科运营。这个由MT和KY以及来自工业和公共部门的合作伙伴合作的项目计划通过使用现代网络基础设施资源来开发一个集成的传感器和生态信息学系统。通过这一CI项目，研究人员将开发一种协作的、基于研究的查询和信息学框架，其功能将从收集流动传感器数据到在模拟模型和可视化中应用这些数据。这是通过开发和实施必要的硬件、网络、软件和人力资源的组合来实现的，以确保端到端的工作流程。网络基础设施开展的研究将形成一个试点项目性质的综合传感器和信息学网络，该项目将发展环境科学方面的专门知识，对蒙大拿州和肯塔基州未来的竞争力具有重要意义。该联盟团队由平头湖生物站(MT)、汉考克生物站(KY)以及肯塔基州四所大学和蒙大拿州两所大学的研究和教育中心的教职员工组成，将为这一网络的设计、开发和应用做出贡献。通过这个项目开发的信息系统将被设计成管理大量的遗留数据，以及传感器网络产生的新数据。数据将通过与伊利诺伊州厄巴纳-香槟国家超级计算应用中心(NCSA)的软件专家合作设计的工作流环境进行分析。私营部门和协作合作伙伴思科系统公司将为这一努力贡献传感器和路由器开发和资源。数据的可视化将由NCSA和肯塔基州可视化和虚拟环境中心联合进行。这些资源的结合将形成一个网络基础设施，以探索环境科学中的基本问题，包括气候变化的影响，人类活动对环境的影响，以及国家的韧性-S水资源。更广泛的影响。培训学生使用VOEIS和NCSA开放源码软件是该项目的重要组成部分，并将发展当地在传感器开发、部署和模拟方面的专门知识。湖沼学和生态学的本科课程将在蒙大拿州和肯塔基州的大学设计和测试。将特别努力纳入代表人数不足的群体的学生(例如，蒙大拿州七所部落学院的学生和来自肯塔基州阿巴拉契亚县的经济困难学生)。与公众和K-12学生的互动将通过肯塔基州水资源研究所(KWRRI)和蒙大拿州水资源中心(MWC)的外联计划进行，这两个机构都是国家水资源中心网络的一部分。预计这将提高人们对人类活动如何影响环境的认识。

EPS-0919557, University of Montana, Richard Hauer, linked to EPS-0918856 (University of Kentucky Research Foundation)Collaborative Research: Cyberinfrastructure for a Virtual Observatory and Ecological Informatics System (VOEIS)This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The Montana-Kentucky (MTKY) cyber consortium is a partnership of the primary research universities in the two states--University of Montana (UM), Montana State University (MtSU), University of Kentucky (UK), University of Louisville (UL), Eastern Kentucky University (EKU), Flathead Lake Biological Station (FLBS) in Montana operated by UM, Hancock Biological Station (HBS) in Kentucky operated by Murray State University (MuSU), the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Cisco Systems, Inc. NCSA and Cisco. This collaborative project between MT and KY and partners from industry and the public sector plans to develop an integrated sensor and ecological informatics system through the use of modern cyberinfrastructure resources. Through this CI project, the researchers will develop a collaborative, research-based line of inquiry and informatics framework that will function from the collection of streaming sensor data to the application of those data in simulation models and visualizations. This is to be accomplished by developing and implementing a combination of the necessary hardware, networking, software and human resources to ensure an end-to-end workflow.Intellectual Merit. The research carried out by the cyberinfrastructure will enable an integrated sensor and informatics network in the nature of a pilot project which will develop expertise in environmental science of importance in the future competitiveness of Montana and Kentucky. The consortium team, composed of faculty and students at Flathead Lake Biological Station (MT), Hancock Biological Station (KY) and research and education centers at four universities in Kentucky and two in Montana, will contribute to the design, development and application of this network. The informatics system developed through this project would be designed to manage vast amounts of legacy data, as well as new data generated by the sensor network. Data will be analyzed through a workflow environment designed in collaboration with the software experts at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) in Urbana-Champaign, IL. Private sector and collaboration partner, Cisco Systems Inc., will contribute sensor and router development and resources to this effort. Visualization of the data will be carried out jointly between NCSA and the Kentucky Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments. The combination of these resources will form a cyberinfrastructure to explore fundamental questions in environmental science, including the effects of climate change, the imposition of human activities on the environment, and the resilience of the nation?s water resources. Broader Impacts. Training of students in the use of VOEIS and the NCSA open source software is an important part of this project and will develop local expertise in sensor development, deployment and simulation. Undergraduate curricula in limnology and ecology will be designed and tested in Montana and Kentucky universities. A special effort will be made to include students from underrepresented groups (e.g., students at the seven Tribal Colleges in Montana and the economically disadvantaged students from the Appalachian counties of Kentucky). Interaction with the public and K-12 students will be channeled through the outreach programs at the Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute (KWRRI) and the Montana Water Center (MWC), which are both part of the national network of water centers. This is expected to raise the awareness of how human activities have impact on the environment.