Collaborative Research: SoCS - ExSciTecH: An Interactive, Easy-to-Use Volunteer Computing System to Explore Science, Technology, and Health

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Volunteer Computing (VC) uses the computational resources of volunteers with Internet-connected PCs to address fundamental problems in science. Unfortunately, the largely white-male volunteers are not representative of the general population, and their involvement typically consists of nothing more than contributing idle computing resources. The demonstrated benefits to scientific discovery and the opportunity to engage a broad population motivate this project?s radical transformation of VC systems. This work will build ExSciTecH, an interactive, easy-to-use VC system to Explore Science, Technology, and Health. The system will motivate and facilitate diverse volunteers to donate their intellectual and computational resources to VC projects. As a result, ExSciTecH will aid scientific discovery even as it develops a more scientifically informed and engaged citizenry. Supported by technologies such as the Nintendo Wii Remote controller and casual gaming, ExSciTecH will help volunteers discover how rewarding and exciting science can be. Intellectual Merit: This project aims to increase the interest and participation of diverse populations in computer science in general and VC projects in particular, to build inclusive communities of diverse volunteers, and to increase the science delivered to scientists by Docking@Home, a VC project targeting the design of new drugs for breast cancer and HIV. Broader Impact: ExSciTecH will be distributed through an established network of undergraduate computing programs that are dedicated to diversity in information technology. The National Center for Women and IT (NCWIT) has experience and resources for promoting and distributing practices that recruit and retain diverse populations.