Conference: Workshop to Build a Vision and Strategy for Creating a National Network of Academic Cloud and Self-Driving Labs

该研讨会将支持一个全国性的研讨会，重点关注通过自动驾驶实验室（SDL），云实验室和自动化科学提供的创新来加速科学。该研讨会将汇集学者，行业代表和政府合作伙伴，以了解云实验室和SDL的最新技术，并为国家资源网络制定路线图。投资这些技术可以帮助美国保持其在科学创新方面的国际领导地位，并可以促进创新和发现的良性循环。云实验室和SDL的国家网络可以使先进科学设备的使用民主化，提高可重复性，加速基础研究向商业化的转化，并促进开放科学原则。研讨会将汇集来自多种类型大学的学者，从R1研究型大学到社区学院，基金会的代表，以及政府和行业领导者探讨广泛的问题。具有不同背景和经验的参与者将被招募参加研讨会，包括来自HBCU和MSI的教师/研究人员，以及早期和晚期的职业教师，目标是为一个从一开始就具有包容性的国家网络建立路线图。讨论将集中在从试错研究到人工智能（AI）和机器学习驱动的自动化研究工作流程的过渡（ML）。研讨会将探讨计算在科学进步中的整合，通过使用自动化研究工作流程在数据生成反馈循环中不断完善模型，实现科学发现的新模式。正在追求的愿景是实验的自动化和利用AI/ML方法来微调模型，以便更快地理解复杂的现象，并指导未来的实验快速改进和发现。讲习班将讨论在这一过程中可能遇到的挑战，包括仪器先进创新的必要性，纳入主动学习，促进合作，以及使教育和培训适应这种远程实验室的使用。研讨会包括全体会议，分组讨论，以及由学术界，工业界和国家科学基础设施网络的专家领导的讨论。研讨会的成果将为国家学术自动驾驶实验室网络的发展路线图提供信息。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

The Workshop to Build a Vision and Strategy for Creating a National Network of Academic Cloud and Self-Driving Labs will support a national-scale workshop focused on accelerating science through innovations provided by self-driving labs (SDLs), cloud labs, and automated science. The workshop will bring together academics, industry representatives, and government partners to understand the state-of-the-art in cloud labs and SDLs, and develop a roadmap for a national network of resources. Investing in these technologies can help the US retain its international leadership in scientific innovation, and can foster a virtuous cycle of innovation and discovery. A national network of cloud labs and SDLs can democratize access to advanced scientific equipment, enhance reproducibility, accelerate the translation of basic research into commercialization, and promote open science principles.The workshop will bring together a mixture of academics from multiple types of universities, from R1 research universities through community colleges, representatives from foundations, and government and industry leaders to explore the broad set of issues. Participants with diverse backgrounds and experience will be recruited for the workshop, including faculty/researchers from HBCU’s and MSI’s, as well as early and late career faculty, with the goal of building a roadmap for a national network that is inclusive from the very beginning.Discussions will focus on the transition from trial-and-error research to automated research workflows driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The workshop will explore integration of computing in scientific advancements to enable a new model of scientific discovery through continuous refinement of models within the data generation feedback loop using automated research workflows. The vision being pursued is the automation of experiments and utilization of AI/ML methods to fine-tune models in order to much more quickly understand complex phenomena and guide future experiments towards rapid refinement and discovery. The workshop will address challenges that one may encounter in the process including the need for advanced innovations in instrumentation, incorporation of active learning, fostering collaborations, and adapting education and training to the use of such remote laboratories. The workshop includes plenary sessions, breakout tracks, and discussions led by experts from academia, industry, and national scientific infrastructure networks. The outcome of the workshop will inform the roadmap for the development of a national network of academic self-driving labs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.