Acquisition of Computer Systems for Creating Analytical Interfaces to Diverse Environmental Data

堪萨斯大学(KU)正在建立一个分析生物多样性和环境信息的国家计算实验室。堪萨斯环境信息学实验室(KEIL)将应用高性能可视化和数据库系统来解决计算密集型环境和生物多样性研究问题。Keil联合了一个由系统学家、生态学家和计算机科学家组成的跨学科校园联盟，他们围绕生物多样性和生态数据分析这一共同研究重点，组织了可视化、数据库和高速通信方面的专业知识。我们正在与圣地亚哥超级计算机中心(SDSC)合作，研究通过千兆位网络实时访问兆兆字节大小的环境数据档案。KU正在为Keil做出基本承诺：为该提案提供30万美元的现金匹配(KU提供15万美元，堪萨斯科技企业公司提供15万美元)；为Keil主任设立一个新的全职职位；10万美元用于启动成本；为期四年的环境信息学自我家庭研究生奖学金，以及为Keil提供自然历史博物馆的空间和行政支持。Keil将是美国第一个完全致力于生物多样性和环境信息学研究问题的设施。这些研究问题是巨大的挑战--我们将展示如何有效利用高性能计算，而不是在生物多样性文件和蓬勃发展的环境数据资源方面进行了300年的投资。Keil将调查的研究主题包括：不同种类的环境和生物馆数据集的整合结合气候和地球物理数据对物种的发生情况进行实时汇总的物种空间分布的预测模型，以及气候变化情景下的物种分布模型与SDSC可视化方法协作，用于获取和分析非常大的环境数据档案，在从具体采集点到全球视角的尺度上整合视图。使用VRML、SGML、HGML传播生物多样性信息的在线访问、用户界面和电子出版物系统这些研究主题将与KU计算机科学和生物研究方面的培训活动并行。KU的几个学术单位和项目参与了生态生物多样性和计算机科学研究，并将使用该设施。劳伦斯哈斯克尔印第安民族大学的学生正在接受这些项目的培训。KEIL仪器还将成为以下方面的平台：研究国家博物馆社区建筑；培训社区解决方案和应用；招募学生和专业人员，以建立和维护国家生物多样性信息基础设施。为了支持Keil的研究任务，我们需要一台四处理器的SGI Onyx服务器。Onyx经过精心设计，可同时用作高性能计算、可视化和I/O(数据库)服务器。由ATM工作组局域网连接的三个SIG Indigo2工作站将为教师、博士后研究员、教职员工和学生提供额外的座位，用于开发和可视化工作。连接国家数据中心和其他数据中心的ATM网络将完成该架构。

The University of Kansas (KU) is establishing a national computational laboratory for the analysis of biodiversity and environmental information. The Kansas Environmental Informatics Lab (KEIL) will apply high-performance visualization and database systems to computationally-intensive environmental and biodiversity research problems. KEIL unites a cross-disciplinary campus consortium of systematists, ecologists and computer scientists with specializations in visualization, database and high-speed communications organized around a common research focus of biodiversity and ecological data analysis. We are collaborating with the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) on research related to real-time access to terabyte sized environmental data archives over gigabit networks. KU is making a fundamental commitment to KEIL: a $300,000 cash match to the proposal ($150,000 from KU and $150,000 from the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation); a new, full-time position for the Director of KEIL (PI); $100,000 for startup costs; the four-year, $1~0,000 Self Family Graduate Fellowship in Environmental Informatics, and space and administrative support in the Natural History Museum for KEIL. KEIL will be the first facility in the United States totally devoted to research questions in biodiversity and environmental informatics. These research questions are grand challenges-- we will demonstrate the effective use of high-performance computing leveraged against a 300-year investment in biodiversity documentation and burgeoning environmental data resources. Research themes to be investigated by KEIL include: Integration of heterogeneous environmental and biological museum data sets Predictive modeling of species spatial distribution based on real-time aggregation of species occurrence in combination with climate and geophysical data, as well as models of species distributions under climate change scena rios Database architectures for access and analysis of very large environmental data archives, in collaboration with SDSC Visualization methodologies for morphometric and phylogenetic data On-the-fly visualizations of landscape, terrain, species distribution and climate data, integrating views at scales ranging from specific collection points to global perspectives. On-line access, user interface, and electronic publication systems for disseminating biodiversity information using VRML, SGML, HGML These research themes will parallel KU training activities in computer science and biological research. Several academic units and programs at KU are involved in ecological biodiversity and computer science research and will use the facility. Students at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence are being trained in these programs. KEIL instrumentation will also be the platform for: research on national museum community architectures; training on community solutions and applications; and recruitment of students and professionals to build and maintain a national biodiversity information infrastructure. To support the research mission of KEIL, we are requesting a four-processor SGI Onyx server. The Onyx is engineered to function simultaneously as a high performance compute, visualization and I/O (database) server. Three SIG Indigo2 workstations connected by an ATM work group LAN will provide additional seats for faculty, postdoctoral fellows, staff and students for development and visualization work. An ATM network to SDCS and other data centers will complete the architecture.