NEESgrid: A Distributed Virtual Laboratory for Advanced Earthquake Experimentation and Simulation

小乔治·e·布朗地震工程模拟网络（NEES）是由美国国家科学基金会（NSF）主要研究设备拨款资助的一个项目。NEES的目标是为地理分布、共享使用的下一代实验研究设备站点提供一个全国性、网络化的模拟资源，具有远程观测和远程操作能力，通过协作和集成实验、计算、理论、数据库，改变地震工程研究和教育的环境。以及基于模型的模拟，以改进美国民用和机械基础设施系统的抗震设计和性能。NEES将建设至2004年9月30日，然后进入运营期（2004年10月1日至2014年9月30日），在此期间将由NEES财团（待定）运营。这份与伊利诺伊大学香槟分校董事会签订的为期39个月、价值1000万美元的合作协议名为“NEESgrid：用于高级地震实验和模拟的分布式虚拟实验室”，是对提交给项目征集NSF 00-7“NEES：系统集成”的提案进行同行评审的结果。NEESgrid项目将由伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校（UIUC）领导，与芝加哥大学合作；密歇根大学，安阿伯，密歇根州；南加州大学，洛杉矶，加州；TeraScale， LLC, Cedar Crest, New Mexico。这个多组织团队将根据NEESgrid项目执行计划，为NEES设计、开发、实施、测试和运行基于互联网的国家级高性能网络系统，称为“NEESgrid”。NEESgrid将建立在成熟的、现有的网格技术之上。它的设计将整合来自商业和研究部门的现有最佳实践工具。NEESgrid将是一个分层的模块化架构，具有灵活性和高度可扩展性，能够快速开发新的终端用户应用程序，引入新的服务，并在开发过程中集成新的仿真软件和实验设施。NEESgrid将通过高性能互联网网络连接分布式的主要地震工程研究设备，包括振动台、岩土离心机、海啸波盆、大型实验室实验系统、现场实验和监测装置，这些设备由NSF NEES项目提供的单独的NEES设备奖资助。在每个实验设施中都有一个专用的计算机系统，称为NEES存在点（NEESpop），将实现远程观察、远程操作和网络监控。协作技术将使规划和远程观察实验成为可能。除了为NEES设备站点提供远程呈现访问外，NEESgrid还将使用尖端工具连接前沿计算资源和数据存储设施，包括一个将实验和分析地震工程及相关数据存档的管理库。NEESgrid还将为实验和计算数据的可视化提供分布式物理和数值模拟能力和资源。NEESgrid支持节点将维护在线知识库，其中包含使用NEESgrid的教程和操作帮助台。UIUC及其合作伙伴将与NEES设备站点、NEES联盟开发受奖者、NEES联盟和地震工程社区密切合作，为NEESgrid设计开发用户需求和性能规范。NEESgrid必须在2004年9月30日前投入运行。2004年期间，UIUC将把NEESgrid的运营移交给NEES财团，由财团从2004年10月1日开始运营。

The George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) is a project funded under the National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Equipment appropriation. The goal of NEES is to provide a national, networked simulation resource of geographically-distributed, shared use next-generation experimental research equipment sites, with teleobservation and teleoperation capabilities, which will transform the environment for earthquake engineering research and education through collaborative and integrated experimentation, computation, theory, databases, and model-based simulation to improve the seismic design and performance of U.S. civil and mechanical infrastructure systems. NEES will be constructed through September 30, 2004, and then enter its operational period from October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2014, during which time it will be operated by a NEES Consortium (to be established). This 39-month, $10,000,000 cooperative agreement with The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, for the project entitled "NEESgrid: A Distributed Virtual Laboratory for Advanced Earthquake Experimentation and Simulation" is the outcome of the peer review of proposals submitted to program solicitation NSF 00-7, "NEES: System Integration." The NEESgrid project will be led by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Champaign, Illinois, in partnership with the University of Chicago, Chicago, llinois; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; and TeraScale, LLC, Cedar Crest, New Mexico. This multi-organizational team will design, develop, implement, test, and make operational the Internet-based, national-scale high performance network system for NEES, called "NEESgrid" in accordance with the NEESgrid Project Execution Plan. NEESgrid will build on proven, existing Grid technology. Its design will integrate existing best practice tools from the commercial and research sectors. NEESgrid will be a layered, modular architecture that is flexible and highly extensible and will enable rapid development of new end-user applications, the introduction of new services, and the integration of new simulation software and experimental facilities as they are developed. NEESgrid will connect, through a high performance Internet network, distributed major earthquake engineering research equipment that includes shake tables, geotechnical centrifuges, a tsunami wave basin, large-scale laboratory experimentation systems, and field experimentation and monitoring installations funded through separate NEES equipment awards made by the NSF NEES program. A dedicated computer system at each experimental facility, called a NEES Point-of-Presence (NEESpop), will enable teleobservation, teleoperation, and network monitoring. Collaborative technologies will enable planning for and teleobservation of experiments as they occur. In addition to providing access for telepresence at the NEES equipment sites, NEESgrid will use cutting-edge tools to link leading edge computational resources and data storage facilities, including a curated repository that will archive experimental and analytical earthquake engineering and related data. NEESgrid also will provide distributed physical and numerical simulation capabilities and resources for visualization of experimental and computed data. NEESgrid support nodes will maintain online knowledge bases that contain tutorials and operate help desks for using NEESgrid. UIUC and its partners will work closely with NEES equipment sites, NEES Consortium Development awardee, NEES Consortium, and the earthquake engineering community to develop the user requirements and performance specifications for NEESgrid design. NEESgrid must be operational by September 30, 2004. During 2004, UIUC will transition operation of NEESgrid to the NEES Consortium for operation by the Consortium starting on October 1, 2004.