Collaborative Research: Cyberinfrastructure Development for the Western Consortium of Idaho, Nevada, and New Mexico

EPS-0919123：内华达高等教育系统，盖尔·L·达纳，链接到EPS-0918635(新墨西哥大学)和EPS-0919514(爱达荷大学)合作研究：爱达荷州、内华达州和新墨西哥州西部财团的网络基础设施发展爱达荷州、内华达州和新墨西哥州拥有国家科学基金会EPSCoR Track-1研究基础设施改善(RII)奖，这些奖项共享一个共同的全球挑战主题。项目组正在共同研究气候变化及其对水资源、生态系统和环境的影响。随后，这三个州组成了一个联盟，以寻求改善网络基础设施(CI)，以利用它们的资源，使NSF RII在这三个州的投资的累积影响可以超过这些部分的总和。该Track-2奖的推动力是认识到科学挑战的复杂性和规模以及随后对科学、教育和经济发展的影响。NV-ID-NM联盟提出了三个高度优先的目标：1)增加连通性和带宽；2)增强数据和模型的互操作性；3)利用CI将研究与教育结合起来。智力价值气候变化的影响在美国西部特别明显，因为气候和区域水文学之间的紧密耦合，以及对供水、干扰制度(例如，火灾、干旱)、区域经济和生活质量的相关影响。拟议的CI发展将使研究人员能够更有效地分享标准化和可互操作的数据和模型，并更容易地开发区域耦合的大气-陆地-地表-水文-社会经济模型。联盟机构和州将与世界各地的200多所其他Internet2大学、政府研究实验室、公司和其他研究机构建立联系，以促进数据密集型研究、协作、分布式实验、基于网格的数据分析、使用高性能网络的实验和社交网络。此外，拟议的投资旨在支持有效参与以全球气候变化为重点的国家和国际虚拟组织，如国家生态观测网络和水文科学促进大学联盟，Inc.的广泛影响拟议的CI投资旨在通过利用机构、司法管辖区和区域内的现有资源和基础设施实现广泛的影响和增值。将从拟议的加强连通性中受益的机构包括农村机构，以及为拉美裔和美国原住民学生和教职员工服务的机构。将通过数据档案开放获取在该联盟内开发的数据和模型，模型互操作性框架将确保科学产品能够被广泛传播，并便于世界各地的科学家、工程师和学生使用。该项目还寻求为STEM教育和推广提供可用的高质量环境数据、信息和模型。该联盟的S教育项目旨在通过以下方式产生深远的影响：(1)为研究生、博士后助理和教师开发新的CI技能和气候建模专业知识；(2)将网络学习和气候变化科学整合到初中和高中科学教育中，特别是针对农村学校和接触到拉美裔和美洲原住民学生的学校；以及(3)开发行业CI Days计划，以促进商业和行业的CI意识。该联盟致力于改善少数族裔和地理上处于不利地位的人口对网络基础设施的访问，并增加伙伴州未来劳动力的多样性。

EPS-0919123: Nevada System of Higher Education, Gayle L. Dana, Linked to EPS-0918635 (University of New Mexico) and EPS-0919514 (University of Idaho)Collaborative Research: Cyberinfrastructure Development for the Western Consortium of Idaho, Nevada, and New MexicoIdaho, Nevada, and New Mexico have NSF EPSCoR Track-1 Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) awards that share a common theme of global challenge. Collectively, the project teams are studying climate change and its effects on water resources, ecosystems, and the environment. Subsequently, the three states formed a consortium to pursue cyberinfrastructure (CI) improvements that would leverage their resources so that the cumulative impact of NSF RII investments in the three states could exceed the sum of the parts. The impetus for this Track-2 award was the recognition of the complexity and scale of the scientific challenge and subsequent ramifications for science, education, and economic development.The NV-ID-NM consortium proposed three high priority objectives: 1) to increase connectivity and bandwidth; 2) to enhance data and model interoperability; and 3) to utilize CI to integrate research with education.Intellectual MeritClimate change impacts are especially pronounced in the Western United States due to the tight coupling between climate and regional hydrology, and the associated ramifications for the water supply, disturbance regimes (e.g., fire, drought), regional economy, and the quality of life. The proposed CI developments will enable researchers to more effectively share standardized and interoperable data and models, and to more easily develop regionally coupled atmosphere-land surface-hydrology-socioeconomic models. Consortium institutions and states will be linked to more than 200 other Internet2 universities, government research laboratories, companies, and other research facilities throughout the world to facilitate data-intensive research, collaboration, distributed experiments, grid-based data analysis, experimentation using high performance networking, and social networking. In addition, the proposed investments aim to support effective participation in national and international virtual organizations focused on global climate change, such as the National Ecological Observatory Network, and the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc.Broader ImpactsThe proposed CI investments in the consortium seek to achieve broad impact and add value by leveraging existing resources and infrastructure within the institutions, jurisdictions, and regions. The institutions that will benefit from the proposed increased connectivity include rural institutions and those serving Hispanic and Native American students and faculty members. Open access to the data and models developed within the consortium will be made available through the data archive, and the model interoperability framework will ensure that scientific products can be broadly disseminated and readily used by scientists, engineers, and students throughout the world. The project also seeks to make usable high-quality environmental data, information, and models available for STEM education and outreach. The consortium?s education programs are designed to have far-reaching impact by: (1) developing new CI skills and climate modeling expertise for graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and faculty; (2) integrating cyberlearning and climate change science into middle and high school science education, especially targeting rural schools and schools that reach Hispanic and Native American students; and (3) developing an Industry CI Days Program that promotes CI awareness in business and industry.The consortium is committed to improving access to cyberinfrastructure for minority populations and geographically disadvantaged populations, and to increasing diversity in the future workforce of the partnering states.