EAGER: The Xpert Network: Synergizing National Expert-Assistance and Tool-Support Teams for Computational and Data-Intensive Science

今天的科学前沿正在由研究人员越来越多地推进，他们使用大量的计算能力来模拟我们世界的过程模型，并分析大量观察和收集的数据。要做到这一点，不仅需要在物理、化学和生物学等相关领域科学方面的专业知识，而且还需要实现所需模拟和数据分析方法的计算工具方面的专业知识。许多研究项目已经认识到将领域科学家与计算专家配对的重要性。虽然领域科学家追求各自的研究目标，但有许多共同点是支持软件和硬件方法以及所需的网络基础设施工具和资源。该项目旨在通过(I)交流最佳实践和讨论开放问题，以及(Ii)提供高级编程支持环境来提高许多计算支持团队(称为Xpert)的生产率。为了实现第一个目标-在Xpert团队之间创造协同效应-该奖项将邀请来自一些大型国家网络基础设施项目的计算专家，包括XSEDE和NSF软件研究所，以及已经认识到计算研究支持团队的价值的大学校园工作。交流最佳做法和讨论公开问题的活动将在特别讲习班、在线会议和既定的年度专题讨论会上组织，例如超级计算和国际皮尤中心会议。同样的聚会将被用来将编程环境的用户和开发人员聚集在一起，以追求第二个目标。在这些小组中，有开发自动和半自动程序优化工具、性能分析环境和数据管理工具的人。这一努力不仅将使XPERT团队接触到当今先进的编程支持环境，还将从关键用户群体-那些推动当今科学前沿的人-收集重要反馈，以帮助推进编程环境。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Today's science frontiers are being advanced, to an increasing degree, by researchers who use large amounts of computational power to simulate models of our world's processes and to analyze large volumes of observed and collected data. Doing so requires expertise not only in the involved domain sciences, such as physics, chemistry, and biology, but also in the computational tools that implement the needed simulation and data analysis methods. Many research projects have recognized the importance of pairing domain scientists with computational experts. While the domain scientists pursue their individual research objectives, there is much commonality is the supporting software and hardware methods as well as in the needed cyberinfrastructure tools and resources. This project aims to increase the productivity of the many computational support teams - referred to as Xperts - through (i) the exchange of best practices and discussion of open problems, and (ii) the provision of advanced programming support environments.To achieve the first objective - creating synergy among Xpert teams - this award will engage computational experts from some of the large, national cyberinfrastructure projects, including XSEDE and the NSF Software Institutes, as well as from university campus efforts that have recognized the value of computational research support teams. Events for exchanging best practices and discussing open issues will be organized at special workshops, through online meetings, and at established annual symposia, such as the Supercomputing and PEARC conferences. The same gatherings will be used to bring together users and developers of programming environments, pursuing the second objective. Among these groups are those who develop automatic, and semi-automatic program optimization instruments, performance analysis environments, and data management tools. This effort will not only expose Xpert teams to today's advanced programming support environments, but also gather important feedback from key user groups - those who push today's science frontiers - to help advance the programming environments.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.