Standards Based Frameworks to Underpin Linked Information Sharing Networks Workshop
Overview
Information sharing networks are increasingly being funded as part of either specific government initiatives (e.g. Improving Water Information Program, National Plan for Environment Information, Australian Oceans Data Network) or the broader National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (e.g. TERN Eco-informatics, Atlas of Living Australia, AuScope Grid, e-Marine Information Infrastructure). These networks reflect a growing trend towards using Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 technologies to enable sharing of information and services from nationally if not globally distributed resources. Most of these networks are now progressing beyond the initial set up phase and are starting to show tremendous progress.
However, the 2008 NCRIS Strategic Roadmap for Australian Research Infrastructure identified that cross-capability linkages were vital. It also identified that traditional ICT methods for collaboration do not scale.
This workshop aims to explore these two key issues. The first session will set the scene on information sharing networks. The keynote paper will be presented by Dr Bryan Lawrence on the European experience in building information networks for climate and environmental research. A challenge will also be given by Dr Ben Evans of NCI to ask if the networks will be able scale to the new Petascale computers funded by the Super Science Initiative. The second session will provide insights into many of these new networks.
Bryan Lawrence Biography
Bryan Lawrence is the Director of the Centre for Environmental Data Archival (CEDA). He also serves on many national committees, mainly for the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), but also for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. His research group specialises in atmospheric physics and the application of computer science techniques for both atmospheric physics and data management. In his roles as director of CEDA and on the NERC Information Strategy Group he is interested in the exploitation of the full gamut of environmental data.