E-Science
Encyclopedia
E-Science is computationally intensive science
that is carried out in highly distributed network
environments, or science that uses immense data
sets that require grid computing
; the term sometimes includes technologies that enable distributed collaboration, such as the Access Grid
. The term was created by John Taylor, the Director General of the United Kingdom's Office of Science and Technology
in 1999 and was used to describe a large funding initiative starting in November 2000. E-Sciences include social simulation
s, particle physics, earth sciences and bio-informatics. Particle physics has a well developed e-Science infrastructure in particular because of its need for adequate computing facilities for the analysis of results and storage of data originating from the CERN
Large Hadron Collider
, which started taking data in 2009.
, where the UK e-Science programme provides significant funding.
In Europe the development of computing capabilities to support the CERN Large Hadron Collider has led to the development of e-Science and Grid infrastructures which are also used by other disciplines.
Worldwide LHC Computing Grid,
a federation with various partners including the
European Grid Infrastructure, the Open Science Grid and the
Nordic DataGrid Facility.
To support e-Science applications, Open Science Grid combines interfaces to more than 100 nation-wide clusters, 50 interfaces to geographically distributed storage caches, and 8 campus grids (Purdue, Wisconsin-Madison, Clemson, Nebraska-Lincoln, FermiGrid at FNAL, SUNY-Buffalo, and Oklahoma in the United States; and UNESP
in Brazil). Areas of science benefiting from Open Science Grid include:
and Edinburgh
, with facilities in both cities.
Tony Hey
led the programme from 2001 to 2005.
Within the UK regional e-Science centres support their local universities and projects, including:
There are also various centres of excellence and research centres.
In addition, the EPSRC funded 11 pilot e-Science projects in three phases
-based initiatives, where the term cyberinfrastructure
is typically used to define e-Science projects, are primarily funded by the National Science Foundation
office of cyberinfrastructure (NSF OCI) and Department of Energy
(in particular the Office of Science).
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
that is carried out in highly distributed network
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
environments, or science that uses immense data
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
sets that require grid computing
Grid computing
Grid computing is a term referring to the combination of computer resources from multiple administrative domains to reach a common goal. The grid can be thought of as a distributed system with non-interactive workloads that involve a large number of files...
; the term sometimes includes technologies that enable distributed collaboration, such as the Access Grid
Access Grid
Access Grid is a collection of resources and technologies that enables large format audio and video based collaboration between groups of people in different locations. The Access Grid is an ensemble of resources, including multimedia large-format displays, presentation and interactive...
. The term was created by John Taylor, the Director General of the United Kingdom's Office of Science and Technology
Office of Science and Technology
The Office of Science and Technology , later named the Office of Science and Innovation, was a non-ministerial government department of the British government between 1992 and 2007....
in 1999 and was used to describe a large funding initiative starting in November 2000. E-Sciences include social simulation
Social simulation
Social simulation is a research field that applies computational methods to study issues in the social sciences. The issues explored include problems in sociology, political science, economics, anthropology, geography, archaeology and linguistics ....
s, particle physics, earth sciences and bio-informatics. Particle physics has a well developed e-Science infrastructure in particular because of its need for adequate computing facilities for the analysis of results and storage of data originating from the CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
Large Hadron Collider
Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It is expected to address some of the most fundamental questions of physics, advancing the understanding of the deepest laws of nature....
, which started taking data in 2009.
Characteristics and examples
Due to the complexity of the software and the backend infrastructural requirements, e-Science projects usually involve large teams managed and developed by research laboratories, large universities or governments. Currently there is a large focus in e-Science in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where the UK e-Science programme provides significant funding.
In Europe the development of computing capabilities to support the CERN Large Hadron Collider has led to the development of e-Science and Grid infrastructures which are also used by other disciplines.
Consortiums
Example e-Science infrastructures include theWorldwide LHC Computing Grid,
a federation with various partners including the
European Grid Infrastructure, the Open Science Grid and the
Nordic DataGrid Facility.
To support e-Science applications, Open Science Grid combines interfaces to more than 100 nation-wide clusters, 50 interfaces to geographically distributed storage caches, and 8 campus grids (Purdue, Wisconsin-Madison, Clemson, Nebraska-Lincoln, FermiGrid at FNAL, SUNY-Buffalo, and Oklahoma in the United States; and UNESP
Unesp
Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho is one of the six public universities of the Brazilian state of São Paulo, with USP, UFABC, UNIFESP, UFSCar and UNICAMP. It's a part of the state’s higher education system.UNESP has a combined student body of almost 40,000 spread among its 23...
in Brazil). Areas of science benefiting from Open Science Grid include:
- Astrophysics, Gravitational Physics, High-energy Physics, Neutrino Physics, and Nuclear Physics.
- Structural Biology, Computational Biology, Genomics, Proteomics, and Medicine.
- Molecular Dynamics, Materials Science and Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, and Nanotechnology.
UK programme
The UK e-Science programme comprises a wide range of resources, centres and people including the National e-Science Centre (NeSC) which is managed by the Universities of GlasgowUniversity of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
and Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, with facilities in both cities.
Tony Hey
Tony Hey
Anthony John Grenville Hey CBE FREng FIET FInstP FBCS is a researcher and educator across a range of science and engineering fields....
led the programme from 2001 to 2005.
Within the UK regional e-Science centres support their local universities and projects, including:
- White Rose Grid e-Science Centre (WRGeSC)
- Belfast e-Science Centre (BeSC)
- Cambridge e-Science Centre (CeSC)
- STFC e-Science Centre (STFCeSC)
- e-Science North West (eSNW)
- National Grid ServiceNational Grid ServiceThe National Grid Service , now entering its seventh year, aims to help UK academics and researchers carry out their research by providing easy to use access to computational, data and other resources...
(NGS) - OMII-UK
- Lancaster University Centre for e-Science
- London e-Science Centre (LeSC)
- North East Regional e-Science Centre (NEReSC)
- Oxford e-Science Centre (OeSC)
- Southampton e-Science Centre (SeSC)
- Welsh e-Science Centre (WeSC)
There are also various centres of excellence and research centres.
In addition, the EPSRC funded 11 pilot e-Science projects in three phases
- First Phase (2001-2005) were CombEchem, DAME, Discovery NetDiscovery NetDiscovery Net is one of the earliest examples of a scientific workflow system allowing users to coordinate the execution of remote services based on Web service and Grid Services standards....
, GEODISE, myGridMyGridThe myGrid consortium is a multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary internationally leading research group focussing on the challenges of eScience...
and RealityGrid. - Second phase (2004-2008) were GOLD and Integrative biology
- Third phase (2005-2010) were PMSEG (MESSAGE), CARMEN and NanoCMOS
United States
USUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based initiatives, where the term cyberinfrastructure
Cyberinfrastructure
United States federal research funders use the term cyberinfrastructure to describe research environments that support advanced data acquisition, data storage, data management, data integration, data mining, data visualization and other computing and information processing services distributed over...
is typically used to define e-Science projects, are primarily funded by the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
office of cyberinfrastructure (NSF OCI) and Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
(in particular the Office of Science).
The Netherlands
Dutch eScience research is coordinated by the Netherlands eScience Center in Amsterdam, an initiative founded by NWO and SURF.See also
- CyberinfrastructureCyberinfrastructureUnited States federal research funders use the term cyberinfrastructure to describe research environments that support advanced data acquisition, data storage, data management, data integration, data mining, data visualization and other computing and information processing services distributed over...
- e-Social ScienceE-Social Sciencee-Social Science is a more recent development in conjunction with the wider developments in e-Science. It is social science using Grid Computing and other information technologies to collect, process, integrate, share, and disseminate social and behavioral data.-External links:***National Centre...
- E-researchE-researchThe term e-Research refers to the use of information technology to support existing and new forms of research...
- Grid computingGrid computingGrid computing is a term referring to the combination of computer resources from multiple administrative domains to reach a common goal. The grid can be thought of as a distributed system with non-interactive workloads that involve a large number of files...
- Distributed computingDistributed computingDistributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
- Citizen scienceCitizen scienceCitizen science is a term used for the systematic collection and analysis of data; development of technology; testing of natural phenomena; and the dissemination of these activities by researchers on a primarily avocational basis...
- e-Science librarianshipE-Science librarianshipE-Science librarianship refers to a role for librarians in e-Science.-Task force:In 2007, the Association of Research Libraries e-Science task force issued a report stating that e-Science requires new librarian strategies for research support and significant development of library...
- Scientific workflow systemScientific workflow systemA Scientific Workflow Systems is a specialized form of a workflow management system designed specifically to compose and execute a series of computational or data manipulation steps, or a workflow, in a scientific application...
External links
- DOE and NSF Open Science Grid
- European Grid Infrastructure
- Nordic DataGrid Facility
- The eScience Institute at the University of Washington
- The Dutch Virtual Laboratory for e-science (VL-e) project
- UK Research Council's e-Science program
- UK National e-Science Centre
- UK National Centre for e-Social Science and their Wiki on e-Social Science
- CERN
- Large Hadron Collider
- Worldwide LHC Computing Grid
- NSF TeraGrid Project
- Arts and Humanities E-Science Support Centre (AHESSC)
- OMII-UK (formerly the 'Open Middleware Infrastructure Institute UK'
- E-Science and Data Services Collaborative (EDSC)
- The European Commission's e-Infrastructures activity
- Swedish e-Science Research Centre