Advances in science and engineering are driven increasingly by collaborations that focus on sharing data, computing, code,
and access to experimental facilities. Network-driven computers, storage, data collections and scientific instruments
are now central to the day-to-day practice of many research disciplines.
For example, the National Science Foundation’s GriPhyN project uses an international network of computational systems and
data collections to address next-generation particle physics experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), while the NSF-
funded George E. Brown Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) is revolutionizing seismology via network
enabled access to experimental facilities, data, and simulations. GriPhyN and NEES represent not today’s standard practice,
but five- to ten-year strides for these disciplines. GriPhyN is preparing for a torrent of data from LHC experiments to
begin in 2006 with a 15-year duration, while NEES is expected to be in place until 2014.
Though these communities are ready now to develop
new modes of research, scientists and engineers are
frustrated by the scarcity of network-enabled services
to suit their applications.
