E-Science: the grid and the Semantic Web

Over the past few years, researchers have been treated to two visions of the Internet's future. One is the Semantic Web, the next generation of World Wide Web technology. The second is grid computing, the next generation of internetworked processing. The Semantic Web is described as "an extension of the current Web in which information is given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation". Grid computing is defined as "flexible, secure, coordinated resource sharing among dynamic collections of individuals, institutions, and resources". We discuss their differences and, more importantly, their similarities, and explore the work needed to bring the two together. We focus particularly on scientists' needs, an area in which the high-power computing made possible by grid computing and the large-scale, distributed information management enabled by Semantic Web technologies will need to be integrated. In particular, this enables new approaches to interdisciplinary scientific endeavors made possible by these new technologies.