Introduction to NSF's Report of Revolutionizing Science and Engineering Through Cyberinfrastructure

Digital computation,data,information,and networks and computer simulation are now being used to replace and extend the classic two approaches to scientific research,theoretical/analytical and experimental/observational in science and engineering research,to create new disciplines.Recently, multiple accelerating trends are converging and crossing thresholds in ways that show extraordinary promise for an even more profound and rapid transformation indeed a further revolution in how we create,disseminate,and preserve scientific and engineering knowledge.We now have the opportunity and responsibility to integrate and extend the products of the digital revolution to serve the next generation of science and engineering research and education.The key of cyberinfrastructure is that enables more ubiquitous,comprehensive knowledge resources of in terms of people,data,information,tools,and instruments and that include unprecedented capacity for computational,storage,and communication to service completely for specific research communities,provide new methods,enable individuals working alone to have access to more and better information and facilities for discovery and learning,enable teams to share and collaborate over time and over geographic,organizational,and disciplinary distance.The high-end scientific computational resources available to the United States academic research community should be second to none.NSF,in collaboration with other appropriate mission agencies,should take lead responsibility for creating and maintaining the crucial data repositories necessary for contemporary,data driven science.Two organizations within NSF and the science and engineering community itself should be organized to ensure this system implementation.