Mission and Activities

Malcolm Atkinson & Anna KenwaySAB Directors’ Report

11 May 2009

Overview

• EPSRC review– Thank you & Timetable

• e-Science– growing importance

– cycle of progress– interdependence

• e-Science Institute– focus– facilitation– activities– outcomes

• e-Science evolves

• Facts and Figures:– overview– themes– visitors– meetings– outreach – (finance)

Today’s Timetable

10:00 Minutes of previous meeting and matters arising10:30 - 11:15 Directors' reports (MPA, AK)11:15 - 11:30 Long-term Visitor Application Paper D11:30 Theme 6: Arts & Humanities report - Stuart Dunn12:00 Theme 10: Climate change report - Andy Kerr12:30 - 13:30 Lunch13:30 Theme 7: Flybrain report - Douglas Armstrong14:00 Theme 8: Trust and security report - Andrew Martin14:30 Theme 9: Provenance report - James Cheney15:00 Discussion of theme proposal on 'Automated Experimentation' 15:15 Discussion on Future directions - Malcolm Atkinson 16:00 - 16:30 Coffee break

SAB engagement with the EPSRC mid-term revue of the eSI16:30 - 17:00 SAB meets with EPSRC Review Panel17:00 Formal SAB meeting ends

17:00 - 18:30 Reception in the Chapterhouse with the Review Panel,

theme leaders and others

Intertwingling

Jim Austin, University of York (chair)Jeremy Frey, University of SouthamptonTom Rodden, Nottingham UniversitySarah Fulford, EPSRC infrastructure programme

EPSRC Agenda Monday

15:00–16:00 Panel members arrive

Dr Sarah Fulford, Prof Jim Austin, Prof Tom Rodden & Prof Jeremy Frey

16:00–16:30 Private panel meeting (Dean Room)

16:30–17:00 Panel meets with the SAB (ex-officio members of eSI staff withdraw) (Cramond Room)

17:00–18:30 Reception with posters with SAB, UoE and eSI staff, and eSI participants including visitors, theme leaders and frequent attendees (Chapterhouse)

18:30–19:30 Panel check-in to the Radisson

19:30 Dinner where Panel can meet eSI research theme leaders and others involved in the eSI event ‘Capturing e-Science Fundamentals’ (Raeburn Room, Old College)

EPSRC Agenda Tuesday

Chair Prof Richard Kenway, Vice-Principal for Computational Science

09:00–09:15 Welcome (Cramond Room)

Prof Nigel Brown (Head of College of Science and Engineering)

09:15–09:40 eSI’s mission and activities, Malcolm Atkinson & Dr Anna Kenway

09:40–10:00 Meeting with members of eSI PC (ex-officio members withdraw)

10:00–11:00 Research Theme Leaders: Presentations and discussions

10:00 Theme 3: Adoption of e-Research Technologies, Dr Alex Voss

10:10 Theme 5: Distributed Programming Abstractions

Dr Shantenu Jha & Dr Jon Weissman

10:20 Theme 6: e-Science in the Arts and Humanities, Dr Stuart Dunn

10:30 Theme 7: Neuroinformatics and Grid Techniques to Build a Virtual Fly Brain, Dr Douglas Armstrong, University of Edinburgh

10:40 Theme 8: Trust and Security in Virtual Communities, Dr Andrew Martin

10:50 Theme 9: Principles of Provenance, Dr James Cheney

EPSRC Agenda Tuesday

11:00–11:15 Coffee break (Chapterhouse)

11:15 Theme 10: Communicating the e-Science of Climate Change

Dr Andrew Kerr, University of Edinburgh

11:25 Theme 11: Next Generation Sky Surveys: Astronomical Opportunities and Computational Challenges

Dr Bob Mann, University of Edinburgh

11:35 Theme 12: The influence and impact of e-Research Infrastructure, Applications and Users

Prof Mark Baker, University of Reading

11:45–12:00 The Future e-Science Institute

Prof Michael Fourman, Head of School of Informatics

12:00–12:30 General discussion

e-Science: key enabler

• e-Science Systematic investigation into methods of improving

research by applying advances in computation

• Demand increasing– more data, more models, more uses & users

• Enabler of strategic importance– LWEC, Ageing, Energy, Security, Digital Economy, …

– needed for almost all research priorities

• Benefits– research effectiveness in almost all disciplines

– decisions, business, healthcare & policy

Cycles of Progress

researchchallengeresearchchallenge

CSinnovation

CSinnovation

technologyinnovationtechnologyinnovation

betterresearch

betterresearch

newchallenges

newchallenges

Products of Progress

researchchallengeresearchchallenge

CSinnovation

CSinnovation

technologyinnovationtechnologyinnovation

betterresearch

betterresearch

newchallenges

newchallenges

researchbreakthroughs

new CSresults

newcapabilities

newopportunities

Goal for eSI

researchchallengeresearchchallenge

CSinnovation

CSinnovation

technologyinnovationtechnologyinnovation

betterresearch

betterresearch

newchallenges

newchallenges

researchbreakthroughs

new CSresults

newcapabilities

newopportunities

refined, re-usable and transferable e-Science methods and principles

Context for eSI

computationalservices &

consultancyadvancedtechnology

development

pioneeringprojects

e-Scienceresearch

Thee-ScienceInstitute

eSI Activities

• Themes• Responsive events• Visitors• Training and Summer schools• Dissemination

e-Science Evolves

• 1952 Hodgkin & Huxley use Brunsviga calculators to model “action potentials”

• 1958 Denis Noble struggles to get computer access

• 1971 3 structures in PDB at Brookhaven• 1980 EMBL-Bank• 1995 EBI• 2005 ESFRI roadmap: ELIXIR• 2009 Douglas Kell, CE of BBSRC, expects:

– ~50% of research to be “dry” lab– >95% of research biologists to use “tools”

The eS

I is e

volvin

g for

e-Scie

nce’s

future

eSI 2001

Your Homework

• For today’s discussion at 15:15• Think about how eSI should evolve– For 2011 to 2015

• I need your advice