Industry meets the Grid – the e-Science revolution
Dr Allyson Reed
CLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
01235 44 6114
a.reed@rl.ac.uk
One of the world’s leading authorities on Grid technologies from the USA will give the keynote address at a one-day seminar on Tuesday 20 February in Oxfordshire. Carl Kesselman from the University of Southern California will explain about the Grid (the next generation Internet and global revolution in computation and information) and talk about experiences in the USA. Describing the Grid as “The Web on steroids” he will use diagrams to show the power and flexibility of the Grid over the Web. “I will address applications that are motivating widespread interest in Grid concepts within the scientific and engineering communities”, he said. “Grid computing concepts are real: they underlie a variety of major projects in physics, other sciences and industry”.
The seminar, which will be held at The Cosener”s House, CLRC”s conference facility in Abingdon, will provide an opportunity for industry to learn about the Grid and the e-Science revolution and how they might benefit – both as suppliers and users.
Professor Tony Hey from the University of Southampton, who will take up the post of Director for the e-Science Core Programme for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in April, will discuss the scientific needs that are driving this new project. Key topics to be covered include technology challenges and opportunities. CLRC staff will present an insight into the diverse programme of work that they are undertaking in the CLRC e-Science Centre, building on its underpinning web experience and activities, and there will be presentations from industry highlighting future needs and current experiences. Dr Paul Durham of CLRC will chair the day which will include interactive panel discussions with industry.
Notes for Editors
The e-Science programme, coordinated by EPSRC, will invest in new information technologies. Scientists today are faced with processing vast amounts of complex data and the Grid would enable them to do this efficiently and effectively. These developments are likely to have major industrial implications as complexity and data volumes continue to grow in the commercial world.
Carl Kesselman is the Project Leader and Research Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Southern California in USA. He is editor of “The Grid: Blueprint for a New Computing Infrastructure” and he co-leads the Globus project, which is developing core technologies for computational Grid systems in the areas of resource location and allocation, security, communication and data access.
Professor Tony Hey is currently Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Southampton. He will join EPSRC on secondment from 1 April 2001, where he will direct the e-Science Core Programme.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the largest of the United Kingdom’s seven government-funded research councils. Its mission is to support the highest quality research and related postgraduate training in engineering and the physical sciences. EPSRC aims to advance knowledge and technology and to provide trained engineers and scientists for the benefit of the United Kingdom and the quality of life of its citizens. It has the further role of promoting public awareness of engineering and the physical sciences.
The Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CLRC) supports world-class science and technology by providing leading-edge, large scale research facilities and a pool of expertise, skills and innovation in many disciplines. CLRC designs, constructs and operates large user facilities, primarily to support university research. It participates in industrial and international programmes, promotes technology transfer and interacts with the public at large and schools in particular. Its facilities include materials research centres such as the world-leading pulsed neutron source and high power lasers at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire and the synchrotron light source at Daresbury Laboratory in Cheshire, and it operates the Chilbolton Observatory in Hampshire. CLRC participates in international computing, space science and particle physics projects and has expertise and facilities for micro technology and engineering. It is active in the World Wide Web consortium (W3C) and in ERCIM, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics.
More informaion
At http://www.e-science.clrc.ac.uk
Or from Dr Paul Jeffreys on 01235 44 5728
