General help and advice

John Briggs

If you think I can help, please let me know. I was at NSF and actually ran
one of the last KDI panels. In addition, I was involved (somewhat) on the
writing for the new IT program. As your e-mail mentioned, it is really
geared for the CISE folks and it is imperative that some computer type folks
be involved. Finally, I do have some connections at the San Diego Super
Computer site as I know the executive Director (Peter Arzberger). I am not
sure exactly how I could be involved but if you think I could, I would be
happy to help out in some fashion.

--john
 

Peter McCartney

Forgive the length of this email, but I didn't know when we'd get a chance to meet since I'm gone all next week and I wanted to at least pass on some initial thoughts. I'd be happy to get together with you all and talk about
this proposal. I think that there is considerable overlap between our BDI project and your proposal at the infrastructural level. Basically, we sought to develop some solutions for integrating databases into an "information
warehouse" and then building tools that help tap into those resources from with applications that target specific user groups. Our emphasis was on building the tools and partnering with other projects (like CAP LTER,
Ecology explorers, etc) to provide the applications. It sounds like your proposal ideas speak to both of those goals - going much farther than us in developing focused research applications that harness data to answer
questions but also calling for the very kinds of technical things we have initiated regarding data warehousing and more transparent(flexible and easy) access systems. I think your project is the kind of project we had hoped
would come along to give our data-infrastructural tools some application. I also think that its scope and content matter creates an excellent opportunity to build even more collaboration between the CES lab, IT GIS lab
and the RS group. While I didn't build a lot of collaboration like that in the BDI grant, I've subsequently had lots of chats with Jana and Will about how we might develop a collaboration plan for future big initiatives.
Spreading these big grants around among these centers of expertise really helps get the big guys like Glick, Fink, etc excited about a proposal.

Since data management and research apps are two discreet bullet items in the RFP, it would seem like you want to develop them as two interrelated modules with their own goals, leadership, budgets, and management
plans, but that's probably something you're already thinking about. I currently have no separate plans for the next round of ITR other than a very outside chance of collaborating with SDSC on something related to
visualization and internet mapping, but that hasn't moved yet.

One last area where I think there is some interesting overlap is a goal which we did not develop very strongly in our proposal (it was kind of a weak fourth bullet in the list). That was to try to promote participation in this
shared data warehouse from the broader government and private data-producing entities through a fairly loose "coalition" or network - we tentative suggested an "Arizona environmental information network" which fails
totally as an acronym. Our model was the Oregon Coalition of Interdisciplinary Databases, which got started a few years ago with some NSF Alliance money. This aspect of the project is really Chuck's role and it is yet
very undefined, but it seems to be very close in spirit to what you want to accomplish in terms of creating some kind of an environment that encourages data sharing (and then facilitate that technologically with some data
processing/metadata tools that make it all transparent).

Anyway, its an exciting (and ambitious) concept. Talk to you soon, i hope.

Peter McCartney (peter.mccartney@asu.edu)
 
 

More NSF tidbits


The name of the GEO PD for IT-R is:

Dr. Eric Itsweire (GEO), eitsweir@nsf.gov, 703-292-7593
 
 

Melissa Niederhelman

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Melissa Niederhelman [mailto:melissa.niederhelman@asu.edu]
Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2000 2:46 PM
To: Frederick Steiner
Subject: Re: FW: Greater Phoenix 2100: IT proposal development
 

Hi Fritz,

I have had a chance to review the web site you forwarded with
information about your proposed project on greater Phoenix in the year
2100.

There were several aspects of this project that I find interesting.
First is the element of information design that will be required in
visually translating data as well as the process of making such data
about Phoenix accessible to people. Information design as it relate to
organization, iconography, hierarchy, communication and comprehension I
believe will be important aspects of this project.

I am also fascinated by the digital component of this project. Interact
ivy as it relates to the information and the overall outcome will be an
important consideration. How will people use and access this information
and how could it be enhanced by an interactive context? There are some
exciting possibilities with incorporating digital media into the
project, but efforts must be made to make the results user friendly and
appropriate to the function as well as visually successful.

These are just a few thoughts. I would be interested in finding out more
about how this project will be run and what you see as the process.
Please feel free to contact me to talk about this further.

Thank you

Melissa Niederhelman