APPLICATIONS

The Hierarchical Data Format group is spinning off from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) as a non-profit corporation supporting open source software and non-proprietary data formats. "This is another example of how technologies created and developed at NCSA can empower science, engineering and business communities and can drive economic development," said NCSA Director Thom Dunning. "We're proud of what the HDF group has created at NCSA and of the plans they have for the future." At NCSA, a team led by Mike Folk has developed and supported HDF software and file formats for the management of scientific data and other large datasets, including tools for analyzing, visualizing and converting data, clearly defined data formats, and I/O libraries. These freely available tools are used by an estimated 2 million users in fields from environmental science to the aerospace industry and by entities including the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, and Boeing. The new non-profit corporation, called The HDF Group (THG) is dedicated to the sustainable development of HDF technologies and the ongoing accessibility of HDF-stored data. THG will continue to make the open-source HDF software freely available to commercial and non-commercial users, and plans to draw revenue from grants, service and development contracts, and training and support activities. "NCSA created HDF in 1987 to address the data management needs of its users. We had no idea that that it would spread to nearly every country in the world and be used in hundreds of scientific, commercial and public applications for managing huge amounts of data," said Mike Folk, who has guided HDF development at NCSA for 17 years. "Our mission at THG is to ensure that those who depend on HDF will be able to access their data for centuries into the future, and that current users of HDF have the best support we can provide." While THG will take over all distribution, support, maintenance, and development of HDF software, the corporation plans to continue a close relationship with NCSA and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "The support we have received from the University and from NCSA in this venture has been fantastic," Folk said. "We have many valued users and colleagues at NCSA, and we are dedicated to continuing a rich and rewarding alliance with NCSA and the University through joint projects and mutual support." For more information on The HDF Group, go to its Web site.