INDUSTRY

NCSA and the Computer Network Information Center (CNIC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences brought together researchers, educators, and technology experts to discuss cyberinfrastructure and e-science and to explore opportunities for collaboration during a workshop Sept. 6-10 in Beijing.

The theme for this inaugural American-Chinese Cyberinfrastructure and E-Science Workshop was "high-performance computing," with presentations and discussions focusing on all aspects of HPC, from hardware and software to user support and examples of science and engineering knowledge gained through modeling and simulation.

"The opportunities for advancing science and engineering through high-performance computing and e-science are enormous," said NCSA director Thom Dunning. "But the challenges are equally large. Bringing scientists from across the world together to tackle these challenges will not only lead to better, faster solutions, but will ensure that the world speaks the same cyberinfrastructure 'language.'"

In addition to Dunning, U.S. speakers at the workshop included Ed Seidel, director of the Office of Cyberinfrastructure of the National Science Foundation, and Marc Snir, co-director of Illinois' Universal Parallel Computing Research Center and co-principal investigator on the Blue Waters project.

During the workshop, NCSA and CNIC signed a memorandum of understanding that outlines future joint plans, including annual workshops to foster international collaboration and cooperation between the US and China in cyberinfrastructure and e-science. The 2010 workshop will be hosted by NCSA.

For details on the 2009 workshop, including speakers' presentations, see http://access09.cnic.cn/.