lewis shepherd on the revolution in scientific computing
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Lewis Shepherd on the Revolution in Scientific ComputingTRANSCRIPT
Lewis Shepherd
www.ShepherdsPi.com
GOVERNMENT AND THE REVOLUTION IN SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING
OVERVIEW
• Innovations in Data / Computing /
Modeling / Science
• Government’s Role
• Reasons for Pessimism,
Rationale for Optimism
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION IN DATA
A Thousand years ago – Experimental Science
– Description of natural phenomena
(With thanks to Jim Gray)
Last few hundred years – Theoretical Science
– Newton’s Laws,
– Maxwell’s Equations…
Last few decades – Computational Science
– Simulation of complex phenomena
Today – Data-Intensive Science
– Scientists overwhelmed with data sets
from many different sources
• Data captured by instruments
• Data generated by simulations
• Data generated by sensor networks
eScience is the set of tools and technologies to support data federation and collaboration
• For analysis and data mining
• For data visualization and exploration
• For scholarly communication and dissemination
(With thanks to Jim Gray)With thanks to Jim Gray
Pleiades star cluster from the Digitized Sky Survey
combined with an image of the moon, synthesized
within the WorldWide Telescope service.
DATA GOES UBIQUITOUS
DATA AND CLOUD AS PART OF A WHOLE
SCIENTIFIC TOOLS FOR NEW ERA
CLOUD GIVES
REPRODUCIBLE RESEARCH
PROGRAMMING BECOMES MODELING
TECHNICAL COMPUTING INITIATIVE
THE MICROPROCESSOR GETS INVENTED - AGAIN
EMPOWERING PEOPLE SIMPLY
THROUGH COMPLEXITY
OPEN DATA SETS AND PROTOCOLS
CITIZEN SCIENCE
DECLINE OF RESEARCH
Simon Cameron, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
A leading voice during 1861 debate over Smithsonian Institution funding, during run-up to War
“I am tired of all this thing called science....
We have spent millions in that sort of thing for the last few years, and it is time it should be stopped.”
America’s Long Tradition of Government Supporting Research
Later in 1861: Named by Abraham Lincoln to head the 19th Century’s military-industrial complex (Secretary of War)
1866:Re-elected to U.S. Senate
1862: Ousted for corruption, censured by the House of Representatives for “contract manipulations”
America’s Long Tradition of Government Supporting Research
PRESIDENT’S INAUGURAL ADDRESSJANUARY 20, 2009
“We'll restore science
to its rightful place,
and wield technology's
wonders…”
2009: STIMULATING SCIENCE
• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“the Stimulus Bill”)
• $24 billion in new funding for science and R&D, e.g.
• $10 billion for NIH
• $3 billion for NSF
• $1 billion for NASA
FY 2010: LIVING IN OUTLIER TIMES
• Stimulus + Budget = unprecedented increases for agencies
• Conferencees between House and Senate actually
chose the higher R&D funding levels between
their two versions.
• "It has been a very unusual year"
- Al Teich, Director, AAAS Science and Policy Programs
But taking the long view,
a less-rosy picture
HISTORICAL TRENDS IN FEDERAL R&D FUNDING
RISKRISK
THE TIMELINE OF SCIENCE
RESEARCH OF THE FUTURE