TeraGrid and The MinorityServing Institutions MSI Cyberinfrastructure CI Empowerment Coalition MSICI

1
TeraGrid and The Minority-Serving Institutions
(MSI) Cyberinfrastructure (CI) Empowerment
Coalition MSI-CIECbuilding onMSI-CI Institute
MSI-CI2

• The Demographic Revolution
• Providing a scalable equitable mechanism for
  developing a CI-enabled science and engineering
  workforce

2
Basic Ideas

• Cyberinfrastructure is critical to all involved
  in Research and Education
• Cyberinfrastructure is intrinsically democratic
  supporting broad participation
• MSIs should lead MSI integration with
  Cyberinfrastructure
• One should guide the projects with experts
• One should aim at scalable (systemic) approaches
• Goal is peer collaborations involving all
  institutions of higher education

3
Some Key Participants

• Al Kuslikis Director of STEM project development
  at the American Indian Higher Education
  Consortium AIHEC
• Alex Ramírez Director of information technology
  initiatives at the Hispanic Association of
  Colleges and Universities HACU
• Selena Singleton Chief of programs at the
  National Association for Equity in Higher
  Education NAFEO
• Karl Barnes and Carl Lowe also help a lot from
  NAFEO
• Richard Aló Director of the Center for
  Computational Science (CCSDS) at UHD University
  of Houston Downtown.
• Diane Baxter Director of outreach and education
  at the San Diego Supercomputing Center SDSC
• Geoffrey Fox Director of the Community Grids Lab
  at Indiana University, Visiting Scholar for CI
  Development at the Alliance for Equity In Higher
  Education, and Senior Research Associate at CCSDS
  UHD.
• Others such as Scott Lathrop have been essential!

4
Advisory Team

• Malcolm Atkinson, NESC (UK National e-Science
  Center), ICEAGE (EU Grid Education)
• Fran Berman, SDSC
• Jay Boisseau, TACC
• Charles Catlett, TeraGrid
• Kelvin Droegemeier, Oklahoma, LEAD
• Tom Dunning, NCSA
• Mark Ellisman, SDSC, BIRN
• Ian Foster, Chicago, Open Science Grid Globus etc
• Juan Meza, LBL
• Dan Reed, UNC, Renaissance Computing
• Richard Tapia, Rice
• Larry Smarr, UCSD, Cal(IT)2

5
Key Objectives

• Mobilize the MSI faculty and student
  communityMinority Serving Institutions starting
  with a few but eventually reaching the over 335
  in AIHEC HACU and NAFEO
• Provide access to physical infrastructure needed
  to support participation
• Support curriculum development, research,
  mentoring, and teaching teams
• Exploit key Cyberinfrastructure (Grid) resources
• Develop portal (mashup) supporting broad
  participation in CI
• Improve our processes through evaluation

6
Proje\ct Venues

• Major MSI CII Project Activities
• Planning and Education (train the trainer)
  meetings at SC05 SC06 Global Grid Forum and
  National Centers
• January 30-31 Planning SDSC
• General Summer School (June 26-30) SDSC
• Supporting your own CI (April and August) NCSA
• All Access Grid enabled
• Lots of planning and discussion leading to
  MSI-CIEC

7
MSI-CI2 Lessons I

• There are many wonderful broad-based CI
  activities that can be leveraged by MSIs
• TeraGrid itself, NSF/State centers, OSG, GGF,
  SCxx, International projects (Pragma, ICEAGE)
• So move from providing fully customized
  activities to modifying/using existing networks,
  computers (as in TeraGrid), workshops, Summer
  Schools this can SCALE!!
• Work with outreach activities like EPIC, Global
  CyberBridges and SACNAS
• Need to involve all parts of a MSI including
  administration, faculty and students
• Borrow campus visits from successful AN-MSI
  project (networks)

8
MSI-CI2 Lessons II

• Can support application-specific projects such as
  CI for ice-sheet remote sensing (CReSIS) where
  MSI Elizabeth City State University leads
  CI-enablement
• Natural linkage MSI and traditional powerhouses
• Leverage and encourage REU and related research
  experience activities
• Encourage internship and mentoring opportunities
• Can extend to Community Colleges and K-12
  (pipeline)
• Collaboration, coordination, and trust-building
  across institutional, cultural, and geographical
  barriers essential
• Good to use more CI to enable! (not trivial to be
  systemic)

9
MSI and TeraGrid

• There are several MSIs that can become TeraGrid
  providers but we need to consider providing
  needed home institution support needing some or
  all of
• Fund local infrastructure support
• Provide a simpler TeraGrid-lite software stack
• Provide (remote) MSI CI Operations Center to help
• Use VM technology and shared desktops to allow
  remote hardware and remote support
• All MSIs need TeraGrid access but its not clear
  what this requires
• Local Infrastructure for local research and
  education
• Science Gateway just needs a Web browser?
• Partnerships between MSIs and experienced
  TeraGrid institution
• Broadening Participation component of Campus
  Partnership RAT

10
MSI Cyberinfrastructure Empowerment Coalition
MSI-CIEC

• MSI institution centered with coordinated
  brokering and support
• MSI capabilities are built around CI delivery to
  MSIs
• Program support capabilities such as portal help
  enable MSI Capabilities
• There are important administrative and outreach
  capabilities under Internal and Operational
• Initial major focus on integrating CI at an MSI
  with linkage of multiple programs at a given
  institution
• Modest CI installation at site local capability
  and access to International CI (MSI CI Operations
  Center)
• Institutional activities executive presentations
  and campus visits to plan CI
• Funding of faculty release time and students
• Linkage of MSI and National CI research projects
• Curriculum enhancement
• Education and Training of faculty, students and
  CI support staff
• MSI-CIEC can lead or support/advise projects such
  as advising TeraGrid RAT on Campus partnerships

11
MSI-CIEC MSI Cyberinfrastructure Empowerment
Coalition

• MSI-CIEC MSI Cyberinfrastructure Empowerment
  Coalition Leadership team
• Capability Leaders
• PIs of Projects

• Program Support Capabilities
• Portal, Access Grid, Collaboration tools, Portal
  content (Support databases)
• MSI CI Operations Center
• Research programs and opportunities
• REU, Fellowships etc. supporting other
  capabilities including MSI faculty staff student
  mentoring and advancement
• Education and Training
• Specific Programs and Identification of
  opportunities
• Social and Behavioral research

• MSI-Centered Capabilities
• Links to 3 MSI areas and the Alliance
• CI Linkage
• Capabilities for specific domains such as
  Biology for Earth Science
• MSI faculty staff student mentoring and
  advancement
• MSI Institutional evaluation, planning,
  development
• MSI Physical resources such as clusters and
  TeraGrid access

• Operational and Internal Capabilities
• External Relations
• Government, Other MSI Projects, Relevant
  connections such as TeraGrid, NCSA, SDSC, TACC,
  SCxx
• Outreach and Meetings
• Evaluation and Internal Research
• Administration Operations

MSI-CIEC MSI Cyberinfrastructure Empowerment
Coalition Projects with Multiple PI'sThese use
a selection of capabilities and include cases
where MSI-CIEC has a lead or support
role MSI-CI2 is first MSI-CIEC project