JISC

The National Grid Service is inviting people to a workshop to help determine the e-infrastructure requirements for UK participation in a series of major European research infrastructure projects over the next two decades.

The European strategy forum on research infrastructures (ESFRI) identified the projects as essential to maintaining Europe’s research competitiveness in the future.  The UK National Grid Service provides researchers with access to databases and computing resources held at different locations from the comfort of their own desktops.

The NGS would like to invite researchers, IT services, policy makers or others with an interest in the UK’s participation in any of the ESFRI projects to come the workshop on 7 October 2009. Among the 44 projects listed in the ESFRI roadmap are upgrades to existing facilities such as the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), new facilities such as the European X-ray Free Electron Laser, an ocean observing buoy system, a facility to provide and facilitate access to high quality social science data (CESSDA), a pan-European infrastructure for clinical trials (ECRIN) and the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE).If you would like to take part, please contact Dr Andrew Richards for an invitation, saying which project(s) you’re involved with.

The UK National Grid Service provides researchers with access to databases and computing resources held at different locations from the comfort of their own desktops.

In March 2009 it was awarded £3m by JISC and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to make the transition to a sustainable service over the next 2 years.

For further information about the ESFRI projects download a copy of the roadmap (PDF)