Cyberinfrastructure for Field Data Collection: Open EarthCube Field Trip to Yosemite and Owens Valley

—————————————————————————————————
           CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR FIELD DATA COLLECTION:
        OPEN EARTHCUBE FIELD TRIP TO YOSEMITE AND OWENS VALLEY

               Application Deadline: March 16, 2015
------------------------------------------------------------------

The EarthCube EC3 project is looking for students and researchers interested in learning about scientific data collection in field science through a hands-on field trip to Yosemite.  Read the report of last year’s field trip here: [1].

EarthCube is an NSF-funded initiate to transform the conduct of research through community-guided cyberinfrastructure that accelerates the rate of discoveries and increases the scope of scientific investigations [2].  The EarthCube EC3 project [3] focuses on the field-based geosciences.  Field scientists investigate the natural world in situ through recording observations, taking samples, and collecting field data.  

EC3 is organizing two field excursions to facilitate a dialogue between field-based geologists, and computer and cognitive scientists concerning the unique problems faced by the field-based geological community. The goal is to break down the artificial barriers between subfields and allow scientists to work efficiently and innovatively.

The field sciences present specific challenges with regards to data management and incorporating the digitization of analog data into the workflow of the field-based scientist.  These challenges represent unique research avenues for interdisciplinary approaches and have the potential for far-reaching, broad impacts for the research community as a whole.

Issues to be investigated include:
- bringing technology to the field: data collection software, sensors, sensor networks
- capturing metadata and provenance of field-collected data
- querying repositories of field-collected data
- knowledge management in field science
- smart mobile apps for field science
- standards for field-science data
- machine learning for field-collected data

The first field excursion took place on August 4-8, 2014 to Yosemite National Park and Owens Valley in California.  Participants expertise covered geosciences (structural geology, sedimentology, paleontology, petrology, geochronology), computer science (artificial intelligence, databases, geospatial computing), cyberinfrastructure (data services, data repositories), cognitive science, linguistics, and library science. They included professors, scientists, government researchers, post-doctoral students, graduate students, and high-school students.  During the day, the geoscientists would show how data is collected in the field. In the evenings, the computer scientists presented interesting techniques to collect, analyze, and visualize field data. There were lively discussions in smaller groups during van rides, hikes, and meals.  The project site contains a report of last year’s field trip and describes the cyberinfrastructure challenges that were uncovered [1].

The next field excursion will take place on August 2-7, 2015, and will also be to Yosemite National Park and Owens Valley in California.  Participants will stay in a field research center.  A typical day schedule would include breakfast at the center, whole day out in the field including picnic lunch, dinner at the center, followed by group debrief and discussion.  

All expenses will be reimbursed, and a small honorarium will be awarded.

Applications to participate in this field trip can be submitted using this form: [4]. Applications should be e-mailed directly to Matty Mookerjee at matty.mookerjee@sonoma.edu.  Criteria for acceptance to the field trip excursion will primarily be based on the inclusion of as broad a set of professional backgrounds, expertise, and perspectives as possible.  Graduate students and early-career scientists are encouraged to apply.  Inquiries can be submitted to Matty Mookerjee at matty.mookerjee@sonoma.edu or Yolanda Gil at gil@isi.edu. 

Please feel free to distribute this announcement to Earth Scientists, Computer Scientists, Cognitive Scientists, and other relevant researchers such as those interested in science and education.


IMPORTANT DEADLINES

March 16, 2015: Application deadline
April 6, 2015: Notifications mailed 
August 2-7, 2015: Field trip to Yosemite National Park in California.


[1] http://www.sonoma.edu/users/m/mookerje/TripReport-2014.html
[2] http://www.earthcube.org
[3] http://www.sonoma.edu/users/m/mookerje/EC3.html
[4] http://www.sonoma.edu/users/m/mookerje/EC3-App%20Form_final-2015.docx

Received on Wednesday, 4 March 2015 17:41:04 UTC