2004 BDEI Workshop

Home

2003 BDEI Workshop

Home Agenda Background Travel & Venue Participants Awards Index Presentations Photos

Findings

Final Report

Past BDEI

2001 2003

Workshop on Biodiversity & Ecosystem Informatics * NSF * Feb. 10 - 11, 2003

This workshop brought together Principal Investigators of NSF´s nascent Biodiversity and Ecosystem Informatics (BDEI) Program to report research results of BDEI planning and incubation grants to program directors in NSF (BIO, CISE and GEO), USGS (Biological Resources Division) and NASA. We used those research results as a basis for articulating future research prospects, in particular fundamental CS/IT research directions needed to solve major BDEI research questions. We also identified areas where focused applied CS/IT research would yield considerable immediate benefit in BDEI domain research.

To summarize, the primary aims of the workshop were:

1. Report research results of BDEI planning and incubation grants
2. Articulate CS/IT research directions needed to solve major BDEI research questions
3. Identify areas which would yield considerable immediate benefit

Secondary aims of the workshop were:

1. To identify benefits and value to the computer science research community of BDEI-focused CS/IT research,
2. To articulate impediments and incentives for computer scientist involvement in BDEI and develop a plan to pique the interest of the CS/IT research community,
3. To carry out the initial steps of the CS/IT outreach plan,
4. To identify specific research areas where interdisciplinary and disciplinary educational outreach in CS/IT and BDEI, or cross-disciplinary training of early-career investigators, have particular long term impact.

Because BDEI is potentially a domain where obvious societal impact of research could be used to attract women and other under-represented groups to CS/IT research careers , we made a particular point of considering potential impact of past and future research on CS/IT education. The workshop report also addresses how early-career investigators can be attracted to this domain and how training can be most effectively targeted for them. We will publish and present to computer scientists the results of the current work and CS/IT benefits of the research. A special issue of the Journal of Intelligent Information Systems (JIIS) that will publish in one volume papers by BDEI Investigators was proposed, and the PI's used the workshop to fine-tune that publication and find an appropriate outlet for showcasing work not appropriate to or as yet ready for the JIIS issue.

For more detailed information, please see the Workshop Proposal pdf (33k)