This is the report released by the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure. Like the physical infrastructure of roads, bridges, power grids, telephone lines, and water systems that support modern society, 'cyberinfrastructure' refers to the distributed computer, information and communication technologies combined with the personnel and integrating components that provide a long-term platform to empower the modern scientific research endeavor.

For scientists and engineers, report states, cyberinfrastructure has the potential to "revolutionize what they can do, how they do it, and who participates." The seeds of this revolution are seen in community-driven efforts, supported by NSF and other agencies, such as the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulations (NEES), the Grid Physics Network (GriPhyN) and the National Virtual Observatory (NVO).

"We've clearly documented extensive grass-roots activity in the scientific and engineering research community to create and use cyberinfrastructure to empower the next wave of discovery," said Dan Atkins, chair of the advisory committee. "NSF has been a catalyst for creating the conditions for a nascent cyberinfrastructure-based revolution. We're at a new threshold where technology allows people, information, computational tools, and research instruments to be connected on a global scale." >from * Report Envisions A Future Cyberinfrastructure That Will 'Radically Empower' The Science And Engineering Community *. february 4, 2003

related context
> Revolutionizing Science and Engineering through Cyber-infrastructure. Report of the NSF Blue-Ribbon Advisory Panel on Cyberinfrastructure. february 1, 2003
> transfer data at world record pace: developing grid concept. november 19, 2002
> national virtual observatory to put the universe online. november 6, 2001

imago
> cyberinfrastructure supplies