Foundation grant funds research project

The future of data communication may be in the hands of the UT College of Communication and Information.

The college recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation for $3.2 million to fund a five-year project. The DataONE project (the “ONE” stands for Observation Network for Earth) has the potential to drastically improve the way that scientists log and search for data from different research projects worldwide.

DataONE includes many organizations across the country, and the full project is receiving a total of $20 million. The team is headed by William Michener at the University of New Mexico. UT was recommended to Michener as a grant participant in the project particularly because of the strong relationship UT has with ORNL. The UT group has been involved with the project since the earliest stages of creating the proposal.

Suzie Allard, associate professor in the School of Information Sciences and one of UT’s main participants in the project, said that the NSF’s Data Net award process was very selective, so DataONE being chosen was a huge accomplishment.

Allard said DataONE will focus on improving the capability to store data for long-term periods and building tools to help scientists find data from other projects. Specifically, the project deals with research in the field of environmental science.

“We’re not making data. We’re housing it in order to help other people find and use it,” Allard said. “In the field, we think of this process as ‘enabling science.’”

Allard expects that the project will build the next generation of tools to use data more efficiently in order to address complex scientific questions such as global warming and species extinctions.

The project aims at improving data from scientific research on anything to do with our biosphere and life. The data comes from a variety of sources including research conducted by scientists in the field or remote sensor devices.

Allard is working with several other UT and ORNL researchers and faculty members. These researchers include fellow professors, Carol Tenopir and Bruce Wilson, from the College of Communication and Information. Wilson holds a joint appointment with UT and ORNL. Also included are Eleanor Read and Maribeth Manoff from UT Libraries; and UT senior research associate Mike Frame.

Allard said this project will benefit the UT community.

“Students are already involved, and we will be including more students as the project continues,” Allard said. “Since this project involves multiple academic disciplines, it strengthens the relationships between the different academic units. It also strengthens UT’s relationship with ORNL.”

Allard is excited about the prospects of the project’s results in terms of benefits for the local environment, especially in the Smoky Mountains.

Mike Wirth, dean of the College of Communications and Information, is likewise excited about the prospects of the DataONE project.

“The DataONE project represents a huge accomplishment for the College of Communication and Information, and it is at the center of our research studies,” Wirth said. “This groundbreaking project will have a huge impact on scholarly work for decades to come.”