Talk Abstract: Data-driven discovery and innovation typically presupposes that the data will be there when you need it, but will it? Without data infrastructure and attention to the stewardship and preservation of digital data, critical data on which we depend may become inaccessible or lost. This is especially problematic for data generated by sponsored research projects where the focus is on innovation rather than infrastructure, and support for stewardship and preservation may be short-term. In this talk, Fran Berman takes a holistic view of sustainability, infrastructure, and data, and discusses the challenges of creating a sustainable ecosystem for research data.

About the presenter:Dr. Fran Berman is the U.S. Chair of the Research Data Alliance (rd-alliance.org) and Hamilton Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her work has focused on the critical cyber- and social infrastructure needed for digital stewardship and preservation of the data that drives discovery and innovation. Berman led the San Diego Supercomputer Center from 2001-2009, focusing on the development of national infrastructure for data-intensive applications. She subsequently co-chaired the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Sustainable Digital Preservation and Access, whose final report provided a deep dive into the economics of digital stewardship and preservation and has been downloaded more than 120,000 times.

Long bio and photo:http://www.cs.rpi.edu/~bermaf/