Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 9
The European Research
and Education Networks:
Ensuring Europe's Leadership in e-Science
Navonil Mustafee
Swansea University, UK
Simon J. E. Taylor
Brunel University, UK
ABSTRACT
e-Science is the future of Science. It necessitates the use of powerful computing resources, massive data
sets, remote instruments, scientific/visualisation software and expertise that are distributed around the
world. e-Infrastructures refer to the underlying computing technologies that facilitate e-Science. To
weave these distributed resources into a cohesive entity, and thereby enabling such large-scale science
to be conducted in highly distributed environments, needs the utilisation of high speed communication
networks. The European Research and Education Networks provide the connectivity required to ensure
Europe's leadership in e-Science. These networks not only provide the communication resources required
to conduct e-Science, but they also offer high-speed Internet access to Universities and educational
institutes to facilitate teaching and learning. The objective of this topic chapter is to inform the read-
ers of the organisation of the underlying European networks that are used by millions of researchers,
academics and students. The importance of these networks are highlighted by presenting six e-Science
and e-Infrastructure projects that are being funded by the European Commission.
INTRODUCTION
instruments and distributed software repositories;
Science that generates data that may demand
analysis from experts belonging to multiple or-
ganisations and specialists in different knowledge
domains. Such Science is usually carried out in
highly distributed environments by exploiting
advanced hardware and software technologies
like grid computing and high-speed networking.
e-Science (and arguably e-Research) can be de-
fined as Science that may necessitate the utilisation
of non-trivial amounts of computing resources and
massive data sets to perform scientific enquiry;
Science that requires access to remote scientific
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