In August 2006 NSF made a text version of their Cyberinfrastructure Vision document available on the web and I shared a pointer to it on CNI-announce. This was actually the first complete version of a living document that the NSF Cyberinfrastructure Office had been releasing incrementally during 2006. NSF had been soliciting comments on this document on an ongoing basis; comments closed in December 2006.

Last week NSF made available a final, beautifully illustrated printed version of the report, and also a PDF of this print version on the web site. I have not done a detailed textual analysis but it appears to be substantially the same as the August 2006 document in terms of content; it also presumably incorporates comments recieved on the draft report.

If you've not read this, you should. Also, this version should be very useful for as a communications tool for discussions with campus communities.

Here's the information on the final report.

Clifford Lynch

Director, CNI

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To request a printed copy of the report, go to http://www.nsf.gov/publications/obtain.jsp

Cyberinfrastructure Vision for 21st Century Discovery is a sweeping call to reimagine: 1) Cyberinfrastructure resources, tools and related services such as supercomputers, high-capacity mass-storage systems, system software suites and programming environments, scalable interactive visualization tools, productivity software libraries and tools, large-scale data repositories and digitized scientific data management systems, networks of various reach and granularity and an array of software tools and services that hide the complexities and heterogeneity of contemporary cyberinfrastructure while seeking to provide ubiquitous access and enhanced usability, and; 2) The preparation and training of current and future generations of researchers and educators to use cyberinfrastructure to further their research and education goals, while also supporting the scientific and engineering professionals who create and maintain these IT-based resources and systems and who provide essential customer services to the national science and engineering user community. The vision document was developed by the National Science Foundation's Cyberinfrastructure Council.