Workshop proceedings: Information Systems for Space Astrophysics in the 21st Century, volume 1

The Astrophysical Information Systems Workshop was one of the three Integrated Technology Planning workshops. Its objectives were to develop an understanding of future mission requirements for information systems, the potential role of technology in meeting these requirements, and the areas in which NASA investment might have the greatest impact. Workshop participants were briefed on the astrophysical mission set with an emphasis on those missions that drive information systems technology, the existing NASA space-science operations infrastructure, and the ongoing and planned NASA information systems technology programs. Program plans and recommendations were prepared in five technical areas: Mission Planning and Operations; Space-Borne Data Processing; Space-to-Earth Communications; Science Data Systems; and Data Analysis, Integration, and Visualization

Research and Education in Computational Science and Engineering

Over the past two decades the field of computational science and engineering (CSE) has penetrated both basic and applied research in academia, industry, and laboratories to advance discovery, optimize systems, support decision-makers, and educate the scientific and engineering workforce. Informed by centuries of theory and experiment, CSE performs computational experiments to answer questions that neither theory nor experiment alone is equipped to answer. CSE provides scientists and engineers of all persuasions with algorithmic inventions and software systems that transcend disciplines and scales. Carried on a wave of digital technology, CSE brings the power of parallelism to bear on troves of data. Mathematics-based advanced computing has become a prevalent means of discovery and innovation in essentially all areas of science, engineering, technology, and society; and the CSE community is at the core of this transformation. However, a combination of disruptive developments---including the architectural complexity of extreme-scale computing, the data revolution that engulfs the planet, and the specialization required to follow the applications to new frontiers---is redefining the scope and reach of the CSE endeavor. This report describes the rapid expansion of CSE and the challenges to sustaining its bold advances. The report also presents strategies and directions for CSE research and education for the next decade.Comment: Major revision, to appear in SIAM Revie

Strategic Planning for the Vermont Apple Industry: Planning for Success in the 21st Century

For over a century, large-scale agriculture in Vermont has been identified with three primary crops: milk, maple, and apples. Today, apples are grown on about 3200 acres in Vermont, and contribute $20 million annually to the state’s agricultural economy. Through the 1980s, Vermont apples were sold largely to wholesale, out-of-state markets, and were packed and shipped by in-state and out-of-state firms. By the 1990s, changes in world and national markets signaled a downturn in the Vermont apple industry, and by the end of the decade, many operations had closed or were facing significant difficulties. In 1998, the Vermont Tree Fruit Growers Association (VFTGA); Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAA); and University of Vermont (UVM) Extension held a summit to discuss problems facing the industry and seek solutions that could help it reposition itself for the new millennium. Several initiatives were implemented as a result of that meeting, and changes in local marketing opportunities and production systems in the 2000s helped to lift the state of the industry to its present state of success. However, Vermont’s apple growers face new difficulties with navigating changes in marketing and production systems, while a decline in traditional support from UVM Extension and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets has reduced research, marketing, and outreach programs at a time when new knowledge is critical for growers’ success. The intent of the 2013 Vermont Apple Industry Strategic Action Plan is to identify strategies and action items that community partners can implement to ensure to success of the industry and its place in the greater food system into the future. The plan was devised initially by the VTFGA, who are the primary beneficiaries of its success, and was redrafted based on solicited comments from community partners. It is not expected that the plan will remain a static document, but rather that relationships formed in the process will guide participants toward developing mutually acceptable goals and strategies that can be acted on. A core consideration in the plan is that the Vermont apple industry is a significant component of the state’s food system, whose economic impact is significantly greater than its relatively small number of producers might suggest. Apple orchards represent a unique niche in the food system in Vermont, in that they are included in multiple and diverse markets. Apples are identified in the Vermont Farm to Plate (F2P) Strategic Plan as one of only seven crops that are produced in sufficient capacity in the state to meet local consumption needs, and one of only three (with milk and maple) that generate substantial surplus from which major wholesale export to out-of state markets may be realized. This highlights the need to support and promote apple producers who sell out-of-state, and who generate significant clean, environmentally-sound economic activity. That apples lend themselves to storage, and good facilities exist that provide near year-round access to supplies of fruit, suggests that they will continue to be one of the main agricultural products consumers purchase on a regular basis that is grown in the state. The other side of the Vermont apple industry, which is not mutually exclusive with wholesale sales, is the retail, farmstand, direct store delivery (DSD), and pick your own (PYO) market for local fruit. This component of the industry directly serves the local foods focus that drives much of agriculture and food policy in the state. Retail orchards also hold a unique role in their promotion of Agritourism activities, especially since harvest and PYO activity coincides with the fall foliage season which is a primary component of Vermont’s tourism industry. Because apple production occurs in orchards that produce over decades, and whose initial return on investment typically occurs after over twelve years from establishment, the industry also inherently contains a level of permanence that ensures that it will continue to provide sustained activity within the agriculture and food economies. This plan was informed primarily by discussion at the 2013 Vermont Apple Industry Strategic Planning Summit and subsequent apple grower and supporting partner comments. Details from that meeting are outlined beginning on page 31. Action items are outlined below by participant group, but efforts may be completed by multiple parties in order to capitalize on relationships between parties within the overall system

MPICH-G2: A Grid-Enabled Implementation of the Message Passing Interface

Application development for distributed computing "Grids" can benefit from tools that variously hide or enable application-level management of critical aspects of the heterogeneous environment. As part of an investigation of these issues, we have developed MPICH-G2, a Grid-enabled implementation of the Message Passing Interface (MPI) that allows a user to run MPI programs across multiple computers, at the same or different sites, using the same commands that would be used on a parallel computer. This library extends the Argonne MPICH implementation of MPI to use services provided by the Globus Toolkit for authentication, authorization, resource allocation, executable staging, and I/O, as well as for process creation, monitoring, and control. Various performance-critical operations, including startup and collective operations, are configured to exploit network topology information. The library also exploits MPI constructs for performance management; for example, the MPI communicator construct is used for application-level discovery of, and adaptation to, both network topology and network quality-of-service mechanisms. We describe the MPICH-G2 design and implementation, present performance results, and review application experiences, including record-setting distributed simulations.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure

Four Shades of Gray

This first book-length analysis of Amazon's Kindle explores the platform's technological, bibliographical, and social impact on publishing. Four Shades of Gray offers the first book-length analysis of Amazon's Kindle and its impact on publishing. Simon Peter Rowberry recounts how Amazon built the infrastructure for a new generation of digital publications, then considers the consequences of having a single company control the direction of the publishing industry. Exploring the platform from the perspectives of technology, texts, and uses, he shows how the Kindle challenges traditional notions of platforms as discrete entities. He argues that Amazon's influence extends beyond “disruptive technology” to embed itself in all aspects of the publishing trade; yet despite industry pushback, he says, the Kindle has had a positive influence on publishing. Rowberry documents the first decade of the Kindle with case studies of Kindle Popular Highlights, an account of the digitization of books published after 1922, and a discussion of how Amazon's patent filings reflect a shift in priorities. Rowberry argues that while it was initially convenient for the book trade to outsource ebook development to Amazon, doing so has had adverse consequences for publishers in the mid- and long term, limiting opportunities for developing an inclusive and forward-thinking digital platform. While it has forced publishers to embrace digital forms, the Kindle has also empowered some previously marginalized readerships. Although it is still too early to judge the long-term impact of ebooks compared with that of the older technologies of clay tablets, the printing press, and offset printing, the shockwaves of the Kindle continue to shape publishing

2006 Major Sponsored Program and Faculty Awards for Research & Creative Activity

Awards of $3 million or more Awards of$1 million to $2,999,999 Awards of$200,000 to $999,999 Career and K Awards Arts and Humanities Awards of$50,000 or more Arts and Humanities Awards of $5,000 to$49,999 Patents Issued Intellectual Property Licences Creative Works in Fine and Performing Arts Books Recognitions and Honors Glossary of Federal Agency Abbreviations This is the fifth annual “Major Sponsored Program and Faculty Awards for Research and Creative Activity” report. This booklet highlights the successes of University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty during 2006. The funding sources, projects and investigators on major grants and sponsored program awards received during the year are listed, as well as patents issued; published books and scholarship; fellowships and other recognitions; intellectual property licenses; and performances and exhibitions in the fine and performing arts. This impressive list grows each year and I am pleased to present evidence of our faculties’ accomplishments. During FY2005-06, we achieved a funding milestone — UNL faculty attracted $104.6 million in external funding to the institution. This is the first time we exceeded$100 million and this in fact tripled the comparable figure achieved ten years ago. How have we reached this success? We have worked to closely integrate our research priorities with our established programs of excellence building on each success. We zealously foster interdisciplinary research and collaborations with public and private partnerships, thus expanding our economic development efforts by working with business and industry. And we celebrate our achievements and recognize that excellence attracts excellence. This booklet reports only the largest dollar amounts as reported through our Office of Sponsored Programs. However, the majority of our research and creative activity is conducted by single investigators and scholars who are pioneering new frontiers across all fields. Many faculty obtain funding at levels below the significantly high thresholds set for inclusion in this report. This in no way diminishes their scholarly contributions and we are proud of all faculty achievement

Certifying China

A comprehensive study of the growth, potential, and limits of transnational eco-certification in China and the implications for other emerging economies. China has long prioritized economic growth over environmental protection. But in recent years, the country has become a global leader in the fight to save the planet by promoting clean energy, cutting air and water pollution, and developing a system of green finance. In Certifying China, Yixian Sun explores the potential and limits of transnational eco-certification in moving the world's most populous country toward sustainable consumption and production. He identifies the forces that drive companies from three sectors—seafood, palm oil, and tea—to embrace eco-certification. The success of eco-certification, he says, will depend on the extent to which it wins the support of domestic actors in fast-growing emerging economies. The assumption of eco-certification is that demand along the supply chain can drive businesses to adopt good practices for social, environmental, and economic sustainability by specifying rules for production, third-party verification, and product labeling. Through case studies drawn from extensive fieldwork and mixed methods, Sun traces the processes by which certification programs originating from the Global North were introduced in China and gradually gained traction. He finds that the rise of eco-certification in the Chinese market is mainly driven by state actors, including government-sponsored industry associations, who seek benefits of transnational governance for their own development goals. The book challenges the conventional wisdom that the Chinese state has little interest in supporting transnational governance, offering novel insights into the interaction between state and non-state actors in earth system governance in emerging economies