Australasia conference explores eResearch

Research and Information Technology (IT) professionals will converge in Sydney next month to help shape the future of eResearch.

The eResearch Australasia conference will explore technological advancements to change and improve the way in which research is collected, stored, processed, shared, and re-used from 28 October to 2 November.

Conference co-chair Dr Nick Tate, who is based at The University of Queensland said the eResearch Australasia Conference provided networking opportunities for expert communities to share ideas and showcase industry developments.

“Researchers, practitioners and educators from diverse disciplines will explore innovative ways that advanced information and communications technologies are used in research,” Dr Tate said.

Also based at The University of Queensland, conference co-chair Viviani Paz said the eResearch Australasia conference was in its sixth year and would focus on the theme empower eResearch.

“The support, facilitation, sharing, and collaboration of IT and research are key elements that together empower the advancement of research in Australia,” Ms Paz said.

“The program certainly makes the eResearch Australasia Conference the event of the year for anyone supporting research development and provides great opportunity for colleagues to network.”

Dr Tate added that the conference allowed people to share ideas on new information-centric research capabilities.

He said e-research was experiencing rapid growth in recent years, partly due to the Australian Government’s significant investment in data storage and collaboration infrastructure.

“The calibre of speakers presenting at the conference this year is outstanding,” Dr Tate said.

Conference speakers include:

Cliff Jacobs – Senior Advisor Geoscience from the National Science Foundation (NSF), USA
NSF encourages the community to envision and create an environment where low adoption thresholds and new capabilities act together to greatly increase the productivity and capability of researchers and educators working at the frontiers of Earth system science. This initiative is EarthCube

Prof Jeffrey Shaw – Dean, Creative Media from the City University of Hong Kong, China
Professor Shaw’s presentation will discuss the convergent multiplicity of these new techniques of cinematic representation and intercommunication, with examples of ground breaking artworks that herald the digitally expanded cinema of tomorrow.

Mr Rudolf Dimper – Director, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, France Rudolf will present the principles of synchrotron radiation research, and then show some key examples of research on societal challenges of advanced materials, life sciences, and energy.

Prof Anne Trefethen - Chief Information Officer and a Professor of Scientific Computing at the University of Oxford Professor Trefethen has worked for almost 20 years in industry and academia with a focus on numerical algorithms and software, computational science and high-performance computing.

Sponsors include The Department of Industry Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (DIISRTE), Dell, AMD, Hitachi, IBM, AeRO, Oracle, Panasas and Intel to name just a few.

All sponsors are on the cutting edge of technological advancement within their fields. Other eResearch sponsors and groups will display and demonstrate their work at the conference as well, which will run from Sunday to Wednesday, followed by workshops on Thursday and Friday.

Dr Nick Tate and Viviani Paz will be opening the eResearch Australasia 2012 at the SMC Conference and Function Centre, Sydney, 28 October to 02 November 2012.

WHAT: eResearch Australasia 2012 conference WHEN: 28 October to 02 November WHERE: SMC Conference and Function Centre, Sydney

Media: Nick Tate, eResearch Australasia Conference Co-chair, The University of Queensland, ph +61 (0) 412 674 010; Viviani Paz, eResearch Australasia Conference Co-chair, The University of Queensland, ph +61 (0) 402 280 257; Alice Stokes, The University of Queensland, ph +61 7 3365 2030, 0419 477 490. Fiona Cameron, UQ Communications, ph +61 7 3346 7086