5, 4, 3, 2, one.
Hello, everyone! Welcome to the webinar on the campus cyber infrastructure are more specifically on area 3 network integration and applied innovation.
This is in response to Nsf solicitation number 23, desk 5, 26.
So for Area 3. My colleague, Nicholas Goldsmith, who is joining, and he'll speak the second half of the cover, the second part of the material, and myself.
And then Karen Thompson, who is also on the call Subrata, Acharya, and Pinas Benazi, are other who handle other areas as well as the app score related program from Pinas.
So we'll start with a brief overview of all of the CC. Star campus, cyber infrastructure before going to area 3.
So this is a program has been running for a little over 10 years. Time period over a decade is it invests in, you know, coordinated campus, level cyber and infrastructure.
You know improvement, innovation, integration, and engineering, and with the for science, application, domain, science as well as distributed resource project.
And so the motivation and science, driven in requirement is the primary motivation.
How and it can be done, and then it's supported by you know, stem resource and education need to support networking, computing as stores, infrastructure on campus.
So CC, as you have figured out by now, is transport campus, cyber infrastructure.
Next slide. So this program, as I said, has been around given by scientific R and read most hours, go to high-speed campus networking upgrade external connectivity to national resource and education, fabric and campus border redesign pro prioritizing science traffic it's actually a little over 10 years you can see a picture here of different places around the country that got
funded and you may look like the West Coast looks like a little bit scattered, and that's because of the mountains.
So, and you know that's why we'll see a gap in the because of the mountains. There.
Here's an example of a like a picture of a science. Dmz, that you might create for the campus, for the science traffic for domain science researcher.
And so to how to make that actually more possible.
Next slide. So so because of this funding from area so campus cyber infrastructure, we have now state and regional research and education fabric, and that you can see it is connecting everywhere in the country quilt.
You'll see on the bottom right corner. Will listed quilt manages a lot of the research original.
Rnie activities. And they are also actually a host, you know. Take the lead to host the Pi workshop that we have it for campus cyber infrastructure.
We typically happens in this last week of September of every year, except for the pandemic time. The next one that's coming up is excellent. In Columbus, Ohio, from 20 fifth, 2 2820 ninth of September.
So the budget, for all accounts, all areas, is between 15 and 20 million dollar, all different.
Areas. We expect 30 to 50 project to be funded, and all proposals are due on September eleventh, 2023.
So, which is about 6 weeks away, and these are the 7 areas. I will talk more about area 3, of course, area one is campus network.
Upgrade. This is very important. If the network wants to upgrade. This is where we are, you know.
Expect the campus networking force is to be involved as well as CIO to that area, to is regional connectivity for small distribution, because we believe that many great science can happen at small institution if they have the right kind of the network connectivity to access data for physics resource and all kinds of other area area 2 i'll come talk about in a little bit more area 4
is that campus computing? Yeah, that is anything that you want to do. Area 5 is regional computing.
So 4 and 5 is more. The computing related, then 6 is on the data storage, and obviously area 7.
You can do a planning activity to address any of them except for Area 3, so that you want to do a planning activity before ready to.
For example, request for area 1, 2, 4, 5, or 6. Next slide, please. So area tree. So that's the main focus of today's webinar.
And obviously, if you have question about the areas, I'm happy to kind of talk about it. The title is called Network Integration and Applied Innovation.
An alternate title. You can think about is like applied networking research. Actually, in the context of campus, cyber infrastructure.
We support end-to-end network integration of the existing and new technologies.
Innovation. The goal is really to take advantage of resources out prototype and emerging innovation, to use them to enable specific resource in a networking contest.
It may. You know, area called leverage, new and existing investment, you know, and it may for innovation and advanced networking.
As a result, this area is not appropriate for project costs are dominated by equipment purchase, so keep that in mind.
The other thing is that proposal in this area supports the develop and integration of innovative networking capabilities.
So there is an you know, Rds back to it. If you think about this particular area, this is where it is different from the other areas that covered in the campus cyber infrastructure.
Finally we added additional information because an Sfs. Heavily funded on a fabric tech, which is a in-network computing and storage edgeback to encourage proposal, we have added that whereas proposal and cursed to perform experimental deployment prototype there's prototyping and testing and obviously some connection to campus networking
you know, with related to fabric, are very, very welcome, and we have received some really really good projects.
Last few years later, when we'll give some examples of those sort of projects next, please. So it is possible to have a broad range of activity.
We're very kind of. We're only giving a few example. It could be an integration of network protocol and technologies.
It could be a transition of successfully research prototype in like a software-defined, networking and wireless networking.
In the context of you know, scientific infrastructure and the scientific to enable distributed scientific signs, application of network hardware software develop on, you know, also possible, like Camille Cloud and cloud lab that Tennessee fund software defined infrastructure in terms of networking solution to explo next slide please so there are 2 categories.
Under Area 3, one is called small up to half a million dollar, and the largest from half a million to 1 million dollar.
It's purposefully done for up to 2 year duration, so that we want you to focus on doing that integration and applied innovation and a short fuse, because basic resource and other activities.
We have done it, we might be doing prototyping only institution of higher education, are eligible to submit under this area, and then we do expect that I didn't mention it.
This slide? Would we expect some student to be involved when you do this area? 3 project, which is not necessary for other areas?
100, incidentally. Next slide, please. So I've in terms of the proposal requirement.
Let's go, and we'll talk a little bit more about it. So identify it's a supported science and engineering research project.
What science? What are the science driver for needing this thing? Involvement, support gradually, which I already mentioned?
That it was. It was here on this slide, I guess, include a project plan addressing clear project, goal and milestones resulting in a working system that is very, very important.
The working system, aspect we let you define the metrics, address measures, and evaluation.
How should we be better when you're completing as well as for the panel, to know what you are putting as your base metrics to assess it?
Open source. License is very important for any software development under this activity you are required to include a campus, cyber infrastructure plan.
As a supplementary document now in area, to technically the campus cyber infrastructure doesn't have to be fully integrated, but as a overall goal of the campus library, we still want you to so include the supplementary document you may talk with CIO on our campus to make sure that it's done and said at what you are how you are doing it maybe i'll try to improve
something on the campus measurement you want to do all kinds of things are possible. As I said before, that 2 categories have, you know, the small and the large and depending on your scope and the goal.
You can apply to either of those categories, and you need to use those title, the campus cyber infrastructure.
Plan a little bit more about it. What it is needed. What is the improvement that's being conceived on the campus overall?
Is there any relation to the particular area trip project you are doing? It's very Closeda is not necessary, but some connection to how you know integration and applied innovation might help your campus might be useful to have and that goes to cyber for that integration.
You know both horizontally integrated vertically, must include sustainability of the proposal in terms of ongoing operation and engineering costs.
This is included in the as a supplementary document. You are limited to 5 pages, so, as an example, you can look it up where you can actually look at that information for what sort of campus cyber infrastructure and we anticipate expect the other so review criteria at this point i'm going to hand, it off to nicolas goldsmith who is going to
go over the review criteria as well as a some examples of the projects we funded under Area 3. And then, of course, we're open for. Thank you, Nicolas.
Yeah, so I'm gonna start out with the review criteria or so, what your proposal will be examined over what reviewers will be considering when they look at your proposals.
So the first set of review criteria is the same for basically anything that you're gonna submit an Sf, and that's the National Science Boards merit review criteria of intellectual merit and broader impacts.
So for intellectual merit, reviewers will be considering the potential to advance knowledge. So how is this going to advance knowledge in networking research, as well as for those science drivers?
Then the second part of these in a slide review criteria is broader impact. And that's the potential to benefit society or contribute to achieving a specific desired societal outcome.
So things that fall in your broader impact could include like broadening participation, outreach and education. It could also deal with effects of your project on fields outside of just those in Stem.
But anyway, and what your project contributes to a broader specific desired societal outcome is the broader impact.
In addition to the interf wide review criteria, there are also review criteria for all of the CC.
Star program, the cyber infrastructure program. So reviewers, when they look at your proposal, will be considering the extent to which the work provides a needed capability required by science, engineering, and education, 200 they'll be looking for the expected impact on the deployed environment that's described in the proposal and the potential impact on the broader nsf community and then wherever it's
applicable. They'll be looking at. You know how access control, federated identity, cybersecurity, other best practices are addressed.
There's also some Ccst specific review criteria concerning the cyber infrastructure plan.
So looking at how the planned cyber infrastructure enhances science, education, and in engineering, how the I plan positions.
The institution itself and its future cyber infrastructure development. How the plan supports and integrates into the science and Technology plan for the institution.
If things like ipv. 6, and in common Federation are addressed, and then ensuring that the activities described in the proposal are consistent with the Cyber Infrastructure plan.
Then area 3 also has some solicitation. Specific review criteria. So reviewers will be considering if there's a project plan, and if that project plan addresses clear goals and milestones that will result in a working system in the target.
Environment. Reviewers are also going to be looking at tangible metrics that can be used to measure success of the integrated systems as well as any software that's developed and that there's, you know, consideration of this of the steps necessary to go from prototype status to actual production use actual use in the campus system.
So CC. Star has gone on for a while. If you use the Nsf Award search, you can search for the various proposals that have been funded under the program looking for, like CC.
And integration. But we've also brought some examples to give you a sense of the kinds of things that have been covered under this program.
So, for some examples of funded projects, you know, at that large level CC. Star integration, large, here's one of the Q factor, a framework to enable ultra high speed data transfer optimization based on real time network state information provided by programmable data planes so looking at data transfer looking at programmable data plans another large example in guard a secure real-time data
distribution system with fine grained access control for in-health research. Also on that large scale, we have robust and predictable network infrastructure for wide area hybrid sensor networks, and then on that an example of a small proposal in here is a software-defined edge infrastructure test bed for full stack data driven wireless networking applications so you
can see sort of the variety of areas from data transfer to wireless networks. To, you know, access control.
Also many of the proposals, and we encourage trying to integrate with fabric and so we have a number of funded projects that do work on integration with fabric.
So another one on the small scale that does that is, integrating application agnostic learning with fabric for enabling realistic high fidelity, traffic generation and modeling also on that small size scale.
Harvesting fabric for scalable human genome, sequence, analysis, and then going up to that large scale prototyping a secure distributed storage, infrastructure for accelerating big science.
So again, if you're interested in, you know, seeing more the public abstracts for all of these are available if you use that Insf search, you can also see other program.
Other projects that have been funded under this program. But I think now we'd like to give you an opportunity to ask your questions.
You can use the function or the chat function.
Okay. Thank you. Nicholas, and that's we so far had only one question so far.
So I'm going to read out the question and then try to answer that. The question is, can you please describe the relation difference in similarity between the CC.
Star area 3 and Nsf, Uc core, and on a program, you know, in the past I submitted to area to and reviewments on those 2 program to potentially be appropriate.
So, as I said earlier, really is more like a plague networking research, you know. But you have some done, and then the prototyping along with it Cms core program and Nets.
Part is for fundamental research related to networking. Nsf, we C core program is the office of advanced, the cyber infrastructure.
Those who do not know they look it under the advanced software infrastructure. Anything that is fundamental.
You know that you want to propose, and that you know that has connectivity to some science domain so II think you know you don't want to be discouraged because you did not get funded last time.
Please submit again, obviously every solicitation there is a competition, and so, you know, it is helpful to to do that.
So to, you know, could do it by keeping in mind what you're trying to position to propose up for, and but if you are interested you can send Nicolas and me a one-page description of what your thing is we can give you some feedback, based on that here's another new question can we apply to area 3 and area 5 in a single application the answer is
no we have to apply separately. I don't recall what the requirement on the number of proposal Api can submit Nicholas, do you remember that if you could quickly look it up?
I'll look it up really quickly.
Yeah, I don't remember often, but no, we we don't want areas to be, you know.
Juxtaposed in one proposal. It has to be separate once, partly because the scope of each area is very different.
That's that's why it is down that.
Yeah. Okay, great. So that's good to know.
There are no restrictions on the number. Yeah.
So you could submit to proposals depending on how you're positioning it, while will you wait for a couple of any other questions?
I don't know if they have the ability to unmute, and then then ask question.
I was not sure if that is allowed possible. But let me explain a couple of more things based on my experience of what we have seen, or what kind of things we get important thing is that it is for campus network in the Us.
That's the first thing. So if your campus network connectivity is going to go to the international part of it, that's not the intent of this particular program.
That's one thing I wanted to kind of cover, for. There are other programs like Inrc that allows for international connectivity, which also Kevin Thompson manages that program.
So keep that in mind. Second thing, you know, within the campus network we do get a variety of this thing.
They said, Okay, does it have to be all wired? Networking as a dancer is? No, there might be sensors on the campus that is connected and being done for variety of campus monitoring and stuff like that.
Those projects are also possible to be funded under area 3. There I it device deployed. Make, maybe your campuses some connectivity to a field where you have monitoring, for you know, improve signs for other domain.
So you wanted to be able to. Okay, so that's also something to keep in mind there's one more question, what are some example of intellectual merit for this grand given?
There is a significant emphasis on prototype and implementation, a really really great question. Remember, it's a talk about applied innovation.
So you can focus from that applied innovation perspective. What? Exactly you are trying to do in terms of what it is.
So it is not one of the fundamental for applied innovation highlight. What it is that you actually bring in to be able to, you know, in your portal.
Like the kind of insights that we might gain from this implementation. Right? What we learn from that.
Infrastructure programs we we receive. And so, you know, that's sort of to keep that in mind.
Let's see, there is one more question I see here. Is it possible to have been 2 separate but collaborative proposal?
I believe we don't allow collaborative proposal right? It has to be sub award under this program.
Correct.
Kevin, am I right on that? Yes, correct. We don't allow collaborative. It has to be second.
Let's see. Let me see, let's say we'll hang around and see if there are a few other questions.
That you may have that we can answer Kevin while we wait for it. Would you like to share anything in general about campus cyber infrastructure program? You know any accomplishment do you want to share because of that for other areas?
Okay.
I mean I think you covered it pretty well deep. You know. We continue to see, I think, a healthier response to across the areas of the program.
And we're looking forward to great proposals coming in for the September deadline across all areas.
I will mention that Amy Apon and I will be running a series of office hours in August, starting August eighth, and through through the month on Tuesdays, I think at one Pm.
But we'll have, I think, something coming out in the Oec News Letter next week on that, and I think anyone who has a proposal idea into the other areas.
Since you and Nicholas cover Area 3 still. Well, the other areas, you know, Amy Akon and I are more than welcome to talk to you about your idea. And we're happy to be available for you know a Zoom or phone call whatever you wish if you wanna follow up between now and the Deadline.
Great. Thank you, Kevin. One other, I think. Question important is that the we always get is that is the presentation going to be available.
The answer is, yes, what the presentation, as well as the video recording today session will be available.
It will be in the same page if you can. Campus cyberact, infrastructure. Area 3 webinar page, you can Google. It.
I. It takes about 2 weeks because we have to do internal vetting to make sure that we're compliant with all the things that is needed.
But you know it should be able to see within 2 weeks.
Here we have a new question. What an advanced wireless. Srv. 6.
Usid Usid test be allowed or encouraged to have international partners. If those international partners are unfunded.
I think if it is unfunded, I think it will be okay. But again, we want to make sure that you know how exactly you're proposing and how they get involved with that one.
And so as long as you can very clearly specify that and in the project plan you can discuss about how downfunded partners are involved, it's it's gonna be okay. But we cannot ship something for international.
If you're if that's what you're thinking as a part of the product.
By the way, I wanted to point something out as if my question came out about International, our office of International Science and Engineer.
An engineer. Oh, I think yass, they have a partnership with the European resource Council crc so, and they have provide some time supplemental funding for us researchers to go to Europe to collaborate.
And but just the reason I brought it up is because one of the project we funded in the last couple of years did request under that the supplemental funding to collaborate, and so that Pi did get funded from office supplemental funding to you know to be able to go to Europe and collaborate with that researcher and so those supplemental funding again are only available
for active awards, and, as far as I call engineering resource, council has no restriction. What it is.
It is a foundation, wise agency whites request. If when it comes, and usually the deadline, or that happens to be around, may to submit the documentation.
So you have to sit down, and I believe we do. A dear colleague. Letter announcement from your Nsa.
Point of view, and then, based on that, you can respond to it and submit. And you need to discuss it.
Of course, the program officer. It could be Nicolas or me, or if it is, you know, other areas than you need to discuss with Karen Thompson on that.
So another question asking for clarification on the collaborative proposals on that collaborative proposals in which different organizations submit separately, are not allowed for this solicitation.
What is allowed is a collaborative proposal in which a single institution submits for a single award, but has subawards for the other organizations.
So subawards are allowed collaborative proposals in which you submit, independent or not.
Yeah, you can always have a second institution involved. Like. The only difference is that you have to do it as a subaward.
That's basically it. So then there's a quick area areas like one and 4 require a broad set of science driver.
Is this program different in that the proposal can have a smaller scope, or be directed at a specific yes, in that sense, area 3 is different than area one and area 4. Yep.
So as long as you have some science driver, that's a good thing to be able to see the benefit.
Let's see anything else we missed. Yeah.
It's important to discuss how like a student will involve in an integration project. As you recall that we did explicitly require students to be involved in this project, and then we can take them do that.
And the students need not be undergraduate. Student. However, having said that if a project you want to get 100 gives a student involved, you can request separately or resource experience for undergraduate program, then you have to submit.
The are you? Document additional document and discuss it with your proposal? So what I mean by, and that you can request up to $16,000 maximum of to support 2 student 8,000 each.
So that's the one category where, if you add that it is not counted under the cap of 5 half a million or 1 million, so you can go 500 thousands, $516,000 as long as you do that 16 separately for the through the resource expense for undergadget and similarly, for for the large category instead of 1 million you can go to
$1,016,000. That's possible. You can request a along with the proposal main project itself, or you can.
If you get funded, you can come back next year to request a supplemental funding for research experience for undergraduate, which we very much encourage, you know, for our community to do it actually.
So what I would most give me a second. I'm gonna post the dear call it later related to what we expect.
Let's say this, I can post to everyone here hopefully, you can see it. This is the dear colleague letter the size director had for how you use, and Iut 23 0 3 5.
Please follow this guideline, and you can add a supplementary document for that.
Nicolas, did you want to share anything based on how you know the or panel process, or anything?
How we run this thing, maybe that just to share with the the community and high level ideas. And I can help you out with anything else.
Sure I thing from, you know, discussions panelists have had in the past. It's definitely useful to make sure that you have thought about your metrics that you include in the proposal that they're thoughtful and assess what and we'll actually assess the success of your integration.
Also, I think the science drivers are important to talk about. Some reviewers want to see that this is.
Advancing various scientific projects, and so making sure that you you do go into why this integration will help those projects is useful.
There's a bit too many areas I could think of where.
Yeah, that could have been particularly reviewers, particularly paid attention to last.
Right. Those are good points that you have brought it up so.
And another thing I want to point out that we give you a specific guidance to the, to, to to the panel, that of the scope of what the program is about.
For a, and this goes back to one of the question we heard earlier about the intellectual right part of it right?
So, yeah, so we said, Hey, look, this is what is this? And that's what they know how to calibrate. It.
You know once, that is, that aspect is given one other question we're starting to get is that sometimes we get a discuss on okay, what about if we want to do something related to you know, unmanned vehicles, you know on campus research is it within the campus cyber infrastructure it's not quite but you have to really discuss in the context, of how
you're doing that integration and applied innovation as well as what are the science driver?
Depth kind of activities going to bring, you know, viewable to address it. So so we do get that question.
So you know very clear about what exactly we're trying to do and try to adjust it.
Another thing I think might be worthwhile to know is, you can use the range of funding the range of the funding span like, ask for what you need, and so if you know your project needs 700,000, it doesn't need a million.
You can ask for 700,000, and then part of why I think about that is, it's been coming up a lot.
Is, you know, prices increase and change. And so, you know, reviewers will consider if your large is a 600,000 large as opposed to a million dollar large.
Correct. They understand the different. Similarly, when we do in small categories, you could request something that you are doing.
Maybe if it's more like a 300,000, we have funded somebody at 300,000 before, under small.
So as Nicholas said, we do get, you know, that if you ask now, hey, look! You cannot look at the 300,000 again compared to 500.
Similarly at 600,000 compared to a million dollar project, so that, you know they they know how to calibrate it in terms of their ratings.
One final thing. I want to add edit up is I mention. It is that you know, some sort of your your, you know, relation over the campus.
Network is actually good. You know that you work with campus. It folks and cios for that. You know that they eventually, whatever you produce, they are going to benefit, you know, on, besides, the scientific domain.
So keep that also in mind.
All right. We'll wait for another couple of minutes, and then we'll close the webinar. If there are no other questions.
Glad to seel in a good number of participants attending this webinar, and one of the reason we're doing this webinar is because the aviatory being with the other areas, sometimes not fully understood.
Or that's one thing. Second thing, many, many, many institutions and individuals do not know about this area that the scope of the area tree is different than other areas.
And so that's partly why we are doing this to highlight the area. And then, you know, so that the community gets to know a bit more about this program.
Get a new question is including salary for campus networking staff allowed or encouraged.
Yes, okay. You can do that. That's that's possible. As long as you explain, it's very important to explain.
Many times we have seen budget justification. The explanation is pretty bad they'll just say one old campus network staff will help us.
That's not sufficient. They tell us how that personal help in your this particular activity. So please be more specific about it.
Others will have to go back to you when we do the final budget, you know, to to see what you know, what, why it is needed, and how it is needed.
I wanna bring up one more thing that we mentioned earlier. This area, compared to other area, the equipment cannot be the most significant part of the budget. You know.
You may need some equipment for whatever you want to do. Maybe are getting a programmable switch. It's possible to do it.
But you know it cannot be the most significant part of what it is. And now, for example, if you do do a programmable switch let's say for you request it.
Make sure that campus network also knows that what you are going to get out of it you know, at least in terms of overall understanding, so that they can get eventually the benefit of running that sort of a program and then they can come back under for example, area one to request that hey?
We want to do this upgrade because we have established the programmable network. So, in a sense, think about the it is a pathway to be able to do some of the other areas and it's not quite research for that we have the Osc core, program or not score program.
But it's something in between. That's what.
Setup. However, isn't that the contradictions, the focus of not funding hardware purchases? I remember what I said.
The hardware purchase cannot be the main part of your budget. We did not say that you cannot purchase some hardware, so keep that in mind there are, you know, they're requesting that's reasonable. And we see what they are going to integrate.
And how they are going to do it. Always saying that it cannot be the main focus of your budget. Next question, can the entire gun go to fund network stuff developer?
No hardware, and that's possible. We have seen projects like that and pick one of the project is actually couple of the examples that Nicholas shared, you know, are actually did not have any anything about that.
At all in terms of any hardware.
Very well if there are, no other question we'd like to close today's webinar. I appreciate you joining again.
And so, if you have further question, please shoot us an email. And again, as Kevin Manson, they are going to start doing office hours, starting.
You know August, I think, and you can ask their question if it's a question related to Area 3, he will you know, forward it to us, and in some of those times either Nicholas and I, might join Kevin's office hour, as well so feel free to contact us thank you again.