Presentation about BioVeL project given at EC Concertation meeting session on e-Science environments, Lyon, 22nd September 2011

1. Biodiversity Virtual e-Laboratory
Alex Hardisty, Coordinator

2. Who Am I?
 Alex Hardisty
 Director of Informatics Projects
 Cardiff School of Computer Science and Informatics
 My roles (as well as BioVeL Coordinator)
 LifeWatch Strategic Management (Tech. Architect)
 ENVRI Common operations of ESFRI Environmental
Infrastructures (Workpackage leader)
 CReATIVE-B Coordination of Research e-Infrastructures
Activities Toward an International Virtual Environment
for Biodiversity (Workpackage leader)

3. Vision
 A seamlessly connected environment ...
 Service Oriented Architecture and e-Infrastructure
 that makes it easier for biodiversity scientists to
carry out in-silico analysis of relevant biodiversity
data and to pursue in-silico experimentation ...
 Virtual laboratory
 based on composing / executing sequences of
data manipulations and modelling tasks
 Workflows composed from services
 Taxonomy, Phylogenetics, Metagenomics, Niche
Modelling, Population modelling, Mapping, etc.

4. Value added
 Lowering barriers to entry for biodiversity
e-Scientists
 Range of robust biodiversity services deployed
 Useful packs of workflows for biodiversity research
 Easier user interfaces for creating & using workflows
 Specific Support Centre for help and training
 Supporting science supporting EU biodiversity
policy objectives
 CO2 sequestration, Invasive species, Ecosystem services
 Steps to integration of biodiversity research assets

5. Fits in a portfolio of
Euro-biodiversity informatics
 Reputed NoEs
 ALTER-Net, EDIT, LTER-Europe, PESI, SCAR-MarBIN, etc.
 Funded projects
 4D4Life, Aquamaps, ArtDataBanken, BioDiversityWorld,
BioFresh, EuroMarine, Fauna Iberica, iMarine, i4Life,
OpenBio, OpenPlantBio, ViBRANT, etc.
 Important contribution to ESFRI LifeWatch
 Global context
 GBIF, GSC Biodiversity WG, CReATIVE-B
 pending EU-US cooperation

6. The consortium
(partners)
Partner Scientific Technical e-Inf. access
Cardiff University (CU) - Coordinator X X
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Institute IAIS (FhG IAIS) X
Hungarian Academy of Sciences Institute of Ecology and Botany (IEB) X X
University of Amsterdam (UvA) Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem
X X
Dynamics
National Research Council (CNR) Institute for Biomedical Technologies X
University of Gothenburg (UGOT) X X
Max Planck Society, MPI for Marine Microbiology (MPG) X X
Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental (CRIA) X X
Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity (NCB Naturalis) (replaces
X
Society for the Management of Electronic Biodiversity Data (SMEBD))
University of Manchester (UNIMAN) X X
Foundation for Biodiversity Research (FRB) X X
University of Eastern Finland (UEF) X X
Free University of Berlin – Botanical Gardens and Botanical Museum
X X
(FUB-BGBM)
National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) X X
Stichting European Grid Initiative (EGI.eu) X X

7. Technology - myGrid
 myExperiment
 Workflows
repository
 Social network
 BioCatalogue
 Services catalogue
 Taverna
 Workflow
environment
 e-Infrastructures

8. What we need from
e-Infrastructures
 Execution of workflow on e-Infrastructure
 Tools as services so environments like Taverna can
access them
 Foundational services. We don’t want to do generic
stuff. Clear, open, industry standard interfaces. No
dependencies on particular provider
 Service scaling
 Capacity on-demand to support large scale analyses
 Strong channels of communication to providers
 e.g., to get technical know-how for packaging
community services to be “e-Inf ready”

9. On fundamental model
for e-Science
 Our project depends on it. Two areas need
greater attention:
1. Better engagement with industry, leading to
wide availability and use of sustained standard
products - is necessary to reach critical mass
2. Closing the gap between what this community is
doing and what the computing services
organisations in the HEIs and Research Institutes
are doing for general research, teaching and
learning support

10. Questions?