Sociological Aspects of Developing Information Infrastructures for Science

Date: Thursday, February 5, 2009
Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm
Location: Bldg. 50F, Room 1647

Speaker
Charlotte P. Lee
Department of Technical Communication
University of Washington

Abstract:
Distributed enterprises supported by advanced technological
infrastructures such as supercomputers and high-speed
networks---also known as cyberinfrastructures---are transforming
scientific and engineering practices. Conducting new types of
science requires new and more powerful technologies to support
communication, data sharing and aggregation, access to remote
instruments, and large-scale data analysis. At the same time, new
types of science require virtual organizations and specialized
collaborative structures comprised of scientists and engineers.
Although one of the primary aims of cyberinfrastructure is to
transform scientific practice, little research has focused on
systematically studying the actual practices of cyberinfrastructure
development and use or studying the transformations that
cyberinfrastructure is created to engender. This talk will present
research seeking to understand the dynamics of socio-technical
transformations needed for the creation of large information
infrastructures.
 

Host of Seminar

    Cecilia Aragon