The 2016 CENTRA Kickoff Meeting was hosted by CECEA (Center of Excellence on Cyber Enablement of Applications) at NCHC (National Center for High-Performance Computer) in Taiwan this spring from March 30 through April 1st.
The Kickoff was opened by Dr. Chung-Liang Chien, Deputy Minister of MOST (Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan) and Dr. Tzi-Dar Chiueh, Vice President of NARLabs (National Applied Research Laboratories) in Taipei on March 30. More than 60 participants from 7 countries attended the three-day Kickoff and formed collaboration groups in the following topic areas: Smart Cities and Connected Communities, Environmental Monitoring and Disaster Management, Biodiversity and Social Communication IT, and Federated Testbeds.
The CENTRA inaugural activities also included a visit to the CTSP (Central Taiwan Science Park) where CENTRA researchers were hosted by Director Wayne Wang and his team at the CTSP Bureau. CENTRA researchers introduced collaborative cyberinfrastructure research projects initiated by CENTRA members at and beyond the Kickoff meeting. CENTRA researchers also commented on the importance of educating a new generation of researchers to be both technically and culturally competent to engage with international scientific networks and regional science parks. Director Wang expressed interest in collaborating with CENTRA researchers in the near future and providing them with access to CTSP activities and facilities.
Another highlight at the CENTRA Kickoff is the joining of PRAGMA (Pacific-Rim Applications and Grid Middleware Assembly) as an Invited Organization of CENTRA.
The next CENTRA Meeting will be hosted by the ACIS Lab, University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida on April 10-12, 2017. In conjunction with this CENTRA Meeting, PRAGMA 32 Workshop will be held at the same venue on April 13-14, 2017.
Resources from the 2016 CENTRA Kickoff Meeting:
- Meet the participants & expertise
- Agenda
- Contact: centra@acis.ufl.edu