Informatics Initiative (UI3) Annual Report (July 2015) The Iowa Informatics Initiative is a campus-­‐wide multidisciplinary initiative, launched in November 2013, designed to establish the university as a national center of excellence in the rapidly evolving field of informatics. UI3 provides overarching coordination of informatics activities across the institution, which span from health care to digital arts and humanities. The Initiative aims to expand the research capabilities, strengthen educational and training opportunities in informatics-­‐related areas, and provide a single point of contact for external constituents with interests in informatics. The increased informatics research and training activities will enhance career opportunities for graduates in the rapidly evolving field of informatics. informatics and new investments were recommended, and UI3 was initiated in response. Background Informatics is deeply interwoven within the fabric of 21st century society, touching our social interactions and communications, work and business processes, creative expression and recreation, and research and discovery. In addition to being a key intellectual topic in its own right, informatics is a broad enabler of research, education, and engagement, impacting almost every area of the University of Iowa. An Informatics Task Force was organized in the spring of 2013 with the charge of developing a comprehensive and cohesive action plan that strengthens informatics education, training, research, and collaborative support at the University of Iowa. The task force found existing strengths in informatics-­‐related educational and research in a number of areas distributed across campus. In addition, institutional strengths in the underlying infrastructure necessary to support informatics teaching and research were identified including an excellent base of instructional technology, a state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art data center, and recent investments in the Helium/Neon high-­‐
performance computer systems. Given the universality of informatics, no single college or segment of the institution alone can create the breadth and depth of core and applied informatics that addresses all of the diverse needs; thus renewed efforts to coordinate Informatics at Iowa The UI3 website http://informatics.uiowa.edu/ was launched in Spring 2015. This site is designed to be the informatics portal that describes the major informatics scholarship, teaching, and service components at Iowa. At the core of UI3are the computational foundations required to address the challenges of collecting, interpreting, and using the explosion of information that modern computer systems make available. The foundation areas include: data science and analytics; algorithms and machine learning; statistics; networking (including network science, embedded software, and security); visualization and human computer interfaces; and systems, including the cloud. The application domains of importance to the University of Iowa include: bioinformatics; biomedical and health informatics; geoinformatics; physical sciences informatics; social informatics; digital arts; and digital humanities. There are also a number of existing centers and institutes that have informatics components that focus on specific application areas. Examples include the Iowa Institute for Human Genetics, and IIHR-­‐
Hydroscience and Engineering.
1 Furthermore, many of the recent faculty cluster hires rely heavily on informatics (e.g., Aging Mind and Brain, Digital Public Humanities and Digital Arts, Genetics, and Water Sustainability). UI3 is designed to strengthen the research and training capacities of these centers and clusters by adding new faculty with foundational and domain expertise, and to enhance the professional staff and computational .
infrastructure to better support informatics activities and maximize the effective use of campus-­‐wide informatics resources. The UI3 website also provides information to students interested in exploring informatics related studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels, research funding opportunities, and provides a calendar of upcoming informatics seminars. 20 new cluster positions, as two positions were leveraged from other sources). The Informatics Faculty Cluster A key element of the initiative is the creation of a new “cluster” of approximately 20 informatics faculty under the UI Cluster Hire Initiative. To date, 11 new informatics cluster faculty have been hired from 4 colleges and 8 departments [CLAS (Computer Science (2)), Statistics, GSS); CoE (ECE, MIE, CBE); TCoB (Management Science); CoPH (Biostatistics (2))] (using 9 of the Identified recruitments for next year include Computer Science (network security and visualization); political science and sociology (joint) (social science informatics); and CCoM (health informatics). Additional hiring priorities will be developed in Fall 2015. 2 Tianbao Yang, statistical machine learning and its applications to big data analytics Computer Science
Hans Johnson, analysis of large scale, heterogeneous, multi-­‐site data collections using modern High Performance Computing (HPC) resources Electrical and Computer Engineering
Fatima Toor, design, fabrication, and testing of cutting edge photonics devices for applications in the health, environment, and energy industries Electrical and Computer Engineering
Amaury Lendassse, big data analytics and machine learning Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Zubair Shafiq, large scale data measurement and analytics for n etworking and security systems Computer Science
Xun Zhou, big data analytics Department of Management Sciences
3 4 Hichwa (OVPR); Ben Rogers (ITS); Boyd Knosp, Information Technology (CCOM); Paul Soderdahl, Information Technology (UI Libraries); Terry Braun, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (CCoM) and Biomedical Engineering (CoE); Kathleen Stewart, Geographical and Sustainability Sciences (CLAS); and Jon Winet, Art and Art History (CLAS). UI3 Membership – In August 2015 faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, and students engaged in scholarship, teaching, research, service, and/or outreach in informatics, big-­‐data, and related areas will be invited to join an informatics community of practice coordinated/facilitated by UI3. Affiliates are expected to include Informatics cluster faculty, faculty, and staff affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Informatics (IGPI), UI3 committee members, and others engaged in scholarship, teaching, research, and service in informatics, big-­‐data, and related areas, including those affiliated with informatics-­‐related centers and institutes (e.g., CBCB, IIHG). UI3 Organization The administrative structure of UI3 was further developed during the past year. The structure consists of a director (Greg Carmichael, Professor Chemical and Biochemical Engineering), Associate Director for Informatics Services (Ben Rogers, ITS), Associate Director for Informatics Curriculum Coordination (Juan-­‐
Pablo Hourcade, Associate Professor Computer Science), and a program coordinator (Andrea Flaherty). The strategic development of the initiative and the cluster hiring activities are coordinated by the UI3 steering committee and the service and curricular components are informed by sub-­‐committees. The members for these committees are listed below. The Steering Committee – Gregory R. Carmichael (Chair), Chemical and Biochemical Engineering (CoE); Brian Smith, Biostatistics (CoPH); Joe Kearney, Computer Science (CLAS); Kathleen Stewart, Geographical and Sustainability Sciences (CLAS); Philip Polgreen, Internal Medicine (CCoM); Richard Smith, Otolaryngology (CCoM); Richard Hichwa (OVPR); Steve Fleagle (ITS); Ann Marie McCarthy (CoN), Padmini Srinivasan, Computer Science (CLAS); Nick Street, Management Sciences (TCoB); Colin Gordon, History (CLAS); and Pat Winokur CCoM. Affiliation will provide opportunities to help shape the direction of UI3 and access to resources associated with the initiative. Benefits of affiliation include: being profiled in the UI3 web page; included in the UI3 mailing list; voting rights on UI3 matters; and access to UI3 administrative, support service staff, and infrastructure (including computational resources and collaboration space). Curriculum sub-­‐committee – Joe Kearney (Co-­‐
Chair), Computer Science (CLAS); John Keller(Co-­‐Chair), GC; Alberto Segre, Computer Science (CLAS); Nick Street, Management Sciences (TCoB); Kai Tan, Internal Medicine (CCoM); James Elmborg, School of Library and Information Sciences (GC); Mary Kathryn Cowles, Statistics and Actuarial Science (CLAS); Terry Braun, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (CCoM) and Biomedical Engineering (CoE); Ann Marie McCarthy (CoN). Support Services sub-­‐committee – Richard Smith (Co-­‐Chair), Ortholonagology (CCoM); Steve Fleagle (Co-­‐Chair) (ITS); Gregory R. Carmichael, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering (CoE); Joe Kearney, Computer Science (CLAS); Richard Affiliated members will be expected to contribute to UI3 efforts to broadly engage and enhance informatics-­‐related activities on campus and to participate in activities such as collaborative research, preparing research and training grant proposals, attending/presenting informatics seminars, serving on thesis committees, mentoring new faculty and students, and consultations. Students and post-­‐doctoral fellows of affiliated faculty can become “trainee affiliates”. Benefits to students/post-­‐docs include, for example, opportunities to participate in research open 5 houses and informatics job fairs, and access to UI3 collaboration and study spaces, clearing house for job and internship opportunities, UI3 administrative and support service staff, and infrastructure (including computational resources and collaboration space). A corporate affiliation will also be established. UI3 is working in various ways to further enhance training opportunities in informatics. Examples include: establishing firm commitments from departments making cluster hires that critical courses in informatics will be taught; development of the UI3 web site as a portal to educational and training opportunities in informatics; facilitating better coordination of informatics programs and course offerings; and providing a central forum for units to coordinate their offerings to avoid duplication, to identify and fill gaps in curricula, and to organize prerequisite structures to allow multiple paths through the curricula. In addition, the Provost’s Office put out a special call for informatics-­‐related First Year Seminars, and several new seminars will be offered in Fall 2015. A significant activity this year was the transfer of the administrative operations of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Informatics to UI3 (effective July 1, 2015). This program consists of four sub-­‐programs (health informatics, bioinformatics, geoinformatics, and information science) awarding certificates and MS and PhD degrees. To date 31 Certificates, 24 MS degrees, 6 PhD degrees have been awarded. Current enrollment consists of 18 Certificate, 15 MS, 10 PhD students. Informatics Curricula An important element of UI3 is related to bolstering the informatics related educational opportunities. Student interest in informatics degree programs at Iowa is growing. The number of degrees awarded in informatics programs at UI has grown by 38% over the last five years. Informatics related courses and programs are offered in a wide variety of departments and colleges across campus, with over 500 degrees awarded each year across five colleges. Given the broad impact of informatics, new programs continue to increase, as illustrated by the numerous new certificate and degree programs being established (e.g., undergraduate minor in Geographic Information Science (GISci), Geoinformatics track in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Informatics, undergraduate major in Business Analytics and Information Systems, Large Data Analysis undergraduate certificate, Business Analytics Master's and Certificate, Digital Public Humanities graduate certificate, and the Social Science Analytics undergraduate certificate) 6 An informatics curriculum summit was held in spring 2015 to start a conversation exploring opportunities to improve UI informatics and related course offerings. Over 50 faculty attended the summit to discuss: the current state of informatics-­‐related courses, certificates, and degree offerings, and the relationships between them; gaps in our current course, certificate, and degree offerings; and future directions for our educational offerings across all levels (undergraduate, graduate, and professional). Breakout groups focused discussions on bioinformatics/genetics and data science courses. Follow-­‐up forums are planned for AY1015/16. A major activity of UI3 faculty was the development of a NSF proposal submitted in May 2015 for a new graduate training program (NRT) in Data Enabled Education and Problem Solving Through Concept Integration: A network science approach to Trans-­‐
disciplinarity. The aim of this proposal is to produce scientists who are not only trained within a specific area of expertise, but also steeped in a new way of executing integrative science, able to work effectively in transdisciplinary teams, and able to address complex real world problems important to the US and the world. To address complex social, environmental, and scientific problems the next-­‐generation scientist must be able to work in diverse, dynamic teams that require a high degree of interdependence and, thus, these teams must be able to integrate data, theories, and methods in deep and substantive ways. To develop and test this approach a focus on the United Nations grand challenge of water and water resources was selected. In addition to basic research in network science, students and 7 faculty will study water as a natural process (e.g., routing and flood dynamics), a natural hazard (flooding and social vulnerability at local to regional scales), and a source of social conflict (e.g., transboundary disputes over limited water supply and growing demand). Teams of students and faculty from the computational, natural, and social sciences will be assembled to address related problems, and trainees will take courses in each of these areas. The goal of this program is to train students with skills needed to not only engage in transdisciplinary science, but also communicate the significance of the resulting science to a broad audience. Trainees will, therefore, represent a new generation of scientists who are able to make significant contributions to society and decision-­‐making through their ability to apply and communicate the latest network science techniques to the analysis of large complex problems. To help further enhance the UI3 curricular activities, an Associate Director for Informatics Curriculum Coordination has been established. Juan-­‐Pablo Hourcade, Associate Professor Computer Science, will work with the UI3 director to further develop and coordinate informatics related curricula across campus and help move forward the recommendations made by the ad-­‐hoc UI3 curriculum committee in their June 2014 report. Priority curricula-­‐related activities for the coming year for UI3 include: • coordinating IGPI graduate student recruitment and curricula; facilitating and fostering further developments in graduate course offerings in informatics/big-­‐data related subjects; • helping guide the compilation of current informatics/big data course offerings, degrees and certificates, and their utilization (student enrollments by major, etc.), and the establishment of an effective web-­‐portal on the UI3 website to help inform students of the curricular opportunities in informatics at Iowa; and • coordinating discussions assessing opportunities/needs for new informatics-­‐related professional (possibly online) programs at the Masters-­‐level and intensive non-­‐degree training programs and workshops (e.g., summer schools). Informatics Support Services and Infrastructure Support services are a critical element of UI3. Services are being organized around facilitation, data services, analysis and visualization, and research application functions. Activities in 2014/15 were directed at extending training and consultation, upgrading informatics infrastructure, and expanding staffing. 8 Several training and workshops were organized at the University of Iowa for the community interested in high performance computing (HPC). One of the main courses developed for the education and benefit of new graduate, undergraduate, and post-­‐doctoral fellows was the Introduction to Helium and Neon, a two hour course that covers the details of the two University of Iowa clusters (Helium and Neon), basics of cluster computing environment, the job scheduler, and hands-­‐on session to submit the jobs and analyze the results obtained on these cluster computers. Nine workshops/courses were conducted in 2014/15 training nearly 100 students, faculty, and staff, covering the following topics: Introduction to Helium Cluster; Azure Infrastructure and Insights from Data; XSEDE HPC Monthly Workshop; Iowa High Performance Computing (IHPC) Summer School; and VSCSE Visualization Workshop. In addition to running courses and workshops, support was provided for classes taught by faculty at UI. The following courses were supported by the HPC group at UI: •
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9 High Performance and Parallel Computing: Course taught in Fall 2014 by Prof. Suely Oliveria. Number of students registered for the course is 19, supported by HPC technical staff Mr. Kaleb Bozorgzadeh; Big Data Analytics: Course taught in Fall 2014 by Prof. Amaury Lendasse. Number of students registered for the course is 14, supported by teaching assistant Mr. Anton Akusok and HPC technical staff Mr. Srinivas Maddhi; and Bioinformatics Techniques: Course taught in Fall 2014 by Prof. Thomas and Casavant. Number of students registered for the course is 28 and supported by HPC technical staff Mr. Kaleb Bozorgzadeh. Along with the trainings, ITS – Research Services and UI3 staff were involved in user consultations (graduate students, staff, and faculty) and support for Informatics related work across various departments in the university. The following are example areas of support that were provided during June ‘14 – June ‘15. •
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Issues with running MATLAB code – provided feedback on running successful jobs on Neon and helped connect MATLAB experts on the campus. Script help, high throughput computing simulations. Using array jobs for running business model simulations. Helping a student with running pipeline software (Celera Accelerator, runCA) and submitting jobs from compute node using $SGE_O_HOST command. Running multiple jobs of R on the cluster using & at the end. The job failed with no error file and we helped the faculty in successfully running the R jobs using array submission. Plink software issues for a graduate student and the consultation resulted in using array jobs for the better job control. Secondary Student Training Program (SSTP) at the University of Iowa. A request for helping a high school student joined in the SSTP for OpenMP coding using Helium and Neon clusters. •
In collaboration with the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, and the Office of Information Technology Services, a strategic plan to increase informatics support service staffing was developed and initiated. In October 2014, Ben Rogers was appointed as Associate Director for Informatics Services and in March 2015, Sai Ramadugu (PhD in computational chemistry) was hired as an Informatics Consultant. This is a new positon focused on enabling research and scholarly work in a rapidly evolving research driven environment. Plans are underway to hire two additional technical support staff in Fall 2015. In addition a program to provide matching funds for hiring domain specific staff will be piloted in Fall 2015. Significant investments were made to expand Informatics infrastructure in FY14 to support the informatics cluster faculty and the broader informatics community on campus. These included: •
Informatics Community Building An important component of UI3’s mission is to foster successful collaborations. Informatics researchers are scattered across the University of Iowa campus. Informatics community Neon Expansion -­‐ $433k, which added 10 15 256GB Nodes for Informatics Queue, 48 64GB Nodes + 8 Xeon Phi + 8 K20 to UI Queue, and enhanced Cluster Infrastructure. This has resulted in strong uptake and high utilization. Enhanced Data Storage -­‐ $25k, added 100TB of Data Storage for Informatics Initiative on Large Scale Service. This is in use by Informatics cluster faculty and another 100TB is in the process of being added now. Data Analytics Pilot -­‐ $30k, for a ~100TB Hadoop Pilot Cluster, scoped primarily to support Informatics research and teaching. This pilot system is expected to support new Informatics cluster hires in the Fall, and plans are to extend the pilot period to summer 2016. Secure Remote Desktop -­‐ $50k, created Remote Desktop targeted at researchers who require housing and process of Level III data. Final prototyping in progress. building activities are focused on promoting collaboration and identification of existing informatics resources and gaps. A major UI3 effort is directed at the development of an Informatics Research Collaboration Support Catalogue, which will be a resource for anyone looking for ways to interact/collaborate with informatics faculty/staff. To better identify the interests and needs for informatics services, a series of town hall meetings (15 in all) were conducted in Spring 2015 to meet with faculty and staff across campus. These meetings resulted in a prioritized list of areas of staffing investment and is forming a base from which to build the Informatics community. is designed to highlight informatics scholarship conducted by UI3 researchers (undergraduate, graduate students, and post-­‐doctoral fellows and faculty) and to inform the community about the breadth of informatics-­‐related activities present at the university. The first day will consist of talks from invited speakers and UI3 faculty and students, a poster session, a career panel discussion, and displays of research centers/cores and informatics study opportunities. The second day will focus on training and workshop sessions covering a variety of topics including software basics, GIS, mapping and visualization, statistical packages etc. Other examples of community building activities include the UI3 reception held in Fall 2014 to introduce the new cluster faculty to the UI community and to provide an update on UI3 activities. In addition funds were obtained from the OVPRED through the IFI program to host a series of strategic seminars/workshops in informatics related areas, designed to stimulate interactions across informatics application domains. Cooperative workshops were held with the Studio (Future of Learning), the Obermann Center (Designing the Digital Future: A Human-­‐Centered Approach to Informatics), and with the departments of Political Science and Sociology (Theory Workshop on The Relational Revolution in Social Science). More are planned for AY15/16. Plans are underway to conduct the first annual Informatics Day @ Iowa event. The 2-­‐day event Future Home The 5th floor of the College of Public Health Building will house UI3. This centrally located space with striking views will connect informatics activities across campus and serve as a front door for those seeking connections to informatics at Iowa. The space is expected to open in spring 2016. The facility is designed to promote collaborations broadly and support the cluster faculty and students, affiliated faculty and students, informatics support services, and UI3 administration including IGPI. The space will include informal and formal work, study and interaction spaces, and state of the art collaboration facilities, including an interactive wall sized visualization system.
11 Contact Us •
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Greg Carmichael, Director of UI3 and professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering (gcarmich@engineering.uiowa.edu); Joe Kearney, professor of Computer Science and Associate Dean for Research and Infrastructure, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (joe-­‐kearney@uiowa.edu); Ben Rogers, Associate Director for Informatics Services and Sr. Director for Research Services, Information Technology Services, (ben-­‐rogers@uiowa.edu); Juan Pablo Hourcade, Associate Director for Informatics Curriculum Coordination, (juanpablo-­‐
hourcade@uiowa.edu); Andrea Flaherty, Program Coordinator (andrea-­‐flaherty@uiowa.edu). •
For more information visit: http://informatics.uiowa.edu/ Revised August 17, 2015 12