Caltech Library News

CaltechDATA Awarded National Science Foundation Campus Cyberinfrastructure Grant

The Library is delighted to announce that Research Data Specialist Tom Morrell and the CaltechDATA team have been awarded a generous grant as part of the National Science Foundation Campus Cyberinfrastructure program. Through a collaboration between the Library and Caltech’s Information Management Systems and Services (IMSS), the award will allow the standard free storage allocation in CaltechDATA to be expanded from 500 GB per research group to 1 TB per researcher. 

University Librarian Kara Whatley explains the award's significance: "This grant is extremely important for the sharing of open scientific data at Caltech. Our researchers are in the business of cutting-edge science, and now their work will be accessible to others who want to build upon it. The Caltech Library and IMSS are thrilled to partner on this project to support Caltech researchers.”

We took this opportunity to ask Tom Morrell some questions about the grant.

Congratulations on receiving this generous grant from the National Science Foundation! What kind of projects were considered for this grant solicitation? 

The NSF program funds a wide variety of campus cyberinfrastructure, from networking to supercomputers. We specifically applied for the data storage part of the program, which provides funding for campuses to expand their research data offerings.

What were some of the strengths of the CaltechDATA proposal?

Our proposal was a really close collaboration between the library and Caltech’s Information Management Systems and Services (IMSS), and we were able to harness the library’s expertise for managing FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data with IMSS’s expertise in running campus cyberinfrastructure to create a compelling proposal. In addition, fifteen research groups at Caltech made specific storage requests and committed to sharing research data publicly. We also utilized the open source architecture of the Open Storage Network to ensure that we’d have a performant and sustainable storage platform. Caltech Library actually piloted connecting the Open Storage Network to our CaltechDATA repository through an NSF ACCESS storage allocation, so by the time we submitted the proposal, we were confident that all the technical components would work.

Could you tell us a little about the collaboration between the Library and Information Management Systems and Services (IMSS)?

The expanded data services this grant will support build on the strengths of both the library and IMSS. One aspect of this proposal was a campus cyberinfrastructure plan, and IMSS was critical in explaining how this storage will complement the existing services and infrastructure. IMSS will also host the physical storage hardware. The library is responsible for running the CaltechDATA repository, as well as offering training and support to researchers across campus.

What is the role of Open Storage Network?

Open Storage Network provides the software and management of the storage hardware that we’ll be purchasing. One of the challenges for running a campus storage service is that you need experts on staff to configure and manage the storage software. Open Storage Network allows those experts to work centrally and build one software configuration that is deployed at universities across the country. We then access the storage through a standard S3 interface, so Open Storage Network looks like any other cloud storage service to both researchers and software applications.

What will CaltechDATA be able to achieve with this grant?

We’ll be able to expand the standard free storage allocation in CaltechDATA from 500 GB per research group to 1 TB per researcher. We’ll also be able to provide the fifteen research groups that participated in the proposal all of the storage they requested. In addition, other research groups at Caltech will have the ability to purchase additional storage at low cost.

Who will be some of the primary beneficiaries of this funding?

This funding will have many beneficiaries. We’ll be able to provide global access to raw data from cutting-edge microscopes, telescopes, and supercomputers that are currently limited to Caltech researchers. A portion of the storage resource will made also be made available through the NSF ACCESS program, allowing researchers across the country to apply for an allocation and efficiently store files. We’ll also be able to support a diverse group of student workers who will engage in the management of CaltechDATA and OSN storage. 

What are you most looking forward to?

I’m really looking forward to helping more researchers on campus create FAIR data. To date, CaltechDATA has had to limit the size of files we can accept in order to make sure our service is sustainable. With the funding from this grant, we won’t really have those limitations and can offer solutions to everyone on campus who has data they want to share.