Midwest Research Computing and Data Consortium
The Midwest RCD Consortium fully and wholeheartedly embraces diversity. This diversity includes but is not limited to embracing: race, ethnicity, color, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, socioeconomic class, religion, disability, age, military status, political ideology, visa status, economic status, geographic location, and language/linguistic ability. Therefore, we are committed to an inclusive environment where everyone is welcomed, valued, and provided opportunities to grow.
Regional stakeholders working collectively in a trusted forum can shape the future by working collectively on topics of mutual interest. We onboard organizations that align with our mission, share information transparently and provide opportunities for professional growth and leadership. While identity is a social process and all forms of identity can be fluid. Regional identity has been implicit in geography for a long time.
Regional identity stems from harmony between a region and its inhabitants. It indicates unity and social integration within a geographic area. One’s identity as a member of a region can contribute to greater forms of communication, willingness to share, and trust as members share a sense of place. The strong regional identity of academic institutions in the US Midwest states, and through place-based identity, achieve greater forms of transparency and shared mission in support of the cyberinfrastructure professional. Connect to the Midwest RCD’s LinkedIn group.
In order to define the regional bounds of the proposed organization, we used the rule of “one-day driving distance.” Keeping in mind that driving rather than flying to an activity is an important determinant in engagement with regional activities. The US Census Bureau’s definition of the Midwestern United States stretches from North Dakota to Ohio. This area- a 21-hour trip- is too large. Therefore, our regional focus was to match what NOAA calls the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes region includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
The technical focus of our proposed consortium is on data. Data plays an ever larger role in computational science. Artificial intelligence, edge networks, and computational analysis on data with sensitivities are among just a small number of issues that are relevant and present in present-day scientific and scholarly research. Traditional HPC centers have a compute-first view of serving research, a model that is increasingly being called on for expansion. The Midwest RCD consortium exists to facilitate regional discussions on relevant topics in this field and equip cyberinfrastructure professionals with the tools to tackle the numerous emerging issues.
The socio-technical aims of the consortium are to grow and serve the regional CIP community through a lightweight consortium that can efficiently build resource capacity to enable the effectiveness of network participants. Additionally, they can operate with transparency and inclusivity to allow for growth in the network while offering clear and continued value. It will accomplish this in several ways. First, by establishing a revised governance model (of the earlier MWRC) to more effectively serve the network. Second, by expanding participation opportunities by developing an inclusive outreach and communication plan. Finally, by building a shareable framework for sustainability including creating an understanding of the value and impact of research computing as well as policies surrounding technical areas of interest.
There are multiple beneficiaries of the consortium. First, the institutions through institutional change brought about through the products and associations of the Midwest RCD. Second, the Midwest RCD organization itself benefits in the ability of the consortium members in the work that they do through topical areas that are investigated through means of affinity groups. Third, the individual themself through efforts directly focused on the growth and mentoring of the CI professional and of diverse students who benefit through professional development and pipeline growth.