The Office of Research and Innovation will host a virtual town hall meeting on the topic of "The Future of Research Computing and Data at the UofA." Daniel Sui, vice chancellor for research and innovation, and Donald DuRousseau, the new director of research computing, will lead the conversation via Zoom on Thursday, July 23, at 11 a.m.

“We want to hear from everybody about what they need to facilitate their research work and what is hindering their research,” Wesley Stites, associate vice chancellor for research and innovation said. “We think we know some of the key issues for researchers regarding their data and computational needs, but we want faculty members to share their priorities with us.”

A few examples of computing issues to discuss are as follows:

• Is getting all our IT, computing, and data fully FISMA compliant critical for a grant proposal most important OR is resolving HIPAA issues a more critical concern to our research endeavors?
• Do we need more blades for the supercomputer or more memory? 
• What about internet needs? 
• Are federal data storage and public accessibility standards a big hurdle?
• What are the hardware, software, regulatory, or procedural needs associated with success for faculty to do their research work?

"Obviously, different faculty are going to care about different things, but we want to start an ongoing conversation to guide our investments in this area," Stites said.

Please register for the event at your earliest convenience. On the registration form, you will be asked two questions: a multiple-choice question of what is of most interest to you regarding this topic and a short answer question of what is the biggest hindrance to your research computing activity? These questions will guide our discussion and allow for prioritizing needs across campus. Space is limited. Register soon.

This event is open for any faculty or staff member who wishes to attend.