ResearchChannel will host a two-way, low-latency videoconference using uncompressed high-definition video that features oceanographer Deborah Kelley. Last fall, ResearchChannel filmed Kelley and co-chief scientist John Delaney as they led an expedition to the seafloor to study the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Kelley will speak to conference attendees from the University of Washington's Seattle campus about the exciting research being done on this underwater "Yellowstone of the deep sea." Attendees will also see high-definition footage from this incredible expedition.
"High-definition video makes it possible to study the ocean in new ways because we can see with such amazing clarity the volcanoes, novel life forms and submarine hot springs that this incredible world contains. This video can be used in laboratories and classrooms in meaningful ways that further our understanding of the oceans and open up new areas of study for scientists," said Kelley.
In another demonstration, The University of Michigan School of Information, an affiliate partner in the OptIPuter project, will use an OptIPortal to demonstrate several visualizations in the social and information sciences. The OptIPortal provides unique views into these data by providing a huge canvas for visually exploring connections between data points that are nearly impossible to see on a single computer screen. A variety of visualizations will demonstrate the utility of these ultra-resolution environments for analyzing large and visually complex data sets, such as co-authorship, citation and time-series social networks.
"The technologies we are demonstrating this year, such as interactive high-definition video conferencing and the OptIPortal, represent an exciting new class of applications that leverage advanced computing resources and high-performance networks to build a research environment that is highly interactive, visual and collaborative," said Erik Hofer, research computer specialist, School of Information, University of Michigan. "These technologies demonstrate how the research environment of the future will use advanced cyberinfrastructure to transform the way we interact with our data, our instrumentation and each other, reshaping scientific practice."
In a third demonstration, NTT Labs will demonstrate an uncompressed HDTV communication experiment between the exhibition venue in Tampa and NTT R&D center in Tokyo over the Pacific Ocean.
Networking support for this effort is provided and coordinated by Pacific Northwest Gigapop with support from Pacific Wave, National LambdaRail, GEMnet2, SciNet, MREN, Internet2 and KREONet2. Hardware is provided by Evertz, Professional Video and Tape, and Silicon Mechanics.