EScience

This is an exemplary collection of information on the term eScience/e-Science that gives an idea on how and in which contexts it is used.

The Term eScience
The usage of the term eScience or e-Science mainly evolved in the context of several research funding programmes in Europe. Sometimes the akronym is interpreted "enhanced Science" expressing the need and ability to handle the growing amount of data in all disciplines with new technologies (grid-computing) and the resulting additional benefits for research. Professor Malcolm Atkinson, Director of the e-Science Institute at the British National e-Science Centre and UK e-Science Envoy defines:

"'The term 'e-Science' denotes the systematic development of research methods that exploit advanced computational thinking.'"

The eScience Pilot Projects in the UK
The Research Councils UK started the so-called eScience initiative in 2000 to test grid-technology in six eScience pilot projects. Dr John Taylor, Director General of the Research Councils, described this initiative as a

"'global collaboration in key areas of science, and the next generation of computing infrastructure that will enable it.'"

The eScience Initiative in Germany
In 2004 the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) announced the start of an eScience initiative in order to fund innovative utilization of new communication technologies in research. In this initiative eScience is understood as follows:

"''e-Science' (enhanced Science) is a term applied to a new form of network-based scientific work.'"

One project within this funding priority of "Networking knowledge" is the eSciDoc project.

eScience Programmes on European Level
work in progress

eScience Programmes in the US
work in progress

Weblinks

 * Wiki of the eScience Institute at the British National eScience Centre
 * Wiki of the UK eScience Envoy at the National eScience Centre