In response to the rapid emergence of data-driven science and research ("Big Data"), the University of Washington (UW) NSF-funded Cyberinfrastructure (CI) Engineer works jointly with UW science and research teams to apply scalable, virtual constructs to passive network infrastructure. These efforts are meant to provide meaningful constructs (data analysis results and/or visualizations) to researchers as quickly and transparently as possible. The CI Engineer focuses on solutions for Big Data transfers, storage, and retrieval and reducing the complexity associated with information sharing among large collaboration teams. Domain research projects enhanced and enabled through these activities span astronomy, physics, and genomics at UW. UW's CI Engineer assists scientists in using optimized UW research network configurations that includes a 40G campus backbone, Science DMZ, and a 100G connection to global research network infrastructures, and, as appropriate, identifies opportunities to apply virtualized network resources, such as dynamic circuit services and cloud storage. The UW CI Engineer actively participates in UW's several data-driven science initiatives such as eScience Institute and the Data Science Studio, as well as collaborates in national and international programs aimed at serving scientific discovery.
