The proposed project is to host a workshop for the upcoming 2007 NSF "Cyber- Enabled Discoveries and Innovations" (CDI) Initiative. The workshop will be held at Sheraton Hotel, located in downtown Seattle, WA, on November 11, 2007, from 1 pm to 8 pm. The proposed workshop is held one day prior to 2007 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exhibition (IMECE). The workshop is open for researchers from all fields and has been advertised through a multitude of channels including NSF's calendar of events. The objective of the workshop is two-fold. First, the workshop is to introduce the CDI initiative to researchers in all disciplines via invited talks, breakout discussions, and a question-and-answer session. Through the interactive workshop, potential principal investigators will have a deeper understanding of the scope and spirits of CDI initiative. The second objective is to obtain feedback from workshop participants regarding how researchers can better respond to the CID initiative.
The workshop consists of 7 invited talks, a breakout discussion session, and an NSF question-and-answer session. The invited speakers will be outside the traditional engineering disciplines. The number of participants is estimated to be 60 to 70. Discussions resulting from the breakout sessions will be recorded and published.
The workshop provides the participants with opportunities to interact with researchers of different backgrounds to foster future collaboration via the CDI initiative. The workshop will also allow participants to brainstorm and identify critical educational aspects and issues to be addressed in the CDI initiative. The workshop will invite, and make every effort to include, participation of young and underrepresented groups of researchers to enhance the diversity. Also, some seats will be reserved for students and post-doctoral associates to broaden participant's demography. Dissemination of workshop results will also enhance public awareness of CDI initiative.
