May 11, 2011 | Paul Dave

We are very pleased to see so many of our users utilizing Globus Online to support their scientific research -- this week I heard one user had moved 6TB of data over the course of 2 days. Other users would benefit from hearing more of these stories, to see what your colleagues are achieving and to give you ideas for your own work. So, we've decided to pick a User of the Month to draw attention to particularly impressive, innovative and/or widely applicable usage scenarios that the entire user community should know about. For our inaugural selection, I'm happy to announce May's User of the Month is NERSC (National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center).

May 9, 2011 | Ian Foster

As I pondered what tone to set for this blog, I tried to put myself in the shoes of the professional researcher. While I’ve lived that life, the everyday life of the dedicated, full-time researcher today has changed (and is changing) beyond what I’ve experienced, and I feel for you all out there who are challenged day-in, day-out with getting your work done in a rapidly changing world. For many researchers today, it’s all about wrangling massive data using faster and faster computers, while also struggling to keep ahead of the crowd by forging and sustaining ever-more-ambitious interdisciplinary collaborations. Those of you who have access to the right tools for these tasks are in the minority: Sure, big science projects have capabilities for getting and working with the data they need. But the average hardworking independent researcher or smaller lab does not. So the challenge (and opportunity) is to make these capabilities accessible not just to a few “big science” projects but to every researcher everywhere.

May 9, 2011 | Ian Foster

Welcome to the Globus Online blog! On these pages we plan to present/discuss/debate a range of topics dear to the hearts of computational researchers: data movement, information sharing and collaboration, SaaS tools for researchers, grid vs. cloud (and who cares), and of course Monty Python. Most importantly, we will highlight stories about – and from – users who have found ways to use Globus Online to improve their work. The goal is to create a resource and forum to help make your lives easier.