Einfrastructure shared between Europe and Latin America

Objective

European developments in the area of Research Infrastructures resulted in Pan-EU coverage of a high-speed research network with full administrative and operational support. The existence of the network catering for the European research community has paved the way for the development of the overlying Grid infrastructure aiming to enable distributed computing power and storage sharing across geographical and administrative domains. This integrated network and processing/storage environment - e-Infrastructure - provides a platform for new methods of global collaborative research - e-Science. The leading initiatives in the eInfrastructure field are GEANT and EGEE projects.

The objective of the EELA project is to, through Specific Support Actions, bring the less-experienced and less-resourced countries of the Latin American and Caribbean regions to the level of European developments in terms of the e-Infrastructures. With the networking infrastructure reaching stability through the ALICE and RedCLARA projects, the focus of EELA will be on Grid infrastructure and related e-Science applications. The non-EU countries of the region currently lack the technology advancements, the know-how, as well as human network that could enable them to be an equal partner in the Grid and e-Science developments.

The objectives of the project are focused on two main areas: creating a human network in e-Science, assessing its needs and training the constituent communities; and driving the technological developments that will enable Grid operations in the region. A limited sample of validating applications used by existing collaborations between Europe and Latin America has also been selected. The core of the EELA approach is to establish a human network in the e-Science area, enlarge and train this community, and establish a pilot Grid infrastructure supporting proof-of-concept regional applications.

Programme(s)

• FP6-INFRASTRUCTURES - Research infrastructures: Specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration: "Structuring the European Research Area" under the Sixth Framework Programme 2002-2006

Topic(s)

• INFRASTR-6 - Accompanying Measures for promoting a more co-ordinated approach to research infrastructures in Europe

Funding Scheme

Coordinator

Participants (21)