On April 24, 2013, Farnam Jahanian, Assistant Director for the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate at the National Science Foundation testified on Next Generation Computing and Big Data Analytics at a joint hearing of the Technology and Research Subcommittees of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
According to his written testimony, “Today we live in an ‘Era of Data and Information.’ This era is enabled by modern experimental methods and observational studies; large-scale simulations; scientific instruments, such as telescopes and particle accelerators; Internet transactions, email, videos, images, and click streams; and the widespread deployment of sensors everywhere – in the environment, in our critical infrastructure, such as in bridges and smart grids, in our homes, and even on our clothing! Consider this fact: every day, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated – so much that 90% of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone.”
Jahanian described the importance of federal investment and the gains received from it. “Through long-term, sustained investments in foundational computing, communications and computational research, and the development and deployment of large-scale facilities and cyberinfrastructure, Federal agency R&D investments over the past several decades have both helped generate this explosion of data as well as advance our ability to capture, store, analyze and use these data for societal benefit. More specifically, we have seen fundamental advances in machine learning, knowledge representation, natural language processing, information retrieval and integration, network analytics, computer vision, and data visualization, which together have enabled Big Data applications and systems that have the potential to transform all aspects of our lives.”
“These investments are already starting to pay off, demonstrating the power of Big Data approaches across science, engineering, medicine, commerce, education, and national security, and laying the foundations for U. S. competitiveness for many decades to come.”
He detailed the importance of Big Data and how Federal agencies are responding. “Big Data is important to all facets of the discovery and innovation ecosystem, including the Nation’s academic, government, industrial, entrepreneurial, and investment communities.”
“[T]he U.S. government has responded to this new era through a coordinated, multi-agency National Big Data Research & Development Initiative…NSF coordinates its Big Data R&D activities with other Federal agencies, including the NIH, NASA, DOE Office of Science, DARPA, and many others…”
For additional details, click here for the House Committee’s site on the hearing, which includes a link to the archived webcast or click here to read a pdf of the written testimony.
