Special Features:
EU GRANTS 52M EUROS TO BOOST USE OF GRID
A 52-million-euro package of 12 European Union-funded research projects, that
together aim to bring "Grid" networked computing out of research labs and into
industry, has just been launched by the European Commission. By giving
everyone access to the immense computing power and knowledge hitherto
available only to the biggest corporations and laboratories, Grid tools will
boost business competitiveness and help create new markets and services. Users
of Grids are able to monitor and model everything from climate change to how
cars behave in collisions. An improved understanding of such behaviors
ultimately helps those responsible to take the necessary steps to improve
people's quality of life.
The bulk of the EU funding is going to four projects which each are receiving
an EU contribution of around 9 million euros. Together with eight smaller
projects also now being launched, these bring together dozens of universities,
research institutes, large and small companies from across Europe to muster
the "critical mass" of expertise and resources necessary to trigger change.
The four main projects include:
- The SIMDAT project will develop generic technologies to enable the
automotive, aerospace and pharmaceutical industries to develop a wide range of
Grid applications.
- The NEXTGRID project aims to deliver a new Grid architecture, tailored to
business and industry requirements, by the end of the decade.
- The AKOGRIMO project will build on Europe's strengths in mobile
communications and IPv6 (the next Internet Protocol), to demonstrate a vision
of "mobile dynamic virtual organizations" and demonstrate added value
applications in the fields of e-health and e-learning.
- The COREGRID project will bring together existing Grid research communities
by creating virtual "centers of excellence" and stimulating joint research
programs among research institutes across Europe.
The projects are funded by Information Society Technologies (IST) research,
part of the EU's sixth research Framework Program (FP6). Their approach to
Grid research combines "technology push" (developing underlying technologies
and interoperability standards), with "application pull" (developing the
enabling technologies needed for real-world applications, such as modeling,
simulation, data mining and collaborative working tools). A public launch
event for the EU-funded Grid projects is being hosted by the European
Commission on Sept. 15 in the Charlemagne building, Rue de la Loi, Brussels.
Over the last five years, Europe has invested about 500 million euros in Grid
research through actions implemented on national and at EU levels.
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