What does "cyberinfrastructure" mean to you and to others in your community? How will cyberinfrastructure benefit scientists, teachers, students, policy makers and society as a whole? What opportunities for you and others around the world come to mind as you think about the benefits of cyberinfrastructure? These are some of the poignant questions posed to students at the second annual TeraGrid conference last week in Madison, Wis.

In three lively competitions, high school, undergraduate and graduate students increased their technological prowess, opened their minds to new ways of solving problems, and, most likely, upgraded their standing in the competitive world of advanced computing.

"The judges were extremely impressed with the quality of the submissions and research projects," said Jesse Bemley, director of the Joint Educational Facilities in Washington, D.C.

One purpose of these competitions is to encourage young people to enter careers in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). When asked about their future career plans, many of the students who participated said they want to pursue careers as computer scientists, microbiologists or physicists.

The "Impact of Cyberinfrastructure on Your World" competition allowed students to display their creativity and knowledge in research papers, posters and videos that addressed how cyberinfrastructure touches their everyday lives, and how it benefits scientific discovery and the global community. In the "Student Research Competition," students submitted posters that described the applications and benefits of grid computing to their specific research projects.

New to the TeraGrid conference this year was an on-site competition called "Advancing Scientific Discovery." Student teams used TeraGrid resources and TeraGrid Science Gateways to solve science-driven problems with challenges such as time limits and working remotely with team members. "This was definitely not a pencil-and-paper exam or the traditional programming competition," said Paul Gray, associate professor of Computer Science, University of Northern Iowa.

"Students who participated in this particular competition overcame a key impediment in computational science -- 'barrier to first use' -- a term used to describe people who would use computational tools for scientific discovery, if not for the lack of understanding of how to use the tool," Gray explained. "These students were exposed to a new way of doing science, and a new way of doing competitions."

Kristina Wanous and Jessica Puls, undergraduate students at the University of Northern Iowa, won first place in the "Advancing Scientific Discovery" competition. "We became familiar with the TeraGrid Science Gateways and used them to solve several different domain science problems, overnight, and within a 16-hour period," Wanous said. "It was challenging because we had to simultaneously learn about the science, as well as how the Science Gateways work. It was a great introduction to the value and purpose of the TeraGrid Science Gateways."

Judges were impressed with the performance of Shivam Verma, a high school student at the North Allegheny Intermediate School in Pittsburgh. "It was clear why Shivam won first place in the Cyberinfrastructure Impact competition," said Jesse Bemley. "Shivam is a charismatic young man who knew his subject area extremely well. He built the model robot, which he demonstrated, and his paper was very high quality."

Verma said he is interested in nanotechnology, biotechnology and bioengineering. "I think there is a great need for supercomputing in our world."

Eric Lamison-White, a winner in two of the competitions, said he learned that the TeraGrid is an expandable resource. As an undergraduate, he said that he is excited about what the future holds for the Internet and the many different kinds of virtual/remote interactions that can take place between people and high-end computing resources. Aside from pursing a degree in computer science, Lamison-White wants to study 3-D rendering, video editing and geographic information systems.

"Ultimately, a student who participates in the TeraGrid competitions has to stretch his or her imagination and ingenuity," said Bemley, who has mentored students in computer science and mathematics since the 1980s. "They network with students, industry professionals and researchers working at the cutting edge of technology. There is no doubt that these students are the next generation of researchers and will play major roles in STEM education and the development of new technologies that our country so desperately needs."

The TeraGrid '07 Committee would like to thank the many mentors who continue to inspire and educate these students including: Laura McGinnis, Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center; Dan Reed, Renaissance Computing Institute; Paul Gray, University of Northern Iowa; and Jesse Bemley, Joint Educational Facilities.