In this issue:

• eResearch Australasia 2009: No boundaries;
• AuScope Web Services Roadshow;
• spatial@gov Conference 2009;
• ANDS launches online services;
• AARNet to sponsor 2009 Eckermann-TJA Prize;
• Latest VeRSI newsletter
• eResearch SA is hiring;
• About this newsletter.

eResearch Australasia 2009: No boundaries

Don't forget responses to the Call for Participation are due 29 June.  Please put in your ideas for presentations, workshops, birds-of-a-feather sessions, and posters.  The conference will be held 9-13 November at the Novotel Manly Pacific, Sydney.  Details on the Call for Participation are available from http://www.eresearch.edu.au/participation.

This year's conference will introduce a Visualization Challenge with a $5,000 prize sponsored by SIRCA for the winning entry.  Stay tuned for more information.

Patricia McMillan
eResearch Australasia Conference

AuScope Web Services Roadshow

The AuScope Web Services Roadshow is a workshop designed to showcase how the Geoscience Community, through the NCRIS funded AuScope Community Earth Model, is establishing an Australian Geoscience Network to provide “transparent access” to data and knowledge about the Australian landscape. The Network also supports online access to open source processing tools.  The one-day event includes an Executive Briefing and a Technology Briefing.  Dates around Australia are: Melbourne (2 June), Hobart (3 June), Darwin (12 June), Canberra (19 June), Perth (11 August), Brisbane (21 August), Maitland (24 August) and Adelaide (26 August). Please go to the AuScope website for information: https://twiki.auscope.org.au/twiki/bin/view/Grid/AuScopeWebServicesRoadshow2009 (Note: you will need to click on the option “Continue to this website” to view the information).

Jenny Bone
Office of Spatial Data Management

spatial@gov Conference 2009

The spatial@gov Conference 2009 is to be held in Canberra on 15 and 16 June and will address the rapidly increasing demand for information on how spatial capabilities can improve the ability of governments at all levels to inform their policy development, enhance service delivery and gain efficiencies in internal business processes. Experts will present on topical themes including water, social inclusion, indigenous culture and local government. Australian presenters will describe how spatial tools have supported the response to the Victorian bushfires through tactical and operational mapping, and how national water concerns are being addressed through the application of world leading spatial capabilities. International presenters will describe relevant activities in other countries. Full program and registration is available from http://www.spatialgov2009.com/ 

Jenny Bone
Office of Spatial Data Management

Australian National Data Service (ANDS) launches online services

The Australian National Data Service (ANDS) is launching a number of online services to support data intensive research. The first of these were made public in the month of May:

• Register My Data (http://ands.org.au/services/register-my-data.html)
• Identify My Data (http://ands.org.au/services/identify-my-data.html)

The Register My Data services allow you to register descriptions of your research data. These descriptions are then published in a number of discovery environments. The first of these is the Research Data Australia gateway (to be launched by ANDS in July) which aspires to include any Australian publicly funded data relevant to research and enable innovative cross-disciplinary re-use. Data descriptions registered with ANDS are also fed into other data discovery portals in Australia and internationally, including the big search engines such as Google.   The Identify My Data services allocate persistent identifiers to data. These identifiers enable continuity of access even when the location of the data on the internet changes. These new services have been established by ANDS to help realise the vision of a global research data commons.

Angela Lang
ANDS Project Office

AARNet to sponsor 2009 Eckermann-TJA Prize

AARNet has announced it will be providing $20,000 worth of in-kind network services for the winner of the 2009 Eckermann-TJA Prize.  The Eckermann-TJA Prize calls for papers which demonstrate the tangible benefits that an innovative use of broadband communications technology can deliver in supporting a sustainable environment.  The $20,000 worth of AARNet network services will be available to the 2009 prize winning entrant for one year, to bolster his/her research program. This will accompany the $20,000 cash prize awarded to the winner by Alcatel-Lucent, major sponsor of this year’s competition.  For more information on the Eckermann-TJA prize and AARNet’s in-kind sponsorship, please see http://tinyurl.com/qnmruk.

Guido Aben
Director eResearch, AARNet

Latest VeRSI newsletter

The latest issue of the VeRSI eNewsletter is now available. It can be downloaded from http://www.versi.edu.au/downloads/VeRSIeNewsletter7.pdf

In this issue you’ll read about:

• the reflective interface for neuroscience metadata management – developed by researchers at The University of Melbourne, the Howard Florey Institute, and VeRSI;
• a mobile virtual 3D imaging rig that has been developed by The University of Melbourne and La Trobe University for imaging objects of cultural significance;
• the ICT for Life Sciences Forum that VeRSI has recently joined;
• collaboration activities between staff from VeRSI and the Monash e-Research Centre;
• VeRSI is a sponsor of one of the postgraduate student bursaries that are available for the eResearch Australasia conference in November in Sydney; and,
• the Parkville Comprehensive Cancer Centre and the contribution’s made by VeRSI to the planning.

Gaby Bright
eResearch Communication, VeRSI

eResearch SA is hiring

eResearch SA (www.ersa.edu.au) and ARCS (www.arcs.org.au) are seeking an energetic individual with proven Help Desk coordination and customer service skills. Working as a member of the eResearch SA team located on the University of Adelaide campus, you will be responsible for the delivery of quality Help Desk and user support for the advanced ICT services delivered by eResearch SA and ARCS. This role has a national focus, and supports researchers located in all States and Territories. For more information please visit www.ersa.edu.au and select 'Employment Opportunities'

James Tizard
Director, eResearch SA (Interim)

About this newsletter

The eResearch newsletter is published the first business day of each month, and submissions are due two business days prior to that. Please send items to newsletter@eresearch.edu.au. Each item should be no more than 150 words plain text, plus a link to further information.

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Patricia McMillan
eresearch-announce List Moderator