2001-2002 Colloquium Series

NAU Cline Library (Bldg 28, Screening Rm. A), Friday, 19 October 2001, 11:00 AM

TELEPRESENCE COLLABORATOIN: EVOLVING A NEW PARADIGM FOR CONDUCTING RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

Nestor J. Zaluzec , Argonne National Laboratory

Abstract

Over the last few years we have made large strides in the adoption of computing and communication technology toward creating virtual scientific equipment. We have gone from running all our instruments and performing data analysis by "hand" to in some cases complete computer control. But where is this heading? What are the benefits, the pitfalls or areas that need work? How can or will TelePresence Collaboratories change the way we work, the science we do, or the way we interact?

For distributed collaboration to be successful in a research/education environment, all of the aspects of that environment must be explored. These include: Persistence, Electronic Spaces, Sharable Resources, Sharing Techniques/Protocols, Security/Access Control, Discovery Mechanisms, Transport Protocols, Resource Management and Real World User Interfaces. Each of these factors must be understood in order for "collaboration" which is not limited by the physical distance between the participants. Furthermore, the very nature of what one means by collaboration must be defined, and each of it's various components considered. Equally important are the sociological issues revolving around on-line resources, be they instruments, data and/or people.

The key to the optimal implementation of TelePresence Operation, at a given location, is to understand the problems, instrumentation, relative importance and the costs (both in terms of actual dollars and man-hours) of the various technologies involved. The Argonne National Laboratory TelePresence Microscopy Collaboratory, which began operation in 1994, has been an implementation test bed. Using an architecture developed through these efforts, it is now possible for anyone using the Internet to share resources (expertise, data, and instrumentation) using conventional desktop computers and a modern WWW browser. While we have not yet achieved the goal of creating a virtual laboratory that is "as good as being there," significant barriers have been overcome and functional collaboration of remote resources is a reality today. It is clear that, in the next 5 to 10 years, the paradigm of virtual collaboratories will become fact and not merely concepts which have up until now existed only in the mind's eye of a few individuals.
 

Biography
Nestor J. Zaluzec is currently a research scientist and principal investigator for the Advanced Analytical Electron Microscopy and TelePresence Collaboratory Projects in the Materials Science and Mathematics and Computational Science Divisions of Argonne National Laboratory. He is also an adjunct professor of physics at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and Northern Illinois University. He received a B.S. in Physics from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1973 and a Ph.D. in metallurgy from the University of Illinois - Champaign-Urbana in 1978.

Dr. Zaluzec's main research interests are divided into both research and development as well as applications to materials science, including: microcharacterization of materials via Analytical Electron Microscopy and related techniques. He is a member of numerous societies, is on the editorial board of three journals, and has lead more than 25 short courses in various aspects of electron microscopy in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia. He also spends a modicum of time on the Net in various roles as SysOp for resources for the microscopy community worldwide. On a good day you might also find him in the Telepresence Microscopy Collaboratory at http://tpm.amc.anl.gov

Local Host: Sean Frigo, (928) 523-0195.