Distributed Computing Projects Looking for You!

As your mother always said, "Many hands make light work."

The same is true for science.  For really large calculation-intense problems scientists would love to just build a giant supercomputer, plug in the data, and let the computer zip along until it finds an answer. But despite recent gains in computer technology many problems would still takes months (or years!) of data crunching even with the fastest supercomputers. So instead we need many hands, or in this case, many computers, to make light work.  The technical term for all of this is "Distributed Computing".

This is one of the first big areas to utilize citizen scientists and you'll see there's a new OpenScientist Distributed Computing Projects Open for You web page devoted to these projects.  Only a few projects are listed now but it will be updated regularly as I can test run them all.  For starters, check out the projects listed below and if any of these sound interesting to you here are a few you may want to try...

• Searching for Alien Life: SETI-@Home (http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/) is one of the first and most popular programs available. Running for nearly 12 years, the project uses your computer to help search space-based radio signals for signs of intelligent life. See OpenScientist's SETI-at-Home blog post for more details.
• Protein Folding: The Folding@Home project (http://folding.stanford.edu/) simulates biological proteins to discover their natural shapes and understand how those shapes are created. In many cases the incorrect folding of proteins or a small problem in it's overall shape can cause serious health problems. Most recently the team has been studying Alzheimer's and Huntington's Disease, and even show the results of all this effort on their list of 75+ peer-reviewed publications.
• Prizes for Prime Numbers: The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search is looking for a particular type of prime number from the formula (2 to the power P) - 1. From a technology standpoint this knowledge is useful for encryption and computer standpoint. But for everyday people it also means cash! The Electronic Frontier Foundation is offering cash prizes for discovering extremely high prime numbers, and the project team is offering users whose computer's find these numbers to share in the winnings. So downloading this project doesn't just help science but can help you win the prize as well.
• Designing Solar Cells: The Clean Energy Project is attempting to increase the efficiency of solar cells by identifying organic molecules that best collect, store and transfer energy from the sun. By testing a massive number of potential candidates through distributed mathematical modeling scientists hope to greatly increase solar cell efficiencies and test the best ways to manufacture them.
• Discover Gravity Waves: Gravity waves were predicted by Albert Einstein, and although many astronomers agree that violent events in space can cause gravitational "ripples", none have ever been found. Scientists expect they are finally ready to detect them and have built to gravity wave detectors (one in the U.S., one in Germany) for that purpose. Since they create a huge amount of data the http://einstein.phys.uwm.edu/einsteinathome/index.html project scientists have turned to distributed computing users for the massive amount of analysis needed to identify a wave.

Of course these are just a few options. But keep coming back when there will be many for you to choose from. And if you know of any we missed, or would like us to include a project you are working on, just let us know in the comments below!

Getting Started with BOINC Is Easy:

1. Go to the BOINC web site and click on Download BOINC Software.
2. Check that you meet the necessary system requirements and click the "Download BOINC"
3. Once downloaded, double-click the file to install the software.  Choose a target directory for the program and follow all the prompts.
4. Once the program is installed, click on the BOINC Manager file to start the program.  On the top of the window, click on "Tools" and click on "Attach to a Project or Account Manager" and then "Attach to a Project".
5. Select the desired project or projects you wish to contribute to from the list provided.  If you aren't sure what each one does, check out our Distributed Computing web page to learn more and decide if you want to join.  If you are a new user, set up a new account with a Username and password.
6. That's all there is to it!  Just let your computer run and everything will happen automatically.

SkyWarn...Eyeing the Skies and Saving Lives

Mother Nature can be cruel.  Each year over 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods, and 1,000 tornadoes strike the U.S., and all can ruin lives or destroy property.  While technology has provided many tools to  predict severe weather, the best and most reliable observer is still a trained human being reporting what they see in front of them.

In the 1970's the National Weather Service created SkyWarn to enlist private citizens in identifying severe storms quickly and helping emergency responders pinpoint areas needing the most assistance.  With a large network of over 290,000 people, SkyWarn can provide timelier, more precise data than radar can.  The network also collects data  for improving storm forecasts and validating local weather models.

Many SkyWarn volunteers are first responders such as police and firefighters, as well as utility workers and private citizens looking to lend a hand.  The program is also a great vehicle for learning about thunderstorm development, storm structure, weather safety, and other meteorological data from trained professionals and your own (future) SkyWarn experiences.  So this is definitely a program we recommend everyone consider getting involved with.

Getting Started is Easy:

1. Find the local SkyWarn coordinator (Warning Meteorologist Coordinator) in your area by clicking on the National Weather Service local Weather Forecast office map.  All SkyWarn acticities are coordinated by these offices and they will help you become an active part of the network.
2. Attend a two-hour SkyWarn training class in your area.  With over 122 offices nationwide offering frequent classes you shouldn't have to wait to long to attend a session.  Online versions of the basic and beginner classes can found online on the SpotterGuides web site but we still recommend an in-person course.  Not just for the training, but so you can get more involved with the actual community of SkyWarn observers and interact with them personnaly.
3. Go about your daily business.  You don't need to constantly observe or provide weather data; only when severe local storms and similar weather phenomena are in your area.  But always be ready for the day an event does occur.
4. When a storm hits use your training to obtain accurate observations.  Many people relay sightings in through a HAM radio but this is not a requirement.  Many SkyWarn offices also collect information through phone calls, faxes, e-mails, or other online communication methods.

That's all there is to it.  SkyWarn just requires a small personal investment for training and a commitment to stay alert when storms approach.  And it benefits not just your own intellectual curiousity, but helps emergency responders react quickly and ultimately save lives.

Just promise you'll try to stay dry!

Check out our New First Time Users Page

Today I'm proud to announce the newest part of OpenScientist, our Getting Started page with notes for first-time citizen scientists.  Short and sweet, it provides the basics of citizen science and get's people started on their first projects.

We've hand-selected three projects for their ease-of-use, scientific impact, and ability to make the work entertaining and fun.  More may be added in the future but with just three it gives people interesting options without overwhelming them. 

So check it out if your a new user.  Or, send some friends and family this way.  Everything they need to get started is right here!

Climbing to the (Prize) Summit

This recently came to my attention and I thought some of you might be interested.  Especially any citizen scientists over in Europe and close to the action.

The London School of Business and it's sponsors are hosting The Prize Summit on April 8, 2011.  Billed as the "First ever global summit on prizes and competitions" this summit will help build the platform to an ultimate goal of creating an independent, international forum for organizers of crowdsourcing competitions and innovation contests.  Although the regular public is not seen as the primary audience we are very interested in what comes out of the meeting and what it holds for future developments in the field.

The primary audience members are government officials, sponsors, and organizers that create and benefit from the prizes.  Participants will be discussing lessons from previous competitions, exploring the many issues surrounding the field, and comparing best practices from every one's combined experiences. 

The Summit describes competitions as the new drivers of innovation and we'll be watching for the interesting developments to come out of it.  Here's hoping we see some exciting innovations come out of this conference as well as the competitions they discuss!

Facts for Ideas for Good

Welcome back to Part 4 of the Toyota "Ideas for Good" contest here at OpenScientist.  We've talked about the basic rules, brainstormed a few times for interesting ideas, and have started narrowing down to some of the better ones.  Now it's time to start developing some facts to bolster the strongest ideas.
Looking at the judging criteria is a great place to start, and maximizing scores is obviously the goal for any entry.  But the more I think about the contest, the more I think we first need to focus laser-like on the statement of actual need.  I came to this conclusion after looking through the ideas posted on the gallery of existing ideas posted on the web site, and looking at the commercials Toyota is airing to promote the contest.  The one thing all these ideas have in common is their descriptions include a clear and demonstrable need for the technology. 

For example, let's quickly look at the idea for creating ventilation systems for tents to assist disaster victims, or the Wake Forest project analyzing THUMS data to help protect high school football players from traumatic injuries. None of these are really that creative/original (25% of the score) or necessarily that viable for prototyping (15%).  But they all demonstrate a high social need, and at 30% of the score this is the social relevance/benefit area is one contestants must emphasize to be competitive.

So, since demand for the technology clearly weighs heavily in the game creators minds, how can we maximize it?  Well I have a few suggestions that will be explored more in the coming weeks, and that I'm curious to hear your comments on (my fellow citizen scientists) as everything is developed.

• Every idea considered for submission must display a demonstrated need.  Any that don't, but which are just cool ideas searching for a problem, must be taken off the table.  No matter how much it hurts to do so.
• All brainstormed ideas we develop further should have a solid "statement of need" written to justify their inclusion.  Although this may not be copied verbatim into the final contest submission, it will inform the final language and will help us cull the large number of brainstormed ideas.
• All statements of need should include documentable, reliable facts to back up the demand.  We need to show the judges concrete evidence that it is needed and to quantify for them how large the impact will be.
• Final contenders for submission should be ranked by demonstrated need, and those scoring highest should receive the most development.  There is no use spending time on an idea expected to score significantly less on the most important ranking criterion.

With all this in mind I think I'll start going through our brainstorm lists and developing those statements of need. I'll also be scanning the web (and my trust hometown library) for facts that will help strengthen the submission. 

But feel free to help me.  Just join in with your comments below (and have fun)!