New initiative to produce solution-based software

A new initiative to produce solution-based software is being launched next month by OMII-UK.

The new initiative, Software Solutions for e-Research, will provide packages to enable research to be conducted more effectively. It will be demonstrated at the UK e-Science All Hands Meeting being held at the East Midlands Conference Centre from 10 to 13 September.

OMII-UK, a collaboration between the Universities of Southampton, Edinburgh and Manchester, was founded last year by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through the UK e-Science Core programme. OMII-UK has already released software to perform chemistry simulations and clinical workflows ranging from the analysis of genes to weather forecasting.

According to Neil Chue Hong, Director of OMII-UK, they have now found ways to package software that will change how people approach their research.

'We are meeting a need that no one has fully addressed yet,' he said. 'We are not making impossible research possible, but what we are doing is allowing people easier access to computing infrastructures to make it easier for them to do their research.'

At their stand (Booth 16) at the All Hands Meeting, OMII-UK will demonstrate new packages they are developing, including Taverna Workbench, a user-driven tool, which will allow the management of several workflows through one easy-to-use graphical interface.

They will also launch a new data management system which will enable researchers to publish and share specific datasets and Campus Grid Toolkit which will make it possible for campuses to incorporate unused machines into a campus grid.

'Our goal is to provide solution-focused software which is of real value to researchers,' said Mr Chue Hong. 'There is lots of software out there produced by ourselves and others. What we are doing is showing people how to put it together in a way that facilitates their research.'