The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
(NIMBioS) is now accepting applications for its Tutorial, "Computing in
the Cloud," to be held April 6-8, 2014, at NIMBioS.
*Objectives: *This workshop will bring together a diverse set of
computational biologists and modelers who want to expand their expertise
and learn how to harness big data and computation using the R language.
A wide range of HPC/Cluster/Cloud computing resources exist and are
accessible to researchers, such as Amazon EC2, NSF XSEDE, local
clusters, and simple multiprocessor shared memory machines. Participants
will learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the various platforms
and how to enable R to utilize them. The strengths and limitations of R
for big data and big computation will also be discussed. Moving beyond
these basics, further sessions will provide participants with hands on
experience in the following areas:
* Learn about the packages, tools, and data structures that are
available in R for computing on HPC resources
* Understand tools such as Rcpp that allow R to easily interface
with compiled code for improved performance
* Handle big matrix computations with the pbdR packages
* Produce elegant, publication quality graphics with the ggplot2
package
In addition to the fundamentals, the workshop will give attendees a
perspective on how these tools can be put to use in biological research.
Tutorial examples will include applications such as Bayesian mixed
models in genomics, phylogenetic biogeography, approximate Bayesian
computation, and multivariate data reduction in ecological models.
Finally, a special session on teaching with R will provide insights on
how to bring computational science research into the undergraduate
classroom.
This hands-on workshop will give participants an opportunity to begin
applying these tools to their own problems. Presentations and sample
codes will be available for all tutorial sessions. Attendees will also
have time to consult with presenters and platform experts to identify
the right tools for their problems.
Participants should have a solid working knowledge of the R language.
Experience with a lower level programming language (C, C++, Fortran)
will also be beneficial but is not required.
*Location: *NIMBioS at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
*Co-Organizers: *Russell Zaretzki, Statistics, Univ. of Tennessee;
Michael Gilchrist, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Univ. of Tennessee;
Eric Carr, NIMBioS, Univ. of Tennessee; George Ostrouchov, Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, National Institute for Computational Sciences, and
Univ. of Tennessee; and Brian O'Meara, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology,
Univ. of Tennessee
For more information about the tutorial and a link to the online
application form, go to http://www.nimbios.org/tutorials/TT_cloud
There are no fees associated with this tutorial. Tutorial participation
in the tutorial is by application only. Individuals with a strong
interest in the topic, including post-docs and graduate students, are
encouraged to apply, and successful applicants will be notified within
two weeks of the application deadline. If needed, financial support for
travel, meals, and lodging is available for tutorial attendees.
*Application deadline:* January 26, 2014
The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
(NIMBioS) (http://www.nimbios.org) brings together researchers from
around the world to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries to
investigate solutions to basic and applied problems in the life
sciences. NIMBioS is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture with additional support from The University of Tennessee,
Knoxville.
*****************************
Catherine Crawley, Ph.D.
Communications Manager
National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS)
University of Tennessee
1122 Volunteer Blvd, Ste. 106
Knoxville, TN 37996
e ccrawley from nimbios.org <mailto:ccrawley from nimbios.org>
t +1 865 974 9350 <tel:%2B1%20865%20974%209350>
f +1 865 974 9461 <tel:%2B1%20865%20974%209461>
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