Conference: Research Computing at Smaller Institutions (RCSI)

This award provides participant support for the Research Computing for Smaller Institutions (RCSI) conference, held June 11-12, 2024 at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Smaller and under-resourced institutions confront challenges related to data management, increasing adoption of computational methods across many disciplines, and support for complex collaborative projects, and must do so with fewer human, financial, and infrastructure resources. The conference addresses research computing challenges unique to such institutions, providing actionable pathways, idea exchanges, and community building for attendees. The grant supports travel for approximately 26 attendees to attend the conference. The support makes possible the participation of those who otherwise would be unable to attend, an especially important consideration given the target audience of the event. Particular attention will be paid to directing support towards various underrepresented populations and institution types, as well as to those who normally might not attend a research computing conference, including library and appropriate administrative staff. Relevant outputs, such as presentations, will be made publicly available. Given the anticipated diversity and breadth of attendees, broader impacts on research computing practice in support of learning, pedagogy, and research will be extensive, including improved models for supporting emerging research computing integration in pedagogical contexts, guiding additional investment in relevant hardware and software, facilitating skills development for students, faculty, and CI professionals, and laying foundations for subsequent grants and other funding requests. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.