Conference: Building Bridges: Toward a Unified, Sustainable, Open, and Scalable Cyberinfrastructure Ecosystem in Astronomy

Astronomy is entering a new era defined by unprecedented data volumes, increasingly complex analyses, and the need for collaboration at a global scale. Yet the tools, data services, and computational infrastructure required to unlock these scientific opportunities remain fragmented and inconsistently supported. This limits the community’s ability to fully exploit discoveries from major observatories and space missions, and risks duplicating efforts rather than building on shared strengths. A unified, sustainable, and scalable cyberinfrastructure (CI) ecosystem would transform how astronomers access, analyze, and share data, accelerating discovery, fostering collaboration, and ensuring that publicly funded science yields its maximum benefit to society. The workshop described in this proposal will bring together the community’s technical expertise, institutional leadership, and agency partners to chart a path toward that vision. The proposed three day workshop will convene software developers, data and archive managers, CI service providers, and representatives from NSF, NASA, DOE, and other key stakeholders. Drawing on the recommendations of Astro2020, Petabytes to Science, and The Future of Astronomical Data Infrastructure, participants will identify institutional and structural barriers to collaboration, examine governance, policy, and support models, and explore how to adapt and integrate existing interoperable solutions into a cohesive ecosystem. Sessions will focus on summarizing use cases, assessing current CI assets, evaluating models from other disciplines, and drafting an initial strategic roadmap. The outcome will be a white paper with actionable recommendations, a draft governance and sustainability framework, and a prioritized implementation plan for advancing a unified astronomical CI. 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.