Workshops and demonstrators in e-Science for the Arts and Humanities

The AHRC and the UK e-Science Core Programme, through the the Engineering
and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), are delighted to announce a
range of ground-breaking awards to develop the application of e-Science in
the arts and humanities. e-Science in this context means the development and
application of advanced technologies, or grid technologies, for research
collaboration through the Internet, including particularly the sharing of
digital and computing resources.

Three e-Science demonstrator projects, funded by the EPSRC and the Core
Programme, will produce models that show how e-Science technologies can be
applied to advance the understanding of complex research issues in the arts
and humanities. Awards have been made as follows:

*Professor PF Ainsworth, University of Sheffield
Virtual Vellum: Online Viewing Envionment for the Grid and Live Audiences

*Dr CV Crowther, University of Oxford
A Virtual Workspace for the Study of Ancient Documents

*Dr SJ Norman, University of Newcastle
Motion Capture Data Services for Multiple User Categories

Six e-Science workshops, funded by the AHRC, will produce reports that
explore issues and/or develop schemes relating to the applications of
e-Science in the arts and humanities. The following awards have been made:

*Professor Alan Bowman, University of Oxford
User Requirements Gathering for the Humanities

*Dr Paul Ell, Queen’s University Belfast
Geographical Information System e-Science: developing a roadmap

*Dr Angela Piccini, University of Bristol
Performativity/Place/Space: Locating Grid Technologies

Professor David Shepherd, University of Sheffield
*The Access Grid in Collaborative Arts and Humanities Research

*Dr Gregory Sporton, University of Central England
Building the Wireframe: E-Science for the Arts Infrastructure

*Dr Melissa Terras, University College London
ReACH: Researching e-Science Analysis of Census Holdings

Together the demonstrators and workshops will cover the three main types of
grid: the computational grid for the sharing of processing power, the data
grid for the sharing of data resources, and the Access Grid for
high-technology video-conferencing.

The projects include a number of exciting collaborations between computer
scientists and arts and humanities scholars, and cover a wide range of
research both in humanities subjects and in the creative and performing
arts. The types of data involved comprise not only text but also
geographical data, sound, and images: 2- and 3-dimensional, still and
moving, real and virtual.

UK e-Science is a world leader in the natural sciences, medicine and
engineering, and is also becoming increasingly important in the social
sciences. These projects will show how important it can be for the arts and
humanities as well.

The demonstrators and workshops will be supported by the new Arts and
Humanities e-Science Support Centre (AHESSC) at King's College London, which
is funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), and is a part
of the joint AHRC-JISC Arts and Humanities e-Science Initiative. As a
further part of this Initiative, a joint call for bids is expected in late
Summer 2006 for research project awards (to a total value of at least £1.2m)
and six 4-year postgraduate studentships. Contact AHESSC
(http://www.ahessc.ac.uk) for further information about e-Science in the
arts and humanities.