Tony Hey (Microsoft Research)
Abstract: There is a sea change happening in academic research — a transformation caused by a data deluge that is affecting all disciplines. Modern science increasingly relies on integrated information technologies and computation to collect, process, and analyze complex data. It was Ken Wilson, Nobel Prize winner in physics, who coined the phrase “Third Paradigm” to refer to computational science and the need for computational researchers to know about algorithms, numerical methods, and parallel architectures. However, the skills needed for manipulating, visualizing, managing, and, finally, conserving and archiving scientific data are very different. “The Fourth Paradigm” is as about data and the computational systems needed to manipulate, visualize, and manage large amounts of scientific data. A wide variety of scientists — biologists, chemists, physicists, astronomers, engineers — require tools, technologies, and platforms that seamlessly integrate into standard scientific methodologies and processes. This talk will illustrate the far-reaching changes that this new paradigm will have on scientific discovery.
Here is what our group, External Research, currently does: MSR External Research collaborates with and supports the inspiring work of the world’s top academic researchers and institutions. We establish partnerships to develop technologies that fuel data-intensive scientific research to help solve some of the most urgent global challenges; we extend the Microsoft platform to the academic community as a resource on which scientists build and innovate; and we provide fellowships, grants, and awards to help foster the next generation of world-class scientists and launch the next critical scientific breakthroughs.