11:00 AM, Friday, March 22, 2002,3rd Floor Room 324

Speaker:Dr. Milton Halem, NASA/GSFC, Code 930

NASA digital data is growing faster than Moore’s law. This is the result of increases in spectral, spatial and temporal resolution of sensors and the increase in the number of active space missions. There have been numerous occurrences where substantial emergency efforts had to be extended to attempt to rescue valuable scientific data from being permanently lost. In addition, the science for which these data are collected will be needed in the next century to analyze and compare with future modeling experiments. Does NASA or other agencies have a policy that will guarantee the availability, readability and authenticity of data collected today? This talk will show examples of NASA scientific data, describe recent reclamation efforts and current policies, identify the computer science challenges in preserving massive digital data volumes forever and propose some technical and policy solutions.

Bio: Dr. Milton Halem currently holds an Emeritus position as Chief Information Research Scientist to the Director of the Earth Sciences Directorate at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Prior to retiring in 2002, Dr. Halem served in the joint capacity as Assistant Director for Information Sciences and Chief Information Officer for the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Halem provided the strategic information science and technology focus and oversight for the entire mission critical programs and projects at the Center. . He is most noted for his ground breaking research in simulation studies of space observing systems and for development of four dimensional data assimilation for weather and climate prediction. Over the years, his achievements have earned him numerous awards including the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement, the NASA Medal for Outstanding Leadership, and NASA’s highest award; the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1996.Dr. Halem is also a noted screen printmaker of Art from Space.