A Program for Providing Accelerated Cybertraining for Emerging Scientists

Abstract

The utilization of advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) for scientific research is rapidly growing, catalyzed by the proliferation of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML)-enabled tools and research workflows. The NSF has facilitated this growth through programs like ACCESS and NAIRR, but many researchers are still overwhelmed when trying to conduct scientific workflows using advanced CI resources. To effectively utilize these resources, researchers must have a deep understanding of advanced computing technologies, the national CI ecosystem, data management practices, and discipline-specific scientific workflows. PACES (Providing Accelerated Cybertraining for Emerging Scientists) is a collaborative NSF-funded cybertraining program promoting the adoption of advanced CI by providing hands-on training to researchers seeking to incorporate these resources in their own scientific workflows. Since its inception in 2024, PACES has hosted two in-person workshops, hosted 78 virtual courses, and provided 18 asynchronous courses. The workshops and short courses cover a variety of topics, including effective utilization of high-performance computing (HPC) resources; programming in Python, R, and Julia; AI/ML; and domain-specific scientific workflows. This extensive range of topics spans researcher experience levels allowing PACES to provide training at any level, meeting researchers where they are to enable rapid adoption of advanced CI resources.