Ilya Zaslavsky and Tom Whitenack from San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) gave a tutorial on CUAHSI Water Data Services to a group of 25 participants from all over Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Myanmar, Laos, Mekong River). The tutorial was a two-day training session with a combination of presentations and hands-on exercises. This was followed by a day-long field trip to several key water management agencies in Kuala Lumpur and another two days which included introductions to climate change modeling and a general discussion of data sharing opportunities.

As a result of the workshop, an HIS server and an HIS Central registry were established at the University of Malaya. The server already hosts 5 datasets contributed by workshop participants, for three SEA countries. The plan is to make it an HIS data sharing node serving the SEA region, and cultivate a group of data managers from different countries who would collaborate on standards-based publishing of hydrologic data. That latter goal is supported by a new Google "group" which was just started called SEAHydro.

For more information, contact Ilya Zaslavsky (zaslavsk@sdsc.edu)

A selection of photos is available for viewing at:
picasaweb.google.com/zin.work/Malaysia_workshop?authkey=Gv1sRgCI6zrb2M2-2lKQ#.

There will be a special session at Fall AGU (San Francisco on 14–18 December 2009) entitled "User and Developer Perspectives on Cyberinfrastructure in Hydrologic Science" (Session H20). Contributions are solicited from these perspectives on user requirements and technological opportunities for data access and modeling. CUAHSI Water Data Services, developed by the Hydrologic Information System project, will be featured at this session.

Other special sessions of particular interest to the CUAHSI community are:

• Session H19—Progress in Hydrologic Science since the Blue Book: The NSF Hydrologic Science Program [more information]
• Session H39—Information Needs and Optimal Design of Data Acquisition Campaigns in Hydrogeology [more information]
• Session H63—Upscaling and Process Emergence: Field Experiments and Predictive Tools to Bridge Temporal and Spatial Scales in Hydrology. [more information]

For a list of all Hydrology-related Sessions at Fall AGU, please visit the following session search page for Results for Sessions Sponsored by Hydrology.

The deadline for submitting abstracts is 3 September 2009. For instructions on submitting an abstract, see AGU's Abstract Submissions page at www.agu.org/meetings/fm09/program/abstract_submissions.php.

The National Research Council released its Letter Report Assessing the WATERS Network Science Plan. Available at www.watersnet.org/docs/WATERS Letter Report_FINAL.pdf, the report considers two questions:

1. "whether the Science Plan sets forth a vision of what could be accomplished with an observing network to transform water science and engineering research and education" and
2. "whether the Science Plan makes a compelling case for establishing the WATERS Network with Major Research and facilities Construction (MREFC) funding"

In an affirmative declaration about the transformative science that the WATERS Network would enable, the Report says that the WATERS Network:

• "would be the first MREFC project to span natural sciences, social sciences and engineering;"
• "would become a model for conducting interdisciplinary research within NSF and MREFC;"
• "succeeds in communicating a . . . vision for transforming water science and engineering research;"
• "support[s] research on how better to design and build engineering systems for water management."

However, the Report questions whether the WATERS Network fits the MREFC structure:

• "careful attention to . . . a complete plan for cyberinfrastructure will be critical;"
• "proposed network . . . appears to be a collection of many pieces;"
• "does not clearly articulate a rationale for why WATERS as a facility is required to address the key science questions;"
• "an alternative funding procedure under the MREFC or some other mechanism within NSF might be considered for establishing a phased network."

The Report concludes: "The Science Plan presents a compelling case for the need for new work in natural science, social science, and engineering, but the committee found the question of whether the project should be established within the MREFC framework to be less clearly answered by the Science Plan."

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is seeking reviewers expertise for their upcoming panels to review proposals for the Academic Research Infrastructure - Recover and Reinvestment (ARI-R²) program. This program is supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). ARI-R² is designed to support 21st century research and research training infrastructure in our Nation's academic institutions and non-profit research organizations, such as research museums, research laboratories, and research consortia. ARI-R² will revitalize existing research facilities so that they provide next-generation research infrastructure and facilitate the integration of researchers with shared resources such as remote instruments and research platforms, data repositories, and national computing facilities. Research facilities are shared space where sponsored and/or unsponsored research activities and research training take place. They may be "bricks and mortar," mobile or virtual research space.

NSF is in need of expertise in a wide range of fields to evaluate the proposals submitted to this competition. NSF is in need of reviewers in three broad categories: (a) expertise in a scientific, engineering or architecture field, (b) experience in managing large facilities and centers, or (c) expertise in computer networking. The merit review panels for this activity will be held during three weeks in October, 2009.

If you have an interest in participating in the merit review process of this important program and have the time to serve on a panel in October, 2009, please go to www.nsf.gov/od/oia/programs/ari/ari_reviewer/ and complete and submit the short form indicating your field of expertise and availability.