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National Academy of Sciences' Brdi Announces New Members in Digital Data Stewardship Efforts

By National Academy of Sciences
February 2, 2012
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The Board on Research Data and Information (BRDI) of the National Academy of Sciences announces a slate of new Board members, selected from a broad array of universities, organizations, and companies. The goal of BRDI is to improve the stewardship, policy, and use of digital data and information for science and the broader society. The group plays a leading role in researching and then suggesting policy and other solutions for preserving for future generations the massive amounts of digital content generated by scientific research and other activities.

The new Board members are:

• Francine Berman, Co-chair, vice president for research, professor of computer science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute;
• Clifford Lynch, Co-chair, executive director, Coalition for Networked Information;
• Philip Bourne, professor of pharmacology and associate director, RCSB Protein Data Bank, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego;
• Henry Brady, dean, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley;
• Mark Brender, executive director, GeoEye Foundation;
• Sayeed Choudhury, associate dean for library digital programs, The Johns Hopkins University;
• Keith Clarke, professor, University of California, Santa Barbara;
• Kelvin Droegemeier, vice president for research, The University of Oklahoma;
• Clifford Duke, director of science programs, Ecological Society of America;
• Stephen Friend, president and CEO, Sage Bionetworks;
• Ann Wolpert, director of libraries, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In addition to the new members, the following Board members are continuing their terms:

• Paul David, professor of economics (emeritus), Stanford University and Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford University;
• Bonnie Carroll, president of Information International Associates;
• Michael Carroll, professor of law at the American University's Washington College of Law;
• Barbara Entwisle, vice chancellor for research and economic development, University of North Carolina;
• Margaret Hedstrom, associate dean for academic programs and professor, School of Information, University of Michigan;
• Alexa McCray, associate professor, Harvard Medical School, and director, Center for Biomedical Informatics.

"We look forward to working with the National Academies and Federal sponsors to explore national and international-scale solutions to address the challenges of research and innovation in the digital age," Berman said.

Lynch added, "The Board's work is particularly timely as the opportunities for both data-intensive scholarship and 'big data' as a source of insight into a wide range of natural and social phenomena are being widely recognized."

"The new Board will benefit from the outstanding contributions of the founding group of members," BRDI Director Paul Uhlir said. "They have laid the groundwork for many new efforts through the exciting projects that already have been pursued."

The outgoing Board members are:

• Michael Lesk, Chair, professor, School of Communications, Information and Library Sciences, Rutgers University;
• Roberta Balstad, Vice Chair, special research scientist, Columbia University;
• Maureen Baginski, vice president, Serco;
• R. Stephen Berry, James Franck Distinguished Service Professor (Emeritus), University of Chicago;
• Christine Borgman, professor and presidential chair, Department of Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles;
• Norman Bradburn, professor (emeritus), University of Chicago;
• Michael Goodchild, professor of geography, University of California, Santa Barbara;
• Alyssa Goodman, professor, Astronomy Department, Harvard University;
• Michael Keller, professor and director of Academic Information Resources, Stanford University;
• Michael Nelson, visiting professor, Internet Studies, Georgetown University;
• Daniel Reed, vice president, Microsoft Research;
• Cathy Wu, Edward G. Jefferson Professor of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Delaware.

As BRDI begins its second term of membership, the major activities in the near term will include: a new U.S. forum on CODATA-World Data System cooperation, a consensus study on the future career opportunities and educational requirements for digital curation, an international data attribution and citation initiative, a sustainability study on publicly funded research databases, an international symposium on intellectual property rights in scientific databases, and of course the continuing meetings of the Board itself.

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