Cyber-ShARE will bring together experts in computer science, mathematics, and earth and environmental science to develop software applications, services, and other digital tools for gathering and computing data over the Internet for use in scientific research.

The centre will be an important part of a major National Science Foundation initiative to improve the performance of the United States' cyberinfrastructure - the immense amounts of useful data and high-performance computing power that can be shared by researchers over the Internet.

"Traditionally, research is done at large institutions throughout the world and it's difficult to share the information others are working on", stated Ann Q. Gates, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Computer Science. "But the whole promise of cyberinfrastructure is that it breaks down those boundaries and allows scientists and educators to do state-of-the-art research."

Cyber-ShARE is short for "sharing resources through cyberinfrastructure to advance research and education". The award comes from the NSF's Centers for Research Excellence in Science and Technology programme, which focuses on building the research competitiveness of minority-serving colleges and universities.

The applications developed by Cyber-ShARE researchers will help more than scientists. The general public will also be able to find information on a variety of topics, and the software will help them make informed decisions about the data they retrieve.

"It is seen as an equalizer - resources are shared not only by a few, but by many", Dr. Gates stated. "Cyberinfrastructure will provide life-long learning opportunities for the public." The centre will offer educational opportunities for at least 60 college students in Web-based science research and to at least 300 high school and middle school students and teachers via outreach programmes.

Cyber-ShARE will initially be housed in UTEP's Computer Science department. It will have a strong virtual presence through the Web and NSF-funded science networks. The interdisciplinary team of UTEP faculty behind Cyber-ShARE will include Dr. Gates, Vladik Kreinovich, Paulo Pinheiro da Silva, Aaron Velasco, Craig Tweedie, Leticia Velazquez, Miguel Argaez and Brian Giza.