UQ RCC – First Institutional AeRO Member

The Australasian eResearch Organisations (AeRO) is excited to announce that the University of Queensland (UQ) is joining AeRO as its first institutional Full Member.

AeRO membership enables UQ to work closely with all AeRO members.  It will be able to engage, participate in and influence the directions of projects to improve national and collective eResearch capability and infrastructure. AeRO adds the first of many university eResearch organisations to the wide range of providers working towards a joined-up national infrastructure. This step will help to place UQ at the leading edge of delivering new, better-supported and more integrated eResearch services to its researchers.

UQ’s significant investments in eResearch are coordinated through its Research Computing Centre (RCC), led by its director, Prof. David Abramson.

“There is clearly a need for increased coordination within national and international frameworks to guide eResearch developments, at the national and state level. They need to be closely linked with the substantial and sustained efforts happening within our universities. AeRO is well placed to foster that development across the entire sector, and it makes a lot of sense for UQ to join,” said Prof. Abramson.

AeRO CEO Dr Markus Buchhorn welcomed UQ’s membership. “Joining AeRO will provide both AeRO and UQ with many benefits. UQ will be able to network more widely and strategically across the eResearch sector. AeRO will be better positioned to develop a more internationally coordinated and integrated portfolio of services for its researchers and their collaborators. UQ can work more closely with the wider eResearch sector to strengthen its capabilities and grow its capacity.”

The two organisations have agreed that AeRO will manage and run the eResearch Australasia Conference, to be held in Brisbane in 2017. AeRO’s positioning within the sector will bring a new perspective and AeRO member guidance to the conference. AeRO has invited Prof. Abramson to be the Conference Chair in 2017, recognising his global standing as a leading computer science academic with a long track record in eResearch infrastructure and services, and a strong focus on both research and education.

“AeRO and its members look forward to a long and collaborative relationship with The University of Queensland, on our exciting journey to support eResearch organisations throughout the Australasian region,” said Dr Buchhorn.

AeRO is the association of organisations focused on eResearch in Australasia. It plays a critical coordination role for its diverse membership base active in the transformation of research through IT.  Organisations join AeRO to advance their own capabilities and services, to collaborate and to network with peers. AeRO believes researchers and the sector significantly benefit from greater communication, coordination and sharing amongst the many different and evolving service providers.

RCC provides coordinated management and support of The University of Queensland’s sustained and substantial investment in eResearch. It helps UQ researchers across disciplines make the most of the University’s eResearch technologies, such as High Performance Computing, data storage, data management, visualisation, workflow and videoconferencing.