SDSC in June 12 Newsweek

Published 06/09/2006

In the June 12 edition, Newsweek Magazine gathered a team of experts to look at how the U.S. can remain competitive in the changing global environment in "15 Ideas to Recharge America". Leaders from the fields of science, technology, education and business were asked to assess the challenges we face and to offer solutions. SDSC Director Dr. Fran Berman offered ideas on developing national-scale solutions for the deluge of data. Her remarks from the Newsweek article are below.

The full article can be found at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13117432/site/newsweek/.

Get a Handle on All That Data
We need information before we can expect innovation.

Dr. Francine Berman, Director San Diego Supercomputer Center

"Imagine that all the records of your life?photos, diaries, tax documents?were shoved haphazardly into a pile. Now imagine that on a national scale. From presidential libraries to protein databanks, this country is being deluged with data, and it's so disorganized that we can't even access all of it, much less search it easily. It may sound geeky, but we need a national data-management plan. We have to decide what information to keep, and how. Scientists, business leaders and governments rely on this wealth of data to innovate?and students need it to learn. With better data management, we could teach our kids to think creatively about real-world problems, with real numbers, rather than teaching them how to take standardized tests by rote. That will make them better innovators in the future. We've always had top-tier brains in this country; let's give them a data-rich environment where they can flourish."