Recognizing advances in cyberinfrastructure and their potential impact, particularly the numerous benefits provided by access to remote instruments, a Workshop on Strategic Planning for Cyber-Enabled Instrumentation, CEI2008, is planned for June 16-18, 2008 in Arlington, VA. The workshop will assess the impact of cyber-enabled instrumentation in chemistry, especially for awards by the CNSFRIF:MU program, identify future directions of instrument cyber-enabling, and determine priorities for future instrument cyber-enabling that best suit the broader chemistry community. Cyber-enabling of chemical instrumentation for remote access, collaborative remote interaction, and data management allow researchers remote control of instrumentation and remote access to data, effectively broadening access to both instrumentation and data. Rapid advances in networking, middleware, web-based tools and other facets of cyberinfrastructure may be exploited to facilitate broader access to instruments for research and teaching with potential for wide impact with minimal investment.

The goals of CEI2008 are to bring together leading developers and users to build a shared understanding of the current state of cyber-enabling instrumentation and to set future directions. We also expect to identify best practices for cyber-enabling instruments and to create a network of providers and users of cyber-enabled instruments to propagate innovations and sustain further development.

In addition to these goals, anticipated outcomes also include:

• operational definitions for specific terms and phrases related to cyber-enabled instrumentation;
• a set of exemplars of selected cyber-enabled instruments in research and instructional settings/environments;
• a resource document for cyber-enabled instrumentation in chemistry;
• strategic recommendations on how best to support and prioritize future investments in cyber-enabled instruments that best suit the broader scientific community; and
• to develop a set of next steps and further actions.

Workshop participants will answer the questions “What does/will a successful cyber-enabled instrumentation project or program look like?” and “What are the challenges, strategies, and outcomes for successful project design and implementation?” The workshop will also consider where the scientific community needs to be going with regard to cyber-enabling instruments, and how these efforts may be prioritized for maximum impact. Identifying future directions and how best to support and prioritize efforts will facilitate broader access to instrumentation in chemistry and related sciences, and achieve a wider impact for these investments by the National Science Foundation.

Support for this workshop through a grant by the National Science Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.
Additional support for webcasting provided by iLinc Communications.