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I have added a page to the wiki to collect information on notable AGU 2014 Fall Meeting sessions. Please feel free to add sessions being presented by ESDSWG members or other sessions that you think may be of interest to the ESDSWG community.

AGU 2014 Fall Meeting Sessions

Thank you to everyone who participated in the recent ESDSWG meeting at GSFC and thank you to everyone who completed the proposal assessment survey at the end of the meeting. The ESDSWG Executive Council has completed the review of the survey responses and proposal action plans and we are pleased to announce that the following have been approved as 2014 ESDSWG working groups:

• Airborne Working Group
• ASCII for Science Data Working Group (2015)
• Cloud Computing Working Group
• Data-Intensive Architecture Working Group
• Data Quality Working Group
• Data Recipes Working Group
• Dataset Interoperability Working Group
• DOI Working Group
• Data Preservation Practices Working Group
• Geospatial Working Group
• Innovations Lab Working Group
• Open Source Working Group
• Provenance for Earth Science (PROV-ES) Working Group
• Technology Infusion Working Group (2014)
• Vision 2020 Working Group
• Visualization Working Group

Some of the above are follow-on activities to existing working groups and those groups will be able to start immediately on their proposed activities for the current year. Some of the new groups may take a bit more time to get everything organized but they should be able to commence activities in the week or two. For all of this year’s working groups, the ESDIS Point of Contact (POC) with be contacting the working group technical chairs to follow up on any issues raised during the Executive Council review and to confirm that the groups have clearly defined activities and deliverables for the coming year but don’t let that stop you from getting things moving.

I have provided the WG technical chairs with copies of the sign-up sheets from the meeting breakout sessions and a list of the people who expressed an interest in their group in the survey responses. The WG technical chairs will be contacting you with information on how to get involved the WG activities. If you didn’t get a chance to complete the proposal assessment survey then please contact the WG technical chairs directly if you want to participate in the group. There is also a list of WG mailing lists available on the wiki - ESDSWG Mailing Lists

I encourage all of the working groups to make maximum use of the Earthdata wiki. Mailing lists and Google Docs are useful tools for certain activities but have limited visibility to the broader ESDSWG community so try to keep the important stuff on the wiki. I also encourage the technical chairs to add their telecons to the calendar on the main ESDSWG wiki page – this helps provide some extra visibility for the working group and helps us to avoid scheduling conflicts with other groups.

Thank you for contributing to a very successful ESDSWG meeting. Jeff, the ESDIS POCs, and I look forward to working with you over the coming year.

--Steve

I hope that everyone is nearly ready for our meeting next week.

Just to let you know that I have recently updated the Day 1 meeting agenda with the running order for the 2013 working group feedback presentations on Monday. We will try to stick with this running order unless there are any major objections.

https://wiki.earthdata.nasa.gov/display/ESDSWG/2014+ESDSWG+Meeting+Agenda

A reminder that the feedback presentations should focus primarily on the working groups’ achievements over the past 18 months. At the end of your presentation, you should also include a brief overview of your follow-on proposals (if applicable). The 2014 WG proposal announcements should be kept pretty short (1 or 2 slides taking 1 or 2 minutes). The intention is to entice people into attending the breakout sessions on Tuesday rather than give a detailed explanation of the proposal. The detailed proposal discussion will take place during the breakout sessions on Tuesday

IMPORTANT:

• Please upload a copy of your Day 1 presentation to the wiki prior to the start of the meeting – either to your WG wiki page or the meeting agenda page.
• Add a link to your presentation to the Day 1 agenda table on the wiki (in the column conveniently labeled ‘presentation link’). It is likely that the presentations will be remotely controlled and the technician will use these links to pull up the right presentation for each talk. If you plan to present from a wiki page then put that link in the presentation link column.

A reminder that the breakouts for Day 2 will be assigned at the end of Day 1. The length and location of the breakouts will depend on how many people sign up for each proposal at the end of the first day.

Let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing you on Monday.

--Steve

Anyone attending the meeting who does not have a NASA-issued PIV badge will need to go to the security office at the main gate (building 9) to pick up a visitor badge before they can access the GSFC campus. Please make sure that have a government-issued ID with you and that you allow time to pick up your badge.

Note that this is a change to previous information. Visitor badges will be issued at the main gate security office. DO NOT go to the Visitor Center.

Registration for the 2014 ESDSWG Meeting is now open. The meeting will take place March 24-26 at GSFC in Greenbelt, MD.

Existing registrations from the cancelled October 2013 meeting have been transferred to the March 2014 meeting and no further action is required if you still plan to attend.

You can modify or cancel an existing registration at:

• https://www.regonline.com/register/login.aspx?eventID=1253744&MethodId=0&EventsessionId=

New meeting registrations can be added at:

• https://www.regonline.com/esdswg2014

As before, information about the meeting will be posted to the Earthdata Collaboration Environment as it becomes available:

•  2014 ESDSWG Meeting

Let me know if you need any help with registration.

--Steve

ESDSWG Members,

It is my pleasure to inform you that the ESDSWG Meeting has been rescheduled for March 24-26, 2014 and will be held at GSFC in Greenbelt, MD.  We chose these dates because they are roughly halfway between the Winter and Summer ESIP meetings and also, to the best of our knowledge at this moment, well clear of any looming congressional budgetary deadlines that could potentially derail us again.  In the past year or two we had actually been considering the possibility of moving the annual meeting to the spring to provide some relief to a crowded fall schedule and also to move us away from the end of the fiscal year.  We now have the perfect opportunity to make that happen.  From now on, we will plan to hold the meeting each year in the late March/early April time frame.

I realize that the first day of the upcoming meeting is on a Monday, which will require many of you to travel on a Sunday.  We tried very hard to find available space for three consecutive days in the March/April time frame that did not fall on a Monday but we were not successful.  However, from now on we will do everything we can to reserve the space far enough in advance to make the conditions more favorable for those who have to travel.  My apologies for this inconvenience.

Steve and I, along with the ESDIS POCs, have started working with the existing groups as well as some of the new proposers to come up with plans to keep things constructively moving forward between now and the meeting.  Until then, keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing you all in March!!

Best regards,

Jeff

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Jeff Walter
Deputy Project Manager/Technical
ESDIS Project (Code 423)
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Office: 301-614-5372
Mobile: 757-739-9325
Email: jeff.walter@nasa.gov
==================================

I am so disappointed that we had to cancel last week’s ESDSWG meeting. We were really hoping, right up until the last minute, that Congress would be able to agree some sort of funding bill that would allow GSFC to remain open and NASA to continue working. We had 140 people registered for this meeting and it would have been a great opportunity for the existing working groups to share their findings with the ESDSWG community and for us to reach a consensus on future working group activities. As soon as normal operations are resumed, we will be looking to reschedule the meeting but, given the number of people involved and the difficulty of scheduling a suitable venue at short notice, it is likely to be a while before we can announce a new date. Meanwhile, I am looking at options to keep the working groups operating and minimize the disruption resulting from the shutdown.

The most likely scenario is as follows:

Existing working groups that had submitted a follow-on proposal –

We (probably by the ESDSWG Manager, ESDSWG Coordinator, and ESDIS POCs) will conduct a brief review of the 2013 WG deliverables and 2014 WG proposals. We will work with the WG technical chairs to either agree an interim set of activities that will tide the WG through to the date of the rescheduled meeting or, where we feel that we need to wait for  input from the broader ESDSWG community, put the WG on a temporary hiatus until the rescheduled meeting.

Existing working groups that had not submitted a follow-on proposal –

We will ask the working groups that have not submitted a follow-on proposal to bring their activities to a graceful conclusion (wrap up any outstanding deliverables etc.). We will look for a suitable opportunity for these WGs to present their findings to the ESDSWG community – either at the rescheduled ESDSWG meeting or earlier, via a WebEx-type meeting that is open to the full ESDSWG community.

New working group proposals –

I will work with the ESDSWG Manager and ESDSWG Executive Council to review and prioritize the new working group proposals. Proposers of some of the higher priority proposals will be invited to initiate some preliminary activities (fact finding, gathering community input, more detailed planning etc.) in preparation for full working group status after the ESDSWG meeting. The lower priority proposals will probably be deferred for review at the ESDSWG meeting.

Over the next few days, I will be contacting the non-furloughed technical chairs of the current working groups to discuss how we can best move forward. Please feel free to contact me is you have any questions.

--Steve

Regrettably, we have had to cancel the October ESDSWG meeting due to the government shutdown. The timing of the shutdown will have a significant impact on the work of ESDSWG, particularly coming at such a critical time in our annual planning cycle. As soon as funding is restored, we will be looking at options to mitigate the impact of the shutdown and get the working group activities up and running again. It is likely that we will try to reschedule the meeting for some future date although it will no doubt take some time to find a suitable venue with the necessary availability. Meanwhile, we plan to work with the 2013 working group technical chairs and proposers of the new working groups to prioritize some interim activities that we can usefully undertake between now and the date of the rescheduled meeting.

--Steve

Dear ESDSWG members,

It appears that Congress was not able to reach an agreement on the budget and avert a government shutdown by midnight EDT.  As a result, I am officially canceling the ESDSWG meeting.  I realize that the delay was a significant inconvenience for many of you and I appreciate your patience while we tried to wait this out.  Once the shutdown is over and we are able to return to work, we will immediately begin work on an alternate plan to keep the ESDSWG moving forward.  Thank you again and I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Best regards,

Jeff

Dear ESDSWG members,

Even though a government shutdown appears extremely likely at this point, I have decided NOT to explicitly cancel the meeting at this time.  There is still a chance, however vanishingly small, that the shutdown will not happen and I would hate to cancel for no reason.  As you know, the annual meeting is a key part of the ESDSWG's activities.  Because of our inability to hold meetings offsite due to NASA conference restrictions and the high demand for meeting space here at GSFC, the next available window of time to hold a face-to-face meeting would be the week of February 3, 2014.  I believe that would impact our work in a negative way.

SO, since most of you who are traveling had planned to do so tomorrow, October 1, there is still time to wait and see what happens.  But I would offer you the following guidance.

• If Congress reaches some agreement by tomorrow morning to fund the government, at least through the end of this week, then the meeting is on.
• If Congress does not reach an agreement in time and the government does shut down, the meeting is canceled.
• If you need to make a decision about your travel or leave for the airport before the status becomes clear, then you should cancel your travel arrangements.
• If the meeting does take place but you are unable to attend because of these circumstances, we will make every effort to include you virtually if you so desire.

I understand that this is trying for everybody and I appreciate your patience.  Please let me or Steve Olding know if you have any questions or concerns or if anything is not clear.  I sincerely hope to see all of you on Wednesday.

Best regards,

Jeff Walter

Dear ESDSWG members,

In light of current fiscal situation in Washington, I know there is a lot of anxiety and concern surrounding the status of the ESDSWG meeting relative to your travel plans.  We are closely monitoring the situation and trying to work out the best path forward given the limited information we currently have.  I will send out a status update later today with more specific direction.

Thanks for your patience!

Jeff Walter

A reminder that, all being well, the ESDSWG meeting is just a week away.

All of the meeting sessions are being held in Building 8 at Goddard Space Flight Center. Anyone without a NASA-issued PIV badge will need to allow extra time to pick up a visitor badge before entering the campus (location TBA - probably the Visitor Center).  If bringing a car on-site, please use the parking lot opposite Building 8 and next to Building 24 (see map on the wiki agenda page).

Agenda Overview

Day 1 – Wednesday

Plenary session: Building 8 Auditorium

Registration starts at 8:00 AM, Meeting starts at 9:00 AM.

Findings and recommendations from the 2013 WGs (morning/early afternoon)

Poster session (mid-afternoon)

2014 WG proposals overview (late afternoon)

WG technical chairs – please ensure that your presentations (PowerPoint or PDF) are uploaded to the meeting agenda wiki page prior to the start of the meeting.

Electronic versions of the posters (PDF preferred) can also be uploaded to the wiki.

Draft proposals for 2014 Working Groups (new and follow-on groups) should be added to the wiki by the end of this week.  No formal presentation is required for 2014 WG proposals on Wednesday afternoon. We will invite proposers to say a few words of introduction to their proposals and answer questions of clarification from the audience. This is brief preview to help attendees decide which WG breakout sessions to attend on Thursday.

Day 2 – Thursday

Breakout sessions: Bldg. 8 Auditorium, Code 400 Conference Room), Management Conference Center (MCC)

Review 2014 WG Proposals

Draft proposals for 2014 Working Groups (new and follow-on groups) should be added to the wiki by the end of this week. Create a new child page for each proposal.

Feel free to start adding your comments to the proposal pages for discussion at the meeting.

Day 3 – Friday

Plenary session: Building 8 Auditorium

Lightning talks for 2014 WG proposals

Proposal assessments

Meeting close: Approx. 12:30 PM

Government Shutdown

We continue to monitor the valiant efforts of our esteemed legislators to come to agreement on a new funding bill. However, in the event of a government shutdown, next week’s meeting will have to be cancelled and rescheduled for some other time. We remain optimistic that everything will be resolved in time to avoid cancelling the meeting but will continue to monitor the situation and adjust plans accordingly. It is possible that we may not have a clear outcome until late on September 30^th.  We currently plan to make a final call on the ESDSWG meeting no later than 4:00 PM on Monday. I will keep you informed of any changes.

Please consult the ESDSWG wiki pages for the latest information and agenda updates.

Meeting Registration

A reminder that registration is open for the 2013 ESDSWG meeting to be held Wednesday 2nd through Friday 4th October at Goddard Space Flight Center. In order to allow sufficient time to process security procedures for access to the GSFC campus, please ensure that your registration is complete by Friday, August 30^th at the latest.

http://www.regonline.com/esdswg2013

2014 Working Group Proposals

We would like to invite members of the ESDSWG community to start adding proposals for 2014 working groups to the ESDSWG wiki. Community proposals may for new topics not previously addressed by ESDSWG, follow-on activities for 2013 working groups, or responses to the 2014 ESDIS priorities. There is no expectation or obligation for any of the current working groups to continue beyond the annual meeting but they are welcome to propose follow on activities which will be considered alongside proposals for new working groups . The intention is that all ESDSWG working groups have specific objectives and deliverables and that, once their work is done, the working group will disband and its participants move on to other activities.

Prior to the meeting, each proposal just needs to identify some broad objectives, some candidate activities, and proposed deliverables. Members of ESDSWG are invited to review the proposals and use the wiki to provide feedback to the proposers using the page comments or by editing the wiki page. Prior to the meeting, the proposals are open to revision and clarification in response to comments and suggestions made by members of the ESDSWG community. We expect this to be an iterative process as we work towards a final list of proposed tasks for discussion at the ESDSWG meeting. Each of the proposals will be reviewed in detail and refined by the ESDSWG community at the meeting.

The list of ESDIS priorities will be added to the wiki by the end of next week.

Posters

We also invite members of the ESDSWG community to bring along posters to the 2013 ESDSWG Meeting and add them to the wiki. The main poster session will be on the afternoon of the first day of the meeting and posters will be on display until the end of the second day. Poster topics should be of relevance to the NASA Earth Science Data System community. We particularly encourage posters from the current working groups on their findings and recommendations, ACCESS and MEaSUREs projects with ESDS technology experiences to share, and other projects that illustrate experiences related to ESDSWG working group activities.

Please make sure that you have indicated that you will be bringing a poster on your meeting registration so that we can reserve enough space. You should be able to update your registration if you didn't originally say that you would be bringing a poster.

Earthdata Collaboration Environment

We will be making extensive use of the ESDSWG wiki space on the Earthdata Wiki both before and during the meeting. Let me know if anyone needs help getting an account set up.

--Steve

As we approach the ESDSWG meeting at the beginning of October, I just wanted to remind the working groups that they should plan on having their 2013 deliverables largely compete by the time of the meeting. There will be a couple of weeks following the meeting, and before the 2014 working groups are announced, when you can make any final tweaks in response to feedback at the meeting but, otherwise, everything should be complete and uploaded to the Earthdata Wiki prior to the meeting.

On the first day of the meeting (Oct 2), we will be inviting the current working groups to present their findings and recommendation to the ESDSWG community.  There is no set format for this presentation and it can be as short or as long (within reason) as you need. I will be contacting the working group technical chairs later this month to find out how much time we need to schedule for each group.

There is no expectation or obligation for any of the current working groups to continue beyond the annual meeting. The intention is that ESDSWG working groups have specific objectives and deliverables and that, once their work is done, the working group will disband and its participants move on to other activities. That said, it is likely that some of the current working groups may want to propose follow-on activities for next year and those proposals will be considered alongside proposals for new working groups. Groups proposing follow-on activities are still expected to complete their current activities prior to the annual meeting.

Later this month, we will be announcing the ESDIS priorities for next year and open up the call for new working group proposals from the ESDSWG community. More details to follow but expect a similar format to last year.

Information about the meeting will be posted to the ESDSWG wiki pages on the Earthdata Wiki

https://wiki.earthdata.nasa.gov/display/ESDSWG/2013+ESDSWG+Meeting

If you don’t yet have access to the Earthdata Wiki, please contact support@earthdata.nasa.gov with Account Request in the subject line,mention that you are participating in the ESDSWG, and include your URS ID.

Anyone who hasn’t yet subscribed to the ESDSWG announcements mailing list can subscribe at https://lists.nasa.gov/mailman/listinfo/esdswg-announce

And, if you haven’t yet registered for the meeting, please do so at http://www.regonline.com/esdswg2013

Let me know if you need any help with any of the above.

Thanks

--Steve

http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2013/scientific-program/abstract-submission-policies/