Support for Research, Creative Work and Innovation
III.
Support for Research, Creative Work and Innovation
Key Initiatives
Bolstering Computing Resources
Building Blocks
As older systems, such as WIN and Banner, are re-engineered to leverage benefits of the cloud, such as scalability and reliability, we are able to spend more time fostering innovation and identifying additional integration opportunities.
Cloud services offer our campus greater access to collaborative and engaging tools with user-friendly and responsive interfaces. Amazon WorkSpaces were introduced for running advanced software in areas like Engineering and Biology, expanding students’ computing power beyond their individual devices. Recent hardware updates to the WFU Distributed Environment for Academic Computing (DEAC) Cluster and closer collaboration with faculty on research and teaching, have improved the cluster’s capacity to analyze large data sets. The High Performance Computing (HPC) team has created custom research applications and provided support to faculty in over 14 departments accessing the cluster for research and coursework on topics such as 3D Protein Modeling, Data Analytics, Epidemic Statistical Analysis. and Human Body Modeling.
IS aims to support faculty’s intensive and individualized needs to conduct and distinguish their research through discovery of new technology and prioritizing scalable investments.
Building upon our cloud-first strategy, we will expand our knowledge and utilization of solutions that provide storage, virtualization, and hosting. We will continue to explore Amazon Web Services (AWS) to maximize our investment and learn all the ways the platform can be utilized to support innovation and research.
Further investment in improving the distribution of our campus fiber network will be needed to provide increased bandwidth for faster and more efficient processing. Quality connectivity is essential when moving and accessing large data sets, utilizing cloud-based tools, and working with demanding graphics-intensive software. These enhancements not only provide our campus with the tools they need to succeed but create an environment that is easily and quickly accessible.
As more departments are utilizing the DEAC Cluster for research initiatives, we will be prepared with the technology and support needed to meet faculty and student requirements. The DEAC Cluster will continue to play a significant role in meeting the ever-increasing computing requirements needed by our expanding technology-heavy curriculum. Our HPC team will continue to support students in high performance computing competitions and we will acquire and provision resources for that effort.
Fostering Creativity & Ingenuity
Building Blocks
A student-led group met with campus leadership to implement the Wake Forest makerspace, WakerSpace. This space is a great addition to the multimodal and digital culture at Wake Forest. Based on experiential learning, the WakerSpace is a place where faculty, staff, and students can come together to innovate, collaborate, and create.
Providing spaces as well as providing opportunities for creativity and innovation is a key component for our future initiatives. Building on the solid foundation that we established over the course of the last several years, we will expand our WakerSpace to include new class offerings, technologies, and equipment. There is power in hands-on learning, prototyping, and innovating. Identifying, funding, and dedicating space and resources to WakerSpace is essential for the future success of our faculty and students.
We will look at ways to expand our grant offerings for exploration and embedding technology into the classroom. Providing funding for faculty projects to explore new and existing technologies with the potential to enhance teaching, scholarly, and creative work will be critical to the research and innovation that faculty seek to incorporate into their teaching. the creation of a faculty learning community will provide an opportunity to share their experiences and learning outcomes with their colleagues.
Providing campus an arena to promote their innovative and creative work is paramount in fostering future creativity and exploration. Building on the success of our annual technology event, TechX, our goal is to expand our format to better focus on how our campus community has creatively incorporated technology to engage constituents, conduct groundbreaking research, and derive deeper learning outcomes. Blending digital and in-person experiences and reaching beyond our campus with outside keynote speakers, will make it an event for everyone, regardless of department or major.