The Science and Engineering Informatics cluster supports research and education focused on advances in information technology that address problems in specific sciences and engineering domains (e.g., biology, geology, chemistry). Traditionally, a scientist developed hypotheses, designed experiments to test hypotheses, collected observational data, and published results based on experiments. Data were often published in print to allow others to build upon or verify the results. In nearly every field of 21st century science, including all of the disciplines funded by NSF, new knowledge is generated by teams of researchers and educators analyzing data sets that are far too large to publish in journals and often collected independently by other scientists with different goals in mind.

Characteristics of the research and education activities within this cluster are: integrative; focused on tools and analysis; and supportive of the data infrastructure for science and engineering. As an example, this cluster will be responsible for the Joint NSF/NIH Initiative to Support Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience. This project seeks to enhance our understanding of nervous system function by providing analytical and modeling tools that describe, traverse and integrate different levels of information. The Science and Engineering Informatics cluster will support similar projects across all fields of science and engineering.