Cyber-infrastructure

The idea of cyberinfrastructure and the word itself moved more widely into use after the 2003 publication of the report by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Blue-Ribbon Advisory Panel on Cyberinfrastructure. Revolutionizing Science and Engineering through Cyberinfrastructure stated: “The term infrastructure has been used since the 1920s to refer collectively to the roads, power grids, telephone systems, bridges, rail lines, and similar public works that are required for an industrial economy to function. Although good infrastructure is often taken for granted and noticed only when it stops functioning, it is among the most complex and expensive thing[s] that society creates. The newer term cyberinfrastructure refers to infrastructure based upon distributed computer, information and communication technology. If infrastructure is required for an industrial economy, then we could say that cyberinfrastructure is required for a knowledge economy.” [EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 43, no. 4 (July/August 2008)]