IMP Science Gateway: from the Portal to the Hub of Virtual Experimental Labs in e‐Science and Multiscale Courses in e‐Learning

Abstract

Summary‘Science gateway’ (SG) ideology means a user‐friendly intuitive interface between scientists (or scientific communities) and different software components + various distributed computing infrastructures (DCIs), where researchers can focus on their scientific goals and less on the peculiarities of software/DCI. G.V.Kurdyumov Institute for Metal Physics ‘IMP Science Gateway Portal’ (http://scigate.imp.kiev.ua) is presented for complex workflow management and integration of distributed computing resources (like clusters, service grids, desktop grids, and clouds). It is created on the basis of Web Service – Parallel Grid Run‐time and Application Development Environment (WS‐PGRADE) and gUSE (grid and cloud User Support Environment) technologies, where WS‐PGRADE is designed for science workflow operation and gUSE — for smooth integration of available resources for parallel and distributed computing in various heterogeneous DCIs. Some use cases (scientific workflows) are considered for molecular dynamics simulations of complex behavior of various nanostructures. The modular approach allows scientists to use SG portals as research hubs of various virtual experimental labs in the context of practical applications in material science, physics, and nanotechnologies. In addition, workflows and their components are proposed to be used as Lego‐style construction units for learning modules of various scale by duration, complexity, targeted audience, and so on. These workflows can be used also in e‐Learning infrastructures as constituent elements of learning hubs for the management of learning content, tools, resources, and users in the regular, vocational, lifelong, and informal learning. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.