A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine consensus study will explore future directions for the National Science Foundation’s future advanced cyberinfrastructure, which includes computing, data, and networking systems as well as software. The study will consider the implications of such factors as rapid disruption in the computing technology landscape, changing business models for onsite and cloud computing, increasingly large experimental datasets, growing use of artificial intelligence methods, and heightened demand across all sectors for advanced computing expertise and will specifically address the following questions:

• Portfolio approach—Are there new ways of managing NSF’s investments in computing systems, which are currently managed by scale along the lines of the Branscomb pyramid, to enhance support for transformative research and broaden participation in alignment with NSF’s mission? With limited resources, what role could NSF play in supporting regional and institutional level computing clusters to meet both these objectives?
• Leadership computing—How can NSF ensure that its Leadership-Class Computing Facility maintains its role as a leadership computing facility for the nation during its lifetime?
• Government partnerships—Are there opportunities for NSF to partner with other federal agencies in providing leadership-class capabilities to the scientific research community, considering potential synergies and complementary agency missions?
• Commercial cloud—What are the options for integrating commercial cloud services into the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure’s (OAC’s) advanced cyberinfrastructure ecosystem?
• Data infrastructure—What kind of data infrastructure investments could OAC make to facilitate use of existing scientific data sources and contribute to the overall integration of data in the ecosystem?
• Integration and sustainment—How can OAC approach integrating into its advanced cyberinfrastructure ecosystem the increasingly diverse set of computational, data, and networking systems; services; and software that are increasingly required for research activities? What implications does that have for how data, services, and software are sustained over time?
• Cyberinfrastructure innovation—What key investments should OAC consider to drive innovation in cyberinfrastructure technologies in a post-Moore’s law environment? How can OAC balance investment in emerging technology testbed systems with production system deployments?
• User needs—What steps should OAC consider to engage with its users and meet their wide-ranging needs?
• Workforce—How can NSF support the development of a cyberinfrastructure professional workforce that can meet the evolving needs of the scientific research community in the face of a changing computing landscape?