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UT Receives $3.2M National Science Foundation Grant

The University of Tennessee recently announced the receipt of $3.2 million in funding for the school's College of Communication and Information to participate in a National Science Foundation (NSF) project called DataONE, with ONE being short for Observation Network for Earth. The mission of DataONE is to enable new science and knowledge creation through universal access to data for earth and environmental scientists.

DataONE is "the Star Trek of information science," said Mike Wirth, the dean of the College of Communication and Information, in a news release.  Professor Carol Tenopir, who is working on the project, added that the end result will be "a framework that allows scientists to make better use of the data that's being gathered worldwide to solve the world's environmental problems."

According to the release, the NSF grant is the largest grant award the college has ever received.  In addition to the $3.2 million being directed toward the Knoxville school, nearly $16.8 million is being channeled to the project's other partners, which include the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, other universities and a coalition of scientists and libraries.