Big Money for Big Data

A new data visualization programFLICKR, IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY

Big Data is the focus of a new initiative announced last week (March 29) by the Obama administration. Funded with a $200 million start-up package, six government agencies will work towards making it easier for researchers to glean useful information from biological, geological, and linguistic data. The money will go towards building interdisciplinary training programs at colleges and universities, as well as directly towards protein structure projects. Much of the work to build better ways to compile and analyze data will take place at the universities, and some say that the $200 million is just the beginning of what’s really needed, reported The Chronicle of Higher Education. “We want to find new and better ways to make the most of these data to speed discovery, innovation, and improvements in the nation’s health and economy," said National Institutes of Health Director...