Conference: MERIF 2024-2025

Over the past decade, a number of mid-scale experimental research infrastructure (MERI) and testbed platforms have been awarded NSF's Computer and Information Science & Engineer (CISE) Directorate. For example, Chameleon, CloudLab, and PAWR (POWDER, COSMOS, AERPAW, ARA), FABRIC, SAGE, EdueLab, and SPHERE. The availability of these platforms enables new research, creating a broad, diverse community of researchers and providers with a common commitment to extending the accessibility of powerful experimental platforms to all users.

The Mid-scale Experimental Research Infrastructure Forum (MERIF) started in 2019 to connect

NSF CISE research infrastructure providers, researchers, and aspiring MERI grantees. The new MERIF will expand the scope by organizing and operating the next two annual workshops (MERIF 2024 and MERIF 2025). This pair of workshops will help providers better propose and manage mid-scale research infrastructure, create a community of diverse researchers deploying experimental research,

supporting high-quality science outcomes, training a new generation of researchers, and fostering the possibility for cross-platform collaborative research. The workshop activities will be made available at merif.org

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.