Research Infrastructures. Centrality. Fragility.

Professor Hugh Shanahan
School of Engineering, Physical and Mathematical Sciences

This lecture outlines the huge importance of Research Infrastructures (RIs). RIs are the necessary physical, digital and human infrastructures required to carry out research. RIs form the connective tissue of research. Because of the digital transformation over the last thirty years RIs have enabled researchers to tackle increasingly difficult challenges that often require input from a number of different disciplines. Digital objects, such as Research Software, Research Data and standards are key to many areas of research. RIs are socio-technical in their nature. Despite the physical nature of them they are a deeply human enterprise and require the contribution of highly specialised individuals. They can be enablers of Open Research and are a bulwark against the challenges encountered with respect to reproducibility and replicability and can play a role in maintaining Research Integrity. They are also fragile - they depend on sustained funding which are delivered through a variety of different models. As a result they are easily disrupted and require continual care. Professor Shanahan will argue that RIs are part of a broader picture where research is, for the most part, collaborative with many varied and essential contributions from individuals providing Research Objects that don't necessarily fit into the standard publication model and can be reused.

Inaugural lecture

Admission is free, but booking is essential.