Category II: idlab - a federated interactive discovery lab for data-driven research and education

The National Science Foundation Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure awarded the University of California, Los Angeles a $9 million cooperative agreement on July 1, 2026, under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070) to develop and operate IDLAB, a federated web-based platform enabling researchers to access computing and data resources across five NSF-supported high-performance computing sites and two public cloud platforms.

IDLAB transitions the OneSciencePlace platform from pilot to national-scale production service, providing a consistent catalog of interactive applications, unified access to local data resources, and a shared data partition spanning all partner sites. The platform reduces technical barriers and data transfer requirements while maintaining consistent application environments across the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, Purdue University, San Diego Supercomputer Center, and Texas Advanced Computing Center. The platform supports data-driven and AI-enabled discovery across natural hazards engineering, spatial biology, neuroscience, geospatial analytics, and computational physics. IDLAB also enables STEM education through browser-based instructional environments, coordinates workforce development training and tutorials, and advances open science by promoting findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable research outputs.

UCLA leads the collaboration as prime recipient with subordinate partner sites contributing technical infrastructure and operational support. The award runs through June 30, 2029, with place of performance at UCLA in Los Angeles, California.

Abstract

The interactive discovery laboratory (idlab) a unified, easy-to-use web-based platform that enables researchers to seamlessly access and use computing and data resources across five NSF-supported high-performance computing (HPC) sites and two public cloud platforms. Idlab provides a consistent catalog of interactive applications, access to local data resources, and a shared data partition accessible across all sites. By mitigating technical barriers, reducing data transfer requirements, and maintaining a consistent application environment, idlab empowers researchers, broadens participation in advanced computing, and accelerates data-driven and AI-enabled discovery across a wide range of scientific fields, including natural hazards engineering, spatial biology, neuroscience, geospatial analytics, and computational physics. Additionally, the platform enhances stem education through browser-based instructional environments, supports workforce development via coordinated training and tutorials, and advances open science by promoting research outputs that are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (fair), thereby maximizing the impact and reach of federal investments in research infrastructure. Led by the university of california, LOS angeles (ucla), in collaboration with the national center for supercomputing applications (ncsa), the pittsburgh supercomputing center (PSC), purdue university, the SAN diego supercomputer center (sdsc), and the texas advanced computing center (tacc), idlab transitions the onescienceplace platform from a pilot to a national-scale, data-centric production service spanning NSF-supported HPC resources and two public cloud platforms. Idlab provides a consistent interactive application catalog across all partner sites, dedicated GPU and CPU resources for interactive workloads, and a shared filesystem that enables near-real-time cross-site data access without manual data staging. The full research data lifecycle, from ingestion and interactive analysis through collaborative sharing and fair publication is supported by the platform. Idlab complements and extends access and the national AI research resource (nairr) by providing the interactive layer for cross-facility data access and rapid scientific exploration. Throughout operations, idlab continues to evolve through ongoing enhancements to platform, applications, data services, and the user experience, driven by operational experience and community needs. 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.- subawards are planned for this award.