Digital Ag Spoke All Hands Meeting (Midwest Big Data Hub)

April 5, 2016

Midwest Big Data Hub*
DIGITAL AGRICULTURE SPOKE ALL-HANDS MEETING
May 16-17, 2016
Hosted by: Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Location: Scheman Building, Iowa State University, 1805 Center Drive, Ames, Iowa.

Meeting Website: http://register.extension.iastate.edu/digitalag
Information will be added as we finalize meeting details.

Register Now! Registration is open. There is no cost to attend this 1 ½ day event.

Who Should Attend: Stakeholders from academia, industry, government, and other organizations. Early career researchers, post-docs, graduate students, and undergraduate students are welcome.

What It’s About:
The Digital Agriculture Spoke of the Midwest Big Data Hub is devoted to building partnerships and resources that will address emerging Big Data issues in the agricultural ecosystem, including:
o better integration of agricultural data streams;

o improved collaboration among data owners;

o addressing barriers to sharing data such as protecting proprietary and confidential information;

o standards and ontologies; and

o education, tools and services, and workforce development.

· Stakeholders will engage in interactive discussions about the partnerships and resources that will be needed to address the challenges in collecting, managing, serving, mining, and analyzing rapidly growing and increasingly complex data and information collections to create actionable knowledge and guide decision-making in agriculture.

Planned Events:
· Pre-meeting reception the evening of May 15, 2016

· Presentations by Midwest Big Data Hub and national leadership

· Industry panel presentations and Q&A

· Participant “Lightening Talks” to present ideas, projects, and tools and services to address challenges in digital agriculture

· Breakout sessions to discuss proposed projects and develop ideas and partnerships for new projects

· A poster session and evening reception

Propose a Lightening Talk or Poster: Participants are invited to propose a lightening talk or display a poster. Details will be posted on the meeting website.

Help Us Spread the Word: Forward this message to others who may be interest in attending.

Lodging: Blocks of rooms are reserved as “Digital Ag” at special meeting rates at the following hotels. Rooms must be reserved directly with one of the following hotel by April 29, 2016, to receive the special rates.

· Best Western Plus – University Park Inn and Suites, 2500 University Blvd., Ames, Iowa

$93.50/night plus tax for a king and $102/night plus tax for two queen beds; breakfast included
Phone: 515-296-2500 (must call this local number)
http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/US/IA/Ames-hotels/BEST-WESTERN-PLUS-University-Park-Inn—Suites/Hotel-Overview.do?propertyCode=16101

· Holiday Inn – Ames Conference Center, 2909 University Blvd., Ames, Iowa

$109/night plus tax for a king or two queen beds; breakfast not included
http://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/ames/amwia/hoteldetail
Phone: (515) 268-8808 (must use this local number)

Travel Support: We have requested funding to help defray travel costs for early career researchers. If funding is received, information will be provided at the meeting website.

Contact: Joe Colletti (colletti@iastate.edu), Midwest Big Data Hub Interim Steering Committee – Digital Agriculture Spoke.

*The Midwest Big Data Hub is a collaborative project supported by the National Science Foundation through award #1550320. Website: http://midwestbigdatahub.org/