FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016 • 75
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
PERTH BIG DATA WEEK 2016
Big data is everywhere you look. You might not
realise it, but that’s what’s happening when you use
maps to get directions on your mobile phone.
It happens when you use your SmartRider to tag on and off
the train, when you watch Netflix or stream music or use that
Fitbit around your wrist.
All of these things use amounts of data that were
unthinkable not too many years ago, and provide the basis of
life in the 21st Century.
Perth Big Data Week 2016 is a local showcase of what Perth
has to offer in terms of ‘Big Data’. From Monday May 2,
organisations from across Perth will run events that promote
the career, research, and business opportunities that ‘Big
Data’ initiatives can provide.
‘Big Data’ is a catch phrase used to describe data collections
most commonly defined by three V’s: high volume, high
velocity, and/or high variety of data.
However, data science (an umbrella of techniques used
when trying to extract insights and information from data)
and data analytics (applying an algorithmic process to derive
insights from data) is how ‘Big Data’ is implemented in
practice.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Big Data is the key to ensuring Western Australia remains a great
place to live and work. In an increasingly data-driven world, data
sciences are an integral part of our future.
It is vital to train the next generation of WA’s workforce in science,
technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) so they have the
skills to make the most of this growing global industry, estimated to
be worth close to $50 billion by 2018 (Office of Science, 2015).
Data science is an exciting and ever expanding field with as
yet unknown destinations and careers. Through the Pawsey
Supercomputing Centre, the State Government is helping develop
and assist the most progressive thinkers in the State to come
together and solve the challenges we face.
This year the following organisations are supporting
Perth Big Data Week:
EVENT TITLE
ORGANISATION
Big Data Crunch
Scitech, Office of Science
CCI Innovation Breakfast: Using
big data technology to solve small
data business challenges
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry
Sharing Your Data Through Open
Data WA
Landgate
Science on the Swan
(Big Data Presentations)
The University of Western
Australia, the University of
Notre Dame, Curtin University,
Murdoch University, Edith
Cowan University, the Harry
Perkins Institute of Medical
Research, the Telethon Kids
Institute, WA Health Translation
Network, the key teaching
and research hospitals and the
WA Government through the
Department of Health and the
Office of Science
The Pawsey Centre houses Magnus – the most powerful public
research supercomputer in the Southern Hemisphere – which is
able to process over one quadrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000)
calculations every second.
It also has a 70-petabyte tape library with room for expansion up to
100 petabytes (100 million gigabytes).
Western Australia is one of the best places to be involved in the
world of Big Data. With some of the brightest minds and most
powerful infrastructure in the world, we are surfing the wave of the
future.
One of the most accessible ways to interpret ‘Big Data’ is through
modelling and digital visualisations.
At Scitech, visitors experience the latest big data research come to
life on the planetarium’s dome screen. The planetarium presents
many different data sets, the most popular of which is going on a
journey through the night sky.
Visitors experience an immersive visualisation of the latest big data
research about the known, mapped universe, finding themselves at
the edge of space as we know it.
Scitech seeks to engage the Western Australian community in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Through interactive exhibits, live science shows, professional
development for teachers, adult events and regional outreach tours,
Scitech is proud to make a strong contribution to WA’s growing
capacity in STEM.
Pawsey Supercomputing Centre has been coordinating a series
of ‘Big Data’ week events since 2013, but this would not have
been possible without the enthusiasm and dedication of many
organisations.
23 Things Fling - A 23 Research
Australian National Data Service
Data Things Community Catch-up (ANDS)
Elastic Data Analytics at Pawsey:
Hadoop and Spark for Scientific
Workflows
Pawsey Supercomputing Centre
The HIVE, research and big data
Curtin University
Big Data from Space
Pawsey Supercomputing Centre
Visualisation of Big Imaging Data:
Radio Astronomy Case
Pawsey Supercomputing Centre
Big Data, eResearch and the
Cloud
Murdoch University, Centre
for Comparative Genomics,
Scitech, Amazon Web Services,
Microsoft
Data Centric Processing Software
Practices for the SKA and Beyond
International Centre for Radio
Astronomy Research (ICRAR)
Big, Bigger, BIGGEST
Edith Cowan University, CISCO
Inaugural ANDS Monthly Tech
Talk
Australian National Data Service
(ANDS)
Woodside Future Lab Exchange
Woodside
Note: not all events are open to general public.
Visit: http://bdwperth.com/
to learn more about ‘Big Data’ in Perth and follow #perthbdw16.
Reference: http://www.simplilearn.com/data-science-vs-big-data-vs-data-analytics-article
PREMIER COLIN BARNETT’S MESSAGE
Data is a valuable resource and its production is increasing exponentially
– from local health statistics to information from outer space received by
radio telescopes.
The ability to interpret data and apply this to make a positive difference
is critical for a modern Western Australia that is safe, healthy and
competitive.
Real-time traffic data from Main Roads WA powers the apps and
websites that tell Perth commuters how to take the easiest and quickest
route to work each day.
Data shows geologists where they will most likely find the richest ores to
develop the mines of tomorrow, and analysing big health data is a vital
tool in disease prevention.
Big Data Week May 2-5, 2016 aims to educate and inspire diverse
audiences - including students, professionals, business operators and
the public sector - about big data and how important it is to our State’s
progress.
A dozen events will take place during the week, showcasing the
immense range of big data projects, applications and potential
opportunities that reach not only across this vast State but also into the
lives of many Western Australians.
The launch of Big Data Week 2016 will be attended by the State’s leaders
in big data.
The opening event links in with Scitech’s Big Data Crunch, bringing
young students together with data professionals to discuss career
opportunities in data intensive science.
WA needs innovators now and tomorrow, who can make the most of
these opportunities in our broadening economy.
Big Data Week is about building the foundation and the inspiration for
WA’s digital future. Imagine using a “genetic signature” to develop a
personalised health check that predicts your risk of developing chronic
conditions including cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and heart disease?
Imagine a 3D map of Western Australia’s deep geology that enables
highly advanced mineral exploration and mining, supporting the State’s
biggest export industry and tens of thousands of jobs?
Don’t bother imagining these things any longer because they are already
reality, thanks to big data in WA.
Interpreting data is the business of Perth’s $80 million Pawsey
Supercomputing Centre which houses Magnus, the most powerful
public research supercomputer in the southern hemisphere.
Magnus is a petascale computer that can perform one quadrillion (a
number with 15 zeros) calculations every second. To give you an idea of
its capacity, it would take eight billion people with a handheld calculator
10 years to achieve what Magnus can do in a second.
The Pawsey Centre is supporting a range of data-intensive activities in
WA, from marine science and medical research to mineral exploration
and radio astronomy.
In terms of radio astronomy, the State’s
Murchison region is home to two worldleading radio telescopes, and in the near
future will co-host the Square Kilometre
Array (SKA) project.
The SKA is an international venture
to build the world’s largest and most
sensitive radio telescope.
The SKA will help us understand more
about the universe, how it developed
and possibly even whether there is extra
terrestrial life.
As the SKA looks to the stars, it is
expected to produce 10 times more data per second than current global
internet traffic. The SKA will drive the development of new techniques
and technologies to store, process and analyse such unimaginable
volumes of data.
Through the Pawsey Centre and International Centre for Radio
Astronomy Research, WA will be central to solving these challenges.
As WA prepares to co-host the SKA, it is worth remembering that it
was Australian radio astronomers who invented WiFi, and effectively
changed computer communications worldwide.
The State Government is a proud supporter of Perth’s Big Data Week
and looks forward to the 2016 event driving even further big data
discoveries.