I am intrigued by the bold statements that are made about the ways that cyberinfrastructure, access to data, networks of scientific instruments, and large-scale interdisciplinary collaborations will positively and dramatically change the way that science is conducted and knowledge is produced. In many cases, very little empirical research exists to test or support these assumptions and numerous obstacles stand in the way of these visions. I also believe, however, that we are at a unique moment in time in which significant changes–whether or not they happen as predicted–are likely to occur. My research is motivated by the opportunity to study and learn from these processes. To date, these interests have taken my research in three interrelated directions.

• Developing a Model for Engagement of Citizen Scientists: Lake Associations
  The goal of this project is to bring a citizen scientist group (Lake Sunapee Protective Association) into the development and use of CI and, in the process, create and evaluate a model for engaging a broader citizen base in the articulation of needs, and the development and use of CI tools.
  
  TeraGrid is a national, comprehensive, and distributed infrastructure that integrates high-performance computing resources at nine resource provider facilities. This NSF-sponsored study is investigating the high-performance computing needs of current and potential TeraGrid users in multiple disciplines.
  
  
• Collaboration in Ecology: A Workshop
  In 2004, I co-organized an NSF-funded workshop with Bonnie Nardi that brought together ecologists, social scientists, computer scientists, librarians, and information scientists to discuss the work practices and information needs of ecologists.
  
  
• Learning from TeraGrid: An Evaluation of a Large-Scale Cyberinfrastructure Project

• Zimmerman, Ann, Bos, Nathan, Olson, Judith S., & Olson, Gary M. (accepted). The promise of data in e-Research: Many challenges, multiple solutions, diverse outcomes. In Nick Jankowski (Ed.), e-Research: Transformations in Scholarly Practice. Routledge.
  
  
• Zimmerman, Ann. (2008). New knowledge from old data: The role of standards in the sharing and reuse of ecological data. Science, Technology, and Human Values. 33(5): 631-652.
  
  
• Zimmerman, Ann. (2007). Not by metadata alone: The use of diverse forms of knowledge to locate data for reuse. International Journal on Digital Libraries.7(1-2): 5-16.
  
  
• Cragin, Melissa H., MacMullen, W. John, Wallis, Jillian C., & Zimmerman, Ann. (2006). Managing Scientific Data for Long-term Access and Use. (Panel at the 2006 ASIS&T Annual Meeting.) Presentation: Many challenges, multiple solutions: Facing the barriers to data sharing and re-use.
  
  
• Zimmerman, Ann S. 2003. Data sharing and secondary use of scientific data: Experiences of ecologists. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Michigan.
  

• Planning for the Next Generation TeraGrid
  I was Principal Investigator on this NSF-funded grant to facilitate a planning process for the future evolution of TeraGrid.
  
  
• Science of Collaboratories (SOC)
  The SOC project was funded by NSF and led by Gary M. Olson. SOC studied distributed collaborations across multiple scientific disciplines. It aimed to define, abstract, and codify the underlying technical and social mechanisms that lead to successful collaboratories.
  
  
• National Ecological Observatory Network
  NEON is one of several U.S. environmental observing systems being designed to help predict and solve environmental challenges. In 2005, I participated in the planning process for NEON as a member of the Information Technology and Communication Subcommittee.
  

• Olson, Gary M., Zimmerman, Ann, and Bos, Nathan. (in press). Scientific Collaboration on the Internet. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. Scheduled for publication in November 2008.
  
  Zimmerman, Ann and Finholt, Thomas A. (2008). Report from the TeraGrid Evaluation Study, Part 1: Project Findings. Collaboratory for Research on Electronic Work, School of Information, University of Michigan. 97 pp.
  
  Zimmerman, Ann, Krause, Magia, Lawrence, Katherine A., and Finholt, Thomas A. (2008). Report from the TeraGrid Evaluation Study, Part 2: Findings from the TeraGrid User Survey. Collaboratory for Research on Electronic Work, School of Information, University of Michigan. 47 pp.
  
  
• Zimmerman, Ann and Finholt, Thomas A. (2007). Growing an infrastructure: The role of gateway organizations in cultivating new communities of users. Pages 239-248 in Proceedings of the International ACM SIGGROUP Conference on Supporting Group Work (GROUP ’07), ACM Press, New York, NY.
  
  
• Zimmerman, Ann & Nardi, Bonnie A. (2006). Whither or whether HCI: Requirements analysis for multi-sited, multi-user cyberinfrastructures. Proceedings CHI 2006, ACM Press, New York, 1601-1606.
  
  
• Zimmerman, Ann & Faniel, Ixchel. Stakeholders at a distance: User participation in the development of cybeinfrastructure. Unpublished manuscript.
  
  
• Zimmerman, Ann, Nardi, Bonnie A., & Sim, Susan. (2005). Technology rules: Understanding and supporting emerging practice in ecology. Presentation at the Society for Social Studies of Science Conference, Pasadena, California, October 21, 2005. (abstract)

• The Emergence of Collaborative Social Structure in nanoHUB Cyberspace
  The goal of this project is to understand the degree to which nanoHUB, and organizations like it, generates new intellectual capital; the technical and social features of the nanoHUB that support knowledge generation; and, the conditions needed to improve design choices for the expansion and creation of science gateways.
  
  
• Preparing the LTER Network for Collaborative Science, Education, and Synthesis: A Planning Proposal
  
  
• Science of Collaboratories (SOC)
  

• Bos, Nathan, Zimmerman, Ann, Olson, Judith, Yew, Jude, Yerkie, Jason, Dahl, Erik, & Olson, Gary. (2007). From shared databases to communities of practice: A taxonomy of collaboratories. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12, 2..
  
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  Zimmerman, Ann. (2007). Rapid network evolution prompts changes to LTER governance. LTER Network News 19, 2, 4-5.