Researchers at UC Irvine, in collaboration with UCLA and the University of Michigan, have received nearly $9 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation to establish a new national data infrastructure. The award, named NSF BRIDGE, aims to assist scientific communities across the nation in utilizing advanced data science and artificial intelligence tools.
The three-year project is led by UC Irvine computer science professor Chen Li, who serves as the principal investigator. NSF BRIDGE is designed to help scientific communities deploy computing platforms specifically tailored to their needs. These platforms will allow researchers to share datasets, analysis pipelines, and machine learning models.
The infrastructure builds upon the open-source Texera system, which began development in 2016 and is currently incubated by the Apache Software Foundation. The platforms can operate on public clouds, such as Amazon Web Services, or on computing clusters managed by research laboratories. This setup enables scientists to collaborate on data analysis and apply AI techniques without needing advanced IT or programming skills.
The project addresses the growing volume of data generated across scientific fields and the rapid progress in AI, seeking to convert observations into actionable knowledge. NSF BRIDGE facilitates this by removing technical barriers and integrating specialized domain expertise with AI and large-scale computing capabilities. Instead of requiring scientists to configure complex computing systems or write intricate scripts, the initiative allows scientific communities to deploy Texera as an online platform. This platform enables researchers to store data, share it with collaborators, and analyze it using AI-powered tools. Tasks can often be completed through visual dataflows and plain-language instructions given to AI agents, bypassing the need for coding in languages like Python or R.
Professor Li stated that the project aims to transform how scientific communities use data science and AI. He noted that NSF BRIDGE will enable "seamless knowledge sharing and collaboration without requiring programming expertise." Wei Wang, a co-principal investigator from UCLA, added that the Texera system offers a platform that makes state-of-the-art AI and machine learning techniques accessible to a wide range of scientific domains, accelerating AI adoption and benefiting the nation. Steve Parker, a senior personnel member from the University of Michigan, illustrated how Texera will empower bioinformatics researchers lacking programming expertise to build and share flexible workflows. These workflows will integrate their own data with public resources, bridging the gap between experimental research and computational analysis.
The funding for NSF BRIDGE comes from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Integrated Data Systems and Services program, which supports national research infrastructure. This program assists scientists in using data and artificial intelligence to address complex issues across various scientific disciplines. The data infrastructure provides support for research labs to deploy the Texera system, along with software services including documentation, training, and technical support.
Beyond Professor Li, other UC Irvine personnel involved include Ardalan Amiri Sani from the Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences, Kristin Turney from the School of Social Sciences, and Rui Chen from the School of Medicine, all serving as co-principal investigators. The Research Cyberinfrastructure Center at UC Irvine is also a subaward recipient.
The NSF BRIDGE team has already engaged with five domains and is actively seeking additional partners interested in the software system and service to further support their research through data science and AI techniques.
