Abstract This paper illustrates a human‐centered cyberinfrastructure (CI) for conducting scientific and engineering grid applications. CI comprises computing systems, data, information resources, networking, digitally enabled‐sensors, instruments, observatories, and virtual organizations, along with an interoperable suite of software services and tools. The Taiwan Knowledge Innovation National Grid (KING) began with a human‐centered, application‐driven CI. In addition to the development of usual CI which covers the planning of required resources, technology development and forming the environment for research and education, our CI emphasizes how to connect experts and communities via collaborative technologies to work as a virtual organization. The approach technologically leads to bridging and balance between intensive computing which is the base of CI, and pervasive computing which allows a wide variety of access to remote and local intelligence. In applications, topics strongly related to people's living in Taiwan, such as epidemics alleviation support, medical care, flood mitigation and ecological conservation, are of interest and used to drive the CI development. It enables human‐life related applications as a result. The accomplishments and social impacts associated with the applications are highlighted in this article. The Grid middleware and core technologies utilized by individual applications and impacts are also explored in this paper. It is found that pervasive computing technology plays a significant role in human‐life related grid applications, and the demand for data grid support to applications is more than within the intensive computing category. With the accumulated capability, the human‐centered CI can be extended to serve business and industry, and further developed to play a key position in the Asia Pacific cyber‐education and research collaboration.