The Origin and History of in silico Experiments

It is not enough to be able to just run an e-Science in silico experiment; it is also vital to be able to understand and interpret the outputs of those experiments. The results have little value if other scientists, or even the same scientist at a later date, are unable to identify their origin, or provenance. In myGrid, in silico experiments are run as workflows; these produce three kinds of results: data outcomes, knowledge outcomes and provenance about the experiment. These results have a complex interlinking relationship between each other, within the context of the workflow that gave rise to them, as well as across workflows executed in the same or a different study. This poster describes the kind of provenance data recorded in myGrid during a workflow. It introduces myGrid's provenance data model and the Semantic Web-based technology used to support provenance-based tasks. These tasks include the verification and validation of results; the sharing and annotation of results; and the management of resources. For e-Science to succeed it must have provenance data support as its cornerstone.