P acific R im A pplications and G rid M iddleware A ssembly ( PRAGMA ): I nternational clouds for data science

This special issue presents a selection of research emerging from the Pacific Rim Applications and Grid Middleware Assembly (PRAGMA), an assembly of center‐scale organizations around the Pacific Rim with membership from Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, the United States (California, Florida, Indiana, Virginia, and Wisconsin), and Vietnam. PRAGMA came into being in the early 2000s and through leveraging its unique makeup of widely distributed high‐performance computing centers around the Pacific Rim, achieved advancements in grid computing then cloud computing and computer networks. In recent years, PRAGMA built on its foundation to advance scientific applications through focused scientific expeditions. In the process of advancing science through leading edge computational and networking capability, PRAGMA performs innovative research, education, and training, thus contributing to a better world through the human bonds of advancing science internationally. This special issue is an assemblage of the best papers appearing in the 2015 PRAGMA International Clouds for Data Science 2015 workshop held in conjunction with PRAGMA's 29th workshop, hosted by the University of Indonesia on its campus in Depok, Indonesia, in October 2015. The objective of the PRAGMA‐ICDS 2015 workshop was to serve as a venue for presenting the latest research on the design, implementation, evaluation, and use of cloud technology, networking, and data management that enables new forms of research able to span international boundaries. The workshop received 10 papers, of which 7 were invited for further development for this special issue. All papers presented at the workshop appear in an open access print archive such as arXiv.org or figshare. To mark the unique nature of this collection of papers and set the papers in a historical and collaborative context, the first paper in this collection is from Peter Arzberger. Dr Arzberger founded the PRAGMA assembly in 2003 and has served as its chair and senior statesman since its inception and has been a significant influence on the assembly's culture of innovation and shared sense of trust. Dr Arzberger's article is a reflection on the 13 years of PRAGMA's accomplishment and a musing on opportunities and challenges for PRAGMA's future. When examining the nature of the 7 technical papers that make up this collection, one can see several themes emerging, the first of which is research that takes advantage of the unique international computer network of connected local clusters that connect the PRAGMA institutions. Many of the institutions of PRAGMA donate