Merge pull request #534 from 2i2c-org/blog/ihdea-working-group

Author: colliand

content/blog/2025/ihdea-working-group/featured.png

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+---
+title: 2i2c Supports the Science Platforms Coordination IHDEA Working Group
+date: 2025-10-30
+tags:
+  - open-source
+  - community
+  - jupyterhub
+categories:
+  - community-impact
+featured: false
+draft: false
+---
+
+The Science Platforms Coordination IHDEA working group (which includes our own [Jim Colliander](/authors/jim-colliander/)) is developing international standard software computing environments for Heliophysics. The working group recently presented their work at two major conferences: [ML-Helio](https://ml-helio.github.io/) in Madrid and [DASH/IHDEA](https://dash2025.space.swri.edu/) in San Antonio.
+
+![DASH conference logo featuring stylized text and heliophysics imagery](featured.png)
+*The DASH/IHDEA 2025 conference brings together the heliophysics community to advance data, analysis, and software standards*
+
+When the working group received $2k from NASA SMCE for cloud infrastructure, they were already member organizations of 2i2c. This meant we could quickly stand up a [JupyterHub](/collaborators/jupyterhub/) with their Heliophysics-tailored environments for the conferences:
+
+- **Easy access** - Shared password authentication for conference attendees
+- **Persistent storage** - Work saved across sessions
+- **Serious compute** - Up to 119 GB RAM and 15 CPUs (much more than a typical laptop!)
+
+The team successfully demonstrated how cloud resources can enable computational work that laptops simply can't handle, and conference attendees responded positively to the presentations.
+
+## Why we're excited about this
+
+This showcases a key benefit we want to create with 2i2c membership: **reducing the accidental complexity of leveraging the cloud**. Because the working group was already a member organization, deploying and managing infrastructure for the conferences was straightforward once they secured cloud funding. No lengthy setup, no new contracts - just quick deployment of the tools they needed.
+
+## Learn more
+
+- [ML-Helio Conference](https://ml-helio.github.io/) - Machine learning in heliophysics
+- [DASH/IHDEA Conference](https://dash2025.space.swri.edu/) - Data, analysis, and software in heliophysics
+
+## Acknowledgements
+
+- NASA SMCE for providing $2k funding and AWS infrastructure
+- Shawn Polson for being the community champion leading this effort
+- The IHDEA working group for their collaborative partnership in advancing Heliophysics research infrastructure