Dear Colleagues,
this mail is the formal launch of the VRLAB initiative, which should
produce a Network of Excellence proposal aimed to the creation of
the Biomechanics European Lab BEL, a virtual laboratory that
relying on a Grid infrastructure would allow all Biomechanics
researchers to work collaboratively in a seamless way.
To become a member of the Biomechanics European Lab virtual
community please send an e-mail to register.vrlab@tecno.ior.it, in
which you must specify all the data reported in the table here
below:
· Surname
· Lab/Dept
· Position
· Institution
· E-mail (please state if you wish your e-mail address to be linked
to your name in our BEL Directory Web Page)
· Services Page URL (may be linked to web pages of your unit web
site, if you provide us the exact URL)
· Regular mail addresses
In order to be considered a full (ELIGIBLE) member of the Network
of Excellence you must work at any title in an European institution
(or associated countries) and have a doctoral or equivalent degree in
biomechanics or related topics, or to be able to document at least
five years of active research in the field of biomechanics.
After some thinking we decided that the best way to tell you want
we have in mind was to create a web site, which would mimic the
BEL Portal that could be made available once the project would be
running.
http://www.tecno.ior.it/VRLAB/BEL_home_page.html
Of course everything we wrote in that web site is just an opinion
and can and probably will be changed many times from now on, on
the basis of the discussion we shall have on this forum. The home
page provides an entrance for us, the researchers, plus and
entrance for our 'customers': the industries, the clinicians ad the
citizens at large. Probably the most important section is now that
of the researchers.
http://www.tecno.ior.it/VRLAB/researchers/research_home.html
This page will tell you which type of macro services we have in
mind to provide you through the BEL. Many more can be devised
and added along the discussion. The first step now is to create the
Directory.
http://www.tecno.ior.it/VRLAB/researchers/directory/order.html
In this page you will find the instructions to formally register yourself
to the VRLAB initiative. I would ask to everybody interested to do it
as soon as possible, even if you already sent me a mail expressing
you interest. Follow the instructions and send the registration e-
mail. After a few days, once your registration is processed, you will
receive a confirmation message.
In term of membership we have two targets. In our expectations the
BEL should represent THE Biomechanics in Europe, and thus we
dream to have everybody active in this filed signed on. this means
probably several hundreds of post-doc researchers. The other
target, is the minimum number of formal members of the Network
of Excellence. Here our target is 200 members. Considering that
there are already more than 200 people signed to this list, we are
optimistic.
Notice that the two targets imply different groups. In order to join to
the BEL, we ask you only to be seriously involved with
Biomechanics. For the formal NoE count however, European
Commission recognizes only people working at any title in an
European institution (or associated countries) and have a doctoral
or equivalent degree in Biomechanics or related topics, or to be
able to document at least five years of active research in the field of
Biomechanics. Thus, everybody is welcome (students, non EC
colleagues, etc.) but not everybody will be eligible for the NoE
membership. We may also be forced by the European Commission
to provide certain added-value services only to NoE members.
So, please take a look to the web pages, sign on via e-mail and get
ready to start. I anticipate that the first topic we need to sort out is:
How and by whom are taken the decisions within the community?
We are setting up an automatic e-mail poll mechanism, which
would make easier to take formal collective decisions. Please
remember that in order to vote you must first register yourself as a
member of the Biomechanics European Lab virtual community.
Looking forward to meet you in th" "Biomechanics European virtual
community",
Ilse
Ilse Jonkers
Research Assistant
Ergonomics Lab (Prof. Spaepen)-Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy
Gait lab-University Hospital Pellenberg
Tervuursevest 101
3001 Leuven
Belgium
Voice: ++ 32 16 329105/329100
Fax: ++ 32 16 329196
Ilse.jonkers@flok.kuleuven.ac.be
---------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send SIGNOFF BIOMCH-L to LISTSERV@nic.surfnet.nl
For information and archives: http://isb.ri.ccf.org/biomch-l
---------------------------------------------------------------