Definitions for "Cyberinfrastructure"
An infrastructure based on grids and on application-specific software, tools, and data repositories that support research in a particular discipline.
Man contemporary projects require effective federation of both distributed resources (data and facilities) and distributed, multidisciplinary expertise, and that cyberinfrastructure is a key to making this possible. There is no standard term for such environments enabled by cyberinfrastructure; some of the names in use are collaboratory, co-laboratory, grid community/network, virtual science community, and e-science community.
An NSF initiative encompassing distributed instruments, computers, data sources, analytical applications, and communication technologies that, when combined with personnel and integration components, provides a long-term platform to empower the modern scientific research endeavor.