Science and engineering applications are now generating data at an unprecedented rate. From large facilities such as the Large Hadron Collider to portable DNA sequencing devices, these instruments can produce hundreds of terabytes in short periods of time. Researchers and other professionals rely on networks to transfer data between sensing locations, instruments, data storage devices, and computing systems. While general-purpose networks are capable of transporting basic data such as emails and web content, they face numerous challenges when transferring terabyte- and petabyte-scale data. At best, transfers of science data on these networks may last days or even weeks. In response to this challenge, the Science Demilitarized Zone (Science DMZ) has been proposed. The Science DMZ is a network or a portion of a network designed to facilitate the transfer of big science data. Elements of the Science DMZ include: i) specialized end devices, referred to as data transfer nodes (DTNs), built for sending/receiving data at a high speed over wide area networks; ii) high-throughput, friction-free paths connecting DTNs, instruments, storage devices, and computing systems; and iii) security policies and enforcement mechanisms tailored for high-performance environments. 
This presentation provides a brief description of Science DMZs, the challenges to deploy them, and the opportunities. The presentation includes research initiatives related to Science DMZs conducted at the University of South Carolina, such as: i) limitations of current TCP congestion control algorithms and performance techniques using programmable switches to enhance throughput, and ii) intrusion detection system for Science DMZs. Because of the very high-speed rates observed in these networks, security appliances used in Science DMZs require scalability and offline features. 

Jorge Crichigno is an Associate Professor in the Integrated Information Technology (IIT) Department at the University of South Carolina (USC). Dr. Crichigno also serves as a research associate at the Electrical Engineering Department at University of South Florida and at the Florida Center for Cybersecurity. He received his PhD in Computer Engineering from the University of New Mexico in 2009 and his Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering from the Catholic University of Asuncion, Paraguay. Dr. Crichigno’s research focuses on practical implementations of Science DMZs. This includes the design and implementation of high-speed switched networks, offline intrusion detection techniques, and experimental evaluation of congestion control algorithms such as BBR, HTCP, and Cubic. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other federal agencies.