Terms and Conditions


DesignSafe-CI Terms of Use

DesignSafe is a comprehensive cloud-based natural hazards research environment for experimental, theoretical, and computational engineering and science, providing a place to steward data from its creation through publication and archive, and also the workspace in which to understand, analyze, collaborate and publish that data.

The DesignSafe cyberinfrastructure is hosted by the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin. Your access to DesignSafe is subject to your agreement to the TACC Acceptable Use Policy as well as this DesignSafe Terms of Use.

TERMS OF USE

The TACC Acceptable Use Policy defines the rules for user accounts and passwords, and the roles and responsibilities of both the user and TACC/UT-Austin.

Users agree to only use DesignSafe resources to perform research work consistent with the goals of the NHERI Program, and will not use DesignSafe resources for activities related to financial gain, any unlawful purpose including violations of intellectual property rights, in any way that interrupts/inhibits other users’ work in the DesignSafe Data Repository (DDR) such as overloading the DDR system or introducing malware that disrupts the proper functioning of DDR software and hardware, or in a way that makes the work of other users difficult. We will ask users to cease any activities that we are notified of that violate these Terms of Use, and non-compliance may result in the suspension or termination of a user’s account.

Cryptocurrencies

Users are prohibited from running applications that mine cryptocurrency and/or use block-chain technology for personal gain. Violations of this policy will result in users access to TACC resources being terminated.

Community Norms for the Data Depot Repository (DDR)

We reserve the right to suspend user’s access to the DDR should we receive complaints or note violations of the following Community Norms.

Users understand that their data publications in the DDR should follow our Curation and Publication Policies and Best Practices to the best of their ability. 

Users agree to use the DDR to publish only open access data, which they must document in a manner that does not hinder the ability of other users to reuse or reproduce it. 

Users agree to provide all the needed licenses and permissions to make data available for long term archiving and for reuse by others as established in the Data Publication Agreement. 

Users publishing human subjects data should specifically abide by our Protected Data Policies and Best Practices. Publications that do not abide by these policies may be removed. 

Using the DDR to publish data is entirely voluntary. None of these terms supersede any prior contractual obligations to confidentiality or proprietary information the user may have with third parties; thus, the user is entirely responsible for what they upload or share with the DDR. 

Users agree to access and reuse open access data in the DDR in ways that respect the established licenses and intellectual property rights as established in the Data Usage Agreement. 

Citations and Acknowledgments

In accordance with the Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles, users must properly cite the datasets published in the DDR using proper data citations provided in the landing pages of published datasets. 

We also support citation best practices for reused data and works within a publication. When users reuse data and works from other sources to develop their data publication, they should include citations to these other data/works in the Related Works and Referenced Data fields available in our interactive curation interface. 

Users agree to cite the appropriate NHERI Program awards as applicable in the datasets landing page using Award Name and Number fields as well as in any research report, journal or publication that requires funding acknowledgment. 

Suggested citation language for NHERI Program awards:

The authors acknowledge the NSF NHERI awardee(s) that have contributed to the research results reported within this paper (select from the following)

  • NSF – 2022469 Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure: Cyberinfrastructure (DesignSafe) 2020-2025 (University of Texas at Austin)
  • NSF – 2037771 Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure: Experimental Facility with Large-Scale, Multi-directional, Hybrid Simulation Testing Capabilities 2021-2025 (Lehigh University)
  • NSF – 2037900 Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure: Experimental Facility with Large, Mobile Dynamic Shakers for Field Testing 2021-2025 (University of Texas at Austin)
  • NSF – 2037883 Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure: Experimental Facility with Geotechnical Centrifuges 2021-2025 (University of California – Davis)
  • NSF – 2037725 Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure: Experimental Facility with Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel, Wind Load and Dynamic Flow Simulators, and Pressure Loading Actuators 2021-2025 (University of Florida)
  • NSF – 2037899 Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure: Experimental Facility with Twelve-Fan Wall of Wind 2021-2025 (Florida International University)
  • NSF – 1520904 Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure: Experimental Facility with Large, High Performance, Outdoor Shake Table (University of California – San Diego)
  • NSF – 2037914 Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure: Experimental Facility with Large Wave Flume and Directional Wave Basin 2021-2025 (Oregon State University)
  • NSF – 1611820 Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure: Post-Disaster, Rapid Response Research (RAPID) Facility (University of Washington)
  • NSF – 1612843 Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure: Computational Modeling and Simulation Center (University of California-Berkeley)
  • NSF – 1612144 Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure: Network Coordination Office (Purdue University)
  • NSF – 1841338 CONVERGE: Coordinated Social Science, Engineering, and Interdisciplinary Extreme Events Reconnaissance Research (University of Colorado at Boulder)

    • If you wish to acknowledge DesignSafe, the following paper can be used as a reference:

    Rathje, E., Dawson, C. Padgett, J.E., Pinelli, J.-P., Stanzione, D., Adair, A., Arduino, P., Brandenberg, S.J., Cockerill, T., Dey, C., Esteva, M., Haan, Jr., F.L., Hanlon, M., Kareem, A., Lowes, L., Mock, S., and Mosqueda, G. 2017. “DesignSafe: A New Cyberinfrastructure for Natural Hazards Engineering,” ASCE Natural Hazards Review, doi:10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000246.

    Termination of Services

    If you wish to terminate your account you may notify your request to: help@designsafe-ci.org