Baylor To Strengthen Internet2 Capabilities Through NSF Grant

November 12, 2002

by Judy Long

Baylor University will receive a $175,000 National Science Foundation grant in January 2003 for the advancement of Internet2 on campus. Baylor will provide more than $700,000 in matching funds to expand high-speed networking and Internet connectivity.
Internet2 is a private consortium of more than 200 U.S. universities, including Baylor, that works with government and industry to develop leading-edge network capability on campuses. The group also provides the newest technological advances applicable to the Internet for the national research community and broader Internet use. The institutions participating in the Internet2 project provide the venue through which developing network applications and capabilities can be deployed and tested.
The National Science Foundation supports Internet2 goals with grants to member institutions to help make the Internet of the future a more reliable and secure medium for information sharing and to foster partnerships among academia, industry and government.
Dr. Truell Hyde, vice provost for research, said the grant gives Baylor the opportunity to pursue some exciting avenues in research, such as grid computing, real-time video transfer and other research and teaching capabilities.
"This is another aspect of developing the research and teaching infrastructure to move toward the tier one direction," Hyde said. "We have identified more than 40 faculty who presently have a need for this capability on campus. They are running their research elsewhere and can't download their data here."
Baylor's chief information officer Reagan Ramsower said the university plans to acquire a supercomputer, and Internet2 will assist with the connectivity to a national super computer grid, thus enhancing collaborative opportunities.
"Baylor has been a member of Internet2 for many years, but until recently the demands from our research community didn't warrant providing Internet2 connectivity," Ramsower said. "However, Dr. Hyde's leadership in supporting research that will utilize Internet2 and supercomputers is the impetus for this investment."
The expansion also provides Baylor with other high band-width connectivity options, including high-quality video-conferencing and sharing. These options will other community entities, such as Texas State Technical College and Region 12 Educational Service Center, to have access to Internet2 access.
For more information, contact Ramsower at (254) 710-8788.