|
![[GO]](../images/gobtn.gif){kind=small}
|
Virginia
Universities Combine Forces For The National Lambdarail September 16, 2003 -- With heated global competition, the United States is in a marathon race to maintain an edge in fundamental areas of research and innovation. The National LambdaRail (NLR) initiative will provide critically needed high-speed network infrastructure for the next generation of research. Going beyond Internet and Internet2 technology, NLR will provide the resources for members across the nation to connect to a fiber optics network with supercomputing, storage and visualization capabilities suited to “big science” research. NLR will provide a national fiber optic backbone linking research universities and laboratories at gigabit and higher speeds. The NLR initiative is a partnership formed by many leading research universities and corporate networking entities throughout the United States. To create the NLR backbone, regional nodes will be positioned in major urban areas to form a trans-continental network. The regional nodes serve not only as a component of the NLR backbone but also as the regional access points to the NLR. In the mid-Atlantic region, Washington, is the major urban area. A node will be placed in the fiber carrier’s regional access point in Northern Virginia to create the Washington NLR node. Virginia’s research universities have formed the Mid-Atlantic Terascale Partnership (MATP) to sponsor location of an NLR node in the area, to facilitate access to it, and to strengthen collaboration for combining computational resources and application support. Founding members of MATP include Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, Old Dominion University, Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University, the College of William and Mary, and associate member Oak Ridge Associated Universities. Membership is open to any public or private research institution in Virginia, Maryland, or Washington. The Virginia Tech Foundation, acting on behalf of MATP, is the NLR member representing Virginia, Maryland, and Washington. Each MATP participant will share a portion of the cost commitment made by the Foundation to ensure location of an NLR node in the Washington area and access by area institutions. Additional Points on NLR/MATP:
For more information, contact: Erv Blythe, Chief Technology Officer Virginia Tech 540-231-4227 blithe@vt.edu Robert Reynolds, VP and CIO University of Virginia, 434-982-2249 rreynolds@virginia.edu Jeff Crowder, Project Director Virginia Tech 540-231-3900 crowder@vt.edu Lee Graves, News Editor University of Virginia, 434-924-6857 graves@virginia.edu Local
Contacts:
“The purpose of MATP is to promote the research competitiveness of institutions
in the region. The NLR infrastructure will provide an enabling experimental infrastructure
for new forms and methods of science and engineering. The greater Washington
area - Virginia and Maryland - needs to be an early player in this developing
experimental network infrastructure, just as it was an early player in the emergence
of the internet. It’s important to note NLR is not simply more internet
technology; it brings flexibility and specialized capabilities beyond any ‘best
effort’ network system such as the internet.” “The Foundation was asked by Virginia Tech and other research entities to act as a proxy for greater Washington area research interests to assure the extension of this national experimental optical network into the region. The Foundation would not have taken this role in NLR without assurances from Virginia Tech and more recently from the emerging Mid-Atlantic Terascale Partnership that these organizations will facilitate and encourage connections to NLR by any appropriate regional research entity developing applications and capabilities consistent with the NLR vision.” “We owe a special thanks to Dr. Robert Reynolds, the Vice President and
Chief Information Officer at the University of Virginia, for the energy and drive
he has put behind creation of the Mid-Atlantic Terascale Partnership. Also,
I’d like to personally acknowledge the extraordinary contribution
of Erv Blythe, Vice President of Information Technology here at Virginia
Tech
in providing leadership both nationally and within Virginia for launching
this important initiative." “I am proud to see Virginia’s research universities taking a leadership
role to promote the science and research competitiveness of the region and delighted
to witness the improved collaboration, efficiency, and effectiveness that MATP
will deliver for the entire mid-Atlantic region. A hallmark of our administration
has been a focus on support for research and technology-related initiatives.
The National LambdaRail and the Mid-Atlantic Terascale Partnership are instrumental
to the realization of the Southern States High Performance Supercomputer Network
Grid project sponsored by our administration and endorsed by the Southern Governor’s
Association (http://www.southerngovernors.org/resolutions/resPDF/Res_Warner_super_grid.pdf).
This administration believes the future economic health of our state
and nation hinges upon our ability to maintain a world leading position
with
respect to
innovation and technology.” "As
U.Va. vigorously
pursues plans to
enhance its prowess
in science, engineering
and technology, the NLR will become a key infrastructural component
for high performance computation and collaborative research utilizing huge
scientific data
sets. It represents
the next generation
of large scale
digital
communication
beyond the current commodity internet and Internet 2." “Old
Dominion University
is pleased to participate
in the development
of this optical network, which will create exciting opportunities
for new levels
of
research collaboration among the institutions and research facilities
in the Mid-Atlantic Terascale Partnership. The NLR will be a valuable resource
in achieving the research goals and objectives of Old Dominion and will
be a
significant
asset for the university's computational sciences and modeling
and simulation
programs, which
help drive economic
development in
the Hampton Roads
region.” "The NRL and MATP are critical to engineering
and science research at VCU, especially the life sciences. We will
now be able
to provide our faculty with access to computing facilities, huge
data bases and other researchers throughout the United States --
something
we are
not currently able to do." "This partnership fulfills a key goal
in the state-wide IT strategic plan developed by the CIOs of Virginia's public
higher education institutions. It enables the type of cost effective collaboration
needed to ensure Virginia's institutions thrive in the new ‘big science’ research
environment.” “As
William and Mary
faculty members
and their students
advance their work
in bio-genetics, computer science, physics, and computational
science, the LambdaRail
will offer them
the most advanced
communication available.
We are
pleased to
be an initial partner in this most advanced research communication
network."
Contact: Jean Elliott, (540) 231-5915 |
|
|
FOR
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Contact the Office
of University Relations at (434) 924-7116. Television reporters
should contact the TV News Office at (434) 924-7550. 2002
NEWS RELEASES |
|
|
Top News site edited by Dan
Heuchert (dnh6n@virginia.edu); maintained by
Karen Asher
(kac@virginia.edu); releases posted by Sally
Barbour (sab4w@virginia.edu).
|
