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NSF PR 98-13 - February 26, 1998
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NSF Approves 29 New Connections to High-Performance
Computer Network
The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced today
that 29 additional institutions will be connected
to the very high performance Backbone Network Service
(vBNS), allowing scientists and engineers across the
country to collaborate and share powerful computing
and information resources. This latest round of connections
brings the total number of institutions approved for
connections to 92.
The vBNS is a crucial player in the president's Next
Generation Internet and is the initial interconnect
for Internet2 member institutions.
"By building an Internet that is faster and more advanced,
we can keep the United States at the cutting edge
of Internet technology, and explore new applications
in distance learning, telemedicine, and scientific
research," said President Clinton.
The NSF will make more connections-up to 150 institutions-should
the Congress continue to support NSF's role in the
Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative. NSF's fiscal
1998 appropriation bill directs NSF to use $23 million
of the domain name intellectual infrastructure fund
toward Next Generation Internet activities. However
a preliminary injunction in a pending lawsuit (William
Thomas, et al, v. Network Solutions and National Science
Foundation) currently prevents NSF from spending this
money. For FY 99, NSF has requested another $25 million
for NGI activities.
"The vBNS is a facility-like a laboratory or a supercomputer
center-that will accelerate science in all disciplines
as well as push the limits of networking technology
and applications," said George Strawn, director of
NSF's Advanced Networking Infrastructure and Research
division.
The vBNS, begun in 1995, is an investment of $50 million
in a five-year project with MCI Telecommunications
Corporation. Connections are evaluated by a peer review
process and are approved based on scientific and technical
merit.
The sophisticated telecommunications network currently
runs at 622 million bits per second and is expected
to operate at 2.4 gigabits per second (2,400 mbps)
by the year 2000. By comparison, the average home
modem transmits 28,800 bits per second. The vBNS is
expected to always be several steps ahead of commercially
available networking.
This large capacity allows scientists to collect and
share large amounts of data, to collaborate better
across large distances, and to run complex equipment
from remote sites. The ability to share data and equipment
helps scientists studying everything from atoms to
galaxies, and to remotely run simulations of science
from environment to the beating heart.
Most institutions receive High Performance Connections
grants of up to $350,000 from NSF over two years for
their connections to offset the cost of linking from
their sites to the vBNS backbone. NSF is spending
a total of $9,022,859 for this round of connections
grants.
For more information, see:
http://www.cise.nsf.gov/anir/hp-connections.html
or http://www.vbns.net
See also Fact
Sheet: A Brief History of NSF and the Internet and Fact Sheet: High Performance Networking and NSF
Attachment: List of institutions
Attachment
Institutions Approved for High Performance Connections
February, 1998
- Washington University (St. Louis)
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa
- University of Alabama in Huntsville
- University of Missouri-Columbia
- University of Florida
- Florida State University
- University of Miami
- University of Wyoming
- Washington State University
- Montana State University
- California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
- California State University, San Bernardino
- San Diego State University
- University of California-San Diego
- Wayne State University
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Drexel University
- Purdue University
- George Washington University
- Columbia University
- New York University
- University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- Princeton University
- Georgetown University
- University of Idaho
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Cornell University
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