From: technews <technews@ou.edu>
To: "'it-fyi@listserv.ou.edu'" <it-fyi@lists.ou.edu>
Subject: it-fyi: Indiana U's High Performance Network Apps Program
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 1999 17:13:04 -0500
New High Performance Network Applications Program Awards Grants to IU
Researchers
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A new grant program at Indiana University is supporting
research into groundbreaking network applications that enable remote
astronomical observation and collaborative musical "jam" sessions; develop
human-computer interfaces for accessing information available in digital
libraries; create a three-dimensional tour of the Mayan city of Chichen
Itza; and help to establish a multi-disciplinary teaching, learning and
research center for the study of child growth and development.
The High Performance Network Applications Program (HPNAP), an initiative of
IU's Office of the Vice President for Information Technology, recently
awarded 19 grants to assist IU faculty, graduate students and staff in
developing innovative applications for research and teaching that require
high performance local, regional or national advanced networks. A high
performance network connection can be up to 50,000 times faster than a
standard dial-up modem connection, with the ability to process nearly 1.5
billion bits per second.
HPNAP aims to significantly and qualitatively accelerate the revolution of
next- generation network-based applications and research tools at IU. The
applications developed through this initiative will provide considerable
competitive advantage to the university in the areas of teaching, learning
and distributed education, and in new collaborative technologies.
One application to be developed under HPNAP is a collaborative learning tool
for distributed education called "We Think!" Proposed by researchers in IU's
Kelley School of Business, "We Think!" will enable up to 40 concurrent,
collaborative learning exercises among pairs of students in distributed
classrooms, each performing exercises via personal control of voice, video
and data-sharing as effectively as students who are physically sitting
beside each other. "We Think!" will offer students the benefits of
interaction with peers in other countries, cultures and academic
disciplines, and universities will benefit from the economic and strategic
appeal offered by inter-institutional courses.
"High performance digital networks and distributed software systems have the
potential to change our whole social fabric -- to significantly influence
and expand the way we work, communicate, learn, conduct research, and
retrieve and store information," said Donald F. McMullen, director of HPNAP
and principal scientist in the Advanced Information Technology Laboratory at
University Information Technology Services. "This is evident in the wide
range of applications proposed to HPNAP by researchers in disciplines across
the sciences, the arts and education."
Through a number of recent efforts, including participation in the Internet2
Abilene network, the National Science Foundation's vBNS research network,
and development of the TransPAC international research network, IU has
achieved a position of prominence in advanced networking.
"As a result, the IU community has gained unprecedented access to high
bandwidth networks," McMullen said. "The proposals awarded under HPNAP will
develop a new generation of applications that can effectively use the
capabilities of these high performance networks, as well as other emerging
high performance network connection technologies such as cable modems, xDSL,
satellite and wireless."
For more on the funded research proposals, see the HPNAP Web site at
http://www.indiana.edu/~uits/hpnap/
It is anticipated that a second call for proposals will be issued in late
fall.
==============================================================
The above material is from:
Indiana University Office of Communications and Marketing
Carmichael Center, Suite 201 Bloomington, IN 47408-4003.
Phone: 812-855-3911. Fax: 812-855-7002. E-mail: ocm@indiana.edu
Web site: http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/ocm/