CENIC News

In the January issue of CENIC Today, I speculated about the ways in which the broadband stimulus funding bill then moving through the Senate could hold promise for both broadband deployment and economic recovery in California. At that time, there were separate Senate and House versions of the bill. Since then of course the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was passed. We now know what is in the Act for broadband and related services but not the criteria by which funds will be awarded. This month I'd like to share what we do know about the Act, and what CENIC is doing both to secure funds for our members and to further broadband deployment here in California.

Funding is available through two avenues: in the amounts of $4.7 billion and $2.5 billion from the National Telecommunications Initiatives Administration (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce and the Rural Utilities Services program (RUS) of the Department of Agriculture, respectively. We also know that the highest priority for NTIA funding will be states, subdivisions of states, and nonprofit organizations, and that Federal funds will provide 80% of project costs only.

We know less about the RUS program, but there are some common factors between the two. For example, we know that both organizations' criteria for awarding funds will not be available until late June or July 2009, and there will be a common NTIA/RUS application. Further, we know there are intended to be three rounds of funding, the first taking place this summer/fall. Lastly, we know that all funds must be spent within two years following an award.

In terms of what CENIC has been doing to secure funds and further broadband deployment, we have been an active participant in the state in planning to apply for broadband stimulus funds. We believe a public/private partnership to implement new broadband capabilities would be ideal, and in this model, we would seek to partner with one or more commercial firms to bring new network infrastructure into underserved communities. To this end, we have also been engaged in discussions with various underserved communities to identify where our participation makes sense in the context of their own stimulus-funded initiatives. As an outcome of our involvement in stimulus-funded projects, our member institutions in un- and underserved communities could look forward to improved networking that would support their educational institutions, their local economies, and their positions in the state, national, and global economies. Until the requirements of the stimulus program are known, it is difficult to put forward a detailed plan for a stimulus award, but CENIC does anticipate better serving the member institutions we were created to serve via the acquisition of broadband stimulus funds.

I would also like to mention that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has received additional funding as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. One currently dormant program has received $200 million in funding, the Academic Research Infrastructure (ARI) program. CENIC has been following the development of the program solicitation since it was published, and I believe we can develop a credible application. Working with CENIC's XD-HPR Committee, chaired by John Dundas, CENIC Board member from Caltech, we have developed an outline of a $10 million proposal that would fund the acquisition of equipment to permit the creation of virtual research facilities, bridging campus, regional, and national networks for our research university members.

The NTIA, RUS, and NSF funding programs have begun to come into focus, but much remains to be learned. Consequently, we don't yet know what funding CENIC will be eligible to apply for under these programs, but we are eager to improve networking for our member institutions while helping stimulate the economy at the local, state, and national levels. As our plans unfold, I will provide updated information.

We're nearing the close of the 2008-09 fiscal year, and it's been quite a year for California's K-12 System, with 44 Gigabit circuit upgrades completed thus far. Four more are still pending: three Gigabit upgrades and one DS-3 circuit, but while this fiscal year will be remembered by California's research & education community for its budget austerity during challenging economic times, it will also be remembered for its improvements in network performance and reliability, with those 44 connections upgraded throughout the state, and at a cost savings.

Next in line is California's Community College system and efforts to build increased reliability and diversity through a large number of Gigabit connections to the CalREN backbone for them and their eligible off-site centers. Make sure to read future issues of CENIC Today for news about these and other new connections and enhancements!

Lastly, CENIC would like to welcome Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station to the CalREN community this month, with the installation of their Gigabit connection to the Soledad node of the CalREN backbone. Also, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is now enjoying a new connection to the Oakland node of the CalREN backbone.

The Board of the CCC Chief Information Systems Officers Association (CISOA) developed three annual awards to recognize excellence of members in support of their institutions, and this year CISOA President and CENIC Board member Fred Sherman was pleased to announce the 2009 winners.

For playing a prominent role in technology evaluation and planning, the Campus Technology Innovator in Technology Planning went to Sierra College Chief Technology Officer Gary Moser.

The Campus Technology Innovator in Technology Excellence recognizes advancement of campus technology solutions. For his role leading the college toward convergence using open source, including the development of the educational administrative software foundation Kuali, the winner was Lee Belarmino, Vice President of IT at San Joaquin Delta College.

Last, but not at all least, the Board recognized CCC System Office Technology Unit Director and CENIC Board member Catherine McKenzie as the Campus Technology Innovator of Distinction. A veritable powerhouse, Catherine's efforts in strategic planning and development of many statewide initiatives have directly impacted California's community colleges and all its students.

CENIC joins with the California Community College System in congratulating this year's winners, and expresses its appreciation as well to Catherine and Fred for their leadership and guidance in service of California's entire research & education community.

Richard Weinberg is a research associate professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and, together with former USC Master's student Greg Townsend, won the 2009 Innovations in Networking Award from CENIC for Educational Applications for the high-definition, interactive mystery-comedy movie "Alternate Endings."

In 1985, Weinberg joined USC as the founding director of the USC Computer Animation Laboratory, and has been instrumental in expanding the role of computer animation and digital technology at the school ever since. Weinberg is also USC's lead researcher in the CineGrid project, connecting researchers at locations around the world with ultra-high resolution digital moving image technologies utilizing 10 Gigabit networks. The digital showing of "Alternate Endings" at the 2008 CalREN-XD/HPR Workshop is a perfect example of this use.

On September 15, 2008 as part of a showcase of high-bandwidth demonstrations using CalREN's experimental and high-performance networking tiers, an audience in the highly networked Atkinson Hall on the UC San Diego campus was treated to the movie's remote premiere. A high-definition comedy-mystery movie that allows its audience to choose the direction of the plot through one of 16 separate paths, the movie was streamed from the Trojan Vision television studios in the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, merged at the various decision points with remote hosts located at USC's School of Cinematic Arts, and sent via CENIC's CalREN to the audience waiting 120 miles away in Atkinson Hall. Audience feedback was solicited by means of applause, sent back along the CalREN fiber-optic backbone to USC, and used to guide the characters' decisions. Characters' guilt, innocence, and even survival were determined by audience feedback, and the experience was a smashing success, with all technology performing flawlessly. A second viewing took place on December 10 at UCSD, with the same excellent audience experience ... but not the same outcome for the movie!

Last month's Star Performer was Dennis Davino, Special Projects Director for Teacher Preparation, Educational Interpreter, and Paraprofessional Programs at Cypress College. The Cypress College Educational Interpreter Training Program uses CalREN Video Services to offer a blend of classes in its program. With the high quality of CVS, students can develop their sign language and interpreting skills with clarity and confidence.

To learn more about the other Star Performers that CENIC has featured, please visit our website at www.cenic.org.

US & World Networking News:

As noted in last month's report, the President has nominated two campaign advisors and a FCC Commissioner to key telecommunications policy positions in his Administration: Julius Genachowski to be the next FCC Chairman, Larry Strickling to be the head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein to head the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) in the US Department of Agriculture. Additionally, in late April the President nominated Mignon Clyburn to replace Adelstein on the FCC.

Clyburn has been a member of the South Carolina Public Utilities Commission since 1998. She is the daughter of Congressman Jim Clyburn (D-SC), the House Majority Whip. The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee postponed a May 12 confirmation hearing for Genachowski to give Senate Republicans time to settle on a nominee for the current GOP vacancy on the FCC. An FCC confirmation hearing is now believed to be likely in early June.

A senior adviser to President Obama is touting the idea of spending tens of billions of dollars in public funds to build a nationwide, state-of-the-art broadband network featuring speeds 100 times faster than today's technology.

While there has been no formal Obama administration commitment to such infrastructure investment, Susan Crawford, special assistant to the president for science, technology and innovation policy, has said she is "personally intrigued" by an ambitious plan by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

On May 28, 2009, NLR announced that it has been selected as a provider of 10-Gigabit circuits linking US institutions to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest and highest-energy accelerator, in Geneva, Switzerland. The project roadmap calls for introducing 40-Gigabit and 100-Gigabit technologies in the future to help facilitate the cutting-edge physics research made possible by the LHC.

He's a newcomer to the title, but not to the job. Rajesh Gupta has been appointed an Associate Director in the UC San Diego division of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2). He says he hopes to do for the institute overall what he has been doing in his chosen field of wireless and embedded systems all along: reach out to industry.

"In order to have a national presence with the research we do and the large portfolio of that research, we needed to connect the research with the industry needs," says Gupta.

Whether it's turning your cell phone into a crowdsourced traffic-monitoring tool or developing technologies to allow home thermostats to talk to your electric utility, CITRIS -- the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society -- is an incubator of some cool green innovations.

The center, which brings together more than 300 faculty researchers from four campuses in the University of California system -- UC Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Davis, and Merced -- operates with the goal of shortening the distance between research projects conducted on-campus and their being put to use on the market.

Millions of California students and teachers will gain free access to UC quality online college prep courses and online lessons through a new partnership between University of California College Prep (UCCP) and the K-12 High Speed Network.

Automatic access to UC College Prep courses on the network will be available later this year. UC College Prep and K-12 High Speed Network are currently building a content bank and other features for a piloted implementation that will precede the statewide implementation of the courses. In the meantime, schools and school districts may license courses directly from UC College Prep and use the courses independently.

During the month of May, National LambdaRail announced the appointment of education networking veteran Kurt Snodgrass as the Chairman of its Board of Directors.

Snodgrass is the Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and Telecommunications with the Oklahoma State Regents. He is also the Chief Operating Officer for OneNet, Oklahoma's telecommunications network for education and government and a longtime member of NLR.

About CENIC and How to Change Your Subscription:

California's education and research communities leverage their networking resources under CENIC, the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California, in order to obtain cost-effective, high-bandwidth networking to support their missions and answer the needs of their faculty, staff, and students. CENIC designs, implements, and operates CalREN, the California Research and Education Network, a high-bandwidth, high-capacity Internet network specially designed to meet the unique requirements of these communities, and to which the vast majority of the state's K-20 educational institutions are connected. In order to facilitate collaboration in education and research, CENIC also provides connectivity to non-California institutions and industry research organizations with which CENIC's Associate researchers and educators are engaged.

CENIC is governed by its member institutions. Representatives from these institutions also donate expertise through their participation in various committees designed to ensure that CENIC is managed effectively and efficiently, and to support the continued evolution of the network as technology advances.

For more information, visit www.cenic.org.

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