CC* Regional Networking: Creating Opportunities for Research & Education - Multiple Organization Regional - OneOklahoma Friction Free Network - CORE-MORe-OFFN

Creating Opportunities for Research & Education Multiple Organization Regional OneOklahoma Friction Free Network (CORE-MORe-OFFN) connects Connors State College, Eastern Oklahoma State College, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and Oklahoma Panhandle State University to the OneOklahoma Friction Free Network (OFFN). CORE-MORe-OFFN promotes education and research drivers in biology, social sciences, math, aeronautical engineering, information technology and nursing. Supporting these STEM-related fields is crucial to meeting state workforce needs outlined in the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education's Blueprint 2030 strategic plan. A significant percentage of Native American and Hispanic students comprise the populations of these institutions, which span across rural Oklahoma. CORE-MORe-OFFN leverages statewide partnerships to provide faculty and students' access to cyberinfrastructure practitioners and resources, creating cross-institutional academic collaboration opportunities. CORE-MORe-OFFN extends OFFN at 10GBps to four under-resourced campuses, including three A&M colleges, by implementing Science DMZs, Data Transfer Nodes and network performance monitoring capabilities to initiate new education and research driver capabilities that integrate with existing cyberinfrastructure resources at institutions throughout Oklahoma. The project upgrades connectivity via a new fiber build at one campus and a leased wave service at a second. Campus technical personnel facilitate adoption of new technology and provide access to network infrastructure, computing tools and scientific equipment. The project also engages faculty and students in the larger OneOklahoma CyberInfrastructure Initiative (OneOCII) group, which connects CI practitioners throughout Oklahoma. OFFN is managed by OneNet, Oklahoma's research and education network, with scientific leadership provided by the University of Oklahoma. This award by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure is jointly supported by the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.