CC* Regional Networking: Advancing Research and Education at small colleges in Rural and Metropolitan Alabama and Tennessee through IT Architecture Enhancements

The Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) in collaboration with Southern Light Rail and Southern Crossroads (SLR/SoX) provides advanced networking services for the research and education (R&E) communities across the Southeastern United States. This project extends advanced network services and provides cyberinfrastructure (Cl) access, training and support to researchers and educators from Jacksonville State University and four Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs): Tennessee State University, Fisk University, Meharry Medical College, and Alabama State University. GT works with these institutions to implement robust and secure 10 gigabit networking that enables and supports the computational research and education at these institutions. Furthermore, GT and SoX are establishing and engaging in outreach activities and are identifying other researchers in these institutions who are interested in accessing Cl resources and training. The project addresses the institutions’ networking and Cl needs and enhances their connectivity. By enabling, supporting, and promoting connectivity and computational research at these institutions, this project has a transformative impact on these institutions' research and education activities campus-wide. It strengthens the research ecosystem and network of expertise in the Southeastern states and expands the range of institutions involved in computational research. The network connectivity facilitated by this project builds on the work completed in related projects, increases research training and workforce development for students at four partner Minority Serving Institutions, and lays the groundwork for project expansion to other MSIs and underserved institutions. Additionally, the project team continues training and fostering mentoring opportunities for a diverse group of students, including women and minorities. 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.