HONOLULU — The National Science Foundation has awarded a $4.5 million grant to the University of Hawai‘i for cyberinfrastructure connection in the Pacific between the U.S. Mainland, Hawai‘i and Australia.
HONOLULU — The National Science Foundation has awarded a $4.5 million grant to the University of Hawai‘i for cyberinfrastructure connection in the Pacific between the U.S. Mainland, Hawai‘i and Australia.
The project will provide maintenance and support for the open research and education network exchange point built during the prior project by UH in Guam, the Guam Open Research and Education eXchange (GOREX).
The GOREX is poised as a critical nexus on fiber optic systems in both North-South (Japan, Australia) and East-West (Singapore, Hong Kong, Hawai‘i, California) directions. The project will enable major scientific advances among these partners and others in the areas of astronomy, oceanography, coral reef research, high energy physics and more.
“UH has a long and rich history as a leader in the development of the Internet and in our region,” David Lassner, UH president and principal investigator for the grant, said.
The project will support U.S. costs of the SX-Transport backbone consisting of multiple 100 gigabit per second (Gbps) links that connect Australia, Hawai‘i and the U.S. mainland. It also supports the 100 Gbps Pacific Islands Research &Education Network backbone connecting Guam, Hawai‘i and California, and the newest partnership with the Research and Education Network New Zealand connecting New Zealand to Hawai‘i and points beyond.
The project also seeks opportunities to bring Pacific Islands that are increasingly connected with fiber optic cable systems into the global research and education network fabric that joins thousands of colleges, universities and related entities around the world.
Connectivity is viewed as critical infrastructure for the Pacific Islands in order to accelerate initiatives in education, research, health and economic development through partnerships with island leaders from higher education, government and telecommunications.
