HPNC/RUI: Internet 2 Membership for Smith College Faculty Research

Smith College, Northampton MA

Investigators

Abstract

Smith College, the nation's largest liberal arts college for women, hosts a faculty and student body with strengths in the natural and physical sciences, mathematics and, more recently, engineering. The College's most ambitious faculty research projects and conscientious efforts to prepare undergraduates for successful graduate study often employ research collaborations that enable access to data, laboratory facilities and experimental design partners at cutting-edge, national research facilities. Proposed Smith College research applications of high-speed Internet 2 access include, among others, multi-disciplinary, collaborative employment by a molecular biology research group of key, large-file genetic information and analytic resources; application of GIS data and high-resolution topographic imagery by Geology Department spatial analysts; remote manipulation of laboratory instrumentation including nuclear magnetic resonance machines, telescopes, and a linear accelerator; analysis of static and dynamic high-resolution imagery from a variety of sources; real-time human-machine interactivity; and teleconferenced collaborative research. Substantial institutional and external grant resources have already created top quality video conferencing, high-resolution image manipulation and distribution, and GIS/GPS-based spatial analysis facilities on campus. Combined with the independent applications described above, these shared resources in particular will benefit from high-speed access and, at the same time, enable the widest possible employment of a campus Internet 2 network connection by Smith faculty.