THE QUILT CIRCLE 2019 a Letter from the President Welcome to the 2019 Edition of the Quilt Circle
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THE QUILT CIRCLE 2019 A Letter From the President Welcome to the 2019 edition of The Quilt Circle. You are in for a treat to learn more about the impressive work of our country’s Research and Education (R&E) Networks. As you turn each page, you’ll discover our Quilt members’ networks in action furthering scientific discovery, advancing the academic enterprise, and positively impacting the communities connected to these networks. Like The Quilt itself, we believe that this single collection of examples of our Quilt member missions in action, is more powerful than the sum of its parts. The Quilt is a national collaboration of 40 R&E networks throughout the United States. Our collective mission focuses on investing and operating resilient, secure, high-capacity, high-performance network infrastructure that is purpose-built to further scientific discovery and advance our country’s academic enterprise. The Quilt Circle is an annual compilation showcasing the positive impacts that R&E networks have on the institutions they serve. This publication offers insight into the depth and breadth of projects, partnerships, and outcomes enabled across the country by the work of these non-profit, publicly missioned organizations. Woven throughout these pages is a spirit of collaboration with which these organizations approach their work. You’ll find evidence of the progress we are collectively making toward two of our Quilt strategic visions - to be the forum for sharing, collaboration, and continuous learning for membership as well as to promote the development, deployment, and operation of advanced cyberinfrastructure for research and education. For those unfamiliar with the term cyberinfrastructure, our R&E networking community uses this term when referring to the research environments that support advanced data acquisition, data movement, data storage, data management, data integration, data visualization, and other computing and information processing services distributed across resource providers. This year’s edition of The Quilt Circle brings to light several examples of the key role of regional networks in both providing and facilitating the use of a fabric of interoperable research cyberinfrastructure termed ‘research platforms’. You’ll also enjoy learning about an NSF-funded project called The Engagement and Performance Outreach Center which supports collaborative science allowing researchers to make the most effective use of shared data, computing, and storage resources to accelerate the discovery process. This edition also showcases how R&E networks leverage their unique positions in their respective broadband landscapes to find solutions to bridge rural broadband gaps. Lastly, you will see the direct impact these organizations have within their member communities by providing support for disaster preparedness and recovery, local elections, digital courtrooms, virtual technology to support military families and so much more. The collaborative spirit of our members is the driving force behind the creation of The Quilt almost 20 years ago and the success of the organization today. Our work together this year is a valuable reminder of the key roles all of our members play in the success of one another’s organizations and in building the national fabric of regional network community that we call “The Quilt”. Jen Leasure Jen Leasure President and CEO Acknowledgements The Quilt wishes to recognize and thank Carol Farnham for her contributions to this publication. Layout and design of the 2019 Quilt Circle is by NGC Communications. Follow @ThinkNGC The Quilt About Us The Quilt is the national coalition of non-profit U.S. regional research and education networks representing 40 networks across the country. Participants in The Quilt provide advanced network services and applications to over 900 universities and tens of thousands of other educational and community anchor institutions. With the goal of promoting consistent, reliable, inter-operable and efficient advanced networking services that extend to the broadest possible community; and to represent common interests in the development and delivery of advanced cyberinfrastructure that enables innovation through our education and research mission. Our Mission Through The Quilt, non-profit regional research and education networks collaborate to develop, deploy and operate advanced cyberinfrastructure that enables innovation in research and education. Our Name Just like the various fabric patches of a quilt highlight different colors, patterns and textures, each regional network reflects the diversity and the unique qualities found in different parts of the country and the different institutions that particular network serves. Yet all regional patches must be stitched together seamlessly, coherently and interoperably to serve a larger purpose and community. Table of Contents Members and Board of Directors ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................1 Merit .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................2 Merit Network and the Michigan Moonshot NJEdge ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................3 EdgeDiscovery: A Platform for Scientific Research LONI .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................4 LONI Provides Computing Resources to Help Find Treatments for Rare Diseases CENIC ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................5 Grow Food, Grow Jobs: How Broadband Can Boost Farming in California MCNC ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................6 MCNC delivers during historic hurricane season UETN ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................7 UETN Rural Fiber Project Brings Broadband to Remote Communities OSHEAN .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................8 Connecting Families Across the Globe LEARN .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................9 Going the Extra Mile to Build the World’s Fastest Temporary Network KINBER .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................10 Helping Public Libraries Improve Broadband Services RENS ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 11-12 Snapshot: Scaling a National Research Platform GPN ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................13 Advancing the Research Platform across the Plains ESnet and Indiana University ................................................................................................................................................................................................................14 The Engagement and Performance Operations Center (EPOC) CEN .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................15 Making Great Strides Connecting Connecticut’s Communities Link Oregon ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................16 A Unique Partnership to Meet the Growing Need for Public Broadband