Technology executives across the country gather to discuss advancements in research and education networks
SEATTLE, Wash. (Feb. 11, 2014) – The Quilt, a national coalition of advanced regional networks for research and education (RENs) representing more than 30 networks across the country, today announced that nearly 100 national leaders from Quilt member organizations, affiliates and guests participated in The Quilt 2014 Winter Member Meeting> and the Quilt-Internet2 InCommon Federation Workshop> on Feb. 4 through Feb. 7 in La Jolla, Calif.
Representatives from federal partners and national efforts from NOAA, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Ignite, and the National Science Foundation (NSF) participated in the event along with Quilt members from throughout the country and affiliates such as Internet2, MIDnet, and BCNET.
Quilt Winter Meeting attracts leaders in national networking http://www.thequilt.net/ | news via @TweetTheQuilt
Kevin Thompson, NSF Program Director at the Division of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure in the CISE directorate, provided details about how Quilt member networks can participate in the newly-announced NSF Campus Cyberinfrastructure – Innovation, Infrastructure and Engineering (CC*IIE) program. Additionally, Glenn Ricart from U.S. Ignite sparked discussion on how to develop regional network involvement in convening and facilitating community work for U.S. Ignite application development in their areas.
Other presentations by members of The Quilt also highlighted the event and included a panel discussion on the executive, technical and financial perspectives of capital investments and refresh for R&Es and another on how to better support the enterprise of research by focusing resources on innovation. The Quilt-InCommon workshop convened after the member meeting also saw strong attendance and showcased outcomes of the initial set of regional network InCommon pilots spanning the last 12 months. A description of the project and the goals of this workshop are available for viewing here.
“We saw excellent engagement at this year’s winter meeting,” said The Quilt President and CEO Jen Leasure. “Our bi-annual member meetings are designed to inform our members on interesting topics for regional networks as well as provide a forum for our members to leverage one another’s knowledge and expertise to collectively advance networking for research and education.”
The Quilt also is pleased to announce two new members: the Arkansas Research and Education Optical Network (ARE-ON) and the Maryland Research and Education Network (MDREN).