Infrastructure Improvement 2010 - 2012, $1.32 million

In 2010, Nebraska gained an NSF EPSCoR Track C2 award, #1010094, to expand cyberinfrastructure for targeted educational purposes throughout the state. Funding for NeURON—the Nebraska University Regional Optical Network—extended a fiber optic backbone ring that started with programs in Lincoln and Omaha. The project’s multiphase plan, led by the University of Nebraska, upgraded internet connections at many of the state’s small and tribal colleges, and enhanced high-bandwidth connections for the state’s research universities. The results allow for advanced computational collaborations for high-energy physicists and other researchers, and additional distance learning offerings by smaller colleges. NEURON’s final stage extended high bandwidth capability to the Grand Island (central Nebraska) area, which enabled upgrades at educational operations in the western part of the state, including 200 K-20 sites as well as the Nebraska Statewide Telehealth Network.