The North Dakota Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, known as ND EPSCoR, recently hosted a virtual videoconference to explore the future direction for cyber connectivity research investments in North Dakota.
The conference, “Collaborative Research Investments for ND: Utilizing Our C2 Investments,” was held via multipoint videoconference on Dec. 5. Faculty, researchers and ND EPSCoR representatives from NDSU and the University of North Dakota, along with faculty and administrators from four tribal colleges in North Dakota, participated in the conference.
The conference marked completion of a National Science Foundation campus connectivity grant awarded in 2011 to North Dakota’s C2 Consortium. Consortium members include NDSU, UND and four of the five tribal colleges in the state– Cankdeska Cikana Community College, Fort Berthold Community College, Turtle Mountain Community College and United Tribes Technical College.
The $1 million grant, titled “ND Tribal College Cyber Connectivity (C-2) Investments to Enhance Integrated Education, Research and Workforce Opportunities,” funded resources to improve network connectivity at tribal college campuses.
Each participating tribal college received approximately $225,000 to implement new hardware and software to increase campus network bandwidth and to connect those local networks directly to STAGEnet, North Dakota’s statewide education and government network, and to Internet2, the national research and education network. Tribal college IT directors were able to consult with Bruce Curtis, NDSU senior network engineer, as they designed the upgrades at each campus and purchased needed equipment.
The virtual conference was the third in a series sponsored by ND EPSCoR as part of the grant’s activities. The full-day event included presentations and roundtable discussions regarding grant outcomes and plans for moving forward. Participants also discussed leveraging the expanded cyber infrastructure capacity at their campuses to participate in the recently awarded National Science Foundation Track I ND-EPSCoR grant titled “Innovative and Strategic Program Initiatives for Research and Education – North Dakota,” or “INSPIRE North Dakota.” The five-year grant will feature innovative research conducted through the Center for Sustainable Materials Science led by NDSU and the Center for Regional Climate Studies led by UND. Additional programs funded by the award will contribute to the state's economic driver of agriculture, while developing science infrastructure for new technology and market sectors.
Presenters included Kelly Rusch, ND EPSCoR project director and NDSU vice president for research and creative activity; Frank Bowman, associate chair of chemical engineering at UND; Curtis; Mark Hoffmann, ND EPSCoR associate project director and associate vice president for research capacity building at UND; Cindy Juntunen, professor of counseling at UND; Gretchen Mullendore, associate professor of atmospheric sciences at UND; Jean Ostrom-Blonigen, ND EPSCoR project administrator at NDSU; Mukund Sibi, University Distinguished Professor of chemistry and biochemistry at NDSU; and Dean Webster, chair of coatings and polymeric materials at NDSU.
The campus connectivity grant activities were completed in December. With the new infrastructure in place, tribal college instructors and researchers are better able to collaborate and share resources with colleagues across North Dakota and the U.S.
Other anticipated benefits of the infrastructure investments include tribal colleges’ improved ability to network with various organizations in the state, nation, and internationally; increased engagement of students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics community; and workforce development and job skills advancement of students and other community members.
EPSCoR and EPSCoR-like programs are federally and state-funded programs designed to help university researchers in low-population states compete more effectively for federal, regional and private research grants in the sciences, engineering and mathematics. In each state, EPSCoR is tuned to the needs of stakeholders of the state, such as key industries and groups. ND EPSCoR has a strong and continuing relationship with state industries and agriculture in particular.
Jan. 26, 2015