This award enables the State of Missouri to establish a statewide data network linking the 13 state-supported four year institutions in Missouri. The network connects to the mid-level network MIDNET, which then links to NSFNET. Access to NSFNET has already been successfully implemented for five institutions, including the University of Missouri-Columbia. This award funds expansion to eight additional Missouri insitutions, emphasizing not only the research needs, but also the instructional needs of small and medium-sized institutions whose primary mission is undergraduate education. This is a two-year grant, after which the consortium governing the network will become self-sustaining through a dues structure so that an ongoing and consistent level of service is provided to the faculty and students of the participating institutions, and to insure that expansion to include other institutions is possible. Access to NSFNET provides the faculty and students with access to supercomputers, data archives, a variety of network gateways, automated library catalogs, and a wide range of software. Primary applications include file transfers, electronic mail communication between local and remote researchers, and remote login to and use of supercomputers and other research facilities.
