The Center for Telecommunications Research, an Engineering Research Center at Columbia University conducts research and education programs in the domain of advanced telecommunications networks. Major efforts are concentrated on two systems projects, the MAGNET network testbed, and a Lightwave Network project, which serve as focal points for a broad range of investigations and as testbeds for new ideas. A prototype fiber-optic network has been developed and its operation has been demonstrated at the unprecedented speed of 12.5 GHz. A concept for a metropolitan area network is being explored with several industry partners. Innovations are being pursued in semiconductor materials processing, including advances in laser-assisted chemical etching. Exciting progress has been made in implementing "micro-area networks" involving optical interconnections among integrated circuit chips. These activities will continue and will converge on the concept of intelligent distributed optical networks. This action is a five-year renewal.
