This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
This Research Infrastructure Improvement Inter-Campus and Intra-Campus Cyber Connectivity project led by New Mexico EPSCoR is designed to improve cyberinfrastructure at Western New Mexico University (WNMU), Northern New Mexico University (NNMU), and the Navajo Technical College (NTC). Upgrades to the WNMU campus network will reduce network file transmission delays and establish network access at new locations on the campus. NNMC will expand broadband access on campus by: 1) establishing a new fiber optic link between two buildings on campus, 2) upgrading campus network switches and routers, and 3) providing new campus-wide wireless service. NTC cyber improvements will leverage a larger Internet to the Hogan project initiated in 2000 that has four major components: 1) educating in advanced wireless and high performance computing; 2) partnership building within the computational science community; 3) deploying an advanced wireless network to serve the Navajo Nation's most remote communities; and 4) building the Dinè Grid which provides high value educational, telemedicine, public safety, research, and communication tools to the college and to the Navajo people.
Intellectual Merit The campus network is expected to improve reliability and security, enabling development of an integrated library search and retrieval system and increasing student access to collaboration technologies and online research tools. The upgrade will facilitate deployment of the campus gateway connection to the New Mexico Computing Applications Center. The project will enhance synergy among NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-1 and Track-2 research efforts in the areas of climate and water resources.
Broader Impacts The three institutions engaged in this project are rural, regional, minority-serving institutions with missions and educational programs geared toward workforce development. NNMU is 70% Hispanic and 5% Native American. NTC is 99% Native American and WNMU is 49% Hispanic and 2% Native American. The three institutions serve significant populations of female and non-traditional students. The broadband and cyber connectivity improvements resulting from the project activities will enable enrichment of course content, expanded delivery areas, and stronger workforce development programs. Enhanced collaboration with other institutions in New Mexico, including research and course sharing through distance education, will be enabled through these investments.
" focused on improving bandwidth and cyber connectivity at three rural, minority-serving NM institutions: Northern NM College (NNMC) in Espanola, NM Western NM University (WNMU) in Silver City, NM Navajo Technical College (NTC) in Crownpoint, NM All of the cyber-related upgrades implemented at each institution will increase students’ access to collaboration technologies, online research tools and online courses. These enhancements allow each campus to increase on-line course offerings as well as more effectively utilize the Education Gateways that have been installed by the NM Computing Applications Center (NMCAC). Each campus directly involved in this project has a large population of students generally underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and research. The enhanced connectivity resulting from this award provides additional opportunities for under-represented minority (URM) students and women to engage in STEM courses and related opportunities. The project’s outreach activities to K-12 students in these same communities helps prepare the future scientific workforce with better-developed quantitative reasoning, data analysis, and modeling skills. Faculty at other non-research branch campuses of NM institutions (Eastern NM University-Ruidoso, NM State University-Grants, University of NM-Taos) developed instructional materials that used 3-D technology available on their campuses. Specific accomplishments of the project include: Northern NM College (NNMC) increased wireless access across its entire campus; WNMU upgraded its Silver City campus, increasing its network backbone from 100MHz to 1 GHz and speed from 30Mbps to 40Mbps; WNMU was able to add 9 ITV classrooms and 7 automated lecture capture classrooms; Navajo Technical College (NTC) completed the next phase of its Internet to the Hogan (ITTH) program, connecting NTC to the UNM campus in Zuni, NM and providing internet access to several Navajo Nation chapter houses; Six educational modules focused on using 3-D capability in undergraduate STEM courses were completed; Through participation in Supercomputing Challenge activities, students in Silver City, Shiprock, and Taos, NM gained skills in computer modeling, data analysis and computational inquiry.
