News Releases

LONI may help prevent damage
LSU researchers linked to San Diego, Czech Republic during demonstration

By Ned Randolph
nrandolph@theadvocate.com
Advocate Business Writer

Batton Rouge, Louisiana, September 30, 2005 - For a short time on Thursday, the world had a glimpse of Louisiana before the storm - the one that state leaders envisioned when the governor committed $40 million to link Louisiana’s universities into a high-speed network of supercomputers.

Though its scheduled deployment was delayed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative provided its second demonstration in two days: linking LSU faculty by a high-definition teleconference with colleagues in the Czech Republic and San Diego.

Only LSU is linked onto the high-speed National LamdaRail, but LONI will eventually link to seven other campuses in the state: Louisiana Tech University, LSU-Shreveport Medical Center, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Southern University, the University of New Orleans, LSU Medical Center and Tulane University.

Advocates say the LamdaRail gives them an opportunity to bid on large research project grants from the likes of NASA, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health - opening the door to hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.

Five supercomputers at CCT that would have ordinarily already been sent to their respective sites are waiting to be deployed.

And the two sites in New Orleans will likely wait longer.

Ironically, some of the devastation that caused the delays, could be prevented in the future because of LONI.

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