Bucknell University benefits from 1600-mile Pennsylvania R&E network

The just-completed Pennsylvania Research and Education Network (PennREN) will provide high-speed access to non-profit organizations, and advanced research opportunities for Bucknell University students and faculty, the university says. More than 1,600 miles of high-speed fiber-optic cables now stretch across 50 counties in Pennsylvania, providing advanced data networking to non-profits in education, research, health care, workforce development, government, and economic development.

PennREN was conceived four years ago by the Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research (KINBER), of which Bucknell is a charter member. Pennsylvania was lagging behind many of its neighboring states; it was one of the few without any sort of statewide broadband network. But in 2010, KINBER was awarded a $99.6 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant to build PennREN (see “Quanta Services subs to install PennREN fiber-optic network” and “ ADVA Optical Networking, Juniper Networks to supply KINBER R&E network”).

“This high-speed network opens the door for Bucknell to collaborate with others in new, innovative ways,” said Param Bedi, Bucknell’s vice president for library and information technology. “We are now more connected than ever, not only to other institutions in Pennsylvania, but to institutions across the world.”

Counties near the PennREN hub site at Bucknell will benefit from the new fiber-optic network, Bedi adds. “Local non-profits may join KINBER free of charge, and are eligible to purchase network services at extremely competitive rates. This will allow underserved communities to more fully realize their potential by tapping into this source of increased bandwidth.”

When Bucknell’s connection to PennREN comes online later this year, it will double the bandwidth available on campus. Bedi says the new technology will strengthen Bucknell’s position as an elite liberal arts institution while broadening the university’s unique undergraduate research opportunities.

“It will create possibilities for our faculty and students which were only previously available at graduate-level research institutions,” Bedi added. “With information technology services moving to the cloud, large data sets becoming the norm, and some grants now requiring this type of high-speed access, a high performance computing network is a necessity to undertake the kinds of academic research opportunities that we strive to offer here at Bucknell.”

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