C2 Grant

Infrastructure Improvement through Cyber Connectivity

C2 Schools

Read the RII C2 Fall 2011 solicitation for Requests to Participate here.

In August 2010, the National Science Foundation awarded a $1,176,470 grant to the University of New Mexico for the New Mexico Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NM EPSCoR) through the Research Infrastructure Improvement Inter-Campus and Intra-Campus Cyber Connectivity (RII C2) program. This RII C2 award to New Mexico will enable high-speed connections to the state's regional universities and tribal and community colleges.

The award, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and announced August 20th, will enable Northern New Mexico College, (NNMC), Western New Mexico University (WNMU), and Navajo Technical College (NTC) to enhance education and research through improved bandwidth and cyber connectivity.

Through this program, WNMU will upgrade the Silver City campus local area network, increasing speed and reliability across the network. NNMC will expand broadband access on campus, upgrade campus network switches and routers, and provide new campus-wide wireless service. NTC will expand its Internet service to the Hogan (ITTH) and Diné Grid wireless transmission network by connecting to the southern portion of its service area and to the central education facility for Zuni Pueblo. In addition, the C2 award supports educational activities that make use of the state’s Supercomputer Gateways at each institution. These institutions were chosen to participate in the NM EPSCoR RII C2 based on a prioritized assessment of institutional needs, their readiness to expend funds quickly and efficiently, and the degree to which the institution would benefit from cyberinfrastructure enhancements.

Download the C2 Press Release here.

Using Cyberinfrastructure for Education (UCIE)

View the current programs developed for UCIE here

The Using CI for Education (UCIE) program is designed to increase the impact of the NM EPSCoR C2-funded cyberinfrastructure enhancements on the education of students at the targeted institutions of the C2 grant as well as students at other post-secondary institutions with New Mexico Computing Applications Center (NMCAC) Education Gateway equipment installed. Participants in this program will develop course materials that make use of the enhanced connectivity resulting from the C2 award and/or the NMCAC Gateways installed at each of the institutions. Preference will be given for applications that include use of 3-D visualization capabilities of the NMCAC Gateway. Selected participants will also disseminate these course materials through workshops for other faculty at their own and other institutions.