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NSF Gives U Minnesota $500K for New Research Network

A $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation will fund a data-intensive network that will connect University of Minnesota researchers with others around the world.

University of Minnesota

Two NSF-funded research centers at the University of Minnesota — the Polar Geospatial Center and Minnesota Population Center — will benefit from the new network.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the University of Minnesota $500,000 to create a dedicated research and computing network that will connect its researchers with others around the world.

The new network, called the Gopher Science Network (GSN), will link the physical and intellectual resources at the Twin Cities campus of the university with a number of research and education programs, giving the institution the kind of state-of-the-art system that can support very data-intensive research.

"As scientific data sets become larger, powerful networking infrastructure is crucial to providing researchers with the resources they need to advance knowledge and innovation in their fields," said University of Minnesota Vice President for Research Brian Herman.

Two NSF-funded facilities at the Twin Cities Campus that will benefit are the Polar Geospatial Center and the Minnesota Population Center. However, there are at least seven other research and service groups that will benefit quickly:

  • Genomics;
  • Proteomics;
  • Advanced networking;
  • High resolution satellite imagery;
  • Demographics;
  • Magnetic resonance; and
  • Advanced computational research and infrastructures.

The network will also strengthen existing partnerships the university has with NASA, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy.

About the Author

Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.

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