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Pepperdine Joins CalREN High-Performance Network for Research and Education
Pepperdine University and the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) have announced the connection of Pepperdine University to the high-performance, fiber-optic based California Research and Education Network (CalREN). CalREN is run by CENIC and is one of the most advanced of such networks in the world.
With a 50 Mb/s Opt-E-Man connection between the University’s West Los Angeles Graduate Campus to CalREN’s Los Angeles hub site, Pepperdine students, faculty, and staff now have the ability to collaborate with colleagues throughout California and the world on cutting-edge research and education projects. The addition of this circuit increases Pepperdine’s overall bandwidth capacity from 45mb to 95mb and also provides a critical redundant link to the Internet.
"Pepperdine University is well-known for its international programs as well as for its undergraduate and graduate programs offered in Malibu and at graduate campuses throughout southern California," said Dr. Timothy M. Chester, chief information officer at Pepperdine. "The installation of this circuit at our West Los Angeles Graduate Campus marks the completion of the first phase of our wide-area-network upgrade. In subsequent phases, circuits to our graduate campuses will be upgraded, providing in some cases a 10x increase in bandwidth. Our London center is also undergoing a network upgrade through a partnership with Imperial College that will provide access to the UK's advanced, high speed network known as JA.NET."
Chester added, “We will leverage our CalREN and JA.NET connections to implement cutting-edge voice and video collaborative technologies between these local and international campuses, including connections to our high-definition distance education classrooms that will be completed in Malibu by 2009. Our partnership with CalREN and Imperial College will have a very significant impact on our faculty’s ability to teach and conduct research, resulting in enhanced learning experiences for our students."
CalREN – which has been in operation since 1998 and is owned and operated by the nonprofit corporation CENIC – consists of 2,500 miles of optical fiber spanning the length and breadth of the state of California, and to which all of California’s K-20 public education connects. This high-performance network is dedicated to research and education only, and its bandwidth is such that research collaborations previously unthinkable are now possible for the California research and education community. Major achievements in the fields of big science, distance education, and digital media occur every day via the CalREN network, thanks to the researchers and educators throughout California and the world.
Said CENIC President and CEO Jim Dolgonas, "We couldn’t be happier to see Pepperdine University come on board the CalREN network. With it, they can look forward not only to advances in worldwide collaborative research but also to enhancing their students’ experience through distance education and rich media.”
Other institutions connected to CalREN include California’s Community Colleges, California’s K-12 System, California Institute of Technology, California State University, Stanford University, University of California, University of San Diego, University of San Francisco, and University of Southern California.
