The afternoon was filled with information sessions and demonstrations on the Internet 2 as The University of Memphis hosted the Emerging Technologies in Higher Education Day.
The Internet 2 is a broadband Internet connection with increased speed, to the point of simultaneous interaction, which is currently available at 202 universities in the United States.
“I2 takes you to a different level in that you see the bandwidth increase to at least two and a half gig speed, or a billion bits a second,” Jim Phillips, chairman and executive director of the FedEx Technology Institute (FTI), said. “So that brings in all kinds of applications like video on demand.”
Since 2000, The U of M has had the Abilene portion of I2, which is a network of high speed internet connection that will allow students, doctors, researchers and others access to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Center for Biotechnology Information, and other locations.
“It basically is a research network at this time,” James Penrod, vice president and CIO of Information Systems at The U of M, said.
The FTI is being equipped with fiber optic cables underground as well as laser technology, which will allow the connection to remain intact at all times, according to Phillips.
“The FedEx Institute will be one of the most wired buildings in the world.”
The FTI will also serve as a connector site for corporations and nonprofit organizations, like St. Jude.
“The fact that we are a connector site at The University of Memphis is very important, too,” Phillips said. “We had the ability to extend the I2 benefits and solutions to other entities, like we’ve done with St. Jude as a partnership, and that later leads to us working with St. Jude on opportunities as well.”
While the University of Tennessee Medical Center has already been able to access the I2 through The U of M, St. Jude has just recently become involved.
“We are the designated gigapop for this part of the Mid-South,” Penrod said. “Being the gigapop essentially means you are the connection site if anyone wants to have access to the Internet 2.”
With The U of M partnering with St. Jude, the research staff will have access to a high-powered microscope at the Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Ill., among other things.
“One thing to realize is that The University of Memphis is a leader in this space, and probably of the 200 or so universities that have this Internet, there are only about 40 or so that are connector sites,” Phillips said.
This technology was demonstrated in the north ballroom of the Wilson School of Hospitality. Among the speakers, Bob Riddle of the I2 Applications Group spoke on how the Internet connection would be used in the classroom.
Among the possibilities is the simultaneous instruction with students across the nation and a three dimensional brain map doctors can use to examine the reactions of the brain to different stimulus.
“It will usher in applications like telemedicine and distance education that today you’ve got the jerky capability of the regular internet that typically is not that good of a video experience, so this is going to be tremendous,” Phillips said.
