U OF S RECEIVES FUNDING TO UPGRADE COMPUTER NETWORK

The University of Saskatchewan is receiving a major boost from the provincial government to help upgrade the campus computer network.

The government is providing nearly $4.8 million in funding to the University of Saskatchewan Research Network (USR-net). The funding is part of a $15 million upgrade the university is making to its computer network to handle increased demands of both the institution's growing research programs and the Canadian Light Source synchrotron. USR-net will connect up to 10,000 computers in more than 40 buildings and serve the networking needs of faculty, staff and students.

Provincial support comes from the Innovation and Science Fund (ISF) and matches the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) contribution under a program to help universities acquire the infrastructure needed to conduct world-class research. The remaining funding for the project will come from the U of S, supplier discounts, and other sources.

"Our investment in USR-net ensures the research community can continue its cutting edge work as well as accessing vital sources of information around the world," Industry and Resources Minister Eldon Lautermilch said. "We're committed to key infrastructure that ensures the future is wide open for our researchers, with new opportunities, new jobs and new careers for them here in Saskatchewan."

The total investment in USR-net will help the university meet heavier research demands in such evolving programs as computer networking, medical imaging, structural sciences, nanotechnology and bioinformatics. The new infrastructure will deliver increased capacity to all researchers and improve access to CA*Net, an optical Internet service that has been described as the national "backbone" research network.

"Investing in state-of-the-art equipment such as USR-net is providing Saskatchewan's researchers with the tools they need to conduct leading-edge research," President and CEO of the Canada Foundation for Innovation David Strangway said. "This kind of investment is critical to strengthening the capacity of Canada's research institutions to train future researchers and invest in our science and technology leaders."

"This critical upgrade of our campus computer network will benefit every user, providing a tremendous boost to research and greatly benefiting our teaching, learning and business services," U of S Acting Vice-President of Research Bryan Harvey said. "It will also enhance our collaboration with research groups in Canada and abroad, enabling our researchers to transfer large amounts of data quickly and reliably."

The project is led by Rick Bunt, Associate Vice-President of Information and Communications Technology. IBM Canada Ltd. was selected through a competitive bidding process to provide state-of-the-art technology infrastructure and expertise, including Cisco equipment and maintenance services.

The Innovation and Science Fund provides support to Saskatchewan universities, colleges, and research institutes on projects receiving approval and funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Canada Research Chairs, the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

The CFI is an independent, not-for-profit corporation established by the government of Canada in 1997 to strengthen the capacity for innovation in Canadian universities and research institutions.

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For More Information, Contact:

Bob Ellis Industry and Resources Regina Phone: (306)787-8277 Email: rellis@ir.gov.sk.ca	Suzanne Quinn Canada Foundation for Innovation Ottawa Phone: (613)996-3160 Email: Julie.Carl@Innovation.ca
Kathryn Warden University of Saskatchewan Research Communications Saskatoon Phone: (306)966-2506 Email: kathryn.warden@usask.ca