Tag Archives: MCNC

The Quilt again shines collaborative light on future of R&E Networking

The Quilt, a consortium of regional Research and Education (R&E) Networks throughout the United States, hosted its annual Fall Member Meeting virtually on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30. More than 100 registered attendees and stakeholders gathered online for two days to collectively advance networking for research and education throughout the United States.

The program included several plenary and breakout sessions particularly relevant to the R&E networking community.

R&E partnerships with state leaders to facilitate internet access solutions for unserved and underserved communities topped the list of hot topics and “aha moments” from this year’s meeting.

The meeting opened with a “Fireside Chat” with CENIC’s Louis Fox outlining California’s new statewide middle-mile broadband initiative. The Fireside Chat led into a panel discussion moderated by Louis and included panelists from the Ohio, Oregon, and Nevada R&E networks as well as included the R&E state broadband leader partners from the State of Ohio’s broadband office called BroadbandOhio as well as a state representative from Oregon who is a champion of affordable broadband access in the state. The panel discussion focused on the important role of R&E networks in state broadband strategies.

Another presentation by Sun Corridor Network (SCN) and the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) focused on the collaborative efforts between the two organizations with the goal of delivering affordable broadband access to the unserved and underserved in the stae. Derek Masseth with Sun Corridor noted that it has been a great partnership, and SCN very much appreciates ADOT’s willingness to partner!

Additional comments shared in the virtual chat during the presentation included …This year attendees also took deep dives into areas such as disaster recovery, network facilities management, mapping, and cybersecurity. MCNC Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer Chris Beal talked on the emergence of new R&E cybersecurity solutions to help protect community anchor institutions as well as the North Carolina organization’s new managed services cybersecurity practice called Vital Cyber.“No one is safe from hackers today. There have been far too many headlines recently involving phishing or ransomware attacks affecting big companies and industries. But what you don’t hear much about is how cyber criminals hit our schools, our hospitals, our libraries, and other community anchor institutions,” explained Beal. “These important pillars in our local towns need more protections from today’s growing cyber threats. That why Vital Cyber was created to develop and activate a full suite of managed security services to protect North Carolina’s critical cyber infrastructure; marrying a proven and tested combination of tools, services, and consulting without any extra hardware or staff.”

Additional sessions focused on budget planning, cloud, business continuity, fiber IRU renewals and inter-exchange points, observations from the most-recent NSF CC* PI Workshop, and much more.

The two-day event closed out with a fascinating presentation from Eli Dart, Lauren Rotman, and Jason Zurawski on ESnet’s High Energy Physics requirements and R&E network preparedness for next Large Hadron Collider (LHC) run.

“Identifying new opportunities for Quilt members to leverage one another’s resources and expertise is the hallmark of Quilt events,” said Jen Leasure, President and CEO of The Quilt. “Although we all would like to get together in person, the level of conversation even virtually is of such a great benefit to all of our members as well as our collective mission.”

The Quilt is the national coalition of non-profit U.S. regional research and education networks representing 40 networks across the country. Members of The Quilt provide advanced network services and applications to over 900 universities and tens of thousands of other educational and community anchor institutions. Together, we promote consistent, reliable, inter-operable and efficient advanced networking services that extend to the broadest possible community and represent common interests in the development and delivery of advanced cyberinfrastructure that enables innovation through our education and research mission.

The next member meeting for The Quilt is scheduled for early February 2021.

 

The Quilt recommends MCNC’s Mark Johnson to FCC advisory committee

The Quilt has nominated MCNC Chief Technology Strategist Mark Johnson to serve on the Federal Communication Commission’s new Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC) as a representative of the national research and education (R&E) networking community.

In January, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced the formation of this new federal advisory committee that will provide advice and recommendations for the commission on how to accelerate the deployment of high-speed Internet access. The BDAC is intended to provide a means for stakeholders with interests in this area to exchange ideas and develop recommendations, which will in turn enhance the FCC’s ability to carry out its responsibility to encourage broadband deployment to all Americans.

According to reports, approximately 380 nominations have been submitted for this committee with 17 seats available. The FCC intends to establish the BDAC for two years, with an expected starting date this spring.

The role of R&E networks in delivering advanced broadband Internet access for education, research and other community anchor institutions while also working to evolve the technology of the Internet itself provides an important perspective for the committee as it contemplates how to remove barriers to deployment.

The Quilt President and CEO Jen Leasure explained that because R&E networks like MCNC were established to meet the specialized needs of academic research in higher education institutions. The experience they have is particularly valuable for informing FCC policy for gigabit networks and beyond.

“Our country’s research and education networks and Mr. Johnson are well-positioned to contribute decades of leadership and experience in the deployment, management, engineering and operations of advanced Internet technologies at the local, state, regional and national levels,” wrote Jen Leasure in a letter of recommendation to Chairman Pai. “As independent, non-profit network builders and operators, R&E networks hold an invaluable role in this country’s broadband landscape that provides them with a unique perspective to contribute to discussions about removing barriers to broadband deployment.”

MCNC is a technology nonprofit that builds, owns and operates the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN). MCNC has deployed fiber in 82 of 100 North Carolina counties and serves anchor institutions in all 100 counties on this vast, 2,600-mile network. MCNC also is committed to creating a market for dark fiber in the state to facilitate ubiquitous, gigabit residential broadband.

Johnson’s career encompasses 30 years of leadership experience in the management, engineering, and operations of Internet technologies. During his tenure at MCNC he has been responsible for operating a private microwave network and for a variety of fiber network technologies as a customer and constructor. North Carolina’s varied geography and mix of urban and rural communities means he has encountered all types of technical and regulatory obstacles in broadband technology deployment. And, Johnson has successfully worked with all types of entities in the broadband technology landscape to address these obstacles.

“The BDAC will be important in that it will advise the FCC on impediments to deploying advanced broadband Internet in rural areas,” said Johnson. “It’s important for MCNC and many of the country’s R&E networks because this is a strategic issue for us, and we want a voice in how those issues are framed. All of The Quilt members are pressing for better broadband to some degree, and it is also a critical issue for education so that everyone has access and connectivity.”

Johnson has received support from The Quilt as well as from many members of The Quilt who have written letters of recommendation. Internet2 has submitted a letter on his behalf and well as the North Carolina Wireless Research Center. N.C. Secretary of Commerce Tony Copeland has endorsed his nomination as well as Internet pioneer Jane Patterson and Joanne Hovis from the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC).

Mark is a founding board member of The Quilt, is a former board chairman, currently serving as its vice chair.  Mark is also a founding board member of the Schools, Health, and Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, a nonprofit, advocacy organization that supports open, affordable, high-capacity broadband connections for anchor institutions and their surrounding communities. If selected, he will represent the interests and missions of The Quilt research and education network community as a whole and is willing and available to serve a two-year term on the committee as well as participate as a member of any subcommittee(s).

Collaboration, gentle tension key to innovation for research and education networks

Leaders of state networks from Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio talked about the role of their organizations in driving innovation recently at MCNC’s annual event in North Carolina.

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Representatives from these Quilt members provided great insight and thought leadership as to the importance of RENs in today’s networking environment during the panel discussion.

A general theme resonated during the discussion – collaboration is the key for RENs to prosper, but some “gentle tension” also creates an environment for us to learn from each other and continue to innovate. “If everything is smooth and easy, then we’re not pushing or innovating enough,” said panel moderator Tracy Futhey, Vice President of Information Technology & CIO at Duke University.

The panel included Wendy Huntoon, Executive Director, Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research (KINBER), Tim Lance, President, New York State Education and Research Network (NYSERNet), and Pankaj Shah, Executive Director, Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet), who joined the conversation via video conference.

Streaming video of the entire discussion is here. (The chapter begins at the 23-minute mark).

Each state and region is different when it comes to networking and high-speed connectivity, so what works in one area of the country or region may not in another area and vice-versa. This is a great discussion on the networking ecosystem seen today for RENs and worth a quick view.

Congratulations to MCNC on another successful annual event, NCREN Community Day 2014.

MCNC names Jean Davis president and CEO

Quilt member MCNC today announced that Jean Davis has been named president and CEO of the non-profit operator of the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN).

The organization made the surprise announcement at NCREN Community Day 2014 at NC State University.

Jean Davis

Davis comes to MCNC from the N.C. Department of Commerce, where she served as both COO and Executive Director of Business, Industry and Trade. Jean’s background includes executive management experience with major technology multinationals, entrepreneurial startups and government.

She will begin her tenure at MCNC officially on Nov. 17. She is just the eighth CEO in this history of the organization since 1983 and is the first woman to hold the position.

“MCNC has a rich history of innovation in North Carolina, and I’m excited for the opportunity to build upon that path of success for the next phase of MCNC’s growth,” said Davis. “Technology changes daily, and by working in collaboration with the NCREN Community, staff, private-sector partners and others, we can create new opportunities that will keep North Carolina as a leader in broadband connectivity.”

For 30 years, North Carolina has set the pace for national research and education networking by leveraging NCREN, which provides true high-performance broadband connectivity for community institutions in K-20 public and private education, non-profit health care, public safety and many federal, state and private research institutions.

Each year, MCNC recognizes and celebrates the progress and achievements from the NCREN community with this two-day event is being held at the Institute for Emerging Issues and the James B. Hunt Jr. Library.

Executive leadership changes in our Quilt community

There have been a couple of important changes to executive leadership in our R&E networking community that The Quilt wants you to know about…

Lonnie joins LONI

A few months ago, the LONI Management Council established a search committee to identify and recommend to the Louisiana State University Board of Regents an appointment of an Executive Director upon Donnie Vandal’s retirement effective July 1.

LonnieLegerAfter considerable deliberation, the search committee unanimously recommended Lonnie Leger to be Executive Director of the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI). He assumed the role on July 1 after approval by the LSU Board of Supervisors.

Louisiana is fast becoming a leader in the knowledge economy. Through LONI, researchers have access to one of the most advanced optical networks in the country along with the most powerful supercomputing resources available to any academic community.

MCNC names its CFO as interim chief executive officer

In other executive moves this month, a familiar face remains in charge at MCNC as the organization undergoes a change in leadership.

Pat MoodyMCNC, best known as operator of the North Carolina Research and Education network (NCREN), continues a search for a permanent replacement to succeed Joe Freddoso, who stepped down on June 30 after seven years on the job.

Chief Financial Officer Pat Moody now has taken over on an interim basis.

“Joe Freddoso had many successful accomplishments for MCNC during his tenure, and we thank him for his years of service and all of his efforts,” said Moody. “I’m looking forward to ensuring MCNC continues to operate in this same fashion while our experienced and dedicated team provides the level of connectivity and service our constituents have come to expect from us.”

As the CFO of MCNC since 1999, she has the institutional knowledge and enjoys the utmost respect from the board of directors, staff, customers and partners. Moody is a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in business administration. She has more than 38 years of management experience, and is also a director and treasurer of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

A search for a permanent replacement goes on.

Have news?

If you have a company announcement or member news that our networking community might be interested in, please share it with us. If you are interested in more information about The Quilt and its members, we encourage you to explore our website and our Twitter stream @TweetTheQuilt.

MCNC’s Joe Freddoso steps down as CEO

MCNC President and CEO Joe Freddoso and the team at MCNC have created one of the best public broadband infrastructure networks in the country over the last seven years. Effective June 30, he will step down as leader of MCNC as the organization continues to thrive and move forward for North Carolina. Watch the video announcement below.

Jen Leasure, president and CEO of The Quilt, said Joe Freddoso has been a tremendous asset to our research and education community.

“Since joining MCNC, Joe’s leadership, engagement, and tireless work on behalf of educational technology and research infrastructure has been integral to the collective advancement of our national advanced networking community. As a member of The Quilt’s Board of Directors, Joe has actively supported and promoted our organization and it has been a true pleasure to have worked with him. Anyone who has been fortunate enough to work with Joe appreciates his leadership, commitment, compassion and humor that he so willingly shares.”

Joe will be sorely missed, and The Quilt wishes him all the best in what is sure to be the next successful chapter of his professional life.