Eugene, Oregon
May 13-15, 1998
Convened by James G. Neal, ARL President
Good morning. I'd like to welcome everyone to our membership meeting, The Future Network: Transforming Learning and Scholarship. The theme that we've outlined for this program is vitally important to ARL libraries and to the Association. One of the four priorities that we have outlined for the Association in 1998, established by the ARL Board, is to ensure that research and learning will flourish through the development of advanced networking applications and Internet2. Remember what Charles Kuralt said, "Thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast and see absolutely nothing." Research libraries are one of the key agencies providing substance and application for future network development.
In this first program session, two panelists will address advanced network development strategies: The development of Internet2, and the Next Generation Internet. These are being designed to further support new applications and advanced technologies, such as high-speed, data-intensive computations. We'll also examine how the U.S. Government is strategizing for the future and look at what is being developed in the U.S. in consultation and collaboration with nations around the world, in terms of the Internet revolution.
In a recent issue of College and Research Libraries News1, Rick Weingarten said: "In some sense, the network has been a victim of its own success. Having tasted a limited set of possibilities, many would-be users and service providers are beginning to dream about what could be offered with even more bandwidth and sophisticated transmission servicesÅmulticasting of multimedia, interactive educational programming, allocating capacity and capability according to the need, and so on. An advanced network could provide full-immersion virtual meeting places for users from remote areas to gather to collaborate on tasks (or just visit). Large, distributed databases could be linked and searched rapidly and efficiently."
We have asked two individuals to join us today to talk about the development of Internet2 and of the Next Generation Internet. Our first panelist is Doug Van Houweling, President and CEO of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), a consortium of U.S. research universities currently engaged in advanced networking technology and applications for research in the education communities. He is currently on leave from his post at the University of Michigan as Professor in the School of Information. Prior to accepting the position at UCAID, Doug was Dean for Academic Outreach and Vice Provost for Information and Technology. Doug also served as Vice President of Computing and Planning at Carnegie-Mellon. He received his undergraduate degree from Iowa State and his doctorate from Indiana University.
Our second presenter is Mark Luker. Mark is Vice-President for Networking at Educom and leader of the Networking and Telecommunications Task Force, an organization of university CIOs and state network directors who are working together to push the edge of national networking for research and education. Prior to Educom, Mark served as program officer for the National Science Foundation and the federal Next Generation Internet project. He has his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.