News for and about the Internet2 community

[Dan Downing <>]

Ohio’s Third Frontier Network Marks Second Year,
Showcases Interactive Digital Technologies Applications
  
Southern Ohio Becoming Hotbed for Interactive Digital
Technologies Driving 21st Century Education, Careers and Industries
 
Event and streaming information available at

http://www.osc.edu/oarnet/tfnevents/

Portsmouth, Ohio – At a second annual “Ohio Lights the
Way” event, education and technology officials Thursday (Oct. 13,
2005) will showcase the role of Ohio’s Third Frontier Network – the
nation’s leading high-speed, superscale research network – in the
development of the state’s interactive digital technologies
industry.
In concert with Shawnee State University’s Shawnee 3.0 conference
on interactive digital technologies (IDT), the Third Frontier Network
(TFN) event will feature demonstrations of virtual reality, video gaming,
animation and other related IDT fields. In recent years, Ohio has become
a hotbed of serious and entertainment gaming education and
development.

“The Third Frontier Network enables Ohio’s colleges and universities to
leapfrog others in the collaboration that is required to compete
successfully in a flat world,” said Roderick G. W. Chu, chancellor of the
Ohio Board of Regents. “In a global economy where India and China are
producing college graduates in key fields at a rate 5- to 10- times that
of the U.S., strong collaboration and efficient use of resources –
especially through technological advancements such as the TFN – is
absolutely necessary.”
With the TFN’s massive advantage in network capacity and statewide reach,
Ohio has developed an unequaled research infrastructure to develop new
IDT, animation and computer-assisted design applications for security,
education and commercial interests. 

The TFN was deployed in 2004 by OARnet, OSC’s networking division. The
network’s 1,600-mile backbone connects more than 100 of the state’s
campuses, their business partners, federal labs, hospitals and K-12
schools. Nearly all of Ohio's colleges and universities are using the TFN
fiber-optic backbone, with more than 30 higher education institutions
having direct access via last-mile connections. 

The technology that enables Playstations, iPods and Webcams is the same
technology that powers high-tech surgical training applications and
military systems. The explosive growth of the technology-driven education
industry is creating many new high-paying jobs – the average starting
salary for college graduates in related fields is $50,000/year – in
communities with historically low wages.

The network also is connected to Internet 2, a national high-performance
backbone network for advanced networking application development.
“The Third Frontier Network acts as a great equalizer, especially so in a
state like Ohio where most research and business is carried on a regional
basis,” said Dr. Stanley Ahalt, executive director of OSC. “Faculty
members at small colleges in rural and Appalachian Ohio have the same
access to resources and collaborators as their colleagues at larger
research institutions. The reach of the TFN will enable IDT developers in
SE Ohio and around the state to compete with researchers in the Silicon
Valley and the Northeast.”

Researchers and professors from Shawnee State University, Washington
State Community College, Ohio University, Kent State University, Bowling
Green State University, Wright State University, and The Ohio State
University will participate in a fully interactive, real-time, statewide
demonstration of these emerging technologies live over the TFN. 
Keynote speaker Mike Zyda, of the University of Southern California
Gamepipe Laboratory, will discuss the national importance and relevance
of serious gaming to the U.S. He also will discuss how a high-speed
network infrastructure can benefit Ohio as networking becomes more
important in development of an IDT technologies and other research and
development industry.

The event also will mark an announcement of the TFN Awards for Innovative
Research Collaborations involving academic/industry teams and state
leadership in networking. An award for Ohio’s top networking technology
leader is expected for next year’s event.

The event is being held in conjunction with Shawnee State University’s
Shawnee 3.0 IDT Conference set for Oct. 14. The Shawnee
conference is sponsored by the Ohio Valley Interactive Digital Technology
Alliance. Participating institutions and their network collaborators will
illustrate the impact of these new technologies on teaching, learning and
business in southern Ohio and throughout the state, as well as the video
gaming industries, medical schools, national defense and a host of other
areas. 
Shawnee State is a leader in the U.S. for training future video game
developers, with two four-year degree programs in IDT with a bachelor’s
degree program in Game and Simulation Development Arts that focuses on
3-D graphics and another in Digital Simulation and Gaming Engineering
Technology, which concentrates on programming and artificial
intelligence.

About TFN
TFN is the most advanced high speed, fiber-optic network dedicated to
higher education in the nation. An Ohio Board of Regents’ initiative, TFN
works with government, academic and industry partners to position the
state of Ohio as a world leader in networking technology and the
knowledge economy. For more information on TFN, please visit
www.tfn.oar.net.

Dan Downing
Public Relations Coordinator
Ohio Supercomputer Center
Ohio Academic Resources Network
Third Frontier Network
1224 Kinnear Road
Columbus, Ohio, 43212
phone (614) 688-3949
fax (614) 292-7168

www.osc.edu
www.oar.net
www.tfn.oar.net