USC President Andrew Sorensen announced in Washington Dec. 16 an agreement between AT&T and the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) to advance the nation’s grid computing network.

Sorensen, the former chair of SURA’s Council of Presidents and chair of its Governmental Relations Committee, discussed details of the agreement at the National Press Club.

The collaboration will allow SURA’s 62 members, including USC, to share research data by using AT&T’s newest national network infrastructure on the next generation of networking technology and applications.

“This is truly a groundbreaking development, and I am delighted that USC is part of it,” Sorensen said. “These ‘virtual organizations’ are absolutely critical for solving today’s challenges in science and engineering.”

A grid brings together computers from different operating systems and makes them operable as a single resource to work together on a problem. Grid computing allows researchers to share large, comprehensive scientific research computers and instruments, experimental data, numerical simulations, analysis tools, and research.

This agreement broadens USC’s commitment to grid computing. In August, faculty in the College of Engineering and Information Technology launched the S.C. Grid Computing Initiative, which enables researches locally to collaborate more effectively. Faculty in biology, chemical engineering, and computer science are participating.

“This agreement will clearly advance USC’s and the other SURA members’ participation in important regional and national research initiatives,” Sorensen said.

SURA's mission is to enhance the region’s scientific and research capacity.

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