A grant from the city of Grand Rapids is the next step in turning the city into a high-tech center of biotechnology research.
The city of Grand Rapids' Local Development Finance Authority approved $90,000 to allow for an Internet2 connection between the Van Andel Institute, Spectrum Health, and Grand Valley's Center for Health Sciences.
Grand Valley is the access point for Internet2, the cutting-edge next generation of the Internet dedicated to scientific and research purposes. Connecting to the Van Andel Institute and Spectrum will allow all of the entities to exchange massive quantities of data quickly and electronically.
"Internet 2 will provide an electronic linkage with the necessary speed, volume and bandwidth for local researchers to compete, collaborate, and learn on a global scale," said Matt Dugener, executive director of the West Michigan Science and Technology Initiative at Grand Valley.
Dugener said the installation should be complete before the end of the year.
Internet2 is a consortium led by 207 universities working in partnership with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 is recreating the partnership among academia, industry and government that fostered todays Internet in its infancy. The primary goals of Internet2 are to create a leading edge network capability for the national research community, enable revolutionary Internet applications and ensure the rapid transfer of new network services and applications to the broader Internet community.
