Information Technology

The development, deployment, and improvement of information technologies in support of scientific research in the southeast has been part of SURA’s mission for more than three decades. When high-capacity computer resources were a recognized need by the mid-’80’s, SURA met the challenge and built “SURAnet” with support from the National Science Foundation. This network allowed large-scale collaborations and helped develop Internet communications standards and protocols. After it outgrew its mission, the board approved its sale in 1995. SURA went on to help create regional optical networks, and in partnership with AT&T, helped shape the current national research and education network landscape. Today, that same community works to assess cloud vendors, improve security, grow access to high performance computing systems, and develop a skilled workforce to meet the rapidly expanding and ever more complex demands.

SURA Information Technology continues to focus on initiatives in network infrastructure and applications development that enable collaborative research. SURA IT initiatives have integrated national and international perspectives into regionally led programs and delivered outcomes of regional value with national significance. Through investments in infrastructure planning and deployment, ongoing support for exploration as well as implementation of advanced applications with strong member involvement, SURA continues to build upon its foundation in IT to create near term and long-term value.

Working with SURA IT

SURA IT Initiatives are coordinated through the combined activities of the following groups:

• The SURA IT Committee, comprised of CIO and representatives from all SURA member institutions, is charged with the oversight of the SURA IT Program. The SURA IT Steering Group is a subset of the IT Committee that meets more frequently and sets the agendas for the IT Committee.