Despite being home to 83 institutions of higher education, including six research universities and a national lab, Tennessee lacks a dedicated research and education network. Such a network, common in other states, can be used to significantly enhance research and education capabilities and improve access to existing and future resources. This project, led by four under-resourced public universities in the state, is working to create a comprehensive strategy for the development of the Tennessee Research and Education Network (TREN), along with a regional cyberinfrastructure plan. By connecting these four universities (Tennessee Technological University, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee State University, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga) with each other and with larger research organizations in the region, TREN will catalyze and accelerate research for the under-resourced institutions while fostering statewide collaborations. The network connectivity that TREN will provide will elevate Tennessee?s capacity for cutting-edge research and facilitate education, thereby contributing to economic development.

This project is organizing a series of workshops to organize the networking consortium and develop the regional cyberinfrastructure plan, while identifying science drivers that can benefit from TREN. In addition, the project is creating a prototype regional network over existing infrastructure, to better characterize and pinpoint technological and policy limitations of current institutional networks. This project is documenting crucial gaps in resources and expertise, which will help boost the immediate capabilities of the participating institutions while building a framework for advanced collaborations and educational methods, driving significant long-term societal benefits.