A five-year, $6 million contract has been awarded to Indiana University, USA, to expand its operation of the science network for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), N-Wave. Since 2010, network engineers, software developers and service desk technicians at the IU Global Research Network Operations Center (GlobalNOC) have provided expert, round-the-clock support to N-Wave. The network backbone provides high-speed services to NOAA customer sites, programs, line offices and research facilities, and up to 80 terabytes of data is moved per day from remote high-performance computing sites across the US, increasing collaboration and access to weather and climate data throughout the scientific community.
‘The N-Wave network is vital to the essential scientific work of NOAA that has profound effects for public safety and the national economy,’ said Brad Wheeler, IU vice president for information technology and chief information officer. ‘We are proud that NOAA has again chosen the unique expertise of Indiana’s GlobalNOC as its partner. The renewal and expansion of this contract again affirms the value and skills in the Hoosier state.’
IU’s initial NOAA contract was a $1.6 million, three-year award funded in part under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (also known as ‘the Stimulus’). The contract establishes a ceiling of up to $6 million for specific NOAA work orders to support and expand the network.
