The LONI Institute is a bold, new, inter-university research collaborative based on the resources of the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative, or LONI, a high-speed, fiber optic network that connects supercomputers at the state's major research institutions.
The LONI Institute is not located in a single building; rather, it is a collaboration of researchers creating a multi-disciplinary environment among the six LONI sites: LSU, Louisiana Tech, Southern University, Tulane, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and University of New Orleans. The CCT is the central hub of the distributed institute, coordinating activities from LSU.
The LI uses LONI to drive research and education, making Louisiana much more competitive for industrial partnerships with companies that depend on computing advances for their competitive edge.
The LONI Institute researchers will initiate projects in cooperation with industry to advance economic development in Louisiana and work toward creating University-Industry Research Centers. Industries that depend on computational sciences include petro-chemical, aerospace, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and many others.
The LONI Institute will receive funding of approximately $7 million from the Board of Regents' Post-Katrina Support Fund Initiative and an additional match of more than $8 million from the participating schools.
Please Note: Closing Date for Graduate Assistantship Applications is May 15, 2008. Decisions about assistantships will be made on May 22.
"Louisiana has made great investments in IT through its Vision 2020 initiative and through the creation of LONI. Now that we have the resources in place, we need to develop research projects and find the staff who can use the advanced technology in Louisiana to further academics and create more opportunities for business and industry so we can fully capitalize on these investments."-- CCT Director Ed Seidel, principal investigator for the PKSFI proposal