New at Penn State
Penn State Intercom......September 5, 2002

Wireless-networking services
expanding at Penn College

This fall at Penn College, students can sip their favorite beverage in a campus coffee shop, relax in a game room or soak up sun while staying connected to the college's computer network.

With wireless-networking services already in place at four locations around the main campus, students no longer have to be anchored to desktop computers in their residences -- or college computer labs -- to stay connected.

Information Technology Services at Penn College unveiled the expanded wireless-networking effort at the beginning of the fall semester. The College Library has been using a wireless network for the past year, enabling ITS and library staff to evaluate the capabilities of the new technology. The success of the library system spawned the expanded role for wireless networking around Penn College.

To use the service, students, faculty and staff need a laptop computer or personal digital assistant with an 802.11b (or WiFi) wireless Ethernet adapter.

"The technology uses radio waves to connect your computer to the college network without any cabling," said James E. Cunningham, chief technology officer. "The wireless adapter in the laptop picks up a network signal from a wireless access point."

Wireless zones now are available in the College Library, the Bush Campus Center, the Susquehanna Room dining hall and the International Café in the Klump Academic Center. Another wireless zone in a courtyard adjacent to the Hager Lifelong Education Center and Bardo Gymnasium will be established soon.

University participates
in defense consortium

In fall 2001, the University, through the Social Science Research Institute, joined the Consortium Defense Academies and Securities Studies Institutes, an initiative of NATO. The University's membership in the consortium offers many opportunities for international research and inter-institutional collaboration which strengthen the University's outreach mission.

Peter K. Forster coordinates the University's involvement through the institute. Forster, who is the associate director for academic programs in the World Campus and affiliate faculty in political science, is a co-chair of the Civil-Military Relations Working Group and has presented at conferences sponsored by the Advanced Distributed Learning Working Group.

Participation in the consortium provides research opportunities to University faculty on broad security and military public policy issues, as well as new programming possibilities, internships, new contacts and future employment and possible exchanges for students. It is the institute's goal to use this arrangement to develop faculty research projects in the future and advance Penn State's role in military public policy research.

A goal for this academic year is the identification and encouragement of collaborative research proposals meeting University faculty interests and institute goals. Interested faculty are encouraged to call Forster at (814) 863-8304 or e-mail pkf1@psu.edu.

For information, check the Web at http://www.ssri.psu.edu/general/news.htm.

Back