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CENIC Recognizes the Corporación Universitaria para el Desarrollo de Internet (CUDI) and Carlos Casasús as Outstanding Partners in Research & Education Networking

CENIC Announces Recipient of 2020 Innovations in Networking Award for Outstanding Network Partner

Carlos Casasús has led CUDI since 1998 and has served as Chairman of the Board of the Latin American Corporation of Advanced Networks (RedCLARA) since 2015.

La Mirada, CA & Berkeley, CA — March 11, 2020. In recognition of the growing, innovative collaboration between Mexico’s research and education network, the Corporación Universitaria para el Desarrollo de Internet (CUDI), and CENIC’s California Research and Education Network (CalREN), CUDI and the individual who has led CUDI since its inception, Carlos Casasús, are being awarded the CENIC 2020 Innovations in Networking Award for Outstanding R&E Network Partner. The CENIC Innovations in Networking Awards recognize exemplary people, projects, and organizations that leverage high-bandwidth networking.

While the collaboration between CENIC and CUDI has spanned many years, the work has deepened and broadened under the leadership of Casasús, CUDI Director General, and key members of his team. Casasús has led CUDI since 1998, and has served as Chairman of the Board of the Latin American Corporation of Advanced Networks (RedCLARA) since 2015.

CENIC and CUDI continue to increase network interconnections and leverage each other’s strengths to advance connectivity and services that foster international collaboration. CENIC and CUDI have provided an important model for multi-national partnership, supporting high-quality network design and security, enabling important research on pressing, data-intensive scientific challenges, and bringing high-speed broadband to all.

“Scientific researchers depend heavily on high-speed access to large datasets, remote scientific instruments, multi-institutional collaborations, and computational resources,” said CENIC President and CEO Louis Fox. “Collaboration between CENIC and CUDI enables network interconnection and transit capabilities for the many international research partners in Mexico, in California, and throughout the US to achieve the performance they require.”

Casasús has played an integral role in advancing network partnerships in the Western Hemisphere. Under his leadership, CUDI has partnered with CENIC on important infrastructure projects such as the National Science Foundation-funded Americas Lightpaths (AmLight), which enables research and education amongst the people of the Americas through the operation of reliable, state-of-the-art network infrastructure. Through AtlanticWave and PacificWave, there is production connectivity and peering to North American backbone networks Internet2, ESnet, and CANARIE. Through RedCLARA, there is production connectivity to eighteen national research and education networks. These networks enhance global e-Science collaborations through distributed production peering fabrics, as well as any research and education networks present or future that come to the AtlanticWave or PacificWave. AmLight facilitates international collaboration on projects such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, previously known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST).

Backbone Network of RED CUD

Julio Ibarra, Principal Investigator of AmLight and Assistant Vice President of Technology Augmented Research at Florida International University, and Heidi Morgan, Co-Principal Investigator of AmLight and Senior Computer Scientist at the University of Southern California’s Information Science Institute, worked with Casasús to build a synergistic community of scientific researchers and educators across the Americas that might leverage AmLight’s international network opportunities.

“Carlos Casasús told early collaborators about the positive impact research and education networks can have not only on research and education, but on huge network externalities, driving economic and social development,” Ibarra said. “Carlos is an insightful, wise leader, and I feel fortunate to listen when he shares his knowledge.”

Similarly, Morgan recalled, “Carlos said, ‘Scientific discovery is increasingly dependent on the cross-fertilization of human networks, with multiple disciplines, multiple regions, and multiple organizations. Human networks are created and operate at human speeds and physical networks ease the workings of human networks.’ Even now, I am inspired by the substance he imparted on early adopters. Carlos not only has a deep technical understanding with regards to networks, he has humanitarian insights that hold so true today.”

Ana Hunsinger, Vice President Community Engagement at Internet2, has worked with Casasús for 20 years. “CUDI was one of Internet2’s first international partners in the global research and education field,” she said. “Over the years, CUDI has been actively engaged in the global research and education community and Carlos is the engine that has propelled that deep level of collaboration and engagement. Carlos has a true passion for the role that national research and education networks play in advancing research, science, education, and economies. Mexico represents a key partner to the US, and as such, we have had and must continue to have a vast amount of cooperation and collaboration between our countries. Carlos has always promoted positive outcomes that come from working together, especially across international borders.”

Casasús also played a key role in developing a competitive cross-border research ecosystem between the US and Mexico. In 2012, CENIC and CUDI partnered on a major Mexican/American network project to extend CENIC’s CalREN backbone to Ensenada on the Baja Peninsula to enable cross-border collaboration involving Mexico’s Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México’s Center for Nanosciences and Nanotechnology (UNAM), Mexico’s Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education (CICESE), and the University of California San Diego (UCSD).

“Carlos’s unwavering support of research and education networks, support for CENIC, and his efforts to ensure that Mexican universities are part of the global research and education fabric, along with his support for the science those networks enable, and his immense humanity — all are truly remarkable,” said Fox.


About CENIC • www.cenic.org

CENIC connects California to the world — advancing education and research statewide by providing the world-class network essential for innovation, collaboration, and economic growth. This nonprofit organization operates the California Research and Education Network (CalREN), a high-capacity network designed to meet the unique requirements of over 20 million users, including the vast majority of K-20 students together with educators, researchers, and individuals at other vital public-serving institutions. CENIC’s Charter Associates are part of the world’s largest education system; they include the California K-12 system, California Community Colleges, the California State University system, California’s public libraries, the University of California system, Stanford, Caltech, the Naval Postgraduate School, and USC. CENIC also provides connectivity to leading-edge institutions and industry research organizations around the world, serving the public as a catalyst for a vibrant California.

 

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