SURA is partnered with a team of leading research institutions and organizations in the NSF Middleware Initiative (NMI). In September 2002, the NSF awarded $12 Million to the partners to lead this new initiative which will foster the design, development, and deployment of middleware - the collection of architectures, software, and services that will truly enable the "next generation" of network-enabled applications.

SURA participates in the NMI under an NSF Cooperative Agreement with Internet2 and EDUCAUSE. As NMI-EDIT - Enterprise and Desktop Integration Technologies Consortium, this team focuses specifically on campus and enterprise integration of emerging middleware components. The GRIDS (Grids Research Integration Deployment and Support) Center was awarded a parallel Cooperative Agreement to focus specifically on the design, integration, testing, packaging, deployment, and support of advanced middleware for collaborative computing.

SURA's primary role in the NMI is the development and management of the NMI Integration Testbed Program. The program specifically supports "real life" testing and broad implementation of NMI middleware components as they move from concept and development to useful institutional deployment.

Testbed sites were selected through a competitive Call for Participation and include SURA member institutions sponsored to be core testbed sites and also unsponsored institutions from both inside and outside of the SURA community. The participating institutions are: University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Georgia State University, University of Florida, Florida State University, University of Michgan, Texas Advanced Computing Center, and the University of Virginia.

The NMI Integration Testbed Program was formally announced in September 2002.

The establishment of a robust IT infrastructure, in which expertise and experience in middleware will play a major role, is key to growing the science capacity in the South. The qualifications, diversity and participatory spirit of the SURA membership are also key to realizing that goal. Participation of the SURA membership in the NSF Middleware Initiative will further this goal yet again, bringing additional opportunity to the SURA region while demonstrating the strength of the region's commitment and contribution to the increasingly global research and education community at large.

For additional information, contact Mary Fran Yafchak, SURA's IT Program Coordinator and NMI Testbed Manager.