Internet2: Closing the Gain Access To Gap for Research Study Cyberinfrastructure A Q&A with Dana Brunson Internet2 has actually supported collaborative research given that its founding in 1996– first through its national network, then by its operate in federated identity and access management with InCommon, and more recently through its cloud options. And when Dana Brunson signed up with Internet2 as executive director for research engagement in 2019, she built a strong team to lead research study enablement in the Internet2 community. Here, we ask Brunson for her point of views on the changing research computing and data requirements in college, and how Internet2’s Research Engagement Group is helping the neighborhood close the access gap for organizations of all types and sizes. < img height="368" alt="Dana Brunson helps with a roundtable conversation with research and college IT leaders" width="644" src="https://campustechnology.com/-/media/EDU/CampusTechnology/2026/06/20260608DanaBrunson.jpg"/ > Dana Brunson( center )assists in a roundtable conversation with research study and higher education IT leaders at an Internet2 yearly occasion, where the neighborhood assembles to solve shared difficulties. (Photo courtesy Internet2)
Mary Grush: What is the mission of Internet2’s Research Engagement Group? What are the biggest changes you’ve seen throughout your years of leading the team?
Dana Brunson: Our objective is to make sure that scientists and teachers– despite their discipline or type of institution– have access to the research study computing and data tools, services, and resources they require. Which includes whatever might be already on campus, or what is offered regionally and nationally as either federally funded or private-sector resources.
The Internet2 Research study Engagement Team offers consulting and training for schools to discover research study cyberinfrastructure and establish tactical strategies, and we offer assistance to bring organizations all the method to understanding execution of those strategies.
We likewise assist in a professional community for research study cyberinfrastructure through CaRCC, the Campus Research Study Computing Consortium, to establish shared tools and best practices– in addition to drawing on other community connections to bring individuals together. And we advocate for research study computing and information (RCD) specialists, to be viewed as both research partners and as part of what makes a university a competitive entity, no matter how trying the budget times are.
Our main focus is closing the space between the well-resourced R1 organizations and those that have actually faced greater constraints in accessing research cyberinfrastructure: the teaching-focused undergraduate institutions, minority-serving organizations, and every kind of school in between.