The “Wave of the Future” IDEA Award will recognize innovators who are developing and deploying advanced applications that require a dedicated optical circuit with capacities up to 10 gigabits per second. Image courtesy of Internet2

Internet2 and Level 3 Communications have announced a new “Wave of the Future” category for the Internet2 Driving Exemplary Applications (IDEA) Awards program.

The award will recognize innovators who are developing and deploying advanced applications that specifically require or make use of a dedicated optical circuit with capacities up to 10 gigabits per second.

Open to existing or proposed applications, the Internet2 IDEA awards are designed to showcase projects that apply the latest in advanced networking capabilities to enable transformational progress in research, to enhance teaching and learning, and to potentially increase the impact of next-generation networks around the world.

Through sponsorship provided by Level 3, the winning submission in the "Wave of the Future" category will receive a dedicated, point-to-point optical circuit of up to 10 Gbps on the new Internet2 network infrastructure between two connector sites for a one year period. The circuit will be provided specifically to support and enable the award-winning project.

Internet2 IDEA Award submissions are judged by a panel of leaders from the Internet2 community on the following criteria:

• Magnitude of impact
• Breadth of impact
• Technical merit

Submissions must have had a positive impact in one or more of the following areas:

• Innovation in research
• Advances in teaching and learning
• Scientific discovery
• Global collaboration