The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

In winter 1990–1991, the National Science Foundation (NSF) approached the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) and asked it to consider undertaking a second study of issues relating to networking for the research and education communities. A new study would revisit issues addressed by CSTB in a 1988 report, Toward a National Research Network (National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.), and more importantly it would address the more complex set of issues that has arisen subsequently, including those associated with NSF plans to recast its role and resources in the National Research and Education Network (NREN) program, a component of the High Performance Computing and Communications initiative. Due in part to the controversy triggered by NSF's original ideas for recasting NSFNET and its attentions to revising its plans, it was not until late 1992 that NSF's request became an approved and funded project.

The Computer Science and Telecommunications Board convened a study committee for this project that chose to call itself NRENAISSANCE, reflecting the fundamental concern with the NREN program and the challenge of meeting research, education, and library community needs in a context marked by much broader information infrastructure concerns. Many of the authors of the 1988 CSTB report are among the authors of this present report, which benefits from their unique insights into both the Internet and other elements of information infrastructure. The committee met in March, June, September, and October 1993 to frame and deliberate over issues; it met again in January 1994 to develop responses to a large number of reviewer comments and a strategy for revising and enhancing its draft report. Over the course of the project the committee

received a number of inputs from outside itself, most notably several briefings from and consultations with federal officials and representatives of commercial and nonprofit organizations.

The period between the conceptualization and the actual launch of the project in early 1993 saw many changes, most notably a rise in governmental, business, and popular interest in electronic networking and information infrastructure, interest epitomized by the launch of the federal National Information Infrastructure initiative. In the face of these developments, the committee expanded its mission from an examination of issues relating to the NREN program, per se, to an examination of architectural and deployment issues relating to the larger national information infrastructure context in which the NREN program now fits. Consistent with its original charge, the committee paid special attention to the insights, concerns, and needs of the research, education, and library communities. Given the broader focus, however, the recommendations made by the committee are addressed to a broader governmental audience than the National Science Foundation.

NRENAISSANCE is grateful to the many individuals that contributed to its deliberations, including individuals who briefed the committee and others who contributed materials and insights, generally over the Internet. These individuals include Prudence Adler and Ann Okerson, Association of Research Libraries; G. Ernest Anderson, University of Massachusetts; Larry Anderson, Mississippi State University; Eric M. Aupperle, Merit Inc.; William Blumenthal, Kelley Drye & Warren; Hans Bolli, Northern Telecom; Panayot Bontchev, University of Sophia; Laura Breeden, (then FARNET) National Telecommunications and Information Administration; David C. Carver and Karen Sollins, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; John Cavallini and Robert Aiken, Department of Energy; Jill Charboneau, Cornell University; Annette B. Church, California school teacher; Richard Civille, Center for Civic Networking Groups; Robert Collet, CIX and Sprint; Janos Csepai, Budapest University of Economic Sciences; Andrzej Dabrowski, Polish PTT; Bruce Daley, Elaine Wynne Elementary School, Las Vegas, Nevada; Linda Delzeit, California school teacher; D'Ann Douglas, Sallie Curtis Elementary School, Beaumont, Texas; Michael Einhorn, Department of Justice; Robert Gosse and Michael Pollak, Federal Communications Commission; Robert R. Gotwals, Jr., Microelectronics Center of North Carolina; John Gravelle, Merrill Senior High School, Merrill, Wisconsin; Daniel Hartl, Harvard University; Dale Hatfield, Hatfield Associates Inc.; Michael Jeffrey, Nova Scotia Department of Education; Ioan Jurka, Technical University of Timisoara, Romania; Stanley Kabala and Simon Pritikin, AT&T; Thomas Kalil, National Economic Council; Donald Lindberg, HPCC National Coordinating Office and National Library of Medicine; Jack McCue and Howard Palmes,

BellSouth; Steven Metalitz, Information Industries Association; Paul Mockapetris, Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California; Mark Neibert and Janet Dewar, Comsat Corporation; Michael Nelson, Office of Science and Technology Policy; Roger Noll, Stanford University; Antoni Nowakowski, Technical University of Gdansk; Zoltan Pap, Hungarian Telecommunications Company, Budapest; Paul Evan Peters and Joan Lippincott, Coalition for Networked Information; Gary Ragsdale, Federal Express; Michael Roberts, EDUCOM; David Ruth, Cornell University; Steven Ruth, George Mason University; Anthony Rutkowski, Internet Society; Theodore Schell and Ronald Bracewell, Sprint; Richard Snelling, U.S. Olympic Committee; Thomas Spacek, Bellcore; Steve Stephenson, Waiakee Intermediate School, Hilo, Hawaii; Eric Swanson, John Wiley & Sons; Randy Sweeney, Jordan High School, Los Angeles, California; Frank Withrow, Council of Chief State School Officers; Stephen Wolff and Jane Caviness, National Science Foundation; and Anthony Villasenor, NASA.

It is also extremely grateful to the anonymous reviewers who challenged it to sharpen and focus its arguments. The committee gratefully acknowledges the truly outstanding contributions to this report by Marjory Blumenthal, director of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, whose efforts were indispensable to the creation of this report. We also acknowledge the assistance of her staff, notably project assistant Leslie Wade, and of the editor, Susan Maurizi. Responsibility for the report, of course, remains with the committee.

Leonard Kleinrock, Chair

NRENAISSANCE Committee