LONI curls like a ribbon of opportunity through northwest Louisiana, contradicting any outside critic who would think us a technological backwater. Initially intended for servicing area research institutions such as LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport and the computationally potent Louisiana Tech University in Ruston the northern tendril of LONI is playing a valuable role in an unexpected economic opportunity.

The director of the local Cyber Innovation Center says LONI offers a decided edge for attracting industries in this rapidly expanding field that has been given impetus by a new cyber warfare mission at Barksale Air Force Base. That LONI was envisioned for one purpose and is now giving rise to another is much like the nature of research itself — serendipitous byproducts that can surpass in benefit the original goal. And, says Cyber Innovation Center Executive Director Craig Spohn, LONI is only using about one-quarter of its capability.

On Feb 1, LONI's circle of friends expanded dramatically when LSU Baton Rouge's "Queen Bee" supercomputer was integrated into the TeraGrid network. Daniel S. Katz of LSU's Center for Computation and Technology, said that "The TeraGrid partnership helps support our local supercomputing resources while contributing to a backbone of national cyber infrastructure, and it helps our Louisiana users make use of other national resources."

But Mr. Katz is a master of understatement; what's really happening is the integration of two of the world's most powerful academic supercomputing networks. The move solidifies Louisiana's stature as a power player in the knowledge economy, and is bringing new research funds to the state. A National Science Foundation Grant of $2.2 million supported the integration. The total grant money that Louisiana universities have received over the lifetime of the LONI project is somewhere in the neighborhood of $75 million.

A $15 million grant from the Federal Communications Commission, announced late last year, will change the way our state hospitals share medical records. Dr. Roxane Townsend, secretary of Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals, explained that "Medical records typically remain in a folder in an office somewhere. When a patient moves or travels and needs care, someone has to make telephone calls to seek information about medical histories and medications. This is time consuming and not always successful."

Hurricane Katrina revealed how inadequate (and potentially deadly) this system really was. But thanks to the FCC grant, 109 nonprofit Louisiana hospitals now have the funds to purchase the hardware necessary to connect to LONI and transfer records digitally.

Louisiana universities are historically at the bottom of the list when it comes to funding for research and development. LONI is not only reversing that trend single-handedly, but hints at a future for Louisiana in the burgeoning global information economy. If the state continues to invest in the project, the words "Louisiana" and "high tech" won't be strangers for long.