FSML: Improvements in Computer-Based Communications at the Highlands Biological Station

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A grant has been awarded to Western Carolina University to Dr Wyatt, to make improvements in computer-based communications at the Highlands Biological Station. Since its founding in 1927, the Highlands Biological Station has served to facilitate research on the biota and ecosystems of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Increased usage of HBS has put a strain on its limited capacity for computer-based communications. Recent upgrades of the connection have not been effective because of the need to extend the local area network. Preliminary testing has proved the feasibility of installing a wireless system that will allow access from any building on the HBS campus, including the dining hall, dormitories, and the Nature Center, which offers K-12 and adult science enrichment and environmental education. Given the steep, rocky terrain and dense vegetation, this approach is more sensible and cost-effective than stringing fiber optic cable between all of the buildings, whether buried or aboveground. Strong winds, with or without accompanying rain, snow, or ice, frequently bring down tree limbs in Highlands, interrupting power and communications on a regular basis. Wireless antennas on each building seem to be the best solution for HBS. In addition, HBS will upgrade its computer infrastructure. The upgraded communication infrastructure will facilitate new applications in teaching, research, and outreach. Researchers, including many graduate students with grants-in-aid from HBS, will benefit from an expanded capacity for e-mail, web-based literature and database searches, data storage and analysis, etc. Also benefiting from the enhanced telecommunication infrastructure will be courses for graduate students and advanced undergraduates that focus on the ecology, systematics, evolution, and conservation of those groups of organisms that are especially diverse in the region. In the fall and spring, HBS regularly hosts student groups on weekend field trips as well as providing residential facilities for UNC-Chapel semester long Carolina Environmental Program. In addition to formal academic coursework in natural and social sciences, these students work as interns on research projects mentored by local experts with federal, state, and private conservation organizations. Finally, upgraded capabilities at HBS will enhance informal learning opportunities for the public, which are offered through programs at the Highlands Nature Center and the Highlands Botanical Garden, which are part of HBS.