Work by the UO-based Network Startup Resource Center on Ecuador's Galapagos Islands has drawn praise from the Charles Darwin Foundation.

In a story posted online, the foundation noted that the research community on the islands has now moved beyond slow dial-up connections into the world of enhanced online networking thanks to a collaboration of the UO's NSRC with the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics.

The UO center — founded with National Science Foundation-funding in 1992 and led by Steve Huter — provides technical assistance to universities, government agencies and other organizations in developing regions of the world where inadequate connectivity poses a barrier to collaborations with U.S. scientists and educators.

Just a year ago, the center received a new five-year NSF grant to continue its widely acclaimed international efforts.

For the work on the Galapagos Islands, the NSRC provided on-site engineering assistance to the Charles Darwin Research Station, an NSF-funded research site. Engineers worked with the station to plan improvements to its existing Internet connectivity and communications infrastructure, allowing visiting researchers to more effectively collaborate with scientists around the world.