1984-1992
The 1984-1992 subseries (4 linear ft.) documents the university's and ITD's participation in a number of local, regional, and national computer networking organizations, including Bitnet, CICNet (Committee on Institutional Cooperation Network), CREN (Corporation for Research and Educational Networking), Merit, MITN (Michigan Information Technology Network), NREN (National Research and Educational Network), NSFNET (National Science Foundation Network), and ONENET. The material reflects the university's participation as member, host, or manager and/or Van Houweling's service as a board member or advisor. The Merit, NSFNet, and CICNet records are the most significant. Since Merit managed the NSFNET network, researchers should note that the Merit files hold considerable material on NSFNET. Other records include Board of Directors minutes, correspondence, and a topical file. Of particular note in the topical file are drafts entitled "Merit: Michigan Universities Computer Network" and an unpublished paper on the history of Merit, 1989. There are also copies of the agreements among UM, NSF and Merit, including several grant proposals. (Note: This is not the archives of Merit, but only material collected by Van Houweling in his role as chairman of the board.) The NSFNet files include executive committee minutes and correspondence, quarterly and annual reports on the operation of the network, and speeches by Van Houweling about NSFNet. Photographs and network diagrams of Merit and NSFNet can be found in the Photographs series. The CICNet material is comprised of a single chronological file of correspondence, minutes and reports. Also included in the Networks series is material related to Project EXPRES (Experimental Research in Electronic Submission). This was a collaborative project among ITD, the College of Engineering, and other units to develop protocols and standard formats for electronic submission and exchange of journal articles between dissimilar environments, particularly complex, graphically intense subjects in science and engineering. The records include a grant proposal, correspondence, reports, and publicity material, 1987 to 1989.