Pacific Northwest Gigapop (PNWGP) was a key sponsor of the Lariat Summit Workshop titled "Shaping the Future of the West: Technology, Geography, and Technology Connecting Minority-Serving Institutions to US Advanced Cyberinfrastructure", which took place August 14 - 15, 2006 at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. The diverse participants outlined an action plan to

• Engage and educate academic leaders in minority-serving and under-participating institutions about the critical importance of cyberinfrastructure for the future of education and research among all higher education institutions, not just research universities.

• Insure that minority-serving and under-participating institutions in the West will be among the "connected" institutions in the United States.

• Assist these institutions to develop and participate in local, regional and national activities that will infuse the culture and practice of e-science and cyberinfrastructure down to the faculty and student level in departments, colleges and institutes throughout the West.

The Summit participants will develop a white paper outlining this action plan, which will be shared with state and federal legislators, federal funding agencies, and private foundations. Follow these links to view the

• Agenda for the Summit
• Brochure announcement of the Summit, which includes an overview of the event and a full list of sponsors and participants
• Maps that depict the extension of the network to Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Hispanic-Serving, and Tribal Colleges and Universities within Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

About Lariat - Lariat is a consortium creating a community of biomedical researchers and educators by connecting them to next-generation national and international cyber-infrastructure, e-science opportunities and resources. Please follow the link to view more information.