Feb. 10, 2003 — Calient Networks, a San Jose, Calif.-based maker of MEMS optical switches, said it is joining the University of Illinois at Chicago and California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology to develop the OptIPuter, a global experimental network designed to support data-intensive scientific research and collaboration.

Calient will supply its Diamond Wave 3-D MEMS switching systems, which will be installed at facilities in Chicago and Amsterdam. Project officials said they selected Calient’s optical switches as a “core technology” because of their high speed, reliability and low cost, according to a news release.

The OptIPuter, so named for its use of optical networking, Internet protocol and other computer technologies, is a five-year, $13.5 million project funded by the National Science Foundation. The project is designed to enable scientists to interactively visualize, analyze and correlate massive amounts of data from multiple storage sites connected to optical networks. The partnership also includes several other universities and industrial partners, the release said.