By JULIE MILLER

Staff Writer

It is about as thin as a strand of human hair, but a piece of fiber optic has the ability to make Louisiana No. 1.

The Louisiana Board of Regents is showing support for a proposed optical fiber computer network called Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI), which has the potential of putting the state in the nation's top ranks for computer research network capacity.

"I'm excited about where Louisiana Tech and our state are being put," Les Guice, dean of the College of Engineering and Science and director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Information Technology, said. "I foresee us being a leader at the forefront nationally for high-speed networking."

Guice said the proposed network will connect each of the state's major research universities, allowing them to transmit huge data files at a speed of 1,000 times faster than the current connection.

"The federal government is laying out plans for new research for hundreds of millions of dollars," Guice said. "Researchers at key institutions came to the realization that Louisiana would be bypassed if we didn't take a step forward."

The six research institutes are Louisiana Tech, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Southern University in Baton Rouge, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Tulane University in New Orleans, and University of New Orleans.

Dr. Melvin Corley, a professor of mechanical engineering, said the current proposal is to establish high speed optical networks with fiber optics that will connect the six institutions with two optical networks. Tech's current Internet connection would be dropped, and everything would be put on the new line.

"Instead of walkie talkies, it would be like high definition TV," Corley said.

The Board of Regents estimates the initial price for LONI will be around $25 million.

Crystal Robinson, a freshman music major, is excited about the possibilities the networking system would bring to the university if it happens.

"I think that with Tech stepping up with this new technology, we are stepping into a world of learning that hasn't been reached by other universities," Robinson said. "By producing this resource to students, it's also providing us with the opportunity for higher intelligence."