The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville will receive $1.7 million in federal stimulus funding to improve computer research capabilities for students who study sciences at the school and at other four-year public universities in the state, members of the state’s congressional delegation announced today.

The money will be used to improve the facility that houses the university’s supercomputers, including air conditioners and equipment that ensures that electricity can run around the clock, since many projects require programs to run for several days and cannot sustain a power outage.

The funding will also enhance the network speed available to university researchers and will enhance the network speed from the state’s high-speed optical network to the supercomputers. The high-speed network allows researchers using computers for advanced scientific research at the state’s four-year universities to have better access to the state’s supercomputing resources.

The Arkansas Research and Educational Optical Network is a high-speed network owned and operated by the Arkansas higher education community.