The purposes of this chapter are to help ensure the continued leadership of the United States in networking and information technology and its applications by—

(1) supporting Federal research, development, and application of networking and information technology in order to—

(A) expand the number of researchers, educators, and students with training in networking and information technology and access to networking and information technology resources;

(B) promote the further development of an information infrastructure of data bases, services, access mechanisms, and research facilities available for use through the Internet;

(C) stimulate research on and promote more rapid development of high-end computing systems software and applications software;

(D) accelerate the development of high-end computing systems and subsystems;

(E) provide for the application of networking and information technology to Grand Challenges;

(F) invest in basic research and education, and promote the inclusion of networking and information technology into educational institutions at all levels; and

(G) promote greater collaboration among government, Federal laboratories, industry, high-end computing centers, and universities;


(2) improving the interagency planning and coordination of Federal research and development on networking and information technology and maximizing the effectiveness of the Federal Government’s networking and information technology research and development programs;

(3) promoting the more rapid development and wider distribution of networking management and development tools; and

(4) promoting the rapid adoption of open network standards.

Terms Used In 15 USC 5502

  • high-end computing: means the most advanced and capable computing systems, including their hardware, storage, networking and software, encompassing both massive computational capability and large-scale data analytics to solve computational problems of national importance that are beyond the capability of small- to medium-scale systems, including computing formerly known as high-performance computing. See 15 USC 5503
  • Internet: means the international computer network of both Federal and non-Federal interoperable data networks. See 15 USC 5503
  • networking and information technology: means high-end computing, communications, and information technologies, high-capacity and high-speed networks, special purpose and experimental systems, high-end computing systems software and applications software, and the management of large data sets. See 15 USC 5503