Wayne State, Michigan State and the University of Michigan have joined forces to create a high-performance network with the capacity to meet their emerging and demanding research needs. The new network, Michigan LambdaRail, or MiLR, is scheduled to be operational in January 2005. It will enable researchers to transfer huge amounts of data at super-speed. John Camp, chief information officer for WSU, pointed out that MiLR will give the three universities a competitive advantage in attracting external support for research and in attracting students and faculty to the respective campuses. "We are now members of a small and elite group of universities nationally that are investing in high-performance networks to strengthen research and facilitate collaboration," he said.