Merit Network

Merit, a nonprofit governed by Michigan's public universities, owns & operates the longest-running regional education network.

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

@UNESCO @Ai4iaConference Read the report: https://t.co/Ifw1XniVPR

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

Merit contributed to the @UNESCO IFAP @Ai4iaConference Report. Director of Research Dr. Pierrette Renée Dagg authored "Ethical AI in Education: Building Transparent Frameworks for the Future."

#ResponsibleAI #AIEthics

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

@washtenawcc Learn more: https://t.co/9RQ5HxQyCU

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

Member Monday 🚐
@washtenawcc's new Mobile Classroom is bringing hands-on learning + workforce training straight to neighborhoods & community spaces across Washtenaw County. Already booked for 14 events this year!

Congrats, WCC! 👏
#MemberMonday #MeritNetwork

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

⚛️ Merit's Dr. Pierrette Dagg presents "From Fiber to Future: Building Michigan's Quantum Readiness" at MQC Entanglement 2026 @LifeAtPurdue on July 22 — how R&E networks turn today's quantum research into tomorrow's infrastructure.

#Quantum #MeritNetwork

https://t.co/X5qv0ppRNP

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

Research is our middle name. 🔬

Founded in 1966 as the Michigan Educational Research Information Triad, Merit started with a question: could universities share computing over a network?

60 years later: AI, quantum networking, cybersecurity. Still asking "what if?" #Merit60

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

60 years ago: linking 2 university mainframes.

Today: statewide fiber, cybersecurity, and community connectivity reaching schools, libraries & hospitals across Michigan.

Same mission. Bigger reach.

#Merit60 #MeritNetwork #DigitalOpportunity #ExpandingAccess

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

🎶 Merit's Greatest Hits, 1966–2026. From 3 universities to statewide fiber, six decades of milestones — written with Michigan's communities. #Merit60 #MeritNetwork

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

#Merit60 | The 2020s

🔹 MOON-Light reaches 74 of 83 Michigan counties
🔹 $10.5M federal grant with @michiganstateu and @QuelloCenter
🔹 Project Compass: rural digital opportunity
🔹 60 years connecting Michigan

Still nonprofit. Still collaborative. Still Michigan's. 💙

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

Thank you to our partners @mihealthfund @BrilliantCities @heartnextdoor @StudyAidStore

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

#MeritNews: Access to AI tools is getting more expensive — fast. The Detroit AI Health Equity Collaborative is working to change that, and Merit is proud to be part of it — backed by a $150K Michigan Health Endowment Fund grant: https://t.co/218hKQ2bwT

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

#Merit60 | The 2010s: built to connect.

🔹 2,287 miles of new fiber (REACH-3MC)
🔹 143 community anchor institutions linked
🔹 55 of 56 ISDs connected via MiSEN
🔹 Michigan Moonshot launches, 2018

Network. Security. Community. 💙

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

Michigan Moonshot is back on the road! 🌠 This week we visited Genesee & Ingham counties, sharing how DOEM connects communities to tech resources and how eduroam expands secure access. More stops ahead — stay tuned! #MichiganMoonshot #Broadband #eduroam #DOEM #Michigan

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

#Merit60 | The 2000s: fiber, forward.

Across the border to Canada. Across the Mackinac Bridge between our two peninsulas. Up to 10 Gbps on the backbone. And $100M+ in federal funding to launch REACH-3MC.

Built with partners, every mile. 💙 #60YearsofMerit

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

@NSF @TAMU This work is already making an impact:

📄 https://t.co/4fNUFL66Fn

📄 https://t.co/v7Nc27RUjv

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

The @NSF has awarded Merit and @TAMU a three-year grant through its Cybersecurity Innovation for Cyberinfrastructure (CICI) program.

The project — SCOPE-X: Optimizing Merit's Network Telescope for High-Quality Large-Scale Datasets.

#MeritNetwork #Cybersecurity #NSF #AIResearch

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

🎉 Milestone in Detroit! On June 5, the Michigan Moonshot team marked the completion of Canopy313 — internet access for all 450 units across 3 Detroit Housing Commission sites.

🌐 Powered by DigitalC
🍽️ 150 meals served with Detroit Jubilee

#MichiganMoonshot #Merit60 #Canopy313

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

Sixty years in, the mission hasn't changed: keeping Michigan connected.

A throwback to the 2000s — at the racks, in the data center, mapping the MichNet backbone, and logging into MeritMail. 👀

We're just getting started. #Merit60 #MeritNetwork

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

💡 Did you know? By 1995, NSFNET traffic had grown nearly 1,000x to 50,000+ networks in 93 countries. Meanwhile MichNet grew from 22 affiliates to 191, with 95%+ of Michigan getting local dial-in access. The 90s were wild for Merit & the Internet.

#Merit60 #60YearsofMerit

[Merit Network @meritnetwork]

From the archives: NSFNET backbone routers, 8-inch floppies, the T1→T3 changeover, and live Shuttle-Mir video streamed over the Internet in 1994.

The decade the research Internet became everyone's Internet. 📼

#Merit60 #60YearsofMerit