Education Healthcare Research

LEARN: Lonestar Education and Research Network

In 2004, LEARN was created when Texas research institutions and health science centers reached a consensus on a shared vision that it was strategically important to create an organization dedicated to high performance networking in Texas. 

LEARN was enabled by the Texas Legislature via SB1771 in Legislative Session 78, House Bill 7, and supported by the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker of the House, to help build a high speed, advanced fiber optic network for research, education, healthcare, and their non-profit partners to serve the State of Texas.

In the years since, LEARN has become a vital and trusted partner empowering its members to execute their missions through technology and collaboration.

LEARN's Vision: LEARN will be the premier connector of the technology community for member institutions in Texas.

Network Infrastructure

  •  LEARN's optical fiber network spans over 3,200 miles across the state                  
networkmap                                             
  • Connects over 300 direct & affiliate members
  • Scalable state-of-the art optical fiber technology
  • East to west from Beaumont to El Paso and north to south from Lubbock to Brownsville
  • LEARN owned high-performance routers at its 37 strategically located POPs

Member Spotlight

LEARN Member Texas Woman's University Wins NASA Contest

An all-female team of kinesiology students recently received first place honors as part of the Texas Space Grant Consortium Design Challenge. The Texas Woman's University team was the only all-female team that was part of the challenge. The team studied circadian desynchronization and how it can impact astronaut well-being. By looking at how such sleep disruptions are managed on Earth, they explored how solutions could be altered for use in space. The team was able to engineer a wearable light therapy device to secure their competion win.