Cisco (News - Alert) is furthering smart grid research by collaborating with the University of Waterloo.

Both partners have agreed to establish a Cisco Systems Research Chair in Smart Grid, meant to promote, support and lead research, development and innovation within the use of technologies and solutions for smart power grids.

Professor Srinivasan Keshav has been chosen to be the Cisco Chair in Smart Grid. In this prestigious position, Professor Keshav will engage in activities directed at advanced technologies and strategies that will involve research, development and innovation in the use of transformational business architectures, technologies and solutions for smart grids.

All these efforts will help the University of Waterloo to further its strategic goals and long-range vision to position itself as one of the top universities in the world.

"This collaboration with Cisco will help the university continue its research excellence in these areas and build innovative solutions within the area of energy systems so that we may address some of the challenges facing us today," said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice chancellor of Waterloo.

Cisco will pour about $1 million to establish the Cisco Chair in Smart Grid. The money will be invested over the next five years and aid focused research on the full integration of information science and technology concepts for power grid.

Looking forward, these efforts will deliver several benefits such as enhancing security, reliability and effective performance of key components such as storage and renewable resources.

“The university understands the significance of IT research and development for Ontario and Canada as a whole, and it's a vision Cisco is delighted to participate in,” said Cisco Canada president Nitin Kawale.

Cisco has introduced over the past few months new solutions aimed at helping IT departments more easily manage the bring-your-own-device phenomenon, and wireless networks at large.