Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) is sure about science. The not-for-profit association is a consortium of more than 60 universities and colleges in the southern and eastern US that helps to coordinate and sponsor research projects in engineering, biology, physical sciences, and natural sciences. Its main areas of interest are nuclear physics, information technology, and coastal research. To qualify for SURA sponsorship, a project must be conducted by more than one institution. SURA also operates the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Laboratory, a lab dedicated to studying the structure of atoms. SURA was founded in 1980 and SURAnet became the first regional IT network in the mid-1980s.