The Computer Science faculty at Rice University proposes to design and implement an experimental distributed computing system to support numerical computation. Although local networks of single user machines have already been proven for many nonnumerical applications, the concept has yet to be tried in the context of numerical program development and execution. The Rice Numerical Network, or R^n, will consist of approximately 24 single-user numerical machines equipped with high-resolution bit-mapped screens, a 32-bit central processor, and vector floating point hardware. It will also include several specialized server nodes supporting a high-performance vector floating point processor and various peripheral devices including a gateway to the SCnet communications network linking the nation's major computer science research centers. The new facility will support a coherent research program in software systems, computer architecture, and quality numerical software, directed at creating a modern reactive environment for numerical computation. Despite stiff competition from industry and other universities, Rice University has recently assembled the nucleus of computer science faculty required to develop an innovative distributed computing system supporting vector numerical computation and to evaluate its utility as a tool for solving important scientific problems.