This award is a planning grant for the Spectrum Innovation Initiative: National Center for Wireless Spectrum Research (SII-Center). The focus of a spectrum research SII-Center goes beyond 5G, IoT, and other existing or forthcoming systems and technologies to chart out a trajectory to ensure United States leadership in future wireless technologies, systems, and applications in science and engineering through the efficient use and sharing of the radio spectrum. This project aims to catalyze the activities of a multi-disciplinary academic team and stakeholders towards collaborative long-term research, education, workforce development and establishing the definitive center of spectrum engineering, policy and science. The SII-Center is envisioned as the corner stone of trans-disciplinary effort, amalgamating efforts of academics, industry, government, policy, standard bodies and scientific and civic communities. The center will transform wireless communications anytime, anywhere, providing use and utilization of spectrum ubiquitously and seamlessly across networks, devices and communities, addressing the critical need of closing the digital divide, providing reliable and secure access to information for all. The broader impact of this effort will directly contribute to the United States reclaiming its rightful place as the global leader in wireless communications and information processing in the internet of everything era.
The comprehensive research vision of the center is to establish the next and last generation of wireless connectivity by an integrative system design that will build on optimal use of wireless resources throughout the spectrum, from hardware to system design, software and policy, ensuring coexistence requirements of communities who are primary users of the spectrum. The project will seek to (i) refine the research vision by engaging industry, government, research labs, and communities with use requirements such as remote sensing and radio astronomy; (ii) formulate research partnerships towards executing the vision; (iii) prepare a comprehensive white paper which will not only contribute to the center proposal, but importantly, will be a stand alone guide for government, learned societies, communities, industry and academia on the last generation of wireless, i.e., a holistic system design making optimum and seamless spectrum utilization an innate component from the outset. The center vision includes inter-disciplinary curricula and workforce development for spectrum science and engineering.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
