NSF Wireless Spectrum Research and Development Senior Steering Group Workshop

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

The Wireless Spectrum R&D (WSRD) Senior Steering Group (SSG) of the National Information Technology R&D (NITRD) program was stood up as a result of President Obama's June 2010 memorandum on "Unleashing the Wireless Broadband Revolution." WSRD's purpose is to implement section 3 of the presidential memorandum, which directs the Secretary of Commerce, "in consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, NASA, and other agencies as appropriate, [to] create and implement a plan to facilitate research, development, experimentation, and testing by researchers to explore innovative spectrum-sharing technologies, including those that are secure and resilient." WSRD facilitates coordination and information exchange regarding federal government research in the spectrum domain. Although WSRD is a committee of the federal government, it closely coordinates its activities with private industry, public safety, academic researchers, and state and local governments, as these sectors are major drivers of spectrum requirements, research, and development. It does so through a series of workshops which include the participations of representatives of all of these groups. Two workshops have been held so far: The first in Boulder, CO, in July 2011, which concentrated on coordinating the current and future federal spectrum R&D portfolio within the broader context; and the second in Berkeley, CA, in January 2012, which undertook a discussion of the need for a national-level wireless testbed capability. A challenge with the previous two workshops was getting adequate and diverse representation from some sectors, because of the lack of travel funds. In this third workshop, to be held in Boulder, CO, in July 2012, limited travel funds will be available to invited participants who might otherwise have difficulty attending. Priority will be given to improving the gender and racial diversity of the workshop participants. The travel grant program will be led by Dr. Timothy Brown of the University of Colorado at Boulder, who is a key member of the workshop organizing committee.