NSF Wireless Spectrum R&D Senior Steering Group Workshop (WSRD)

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

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 the president'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 that includes the participation of representatives of all of these groups. Three 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; the second in Berkeley, CA, in January 2012, which undertook a discussion of the need for a national-level wireless testbed capability; and the third in Boulder, CO, in July 2012, which concentrated on identifying specific research topics central to breaking the dynamic spectrum access stalemate between incumbents and innovative new spectrum users. A challenge with the first two workshops was getting adequate and diverse representation from some sectors, because of the lack of travel funds. In the third workshop, and the workshop proposed here, limited travel funds are 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. Bill Lehr of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who is the lead member of the workshop organizing committee.