Planning Grant: I/UCRC for Broadband Wireless Access and Applications Center Site at the Catholic University of America

Catholic University Of America, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The Catholic University of America (CUA) is planning to join the Broadband Wireless Access and Applications Center (BWAC), an existing multi-university Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) comprising of the University of Arizona (lead institution), Auburn University, Virginia Tech, and the University of Virginia. The planning grant will be used to organize a workshop that will result in a joint industry and university research agenda for the CUA site. The planning grant will also be used to attend the meetings with industry members and travel for recruiting new members. The research activities at CUA will be complementary and synergistic with the other BWAC sites through a focus on emerging wireless networking technologies. The CUA site intends to address the research challenges of broadband wireless access and applications with an integrative approach, and focus on areas including software defined wireless networks (heterogeneous radio access and core networks), information-centric networking and mobile content distribution, cognitive and cooperative communications, advanced antenna design, and sensor data analysis and privacy. The efforts at CUA site will increase the impact of BWAC in technical, educational and outreach activities, and help more fully address the needs for scientific and technological advances to improve the competitiveness of the US wireless sector. The CUA site, in combination with the existing center, will address a critical area of the economy and has potential to help reach the nations broadband goals and enhance the societal ability to access the broadband wireless services. The site will further provide opportunity to develop broadband wireless as a platform for innovation through innovative research projects that are cooperatively selected with the industry partners. The site will be committed towards enhancing the diversity of faculty and students, and underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students will be actively recruited to the program. The partnership of the CUA site with companies and government agencies will provide students early exposure and opportunities in their career development, and enhance the intellectual capacity and quality of the engineering and science workforce.