Cooperative Agreement 2218579

PAWR PROJECT OFFICE RENEWAL -THE PLATFORMS FOR ADVANCED WIRELESS RESEARCH (PAWR) PROGRAM, AS ADMINISTERED BY THE PAWR PROJECT OFFICE (PPO), IS BUILDING A SHARED INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATION IN WIRELESS RESEARCH THROUGH THE DEPLOYMENT OF FOUR LARGE-SCALE NETWORK TESTBEDS ACROSS THE U.S. THESE PLATFORMS PROVIDE UNIQUE CAPABILITIES FOR TESTING NEXT-GENERATION NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES, AND FOR ENSURING A HEALTHY AND INCLUSIVE ECOSYSTEM FOR WIRELESS INNOVATION. WITH AN EMPHASIS ON OPEN AND PROGRAMMABLE NETWORK SYSTEMS, THE PAWR PROGRAM ENABLES WIRELESS RESEARCH THROUGH 5G, 6G, AND BEYOND. IT ALSO FORMS A HUB FOR ACADEMIC, COMMERCIAL, AND GOVERNMENT INTERESTS, CREATING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESEARCH COLLABORATION DESIGNED TO SUSTAIN U.S. WIRELESS LEADERSHIP AND ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS. THE PPO WILL EXTEND THE SUCCESS OF THE PAWR PROGRAM BY STRENGTHENING PLATFORM OPERATIONS TO SUPPORT RESEARCH IN AREAS SUCH AS SPECTRUM SHARING, OPEN AND SOFTWARE-DRIVEN NETWORKS, AND MACHINE LEARNING TO OPTIMIZE NETWORK PERFORMANCE. THE PPO WILL CONTINUE MANY EXISTING EFFORTS TO DRIVE THE TESTBEDS TOWARD SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS AND THE PRODUCTION OF MEANINGFUL RESEARCH AND INDEPENDENT DATASETS. IT WILL ALSO INTRODUCE NEW ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE PLATFORM USABILITY, TARGET HIGH-VALUE INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPS, AND EXTEND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES ACROSS THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY. THESE EFFORTS WILL HELP TO EXPAND AND ACCELERATE WIRELESS INNOVATION, AND ENHANCE BOTH THE CONNECTIVITY AND SECURITY OF U.S. NETWORKS. 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.