Pawr-ENS project office

The National Science Foundation Division of Information and Intelligent Systems awarded US Ignite, Inc. $1,831,101 on October 1, 2025, to operate the PAWR-ENS Project Office, which manages the Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research–Enhanced and Sustained (PAWR-ENS) portfolio of wireless research testbeds and projects.

US Ignite will provide strategic direction on research investment areas, project management support, testing and platform enhancement recommendations, and external engagement with government, industry, and academic stakeholders. The Project Office will align PAWR-ENS platforms with U.S. research and development priorities to accelerate innovation in spectrum sharing, integrated sensing and communications, artificial intelligence, heterogeneous networking, and software-driven networks.

The award funds work at US Ignite's location in Washington, DC 20036 with a period of performance from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2028. No sub-awards are planned for this award. The funding derives from the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070), which supports investigator-initiated research and education in computing, communications, and information science and engineering.

Abstract

The platforms for advanced wireless research (pawr) program was created by the national science foundation (NSF) to accelerate wireless technology development, lower barriers to innovation, and train a future workforce of network and software engineers. To launch the program, NSF instituted the pawr project office (PPO), which managed the selection, deployment, and early operation of four advanced wireless testbeds. As the pawr testbeds matured, the PPO took on new roles with the program including testing and validation of platform capabilities, partner outreach, and wireless research advocacy. NSF has extended support to several of the original pawr platforms and added projects to its community infrastructure for research in computer and information science and engineering (circ) program via enhancing and sustaining grants. Together, these platforms and projects make up the pawr-ENS portfolio, which the pawr-ENS project office is designed to manage. The project office builds on the original mission of the PPO with a specific focus on aligning pawr-ENS platforms with US research and development priorities. This effort will position the pawr-ENS platforms to accelerate innovation in areas such as spectrum sharing, integrated sensing and communications (isac), artificial intelligence (AI), heterogeneous networking, and software-driven networks targeting new applications and use cases. The PPO will provide strategic direction on areas of research investment, project management support, testing and platform enhancement recommendations, and external engagement with a wide range of stakeholders across the government, industry, and academia. 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.- subawards are not planned for this award.