By: J.D. Ross
(315) 443-3094
Faculty members and graduate students working with the Wireless Grid Innovation Testbed (WiGiT) and Wireless Grid Lab at the School of Information Studies were interviewed this past weekend by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Directorate of Engineering Industrial Innovation and Partnerships program to highlight the work they have done as recipients of the NSF’s Partnerships for Innovation Program grants.
WiGiT and the Wireless Grid Lab assist in refining wireless technologies to create markets and bridge the gap between network middleware and grid application layers. By contributing to open standards and application programming interfaces for wireless grids, work in the WiGiT distributed experimental testbed will help accelerate commercialization and adoption of new wireless solutions and products.
Wireless Grid Lab executive director Edward Nanno explains, “we’re at a juncture in this adventure. We’re getting to a critical mass with wireless grid products and services entering the marketplace, and are developing open specifications and standards for these wireless technologies. The NSF wanted to showcase what we’re doing at a pivotal point in this project, so we took them to four separate test sites around Syracuse to let them see the impact of the technology in the community.”
The videotaped interviews and demos will be available on the NSF website, and according to Nanno, “exposure on the NSF’s site will be a great way for us to draw companies and additional partner universities into this project.”
The goals of the NSF’s Partnerships for Innovation Program are to stimulate the transformation of knowledge created by the research and education sector into innovations that create new wealth, enhance local and regional economies, and improve the national well-being.
WiGiT is a joint partnership led by the School of Information Studies and Virginia Tech, and includes researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University and Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon, Portugal. The partnership recently welcomed participation by the Rochester Institute of Technology, University at Albany College of Nanoscience and Engineering, City College of New York, Wayne State University, and University of Zululand.
Companies participating include Govsphere, Critical Technologies, Wireless Grids Corporation, Clear Channel Radio, SRC, Qualcomm, Sensyr, MOD-Eco, Innoventure and Summerhill Biomass Systems.
Governmental organizations include the Syracuse City School District, Rockland County BOCES, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.