Lloyd J. Austin III Secretary of Defence | Official website
The Department of Defense has announced the selection of a team of American and Finnish academic researchers to investigate fundamental questions that could lead to significant advancements in future communication systems.
Awarded through the Bilateral Academic Research Initiative (BARI), the "Self-Programmable Metasurface Networks for Wireless Communications and IoT (Internet of Things)" project is led by Professor Andrea Alu at the City University in New York and Professor Sergei Tretyakov at Aalto University in Finland. The team also includes researchers from Northeastern University in Boston, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Helsinki.
The BARI program enables academic teams from the United States and partner countries to combine their unique skills and resources to pursue high-risk basic research. During the U.S.-Finland project's four-year period, the U.S. research team will receive up to $4 million from the Basic Research Office within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, while the Finnish team will receive up to €3 million (about $3.3 million) from the Research Council of Finland.
"The BARI program showcases the remarkable potential of international collaboration. By combining the diverse perspectives and expertise of leading scientists from the U.S. and Finland, this initiative will drive important advancements in scientific fields of mutual interest to both nations," said Dr. Bindu Nair, director for basic research at R&E.
"It is wonderful that our first bilateral joint call with the U.S. Department of Defense has proven to be a great success, enabling cutting-edge collaborative research efforts where teams from Finland and the United States combine unique expertise to provide rapid advances in fundamental science," said Professor Paula Eerola, president of the Research Council of Finland.
This project, jointly sponsored by OUSD(R&E) Basic Research Office and the Research Council of Finland, seeks to explore materials and devices, network science and embedded intelligence, as well as human interactions.
For more information on the Basic Research Office, please visit: http://basicresearch.defense.gov/
About USD(R&E)
The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) is the Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Defense. The USD(R&E) champions research, science, technology, engineering, and innovation to maintain the U.S. military's technological advantage. Learn more at www.cto.mil or visit us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ousdre.
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