WI-L EAD :

Creating a Culture of Wireless Leadership

M OT I VAT I O N

Over the last decade, there has been a veritable explosion of wireless technology impacting nearly all aspects of society. Wireless technology itself will play a critical role in providing Internet access with broadband being identied by the FCC as the grand infrastructure challenge problem, akin to electricity and the national highway system. To this point, advances have been made possible through considerable research and development on the part of both industry and academia. Although the large investment into the technical aspects of wireless has created considerable prociency in training effective technology implementers, there is a distressing lack of training for technology leaders. Wireless technology leaders of tomorrow must be versed not only in the core technology itself but must broaden themselves to consider impacts in a wireless ecosystem, encompassing areas of law, sociology, economics, and beyond. AN URGENT NATIONAL NEED The recently released FCC National Broadband Plan to Connect America articulates in great depth how broadband and wireless technology will broadly affect society, encompassing economics, health care, education, government, energy and environment, and public safety. Notably, the report identies how wireless technology will play a critical role if not the dening role for nationwide broadband that will be the great infrastructure challenge of the 21st century akin to electricity a century ago. Such a grand societal challenge requires leaders who possess not only technical innovation and know-how, but also a broad understanding of human aspects of wireless technology. For instance, the ability to provide sufcient wireless connectivity is critically dependent on the

management of available spectrum space as smart wireless device use increases. A leader well-versed in governmental regulations (law) regarding spectrum regulation married with technical savvy can drive such policy and thinking. Similarly, the prolic use of mobile devices for communication proffers the question of whether mobile devices are changing communication and social patterns, and if so, in what ways? A scientist that possesses both an appreciation for the intricacies of the impact of wireless from its underlying technology and the processes that drive the societal implications can bridge such a gap in academia. Tomorrows leaders in wireless technology must possess an integrative educational experience crossing the myriad of disciplines in law, business, sociology and engineering. These leaders will transform wireless technology in national and international government, industry, and academic realms. VISION An interdisciplinary team of computer scientists, electrical engineers, and social scientists at the University of Notre Dame are working to a new type of wireless researcher, a scientist whose foundation is rooted in the business, legal, and broader societal implications of wireless technology while still being well versed enough in depth to understand the nuances and limitations of the wireless technology itself. Under the umbrella of the Notre Dame Wireless Institute, the researchers are working to create the WI-Lead program to catalyze the wireless technology with the breadth of law, business, and social sciences. In order to cultivate such leadership, the WI-Lead program consists of three major integrative experiences forming the core educational training and two minor integrative experiences for career development. The rst integrative

J. Nicholas Laneman // Director & Associate Professor // 574.631.8034 // jnl@nd.edu

experience is tailored around leadership tracks bringing together an interdisciplinary group of faculty to advise and guide the student. Example leadership tracks include Wireless Entrepreneurship (Business, Law, Engineering), Societal Impacts of Pervasive Communications (Sociology, Law, Engineering), and Wireless as a Tool for Social Justice (Economics, Sociology, Engineering, Psychology, Political Studies). INNOVATIVE CURRICULUM The rst year will be foundational with the student enrolling in Notre Dames Engineering, Science, and Technology Entrepreneurship Masters Program (ESTEEM), championing a wireless technology through the technology transfer process. The ESTEEM Program is a one-year Masters of Science Program developed as a joint program of the College of Science, College of Engineering and Mendoza College of Business. The objective is to provide Science and Engineering graduates the skills required to take science and/or engineering inventions and translate those inventions into commercial ventures while strengthening their science and/or engineering skills. This unique experience provides a rich set of course experience encompassing Business, Law, Engineering, and Science, and most importantly, provides a maturity in later research for recognizing the larger impact of their future research in the program. The capstone to the rst year curriculum is a yearlong thesis project. For the WI-Lead IGERT student, the project will focus on transitioning one particular technology from the lab to the real world. The student will work with an advisor to fully dene the invention, the universe of potential applications, the intellectual property, alternatives, barriers to commercialization and plans to overcome the barriers. The thesis project culminates in a thoroughly researched and developed business plan to commercialize the invention. Students complete the ESTEEM program with an appreciation of how to transition wireless technology and the larger economic implications (market

survey, competitors, etc.) of the particular technology the student investigates. In the third year, students will then embark on an extended internship appropriate for their selected leadership track. Potential opportunities include internships at governmental agencies such as the FCC, working abroad with the Ugandan outreach program exploring the impact of wireless technology on farmers, internships at legal rms serving as technology consultants with their advisers. Minor integrative experiences during the second and fourth year, include visiting standards body meetings over a multiyear period, sitting in on town / county policy meetings regarding technology, and writing white page policy papers will provide further career development. All of the integrative experiences will augment a core Ph.D (year two and beyond). Finally, the experience will culminate in the fth year emphasizing leadership through communication to nonscientist audiences. Examples of trainee experiences include producing accessible video tutorials for government agencies on particular topics or giving the equivalent of a wireless TED Talk at a wireless colloquium organized by the Wireless Institute. PARTNERING WITH THE PROGRAM In order to train tomorrows generation of global wireless thought leaders, partnerships with the leading companies in the wireless domain are essential. To participate in the program, please contact the director of the Wireless Institute, Dr. J. Nicholas Laneman at jnl@nd.edu, (574) 631-8034 Further information regarding the concept of the WI-Lead program can be found at: