Defense Department Launches $7.5 Million Center of Excellence in Networked Configurable Command, Control and Communications for Rapid Situational Awareness

The Department of Defense (DoD), through the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)), launched a $7.5 million Center of Excellence in Networked Configurable Command, Control and Communications for Rapid Situational Awareness (COE-NC4) at the University of California, Riverside, a Hispanic-serving minority institution.  

The Center was awarded through the OUSD(R&E)’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCUs/MSIs) Research and Education Program and is administered by the Army Research Laboratory.  

By focusing on large-scale networked systems for next-generation computing and communications, the Center will conduct research that enables systems and subsystems for sensing, data analysis, communications and networking, to be seamlessly integrated and adaptive to novel mission needs.  The University of California, Riverside is nationally recognized for both its research capabilities and its diverse student population. The COE-NC4 will connect the university’s talented students, faculty, and staff with fundamental research questions in the development of a robust, resilient, secure, and fully networked infrastructure while responding to failures and security threats.  

“We are excited for the capabilities of University of California, Riverside to further enhance the Department’s efforts to conduct transformative research in these vital areas and their contributions to the defense technology base through the exploration of ideas,” said Dr. Jagadeesh Pamulapati, acting Deputy Director of the Office of Research, Technology, and Laboratories in OUSD(R&E). “The development of key fully networked command, control, and communication applications deepens our ability to solve science and technology challenges ranging from improving the performance of defense networks to accelerating sensing and computing research to further deter our adversaries in support of the DoD’s technology priorities.”

The COE-NC4 supports the Department’s commitment to building a diverse pipeline of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics talent.  This center will integrate underrepresented students into essential research efforts by way of design projects, colloquiums, and internships at defense laboratories and provides participants with a pathway to graduate studies while fostering awareness of critical research that impacts our national security.

“Our partners at the University of California, San Diego, will engage in research using novel communication and computing paradigms to transfer sensitive information safely to enable better decision making,” said Dr. Pamulapati.  “The Center’s research framework will further facilitate collaborations among the partnering institution and the DoD Army Research Laboratory in thrust areas concerning flexible network resource allocation and robustness to adversarial disruptions on sensing and communications infrastructure.”

For more information on the DoD HBCU/MSI Program, see [https://basicresearch.defense.gov/Programs/HBCU-MI-Program/]