Thanks for your note Dick. The only thing I would add is that I do have specific information as to what the students will be asked to do, if the funding comes through. Ettus Research produces a series of SDR's called the USRP line. The software for these SDR's is highly configurable. Each student team will be provided with one of these radios to experiment with various settings within the software to see what they are able to learn and discover going through various scenarios and then setting out on their own. As you reiterated, beyond connecting the project team with High School or College student clubs we currently enjoy a relationship with, we don't need to be involved any further. If we want to be more involved, we can. There is also nothing exclusive about this relationship. Any team or organization that is pursuing a grant under this NSF program could also ask if we are interested in getting involved if they win funding, and we can. There's no tacit or explicit endorsement associated with this or any of these teams. David -----Original Message----- From: arrl-odv <arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org> On Behalf Of Richard Norton via arrl-odv Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2021 2:10 PM To: arrl-odv <arrl-odv@arrl.org> Subject: [arrl-odv:32321] Proposed Endorsement of One Specific NSF Grant Contender The National Science Foundation is conducting a competitive procurement for the establishment of a "National Center for Wireless Spectrum Research (SII-Center)." Apparently there are a number of contenders for the funding. Among the teams competing is one lead by Northeastern University in Boston. Involved with, and possibly leading the effort, is Michael Marcus, N3JMM. His consulting business, Marcus Spectrum Solutions LLC, focusing on radio spectrum regulation capabilities, has a web-site, https://www.marcus-spectrum.com/ . It has been reported that there are other universities that are involved in the Northeastern team, but they have not been identified. Marcus is listed as an adjunct faculty member of Northeastern, although he apparently resides in Maryland and Northeastern is in Boston. Other web information shows him listed as an adjunct faculty member of Virginia Tech. A cursory check on Google shows other teams involved in efforts to land funding. One, named Spectrum X, includes faculty members from Notre Dame, UC Berkeley, and Olin College of Engineering. A University of Colorado Denver page has information about the solicitation. There are probably more. Marcus has approached the ARRL to add the League as a member of the Northeastern proposal team. 1) The League would add its imprimatur to this specific competitor, and 2) apparently encourage apparent unpaid participation in that team's efforts by college radio clubs that are connected with the League. As David Minster said, "Beyond connecting the research team to clubs, we technically don’t need to be involved at any other level." Summary The League does not appear to know whether this team, or one or more of the others, is the best choice for government funding. The League does not appear to know exactly what this team will ask of the college radio clubs. If, in the future, some defined tasks can be presented, the League can evaluate them and, if appropriate, encourage college club participation. The League's commitment is near zero, and our expectation of applause from our membership or the public should recognize that. Recommendation At this stage, I suggest we reply with words to the effect of the following: The ARRL is generally supportive of experimentation and research by Amateur Radio collegiate clubs. If groups wish League endorsement of any particular club-related request, please forward details of the work desired, and the League will consider its backing. 73, Dick, N6AA _______________________________________________ arrl-odv mailing list arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org https://reflector.arrl.org/mailman/listinfo/arrl-odv