PLAYAS, N.M. (March 8, 2024)—Leaders from government, academia and industry recently gathered at New Mexico Tech’s Playas Research and Training Center (PRTC) to discuss a real-world scientific problem: the cluttered and shared spectrum in the era of future generation wireless networking technologies. The spectrum stakeholders shared the objective of  collaboration between them for a common plan of interests and needs. PRTC hosted the milestone meeting Feb. 13, 2024, at its site, located in the New Mexico Bootheel.

The meeting’s participants are looking at New Mexico Tech and PRTC to showcase the geographic and environmental advantages of PRTC for training, spectrum monitoring and sensing. PRTC serves government and industry clients, nationally and internationally, that require controlled environment, reality-based testing and training venues in any aspect of physical security. PRTC provides a unique, adaptive, controlled and comprehensive range platform to advance the effectiveness and appropriateness of client tactics, techniques and procedures.

The Playas-hosted gathering attracted representatives from a variety of groups, including from the Office of the Undersecretary of the Secretary of Defense (OUSD), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Defense (DoD) and many others.

Spectrum sharing is “a way to optimize the use of the airwaves, or wireless communications channels, by enabling multiple categories of users to safely share the same frequency bands,” according to NIST.

Many major players joined the discussion of dynamic spectrum sharing, including:

• Dr. Tom Rondeau is the principal director for FutureG for the U.S. Department of Defense, serving in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)). In this role, Dr. Rondeau is responsible for guiding the department on research, funding, and execution of programs around warfighting capabilities using future generation wireless technologies.
• Dr. Dan Massey is the Director of Advanced Component Development and Prototypes for FutureG within the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)).
• Dr. John Chapin is special advisor for spectrum at the National Science Foundation, a role in which he serves as program officer in the Electromagnetic Spectrum unit of the division of Astronomical Sciences and advisor on strategic spectrum issues to NSF leadership.
• Dr. Paul Ransom joined NTIA’s Office of Spectrum Management in May 2020, where he has been involved in various spectrum repurposing activities. He has been instrumental in the effort to launch the Incumbent Informing Capability, helping to identify initial requirements, participating in outreach efforts and in the overall planning activity.

Dr. Michael Doyle, vice president for research at New Mexico Tech, based in Socorro, New Mexico, lauded the progress made at the site visit.

“This was a terrific event that brought together major stakeholders from across many branches of the U.S. government to explore the unique national resource that the NMT PRTC represents for enabling technology research, development, training, and real world validation of tools, systems and approaches for both spectrum management and spectrum sharing in the era of 5G and FutureG technologies,” he said.

About New Mexico Tech

New Mexico Tech, also known as New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, is a STEM-focused university in centrally located Socorro, New Mexico. Ranking high in the regional and national standings, this community of scholars and educators is dedicated to research, innovation and education that will meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. NMT is recognized as a “Hispanic-serving institution” (HSI), with more than 40 percent of its students identifying as Hispanic. New Mexico Tech is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission as a doctoral degree-granting university.

All media inquiries, please contact Jay Ann Cox, Communications Specialist, 575-835-5260, jay.cox@nmt.edu.