Verisign has announced its 2012 Internet Infrastructure Award Program, seeking proposals that pursue “research that has the potential to improve the availability and security of Internet access in all parts of the world.” Expanding on a program first launched in 2010, this year’s program seeks to emphasize research that “advances security and stability, encourages Internet deployment, and improves the Internet infrastructure overall.” Verisign will issue two $200,000 awards; each award will support two graduate students for one year, plus institutional overhead.
According to the Verisign announcement:
Verisign is pleased to declare that it will announce two $200,000 research awards on May 2012 to support research that has the potential to improve the availability and security of Internet access in all parts of the world. We are seeking proposals for research topics focused on an Internet that is available and secure in all countries, supporting a range of infrastructures, given the reality that people and organizations are relying to a growing extent on mobile devices of all kinds for their connectivity…
Applications will be accepted from teams composed of researchers from accredited academic institutions, industry research labs, non-profit organizations, for-profit corporations, and governmental agencies. Applications from teams representing institutions in multiple countries are encouraged. All research outputs will be required to be released to the public domain for free and unrestricted use.
Applications will be judged by a six-person panel — including Rick Boucher, former chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Communications and the Internet and co-founder of the Congressional Internet Caucus — against the following criteria:
- Relevance: The applicant(s) should propose research that supports the stated goal of the program, with a specific focus on global accessibility and/or infrastructural improvements that will benefit the developing world.
- Innovation: The applicant(s) should propose research that is innovative, novel and important. Applications will be judged based on the innovative nature of their proposed research foci and goals.
- Feasibility: The applicant(s) should demonstrate that their proposed research plan is feasible and can be fully realized within the timeframe (May 2012 – fall 2013) allowed by the program.
- Overall Quality: Judges are asked to provide their overall impressions of the grant proposals, encompassing all of the aforementioned criteria, as well as any other criteria deemed relevant based on their knowledge and experience in the field.
The deadline to apply is April 5, 2012. Winners will be named in May, and the winning research projects must be completed by May 2013 with results to be presented at a Symposium in Washington, DC, in fall 2013.
To learn more, check out the Verisign announcement, which includes details about the winning projects from 2010, as well as video from the 2011 Symposium.
(Contributed by Erwin Gianchandani, CCC Director)
