Welcome to the 2026 NSF US-UAE Workshop

Innovative uses of the electromagnetic spectrum have enabled transformative breakthroughs across science and technology, from global communications to fundamental discoveries in cosmology. As spectrum use expands beyond specialized applications to support diverse functions, such as sensing, navigation, and scientific exploration, efficient sharing and management becomes increasingly complex and essential. Addressing these challenges requires interdisciplinary and international research that spans engineering, computing, and policy. The goal of this workshop is to organize a workshop that brings together stakeholders from the United States (US) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to discuss the current state-of-the-art, and future evolution of spectrum research that can help shape future societal and technological breakthroughs in this space.

The workshop will seek to increase research community understanding of the current state of spectrum innovations, defined as solutions that can significantly improve how the radio spectrum is shared, managed, designed, and accessed, with the goal of benefiting society, governments, and regulators by expanding spectrum use and flexibility across multiple domains and applications.  Workshop topics will revolve around three fundamental and convergent themes:

• Theme 1: Spectrum Innovation Fundamentals: Foundational spectrum science, integrating AI for dynamic sharing, efficient management, and real-time optimization across diverse users and technologies.  

• Theme 2: Applications of Spectrum Innovations: Spectrum innovations for next-generation applications ranging from wireless networks to space communications, remote sensing, radar, and radio astronomy       

• Theme 3: Spectrum Security, Policy, and Economics: Socio-technical spectrum research addressing security, privacy, policy, and governance for shared and heterogeneous systems.