OVERVIEW OF SACRI
George Washington University
September, 2002
Space and Advanced
Communications Research Institute
(SACRI)
Prof. Joseph N. Pelton, Director
David Smith and Neil Helm, Deputy Directors
Frank Loch, BAH and Prof. Hermann Helgert,
Co-Chair of Industry Advisory Council
“THE SACRI VISION”
To Build a Globally-Recognized Research
Institute that will Conduct Leading Edge
Research in the Areas of Space
Applications, Wireless Systems, and
Networking. The special emphasis will be in
Satellite Communications with regard to
advanced technology, next generation
systems, air and transportation safety,
disaster recovery and anti-terrorism
applications.
Background

SACRI integrates the GW Netlab and the GW
Institute for Applied Space Research (IASR) into
a single research entity
 SACRI draws on GW core faculty, graduate
students, industry advisory board, CIT Support,
access to the Telecom City University Research
Consortium (with the ability to partner with
MIT, Harvard, Tufts, BU, etc.) and existing R&D
contracts all help to create a viable base from
which to launch SACRI
Current or Near-term Pending Research

Center for Innovative Technology (Va.)Creation of the SACRI Lab ($75K)
 Hewlett Packard CompanyNew Broadband Satellite Applications for Telecommuting
($57K)
 Communications Research Lab of Japan- Advanced GeoPlatform Comsat Systems Phase 4- ($60K)
- Satellite Systems Policy and Standards Reports ($75K)
 TASC-Northrop Grumman3 year contract to support satellite design work ($50K)
Current or Near-term Pending Research

NTTC Emergency Response Technology Program
Urban Casualty Relocator Development Program ($170K)
 NASA Goddard ($24.5K)
Feasibility demonstration of cyber-locator system for
satellite communications security
 Japan-US Okinawa Disaster Simulation (Pending)
Joint Project with Asian Disaster Reducation Center,
Pacific Disaster Center, CRL of Japan and Japan-US
Science Technology and Space Applications Program.
(Scope and budget under development)
SACRI Concept Description

GW, in collaboration with industry partners, will
organize, structure , populate and market the
SACRI concept. SACRI will team with sister
Institutes such as Aviation Institute, Space Policy
Institute, Crisis and Disaster Management Institute
and Cyberspace Policy Institute
 Initial phase of SACRI will be funded through a
combination of GW and industry participation and
existing contracts with HP, TASC, CRL, CIT, etc..
 Industry and Government clients will be identified to
provide long-term funding for the Institute.
SACRI Telecom Center
Research Facility

To be developed in partnership with GWU
Aviation Institute
 Capable of supporting R&D and training in
the areas of aircraft traffic control and
monitoring, industry call centers and
telecommuting. (Up to million dollar facility)
 Development plan under development with
industry, government and university partners
SACRI Relationships
GWU
SEAS
SACRI
Academic/Industry
Resources
•Join existing Netlab and
IASR capabilities
•Educational Programs
•Faculty & Graduate Students
•Industry Partners
•Telecom City Univ. Research
Consortium
Facility
Expanded
LAB w/
GWU-VA
Location
Funding Sources
•Existing contracts with
HP, CRL, TASC, CIT
•Grants
•Industry Partners
•Clients
•Cooperative projects with
Aviation Institute ,SPI, CPI
SACRI Organization

Herman Helgert and Frank Loch, Co-Chair
of Advisory Council
 Joseph N. Pelton, Director
 Neil Helm and David Smith, Dep. Directors
 Other Researchers: Peter MacDoran, Ivan
Bekey, D.K..Sachdev, and Al Schneider
 Research Assistants:Zubair Abdullah, Nadir
Khan, Justin Borodinsky
SACRI Product/ Service
Offerings

We will research, develop and provide
technology solutions for our Government
and Commercial Clients.
 We will focus on the “hard” front-end
technology related problems.
 Our products will include analysis,
simulation, demonstrations, and
technology insertion solutions.
Current Implementation

Work with Industry representatives to develop the
SACRI Charter, Business Plan, Facility/ Research
Plan and Schedule.
 Define a set of specific research projects which can
grow SACRI’s product/service offerings.
 Renew and expand existing contracts and
partnerships, increase ECE and other GWU faculty
participation and partnership with sister Institutes
 Update and expand Web Page and GWU Catalog
description
Current SACRI Industry
Advisory Board








Frank Loch, BAH and Prof. Hermann Helgert, GWU,
Co-Chair
Louis Ippolito, Chief Scientist, ITT Industries
David Powell, Senior V.P, Tellabs
Mary Ann Elliot, Pres/CEO, Arrowhead Space and
Telecommunications, Inc.
D.K. Sachdev, Principal, Spacetel Consultancy
Pat Talty, Director, TASC, Northrop Grumman
Mark Tigerman, Chief Scientist, Futurewave, Inc.
David Messner, VP and GM, General Dynamics Network
Services
Summary

An initial SACRI concept has been defined with
significant corporate input and advice. A new 4 year
Charter was recently granted by the University
 A number of research contracts have been awarded and
several other major awards are pending
 Expansion of the SACRI lab is being planned, a joint
Telecommunications Center research facility in
partnership with the Aviation Institute is in development
and an expanded website created
 A core group of GW faculty and Senior Research
Scientists are ready to move forward towards detailed
definition and implementation
Contact

For Further Information contact:
Dr. Joseph N. Pelton (703) 536-6985
jpelton@seas.gwu.edu or ecjpelton@aol.com
Neil Helm (202) 994-5509 or (301) 229-8991
neil.helm@mindspring.com or helm@seas.gwu.edu