What is AASHI?

AASHI is a Department of Defense (DoD) Center of Excellence focused on large-scale networked systems for next-gen computing and communications. The goal of the AASHI center is to  develop a unified framework for managing a large heterogeneous network, diverse in several facets such as nodes varying in compute, communication and software, operating in a harsh dynamic setting with active adversaries.

Future tactical and strategic networks are envisioned as a heterogeneous but integrated systems of systems. These networks will consist of a large number of heterogeneous devices in terms of their computation capabilities, the types of links they can communicate over, as well as the types of sensor inputs they can obtain. Beyond this, the types of links that exist in such networks are dynamic, intermittent, uncertain and subject to adversarial influence. Because of these factors, conventional solutions to autonomously manage networks, that have been developed for the commercial and civilian world at large, cannot be simply deployed in a plug and play fashion in such settings. Our goal is to develop a resilient system-of-systems where the system can self-organize itself to optimally allocate the compute and communication resources to make the task-informed information available for mission success. To that end, we will identify network-level information flows of varying importance and assign network resources towards mission-level strategic decision making, while autonomously determining the changes that are needed in terms of resource allocation to change the granularity of information fidelity. We also seek to protect this information from both various types of known, as well as yet unforeseen attacks from active and passive attackers.

Another key focus of AASHI is to train the next generation of graduate and undergraduate students in cutting-edge research topics in communications, networking, security and machine learning. To this end, the center will strengthen research programs and enhance capabilities across science and engineering disciplines while increasing the number of graduates in STEM fields aligned with the center's mission. It will also establish a colloquium series focused on topics relevant to the center, provide undergraduate students with internship opportunities, and create a mentorship program to encourage and support their pursuit of graduate studies. In addition, the center will offer both undergraduate and graduate students opportunities to engage in cutting-edge research that helps prepare the workforce of the future.