Researchers outlined plans for Stanford’s “clean-slate initiative” last month, part of a global effort to redesign the basic structure of the Internet. The project aims to start with a “clean slate,” as researchers imagine how they would design the Internet if they could start anew.

Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Nick McKeown is the project’s team leader.

“We want to look back in 20 years and see that we — here at Stanford — have had a significant impact on the future Internet,” McKeown said in an email to The Daily. “With the breadth of world-class expertise here on campus, and the proximity to the center of the networking industry, Stanford is well-placed to do it.”

According to Stanford’s Clean Slate team, researchers affiliated with the effort believe that the Internet has significant deficiencies in security and mobility. The site outlines five key areas for projected research: network architecture, heterogeneous applications, heterogeneous physical layer technologies, security and economics and policy.

Governments worldwide are interested in the clean-slate initiative because of its relationship to Internet surveillance efforts, such as blocking pornographic or politically sensitive Web pages and tracking those who distribute such material.

“In theory [the project] would be an excellent idea, but I think there are political issues to overcome,” former FBI official Les Szwajkowski told the International Herald Tribune. “There would be a reluctance to say you have an investigative agency at the table involved in a deep reworking of the Internet.”

Still, Szwajkowski admitted building in surveillance controls would certainly cut government costs down the road.

In addition to partnering with other universities around the world, Stanford’s clean-slate initiative is working closely with Cisco Systems, Japan’s DoCoMo and Germany’s Deutsche Telekom.