The five new Centers of Excellence, located across the country, will study border security and immigration; explosives detection, mitigation, and response; maritime, island and port security; natural disasters, coastal infrastructure and emergency management; and transportation security.

Stevens in Hoboken, N.J., and The University of Ha-waii in Honolulu , Hawaii, will co-lead a new Center of Excellence for Maritime, Island and Port Security, responsible for conducting research and developing new ways to strengthen maritime domain awareness and safeguard populations and properties unique to US islands, and remote and extreme environments. Stevens will lead research and education in port secu-rity and the University of Hawaii will lead research and education for maritime and island security.

“Congratulations to the Dean of Engineer-ing & Science Michael S. Bruno and the en-

tire team at Stevens who have achieved this recognition, and who will make significant contributions to research that will benefit the nation’s maritime and port security infra-structure,” said Stevens’ Provost & Uni-versity Vice President, George P. Korfiatis.

“This recognition is the result of a highly selec-tive national competition among research universi-ties. Stevens’ long history of maritime engineering and pre-eminence in the realm of port and harbor security will guarantee for years to come a steady flow of

technology advances of national significance as part of the DHS program.”

“Investments in long-term, basic research are vital for the future of homeland secu-rity,” said Jay M. Cohen, Under Secretary for Science and Technology. “These colleges and universities are leaders in their fields of study. They will provide scientific expertise, high-quality resources, and independent thought – all valuable to securing America.”

The winning proposal led by Stevens in-volves other universities including Rutgers University, the University of Miami, MIT, the University of Alaska, and the University of Puerto Rico.

“We look forward to initiating a range of leading-edge research projects to address the complex security issues facing our nation’s ports and Marine Transportation System (MTS),” said Dr. Bruno. “Together with our partners, we will break new ground in the integrated use of multi-scale sensors and computer simulation and forecasting models to equip our port security and first-responder communities with the technolo-gies and processes needed to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the MTS, which is responsible for the vast majority of the nation’s international commerce. True to the Stevens tradition, we will weave these research activities into our education and professional training programs, to ensure that our students are equipped to contribute immediately to the solutions to these very complex problems.”

US Department of Homeland Security selects Stevens Institute of Technology to lead national research effort in Port Security

T he US Department of Homeland Security has announced the selection of Stevens Institute of Technology as one of 11 universities to serve as

important partners for conducting multi-disciplinary research and creating innovative learning environments for critical homeland security missions. These universities will partner to lead one of five new Centers of Excellence and each will receive a multi-year grant of up to $2 mil-lion per year, over a period of four to six years.

This recognition is

the result of a highly

selective national

competition among

research universities.

StevensNewsService.com/Views