2007 ORAU Annual Report - Oak Ridge Associated Universities

ORISE Coordinates
First DHS University
Network Summit
Image Information
Myrtle Evans-Holland of Morgan State University’s School
of Public Health and Policy was one of 36 students
who participated in the poster session at the first DHS
University Network Summit on Research and Education in
Washington, D.C., in March 2007.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
DHS Centers of Excellence
Center
Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events
(CREATE)
National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD)
National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease
Defense (FAZD)
National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and
Responses to Terrorism (START)
Center for the Study of Preparedness and Catastrophic
Event Response (PACER)
Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment (CAMRA)
University Affiliate Centers to the Institute for Discrete
Sciences
Regional Visualization and Analytics Centers
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
is working to protect our nation from future acts of
terrorism by tapping into the scientific knowledge and
technological expertise found in the U.S. academic
community. With the establishment of the DHS Centers
of Excellence under the Homeland Security Act of 2002,
scientists and researchers at universities nationwide
now collaborate on high-priority homeland security
issues. The Centers, which are supported by the DHS
Office of University Programs, focus on studies of
biological, chemical, and radiological threats; explosive
devices; and cyber-terrorism; as well as agricultural/food
system security, behavioral aspects of terrorism, and
preparedness and response to catastrophic events.
Location
University of Southern California
University of Minnesota
Texas A&M University
University of Maryland
Johns Hopkins University
Michigan State University
Led by Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory
Led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Since 2003, ORISE has managed the peer-review
process to help DHS select six university-based and two
laboratory-based Centers of Excellence where homeland
security issues are analyzed, and innovative practices are
developed to advance the DHS mission. In March 2007,
the department held the first DHS University Network
Summit on Research and Education to offer a look at the
achievements of the Centers of Excellence.
Representatives from the DHS Centers were on hand
to address the department’s scientific research and
education needs at the three-day summit, which was
attended by more than 400 homeland security officials,
professionals, researchers, educators, and students,
as well as other interested parties in government,
academia, and industry. Spotlighting University
Program’s initiatives and how they were being achieved
was the primary focus of the summit. DHS officials were
also on hand to discuss research and education needs
in the key divisions of the Science and Technology
(S&T) Directorate.
ORISE coordinated the summit with the Office of
University Programs to ensure a well-organized event
that allowed valuable interaction between Centers
of Excellence students and stakeholders through a
showcase of poster presentations and discussions about
past, present, and future research.
“The first DHS University Network Summit was a
watershed event that brought the Centers of
Excellence together with each other and DHS to focus
some of the nation’s top scientific talent on homeland
security issues,” said Matthew Clark, director of the
DHS Office of University Programs. “The Centers
provide DHS with access to the best intellects and
facilities available in academia. ORISE served a critical
role working with S&T to plan and execute this event at
a high level of professionalism, allowing us to showcase
DHS’ commitment to homeland security research
and education.”
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