USC Named First Homeland Security Center of Excellence
To help protect America from terrorists and weapons of mass destruction, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of University Programs has established the Homeland Security Scholars and Fellows Program (see the Observer, Vol. XXVIII, No. 1, p. 10) and the Homeland Security Centers of Excellence initiative, a program to launch multidisciplinary research centers that will examine key national security issues. The centers were mandated by the Homeland Security Act (see the Observer, Vol. XXVII, No. 3, p. 5) in which Congress called for the establishment of a coordinated, university-based system to enhance the nation's ability to anticipate, prevent, respond to, and recover from various kinds of terrorist attacks.
In November, the University of Southern California (USC) was chosen as the first university to house a Center of Excellence. DHS anticipates providing the university with $12 million over the next three years to support the study of risks and economic consequences related to terrorist threats and events. DHS and USC are currently negotiating those grants.
The USC center, to be known as the Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events, will address both the targets and methods of terrorism, emphasizing protection of the nation's critical infrastructure, such as electrical power, transportation, and telecommuni- cations. It will host a strong, integrated program of research, education, and technology transfer to advance the nation's security. Specifically, the center anticipates developing computer models and tools for planning responses to emergencies with the goal of minimizing the threat to human lives and reducing economic impacts. Additionally, it will launch an educational program, conduct a cybersecurity study, and support other university centers as they are established. The educational program will include professional workshops, fellowships, outreach to local and regional communities, and distance learning courses that could lead to master's degrees or certificates in such areas as cybersecurity and a variety of engineering fields related to homeland security.
Even though USC will house the center, university officials describe it as a national effort. Researchers at USC will collaborate with experts from the University of California at Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
DHS plans to establish up to nine additional centers that will undertake a spectrum of short- and long-range research covering the physical, information, life, social, and engineering sciences. Some specific areas of concern include behavioral research on terrorism and countermeasures, public and health safety technology transfer, agro-bioterrorism countermeasures, and research and development of needed response technologies and operations.
For more information about USC's Homeland Security Center of Excellence, see the university's web sites: http://www.usc.edu/dept/ise/hsc and http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/story.php?id=9582. More information on the Center of Excellence program is available from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security web site: http://www.dhs.gov.
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