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Homeland Security 5 Year Anniversary 2003 - 2008, One Team, One Mission Securing the Homeland

Fact Sheet: Homeland Security Centers of Excellence: Partnering with the Nation’s Universities

Release Date: 01/10/05 00:00:00

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate is harnessing the nation’s scientific knowledge to protect America and our way of life from terrorists and their weapons of mass destruction. The Office of University Programs is furthering this mission by engaging the academic community to create learning and research environments in areas critical to Homeland Security.  

Through a national network of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence, the Department encourages colleges and universities to lead or participate in centers of multi-disciplinary research where important areas of inquiry can be analyzed and debated and academic and policy results can be shared. To create an enduring capability for homeland security and fulfill its stewardship mission, S&T also develops and supports the next generation of scientists through the DHS Scholars and Fellows Program, which provides financial assistance and career development for deserving students whose intellectual pursuits align with the DHS mission.  

Engaging the Academic Community

  • The academic community fulfills a critical role in securing America. Through the Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence Program, S&T is establishing an integrated network of university-based consortia that will conduct multi-disciplinary research and develop innovative educational programs to advance homeland security missions. The selection of the Centers of Excellence encompasses a three-tiered merit-based review process, designed to provide an assessment of the technical and scientific merit of each application, the relevance to the Homeland Security mission, and the management effectiveness of the lead universities and their major partners.    

  • In November 2003, S&T announced its award for the first Homeland Security Center of Excellence, the Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events at the University of Southern California (USC).  USC is partnering with the University of Wisconsin at Madison, New York University, and Structural Decision Corporation (MIT). The Department is providing USC with $12 million over the course of three years to develop modeling capabilities that cut across general threats and targets, and to develop tools for emergency response planning to minimize the threat to human lives and reduce economic impacts of terrorist attacks.

  • In April 2004, S&T selected Texas A&M and the University of Minnesota to lead two Homeland Security Centers of Excellence on agricultural and food security.

    Texas A&M leads the Homeland Security National Center for Foreign Animal Disease and Zoonotic Disease Defense, in partnership with University of California at Davis, University of Southern California, and University of Texas Medical Branch. S&T anticipates providing the Center $18 million over the next three years to provide robust information models and comparison databases to aid decision makers, prioritize needs, and test outcomes, and to develop biological research projects spanning prevention, detection, response and recovery missions. The Center will work closely with partners in academia, industry and government to address potential threats to animal agriculture including Foot and Mouth Disease, Rift Valley fever, Avian influenza and Brucellosis.

    The University of Minnesota leads the Homeland Security National Center for Food Protection and Defense, in cooperation with major food companies and a number of universities, including major partnerships with Michigan State University, North Dakota State, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. S&T anticipates providing the Center $15 million over the next three years to establish best practices and attract new researchers to manage and respond to food contamination events, both intentional and naturally occurring.

  • In January 2005, S&T announced the selection of the University of Maryland and its major partners, the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Colorado, the Monterey Institute of International Studies, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of South Carolina, for the Homeland Security Center of Excellence for Behavioral and Social Research on Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism. This Center will address a set of broad, challenging questions on the causes of terrorism and strategies to counter terrorism, developing the tools necessary to improve our understanding of, and response to, the magnitude of the threat, examining the psychological impact of terrorism on society, and strengthening the population’s resilience in the face of the terrorism.

  • S&T has joined with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program to establish a cooperative center in microbial risk assessment.  Proposals for this center are currently under review.

  • Additional university-based Homeland Security Centers of Excellence are planned across a variety of policy and research and development areas. In January 2005, Homeland Security is announcing a request for proposals for the fifth Homeland Security Center of Excellence focused on the study of high consequence event preparedness and response.

Harnessing the Future of Science

  • The DHS Scholars and Fellows Program supports the development and mentoring of the next generation of scientists as they study ways to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce America's vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recovery efforts from attacks that do occur.

  • The Scholarship and Fellowship program provides scholarships for undergraduate and fellowships for graduate students pursuing degrees in mission-critical fields of study.  Undergraduate Scholars receive tuition and fees plus a monthly stipend for nine months; graduate Fellows also receive tuition and fees and a twelve-month stipend.  Students also receive professional mentoring and complete a summer internship to connect academic interests with homeland security initiatives.  

  • For the 2004-2005 academic year, the program has expanded to 82 Scholars and 92 Fellows.   These 174 students will be studying and pursuing research at 93 colleges and universities, located in 38 states and the District of Columbia. The majority of the students are studying engineering (63), followed by physical sciences and math (34), life sciences (31), social sciences (28), and computer and information sciences (18).

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January 2005

This page was last reviewed/modified on 01/10/05 00:00:00.