The DHS S&T Centers of Excellence (COEs) develop multidisciplinary, customer-driven, homeland security science and technology solutions and help train the next generation of homeland security experts.

Providing Practical Homeland Security Solutions

The COE network is an extended consortium of hundreds of universities conducting groundbreaking research to address homeland security challenges. Sponsored by the Office of University Programs, the COEs work closely with the homeland security community to develop customer-driven, innovative tools and technologies to solve real-world challenges. COE partners include academic institutions; industry; national laboratories; DHS operational components; S&T divisions; other federal agencies; state, local, tribal and territorial homeland security agencies; and first responders. These partners work in concert to develop critical technologies and analyses to secure the nation.

Newly Awarded COEs (2015)

• Center for Borders, Trade, and Immigration Research (CBTIR), led by the University of Houston, develops technology-based tools, techniques, and educational programs for border management, immigration, trade facilitation, and targeting and enforcement of transnational borders.
• Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC), led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, conducts research and education to enhance the Nation’s ability to safeguard people, infrastructure, and economies from catastrophic coastal natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes.
• Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI), led by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, conducts research and education to enhance the resilience of the Nation’s critical infrastructure and its owners and operators.

Current COEs

• Arctic Domain Awareness Center of Excellence (ADAC), led by the University of Alaska Anchorage, develops and transitions technology solutions, innovative products, and educational programs to improve situational awareness and crisis response capabilities related to emerging maritime challenges posed by the dynamic Arctic environment.
• Center for Visualization and Data Analytics (CVADA), co-led by Purdue University (visualization sciences – VACCINE) and Rutgers University (data sciences – CCICADA), creates the scientific basis and enduring technologies needed to analyze large quantities of information to detect security threats to the nation.
• Center of Excellence for Awareness and Localization of Explosives-Related Threats (ALERT), led by Northeastern University, develops new means and methods to protect the nation from explosives-related threats.
• Center of Excellence for Zoonotic and Animal Disease Defense (ZADD), co-led by Texas A&M University and Kansas State University, protects the nation’s agriculture and public health sectors against high-consequence foreign animal, emerging and zoonotic disease threats.
• Food Protection and Defense Institute (FPDI), led by the University of Minnesota, defends the safety and security of the food system by conducting research to protect vulnerabilities in the food supply chain. FPDI was formerly named the National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD).
• Maritime Security Center of Excellence (MSC), led by Stevens Institute of Technology, enhances Maritime Domain Awareness and develops strategies to support Marine Transportation System resilience and educational programs for current and aspiring homeland security practitioners.
• National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE), led by the University of Southern California, develops advanced tools to evaluate the risks, costs and consequences of terrorism.
• National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), led by the University of Maryland, provides policy makers and practitioners with empirically grounded findings on the human elements of the terrorist threat and informs decisions on how to disrupt terrorists and terrorist groups.

Emeritus COEs

• Center for Maritime, Island and Remote and Extreme Environment Security (MIREES), co-led by the University of Hawaii and Stevens Institute of Technology, focuses on developing robust research and education programs addressing maritime domain awareness to safeguard populations and properties in geographical areas that present significant security challenges.
• Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment (CAMRA), co-led by Michigan State University and Drexel University and established jointly with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, fills critical gaps in risk assessments for mitigating microbial hazards.
• Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence (CHC), co-led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Jackson State University, performs research and develops education programs to enhance the nation’s ability to safeguard populations, properties and economies from catastrophic natural disasters.
• National Center for Border Security and Immigration (NCBSI), co-led by the University of Arizona and the University of Texas at El Paso, develops novel technologies, tools and advanced methods to balance immigration and commerce with effective border security.
• National Center for the Study of Preparedness and Catastrophic Event Response (PACER), led by Johns Hopkins University, optimizes the nation’s medical and public health preparedness, mitigation and recovery strategies in the event of a high-consequence natural or man-made disaster.
• National Transportation Security Center of Excellence (NTSCOE) was established in accordance with H.R.1, Implementing the Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, in August 2007. NTSCOE is a seven-institution consortium focused on developing new technologies, tools and advanced methods to defend, protect and increase the resilience of the nation’s multi-modal transportation infrastructure.

Learn More

• Check out the COE Virtual Showcase.
• Search the COE project database and learn about ongoing efforts at www.hsuniversityprograms.org.
• Contact the Office of University Programs by emailing universityprograms@hq.dhs.gov.

Mandate

From the Homeland Security Act of 2002:

“The Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, shall establish … a university-based center or centers for homeland security. The purpose of this center or centers shall be to establish a coordinated, university-based system to enhance the nation’s homeland security.”