WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced the award of $5.6 million in Scientific Leadership Award (SLA) grants to five Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The City University of New York – John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Howard University, North Carolina Central University, Florida International University, and Prairie View A&M University will partner with DHS S&T Centers of Excellence to develop course content and engage students and faculty in research relevant to the nation’s complex homeland security challenges
“These grants are one of the ways that S&T is helping to build a diverse, highly capable, technical workforce for the homeland security mission. Minority Serving Institutions bring a heretofore untapped well of talent and energy to homeland security technical challenges” said DHS Acting Under Secretary for Science and Technology William N. Bryan. “These institutions will become integral elements of the homeland security university network.”
The awarded institutions will develop a wide-range of research topics that impact the overarching homeland security enterprise.
- City University of New York – John Jay College of Criminal Justice, will receive $1 million to improve upon the study of disciplinary theory and advanced-behavioral science methods through the use of data analysis and evidence-based metrics.
- Howard University will receive $1,198,627 to research security engineering for resilient network infrastructure.
- Florida International University will receive $1.2 million to further develop cyber security education and research for critical infrastructure resilience.
- North Carolina Central University will receive $1.2 million to research novel explosives detection sensors.
- Prairie View A&M University will receive $1 million for innovative social media analytics to improve disaster management.
SLA grants are competitively awarded to accredited MSIs to develop educational programs in homeland security science and engineering; establish related curricula and courses of study; support the development of early career faculty; and recruit and mentor students. The grants will build educational and research capabilities within MSIs, which include Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Asian American and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions.
“Since 2007, our program has provided 65 awards to various MSIs,” said Dr. Matthew Clark, Director of S&T’s Office of University Programs. “Previous recipients have produced new coursework, patents, technologies, and mentored hundreds of students who are now working in the homeland security enterprise.”
For more information about the S&T Office of University Programs, visit http://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/office-university-programs. For more information about the DHS Centers of Excellence see http://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/centers-excellence.
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