FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
S&T Public Affairs, 202-254-2385
WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced the recipients of nearly $1.8 million in follow-on funding for 18 project teams from Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). This funding will go towards supporting these 18 project teams in extending their 2023 Summer Research Team (SRT) Program projects, which operate in collaboration with DHS S&T Centers of Excellence (COE).
“We are thrilled to support these teams as they continue their vital contributions to homeland security,” said Rebecca Medina, director of the Office of University Programs. “DHS takes pride in investing in research capacity development at MSIs.”
SRT follow-on funding is overseen by S&T’s Office of University Programs (OUP) and offers summer research opportunities to research teams comprised of students and early career faculty members affiliated with MSIs in the United States and its territories.
Each team was chosen based on their excellence in research, innovative ideas, leadership qualities and dedication to advancing homeland security-focused research. Faculty and students at these institutions collaborated with S&T-supported Centers of Excellence to create Homeland Security course content and actively participated in research addressing the complex challenges confronting DHS.
The 2023 SRT Teams, include:
Arizona State University, Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense (CBTS)
Chemical and Biological Defense: Detecting, Protecting Against, Responding to, and Recovering from Chemical and Biological Incidents
Dr. Kenan Song
Elizabeth City State University, Coastal Resilience Center (CRC)
How the Technology of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS’s) Can Best be Utilized Toward Creating More Resilient Communities
Dr. Kevin Kupietz
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense (CBTS)
Evaluating Feasibility of Enforcing ESG compliance Using Verifiable Credentials
Dr. Shweta Jain
Morgan State University, Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis (CINA)
Enhancing Decision-Making for Combatting Sex Trafficking: A Markov Decision Process Approach
Dr. Isabella Kemajou-Brown
New York City College of Technology, The City University of New York, Center for Accelerated Operational Efficiency (CAOE)
Economical Impact of COVID-19 and Optimal Vaccination Distribution at County Level in the U.S
Dr. Huseyin Yuce
North Carolina Central University, Soft Target Engineering to Neutralize the Threat Reality (SENTRY)
Development of Numerical Analysis for Physics of Nano-sensing and Chemistry of Nitrate Esters
Dr. Igor Filikhin
Prairie View A&M, Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense (CBTS)
Development of a High Sensitivity Low-Cost Assay for the Efficient Detection of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Imported Seafood
Dr. Harshica Fernando
Southern University and A&M College, Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI)
Using Modular Microgrids and DC Nanogrids to Provide Emergency Service in the Aftermath of Extreme Events
Dr. Radian Belu
Tennessee State University, Soft Target Engineering to Neutralize the Threat Reality (SENTRY)
Modeling Stochastic Event Detection and Quantization for Catastrophe Prevention
Dr. Mohammad Habibi
Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis (CINA)
Scaleup Material Allied to Research and Training in Latent Fingerprint using Artificial Intelligence Tutor/Assistant (SMART LIFT)
Dr. Sajid Liu
Texas Tech University, Center for Accelerated Operational Efficiency (CAOE)
Personal Drone-Assisted Privacy Preserving Strategies for Enhancing Cyber-Aerial Security and Border Protection
Dr. Sunho Lim
University of Central Florida, National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center (NCITE)
Characterization of Violent Speech in Online Discourse
Dr. Adan Vela
University of New Mexico, Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis (CINA)
Reconstructing Criminal Networks from Data
Dr. Francesco Sorrentino
University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Center for Accelerated Operational Efficiency (CAOE)
Towards Equitable Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning Algorithms
Dr. Selvarajah Mohanarajah
University of North Texas, Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis (CINA)
Exploring the Relative Risk Severity of Phishing Techniques on Individual Phishing Susceptibility: A Mixed Approach
Dr. Dan Kim
University of North Texas, Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense (CBTS)
Applying Game Theory for Improving and Optimizing the US Political Asylum Process
Dr. Michel Fathi
University of North Texas, Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI)
Exploiting Machine Learning for Cybersecurity Tasks to Talent Mapping and Exploring Credentialing Ecosystem
Dr. Dipakkumar Pravin
University of Texas at El Paso, Coastal Resilience Center (CRC)
Influence of Climate Change Augmented with Extreme Weather Events on Coastal Resilience of Transportation Infrastructure
Dr. Vivek Tandon
For more information on S&T Office of University Programs, please visit:
https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/office-university-programs
For more information on the SRT for Minority Serving Institutions, please visit:
https://orise.orau.gov/dhseducation/
Information on the DHS COEs can be found at:
https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/centers-excellence
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