STORRS, CT — The University of Connecticut has been selected to co-lead the National Transportation Security Center of Excellence, one of five new university-based research centers established by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and announced this week. The designation carries with it a minimum of $500,000 in federal funds.
The university’s School of Engineering is home to the Connecticut Transportation Institute (CTI), the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center and the Booth Engineering Center for Advanced Technologies, all which will contribute to the center’s activities. The establishment of the DHS Center of Excellence at UConn will foster partnerships among the different centers to address the nation’s current and future transportation security issues.
“We are deeply grateful to Senators Lieberman and Dodd for bringing visibility to the nation’s need for a safe, resilient and responsive transportation infrastructure,” said UConn Engineering Dean Mun Y. Choi. “As the research lead, we will coordinate the efforts of our partners to develop state-of-the-art techniques and advanced methods to defend, protect and increase the resilience of the nation's transportation infrastructure. We look forward to the opportunity to involve our students, industry leaders, transportation officials and the public in building a new transportation paradigm the meets current and future needs.”
The other new Centers of Excellence located across the country will study border security and immigration; explosives detection, mitigation, and response; maritime, island and port security; natural disasters, coastal infrastructure and emergency management. A total of eleven colleges and universities, including UConn, will be home to the five separate centers.
In the announcement, DHS stated that the institutions will “serve as important partners for conducting multi-disciplinary research and creating innovative learning environments for critical homeland security missions.”
“Investments in long-term, basic research are vital for the future of homeland security," Jay M. Cohen, Under Secretary for Science and Technology, said in a DHS press release. "These colleges and universities are leaders in their fields of study. They will provide scientific expertise, high-quality resources, and independent thought – all valuable to securing America.”
UConn will partner with two other institutions in forming the transportation center with UConn heading up the research aspect.
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