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

Fact Sheet: Partnering with the Nation's Universities

Release Date: 04/27/04 09:40:00

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and 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 the Homeland Security Centers of Excellence the Department is encouraging universities to become centers of multi-disciplinary research where these important areas of inquiry can be analyzed, debated and shared.  The future of homeland security science is also being advanced by the development of the next generation of scientists in the Homeland Security Scholars and Fellows Program, which benefits students with intellectual pursuits that align with the Department's missions.  

President Bush demonstrated his commitment to the Department's efforts with academia when he signed the first Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill on October 1, 2003.  This measure included $70 million in fiscal year 2004 for the Science and Technology Directorate's Office of University Programs.  

Engaging the academic community:

  • The academic community will play a critical role in securing America.  To facilitate this involvement, the Department has established university-based Homeland Security Centers of Excellence (HS-Centers), to support relevant research of the nation's best and brightest academic scholars in pursuit of homeland security related disciplines.  The HS-Centers program, which is operated by the Department's Science and Technology Directorate, is establishing an integrated network of university-based centers that will conduct multi-disciplinary research and develop innovative educational programs for critical Homeland Security missions.  Through this program, Homeland Security and partner universities bring together the nation's best experts and focus its most talented researchers on a variety of threats that include agricultural, chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological, explosive and cyber terrorism as well as the behavioral aspects of terrorism.  

  • Throughout the fall of 2003, the Office of University Programs and outside expert advisors reviewed more than 70 proposals to establish the first HS-Center.  On November 25, 2003, the University of Southern California, partnering with the University of Wisconsin at Madison, New York University, North Carolina State University, Carnegie Mellon University and Cornell University was chosen to house the first HS-Center, known as the Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events.  The Department is providing the University of Southern California and its partners with $12 million over the course of the next three years for the study of risk analysis related to the economic consequences of terrorist threats and events.

  • In December 2003, Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate released a Broad Agency Announcement calling for proposals focusing on research efforts to address agro-security.  A team of expert external evaluators, including officials from the Department of Agriculture, Department Health and Human Services' Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and academia, reviewed the 23 proposals received based on merit and relevance of the proposed research to the Department's mission.  

  • On April 27, 2004, Homeland Security announced that Texas A&M University and the University of Minnesota have been chosen to lead two new HS-Centers on agro-security.  The Department anticipates providing Texas A&M University, the University of Minnesota and their partners with a total of $33 million over the course of the next three years to address security in two key agricultural sectors.  Homeland Security and these universities will soon begin grant negotiations to formalize their partnerships.  These new HS-Centers will work closely with the University of Southern California's HS-Center.  

  • The Department anticipates providing Texas A&M University and its partners with $18 million over the course of the next three years for the study of high consequence foreign animal and zoonotic diseases.  Texas A&M University has assembled a team of experts from across the country, which includes partnerships with the University of Texas Medical Branch, University of California at Davis, University of Southern California and University of Maryland.  Texas A&M University's HS-Center, which will be known as the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense, 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 and Avian influenza.  Their research on foot and mouth disease will be carried out in close collaboration with Homeland Security's Plum Island Animal Disease Center.

  • The University of Minnesota's HS-Center, known as the University Center for Post-Harvest Food Protection and Defense, will address agro-security issues related to post-harvest food protection.  The University of Minnesota's team includes partnerships with major food companies as well as other universities including Michigan State University, University of Wisconsin at Madison, North Dakota State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, Harvard University, University of Tennessee, Cornell University, Purdue University and North Carolina State University.  Homeland Security anticipates providing the University of Minnesota and its partners with $15 million over the course of 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 2004, Homeland Security plans to establish additional HS-Centers across a variety of research and development areas of interest to the Department.

Harnessing the future of science:

  • The Department established the Homeland Security Scholars and Fellows Program in order to support 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 program provides scholarships for undergraduate and fellowships for graduate students pursuing degrees in fields of study including physical, biological, social and behavioral sciences to ensure the future supply of individuals skilled in these critical areas.   After graduation, students are encouraged to consider employment with the Department of Homeland Security; state and local operational offices, or laboratories, universities or other facilities affiliated with the missions of the Department.

  • In September 2003, Secretary Ridge announced the Program's inaugural class of 100 recipients.  The students receiving these highly competitive awards began their studies this fall and will complete internships this summer.  Fifty undergraduate Scholars and 50 graduate Fellows are among the 2003 class.  The group includes students in engineering, math and computer science, social science and psychology, life sciences and physical sciences who are attending colleges and universities across the United States.  

  • Students from engineering disciplines comprised about one-third of the awards followed by computer science, math, psychology and social sciences.  Men and women were almost equally represented as award recipients.  

  • As part of the program, undergraduate Scholars receive tuition and fees, plus a $1,000 stipend per month for up to 18 months.  Graduate Fellows receive tuition and fees, plus a $2,300 stipend per month for up to 36 months.  With satisfactory academic performance, undergraduate students may be eligible for a scholarship for up to two years and graduate students may be eligible for a fellowship of up to three years.

  • The Department received nearly 2,500 applications for review by over 100 experts selected from a variety of fields that included physical, biological, social and behavioral sciences, engineering, mathematics, and computer science.  

  • In 2004, the Science and Technology division plans to increase the number of scholarships and fellowships enhancing the internship offered and initiate post-doctoral programs in the areas of greatest interest to homeland security.  The application for the 2004-2005 class was released in January 2004.

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This page was last modified on 04/27/04 09:40:00