Education

In addition to developing the homeland security technologies of the new century, the ALERT team of educational institutions will address the strong and continuing need for personnel trained in Department of Homeland Security technologies.

A key ALERT objective is to a have a meaningful impact on the pipeline of university students, K-14 students and teachers, first responders, and career professionals who will be important contributors to DHS and to the success of its critical mission.

Our program includes:

1. A “distributed university” offering courses in detection, explosives chemistry, blast effects and mitigation to students engaged in doctoral and MS-level research;
2. A graduate program in Engineering Leadership to create a cadre of professional engineers skilled in moving technology from research and development into deployed systems;
3. An undergraduate program including educational modules which can be inserted into existing science, engineering, and criminal justice courses.

This effort will be led by the University of Rhode Island in collaboration with all of the ALERT partners.

Accomplishments to Date

Summer 2009: Ten undergraduate students and one community college student as participants in the Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program at NU, RPI, Texas Tech and UPRM.

Summer 2009: Two graduate students participating in the Summer Research Exchange Program and one DHS Fellow spending 10 weeks at NU.

Summer 2009: Six teachers selected for participation the 2009 Research Experience for Teachers Program working with ALERT affiliated research projects.

Summer 2009: Six High School students selected for participation in the 2009 Young Scholars Program who are placed in ALERT affiliated laboratories.

Spring 2009: Algorithm Development for Security Applications Workshop at NU on April 23- 24, 2009.

Fall 2008: Terahertz Imaging and Sensing Workshop at NU on October 30, 2008.