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ADSA15: Save the Date! August 19, 2016

The Fifteenth Advanced Development for Security Applications Workshop (ADSA15) will be held on November 15th and 16th at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. The title of the workshop will be “Next Generation Screening Technologies and Processes for the Checkpoint.” This workshop is a continuation of ADSA12, ADSA13, and ADSA14. The workshop is being convened by the DHS Center of Excellence (COE) for Awareness and Localization of Explosives-Related Threats (ALERT).

Presentation and panel discussions will address the following topics:

  • Emerging hardware and algorithms
  • Concepts of operations
  • Protecting soft targets
  • Data analytics – application to aviation security
  • System architectures
  • Business aspects of fusion
  • Funding, innovation and deployment models

For more information on the ADSA workshops, visit our ADSA Workshop Page

This workshop is by invitation only.

If you are interested in learning more, or receiving an invitation, please contact Melanie Smith at [email protected].

Current Funding Opportunities in the Security Domain May 24, 2016

There are several funding opportunities in ALERT-related topics we would like the community to be aware of. Each of these are actively seeking proposals.

Sandia National Lab Request for Proposals:
https://alert.northeastern.edu/funding-announcement/sandia-national-lab-request-for-proposals/

TSA Innovative Concepts Broad Agency Announcement (TSICBAA):
https://alert.northeastern.edu/?p=4733

TSA Innovation for Aviation Security Broad Agency Announcement:
https://alert.northeastern.edu/?p=4734

DHS S&T Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (LRBAA):
https://alert.northeastern.edu/?p=4735

 

 

BostonGlobe.com Looks at ALERT’s Advances in Precursor Control May 11, 2016

Dr. Oxley’s research in Characterization of Explosives & Precursors (R1-A1) is discussed in “Defusing Hydrogen Peroxide” a feature in the Ideas section of bostonglobe.com. Prof. Oxley speaks of the method she has developed to chemically alter commonly found Hydrogen Peroxide so it is no longer useful as a component in explosives.

Defusing hydrogen peroxide

May 10, 2016 – Brainiac Section of www.bostonglobe.com

In March, suicide bombers in Brussels killed dozens and injured hundreds more. Their dramatic attack caught the world’s attention, but the material used couldn’t have been more ordinary — an explosive called TATP that can be made by distilling the same hydrogen peroxide sitting in your medicine cabinet.

Jimmie Oxley at the University of Rhode Island thinks she has an idea that could make such attacks far more difficult to execute — and she has filed a patent for it. The idea is to mix hydrogen peroxide with trace amounts of additional chemicals, so that it retains its usefulness as an antiseptic, but can no longer be distilled to make a bomb…

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5/19 – DHS S&T Center of Excellence Technology Showcase May 9, 2016

Registration is open!

Date: May 19, 2016
Time: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Washington, DC

The DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Office of University Programs and Stevens Institute of Technology invite you to attend the Spring 2016 Centers of Excellence(COE) Technology Showcase May 19, 2016 open 9:00 am- 4:00 pm. ​

Explore tools and technology or talk to experts in:
Border SecurityExplosives Detection  – Risk and Economic AnalysisNatural HazardsData & Visual AnalyticsFood DefenseTerrorism StudiesAnimal Disease DefenseMaritime and Arctic SecurityCritical Infrastructure Resilience – Training Opportunities – Hosting Interns – Working with the COEs

  • Experience demonstrations of COE tools, technologies, knowledge products
  • Connect with university experts (one-on-one if desired) to discuss pressing challenges
  • Develop new collaborations to support homeland security missions
  • Meet the newest COEs focused on Arctic security; critical infrastructure resilience; and borders, trade and immigration
  • Learn how to bring interns and professional development opportunities to your office

See the list of analytical tools that will be showcased on the registration website.

This event is free and open to the public. Please feel free to forward this invitation.

Hosted by Stevens Institute of Technology
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
Suite G-17
1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20004

Centers of Excellence are a DHS Science and Technology Directorate program managed by the Office of University Programs.

For more information on COEs, visit the Virtual Showcase or email [email protected].

If the registration link above does not work for you, try copying and pasting this into your browser:

http://www.cvent.com/d/rfqdxv

ASPIRE: Linking Students to Great Opportunities April 29, 2016

The fifth Annual Student Pipeline Industry Roundtable Event (ASPIRE) was held on Tuesday, April 12th, 2016 at Northeastern University in Boston.  It successfully brought together ALERT and Gordon-CenSSIS industrial partners, government stakeholders and current students of all levels involved in center research in order to build strong collaborations and provide networking opportunities for all participants. This year’s ASPIRE included students from 5 academic partner institutions and representatives from 10 industrial and government collaborators.

ASPIRE is part of the ALERT and Gordon-CenSSIS ongoing efforts to create robust partnerships within our industrial base and government stakeholders, while also giving our students the opportunity to network as they transition through academia and into the Homeland Security Enterprise.

The event is coordinated and led by our Industrial and Government Liaison Officer, Emel Bulat. The agenda includes industry and government presentations, followed by 2-minute presentations made by students. In the afternoon, representatives from industry and government meet face-to-face with students, as well as with each other, during a two-hour networking session, in conjunction with the student poster session.

We look forward to holding our next ASPIRE in the spring of 2017!

The Associated Press features ALERT Researcher Otto Gregory’s work February 17, 2016

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) — A University of Rhode Island professor has developed a sensor that detects the kind of explosive used in the Paris bombings, to try to stop future attacks.

Professor Otto Gregory compares his sensor to a dog’s nose, the gold standard in explosives detection. It “sniffs” the air for vapors emitted from explosives.

Photo Description: In this Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016 photo University of Rhode Island engineering professor Otto Gregory, right, is reflected in a silicon wafer, center, that contains sensors to detect explosives, in front of a thin film surface analyzer, behind, in a laboratory on the school’s campus, in South Kingstown, R.I. He has developed a sensor that detects the explosive used in the Paris bombings, to try to stop future attacks. Gregory compares his sensor to a dog’s nose, the gold standard in explosives detection. It “sniffs” the air for vapors emitted from explosives. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

 

ADSA13 Presentations Now Available December 17, 2015

We are pleased to announce that the ADSA13 Workshop presentations are now available for download. View all slides, as well as the reports from past ADSA workshops at:

ADSA13 Presentations

If you have any questions regarding the topics and technologies discussed at the workshop, please contact Carl Crawford at [email protected].

ALERT Students Received Top Award at URI’s Internet of Things Hackathon November 30, 2015

On Friday, November 13th, 2015, students at the “Internet of Things Hackathon,” at URI were divided into teams, assigned a problem to solve with modern technologies, and given the rest of the weekend to compete for the top prize. Three students from ALERT were teamed up to develop an idea for a product that could locate radiation sources in real time and help determine the exact location of a biological weapon. The team, comprised of Anthony Bisulco, a sophomore at Northeastern University, Darby Hoss, a graduate student from Purdue University, and Amanda Figueroa, a senior from the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, created a prototype of a system that determined the location of the radiation source based on measurements from remote, wearable sensors.

On Sunday, November 15th, the teams proposed their ideas to a panel of judges, which included representatives from Slater Technology Fund, the state Commerce Corporation, and URI faculty. The ALERT team received the Judges Award, the top award at the event, for their ability to develop a solution to a real-world problem, while also considering plans for production and intellectual property protection.  An article published in the Providence Journal (image above), highlighted the winning team, and described the event as “a bit like the TV show ‘Shark Tank’ where budding entrepreneurs pitch their inventions to a panel, and hope someone wants to invest.”
Congratulations, Amanda, Anthony, and Darby!!!

ADSA12 Final Report Now Available October 19, 2015

We are pleased to announce that the ADSA12 Workshop Final Report is now available for download at the following link:

ADSA12 Final Report – Personnel and Divested Items Screening at the Checkpoint

If you have any questions regarding the topics and technologies discussed at the workshop, please contact Carl Crawford at [email protected].

SciX 2015, Presented by FACSS, Preliminary Program is Now Available September 18, 2015

SciX is the annual meeting of the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS). The conference represents the future of international scientific exchange in the fields of analytical sciences – comprehensive, intimate, all inclusive.  This is the meeting where all the member societies of FACSS present their newest, most innovative research.

Preliminary Program is now available. For a list of the scheduled sessions, click “Sessions”

SciX 2015 will take place on September 27 – October 2, 2015 at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, RI.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR POSTER PRESENTATIONS IS JULY 31. Submit Abstract

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