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Innovation Fast Track

Spring 2019: Upcoming ALERT Events November 29, 2018

Annual Student Pipeline Industry Roundtable Event (ASPIRE)

March 26, 2019

The Annual Student Pipeline Industry Roundtable Event (ASPIRE) will be held on March 26, 2019 at Northeastern University (Boston, MA). The ASPIRE is hosted by ALERT (Awareness and Localization of Explosives-Related Threats) & Gordon-CenSSIS (The Bernard M. Gordon Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems). ASPIRE provides an optimal setting for dialogue between members of the academic, industrial, and government communities and also provides networking opportunities for students looking for internships, co-op experiences, and full-time jobs. ASPIRE is targeted at undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of engineering, science, and computer & information sciences who are interested in careers related to homeland security.

ALERT Technology Showcase and Research Review

May 14, 2019

ALERT will be hosting a Technology Showcase and Research Review on May 14, 2019 at Northeastern University (Boston, MA). This event will feature presentations and demonstrations of ALERT research results and tools from select ALERT projects. Attendees will also be able to interact with individual project researchers and collaborators to learn more about their research throughout the day.

Advanced Developments for Security Applications (ADSA20) Workshop

May 15-16, 2019

The twentieth Advanced Developments for Security Applications (ADSA20) Workshop will be held May 15-16, 2019 at Northeastern University (Boston, MA). Due to conflicts with other events, ALERT has changed the date previously provided. The theme of the workshop will be “Design, Development, Testing, Deployment and Operation of Effective Systems.” Topics that will be addressed include:

  • Defining “effective”
  • Effectiveness for other stakeholders: airlines and passengers
  • Effectiveness for other venues: subway, rail, and cargo
  • Human in the loop
  • Positive predictive value improvement
  • Detection versus deterrence versus displacement
  • Role of interconnectivity with open architectures
  • Correct operating point on the receiver operator characteristic curve
  • Application of metadata
  • Rapid response to an adapting adversary
  • Managing the threat list
  • Dealing with imperfect equipment
  • Role of Artificial Intelligence
  • Statistical significance of tests and influence of limited training data
  • Application of simulants
  • True versus auto-detection
  • Data augmentation
  • Transition – particularly from academia
  • Reducing time to market
  • Role of third parties

A formal invitation to register for the ADSA20 Workshop and the ALERT Technology Showcase and Research Review, along with the agenda and logistics information are forthcoming. These events are by invitation only. Please contact Tiffany Lam at [email protected] if you are interested in attending.

Advanced Developments Encompassing Processes and Technologies for Customs and Border Protection (CBP-ADEPT-02)

July 17-18, 2019

The second workshop on Advanced Developments Encompassing Processes and Technologies for Customs and Border Protection (CBP-ADEPT-02) will be held July 17-18, 2019 at Northeastern University (Boston, MA). The CBP-ADEPT-02 Workshop will address advanced development and processes for tomorrow with presentations and panel discussions on specific topics, such as:

  • An adaptive adversary
  • Integration of equipment and data
  • Collection and use of meta-data
  • Deterrence/hardening
  • Insider threats
  • Con-Ops
  • Adaptation of TSA technologies
  • Economics – incentives
  • Simulation tools
  • War gaming applications

A formal invitation to register for the event, along with the agenda and logistics information is forthcoming. You can find more information about the CBP-ADEPT workshops in the following link:  https://alert.northeastern.edu/transitioning-technology/cbpadept/

Highlights from the 2018 Industrial Advisory Board Meeting November 29, 2018

ALERT held its annual Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) Meeting at the Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security in Burlington, MA on October 15th. The agenda attracted many of ALERT’s Industrial members, representatives from ALERT’s DHS Office of University Program (OUP) customers, and members of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T).

The agenda included welcoming remarks from Peter Boynton, the CEO of the Kostas Research Institute; presentations from two ALERT Industrial Members and two ALERT researchers; an IAB retrospective discussion; a tour of the ALERT Video Analytics Laboratory; a student poster session; and a networking reception. Presentations at the event included:

  • Overview: NEU Master’s Degree & Certificate in Homeland Security, Jack McDevitt, Director, Institute on Race and Justice, Professor of the Practice, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Northeastern University
  • Utilizing Guardian Centers for R&D, Doug Lang, VP Business Development, CBRNE-WMD, Guardian Centers, LLC
  • Standoff Trace Detection, Anthony Hoffman, Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame
  • The Role of Texturing X-ray Diffraction Tomography, Joel Greenberg, Assistant Research Professor, Duke University
  • Making the most of ALERT Membership, Dan Strellis, Sr. Director, R&D, Rapiscan Laboratories
  • IAB Retrospective Group Discussion, Facilitated by Emel Bulat and Kristy Provinzano, ALERT Industry Liaison Office, Northeastern University

Common discussion topics throughout the event included technology maturation, testing in realistic environments, and technology transition. The presentations and subsequent discussion connected industrial members with one another, as well as members of DHS S&T, resulting in plans to continue discussions and potentially collaborate in the future to support technology maturation and transition.

ALERT’s annual IAB Meeting and other members-only events provide industrial members with the opportunity to network with other industrial members, faculty from ALERT’s partner institutions, and representatives from local, state, and federal government institutions. Other advantages of ALERT industrial membership include admission to the Annual Student Pipeline Industry Roundtable Event (ASPIRE), providing industrial members with access to qualified job-seeking students; the opportunity to request targeted research in an area of interest to their organizations; and waivers of ALERT workshop registration fees.

For more advantages of ALERT industrial membership, please see the Benefits of Collaboration, or contact our Industrial and Government Liaison Officers, Ms. Kristy Provinzano at [email protected], or Ms. Emel Bulat at [email protected].

2018 DHS COE Summit Facilitates Collaboration and Advances DHS Mission July 31, 2018

ALERT, along with other current and emeritus DHS Centers of Excellence (COEs), hosted the 2018 Centers of Excellence Summit in Arlington, Virginia on May 30-31, 2018. The event focused on the topic of “University Research and Development to Protect the Homeland.” The DHS COE Summit provided the Centers of Excellence an opportunity to showcase their innovative solutions to homeland security challenges and facilitate collaboration across homeland security enterprise leadership and component end-users and industry participants. According to ALERT Center Director, Michael B. Silevitch,

 “One of the most valuable aspects of the Summit was the teamwork needed to pull it together. It required a concerted effort by all of the COEs to organize and orchestrate the event. Going forward, this teamwork will lead to meaningful cross-center collaboration.”

The agenda for the two-day long summit was launched with a keynote address from Christopher C. Krebs, Senior Official Performing the Duties of Under Secretary, National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) and included talks by various security administrators, panel discussions, student posters, and a technology showcase.

Director Silevitch moderated a panel focused on “Transportation and Critical Infrastructure” on the first day of the summit. Panelists Carl Crawford, Eva Lee, David Nicol, and Detlof VonWinterfeldt addressed four questions related to this topic:

  • What are some of the grand challenges that need to be addressed to enable the next generation of Homeland Security transportation and critical infrastructure solutions?
  • What research needs to be done in order to address these challenges?
  • How can the research outcomes be effectively transitioned to the field?
  • What metrics can be used to enable a cost-benefit analysis of the research/transition impact?

ALERT’s Transition Team made connections with end users at the technology showcase and featured some of ALERT’s latest solutions in multi-view air cargo CT scanners, effective personnel screening, video tracking at the airport security checkpoint, and K9 explosives training aids.

COEs excel in advancing the state of the art thanks in large part to their student researchers. To acknowledge this, the summit provided students with the opportunity to present their work to attendees. Katherine Graham, one of ALERT’s talented undergraduate researchers, took home the Best Poster Award for her work on “Compressive Reflector Antennas for High-Sensing Capacity Imaging Applications.” These antenna designs provide a less complex and lower cost solution for high-sensing capacity millimeter wave imaging systems. Millimeter wave  imaging systems have the potential for use in several near-field imaging applications such as security screening, non-destructive testing, autonomous driving, and biotechnology. The abstracts for the COE Summit student posters are available for download on the COE Summit 2018 website.

The summit provided an all-hands-on-deck approach to addressing homeland security challenges by bringing together some of the nation’s best academic, public, and private sector leaders to discuss strategies for advancing the mission of the Department of Homeland Security. ALERT looks forward to the next DHS COE Summit, and hopes you will join us there!

Time is running out! May 17, 2018

COE Summit Registration Deadline is THIS FRIDAY, May 18th

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence Summit 2018: University Research & Development to Protect the Homeland

Summit Dates: May 30-31, 2018
Location: George Mason University, 3351 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA

The deadline to register for the 2018 Centers of Excellence (COE) Summit is this Friday, May 18th. Don’t miss this interactive event which brings together researchers, DHS components, industry and first responders to discuss next-generation technology and tools developed to solve homeland security challenges.

This year’s summit features keynotes and discussions with top leaders in homeland security, including:

  • Christopher Krebs, Senior Official Performing the Duties of Under Secretary,NPPD
  • Corey Gruber, Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Response and Recovery, FEMA
  • Darby LaJoye, Assistant Administrator, Office of Security Operations, TSA
  • Kevin McAleenan, Commissioner, CBP
  • Matthew Allen, Assistant Director, Investigative Programs Homeland Security Investigations, ICE
  • William (Bill) Bryan, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, DHS S&T
  • Anneli Bergholm Soder, Head of the Operations, Department of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency 
  • Daniel Kaniewski, Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness, Federal Emergency Management Agency

The COE Summit’s Full Agenda also includes panel sessions on homeland security topics, an innovation showcase and student posters session.

Register HERE by May 18, 2018.  

 

The COE Summit is sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence (COEs). The COE network is a consortium of hundreds of universities that conduct research and education to address homeland security challenges. ALERT is one of nine current Centers of Excellence sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security Office of University Programs.

ALERT invites you to the COE Summit on May 30-31, 2018! April 20, 2018

The Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence Summit 2018 will take place on May 30-31, 2018 at George Mason University in Arlington Virginia. ALERT would like to invite industry partners, researchers, homeland security operators, and other center community members to gather to collaborate on this year’s theme:

University Research & Development to Protect the Homeland

The summit will feature experts on relevant subject matter to discuss homeland security challenges, and facilitate collaboration between COE researchers and DHS leadership, as well as component end-users and industry participants. This year’s summit strives to showcase innovative research and development tools and other solutions to homeland security challenges, and to provide avenues to accelerate transition from research and development to operational use for those who protect the homeland.

The program includes panels with experts, a student poster and innovation showcase, demonstrations of tools and technology, opportunities for collaboration, and an address by William N. Bryan, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology in the Department of Homeland Security.

To register and for more information on the Centers of Excellence Summit 2018, visit the summit’s website – www.cina.gmu.edu/coe-summit-2018

The COE Summit is sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence (COEs). The COE network is a consortium of hundreds of universities that conduct research and education to address homeland security challenges. ALERT is one of nine current Centers of Excellence sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security Office of University Programs.

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ADSA17 Presentations Now Available November 10, 2017

We are pleased to announce that the presentations from The Seventeenth Advanced Development for Security Applications Workshop (ADSA17) which was held on October 17-18, 2017 at Northeastern University in Boston, MA are now available for download. The presentations from the ADSA17 Workshop are now available at the following link: https://alert.northeastern.edu/transitioning-technology/adsa/final-reports-and-presentations/adsa17-presentations/

The title of the workshop was, “Systems Engineering of Aviation Security Systems.” View all slides, as well as the reports from past ADSA workshops here.

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

ALERT Phase 2 Year 4 Annual Report Available Online! September 27, 2017

ALERT is proud to announce that the Phase 2 Year 4 Annual Report is now available for download online. This report details the continued research in ALERT’s four thrusts:

  • R1 Characterization & Elimination of Illicit Explosives
  • R2 Trace & Vapor Sensors
  • R3 Bulk Sensors & Sensor Systems
  • R4 Video Analytics & Signature Analysis

A full bibliography of publications and presentations conducted under ALERT support follows the individual project reports. Comprehensive descriptions of the Year 4 activities that took place in our Research and Transition, Education, Strategic Studies, Safety, and Information Protection Programs, as well as the ALERT Phase 2 Overview and Year 4 Highlights, Infrastructure and Evaluation, and Industrial/Practitioner and Government Partnerships can also be accessed in the Annual Report.

New Video Analytics Dataset available for use August 25, 2017

ALERT Airport Re-Identification Dataset

As part of the ALERT video analytics effort, researchers at Northeastern University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute developed an annotated dataset that accurately reflects the real-world person re-identification problem. The dataset was constructed using video data from the six cameras installed post central security checkpoint at an active commercial airport within the United States. (No NDA required)

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Follow ALERT on Facebook August 24, 2017

ALERT recently joined Facebook! Follow us online and keep up to date on ALERT’s research and education programs, as well as upcoming events and opportunities. Search @alertcoe on Facebook for ALERT updates.
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Patents Awarded to ALERT PI July 29, 2017

Dr. Rinaldi Awarded Two Patents for Resonators

Dr. Matteo Rinaldi, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Northeastern University and principal investigator for Project R2-B.3, has been awarded two patents for his work on nano- and microelectromechanical resonators. Dr. Rinaldi’s research proposes to develop innovative Nano-Electro-Opto-Mechanical (NEOM) sensing technology platforms for the chemical analysis of trace explosives residues. This work contributed to the creation of the novel resonators patented earlier this month. Congratulations to Dr. Rinaldi and his research team for this exciting achievement!

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