The horrific terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, planned and directed by a foreign terrorist organization and carried out on American soil, made it clear that the United States, for all of its strengths, was in need of enhanced and innovative means of protection. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), www.dhs.gov, created under federal legislation passed in 2002, was charged with reducing the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism and minimizing the damage from potential attacks and natural disasters. As homeland security is an urgent and pressing issue, significant federal grants and capital funds have been invested or input for homeland security research.
We propose to establish a new center at UTA to enhance security through threat detection research.
Our vision is that by building on our expertise in sensing and nano-technology research in a coordinated manner, we can provide advances that not only enhance the security of our country, but also accelerate our University on the path towards Tier-1 status.