The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced today the selection of 14 teams from Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to participate in the 2022 Summer Research Team (SRT) program. The DHS SRT program, administered by S&T’s Office of University Programs, provides summer research and internship opportunities to both students and early career faculty members attending an MSI in the United States and five U.S. territories.

“We are excited to provide MSIs, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions opportunities to conduct Homeland Security research in partnership with our Centers of Excellence,” said Rebecca Medina, director, Office of University Programs. “We are confident that diverse analysis and ideas will help address critical homeland security related challenges.”

The selected teams are comprised of 14 early career faculty members and 26 graduate and undergraduate students who will spend 10 weeks conducting Homeland Security related research with a DHS Center of Excellence (COE) or partnering institution across the country. The SRT program fosters relationships for long-term research efforts and invests in building research capacity at MSIs in Homeland Security mission areas.

The 2022 team leads, their projects, and their host COEs include:

Center for Accelerated Operational Efficiency (CAOE)
Led by Arizona State University

• Dr. Randall Napier, University of Texas – Arlington
  Project: Cost-Benefit Analysis for Reducing Wait Times at Airport Security Screening Checkpoints: A Research Proposal
• Dr. Eduardo Perez, Texas State University
  Project: A Simulation Based Strategy for Dynamic Workforce Allocation and Checkpoint Configuration in Airport Screening Facilities

Cross Border Threat Supply Chain Defense (CBTS)
Led by Texas A&M University

• Dr. Bruce McCord, Florida International University
  Project: Developing Methods for Trace Detection of Fecal Contamination on Agricultural Products Using Nanodrop Digital PCR

Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis (CINA)
Led by George Mason University

• Dr. Omar Camarillo, Eastern New Mexico University
  Project: The Effects of COVID-19 on the U.S.-Mexico Border: The American Public’s Perception of Issues at the Border
• Dr. Jie Yan, Bowie State University
  Project: A Light-Weighted Digital Image Forensic Analyzer to Detect AI-generated Fake Images through Raspberry Pi
• Dr. Boyon Kostadinov, New York City College of Technology/City University of New York (CUNY) (HSI)
  Project: Using Modern Data Science Tools for Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis
• Dr. Gary Kowaluk, Lincoln University
  Project: The Relationship Between Gangs and Human Trafficking: A Network Analysis

Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI)
Led by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley
  Project: Critical Infrastructure Security Vulnerability and Threat Analysis for IoT-based Smart Power Grids and/or IoT/Cloud-based Healthcare Data Infrastructure
• Dr. Zhixiong Chen, Mercy College
  Project: PASS+ Toward a Safe, Secure and Resilient Cyber Environment
• Dr. Zhenhua Huang, University of North Texas
  Project: Development of the Big Bridge Data Across the Conterminous U.S. for Deck Condition Rating and Prediction Using Machine Learning Algorithms

Coastal Resilience Center (CRC)
Led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partnership with Jackson State University

• Dr. Liping Liu, North Carolina A&T University
  Project: Combined HWRF-Storm Surge Modeling of Hurricane Florence 2018
• Dr. Chunlei Fan, Morgan State University
  Project: Evaluation of a Low Salinity Tolerance Eastern Oyster Line for Oyster Reef Living Shoreline Application
• Dr. Remata Reddy, Jackson State University
  Project: Tropical Cyclones/Hurricanes: Understanding, Prediction, Air-Sea Interactions, Large-Scale Heat Fluxes, High Winds, Vertical Motions, Heavy Precipitation, High Impacts and Resilience, using Satellite, BUOY and RADAR Data

National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE)
Led by University of Nebraska

• Dr. Waymond Rodgers, University of Texas, El Paso
  Project: Examining Cognitive and Decision-Making Perspectives: Identifying New Methods to Prevent, Investigate and Mitigate Cybercriminal Behaviors

For more information on the S&T Office of University Programs, visit:
https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/office-university-programs

For more information about the Summer Research Team program, visit https://www.orau.gov/dhseducation/faculty/

Information on the DHS COEs can be found at:
https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/centers-excellence

Read more at DHS S&T