UMass Magazine Online

Summer 2003

Departments

Around the Pond

Features

The Vast Area of Small

Tiny couch potatoes

Pumped-up Roosters

The pervasive presence of microbes

At-risk Native Talk

Our giant in hedge funds

Around the Pond

Homeland security generates new center

On April 30, UMass hosted a conference, “Technologies for Homeland Security Applications.” Highlighting the event was the unveiling of the university’s new Center for Emergency Preparedness (CEP), designed to coordinate research and funding efforts in many fields with national security implications. Planning for the CEP began last year, when it became clear that the federal government would be funneling billions of dollars in research support through the new Department of Homeland Security as well as investing in new security initiatives involving the Pentagon, the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. Operating at UMass Amherst out of the office of the vice chancellor for research, the new center hopes to attract as much as $15 million a year in grants for security-related projects. According to the Boston Globe, the center’s outreach to federal funding sources “could provide a much-needed boost for the university,” in the face of sharp budget cuts.

Fields in which UMass faculty members are already conducting research that could contribute to homeland security include computer science, polymer science, microbiology, engineering, nursing education and many other disciplines. Researchers will be investigating such issues as: detecting chemical and biological weapons; designing and constructing secure buildings; protecting water and food supplies; training emergency personnel; and computer simulations of virtual catastrophes to “test drive” evacuation plans and other disaster responses. The center will also promote cooperation between faculty researchers and off-campus partners ranging from area hospitals to corporations interested in marketing security-related goods and services.

A number of colleges and universities have adjusted their curriculums and their research priorities since September 11, so there will be no shortage of competitors for federal dollars. However, Chancellor John Lombardi and Vice Chancellor for Research Fred Byron both express confidence that the enormous variety of relevant expertise on this campus will put UMass in a position to reap a substantial share of the available homeland security funding.

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