Published: May 13, 2008 08:06 am            

Somerset-based NIHS at forefront of national security

Local News

Somerset is again thrust into the forefront of the nation’s effort to protect against the terrorist threat, with the announcement that a locally-based organization will be helping develop a number of key security projects.

The National Institute for Hometown Security (NIHS), which calls Somerset home, will be teaming with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and a number of Kentucky educational institutions to develop what are being called “generation security solutions to help protect the country from disasters.”

Over $17 million in funding was approved for this latest round of projects, which focuses on food safety, disaster prevention and threat detection, response and recovery, and blast mitigation.

Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, a prominent figure in the nation’s homeland security plans due to his status as senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and ranking member on Homeland Security Subcommittee, announced a total of 15 projects — 11 new and four previously funded — designed to identify potential problems and present solutions.

“We are blazing new trails here,” said Rogers. “Homeland security is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes the coordinated efforts of many dedicated individuals working through trial and error to develop security enhancements that will keep the country safe in the years ahead.”

NIHS is a non-profit organization functioning for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s research and development hub, the Science and Technology Directorate. NIHS works with Kentucky colleges and universities to develop solutions for use in the private sector. NIHS is not involved in the selection of specific projects, but rather manages initiatives through the stages of design, development and market acceptance.

The Department of Homeland Security defines security priorities and identifies projects that best suit Science and Technology’s requirements while leaving management duties to NIHS.

Among the 11 newly announced projects are:

• Blast protection for power transformers, a 36-month project with $824,969 in funding at the University of Kentucky. Potential customers for the product of this research are electric utility companies and transformer manufacturers.

• Determining architectural designs that will minimize the number of glass fragment projectiles that are produced by exposure of windows to blast effects, a 36-month project with $874,750 at UK.

• Developing carbon foam-based protection systems that provide blast protection, electromagnetic shielding, radiological protection, and easy removal of chemical agents, a 24-month project with $836,964 in funding at UK.

• Developing a system to detect and assess threats that have been deployed underwater, a 24-month project with $796,736 in funding at Western Kentucky University.

• Developing an optical sensor system that can detect intrusions under conditions of fog, smoke or fire, a 36-month project with $1,610,350 in funding at the University of Louisville.

• Developing a lightweight, rapidly-deployable replacement for electric power transformers that may have been damaged or destroyed in natural disasters or as a result of terrorist activities, a 12-month project with $971,103 in finding at WKU.

• Developing a shotcrete-based method of stabilizing structures damaged by blasts or natural events, a 24-month project with $991,408 in funding at UK.

• Developing a portable system that will advance the precision and accuracy of bridge inspections, a 36-month project with $1,302,272 at UofL.

• Designing and organizing a functional prototype of a haz-mat truck tracking center, a 36-month project with $3,500,000 at UK.

• Developing a new approach to sound wave generation for use in deterring hostile underwater intruders and disrupting threats from underwater equipment, a project with $350,000 in funding at WKU.

• Developing a system for better tracking and health monitoring of beef cattle, a 12-month project with $900,000 in funding at UK.

Four other previously-funded projects are also included under the NIHS umbrella as part of a list of current subcontract awards, including $835,765 in funding to reduce the explosive potential of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in bomb attacks like the one in Oklahoma City in 1995 (UK); $1,144,838 in funding for a real-time data-sharing application to improve awareness for emergency responders (Murray State); $988,511 for a three-dimensional finger and palm print scanner for border crossings, airports and public events (UK); and $1,175,481 for a prototype system of tracking milk transportation from farm to market (UK).

The Kentucky Homeland Security University Consortium was founded in 2004 along with NIHS, and consists of Eastern Kentucky University, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, and Northern Kentucky University, along with Murray, UK, WKU and UofL. As part of an effort to broaden the outreach to the statewide academic community, members of the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities work with the consortium.

Homeland Security Undersecretary Jay Cohen, who oversees the Department’s Science and Technology Directorate, praised Rogers’ effort, stating that the Fifth District representative “gets it” when it comes to utilizing technology to address security issues.

“Something very important is taking place here today in Somerset, and I’m pleased to be a part of it,” said Cohen.

“The research made possible by partners such as the Kentucky Homeland Security University Consortium, and the National Institute for Hometown Security, lays the groundwork for developing viable technologies for protecting people and critical infrastructure.”

This announcement marks the third time top-level Homeland Security officials have visited southeastern Kentucky to announce security-focused research and development projects since the NIHS launched four years ago.

        

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