A new maritime security technology called Magello has been selected a finalist in the 2012 National Security Innovation Competition, which recognizes and supports winning university-sponsored projects that address a national security problem.
Magello – a user-friendly, web-based tool for emergency response – was developed by a team of undergraduate and graduate students from Stevens, Rutgers, University of Miami, University of Puerto Rico and SUNY Binghamton during the 2011 Summer Research Institute (SRI), run by the Stevens-led Center for Secure and Resilient Maritime Commerce (CSR), a Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence in Maritime and Port Security.
“Magello pulls together disparate data sources into one easy-to use-web interface to provide critical, real-time environmental data needed to make informed emergency management decisions – essentially a one-stop shop vehicle for emergency management personnel,” said Beth DeFares, director of education for the CSR.
Magello provides the capability to graphically overlay multiple environmental and oceanic data sources onto one Google Earth map interface. The technology combines ultra-high resolution environmental data from various sources with plume and spill modeling tools that are capable of predicting the movement of water and airborne contaminants.
Coordinated by the National Homeland Defense Foundation (NHDF), the sixth annual National Security Innovation Competition judges student-led innovations and technologies on their potential to meet an identifiable national security need. Magello is one of 10 finalists selected from 39 submissions from leading research universities and military academies.
“The competition was designed as a STEM-based, one-of-a-kind venue to link college students conducting cutting edge research on concepts and technologies intended to meet national security capability needs, with government and industry customers," said Don Addy, president of the NHDF, in an official press release about the finalists.
For the final phase of the competition, members from the Magello team will present the technology to a national panel of judges on April 27, 2012 in Colorado Springs, Colo. for a chance to win a scholarship grant worth as much as $10,000. The opportunity also offers excellent exposure to industry, academic, and government organizations involved in aerospace, defense, security, and first responder activities that may be interested in providing opportunities for further project development, funding and student internships.
The white paper submission for the competition was written by Stevens Maritime Systems Master’s Degree Fellowship student Chris Francis and SUNY Binghamton Computer Engineering student Greg Sciarretta. Magello’s faculty mentors are Dr. Julie Pullen, director of CSR, and Dr. Philip Orton, post-doctoral research associate in Environmental and Ocean Engineering.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University™, lives at the intersection of industry, academics and research. The University's students, faculty and partners leverage their collective real-world experience and culture of innovation, research and entrepreneurship to confront global challenges in engineering, science, systems and technology management. Based in Hoboken, N.J. and with a location in Washington, D.C., Stevens offers baccalaureate, master’s, certificates and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences and management, in addition to baccalaureate degrees in business and liberal arts. Stevens has been recognized by both the US Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Excellence in the areas of systems engineering and port security research.
The University has a total enrollment of more than 2,350 undergraduate and 3,600 graduate students with almost 450 faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as strategic partnerships with industry leaders, governments and other universities around the world. Additional information may be obtained at www.stevens.edu and www.stevens.edu/news.
About The National Center for Secure and Resilient Maritime Commerce
Stevens Institute of Technology was in 2008 named by the US Department of Homeland Security as one of five national Centers of Excellence and was selected to lead a national research effort to address Maritime and Port Security. Stevens was one of 11 universities to partner with the DHS in its efforts. The Department’s partners serve as important team members for conducting multi-disciplinary research and creating innovative learning environments for critical homeland security missions.
The Center for Secure and Resilient Maritime Commerce (CSR), along with the University of Hawaii’s National Center for Islands, Maritime, and Extreme Environments Security (CIMES), are the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Center of Excellence for Maritime, Island and Extreme/Remote Environment Security (MIREES). The two Centers have parallel objectives and complementary expertise and their close coordination enhances the capabilities of each. The Center for Secure and Resilient Maritime Commerce at Stevens focuses on sensors, modeling and analysis to improve maritime domain awareness and maritime system resilience. Additional information about the CSR can be found on the center’s website at www.stevens.edu/CSR.
