SSE graduate student wins Innovation & Entrepreneurship Doctoral Fellowship

HOBOKEN , N.J. – Stevens graduate student Ana Lisbeth Concho has been awarded the Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) Doctoral Fellowship, sponsored by Stevens’ Office of Academic Entrepreneurship. Concho, an Engineering Management graduate student, will receive full tuition and a stipend for the 2009-2010 academic year. She was selected for the fellowship based on her proposal for the development of screening strategies for container cargo. These strategies will be implemented through non-invasive technologies and operations research techniques that minimize the risk of allowing suspicious goods in the country through the port-of-entry, while considering resources such as cost of inspection and labor. Concho’s research will provide a comprehensive theory for quantitatively describing different inspection strategies as a decision model, as well as a set of evolutionary optimization algorithms when considering that different technologies with different characteristics can be used.

“Until now, of all the containers received in US ports, roughly between 2 and 5 percent are scrutinized, after being analyzed by the US Customs’ Automated Targeting System, to determine if they could cause some type of danger or contain suspicious goods,” said Concho. “Recently, concerns have been raised regarding the type of attack that could happen via container cargo, leading to devastating economic, psychological and sociological effects. In this respect, the project will extend current research done in the area by developing tools that allow government agencies to consider different screening systems/processes that are reliable and viable in terms of cost, labor and space requirements so that ports throughout the country can be safe and secure without the need of a 100 percent inspection policy.”

The I&E Doctoral Program aims to support research with a high chance of leading to transformational changes in its domain through innovation and science-driven disruptive technology development. Research addressing relevant problems with broad scientific, technical and societal impact that also has potential market value is highly desirable, as it promotes entrepreneurship and contributes significantly to advance Technogenesis.

For more information, please contact Beth DeFares, Director of Outreach and Communications for the School of Systems and Enterprises (Babbio Room 517; (201) 216-5362; fax: (201) 216-5080; bdefares@stevens. edu).

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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