August 11, 2010

August 11, 2010 - SRI students complete intensive summer research program culminating in a port security simulation exercise, team presentations and final research reports.

"By all accounts the inaugural offering of the CSR’s Summer Research Institute was a tremendous success", said Dr. Michael Bruno, Director of the Center for Secure and Resilient Maritime Commerce.  "The students were actively engaged seeking answers to some very complex maritime security issues and leveraging sophisticated sensor technologies and systems thinking tools and techniques to detect and assess threats from small vessels."

From day one of the program, students rolled up their sleeves and worked shoulder-to-shoulder with CSR faculty to explore the use of Passive Acoustics and Electro-Optics, HF Radar, and Satellite sensors to detect small vessel threats and utilized the principles of Systems Thinking to plan for emergency response and resilience.

Students were organized into four research teams led by CSR faculty mentors.  Each team was charged with conducting research and real-time experiments leveraging sensor technologies and systems engineering tools and techniques to develop applications and strategies for detecting small vessel threats. Student teams provided weekly presentations of their work and were responsible for generating a final team report of their findings.

"For those of us who will continue to work in this field, the overall experience was invaluable. The focus on technologies was especially interesting since I know of no other similar program, class, or school that would provide this much in depth information on technologies used in small vessel detection. That there were actual experiments and experts in those areas present and able to explain their systems was certainly a boon to the institute", said Leonid Lantsman, SRI student participant and PhD student from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Student participants interacted with maritime practitioners and industry and government representatives through in-class lectures and field trips to learn first hand the real-world complexities in securing our nation’s ports and inland waterways.

SRI 2010 guest speakers included: Dana Goward, Director, DHS Office of Assessment, Integration and Risk Management, Richard Larrabee, Director of Port Commerce, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), Mitchell Erickson, Director Northeast Operations Interagency and First Responders Programs, DHS, S&T Directorate, and Bethann Rooney, Manager Port Security, PANYNJ.  Students also participated in tours of APM Terminals, Port Authority facilities and the NYC Office of Emergency Management in Brooklyn, NY.

To further enhance their professional development, students also attended weekly technical writing and communications workshops led by faculty from the Stevens’ Writing and Communications Center.

Student participants included 11 graduate and 15 undergraduate students.