ALERT is a multi-university Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence (COE) with three primary objectives: 1) Conduct transformational research and technology development for effective detection, mitigation and response to the explosives related threats facing the nation. 2) Establish systemic connections to the DHS Center of Excellence University Network and beyond to the broader academic community to facilitate collaborative links to find and develop the best solutions. 3) Build an outstanding educational program that focuses on the development of a highly effective Department of Homeland Security workforce.
The ALERT research program is driven from the top down by inspiring “Grand Challenges” such as ultra-reliable screening and unequivocal pre- and post-blast mitigation. The Grand Challenges lead to the definition of the four core research thrusts – F1: Physical and Chemical Characterization of Explosives Materials, F2: Novel Sensor Modalities and Sensor Configurations, F3: Multisensor Systems and Alternative Signatures for Threat Detection and Identification and F4: Mitigation of Explosive Effects. Examples of cutting-edge projects within these thrusts include: synthesis and study of new improvised explosives, stand-off terahertz spectroscopy, multi-modality imaging, human factors analysis, and shockless mitigation. The ALERT academic team in collaboration with its industrial and national laboratory partners, will focus on transitioning research into fieldable systems such as a multi-mode suicide bomber detection system and a portable chemical vapor “sniffer” for detection and forensic investigations.
ALERT brings together a proven university/national laboratory/industry team to help address the vast array of explosives-related threats to our homeland. The ALERT academic team will be led by Northeastern University (NU) and the University of Rhode Island. Combined with the strengths of Idaho, Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories (INL, LANL, LLNL, SNL) and 15 industrial partners, we have created a team capable of carrying out the challenging but essential ALERT mission.
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the selection of 11 universities to serve as important partners for conducting multi-disciplinary research and creating innovative learning environments for critical homeland security missions. Read full release…
