Director’s Message, Summer 2023
Dear SENTRY Community,
As we close out an eventful summer, I am pleased to share some exciting recent developments and recognize the commitment and dedication of our team in the pursuit of our mission to better secure soft targets and crowded places.
SENTRY hosted its second Reconnect Workshop with Rutgers University’s Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science. Held in Providence Rhode Island from June 18 to 23, the workshop focused on risk assessment. SENTRY affiliated researchers explained the application of risk assessment approaches as demonstrated by the allocation of resources for managing the defense against adaptive adversaries.
I attended this workshop to personally inform the group of SENTRY’s involvement in the Engineering PLUS Alliance, aimed towards enhancing the broad participation of women and underrepresented minorities in engineering. I shared the news that SENTRY was awarded a $308K supplement to enhance the participation of all the DHS Centers of Excellence and their affiliated minority serving institutions in the alliance.
SENTRY representatives participated in the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Advanced Developments Encompassing Processes and Technologies (ADEPT) workshop hosted by our fellow DHS Center of Excellence, ALERT on July 25 and 26th. The event facilitated valuable connections and conversations, drawing connections between our research and the latest advancements in inspection and detection technology presented by the CBP community and others.
This summer, SENTRY researchers mentored two teams of visiting faculty and students selected to be a part of the DHS Student Research Team (SRT) program. The partnership provided collaborative research opportunities and exemplified our commitment to knowledge exchange to foster the development of security solutions.
We were happy to hear that North Carolina Central University was one of eight minority serving institutions receiving a DHS Scientific Leadership Award in July. We will explore how to collaborate with NCCU on their project to develop research and educational infrastructure, enabling significant increases in minority participation in homeland security STEM disciplines.
Looking forward, our team remains steadfast in guiding SENTRY’s trajectory as we enter the center’s third year. Along those lines, I am pleased to announce the upcoming ADSA27: Implementation and Deployment of Situational Awareness Strategies for Protecting Soft Targets, scheduled for November 14 and 15, 2023. As in years past, the SENTRY hosted event will convene participants from diverse sectors, fostering collaboration between industry, national labs, vendors, government entities, and academia.
These recent achievements reflect the dedication to our mission that will carry us forward as we embrace new challenges in the year ahead.