Daniel DeLorenzi, MetLife Stadium

Dennis Egan, CCICADA

Lila Ghemri, Texas Southern University

Bradford Greening, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

Paul Kantor, Rutgers University (retired)

Asamoah Nkwanta, Morgan State University

Warren Powell, Princeton University

William (Al) Wallace, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

Abstract

This panel explores the potential for mathematical and computational research to enhance safety and security.

DIMACS has been home to two centers for research related to homeland security—first DyDAn (established in 2006) and now CCICADA (established in 2009). These centers fueled research on homeland security topics and were engines for technology transfer and new education programs. Security-related projects through these centers have dealt with the role of technology in cyber forensics, screening at airports and sports stadiums, maritime cyber security, allocation of resources to locations or missions, customs fraud and smuggling, analytics in law enforcement, privacy and civil liberties, spread of infectious disease, voice forensics and hoax calls, and human trafficking, among others. Many of these projects led to transfer of technology and are revealing new mathematical and computational challenges for the future. The formation of DyDAn and CCICADA broadened both the research community and the funding sources sustaining DIMACS—two factors that are critical to keeping a center vibrant and sustainable. This panel explores the value of such models for DIMACS and other centers in the future.

Moderator: Dennis Egan is Assistant Director for CCICADA, the homeland security center based at DIMACS. He has a long history with DIMACS, stemming from the days when he was the representative of partner Telcordia Technologies to the DIMACS Executive Committee.

Panelists:

Daniel DeLorenzi is Vice President for Security and Safety Services at MetLife Stadium. He has been heavily involved in collaborating with CCICADA in programs to enhance security at sports stadiums, has provided a laboratory for CCICADA faculty and students to explore new ideas, and participated in numerous CCICADA events and research projects.  

Bradford Greening is a health scientist and mathematical modeler at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention where he works to assess, develop, and improve emergency preparedness and response efforts in a wide range of public health applications including influenza, Ebola, Zika, and nuclear/radiation. Greening first came to DIMACS as an undergraduate participant in the 2010 REU program where he was mentored by Nina Fefferman, who later became his Ph.D. dissertation advisor. As a graduate student, Greening received a three-year fellowship through CCICADA and participated in a wide range of DIMACS and CCICADA activities. 

Paul Kantor is Emeritus Professor of Library and Information Science at Rutgers University. His long association with DIMACS began in earnest after the 9/11 attacks, resulting in a series of grants from the intelligence community’s KDD program, as well as projects on inspection at ports of entry and detection of nuclear materials. Kantor has been heavily involved with CCICADA and its predecessor, DyDAn, and served as research director for CCICADA.

Asamoah Nkwanta is Professor of Mathematics at Morgan State University. His association with DIMACS began through the Reconnect program which led to long-term engagement with DyDAn and CCICADA. In association with DyDAn, Nkwanta and two students spent a summer at DIMACS working on problems in epidemiology and traveled to participate in related DIMACS events in Africa.

Warren Powell is Professor of Operations Research and Financial Engineering at Princeton University. Powell and his students became involved with DIMACS through applications in nuclear detection and other areas of homeland security that involved learning under uncertainty. He participated in both CCICADA and its predecessor, DyDAn, and he led efforts in optimal learning in the context of nuclear detection.

William (Al) Wallace is Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. A long-time member of DIMACS, Wallace was the lead for RPI’s partnership in CCICADA and DyDAn, bringing expertise in emergency response and management and resilience planning.