July - August 2003Newsletter of the Institute for Defense and Homeland Security
PARTNERS

The College of William and Mary

Eastern Virginia Medical School

George Mason University

George Washington University Virginia Campus

Hampton University

James Madison University

Norfolk State University

Old Dominion University

Shenandoah University

University of Virginia

Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Military Institute

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Virginia State University



Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology





Join IDHS through the Industry Affiliates Program


In This Issue


Message from the IDHS Executive Director
As many of you are aware, I reported on 1 July as the IDHS Executive Director, arriving on the heels of the great success of the 25 June IDHS Research Summit. The Summit could not have provided a better platform from which to launch the new Institute. All of us associated with IDHS have been given the rare opportunity to build the Institute from the ground up, to lay the foundation for its future. Development of the strategic vision and implementation plan are extraordinarily important as we build IDHS into a powerful new force in the research and development community. I am humbled and honored to be IDHS's first director and look forward to the challenges ahead. I welcome your support and your ideas as we begin this important venture. -- Hugh Montgomery


Hugh Montgomery Named IDHS Executive Director
IDHS announced the selection of Hugh E. Montgomery, Jr. as the consortium's first executive director, effective July 1. Montgomery has served since January 2001 as a senior fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. He was most recently on assignment as the first civilian technical director of the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, overseeing broad initiatives in technology development and transition, warfighting experiments, wargaming, and emerging threats and opportunities. As IDHS executive director, Montgomery is the senior executive responsible for all aspects of IDHS operations and will serve as a member of the IDHS executive committee.
Press release announcing Hugh Montgomery's appointment.


IDHS Names Executive Committee
George C. Newstrom, Virginia's Secretary of Technology, and John O. Marsh, Jr., former Secretary of the Army, will serve as co-chairs of the IDHS executive committee. Additional members of the panel include current and former federal officials from defense or homeland security agencies, Commonwealth of Virginia cabinet and university officials, and industry representatives from research- and technology-intensive companies in Virginia. Members are as follows:

  • Steven Cooper, CIO, Department of Homeland Security (ex officio)
  • Michael Daniels, Sector Vice President, SAIC
  • Scott Erskine, Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI
  • John H. Hager, Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness
  • Peter Jobse, President, Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology
  • Hugh E. Montgomery, Jr., Executive Director, IDHS
  • John B. Noftsinger, Jr., Co-Chair, Virginia Research & Technology Advisory Commission, and Associate Vice President for Research, James Madison University
  • Suzanne Spaulding, American Bar Association
  • Charles Steger, Chair, Virginia Council of Presidents, and President, Virginia Tech
  • Belle S. Wheelan, Virginia Secretary of Education
  • Jim Wrightson, Vice President for Strategic Development, Lockheed Martin Corp.More

Industry Affiliates: The first regional Industry Roundtable will be held on September 18th in Blacksburg, in conjunction with the New Century Technology Council's monthly breakfast meeting. Details will be provided as event logistics are firmed up.

Industry Affiliates Program
IDHS is pleased to announce the creation of the Industry Affiliates Program (IAP) - an integral part of its strategy for bringing solutions to bear on federal, state, and regional defense and homeland security needs.

The implementation of the IAP will involve a two-phase approach. In its first year of existence, the IAP will remain more informal to allow for input and exchange among the Institute's management, university partners, federal agencies, and industry representatives. As such, only nominal fees will be charged to cover administrative expenses and a series of industry roundtables to be held throughout the year. In the second year, the IAP will become more structured and formalized, and the fee structure will be modified.

Complete details regarding eligibility, benefits, fees, and an on-line application form can be found on the IDHS website at http://www.idhs.org/iap.html.


2003 IDHS Research Summit
At the request of Congressman Frank Wolf, Governor Mark R. Warner and Secretary of Technology George C. Newstrom, the Institute for Defense and Homeland Security hosted a Research Summit on July 25 that gave federal program managers and senior officials a unique opportunity to explore the cutting-edge defense and homeland security-related research from Virginia's universities. Among the 200 attendees at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., were federal program managers, congressional staff and government researchers.

The summit showcased four major technology areas: telecommunications, sensor systems, biodefense and risk management. Twenty-five presentations were delivered by leading scientists and researchers from universities including the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, The College of William and Mary and George Mason University. Some of the specific technologies addressed were the detection and prediction of water-borne hazards, critical infrastructure modeling and assessment, tactical communications architecture, topological vulnerability analysis and low-cost remote sensors for detecting biohazards.

Secretary of Technology, George C. Newstrom, welcomed the attendees to the summit and laid out the vision and scope of IDHS, noting its synergies with the Governor's Strategic Plan for Technology, the Secure Virginia Initiative Panel and Virginia's congressional delegation. Governor Warner reiterated his support for IDHS in his opening remarks, calling the Institute "one of the most important initiatives of this administration."

Delegate Joe May, a member of the General Assembly, chair of the House Science and Technology Committee and chair of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science, said that IDHS could become a national model for other states and the federal government.


VMI to Host Governor's Homeland Security Conference October 28-30
IDHS is endorsing and participating in the three-day "Governor's Homeland Security Conference" being hosted by the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, VA, on October 28-30, 2003. Involvement by IDHS partners is encouraged, and an open invitation to all is provided in the linked letter. Please respond directly to Capt. Ronald Erchul, the conference coordinator, if you are interested in attending or pursuing a sponsorship opportunity for the event. A preliminary conference program is posted on the conference web site. More


Virginia's Homeland Security in the News
VMI Could Get Role in Homeland Security
VMI has accepted an invitation to join the Virginia Institute for Defense and Homeland Security. In addition, VMI is hosting the 2003 Governor's Conference on Homeland Security. The school is also developing a minor in security studies, which could be available to students in the 2005-06 school year. A school with so many military ties "is going to be valuable to us," said Hugh Montgomery, the director of the Virginia Institute for Defense and Homeland Security. (Roanoke Times, July 12, 2003)

SU-Sponsored Disaster Training Center Opens in Loudoun County
Shenandoah University's pharmacy program will soon introduce a curriculum on identifying and responding to a bioterrorist attack. This new program is part of the Response to Emergencies and Disasters Institute (READI) -- a project to train area emergency response workers on proper emergency response. The program has a special emphasis on terrorism. (Winchester Star, July 1, 2003)

Dahlgren Expertise Eyed
The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, could take on a significant homeland-security role if Gov. Mark Warner gets his way. Warner seemed most interested in the base's new National Innovative Technology Mission Assurance Center -- a loose coalition of several programs at Dahlgren that are dedicated to helping secure America's commercial and industrial base from enemy attacks. (Free-Lance Star, June 21, 2003)

Security Officials Urge More Research Into Supercomputing
The nation's investment in supercomputing research and development has played a crucial role in national security, but more investment is needed to resolve numerous computational problems, a key National Security Agency official said. (National Journal's Technology Daily, June 4, 2003)

Press Coverage of IDHS Summit
Warner Opens First Summit Of Homeland Security Consortium
(Associated Press, June 25, 2003)

Summit Highlights Homeland Tech
(Government e-Business, June 29, 2003)

Feast for Futurists
(Bacon's Rebellion, June 30, 2003)

Virginia Promotes Homeland Research
(Federal Computer Week, July 7, 2003)




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