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The National Institute of Justice is once again offering two student research opportunities: the Graduate Research Fellowship and the W.E.B. DuBois Fellowship Program.

SWTC has joined with the Sheriff’s Association of Texas to go on-site at locations around Texas to train law enforcement personnel in basic computer skills. Sheriffs in 107 of the 254 Texas counties enrolled themselves, their officers, and other staff, for a total of 702 participants.

Harris County Judge Robert Eckels has appointed SWTC Test and Evalution Division Director, Pat Bellamy, to chair the Houston Port Strategic Security Council (PSSC), which oversees these security projects. On August 22, 2006, the Harris County Commissioner's Court authorized negotiation and preparation of an agreement between the Harris County, Port of Houston Authority, and SWTC for implementation of port security projects.

“HS Today” published the article “Houston, Texas: Building a national model of preparedness”, which includes an interview of SWTC Director and the Houston Port Security Steering Council (PSSC) Chairman Pat Bellamy. “By integrating law enforcement and private security, we hope to harden the port’s security by enabling information sharing and creating awareness that will help us prevent, protect, mitigate and respond to security threats,” Bellamy told “HS Today”.

Harris County extended the contract with SWTC to “provide objective, high-level, applied scientific research, support, and coordination” for the $34M Port Security Projects funded by the Department of Homeland Security. The project was started in 2006 with a three-way agreement between the Harris County, Port of Houston Authority and SWTC.

UH faculty, researchers and students attended a “Call for Proposal” meeting hosted by the Southwest Center for Public Safety Technology Center (SWTC) to discuss funding and collaboration opportunities in the fields of homeland security and public safety.

SPIE News Room issued a news article “Case studies help in upgrading port security”, http://spie.org/x18761.xml, on the paper, “The Houston Ship Channel Physical Security – A Case Study”, that SWTC Chief Scientist Dr. Han Le presented at the SPIE Defense & Security Symposium at Orlando (Proc of SPIE, Vol. 6540, 6540-23-1-6540-23-12, 2007). The paper discussed the Houston Ship Channel as a major seaport with unique and complex vulnerability issues that can be analyzed to design general models of integrated safety solutions

Captain Marcus Woodring, U.S. Coast Guard Deputy Commander, Sector Houston-Galveston will speak at the at the third UH-Department of Defense Research Conference at the UH Hilton Hotel Conference Center at 3:15 p.m. on November 13, 2008. Major General David N. Senty, Commander, Air Force Network Operations will be the key note speaker. For more information, please contact Elizabeth Anderson at eanderson@uh.edu.

SWTC Advisor Mark Mancuso (http://www.swtc.uh.edu/About/Advisory) has retired as the Deputy Director for Safety and Security of the Houston Airport System to work for CTI Consulting, a security and technology consultant firm headquartered in Germantown, Maryland. Mancuso was the chairman of the Gore Commission Consortium for Airport Security in Houston, a member of the Air Transport Association Security Committee

Former SWTC Advisor Jeanne Lin (http://www.swtc.uh.edu/About/Advisory) has returned to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate to be the Lead for Research of the Borders & Maritime Security Division after serving one-year as a Capitol Hill Fellow at the House Committee on Homeland Security chaired by Congressman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi.