Researchers and scholars from Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill and RTI International will work together to study terrorism and look for strategies to prevent attacks. The collaborative effort marks a new push in terrorism research in the Triangle, where the new Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security was announced Monday by Duke. Across the country, universities have established institutes to capitalize on the flow of federal dollars for homeland security research since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The Triangle center, based at Duke, will focus on the study of military, diplomatic and domestic counterterrorism strategies and policies for protecting against attacks.
David H. Schanzer, a government lawyer and former Capitol Hill staff member, has been hired to plan the new center.
Schanzer said Monday that the Triangle is an attractive base to develop expertise in homeland security because of the area's large universities, RTI and technology companies in Research Triangle Park.
"We really hope to bring together people working in a large array of fields," Schanzer said in a telephone interview.
At the universities, he said, faculty and graduate students in law, public policy, medicine, nursing, public health and journalism will work on issues such as cybersecurity, bioterrorism, emergency response and the causes of terrorism.
Other topics include the tactics of terrorist organizations, the politics of the Middle East and the effectiveness of military, diplomatic and law enforcement methods to combat terrorist organizations.
The center will also take advantage of the expertise at RTI in Research Triangle Park to seek federal funds for research on homeland security. That will likely involve partnerships with private companies that develop security technology.
Schanzer served since 2003 as the Democratic staff director of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security and as principal adviser to former U.S. Rep. Jim Turner of Texas, who was the ranking Democrat on the committee. Previously, he was legislative director for U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan, a Democrat from Missouri, and special counsel in the Office of General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Defense. He has undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University.
Schanzer will teach one public policy course each semester, alternating between Duke and UNC-CH.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/durham/story/2392382p-8770395c.html
Well, good deal.
Fresh minds and fresh thoughts keep us on the cutting edge of terrorism prevention.
"The collaborative effort marks a new push in terrorism
research in the Triangle, where the new Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security was announced Monday
by Duke. Across the country, universities have established institutes to capitalize on the flow of federal dollars
for homeland security research since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."
They're mostly trying to milk the cash cow but this target area is sitting pretty with international interests (and lotsa scientists.)