Breadth of Opportunities from Research and Education in Port Security
Harold J. Raveché
President, Stevens Institute of Technology
July 8, 2008

The contributions of our nation’s research universities, both public and private, to the well-being of society are richly diverse, encompassing advances in health care, environmental safeguards, transportation, and alternative energy sources, to name but a few.

Homeland security is an area that has taken special prominence in our research universities over the past decade with the occurrence of anthrax and ricin attacks and the great tragedy of September 11, 2001. In response to the mounting concern over the preparedness of our nation to meet the many challenges of terrorist threats, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in February 2008 the creation of five New Centers of Excellence distributed among 11 universities. According to Admiral Jay M. Cohen, Under Secretary for Science and Technology in DHS, “Investments in long-term, basic research are vital for the future of homeland security. These colleges and universities are leaders in their fields of study. They will provide scientific expertise, high-quality resources, and independent thought—all valuable to securing America.”

Stevens Institute of Technology was awarded the responsibility of leading research and education in port security. This honor was the result of the impressive strength of Stevens and its university and industry partners, which include MIT, Rutgers University, the University of Miami, the University of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Monmouth University, and Lockheed Martin Corporation. The focus areas of the center’s research include maritime domain awareness; space-based wide area surveillance; vessel detection, tracking, and monitoring; High Frequency Frequency radar for multiple applications; search and rescue; environmental monitoring; human and organizational factors influencing Marine Transportation System (MTS) security and coastal safety; resiliency; and MTS recovery and continuity of operations.

The breadth of benefits to our nation from these priority areas formulated by DHS is evident in economic stability and increased environmental awareness.

The economic impact is seen from the fact that our nation’s port system is responsible for moving more than 99 percent of the United States’ overseas cargo. Our ports and waterways handle more than 2.5 billion tons of domestic and international trade annually. International trade in goods and services accounts for nearly 30 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP)—compared with only 9 percent in 1960—and is predicted to reach fully one-third of the GDP by 2020.

Port operations and international maritime commerce are expanding rapidly with the growth of the global marketplace, which underscores the importance of securing our nation’s ports. In 2006, marine cargo activity generated a total of $1.97 trillion in economic activity and more than $100 billion of federal, state, and local taxes (Martin Associates. “The local and regional economic impact of the US Deep Water Port System, 2008.” Prepared for American Association of Port Authorities. June 6, 2008. Lancaster, PA.)  The American Association of Port Authorities reports that port-related jobs employ 8.4 million workers, who earned and spent $314.5 billion in 2006. Every $1 billion in exports alone creates an estimated 15,000 new jobs, with the number swelling to 30,00045,000 when taking into account jobs to support the new products and personnel.

Securing our nation’s harbors includes enhanced environmental domain awareness that involves observing and forecasting important parameters such as wind, waves, salinity, currents, and other vital environmental data. This involves modeling as well as the development of command centers for processing and broadcasting data that is used by government agencies and the general public. Such information is now available to serve the maritime user community in the same way atmospheric weather forecasting has delivered for on-land populations. All of the information is available over the Internet 24 hours a day by means of weather forecast-like maps that can be used effectively by sailors, power boaters, swimmers, and fishermen, as well as port security officials and emergency management personnel. An example is New York Harbor Observing and Prediction System (NYHOPS), which was developed at Stevens for the New York-New Jersey Harbor.

NYHOPS also has environmental benefits. For example, the population of American shad in the Hudson River has dropped dramatically over the past two decades. NYHOPS has provided vital information to better understand the river’s health and suitability of the shad laying eggs along a stretch of the river spanning from Schodack Island in Rensselaer County to the river shoreline adjacent to Stevens and beyond into the Atlantic Ocean.

Beyond the benefits to education and research, the DHS Center of Excellence in Port Security will also yield patented technologies that will form the basis for new companies to provide jobs and broad opportunities for wealth creation. Examples may include new maritime sensors, perimeter security technologies, and optical systems that monitor vessel movement in all weather conditions.

The establishment of the DHS Center of Excellence in Port Security reminds us of the vital importance of inter-university collaboration, cross-disciplinary scholarship, and partnerships with industry. The center is a timely example of how fundamental research and new educational initiatives, which are focused on a national priority, can have broad impact that strengthens our nation’s economy and environmental safeguards.

It is a privilege for me to acknowledge the contributions of Michael Bruno, Dean of the School Engineering and Sciences, and Alan Blumberg and Thomas Wakeman, Director and Deputy Director, respectively, of the Center for Maritime Systems.