News

EVENT: UCSD HOMELAND SECURITY MEDIA BRIEFING

DATE/TIME: 10 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, September 4, 2002

LOCATION: San Diego Supercomputer Center, UCSD campus Directions: From northbound Interstate 5, exit at G Genesee Avenue and turn left onto Genesee, turn left onto North Torrey Pines Road, turn left onto North Point Drive, and follow signs to a designated parking area.

WEBCAST: Reporters unable to attend can register for a live webcast at http://homelandsecurity.ucsd.edu

BACKGROUND: Thirteen UCSD scientists and policy experts will highlight areas of research from airport security and blast protection to wireless sensors and new technologies to detect biological agents. Experts on disaster communications infrastructure, cyber attacks via the Internet, and international policy will also describe their research, including:

• Newly developed dust-sized chips of "smart" silicon that detect chemical or biological agents will be discussed.

• A plan to deploy a monitoring network along 4 miles of coastline in San Diego County to automatically track and assess possible security threats
  
  
• Results from full-scale building tests that indicate advanced composite overlay materials can prevent C-4 explosive bomb blasts from damaging critical structures.
  
  
• Stepped-up efforts to build a disaster-response telecommunications network for the San Diego region.
  Medical first response to terrorist attacks

UCSD's research efforts focus on technological applications and emergency responses to a variety of security concerns and disaster scenarios. "San Diego is a busy port city and tourist destination on an international border with large military installations and a nearby nuclear power plant -- all of which make us a microcosm of the nation," said Mark Thiemens, Dean of UCSD's Division of Physical Sciences. "This briefing is the first of our progress reports explaining how we at UCSD are mobilizing to provide the tools needed to respond to terrorist threats."

SPEAKERS:

• Fran Berman, San Diego Supercomputer Center, Welcome,

• Dr. Sam Bozzette, School of Medicine
  Bioterrorism research at UCSD and the region
  
  
• Peter Cowhey, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation
  A security strategy for responding to terrorism
  
  
• Dr. James Dunford, School of Medicine
  Medical first response to terrorist attacks
  
  
• Bill Hodgkiss, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
  Environmental sensor networks
  
  
• Erin Kenneally, San Diego Supercomputer Center
  Fact versus fiction: measuring cyber security risk
  
  
• John Kosmatka, Jacobs School of Engineering
  Extremely lightweight and strong materials for bridges, reconnaissance drones
  and other homeland defense applications
  
  
• Jamie Link, Division of Physical Sciences, Development of "smart dust" to detect biological and chemical attacks

• Stefan Savage, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
  The rise of denial-of-service and other Internet attacks
  
  
• Tom Perrine, San Diego Supercomputer Center
  The Internet: terrorist tool or target?
  
  
• Ramesh Rao, California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology
  Communications infrastructure for disaster response
  
  
• Frieder Seible, Jacobs School of Engineering
  Secure and robust telecommunications networks for crisis management
  
  
• Mark Thiemens, Division of Physical Sciences
  Using atmospheric aerosols to detect bioterrorist attacks
  
  
• Mohan Trivedi, Jacobs School of Engineering
  Three "smart vision" projects to detect terrorist activity

WEB SITE: http://homelandsecurity.ucsd.edu. The site compiles graphical and video materials on UCSD's homeland security research activities, as well as news releases, experts, and other background materials related to the September 11th terrorist attacks. The site also provides information for reporters about the September 4 media briefing and related events.

Media Contacts:
Division of Physical Sciences: Kim McDonald (858) 534-7572
San Diego Supercomputer Center: Rex Graham (858) 822-5408
Jacobs School of Engineering: Denine Hagen, (858) 534-2920,