UC Homeland Security Program

UC Critical Infrastructure Security Project (UCCISP)

Background

            The UC Critical Infrastructure Security Project (UCCISP) was initiated December 12, 2006 by a Joint Critical Infrastructure Conference.   This conference was jointly sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ohio Homeland Security and the Ohio Department of Agriculture with additional assistance from the Department of Homeland Security.   Over 110 individuals attended this conference to hear an array of federal, state and local experts discuss ways to implement the National Infrastructure Protection Plan.  Out of that conference emerged the realization that protecting the regions critical infrastructure requires coordination among a wide range of governments and private sector institutions.  UCCISP was created to mobilize and integrate the resources of the University of Cincinnati to assist public and private sector institutions in efficiently and effectively safeguarding critical infrastructure.

UCCISP Partners

            The College of Engineering (Link to College of Engineering) and the College of Arts & Sciences (Link to A&S) are the primary UCCISP partners:

            College of Engineering: The College of Engineering created the University of Cincinnati Infrastructure Institute (UCII), in 1989.  http://www.uc.edu/ucii/ This institute focused on the development of nondestructive testing and evaluation technologies for the purposes of condition assessment and health monitoring of civil infrastructure systems. UCII consists of an integrated, multi-disciplinary team of Civil, Electrical, Computer, Mechanical, and Materials engineers from a broad cross-section of the faculty at the University of Cincinnati's College of Engineering.

            College of Arts & Sciences: Responding to the challenges of 9/11, the Charles Phelps Taft Center http://www.artsci.uc.edu/taft/ created the Center for Integrated Homeland Security & Crisis Management (CIHSCM) in 2005.  This Center focuses on the policy and intergovernmental challenges posed by the new domestic security requirements of homeland security.  This Center has access to faculty and researchers skilled in policy analysis, intergovernmental management,  as well as international and domestic security.

Initial UCCISP Project

            The National Infrastructure Protection Plan identifies 17 critical infrastructure sectors.  The UCCISP has identified transportation systems as its initial priority.  The strategic location of Ohio influenced this choice.   The State of Ohio contains interstate highways, railroads, and inland waterways.   Protecting these systems is crucial not only to the Ohio economy but the economy of adjacent states and the nation.  Moreover, protecting transportation systems poses not only technical and engineering challenges but policy and intergovernmental challenges as well.  Those involved in UCCISP are currently conducting a review of how to apply traditional sensor technology to homeland security applications.  This would allow officials to utilize sensor data to not only maintain and operate transportation systems but to ensure that these transportation systems are more secure as well.