Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary Dr. Charles McQueary visited the University of Central Arkansas campus on Monday.
McQueary, who is undersecretary for science and technology, spoke in the Math, Computer Science and Technology Building to students and faculty about homeland security.
While the mission of the Department of Homeland Security is to implement a strategy to secure the nation from terrorist attacks, McQueary said we cannot lockdown our borders, ?so the solutions we come up with must recognize the importance of trade and immigration.?
McQueary?s office is responsible for developing new technological capabilities, such as Biowatch, for protecting the nation from terrorist attacks. Biowatch is a project in which sensors were placed in 30 major population areas covering about 145 million people ? or about half the U.S. population. According to McQueary, ?Multiple biological sensors take in air and water samples and in two days we can know if a bio event has occurred.?
McQueary admitted two days is too long to detect a biological event, saying, ?we need real-time sensors so we can have immediate results.?
The Department of Homeland Security provides colleges and universities throughout the nation with funding to research and build homeland security tools and programs. Forty-four universities are currently working on projects funded by the department. McQueary encouraged the University of Central Arkansas to seek funding for such research.
He also encouraged students to look into the scholars and fellows programs offered through the department. The highly competitive scholarships and fellowships offer large stipends and tuition assistance in many areas including the traditional sciences, social sciences, engineering and computer information systems.
-Jennifer Boyett