Discussion Item

Concept Paper Briefing

Submitted by:G. Kemble Bennett, Vice Chancellor and Dean of Engineering

Director, Texas Engineering Experiment Station

Subject:Discussion of Concept Paper to Establish theCenter for Emergency Informatics (CEI)

Proposed Board Action:

Discuss the concept to establish the Center for Emergency Informatics (CEI) within the Texas Engineering Experiment Station. After preliminary discussion with the Board of Regents, a full proposal will be submitted for approval at a subsequent Board of Regents meeting.

Background Information:

Emergency informatics is the emerging interdisciplinary, socio-technical field that addresses the information processes (real-time collection, analysis, distribution, and visualization) for prevention, preparedness, response and recovery from emergencies. An empirical analysis of the impact and availability of information during emergencies shows that impact and availability are currently misaligned. That is, when information can have its greatest impact, it is not available; when it is available, it has almost no impact. The goal of the Center on Emergency Informatics (CEI) is to provide the dedicated, sustained, comprehensive focus needed to “radically change the curve” by integrating multiple areas of expertise into a systems framework.

Potential activities within CEI include multi-disciplinary fundamental and applied research, undergraduate and graduate educational activities (including development of certificates in emergency informatics), development of industry internships, and technology transfer.

A&M System Funding or Other Financial Implications:

The Center for Emergency Informatics expects to be funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, Department of Homeland Security, and other state and federal agencies. The need for additional internal funding is not anticipated.

CONCEPT PAPER

Center for Emergency Informatics

Texas Engineering Experiment Station

October 8, 2010

Mission

Emergency informatics is the emerging interdisciplinary, socio-technical field that addresses the information processes (real-time collection, analysis, distribution, and visualization) for prevention, preparedness, response and recovery from emergencies. Emergencies span a large range from routine local emergencies, where “smart” ambulances are beginning to facilitate victim management, to large scale, infrequent events such as disaster response, where advances in unmanned systems, wireless networks, computing, simulation and visualization, social networking, and other technologies could revolutionize response and recovery by providing novel, richer ways to collect, transmit, and think about data.Consider the recent Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Over 500 workers housed inthe BPCrisis Center are attempting to fuse data from robots working a mile underwater, competing computer simulations, and observations coming from distributed sensors and marine vessels. This data must then be transformed into actionable, legally justifiable and environmentally ethical, decisions while addressing the concerns of spontaneously forming citizen groups. The same challenges of getting, understanding, sharing, and acting on dynamically changing information occur in earthquakes (Haiti, Chile), hurricanes (Ike, Rita), and terrorism (Austin IRS building).

An empirical analysis of the impact and availability of information during emergencies (see Figure 1) shows that impact and availability are currently misaligned. That is, when information can have its greatest impact, it is not available; when it is available, it has almost no impact.Advances in current technologies, especially wireless networks, are necessary but insufficient, that is, by themselves these advances will not increase, and may even overload, the conversion of data to usable and useful information.

The goal of the Center on Emergency Informatics (CEI) is to provide the dedicated, sustained, comprehensive focus needed to “radically change the curve” in Figure 1 by integrating multiple areas of expertise into a systems framework. As highlighted by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) and the Computing Research Association, emergency informatics is a Grand Challenge problem. Fourteen studies since 2003 have concluded that success will not be found in component technologies, manpower, or physical resources by themselves. Rather each study has found that success will come from systems approaches to developing the information for timely decision making and synchronizing the flow of this information to the shifting demands of disasters.

In June 2008, 35 faculty from nine College of Engineering departments (Aerospace, Civil, Computer Science, Electrical, Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, Industrial Systems, Mechanical, Nuclear, and Petroleum) self-organized and obtained seeding funding from TEES in order to pursue major grants. In partnership with the TEEX Urban Ssearch and Rescue Division and TEES’ Texas Center for Applied Technology (TCAT), the group submitted a $20M NSF Science and Technology Center program (declined), followed by a $18M NSF Engineering Research Center (in review, invited to submit a full proposal, site visit held on August 31, 2010), a $2M NSF Major Research Instrumentation award (awarded) and several grants (in review) in cyber-physical systems, networking, and social computing. In the past year, the collaborative team has expanded to include faculty in the Colleges of Architecture and Science at TAMU, the Bush School, TAMU-CC, TAMU-Q, and PVAMU, all of whom have been active in grants, seminars, and two Summer Institutes on emergency response needs held at Disaster City.

Justification

CEI will benefit The Texas A&M University System, the State of Texas, the United States, and the world by focusing both on fundamental research and the application of that research. At a minimum it will enhance the System’s reputation and status. The institutionthat rises to the avowed Grand Challenge of emergency informatics must be by definition of the highest caliber and will receive significant scientific and media attention.

CEI will attract new streams of external fundingfor basic research (research with an expected impact in 5-10 years), translative research (research with industry that produces products within 3-5 years), and technology transfer (3-18 months). The establishment of CEI at TEESgives the researchersa competitive advantage, as it is proof to sponsors such as NSF, DHS, NIJ, and DoD of an institutionally recognized, long-term research vision in emergency informatics.

CEI will increase and diversify the Texas economy. Technological progress in emergency response has been disadvantaged by the low volume, low profit margin market; there is no market “pull.” DoD has generated advances in networks, sensors and unmanned systems by providing well articulated needs and agencies such as DARPA to help create a market “push”; emergency informatics, however, is a totally new field with unknown requirements and possibilities. CEI can foster meaningful research that increases industry potential rate of return, brings start-up companies to the Brazos Research Valley, adds new product lines to existing companies such as defense contractors, and improves the risk management of different industries such as the oil and gas industry.

CEI will benefit the Public by creating provably correct technological systems thatreduce death, acceleratedamage assessment, and minimizeeconomic downtime. One of the immediate goals of CEI is to research, commercialize, and use information technologies to cut response and recovery decision making times in half for Type I (large) incidents in 5 years and reduce deaths and downtime by an order of magnitude within 10 years. Through partnership with TEEX, promising technologies can be rapidly evaluated and adopted, increasing the safety of Texans in response to hurricanes, wildfires, building collapses, and other disasters. We believe that most results will be applicable to all types and sizes of emergencies. CEI will also benefit the Public by informing the public debate on technologies and by creating the foundation for well-considered changes in, or additions to, regulations impacting emergency response.

Potential Activities

CEI potential activities span research, education, and technology transfer. Many of these activities are based on the annual Summer Institute, which brings together the researcherswith industry, agencies, and other stakeholders at Disaster City. Together, the group will work through the informatics challenges posed by the yearly FEMA Full Scale Exercise hosted by Texas Task Force 1.

Two Summer Institutes have been held to date and have resulted in:

  • over 30 faculty visiting Disaster City for the first time,
  • the generation of the NSF ERC, MRI, and at least four multidisciplinary proposals,
  • 6 new companies or divisions being introduced to TEEX, resulting in at least two contracts,
  • the specification of a possible product for TCAT commercialization, and
  • the identification of joint TEES-TEEX projects.

CEI will provide otherfunctions. Additional research activities, beyond the Summer Institute, include weekly seminars that will reinforce connections with participants involved with the center and a CEI website to serve as a portal, shaping the field of emergency informatics and providing CEI with a highly visible presence. Joint undergraduate and graduate educational activities will create multidisciplinary graduate andundergraduate certificates in emergency informatics;international study abroad and exchange programs with Tohoku University, University of Melbourne, and Qatar University; industry internships; and research projects derived from faculty experiences during the Summer Institutes.Engineering and response professional developmentactivities include webinars, hosted in cooperation with the highly successful IEEE Computer Society series (discussions are underway), and development of short courses for professionals.Technology transferactivities will strive toconnect industry to CEI participants, thereby supporting transfer of newly developed technologies into commercialization.

Resource Requirements

CEI expects to be funded by grants from NSF, DHS, and other state and federal agencies.

Governance and Advisory Structure

CEI will be led by a Director who will be appointed by, and report to, the Director of TEES, or designee. The Leadership Team will consist of a Deputy Director and three Associate Directors in the areas of Research, Technology, and Education. The Director will meet once a year with the Internal Academic Policy Board comprised of representatives from departments, institutes, and system members across TAMUS and an external ScientificAdvisory Board chaired by Dr. John Junkins, a member of the National Academy of Engineering; the Directorwill provide an annual written report to Director of TEES, or designee. CEI’s first Director will be Dr. Robin Murphy, Raytheon Professor of Computer Science and Engineering. Dr. Murphy is the PI on the pending NSF ERC on Emergency Informatics and NSF STC proposal.

Intrasystem Collaborations

Researchers at TEEX, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Prairie View A&M, and TAMU-Q are active partners in current and proposed activities related to the proposed CEI.

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