Randel L. Zeller, Terry C. Pierce, and Thomas A. Cellucci of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Science and Technology Directorate, Washington, D.C.
The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) Center of Innovation (CoI), which is managed by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), is designed to create novel capabilities from emerging industry research technologies that eventually enable Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) products. Located at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and near U.S. Northern Command, the CoI leverages the Academy’s state-of-the-art supercomputer and millennial generation cadets to create a truly interagency center. The CoI, the result of a collaborative agreement between USAFA and DHS S&T, has enabled the federal government to conduct cooperative research with private industry technology companies like Intel Corporation.
The CoI has had several major successes:
In July 2009, the CoI conducted the USAFA Mission Fabric Collaboration Experiment, co-sponsored by the Human Factors and Infrastructure Protection and Disaster Management Divisions for DHS S&T, as well as Department of Defense (Rapid Technology Fielding) to evaluate the impact of cutting-edge technology on distributed collaboration. The experiment participants included members from DHS’s Customs and Border Patrol Air/Marine Operations Center, multiple U.S. warfighting commands as well as academic institutions including USAFA cadets.
