The fight to prevent another terrorist attack in the United States is not restricted to bureaucrats in Washington.
Researchers at the UA are hoping they will be selected to aid the United States Department of Homeland Security in protecting the United States from threats.
Two different teams of UA faculty and staff are involved in applying for funding within the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Division.
On Dec. 12, the Department of Homeland Security called for proposals that focused on research efforts to combat agro-terrorism. Specifically, the department is seeking research in foreign animal diseases and on issues related to deliberate acts of food contamination.
In a workshop yesterday, UA faculty and researchers learned how they could tap further into federal research dollars, including money now available through the Department of Homeland Security. As a service to campus researchers, the workshop was organized by the UA Office of Federal Relations to help faculty members learn about various places to get federal grants.
"There is much interest in the DHS," said Judy Bernas, associate vice president for federal relations.
The presentation was given by Kevin Kelly, the UA contract lobbyist. Kelly, the Vice President at Van Scoyoc Associates, Inc., is rated as one of the top lobbyists in the country. Kelly represents universities across the country and receives payment from the UA Foundation.
"With a $2.3 trillion dollar budget, the bottom line is that the federal government is the biggest source of research funding," said Kelly. "Now, the government is interested in funding research that can move from the lab and idea phase to the developing phase quickly. They want projects that will be out on the street for testing in a year, two years max."
Federal research grants are frequently awarded to the UA departments from the Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense. Last year, total research expenditures at UA were $463 million dollars, said Dick Powell, vice president for research.
The defense industry has provided lucrative contracts. Lockheed-Martin gave the UA $8,976,007 and the Department of Defense gave $12,764,764.
The creation of the Department of Homeland Security has opened another federal door for research funding. According to the fiscal year 2004 appropriation bill, $918.2 million is provided for the science and technology division of the Department of Homeland Security. Part of that allocation funds research at the universities.
The UA is applying to become a Homeland Security Center of Excellence in both food safety and animal diseases. HS-Centers are eligible to receive $6 million per year for three years from the Department of Homeland Security.
The purpose of HS-Centers of Excellence is to pull together universities and research institutes to conduct multidisciplinary research in areas critical to homeland security that can be analyzed, debated and shared. According to a department press release, "through this program, Homeland Security and partner universities will bring together the nation's best experts and focus its most talented researchers on a variety of threats that include chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological, explosive and cyber- terrorism."
Glenn Songer, professor of veterinary science and microbiology, is part of a team of a dozen UA researchers attempting to win a HS-Center designation in animal safety. Working together with Colorado State University, Songer hopes that their research in animal pathology will prepare the nation to deal with the potential of agro-terrorism.
"It is exciting to think we have the opportunity to put in systems needed for a long time that will enable us to take on challenges when they occur," Songer said.
Songer described a possible terrorist attack where someone could sneak in a heifer infected with foot and mouth disease into an Arizona feed lot. Without a coordinated detection and response system that relies on solid research and background information, such a plot could devastate the livestock industry.
In food safety, the UA has teamed up with the University of Illinois to apply for an HS-Center. Christopher Choi and Mark Riley, associate professors of agriculture and biosystems engineering, and Charles Gerba, professor of microbiology and immunology, are hoping their research will identify the security gaps in food production.
"We try to simulate in a safe way, with indicator microorganisms that are not harmful, an agro-terrorism attack by someone intentionally contaminating food products and how we could respond," Choi said.
Both food and animal security are important for economic stability in the United States, Choi said.
Michelle Petrovich, the science and technology spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said that the department plans to reward two to three more HS-Centers by April.
Yesterday's workshop was attended by more than 90 faculty and staff.
"The workshops are successful in terms of getting a bunch of people on campus to learn how to form teams. No direct funding resulted, to my knowledge, from last year's meeting," Powell said.
Nationally, the UA has been successful in securing federal grants. In comparison to all public universities, the UA ranks 14.
"The UA is pretty good about securing research grants, but there is always room for improvement," Bernas said.
Sixty to seventy people showed up to a similar workshop last March, Bernas said.
Associate Director of the Department for Emergency Medicine Ben Munger attended the workshop.
"I think it was well done, but pretty straight-forward. It is a reminder of the things we need to do, basic things that we need to take care of," Munger said.
Kelly's presentation can be viewed at the Web site of the Office for Federal Relations. Faculty and staff interested in being added to the listserv that sends out updates about Department of Homeland Security funding opportunities can contact the Office of Federal Relations.