WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse today announced that the University of Rhode Island (URI) in Kingston will receive a multi-year grant of up to $2 million per year over a period of four to six years, for a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center of Excellence (COE) for Explosives Detection, Mitigation, and Response. URI will co-lead the project with Northeastern University in Boston, MA, which will also be receiving up to $2 million per year for four to six years.

The new center will conduct research to evaluate the risks, costs, and consequences of terrorism, and develop decision-support technologies, tools, and advanced methods tools to protect the nation. Its primary focus will be to detect leave-behind Improvised Explosive Devices; enhance aviation cargo security; provide next-generation baggage screening; detect liquid explosives; and enhance suspicious passenger identification.

"I am proud to have supported this federal funding for a new Center of Excellence for Explosives Detection, Mitigation, and Response at URI," said Reed, who wrote in support of the program and is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which oversees federal funding for Department of Homeland Security programs. "URI has a strong history of research and cooperative partnerships in the areas of explosive detection and threat mitigation. This new center will allow them to expand their efforts and develop new homeland security solutions that will help protect our country."

"This new research to be conducted in Rhode Island will help protect Americans abroad - especially our troops on patrol each day in Iraq - by helping us detect and disarm improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and it will also strengthen our homeland security defenses," said Whitehouse, who wrote a letter to DHS last December in support of URI's application. "URI has a reputation as one of the top scientific institutions in this region, and I was proud to support its efforts to expand research in this area."

The selection for new COEs was part of a highly competitive grant process managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate. This Center of Excellence is one of five new centers across the country that will study border security and immigration; explosives detection, mitigation, arid response; maritime, island, and port security; natural disasters, coastal infrastructure, and emergency management; and transportation security.

"We are thrilled have the co-lead in this new DHS Center of Excellence and especially excited about crafting the direction of education in the field for the next generation of those who serve in this area. I want to thank the Rhode Island delegation in Washington for their support in this matter," said Jimmie Oxley, Co-Director of the new Center of Excellence and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Rhode Island.

The COE program takes advantage of the unsurpassed research capabilities and intellectual capital of U.S. colleges and universities to fill knowledge and technology gaps for the Department.

"Investments in long-term, basic research are vital for the future of homeland security," said Jay M. Cohen, Under Secretary for Science and Technology. "These colleges and universities are leaders in their fields of study. They will provide scientific expertise high-quality resources, and independent thought—all valuable to securing America."