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 the Center 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 in the BP Crisis 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
Figure 1 Availability versus Impact of emergency information over
insufficient, that is, by themselves these
the initial critical hours after an incident.
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
Page 1 of 4
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 institution that 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 funding for 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 TEES gives the
researchers a 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
Page 2 of 4
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 that reduce death,
accelerate damage assessment, and minimize economic 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 wellconsidered 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 researchers with
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 other functions. 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 and undergraduate 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
Page 3 of 4
professional development activities include webinars, hosted in cooperation with the highly
successful IEEE Computer Society series (discussions are underway), and development of short
courses for professionals. Technology transfer activities will strive to connect 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 Scientific Advisory Board chaired by Dr.
John Junkins, a member of the National Academy of Engineering; the Director will 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.
Page 4 of 4