Regional symposium on homeland security set for Sept. 30

Regional symposium on homeland security set for Sept. 30

How is the homeland security initiative impacting central Pennsylvania? How safe is the transportation system? Do building codes affect blast-resistant construction? How vulnerable are highways and bridges? What are the implications of the Patriot Act and the FBI's subpoena power? These and other provocative questions will be answered for area residents when Penn State Harrisburg holds a daylong, public regional symposium on homeland security Friday, Sept. 30.

Designed to foster discussion among academia and the area's community of experts, policy makers and practitioners, the symposium in the Capital Union Building on campus will include a keynote luncheon address from Fred Testa, Harrisburg International Airport director of aviation, along with a series of discussions and presentations by experts from the external community, Penn State, the University of Pittsburgh and the U.S. Army War College.

Sponsored by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, the symposium will offer plenary discussions and sessions starting at 8:15 a.m. on "Infrastructure Security," "Technology and Homeland Security," "Policy and Counterterrorism" and "Organization and Planning" following registration and continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m.

In the first session, three experts will provide thought-provoking examinations of the lessons and implications for public policy and transportation security in the wake of the London bombings, a look at current conditions and security measures for the U.S. transportation system, and a report on building codes and collapse and blast-resistant design for buildings and bridges. Penn State Harrisburg faculty members Jeremy Plant, professor of public policy and administration; Y. Frank Chen, professor of engineering, and Alex Aswad, professor of engineering, will lead the discussion.

The second session will offer in-depth looks at the IISIS ((Interactive, Intelligent, Spatial Information System) Project at the University of Pittsburgh from staff member David Johnson and the Rampart Project at Penn State from Steven R. Hayes, School of Information Sciences and Technology, and Col. Lawrence L. Larson, Marine Corps Research University.

The third session includes a discussion on the Patriot Act, FBI subpoena power, U.S. law and the funding of international terrorism, and the intergovernmental relation tension points caused by Homeland Security initiatives.

Kathleen Winters and Jim Ruiz from Penn State Harrisburg's Criminal Justice program will focus on an analysis and update of the Patriot Act while Lance Cole from the Dickinson School of Law and a consultant to the 9-11 Commission will discuss Constitutional privacy concerns resulting from the FBI's counterterrorism administrative subpoena power. Katherine Baker, associate professor of environmental microbiology, and Gary M. Osen of Osen and Associate LLC, will profile U.S. law and the funding of international terrorism, while Beverly Cigler, professor of public policy and administration, will lead a discussion on homeland security and its tension points for intergovernmental relations.

With organizing and planning as the framework for the fourth session, Michael Kenney, assistant professor of public policy, will bring his international research reputation to the table as he discusses terrorist networks vs. counterterrorist hierarchies and three representatives from the Penn State Harrisburg's School of Business Administration -– Roderick Lee, Wendy Schafer and John Carroll –- will critique how organizations respond to crises.

Richard Young, associate professor of supply chain management, will profile the implications of terrorism on supply chains while Bert B. Tussing, director of the Homeland Defense and Security Issues Group at the U.S. Army War College Center for Strategic Leadership, will conclude with an overview of the Department of Defense strategy for homeland defense and civil support.

For registration and information, visit the Web at http://www.hbg.psu.edu/ce or call (717) 948-6282. The fee, $44 for individuals and $10 for Penn State employees and students, includes participation in all sessions, continental breakfast, lunch and refreshment breaks.