FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 10, 2005
geog-rsrc004
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Margaret Lamb or Peggy Binette
Phone: 803.777.5400; E-mail: margaretl@gwm.sc.edu
University of South Carolina geographer Dr. Susan Cutter has been tapped by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge to co-lead a U.S.-sponsored social and behavioral research center dedicated to reducing worldwide terrorism.
Ridge, along with Charles McQueary, Ridge’s undersecretary for science and technology, announced plans for the center today (Monday, Jan.10) at the University of Maryland, one of five major universities involved in the research center. The $12 million center is named the Homeland Security Center of Excellence for Behavioral and Social Research on Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism. The other four partnering institutions are the University of Colorado, University of Pennsylvania, Monterey Institute of International Studies and the University of California, Los Angeles. “An essential aspect of fighting terrorism is understanding terrorism, and this Center adds a crucial new resource of academic expertise to the Homeland Security mission of a safer America,” Ridge said. “The better we understand terrorist behavior, the better we can counter terrorism through prevention, detection, preparedness and response.”
Cutter, who led a USC team to New York to study disaster response efforts after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, said USC will play an important role in educating the next generation of homeland security specialists. “USC is a national leader in hazards research and vulnerability science. Our leadership role and affiliation with the Department of Homeland Security will enable USC to conduct important and timely research on hazards and terrorist threats and educate the next generation of homeland security specialists,” Cutter said.
The center’s research will focus on how to disrupt the information of terror networks and minimize the impact of future attacks. Cutter’s team will lead the effort to develop better methods for understanding and warning of terror risks, preparing for attacks and limiting the damage after an attack. By pulling together a wide range of databases of information and conducting geographic analysis, Cutter’s team, comprising 10 USC faculty researchers and six graduate students, is responsible for providing a better understanding of the dynamics of terrorists and terrorist groups and how society responds to attacks.
Cutter, a Carolina Distinguished Professor of Geography, is one of the nation’s foremost authorities on hazards research and launched USC’s Hazards Research Center in 1995, a research and training center that integrates geographical information science with hazards analysis and management. She is the co-founding editor of an interdisciplinary journal, Environmental Hazards. Cutter’s most recent book, “The Geographical Dimensions of Terrorism,” examines the role of geographic research in understanding the root causes, societal vulnerability and responses to terrorism.
Funded for three years, The Homeland Security Center of Excellence for Behavioral and Social Research on Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism is the fourth university-based center of excellence funded by the Department of Homeland Security. The other three centers are the Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (November 2003), Homeland Security National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense (April 2004) and the Homeland Security Center for Food Protection and Defense (April 2004).
In addition to Cutter, USC faculty researchers involved with the center include Dr. Walter Piegorsch, statistics; Dr. John Rose, computer science; Dr. Ann Bowman, political science; Dr. Mark Tompkins, political science; Dr. David J. Cowen, Dr. Michael Hodgson, Dr. Marcia de Castro, Dr. Diansheng Guo and Frank Hardisty, geography.