Happy New Year! No, it’s not the first of January, but we are celebrating a new year of research projects at NCITE. And the new work, on top of what we continue to do, fills me with the same sense of possibility and hope I get each time the calendar flips to January.
As NCITE enters our fifth research year, I am regularly reminded that our work is meaningful and important and is needed now, perhaps more than ever.
This fall, America marches toward another contentious election after a turbulent year that sees two wars play out on two continents. National security officials warn of a threat landscape lit with blinking red lights. From the attempted assassination of Donald Trump to American warships heading to the Middle East, this “new year” begins in an unsettling moment for our world.
So, I'm excited to be adding minds and voices to the fight to keep it safe. We are an ever-growing consortium – up to 38 partners now, including our three Summer Research Team schools (Hampton University, Haskell Indian Nations University, and the University of Texas-San Antonio). We're working with these teams to help translate their summer work with NCITE into new projects at their campuses. Our fifth-year portfolio also brings in nine new external research partners.
Together, our consortium is covering a lot of research ground, and I marvel at all the ways NCITE studies the prevention of terrorism and targeted violence, as well as ways to combat the threats that already exist. We’re studying drones, AI, and how to help communities recognize and counter radicalization. One team is trying to improve suspicious activity reporting. Another is using interviews with election workers to better understand the threat environment in electoral contexts. See our press release for a full list.
We’re also supporting continuing work across the counterterrorism spectrum on elections, domestic violent extremism, and American sentiment on political violence. In this newsletter, you’ll see a recap of our ENVISION conference in June. Out of that has come a targeted RFP to study cyber threats to critical infrastructure. The RFP is still open – so consider applying! We’re also cranking out podcasts with interviews of our experts around topical events such as the attempted assassination.
Check out other news on research deliverables and bookmark our website to learn about upcoming events.
And take a moment to mark this new year. I’m doing so with a resolution to see hope and promise in the year ahead.
Best,
GINA LIGON
NCITE Center Director
📢 Announcing NCITE Research Year 5📢
How might terrorists use drones? How might AI trick the humans operating America’s critical infrastructure? And how might local communities measure their levels of radicalization? These are among the new research questions that NCITE experts are tackling in Year 5. The new projects pull 12 new academic partners into the consortium.
WEBINAR: Avoiding Failure of Imagination – Protecting Against Novel Threats
The most dangerous threats are the ones you don't see coming. Join NCITE for an upcoming webinar discussing newly published research that explores how to protect individuals and organizations from novel threats. Tune in at 10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET, Thursday, Sept. 19.
How could violent extremists sow chaos by attacking our nation’s cyber infrastructure? On Aug. 5, NCITE launched its first targeted RFP seeking research that explores threats to the cyber domain. The Center is looking to award 1-2 new projects for a period of performance beginning Jan. 1, 2025. The deadline to submit proposals is Sept. 19.
NCITE and CREST launched a request for proposals to host the second IAPSS conference in the spring of 2025. The deadline to submit applications is Sept. 13.
Join host Erin Grace for NCITE's podcast that aims to make sense of the day's headlines as they relate to terrorism and targeted violence. You can check out our latest episodes below and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, and YouTube.
Guest: Matt Jensen, Ph.D., NCITE researcher at the University of Oklahoma, discussing the online messaging strategies of violent and nonviolent groups.
Guest: Diane Mack, director of emergency management for the University of Nebraska at Omaha and University of Nebraska Medical Center, discussing emergency response after critical infrastructure failures.
Guest: Tin Nguyen, Ph.D., NCITE researcher and technology transition lead, discussing the challenges of outdoor event security and the attempted assassination of former President Trump.
Guest: Sam Hunter, Ph.D., NCITE head of strategic initiatives, on the attempted assassination of former President Trump. Hunter shares his research examining the U.S. domestic violent extremism landscape.
RECAP: NCITE Webinar on Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management
On July 25, NCITE hosted a webinar discussing behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM). Panelists were Melissa Zisler, Ph.D., director of the DHS National Threat Evaluation and Reporting Office (NTER) and CJ Wren, program manager of the Arizona Statewide Threat Assessment and Mitigation Program (AZ-STAMP).
On July 18, NCITE hosted a webinar to discuss new research on countering improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Moderated by NCITE director Gina Ligon, Ph.D., the panelists were Austin Doctor (NCITE), Kirk Yeager (FBI), and Jason Stewart (CISA-OBP). Read the full report.
NCITE hosted its annual ENVISION conference June 25-27. For three days, our consortium of expert researchers came together in Omaha to share their unique perspectives on some of the world's most complex challenges.
On Aug. 12, NCITE attended the FBI's Agriculture Threats Symposium on domestic and international threats to the agricultural sector. At the symposium, NCITE researchers Matt Allen, Ph.D., and Austin Doctor, Ph.D., presented insights on threats to agriculture. Erin Grace, director of strategic communications and external relations, moderated a panel.
Allen, head of measurement innovation at NCITE, spoke on a panel, discussing the importance of understanding technologies that create opportunities for terrorists to attack critical infrastructure. Drones and geospatial technology, for example, can easily gather information that can be used by individuals with malicious intent to threaten critical systems like agriculture.
Doctor, head of counterterrorism research initiatives at NCITE, spoke on agricultural security in a contested world. He shared categories of structural forces – including demographics, environment, and economics – that are shaping emerging trends and presenting new dynamics to the broad threat landscape.
Thank You to Our Summer Research Teams!
Each summer, NCITE works with early-career faculty and students as part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Summer Research Team program. The teams receive technical guidance and feedback from NCITE mentors and attend weekly developmental meetings over 10 weeks, where they have the opportunity to meet with and learn from faculty, staff, and government stakeholders. On Aug. 8, the three 2024 teams presented their research.
Team Members: Daren Fisher, Kennidi Hipps, Antonio Suarez
Hampton University
The Hampton University Summer Research Team created an original dataset recording state-level legislative attempts to ensure safe and secure elections across the United States from 2011-2020. Their project seeks to examine the impact of election security legislation on terrorism targeting the U.S. government and domestic terrorism.
Haskell Indian Nations University
The Haskell Indian Nations University Summer Research Team presented their project aimed at developing a tribal drone and geographic information system (GIS) pilot program for public safety officers to assist in deterring domestic terrorism.
Team Members: Jessica Burghart, Andrew Noline, Aziza Smith
Team Members: Sarah Harper, Sara Diaz, Alex St. John
Texas A&M-San Antonio
The Texas A&M-San Antonio Summer Research Team generated a corpus of publicly available records and transcripts of encounters between people with anti-government/anti-authoritarian beliefs and government actors (e.g. law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges) throughout the criminal-legal process.
NCITE Researcher Joseph Young, Ph.D., has been named director of the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Young has led NCITE research examining vicarious trauma in the counterterrorism workforce.
Matt Jensen, Shane Connelly, Hairong Song, Ares Boira Lopez, and Joseph Stewart discuss the online messaging strategies of violent and nonviolent groups.
Austin Doctor, Sam Hunter, Gina Ligon, Paul Gill, Gary Wes Carter, Dan Polanski, and Jimmie Oxley outline 10 challenge areas where concentrated research can be most beneficial when combating terrorist IED use in the homeland.
Sam Hunter, Kat Parsons, Kelsey Ciagala, Sydney Reichin, Matt Allen, Erin Kearns, Austin Doctor, and Joel Elson examine existing DHS threat assessment tools, determining if and how they work, what conditions are needed for success, what needs to be implemented, and the cost of using these tools.
Karyn Sporer, Brooke Buxton, and Nicholas Brown discuss indicators that suggest a loved one might be radicalizing and give links to resources for families.
Daisy Muibu, Joseph Young, Michael Becker, Sarah Lynch, Ethan Ferguson, and Lindsay Barclay outline how exposure to violent material affects counterterrorism practitioners.
Center News and Updates
Welcome New NCITErs!
Mackenzie Harms
Research Fellow
As a research fellow, Harms co-manages the scientific review of all funded work from NCITE consortium researchers and helps translate research reports into actionable outputs. Additionally, Harms supports rapid requests for information and analysis for NCITE stakeholders.
Alex Bruens
Research Fellow
Bruens contributes to scientific review of all funded work from NCITE consortium researchers, identifying potential outputs for stakeholder engagement. Bruens also manages the compliance and approval process for NCITE cooperative agreement projects and assists with reporting.
Brenna Helm
Research Associate
Helm serves as a research associate, supporting an NCITE project that outlines best practices for reintegrating the spouses and children of foreign terrorist fighters.
đź“° Got News to Share? Tell Us!
Do you know an NCITE investigator who has done something amazing recently? We want to know! Please share news about awards, publications, and other accomplishments early and often. We welcome student news especially – thesis defenses, conference presentations, accepted journal articles, and more. Email them to ncite@unomaha.edu.
GRANT ACKNOWLEDGMENT & DISCLAIMER
The material in this newsletter is based on work supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Grant Award Number, 20STTPC00001-05. The views and conclusions included here are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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