• Raytheon, Cisco support Wounded Warrior Project's IT skills training

    Raytheon provides the WWP’s largest-ever financial grant — $2.5 million over five years; Cisco extends long-standing commitment with technology for new virtual training program; the effort will include the expansion of current, multi-tiered information technology training programs with an added focus on developing new cybersecurity training opportunities

  • U.S. military looking for sturdier, more survivable UAVs

    The U.S. military is looking for sturdier, more survivable UAVs; the military regards the airspace over Pakistan and Afghanistan as “permissive environment” — and it wants UAVs to be able to do their work in what it describes as “contested airspace”

  • Electric brain stimulation improves math performance

    Applying electrical current to the brain can enhance people’s mathematical abilities for up to six months; Oxford University researchers demonstrates for the first time that electrical stimulation can successfully enhance mathematical abilities — and that students who undergo the stimulation retain their higher mathematics performance for long periods

  • ISC Solutions 2010, III: Innovative tools for attendees

    The event organizers have introduced tools that will help attendees navigate the seminars they would like to attend, and better handle the contacts they would like to network with, through customizable online agendas, smart phone applications, and ISC Solutions’ matchmaking tool

  • ASIS International 56th meeting opens in Dallas, Texas next week

    ASIS International’s 56th Annual Seminar and Exhibits will open in Dallas, Texas, next week; attendees will be able to choose from 160 seminar sessions and keynote speeches and exhibits featuring security technologies and solutions from approximately 700 companies; they will also have the opportunity to meet with more than 20,000 security professionals from ninety countries

  • DARPA to put manufacturing equipment in 1,000 high schools

    DARPA launches a $10 million program aiming to put manufacturing equipment in 1,000 high schools around the world; the program will challenge students to design and build things like go-carts, mobile robots, and small unmanned aircraft; while the program is aimed at bolstering the U.S. manufacturing industry, DARPA wants international students to participate as well

  • U.K. aerospace students to build human-powered aircraft

    Final year aerospace engineering students at the University of Bath, too, will be following in the footsteps of Leonardo da Vinci, designing and building a human-powered aircraft as part of their degree

  • America losing brainpower advantage, competitive edge

    The United States is losing its competitive edge, as stagnated federal research funding and a dysfunctional educational system are taking their toll; the United States is still a leader in innovation and produces a disproportionate share of the world’s wealth, other countries such as China are investing heavily in research and education and, as a result, are threatening America’s competitiveness; though most of the world’s top universities are located in the United States, the World Economic Forum ranks the U.S. 48th in math and science education; only 4 of the top 10 companies receiving U.S. patents in 2009 were American companies

  • A first: a Master's degree in infrastructure protection

    Ottawa’s Carleton University has unveiled a first-of-its-kind degree program: a Master of Infrastructure Protection; the program was launched last week, is offering a unique mix of courses related to engineering and national security policy; the aim is to educate infrastructure designers and engineers about policy-related issues, and policy makers about the design and engineering of the interconnected systems that form Canada’s economic and societal backbone

  • In era of tighter budget, simulation-based training becomes popular

    Training is invaluable, but first responder and emergency management agencies around the country are finding their budgets tighter than ever, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to conduct large-scale training exercises; the solution: simulation-based training

  • TSA: international trainees to be vetted only once annually

    TSA says it will require foreign pilots to submit to a vetting process only once annually, regardless of the number of training events or variety of training organizations used; the change should reduce the bureaucratic burden on the pilots, training outfits, and the TSA itself

  • Russia revives cold war-era raygun air fleet

    Pravda reports that the Russian military has revived a cold war-era project: mounting lasers on large transport planes; the Obama administration, after concluding that airborne lasers would not be effective as a boost-phase defense against ballistic missiles, has downgraded the program; it appears that Russia, too, does not intend for the airborne lasers to be used as ballistic missile defense, but rather use them to blind satellites or spy planes

  • K-State says its security studies program leads nation

    Kansas State University is currently the only university in the United States to offer a full Ph.D. in security studies, a hybrid of political science and history; the director of the security studies program says that in comparison to a homeland security master’s program, K-State’s security studies Ph.D. has much more of a focus on the phenomena that arise during international events; in a homeland security master’s program, there is more of a focus on domestic policy

  • IDF shows Hezbollah removing arms from exploded home

    One lesson both Hezbollah and Hamas have drawn from their recent military encounters with Israel — Hezbollah in July-August 2006, Hamas in December 2008-January 2009 — is that both would benefit from increasing even more the use of the Shi’a population in southern Lebanon (Hezbollah) and the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip (Hamas) as human shields against the Israeli military; hiding weapons and explosives in residential buildings, however, increases the number of deadly accident, as the one which occurred in Lebanese village of Shehabiyeh last Friday

  • Need for digital security spurs growth of cyber security field

    The growing need for digital security has made the shortage of cyber security professionals in the United States even more apparent, and the U.S. government is now engaged in a campaign to train, hire, and retain thousands of cyber professionals; the private sector is doing its share, too: Raytheon initiated the MathMovesU program in 2005, to inspire middle school students to consider math, science, and engineering education and careers; Raytheon awards more than $2 million annually in scholarships and grants to students, teachers, and schools nationwide