CREATE is committed to high-quality research on important aspects of natural and man-made disasters/threats to the built environment and economy. In the past, its affiliates have completed several important studies that have benefited from interdisciplinary interaction between economists, decision scientists, risk analysts, engineers, and computer scientists. Headquartered at USC and with affiliate researchers throughout the world, CREATE was established with funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security but has always been an independent entity under the auspices of both the Price School of Public Policy and Viterbi School of Engineering.
On July 22, 2020, CREATE announced a new initiative to promote the collaboration between junior faculty (assistant and associate professors) involved in research in the Price and Viterbi Schools. This initiative will provide $5,000 of salary (either during the academic year or the summer) for a Viterbi junior faculty member to collaborate with a CREATE researcher from the Price School on an interdisciplinary proposal for external funding.
A webinar on August 13 was led by Dr. Isaac Maya, CREATE Associate Director for Research Transition and Commercialization, to acquaint faculty with funding opportunities at the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate sponsors $1 billion in research and development annually. DHS values R&D that aims to solve pressing homeland security issues and encourages R&D that can be transitioned to useful tools for its operational components, such as the U.S. Coast Guard, TSA, and Customs and Border Protection. The webinar explored how to leverage these DHS funding sources to support varied research interests and how to best position results for transition success to its end-users.
Presentations by Dr. Maya and USC Information Sciences Institute Research Director Michael Orosz touched on specific opportunities and pathways for submitting proposals, examples of previous CREATE proposals and transitions with USC faculty, and ideas for collaboration with CREATE-affiliated faculty. Links to those presentations can be found below.
Isaac Maya
CREATE Associate Director for Research Transition and Commercialization
Michael Orosz
USC Information Sciences Institute Research Director, Decision Systems