Overview

About CREATE

CREATE was established in 2004 as the first university-based Center of Excellence (COE) funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Office of University Programs (OUP). CREATE is headquartered at the University of Southern California (USC). CREATE collaborates with research affiliates in the U.S. and abroad, and engages students, staff and faculty throughout the University of Southern California, to make the nation safer and more secure. The Center contributes impartial research through scientific innovations and breakthroughs and by developing the future intellectual leaders in homeland security. CREATE transitions and disseminates research results to DHS and other stakeholders. CREATE is based in USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering and Sol Price School of Public Policy.

Mission

CREATE serves our nation through the creation of advanced models and tools for evaluation of the risks, costs and consequences of threats to human livelihood and through assessment of strategies to mitigate risks and respond to emergencies. CREATE’s approach is integrated, holistic and impartial, providing independent assessment of hazards, both malevolent and unintentional, including terrorism, accidents, and naturally occurring events.

Interdisciplinary Research

CREATE employs an interdisciplinary research approach, combining the talents of economists, decision scientists, systems analysts, and engineers. Research at CREATE is divided into four themes: Risk and Decision Analysis, Behavioral Analysis, Economic Assessment and Risk Management.  The Center has engaged many partners, including several Minority Serving Institutions, in carrying out its programs. This approach encourages creative discovery by employing the intellectual power of the American university and industrial systems to jointly solve some of the nation’s most pressing problems. CREATE also treats the subject of homeland security with the urgency that it deserves, leveraging fundamental research with existing domain experts so that research results are disseminated and implemented rapidly.

Research Areas

Risk Analysis

Behavioral Analysis

Economic Analysis

Decision Analysis