Active Projects
A Study of Foreign Availability of the Chemicals in the United States Supply Chain
Dr. Stephen Lange, with Morehead State University is leading a project to determine the extent to which certain critical chemicals in the U.S.
Biometrics- Real- Time 3D Finger and Palm Print Scanner for Entry and Access Portal Security
Dr. Larry Hassebrook with the University of Kentucky has developed a structured light illumination system that acquires a 3-D surface scan of a human subject’s hand with significantly high resolution to record the 3-D shape of each finger’s fingerprint ridges along with the palm-print. The non-contact, 3-D fingerprint/palm print scanner is designed to accurately capture 10 rolled equivalent fingerprints plus 2 palm prints in less than 15 seconds with no operator manipulation of the subject’s hand.
Blast Mitigation- Carbon Foam-Based Protection Systems
Dr. Rodney Andrews with the University of Kentucky is addressing the national needs for improved materials for use in the protection of critical infrastructure. As threats to infrastructure come in many forms and are essentially unpredictable, Dr. Andrews is working to prepare materials that offer a degree of protection against an array of threats. Carbon foams are lightweight and quite resistant to high temperatures. Dr. Andrews is exploiting these characteristics in the development of materials to protect structures from fires.
Blast Mitigation- Reduction of the Explosive Potential of Amn Nitrate by Coating with Low cst, Coal combustion Byproducts
Dr. Darrell Taulbee with the Center for Applied Energy Research at the University of Kentucky demonstrated that the explosive potential of ammonium nitrate can be reduced or eliminated by coating ammonium nitrate prills with inexpensive and agriculturally attractive, coal combustion by-products (CCBs) that are produced at coal-fired electric power plants.
Detection- A Compact Neutron Interrogation System for Underwater Threat Detection and Identification
Dr. Ivan Novikov with Western Kentucky University is developing a neutron-based system for quick non-destructive detection and identification of underwater threats. The system will consist of an electronic d-T neutron source, which produces mono-energetic 14.1-MeV neutrons, a gamma detector to detect the gamma signal from the irradiated object and a data acquisition system. The detected signal will then be analyzed to quantify the chemical elements of interest and to confirm the presence of explosives or chemical warfare agents.
Food and Agriculture Safety- A Wireless Electronic Monitoring System for Securing Milk from Farm to Processor
Dr. Fred Payne at the University of Kentucky has developed a wireless system for enhancing the secure delivery of milk from the farm to processor. This project focuses on the development of an economically viable system that both secures the milk during transport and automates the collection of milk data for the dairy industry. The system electronically locks the milk transport tank for security, collects the milk data with a handheld computer and wirelessly transmits the data to a server for storage.
Food and Agriculture Safety- Continuous Health Monitoring and Lifetime Tracking of Beef Cattle
Dr. Eric Vanzant at the University of Kentucky focuses on the development of coordinated surveillance, monitoring, and response systems for tracking and early detection of disease outbreaks in the U.S. livestock population to help prevent disruptions of the beef supply. This project has developed an ear tag based sensor that monitors the health of individual animals. The system is designed to wirelessly communicate with a personal computer to provide livestock producers with continuous information about the health status of their animals.
Food and Agriculture Saftey- Natural Antimicrobials to Mitigate Biological Threat Agents
Dr. Melissa Newman with the University of Kentucky is identifying effective Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) antimicrobials that can be utilized as either a direct additive in the product formulation, as an edible bio-film/coating, or as a component of the packaging process to control the growth and survival of bio-threat agents in foods.
Information Systems and Interoperable Comm- Incident Management & Decision Support System (IMDSS)
Dr. Jim Gantt with Murray State University, is working to deliver a web-enabled software suite that will collect, share, and analyze data about events as they occur, providing real time situation awareness at the local emergency management level. The IMDSS will provide near-real-time data fusion from a variety of local sources and an accompanying decision support system for use by emergency management personnel.