2019 Annual Meeting From Challenge to Solution
Overview
The BTI Institute is gathering key stakeholders to discuss ongoing and proposed solutions to identified challenges within U.S. Customs and Border Protection mission space.
We seek collaboration amongst the following entities:
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection Champions, to include
- U.S. Border Patrol
- Office of Trade
- Office of Field Operations
- Office of Policy
- Academic/research professionals from the consortium
- Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology
- Other DHS Centers of Excellence
- Other DHS border, trade, or immigration interested stakeholders
Online registration is closed. If you are still interested in attending please send an email to Dr. Abria Magee, armagee2@central.uh.edu. Include your name, title, and organization.
Event Details
Date: 26 JUNE 2019, 8:30 am to 4 pm
Location: Office of Training and Development, Room 7300B, 1717 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20006
Agenda (in brief)
After welcomes and introductions by the BTI Institute and DHS S&T OUP leadership, George Zouridakis, Ph.D., Chair of the Research Committee, will present an overview of the Institute's customer discovery efforts for Performance Year 4. Additionally, he will speak to some of the efforts in addressing the identified challenges. Following, the principal investigators for each project will present the status of their projects, including deliverables to date. After lunch, the Institute staff will host Roundtables that will identify gaps and begin to develop research solutions under the themes of Migration, Technology, and Trade.
Day 1 - Annual Meeting (Wednesday, 26 JUNE 2019)
| Time | Event | Speaker(s) |
| 0800-0900 | Registration and Refreshments | |
| 0900-0905 | BTI Institute Overview | Anthony Ambler, Ph.D., Director |
| 0905-0910 | Welcome Remarks | Theophilos Gemelas, Program Manager, DHS S&T OUP |
| 0910-0920 | Opening Remarks | Michael Dougherty, Assistant Secretary, Border, Immigration, and Trade Policy |
| 0920-0945 | BTI Institute Stakeholder Perspectives |
Paul Baker, Ph.D., Deputy Assistant Commissioner, DHS CBP Office of Training & Development Melissa Herrera, Assistant Chief, US Border Patrol Vincent Annunziato, Director, Business Transformation & Innovation, CBP Matt Schneider, Director, Land Border Initiatives, Entry/Exit Transformation, CBP OFO |
| 0945-1005 | Customer Discovery and Curriculum Development | George Zouridakis, Ph.D., Research Committee Chair |
| 1005-1020 | Break | |
| 1020-1050 | Project: Transforming Trade and Ensuring Global Supply Chain Security with Blockchain and Smart Contracts | Larry Shi, Ph.D., University of Houston; Eleftherios Iakovou, Ph.D., Texas A&M University; Vincent Iacopella, Trade Co-Chair, 14th Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection |
| 1050-1120 | Proposed: Operational Means for Forensic Characterization of Imported Crudes | Ramanan Krishnamoorti, Ph.D., Chief Energy Officer University of Houston |
| 1120-1150 | Project: Exploring Homeland Security Applications for Unmanned Autonomous Systems at Maritime Ports | Ben Rohrbaugh, Lantern UAS LLC |
| 1150-1220 | Project: Validating Deterrence Models for Scanning Technologies | Dennis Wagner, ANSER |
| 1220-1230 | Break | |
| 1230-1300 | Lunch (Catered) | |
| 1300-1400 | Roundtable (Challenge Discovery and Solution Proposal) | |
| 1400-1430 | Project: EDGE: The 'Eye in the Woods' Image-based Human Detection and Recognition System | Ioannis Kakadiaris, Ph.D., University of Houston |
| 1430-1500 | Project: Venezuela and Nicaragua: Regional Migration Crisis in the Making | Randy Capps, Ph.D., Migration Policy Institute |
| 1500-1530 | Proposed: The Impact of Indirect Remittances on Development | Jeronimo Cortina, Ph.D., Faculty Senate President-Elect, University of Houston |
| 1530-1600 | Closing Remarks |
Day Before or Day After - Customer Visits (Tuesday, 25 JUNE 2019 or Thursday, 27 JUNE 2019)
We encourage researchers to coordinate with their project champion(s) in order to visit their champions in their offices and meet other potential collaborators. If you need support in scheduling these visits, please contact the BTI Institute Research Manager at armagee2@central.uh.edu.
Location: Various
Logistics
Airport Suggestions: The Institute suggests using Washington Reagan (DCA), as this airport gives access to the DC Metro and is located near the meeting location and hotel.
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) (https://www.flyreagan.com/dca/reagan-national-airport)
- Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI): https://www.bwiairport.com/
- Dulles International (IAD) - https://www.flydulles.com/iad/dulles-international-airport
Lodging Suggestions
- BTI is staying at the Hampton Inn Washington, DC; 1729 H Street N.W., Washington, DC 20006 (https://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/district-of-columbia/hampton-inn-washington-dc-white-house-WASHSHX/index.html?SEO_id=GMB-HP-WASHSHX). This hotel is located a few doors down from the meeting location.
- For additional options, please consider: https://hotelguides.com/washington-dc/map-washington-dc-hotels.html
Transportation Suggestions
- METRO (https://www.wmata.com/)
- Taxi (multiple)
- Ride Share (Uber, Lyft, etc.)
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact Philip J Boedeker, Communications Manager, at pjboedek@central.uh.edu or bti@uh.edu.