BTI addresses real-world challenges as they relate to borders, trade and travel, and immigration research. These challenges have been defined by our customers and stakeholders, such as Customs and Border Protection Office of Trade, Office of Field Operations, and U.S. Border Patrol Strategic Planning and Analysis Directorate. 

BTI partners with industry and community in order to transition research into technology and policies. The Institute accomplishes this by working closely with partners and researchers to identify opportunities, pursuing joint proposals, and collaborative conferences.

If you have an idea that you believe would address a Homeland Security challenge, then visit the Partner with BTI page for more information. 

Current Projects

	Tactical Mapping of Border Security Impacts: El Paso Sector Mayra Maldonado, Hunt Institute Research Theme: Border Security
	Addressing Cross Border E-Commerce Challenges with Emerging Technologies Weidong "Larry" Shi, Ph.D., University of Houston Research Theme: Legitimate Trade and Travel
	Assessment of Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) Program Andrew Farrelly, CT Strategies Research Theme: Legitimate Trade and Travel
	DNA Assays for Determining Honey Origins Richard Willson, Ph.D., University of Houston Research Theme: Legitimate Trade and Travel
	Measuring Border Wait Time at Land Ports of Entry: Technology Assessment and Data Dissemination Juan Carlos Villa, Texas A&M Transportation Institute Research Theme: Legitimate Trade and Travel
	The Road Less Traveled: Bolstering the Absorptive Capacity of Southern Central American States to Facilitate the Southern Flow of Northern Triangle Immigrants Marcus Boyd, Ph.D., START Research Theme: Immigration
	Mexican and Northern Triangle Perspectives on Mass Migration: Identifying and Assessing Strategic Narrative Alignment Skye Cooley, Ph.D., Oklahoma State University Research Theme: Immigration
	Economic Motivations of Migrants from the Northern Triangle Detlof von Winterfeldt, Ph.D., USC CREATE Research Theme: Immigration
	Developing a Regional Approach to Managing Migration Flows from the Northern Triangle through Mexico to the United States Andrew Selee, Ph.D., Migration Policy Institute Research Theme: Immigration

Complete Projects

	EDGE: The "Eye in the Woods" Image-based Human Detection and Recognition System: Phase II Ioannis Kakadiaris, Ph.D., University of Houston Research Theme: Border Security
	Validating Deterrence Models for Scanning Technologies George Thompson, ANSER Inc. Research Theme: Border Security
	Image and Video Person Identification in an Operational Environment: Phase I Ioannis Kakadiaris, Ph.D., University of Houston Research Theme: Border Security
	Unconstrained Face Recognition using Cell Phone Devices: Faces in the Wild Thirimachos Bourlai, Ph.D., West Virginia University Dimitris Metaxas, Ph.D., Rutgers University Research Theme: Border Security
	A Systematic Process for Vulnerability Assessment of Biometric Systems at Borders Bojan Cukic, Ph.D., the University of Northern Carolina at Charlotte Research Theme: Border Security
	Missed Detections: From Data to Actionable Estimates Dennis Egan, Ph.D., Command, Control, and Interoperability Center for Advanced Data Analysis Research Theme: Border Security
	Exploring Homeland Security Applications for Unmanned Autonomous Systems at Maritime Ports Ben Rohrbaugh, Lantern UAS David Hansell, Lantern UAS Research Theme: Legitimate Trade and Travel
	Transforming Trade and Ensuring Global Supply Chain Security with Blockchain Larry Shi, Ph.D., University of Houston Eleftherios Iakovou, Ph.D., Texas A&M University Research Theme: Legitimate Trade and Travel
	Modeling Methodology and Simulation of Port-of-Entry Systems Benjamin Melamed, Ph.D., Rutgers University Research Theme: Legitimate Trade and Travel
	GPS/GNSS and Communication Authentication Standards for Reusable Electronic Conveyance Devices (RECONS) Demoz Gebre-Egziabher, University of Minnesota  Research Theme: Legitimate Trade and Travel
	Participatory Operational Assessment: Evaluating and Predicting the Operational Effectiveness of Cargo Security Processes at Ports of Entry Maria Burns, University of Houston Research Theme: Legitimate Trade and Travel
	Leveraging U.S. Export Control Reform: New Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Government Efforts to Counter WMD Proliferation through Enforcement of Export Controls Robert Shaw, Ph.D., Middlebury Institute of International Studies  Research Theme: Legitimate Trade and Travel
	Secure and Transparent Cargo Supply Chain: Enabling Chain-of-Custody and Economical and Privacy Respecting Biometrics, and Blockchain Technology Larry Shi, Ph.D., University of Houston Research Theme: Legitimate Trade and Travel
	Developing a Concept of Operations for an Innovative System for Measuring Wait Times at Land Ports of Entry Juan Villa, Texas A&M Transportation Institute  Research Theme: Legitimate Trade and Travel
	Venezuela and Nicaragua: A Regional Migration Crisis in the Making Andrew Selee, Ph.D., Migration Policy Institute Randy Capps, Ph.D., Migration Policy Institute Research Theme: Immigration
	Modeling International Migrant Flows: Theory, Evidence, and Forecasts David Leblang, Ph.D., University of Virginia  Research Theme: Immigration
	Central America's Immigrant and Refugee Crisis: Limiting Unauthorized Migration through the Alliance for Prosperity and Reintegration Efforts Randy Capps, Ph.D., University of Houston Research Theme: Immigration
	Impact of Central American Child and Family Migration on U.S. Communities Eric Hershberg, Ph.D., American University Jodi Berger Cardoso, Ph.D., University of Houston Research Theme: Immigration
	Uncovering Human Smuggling Patterns from Guatemala to the U.S. Gary Hale, Voir Dire International LLC  Research Theme: Immigration
	Immigration Workshop Luis Torres, Ph.D., University of Houston Research Theme: Immigration