Read the full BTOWN Banter story here

IU Army ROTC

In addition to providing top notch academic instruction to soldiers and airmen, Indiana University supports the Indiana National Guard through research and service. The goal is to assure Camp Atterbury and the Muscatatuck Center continue to be vital to our national security while supporting the Indiana economy. Go Hoosiers and Guardsmen!

Read the full article about IU’s new study revealing that Indiana military installations boost state and local economy.

Christopher Soghoian

Congratulations to Indiana University’s Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research fellow Christopher Soghoian for being recognized by MIT’s Technology Review as a 2012 TR35 Honoree!

The designation recognizes the world’s top young innovators under the age of 35, spanning biotechnology, computer and electronics hardware and software, energy, the Internet and nanotechnology, among other fields.

Soghoian, a privacy researcher and activist, earned his Ph.D. from IU this summer. His multi-disciplinary research is focused on the role that third-party Internet and telecommunications service providers play in assisting law enforcement surveillance of their customers. His research has been published in the Berkeley Technology Law Journal and cited by several federal courts.

Previous TR35 honorees have included notable innovators like Google co-founder Larry Page and Napster co-founder Shawn Fanning.

Soghoian is well-known among academia, his colleagues and the media for his dedication to consumer privacy, especially as it relates to surveillance. In a profile published last fall, Soghoian was described by Wired magazine as the “Ralph Nader of the Internet.” From 2009 to 2010, he served as the first in-house technologist at the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection. There he assisted with investigations of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Netflix.

Before joining the FTC, Soghoian co-created, along with IU alumnus Sid Stamm, the Do Not Track anti-tracking mechanism now adopted by all of the major Web browsers.

Read the full article here

The new Partnership Intermediary Agreement officially allows Crane and IU to exchange technology-related assistance and include private-sector partners, which Crane cannot do alone. By identifying IU as a partnership intermediary — a not-for-profit owned or funded in whole or part by state or local government that assists with small business firms or education institutions that need or can make demonstrably productive use of technology-related assistance from a federal laboratory –Crane can then provide information on shareable research and development capabilities, resources and support partners’ programs.

IU and IURTC will now be able to help companies submit technical proposals to funding programs, showcase lab inventions for licensing and collaboration, and then help companies take the next steps to product development. IU will also be able to act as an intermediary to showcase clients’ technologies and capabilities that are of interest to Crane.

Read the full story here

From the Center on American and Global Security (CAGS) website:

Founded in 2007, CAGS seeks to enhance and expand the teaching, research, and service mission of Indiana University concerning the security challenges facing the United States and the global community in the 21st century.

Threats to U.S. and global security no longer emanate only from the military power of rival States. Security threats now arise from the collapse of weak States, the potential diffusion of weapons of mass destruction into the hands of terrorists, the threat of disease pandemics, and instability triggered by humanitarian crises related to natural disasters or environmental degradation. Achieving homeland, national, and global security in a rapidly globalizing world constitutes a complex challenge that requires innovation in policy, technology, research, education, training, and governance.

Building on Indiana University’s nationally and internationally recognized expertise and experience in many academic fields relevant to security policy, CAGS serves as a focal point of Indiana University’s commitment to helping governments, educational institutions, international organizations, corporations, non-governmental entities, and populations in Indiana, the United States, and abroad respond effectively to the diverse threats that affect the security of communities all over the world.

Read more here

I recently posted two lessons learned applicable to any complex organization.  Here is the final in the series of posts.

 Finally, the 3rd lesson; embrace change and be agile.  When I joined the National Guard only twenty years ago, our wartime mission was focused on defeating the Warsaw Pact in Europe.  Today, we operate in a complex counterinsurgency environment where success requires that we adapt tactics faster than the exceedingly agile terrorist groups.  In 2005, my commander in Afghanisatn did not allow us to engage in social or political problems in the provinces where we were operating.  By contrast, in 2010 my commander required that I blog weekly to communicate our progress to the world.  Changing the culture of an organization is difficult but essential as the landscape and requirements evolve.  For example, currently at Indiana University we have a culture built on educational excellence.  However, our challenge is how to maintain excellence during very challenging economic constraints.

 After several years of discouraging news from Afghanistan, I am convinced that we are again making the advancements that will allow the coalition to reach the successful end state of denying terrorists a safe platform and building the Afghan security forces to allow the elected leadership the ability to maintain a safe and secure environment.  The lesson we have learned is that with any counterinsurgency, international leadership and perseverance will be essential to reaching the goal.

Congratulations!

Bloomington Ranked 16th Best Performing Small Metro in the Nation.

IU has forged partnerships with the Indiana National Guard (ING) on their efforts at the Guard’s Camp Atterbury-Muscatatuck Center for Complex Operations (CAMCCO) to brief and train personnel deploying to Afghanistan on issues related to language, cultural sensitivity, and governance.   The Guard has been entrusted with the responsibility of developing and providing training programs for both civilian and military personnel engaged in various assistance programs for developing nations. 

Under the partnership agreement, IU is assisting in the development these programs by providing a wide cross-section of faculty subject matter experts to serve as consultants, trainers, and instructors. Subject areas include languages, culture and customs and rules of law in counter-insurgency operations.  

 A key program currently under way involves training provincial reconstruction teams for deployment to Afghanistan.  IU is providing trainers to teach Afghan languages and culture to members of these military/civilian teams before they deploy overseas.  

Additionally, IU has partnered Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center – Crane, Indiana on the Advanced Linear Accelerator (LINAC) Facility, located at the IU Cyclotron in Bloomington. This project includes upgrades to the linear accelerator formerly based at Crane, a project that has already brought in $7.83 million in federal funding.   IU is currently expanding its partnership with NSWC Crane to include specialized areas of IU faculty expertise in Information Technology and Informatics, including modeling, simulation, cyber security and data mining.