Jackson State University Projects
1. All Hazards Emergency Operations Management System (Edward Collins) - Active
A region must not only have the capacity to respond effectively in the short-term but must also have the ability to sustain coordination and control through the request for targeted ex-region response requirements, and to effectively transition to a joint response when ex-region and Federal response capabilities are brought to bear on plans; systems, skills and relationships must exist for local leaders to not only manage their own jurisdiction, but also to collaborate effectively regionally in incident management. This project focuses on three specific areas: (1) automate All Hazards Incident Management System with GIS integration (2) apply remote sensing and geographic information systems technology to critical infrastructure protection (3) develop a homeland security community mapping for Mississippi.
2. Disaster Response Intelligent System (Dr. Gordon Skelton) - Active
Information technology decision aids and data fusion systems are revolutionizing decision making in operational scenarios. The JSU team is proposing to leverage these advances by developing innovative decision support aids useful for converting and fusing data to useable knowledge for DHS emergency response. Specifically, the JSU team will transition an existing analysis and fusion system developed from an on-going DOD program into a Disaster Response Intelligent System (DRIS). The system is designed to be interoperable with the Jackson State University “All Hazards Emergency Operations Management System (ALLHAZ)” and/or any other open architecture system. The Disaster Response Intelligent System is designed to provide real-time analysis and decision support for the Department of Homeland Security and operational agencies in disaster response.
3. The Education, Operations and Workforce Development Initiative (Edward Collins) - Complete
The nation needs to improve its ability to rapidly deploy homeland security relevant science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) knowledge to a wide range of stakeholders, from the leadership of national, state and local organizations to first and early responders, to the general citizenry and to the future workforce. This project will develop a hub and spoke model for Workforce Development among the colleges and universities in the DHS University Centers of Excellence (COE). COE universities would function as the ‘hubs’ of the homeland security related STEM distribution network. This project will also serve as a model for the rapid deployment of technology within the national K-12 through post graduate education system.
4. Multi-Purpose, Multi-Scale Storm Surge and Flood Forecasting for Planning and Preparedness (Dr. Shahrouz Aliabadi) - Active
This project will focus on the development of a fully integrated framework for the modeling and simulation of storm surge and flood events, with applicability at macro-, meso-, and micro-scale levels. This project is comprised of three components: (1) High-Resolution Storm Surge and Flood Modeling; (2) Infrastructure Assessment and Resiliency; and (3) Disaster Preparedness and Response. The project employs existing flood, assessment and management (FAM) models and new FAM models developed by project partners, with intended application to the forecast of hurricanes in the Gulf Coast, flood inundation in associated coastal regions, infrastructure assessment, and disaster preparedness and response in an integrated framework.
5. Development of an Ensemble Modeling System for the Simulation of Realistic Levee Overtopping Flows from Hurricanes (Dr. Marvin Watts) - Active
The objective of this research project is to determine how storm surge interacts with levees. The research involves the development of a fully integrated ensemble modeling suite of linked numerical weather prediction, storm surge, and flood inundation models designed for simulating realistic unsteady surge overflow and wave overtopping. Namely, wind field, wind stress, hurricane track, central pressure, and maximum sustained winds shall be modeled using the model WRF (Weather Research and Forecast; sea surface elevation, wind forcing and coastal currents shall be modeled using the fully nonlinear, two-dimensional, barotropic hydrodynamic model ADCIRC (ADvanced CIRCulation Model); and the open-source, third-generation spectral wave prediction model SWAN (Simulation of WAves in Near-shore area). The predicted wave profile shall be imported into a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver, CaMEL, which uses a hybrid finite volume and finite element method for solving incompressible free-surface flows. This system should close the existing gaps in the modeling of storm surge and flood events. This linking mandates the development of novel interface technology to facilitate data transfer between models and information cataloging techniques to store and access solution data. It is anticipated that this new integrate toolset will yield realistic water levels, wave heights, and erosive forces acting on the levee structure at various times, which will facilitate more accurate research and testing related to the protection of earthen levee soils using software packages such as PLAXIS or HAZUS-MH. A subsequent advantage of this new toolset will be the capability of obtaining the necessary velocity vector and force data for analysis of other common levee failure mechanisms caused by hydraulic forces. The proposed toolset should result in a useful product for emergency management personnel and first responders.
6. Innovative Levee Strengthening and Testing under Full-Scale Overtopping Conditions (Dr. Farshad Amini) - Active
This research project addresses innovative and cost effective methods to strengthen the crest and landside slope from erosive forces of overtopping flows. The research involves the design and development of a full-scale overtopping test-bed that has the capability to simulate both wave-only overtopping and combined wave and storm surge overtopping against each proposed method. The test-bed should be designed to allow for different levee surfaces to be installed and tested for erosion resistance and stability. The research requires that the test-bed be designed and developed to study the equivalence between steady overflow and unsteady overtopping. In addition, the research effort will develop and validate numerical computational models that can be used to support the optimal design of levee strengthening under realistic overtopping flow conditions. The activities of this research project should enhance the engineering community’s understanding of alternative methods for strengthening of earthen levees. The research should result in improved ways to design and test innovative levee systems under full-scale overtopping conditions, which should have a very positive impact on the geotechnical and geophysical engineering community.