National Geographic Channel to Feature UMaine Homeland Security Project
Contact: Aimee Dolloff, (207) 581-3777; Habib Dagher (207) 581-2110
ORONO, Maine — A National Geographic special commissioned by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will feature a University of Maine project that has created secure shipping containers equipped with sensors to tell handlers when the cargo unit has been tampered with.
“Hi-Tech War on Terror” is set to air at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28, on the National Geographic Channel. The show will feature a variety of new technologies being developed by the Department of Homeland Security, Science & Technology Directorate to detect, deter, and defeat terrorism.
“We’re really delighted that they selected the University of Maine and our partner company, Maine Secure Composites, to be featured in this show,” says Habib Dagher, director of the AEWC Advanced Structures & Composites Center.
Dagher and UMaine graduate student Anthony Viselli spearhead the technical research at UMaine, being done in partnership with Maine Secure Composites LLC located in Bangor, and with management support from Angel Secure Networks, located at the Target Technology Incubator.
In 2005, Maine Secure Composites received a DHS Advanced Research Program Agency contract to develop a composite anti-tamper container with embedded sensors.
Then last year, the Maine team was awarded a $12.9 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to continue the research and development, and to take the secure shipping containers developed in the campus laboratory to the marketplace. Dagher says the project benefited from the steadfast support of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and her involvement with national homeland security efforts and her creation of the Port Security Act.
“We are fortunate to be working with Senator Collins and her staff in Washington on key Homeland Security issues,” says Dagher.
Not only is the new design equipped with sensors to determine if the container was tampered with, the composite material that the containers are made of are lighter, more durable and require less maintenance than steel.
The fact that UMaine’s work will be recognized on national television is rewarding to those who are working on the project.
“It’s a testament to the quality of the work being conducted here at UMaine,” says Dagher. “It is exciting for UMaine research and development to be featured on national TV.”