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Director's Message


Dear SENTRY Community, 


As we close out an eventful summer, I am pleased to share some exciting developments and recognize the dedication of our team in pursuing our mission to better secure soft targets and crowded places. Read on to learn about SENTRY's latest happenings.

Michael B. Silevitch

SENTRY co-hosted the Expert Briefing: Protecting Educational Institutions and Other Learning Spaces Against Terrorist Attacks with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) on July 17. The briefing fostered valuable dialogue among worldwide participants, contributing to the collective effort to protect students, educators, and school facilities from harm worldwide. We invite you to watch presentations from Michelle Laboy, SENTRY Research Lead, and Mark Pompano, Director of Security for Newtown, Connecticut Public Schools, on the SENTRY YouTube Channel.

Read More About the SENTRY and UNOCT Expert Briefing

What's Happening Next

Stay connected and contribute to discussions in these upcoming events. 

National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security: The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is hosting the National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security from September 25-26, 2024. This virtual event brings together school leaders and practitioners to discuss actionable recommendations for safer learning environments. Click here to learn more and register for the event.

ADSA28: Building Effective Security for Soft Targets: The next installment of SENTRY's Advanced Development for Security Applications (ADSA) Workshop Series will be in person at Northeastern University on November 13-14, 2024. The invite-only event explores topics like interoperability and risk mitigation. Click here for event detailsor email Carl Crawford for attendee and presenter opportunities.

Meet SENTRY & ALERT Student Mahshid Asri


Introducing Mahshid Asri, an international student from Iran. She recently graduated with a Ph.D. from Northeastern University, where she worked as a student researcher affiliated with two Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence, ALERT (Awareness and Localization of Explosives-Related Threats) and SENTRY. Read on to learn more about her research in anomaly detection.

Congratulations SENTRY Awardee Jun Zhuang


Congratulations to Professor Jun Zhuang, SENTRY's Threat Prediction Research Lead, who is now the University at Buffalo Industrial and Systems Engineering Associate Dean for Research. With over 15 years of experience, he brings expertise in integrating operations research, big data analytics, game theory, and decision analysis to the role. 

SENTRY Hosts a Summer Research Team from City College of New York

Pictured, left to right: Eltan Samoylov, Professor Jie Gong, and Professor Zhigang Zhu.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Summer Research Team (SRT) program provides research opportunities to increase and enhance the scientific leadership at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) in areas that support DHS’s mission and goals. The research teams consist of visiting faculty and students selected to work closely with DHS Center of Excellence faculty and researchers. Participants receive a stipend for the 10-week summer program.


This year, Professor Zhigang Zhu and graduate student Eltan Samoylov from the City College of New York worked to enhance public safety through their participation with SENTRY in the SRT program, spanning May through July 2024.

Learn More About SENTRY's SRT Program

Summer Student Experiences

Kevin Kapadia and Ani Ramesh, members of the SENTRY Student Leadership Council and PhD candidates, spent their summers gaining valuable experience. Kevin participated in DHS's HS-POWER Program, while Ani engaged in the Dorm Room Fund's PhD Founder Track and an internship at Dow Chemical Company. Click to learn more about their accomplishments this summer.


Pictured: Ani Ramesh at the Dow Chemical Company Headquarters.

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