Skip to main content

News Archive

Dr. Eric Hershberg, with American University, will speak in Houston on his research about Central American Migration and U.S. communities.
Dr. Tony Ambler, UH College of Technology Dean, has been named as the new director and PI of the BTI Institute. 
The conditions that Hurricane Harvey set contributed to an increase in human trafficking [hyperlinked to Houston Chronicle].
Luis Torres discusses technology and policy on our borders. 
We welcome retired Rear Admiral Tom Atkin to the External Advisory Board. 
In the News | Winter 2018 Summary
A list of BTI Institute partners, associates, or stakeholders featured in the news. 
Strategic Engagement | Winter 2018 Summary
A summary of the Director's and Executive Director's Winter 2018 highlighted engagements. 
The way borders are currently viewed must change in order to combat developing national security threats such as transnational criminal organizations and cyber security threats.
Release | BTI Institute, SE Texas group team up for terrorist response
BTI Institute awarded grant in conjunction with South East Texas Regional Planning Commission. 
Release | BTI Institute showcases research
HOUSTON – The Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute hosted the 2017 Meeting and Showcase Monday and Tuesday, December 4-5, 2017 at American University in Washington, D.C.
News | Advisory Board helps shape way ahead
The nine members of the Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute External Advisory Board met to discuss the progress and development of the Institute Tuesday, November 14, 2017.
Feature | Research - Participatory Operational Assessment
The Borders, Trade and Immigration Institute (BTI) has successfully concluded two years of the project titled “Participatory Operational Assessment (POA): Evaluating and predicting the operational effectiveness of Cargo Security Process at Ports of Entry (POEs).” This project is led by Maria G. Burns, performer with the BTI Institute since 2015.
Update | UAS Working Group
Spotlight | New Research – Dennis Egan – Missed Detections: From Data to Actionable Estimates
Dennis Egan, research professor at Rutgers University and assistant director of Command, Control, and Interoperability Center for Data Analysis, seeks to apply two novel methods to gain insights into missed detections by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Spotlight | Student – Pengfei Dou wins award
Pengfei Dou, while a student with the Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute won best paper at the International Joint Conference on Biometrics 2017, for paper, “Multi-View 3D Face Reconstruction with Deep Recurrent Neural Networks” 
Feature | Summer research at Institute
Feature on Samuel Olatunbosun, Ph.D., and his research team investigating cybercrime in sub-Saharan Africa as part of the U.S. Departnet of Homeland Security Summer Research Team Program for Minority Serving Institutions mentored by faculty with the BTI Institute. Credit Annette Hilton. 
Spotlight | New Research – Dr. David Leblang – Modeling International Flows: Theory, Evidence and Forecast
October 23,2017– David Leblang, Ph.D., director of the Global Policy Center at the University of Virginia, held his project’s kickoff meeting Sept. 28, 2017. His project aims to advance the current state of understanding regarding migrant flows and offer insights into predicting future increases in migration
Release | BTI Institute begins 5 new research projects
October 19,2017– The Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute initiated five new research projects over the course of last month with the last two kickoff meetings taking place September 28, 2017.
Release | BTI Institute Announces New Funding Opportunity
June 1, 2017 — The Borders, Trade, and Immigration (BTI) Institute has announced a new funding opportunity in the area of border security, trade and immigration. The new projects will expand partnerships of the DHS Center of Excellence at UH.
Message | Message from the Director: Ioannis Kakadiaris 
May 10, 2017 — The director's message of the Spring 2017 Newsletter of the Borders, Trade, and Immigration (BTI) Institute at the University of Houston.
Message | Directors Message 
December 2, 2016 — The director's message of the inaugural newsletter of the Borders, Trade, and Immigration (BTI) Institute at the University of Houston.
Announcement | Children Displaced Across Borders: Bridging Policy, Practice, and Diciplinary Approaches to Further Human Rights 
November 19, 2016 — Practitioners, attorneys, advocates, researchers, and students in both Houston and in Wales will come together to discuss challenges faced by immigrant, refugee, asylee, and trafficked children and youth. 
Location: The Rockwell Pavilion
Spotlight|BTI Fellow Subash Khatry Studies Impact of Immigration on U.S.-Born Workers
November 16, 2016 — Khatry’s paper, titled “Effects of Immigration on Wages: A Reappraisal” analyzes U.S. census data from 1960 all the way through 2014 in order to determine the true impact of unauthorized and authorized immigrants on native U.S. American jobs.
Release|Homeland Security Academic Council appoints Khator
October 21, 2016 — Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced that Khator was one of eight new appointees to the Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council, or HSAAC.
UH President Khator Appointed to Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council
October 19, 2016 — Renu Khator, chancellor of the University of Houston System and president of the University of Houston, has been appointed to the United States Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Academic Advisory Council (HSAAC) as one of eight new members.
In The News | Homeland Security Academic Council appoints Khator
The Daily Cougar (Oct 21, 2016) — Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced that Khator was one of eight new appointees to the Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council, or HSAAC.
Announcement | The Structure, Behavior, and Influence of Salvadorian Gangs and their Implications for the Rule of Law in the U.S. and El Salvador 
Flyer 
Meet the Researchers 
Webcast 
October 26, 2016 — The presentation will review the scope and nature of the gang problem in El Salvador and the United States, and assesses their capacity to respond to these problems using findings from three separate studies. 
Release | Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Visit
September 2, 2016 — Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee visited BTI Institute to hear what our institute has been working on.
Release | Congressman Michael McCaul
September 1, 2016 — Congressman Michael McCaul visited BTI Institute to be updated on the latest developments of the institute.
In The News | BTI Researcher Comments on the Port of Houston
Marketplace (Aug 26, 2016) — BTI Researcher Maria Burns Comments on the Expanded Infrastructure at the Port of Houston
Release | UH to Lead National Center for Borders, Trade, and Immigration
October 13, 2015 — Seeking to strengthen national security, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has named the University of Houston to lead a Center of Excellence focused on borders, trade, and immigration research. 

BTI in the NEWS |click here

Past Events/Announcements|click here

BTI Researcher Comments on the Port of Houston
August 26, 2016 — BTI Researcher Maria Burns Comments on the Expanded Infrastructure at the Port of Houston

New Program Director of Operations
July 26, 2016 —  BTI recently appointed a new program director, Rachel Brownlie.

Integrating North America: Building a Modern, Efficient and Flexible Border 
Register
August 24, 2016 —  Speaker: The Honorable Alan Bersin, Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Chief Diplomatic Officer, Office of Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A key aspect of the NAFTA agreement’s success was the construction of a border management system that is modern, efficient and flexible. Cooperation on this score, however, remains uneven though recent years have brought support for an improved border management system. This lecture addresses the progress and remaining challenges in the cross-border regions of the U.S., Mexico and Canada, while providing a vision for the future.
5:30 p.m. — Reception
6 p.m. — Presentation
Doré Commons, James A. Baker III Hall, Rice University . 

New Program Director for Educational and Professional Development Initiatives
July 26, 2016 —  BTI recently appointed a new program director, Tiffany Roosa.

Integrated Product Teams for Department of Homeland Security R&D Report
July 12, 2016 —  At the conclusion of the fiscal year 2016, the Science and Technology Directorate developed a final report to capture the process and methodology used to conduct the IPTs. Because of the sensitivity of DHS mission areas, the department is releasing an abbreviated version of the report to share the efforts DHS is making to coordinate its R&D and how it is addressing priority homeland security technological needs.

DNA Barcoding, High-Throughput DNA Sequencing, and Forensic Science: Recent Advances and Future Prospects 
June 23, 2016 —  The symposium will consist of three short lectures followed by Q & A sessions with attendees to discuss the current state of the field, as well as possible future applications and prospects. 

Request for Proposals for Borders, Trade, and Immigration Research 
May 25, 2016 —  The Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute is looking for proposals for new research. BTI seeks to address a number of research questions related to the themes of Border Security, Legitimate Trade & Travel, and Immigration that are of interest to the public and relevant federal, state, and local agencies. 

Center of Excellence Technology Showcase 
May 19, 2016 —  The DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Office of University Programs and Stevens Institute of Technology invite you to attend the Spring 2016 Centers of Excellence(COE) Technology Showcase May 19, 2016 open 9:00 am- 4:00 pm. 

Crossing Borders: People, Crime and Enforcement Flows 
Meet the Researchers
Webcast

April 27, 2016 —  This symposium is part of the University of Texas at El Paso's Homeland Security Symposium Series focused on addressing supplemental educational/training needs within different homeland security enterprise-related domains requested by our local homeland security stakeholders. This symposium will also be offered as a webcast for those who cannot attend in person. There are no fees associated with this symposium for attendees. This endeavor is funded by the Office of University Programs, under the Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute. 

New Center of Excellence Focuses on Borders, Trade and Immigration Research
Februrary 8, 2016 —  Press Release Point —  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) created the Centers of Excellence (COEs) to develop multidisciplinary, customer-driven, homeland security science and technology solutions and help train the next generation of homeland security experts.

New Executive Director
January 18, 2016 —  BTI recently appointed a new executive director, Ioannis Konstantinidis, PhD.

BTI Policy Lead Discusses Unaccompanied Minors
January 6, 2016 —  Dr. Luis Torres talked about the new surge of unaccompanied minors and how research at BTI could contribute to policy in this area.

DHS Summer Research for Minority Institutions
Deadline December 20, 2015 —  Summer Research Team (SRT) Program for Minority Serving Institutions. The purpose of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Summer Research Team Program is to increase and enhance the scientific leadership at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) in research areas that support the mission and goals of DHS. This program provides faculty and student research teams with the opportunity to conduct research at the university-based DHS Centers of Excellence (DHS Centers).

DHS HS-STEM Summer Internship Program
Deadline December 16, 2015 — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate sponsors a 10-week summer internship program for students majoring in homeland security related science, technology, engineering and mathematics (HS-STEM) Disciplines. The program provides students with quality research experiences at federal research facilities located across the country and allows students the opportunity to establish connections with DHS professionals. It is open to undergraduate and graduate students in a broad spectrum of HS-STEM Disciplines and DHS mission-relevant Research Areas.

Defining the Future
Fall 2015 —  UH Magazine —  From cybersecurity and protecting our coasts to discovering hidden ancient civilizations, UH’s National Research Centers are seeking answers to society’s biggest questions.

Full Committee Hearing - A Review of Progress by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science and Technology Directorate
October 27, 2015 —  Watch the video

UH selected as Center of Excellence for borders, trade and immigration research
October 23, 2015 —  Daily Cougar —  UH has been selected by Department of Homeland Security to be the lead institution for a new Center of Excellence focused on borders, trade and immigration research. The new Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute program will receive an initial $3.4 million grant for its first operating year from the DHS Science and Technology Directorate.

Three new national research institutes among UH's accomplishments
October 14, 2015 —  Houston Chronicle —  In her last state of the university address, Renu Khator said she wanted to bring at least one federally funded research center to the University of Houston. A year later, Khator touted three such centers that have come to UH in the last year alone. The three centers - which focus on sub-sea engineering, superconductor research and immigration and border security - are yet another sign of the continued progress at the university.

University of Houston to lead national Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute
October 13, 2015 —  PhysOrg —  Seeking to strengthen national security, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has named the University of Houston to lead a Center of Excellence focused on borders, trade and immigration research. The Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute, established with a $3.4 million grant from the DHS Science and Technology Directorate, Office of University Programs, will include researchers from 10 universities and a San Antonio-based consulting firm. Also seen in Katy News, October 14, 2015.

UH to Lead National Center for Borders, Trade, and Immigration
October 13, 2015 —  Seeking to strengthen national security, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has named the University of Houston to lead a Center of Excellence focused on borders, trade, and immigration research. 

WVU researcher part of new National Center for Borders, Trade and Immigration
October 12, 2015 —  Thirimachos Bourlai, assistant professor of computer science and electrical engineering at West Virginia University, is part of a team of researchers charged with finding new ways to strengthen national security through the development of biometric-based technologies. The new Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute, a Center of Excellence housed at the University of Houston, was established with a $3.4 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, Office of University Programs. The Center includes researchers from 10 universities and a San Antonio, Texas-based consulting firm. 

DHS S&T Selects University of Houston as Center of Excellence for Borders, Trade, and Immigration Research
June 1, 2015 —  NewsWise —  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) today announced the selection of the University of Houston as the lead institution for a new DHS Center of Excellence (COE) for Borders, Trade, and Immigration Research. S&T will provide the Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute with an initial $3.4 million grant for its first operating year.

DHS S&T Selects University of Houston as Center of Excellence for Borders, Trade and Immigration Research
June 1, 2015 —  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) today announced the selection of the University of Houston as the lead institution for a new DHS Center of Excellence (COE) for Borders, Trade and Immigration Research. S&T will provide the Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute with an initial $3.4 million grant for its first operating year. 

DHS S&T Selects University of Houston as Center of Excellence for Borders, Trade, and Immigration Research
June 1, 2015 — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) today announced the selection of the University of Houston as the lead institution for a new DHS Center of Excellence (COE) for Borders, Trade, and Immigration Research. S&T will provide the Center for Borders, Trade, and Immigration Research with an initial $3.4 million grant for its first operating year.