BTI - University of Houston
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Borders, Trade and Immigration Institute

The Leading edge of security

BTI is a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Emeritus Center of Excellence led by the University of Houston. With researchers addressing cyber security, video/imaging and facial recognition, BTI conducts research and provides educational materials to enhance the nation’s ability to secure our borders, facilitate legitimate trade and travel, and ensure the integrity of our immigration policies. Through a multi-disciplinary team of national and international experts, the center delivers transformational technology-driven solutions, data-informed policies, workforce development opportunities for today’s Homeland Security Enterprise, and trans-disciplinary education for the next generation of homeland security experts.

Research Thrusts

 

Transnational Flows of People

BTI addresses real-world challenges as they relate to the flow of people across borders. These challenges have defined our three themes of funded projects: Monitoring, Facilitation, and Organized Crime

Transnational Flows of Goods

BTI research in the broad area of trade aims to develop three themes: Ports of the Future, Trade Compliance, and Connecting Goods to People.

Education and Workforce Development

The center currently provides project-based STEM learning and a symposium series focusing on Department of Homeland Security topics.

 

The New Face of Research

BTI Director Ioannis Kakadiaris has worked in the field of facial recognition for over a decade, and his lab has made important strides in the field — including creating facial recognition software that uses a three-dimensional snapshot of a person's face, developed from a single 2-D image of series of 2D images from various angles, to create a unique biometric idnentifier.

Featured Stories

  • BTI to Improve Regional Terrorism Response

    The South East Texas Regional Planning Commission (SETRPC) has selected BTI to improve regional response for future terrorist attacks, providing both recommendations that will be tailored to the needs of SE Texas as well as templates and recommendations that can be used nationwide.
  • cargo containers

    Hurricane Harvey's Supply Chain Impacts

    BTI director, Ioannis A. Kakadiaris, and Eleftherios Iakovou explain what the aftereffects of Hurricane Harvey can teach us about building a more resilient international supply chain.
  • Meysam Gharahcheshmeh

    'Smarter' Security Cameras

    Shishir Shah received a $1.57 million grant from the NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program to pursue research using video analytics to develop “smart” camera security systems that can automatically alert first responders to relevant issues and emergencies. 
  • MRI Advancements

    BTI Announces 5 New Research Projects

    The five projects grow the BTI Institutes portfolio by addressing real-world challenges in the areas of transnational flows of people and transnational flows of goods. The principal investigators will work closely with subject-matter experts to develop tools, systems or processes depending on what best serves those who will utilize the output of the research.