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Director's Message

Dear SENTRY Community,

As we continue to search for new funding opportunities to advance SENTRY’s vital research, we have compiled all available products and resources developed during our first four years as a DHS-funded Center of Excellence. You can explore this growing collection in our Resource Library, and we extend our sincere thanks to the researchers whose work made this possible.

Michael B. Silevitch

Please also save the date for our Virtual SENTRY Strategic Initiatives Workshop: Protecting Mass Gatherings in the U.S., taking place February 25–26, 2026. More details and formal registration will be available in January. We look forward to providing monthly updates as we adapt and grow as a center.

Research Project Spotlight

Architectural Design Research:

Integrating Security in the Public Realm

Key Accomplishments:

Guidance for School Decision Makers to Support Safety and Security through Building Design

Developed evidence-based guidance for school decision-makers to support safety and security through thoughtful building design. This peer-reviewed product is based on interviews with designers, literature reviews, and incident report analysis. The team is currently developing similar guidance for surface transportation venues.

Architectural Prototypes of Common K-12 Schools to Facilitate Security Simulations

The school architectural models are available for use. Since they are not specific buildings, address concerns about sensitive information disclosure.

PROBLEM:

This project addresses the challenge of using building design to improve security in soft targets and crowded places without turning

the location into a “hard target”, fortified with oppressive security

measures. This research aims to enhance human safety while preserving

open and welcoming environments by identifying cost-effective and humane design strategies inherent to the design of public places.

SOLUTION:

The primary objective is to develop new protocols for the physical assessment and design of safer public spaces, such as schools or transportation hubs.

SENTRY RESEARCH PROJECT PORTFOLIO

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

United States Secret Service Virtual Training Opportunities: The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) is pleased to offer virtual training presentations on targeted violence prevention, intended for law enforcement and other community safety stakeholders. You can register to participate in any of the following upcoming sessions.

Preventing Mass Attacks in Our Communities

December 17, 2025 | 12:00 – 2:00 PM EST
February 18, 2026 | 12:00 – 2:00 PM EST
April 15, 2026 | 12:00 – 2:00 PM EST

Enhancing School Safety Using Behavioral Threat Assessment

January 21, 2026 | 12:00 – 2:00 PM EST
March 18, 2026 | 12:00 – 2:00 PM EST

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s HS-POWER Program: The HS-POWER Program is now accepting applications for its paid summer internship, open to undergraduate and graduate students in STEM fields and other disciplines relevant to the DHS mission, including the social sciences. The program offers the opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research within a DHS facility, learn directly from leading scientists and subject matter experts, and build a strong professional network within the homeland security enterprise. The application deadline is January 5, 2026.

Notably, one of SENTRY’s own students, PhD candidate and research assistant Kevin Kapadia, previously completed the HS-POWER internship at Argonne National Laboratory, where he worked with Dr. Sean Warnick to help define “security” within distributed algorithmic decision processes and analyze factors that influence voting algorithms. His experience highlights the program’s value and the impact SENTRY students can make through national-level research opportunities. Read more about Kevin's experience here.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY