The Sept. 11 plane hijackings and March 2004 train bombings in Madrid, Spain, proved that terrorists target public transportation and individuals, but university researchers are taking a look at protecting against potential attacks on the nation’s $7 trillion freight industry.
The university will develop national security systems at a new freight transport research center funded by $700,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation, engineering officials said. The center is a product of the Maryland Transportation Initiative and the efforts of its founder, Hani Mahmassani.
Freight transportation is an important focal point in national security, he said, because of the mass transfer of goods from ports to trains and trucks.
“[National freight security] is not something that we invented,” he said. “It’s out there in the professional arena. The need has been identified.”
Rep. Steny Hoyer secured the funds in the federal Omnibus Appropriations Act passed Nov. 20. The Center for Intermodal Freight Transportation and Mobility and Security was publicly introduced by Hoyer and Nariman Farvardin, dean of the engineering school, Dec. 2.
Freight transportation is particularly vulnerable to terrorism because of the disruption of movement as goods are transferred from ports to trains to trucks, Mahmassani said. This transfer of goods by more than one means is known as intermodal transportation.
Risks include the use of freight systems by terrorists to transfer biological agents or more direct possibilities such as explosives. The attacks, in addition to obvious personal danger, would disrupt the movement of services and hinder the nation’s economy.
“Many things could go wrong,” Mahmassani said. “The simple thing is someone can place a bomb on a truck or a plane. Those scenarios can be quite major.”
To prevent such a disaster, the new freight research center will use the university’s range of skills and expertise to address the security needs of intermodal commerce. Every time you transfer goods, there is a point of vulnerability, Mahmassani said.
“You could screen everything that goes through, but that would be a huge undertaking,” he said. “It adds cost to things, and there’s motivation to use technology to move things more efficiently.”
Examples of innovative security technology include electronic seals on packages to prevent unauthorized tampering, identification tags on goods or advanced tracking systems, Mahmassan said.
“We’re still trying to figure it out, but we’re certainly ready in terms of ideas,” he said.
The research center will be housed in the Kim Building, the engineering school’s newest facility, once construction is completed in January.
“The center is an important addition to our portfolio of research projects,” Farvardin said.
In addition to national security, the project can also improve the flow of goods and cut costs.
“Any improvement in a $7 trillion industry – even if it is by one percent – is important,” he said.
As part of the Maryland Transportation Initiative, the new center will be able to incorporate students and advance the initiative’s research goals.
“[The MTI] is one of our strategic priorities in which we want to be the best in the world,” Farvardin said.
