Tag: Education and STEM

On November 3, the Center for Threat Management and Port of Hueneme hosted more than 150 partners in port operations and maritime security during the third annual Maritime Advanced Systems and Technology Laboratory’s Open House and Technology Exposition. The event was conducted to kick off the planning process for the 2017 Coastal Trident Regional Port and Maritime Security Program and to facilitate alignment of regional efforts to develop and test relevant technologies with communicated operational needs.

Christina Birdsey, Director of Operations and Security at the Port of Hueneme, MC’d the event and guided participants through an ambitious agenda, which sought to raise awareness about developing and transitional technology efforts throughout Southern California and promote collaboration and innovation between the public and private sectors:

• Kristin Decas, CEO and Port Director at the Port of Hueneme, kicked off the day’s program with personal greeting and an introduction of distinguished visitors from the offices of local and state government representatives.
• Brendan Applegate, Deputy Director for Planning at CTM, provided an overview of the Coastal Trident Regional Port and Maritime Security Program and its alignment with technology experimentation conducted under the Port’s MAST laboratory concept and local efforts to support STEM education programs.
• Scott Brewer, Deputy Director for Operations at CTM, led an Operational Requirements Panel designed to communicate panelists vision for technology and identify potential shortfalls in access to and capabilities of technologies supporting the operations of their organizations. Participants in the panel discussion included Steve Smock (Long Beach Police Department Dive Team), Stan Ziegler (Ventura County Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team), Kevin McGowan (Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services), Darrin Smith (Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Technical Surveillance Unit), David Fukutomi (California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services), Raquel Cano (Chiquita), Peter Freiberg (Port Hueneme Police Department), John Demers (Port of Hueneme), and Matt Tarabour (FBI Counter-IED Unit).
• An Open House period concluded the morning session, providing participants with opportunities to view static and dynamic displays of port operations and maritime security technologies, as well as discuss opportunities for collaboration and field experimentation efforts to be conducted under MAST or Coastal Trident. Students participating as part of the STEM integration were provided with the opportunity to discuss projects that they would be proposing to conduct throughout the school year with technologists and operational partners.
• The afternoon session of the event was split into several focused working groups. Operational agencies participating in Coastal Trident 2017 participated in the Concept Development Meeting for the program, communicating to the planning team their priorities and objectives for education, experimentation ,and exercise activities. The rest of the participants participated in breakout discussions intended to focus their ideas for how technology might support the operational requirements communicated during the morning’s panel discussion. These technologists were divided into groups based on their focus area – Remotely Operated and Autonomous Systems, Visualization and Decision Support Tools, and Sensors and Data Links.
• To wrap up the Open House, Brendan Applegate and Scott Brewer facilitated a debrief by the facilitators of the breakout sessions to summarize the discussions and identify the way ahead for MAST and Coastal Trident 2017.

According to the event’s organizers and several enthusiastic participants, the event was a resounding success, providing a unique venue to facilitate collaboration in technology and operations to meet the needs of port operations and maritime security organizations. It also provided a significant springboard for planning and coordination of the Coastal Trident 2017 Regional Port and Maritime Security Program, which will be focused on the multi-dimensional threat of aircraft, surface and underwater vessels, and cyber attacks to maritime commerce, port and maritime operations, and critical infrastructure.

For more information about the MAST Open House and Technology Exposition, please visit the Port of Hueneme’s website: http://www.portofhueneme.org/business/mast-2016/

For details about the Coastal Trident Regional Port and Maritime Security Program, please contact CTM at ctm@gt2.org or (657) 229-5776.