Volume I, Issue I
Page 13
this gives students the perspective to be able to design future decision policies at regional and national levels and provides them with an understanding of differences and similarities on different regions of the world. For example, if someone doesn’t know the rules and regulations of the Port of Rotterdam, such as legal issues, this can affect continuity of [critical] services, and vice versa with the Port of Norfolk A globalized economy must understand constraints and have solutions for future business and economic opportunities. Second, we are actively involved in theoretical and applied research. One of our projects is Critical Infrastructure Resiliency of the Hampton Roads Region. Finally, I am the publisher of the International Journal on Critical Infrastructures and am active in looking at critical infrastructures around the world, like Europe, Japan and New Zealand. There is a need to identify, research, find solutions, outreach, features to address complex interdependent systems on local, regional, national and global fronts, such as maritime systems. KS: Where can someone find reading materials on critical infrastructures? AG: There are several books out now, as well as journals published by Wiley and Springer. Of course, you can always use the internet. We are also working on a VLib, a virtual library, where we can link articles that have already been read and disseminated by critical infrastructure experts to provide huge quantities of information that has already been collected. Further, I am an editor of Springer’s Academic Publishing House’s Security, Complex Systems and Governance, where problems of critical infrastructures are central to the subject. KS: What is the United States doing compared to the rest of the world? AG: The United States is the leading country with regard to the concept and syntax since 1996. Started by the Clinton administration and strengthened by the Bush administration, one of the things that emerged from the concept of critical infrastructures is the Department of Homeland Security. Europe’s foray into critical infrastructures came later because of idealistic differences between the US and EU, for example, as opposed to Homeland Security, the EU refers to it as National Security. The EU came into play after the Madrid bombing and now has much more intense progress on critical infrastructure protection with experts and government offices in 27 different states with different solutions, as opposed to one US government. New Zealand and Australia have been focused on critical infrastructure protection for a long time because of their “remoteness”. Their location is exposed to hazards, such as tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanoes, and help can be days away. They realized that they needed to know how to protect themselves. With regard to Japan, they have similar natural disasters to New Zealand and Australia, but add to that that they are one of the major centers of the financial world and are pioneers of many advanced technologies. A disaster in Japan could lead to financial chaos in the world markets. At one time, all the big banks were centrally located in Tokyo. Now the banks have been relocated around Japan to balance the risk. The Japanese bullet train is also linked with earthquake measurement devices which allows a central location to remotely stop a train within 20-30 seconds before an earthquake occurs. KS: If someone were interested in a career in critical infrastructures, what would you recommend? AG: In the US, 85% of infrastructures are private. There is a need to protect them and adapt them. There is a lot of opportunity and it’s emerging as a new profession. Actually, the Engineering Management and Systems Engineering programs fit very well within critical infrastructures with regard to things such as technologies, economics, legal aspects, law enforcement, which creates a systems engineering perspective – knowledge of technology, economics, legal aspects, assessment, research, and potential promotion in quality of life. If you would like to read more about Dr. Gheorghe’s research into critical infrastructures, please click here.
Alumni Database Have you lost touch with some (or all) of the people that you spent so many laborious hours of studying with? Are you looking for chances to network with other people in engineering management and systems engineering fields? Do you want more opportunity to get contacts with people in industry and academia who may help you get your foot in an otherwise closed door? If you haven’t already signed up for the Department’s Alumni Database, please do so. The database is a resource where you and fellow alumni can go to network, find old friends and make new ones. We hope that you will see this as a valuable tool that you can keep coming back to and watch it grow and morph into something that is truly a part of your lives.
We’d like to thank Dr. Ghaith Rabadi for initiating the development of the database and supervising its progress and George Arnaout for spending so many hours working on perfecting this database. He wrote completely new code for this and did a wonderful job! Information stored on the database is located behind a secure firewall.
www.emse.odu.edu/alumni