August 31, 2009 • THE GAZETTE
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APL, Homeland Security developing next public alert system B y P a u l e tt e C a m pb e l l
Applied Physics Laboratory
E
ngineers in APL’s Infocentric Operations Business Area are helping the Department of Homeland Security create a national next-generation emergency alert system that will work across multiple platforms, including television, cell phones and the Web. The current Emergency Alert System was created in the 1950s to warn Americans of nuclear attacks. The technology used to alert the public today—television, radio, newspapers and, more recently, the Internet—is still pretty much “last century.” For imminent emergencies, the method is even more outdated: Remember that “beep, beep, beep” broadcast on television and radio stations? Hurricane Katrina and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks underscored the vulnerability of America’s emergency response system. In particular, Katrina severely tested the reliability of the communications infrastructure in the Gulf Coast region, crippling television broadcasts, cable TV and phone service
and even the generally resilient public safety networks. Media consumption patterns have changed, notes APL’s Tammy Parsons, the project manager for the alert-system work. “As connected mobile devices such as cell phones and PDAs become ever-present, and as the lessons of recent disasters take root, the government is rethinking the shape of the emergency alert system, and APL is playing an integral role in that effort,” she said. Under a 2006 executive order signed by then President George W. Bush, the Federal Emergency Management Agency began developing the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, or IPAWS. “IPAWS is a major systems engineering challenge, as multiple systems—some existing and some still being defined— must be integrated to meet the needs of the president and all levels of government emergency managers,” said APL’s Wayne Buhrman, who did significant up-front work analyzing both the current system and commercially available options. IPAWS consists of several components, including the next generation of the EmerH O P K I N S
gency Alert System, providing voice, video and data messages in a standard digital format over Web-based networks; a 24-hour private telephone system at 2,200 sites across the country used to convey warnings to federal, state and local governments; and the Commercial Mobile Alert System, or CMAS, a mobile device alerting system created by the Warning, Alert and Response Network Act of 2006. Working with Homeland Security’s Directorate for Science and Technology and FEMA, APL is developing requirements and analyzing potential solutions for systems that will round out the IPAWS capabilities. Eventually, the president, as well as state, local and tribal emergency managers, will be able to address the public over multiple media: radio, cable television, pagers, cell phones, the Internet and as many other outlets as feasible. “Our current system relies largely on radio and television, but on average Americans only spend 12 percent of their day listening to the radio and 31 percent watching television,” Parsons said. “But 84 percent of Americans have cell phones.” CMAS, she added, will enable mobile service providers
to voluntarily transmit alert and warning information to their subscribers. APL is also working with the joint task force of the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions and Telecommunications Industry Association to define the requirements for the interface between the FEMAadministered CMAS entities and the equipment from mobile service providers. “The mutual agreement on interface requirements by the government and wireless industry is paramount to the systems’ success and has been largely successful to date,” said Gina Marshall-Johnson, who is working on a team developing security requirements for CMAS. Denis Gusty, the program manager for emergency alerts in the DHS Science and Technology Command, Control and Interoperability Division, said, “The work that we are doing with APL and FEMA is critical to the future of emergency alerting. [These evolving systems] are integral components in improving the capabilities of emergency alerting systems and ultimately keeping our nation safe.” This article appeared previously in APL News.
H I S T O R Y
The Camera Club victory By Ross Jones
Special to The Gazette
W
hen Johns Hopkins students decide something needs to be done, usually they find a way to do it, even if that might mean bribing a senior officer of the university. Consider the case of the Camera Club, a student-run group organized in the midThis is part of an occasional series of historical pieces by Ross Jones, vice president and secretary emeritus of the university. A 1953 graduate of Johns Hopkins, he returned in 1961 as assistant to president Milton S. Eisenhower and was a close aide to six of the university’s 13 presidents.
Controller Continued from page 1 that he was a favorite with Hopkins made his candidacy appealing.” Oler said that he is both excited and overwhelmed by his new job. “The size and complexity of Johns Hopkins, as well as the dedication and excellence of its employees, are staggering,” Oler said. “To be selected controller of such a fantastic and dynamic organization is an honor and a privilege.” Oler’s promotion comes as the university’s Office of Finance and Administration continues to reorganize in the wake of tight economic times. In addition to Oler’s promotion, Strine has assumed a new role as university treasurer. He takes over that position from Art Roos, who, in the nearly three years that he held the post, strengthened the capacity of the Treasurer’s Office and provided critical services in investing, banking, and debt and risk management, Strine said. Strine credits Roos with, among other things, affirming the university’s strong credit ratings and providing critical services in investing, banking, and debt and risk management. Roos recently left the university to pursue other projects. Strine said that streamlining the Finance and Administration Office will allow the university to continue to deliver high-quality services in a more effective and efficient way while maintaining service levels. Tahey, who agreed to take on the controller position for three years but stayed for nearly
1930s. The students enjoyed taking pictures, but they had no place for club meetings or, more important, no place for a darkroom where they could develop and print their photographs. They combed the Homewood campus and discovered that the Gatehouse, at the corner of Charles Street and Art Museum Drive, was empty. It had been used as a laboratory by “gas engineers” in the School of Engineering, but it was unlikely that they would use it again. (The small stone building, now the home of the undergraduate newspaper, The NewsLetter, was the gatehouse for the Wyman family’s Homewood Villa, an ornate Victorian residence that stood, until the late 1950s, just southwest of where Garland Hall is today.) The building was in poor condition. All the windows had been knocked out, and the
roof was described as “falling off.” But with modest renovations, it could become the perfect home for the Camera Club. What could the club do to get use of the building? First, Sara Elizabeth Freeman, the graduate-student secretary of the club, wrote to P. Stewart Macaulay, then secretary of the university and later provost and executive vice president. She noted that the building was not occupied and that eventually it would have to be repaired. Why not fix it now and make it available to the Camera Club? Five days later, on Nov. 18, 1937, Freeman sent another letter to Macaulay, this time to inform him that club members had unanimously voted to elect him “to honorary membership in the Johns Hopkins Photographic Society.” (Perhaps the university secretary would be more inclined to accept
membership from a society rather than a club?). Macaulay thanked the students and accepted their invitation. He added, “Obviously, none of the members has seen any of my photographic efforts.” Writing to President Isaiah Bowman about the Gatehouse on Nov. 26, in a letter now in the Hamburger Archives of the Eisenhower Library, Macaulay said, “It seems to me something should be done to make the place more presentable.” He said it would be a good site for the Camera Club, and he recommended an expenditure of $2,000 for repairs. He concluded, “The Camera Club is anxious to obtain quarters, and I have a selfish reason for wanting to help.” The students had made a wise choice in their selection of P. Stewart Macaulay as an honorary member.
four, was much more than the keeper of the books, according to Jim McGill, senior vice president for finance and administration. He was a major contributor to the implementation and stabilization of the SAP software system now used throughout Johns Hopkins, and he dealt with a number of changes in federal accounting rules as he worked to keep the university in compliance, McGill said. Both McGill and Strine praised Tahey and Roos for their service to the university. “We appreciate deeply their contributions to Hopkins,” McGill said. Looking ahead, Oler, in his new job, will
work with fellow university administration members to continue efforts to deliver quality in a more streamlined capacity. Oler already has a running start. Before joining the university 16 years ago, he was employed by the international professional services firm KPMG Peat Marwick in Baltimore, where he spent nine years working on the JHU audit, including a period of time as its director. Oler also worked with a venture capital–backed software firm and with Marriott International, both in Montgomery County, Md. Oler also brings to the table a successful relationship with the financial leaders in
each of the university’s divisions, a relationship that both McGill and Strine said they consider critical to the university’s financial health. “Nothing is more important to the controller’s success than maintaining relationships with those [the office] serves throughout the divisions, central administration, the health system, trustees and outside auditors,” Strine said. He added that his team’s highest priority will be to build on those relationships by listening to those entities’ needs and working to align the university and its priorities with the people it serves.” G
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