Rowan to partner with University of Alaska Anchorage on cold-regions research

Rowan University has been selected as one of several academic partners in cold regions research by ADAC-ARCTIC, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate Center of Excellence, headquartered at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA).

The Arctic Domain Awareness Center - Addressing Rapid Changes through Technology, Innovation, and Collaboration (ADAC-ARCTIC) focuses on research and education in the Arctic. The center is one of only nine DHS Centers of Excellence nationwide receiving federal funding for 10 years to advance research projects of interest to national security. ADAC-ARCTIC is the only such center focused exclusively on the Arctic region and how changing conditions in the area will impact homeland security.

“This partnership opens up significant research opportunities for Rowan,” said Yusuf Mehta, Ph.D., director of Rowan’s Center for Research & Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems (CREATES) and professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering in the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering. “There will be an opportunity for faculty members to submit ideas for interdisciplinary research projects to UAA.”

Rowan postdoctoral researchers, graduate and undergraduate students will have chances to conduct research on projects for the Department of Homeland Security. The projects could involve travel to Arctic regions.

The partnership allows Rowan to collaborate with other academic institutions in the consortium and in other areas of expertise, Mehta noted.

“There are new opportunities for innovation,” Mehta said. This partnership furthers Mehta and CREATES’ work in cold regions. CREATES was recently awarded $30 million in funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), to expand Arctic region research.