Call for Nominations: Four $25,000 Homeland Security Awards

May 4, 2010 - The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation is awarding four $25,000 Homeland Security Awards to American individuals or companies who are making measurable and constructive contributions in basic or advanced research in the area of homeland security.

The mission of the awards is to promote and encourage cutting edge innovation in the vast arena of homeland security, including but not limited to the detection, prevention, or response to threats to the United States.

All nominations are must be submitted online by Friday May 7, 2010 . The award website also includes information on the competition rules, regulations, and past recipients. You may nominate yourself and/or another worthy candidate.

A $25,000 Homeland Security Award will be presented in each of the following four fields:

1) Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Chemical and Explosive Attacks – Including utilities (air, water, telephone), aviation, business vulnerabilities, sensors, and lack of situational awareness.

2) Border and Transportation Security – Airport security, trucks, rail, and containers authorization, certification and tracking.

3) Cyber Security and Information Sharing – Cyber security, vertical and horizontal (Federal, State and private) communications, ways to encourage information sharing, privacy issues, and criminal and terrorist watch lists.

4) Emergency Response to Natural and Man-made Disasters – Interoperability, emergency command centers, mobile devices (PDAs, cell phones, pagers, Internet.)

In 2003, Dr. Frances Ligler, Senior Scientist for Biosensors and Biomaterials at the Naval Research Laboratory, won the award for pioneering the development of ultra-sensitive antibody-based detection systems for biological agents and other hazardous materials. This work has had a profound impact on the development of biosensor-based detection of biological warfare agents, leading to significant improvements in the nation’s capability for early and accurate detection.

The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation is an independent Federal government agency established by Congress in 1992 to “encourage and support research, study and labor designed to produce new discoveries in all fields of endeavor for the benefit of mankind.