The Background of the Institute
The experiences of the past decade related to terrorist threats and natural disasters have demonstrated the increasingly critical need for a better understanding of the influence of human factors on complex domestic and overseas security concerns. Meeting this need often requires the integration of research capabilities that do not reside in any single institution and requires a unbiased project management approach.
The Institute for Advanced Biometrics and Social Systems Studies was established in 2008 under the umbrella of Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) and is a think-tank and research center designed to address these security concerns. Known by its acronym, IABS3, the Institute is a unique partnership between ORAU and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (managed and operated by the Battelle Memorial Institute and the University of Tennessee). This unique partnership leverages research expertise from the seven ORNL partner universities – Georgia Tech, Duke, University of Virginia, Vanderbilt, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, and Florida State, as well as from the science and technology capabilities of ORAU’s 119 member institutions and ORAU’s network of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Educational Institutions (MEIs).
Participation in research efforts can be drawn not only from the university and laboratory researchers, but also from the prospective customer base – including subject matter experts from a range of sponsors in the defense and security arenas. The Institute has an unmatched capability to bring together multidisciplinary research teams from highly respected institutions to address a myriad of complex research questions.
