12370 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 24, 2009 / Notices 

Drive, MSC 7616, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301– 

402–3938. lr228v@nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: National Institute of 

Allergy and Infectious Diseases Special 

Emphasis Panel. Bioinformatics Resource 

Centers for Infectious Diseases. 

Date: April 23, 2009. 

Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate contract 

proposals. 

Place: Residence Inn Bethesda, 7335 

Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814. 

Contact Person: Lynn Rust, PhD, Scientific 

Review Officer, Scientific Review Program, 

Division of Extramural Activities, National 

Institutes of Health/NIAID, 6700B Rockledge 

Drive, MSC 7616, Bethesda, MD 20892. 301– 

402–3938. lr228v@nih.gov. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.855, Allergy, Immunology, 

and Transplantation Research; 93.856, 

Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 

Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: March 18, 2009. 

Jennifer Spaeth, 

Director, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. E9–6477 Filed 3–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

Office of the Director, National 

Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting 

Pursuant to section 10(a) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), notice 

is hereby given of a meeting of the 

Advisory Committee to the Director, 

NIH. 

The meeting will be open to the 

public, with attendance limited to space 

available. Individuals who plan to 

attend and need special assistance, such 

as sign language interpretation or other 

reasonable accommodations, should 

notify the Contact Person listed below 

in advance of the meeting. 

Name of Committee: Advisory Committee 

to the Director, NIH. 

Date: April 16, 2009. 

Time: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Agenda: To address the NIH’s 

implementation plans associated with the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 

2009. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 

Building 1, 1 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 

20892, (Telephone Conference Call) 

Contact Person: Penny W. Burgoon, PhD, 

Senior Assistant to the Deputy Director, 

Office of the Director, National Institutes of 

Health, 1 Center Drive, Building 1, Room 

109, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301–451–5870, 

burgoonp@od.nih.gov. 

Information is also available on the 

Institute’s/Center’s home page: http:// 

www.nih.gov/about/director/acd.htm, where 

an agenda and any additional information for 

the meeting will be posted when available. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.14, Intramural Research 

Training Award; 93.22, Clinical Research 

Loan Repayment Program for Individuals 

from Disadvantaged Backgrounds; 93.232, 

Loan Repayment Program for Research 

Generally; 93.39, Academic Research 

Enhancement Award; 93.936, NIH Acquired 

Immunodeficiency Syndrome Research Loan 

Repayment Program; 93.187, Undergraduate 

Scholarship Program for Individuals from 

Disadvantaged Backgrounds, National 

Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: March 18, 2009. 

Jennifer Spaeth, 

Director, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. E9–6472 Filed 3–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Notice Designating Rutgers, the State 

University of New Jersey, as Data 

Sciences Lead Institution for the DHS 

Center of Excellence for Command, 

Control and Interoperability 

AGENCY: Department of Homeland 

Security. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland 

Security has designated Rutgers, the 

State University of New Jersey (Rutgers) 

as a DHS Center of Excellence for 

Command, Control and Interoperability 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joseph Kielman, Science and 

Technology Directorate, Department of 

Homeland Security, Washington, DC 

20528; telephone 202–254–5787; e-mail 

joseph.kielman@dhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 308 of the Homeland Security 

Act of 2002, Public Law 107–296, (the 

‘‘Homeland Security Act’’), as amended 

by the Consolidated Appropriations 

Resolution 2003, Public Law 108–7, and 

as codified in Title 6 of the United 

States Code Chapter I Subchapter III 

Section 188(b)(2) [6 U.S.C. 188(b)(2)], 

directs the Department of Homeland 

Security (‘‘Department’’) to sponsor 

extramural research, development, 

demonstration, testing and evaluation 

programs relating to homeland security. 

As part of this program, the Department 

has established a coordinated system of 

university-based centers for homeland 

security (the ‘‘Centers’’). 

The Centers are envisioned to be an 

integral component of the Department’s 

capability to anticipate, prevent, 

respond to, and recover from terrorist 

attacks and natural disasters. The 

Centers will leverage multidisciplinary 

capabilities and fill gaps in current 

knowledge. 

6 U.S.C. 188(b)(2)(B) lists fourteen 

areas of substantive expertise that, if 

demonstrated, might qualify universities 

for designation as university-based 

centers. The listed areas of expertise 

include: (1) The training of first 

responders; (2) responding to incidents 

involving weapons of mass destruction 

and biological warfare; (3) emergency 

and diagnostic medical services; (4) 

chemical, biological, radiological and 

nuclear countermeasures or detection; 

(5) animal and plant health and 

diagnostics; (6) food safety; (7) water 

and wastewater operations; (8) port and 

waterway security; (9) multi-modal 

transportation; (10) information security 

and information engineering; (11) 

engineering; (12) educational outreach 

and technical assistance; (13) border 

and transportation security; and (14) the 

public policy implications and public 

dissemination of homeland security 

relevant research and development. 

However, this list is not exclusive. 6 

U.S.C. 188(b)(2)(C) gives the Secretary 

discretion to except certain criteria 

specified in 6 U.S.C. 188(b)(2)(B) and 

consider additional criteria beyond 

those specified in 6 U.S.C. 188(b)(2)(B) 

in selecting universities for this 

program, as long as the Department 

issues a Federal Register notice 

explaining the criteria used for the 

designation. This Center of Excellence 

will address statutory criterion 6 U.S.C. 

188(b)(2)(B)(10), information security 

and information engineering. 

Evaluation 

The Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS) chose Rutgers University 

and its partner institutions for the new 

Center of Excellence (COE) through a 

merit-based, competitive, and rigorous 

review process consistent with 

guidelines set forth in Section 308 of the 

Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 

107–296), as amended. The DHS 

Science and Technology Directorate 

(S&T) issued a research funding 

opportunity announcement (FOA) 

soliciting applications for the 

establishment of a COE for the Study of 

Command, Control and Interoperability 

(CCI) issues on May 1, 2008 on http:// 

www.grants.gov. 

DHS received eight proposals in 

response to this announcement. 

External subject matter experts 

considered the merits of these proposals 

with respect to the evaluation criteria in 

the announcement and referred four 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 24, 2009 / Notices 12371 

proposals to a DHS internal review 

panel. DHS subject matter experts 

evaluated the proposals in light of DHS 

priorities and investments and made 

recommendations. A select team of S&T 

staff made site visits to all four 

applicants considered by the internal 

review panel. At the end of the 

competitive review, University 

Programs selected the lead institutions 

in accordance with Section 308 of the 

Homeland Security Act of 2002. 

Criteria 

As communicated in the funding 

opportunity announcement and to the 

reviewers, the evaluation criteria for 

proposals were as follows. The first six 

criteria (a–f) were critical elements of 

the proposal and were of equal 

significance. Proposals that did not 

provide satisfactory responses to all of 

these essential criteria were declined. 

The remaining criteria (g–m) also were 

important to meeting S&T’s overall 

objectives. They were listed in 

approximate descending order of 

importance, and needed to be fully 

addressed by applicants. 

a. Responsiveness: The degree to 

which the proposal directly responds to 

the research areas, topics or questions 

described in the funding opportunity 

announcement, with appropriate 

scientific theory, methods, and data. 

b. Technical Merit and Quality: The 

degree to which the proposed research 

focus will achieve excellence (to offer 

results capable of commanding the 

respect of active researchers and of 

probing a frontier area well). The 

originality and creativity of the 

proposed research questions and the 

appropriateness and adequacy of the 

proposed research methods. 

c. Mission-Related Significance: The 

degree to which the proposed research 

focus can yield results that overcome 

existing and difficult technical 

limitations, or that offer the scientific 

basis to enable major technological 

advances in the foreseeable future. The 

responsiveness of the proposal to the 

research needs identified in this 

announcement and the willingness and 

ability of the applicants to consult with 

Federal, state, local and private 

stakeholders to refine research questions 

and design to make results applicable to 

homeland security issues or policy. 

d. Geographical distribution of all 

Centers of Excellence and major 

partners: The Centers of Excellence 

program’s authorizing legislation states: 

‘‘* * * the Under Secretary for Science 

and Technology, shall operate 

extramural research, development, 

demonstration, testing and evaluation 

programs so as to ensure that colleges, 

universities, private research institutes 

and companies from as many regions of 

the United States as practicable 

participate.’’ Geographical location of 

the lead institution and its major 

partners will be a factor in evaluating 

proposals submitted in response to this 

COE. 

e. Qualifications of Investigators: The 

qualifications of the principal 

investigator(s) and other key personnel, 

including training, demonstrated 

knowledge of pertinent literature, 

experience, and publication records, 

and the extent to which key personnel 

will make a significant time 

commitment to the project. 

f. Productive Use of Federal 

Resources: The ability to extend the 

productivity of Federal funds and other 

resources through matching funds, 

leveraging of other new fund sources, 

in-kind provision of faculty, student 

support, dedicated office or laboratory 

space. 

g. Facilities and Equipment: The 

availability and/or adequacy of the 

facilities and equipment proposed for 

the project. 

h. Management: The ability of the 

lead institution to manage a complex 

Center of Excellence in terms of 

achieving research results when due, 

managing large and complex budgets 

and communicating research outcomes, 

and the adequacy of the proposed 

management plan to ensure quality 

research and education programs from 

researchers at both primary and partner 

institutions. 

i. Minority Serving Institution 

Partnerships: The demonstrated ability 

and commitment to establish 

meaningful partnerships with MSIs to 

develop a quality MSI research and 

training program, and the quality of the 

proposed program. 

j. Education: The adequacy of 

education plans and supporting 

materials demonstrating the proposed 

COE’s ability to establish an enduring 

and comprehensive program of study in 

disciplines related to the specific 

research areas cited in this 

announcement. 

k. Knowledge of Current Research: 

Evidence that the applicant is familiar 

with the research and resources of 

existing DHS COEs, other DHS S&T, 

federal agency or National Laboratory 

research and development programs, 

and other relevant university programs 

and can demonstrate its ability to take 

advantage of these resources. 

l. Results Transition: The 

effectiveness and soundness of a 

strategy to transition research results to 

end users and mechanisms to 

accomplish this transition, and 

demonstration of a clear and effective 

plan for transitioning research results 

for each project or research area 

ultimately to homeland security mission 

agencies. 

m. Budget: Although budget 

information does not reflect on the 

application’s scientific merit, the 

evaluation will include the 

appropriateness and/or adequacy of the 

proposed budget and its implications for 

the potential success of the proposed 

research. Input on requested equipment 

is of particular interest. 

Summary 

This COE will conduct fundamental 

research into the technological issues, 

challenges, and policy issues related to 

1. Dynamic, on-demand data processing 

and visualization; 2. hypothesis-driven 

data analysis; 3. visualization of 

structured, unstructured, and streaming 

data; 4. mathematics of discrete and 

visual analytics; 5. scalable information 

filtering and dissemination; 6. 

visualization and simulation of 

information; 7. mobile and light-weight 

information analytics and sharing. This 

COE will create the scientific basis and 

enduring technologies needed to 

analyze massive amounts of information 

from multiple sources to more reliably 

detect threats to the security of the 

nation and its infrastructures, and to the 

health and welfare of its populace. 

These new technologies will also 

improve the dissemination of both 

information and related technologies. 

Based on information collected in the 

evaluation process, DHS designated 

Rutgers, the State University of New 

Jersey, as Data Sciences Lead Institution 

for the Command, Control and 

Interoperability Center of Excellence, in 

partnership with Purdue University (the 

Visualization Sciences and Education 

Lead Institution) and other affiliates. 

This team of institutions is uniquely 

well qualified and located to address 

data analysis, visualization, cyber 

security and other related issues. They 

will become an intrinsic part of the DHS 

science and technology portfolio, 

working closely with DHS and other 

Federal, State, and local governments to 

solve complex and critical data and 

visualization science challenges. 

Matthew Clark, 

Director, University Programs, Science and 

Technology Directorate, Department of 

Homeland Security. 

[FR Doc. E9–6451 Filed 3–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–9F–P 

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