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Grants Would Aid New Mission in Technology The idea for the next technological makeover of Dakota State University bubbled up between a handful of faculty and students over a decidedly low-tech inspiration - pizza. In instructor Kevin Streff's East Hall office, the group hashed out a plan to capitalize on the growing world of biometrics, the science of translating fingerprints, facial patterns and eyeballs into a digital code. A year later, the dream is fueled by about $7 million in grant proposals that could give DSU a nationally prominent role in what Streff sees as the third wave of computer technology. The first wave was the computer hardware driven primarily by IBM. Then, about 20 years ago, came the software to use that hardware, and we all learned about Microsoft. Neither element has gone away, said Streff, who teaches in the DSU information assurance program. "But a third wave is coming," he says. "Security." That's where DSU hopes to step in. Biometrics is about recognizing the individual traits of human beings. The lines on our hands, the iris in our eyes, the shape of our faces - are all unique to each person. In a nation increasingly focused on security, from terrorism to identity theft, quick identification is increasingly valuable. The state's technology-focused school, with the blessing of the state Board of Regents, wants to be the biometric university where products will be tested and data stored. But it's not as easy as getting a grant and building a program. "The problem is the lack of stable, consistent funding," says Jim Wayman, the Biometric ID research director at San Jose State University and former director of the U.S. Biometric Center. "Biometrics is not yet profitable. Companies can't invest in research and development," he says. "The issues are funding, funding, and funding." Backers of the DSU plan hope the money to being the program will come from two sources: · The school expects to hear whether it has been awarded a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to turn this campus into a biometric university. Under the grant, existing technology would be brought to the university where it could be assessed in comparison with similar technology. DSU would develop software to integrate various forms of biometric technology, and new security systems based on biometrics would be installed throughout campus to be tested in an institutional environment. As the first example of this, DSU will install an iris reader on the door of a computer laboratory this spring. · The university is a finalist for a $5 million, five-year state grant, part of Gov. Mike Rounds 2010 Initiative. This would be us3ed to develop DSU as a data bank, a site where biometric information is stored. Streff likens this to a credit reporting bureau. He says there are three of those in the U.S. that employ about 4,000 people each. "The NSF wants research," Streff says of one grant. "The state wants economic development," he says of the other. He speculates manufacturers of biometric security systems may spring up near Madison if DSU's biometric initiative develops. DSU announced it was named by the National Security Agency as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. As such, it joins top tier research schools such as the University of Texas, Syracuse University and Purdue University. The biometrics initiative dovetails with that NSA designation, according to DSU President Doug Knowlton. Wayman says if DSU can secure $7 million in grants that would be ample to begin the biometric initiative university leaders envision. More important, "if they can get a five-year grant, wonderful. Most government funding is in the 24-month cycles. They're getting off to a good start if they're getting five years," Wayman says. He also applauds the concept of the biometric university, where in addition to biometric technology being integrated throughout the campus it would permeate the curriculum and university research. That corresponds with standard practice in the high technology sector, Wayman says. DSU's biometric initiative also has the blessing of the state Board of Regents, which governs South Dakota's six public higher education institutions. "DSU's mission is technology," says the Regents Executive Director Robert "Tad" Perry. "The expectation for them is to stay on the leading edge. They are doing exactly what they should be doing." Perry also says because it is a small institution, DSU is wise to focus on applied research rather than on fundamental biometric discoveries. "That is absolutely the correct decision," he says. "We do not want to get into basic research, because we don't have the horse-power." The biometric initiative will involve both the undergraduate and new graduate program in information assurance. DSU officials hope it will drive an increase of about 500 student full-time equivalencies, taking the number from about 1,500 now to 2,000, according to Cecelia Wittmayer, DSU vice president for academic affairs. That would put the headcount enrollment at about 2,500. Even if DSU is unsuccessful in its pursuit of the NSF, and state grants, it is committed to the biometric initiative and will develop it as money becomes available, Wittmayer says. The biometric university is the goal. "We don't want to be just a department or a college," Streff says. He envisions DSU faculty in the liberal arts, education, psychology and sociology exploring the ethics of biometric application. Wittmayer says the notion is eagerly embraced. She points out that DSU was given its technology mission only 20 years ago, and the faculty hired to carry it out see opportunity in the biometric initiative, she says. Another key aspect of DSU's initiative is developing standards in a fledgling biometrics industry where these are not yet well established. In 1985, DSU was a struggling institution, primarily focused on educating teachers, with a headcount of fewer than 1,000 students. Then came the new technology mission. Streff, who graduated in 1988, remembers that time and how it recharged the university. He has been back on campus three years as a faculty member, and he sees the effect of the technology mission in a student enrollment of more than 2,000 and a revitalized faculty. And from his office dominating the springtime campus, where the idea for the biometric initiative was born, he says he thinks he can see technology's next wave.
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