Portland, Oregon
June 12, 2005
June 12, 2005
June 15, 2005
2153-5965
17
10.694.1 - 10.694.17
10.18260/1-2--15475
https://peer.asee.org/15475
294
Homeland Security and the IE Curriculum Marlin U. Thomas School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University
Abstract The increased concern and awareness of threats to our homeland security resulting from the nine- one-one tragedy has changed our lives and altered our priorities in essentially all engineering decisions. While security is not a new design issue in engineering, this increase in social significance and public demand will naturally impact the practice and curriculum in industrial engineering. This paper reviews the areas of industrial engineering where homeland security is critical and provides some thoughts on integrating security and antiterrorism into the entry level professional IE curriculum. 1. Introduction Homeland security has been a U.S. priority since the formation of our nation and throughout history our goal has been to provide citizens with a secure environment that is free of fears of any attacks or invasion of our homeland. This is largely the basis for maintaining a strong military force. In addition, we also have a network of federal, state, and local civil defense organizations that organize and direct preparedness and recovery plans for providing emergency relief to citizens during major disasters. Community alert programs such as air raid drills, training programs for schools, fall-out shelters, and emergency medical treatment plans are examples of our civil defense programs that support homeland defense. Prior to Nine-One-One we did have a sense of being a secure country and certainly without any thoughts of terrorist attacks on our cities. Unlike many other countries, threats of major catastrophes and disruptions in life style were of little to no concern in the U.S. The nine-one-one tragedy has changed this perception and altered priorities throughout our society. This has also made a tremendous impact in engineering and related professions, including the industrial engineering profession. While security is not a new design issue in engineering, the increased social significance of concerns of terrorism has elevated it to a much higher level. This will naturally impact the field of industrial engineering (IE).
Thomas, M. (2005, June), Homeland Security And The Ie Curriculum Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--15475
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