Discover a New Era of Research Security and Innovation

Welcome to the new Texas A&M University System Research and Innovation Security and Competitiveness Institute

MISSION

Research and Innovation Security and Competitiveness Institute

Serving as the leading resource for securing the research enterprise, RISC is dedicated to protecting the strengths of our academic and industrial research communities while promoting forward- thinking, innovative approaches to research security.

THREE PILLARS

Solutions for Research and Innovation Security and Competitiveness

We are dedicated to protecting academic research communities.

RESEARCH

The RISC Institute analyzes current processes and studies changing risk factors to reduce the likelihood and/or impact of information theft and misappropriation.


Education & Training

The RISC Institute is training a new generation of research security professionals and provide continuing education through partnership with the Texas A&M University Bush School of Government and Public Service.

Service & Outreach

The RISC Institute is creating effective due-diligence programs and providing a source of expertise to the research security workforce while building deeper affiliations within academic, corporate and government communities to ensure relevancy and enhance research outcomes.

Enhancing Research Security

Objectives for Research and Innovation Security and Competitiveness

IT IS OUR BUSINESS TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS

Develop Training Programs

Develop awareness, training, and educational programs necessary to build a workforce with technical expertise and experience focused on integrating security into every aspect of business and academic culture.

Be a technical resource

Serve the nation as the technical resource for establishing, managing, and assessing the research security programs and policies fundamental to maintaining national security and economic competitiveness.

Be a Leader

Lead the national and international community in outreach necessary for securing the academic and industrial research enterprise.

Analyze and Assess

Analyze and assess the research security implications of critical and emerging technologies.

Securing the Strength of Academic Research Communities

WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT GETS US OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING

Research Security Resources

Training and Policy Documents

Module 1: Introduction to Research Security
This training module covers the key concepts of research security and how to recognize situations that may indicate undue foreign influence. By understanding the regulatory landscape that shapes research security, researchers will be empowered with the tools to protect their own work and safeguard the core values that underpin U.S. academic research.

Module 2: The Importance of Disclosure
This training module explains federal funding agency disclosure requirements, including types of information that must be disclosed, how that information is used and why such disclosures are fundamental to safeguarding the U.S. research enterprise from foreign government interference and exploitation.

Module 3: Manage and Mitigate Risk 
This training module identifies types of international collaborative research and professional activities, associated potential risks, and strategies and best practices for managing and mitigating such risk. Learner experience will be customized based on their role as either a researcher or administrator.

Module 4: The Importance of International Collaboration
This training module emphasizes the role of principled international collaboration in U.S. science, innovation and economic competitiveness. The training will provide strategies on how to balance principled international collaboration with research security concerns, as well as how to foster an open, welcoming research environment that fulfills research security needs.

policy info

Experts in Research Security

Leadership

Kevin R. Gamache, Ph.D.

Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Research Security Officer
Director, RISC Institute

Zach Carwile

Associate Director
RISC Institute

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Our Impact

Our key areas of interest that reflect our commitment to cybersecurity innovation and research protection.

Risk Mitigation

Securing the Research Enterprise

Training and Awareness

Balancing National and Global Interests

Service to the Research Community


Current programs and partners

ASCE event increases awareness and provides tools for countering foreign influence in colleges and universities. 

CETPP will provide expertise to research organizations to help protect developing technology from those who may attempt to misappropriate these technologies. The CETPP will house counterintelligence, counterproliferation, and cybersecurity expertise to protect data and intellectual property. The RISC Institute will continue to support your enterprise throughout the operation including conducting Due Diligence Reviews designed to identify potential risk associated with proposed collaborators or industry and developing and implementing clear and comprehensive security policies and procedures specific to research activities.

The University Research Security Professional’s Association (URSPA) aims to further the protection of intellectual property, controlled information, key personnel, and critical technologies to mitigate and manage risks from undue foreign influence at U.S. academic institutions conducting research relevant to economic or national security. URSPA also partners with international universities to share best practices and advance research security initiatives globally.

SECURE Analytics is the data collection, analysis, and reporting hub for the SECURE (Safeguarding the Entire Community of the US Research Ecosystem) program, a $67 million initiative funded by the National Science Foundation and authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 to identify and analyze patterns of foreign malign behavior; share information on research security risks; enhance risk assessment, prevention, and mitigation practices; and train the research community.
 
Texas A&M University leads SECURE Analytics in partnership with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and Parallax Advanced Research. It interfaces with the SECURE Center led by the University of Washington.

As mandated in the “CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the NSF SECURE Center, led by the University of Washington with support from nine institutions of higher education, will serve as a clearinghouse for information to empower the research community to identify and mitigate foreign interference that poses risks to the U.S. research enterprise. The SECURE Center will share information and reports on research security risks, provide training on research security to the science and engineering community, and serve as a bridge between the research community and government funding agencies to strengthen cooperation on addressing security concerns.

For more information on NSF Secure please visit the following url:  https://new.nsf.gov/news/nsf-backed-secure-center-will-support-research


IT IS OUR BUSINESS TO TAKE
CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS

The Academic Security and Counter Exploitation Program is coordinated by The Texas A&M University System Research Security Office as a service to the academic community. The Open Source Media Summary is published and disseminated weekly.