Center for Technology, Security, and Policy receives grant to fund study on smuggling in Black Sea region
The Department of Defense (DOD) has issued an initial award of $1,014,401 to the Virginia Tech Center for Technology, Security, and Policy, National Capital Region, to study illicit traffic and the smuggling of contraband in the Black Sea region.
Bruce Lawlor, director of the Center for Technology, Security, and Policy, will serve as the principal investigator for the project and Daniel Little, senior research associate, will manage the project’s day-to-day research activities both in the United States and in the Black Sea region.
Research will center on creating viable mechanisms for law enforcement cooperation within the complexity presented by the Black Sea region’s political, economic, cultural, and social climates. The study will look at known and perceived obstacles to cooperation between law enforcement agencies, explore innovative approaches to regional information sharing, and address technology, policy, and related considerations that influence regional cooperation initiatives.
Virginia Tech has fostered a growing partnership with the greater metropolitan Washington D.C. community since 1969. Today, the university’s presence in the National Capital Region includes graduate programs and research centers in Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church, Leesburg, Manassas, and Middleburg. In addition to supporting the university’s teaching and research mission, Virginia Tech’s National Capital Region has established collaborations with local and federal agencies, businesses, and other institutions of higher education. Virginia Tech, the most comprehensive university in Virginia, is dedicated to quality, innovation, and results to the commonwealth, the nation, and the world.
