All MITRE Projects (with summaries and presentations where available)

Listing of project titles in alphabetical order

Pages: 1234567891011121314151617

Risk Model for Dynamic Aviation Security

Primary Investigator:Weiss, William E

Problems:
Because airports are the entry point into the National Airspace System, efforts to increase airport security contribute directly to the Next Generation Air Transportation System's goal of making the National Airspace System more secure. To that end, we will develop a dynamic airport security simulation that models attack and defense behavior in the airport environment. Threat vectors (path-weapon combinations) and the performance of the airport defense against them will be simulated using two intelligent agents: attacker and defender. The characteristics of these agents will include both decision making and learning.

Objectives:
Our goal is to develop a useful, accurate model that can immediately increase security at one or more major U.S. airports, and that can be easily adapted for different airports and configurations. Through the use of agent-based design and a modular architecture, we hope to demonstrate a practical and versatile tool. In addition, we intend the tool to be adaptable to other security applications, such as border protection or biosecurity.

Activities:
We are working with the director of security at a major U.S. airport and his staff to turn the prototype simulation into a working model. We are refining and adding to the model's logic, including modules for the airport perimeter, vehicle gates, checkpoints, and roving patrols. We are also increasing the scope of the model to include vehicles on the airfield, airport employees, vendors, and contractors. Finally, we are evaluating the potential for adding intelligence to the agents to simulate their behavior more correctly.

Impact:
This model will have an immediate, positive effect on security for at least one major U.S. airport, and potentially at others as it is adapted to them. Because this represents a generalized approach to security modeling, it may be applied to other security domains, such as ground transportation (e.g., railway and subway stations), border security, ports of entry, and other similar applications.

Public Release No:09-1027

[Presentation]

Exhibit Date(s):May 6, May 7

Safety Data Fusion and Sequence Mining

Primary Investigator:Nazeri, Zohreh

Problems:
Identification of anomalous sequences in large-scale and high-dimensional digital data, such as Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA), is essential for the detection of undesired events such as aircraft accidents and incidents. Often textual data is also available on the types of events for which digital data is collected. These reports are rich with additional context information about the anomalies. However, mapping between the two sources of data is not always possible at an individual event level. We will research and develop a methodology for identifying anomalous sequences in high-dimensional data and fusing the discovered patterns with the information embedded in related text reports.

Objectives:
This research is intended to improve our ability to mine aviation safety data -- both text and digital; both structured and unstructured -- in order to identify critical event trends that can serve as precursor cues to impending aviation safety problems. By fusing information from digital and text analyses we hope to create an approach that is more reliable and robust at detecting events than has been possible with previous techniques.

Activities:
In the first step we will use FOQA data to develop and test the algorithm. We will examine a set of FOQA data, address data quality issues, define time windows common to a subset of flights, and identify the related parameters in the FOQA data. We will then use Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) reports to develop the technique for the second step. We plan to automate the search and extraction of information from the narratives, and build a common taxonomy between FOQA and ASAP data for the purpose of fusion. We will accomplish the fusion task at the information level, that is, data from the two databases will be mapped to each other not flight-by-flight, but using patterns discovered through analysis of the two databases.

Impact:
The output of this effort (methodology and prototype software) will enable MITRE sponsors to adopt a proactive approach to preventing undesired events in a variety of domains, such as aviation safety, computer and network security, and bio-informatics. MITRE would technology-transfer the resulting software prototype to vendors for broad industry use. As a key result of this effort, the analysis performed on the FOQA and ASAP datasets should advance the state of global aviation safety.

Public Release No:09-1012

[Presentation]

Scientometric Methods and Analysis of Scientific Literature for S & T Intell

Primary Investigator:Stech, Frank J.

Exhibit Date(s):May 5

Secure Converged Computing

Primary Investigator:Treadway, James D.

[Presentation]

Sensor Array Bearing Estimation Using Spectral Reassignment

Primary Investigator:Colella, David

Problems:
Many important tactical and strategic operations depend at least in part on effective bearing estimation for contacts of interest. Errors and uncertainties in bearing estimation not only result in operational delays but also consume valuable resources, e.g., sensor and communications resources.

This effort will further develop and adapt novel frequency estimation methods to the spatial bearing estimation problem for small numbers of sensor array elements. The basis for this development is the reassigned spectrum, which currently utilizes the fast Fourier transform for rapid implementation. The development will focus on bearing estimation for sonobuoy processing to improve next generation sonobuoy operational deployments.

Objectives:
Demonstrate improved bearing estimation capability for small sensor array sonobuoy processing

Initiate transition of bearing estimation methodology to sonobuoy processing suite

Activities:
1. Adapt reassigned spectrum frequency estimation technique to the spatial bearing estimation problem
2. Develop bearing estimation technique for small planar sensor array processing
3. Develop theoretical and simulation-based bounds on performance
4. Acquire sonobuoy sensor array test data from NAVAIR sponsor
5. Demonstrate empirical performance with sonobuoy sensor data

Impact:
This development will directly improve bearing estimation for the sonobuoy processing suite, thereby reducing time and resources for contact tracking and management in naval theater of war operations. It will also initiate investigations into overall improved spatial processing techniques that could be adapted for other application areas.

Public Release No:09-0787

[Presentation]

Exhibit Date(s):May 5

Social Collaboration Across EP&R Communities

Primary Investigator:Brooks, Jo Ann M.

Problems:
Emergency Preparedness and Response (EP&R) requires information sharing and collaboration across different communities including Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) and Public Safety (Social) Networks (PSNs). Communities engaged in EP&R, include law enforcement, emergency management, fire and emergency medical services, as well as Intelligence and Homeland Security. We will conduct social science research to identify patterns of social and organizational collaboration that affect information sharing for EP&R, especially between EOCs and PSNs.

Objectives:
Enabling MITRE to make recommendations to our sponsors about strategies for developing systems to support information sharing and collaboration mechanisms.

Providing actionable recommendations to EOCs for improving collaboration with PSNs.

Increasing MITRE’s capability and reputation for conducting useful social science.

Activities:
--A white paper describing formal and informal support for social collaboration among EP&R communities. It will include vignettes highlighting key aspects of collaboration effectiveness and non-effectiveness, aspects relevant for IT implementation, and areas which warrant further investigation.

--Recommendations: 1) for Emergency Operations Centers on the development of policies and procedures for collaboration with PSNs; and 2) for business process and systems engineers on how to support improved collaboration, coordination, and information sharing among EP&R communities.

--An academic paper, submitted to a journal or conference, presenting results from our study.

Impact:
This MOIE will enable MITRE to make more realistic recommendations to the Army and DHS about strategies for developing systems to support information sharing and collaboration mechanisms. For example, our work could influence the Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) pilot program, an effort to make the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM)and Universal Core interoperable between law enforcement and military. Our work will also increase MITRE’s capability and reputation for conducting useful social science, especially among EP&R communities through providing actionable recommendations to EOCs for improving collaboration with PSNs. And our work will complement the NSF PSN study and further strengthen MITRE’s collaborative relationship with researchers at Bentley University.

Public Release No:09-0841

[Presentation]

Spatio-Temporal Information Extraction and Reasoning from Natural Language

Primary Investigator:Mani, Inderjeet

[Presentation]

Exhibit Date(s):May 5

Special MSR

Primary Investigator:Hill III, William H.

[Presentation]

SPECIAL TASK (MOIE)

Primary Investigator:Dowling, William A.

[Presentation]

Stakeholder-Driven Performance Management

Primary Investigator:Oakley-Bogdewic, Lisa K.

Problems:
Government programs often manage performance as a periodic comparison of current progress toward meeting technical specifications. Performance monitoring is often reactive in nature, with insufficient emphasis on early warning indicators in fulfilling key stakeholder needs. Performance metrics, methods for measurement, and the timing of monitoring often cannot be directly linked to key stakeholder needs or anticipated outcomes.

The Stakeholder-Driven Performance Management MOIE team is developing a process framework to directly, objectively, and quantitatively link ultimate stakeholder needs to outcome metrics and on-going performance management processes. The framework will support organization decision-making and metric/measure selection; provide recommendations for performance target setting and measurement; and identify approaches for leveraging existing reporting data and identifying new data needs. Leaders ofthis research initiative include Dr. Lisa Oakley-Bogdewic (loakley@mitre.org), Kevin Buck (kbuck@mitre.org) and Jennifer Chatfield (jchatfield@mitre.org).

Objectives:
In direct alignment with the Obama Administration agenda for accuracy and transparency of Government performance results, our research goals include:

* Goal 1: Assess the current situation and identify performance gaps to be addressed

* Goal 2: Design the Stakeholder Performance Improvement Framework (SPIF), identify supporting tools, and develop prototype

* Goal 3: Develop "roadshow" for purposes of socializing our prototype and identifying potential case study opportunities for follow-on year.

Activities:
Goal 1:

(a) Assess current situation and identify performance gaps.

(b) Evaluate effectiveness of performancemanagement policy for selected sponsors, regulation, and agency procedures.

(c) Identify current challenges, best practices and lessons learned in demonstrating performance results by assessing the strengths/weaknesses of PART reports for different program types.

(d) Interview selected sponsors to understand current challenges they face with demonstrating effective performance improvement.

Goal 2:

(a) Design SPIF based on principals of public economics and experimental findings of SROI studies and address sponsor challenges and shortfalls within this framework. SPIF will include several facets: governance/oversight, data availability and management, performancemanagement process implementation across internal and external layers and processes, and results communication.

(b) Identify, assess, and select metrics selection and performance mgt approaches that should be incorporated within SPIF.

(c) Develop a diagnostic capability to assess sponsor circumstances and maturity and determine how SPIF should be applied.

Goal 3:

(a) Develop demonstration of prototype and supporting presentation.

(b) Meet with select sponsors and supporting MITRE staff to assess interest in case study should follow-on research be approved.

Impact:
Our sponsors, key stakeholders (e.g., taxpayers), and Federal regulators care if we are successful. The difference our research will make is in providing our sponsors an efficient and currently unavailable performance management approach that directly, objectively, and quantitatively links to ultimate stakeholder needs. By applying our framework, sponsors should expect to improve their ability to meet stakeholder expectations and comply with performance improvement regulations. We are currently drafting recommendations for improving the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART), which is one of the key methods by which overall agency performance is collected, evaluated, and communicated to the American public. Our investigations-to-date confirm the significant value that can be derived from PART assessment; however, guidance is currently lacking to clearly explain why questions are asked, how to answer the questions, and how the answers support a determination of performance. We are drafting guidance to fill this gap.

Public Release No:09-1121

[Presentation]

Exhibit Date(s):May 7