The RSEC team endeavors to support research and analysis on intellectual property protection and research security. To this end, RSEC has partnered with Texas A&M University to support an annual graduate student capstone group, led by internationally renowned research security expert Dr. Kevin Gamache.
2024-2025 Capstone Project
The 2024-2025 capstone project focused on developing a research security framework for higher education institutions (HEIs) and research producing organizations (RPOs) in U.S. partner countries, with a particular emphasis on implementation in developing nations. This project aimed to explore how institutions in resource-constrained environments can adopt effective research security best practices to safeguard their intellectual property (IP) and shield themselves from malign influences.
The primary objectives of the study were to identify the types of information most vulnerable at these institutions, explore the challenges organizations encounter when implementing a research security framework, and pinpoint effective best practices from more developed countries that could be adapted for use. The research team produced several deliverables and briefed their findings at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the conclusion of the project.
2022-2023 Capstone Project
The 2022-2023 capstone project focused on operationalizing research best practices to prevent the exploitation of international research relationships. The project brought together U.S. graduate students from Texas A&M with international partners from the research enterprise in Brazil to discuss best practices in research management. The students produced a research paper and traveled to Washington, DC to present their findings to the U.S. Department of State.
Additionally, RSEC sponsored Brazilian participants from the University of Sao Paolo to attend the 2023 Academic Security and Counter Exploitation (ASCE) Conference held at Texas A&M to interface with the capstone students and brief on the project findings to an international audience.
