The Center for Mass Violence Response Studies, which will prepare public safety, government, school, business and community leaders to think critically about mass violence events, which will help them develop and implement comprehensive prevention, response and recovery strategies.

In addition to its research into cybercrime, terrorism and security threats worldwide, the George Washington University’s Center for Cyber & Homeland Security’s Program on Extremism homes in on extremist and terrorist threats and trends, seeking to provide empirical information that policymakers and security leaders can wrap their heads around on this complex and evolving challenge.

In May, Uber will hold a bug bounty, in which "security researchers" can earn money for finding flaws in Uber's system.

 Late September, MIT researchers unveiled an oval-shaped submersible robot at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. The football-sized machine can perform ultrasound scans underwater, looking for cracks in nuclear reactors’ water tanks. The robot could also inspect ships for false hulls and propeller shafts that smugglers use to hide contraband.  

There are a wide range of available metrics, meaningful standards, licenses and certifications, rigor, ongoing debates and controversies, critical thinking and creativity. Snake oil, product hype, misleading claims and charlatanism, while unavoidably present, tend to get weeded out fairly reliably. Committees, groupthink and linear/concrete thinkers don’t dominate the field.

Got a cold? That’s no problem to the graduate students and researchers at UT Dallas, who are developing systems to identify speaking voices despite difficult conditions, such as whispering, speaking through various emotions, or talking with a stuffy nose, Phys.org reports.