Homeland Security

Regional Advantages

The fast growing, $60 billion Homeland Security industry applies expertise from a wide variety of business sectors together to create the services and products needed to protect our country. In the Research Valley, homeland security companies find a fertile environment for innovating. In research and development, we’re strong in a multitude of fields, including chemistry, biology, computer sciences. We are a national center of public policy studies, a hub for federal funding, and home to one of the terrorism response training campuses in the nation.

The Research Valley is home to a fully integrated homeland security program, with educational and R&D resources covering the entire gamut of domestic security topics from mitigation to preparedness, response, and recovery.

The Research Valley offers businesses the absolute latest in global security resources, whether it’s in the classroom, in the library, in the laboratory, or in the field.

Workforce and Education

• The Integrative Center for Homeland Security conducts studies and trains medical professionals in treating bioterrorism victims.
• Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service offers 10 graduate-level courses in homeland security covering topics from cyber security to national defense policy.
• First Responder Training offered by the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) offers training for first-line responders, managers, and elected officials.

R&D Resouces

» Disaster City

Texas A&M’s $40 million, 52-acre facility is the only one of its kind in the nation, replicating collapsed buildings where workers can realistically practice for terrorist attacks and treat a robot programmed with biological and chemical injury symptoms.

» Public Policy Research Institute

Manages an online Disaster and Emergency Management Information Network, which serves as a national center for domestic security data and reports.

Business Climate

Wage rates in the Bryan-College Station MSA are overall lower than the national average. Cost for homeland security labor varies depending on the field, including mean annual wages for computer programmers of less than $50,000, environmental scientists at $38,500, and medical and public health workers at $49,000. Coupled with our wide spectrum of educational programs in this field, the Research Valley provides businesses the best trained individuals in the country at the most competitive prices.

Link to our DATA CENTER for more detailed information about the buiness climate in The Research Valley.