The newly launched Johns Hopkins Center for the Study of Preparedness and Catastrophic Event Response, a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, will this month join a group of JHU undergraduates in hosting Securing the Future, a homeland security-themed conference for area high school students.

Now in its third year, this two-day conference brings distinguished high school juniors from Baltimore City and County to the Homewood campus, where they hear from professors, professionals and policy-makers on topics ranging from international terrorism to emergency preparedness. Between speakers, student participants break into small groups to debate and discuss the issues with Johns Hopkins undergraduates. Ultimately, participants create their own plans to raise homeland security awareness in their schools and communities, and implement these plans through the following school year.

The conference will take place on Friday and Saturday, March 23 and 24, in the Mattin Center.

Established by Johns Hopkins students Sarah David and Marc Goldwein, the conference has consistently attracted high-caliber high school students, and a list of speakers that includes Sen. Benjamin Cardin; William Goodwin, Baltimore City fire chief; and Dennis Schrader, former Maryland director of homeland security.

This year, the Center for the Study of Preparedness and Catastrophic Event Response, known as PACER, will integrate the conference as a regular component of its educational outreach efforts.

Led by the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response, PACER is engaged in multidisciplinary, trans-institutional research to create knowledge directed toward national preparedness for weapons of mass destruction and other catastrophic high-consequence events. In particular, PACER seeks to understand issues and principles of preparedness, and the science of education, in order to disseminate knowledge, cultivate future leaders and develop effective educational and training programs.

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