Clemson University recognized for emergency management system

Published: May 4, 2011

CLEMSON — Clemson University has been selected as a 2011 Laureate in the Computerworld Honors Program, an annual award program that recognizes organizations and individuals who use information technology for social, economic and educational advances.

The award is for a Clemson Computing and Information Technology (CCIT) project to develop a data-management and visual-display system for use in responding to emergencies. The system, known as a Common Operational Picture (COP), is being developed with a consortium of four Upstate South Carolina counties: Pickens, Anderson, Greenwood and Abbeville.

David White, CCIT’s director of environmental informatics, said the COP will give emergency managers and first responders a real-time visual display of critical information and data involved in an emergency incident. Using Google Earth Enterprise as a software platform, the COP incorporates such existing data as address information from E911 call centers, location of fire hydrants and utility lines and data from the National Weather Service. Additional tools such as 3-D models, video, plume and storm-surge models and human communications can be integrated into the system.

“Ultimately, we can have first responders using mobile technology to push critical data and information onto the COP and emergency managers in the command center providing information to the responders in the field, and all of them will be able to visualize the incident in real time,” White said.

In the case of a tornado, for example, the COP would show the path of destruction based on input from the field, including pictures and other critical data to support emergency management operations, he said. If the incident involved the release of a toxic gas, the system’s plume-modeling capability would show the area that needed to be evacuated.

Development of the system began last year and is continuing.

“It is gratifying to watch this emerging partnership between university IT and our state's emergency responders producing practical solutions to the issues facing our society today,” said Jim Bottum, Clemson’s chief information officer. “This is in keeping with Clemson's land-grant tradition and is indicative of the kind of cross-sector partnerships that will become increasingly necessary to navigate the 21st century.”

Lynn Fisher, emergency management director for Pickens County, said the system has great potential for improving emergency responses. “We’re looking forward to getting it in the hands of first responders,” he said. “There is a wealth of digital information available and this gives us a way to pull these disparate sources of data together in a way that first responders can use them.”

Having a common system for use across multiple jurisdictions is an advantage in itself, Fisher said. “It helps break down barriers.”

The Computerworld Honors are presented annually by Computerworld magazine and the Computerworld Information Technology Awards Foundation. Clemson is one of 255 honorees from 23 countries selected this year from more than 1,000 nominations. The awards ceremony will be in Washington, D.C., June 20.

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