The scientific and engineering communities have been called upon to help the world respond to security challenges after September 11, 2001. The IEEE SMC Technical Committee on Homeland Security (TCHS) aims to promote and guide information systems, algorithm, and databases research of relevance to international and national security. The TCHS will:

1. organize special paper session(s) relating to international/national security research in IEEE conferences;
2. conduct annual TCHS meetings during annual IEEE SMC conferences;
3. collaborate with other professional societies to promote security related research;
4. collaborate with federal funding agencies (e.g., NSF, DHS, NIJ, ITIC, NIH, etc.) to develop international/national security related research programs and engage in research projects; and
5. collaborate with government agencies, industrial partners, and local and national media in sponsoring and organizing international/national security related meetings, engaging in policy discussions, and facilitating training, education, and outreach programs.

• IEEE SMC TCHS approved in 2004.
• Organized the 2008 NSF Workshop on Biosurveillance and Biosecurity, December 2, 2008, North Carolina, with Technical co-sponsorship from SMC.
• Organized the first European Conference on Intelligence and Security Informatics, December 2, 2008, Denmark, with technical co-sponsorship from SMC.
• Organized the 2009 International Workshop on Biosurveillance and Biosecurity, Sept., 2009, Taipei, Taiwan, with technical co-sponsorship from SMC.
• Organized the IEEE International Conf. on Intelligence and Security Informatics 2009 (IEEE ISI 2009); Dallas, TX, June 8-11, 2009, including an affiliated workshop "the 2nd International Workshop on Social Computing," with technical co-sponsorship from SMC.
• Organized IEEE International Conference on Intelligence and Security Informatics 2008 (IEEE ISI 2008), June 17-20, 2008, Taipei, Taiwan, with technical co-sponsorship from SMC.
• Organized the First International Workshop on Social Computing as part of IEEE ISI 2008, June 17, 2008, Taipei, Taiwan.
• Organized the 2008 Pacific Asian Workshop on Intelligence and Security Informatics (PAISI 2008), June 17, 2008, Taipei, Taiwan.
• Organized at the IEEE SMC 2009 a special session on Homeland Security; chaired by a member of our TC, David Mendonca.
• Organized the first US-China Workshop on Infectious Disease, Informatics and BioSurveillance, March, 2008, Beijing, China.
• Organized the Second China Summer Workshop on Information Management, June 30-July 1, 2008, Kunming, China, with technical co-sponsorship from SMC.
• Published several edited books and a research monograph on Intelligence and Security Informatics with Springer and Elsevier.
• Edited the IEEE Trans. on Knowledge and Data Engineering special issue on Intelligence and Security Informatics (July 2008 issue).
• Editing a special issue on social media analytics with the IEEE TSMC; planned publication date: Jan. 2010.
• Editing a special issue on ISI and Social Computing, Springer Journal on Information Systems and e-Business; planned publication date: Dec. 2009.
• Editing a special issue on Social Media Analytics and Social Intelligence, IEEE Intelligent Systems; planned publication date: Nov. 2010.
• Editing a special section on Biosurveillance, IEEE Intelligent Systems, planned publication date: Jan. 2010.

• Interacting with researchers, practitioners, and agencies in intelligence and security informatics, which is a relatively new and rapidly growing research field.
• Exchanging research ideas and forming partnership.
• Helping define a new discipline.
• Participating in exciting conferences, workshops, and special issues.
• Making friends from different parts of the world.
• Making a tangible and positive impact on the society.