U.S. Higher Education in Research Security
Join IPTalons as we sit down with Dr. Kevin Gamache, Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Research Security Officer of Texas A&M University, as we explore “U.S. High Education Research Security Strengths, Challenges, and What Does the Future Look Like?”
In this 30 minute interview, Dr. Gamache reviews the progress made by the US government and universities when it comes to securing research. Furthermore, he discusses both the strengths and challenges for Universities when it comes to foreign research collaborations and maintaining an open, innovative environment. Finally, Dr. Gamache expresses what he anticipates what the future will hold for university professionals when it comes to securing research.
About Dr. Kevin Gamache
Dr. Gamache is the Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Research Security Officer at th Texas A&M University. In this capacity, he is responsible for ensuring that the eleven universities and eight state agencies within the A&M System comply with U.S. Government requirements for protecting sensitive federal information.
He is regularly called upon to brief the Intelligence Community, Congressional staff, and the National Academies on securing the academic research enterprise. He has testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the Senate JudiciarySubcommittee on Border Security and Immigration, and the House Science Committee on this topic.
Dr. Gamache established the Academic Security and Counter-Exploitation Program, an affinity group of security and compliance professionals at universities across the United States. He was instrumental in establishing an annual security conference explicitly focused on the unique challenges of maintaining an effective security program in the open environment of academia.
His leadership role and efforts on behalf of the academic security community resulted in The Texas A&M University System’s industrial security program receiving the James S. Cogswell Award from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) in 2015, 2019, and 2022.
Recording Date: July 24, 2023