Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency

The Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency (CAOE), led by Arizona State University, develops and applies advanced analytical tools and technologies to enhance planning, information sharing and real-time decision-making in homeland security operations.

The research at CAOE will help the Department of Homeland Security improve efficiency and security at our national borders, ports and airports through better prediction and response to emergencies.

Established as a Center of Excellence by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate.

Featured projects

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Strengthening Trust in Large Language Models

The emergence of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT has revolutionized information retrieval and interaction, particularly in intelligence analysis. However, concerns about their trustworthiness in security-critical applications persist due to security risks, factuality issues and biases. The project proposes a multifaceted approach to evaluating and enhancing the trustworthiness of large language models (LLMs), addressing key concerns related to security, factuality and biases.

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Enhancing AI for Homeland Security

The Multisource AI Scorecard Table (MAST) for Evaluating Generative AI in Worker-Automation Team Tasks (MEGAWATT) project aims to leverage MAST, a tool rooted in Intelligence Community Directive (ICD) 203, to evaluate and enhance the performance of large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

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Unlocking Software Safety with CHIAUS

The CHIAUS project aims to revolutionize risk communication in software development and consumption by integrating human-centered interactions with Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) data. Led by Principal Investigator L Jean Camp and her team at Indiana University, the project addresses the pressing need for actionable, understandable risk communication in the software ecosystem.

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Fortifying Security Screenings by examining human-AI interaction

In the realm of safety science, a paradigm shift towards resilience engineering offers new insights into addressing the challenges of complex systems, particularly in high-stakes environments like security screening. This project, Resilience Engineering for Visual Screening in Security Settings (REVS), aims to advance the understanding of resilience engineering principles within the context of security screening tasks.

Recent news and events

A collage featuring four different photographs. A background photo in the upper part of the image is a blue background with a metal link chain in the middle. The bottom left photo shows a close-up of a bright blue sky with fluffy clouds and displays an orange cargo crane at a shipping port with containers. The bottom middle photo is an intricate close-up of blue circuit board components. In the bottom right is an image of agricultural machinery in a field under a clear sky. Each photograph represents different aspects of supply chain resilience issues and solutions relevant to homeland security.

CAOE SCRIPS Workshop Explores Supply Chain Resilience

The Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency (CAOE) at Arizona State University, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center of Excellence, hosted the SCRIPS: Supply Chain Resilience Issues, Problems and Solutions for the Homeland Security Enterprise Workshop to great success.

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CAOE Launches 2025 Broad Request for Proposals

The Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency (CAOE), a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center of Excellence, is excited to announce the launch of its 2025 Broad Request for Proposals (RFP). Learn more and apply by December 2, 5:00 PM MST—Let’s drive innovation together!

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CAOE Biennial Review Highlights

The CAOE Biennial Review serves as a critical platform for showcasing the latest research and innovations developed by the Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency (CAOE), a Department of Homeland Security

Split-second decision-making. Wise allocation of scarce resources. Accurately predicting cascading consequences of natural and manmade disasters.

These are just some of the complex challenges our country’s homeland security workforce faces each day. The research, systems and technology developed at CAOE provide homeland security agencies with real-time information, predictive tools for resource and response planning, and systems that increase the odds of resolving security problems.

Improving Airport Checkpoints

Dynamic resource allocation for predicted demands at a network of screening facilities.

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