The Department of Defenses decision to join a research center developed by West Virginia University is further evidence of the federal governments continuing recognition of West Virginia as a leader in the field of biometrics, U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., says.

The Defense Departments biometrics program will become a member of WVU s Center for Identification Technology Research, or CITeR.

“West Virginia has the opportunity to become a national leader in the development of biometrics technology,”Byrd said.”With the research already under way at WVU , coupled with the Defense Departments interest, West Virginia can grow into a center for excellence in this field. Biometrics is moving from fiction to reality, and West Virginia is poised to be a major part of its development.”

Biometrics is the cutting-edge science of identification and authentication that would replace the current computer security system of passwords. Biometrics uses unique individual”signatures,”such as fingerprints, the pattern of veins in the wrist or the network of nerves in the iris of the eye. The technology has the potential for widespread use by the military and in private sector security.

Byrd, who has been working with the Department of Defense on the biometrics program for more than two years, has added $47 million to appropriations bills to move the initiative forward. Through his efforts, West Virginia is becoming a hub for biometrics research and development.

Biometrics initiatives in the state include: WVU s nationally unique biometrics and forensics degree program; the FBI s fingerprint database in Clarksburg, which is the largest biometrics depository in the world; and the Department of Defenses interim Biometrics Fusion Center at the Benedum Airport complex in Harrison County.

Earlier this year, the Defense Department, the West Virginia Office of Emergency Services and the West Virginia Army National Guard began a pilot project to test various applications of biometrics technology.

“The decision by the Department of Defense to join with WVU ’s research center will only add to the biometrics efforts under way at the university and across the state,”said Dr. Larry Hornak, CITeR’s director.”CITeR, as the only academic center of its kind, will provide a unique opportunity to further the development and potential applications of biometrics.”

WVU developed CITeR in collaboration with Marshall University, Michigan State University and San Jose State University to serve as the first comprehensive academic center for biometrics. The goal of CITeR is to further the development of biometrics through new technologies research, interdisciplinary training of scientists and engineers, and facilitation of the transfer of this technology to the private and government sectors.

CITeR can be visited on the Internet athttp://www.csee.wvu.edu/citer.