A University of Missouri-Rolla professor has been elected to a National Academy of Science panel that will assess the U.S. Department of Navy’s role in the global war on terror.

Dr. Ann Miller, the Cynthia Tang Missouri Distinguished Professor of computer engineering at UMR, and 20 other panel members from across the nation will study the adequacy of and prospects for improving the role of naval forces in the global anti-terrorism effort.

“It’s a daunting challenge, but I think there are things we can do,” says Miller, an expert in satellite communications and information assurance. “I’m going to come in with the perspective of increasing security, but without the restrictions on individual privacy. We need balance. I don’t want to see the pendulum swing so far that we restrict citizens’ rights in the name of security.”

Starting in July, the panel will meet monthly for a year, interviewing various individuals from the Navy, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security, as well as conducting on-site visits, in order to prepare its extensive report. “This isn’t an immediate reaction to something,s” Miller says. “We’re thinking ahead, making sure we do everything we can in terms of preparedness and response.”

Miller has experience in the war against terrorism. In 2001, she was elected chair of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Research and Technology Organization’s Information Systems Technology Panel; she has also served as a cybersecurity expert in NATO’s Defense Against Terrorism activities. Prior to joining UMR, Miller worked at the Pentagon as the deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy for command, control, communications, computing, intelligence, electronic warfare, and space.

“We’re going to examine what operational tasks and emerging technologies the naval forces could be using,” Miller adds. “I’ll work to identify what the Navy could do in terms of computer security and how they can combat threats to critical systems.”