The Texas National Security Network has awarded Damien Van Puyvelde, Ph.D., an assistant professor in UTEP’s Intelligence and National Security Studies (INSS) Program, and Daniel Jones, Ph.D., an assistant professor in UTEP’s Department of Psychology, a $60,000 grant to identify the factors that influence security professionals’ ability to keep secrets.
Van Puyvelde will be the primary investigator on the project called, “Keeping Secrets: A Systematic Survey of Scientific Research on the Causes of Discretion.” The project’s findings will contribute to the body of interdisciplinary research on discretion, and help develop a best practice guide on “keeping secrets” for the consumption of security professionals in the region and beyond.
“The project will contribute to UTEP’s effort to develop interdisciplinary research in social, behavioral and economic sciences,” Van Puyvelde said. “It also demonstrates the efforts of the National Security Studies Institute at UTEP to develop policy relevant research on pressing national security concerns.”
The grant is from the Texas National Security Network’s National Security Research Excellence Fund, which supports specific security-relevant projects by affiliated faculty and institutions from across The University of Texas System.
The Texas National Security Network unites the expertise and resources of the 14 institutions that comprise the UT System, with the goal of creating the premier university system in the country for national security work. Toward this end, the network integrates and magnifies the efforts of scholars and centers from universities and medical branches across the state, while also directly administering an array of innovative programs.