The Keystone Alliance, a university-based research group for homeland security, had its inaugural summit yesterday at the Nittany Lion Inn.

The alliance is a partnership between Carnegie Mellon University, Penn State, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh. The alliance will provide for Pennsylvania's research and educational needs regarding homeland security.

"There's a need for coordination statewide," Associate Vice President for Research Robert McGrath said. "Together we have strengths that no one could bring individually."

It is important for the four major research universities in Pennsylvania to synchronize their efforts towards homeland security, he said. Various officials spoke on the subject of statewide security and the role of universities in the process.

"The real challenge is evolving from where we are today to where we need to be," said Charles McQueary, undersecretary for science and technology for the Department of Homeland Security.

There are many benefits to pooling the resources of different universities when it comes to security, he said. It increases strengths when many people are working together.

"Security as we go forward is not going to be a part of life; it is going to be a way of life for Americans," Keith Martin, Pennsylvania director of homeland security, said.

Martin said there will be difficulties that need to be overcome.

"We need to strike a balance between alert and alarm, compliance and complacency," Martin said. "We're on a fluid battlefield today, and as on any battlefield, there is smoke."

Following the speakers, researchers from the four universities showcased some of the projects they were working on that applied to homeland security.

A group of students from Carnegie Mellon developed a robotic snake with a camera on its head. In the event of a building collapse, the snake could be used to explore the rubble to look for survivors, Carnegie Mellon undergraduate Adam Borrell said.

The snake design is very versatile and can be easily adapted to float, crawl underwater, or even move through fire, he said.

"It's one robot design that is adaptable to any environment," Borrell said.

Because of its size, it would be possible for the robotic snake to crawl through tight spaces and even up cracks and ventilation shafts, he said.

Another display table contained information about a new type of vehicle barricade being developed at Penn State.

The barricade itself is simply a six-by-eight-inch beam suspended a few feet off the ground. The beam, which is created out of composite materials similar to Kevlar, is capable of stopping a 50,000 pound vehicle traveling at 50 mph, said the Director of Vehicle Systems and Safety Program at Penn State, Zoltán Radó.

Despite it's strength, the beam is also very lightweight.

"I can lift it with one finger," Radó said.