NEW YORK -- The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and university officials presented a report on homeland security to Penn State's Board of Trustees on Thursday in New York City.

R.P. Eddy and Tamar Jacoby, two senior fellows for counterterrorism at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, reported the connections between Penn State and homeland security.

Eddy said it is likely that another terrorist attack will occur in the United States.

"Will there be another attack on the U.S.?" he asked. "I think it is inevitable."

Penn State is one of several institutions that get government funding for research to help the country protect itself from these attacks.

Jacoby said the impact of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks made the United States question the way it manages its borders, including the entrance of students.

"It's important that we don't let security concerns block the flow of foreigners," she said. "We need to be open to what the world can bring us."

Jacoby said the overarching approach toward letting people into the country has not changed at all since Sept. 11.

"We haven't closed the door since 9/11," she said. "Nevertheless, there has been significant changes in the way we administer the laws we already have."

Routine background checks for the acquisition of visas have become very extensive, Jacoby said.

"Because of the urgent way this has been implemented, it's caused the speed bumps for people who want to come to this country to become obstacles," she said.

Jacoby said there has been a 26 percent decrease in the number of student visas. "In the globalizing world, we are all competing for the best and brightest students," she said.

Eva Pell, vice president for research and dean of the graduate school, provided the board with a more extensive view on how Penn State specifically affects homeland security.

"We believe that our technological capacity places Penn State in an excellent position to contribute to this national challenge," she said.

Pell said the College of Engineering is engaged on many fronts in building and shipping protective technology.

The School of Information Systems Technology and the Smeal College of Business Administration are also making major contributions, she added.

"Our Smeal College of Business provides several supply-chain management programs to officers stationed around the world," she said.

Pell said Penn State is currently ranked second out of universities nationwide in funding from the Department of Defense.

Edward Liszka, director of Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory (ARL), gave an overview of research initiatives at Penn State that support national defense and anti-terrorism.

"We provide advanced solutions for national defense needs with specific emphasis in the naval area," he said.

One ARL defense project includes the development of a system that protects ships against attacking torpedoes.

"We are the leaders of this in technology," he said.

Other projects include designing a missile warning system for aircraft and figuring out how to apply that to commercial airlines, as well as working on a monitor that can detect vibrations in the ground. "We are looking at new materials that can be used in military applications to reduce the costs or improve performance," he said.