CIPHER is a tightly coupled coalition of centers of engineering and scientific excellence, University health care professionals, business, economic, and government leaders, whose goal is the protection of our nations infrastructure from acts of terror and natural disasters. The center is located on the University of Oklahoma campus and pulls together professionals from on and off the OU campus. Its purpose of this coalition of centers is the development of technology for the hardening, protection, and first response mitigation of acts of terror on the nations infrastructure. The center seeks to covey this technology and methodology to the practitioners through OU’s Center For Continuing Education and the Office of Technology Development.