Handheld and Mobile Computing and Emergency Notification Systems

A system that tracks students through their mobile phones is among the new technologies being developed to help improve security at America's universities - something increasingly of concern since the tragic events at Virginia Tech in April 2007.

When cellphones become safety monitoring devices, students, parents, and administrators can worry less.

The UC Berkeley People Locator is a web-based contact system to provide information to members of the UC Berkeley community and to their families and friends in the event of an emergency affecting the campus.

"The two hours it took for Virginia Tech officials to eMail students a warning about a gunman on campus last month have raised the question of how schools can get critical news out faster in a crisis--and how technology can help."

"Since 9/11, some security experts have pushed the idea that peer-to-peer alert systems that rely on openness and the crowd can save lives, particularly when centralized communications and decision-making break down. That argument is back in force following Monday's mass slayings of 32 people at Virginia Tech."