The University of Connecticut is teaming up with Comcast to launch the Center of Excellence for Security Innovation at its campus.

The new center is expected to unite the expertise of researchers within the school's existing Center for Hardware Assurance, Security and Engineering - the nation's foremost center - and Comcast's leadership in Internet systems security to develop robust detection systems and analytical tools to ensure that the computer chips and other hardware components vital to Internet broadband systems are shielded from malicious attacks, unauthorized access, and faulty or counterfeit products.

"This new Center of Excellence for Security Innovation further establishes [the University of Connecticut] as a national leader in hardware security analysis and technology," Kazem Kazerounian, dean of the University of Connecticut's' School of Engineering, said in a statement. "It is yet another example of how academic-industry partnerships can advance science, improve people's lives, and create a new generation of highly-skilled workers prepared to resolve the technological challenges facing our nation and world today."

The new center will be located in the University's Information Technologies Engineering building in Storrs, during a break in a two-day national conference at the school on secure/trustworthy systems and supply chain assurance sponsored by the Center for Hardware Assurance, Security and Engineering.

"UConn's [Center for Hardware Assurance, Security and Engineering ]faculty is eager to work with Comcast and other industry leaders in developing robust, secure and trustworthy hardware technologies and detection techniques that provide unprecedented assurance in today's rapidly evolving hardware environment," Mark Tehranipoor, the director of Center for Hardware Assurance, Security and Engineering, who will also be serving as director of the Center of Excellence for Security Innovation, said in a statement.

The Center of Excellence for Security Innovation expands the longstanding relationship between Comcast and the University's school of Engineering.