Structurally Sound - Institute for Homeland Security

Structurally Sound - Institute for Homeland Security

Structurally Sound is a podcast produced by the Institute for Homeland Security (IHS) at Sam Houston State University. The podcast will be a game-changer for small to medium-sized businesses looking for the latest best practices in security and resilience. We want to inspire professionals like you to help you achieve your goals. New episodes are available on first and third Mondays each month!

Episodes

Before, During and After a Crisis, with Justen Noakes

August 3, 2025 • 38 mins
All disasters are local. Disaster preparation often comes down to reliable information and accessible routine. This week, we chat with Justen Noakes, the Executive Director of Before/During/After and HEB's former "hurricane guy," about how an accessible and localized information hub can help small business plan, react and recover from crises. Noakes has also written a research paper for IHS on supply chain management and problem so...
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Avoiding Freight Fraud with Matthew Wood

July 20, 2025 • 56 mins
We all depend on products delivered by trucks. Shipping industries are a vital part of critical infrastructure at risk of unique scams and fraud - even when goods themselves make it from Point A to Point B just fine. This week, we chat with Matthew Wood, vice president of strategic relationships and general manager of Cedar Bluff Companies, about proactive steps to detect and avoid freight fraud. You can also learn more f...
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Farewell Grant

July 14, 2025 • 30 mins
This week, we give a fond send off to Grant Threat, transportation project manager and podcast co-host extraordinaire, who is moving to a new role in critical infrastructure. We also chat a bit about the devastating flooding in Kerrville, Texas. Here's a list of charities collecting donations: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/where-to-donate-help-central-texas-flood-recovery/
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Monitoring, Measuring & Regulating AI in Critical Infrastructure with Michael Echols

June 16, 2025 • 44 mins
Artificial intelligence is evolving rapidly, emerging in a variety of programs and technologies in critical infrastructure. Michael Echols from MAX Cybersecurity argues that adoption needs to be measurable and intentional - not surprising or under the radar. We also touch on news that AI programs can decline instructions to shut down and Echol's book on cybersecurity and his new book on AI.
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Digital Transformation & Innovation Strategy with Nadia Vincent

June 2, 2025 • 42 mins
Embracing new technology brings risks and rewards. On the one hand, adopting the right emerging tech and tools can enhance, elevate and streamline your business. On the other hand, adopting the wrong new tools can be expensive and burdensome for employees or customers. The key is strategy - planning deliberately, not hopping on a bandwagon. This week, we explore that strategy in the transportation sector with digital transform...
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Maritime Security at the Top of the World with Rob Crane & Scott McHugh

May 19, 2025 • 55 mins
The Arctic environment is shifting - literally and figuratively. There are unique and varied opportunities and risks for critical infrastructure and national security in and around Alaska and the Arctic Circle. This week, we're joined by IHS program executives Scott McHugh and Robert Crane to chat about last week's Maritime Risk Symposium and the emerging arctic landscape.
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Simulated Disasters and Board Games with James Meaux and John Suarez

May 5, 2025 • 51 mins
How do you plan for a disaster? There's only so much you can do with paperwork and theory, but you also don't want to wait for an actual crisis to develop a strategy. That's where simulations come in - and, often, adaptive board games and training exercises. This week, we chat with James Meaux, the regional training and exercise coordinator for SETRAC, and John Suarez, project manager for the health and public health sectors at IHS...
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Agility, Transparency and Resiliency: Understanding When Things Change

April 21, 2025 • 9 mins
is recognizing when circumstances have changed and adapting to compensate, even if it means changing plans. We've got a short podcast today about responding honestly to curve balls.
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How Quantum Computers Could Break the Internet with Nick Reese

April 7, 2025 • 56 mins
Current computers use binary code, a series of ones and zeroes that are arranged methodically in lines of code. They're entirely linear - everything is step by step by step, a one or a zero at a time. That's not the case for quantum computers, the "weird" new computational technology that could shred conventional encryption methods and turn digital infrastructure upside-down. This week, we explore quantum computing w...
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Water Recap & Planning for the Future with Reyna Loosmore and Grant Threatt

March 17, 2025 • 34 mins
This week on Structurally Sound, we share our biggest takeaways from our water infrastructure mini-series and discuss the future of water in Texas. We chat with Reyna Loosmore, Water & Wastewater Sector Project Manager and feature the triumphant return of co-host Grant Threatt, Transportation Systems Project Manager.

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Future Water Economic Impact on Small and Rural Communities with Lia Clark & Jason Knobloch

March 3, 2025 • 46 mins
The vast majority of community water systems in Texas are rural, with 10,000 or fewer residential connections. That's also where most of our population growth is headed. How can small water systems plan, update and adapt their aging infrastructure? This week, we chat with Ms. Lia Clark, Community Engagement Manager with the Water Finance Exchange, and Mr. Jason Knobloch, Deputy Executive Director with the Texas Rural Water Ass...
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Vulnerabilities of Critical Infrastructure Interdependencies with Mike Mastrangelo and Elston Johnson

February 23, 2025 • 39 mins
What happens if the water goes out at a hospital? What if the tap dries up during a broader crisis, like a hurricane or a winter storm? With thoughtful planning and careful training, plus cooperation and coordination between sectors, some of those risks can be reduced. This week, we chat with Mike Mastrangelo, Emergency Management and Public Health Expert, and Elston Johnson, president and owner of Elston Johnson & As...
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A Dry Tap: Water Supply Challenges with Dan Hunter and L'Oreal Stepney

February 7, 2025 • 46 mins
There are at least two ways of approaching water challenges - conserving and maximizing the water we have and strategizing solutions for water we don't have. That's especially true in the Rio Grande Valley. This week, we chat about both with the newly appointed Chairwoman of the Texas Water Development Board, L'Oreal Stepney and Assistant Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Dan Hunter. We also explore an important water treat...
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Unique Water Challenges for a Unique State with Trey Gerfers and Dominik Sobieraj

February 4, 2025 • 58 mins
Texas is big. So are our water challenges. This week, we chat with guests in the far corners of the Lone Star State about varied challenges and opportunities in water infrastructure and preservation. We're joined by Trey Gerfers, General Manager with the Presidio County Underground Water Conservation District in Marfa and Dominik Sobieraj, Chief Operating Officer, with the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District in ...
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Against the Flow: Workforce Challenges with Adelaida Mayorga and Jacquelyn Knobloch

January 27, 2025 • 43 mins

Water and wastewater are essential parts of our daily routines and our critical infrastructure. It only works, though, if talented employees sign up to build and innovate the field. How can we encourage folks to explore water careers? This week, we chat with Adelaida Mayorga, Continuing Education Professor at Houston Community College Northeast Campus, and Jacquelyn Knobloch, Apprenticeship Progra...

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Security Spotlight: Hardening Water Security with Dr. Narasimha Shashidhar, Dr. Cihan Varol and Robert Warren

January 17, 2025 • 36 mins

Some security threats to water and wastewater security are new and unique. Others are the same threats faced by every organization in the digital age. This week, we talk about proactive security strategies in the water and wastewater sector with Dr. Narasimha Shashidhar, Dr. Cihan Varol and Robert Warren. 

Additionally, our guests mentioned a 2021 cyberattack on a water treatment facility in Florida. Here's a link to ...

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Water Security and Critical Infrastructure Intro with Reyna Loosmore

January 6, 2025 • 20 mins

You may not think much about your tap water until it stops working - but you should. Keeping clean water flowing is a vital and complicated part of our infrastructure. This week, we're launching a new mini-series on water security and critical infrastructure with Reyna Loosmore, a project manager for water and wastewater at the Institute for Homeland Security.

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Getting Started in Emergency & Crisis Management with Vincent Ng

December 16, 2024 • 48 mins
What's the difference between emergency management and crisis management, and how can someone get started in either? The short answers are internships, saying yes to career opportunities, and not as different as you might think. This week, we chat with Vincent Ng, the Chief Operating Officer at Prestige Analytics, about opportunities and changes in emergency management careers.
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Transitioning from Military to Critical Infrastructure Careers with David Glaser, Jim Platt & Robert Crane

December 1, 2024 • 25 mins
Critical infrastructure is constantly evolving. Public and private sector careers need dedicated and adaptable employees to innovate new strategies and solutions; often, military veterans and those transitioning out of active service are strong candidates for those jobs, although the transition out of uniform can feel daunting. This week, we chat about networking and career moves with Ret. Major General David Glaser, President...
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Overreliance and Resiliency in Space The Whens and Wheres of GPS Technology with Jim Platt and Rob Crane

November 18, 2024 • 39 mins
Are we over-reliant on global positioning satellites? The technology is an essential part of a spectrum of technologies, including in critical infrastructure, and losing access to it could be disastrous. This week, we chat with Jim Platt, president and CEO of Strategic Risk Integration, and Robert Crane, a project manager for the energy sector and Position-Navigation-Timing for the Institute for Homeland Security, about steps ...
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