University Launches Center for Counterterrorism and Forensics

The University of Central Oklahoma and Coventry University of England are combining forensic science and protective security research.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Terrorism

Isometric editorial illustration of a sealed glass specimen vessel on a plinth between two shield forms, against a flat prairie horizon. — The University of Central Oklahoma and Coventry University of England signed an agreement creating a Center for Counterterrorism and Forensics focused on insider threats and infrastructure protection. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

The University of Central Oklahoma and Coventry University have established the Center for Counterterrorism and Forensics, uniting UCO's W. Roger Webb Forensic Science Institute with Coventry's Protective Security Lab. The memorandum of understanding was signed at Coventry University's campus in Coventry, England, and builds on a partnership announced in 2024.

Why it matters

The center targets insider threats, personal safety, critical infrastructure protection, and forensic responses to security incidents, areas of growing concern for public institutions. Its work is directed at practical security challenges rather than theory alone.

The center is newly established under a memorandum of understanding signed in England, with no completed cases or research findings reported yet. Its Oklahoma base is the W. Roger Webb Forensic Science Institute, which offers four bachelor's, four master's, and one doctoral forensic science degree.

The players

University of Central Oklahoma

A public university in Edmond, Oklahoma, home to the W. Roger Webb Forensic Science Institute.

Coventry University

A public university in Coventry, England, whose Protective Security Lab is part of the new center.

The details

Coventry University faculty and students will collaborate with UCO researchers in the United States under the new center. Additional funds for the Forensic Science Institute expansion were secured through the federal Community Project Funding program.

2009: The Forensic Science Institute began with fewer than 100 students.
2024: The partnership between the two institutions was first announced.
November 4, 2026: The memorandum of understanding establishing the center was signed.

Season Trajectory

The center's proposed research on security for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and Oklahoma City places its work ahead of major international events hosted in the United States. A planned U.S.-U.K. advisory board would extend that work to shared national and international security challenges.

Oklahoma residents may see expanded forensic science programs and security research tied to the state's public universities. The planned Olympic-related security studies could affect planning for large public gatherings in Oklahoma City in the years ahead.

The takeaway

Academic partnerships are increasingly bringing forensic science and protective security research together to address practical threats. Readers interested in this field can follow how these programs develop as the planned research begins.