CBP's Christopher Milowic Wins Top Technology Award for Work on WHTI

Washington – U.S. Customs and Border Protection is honored to announce the selection of Christopher Milowic, director of the Land Border Integration Branch, Passenger Systems in the agency's Office of Information and Technology, as winner of the 2011 TechAmerica Foundation Program Manager of the Year Award.

Milowic won the award at this year’s 9th Annual Technology and Government Dinner held in Washington. Hundreds of tech industry, congressional and government leaders came together to celebrate partnership between industry and the government. TechAmerica Foundation is considered to be a leading voice and resource for the U.S. technology industry and educates government and industry leaders on technological innovations.

Nominated for his dynamic work on the innovative Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, Milowic was selected by a panel of industry experts and technology companies. WHTI was the first fully implemented 9/11 Commission border recommendation, designed to enhance border security while facilitating lawful cross- border travel through the use of technology between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Milowic successfully handled all technical aspects of this major undertaking in close coordination with the CBP Office of Field Operations, developing innovative applications for the improved identification of travelers and expanding safe and secure travel for all legitimate travelers throughout the world.

The WHTI program involved the deployment of radio frequency identification, license plate reader technology, and associated information technology infrastructure to CBP land border ports of entry. More than 400 lanes of WHTI equipment were deployed to ports nationwide under a very aggressive development, test and installation schedule.

A major component of WHTI was the introduction of radio frequency identification travel documents such as enhanced drivers licenses, U.S. passport cards and U.S. border crossing cards. This important program also included the development and deployment of the Vehicle Primary Client software application, which provides CBP officers with a modern, highly productive interface to present traveler data obtained from RFID and license plate readers and performs queries against secure CBP and other agency databases. This application rapidly completes the screening of travelers and vehicles crossing the land border for increased security while not impacting wait times.

The CBP Office of Technology is responsible for agency software development, infrastructure service and support, tactical communications, research and development functions and IT modernization initiatives that support CBP.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.