The Cyber and Terrorism Insurance Studies (CATIS) Center is a proposed NSF Industry University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) jointly led by the University at Albany (SUNY) and the University of Michigan.
The Center focuses on catastrophic cyber risk and terrorism risk insurance by bringing together academia, industry, and government stakeholders to develop improved approaches to:
The goal is to support the broader insurance and risk ecosystem by making catastrophic cyber and terrorism risks more measurable, insurable, and manageable.
The IUCRC (Industry University Cooperative Research Center) program is a long-standing National Science Foundation initiative that supports structured collaboration between universities and industry.
In this model:
Industry members collectively guide the research agenda and vote on which projects are funded each year. See iucrc.nsf.gov for more information.
CATIS is designed to bring together stakeholders across the cyber and insurance ecosystem, including:
Proposed research themes include, but are not limited to:
Final research priorities will be determined collaboratively with industry members.
CATIS plans to offer three types of membership.
Full Membership
Associate Membership
Affiliate Membership*
*Affiliate members do not have voting rights.
Membership is annual. Organizations can decide each year whether they wish to continue participation.
Organizations contributing double the full membership fee will receive double voting weight when Industry Advisory Board members vote on project selections.
Yes. Organizations are welcome to attend the planning workshop to learn more about the Center and participate in discussions before deciding whether to join as members.
The CATIS planning meeting is scheduled for May 19–20, 2026 in Albany, New York.
This meeting will bring together industry participants and researchers to refine research priorities and discuss potential projects.
Another IUCRC planning effort led by MIT and Indiana University is exploring related topics.
Both initiatives are currently in the planning phase. If both groups secure sufficient industry commitments and submit Phase I proposals, NSF will determine whether one or both centers proceed.
Organizations interested in CATIS can:
Creation of an IUCRC follows a clear and structured process as defined by NSF. In Spring 2026, we will host additional information sessions and an in-person planning meeting in May, where organizations can participate without any commitment.
Following the planning meeting, our goal is to secure letters of membership commitment in May–June for inclusion in the Phase I proposal. We plan to submit the Phase I proposal to NSF in June–July 2026.
If the Center is awarded, CATIS is expected to become operational around November 2026. At that stage, members will actively participate in project selection, research reviews, and ongoing feedback and direction of the Center's activities on an annual basis.
CATIS will follow the standard NSF IUCRC intellectual property model, which is designed to support collaborative, pre-competitive research while ensuring broad access to results.
All full and associate members will receive royalty-free access to the research outputs generated during their membership period. This includes reports, models, tools, and other deliverables developed through the Center.
In this model, universities typically retain ownership of intellectual property, while members are granted the rights to use the results internally. This structure allows all members to benefit from shared research outcomes while maintaining a clear and well-established framework for intellectual property management.
The level of commitment is designed to be both flexible and manageable. Membership is annual, with full membership at approximately $70,000 per year and associate membership at approximately $35,000 per year. There is no multi-year obligation, allowing organizations to evaluate participation on a yearly basis.
In terms of time and engagement, members are expected to participate in key activities such as annual meetings, project selection discussions, and research reviews. Organizations can choose their level of involvement beyond this, ranging from providing strategic input to more active collaboration with researchers or engagement with student teams.
Overall, CATIS is structured to provide meaningful influence and access to high-value research while keeping the required time and resource commitment practical for participating organizations.
You can stay informed about CATIS activities by joining our email distribution list and regularly visiting the CATIS website.
We will share updates on upcoming information sessions, planning meetings, research developments, and membership opportunities through these channels.
If you would like to be added to the mailing list, please use the sign-up option on the Contact page.