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 join our mailing list and talk with the CATIS leadership team to learn more about the Center before deciding whether to join as members.
The first CATIS planning meeting took place in person on May 19–20, 2026 in Albany, New York, where prospective members and partners discussed research priorities, collaboration opportunities, and membership structure.
A one-day online planning meeting is planned for December 2026. It is open to anyone interested in CATIS, including those who attended in May, and will cover how the Center will operate and the research projects it can offer. The date and registration details will be announced soon.
Organizations interested in CATIS can:
Creation of an IUCRC follows a clear and structured process as defined by NSF. Between February and May 2026, we hosted two online information sessions and an in-person planning meeting, where organizations participated without any commitment.
The next step is to secure letters of membership commitment for inclusion in the Phase I proposal to NSF.
If the Center is awarded, 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.
Intellectual property remains with the universities. Full and associate members receive a non-exclusive license to intellectual property developed through the Center. 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 $70,000 per year and associate membership at $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 complete the form on the Contact page.