Homeland Security Official, Business Leaders
Discuss Technologies to Protect United States at
IEEE Homeland Security Conference
WASHINGTON (22 May 2008)
—
People everywhere
have to be free of large-scale catastrophes to
pursue their dreams and enjoy life.
In
the United States, the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) is the federal agency charged
with protecting our nation from terrorist
attacks and making it a more secure place to
live, work and visit.
To
that end, DHS, through its Science & Technology
(S&T) Directorate, works to evaluate and
commercialize technology that leads to products,
systems and services that help protect the
United States from a wide variety of attacks.
Attendees at the 2008 IEEE International
Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security
at the Westin Waltham Boston found out about
some of these technologies from a "Business
Panel" of experts Tuesday 13 May.
"At
the end of the day we want to deliver products
that protect people and property," said business
panel honorary chair Dr. Thomas A. Cellucci,
chief commercialization officer, DHS S&T.
The
two-day 2008 IEEE Homeland Security Conference
was the eighth one organized by the IEEE Boston
Section following the terrorist attacks of 11
September 2001. The conference continues to grow
and this year had more than 450 attendees from
the United States and abroad. Industry sponsors
included SAIC, Raytheon and the Massachusetts
Port Authority (Massport).
IEEE-USA became a co-sponsor in 2007.
Cellucci, who earned his doctorate in physical
chemistry, presented an overview of DHS S&T's
technology commercialization programs. He
related how he gets numerous e-mails each day
from business executives telling him that their
company is "the only one in the world" that has
a specific product or capability. He suggests to
those who fill his in-box with hyperbole to
"show us the difference."
Cellucci explained that DHS is working
diligently to develop detailed operational
requirements and provide conservative estimates
of potential markets in DHS and first responder
communities. He would like to avoid the current
situation of companies who approach DHS "with
solutions looking for problems."
This
represents "an open and fair way to create a
cost-effective and efficient relationship
between the private sector and DHS in which
mutually beneficial, win-win partnerships are
created," Cellucci said.
Dennis Treece, Massport's director of corporate
security, who works closely with the
Transportation Security Agency (TSA) to pilot
innovative technologies and programs, concurred
with Cellucci.
"We
have vendors come to us and tell us what their
product can do, but they too often have not done
the research to find out what our problems
really are," Treece said. "Massport operates
aviation, port and surface transportation assets
in the Boston area. A technology that may have
security benefits could also be hugely
disruptive to our operations."
To
help the technology innovation community learn
about the security, safety and operational
requirements of Massport facilities, Treece
started the Transportation Security Center of
Excellence (TSCE). Logan Airport is one of TSA's
six designated technology pilot sites. Since its
launch in 2003, the TSCE has reviewed 78 new
technologies and programs, 18 of which went to
full pilot stage. Several of these were adopted,
not only by Massport but also by other airports
and ports. Treece credits Massport staff.
"The
TSCE operates with help from volunteers among
the Massport security and emergency responder
community, as well as with support from the TSA,
and Massport department, engineering and
information technology staff," he said.
Cellucci and Treece were joined on the panel by
Patrick Ciganer, executive vice president,
In-Q-Tel; Ralph E. Taylor-Smith, general
partner, Battelle Ventures; Arthur Robert,
industry director, Defense & Renewable Energy
Technologies, Massachusetts Office of Business
Development; and Robert Seelandt, partner
manager, MetaCarta, Inc.
Gregory Bialecki, undersecretary, Executive
Office of Housing and Economic Development,
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, delivered the
keynote address that day and welcomed the panel.
In-Q-Tel, which was launched by the CIA in 1999,
identifies and partners with companies that
deliver cutting-edge technologies to the CIA and
the broader U.S. intelligence community. Ciganer
discussed one company, Keyhole, that In-Q-Tel
funded. Keyhole had developed a virtual globe —
Earth Viewer — which Google acquired in 2004.
The application is now part of Google Earth,
Google Earth Plus and Google Earth Pro.
Like
the Internet, Google Earth is an example of how
U.S. government investment can stimulate
economic activity, generate jobs and eventually
benefit people all over the world.
IEEE-USA advances the public good and promotes
the careers and public policy interests of more
than 215,000 engineers, scientists and allied
professionals who are U.S. members of the IEEE.
IEEE-USA is part of the IEEE, the world's
largest technical professional society with
375,000 members in 160 countries. See
www.ieeeusa.org.
