Strengthening Science And Technology
In The Department Of Homeland Security

(Approved by the IEEE-USA
Board of Directors, 12 Feb. 2004)

Terrorist attacks on the citizens and infrastructure of the United States have been with us for years, and are likely to persist into the future. To counter this threat requires immediate action, including deploying the best available technologies to address known threats. The United States also needs a forward-looking research and development program to explore relevant science and develop new technologies needed to protect our critical infrastructures and reduce vulnerabilities to terrorism.

IEEE-USA urges Congress and the Administration to support an aggressive basic and applied research program at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to meet the long-term technological challenge of the future in homeland security. This program will require significant continuing investment. While the bulk of the investment will inevitably be targeted at short-term results, a robust program of basic and applied research is essential to its future. In the words of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, PCAST, report of 5 September, 2002, "DHS should have an integrated, full spectrum R&D capability, from research through deployment."

IEEE-USA also recommends that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continue to strengthen its collaborations with other federal agencies that support basic and applied R&D relevant to homeland security.

Federal investment in homeland security research and development should be based on and guided by the following principles:

• A robust DHS program of science and technology is vital to homeland security.

Research and development are essential parts of the homeland security mission. Congress should see to it that a robust program of science and technology exists in DHS. The Department of Homeland Security must have the capability and resources to create and exploit the technologies the nation will need to fight the terrorist threats of the future, both in the short-term, and over the next decades. Most R&D programs within DHS are the responsibility of the Directorate of Science and Technology. The R&D thrust of the DHS will be conducted primarily by the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency.

A DHS Science and Technology (S&T) office with a comprehensive view of the threats facing the nation can place resources on those particular S&T areas that best address future security needs. Technology areas that warrant consideration are sensors, communication networks, information databases, biometrics, standards for security products, devices and systems for infrastructure protection, and technology for integrated network centric operations.

• DHS must take advantage of R&D programs by other Federal agencies.

Coordination and collaboration with other government agencies, especially the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health, will result in more effective use of R&D resources. Interoperable communication network technologies, for example, would greatly assist emergency workers in responding to disasters like that of 9/11, where firefighters, policemen, medical personnel and Army units on the scene could not communicate effectively with one another, resulting in unnecessary loss of life. The Army supports R&D to address similar problems on the battlefield, where military units from different command structures and services need to communicate with one another. The DHS will clearly benefit from these activities.

• Basic research is key to creating the next generation of security technology.

The DHS must create and sustain a critical research capability oriented to the civil sector's security needs. Basic research is needed in biological and environmental effects, advanced information analysis, and the chemistry and physics of emerging threats. Engineering research and development of new technologies for threat detection, personnel identification, remote sensing of nuclear, biological or chemical sources, and remediation are among the many areas that need support.

This statement was developed by IEEE-USA's Research and Development Policy Committee and represents the considered judgment of a group of U.S. IEEE members with expertise in the subject field. IEEE-USA is an organizational unit of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., created in 1973 to advance the public good, while promoting the careers and public-policy interests of the more than 235,000 electrical, electronics, computer and software engineers who are U.S. members of the IEEE. The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society. For more information, go to http://www.ieeeusa.org.

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Last Updated: 17 February 2004
Staff Contact: Bill Williams, bill.williams@ieee.org

Copyright © 2004 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
Permission to copy granted for non-commercial uses with appropriate attribution.