The Power to Tell Your Story

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Down in the green, rolling hills and farmlands of Kentucky, Darrell Taulbee can often be found mixing up a batch of his homegrown fertilizer. But Taulbee isn't looking to grow a better Big Boy or distill a smoother bourbon, he tells us. Funded by the University of Kentucky and the Homeland Security's Science & Technology Directorate (S&T), he sets his sights on something far more sinister. Darrell Taulbee putters with this stuff to make sure another Oklahoma bombing never happens again.

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"A hard rain's a-gonna fall," Dylan sang. But when rain and storm surges fall on lands protected by weak levees, this means trouble"¦big trouble. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were devastating reminders of this frightening fact. How then can we limit trouble when a levee breaches or, better yet, prevent such a break from ever happening again?

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The world is a different place beyond the ocean horizon, where thousands of merchant ships ply the all the world's waterways. How do these ships come by their cargos, and in what untamed ports? Along the journey, pry open a container and what will you find? If you're not sure, that spells danger.

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These days, a drive across a bridge is not always a pleasure cruise. Mindful of the war on terrorism, it can often be a cautious experience. This summer, the possibility of sabotage was quickly examined"”then dismissed"”when the I35W bridge tragically collapsed in Minneapolis.

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A plot to blow up transatlantic airplanes with liquid explosives was uncovered in London in August 06, and pressure has increased to find new ways to detect liquids. Now, Homeland Security's Science & Technology Directorate is teaming with scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory to develop a possible solution.

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In any one day, homeland security and law enforcement agencies might sift through thousands of complex and often contradictory clues about potential terrorist threats. To thwart another September 11, analysts must meld the encyclopedic eye of Google-age technology with Sherlock Holmes's inductive genius.

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There's safety (and security) in numbers " -- especially when those numbers are random. That's the lesson learned from a DHS-sponsored research project out of the University of Southern California (USC). The research is already helping to beef up security at LAX airport in Los Angeles, and it could soon be used across the country to predict and minimize risk.

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When first responders and security guards came to the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate's Tell-Us-What-You-Need table, heading their list was an emergency escape hood worthy of James Bond. It was a very tall order.

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Move over, drills, saws, and jackhammers. Now there's something much faster for search-and-rescue missions. And, Homeland Security's new Concrete Buster just won a technology Best-of-the-Year Award from Popular Science.

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What's possible when a group of scientists are inspired by a famous superhero and a giant creature from the sea? How about a new technology for stopping the bad guys in their tracks?

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Immediately after the liquid explosive bomb plot was uncovered in London in August 2006, the Department of Homeland Security's Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) looked to to find ways to not only detect liquids in baggage and on passengers, but also to figure out what those liquids are. Now, S&T-sponsored scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a possible solution.

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Underwater sensors and forecast models provide lifesaving information on wind and water conditions to emergency teams responding to US Airways Flight 1549 crash.

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Ruggedized, self-contained cameras, similar in concept to the black box used in aircraft, would record video data that could be retrieved by investigators following a catastrophic incident.

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A Department of Homeland Security-sponsored environmental health scientist has given some of his best years to spittle.

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Every brain has a soundtrack -- probably many. Can we make them work for us?

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Two new forensic camera prototypes were tested in a bombing last month aboard a mass transit bus. They survived. But how did their chips do?

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Triage technology comes with a Star Trek twist, at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science & Technology Directorate (DHS S&T).

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They're digging tunnels along the US border at a fast and furious pace, but not a single one of them has ever been discovered by US border patrol agents using technology. That's going to change.

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Most of us take the electric current behind our power buttons for granted, assuming the juice will be there when we need it. But will it? Homeland Security's Science & Technology Directorate is working on a new superconducting cable to make sure it is.

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When Homeland Security's Tom Chirhart went looking for volunteers to test a new multiband radio that allows first responders to talk to one another across different frequency bands, the line of interested agencies was long and very eager.

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The levee failures during Hurricane Katrina are still fresh in the American mind. Homeland Security's Wil Laska wants to make sure that if we cannot completely prevent levee breaches, we have a fast remedy for when they DO occur.

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Scores of homeland security research initiatives will be tackled and discussed at the Summit in Washington, March 10-12, 2010. Open and free to all, but space is limited.

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Natural disasters - like toddlers with crayons - leave a mess all over the map, spilling across federal, state, and local lines. To clean up, different agencies and jurisdictions must come together and share what they know.

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Tired of tossing your water, and putting your toiletries in those little airport baggies? Washington feels your pain.

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The nation's First Responders and it's Homeland Security officials can now collaborate and exchange information and ideas in a new virtual community.

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DHS investigates the risks of airborne chemicals and biological agents in subways.

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Is that lunchbox under the park bench a bomb, or someone's leftovers? The Optical Dynamic Detection (ODD) solution provides a new and better way to detect explosives.

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Combating a frequently overlooked assassin: Water.

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Crowdsourcing cell phones to detect toxic chemicals.

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Last year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI jointly warned of terrorist interest in attacking crowded stadiums. Small wonder: A bomb or noxious plume released over a throng of captive sports fans would cause major-league mayhem.

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While no terrorist has managed to deploy a dirty bomb, the same cannot be said of chemical agents. In a series of tests still underway researchers are using lasers to scrub surfaces clean of sulfur mustard gas and VX, a nerve agent. The tests have proved successful so far, even on complex, porous surfaces like concrete.

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Officials are now working on a pilot program to coordinate food recalls on a secure online platform sponsored by the National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD), a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center of Excellence.

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First responders need and deserve the best tools and practices available to help save lives and protect property. The responsibility of identifying the gaps in existing technology – and working to fill those gaps – belongs to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T).

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360° surveillance video promises high-res detail, multiple views, and DVR features.

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Superconductor cable prevents electric grid blackouts.

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For 18 horrific hours on April 3, 1974, a cataclysmic group of tornados spun through and sacked 13 states and one Canadian province, ravaging some 900 square miles and killing 148 people. An iconic photo snapped afterwards speaks a thousand words: amid devastation, one thing remained intact: an interior bathroom of a single house, whose walls had not been connected to the rest of the house.

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A document, even one created by persons determined to remain unknown, can reveal more than its authors intended.

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When a bomb technician inspects a potential explosive device, the bulky protective suit might be the only defense he or she has.

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New computer model software is being used to simulate Pakistan's flooding, estimate the drawdown of the floodwaters, and predict how long it will take the waters to recede.

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The April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico reminded emergency managers just how critical it is to share up-to-date information in a disaster. When the oil washed up on beaches and threatened lives and property, many agencies had to coordinate rapidly to contain the threat.

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Emergency alert system messages, usually broadcast over television or radio, are effective at reaching people in their homes, but the Federal Government is now connecting with an increasingly mobile American population. Cell phones are ideal.

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Engineers are working to develop a blast-resistant glass that is lighter, thinner, and colorless, yet tough enough to withstand the force of an explosion, earthquake, or hurricane winds . Today's blast-resistant windows are made of pure polymer layers, but this is a plastic composite with an interlayer of polymer reinforced with glass fibers.

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A new disaster preparedness tool from Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate calculates casualty estimates.

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Plants can detect environmental contaminants, perhaps even explosives, by rewiring their natural signaling process so that detection of the bad stuff results in the loss of green color.

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With help from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T), the Secret Service is giving training scenarios a high-tech edge: moving from static tabletop models to virtual kiosks with gaming technology and 3D modeling.

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This year's DHS Science Conference will focus on the role of transportation systems in preventing, mitigating, responding to, and recovering from natural or man-made disasters. In interactive sessions, leading researchers, innovators, and experts will explore transportation as a complex system of infrastructure, networks, and people. In addition, all the DHS Centers of Excellence will demonstrate their tools and technologies.

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The DHS Science and Technology Directorate's First Responder Communities of Practice* launches a Virtual Social Media Working Group (VSMWG) to provide recommendations to the emergency preparedness, response, and homeland security communities on the safe and sustainable use of social media technologies before, during, and after emergencies.

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When Hansel and Gretel ventured into the forest, they left a trail of breadcrumbs to find their way home. Firefighters rushing into a burning building need the equivalent.

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The Department of Homeland Security(DHS)'s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has developed a miniaturized version of a dosimeter, a portable device used for measuring exposure to ionizing radiation, which can provide life-saving early detection in the unlikely event of a nuclear accident or dirty bomb.

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When an emergency happens, many now rely on social media to call for help, stay up to date with the latest news, and share information. Social media tools also can provide the nation’s first responders with ways to share information. Now they have a place to talk about it.