Martin speaks on protecting America from terrorism threat
The September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, followed by the Anthrax scare, have heightened the anxiety and exposed the vulnerability of America, perhaps as never before. Protecting America--its people and institutions--in the face of terrorist attacks is now a national priority.
Steve Martin
Innovative technologies under development at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are helping in the mission to make the country a safer place to live. On May 22, Steve Martin, a Senior Program Manager at PNNL, provided local citizens with an overview of the numerous research activities under way at PNNL for combating terrorism. Martin was the featured speaker at the Community Science and Technology Seminar Series, sponsored by PNNL and CBC.
"PNNL provides its full spectrum of science, engineering and technology to help detect, protect, mitigate and respond to the threats and manage the consequences of terrorist attacks," Martin said. "As a national laboratory, we can bring the breadth and depth of facilities, capabilities and expertise to bear on a problem of this magnitude."
According to Martin, PNNL was conducting research aimed at preventing terrorism long before September 11. "Terrorism is nothing new to society," he indicated. "September 11 has elevated it to a much higher level of interest and priority."
Martin's presentation covered topics such as PNNL's research in cyber security, vulnerability assessment of the nation's infrastructures, training and equipping border personnel to identify and stop smuggling of weapons of mass destruction, and managing and responding to terrorist incidents.
Among the innovative technologies he highligted was the PNNL-developed milliwave security scanner, which allows security guards at airports to "see" the full spectrum of concealed weapons, including non-metallic threats such as plastic explosives and weapons.
Also featured was the Acoustic Inspection Device, a hand-held, portable technology that uses ultrasound to inspect sealed containers for hidden contraband, and Starlight, an information visualization software that sorts hundreds of thousands of bits of separate data into related groups, enabling the user to analyze the information quickly and easily.
Martin is responsible for the development of science and technology programs for homeland security at PNNL. This includes law enforcement and forensics, anti-terrorism, critical infrastructure protection, emergency response planning and crises and consequence management.
Before joining PNNL, Martin served 17 years as a Special Agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations responsible for conducting major criminal and fraud investigations as well as implementing counterterrorism and counterintelligence programs.
"The events of September 11 have highlighted the fact that we are vulnerable to terrorist attacks at home, not just abroad," Martin said. "Research at PNNL can help reduce the risks associated with the threat of terrorism and may in some small way help to reduce the fears associated with such events."
