Technologically Speaking

What is that Future World Gonna Look Like?

In the final episode of Technologically Speaking Season 5, host Brittany Greco and S&T Senior Advisor Kristin Wyckoff explore how the Directorate is helping DHS and its components to see over the horizon through foresighting. By understanding the landscape and developing a matrix of emerging threats, S&T will direct R&D towards solutions to defeat those threats—and shape the future of homeland security. Wyckoff explains how S&T’s work across DHS and with international, industry, and academic partners uniquely positions her team to leverage these stakeholders’ experiences and expertise to help secure a brighter and safer future for us all.

We Need to Be Ahead of That Threat

Host Brittany Greco and Air, Land, and Ports of Entry Program Manager Saadat Laiq have an important conversation about new technology solutions to assist Department of Homeland Security component agencies and frontline responders secure our borders and points of entry. They discuss everything from the Big Wing drone to Multi-Energy Portal cargo scanners to S&T’s aviation security portfolio and keeping an eye on ships at sea. And how to how to cross a body of water on a bike!

What We Both Gain from a Closer Relationship

In this episode of Technologically Speaking, John Han of our International Cooperative Programs Office joins host Brittany Greco for a wide-ranging discussion about his role as S&T’s attaché to Singapore. They discuss topics ranging from the Directorate’s critical research and development priorities in the Indo-Pacific region to the strategic importance of Singapore to what you must eat if you ever visit (hint: it’s spicy!).

You Can Get Any Result Once

In this episode, host Brittany Greco sits down with S&T Senior Standards Advisor Renee Stevens for a lively discussion about how setting standards for technology development can actually be a matter of life, death, and national security. You’ll hear how the faith that we put in everyday things (like seatbelts) is directly related to the faith and confidence we put in millimeter wave technology at airport checkpoints, law enforcement ballistic helmets, computers, and the security of artificial intelligence systems. Stevens explains how proper standards-setting protects everyone, from first responders in the field to the American public.

Good Chance You’re Going to Save Lives

S&T Program Manager Anthony Caracciolo has helped to usher in new, innovative technology to support our nation’s first responders and help them to save more lives. In this episode, Anthony and host Deepak Saini discuss digitizing building floorplans, enabling detection of life through walls, contactless vehicle stoppage, and more. You will also learn about his childhood in New York City and how having an older brother who was a cop led to a passion for making all responders safer in the field.

Better, Faster, More Effective

Emergency Prevention and Response Director Luke Watko joins host Dee Saini to talk about how S&T gathers and prioritizes first responders’ technology needs and drives innovation to help them safely answer every call. You’ll hear about tech that helps firefighters find their way out of complete darkness, another that allows colleagues to pinpoint their location to within a centimeter if they are in trouble, and how artificial intelligence and virtual reality can support agency operations. Watko also shares how his journey from an Arizona mining town to the Air Force landed him at S&T and how responders on the front lines during the pandemic influenced the trajectory of his career.

We Take the Load Off of Them

In this episode host Brittany Greco joins National Urban Security Technology Laboratory Engineer Cassy Robinson for a conversation about her work with the Big City Fire Working Group, bringing together the national fire community to identify technology gaps S&T can fill. She explains how she went from growing peaches on the farm in rural South Carolina to operating search and rescue robots at Ground Zero on 911 and how this fascinating journey led her to the Department of Homeland Security.

Different Pieces and Systems

In the first Season 5 episode of Technologically Speaking, host Dee Saini chats with Russell Becker, director of S&T’s Office for Interoperability and Compatibility, about the technologies in place that power our communities’ emergency response channels. Learn about challenges agencies face when responding to emergencies that cross jurisdictional lines, or that require multiple agencies to respond, and what S&T is doing to help responders stay connected and keep lines of emergency communication open. 

Capture Various Forms of Fentanyl

Biochemical and forensic experts from the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) visited one of the nation’s busiest (and loudest) ports of entry in Mariposa, Arizona. With this as our backdrop, listen as the group discusses research and development of a novel fentanyl detector designed to improve screening for illicit drugs. S&T’s Dan Conway leads a conversation with Dr. Andrea Wiggins of S&T’s Chemical Biological Detection and Defense Program; Travis Brown, S&T Program Manager for Forensics and Criminal Investigation; Dr. Laura Parker, S&T Senior Advisor on Sensors and Detection; and PNNL Senior Research Chemist Dr. Robert Ewing about how this new technology was demonstrated and could soon be used and overall challenges with combating the flow of fentanyl.

From Zero to a Hundred in a Second

S&T and its National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) recently joined the U.S. Fire Administration and the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) for a workshop to address best practices and research needs for fighting lithium-ion battery fires. In this minisode, which was recorded at the FDNY Training Academy on Randall’s Island, you will hear from each agency about firsthand experiences firefighters are facing with electrification and how New York City serves as a model for other jurisdictions nationwide. In addition, S&T Acting Under Secretary Julie Brewer and NUSTL Division Director Orly Amir share how this issue is driving S&T research to support our first responders.