Technologically Speaking

The Right Way to Go About Working with Startups

Technologically Speaking host Deepak Saini sits down with Silicon Valley Innovation Program Managing Director Melissa Oh to discuss the unique ways S&T engages with the startup community, the vision behind driving innovation in the private sector to benefit the nation’s security, and how being positioned inside Silicon Valley enables her to bridge the private-public sector divide. Hear how Melissa’s career journey was marked by 9/11 and how some of the innovative technologies SVIP is working on directly support the needs of DHS components. Most importantly, learn how SVIP is serving as a model of excellence for other government agencies to create an entry point for startups that might not otherwise consider working with government.

It's a Global Problem

The Technologically Speaking Podcast sits down with Lindsay Gabbert, a microbiologist at the S&T Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC). Lindsay and her colleagues at PIADC are on the front lines keeping dangerous animal diseases at bay and away from our farms. She talks about what the greatest threats are and what S&T and PIADC are doing to thwart them. She also shares anecdotes about her time working at PIADC, one of the most interesting and unique labs in the United States, nestled on a small and historic island in the Long Island Sound.

They're All Chemicals

S&T Senior Science Advisor Dr. Laura Parker joins Technologically Speaking’s Brittany Greco for an insightful interview on the science behind explosives detection, the way the technology is used at the airport, and potential advancements for the future that will make the screening process easier. She explains how a career in explosives equipped her with the expertise in chemical detection necessary to help address the fentanyl problem and the scientific nexus between explosives and fentanyl detection.

Telling Our Impact, Telling Our Story

In this episode, host Brittany Greco sits down with Julie Brewer, S&T’s Deputy Under Secretary for Science and Technology, to discuss all things S&T. During the conversation, Julie talks about S&T’s efforts to support the first responder community, discusses the organization’s new Frontier Campaigns, and goes over S&T’s mission and how the Directorate is able to accomplish it. Julie also shares her unique career journey through S&T, talks about her first project building the National Bio and Agro-Defense building—a $1.2 billion facility in Manhattan, Kansas, and shares why she decided to pursue management and which leadership style resonates with her most.

Season 4 Trailer

Season 4 of Technologically Speaking launches Wednesday, August 7! We’re gearing up for another great round of conversations with experts from across the DHS Science and Technology Directorate. Tune in and subscribe today!

A Little More Sophisticated Technology

In this Tech Speak minisode, we recorded live in Indianapolis, where S&T, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) deployed the DETER hostile vehicle mitigation barrier at this year’s Indy 500 race. DETER (Deployable Expedient Traffic Entry Regulator) is a portable vehicle barrier capable of withstanding a box truck moving at 30 miles per hour. It can also be lowered in a matter of seconds to allow emergency or official vehicles to pass through. Hear from S&T’s Ali Fadel and ERDC’s August Johnson about the need for this type of technology and what’s next.

A Fairly Straightforward Security Screening

In this episode of Tech Speak, our podcast team travels to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, as S&T, the Transportation Security Administration, and regional partners introduce a new cutting-edge self-service screening technology to the media. Listen as former Season 2 guest, Dr. John Fortune, and the Transportation Security Administration’s Christina Peach and Karen Burke talk about how the Screening at Speed Program team is working to change the airport screening experience for the traveling public and transportation security officers.

Learn, Grow, Advocate for Yourself

In our special Women’s History Month Tech Speak minisode, S&T Deputy Under Secretary for Science and Technology Julie Brewer and Season 3 guests, LaTasha Thompson and Brannan Villee, offer advice, give their perspectives on science and technology, and talk about how their careers in STEM took off.

In the Mindset of the Reporter

Technologically Speaking Host John Verrico, who retires this week after 15 years as S&T’s chief of Media and Community Relations, takes a surprising turn in the hot seat as a guest—talking with co-host Dee Saini about what it takes to make sure audiences know about the great work being accomplished at S&T. The innovation and research happening across the many diverse and varied S&T programs rely on skilled and dedicated media specialists who connect scientists and administrators to the public in a way that resonates and makes sense in their daily lives. 

It’s Brownfield, Not Greenfield

In this episode, host John Verrico sits down with identity technologies expert Jon Prisby of S&T’s Biometric and Identity Technology Center. Jon touches on the future of digital credentials and discusses how biometrics may influence deep fakes. You’ll hear about the role digital credentials play in our daily lives, learn about how mobile driver’s licenses (a future digital credential) work, and discover why biometrics can be both the solution to deep fakes and also part of the problem. Also: find out why the title’s real estate analogy is used to describe the digital identity space.