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Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Panel Activities." National Research Council. 2002. Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10415.
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C

Panel Activities

PANEL ON BIOLOGICAL ISSUES

Co-chaired by STCT committee members Barry Bloom and Joshua Lederberg, the Biological Panel consisted of 22 members with expertise in medicine, public health, microbiology, cellular biology, virology, drug and vaccine development, health policy, laboratory analysis, plant pathology, zoonotic disease, food-borne disease, molecular biology, genomics, emergency medical response systems, infectious disease, bioterrorism, bioforensics, statistics, and epidemiological modeling.

The panel convened three times and communicated by e-mail and conference calls over a 3-month period. During its meetings, the panel received briefings on research and development activities within the U.S. Department of Defense as well as at the Department of Health and Human Services. The panel greatly appreciates the briefings it received from the following individuals: William Winkenwerder, Department of Defense; Kevin Tonat, Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Emergency Preparedness; Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Kathryn Zoon, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Review, Food and Drug Administration; David Lipman, National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine; Chuck Ludlum, Office of Senator Joseph Lieberman; and William Dallas Jones, California Office of Emergency Services.

PANEL ON CHEMICAL ISSUES

Chaired by STCT committee member John D. Baldeschwieler and co-chaired by Lynn Schneemeyer, the Chemical Panel consisted of 11 members with exper-

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Panel Activities." National Research Council. 2002. Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10415.
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tise in the areas of chemistry, chemical engineering, sensors, chemical weapons, industrial chemistry, dispersion modeling, pharmaceutical manufacturing, food safety, and water supply. In addition, William F. Brinkman, a member of the STCT committee, provided helpful input.

The panel met twice, in January and February, and then communicated by a series of conference calls and e-mail exchanges. The first meeting was held at Irvine in conjunction with the Workshop on National Security and Homeland Defense hosted by the NRC Board on Chemical Science and Technology. At the workshop the panel heard military, industrial, and civilian perspectives on security by David R. Franz (Southern Research Institute), Scott D. Cunningham (DuPont), and Richard L. Garwin (IBM). At the second meeting, in Washington, D.C., the panel heard a presentation by David Kontny, the Canine and Explosives Program manager at the FAA. The panel was also supplied with numerous publications to serve as background and to inform its work.

PANEL ON NUCLEAR AND RADIOLOGICAL ISSUES

Chaired by STCT committee member William Happer, the Nuclear and Radiological Panel consisted of eight members with expertise in nuclear weapons design, capabilities, and use; nuclear weapons and materials protection, control, and accounting; nuclear material detectors and sensors; conventional weapons capabilities; and reactor safety. The panel met four times and communicated by e-mail and conference calls over a 3-month period. During its meetings, the panel received briefings from representatives of several agencies and organizations, including the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, Department of Energy and its national laboratories, Federal Aviation Administration, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Nuclear Energy Institute, and NAC International. More details on speakers and topics are provided in the classified annex to this report.

PANEL ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Co-chaired by John L. Hennessy (STCT committee member) and David Patterson, the Information Technology Panel consisted of 16 members with expertise in computer, information, Internet, and network security; computer and systems architecture; computer systems innovation, including interactive systems; national security and intelligence; telecommunications, including wireline and wireless; data mining, fusion, and information management; machine learning and artificial intelligence; automated reasoning tools; information processing technologies; information retrieval; networked, distributed, and high-performance systems; software; and human factors. The panel met three times over 2 months and communicated by e-mail and conference calls during the project. During its meetings, the panel heard from experts in cybersecurity and national security and

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Panel Activities." National Research Council. 2002. Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10415.
×

intelligence, including (panel member) Bill Crowell, president and chief executive officer of Cylink, and John Hamre, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

PANEL ON TRANSPORTATION

Chaired by STCT committee member Mortimer L. Downey, the Transportation Panel consisted of 16 members with expertise in transportation operations and administration; research and technology; and safety, security, and law enforcement. The panel convened twice and communicated by e-mail and conference calls over a 3-month period. During its meetings, the panel received briefings on the security-related R&D activities of most of the modal agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Thanks are due to Steven Ditmeyer, Federal Railroad Administration; James O’Steen and Frits Wybenga, Research and Special Programs Administration; David Price and Michael Trentacoste, Federal Highway Administration; Douglas McKelvey, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; Lyle Malotky, Federal Aviation Administration; William Siegel, Federal Transit Administration; Captain James Evans, U.S. Coast Guard; and Richard John and Michael Dinning of the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. Thomas Day, vice president for engineering, U.S. Postal Service, also made valuable contributions to the panel’s considerations.

The panel also met with other experts outside government. Joseph Del Balzo, JDA Aviation Technology Solutions, discussed technological possibilities for computerized prescreening of passenger traffic to enhance aviation security. Thomas Hartwick discussed the state of sensor and screening technologies and systems for improving aviation security. Raja Parasuraman, Catholic University, and Victor Riley, Honeywell Corporation, discussed the role of human factors in the design, development, and deployment of security technologies and systems. The panel extends its gratitude to all four for their valuable contributions.

In addition, the panel wishes to thank Stephen McHale, Deputy Under Secretary for Transportation Security, and Paul Busick, Acting Associate Administrator for Civil Aviation Security. Both briefed the panel on the status of the newly created Transportation Security Administration and welcomed panel member ideas and comments.

PANEL ON ENERGY FACILITIES, CITIES, AND FIXED INFRASTRUCTURE

Chaired by STCT committee member Paul H. Gilbert, the Energy Facilities, Cities, and Fixed Infrastructure Panel consisted of nine members with experience in the electricity, oil, and gas sectors, and in buildings and other structures, water systems, and in vulnerability to attacks. The panel worked intensively, meeting

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Panel Activities." National Research Council. 2002. Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10415.
×

three times in 3 months and communicating frequently by phone and e-mail. The panel drew on information provided by a number of briefings and from a variety of other sources as well as on the panel members’ own expertise; the panel’s contribution was crucial in the preparation of two chapters, “Energy Systems” and “Cities and Fixed Infrastructure.”

Briefings to the panel were made by Massoud Amin, Electric Power Research Institute; Harvey M. Bernstein, Civil Engineering Research Foundation; Laurence W. Brown, Edison Electric Institute; Lynn Costantini, North American Electric Reliability Council; Debra DeHaney, U.S. Conference of Mayors; Stephen Gehl, Electric Power Research Institute; Bobby R. Gillham, Conoco, Inc.; Miriam Heller, National Science Foundation; Larry Kezele, North American Electric Reliability Council; Fred Mower, University of Maryland; Sam Varnado, U.S. Department of Energy; and Joe Vipperman, American Electric Power Company, Inc.

PANEL ON BEHAVIORAL, SOCIAL, AND INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES

Chaired by STCT committee member Neil Smelser, the Behavioral, Social, and Institutional Panel consisted of 10 members and included scholars from the disciplines of anthropology, demography, economics, history, political science, psychology and sociology. Special areas of expertise of the panel members included the history of Muslim societies, the contemporary Middle East, the politics of the state, revolutionary social movements, deterrence and game theory, the cognitive structure of beliefs, disaster studies, the politics of diplomacy and peace-keeping, and social change. The panel met twice in Washington, D.C., read a variety of materials in the exploding literature on terrorism, and between the meetings exchanged materials and ideas by e-mail.

PANEL ON SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

Chaired by STCT committee member Vincent Vitto, the Systems Analysis and Systems Engineering Panel consisted of 13 members with areas of expertise in agent-based modeling, ergonomics and human factors, infrastructure modeling and interdependencies, modeling and simulation, operations research, risk modeling, systems analysis, systems dynamics, systems management, systems engineering, and threat analysis. The panel convened three times over a 2-month period and communicated by e-mail. During its meetings, the panel received briefings on systems analysis and systems engineering initiatives within the federal government, including the Department of Defense. Special thanks are due to Frank Dixon, Joint Program Office for Special Technology Countermeasures; Michael Evenson, Defense Threat Reduction Agency; and Miriam Heller, National Science Foundation.

In addition, panel members provided the panel as a whole with briefings on

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Panel Activities." National Research Council. 2002. Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10415.
×

the following topics: analytic architecture for capabilities-based planning, mission system analysis, and transformation; centrality of the state variable in modeling and its implications for critical infrastructure protection against terrorism; complexity of modeling the interconnectedness and interdependencies of critical infrastructures, as well as interdependencies of the military infrastructures (defense infrastructure sectors) and the civilian infrastructures; decision support as a function of modeling approach; human security consortium initiative; interdependencies between the markets being designed for electric power systems and their impact on the engineering (and vice versa), as well as the idea of hidden failures and cascading events; modeling the interface of social science and engineering; national infrastructure simulation and the analysis center initiative; overarching model for threat assessment; role of governance and nature of decision making; symptoms of governance and decision-making problems; system of systems and federation of systems characterizations; and trade-offs associated with who can decide who decides.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Panel Activities." National Research Council. 2002. Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10415.
×
Page 394
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Panel Activities." National Research Council. 2002. Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10415.
×
Page 395
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Panel Activities." National Research Council. 2002. Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10415.
×
Page 396
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Panel Activities." National Research Council. 2002. Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10415.
×
Page 397
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Panel Activities." National Research Council. 2002. Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10415.
×
Page 398
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Vulnerabilities abound in U.S. society. The openness and efficiency of our key infrastructures — transportation, information and telecommunications systems, health systems, the electric power grid, emergency response units, food and water supplies, and others — make them susceptible to terrorist attacks. Making the Nation Safer discusses technical approaches to mitigating these vulnerabilities.

A broad range of topics are covered in this book, including:

  • Nuclear and radiological threats, such as improvised nuclear devices and "dirty bombs;"
  • Bioterrorism, medical research, agricultural systems and public health;
  • Toxic chemicals and explosive materials;
  • Information technology, such as communications systems, data management, cyber attacks, and identification and authentication systems;
  • Energy systems, such as the electrical power grid and oil and natural gas systems;
  • Transportation systems;
  • Cities and fixed infrastructures, such as buildings, emergency operations centers, and tunnels;
  • The response of people to terrorism, such as how quality of life and morale of the population can be a target of terrorists and how people respond to terrorist attacks; and
  • Linked infrastructures, i.e. the vulnerabilities that result from the interdependencies of key systems.

In each of these areas, there are recommendations on how to immediately apply existing knowledge and technology to make the nation safer and on starting research and development programs that could produce innovations that will strengthen key systems and protect us against future threats. The book also discusses issues affecting the government's ability to carry out the necessary science and engineering programs and the important role of industry, universities, and states, counties, and cities in homeland security efforts.

A long term commitment to homeland security is necessary to make the nation safer, and this book lays out a roadmap of how science and engineering can assist in countering terrorism.

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