A few years ago the Office of the Director of National Intelligence established a “Biological Sciences Experts Group” consisting of scientists from industry and academia to advise the intelligence community on the threat of biological weapons proliferation and related matters. But not a single fact concerning the Group’s actions or accomplishments can be publicly disclosed, the ODNI said last week in response (pdf) to a Freedom of Information Act request.
As is often the case, a bit more about the Group can be learned through unofficial channels, as previously reported in Secrecy News (“Experts Advise IC on Classified Biosecurity Activities,” April 13, 2010).
To increase the real and perceived benefit of research funding, funding agencies should develop challenge goals for their extramural research programs focused on the impact portion of their mission.
Without trusted mechanisms to ensure privacy while enabling secure data access, essential R&D stalls, educational innovation stalls, and U.S. global competitiveness suffers.
Satellite imagery has long served as a tool for observing on-the-ground activity worldwide, and offers especially valuable insights into the operation, development, and physical features related to nuclear technology.
This year’s Red Sky Summit was an opportunity to further consider what the role of fire tech can and should be – and how public policy can support its development, scaling, and application.