HOMELAND DEFENSE

& Security Digest

16 JANURARY 2024

HDIAC collects and publishes articles related to our technical focus areas on the web to share with the DoD community.

FEATURED ARTICLE

Improving the Financial Resilience of Public Entities and Individuals for Natural Disasters

Individuals and state and local governments (public entities) incur losses associated with natural disasters. For individuals, there are costs associated with evacuating, possible periods of unemployment, and costs associated with physical damage caused by the event, much of which is uninsured loss. Similarly, public entities incur damage to public buildings and public utilities and tax…

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Featured Notable Technical Inquiry

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Sections 301-303

EPCRA Sections 301-303 focus on chemical emergency preparedness and involve state and tribal emergency response commissions and local and tribal emergency planning committees. Emergency plans created under these sections are generally intended to be accessible to the public, with some exceptions for sensitive or classified information. The act’s primary goal is to inform the public about hazardous chemicals in their communities and ensure that emergency…

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FUTURE WEBINARS

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UPCOMING WEBINAR

Can a chronological list be provided on what chemical exposure events (on and off the battlefield) involving chemical warfare agents have occurred in the last 50 years, along with major events that involve toxic industrial chemicals or pesticides?

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Technical Inquiry Default Image

What water-barrier technologies exist that are commercially available and ready for deployment?

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Is there an available artificial-intelligence-enabled tool that can be integrated into a learning management system and/or scheduling system to reduce the administrative burden on things such as schedule changes, facility problems, and student/instructor ratio?

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What are the connection nodes between overt/acknowledged U.S. Department of Defense installations/facilities and public energy/transport/telecom/water/sewer?

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The crystal structure of CHD_r1 (gray) is very similar to the computational design model (colored). (Image by Linna An, et al., Science.)

Breaking Boundaries in Biomedicine: Advanced Photon Source Enables Protein Design

From growth hormones to cancer drugs, small molecules play a crucial role in our health. Monitoring them is essential to keeping us healthy; it enables physicians to calculate dosages and patients to monitor their medical conditions at home, for example. Monitoring small molecules depends on sensing where they are and in what concentrations. While scientists…

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Hines stands beside the Arktis, a drone-based radiation detection system. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Jairus Hines: Detecting Radiation With Drones

Jairus Hines has accomplished what many spend their weekends dreaming of:  turning a hobby into a career. Hines is an electronics and unmanned systems technician with the Autonomous Systems group at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Part of the National Security Sciences Directorate, or NSSD, this group is the most active drone…

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Butanol molecules trigger changes in a microbial cell membrane model in this illustration of research that used neutron scattering and supercomputing to understand fundamental processes for the efficient production of domestic fuels, chemicals and materials from plant biomass. Credit: Morgan Manning/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Solving a Molecular Mystery for Better Bioproducts

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Cincinnati achieved a breakthrough in understanding the vulnerability of microbes to the butanol they produce during fermentation of plant biomass. The discovery could pave the way for more efficient production of domestic fuels, chemicals, and materials. The team used ORNL’s neutron…

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Meteorology and Oceanography Battlespace Surveillance Company 1st Intelligence Battalion Marines and NRL Ocean Science Division engineers observe surf conditions and LittoralLens system performance during amphibious combat vehicle operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Michael Walls)

Next-Gen Tactical Decision Aid: A Naval System-of-Systems Approach

OCEANSIDE, Calif. – The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering and Research Development Center (ERDC) demonstrated the Marine Corps Surf Observation (SUROB) Tool for Littoral Expeditionary Operations during the Office of Naval Research’s Technical Concept Experiment 24.2 (TCE 24.2) at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, Calif., on August 20-23….

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abstract fusion

Researchers Address Material Challenges to Make Commercial Fusion Power a Reality

Imagine if we could take the energy of the sun, put it in a container, and use it to provide green, sustainable power for the world. Creating commercial fusion power plants would essentially make this idea a reality. However, there are several scientific challenges to overcome before we can successfully harness fusion power in this…

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soldier in cbrn ppe

Far Forward Biological Sequencing Generates Chem Bio Defense Advantages by Innovating at the Speed of Relevance

In the past, fielding technologies to warfighters has followed a structured lather, rinse, repeat routine. The demand signal for a capability comes from the services, requirements to fulfill that capability are documented, equipment is developed, ensuring that each requirement is met, and then the item is fielded. That process can sometimes take decades, depending on…

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Military Health System Conference

The Military Health System (MHS) Conference is a four-day annual conference sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. Conference attendees are comprised of government, military, and industry healthcare professionals….

Energy Exchange

The Energy Exchange, hosted by the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), is an opportunity for agencies to ensure their workforce understands leadership direction, priorities, goals, and strategies. It’s also a unique opportunity to fulfill training…

The 19th IEEE International Conference on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition

The IEEE conference series on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition is an international forum for research in image and video-based face, gesture, and body movement recognition. It is cosponsored by the IEEE Biometrics Council and…

Voice From the Community

Dr. Robert Hayes
Dr. Robert Hayes

Associate Professor, North Carolina (NC) State University

Dr. Hayes is an associate professor of nuclear engineering at NC State University, where he focuses on novel shielding technology, radiological air monitoring and retrospective dosimetry for nuclear safety, nonproliferation, emergency response, and radiation protection applications. He is a licensed professional engineer in nuclear engineering, certified health physicist through the American Board of Health Physics, and a fellow of the American Physical and Health Physics Societies. He also serves on the Advisory Council for Nuclear Security for the administrator of the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

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