This week, we kick off Series 3 of our Virtual Whole-of-Government R&D Showcase. Our theme, “Mitigating Evolving Threats and Understanding the Convergence of Breakthrough Technologies,” serves as a reminder of how important it is to invest in research and science to address those persistent and over-the-horizon threats to our nation.
What excites me the most about our current series is how we are mobilizing innovation to secure our future. In the first two series, we talked about our current rapid response for efforts like COVID-19 and how we are helping to address the impacts of risks like climate change, today. The challenges of the future are also top of mind across government R&D—and more importantly, how we’ll solve those challenges together. Series 3 speaks to our vigilance about identifying better approaches, methods, and tools to improve decision-making and reduce risks for those working on the front lines.
Like with our other series, we’ve brought together whole-of-government experts to have timely and spirited discussions on our collaborative efforts to secure the vital sectors our society depends on to compete globally and protect our way of life. You’ll hear from S&T’s Technology Centers, which focus on the future of science and technology to anticipate and understand new discoveries and ensure our homeland security missions evolve as much as possible with the pace of technology advancements.
By focusing on sciences, materials, and technologies of the future, our Technology Centers examine what is needed to harness these new advances to help homeland security operators reduce risks, enhance safety and better understand how emerging technologies can be misused or become threats. They are constantly tracking risk assessments and rapid innovation cycles—those most likely to impact our security landscape over the next two to five years.
I hope you’ll visit the virtual showcase to hear about advances in breakthrough technologies, including automation and machine learning. Partners like NASA, the Department of Defense, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection joined S&T to discuss how we are securing airspace and addressing the increased use of drones. Our partners at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) sat down with us to talk about our exciting work in advanced analytics—together we are establishing a multi-cloud environment that will provide a place to research, test and operationalize new tools and software systems. In addition, we discussed the future of air travel and security checkpoints with the Transportation Security Administration and the importance of providing secure, trusted, and reliable emergency communications interoperability for our federal, state and local partners with CISA and the Department of Transportation.
By taking a whole-of-government approach and working closely with our partners across the government, academia, industry, we are addressing the rapid shifts in technology and the threat landscape, increasing security and resilience—from both a societal and technological perspective. Tune in to learn more—and remember it’s not too late to browse series one and two. Follow and engage with us on social media at @dhsscitech to stay up to date on the showcase (#STInnovationShowcase) and much more!