On the Horizon of Development: Taking Stock of Our Science

FORT BELVOIR, VA, UNITED STATES

10.15.2018

Courtesy Story

Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Chemical and Biological Technologies Department

Each year, military commanders review all of the equipment at their disposal, cataloging serial numbers and assessing the condition of weapons. Similarly, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Chemical and Biological Technologies Department does the same with their portfolio. Key stakeholders, including interagency partners, review projects spanning from basic research to those nearing transition to partner agencies for further development at several times across the year. The Joint Science and Technology Office (JSTO) Science Review (JSR) fosters collaboration, cooperation and innovation by allowing program managers and senior leadership to understand the latest warfighter-driven technologies in development.

The JSR is a 100 percent inventory of science and technology projects within JSTO, meant to provide an in-depth view of core capability areas. “I’d like to actually see some scientific results and understand why that science is important and what the impact is to the warfighter if things work right,” said Ronald Hann, Ph.D., director of DTRA CB and JSTO.

At the most recent JSR, program managers highlighted DTRA’s efforts in creating an integrated, layered defense by evaluating research in core capability areas such as chemical and biological detection, medical diagnostics, warning and reporting, and decision analysis and management. Some of the projects presented included:

Pan-Genomics for Infectious Agents (PanGIA) bioinformatics pipeline, a metagenomics data analysis software that can return results in as little as 15 minutes;

Empowering the Development of Genomics Expertise (EDGE), a bioinformatics platform and R&D 100 award winner. EDGE processes raw sequencing data to display a holistic view of the data in mere hours;

Chemical Biological Operational Analysis (CBOA), a venue to assess vulnerabilities and analyze system limitations in emerging capabilities while testing prototypes;

Perceptive Dragon, a series of demonstrations to test the capabilities of an integrated chemical and biological detection and warning system; and

Wearables at the Canyon for Health (WATCH), a study which identified physiological and cognitive information collected by non-invasive, wearable technologies to understand markers of performance in extreme environments.

The JSRs function as a scientific deep dive. Some of the information presented includes how projects benefit the warfighter, how they tie in to JSTO’s S&T Plan and which capability gaps they bridge. They also provide data from emerging results, describe the technical challenges that must be overcome and list transition opportunities and challenges.

DTRA CB is tasked with leading the DTRA CB is tasked with leading the Department of Defense’s science and technology efforts to anticipate, defend and safeguard against chemical and biological threats for both the warfighter and the nation. A more robust understanding of DTRA CB’s portfolio will encourage stronger relationships with interagency and industry partners to deliver biological and chemical defense capabilities to our armed forces at the speed of relevancy.

DTRA CB POC: Steve Waugh; [e-mail]

• Date Taken: 10.15.2018
• Date Posted: 10.15.2018 17:29
• Story ID: 296524
• Location: FORT BELVOIR, VA, US