DHS Science and Technology Directorate unveils new goals

Washington, D.C. — Dr. Reginald Brothers, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Under Secretary for Science and Technology, announced the new visionary goals for the department’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). These visionary goals will drive S&T’s strategic plan.

“As the primary research and development arm of DHS, S&T needs to look ahead – 20 to 30 years out – to determine where we should be dedicating our research and development resources now,” Brothers said.

The following long-term goals were finalized following an extensive collaboration effort that yielded input and suggestions from thousands of stakeholders in government, academia, and the nation’s private sector industrial base:

Screening at Speed: Security that Matches the Pace of Life.

Noninvasive screening at speed will provide for comprehensive threat protection while adapting security to the pace of life rather than life to security. Unobtrusive screening of people, baggage, or cargo will enable the seamless detection of threats while respecting privacy, with minimal impact to the pace of travel and speed of commerce.

A Trusted Cyber Future: Protecting Privacy, Commerce, and Community.

In a future of increasing cyber connections, underlying digital infrastructure will be self-detecting, self-protecting, and self-healing. Users will trust that information is protected, illegal use is deterred, and privacy is not compromised. Security will operate seamlessly in the background.

Enable the Decision Maker: Actionable Information at the Speed of Thought.

Predictive analytics, risk analysis, and modeling-and-simulation systems will enable critical and proactive decisions to be made based on the most relevant information, transforming data into actionable information. Even in the face of uncertain environments involving chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incidents, accurate, credible, and context-based information will empower the aware decision maker to take instant actions to improve critical outcomes.

Responder of the Future: Protected, Connected, and Fully Aware.

The responder of the future is threat-adaptive and cross-functional. Armed with comprehensive physical protection, interoperable tools, and networked threat detection and mitigation capabilities, responders of the future will be better able to serve their communities.

Resilient Communities: Disaster-Proofing Society.

Critical infrastructure of the future will be designed, built, and maintained to withstand naturally-occurring and man-made disasters. Decision makers will know when disaster is coming, anticipate the effects, and use already-in-place or rapidly-deployed countermeasures to shield communities from negative consequences. Resilient communities struck by disasters will not only bounce back, but bounce forward.