Expert panel: Engineers will lead charge in battle of technology vs. terrorism

ASME NEWS staff

In the war against terrorism, engineers are already on the front lines, where they are training the sights of their technology arsenal on the weaknesses of aviation security and to combat bioterrorism.

Susan Hallowell

 

"Technology is a powerful weapon against terrorism," Susan F. Hallowell, a manager of explosives and weapons detection at the Federal Aviation Administration, told an audience of more than 800 people who attended a special ASME Congress session last month. "You, the engineers, are the majors, colonels and generals in this war," she said.

During the two-hour session, "Technology vs. Terrorism — Designing Against the Threat of Assault," seven other speakers talked about the kinds of technology that are needed to ensure aviation safety and to combat bioterrorism.

Sam Venneri

 

The session was organized in response to the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and took place on Sunday, Nov. 11 — two months to the day after the attacks.

Samuel L. Venneri, associate administrator and chief technologist at NASA, said one area that is ripe for development is technology screening for airport security and aircraft systems that are detailed enough to detect violations. But the technology must be easy enough to operate so that "you don't need a Ph.D. to know how to work it," he said.

James O'Bryon

 

Technology that prevents aircraft from crashing is a bit more complicated. But James F. O'Bryon, who is a deputy assistant to U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, told the audience that the technology, which was developed by the military and is in the testing phase, could be used on commercial aircraft once the crew is trained to operate it.

The Department of Defense developed the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS) because more planes are lost in noncombat situations than in war, O'Bryon said. In military training and exercises, he explained, pilots often experience gravity-induced loss of consciousness.

O'Bryon said that Auto GCAS, which corrects the flight pattern of the plane when it senses the aircraft is taking a nosedive, would be a useful tool in the prevention of hijackings of commercial flights.

"Auto GCAS will not let you crash," he said. "It prevents aircraft from being directed to a 'kamikaze' target. And it buys you time." The system will continue to pull the aircraft out of harm's way until the plane runs out of fuel."

John Andersen

 

Another technology that could be used to deter cockpit takeovers was discussed by John Andersen, P.E., a member of ASME's Board of Governors and chairman of Aflight Tech Inc. in Edgewood, N.M.

Required Navigation Performance (RNP) — an FAA-approved, automated flight system — was developed by technical pilots of Alaska Airlines to get them safely through harsh weather and over rough terrain, Andersen said, adding that its use could deter highjackers. The technology is being used on Alaska Airlines planes, he said.

Michael Hightower

 

When it comes to combating bioterrorism, securing the U.S. water systems will be key, said Michael Hightower, from Sandia National Laboratory's Energy and Critical Infrastructure Center.

But water, or the lack of it, had turned the U.S. water infrastructure into a national security issue years ago, Hightower said, because in the next 15 years, more than half of the world's population will live in areas with either water shortages or contaminated water, he explained.

"We see water becoming the oil of the 21st century," he noted. Therefore, protecting the country's water supply is becoming increasingly important.

The U.S. water supply is especially vulnerable because its distribution systems are antiquated — with some up to 100 years old — and because U.S. water systems are rather open, employing many unsecured water treatment systems, Hightower said.

Christopher Aston

 

The technologies Sandia is working on include sensor-controlled systems to provide low-cost, continuous monitoring of the nation's water supplies, and improved treatment technologies to protect at-risk populations, including children and the elderly.

Christopher Aston, a molecular biologist from New York University Medical Center, discussed technologies developed by the military that are aimed at the detection of, and protection from, biological agents such as anthrax or smallpox.

Jim Zarzycki, P.E., of the U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command, talked about the available technology that is used to detect bioagents, while Yogi Goswami, an ASME Fellow from the University of Florida who developed an air filtration system, explained how the system can be used to obliterate micro-organisms in either residential or commercial environments.

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