The detection of concealed explosives in a variety of scenarios is a challenge faced by security and law enforcement agencies worldwide. The technical challenges to the explosives detection community are limited only by the imagination of the innovative terrorist. Threat scenarios include everything from the concealment of a few pounds of explosives on a person to tons of explosives contained in a truck bomb. The required technology must be appropriate to the specific users application, and must be affordable and effective. While technology is now being successfully deployed to screen for explosives, new scientific approaches and innovative applications of existing research are sought that can be tooled to the practical considerations of the end user.

The purpose of the Illicit Substance Detection: Explosives Conference is to create a forum for prominent scientists, engineers and influential policy makers. This will allow the opportunity to engage in valuable discussions and reveal key issues and concerns which will aide legislation in identifying future policy direction while inspiring scientific technological advances within the detection R&D community. The conference will focus on novel R&D concepts, emerging technologies as well as technology currently under evaluation or demonstration. This conference will expose senior scientists and the next generation of scientists to the opportunities and requirements of the challenges of explosives detection worldwide, and will allow policy makers in concert with scientists to develop a framework for the next generation of explosive detection devices.