SUNDAY |
4:00 pm - 9:00 pm | Arrival and Check-in (Office Closed 6:00 pm - 7:45 pm) |
6:00 pm | Dinner |
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm | Welcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff |
7:40 pm - 7:50 pm | GRC Co-Chair Introductions and Comments |
7:50 pm - 9:30 pm | Human Operator Impact on Threat Detection Systems |
| Most explosives and weapons detection systems involve complex technologies, but rely on human operators to collect samples, interpret output, interact with automated detection algorithms, and perform alarm resolution. In most cases, human performance is highly variable, from operator to operator and/or from day to day. This variability can greatly alter the success of the technology/human system. In many cases, humans can maximize the technology output, but they can also undermine its performance. Whether the human operator helps or hurts technology performance is based on how well we (a) design user-interface and controls, (b) implement displays and automated output, (c) design the procedures and conops to match human strengths, and (d) control those factors that produce variability. In this session, research on human-in-the-loop testing, optimizing automated alarm algorithms, and anomaly detection (e.g., whole body imaging) will be discussed as they relate to maximizing technology/human system performance. |
| Discussion Leader: Joshua Rubinstein (Department of Homeland Security) |
7:50 pm - 8:10 pm | Joshua Rubinstein (DHS) Session Overview on Human Factors Issues for Technology Test and Evaluation |
8:10 pm - 8:35 pm | Jason McCarley (University of Illinois) "The Effects of Automated Target Recognition on Operator Performance" |
8:35 pm - 8:40 pm | Discussion |
8:40 pm - 9:05 pm | Tom Sanquist (Pacific Northwest National Lab) "Human factors in Technically Aided Anomaly Detection" |
9:05pm - 9:10 pm | Discussion |
9:10 pm - 9:30 pm | Panel Discussion |
MONDAY |
7:30 am - 8:30 am | Breakfast |
9:00 am - 12:30 pm | Innovative Methods in Sampling Analytes of Interest |
| This session will examine novel and innovative methods for introducing the target analyte(s) into the instrument and will look at methods for improving collection efficiency. The potential to adapt of existing sampling methods and explore completely new sampling strategies, depending on the medium that is being detected i.e. vapour, particle, aerosol will also be discussed. The session will also seek to learn and gain knowledge from the wider scientific community on how they have tackled ongoing problems for their respective research areas. |
| Discussion Leader: Rasmus Schulte-Ladbeck (BKA) |
9:00 am - 9:30 am | Steve Beaudoin (Purdue University) "Adhesion of Micron-/Nano-Scale Explosive Particles to Surfaces" |
9:30 am - 9:45 am | Discussion |
9:45 am -10:15 am | Yehuda Zeiri (NRCN and Ben Gurion University) "Characteristics of Particle Adhesion and Sampling Efficiency" |
10:15 am - 10:30 am | Discussion |
10:30 am | Coffee Break / Group Photo |
11:00 am - 11:30 am | Eyal Zussman (Technion-Israel Institute of Technology) "Increasing sampling efficiency of explosive residues: perspective on the myth versus the engineering reality" |
11:30 am - 11:45 am | Discussion |
11:45 am - 12:15 pm | Stefan Lukow (Transportation Security Laboratory) "Sampling Phenomenology and Advancements for Trace Explosives Detection" |
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm | Discussion |
12:30 pm | Lunch |
1:30 pm - 5:30 pm | Free Time |
5:30 pm - 5:45 pm | One Minute Poster Presentation Overviews |
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5:45 pm - 7:30 pm | Policy Impact of Innovative Technologies |
| While technology allows us to transform ideas through experimentation into the art of what is possible; policy defines the boundaries which technology can operate in practice. Can policy adapt to allow for the speedy deployment of emerging technical solutions? For example, new imaging technologies may be considered intrusive when screening people for explosive devices or other contraband may be discovered where there is no reasonable belief of criminal activity contributing to the legal implications of probable cause. Driving the technology requires a policy that is flexible enough to respond and still result in effective implementation. Driving the policy relies on well defined and understood requirements. This session addresses the interdependence between technology and policy; their roles in promoting developments and the successful operation of explosives and drugs detection equipment. |
| Discussion Leader: Susan Hallowell (Director, Transportation Security Laboratory) |
5:45 pm - 6:10 pm | Deeph Chana (Department for Transport) "Interrelationship between Policy and Technology in the Transportation Environment" |
6:10 pm - 6:20 pm | Discussion |
6:20 pm - 6:45 pm | Pierre Charrue (CEA/Le Ripault) "NATO Program for Standoff detection of explosives and suicide bombers (STANDEX)" |
6:45 pm - 6:55 pm | Discussion |
6:55 pm - 7:20 pm | Peter Dees (US Department of State) "Counterterrorism Policy Intersecting Explosives Detection Technology: Impact on Development" |
7:20 pm - 7:30 pm | Discussion |
8:00 pm | Dinner |
TUESDAY |
7:30 am - 8:30 am | Breakfast |
9:00 am - 9:15 am | One Minute Poster Presentation Overviews |
| |
9:15 am - 12:30 pm | Deciphering Target Signatures for Explosives and Drugs |
| This session will look to explore how the detection community approaches the daunting task of deciphering target signatures for an ever increasing number of threat materials against an often complex and noisy background. The detection technology being deployed or analytical technique chosen for a particular target or number of target substances, will present different problems which in turn will be dependent on the technique's inherent strengths and weaknesses. It is expected that this session will address some of these specific limitations and propose new ways for solving these tricky questions. |
| Discussion Leader: Chris Murphy (Ideal Innovations Incorporated) |
9:15 am - 9:45 am | Robert Levis (Temple University) "Enhancing Nonlinear Signatures via Femtosecond Lasers" |
9:45 am - 9:55 am | Discussion |
9:55 am - 10:25 am | Hanh Lai (Department of Chemistry, Florida International University) "Headspace sampling and detection of the plastic explosives C-4, Detasheet, and Semtex via their volatile components by SPME-IMS" |
10:25 am - 10:35 am | Discussion |
10:35 am | Coffee Break |
11:05 am - 11:35 am | Kevin McNesby (ARL) "Vibrational Spectra of Vapors Above Solid Explosives" |
11:35 am - 11:45 am | Discussion |
11:45 am - 12:15 pm | Lisa Zurk (Portland State University) "Impact of Electromagnetic Scattering on Terahertz Detection of Explosives" |
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm | Discussion |
12:30 pm | Lunch |
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm | Free Time |
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm | Poster Session |
5:30 pm - 5:45 pm | One Minute Poster Presentation Overviews |
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5:45 pm - 7:30 pm | Impact of Clutter/Interference in Obtaining Adequate Signal for Detection |
| This session will examine how clutter and similar interference affects the detection process and new methods for dealing with these difficult problems. Digital computers have increased in power by 100-fold over the last decade, enabling approaches that were previously impractical. Of particular interest are new computational paradigms, such as non-linear signal processing, neural networks, statistical analysis methods and automated learning algorithms. This session seeks to understand how new developments in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Mathematics can be harnessed to improve- or even revolutionize- contraband and threat detection. |
| Discussion Leader: Steve Smith (Spectrum, San Diego, Inc.) |
5:45 pm - 6:25 pm | Luc Perron (Optosecurity) "Combining Computer Vision to X-ray Physics to See Through Clutter" |
6:25 pm - 6:40 pm | Discussion |
6:40 pm - 7:20 pm | Kris Roe (Smiths Detection) "Challenges and Approaches in Addressing Clutter for Imaging-Based Detection Systems" |
7:20 pm - 7:30 pm | Discussion |
8:00 pm | Dinner |
WEDNESDAY |
7:30 am - 8:30 am | Breakfast |
9:00 am - 12:30 pm | Materials for Novel Sources and Detectors |
| This session will discuss the material science aspects of detection, as well as novel sources of interrogation radiation (e.g. x-rays, IR lasers, THz emitters) and cutting edge detection components. Material science has a broad impact on explosives and narcotic detection. From chemically selective materials for sampling and preconcentration, to detection materials with unique properties (e.g. fluorescence quenching polymers), the development of new materials with relevant properties for detection has driven the development of new detection paradigms. The session will also explore the revolutionary impacts of new sources and detector components upon exploiting well understood physics and chemistry phenomena for detection (e.g. high flux neutron sources, quantum cascade lasers). This session steps back from the detection system to the component level and delves into the basic science of materials, emitters and tranducers to illustrate a "ground up" approach to enhanced detection. |
| Discussion Leader: Dick Lacey (Home Office Scientific Development Branch) |
9:00 am - 9:30 am | Ching Wu (EXCELIMS) "Multidimensional Ion Mobility Spectrometry for Explosive Detection" |
9:30 am - 9:45 am | Discussion |
9:45 am - 10:15 am | Conor Rafferty (Noble Peak) "Broadband Imaging from 0.4 to 1.6 microns for substance detection" |
10:15 am - 10:30 am | Discussion |
10:30 am | Coffee Break |
11:00 am - 11:30 am | Otto Zhou (University of North Carolina) "Spatially Distributed Carbon Nanotube Source for Homeland Security" |
11:30 am - 11:45 am | Discussion |
11:45 am - 12:15 pm | Robert Ewing (Pacific Northwest National Lab) "Non-radioactive Ionization Source for Selective Atmospheric Pressure Ionization of Explosive Compounds" |
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm | Discussion |
12:30 pm | Lunch |
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm | Free Time |
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm | Poster Session |
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm | Applicability of Biosensors for Detection of Explosives |
| This session will delve into the use of biological processes and materials for detection. Canines are considered a "gold standard" for detection, and many would like to mimic the sensitivity and selectivity of canines in a man-made detection system. Given the specificity of biological reactions (such as enzymes and the "lock and key" mechanism of receptor binding), there is great potential in the development of biological based detection schemes that exploit the uniqueness of these reactions. This session will likely touch upon examples of exploited biological systems for detection, and investigate the potential weaknesses (e.g. lack of ruggedness, use of liquid reagents) of such systems, elucidate discussion into the difficult transduction issues involved with using biochemical reaction mechanisms for detection. |
| Discussion Leader: Helen Almey (Centre for Defence Enterprise, Ministry of Defence) |
5:30 pm - 6:00 pm | Tessa Bowen (Colorado State University) "First Generation Phytodetectors: Plants that Detect Substances of Interest and Provide a Visual Response" |
6:00 pm - 6:15 pm | Discussion |
6:15 pm - 6:45 pm | Steve Trowell (CSIRO) "Putting the Detector Dog in a Box: Biological Sensors for Detecting Explosives and Drugs" |
6:45 pm - 7:00 pm | Discussion |
7:00 pm - 7:20 pm | Mike Hargather (Penn State) "The Internal Aerodynamics of Canine Olfaction" |
7:20 pm - 7:30 pm | Discussion |
7:30 pm - 8:00 pm | Business Meeting |
| (Nominations for the next Vice Chair; Fill out Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss future Site & Scheduling preferences; Election of the next Vice Chair) |
8:00 pm | Dinner |
THURSDAY |
7:30 am - 8:30 am | Breakfast |
9:00 am - 12:30 pm | Translating Test Standards to Applications |
| This session will explore the ongoing issue of establishing standards for detection equipment. This will include an overview of the different approaches taken internationally to benchmark vapour, trace and bulk detection equipment together with pros and cons and lessons learnt. Each type of equipment and technology comes with its own unique challenges, and this area as a whole can often be overlooked, as the questions often out weigh the answers. It is anticipated that this session will spark a debate about how the community can even begin to address this subject, why standards are important and the difficulties associated with standards which can be conceived as inflexible in a time when new and emerging threat materials are of increasing concern. |
| Discussion Leader: Patricia McDaniel (American Association for Advancement of Science) |
9:00 am - 9:40 am | Lionel Hairault (CEA/Le Ripault) "Explosive Detection with New Portable Systems" |
9:40 am - 10:00 am | Discussion |
10:00 am | Coffee Break |
10:30 am - 11:10 am | Richard Lareau (US Department of Homeland Security) "R&D of Explosives Standards for the Lab and Field" |
11:10 am - 11:30 am | Discussion |
11:30 am - 12:10 pm | Mike Verkouteren (National Institute of Standards) "Metrology and Standards for Trace Explosives Sampling and Detection" |
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm | Discussion |
12:30 pm | Lunch |
1:30 pm - 5:30 pm | Free Time |
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm | Selected Posters Demonstrating Innovative Research in Explosives and Illicit Substance Detection |
| Discussion Leader: Samantha Ollerton (Mass Spec Analytical LTD) & Greg Gillen (National Institute of Standards) |
5:30 pm - 5:50 pm | Speaker TBA |
5:50 pm - 6:00 pm | Discussion |
6:00 pm - 6:20 pm | Speaker TBA |
6:20 pm - 6:30 pm | Discussion |
6:30 pm - 6:50 pm | Speaker TBA |
6:50 pm - 7:00 pm | Discussion |
7:00 pm - 7:20 pm | Speaker TBA |
7:20 pm - 7:30 pm | Discussion |
8:00 pm | Dinner |
FRIDAY |
7:30 am - 8:30 am | Breakfast |
9:00 am | Departure |