The goal of the meeting, the third in a series called Challenges for the Chemical Sciences in the 21st Century, was to identify and forge connections between what chemists can do to promote homeland security and what the government must do to understand and apply that help. The 110 invited participants, representing academia and industry, heard 10 speakers and shared ideas in several breakout sessions. One session pinpointed areas likely to have direct impact on national security and defense: analytical chemistry, high throughput analysis, PCR, electronic materials and processes, and drug discovery and development.
David Franz, vice president of the chemical and biological defense division of the Southern Research Institute in Frederick, Md., kicked off the meeting with a brief history of bioweaponry. He then outlined the obstacles that a bioterrorism attack must overcome to actually succeed on a large scale. Although dependence on precise meteorological conditions is a limiting ...
