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Bringing Science to Practical Application

DHS S&T is working to provide value.

One of the knocks on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) directorate has been that they have funded lots of research that has gone — well, nowhere! A lack of application has been what they have been accused of in the past.

Therefore, I do not find it surprising that with this article, DHS S&T Is Shaking Up Disaster Preparedness, there is a push to show value coming out of S&T. Will all these systems work as they are touted? Likely not so much, maybe, but ... I've always found, as with anything, that the final application is not what the touted promises of the technology were. 

Maybe some of these technologies will become commonplace with forms of information sharing or search and rescue. We'll just have to see.

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.