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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Nano@Tech welcomes School of International Affairs Assistant Professor Margaret Kosal on "Nanotechnology for Chemical and Biological Defense: Policy, Programmatics, and Threat Anticipation." Registration is required (see related link, below).
Abstract:
The pursuit of the minutely small -- nanotechnology -- is thriving in academia, in the private sector, and in global state science and technology programs. Through the science fiction of Star Trek and other quasi-fictional works, the notion of nanotechnology has entered the collective public psyche. To date, three broad topics have dominated discussion regarding nanotechnology risk: health and environmental consequences, privacy and legal implications, and uncontrolled self-replication and artificial intelligence. Security implications, both for traditional nonproliferation regimes and for potential misuse by non-state actors, have not received commensurate attention. At the same time, policy makers and the scientific community, domestically and internationally, are attempting to develop new means to address risks associated with biotechnology. As 21st century science and technology intrinsically traverses traditional borders -- academic, public-private, and international -- previous models are inadequate. Through examination of civilian and defensive applications (nanotechnologically-enabled countermeasures) and hypothetical offensive uses, the goal is to develop an analytic model to probe security questions surrounding this emerging technology. Recognizing and developing a robust analytical framework to assess implications of this emerging technology is an unexplored, cutting-edge research area for international security. Alternatively, the future may grapple with a nanotechnology A.Q. Khan.
Dr. Kosal's Bio:
Along with her duties as Assistant Professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology, Margaret E. Kosal is currently the Co-Director of the Program on Emerging Technology and Security and the Director of the Program on Biological and Chemical Nonproliferation and Counterterrorism within the Center for International Strategy, Technology, and Policy (CISTP). Kosal’s research explores two interrelated areas: reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and understanding the role of emerging technologies for security. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Kosal was Science and Technology Advisor within the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense (OSD). She also served as the first liaison to the Biological and Chemical Defense Directorate at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).
Dr. Kosal is the author of "Nanotechnology for Chemical and Biological Defense" (Springer, 2009), which explores scenarios and strategies regarding the benefits and potential proliferation threats of nanotechnology and other emerging sciences for international security.
