Experts discuss the science of terror

Move over, James Bond. Fighting international terrorism is not just for spies anymore -- the intellectuals want in. Last night, about 45 Penn students attended a panel discussion on bioterrorism. It was the second in a four-part series funded by Citicorp and Penn's Career Services designed to showcase security jobs. The first panelist, Law Professor Eric Feldman, gave an overview of the legal issues pertaining to bioterrorism. "What rights do you have?" he asked. If you are a terrorist, "which of these rights ought to be suspended?" Should Americans harmed by anti--terrorism initiatives "be able to sue the government?" he asked rhetorically. Feldman then proposed that some of the government's actions stemmed from the threat of tort. President George W. Bush's decision to vaccinate medical staffs after the enactment of the Homeland Security Act was based on this fear, he said. Feldman explained that the bill prevents most lawsuits against the government and vaccine manufacturers and administrators. In closing, he said terrorism "opens up an array of career options that I wish didn't have to exist." Panelist Jacqueline Merill, a Columbia University doctoral nursing student, turned the discussion away from hypotheticals and emphasized the history of public health. "Public health has been programmatically funded," she said, pointing to AIDS, cancer and other research projects. "All have been built up independently, and they all have their different standards." She argued that in order for bioterrorist threats to be effectively countered, public health officials need to have unified standards and training. Easier access to medical records are also necessary, she said. Harvey Rubin, director of Penn's Institute for Strategic Threat Analysis and Response -- which was created last year in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 -- said that much of the analysis has to do with math and science. "The way we teach science informs the way the nation sees science," he explained. He went on to say that many bioterrorist jobs involve using high-level mathematics, especially game theory. The final speaker was Eric Olson, an account manager for Roche Pharmaceuticals. "I kept my career path open," he said. He explained that he was initially pre-med, went into research and then decided to work on the business aspect of pharmaceuticals. But when the question-and-answer period ended, some students still had unanswered questions. "I think it would have been interesting to [have heard them discuss] the agricultural aspect of bioterrorism," said College sophomore Tyler Gerstenfeld, referring to the outbreak of mad cow disease. "I didn't know they would have all the different professions represented," he added. "That's pretty cool."

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