Weldon: U. key in security research

Homeland security is a complex issue, but Pennsylvania Congressman Curt Weldon has one word to address it -- reorganization. Members of the School of Engineering and Applied Science came together in the Towne Building to welcome Weldon yesterday afternoon, as he presented his views on topics in homeland security. "The solutions for homeland security are based on technology already being developed in universities," Weldon said. The lecture, entitled "Homeland Security and the Role of Government," was part of the Technology, Business and Government Distinguished Lecture Series. University Provost Robert Barchi and Engineering School Dean Eduardo Glandt introduced the talk by underlining the tight relationship between Penn's engineering research and national security projects. Both a Republican congressman for Pennsylvania and a Drexel University professor, Weldon talked about many of the hot topics that are currently on the national agenda of homeland security. The lecture took off with a brief recount of the Cold War. Weldon argued that today's "unstable countries" received weapons from a scattered Russian army that were built to be used against the U.S. He also faulted both the American and Russian governments with negligence, as they allegedly failed to monitor the leakage of loose nuclear weapons. "Proliferation of technology is what caused the problems that we now face today," Weldon said. The congressman continued by listing the three gravest threats that concern homeland security today: missiles, weapons of mass destruction and other countries' use of American information technology against the U.S. This last threat seemed to concern Weldon the most. "To hack those systems is to bring the country to its knees," he said. "The growth of the use of information has become a field of study for these countries against us." These "asymmetrical threats" -- so called because they would nullify American military superiority if used -- are currently being scrutinized by the Homeland Security Department in an attempt to prevent future attacks. "As bad as the World Trade Center was, the next one is going to be worse," Weldon declared. To improve national security, the congressman proposed two strategies. One was to unite all U.S. intelligence in a threat assessment unit called data fusion. The other proposal was the creation of an integrated domestic communication system between rescue units from different areas to maximize efficiency. Weldon concluded by expressing the need to create linkages between institutions and between countries, through science, technology and engineering; the goal being to form "bridges of understanding" among nations and create positive images of one another. The presentation received the warm approval of the public, a crowd of about 100 Penn professors and students. "It is nice to see someone who was so involved with national security," Engineering sophomore Lauren Boyer remarked.