HDIAC Webinars - IARPA’s SILMARILS: Active IR Spectroscopy for Chemical Detection

Posted: 10/10/2018 | Presenter: Dr. Kristy DeWitt | Leave a Comment

Notice: This video may contain personal or third-party views and opinions not associated with the government.
Please see our terms of use located here: https://www.hdiac.org/hdiac-terms-of-use/

This webinar discusses recent developments in the use of active infrared spectroscopy for safe standoff detection of chemical residues. Presented by Dr. Kristy DeWitt, program manager at the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency (IARPA), the webinar reviews the agency’s SILMARILS program—Standoff ILluminator for Measuring Absorbance and Reflectance Infrared Light Signatures. Using active infrared spectroscopy—the analysis of light interacting with molecular structures—the system will be able to detect trace amounts of chemicals from a standoff distance of nearly 100 feet. Dr. DeWitt will discuss experimental results to date, and provide an overview of SILMARILS’ next steps.

Download Associated Files:

You must be logged in to download files associated with this video podcast. Click here to login.

Presenter

Dr. Kristy DeWitt

Dr. Kristy DeWitt is a Program Manager for the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA). At IARPA she runs a portfolio of chemical detection programs including SILMARILS (standoff trace detection on surfaces), MAEGLIN (compact, low power gas detection), and Ithildin (novel sorbent development). Previously she has worked as a technical support contractor at IARPA and at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and done performer work at several companies developing fiber lasers, wind sensing systems, and skin detection sensors. Dr. DeWitt has a B.S. in Chemistry and Physics from the University of Mary Washington, and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Virginia. She did her post-doctoral work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a National Research Council (NRC) researcher.

Ask a Question or Comment: Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Dr. Paul Jaffe, Ph.D. - Harnessing Solar Power via Satellites

Dr. Jaffe is a valued member of the HDIAC SME network and contributor to a number of HDIAC products. He is an electronics engineer and researcher with over 25 years of experience at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. We are featuring his recent contribution for the State of the Art Report on Alternative Energy, which takes a look at methods that could be used to capture the energy of sunlight in space and transmit it to ground receiving stations.

Read SME's Research

Critical Infrastructure Protection

Critical Infrastructure Protection is one of the HDIAC’s eight technical focus areas. This SOAR reviews the current state of emerging technologies and methodologies relating to the protection of infrastructure and resources critical to national security. The report takes a look at the evolution of our critical infrastructure protective measures, the physical and cyber threats to our critical infrastructure, and the role government has in working with the owners of the largely privately-owned infrastructure assets. Read the SOAR

Alternative Energy: An Enabler of Military Capability

Alternative Energy is one of the HDIAC’s eight technical focus areas. This SOAR reviews the current state of a selection of novel, non-traditional, and/or emerging sources and technologies for harvesting, generating, and reusing energy. It offers synopses of new programs; summaries of significant technological breakthroughs and technology applications; highlights of outstanding developments; and impacts to the DoD. Read the SOAR

Operational Energy - Powering Military Operations to Achieve National Defense Strategy Objectives

Volume 7, Issue 1 of the HDIAC Journal contains article covering several of HDIAC's eight technical focus areas, to include Homeland Defense and Security, Alternative Energy, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Biometrics, and Critical Infrastructure Protection.

Read the Journal

Countermeasures Against the Degradation of Warfighter Capabilities due to Infectious Disease Threats

This State of the Art Report explores the impact of infectious disease on military personnel, providing both an historical and ongoing risk profile of the various infectious diseases that put the warfighter at risk. It includes a look at the historical impact of infectious diseases on past conflicts before going on to detail current and future infectious disease risks, their impact on the warfighter, and challenges in prevention or treatment, and concludes with a quick-look summary of state of the art developments and recommended countermeasures to aid leaders during training and planning. Read the SOAR

Protecting Critical Infrastructure in the Digital Age

Volume 6, Issue 4 of the HDIAC Journal covers four of HDIAC's eight focus areas with articles on Critical infrastructure Protection, Biometrics, Medical, and Alternative Energy.

Read the Journal

Welcome to the HDIAC

Stephen Redifer, Director of the Homeland Defense and Security Information Analysis Center (HDIAC) welcomes you to your community of practice.

The mission of the HDIAC is to provide users with focused expert technical consulting and unbiased scientific and technical information through in-depth analysis and the creation of specialized information products in support of the HDIAC' s eight vital technical focus areas.

Read the Director's Welcome