Lecture Abstract:

Science and Technology has impacted everyone from the basic needs such as food we eat, water we drink, energy we consume, environment we live in and medicine to treat our diseases, to provide comfort to enhance our quality of life. There are also many examples showing the importance of science and technology for national security such as stealth, precision guidance weapons, advanced communications, and so on. Science and technology underlie the elements of national power- economics, military, diplomacy, but it does not often receive the kind of attention it deserves. In the last two decades, we have witnessed the issue of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the rise of terrorism, the globalization of technology, it is essential for the policy makers to understand how science and technology could help in national security. The science and technology strategy for the US Department of Homeland Security will be discussed as an illustration to the current national security challenges.
About the Speaker:

Dr Cung Vu is a chemical engineer with over 30 years of experience in industries, academia and government, and was listed in Who’s Who in Science and Engineering. Dr. Vu served as Associate Director at the Office of Naval Research Global in Singapore to link the Office of Naval Research to the international scientific community. Previously, Dr. Vu served as Chief Science and Technology Advisor at the National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office (NMIO) where he advised the Director of NMIO on the implications of new and emerging technologies in the maritime domain. He fostered engagement and information sharing amongst the NMIO stakeholders (Federal, State, Local US Government, Academia, Private sector, Foreign Partners, etc.). He also led a community of interest on Emerging and Disruptive Technologies under the charter of the Global Futures Forum, coordinated by the National Intelligence Council. He was Branch Chief, Advanced Technologies of the Defense Warning Office overseeing strategic assessments on emerging technologies with the intent of precluding technological surprise.