Biological Sciences Help Defense, Space Programs.

Fifteen years from now, one out of three NASA employees will be a biologist, said Dan Goldin, administrator of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration. His prediction is based on the reality that aerospace and defense research programs increasingly are turning to the hard science of biotechnology and the study of nanotechnology to create a more flexible, technically savvy force.

Goldin spoke during the recent mid-Atlantic technology consortium's Tech Trends conference in Atlantic City, N.J.

Biotechnology is the application of biological knowledge and techniques to produce innovative materials, devices and systems. For example, NASA is now designing a new generation of spacecraft that will improve its performance by imitating bird flight. "A wealth of technological breakthroughs is likely to come from mimicking the interactions of biological systems and their response to the environment," Goldin explained.

NASA is exploring the use of nanotechnology for potentially far-reaching non-defense applications. A nanometer is a unit of measurement approximately [10.sup.-9] microns long. Using nanotechnology, it is possible to stack molecules tightly to create almost impenetrable, self-repairing, self-sensing or self-adapting materials. Though NASA is developing the material for building aircraft, "this will have a huge impact on many markets," Goldin said. "We're not funding revolutionary advances. We're funding revolution," he said.

The agency has developed a so-called carbon nanotube, a new form of carbon several microns long. Goldin said that some forms of carbon nanotubes "appear to possess extraordinary properties." The nanotubes, when stacked together, are reported to have the strength five times that of steel, and "tensile strength approaching 100 gigapascals, over 100 times the strength of steel," he said.

NASA's carbon nanotechnology has led to the development of a medical application: a nanoelectronic-based biopsy sampler. The device, developed at NASA Ames in Moffett Field, Calif., in collaboration with the Nation al Cancer Institute, seeks to perform biopsies on human tissue, with minimal invasion of the body, that would provide instantaneous results. Today, biopsies take one to three weeks to come back from the lab.

The idea that medical advances can be achieved via space programs, however, is not universally accepted. "I would no more expect the space program to spin off new medical technology, than to expect the medical technology community to spin off a space program," said John Pike, a defense technology analyst.

James Donahue, chairman of the Tech Trends conference, echoed Goldin's enthusiasm for the contributions that biotechnology and nanotechnology could bring to space and defense programs. Donahue noted that the traditional boundaries between areas of technology are being blurred, because some disciplines are multi-dimensional. "Technologies that have their origins in military applications, such as night-vision goggles, are now being used by civilians such as firefighters. With night-vision goggles, firefighters can go into buildings where the power has been cut and rescue those trapped inside," he said. "These technologies are saving lives."

Donahue also highlighted the expertise of the mid-Atlantic region's technology consortium, which is made up of industry, government and academic professionals. Through government-funded research and private investment, the consortium is working to apply defense technology to other fields, such as health care and emergency response.

Private companies and research consortia exhibiting at the Tech Trends conference touted the dual-use benefits of various products, for military and civilian use. Ansar Inc., based in Philadelphia, has developed a heart-rate measuring device small enough to be sewn into a soldier's uniform. The device measures vital signs upon contact with the body. It is equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology so the soldier can be located more precisely. The system, called ANS-R1000, was adopted as part of the Army's combat casualty-care program. It is noninvasive and monitors the nervous system so that a remote operator can determine if the soldier is in distress, or dying, said Nicolas Emper, Ansar's vice president. "In wartime, this will help determine whether or not a person is alive, and how much time you have to get to that person," he said. The device classifies the soldier's vital signs with the colors of red, yellow and green. "Red means the person is deceased or will be, yellow is that they are able to survive if you get to them quickly, and green is that they are okay or that their wounds are superficial," Emper said.

ANS-R1000 is being marketed for nonmilitary applications. Firefighters are already using the device as they enter burning buildings, greatly improving their chances of survival if they become injured, Emper said. Emergency-room physicians are using the device to determine if patients who come into the emergency room are in shock, or if their symptoms are indicative of a particular problem. According to emergency physician William C. Shoemaker, "the Ansar heart rate variability device [is] a very useful way to assess sympathetic and parasympathetic activities in a wide variety of acute illnesses."

Another example of nanotechnology applications is a system developed by the Army Research Lab (ARL), in conjunction with the Army's Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center. It is a hand-held sensor that can detect the presence of biological agents in extremely low concentrations. Ray Yin, ARL research chemist and lead inventor of the product, said the detector works by placing three to five drops of water into a sample well. Within 15 minutes, "like a pregnancy test, you see lines develop, which may or may not indicate that biological agents such as anthrax, small pox, plague or botulinum toxin are present in the water, he said.

This is the first time nanotechnology has ever been used for chemical and biological defense applications, Yin said. "The incorporation of the nanomanipulation concept into the current biological detection systems has significantly enhanced the detection sensitivity and reduced the production cost," he said. The old biological detection systems employ techniques that are "only capable of randomly orienting antibodies at different sensing surfaces." The system won the Army's R&D achievement award in 1999.

ARL earned that award in 2000 again for another product. The nanoreactor-based topical skin protective cream, when applied to a soldier's hands and face, is an effective protectant against nerve agents, particularly sulfur mustard. The cream was developed because, during the 1991 Gulf War, the "existing chemical protective clothing was too bulky, unbreathable, and in some circumstances ineffective against sulfur mustard," said an ARL official. The cream, when applied generously, "works for both nerve and blister agent protection without any toxic or skin-irritation problems."

Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., a co-host of the conference, said that new developments in bio- and nanotechology call for more congressional support for additional research dollars in the federal budget. "While the president is willing to double the funding for the National Institutes of Health, we need to do more for the National Science Foundation, for NASA," he said.

In the business of war fighting, technology can provide an edge, said Gen. James Jones, commandant of the Marine Corps, who also spoke at the conference. "Might and mass are not quite so important now; speed and agility have become the critical factors. We can use technology as a force multiplier."

Delaware Valley Competing for Federal Research Dollars

The federal government spends almost $80 billion a year in research and development of new technologies, but "the lion's share of this funding goes to western states like California," complained Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa.

Large states such as California have 52 members of Congress, in addition to its two senators, so they tend to have more influence with government agencies and, therefore, win more federal research contracts, Weldon said during the Tech Trends conference, in Atlantic City, NJ.

A new coalition comprised of members of the House and Senate from the Delaware Valley Region (New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware) is trying to compete for those federal dollars by pooling their political clout. The four-state region constitutes what Weldon called a "Smart Region" and is represented by 43 members of Congress and eight senators. Such a coalition, said Weldon, has more power as a group than as individual states. The Tech Trends conference was designed to showcase the technological capabilities of the Delaware Valley, Weldon said, "so we are better prepared to compete for, and develop, technology that will drive our future economy." Institutions within the region will "have the ability to share information and collaborate on projects that benefit all involved," he said.

The annual Tech Trends conference was first held in Philadelphia in 2000, and this year moved to Atlantic City. It was organized by the National Defense Industrial Association, the New Jersey Technology Council and the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology, along with the Congressional delegations of New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Next year, the Tech Trends conference will be held in Baltimore, Md.

New technologies being developed in the Delaware Valley region are "mind-boggling, great and fantastic," said Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J. "These may not be politically correct words, but that is what I feel is going on here."