By Lizzie Devitt
U.S. Representative for North Carolina’s 4th District, David Price (D-NC), visited Duke on February 18th to meet with faculty, learn more about Duke’s expertise and innovation in homeland security and see the great impact that federal research funding has on the state of North Carolina.
Representative Price started off his day with the Pratt School of Engineering, where he received an update on a $5.83 million contract from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reinvent airport security screening. Professors Joel Greenberg, Michael Gehm and Anuj Kapadia, associate professor of radiology, gave Rep. Price a tutorial of their airport security scanner, which uses a unique technology to help determine the molecular signature of an object to further refine the screening process. This technique can provide a more accurate and efficient screening of liquids and explosives and can be used for other materials such as illegal opioids, which is another priority for DHS. The scanner has capabilities far beyond the scope of security, and will soon begin testing at the Duke Hospital as a means to search for tumors in the body.
At the Sanford School of Public Policy, Rep. Price engaged in a roundtable with Duke professors, David Schanzer, David Hoffman and Vincent Conitzer to discuss Duke’s wide-range of expertise on homeland security topics, including: combatting violent extremism, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.