Trouble shooter: Cohen puts imprint on beleaguered Homeland Security technology arm.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: Jay Cohen - Interview

A terrorist has a smorgasbord of potential ways to launch an attack--chemical, nuclear, biological or conventional explosives--along with a plethora of potential soft targets including ports, public transportation, schools and the food and water supply.

"Our aim is to remove seams. That's what the Department of Homeland Security is all about," Jay Cohen, undersecretary of science and technology told National Defense. "Because the bad guys will work the seams against us."

Meanwhile, technology programs at DHS, whether or not they originated in the S&T directorate, have not enjoyed the best reputation. Nuclear and radiological detectors at ports have not performed as hoped. Explosive sniffers at airports have dogged. And the separation of liquids in hand-carried bags at airports serves as a constant reminder to the general public that the Transportation Security Administration still has its own technology seams to fill.

Cohen, former head of the Office of Naval Research, took the helm of the directorate on Aug. 10, the day British authorities arrested a dozen men for allegedly plotting to blow up U.S. bound aircraft over the Atlantic. He accepted the job only 10 days after retiring from a 42-year career in the Navy as a rear admiral.

"Once you have a taste of public service, it's hard to walk away from it," he told National Defense.

Aug. 10 was either an auspicious or inauspicious day to start his new job depending on how one looks at it. Auspicious perhaps, because authorities were able to thwart a major attack; inauspicious in that the incident pointed to another shortcoming in homeland security technology--namely the ability to detect liquid explosives.

The directorate has also had a high rate of personnel turnover. Only 66 percent of its allotted slots are filled.

Congress remains skeptical. At a hearing, Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., chairman of the House subcommittee on technology and innovation, accused DHS of chasing after technologies that don't match the risks facing the nation.

"Frankly, it's been a rough start," Wu said of the directorate's short history.

Cohen told the subcommittee that he expects to be fully staffed by the end of the calendar year. Overall, Wu praised Cohen's efforts to reorganize the beleaguered agency.

Six months after taking the job, Cohen said his duties are similar to what he did at the Office of Naval Research, but "the breadth is so much larger."

His "customers" at ONR were the Navy and Marine Corps. Now, they...