Homeland Security Research, Development, Testing, Evaluation and Demonstration of Technologies Related to Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction

Support the PPD-8 objective of prevention related to terrorist acts involving nuclear or radiological materials, or weapons using these materials. Support basic research to enhance national security's capability to detect and prevent the illicit entry, transport, assembly, or potential use within the United States of unauthorized chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) materials, devices or agents and otherwise help protect against an attack using such materials, devices, or agents. The Academic Research Initiative (ARI) Program has two primary objectives: 1) Engage the academic community to advance fundamental knowledge in CBRN sciences applicable to countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) with emphasis on basic and applied research to solve long-term, high-risk challenges and 2) Develop human capital for the CBRN science and engineering professions. Further, the program works to sustain a long-term commitment to basic research in this field and coordinates research efforts across the federal government to develop new capabilities for WMD threat detection.