Experts on Chemical and Biological Agents

Several experts on topics related to chemical warfare and other potential terrorist threats are available from the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. The experts listed below have all agreed to accept inquiries from reporters.

Science — Environment

Water Safety and Water Quality — Martha Wells, Ph.D., is the Immediate Past Chair of the Environmental Division of the American Chemical Society and a professor of environmental and analytical chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tenn.

Web site: http://www2.tntech.edu/wrc/wells.htm.

"Many of us in the water field are concerned that there's a potential for a threat to our water supply."

Science — Environment

Exposure to hazardous chemicals — Paul Lioy, Ph.D., is a member of the American Chemical and is director of the Exposure Measurement and Assessment Division of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute at Rutgers University.

Web site: http://www.eohsi.rutgers.edu/bios/lioybio.html

Science — Chemical Warfare

Detection of chemical and biological agents — Michael Sailor, Ph.D., is a member of the American Chemical Society and a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego. Part of the ongoing work by Dr. Sailor's research at UCSD is the development of "smart dust" — nano-sized, porous, silicon chips that detect nerve gas and a variety of biological agents. Applications include use for troops on the battlefield or civilians in the United States.

Web site: http://chem-faculty.ucsd.edu/sailor/

Science — Chemical Warfare

Detection of biological agents — Anthony Czarnik, Ph.D., is editor of the Journal of Combinatorial Chemistry, published by the American Chemical Society. Part of his research involves implantable sensors about the size of a Tic Tac that can be placed under the skin as a biological detector. The most immediate use is as a glucose detector for diabetics, but Homeland Security applications include metabolic readings for earlier detection of infection and subsequent treatment or quarantine. Dr. Czarnik is currently CSO of Sensors for Medicine and Science, Inc. in Germantown, Maryland.

Science — Chemical Warfare

Detection of chemical and biological agents — Kimberly Prather, Ph.D., is a member of the American Chemical Society and a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego. Part of the Dr. Prather's research at UCSD involves the development of analytical methods for continuous monitoring of aerosol particles, which include biowarfare agents.

Science — Chemical Warfare

Detection of chemical agents — Timothy Swager, Ph.D., is a member of the American Chemical Society and a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. Part of Dr. Swager's research at MIT involves the development of biosensors. He can answer general questions about chemical warfare, particularly regarding nerve gas and its detection.

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/tswager/www/