I am very excited to announce our new Facebook page, and I want to extend a personal invitation to everyone to like us and join the conversation at Facebook.com/dhsscitech.
Since I joined the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) team, I have been very vocal on our need to communicate better not only about the critical work we do in developing innovative technologies to better secure our nation, but also to hear from all of you: the innovators developing technologies, the responders and end users who need solutions or who have capability gaps, academics and researchers whose research drives technology leaps, our industry partners, and the American public.
Our new page joins our other very successful social media platforms, all of which are designed to disseminate information to different target audiences. Our Twitter account is very active, and our Twitter chats -- focusing for an hour on a specific technology or concept – are well attended each month. Last December, we stood up our YouTube page to feature videos of technologies that are in development as well as those that are ready to transition to either our partners or to the commercial market. In January, we began the National Conversation on Homeland Security Technology. The conversations there help us better listen to the dialog going on across the Homeland Security Enterprise on current and future threats, and in turn develop solutions to pave the way toward a more secure, resilient future.
All these platforms allow us to talk directly with our stakeholders, our partners, and even reach new partners. Facebook will help tie all these together, offering a collaborative space to further our conversations.
We will use this page as a technology showcase to highlight innovative solutions being developed by S&T, and as a news hub to share information, including upcoming events. It will be a forum to engage with target audiences interested in innovative research and development for science and technology, including the Homeland Security Enterprise and Homeland Security Industrial Base. And it will allow everyone to gain a better understanding of who we are and how we can work together.
Visit us frequently to learn about specific technologies or projects as well as upcoming events and actions. For example, we are increasing our industry days across S&T; like us to make sure you know when and where we are demoing technologies. We just announced the winners of our latest Small Business Innovation Research awards and will announce the next solicitation this fall. Join our June Twitter Chat this Wednesday; it is focused on using big data to protect firefighters. In July, we’ll discuss our Next Generation First Responder. Check back to find out the date and time.
There is so much happening throughout S&T! Like us, watch us, tweet with us… Pick your platform or use them all; just make sure you join the conversation!
Dr. Reginald Brothers
Under Secretary for Science and Technology