Nunn School Assistant Professor, Margaret E. Kosal, gave the plenary talk at the 2012 Nanotechnology for Defense Conference (NT4D) held August 6-9th in Summerlin, NV. 

Kosal spoke on the security implications of advancements in nanotechnology and nanoscience for national and international security. Leveraging Diffusion of Innovations theory and work on  technological ‘early adaptors,’ she identifies and probes specific characteristics and operationalizing factors – technical and non-technical – that may have decisive impact on the proliferation of new technologies. Using case studies from China and Iran, she highlighted key security factors ranging from deniability and lack of transparency to perceived vulnerability and role of globalization.

The Nanotechnology for Defense Conference is the premier annual event bringing together scientists and engineers from defense service laboratories, universities, small business, and industry who are working on applications of nanotechnology for defense capabilities.

Initiated a decade ago by the Air Force Research Laboratory, Army Research Laboratory, the Office of Naval Research, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the NT4D remains the premier event addressing emerging and nanotechnologies for defense. The conference is jointly sponsored by the Department of Defense Laboratories (the Army Research Laboratory, the Navy Research Laboratory, and the Air Laboratory), the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.