Nunn School Assistant Professor Margaret E. Kosal, gave the keynote talk on “Nanotechnology and Diffusion of Innovation: Security Challenges for the 21st Century,” during the opening plenary session of Nanotechnology for Security and Defense Conference (NanoSD) on September 23, 2014. Held at the Spanish National Police Headquarters and School (Escuela Nacional de Policía) in Ávila Spain, the conference also featured speakers from European governments, the defense industry, non-governmental organizations, and academia.

NanoSD 2014 explored current and future technical impacts of nanotechnology in the development of security, law enforcement, and defense. A broad range of defense and security technologies and applications, such as nanostructures, sensors, energy sources, nanotextiles, and nanoelectronics, were discussed.

Kosal spoke on the characteristics and operationalizing factors—technical and non-technical—that impact the adoption of new technologies in support of development of a robust analytical framework for assessing the impact of new technology on national security and identifying measures to prevent or slow proliferation of new technologies for malfeasant intentions.

Understanding the changing paradigms and limiting the proliferation of unconventional weapons for the 21st Century starts with an awareness of the factors driving the capabilities, analysis of the changing nature of technological progress, the nature of warfare, and the relationship between science and international security. Working at the intersection of strategy, technology, and governance, Kosal's talk explored the need to understand of the complex and interdependent relationships among science, technology, and security—including politics, cultures, organizations, institutions, and individuals—in order to explain how these phenomena intersect and potentially impact US and international security policies.