U.S. and U.K. Mark 10th Anniversary of Science and Technology Bilateral Agreement

Last week, Under Secretary for Science and Technology Dr. Reginald Brothers and United Kingdom (U.K.) Home Office Chief Scientific Advisor Professor Bernard Silverman together marked the 10th anniversary of the U.S. – U.K. Science and Technology (S&T) Bilateral Agreement.

S&T hosted the U.K. delegation here in Washington D.C., including members from the U.K. Home Office, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the Department for Transport, the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, for this year’s bilateral meeting Nov. 18 – 20, where they recognized the significant steps on research development that have been made between the two countries. Dr. Brothers and Silverman established a wearable technology partnership to continue and build on existing capabilities to share information for these devices, which include medical, exercise and global positioning system devices with Internet access as well as sensors first responders wear.

Over the past ten years, the U.S. and U.K. have shared research and project information, and has led to increased cooperation between the two countries. During the meetings, participants also identified opportunities for increased S&T cooperation for current and proposed work under the S&T Bilateral Agreement, which was signed in 2004. Topics included aviation and border security, cyber security, radiological and nuclear detection, chemical and biological defense, as well as bilateral collaboration on countering violent extremism.

While in the U.S, the U.K. delegation visited S&T’s new Air Entry/Exit Re-Engineering (AEER) program Maryland Test Facility; the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center; and the Transportation Security Integration Facility.