‘We need to see ahead’
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano emphasized the importance of science and technology research as a means of keeping the nation safe in an address at MIT on Monday, while outlining a series of ways the government would like to enlist talented academic researchers in public service.“Today we have to expand government’s collaboration with science, well beyond the areas where that collaboration is already strong," said Napolitano, who delivered the annual Karl Taylor Compton Lecture in Kresge Auditorium. “A deeper partnership on homeland security must be one of these areas. We need the minds and talents of individuals who are excited about coming into an emerging field.”From ensuring safe travel for Americans and safe trade for American business, to protecting the country’s infrastructure, “we need to see ahead, and we need scientists to help us do that,” added Napolitano, who was introduced by MIT President Susan Hockfield, and is...