Book excerpt: Advanced technologies and systems in the hands of dedicated people throughout the United States are the nation's asymmetrical advantages in safeguarding our security. U.S. leadership in science and technology is vital to the security of the homeland as well as the safety of our allies, coalition partners and friends worldwide. "Now, more than ever," then-Secretary of State Colin Powell remarked in 2004, "American science must enlighten American statecraft." This fundamental perspective guides the strategies, plans and programs of the Science and Technology (S & T) Directorate in the Department of Homeland Security. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 which established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requires that the Department plan, coordinate and integrate all U.S. government activities relating to homeland security, including border security, intelligence, critical infrastructure protection, emergency preparedness and response, and science and technology. Underscoring the critical role of science and technology to America's security, the Act gave the Science and Technology Directorate the responsibility to advise the DHS Secretary on S & T requirements, priorities and programs that support the Department's vision and mission. The 2002 Act also charged the S & T Directorate to carry out basic and applied Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT & E) for America's homeland security needs. And, among other initiatives and mandates, the Act called for a specialized Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA, patterned after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) within the S & T Directorate to: ... support basic and applied homeland security research to promote revolutionary changes in technologies; advance the development, testing and evaluation, and deployment of critical homeland security technologies; and accelerate the prototyping and deployment of technologies that would address homeland security vulnerabilities.