March 14th, 2005

Study finds U.S. programs help promote peaceful work for Russian scientists

"America's attempt to find peaceful employment for the Soviet Union's weapons scientists seems to be working," reports The Economist, citing an International Security article due out this spring by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher and former CISAC Fellow Deborah Yarsike Ball. U.S.-funded programs seem to help discourage Russian scientists from taking their expertise to countries that seek to develop illicit chemical, biological or nuclear weapons programs, according to a recent survey of scientists in the largest of the former Soviet republics. Ball presented the survey findings at CISAC's science seminar on Feb. 15. Read more »

March 4th, 2005

Different fingerprint systems thwart interagency cooperation

Despite repeated investigations showing that different fingerprint systems used by immigration and criminal agencies prevent information-sharing that would help keep terrorists from entering the country, U.S. Departments of Justice, State and Homeland Security have yet to agree on a uniform system. Read more »

October 27th, 2004

Border fingerprint system ineffective in identifying terrorists, say CISAC researchers

The two-fingerprint system used at U.S. borders to identify suspected terrorists is inadequate, Rep. Jim Turner (D-Tex.) warned Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge in a publicly released letter. Turner based his criticism on findings by Stanford Business Professor Lawrence M. Wein, a CISAC affiliated faculty member, and PhD candidate Manas Baveja, a CISAC fellow. Read more »