S&T’s New Under Secretary Confirmed

Late last Wednesday the Senate confirmed Tara O’Toole as the new Under Secretary for the Science and Technology Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security. Her nomination had been held up for what seemed like forever since she was nominated in May. That is right – ten months since Obama took office!

Now that Dr. O’Toole is confirmed, I would recommend going back and re-reading her nomination hearing testimony. It will be very interesting to see if she is able to achieve her goals within the current S&T structure or if she will have to reorganize the Directorate to establish a new way of thinking that promotes the type of innovative research she is prioritizing.