ABSTRACT
Events in recent years have led to an increased need for improvements in our ability to detect explosives. In numerous situations, the capability to detect explosives sensitively, accurately, and rapidly could have great benets to national security both at home and abroad. Some of the homeland situations that would benet from improvements in explosives detection include screening passengers and luggage at airports and other sensitive locations and screening vehicles and people along the perimeters of high-value installations such as federal buildings. Abroad, the improvised explosive device (IED) problem is clearly in need of creative solutions to mitigate the devices’ very damaging effects. Much research has been conducted to help solve these problems; however, it is unlikely that any one solution will sufce.
