Programs
Human Systems
Biomedical
Chem/Bio Defense
Environmental Quality
Civil Engineering
Regulatory Affairs
 - Animal Use
 - Human Use

    MISSION STATEMENT

• Develops Guidance, Provides Leadership and Oversight in the Following Technology Areas: Human Systems, Biomedical, Chemical/Biological Defense, Environmental Quality, and Civil Engineering.
• Reviews and evaluates S&T program execution to ensure requisite quality.
• Assist in prioritizing technical efforts to ensure adequate emphasis to military requirements and long-term needs.

    PROGRAMS

    COGNITIVE READINESS

Cognitive readiness focuses on defining and optimizing the human dimension of warfare. Maximizing these characteristics is essential to the effectiveness of all DoD personnel.

The Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology has established a focus area to explore Cognitive Readiness issues and unknowns.

Optimization and enhancement of human performance is challenged by many different factors. These factors include biomedical, sociological, environmental and perceptual factors, such as general health, mental and physical stress, cultural and societal fac tors, heat, cold, altitude, information overload, level of education and training.

The two Department of Defense program areas that are organized to address Cognitive Readiness issues are the Biomedical program and Human Systems program. Subcomponents deal with health and welfare, sociology and personnel, education and training, and human systems integration issues.

The emergence of new information technologies coupled to advances in cognitive sciences present the opportunity to make significant improvements in training and education effectiveness while reducing costs. Additional focus on this area in the near and m edium term is warranted by the potential payoff.

In the immediate future, DUSD (S&T) is investigating what technologies need to be developed and what research needs to be accomplished in order to enable defense education and training with advanced distributed learning capabilities. These may include in vestment in new cognitive measurement tools, identifying optimum teaching techniques to utilize with distance learning initiatives and developing IT (information technology) infrastructure.