The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) is seeking information regarding innovative approaches to detect and identify aerosolized chemicals of interest, such as chemical warfare agents (CWAs), explosives, toxins/pollutants, and pharmaceutical-based agents (PBAs).
The need to rapidly identify aerosols is vital to national security because many chemical threats are dispersed as aerosols, such as mustard gas, tear gas, and explosions caused by liquid/solid flammable materials. Identification of chemical species in aerosols is complicated by their complex structures, chemical interferants, and particle sizes.
IARPA seeks to understand the chemistry, morphology, and dispersion characteristics of aerosol plumes. Identification of the chemicals of interest from complex environmental backgrounds would enable security and emergency services to quickly assess threats
