University of Maryland Gets an 'A' For Its Nanotechnology Research

Larry Sita , a chemical and biological engineering professor, said the biggest benefit of having his lab wrapped into the nanotech center is that he and students are now collaborating with scientists from other departments, giving them access to a new set of experts and broadening the scope of their research projects.

Last year at this time, Steve Cooper was one of the most powerful men in the local technology industry. After a speech at a government technology trade show, entrepreneurs lined up by the dozens to slip Cooper -- the first chief information officer at the Department of Homeland Security -- a business card.

When he decided to leave the agency this spring, Cooper could have walked into any number of high-paying private-sector gigs with companies trying to get the inside track with the DHS. Instead, he signed on to become the top technology official at the American Red Cross . Why?

"The playful answer is that working in the federal government so messed up my mind that I had to go to a halfway house before I went back to the private sector," Cooper said. "The real reason was that there were things that I felt I could continue to do from an environment like the Red Cross. . . . Public service is of high value to me. It's something that I committed to doing after 9/11."

Cooper, 54, whose résumé includes stints at CACI International Inc. and Computer Sciences Corp., also said he didn't want to tip the scales in favor of any one company.

At DHS, Cooper melded the computer systems of 22 individual agencies into one and helped the agency design a technology strategy. He says he'll look back on his 2 1/2 years there with pride and frustration -- and the sense that "this is a marvelous experience and I wouldn't trade it for the world, but I might not do it again."

Overheard:

"Within an hour's drive of Fairfax County, there are about one-quarter of all Internet service providers on the entire planet . . . but the current Internet -- and the protocols and networks that underpin it -- may have reached its limits," said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) at a congressional hearing last week on the transition to a new version of the Internet. Proponents of the new standard, called Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPV6), say it is more secure and can better handle increasing volumes of Web addresses than the current version.

Ellen McCarthy writes about the local tech scene every Thursday. Her e-mail address ismccarthye@washpost.com.