Dr. Nicole Spaun began her career staring at planets. “I got my PhD in geology, looking specifically at planetary geology. During graduate school, I worked with NASA’s Galileo mission to Jupiter and its moons,” Spaun says. “About two months before I defended my dissertation – about a month after 9/11 – someone who’d gone to […]

Dr. Dana Michalski was looking for work in research as she pursued her degree in behavioral science and psychology. She found a job at Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Organisation as it was then known. “I started by working half my time on Army projects working with soldiers, and the other half my time working […]

Like many of today’s leaders in biometrics, Debra Marcopulos’ career path was influenced by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “I actually became interested in the technology that was being developed to help secure our country, specifically fingerprint technology. So when opportunities for DHS’ mission to modernize this legacy technology became available, I eagerly accepted the position.” […]

If your international air travel experience has gotten easier, you may have Sherry Stein, SITA America’s Head of Technology Strategy, to thank. “In 2016, we began working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and JetBlue in particular around how to help implement biometric exit in a way that would become something that would be […]

Anne Wang began her biometrics career over a quarter century ago as a research scientist for Cogent (now Gemalto). “Back in the 90s, biometrics was mostly used by law enforcement. At that time, this kind of technology was not really known to the general public other than in science fiction movies,” Wang says. “But in […]

2018 Women in Biometrics Award winner Lisa MacDonald serves as Director of Identity Capabilities Management Division, DHS Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM). But MacDonald didn’t know how to spell biometrics when she stumbled into the industry. “I was an English major; I have a Master’s in Public Administration,” MacDonald says. “I did come to […]

“In my opinion you won’t recognize air travel in the next three to five to seven years,” says Colleen Manaher, Executive Director of Planning, Program Analysis, and Evaluation in the Office of Field Operations at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Washington, D.C. “We’re so invested in facial recognition that we’re willing to say […]

For 2018 Women in Biometrics Award winner Kelly Gallagher, there’s nothing like solving a case. “In the early years when I was a crime scene tech, I would get so excited when I knew I made an identification and I was able to help that family or even company solve their crime,” Gallagher says. “My […]

A winner of the 2018 Women in Biometrics Awards, Lora Sims once thought she’d be a science teacher. Instead, she is playing a very important role in the field of biometric security. She says, “I’m teaching a science … not in a traditional classroom, but that’s okay with me.” As a Senior Biometric Examiner and […]

The most talked about application for mobile ID technology is the mobile driver’s licenses, but there are many other functions and credentials that are poised to go the mobile route. Check out what one expert in the field identifies as the top five uses for mobile ID beyond driver’s licenses.