Bill Bryan: Homeland Security official details the effect of temperature and humidity on coronavirus
As the Department of Homeland Security senior official performing the duties of the under secretary for Science and Technology, Bill Bryan holds an influential perch with far-reaching authority over research, development and testing at the agency as well as for first responders across the country.
He serves in an acting position, having not been confirmed by the Senate to the post.
Bryan’s department biography does not refer to him as a doctor, nor did President Donald Trump introduce him as one on Thursday.
Bryan holds a bachelor’s degree in logistics systems management from Colorado Technical University and a master of science in strategic intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College in Washington, DC.
“Technology innovation cycles are rapidly changing and the nature of the threats we see is dynamic,” he continued. “This combination presents a significant challenge to traditional R&D approaches. I believe my operational background and experience working with our national labs provide me the foundation needed to ‘operationalize’ S&T’s (research and development) to better support the missions of the Department and the nation’s first responders.”
His years as a civil servant, however, haven’t come without controversy.
Those concerns heightened, the Times reported, after Bryan later joined ValueBridge and pursued business with the company.
Bryan told the newspaper at the time that he “never made a dime off any of the people I knew from the Ukraine, deliberately, because I didn’t want to violate any of the ethics rules.”
UPDATE: This story and headline have been updated with additional information from Bryan’s biography.
