ARLINGTON, Va., June 28, 2006 – The Air Force Office of Scientific Research here completed its first Information Forensics and Process Integration Program Review recently at Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y. 

The review kicked off new basic research funding in the two new areas of interest concentrating on topics such as incomplete information, active querying, and cognitive processing. 

“Two key concepts to remember about the program are “actionable information” and the “network effect,”said U.S. Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Amy L. Magnus, information forensics and process integration program manager of Air Force Office of Scientific Research’s Mathematics and Information Sciences Directorate.

Actionable information is information associated with consequence such as evidence of a crime or an enemy’s attack plan discovered before its execution. Information forensics is both the identification and authoritative communication of actionable information.

The network effect ensures that as new users, information, and services are added to a network, network utility increases. Process integration seeks to achieve the network effect by promoting processes that share resources and user knowledge.

Information forensics and process integration are important study areas for the military because of the growing emphasis on networked operations.

The military tends to be a complex culture “where we collect more data than can be efficiently processed,” Magnus said.  “With net-centric communications, we may soon have the ability to ask more questions than we can answer."

“The best way to deploy a network and prevent its collapse from overload is to work smart and disciplined,” she noted.  “Our goal is to make every operator more like a special operations operator and bring a broad set of skills to every fight.”

Done correctly, net-centric operations give us the capability to project the military's expertise simultaneous to a projection of force,” Magnus explained.

The new portfolio is an outgrowth of an Air Force Office of Scientific Research commissioned study on information science and technology from the National Research Council. 

“The National Research Council study recommended the Air Force Office of Scientific Research implement a team-focused, network-enabled information science and technology program,” she said.