Kurdish Teens Invent Promising New Bomb Detection System

Talk about a science project that could really save lives! A pair of Kurdish Schoolgirls, Eman Abdul-Razzaq Ibrahim and Dastan Othman Hassan, have developed a new bomb detection system which would allow security forces to check exponentially more cars for hidden explosives than is currently possible.

Knowing that Kurdish security forces can’t check every vehicle on the road, the girls sought to screen many cars in a short period of time. Encouraged by their teacher, they approached Erbil Governor Nawzad Hadi for advice. Hadi informed them that the most common form of explosive in the region was C4, but the two wanted to invent something capable of detecting a range of threats, including chemical weapons.

The students then went to work. Using already developed technology, they devised a screening system that could check hundreds of vehicles in the time it currently takes to search just a few. This would speed up security checkpoints but also greatly decrease the risk of car bombs which have terrorized their community.

They set up a model whereby two bomb detector devices are hidden in trashcans on the side of a road, and one is affixed to a street sign above.  Cars must slow down over a speed bump, where they are scanned by all three devices.  Having studied the physics of light, the girls realized night vision CCTV cameras would pick up any ultraviolet light caused by the detector lasers, and immediately report the image of the car to security officials.

They won at the science fair and also caught the interest of many around the world. They’ve rebuffed offers from companies hoping to develop the system and instead remain focused on their original goal of making their neighborhoods safer.

The students say 21 companies and the Dutch police approached them about using their system. Competition organizers were shocked that the girls hadn’t already sold the system to the Kurdistan Regional Government. The two refused all offers from companies, promising that they would bring it to their own government first—free of charge. “The main point is to save people’s lives,” Eman says.

By: Mark Quincy Adams

A proud 'pragmatic progressive' Mark Quincy Adams has been a political
talk show host and prolific pontificator since 1992. Find him on Facebook and Twitter @politicalglutton