When submissions closed last week, the Opioid Detection Challenge had received 83 novel ideas for detecting illicit opioids in international mail. Plans from U.S. and international innovators incorporated technologies from artificial intelligence and machine learning to spectrometry and spectroscopy.

What’s next in the Challenge

An all-star review panel of experts in drug interdiction, machine learning, postal operations, and forensic science will be the first to review the submissions. They will score all submissions against the Stage 1 Selection Criteria and advance the leading concepts to the judging panel. The judges will select up to eight finalists to share a prize pool of $800,000 and participate in Stage 2 of the competition.

We are honored to have the following experts join the Opioid Detection Challenge review panel and thank them for contributing their time to the selection process.

  • John Blalock, Program Manager, United States Postal Service Engineering (USPS)
  • Karen Bowen, Forensic Scientist, Anderson – Oconee Regional Forensics Laboratory
  • C. Brandon Callahan, U.S. Postal Inspector Detailee, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)
  • Vincent J Desiderio, Hazardous Materials Specialist, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)
  • Kristin DeWitt, Program Manager, Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA)
  • Ryan Elliot, U.S. Postal Inspector, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)
  • Charlie Greenbacker, VP of Analytics, IN-Q-TEL
  • Ben Hammel, Sr. Scientist – AI Research, Mythic Inc.
  • John Jackman, Postal Inspector, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)
  • Anthony H. Jacobs,  U.S. Postal Inspector, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)
  • Rodney LaLonde, Researcher, University of Central Florida
  • Andy Lamm, Electronic Engineer, United States Postal Service Engineering (USPS)
  • Marcela Najarro, Research Chemist, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
  • William O’Neill, Technology Acquisition & Program Management, United States Postal Service (USPS)
  • Lukas Oudejans, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  • William Paliscak, Postal Inspector, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)
  • Daniel Randall, Director, Manifest & Conveyance Security, Office of Field Operations, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
  • Robert Redes, Division Chief, Trade Operations, JFK Airport, Office of Field Operations, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
  • Vishal Sandesara, Director, Strategic Partnerships, IN-Q-TEL LABS
  • Ryan Simpson, Systems Architect, United States Postal Service Letter Mail Technology (USPS)
  • Ed Sisco, Research Chemist, Surface and Trace Chemical Analysis Group, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Stay tuned for the finalist announcement later this spring. Sign up for the Challenge newsletter to receive the announcement and all other Opioid Detection Challenge updates.