As an element of the Border and Transportation Security (BTS) under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Transportation Security Administration is responsible for providing security solutions for rail, maritime, transit, pipeline, aviation and highway modalities. The Office of Security Technologies will develop and implement the best security technology solutions to protect the nation’s transportation systems, ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce. The provision of security against the safety, privacy, and surface of the traveling public is a challenging balance. The Transportation Security Laboratory is responsible for research development, and test and evaluation of next generation security procedures, processes and equipment. Our current security R&D program is addressing measures that can be taken to protect people, cargo, conveyances, and facilities against explosives, weapons, unauthorized access, and chemical/biological/radiological/ and nuclear agents. Many novel technologies are being developed and assessed in our laboratory in order to meet these challenges, including walk-through portals that detect explosive residues, explosive detection systems (EDS), nuclear quadrupole resonance, X-ray diffraction, and neutron and gamma ray systems. Other areas of R&D include enabling technologies such as biometrics, vehicle tracking and intrusion surveillance. The scope of the need is large, and the threat is real, but layered elements of technology and procedures suggest a blueprint for future security.