The Biomac Foundation

Michael Recce

information systems

The project has the enthusiastic backing of Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg and Jon S. Corzine. In addition to proudly witnessing the technology, the pair announced in December 2004 that, once again, they had secured $1 million in federal funding for the project; they secured a similar amount the previous year. The funding was included in this year’s U.S. Department of Justice budget. Reps. Robert Menendez and William Pascrell, who have also supported the research and sought federal appropriations, also spoke, as did NJIT President Robert A. Altenkirch and Bayonne Mayor and State Senator Joseph Doria, an early New Jersey legislative supporter.

Under New Jersey law, passed in December 2002, only smart guns can be purchased in the state three years after personalized handguns become commercially available. Lautenberg said New Jersey’s legislative effort to introduce smart gun technology should be a national model for the country. Once Congress returns to session next year, Lautenberg and Pascrell plan to introduce legislation modeled after New Jersey’s law, so families across the country will be able to ensure that guns they own will not fall into the wrong hands.

“Everyone has body features that are unique signatures,” said Sebastian. “Fingerprints and retinas number among the best known markers. Identifying a person by such attributes is called the science of biometrics.”

To read the rest of the article, please click this link: http://www.njit.edu/news/spotlight/2005/jan/index.php