Feds at Work: The FBI’s premier bomb expert
Kirk Yeager leads U.S. and foreign law enforcement to determine how explosives work — and find new ways to detect and stop them.
When a terrorist bombing or new type of explosive poses a threat to the U.S., the FBI typically turns to one man: Kirk Yeager.
“Kirk is the FBI’s resident bomb expert,” said Christopher Doss, assistant director of FBI’s Laboratory Division. “Anything that deals with explosives that comes to the FBI goes through Kirk.”
Yeager has assisted with virtually every high-profile bombing in the past several years, including the Brussels bombing in March.
“Kirk is the go-to source, the brains behind understanding how you would put explosives together.” ~Alice Isenberg, FBI
He was the FBI’s lead explosive scientist for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, the attempted bombing in New York’s Times Square in 2012 and the case of the underwear bomber arrested in Detroit in 2009.
“Kirk is the go-to source, the brains behind understanding how you would put explosives together,” said Alice Isenberg, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Laboratory Division.
His work has saved the lives of countless U.S. civilians, law enforcement personnel and military troops, she added.
“Kirk is adept at thinking about explosives — how a bomb can be made or triggered — in unconventional ways,” she said. “His research has made air travel safer by enhancing safety and detection procedures for explosives.”
Yeager also oversees FBI research aimed at getting a better understanding of the explosives terrorists use, according to Amy Hess, executive assistant director of the FBI’s Science and Technology Division. And he developed the FBI’s advanced training material on terrorist explosives.
His is sought-after expertise. Yeager confers regularly with law enforcement agencies here and abroad, and has provided training to every bomb squad in the U.S. as well as to many foreign allies.
As a chemist, engineer and one of the FBI’s five senior laboratory scientists, Yeager has been studying bomb making for more than 20 years, trying to understand the ingredients, how these bombs were put together and how they can be detected.
With that knowledge, he seeks to trace devices to specific terrorist organizations or known bomb makers around the world.
In 2014, for example, Yeager worked with colleagues at the FBI’s Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center and other federal experts, leading research on portable electronic devices terrorist organizations use.
They built and tested these devices, considered a major threat, and found ways to upgrade explosive-detection equipment. They revised the training curriculum and improved aviation security.
That same year, Yeager and his interagency team quickly responded when Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula published detailed instructions for making a bomb designed to target aircraft that could elude existing detection methods. It could be made from match heads and ordinary kitchen materials.
Yeager and the team built and tested the device identifying weaknesses in canine and instrument-detection capabilities. They researched ways to lessen the threat and worked with the Transportation Security Administration to tighten screening procedures. They did all this within 41 days from when the bomb recipe surfaced.
Those who know Yeager describe him as an outstanding teacher and communicator, and a brilliant scientist. He helped start a training program and developed information for bomb technicians across the country, including those at private companies. In one instance, the training materials helped a shipping company successfully stop a “lone wolf” plot, Yeager said.
“Kirk has revolutionized training for the bomb tech community,” said the FBI’s Doss.
The biggest challenge, Yeager said, is trying to keep up with the evolving nature of the terrorist threat. But he will continue to “reproduce everything that the bad guys do,” he said, aiming to save lives, “make a difference and contribute to the broader community.”
Kirk Yeager is a finalist for a 2016 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal, or Sammies. Each year, the Partnership for Public Service honors federal employees whose remarkable accomplishments make our government and our nation stronger. For the second time, we will also present the annual “People’s Choice Award.” Please vote for the person or team you find most inspiring. (Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on September 9, 2016.)
