Microbial Warrior® announced today the appointment of Dr. Mark D. Tucker, Joe Drake, and Brad Smith to its Biosecurity Emergency Response Team – Scientific Operations Group (BERT SOG), further strengthening the organization’s global leadership in biohazard decontamination, remediation, and emergency response. 

BERT-SOG represents the highest technical expertise within Microbial Warrior®, tasked with advancing scientific strategy, operational readiness, and rapid response for biological, chemical, and environmental threats. 

About the Leadership in Biosecurity and Decontamination Science

Dr. Mark D. Tucker is a Civil Engineer with Artemis AG_SOLUTIONS, LLC specializing in disinfection of biological pathogens, decontamination of toxic chemicals, environmental remediation, water and wastewater treatment, and energy production technologies.  

Dr. Tucker recently retired from a 35-year career at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM where he was a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff.  While at Sandia, his research was focused on the development of innovative technologies for the decontamination of chemical and biological warfare agents and other highly toxic chemical and biological materials and innovative methods for remediation of toxic materials in the environment.  

He is a co-inventor of the Sandia Decontamination Foam (DF-100) and the inventor of the modified and enhanced DF-200 formulation which is now marketed by several commercial companies and is widely used by first responders and the military.  It is also widely used for civilian applications such as the disinfection of food and agricultural processing facilities and other facilities. He currently holds 20 U.S. patents related to decontamination and environmental remediation technologies.  

While at Sandia, Dr. Tucker also led or was a primary technical contributor on several large projects funded by the US Department of Homeland Security and/or the US Department of Defense that focused on the development and implementation of processes, procedures and technologies to rapidly restore critical infrastructure, critical assets, and urban areas following the release of a chemical or biological warfare agent or other highly toxic materials. 

Dr. Tucker holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of New Mexico (1997), a M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of New Mexico (1993), a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin (1983) and a B.S. in Engineering from Purdue University (1980).  Dr. Tucker is also a registered Professional Engineer in the State of New Mexico, USA.

Joe Drake is the Vice President Artemis Ag Solutions and has more than 20 years hands-on project management experience in executive management and leadership roles. He managed and directed construction projects ranging from $1 million to $355 million, all of which were successfully completed on schedule. Joe’s experience also includes more than 18 years in business development, manufacturing, wholesale distribution and hands-on field experience with the DF chemistry.

Brad Smith is the Vice President with Artemis Bio-Solutions.  Brad has over 14 years of remediation, decontamination, and disinfecting solutions.  He is a Certified Forensic Operator®, a Certified High Risk/High Level Decontamination Specialist™, and a Certified Bio-Forensic Restoration Specialist®.

Industry-Leading Performance

According to a recent independent study, Microbial Warrior® is considered the “Top 1%” in the industry of biohazard decontamination and abatement.  The same study finds that current industry trauma and crime scene clean up training as the “Drivers Permit” that establishes basic legal and safety compliance, while Microbial Warrior is an Elite “Special Forces” training.  Microbial Warrior Jeff Jones has said that “The members of BERT-SOG are simply the best of the best in Global Biosecurity.”