System helps keep cities safe in a crisis

What: Coastal Environmental Systems, Seattle

Who: Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. David Johnson, 55

Mission: Developing systems that create real-time digital representation and notification of conditions that could threaten people's safety.

What's in a name: Johnson, whose last job was director of the National Weather Service, has no formal title. "I've signed on with this company because of the good things we can do for America," he said.

Pilot program: The company is mapping downtown Seattle as part of its Urban Canyons project, which collects environmental data and pinpoints environmental anomalies. It is doing this on its own dime — actually its own $1 million — to provide a model for other cities.

Forewarned is forearmed: Johnson calls Urban Canyons critical in the post-9/11 world. Building managers who hear a siren need to know exactly what it means to them. Should they evacuate, or stay in place? Coastal combines a computer model with such things as air temperature and wind speed and direction to predict, say, how a poisonous gas will affect an area. "We had a high level of readiness at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games because there was a high risk," Johnson said. "Today we need to achieve that same state of readiness anywhere there are large groups of people. We need to be prepared everywhere, because volubility is very high."

Employees: 75

Financials: The private company, which began 25 years ago with a $500 loan, has $15 million in annual sales.

Where else: Coastal hopes to apply its systems to smaller airfields, increasing their capacity and broadening the potential of second-tier airports.

Fair-weather friend: Johnson thinks good weather is not just about climate. "The United States has the best weather information in the world," he said. "As a result, our citizens enjoy a high quality of efficiency and operations. It makes agriculture more efficient. It helps us to manage public health. There is no sector in the economy that is not affected by this and does not benefit from this ability."

— Charles Bermant