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HHS Names 6 Winners of Synthetic Health Data Challenge; Steve Posnack Quoted
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HHS Names 6 Winners of Synthetic Health Data Challenge; Steve Posnack Quoted

The Department of Health and Human Services has announced six teams as winners of the Synthetic Health Data Challenge with a $100,000 prize pool.

The winning groups developed improvements to the Synthea open-source technology that generates data from synthetic patients and models their medical histories, which would help ongoing and future health care research and information technology development, HHS said Tuesday.

A team from Code Rx won $40,000 for its medication diversification tool, while groups from Generalistas and LMI bagged $15,000 each for respectively building Synthea capabilities for modeling co-morbidities and producing realistic disease modules.

Meanwhile, $10,000 each went to Particle Health for a study on the necessity of realistic data development environments, TeMa#1 for research on inferring underlying condition probabilities using Synthea's generated data and UI Health for big data analysis on Illinois' Opioid Epidemic.

“The availability of realistic, synthetic data is a vital part of supporting iterative testing models and early-stage research and product development,” explained Steve Posnack, the deputy national coordinator for health IT.

HHS will hold a webinar on Oct. 19 to present the winning technologies.

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Brenda Mallory: Good-Paying Jobs, Focus on Equity Vital to Advance Zero-Emission Federal Fleet
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Brenda Mallory: Good-Paying Jobs, Focus on Equity Vital to Advance Zero-Emission Federal Fleet

Focusing on equity and creating good-paying jobs are vital steps to electrify the federal fleet and advance the adoption of zero-emission vehicles, said Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. 

Mallory and Robin Carnahan, administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA), tackled the transition to a zero-emission federal fleet and solutions to environmental justice issues as part of the Climate Week NYC, GSA said Tuesday. 

“There is great potential for the zero-emission vehicle industry to support well-paying union jobs—and we have the opportunity to deliver cleaner air in the thousands of communities where federal fleets operate,” Mallory noted. 

As one of the biggest managers of federal real estate, GSA’s role is significant in the rapid expansion of electric vehicle charging stations as the agency works to bolster the delivery and adoption of climate-ready infrastructures and vehicles, according to Carnahan.

“This is a powerful opportunity to leverage the buying power of the federal government to drive the zero-emission vehicle future forward and tackle the climate crisis,” he said.

GSA indicated that it is overseeing the shift of the facilities included in its portfolio to being grid-interactive and energy-efficient. 

The Potomac Officers Club held its "Bolstering Climate Resilience for National Security" forum on Sept. 14th. If you missed the virtual event, you can still access the OnDemand footage by visiting POC's Events Archive.

Brenda Mallory: Good-Paying Jobs, Focus on Equity Vital to Advance Zero-Emission Federal Fleet

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NASA Reorganizes Structure for Exploration Systems, Space Operations; Administrator Bill Nelson Quoted
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NASA Reorganizes Structure for Exploration Systems, Space Operations; Administrator Bill Nelson Quoted

NASA has split an existing mission directorate into two separate ones focusing on exploration systems and space operations, respectively.

The space agency said Tuesday its current Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate will divide to support a growing number of low-Earth orbit space operations and deep space programs, including Artemis.

The two new organizations, known as the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) and Space Operations Mission Directorate, will provide oversight on their respective areas with increased focus.

Jim Free, a returning NASA executive, will oversee exploration systems development as ESDMD's associate administrator. Kathy Lueders, who has managed many programs for NASA, will lead the Space Operations Mission Directorate that focuses on launch and space efforts including low-Earth orbit commercialization and the International Space Station.

"This reorganization positions NASA and the United States for success as we venture farther out into the cosmos than ever before, all while supporting the continued commercialization of space and research on the International Space Station,” said Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator.

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Ashish Vazirani Nominated as DOD Deputy Undersecretary for Personnel, Readiness
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Ashish Vazirani Nominated as DOD Deputy Undersecretary for Personnel, Readiness

President Biden has nominated Ashish Vazirani, principal of A2O Strategies and former executive director and CEO of the National Military Family Association, as deputy undersecretary for personnel and readiness at the Department of Defense.

During his stint at NMFA, the White House said Tuesday that he oversaw the strategies and operations of the organization’s advocacy and programs, such as the child care fee relief initiative, aimed at helping military families.

He previously worked on the implementation of standardized programs for junior enlisted military families at the Armed Services YMCA. He also served as a member of the committee on the well-being of military families at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

In his current capacity at A2O Strategies, the 22-year veteran in management consulting advises commercial and nonprofit enterprises on how to develop and execute growth strategies. 

For seven years, Vazirani was on active duty in the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant and submarine officer. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and also holds an MBA and master’s degree in engineering from Northwestern University.

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Tyto Athene Raises Funds for Fisher House Foundation; Chris Meilhammer Quoted
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Tyto Athene Raises Funds for Fisher House Foundation; Chris Meilhammer Quoted

Tyto Athene announced Wednesday that its 13th Annual Golf Tournament, held on September 9th, 2021 at 1757 Golf Club in Dulles, Virginia, raised over $53,000 for the Fisher House Foundation, a private-public partnership that supports Armed Forces members, retirees, veterans and families.

Chris Meilhammer, CEO of Tyto Athene, thanked the tournament’s sponsors, golfers and attendees for their donations and said the company is proud to continue supporting the foundation’s philanthropic efforts.

“We are very excited to be able to provide additional resources to further their mission and are thankful for our partners and sponsors that make our events successful,” he continued.

The Fisher House Foundation offers a range of support services for military service members and their families, including free-of-charge comfort homes for use during hospital stays and grant programs that distribute scholarship funds for children and spouses of active, fallen and disabled service members.

Additionally, the foundation’s Hero Miles program and Hotels for Heroes program utilize donated frequent flier miles and hotel points, respectively, to support travel for families visiting injured service members.

Fisher House Foundation President, David Coker, expressed his gratitude for Tyto Athene’s support and said, “Over the last 13 years, the money raised by this generous organization has made a tremendous impact during the most difficult times, when a loved one is undergoing treatment at a military or VA medical center.”

Tyto Athene’s first Charity Golf Tournament, held in 2007, raised funds for a Fisher House to be built at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Since then, the annual tournament has raised a total of $350,000 for Fisher House Foundation. Tyto Athene covers all costs to host the tournament, ensuring that all proceeds collected are donated directly to the foundation.

Tyto Athene plans to host their next Annual Charity Golf Tournament in September 2022.

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House OKs Bill to Avert Government Shutdown, Suspend Borrowing Limit
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House OKs Bill to Avert Government Shutdown, Suspend Borrowing Limit

The House on Tuesday voted 220-211 to pass a bill that would fund government operations through Dec. 3rd and suspend the debt limit through the end of 2022, Reuters reported Wednesday.

The continuing resolution, which is now headed to the Senate, seeks to avoid a partial government shutdown by the end of fiscal year 2021 and provide lawmakers enough time to negotiate annual spending measures.

Congress has until Sept. 30th to pass the stopgap measure to continue funding the government at current funding levels and prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debts.

The New York Times reported the bill would suspend the borrowing limit through Dec. 16th and would allocate $28.6 billion in funds to help communities recover from natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes and $6.3 billion to support the resettlement of Afghan refugees in the U.S.

The measure would earmark $1.8 billion for the State Department to support refugee assistance and evacuation efforts and $2.2 billion for the Department of Defense.

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Douglas Bush Nominated Full-Time Army Acquisition Lead
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Douglas Bush Nominated Full-Time Army Acquisition Lead

Douglas Bush, acting assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology at the U.S. Army, is set to receive a presidential nomination to serve in the role on a full-time basis, the White House announced Tuesday.

He would continue to oversee the branch's acquisition programs if the Senate approves the appointment and succeed Bruce Jette, who held the role for three years until January 2021.

Bush stepped into the acting assistant secretary position after the Army swore him in as principal deputy assistant secretary for the ATL office in March.

His government career also includes service as deputy staff director of the House Armed Services Committee, where he managed the panel's administrative and legislative functions, and a HASC professional staff member from 2007 to 2019.

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CISA Unveils 2 Resources From ICT Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force
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CISA Unveils 2 Resources From ICT Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has announced the publication of two new resources to help mitigate threats facing the information and communications technology supply chain.

The first resource seeks to address liability limitations to improve sharing supply chain threat data among federal agencies and private sector and the second resource intends to help ICT small- and medium-sized businesses evaluate their risk posture and apply best practices and industry standards to guide supply chain risk planning, CISA said Tuesday.

The ICT Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force developed the two resources – Preliminary Considerations of Paths to Enable Improved Multi-Directional Sharing of Supply Chain Risk Information and Operationalizing the Vendor SCRM Template for Small and Medium-sized Businesses.

The ICT SCRM Task Force is a public-private partnership sponsored by CISA’s National Risk Management Center (NRMC) and seeks to improve ICT supply chain resilience and security.

Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Revelations and Innovations

ExecutiveBiz, sister site of GovCon Wire and part of the Executive Mosaic digital media umbrella, will host a virtual event about securing the supply chain on Oct. 26th. Visit ExecutiveBiz.com to sign up for the “Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Revelations and Innovations” event.

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Treasury Sanctions Virtual Currency Exchange to Help Counter Ransomware; Janet Yellen Quoted
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Treasury Sanctions Virtual Currency Exchange to Help Counter Ransomware; Janet Yellen Quoted

The Department of the Treasury has initiated several measures to fight ransomware and one of those is the announcement of the first sanctions designation against virtual currency exchange SUEX for its role in facilitating transactions for threat actors involved in ransomware attacks.

The Treasury said Tuesday that with the designation, the U.S. would block all SUEX’s property and interests and prohibit all U.S. individuals from engaging in transactions with the virtual currency exchange.

“Additionally, any entities 50% or more owned by one or more designated persons are also blocked,” the department noted.

The Treasury’s office of foreign assets control issued an updated advisory to highlight potential sanctions risks related to ransomware payments, stress the importance of cyber hygiene in mitigating ransomware attacks and encourage companies to report incidents to law enforcement agencies.

“As cybercriminals use increasingly sophisticated methods and technology, we are committed to using the full range of measures, to include sanctions and regulatory tools, to disrupt, deter, and prevent ransomware attacks,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Revelations and Innovations

ExecutiveBiz, sister site of GovCon Wire and part of the Executive Mosaic digital media umbrella, will host a virtual event about securing the supply chain on Oct. 26. Visit ExecutiveBiz.com to sign up for the “Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Revelations and Innovations” event.

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SRNL’s New Facility in Georgia to Focus on Critical Infrastructure, ICS Cybersecurity; Vahid Majidi Quoted
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SRNL’s New Facility in Georgia to Focus on Critical Infrastructure, ICS Cybersecurity; Vahid Majidi Quoted

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has opened a facility in Augusta, Georgia, to host research on protecting critical infrastructure and industrial control systems from cyber threats.

SRNL said Friday that it will collaborate with defense, industry and academic partners through the new facility located inside the Georgia Cyber Center’s Hull McKnight Building.

The lab’s cybersecurity team will initially have eight members and seeks to work with organizations such as the Army Cyber Command, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crime Center and the Augusta University School of Computer and Cyber Sciences.

“SRNL’s ability to conduct research and development in an innovative and collaborative environment with a full spectrum of partners opens up many opportunities to include cybersecurity solutions to enhance the resiliency of the national grid, training for soldiers, medical industry cybersecurity challenges, and a host of other challenges confronting our nation,” said Vahid Majidi, laboratory director at SRNL and executive vice president of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions – which is composed of Fluor, Huntington Ingalls Industries and Honeywell – manages the laboratory for the Department of Energy.

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