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AFRL-Developed Autonomous Research Software Now Available for Public
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AFRL-Developed Autonomous Research Software Now Available for Public

Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) scientists have released to the public the Autonomous Research System open-source software (ARES OS), which uses artificial intelligence algorithms to improve research processes.

ARES OS tasks autonomous “robots” made from carbon nanotube synthesis reactors to direct and perform research in the most efficient way possible without intervention from human scientists, AFRL said Wednesday.

Benji Maruyama, AFRL’s ARES OS team lead, explained that AI-powered robots would free researchers from performing individual experiments, pointing out that “humans and autonomous research robots can team together to solve research problems more effectively than either could alone.”

Initially developed for work in carbon nanotube synthesis, the research software was expanded by scientists to cover several applications in various fields such as additive manufacturing and flow chemistry.

By making the software public, Maruyama expressed hope that research efforts are faster and more effective for a wider userbase and speed up technological discovery in various fields.

Currently, Carnegie Mellon University, Sandia National Laboratories and several institutions in the U.S. and abroad are evaluating the benefits of ARES OS to their respective initiatives.

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NRC’s Transition to Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions Contract Faster Than Expected; David Nelson Quoted
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NRC’s Transition to Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions Contract Faster Than Expected; David Nelson Quoted

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) eyes to complete its transition to the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract before 2022, nine months ahead of the federal deadline, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

NRC is already nearly 99 percent complete of its transition effort, a milestone earning the midsize agency an A grade on the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) 12.0 scorecard.

David Nelson, NRC's chief information officer, credited his agency's success to prime contractors that cooperated closely in scrubbing inventories with unnecessary transitioning assets and services.

With its transition work nearly complete, the agency plans to move its other remaining local service agreements under the $50 billion telecommunications and IT modernization contract.

Awarded in 2017, the EIS award enables NRC and other agencies to move away from th legacy Networx, Washington Interagency Telecommunications Systems 3 and the General Services Administration Regional Local Service.

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DOD Opens Cloud Database on Radiation-Hardened Microelectronics; Rich Ryan Quoted
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DOD Opens Cloud Database on Radiation-Hardened Microelectronics; Rich Ryan Quoted

Rich Ryan, director for international programs, nuclear forensics, resiliency and survivability in the office of the deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear matters, said the U.S. military has opened a cloud-based library to support the protection of microelectronics used in nuclear systems.

The Department of Defense handles strategic deterrence through its nuclear triad and space systems, whose electronic components can be vulnerable to ionized radiation, electromagnetic pulse and other threatening types of stimulus, DOD News reported Wednesday.

DOD launched the library, known as the Trusted Silicon Stratus Distributed Transition Environment, to provide information on radiation-resistant or hardened microelectronic components.

The Strategic Radiation Hardened Electronics Council and its partners at the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy authorized the library, which is hosted by Arizona-based Nimbis Services.

"Establishing this microelectronics library is key to improving the ability to analyze key parts, their sources and to facilitate government re-use of intellectual property throughout the DOD," Ryan stated.

Federal CIO Clare Martorana: Government Should Serve as Blueprint for Diverse, Equitable Service
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Federal CIO Clare Martorana: Government Should Serve as Blueprint for Diverse, Equitable Service

Clare Martorana, federal chief information officer, said the government must serve as the blueprint for a diverse, equitable and accessible service that treats employees with dignity and respect, NextGov reported Wednesday.

Speaking during an event of the American Council for Technology & Industry Advisory Council, the federal CIO said it is the job of the information technology team to ensure a seamless and secure customer experience for the citizens. 

“When we don’t meet their expectations, it actually undermines their trust in government. We undermine trust both in our competence and the extent to which we understand and care about those in need of our service,” she said.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has recently updated its Circular A-11 Section 280, which guides agencies on the implementation of the federal government’s customer experience framework. 

Earlier in May, OMB sought input from various stakeholders on how the agency’s policies, programs and services can provide equitable services to all individuals, particularly the historically underserved communities. 

This move came after President Biden on his first day at the White House signed an executive order aimed at advancing racial equity and assisting underserved communities through the federal government.

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Boeing Names Ziad Ojakli to EVP, Government Operations; CEO David Calhoun Quoted
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Boeing Names Ziad Ojakli to EVP, Government Operations; CEO David Calhoun Quoted

The Boeing Company announced Thursday that Ziad S. Ojakli, former principal deputy for legislative affairs under President George W. Bush, has been named as the company’s executive vice president of government operations.

In his new role, effective October 1, 2021, Ojakli will serve as chief lobbyist for the global enterprise and oversee the company’s philanthropic organization, Boeing Global Engagement. Ojakli will serve on Boeing’s Executive Council and report to President and CEO, David Calhoun.

Calhoun welcomed Ojakli to the new role and said the new executive’s proven track record in public policy and government relations will be an asset to the company’s mission.

“His broad experience serving in executive roles in government and the private sector will contribute to our engagement with our stakeholders as we continue our focus on safety, quality and transparency, and transforming our company for the future,” Calhoun continued.

In addition, Calhoun thanked Marc Allen for his service and “impactful leadership” as interim executive vice president of government operations.

Ojakli brings over 25 years of diverse experience in global government relations roles to his new position at Boeing. He previously served as managing partner and senior vice president of Softbank, where he created the investment company’s first global government affairs operation, and as group vice president at Ford Motor Company, where he led global business efforts and directed the company’s philanthropic efforts.

Prior to that, Ojakli held chief of staff and policy director roles for U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell. 

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Deltek Expands GovWin IQ Coverage to Canada, Offers Centralized GovCon Platform; Dan Duguay Quoted
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Deltek Expands GovWin IQ Coverage to Canada, Offers Centralized GovCon Platform; Dan Duguay Quoted

Deltek’s government contracting marketing intelligence platform, GovWin IQ, has expanded its coverage to include the Canadian government, allowing contractors to centralize business development and marketing research across the U.S. and Canada into one platform.

Canadian public sector procurement is valued at $200 billion annually, and GovWin IQ will leverage data sets, sources, market analysts and industry experts to create an accurate view of all government procurement opportunities.

“Businesses have been historically challenged to maximize growth when serving Canada’s public sector market – largely due to the fragmented nature of public sector spending across federal, provincial and municipal levels of government,” said Dan Duguay, senior associate & Government Procurement Team member for Tactix Government Relations.

Findings from Deltek’s recent customer survey concluded that government contractors working with Canada’s public sector are dissatisfied by the segmentation of data across multiple channels. 

Duguay explained that GovWin IQ’s expansion will boost growth for companies that work with or are looking to work with Canada’s public sector markets by providing previously unavailable insights and market intelligence on the new centralized platform.

GovWin IQ now provides coverage of bids, tenders and amendments for crown corporations, provincial governments, federal government departments and agencies, territories and municipal governments, academic institutes, schools and health & social entities (MASH).

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Lori Ortega and Matt Kittrell Named to CGI Knoxville Center Leadership Team
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Lori Ortega and Matt Kittrell Named to CGI Knoxville Center Leadership Team

Lori Ortega and Matt Kittrell have been selected to lead the federal and commercial operations, respectively, of CGI’s newly opened technology center in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Vice President of CGI’s U.S. Centers, Will LaBar, expressed his excitement in welcoming the two industry leaders to the center’s team.

“Their experience and leadership, along with their Knoxville ties, puts us in a strong position to reach our goals for the Knoxville Center and maximize the impact of our partnerships across the community,” LaBar added.

CGI veteran Lori Ortega brings three decades of leadership experience to her new role, including 12 years at CGI Federal working in program and IT portfolio management, strategy development and business operations for space and government health agency clients.

“I value the success CGI has had in other communities where we’ve established technology centers and I’m committed to replicating that success in Knoxville, providing opportunities for the community’s students, graduates and professionals,” said Ortega.

In Kittrell’s new role, he will focus on service delivery for CGI’s Commercial and State Government clients and will build community development partnerships in the Knoxville area. He brings over 20 years of experience in business services and management consulting to CGI and holds an MBA from the University of Tennessee.

Kittrell looks forward to collaborating with local talent and said his Knoxville team has already “hit the ground running” with community engagement and work through the company’s STEM@CGI program.

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House Committee Votes to Pass $865M Funding Boost for CISA; Rep. Jim Langevin Quoted
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House Committee Votes to Pass $865M Funding Boost for CISA; Rep. Jim Langevin Quoted

The House of Representatives' committee on homeland security has voted to approve an amendment that adds $865 million to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's funds, Nextgov reported Wednesday.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., presented the amendment to a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, which would boost CISA's cybersecurity funds if passed.

“Thanks to President Biden and Chairman Thompson’s visionary leadership, the Homeland Security Committee is proactively equipping the experts at CISA with the tools they need to strengthen our cyber defenses and continue to Build Back Better," said Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I.

The proposed amendment responds to a number of cybersecurity attacks witnessed by the country over the past years. The vote also follows the appointment of  Kiersten Todt, formerly executive director of a cybersecurity commission under Barack Obama, as CISA's chief of staff.

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Charles River Analytics Wins $16M DARPA Contract for Protective Biosystems Research
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Charles River Analytics Wins $16M DARPA Contract for Protective Biosystems Research

Charles River Analytics announced Thursday that the company has secured a potential five-year $16 million contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to lead research efforts focused on developing a biosystem solution to protect warfighters from biological and chemical threats.

The contract will allow Charles River Analytics to lead a team of partners in collaboration on DARPA’s Personalized Protective Biosystem (PPB) program to develop technology that will reduce the need for cumbersome protective equipment and neutralize threats at vulnerable internal tissue barriers while bolstering individual protection against biological attacks.

Charles River Analytics President, Karen Harper, noted that this milestone award is the company’s first with DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office.

The company’s work with the PPB program will explore the use of new transgenic commensal organisms, such as hookworms and schistosomes, to secrete neurotoxins which will target and help neutralize chemical and biological threats.

Dr. Bethany Bracken, principal scientist at Charles River Analytics and contract project lead, said these organisms “have sophisticated secretory systems that can be manipulated to provide immunotherapies to protect our women and men on the battlefield.”

“Our goal is to insert a genetic sequence that provides the managed protection that the human body needs to counter these biological threats,” Dr. Bracken continued.

The team of subtractors on this project will include Baylor College of Medicine, George Washington University, James Cook University, Leiden University Medical Center, University of California, Irvine and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

“Our team spans four countries and 14 time zones to include the world’s foremost experts on hookworms and schistosomes,” said Vice President and Principal Scientist at Charles River Analytics and Program Manager for the PPB effort, Rich Wronski.

Wronski expressed his enthusiasm about the collaboration, noting that the project’s findings will bring innovative protective measures to warfighters and the larger medical community.

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Labor Department Announces Minimum Wage Rate Change for Federal Contract Workers
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Labor Department Announces Minimum Wage Rate Change for Federal Contract Workers

The Department of Labor has announced that the minimum wage of employees working on federal contracts covered by an executive order signed in 2014 will increase from $10.95 to $11.25 per hour starting Jan. 1, 2022.

The department said in a Federal Register notice posted Wednesday that tipped workers will get a minimum wage of $7.90 per hour starting January in compliance with the Obama administration’s executive order.

For federal contracts that are entered into, extended or renewed on or after Jan. 30, 2022, contractors will be required to pay employees working on such contracts a minimum wage of $15 per hour in accordance with President Biden’s executive order signed in April.

In July, DOL proposed rules to implement the current administration’s order, which will extend the new minimum pay to federal contract employees with disabilities and phase out the tipped minimum wage by 2024.

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