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DOE Plans AI Training to Develop IT Talent; Cheryl Ingstad Quoted
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DOE Plans AI Training to Develop IT Talent; Cheryl Ingstad Quoted

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Office, within the Department of Energy (DoE), has announced its plans to launch an AI training module in fall 2020 to develop talent in computer science, the FedScoop reported on Friday. 

“One of the things we’ve heard is that the scientists really want to work in the area of their specialty, but they don’t want to become AI experts to utilize these tools or to manage the data,” said Cheryl Ingstad, director of AITO. “So how do we get data managers and how do we get AI experts to the operational levels here and the research levels to support our scientists that way?”

Future modules will be developed by the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office (AITO) in coordination with DOE‘s 17 National Laboratories and see experts explain the benefits AI can bring to their organizations.

DoE has faced challenges to recruit, retain and develop a workforce structure for AI professionals. With the training module, AITO has planned to convert the technology workforce employees with an interest in AI into specialists. 

The department has drafted an AI strategy that will be integrated throughout DoE; however, it must be reviewed before the agency takes action. DoE has also projected that the department will chair an AI working group to share best practices and provide dashboards that inform transformations across agencies.

DoE’s AI strategy has included partnerships between internal offices and external agencies, academia, first responders and the industry to address adversarial AI and cyberattacks that cause machine learning models to misinterpret system inputs. 

AITO adversarial AI partnerships are in the beginning stages, but DOE sees itself as entering a new “space race” with AI for the next several decades most likely, Ingstad said. “It matters who wins,” Ingstad added. “We are in this race against others, who do not have the same values that we have.”

The DoE AITO has also launched a consortium with Microsoft to advance the development of AI-based tools to enable first responders to better respond to natural disasters and help them save lives and protect property.

The First Five Consortium will bring together government, industry, academic and nonprofit organizations to develop AI platforms in support of humanitarian relief and disaster response efforts. 

“AITO is proud to lead on getting near real-time information into the hands of our First Responders,” Ingstad said in regards to the First Five. “This will allow them to save more lives and protect assets and our nation’s resources. This is just one project of the broader effort, which will include contributions from all our partners, to use technology to improve humanitarian assistance and disaster response in our nation.”

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Accenture Partners with Equinor to Migrate SAP Software to Microsoft Azure; Gunnar Presthus Quoted
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Accenture Partners with Equinor to Migrate SAP Software to Microsoft Azure; Gunnar Presthus Quoted

Accenture has partnered with Equinor, an international energy company, to migrate Equinor’s SAP software environment to Microsoft Azure public cloud, Accenture reported on Thursday.

 “Accenture is excited to support Equinor in its SAP journey to the cloud. This is a prerequisite for digital transformation, enabling business resilience that is key to navigating a continually changing environment,” Gunnar Presthus, Accenture’s global client account lead for Equinor, said. 

Under the partnership, Accenture will support Equinor’s business objectives to optimize IT costs and increase cost transparency by shifting to an agile, high availability and scalable platform for SAP systems. Accenture will direct its efforts toward Equinor’s Cloud Management. 

Accenture will also manage Equinor’s SAP systems from on-premise data centers to the Microsoft Azure cloud to simplify IT operations in a cloud environment. Accenture will use myWizard, its proprietary intelligent automation platform, to automate processes across the enterprise. 

“Working together with Accenture we are helping to simplify and accelerate our customer’s journey of moving their SAP systems to Microsoft Azure to help realize the benefits of the cloud,” Gjert Terje Gjersvik, SAP’s global account director for Equinor, said.    

Potomac Officers Club will host its Secure IT Modernization in Today’s Environment Virtual Event on Wednesday, August 26th. Click here to register for the Secure IT Modernization in Today’s Environment Virtual Event.

Michael Mestrovich, principal deputy chief information officer for the U.S. Department of State (DoS), will serve as a keynote speaker at the event. Mestrovich will address the integration and expansion of 5G and other emerging technologies; adaptation to a “new normal,” such as teleworking and reentry; and how leaders and businesses can use mission software factories to their advantage. 

Mestrovich will be joined by an expert panel, featuring Paul Girardi, assistant vice president of Cybersecurity with AT&T Public Sector. 

Register for  Potomac Officers Club’s Secure IT Modernization in Today’s Environment Virtual event to learn more about how to evolve and adapt quickly in crisis to ensure global accessibility and connectivity. 

Click here to register for the Secure IT Modernization in Today’s Environment Virtual Event.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations, with digital capabilities across all of these services. We combine unmatched experience and specialized capabilities across more than 40 industries — powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. With 513,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture brings continuous innovation to help clients improve their performance and create lasting value across their enterprises.

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NCSC’s Constance Taube on Cyber Threat Data Sharing in Response to Vulnerabilities Posed by 5G
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NCSC’s Constance Taube on Cyber Threat Data Sharing in Response to Vulnerabilities Posed by 5G

The adoption of 5G could introduce supply chain vulnerabilities into critical infrastructure and Constance Taube, deputy director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), said NCSC is “working out a repeatable process”  that seeks to help the federal government streamline cyber threat data sharing with industry partners, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

Taube said Wednesday at an INSA webinar that the intelligence community is now is a better position to receive and transmit cyber threat information given its previous efforts to improve communication lines in support of cyber attack response and prevention initiatives.

“When we have threat information, it is worse to have it and not use it than it is to not have it. We’re cognizant of that and we are very carefully and mindfully working in the information-sharing space,” she said.

Taube also mentioned the need to have trusted telecommunications providers.

“The critical need for trust in a telecoms provider, especially when there are so many vulnerabilities that 5G will bring can’t be overstated. And in short, the company Huawei epitomizes concerns about the dangers of networks that can be manipulated, disrupted or controlled by authoritarian governments with no democratic checks or balances, no regard for human rights, privacy or international norms,” she noted.

Potomac Officers Club will host its 5G Summit on October 27, 2020. Click here to register for the event. Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment and four-time Wash100 Award recipient will serve as a keynote speaker at the summit.

She will discuss emerging programs, priorities and challenges within the integration process of the new 5G framework. As emerging technologies continue to become an integral part of business and innovation, leaders across all divisions must stay ahead of the curve to tackle national and global issues.

5G wireless technology is anticipated to unleash unprecedented levels of connectivity between millions of new internet of things devices and there are already a range of deployments making their way across the U.S. and in a few federal agencies.

5G Summit Banner

Join Potomac Officers Club for its 5G Summit on Oct. 27, 2020 to learn about the impact that innovative technologies and 5G integration have on the private and public sectors, the steps the federal agencies have taken to remain up to speed with the rapid advancement of technology, and the future programs, plans and priorities as the nation aligns with emerging technology.

Hon. Ellen Lord, undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment at the Department of Defense (DoD) and four-time Wash100 Award recipient, will be featured as the keynote speaker. Don’t miss out on this must see event! Register here for the 5G Summit on October 27th.

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NAPA Report Says Commerce Dept ‘Best Suited’ to Handle Space Traffic Management; Wilbur Ross Quoted
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NAPA Report Says Commerce Dept ‘Best Suited’ to Handle Space Traffic Management; Wilbur Ross Quoted

A National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) report has concluded that the Department of Commerce (DOC), particularly its office of space commerce (OSC), is the best agency to oversee space traffic management work within the federal government.

NAPA’s panel of fellows evaluated OSC, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) office of commercial space transportation (AST), NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD)against four primary factors: functional and technical competency; partnerships; organizational leadership and capacity; and stakeholders and customers.

NAPA said OSC’s concept of operations seeks to facilitate collaboration with military, domestic and international entities to make the space domain sustainable that can enable research and commercial activities to thrive.

“OSC views its STM responsibilities principally as a data management function, rather than principally as a task of managing space traffic,” according to the report.

The report recommends that Congress authorize appropriations and provide authorities for OSC to perform the task of integrating capabilities to carry out STM and space situational awareness responsibilities. SpaceNews reported that the Department of Commerce welcomed NAPA’s findings.

“I am pleased to see that following an intensive survey of key government and industry stakeholders, NAPA’s findings independently validate that the Department of Commerce is the best civil agency to lead the commercial and international SSA/STM mission,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the Congress to quickly advance this critical space mission.”

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Brian Harrell Leaves CISA Infrastructure Protection Post
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Brian Harrell Leaves CISA Infrastructure Protection Post

Brian Harrell, a senior official responsible for physical infrastructure protection at the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), stepped down from his post to return to the private sector, CyberScoop reported Thursday.

He joined DHS in 2018 and has helped launch cyber drills for critical infrastructure firms. He previously served as managing director of enterprise security at Duke Energy and director of critical infrastructure protection programs at North American Electric Reliability Corp.

A spokesperson for CISA said Steve Harris, the agency’s deputy assistant director, will take over Harrell’s post in an interim basis starting Monday, Aug. 24. 

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Army Research Lab Makes Power Line Detection Tech
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Army Research Lab Makes Power Line Detection Tech

Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has created a software-sensor combination designed to help unmanned aircraft systems prevent clashes with nearby power lines. ARL said Wednesday it uniquely configured 3D sensors in a way designed to inform autopilot systems about detected power lines.

“Power lines are small and difficult to see with radar or optical sensors, but they generate large fields that can be easily detected with low-power, low-cost, passive electric- and magnetic-field sensors,” said David Hull, an Army researcher.

The resulting system brings a reduced size, weight, power and cost requirements compared to that of existing, larger wire detection technologies. ARL also expects the technology to support other use cases such as drone-based freight delivery and power line inspection.

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DOE to Fund AI Projects in Support of Scientific Research; Chris Fall Quoted
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DOE to Fund AI Projects in Support of Scientific Research; Chris Fall Quoted

The Department of Energy (DOE) intends to invest $21M in projects that apply artificial intelligence technology to fusion energy research. The projects will use data analysis automation and control algorithms to address operational needs required by DOE's Office of Science, the department said Wednesday.

Components of DOE's science office partnered to pursue this effort under the Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing program. This program aims to develop a software-hardware infrastructure for scientific research via supercomputing systems.

DOE will allow project teams to use supercomputers at the department's national laboratories.

“These awards will enable fusion researchers to take advantage of recent rapid advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning,” said Chris Fall, director at DOE’s Office of Science.

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NSF Awards Addtl Funding for ‘Chameleon’ Cloud Experimentation Program; Paul Ruth Quoted
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NSF Awards Addtl Funding for ‘Chameleon’ Cloud Experimentation Program; Paul Ruth Quoted

A team of institutions led by the University of Chicago (UChicago) has received $10 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue development activities for a large-scale cloud computing testbed called Chameleon.

The four-year grant enables UChicago, Northwestern University, Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) and Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) to install modifications to Chameleon including internet of things (IoT) elements, networking experiments, reproducibility concepts and graphics processing unit (GPU) computations, RENCI said Monday.

NSF’s grant will support upcoming development activities involving projects such as the Chameleon Infrastructure, OpenStack open-source project and RENCI’s software-defined networking approach.

Deepankar Medhi, program director at NSF's computer and information sciences and engineering directorate (CISE), said the new funding will also help the team enable Chameleon’s more than 4,000 users to accelerate cloud computing research.

“The planned additions to Chameleon will allow academic researchers to experiment with advanced programmable networks in a large-scale cloud environment,” said Paul Ruth, assistant director of network research and infrastructure at RENCI.

Since 2015, Chameleon has supported projects in various topic areas including virtualization, power management, operating systems, security, networking, high-performance computing (HPC) and machine learning.

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Air Force Eyes Hypersonic Modifications to ICBM Arsenal; Lt. Col. Robert Carver Quoted
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Air Force Eyes Hypersonic Modifications to ICBM Arsenal; Lt. Col. Robert Carver Quoted

The U.S. Air Force is planning to update its intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) to include elements such as thermal protection systems to support hypersonic speeds, Aviation Week reported Tuesday.

In a retracted request for information obtained by the publication, the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center announced plans to develop updated ICBMs with an open-systems framework as part of the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) initiative.

Other potential ICBM system modifications include low-fidelity sensor technology, navigation aids, microelectronics systems, artificial intelligence-driven hardware and software and ground-station security capabilities.

The Air Force previously announced its intent to award the GBSD contract to Northrop Grumman, which currently serves as the sole bidder for the delivery of over 600 ICBMs to the service branch.

Lt. Col. Robert Carver, a spokesman for the Department of Defense (DoD), said in an email that the department intends to comply with international regulations and will not develop “nuclear-capable hypersonic weapons.”

“There are common technology needs between the nuclear enterprise and hypersonic systems. Particularly in the area of high-temperature materials, we typically collaborate on the development of advanced dual-use materials technology,” he noted.

Carver’s comments come after the DoD launched three prototyping efforts for the hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) designed for intermediate-range targets.

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Brig. Gen. Robert Collins: Army Working on Establishing Operational Satellite Network by 2027
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Brig. Gen. Robert Collins: Army Working on Establishing Operational Satellite Network by 2027

Brig. Gen. Robert Collins, the U.S. Army's program executive officer for command, control, communications-tactical (PEO C3T), said he expects low- and medium-Earth orbit constellations to become fully mature in seven years, C4ISRnet reported Wednesday.

Collins told attendees at a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) webinar that the proposed LEO and MEO constellations will have “game-changing technologies” that are envisioned to become fully operational in 2025 to 2027.

He noted that the Army plans to deploy the satellites to expand bandwidth capacities while leveraging reduced latency and smaller ground infrastructure.

“I think one of the things we’re going to have to do is how can we take and best employ some of this technology, how do we link it into our current environment and ensure that it’s mobile,” said Collins. “I think that’s really an area that we’ll be reaching out to industry, academia and others to see how we best incorporate that.”

PEO C3T is partnering with the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) on experimentation efforts focused on satellite terminals with multiband elements and other commercial technologies.

Maj. Gen. Peter Gallagher, director of the Network Cross-Functional Team (CFT) with Army Futures Command, and Brig. Gen. Rob Collins, program executive officer for Command, Control, Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) at the Army, conducted a joint keynote address during Potomac Officers Club’s (POC) Weaponizing Data Across the Digital Battlefield Virtual Event on August 11th.

The speakers address virtual training platforms, intel and operation mission capabilities, the challenges and priorities of data in warfare and how defense has evolved from the traditional standards to meet the demand of emerging technologies. 

If you missed the event, check out Potomac Officers Club’s Event Archive to watch Tuesday’s event as well as all recent POC events of 2020.

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