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DOE to Invest $100M in Hydrogen, Fuel Cell Research Consortia
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DOE to Invest $100M in Hydrogen, Fuel Cell Research Consortia

The Department of Energy (DoE) plans to allot $100 million for two research consortia to pursue fuel cell and hydrogen technologies. DOE said Tuesday that its national laboratories will provide expertise and tools to support research and development under the consortia that will receive the $100 million investment over five years.

The first consortium will tackle the development of electrolyzes that extract hydrogen and oxygen from water via electricity, and the second will focus on fuel cells applicable to power heavy-duty trucks.

“Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies have the potential to enable resiliency, energy security and economic growth across multiple sectors,” said Mark Menezes, undersecretary of Energy.

This investment aligns with H2@Scale, the department's vision to produce and propagate hydrogen technologies for use in a wide range of industrial applications.

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House’s Draft NDAA Wants Pentagon to Address Cyber Workforce, IT Asset Management Issues
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House’s Draft NDAA Wants Pentagon to Address Cyber Workforce, IT Asset Management Issues

The House Armed Services Committee’s intelligence, emerging threats and capabilities subpanel has released a draft of its National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would direct the Department of Defense (DoD) to address issues concerning cyber workforce and information technology-related assets, C4ISRNET reported Tuesday.

The proposed NDAA would ask the DoD’s office of the chief information officer to work with the CIOs of the country's service branches to come up with standardized processes to determine duplicative hardware and software licenses.

“The committee believes the Department would benefit from an established process for auditing software and hardware inventories,” according to the draft bill.

The Pentagon’s CIO office should also study a National Security Agency (NSA) program that permits employees to use up to 140 hours of paid time off to take part in NSA-backed cyber education initiatives in local communities.

“This would explicitly authorize select Department of Defense civilians who are part of the Cyber Excepted Service to utilize paid time toward wider national efforts aimed at addressing the cyber workforce shortage,” the bill summary states.

The measure would also call for the department’s CIO to submit a report on the implementation of the 21st Century IDEA Act and use of the Cyber Excepted Service system.

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DHS Announces Details of U.S.-Israel Collab Solicitation; William Bryan Quoted
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DHS Announces Details of U.S.-Israel Collab Solicitation; William Bryan Quoted

The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate has identified the main focus areas of a technology solicitation in partnership with Israel, DHS said Tuesday. The Binational Industrial Research and Development or BIRD Foundation, a U.S.-Israel partnership, seeks proposals for technology projects that tackle:

  • Cyber Law Enforcement
  • Public Infrastructure Security
  • Border Protection
  • First Responder Applications
  • Unmanned Aerial Systems

“This is an important collaboration that enables both the U.S. and our Israeli colleagues to benefit from innovative new technologies that can address our common security needs,” said William Bryan, acting undersecretary for science and technology at DHS.

BIRD Foundation announced the solicitation earlier this month. Israel's public security ministry and DHS will jointly fund the projects. The effort will fund projects pursued jointly by Israeli and American entities such as businesses, research institutes and organizations.

Interested parties may submit executive summaries through Aug. 13 and will have up to Sep. 23 to deliver final proposals. BIRD Foundation will name qualifiers before the year ends.

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GSA Raises STARS II Ceiling Value to $22B; Emily Murphy, Laura Stanton Quoted
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GSA Raises STARS II Ceiling Value to $22B; Emily Murphy, Laura Stanton Quoted

The General Services Administration (GSA) has raised the ceiling of its 8(a) Streamlined Technology Application Resource for Services (STARS) II contract from $15 billion to $22 billion, the agency reported on Wednesday. 

“By raising the 8(a) STARS II ceiling, GSA continues to ensure that we meet the needs of our federal agency customers,” said GSA Administrator Emily Murphy and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient. “As agency demand for IT products and services has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, GSA is proud that STARS II will remain available to help agencies deliver world class IT services.”

GSA STARS II is a small business set-aside Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) that has provided flexible access to customized IT services and IT-services-based solutions. In addition, the contract has enabled long-term planning of large-scale program requirements while strengthening opportunities for small businesses. 

The agency has raised the ceiling to enhance support to the federal acquisition community by providing direct access to small business industry partners as those small businesses work to recover from the effects of COVID-19. STARS II has supported more than 50 federal agencies and provided opportunities for over one thousand 8(a). 

The STARS II industry partners will remain on the contract, and new task orders may be placed against the 8(a) STARS II GWAC through August 30, 2021. Work can continue on those new orders through June 30, 2022.

“The 8(a) STARS II GWAC has exceeded all of our expectations. We’ve raised the contract’s ceiling more than once to accommodate demand… A significant number of prior 8(a) STARS program participants have grown their businesses so much that we now see them thriving with the big companies on GSA’s Alliant 2 GWAC,” said GSA acting assistant commissioner, Office of Information Technology Category, Laura Stanton. 

About GSA

The mission of the U.S. General Services Administration is to deliver value and savings in real estate, acquisition, technology, and other mission-support services across the government. One of GSA’s four strategic goals is to improve the way agencies buy, build and use technology. 

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Dun & Bradstreet Announces Launch of Initial Public Offering
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Dun & Bradstreet Announces Launch of Initial Public Offering

Dun & Bradstreet Holding has launched its initial public offering of 65.75 million shares of its common stock at an anticipated initial public offering price between $19.00 and $21.00 per share pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1 previously filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company reported on Wednesday.

Dun & Bradstreet has projected to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an 9.86 additional shares of common stock. Dun & Bradstreet has applied to list the shares of common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol, DNB.

A subsidiary of Cannae, a subsidiary of Black Knight, Inc. and a subsidiary of CC Capital Partners, LLC plan to invest $200  million, $100 million, and $100 million, respectively, in a concurrent private placement of  Dun & Bradstreet's common stock. The investments will be contingent upon the consummation of the offering at a price per share equal to 98.5 percent of the initial public offering price.  

Dun & Bradstreet has planned to use the proceeds from the offering and the concurrent private placement to redeem all of its outstanding Series A Preferred Stock, repay a portion of its 10.25 percent Senior Unsecured Notes outstanding due 2027 and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

About Dun & Bradstreet

Dun & Bradstreet, a leading global provider of business decisioning data and analytics, enables companies around the world to improve their business performance. Dun & Bradstreet's Data Cloud fuels solutions and delivers insights that empower customers to accelerate revenue, lower cost, mitigate risk, and transform their businesses. Since 1841, companies of every size have relied on Dun & Bradstreet to help them manage risk and reveal opportunity.

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Jacobs-Built MPCC Facility Receives Recognition for Pharmaceutical Engineering; Koti Vadlamudi, Noel Heaney Quoted
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Jacobs-Built MPCC Facility Receives Recognition for Pharmaceutical Engineering; Koti Vadlamudi, Noel Heaney Quoted

Jacobs provided architecture, engineering, construction management and turnover services for Cruiserath Biologics, which has won the Project Execution category at the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) 2020 Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA), Jacobs announced on Wednesday. 

"With growing demands for its immuno-oncology medicine, Bristol Myers Squibb needed to build a facility for the future," said Koti Vadlamudi, Jacobs Senior Vice President, Advanced Facilities. "The project is a huge success for Jacobs, Bristol Myers Squibb, and ultimately the many patients that rely on these medicines produced in the Dublin campus."

In 2015, Jacobs worked to modernize its existing active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) plant to enable large-scale production of its vital immuno-oncology medicines. Jacobs helped to develop an innovative approach to fighting cancer, immuno-oncology, which has harnessed the body's own immune system to combat tumor cells.

In addition, Jacobs helped create a facility for the $1 billion Multi-Product Cell Culture (MPCC) project. At the time, the project represented the largest pharmaceutical project being undertaken in Europe, with more than 2,200 people on site at peak. 

The project's fast-tracked 26-month delivery commanded collaboration from Jacobs' global network of expertise across Ireland, the United States and India, working around the clock to meet the ambitious schedule.

Jacobs provided a detailed project execution plan that was developed to address challenges, monitor progress and ensure project success. The facility was delivered within budget and applied innovative project delivery techniques and tools. 

The project has repurposed an existing site to design and construct a new manufacturing facility, global laboratory, offices, cafeteria, utility and warehouse buildings as one functional campus. The facility is now in commercial operation, having recently received regulatory approval from both the FDA and the European Medicines Authority.

"Cruiserath's campus represents the largest ever capital investment for the company and is the first Bristol Myers Squibb biologics manufacturing facility in Europe. We set out with a vision to build a world class Biopharma Campus and state of the art facility, and to receive this highly coveted external and industry recognition indeed signifies we are well on our way," said Cruiserath Biologics general manager and executive director, EU Biologics, Noel Heaney.  

About Jacobs 

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of more than 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector.

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BlackBerry Announces Election Results for the Company’s Board of Directors
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BlackBerry Announces Election Results for the Company’s Board of Directors

BlackBerry Limited has announced nine nominees listed in the company's annual and special meeting of shareholders held on June 23, 2020, that have been elected as directors to serve until BlackBerry's next annual shareholder meeting or until their successors are elected or appointed, the company reported on Wednesday. 

With the highest approval rating, Lisa Disbrow has received 96.79 percent for election. Disbrow was appointed to BlackBerry in Aug. 2019. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Mercury Systems, Inc and Perspecta.

Following Disbrow by 0.03 percent, Laurie Smaldone Alsup, president and chief scientific officer of PharmApprove, received a 96.76 percent approval rating. Smaldone Alsup's expertise in the pharmaceutical industry has helped BlackBerry accelerate in regulated industries. She was appointed to the board in June 2015. 

Wayne Wouters and Timothy Dattels both received 96.7 percent approval from the board. Wouters was appointed to the board in Oct. 2015, bringing valuable experience in government relations, strategic leadership, international trade and economic policy. Wouters was also appointed to serve as a member of the audit and risk management committee of the Board of Directors.

Dattels has served as a director of the Company since July 2012. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Western University. Dattels is a Senior Partner of TPG Capital, LP. Prior to joining TPG, Dattels served as a Partner and Managing Director of Goldman Sachs and was head of Investment Banking for all Asian countries other than Japan.

Michael Daniels, former Chairman and CEO of Mobile 365, following closely behind Dattels, received an approval rating of 96.4 percent. Appointed to the board in Oct. 2014, Daniels has brought a broad technology experience to BlackBerry and deep cybersecurity expertise. 

Richard Lynch, president of FB Associates, secured a 96.3 percent approval rating from the elections. Lynch has served as a director of the Company since February 2013 and is a member of the Compensation, Nomination and Governance Committee of the Board of Directors. 

John Chen, executive chairman and CEO of BlackBerry Limited, received 95.7 percent for and 4.30 percent withheld in the election. He is responsible for defining the company’s vision and goals, setting its strategy, and ensuring the team’s execution matches corporate objectives.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including over 175M cars on the road today.  

Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security management, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear – to secure a connected future you can trust.

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NSC’s Scott Pace on Point-to-Point Suborbital Spaceflight
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NSC’s Scott Pace on Point-to-Point Suborbital Spaceflight

Scott Pace, executive secretary of the National Space Council, said he still sees the market for point-to-point, high-speed suborbital spaceflight as “somewhat over the horizon,” SpaceNews reported Tuesday.

“I see us working right now on trying to get the suborbital market up, running and sort of stabilized,” Pace said Monday during a meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee. “I think people look forward to the possibility of point-to-point passenger and cargo travel, but right now just getting routine suborbital access to space and pushing hard on the unmanned hypersonic and military applications is where the action is.”

Pace provided updates on space policy directives and reaffirmed the administration’s support for the commercial space sector.

“The creation of a lightly regulated entrepreneurial space industry, supported by regulation that adapts to changes, is really a model for the rest of the world as they decide how they want to take advantage of space,” he said.

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DoD Research, Engineering Leaders Michael Griffin, Lisa Porter to Step Down
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DoD Research, Engineering Leaders Michael Griffin, Lisa Porter to Step Down

Michael Griffin, undersecretary of Research and Engineering at the Department of Defense (DoD) and a two-time Wash100 Award winner, and his deputy Lisa Porter will leave their current posts on July 10, Defense News reported Tuesday. Griffin and Porter said in a letter to their staff that they have decided to pursue together a career opportunity in the private sector.

DoD Research, Engineering Leaders Michael Griffin, Lisa Porter to Step Down“It has been a pleasure leading this great team over the past few years. We greatly appreciate your hard work, diligence, integrity, and devotion to technical excellence and technical truth in furtherance of the R&E mission,” they wrote in the letter. “We wish you all the very best.”

Griffin assumed his current post in early 2018 to oversee directed energy, hypersonic weapons and other technology capabilities for DoD. Agencies under his leadership included the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). He served as NASA administrator under President George W. Bush.

Porter has been serving as deputy undersecretary for research and engineering at the Pentagon since 2018. She previously served as executive vice president and director of In-Q-Tel Labs.

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Navy Concludes Tests on Demo Jammer Systems for Growler Aircraft
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Navy Concludes Tests on Demo Jammer Systems for Growler Aircraft

The U.S. Navy tested low radio frequency spectrum jammer systems in support of a program that seeks to replace the ALQ-99 electronic warfare systems installed on EA-18G Growler aircraft units.

The service branch said Monday it tested jamming technology on prototype pods at the Facility for Antenna and Radar Cross-Section Measurement and the Air Combat Environmental Test and Evaluation Facility in Patuxent River, Md., as part of the Next Generation Jammer-Low Band Demonstration of Existing Technologies effort.

The NGJ-LB team sought consensus on quarantine and test execution guidelines from the contractors, government officials and the Naval Test Wing Atlantic’s chief flight surgeon prior to the tests.

Northrop Grumman and L3Harris Technologies collaborated with the Navy to demonstrate their low band jamming systems.

The Navy is slated to pick a contractor for the development of an operational NGJ-LB Block 1 tactical jamming pod for integration into Growler aircraft units.

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