Col. Paul Weizer, program executive officer for special operation forces digital applications at U.S. Special Operations Command, said USSOCOM plans to create a new office that would focus on the command's software procurement, National Defense Magazine reported Wednesday.

Weizer said software procurement follows different rules from traditional defense purchases, and the new office will work to address the matter's unique issues.

“The current mission is to rapidly consolidate, integrate, acquire and/or divest of some of the SOF-unique software solutions,” Weizer added.

USSOCOM will headquarter the office in Tampa, Fla. The command now seeks industry input to determine the new office's structure.

Southwest Research Institute has secured a $15.6M contract from NASA on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to design and develop a solar plasma wind sensor that will work with a space weather observatory satellite.

SWRI will also analyze, fabricate, test, assess, calibrate and support launch and on-orbit checkout for the instrument, NASA said Thursday.

NASA awarded a $96.6M contract to Ball Aerospace for the design and production of the Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 satellite, an observatory designed to help NOAA monitor and predict space weather by collecting solar wind data and coronal imagery.

SWRI will carry out work for 76 months in San Antonio, Texas.

The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is offering businesses the opportunity to pursue short-term energy technology projects at the Building Technologies Research and Integration Center.

Qualifying parties will receive access to equipment, staff support and other assets at the ORNL-owned BTRIC facility, DOE said Wednesday.

“By leveraging the capabilities and resources of Oak Ridge, companies both large and small can quickly develop, evaluate and validate equipment and system technologies to advance the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings," said Alex Fitzsimmons, DOE's deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency.

ORNL is interested in projects that tackle certain topics including heat, ventilation and air conditioning, water heating, solid-state lighting, sensors and building energy modeling. The effort seeks projects that would help the U.S. reduce the country's building energy intensity by 30 percent 10 years from now, with respect to a baseline from 2010.

The projects will follow a cost-share basis of 20 percent.

The State Department is working to use artificial intelligence and cloud technology to combat propaganda and disinformation operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Broadband Breakfast reported Wednesday.

The department’s technology team, operating under its AI and Emerging Technology Office, intends to use a “Disinfo Cloud” to pilot AI-driven identification and analysis concepts to counter coronavirus-related misinformation activities.

Charles Chen, director of the AI and emerging technology unit, said at a Government Executive Media Group event that his office is also working to automate human resources-related procedures. 

According to Chen, public-private partnerships are a key factor to enabling the State Department to keep up with industry’s AI developments.

The department has other ongoing AI-related initiatives including a cloud-based identity management system, consolidated data-lake systems, predictive analysis-driven automation and remote monitoring of telecommunications systems, according to the report.

Air Force Research Laboratory’s scientific research office has engaged with the Translation and Innovation Hub or I-HUB located in Imperial College, London, to foster international collaboration.

The move aims to fortify AFRL’s partnerships with the U.K. defense ministry, academia and non-traditional entities, Wright-Patterson AF Base said Tuesday.

“Co-locating with Imperial College is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the relationships formed through our existing grants and is a direct realization of the 2030 strategy call to build bridges and foster innovation on critical research topics,” said Col. D. Brent Morris, international office director of the AF Scientific Research Office.

The 2030 USAF Science and Technology Strategy reflects the service branch’s pursuit of agile collaboration with traditional and non-traditional entities.

AFRL plans to send two of its information directorate employees to the London-based hub this fall.

“These employees will serve as researchers and liaisons to the various universities and institutions across the U.K. to leverage global research partnerships and rapid innovation opportunities,” said Lt. Col. Logan Mailloux, chief of staff at AFOSR.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for AFOSR’s facility at I-HUB will virtually take place when lockdown restrictions lessen.