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Lawmakers Urge Senate Panel to Include Additional TMF Funding in Next COVID-19 Relief Package
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Lawmakers Urge Senate Panel to Include Additional TMF Funding in Next COVID-19 Relief Package

Six lawmakers have called on the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee to allot an additional $1 billion for the Technology Modernization Fund in the upcoming COVID-19 relief measure to support updates to federal information technology systems.

The senators wrote a letter onWednesday to the Senate panel saying the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the failures of legacy IT systems and highlighted the need for agencies to advance their network modernization efforts.

“For example, in its June 2020 report, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee identified multiple agencies where IT systems struggle to accommodate large percentages of teleworking federal employees, causing system problems that slow the place of normal functions like claims processing, increasing security risk, and making telework inefficient and frustrating. In other cases, small business owners and citizens were deeply frustrated by poorly functioning claims systems,” the senators wrote in the July 29 letter.

The letter was signed by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and three-time Wash100 Award recipient, Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.).

Several congressmen on Friday also urged the House leadership to include in the next supplemental spending bill an additional $1 billion for TMF.

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CISA Accepts Entries to President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition 2020
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CISA Accepts Entries to President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition 2020

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has opened applications for an annual cybersecurity competition intended for federal employees.

Those who serve with the Department of Defense and other components of the federal executive branch may enter the second President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition to demonstrate cyber skills, CISA said Tuesday.

Participants will work in five-person teams across two different tracks. One track will focus on exploitation and vulnerability assessment analysis, and the other one will tackle incident response and forensics.

The competition's pair of qualification rounds will happen virtually, then finalists will attend Virginia-based CISA facilities in-person for the last round.

Interested parties may send group applications through Aug. 14 and individual applications up to Aug. 28.

"CISA is proud and excited to lead the second annual President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition to measure the knowledge, skills and abilities of the diverse cybersecurity talent within government,” said Christopher Krebs, CISA director.

The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education Cybersecurity's workforce framework will serve as the basis for the competition's challenge areas.

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DARPA Tests In-Space Deformable Mirror Telescope
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DARPA Tests In-Space Deformable Mirror Telescope

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has pursued an effort to demonstrate the capture of distant space images through CubeSat-based telescopes.

The International Space Station on July 13 deployed the agency's Deformable Mirror or DeMi CubeSat satellite that features a miniature telescope with microelectromechanical technology., DARPA said Tuesday.

DeMi's mirrors change in shape to filter out mechanical- and temperature-based effects that disrupt an image's quality. DARPA seeks to evaluate the deformable mirror's ability to improve image quality amid the radiation and thermal effects of space.

The CubeSat has so far demonstrated correct spacecraft pointing, temperature stability and solar array performance. Boeing's Aurora Flight Sciences subsidiary, Blue Canyon Technologies and Massachusetts Institute of Technology contributed to the effort.

The multisector team will soon move on to DeMi's payload checkout.

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GSA Picks 4 Building Mgmt Concepts for Energy Efficiency Pilot
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GSA Picks 4 Building Mgmt Concepts for Energy Efficiency Pilot

The General Services Administration (GSA) has unveiled four building concepts to be tested as part of an initiative to promote efficiency at the agency’s facilities.

GSA said Tuesday the Grid-interactive Efficient Building (GEB) concepts will be tested at designated agency locations as part of its Proving Ground program, which seeks to implement new energy and technology services to drive cost efficiency.

Under the Proving Ground effort, GSA will work with independent evaluators to assess concepts such as kinetic buildings, which will utilize machine learning and the Department of Energy’s VOLTTRON open-source platform to automate building operations.

Other concepts include “data systems analysts”, which leverages an operational data warehouse framework based on software manufacturer OSIsoft’s technology; and “prescriptive data”, which will use a Nantum-developed energy management and information system.

Comcast and Livingston, N.J.-based startup Logical Buildings’ MachineQ platform will also be used to support the use of internet of things technology to drive building management systems.

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Navy Piloting Software to Support Rapid Unmanned Vessel Components Dev’t
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Navy Piloting Software to Support Rapid Unmanned Vessel Components Dev’t

The U.S. Navy is launching a modernization pilot for its unmanned surface and underwater vehicles ahead of plans to transition the project into an official program in fiscal year 2022, USNI News reported Tuesday.

Capt. Pete Small, head of the Navy's program office for unmanned maritime systems, told the publication that the Rapid Autonomy Integration Lab (RAIL) effort is aimed at streamlining the development of common combat and control systems to support all of the Navy’s USVs and UUVs.

The program office plans to run the RAPID cloud-based software code to support information assurance and cybersecurity functions through the U.S. Air Force’s Platform One environment.

According to the report, the autonomy software will undergo testing and in-water assessments using the Razorback UUV.

“When we have the RAIL up and running, we’ll be able to provide thousands of hours of operations in simulation, plus the full-scale on-water demonstrations, to really build credibility for our plans in rapidly deploying and developing these things,” Small said.

“So I think it will really quickly advance our ability to show progress, because right now we’re subject to getting the full-scale vehicles and running and operating them, and that just takes time and money to do,”

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NASA Unveils Crew for Second Operational Crew Dragon Mission
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NASA Unveils Crew for Second Operational Crew Dragon Mission

NASA has named the astronauts who will embark on the second operational mission with SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough will represent NASA in the Crew-2 mission that will send the spacecraft to the International Space Station under the Commercial Crew Program, the space agency said Tuesday.

NASA plans to launch Crew-2 in spring next year, with Crew-1 scheduled for September this year.

McArthur, the mission's pilot, and Kimbrough, the spacecraft commander, will be accompanied by Japan's Akihiko Hoshide and the European Space Agency's Thomas Pesquet. The astronauts will stay at ISS for half a year.

The two crewed operational missions follow the Demo-2 mission that served as a crewed test flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft.

The Commercial Crew Program aims to provide the U.S. space industry with opportunities to launch NASA astronauts.

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DOE Partners with VA, HHS to Unveil COVID-19 Research Initiative
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DOE Partners with VA, HHS to Unveil COVID-19 Research Initiative

The Department of Energy (DOE) has partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to launch an effort to provide access to health data and COVID-19 research.

The COVID-19 Insights Partnership initiative seeks to develop a framework that will allow VA and HHS to analyze health data and perform COVID-19 research efforts through the use of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, DOE said Tuesday.

The partnership will utilize the results of the program to support COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutic development. DOE noted the IBM-built Summit supercomputer currently runs large-scale analyses on huge volumes of health data in a bid to speed up research efforts on the virus.

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NIH Introduces $58M Health Research Program in Africa
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NIH Introduces $58M Health Research Program in Africa

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has unveiled a $58 million funding opportunity to drive data science and health research activities in Africa under a five-year effort.

NIH said Monday that it aims to develop approaches that could address Africa's clinical and public health gaps through the Harnessing Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa program.

The initiative seeks to foster partnerships across various sectors and conduct collaborative efforts with computer scientists, engineers, biomedical researchers, clinicians and data specialists. Academic and non-profit organizations in Africa are encouraged to submit proposals for the effort.

Projects under DS-I Africa are scheduled to begin in September 2021. NIH will host a virtual symposium from July through November 2020 to explain the program's details and discuss the state of data science in Africa.

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Pyramid Systems Names Kim Weaver VP of Financial Technology; Jeff Hwang Quoted
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Pyramid Systems Names Kim Weaver VP of Financial Technology; Jeff Hwang Quoted

Pyramid Systems has appointed Kim Weaver as vice president of Financial Technology Solutions to provide strategic vision and support for the company’s financial technology initiatives and new client acquisition, Pyramid reported on Tuesday.

"We are very excited to have Kim on our executive team," CEO and co-founder Jeff Hwang said. "Her operational and management experience serving thousands of service providers and lenders will be an invaluable resource as Pyramid expands into the mortgage lending space."

Before joining Pyramid, Weaver served in multiple senior leadership positions with Fiserv, including vice president, product management, director of Product Strategy and director of client delivery. During her 15-year career with Fiserv she supported mortgage and other lending technology. 

Throughout her career she has had a focus on digitizing the lending process. She also serves the mortgage industry through volunteer work at the Mortgage Information Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO). Weaver has also served as product manager with BCE Emergis, senior business analyst with Freddie Mac and senior vice president with Fortress Mortgage. 

"Pyramid's decades-long relationship supporting federal agencies involved in housing and homeownership inspires me because of their proven commitment to pragmatic solutions for business agility. I am honored to join the talented Pyramid team delivering digital transformation powered by technology modernization," Weaver said.

About Pyramid Systems, Inc.

­Pyramid Systems is an award-winning technology leader driving digital transformation across federal agencies. We solve complex problems with advanced technologies and modern methodologies. 

By leveraging leading-edge cloud, analytics, and low-code platforms with Agile and DevSecOps approaches, we deliver highly secure mission-critical solutions. Pyramid has professionalized innovation to deliver consistent results, reducing time from prototype to production to scale. We partner with clients to optimize for better citizen experiences, faster user adoption, greater efficiencies, and improved mission outcomes. Our unique culture is the main driver of why we build solutions that last.

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Intelligent Waves Names Heidi Pirela CHRO to Lead HR Department; Tony Crescenzo Quoted
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Intelligent Waves Names Heidi Pirela CHRO to Lead HR Department; Tony Crescenzo Quoted

Intelligent Waves has appointed Heidi Pirela as chief human resources officer to lead the company’s Human Resources (HR) function, including organization development, integrated talent management, leadership development and culture, the company announced on Wednesday. 

“Heidi has a stellar reputation of being an effective change agent and will focus on expanding our culture of innovation, enhancing employee satisfaction, and fostering a positive culture that inspires impact, inclusiveness, and a strong sense of community,” said Tony Crescenzo, president of Intelligent Waves. 

Throughout her career, Pirela has developed a deep expertise for leading HR teams that maximize efficiency, drive engagement and leverage integrated HR technologies to add value and deliver best in class HR strategies. Pirela’s experience spans across multiple industries including High-Tech Start-Ups, Aerospace, Defense & Intelligence, Commercial Technology and Fortune 100 companies. 

Prior to joining Intelligence Waves, Pirela served for two years as head of People Operations for Spaceflight Industries (SFI), where she was responsible for defining and leading the People Strategy, growing our organizational culture, leading talent acquisition, business process design, employee engagement, organizational development and performance management. 

Pirela also served as senior director of Human Resources with Trident Systems, where she focused on executing strategic HR objectives in support of business goals by collaborating with senior leadership on business strategies, vision, and business continuity.

As manager of Human Resources with Systems Planning and Analysis, Pirela led and built a high functioning efficient team of five HR business partners, responsible for managing, implementing and operating human resources. 

Pirela is also certified with a Senior Professional of Human Resources (SPHR) by the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) and by the Society of Human Resources Management with the designation of the Society of Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). 

“I am thrilled to join Intelligent Waves, a leading-edge company that stands for innovation and a winning culture, and I can’t wait to help make a significant impact to the growth and expansion of this great company,” Pirela stated. 

About Intelligent Waves LLC

Intelligent Waves LLC is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB). The business provides enterprise systems engineering, cloud computing and managed services, cyber and security architecture, mobility, and operations and intelligence analytics.

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