The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate pursued an effort to help the U.S. Coast Guard boost the ergonomic quality of air-purifying respirators.

USCG’s Maritime Security Response Team sought S&T’s help to make APR masks more comfortable to use in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear environments, DHS said Tuesday. MSRT works to deter and address acts of terrorism in maritime areas. Some of the group’s operations include the presence of CBRN hazards.

“To perform their job most effectively, they need to be outfitted with high quality personal protective equipment, such as a respiratory protective system that minimizes stress and exertion, while also protecting against a range of contaminants,” said Don Bansleben, S&T’s program manager for the effort.

The U.S. Army’s Chemical Biological Center helped S&T study MSRT’s existing powered-air APR units. The joint effort then recommended potential replacements that hold the potential to boost the comfort of current masks.

S&T commenced PAPR studies in 2017 then partnered with CBC in 2019 for testing and evaluation in Chesapeake, Va. The directorate identified the wearable EZAir+ and MP-PAPR systems, products made by Avon Industries.

“S&T and the Coast Guard, with the help of the U.S. Army’s CBC in Edgewood, performed controlled lab testing to ensure that these systems are durable, reliable, simple to operate and that they’ll stand up in the environments that we would wear them in,” said Daniel Moose, technical director for MSRT East.

He noted that MSRT needed a system that makes breathing easier and reduces factors that negatively impact a user’s physiology. Results prompted the recommendation to purchase Avon Industries’ MP-PAPR system.

“We are hoping in the beginning of 2020 to begin fielding the new PAPRs to all our members,” Moose stated.

The U.S. Army has launched a research effort to prevent “backdoor attacks” from adversaries that use machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to mistrain technologies like facial recognition platforms, FedScopp reported Tuesday.

The Army Research Office has awarded $60,000 to a Duke University research team to study and develop defensive software for AI databases to prevent “data poisoning” or AI mistraining.

“People tend to modify the input data very slightly so it is not so obvious to a human eye, but can fool the model,” noted Helen Li, a member of the Duke team.

“The fact that you are using a large database is a two-way street,” said MaryAnne Fields, program manager for intelligent systems at ARO. “It is an opportunity for the adversary to inject poison into the database.”

The team used a facial recognition database comprised of 12,000 images to test new algorithms intended to detect backdoors for adversaries that want to infiltrate the data.

The Bureau of Fiscal Service has launched two pilot projects focused on blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies to improve customer experience, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

The bureau’s Office of Financial Innovation and Transformation intends to deploy AI to support “chatbot” or virtual assistant features to automate customer support and improve access to Department of the Treasury services.

Jennifer Hill, management and program analyst at FIT, told the publication that her office wants to deploy best practices in the private sector and enable acess to the AI-based feature from the web as well as mobile devices.

“Where we sit within the government at Treasury, there’s many opportunities to really explore how an agency interacts with us, and how that might change how citizens interact with us, and how that may change and how any other entity like a bank is also interacting with Treasury,” noted  Adam Goldberg, executive architect at FIT.

The Treasury Department component also collaborated with the National Science Foundation to use blockchain to promote transparency in grant payment procedures. 

According to Craig Fischer, a program manager for FIT, the blockchain effort is focused on tracking mobile phones as well as software licenses to improve visibility in transaction flows.

The Department of Defense has requested $88 million to complete the Consolidated Space Operations Facility at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado to support U.S. Space Command and Space Force operations, DoD reported Tuesday.

Congress approved $148 million for the CSOF on 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. A portion of the funds were allocated in last year’s budget to pay for the design and some construction work.

The additional funding for fiscal 2021 will fall under the Air Force’s military construction budget and support plans to finish construction work by March 2022.

“The CSOF is a next-generation facility,” Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., said at the National Press Club during a conference hosted by the Space Foundation.

He said the facility is a top priority of the Joint Task Force Space Defense, a new organization that is part of U.S. Space Command. The defense team, with the U.S. intelligence community, operates the classified National Space Defense Center. The where operators and analysts at the center monitor potential threats in outer space and draw up options to defend satellites if they come under attack.

According to USAF documents, the renovated facility housing NSDC activities is “undersized and cannot continue to meet all operational requirements.”

The Department of Energy (DoE) has allotted $187 million to finance 55 research and development projects on advanced manufacturing, DoE reported on Monday. The department will pursue this investment to support the country’s competitiveness in domestic and global manufacturing. The funds include $48 million for cost-shared efforts.

The department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy will fund projects in the focus areas of advanced material manufacturing, lower thermal budget processes and connected, flexible and efficient manufacturing systems.

The first topic seeks low-cost manufacturing processes for batteries, heating and cooling storage and harsh condition-resistant materials. The department spent $124.6 million for 36 projects focused on new, low-cost manufacturing processes. The projects will catalyze domestic battery manufacturing, phase-change storage materials for heating and cooling applications and the development of innovative materials for harsh service conditions.

The second one focuses on heating and drying technologies that would boost energy efficiency and the quality of manufactured products. The department will allocate $28.7 million to 8 projects to fund research on industrial process heating and drying technologies that increase energy efficiency and product quality. Researchers will focus on process heating, which accounts for 70% of all manufacturing process energy use.

The final focus area tackles energy conversion efficiency, semiconductor advancements and improved electric grid integration. $33.5 million has been allocated for 11 projects that back efficient industrial power conversion equipment that process energy to electrical energy. The equipment will also integrate electrical grids support recent advances in new, wide-bandgap semiconductors.

“By investing in advanced manufacturing projects that enhance energy productivity, we’re supporting the competitiveness of the entire U.S. manufacturing industry,” said Mark Menezes, undersecretary of energy.

About the Department of Energy

The mission of the Energy Department is to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.