QTS Realty Trust has announced  a new company division, the QTS Innovation Lab (QIL), to match the increasing demand for innovation in the delivery of data center services, derived from Service Delivery Platform (SDP), to improve business management and data optimization, the company reported on Thursday.

“The QTS Innovation Lab is a natural extension of our Service Delivery Platform and an innovative development environment leveraging actionable data to rapidly accelerate delivery of innovative new applications and services,” said Brent Bentsen, chief technology officer (CTO) of Product at QTS.

QIL will support SDP’s development of data center services, which will provide the company’s customers with new innovations and faster services. QIL will be comprised of a team of data scientists, artificial intelligence, machine learning and data visualization experts, who will conceptualize new solutions. The lab will  dramatically improve the way customers interact with QTS’ data center infrastructure.

The QIL team will implement a scientific approach to vet new ideas and potentially industry moving concepts before they are approved for further development. In addition, QIL has planned to audit ready prototypes of applications for delivery to QTS customers via SDP.

The first innovation that has been produced from QIL is 3D Mapper, a visualization app that creates an exact replication of a customer’s IT environment in real-time. 3D visualizations are embedded with critical information including power utilization, temperature and humidity data, physical security, and asset details by rack location.

“Our expanding experience with AI, machine learning and predictive analytics has led to the realization of how much more is possible,” Bentsen added.

About QTS

QTS Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: QTS) is a leading provider of data center solutions across a diverse footprint spanning more than 6 million square feet of owned mega scale data center space within North America and Europe. Through its software-defined technology platform, QTS is able to deliver secure, compliant infrastructure solutions, robust connectivity and premium customer service to leading hyperscale technology companies, enterprises, and government entities.

NASA has announced that the Johnson Space Center will host media and social media for “State of NASA” events on Monday, Feb. 10, the administration reported on Thursday. Johnson director, Mark Geyer, and NASA associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, Doug Loverro will serve as speakers at the event.

The White House has released Johnson Space Center’s expanded Fiscal Year 2021 budget, which will fund extensive technology development and innovative scientific research. During the event, the center will provide a media opportunity, social media tours and presentations to showcase Johnson’s role in the agency’s exploration goals.

Johnson will continue to transform human exploration of the solar system with new initiatives that include managing development and operation of key components in the agency’s Artemis program. The program expects to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024.

The event will also present NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine’s live televised address to the agency’s workforce at 12 p.m. CST. Bridenstine will be at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi. At 4 p.m., NASA chief financial officer (CFO), Jeff DeWit will host a teleconference to brief media on the agency’s FY 2021 budget proposal. Johnson will provide a location to participate in this briefing, which also will stream live on the agency’s website.

Johnson Space Center continues to conduct research and expand new missions. The center has recently launched the Artemis mission to lunar samples, as the space agency plans locations on the Moon to explore, NASA reported in Oct. 2019.

The Lunar Exploration and Analysis Group announcement featured official statements on landing plans for Artemis 3, a manned lunar mission scheduled for 2024. The future mission may explore certain landing sites within the Moon’s south polar region.

John Connolly, lunar surface systems lead at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, said the lunar south pole may contain amounts of water ice within shadowed craters. Illuminated portions, on the other hand, may offer opportunities in solar power, he noted. Artemis 3 would last for almost a week on the moon based on current plans.

About Johnson Space Center

For more than 50 years, NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston has led our nation and the world on a continuing adventure of human exploration, discovery and achievement. The center has played a vital role in powering our country into the 21st century through technological innovations and scientific discoveries.

The dedicated professionals who work at JSC have made advances in science, technology, engineering and medicine that enable us to explore our world and universe as never before, and to derive unparalleled benefits from that exploration.

1901 Group has participated in the “Virginia Tech (VT) Industrial Systems Engineering (ISE) D.C. Area Company Tour” to fill the tech talent pipeline and bridge the gap between Northern Virginia and Southwest Virginia, the company reported on Thursday.

“1901 Group has created a collaborative culture and a workforce that centers around leveraging talent through extensive training, education, and growth opportunities,” said Sheri Neely, vice president of Operational Performance at 1901 Group.

The tour was held on January 17th, 2020 and led by the Virginia Tech (VT) ISE Emerging Leaders Board (ELB) and the VT Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE),  to expose current students to various companies in the D.C. and Northern Virginia where ISE alumni currently work.

1901 Group, at the company’s Reston, VA office, presented current GovCon market trends, including the government’s use of emerging technologies, and explained 1901 Group’s technology solutions, partnerships and FedRAMP authorized platform.

The company outlined the current tactics that 1901 Group and the federal government have implemented in the efforts to achieve digital transformation. In addition, 1901 Group held a company panel to discuss employee work-life, the company’s culture, career paths and expectations within the public sector market.

“For employers in the D.C. and Northern Virginia region, recruiting top engineering talent is becoming critically important to provide the next generation of professionals with expertise in cloud, cyber security and AI…We see it as a no-brainer to make these challenges easier for both companies and students by bringing them together in person, on site, at the companies’ facilities,” said VT ISE ELB initiative lead, Maggie Dozier.

About 1901 Group, LLC

1901 Group is a leading provider of innovative IT services and solutions in the public and private sector. We improved service delivery by leveraging our FedRAMP authorized Enterprise IT Operations Center (EITOC) to provide 24×7 support of end-users, complex IT infrastructure environments, and mission-critical systems. Our capabilities include cloud, cyber security, and enterprise-scale managed services to transition customers from traditional on-premise IT infrastructure and support models to hybrid cloud solutions that improve performance and reduce costs.

Jason Klitenic, general counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, mentioned supply chain security-related questions that ODNI intends to address and one of those concerns with the intelligence community’s information sharing efforts, Fifth Domain reported Wednesday.

“If we pick up intel or information that there’s a product out there that may have a vulnerable but we’re aware of it, but the company may not be aware of it, how can we possibly make sure that the company … is aware of it?” Klitenic said Wednesday at the American Bar Association.

The other question he mentioned deals with influencing security compliance of suppliers through security requirements within contracts.

“How far can we go in terms of including contractual terms that impose security obligations and enforcing compliance with those obligations?” Klitenic said.

The U.S. Navy has deployed a submarine-launched ballistic missile that will work to augment deterrence against potential adversaries. John Rood, undersecretary of policy at the Department of Defense, said in a statement published Tuesday the deployment of the W76-2 warhead will equip the U.S. military with a low-yield strategic weapon that will enable a response to potential attacks.

He added the move also reflects the government’s commitment to fielding expanded defenses. The DoD has validated the need to modernize submarine-launched ballistic missile warheads as stated in the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review.