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INL, 2 Universities to Advance R&D on Energy, Cybersecurity
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INL, 2 Universities to Advance R&D on Energy, Cybersecurity

Idaho National Laboratory has partnered with Boise State University and the University of Idaho to enhance research and development on advanced energy and cybersecurity.

The national laboratory said Wednesday it signed five-year Strategic Understanding for Premier Education and Research, or SUPER, agreements with both universities to collaborate on R&D projects to strengthen the nation’s energy resilience and economic growth while enhancing cybersecurity to safeguard critical infrastructure. The organizations will utilize each other’s facilities, capabilities and expertise to advance R&D projects and develop a system to foster innovations.

Advanced Materials for Extreme Conditions

INL and Boise State will explore the use of advanced materials such as high-entropy alloys, metamaterials, quantum materials, wide band gap semiconductors and radiation-resistant alloys for industrial energy production. The materials will be developed to withstand intense pressure, extreme heat and cold, radioactivity, corrosive chemicals and other challenging conditions for use on reactor components and microelectronics.

Secure and Reliable Energy Systems

The laboratory will also collaborate with Boise State to strengthen energy systems’ security and resilience. They will focus on the use of artificial intelligence and socio-technical system factors in developing innovations to safeguard critical infrastructure from cyberthreats and other disruptions.

Nuclear Materials and Fuel Cycle Engineering

INL will partner with U of I to enhance nuclear power system efficiency, fuel use and fuel production.

Nuclear Integrated Energy Systems

The two organizations will develop nuclear-integrated energy systems by exploring potential uses of nuclear energy outside the U.S. power grid. This includes the use of nuclear heat in hydrogen production and other industrial processes.

Power Systems and Industrial Cybersecurity

The last area of focus for INL and Idaho University is to bolster the security and resilience of industrial control systems overseeing critical infrastructure.

Marlene Tromp, Boise State president, said, “We are committed to collaborating with industry and government partners to educate American workers and set up businesses for success in global markets.”

U of I President C. Scott Green stated, “We are excited to work with INL to build a secure power grid shaped by the next generation of nuclear technology advancements and nuclear-integrated energy systems for a sustainable future.”

INL Director John Wagner remarked, “Research in the areas that we have identified today is critical to accelerating our nation’s energy, manufacturing and technology sectors for the benefit of the American people.”

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Space RCO Program Seeks Rapid Integrated Satellite Deployment
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Space RCO Program Seeks Rapid Integrated Satellite Deployment

Five teams with two members each will participate in the Prime Fusion Pilot Accelerator Program that the Space Rapid Capabilities Office initiated to fast-track integrated satellite development and deployment. Each team is a partnership between innovative U.S.-based small businesses and major integrators, Space RCO said in a LinkedIn post Wednesday.

During the eight-week program, the teams will integrate new technologies through a novel approach for enhancing what the agency calls “own-ship awareness.” The program’s participants will contribute their unique approaches in combining onboard satellite sensors and software with ground-based systems for detecting and reporting glitches, risks and threats on a satellite.

Situational Awareness Goal

The program aims to seamlessly integrate into satellites the innovative and advanced technologies of prime integrators to create adaptable space assets that meet the situational awareness and responsiveness needs of Space RCO and the U.S. Space Force.

The program’s team partnerships are the following:

  • Active Vigilance and Turion Space
  • Digantara and Anduril
  • Geost and Impulse Space
  • Raptor Dynamix and True Anomaly
  • TRL11 and BlackVe

Workshops, Program Presentation

A workshop series will be conducted for coaching and partnership discussions structured based on FedTech’s approach partnering emerging innovators with established counterparts. The program will have a capstone pitch event in March in Albuquerque for participant presentations to Space RCO and industry stakeholders. 

Col. Owen Stephens, Space RCO’s contracting director, expressed optimism that the program will enable acquisition of next-generation satellites heightened for situational awareness to ensure the security and sustainability of U.S. space assets.

“Space RCO is harnessing the ingenuity of a diverse range of small businesses to augment established capabilities,” the official said.

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Navy Officials Call for More Coordinated Approach to DOD’s Replicator
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Navy Officials Call for More Coordinated Approach to DOD’s Replicator

Top Navy officials have called for more coordinated activities surrounding the Department of Defense’s Replicator initiative. 

Rear Adm. Christopher Sweeney, director of Integrated Warfare at the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, said in an AFCEA West panel Tuesday that military services need to sync up, especially when it comes to acquiring software. 

Establishing an Enterprise-Wide Strategy for Replicator

“I can’t have every fleet commander buying their software or their robot,” commented Sweeney during the event. “I mean, some of that can happen, obviously, but we do have to settle up.”

He stressed that there should be agreement in buying some of the technologies that will be used as part of the program, whether in autonomous, command and control, and heterogenous software or a fight from the Maritime Operations Center collaborative.

Rear Adm. Elizabeth Okano, commander of Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, also admitted during the panel that military services are “not organized correctly” and not incentivized to cooperate. 

Instead, she explained that certain program managers are lauded for their cost-schedule performance and not for their initiative to unlock and share new information with other DOD components. 

Okano called for an enterprise-level strategy that can be implemented not just within the Navy, but across all military services to coordinate action and make Replicator a multi-domain operation. 

Replicator Program Updates

The Replicator initiative aims to accelerate the development and delivery of advanced capabilities to warfighters. 

In November, former Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, a Wash100 Award recipient, expanded the program to include air and maritime systems and applications. The new capabilities are expected to enable the Pentagon to deliver all-domain attritable autonomous systems to warfighters by August 2025. 

The program entered its second phase, dubbed Replicator 2.0, in October. 

According to former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, also a Wash100 Award winner, Replicator 2.0 will focus on countering small unmanned aerial system threats and providing C-sUAS systems to troops within 24 months after Congress approves funding.

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ICF’s Kyle Tuberson on Successfully Implementing AI
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ICF’s Kyle Tuberson on Successfully Implementing AI

Kyle Tuberson, chief technology officer at ICF, believes fostering a culture of learning is key to the successful implementation of artificial intelligence at various organizations.

Upgrading Skills

Tuberson said in a column published Wednesday on Fast Company that employees must be given the opportunity to upgrade their skills or develop new ones in order to thrive alongside AI.

Cloud Expertise

One skill that the ICF CTO expects to be crucial in the era of AI is expertise in cloud technologies. Cloud platforms offer users the scalability and computing power demanded by AI. The cloud could also deliver AI tools themselves, like ready-to-use machine learning platforms or pre-trained models.

“Investing in cloud proficiency can empower your team to effectively deploy AI solutions and ensure initiatives are targeted and sustainable,” Tuberson said.

Data Literacy & Data Governance

Also crucial to unlocking the potential of AI, the exec said, is data literacy, which must be fostered among employees, and data governance practices, which must be put into effect. Data literacy makes it possible for employees to interpret and make decisions based on insights generated by AI. Data governance ensures the transparency, security and accessibility of AI systems.

Building a Resilient, Tech-Forward Workforce

“As 2025 unfolds, success will be defined not just by the adoption of emerging technologies like AI, but by an organization’s ability to achieve lasting digital modernization,” Tuberson said, adding that success in such an endeavor “lies in building a resilient, tech-forward workforce—one that is equipped with the resources, skills, and knowledge needed to continuously evolve alongside these technologies.”

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HII’s Mission Tech Tests REMUS 620 UUV on Navy Confidence Course
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HII’s Mission Tech Tests REMUS 620 UUV on Navy Confidence Course

HII’s Uncrewed Systems, a business unit of its Mission Technologies division, has completed trials with the REMUS 620, the company’s advanced medium-class unmanned underwater vehicle, or MUUV, in the U.S. Navy UUV Confidence Course in Bangor, Washington.

HII said Wednesday the MUUV was shipped from its Pocasset, Massachusetts facility to Keyport, Washington and went through pre-mission checks and ballasting.

An Industry First

The REMUS 620 is the first industry-made MUUV to go through the Navy’s confidence course, making HII one of the first companies to use the test course. This showcases the collaboration between the service branch’s Unmanned Undersea Vehicles Group ONE, or UUVGRU-1, and industry partners.

The confidence course is meant to offer repeatable and comparable performance data for capability development. This aligns with the Chief of Naval Operations’ NAVPLAN Project 33 and submarine force objectives, which are intended to bolster warfighting readiness. 

“Getting a chance to put our newest design through its paces on the Navy’s UUV confidence course was a great opportunity for us to validate our design improvements to the vehicle. We also gained a lot of valuable operational data using the KRAKEN MINSAS 120, ” said Adrian Gonsalves, REMUS 620 product manager.

“The confidence course provided us a great benchmark we can use to continue our improvements to this great design and gave us a chance to show UUV sailors in Keyport how much improvement we built into this next-gen MUUV in terms of modularity and maintainability,” added Gonsalves.  

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The Wash100 Class of 2025 Is Here
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The Wash100 Class of 2025 Is Here

The wait is over — Executive Mosaic is proud to announce the winners of the competitive and prestigious 2025 Wash100 Award! 

Each year, the Wash100 Award recognizes the most influential, outstanding and promising executives working in the vast government contracting ecosystem. These individuals are chosen for their consistent and unparalleled demonstration of leadership, innovation, vision, reliability and achievement. 

“The 2025 Wash100 Award shines a spotlight on the leaders who are redefining what’s possible in the GovCon industry, especially during what we’re sure will be a year of major transformation in the sector,” said Jim Garrettson, Executive Mosaic CEO and founder of the Wash100 Award. 

“As always, this year’s recipients embody the qualities that drive progress: bold leadership, inventive thinking and an unyielding dedication to excellence. These 100 visionaries are not only shaping today’s government and industry landscapes but are also laying the groundwork for a more innovative and resilient future. We are proud to celebrate their accomplishments and the transformative impact they will make in the year ahead,” Garrettson added.

The 2025 Wash100 Winners

Executive Mosaic saw a record surge in executive nominations this year, more than doubling the submissions from the previous cycle.

The 2025 Wash100 list highlights a dynamic mix of leaders, with 24 percent serving in the public sector, 69 percent representing the GovCon industry and seven percent coming from other segments of the broader GovCon landscape. Dedicated to honoring visionaries and trailblazers, Executive Mosaic carefully selects recipients who drive meaningful change in the industry. This year, we’re excited to welcome 37 first-time honorees to the prestigious Wash100 list.

Check out the full list of 2025 Wash100 recipients.

Vote Today for Your Favorite Winners

Today marks the start of the 2025 Wash100 popular vote competition! Out of all 100 winners, only one can take the crown as the most popular Wash100 recipient this year. Cast your votes today to participate in GovCon’s most beloved and exciting race!

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Sean Duffy Takes Oath as Transportation Secretary
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Sean Duffy Takes Oath as Transportation Secretary

Former congressman Sean Duffy on Tuesday took oath as the 20th secretary of the Department of Transportation hours after the Senate confirmed his nomination in a 77-22 vote.

Resetting CAFE Standards

Upon arrival at DOT headquarters Tuesday, the department said Duffy, who was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, signed a memorandum directing personnel to kick off the process of resetting Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards as part of efforts to reduce the price of a car and end the electric vehicle mandate.

The new memo directs the Office of the General Counsel, the Office of the Undersecretary for Policy and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to begin a rulemaking process to replace or rescind all existing CAFE standards.

Sean Duffy’s Career Background

Duffy served in Congress for 10 years as the representative for Wisconsin’s 7th District. The Republican served on the House Financial Services Committee and helped address local transportation concerns through his co-chairmanship of the Great Lakes Task Force.

Before serving as a congressman, he spent a decade as the district attorney of Ashland County in Wisconsin.

After leaving Congress, the Wisconsin native hosted the Fox Business show, “The Bottom Line with Dagen and Duffy.”

The newly appointed DOT secretary has a marketing degree from St. Mary’s University and a juris doctorate degree from William Mitchell College of Law.

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OpenAI Unveils ChatGPT Gov
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OpenAI Unveils ChatGPT Gov

OpenAI has launched a new version of its generative artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT designed to streamline access of U.S. government agencies to the company’s frontier models.

The company said Tuesday ChatGPT Gov can be deployed by agencies in their Microsoft Azure commercial cloud or Azure Government cloud environments, allowing them to easily manage privacy, compliance and security requirements.

OpenAI considers expanding the generative AI tool to Azure’s classified regions and continues its pursuit of FedRAMP Moderate and High certifications for its fully managed software-as-a-service offering, ChatGPT Enterprise.

How Can Agencies Use ChatGPT Gov?

With ChatGPT Gov, agencies can upload text and image files and save and share conversations within their government workspace.

The AI tool comes with an administrative console that IT teams and chief information officers can use to help manage groups, single sign-on, custom GPTs and users.

The technology could also enable employees to build and share custom GPTs within their government workspace.

OpenAI said it expects ChatGPT Gov to accelerate internal authorization of its tools to handle non-public sensitive data.

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Chuck Borges Appointed CDO at Social Security Administration
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Chuck Borges Appointed CDO at Social Security Administration

Chuck Borges, a retired U.S. Navy Commander, shared on LinkedIn Tuesday that he has been appointed as chief data officer at the Social Security Administration.

Chuck Borges’ Career

The executive was most recently with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he served as business owner of the 1CDC Data Platform, senior advisor for business analytics and acting head of the technology implementation office.

Borges was a White House presidential innovation fellow, where he oversaw the development of a strategic direction and updated implementation plan for the public health data modernization efforts of the CDC. He also worked with the White House data team. Borges currently serves as a board member at the Presidential Innovation Fellows Foundation.

The new CDO briefly worked at Deloitte as a specialist manager for digital strategy and analytics.

Borges served in various roles while he was with the Navy. During the latter part of his Naval career, Borges spearheaded acquisition initiatives that enabled Department of Defense users to leverage data and analytics.

He served as the military director of analytics for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division and CDO for the Naval Air Systems Command. Borges also served as data analytics team lead for the Navy.

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Senate Lawmakers Propose Bill on US Supply Chain Resilience
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Senate Lawmakers Propose Bill on US Supply Chain Resilience

Members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on Jan. 27 reintroduced the Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act.

Aims of the Proposed Legislation

According to a press release posted Monday on the committee’s website, the bill aims to authorize the Department of Commerce to take steps to strengthen U.S. supply chains for critical industries and emerging technologies, which are susceptible to disruption brought on by geopolitical conflicts, natural disasters and overreliance on single countries as sources for key manufacturing components, minerals and pharmaceutical ingredients.

The proposed legislation’s provisions include the establishment of a working group that will map, monitor and model U.S. supply chains, and anticipate and respond to supply chain shocks; the evaluation of the impact of such supply chain shocks on market stability; and the regular reporting to Congress on the resilience of U.S. supply chains.

Proponents of the Bill

The bill was put forward by Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; and Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del.

Commenting on the proposal, Sen. Cantwell, who serves as the committee’s ranking member, said, “One supply chain shock can disrupt the entire system, driving shortages and raising costs. Our legislation will get the government, businesses and manufacturers working together to identify gaps and build capacity to prevent supply chain disruptions before they happen. It will strengthen American manufacturing jobs, keep our store shelves stocked and lower costs for American families.”

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