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NSF, German Innovation Org Partner to Boost Tech Initiatives
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NSF, German Innovation Org Partner to Boost Tech Initiatives

The National Science Foundation, through the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, is collaborating with the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, or SPRIND, to enhance technological advancements in key areas. 

The NSF said Friday a memorandum of understanding was signed between the NSF TIP and SPRIND during the latter’s fifth-anniversary celebration in Leipzig, Germany.

The transatlantic partnership will leverage the SPRIND Challenge model to streamline the process of selecting and conducting translational research and establish the foundation for new industries. Through the MOU, U.S. and European innovation ecosystems will come together to support unconventional problem-solving approaches and turn research into tangible applications and products.  

Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for TIP, said the partnership enables the sharing of talents, ways of thinking, policy environments, facilities and markets between the two nations.

“Our historic partnership with SPRIND offers a transformative new approach to accelerating the development and translation of breakthrough technologies for maximum national, societal and geostrategic impacts,” said Gianchandani, adding, “Our partnership with SPRIND will help us find new ways to advance TIP’s mission as codified in the ‘CHIPS and Science Act of 2022’ and ultimately contribute to the U.S. economy.”

Rafael Laguna, founding director of SPRIND, stated that the agency was established in 2019 to bridge the gap between research and commercial viability.

“Inspired by DARPA and adapted to our mission to help innovators until the project can stand on its own, we developed comprehensive tools to finance new technologies at a stage when private investors are not yet ready to take on the financial risk,” commented Laguna.

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NASA Launches Mission to Probe Life Signs on Jupiter Moon
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NASA Launches Mission to Probe Life Signs on Jupiter Moon

NASA has sent into space its Europa Clipper spacecraft for an anticipated seven-year journey seeking to probe life-sustainment signs on Jupiter’s ice-covered moon Europa.

The spacecraft lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket Monday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA said.

The voyage of Europa Clipper, the agency’s largest spacecraft built for a mission to another planet, is expected to cover 1.8 billion miles. It will travel on a trajectory that will tap gravity assists from a Mars flyby in four months and then another flyby assist back to Earth in 2026. The spacecraft is anticipated to start orbiting Jupiter in April 2030 to set 49 flybys over Europa.

Europa Clipper’s science experiments on the moon flybys, programmed to as close as 16 miles to the surface, is scheduled to start in 2031. The spacecraft carries nine science instruments, with cameras and ice-penetrating radar among them. The science instruments will operate in concert to investigate Europa’s icy surface, deep interior and thin atmosphere.

NASA deployed in the spacecraft its largest solar arrays ever used in an interplanetary mission to power Europa Clipper’s instruments.

Maxar Technologies’ SSL unit, one of the companies that secured a NASA contract for the Europa Clipper instrumentation, was tasked to provide a remote engineering unit providing an interface between the spacecraft’s flight computer, thermal sensors and attitude control systems.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, a 2024 Wash100 Award winner, congratulated the Europa Clipper team on the launch that he described as the start of “the first journey to an ocean world beyond Earth.” He added, “By exploring the unknown, Europa Clipper will help us better understand whether there is the potential for life not just within our solar system, but among the billions of moons and planets beyond our sun.”

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GAO Audits SSA’s Anti-Fraud Service
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GAO Audits SSA’s Anti-Fraud Service

The Government Accountability Office found that the Social Security Administration is facing challenges in recovering the $62 million it spent on a service launched in 2020 to combat synthetic identity fraud due to a low number of industry subscribers.

SSA aims to recover all Electronic Consent Based Social Security Number Verification service rollout costs by the end of fiscal year 2027 in compliance with a 2018 law; however, it only collected about $25 million in user fees as of the end of FY 2023, meaning it will need to collect about $14 million annually to meet its goal, GAO said in a report released on Thursday.

The government watchdog also found that the agency did not follow guidance and best practices for service cost estimation.

Subscription data through December 2023 showed that the service has not significantly increased users since enrollment opened in FY 2022. Collections also decreased after the SSA increased fees in July 2023.

Despite the challenges, SSA officials told GAO that they did not plan to take significant steps to increase the use of the service which, according to subscribers, provides difficult-to-interpret verification results.

To resolve the issue, GAO made recommendations to the SSA, including implementing appropriate controls over IT investments, updating cost estimation guidance and developing strategies to expand service use.

The agency concurred with all recommendations.

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DOE to Build Supercomputing Pipeline for Data-streaming, Analysis
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DOE to Build Supercomputing Pipeline for Data-streaming, Analysis

The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center is collaborating with the Department of Energy laboratories to build a new data-streaming pipeline that would allow researchers to analyze data in real time.

The project aims to integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning-powered software into computing systems to achieve faster and more accurate results for scientific experiments, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory said Monday.

Called Intelligent Learning for Light Source and Neutron Source User Measurements Including Navigation and Experiment Steering, or ILLUMINE, the five-year project is part of efforts to expand connections between DOE computing centers and research facilities under the U.S. national laboratory system.

According to Jana Thayer, technical research manager at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, ILLUMINE aims to transmit experimental data to a remote computing facility without saving any information to a disk.

The project attempts to realize the ability to analyze the data of an ongoing experiment for optimal research results, which means “faster times to solutions and more accurate science,” Thayer said.

Additionally, the project will get a boost from high-performance computing centers, which would “expedite the data analysis process and alleviate in-house data storage issues,” Valerio Mariani, head of the LCLS Data Analytics Department at SLAC, explained.

Currently, the ILLUMINE project is using the Summit supercomputer at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility and will soon shift to Frontier, which take over from Summit when it is decommissioned by the end of 2024.

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Army Selects 5 Vendors for Demo of Modern Self-Propelled Howitzer
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Army Selects 5 Vendors for Demo of Modern Self-Propelled Howitzer

The U.S. Army has selected five companies to conduct performance demonstrations for its Self-Propelled Howitzer Modernization program.

American Rheinmetall Vehicles, BAE BOFORS, Hanwha Defense USA, General Dynamics Land Systems and Elbit Systems USA were each awarded separate contracts with a combined value of $4 million, the Army said Monday.

The SPH-M program aims to use advanced technology to enhance the self-propelled howitzer’s mobility, survivability, reliability, supportability and lethality.

According to Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean, program executive officer of the ground combat systems, the Army is exploring U.S. and international options for available and mature industry solutions to address its critical capability gaps.

“The performance demonstrations will support the Army’s pivot from development to procurement of a mature, available and non-developmental system,” said Dean.

The demonstrations are scheduled to start in November and targeted to wrap up by the end of the year.

If any of the selected vendors would showcase suitable prototypes, the Army could opt for a follow-on competitive evaluation, which may result in a production contract award.

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CMU to Lead NVIDIA AI Tech Community Joint Research Center
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CMU to Lead NVIDIA AI Tech Community Joint Research Center

Carnegie Mellon University, in partnership with NVIDIA, will lead a new joint research center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that will focus on robotics, autonomy and artificial intelligence.

CMU said Monday that the research center will be part of the NVIDIA AI Tech Community, which, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said during the initiative’s launch on Oct. 14, seeks “to bring industry leaders together to minimize the risks and maximize the benefits of artificial intelligence.” Also present at the launch was CMU President Farnam Jahanian, Pitt Chancellor Joan Gabel and NVIDIA Vice President of Federal Anthony Robbins, a seven-time Wash100 Award winner.

The research center will give investigators from CMU the opportunity to take advantage of NVIDIA’s full-stack AI platform, software, computing expertise and new technologies.

Commenting on the center’s launching, Jahanian said the partnership between his institution and NVIDIA will help “unlock groundbreaking solutions across public and private sectors, including in energy, transportation, manufacturing, healthcare, and more.”

The CMU-led center is one of two comprising the NVIDIA AI Tech Community. The other will be led by the University of Pittsburgh and will focus on AI and intelligent systems and their applications in the health sciences.

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Navy Performs At-sea Rearming During Underway Replenishment
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Navy Performs At-sea Rearming During Underway Replenishment

The U.S. Navy conducted a test on Oct. 11 to evaluate the combat readiness of the Transferable Reload At-sea Method, or TRAM, on an underway warship in open ocean waters off the coast of San Diego.

The Defense Visual Information Distribution Service said Friday sailors used the hydraulically-powered TRAM device to load an empty missile canister into the MK 41 Vertical Launching System of the USS Chosin while it was connected to the USNS Washington Chambers, a Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship.

The missile canister was transferred to the cruiser using cables and then moved along the rails attached to the cruiser’s VLS modules using the TRAM. The sailors then used the TRAM’s cable and pulley system to tilt the canister into a vertical position enabling them to lower it into the VLS cell.

The TRAM prototype, developed by Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division engineers, is designed to enable warships to rearm during the underway replenishment process or when the supply ship is connected to the warship at sea and transferring materials like food and fuel.

A land-based demonstration of the TRAM was conducted in July at the NSWC PHD in California. 

Secretary of the Navy and 2024 Wash100 Award winner Carlos Del Toro, said, “Today, we proved just how game-changing TRAM truly is – and what a powerful deterrent it will be to our competitors. This demonstration marks a key milestone on the path to perfecting this capability and fielding it for sustained operations at sea.”

According to Del Toro, the TRAM can be fielded in two to three years.

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PFS Awarded VA Contract for Digital Health Office Support
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PFS Awarded VA Contract for Digital Health Office Support

The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded Prometheus Federal Services a sole-source contract to provide program and administrative support, strategic communications, executive support and project management services for the Veterans Health Administration’s Digital Health Office.

According to an award notice published Friday, the $4.9 million firm-fixed-price contract calls for the vendor to provide modern, user-centered digital health platforms to facilitate the delivery of healthcare services to veterans and their care teams.

The company will also provide best practices, help with business process engineering and document standard operating procedures to ensure the continuity of operations and standardization across all operational and development activities of DHO.

The contract has a base term of 12 months.

About Prometheus Federal Services 

Founded in 2014, PFS is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business that helps federal customers plan and implement healthcare transformation, technology and quality improvement projects and initiatives.

The company supports government clients through the General Services Administration’s Federal Supply Schedule and Human Capital and Training Solutions Small Business contracts.

Register here for the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Healthcare Summit on Dec. 11. Join this key event to explore the transformative trends and innovations shaping the future of the U.S. healthcare sector.

POC - 2024 Healthcare Summit
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DOT CIO on Agency’s Move to Modern Development Techniques
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DOT CIO on Agency’s Move to Modern Development Techniques

The transition to modern development techniques, like advancing the adoption of DevSecOps methodology, is one of the top three priorities for Cordell Schachter, chief information officer of the Department of Transportation, Federal News Network reported Friday.

With DevSecOps, DOT is taking advantage of cloud services and low-code platforms.

According to FNN, the modernization of the RICE platform, which stands for registration, inspections, compliance and enforcement, is an example of DOT’s digital transformation efforts and security initiatives.

Schachter noted that all the digital modernization efforts are focused on aligning incentives with intentions.

“When we now replace legacy applications with low code or no code platforms, then that’s the kind of relationship that we want. It’s newer for us than the way we previously operated. The contracts we write, the solicitations that we let, are going to be different than what we have in the past. So we’re going to need partners who work with us to get it right,” he said.

“Our intention is to have a modern system that’s always available, that’s secure, that maintains privacy, that does what it’s supposed to do, and now the incentive should be, because vendors are in it to earn a reasonable profit that they do that, but accept the responsibility that goes with the intentions that I stated,” the CIO added.

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New Cyber Guidance Suggests Steps to Foil Russian Intel Threats
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New Cyber Guidance Suggests Steps to Foil Russian Intel Threats

The National Security Agency announced that U.S. and U.K. authorities have released a new joint cybersecurity guidance recommending measures for network defenders to address ongoing cyber threats from the Russian Federation Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR. 

The joint advisory listed the common vulnerabilities and exposures that SVR is exploiting through various malicious tactics, such as spearphishing, password spraying, malware deployment, cloud exploitation and living off the land, or LOTL, attacks, the NSA said Thursday.

The new eight-page joint cybersecurity advisory, titled  “Update on SVR Cyber Operations and Vulnerability Exploitation,” is co-authored by the NSA, the FBI, the U.S. Cyber Command’s Cyber National Mission Force and the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre, or NCSC.  

To reduce the potential SVR attack surface, the advisory suggests disabling unnecessary internet-accessible services, restricting access to trusted networks and removal of unused applications in workstations. 

Other advisory suggestions include multi-factor user authentication and regular audits of cloud-based accounts and applications 

Additional mitigation measures on Russian exploitation of cloud environments are contained in another joint cybersecurity advisory issued in February. The earlier guidance was spearheaded by the U.K.’s NCSC and supported by international partners including U.S., Canadian, Australian and New Zealand security agencies.

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