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GSA Awards $94M Contract to McGough Construction for Port Modernization
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GSA Awards $94M Contract to McGough Construction for Port Modernization

The General Services Administration granted a $94 million design-build contract to McGough Construction for the replacement of outmoded facilities at one of the ports in North Dakota.

GSA said Wednesday modernizing the Dunseith Land Port of Entry with more secure and efficient high-capacity facilities is aimed at boosting supply chains, generating more jobs and strengthening security and trade.

Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law- and Inflation Reduction Act-funded contract, McGough will be responsible for the design and construction of the facilities. Work includes labor, equipment and materials necessary for the modernization project.

McGough is expected to achieve LEED Gold certification for the project to guarantee safety for both employees and travelers. The construction company will also incorporate sustainability features and ensure that the upgraded port is net-zero ready.

The project will start in spring 2025 and is expected to be completed by late 2028.

GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan described the Dunseith Land Port of Entry modernization as a “once-in-a-generation investment” that will help drive job creation, taxpayer saving and a “stronger and more prosperous future.”

The fully electric port will have ample space for smoother and more efficient operations, less traffic congestion and more processing capacity to facilitate trade and travel volumes. These enhanced port features are meant to assist the Customs and Border Protection agency of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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FedRAMP Receives Updated Guidance From OMB
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FedRAMP Receives Updated Guidance From OMB

Guidance for the Federal Risk and Authorization Program has been updated by the White House Office of Management and Budget.

The revamped guidance includes a new FedRAMP model, making good on OMB’s 2023 draft memorandum to modernize the FedRAMP program, the General Services Administration announced Friday.

Robin Carnahan, GSA administrator, said, “This highly anticipated guidance further equips GSA to make it safe and easy for federal agencies to deploy state-of-the-art technology to deliver better service to the American people.”

The new FedRAMP model will incorporate additional paths to authorization to enhance the process and allow agencies to integrate more cloud-based tools for operations and storage.

“This guidance will accelerate GSA’s roadmap for FedRAMP and create a stronger foundation for FedRAMP to meet its mission of empowering agencies to deliver better, safer government services,” Carnahan added.

GSA released a roadmap FedRAMP in March that lays out a plan for security, customer experience and expanding the FedRAMP marketplace. Two months later, GSA unveiled the final Emerging Technology Prioritization Framework, to direct how FedRAMP will manage newly flourishing tech.

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AI-Based GigEagle Platform Helps DOD Transform Talent Management; Brig. Gen. Michael McGinley Quoted
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AI-Based GigEagle Platform Helps DOD Transform Talent Management; Brig. Gen. Michael McGinley Quoted

An artificial intelligence-based talent matching platform launched by the Defense Innovation Unit is helping the Department of Defense identify across the joint force service members with the right skillsets to serve in specific positions.

DOD said Thursday the GigEagle platform uses AI and machine learning algorithms to find and match in real time Reserve and National Guard members with gigs at DOD organizations seeking specialty skills.

“The idea is that across the department, programs have real-time needs for specific support and skills, and by mapping the expertise across the Reserve and Guard force, who have in-demand expertise outside of their military occupational specialty, we are able to connect them in an easy-to-use environment,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael McGinley, director of the GigEagle Agile Talent Ecosystem Initiative.

According to the department, jobs on the platform range from four hours to three months across the Pentagon.

DIU’s Joint Reserve Detachment, AFWERX, Space Force Space Systems Command and Marine Innovation Unit are among the early adopters of the GigEagle platform.

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NSF, Commerce Department Seeking Feedback on Plan to Establish Semiconductor Workforce Coordination Hub
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NSF, Commerce Department Seeking Feedback on Plan to Establish Semiconductor Workforce Coordination Hub

The National Science Foundation and the Department of Commerce are seeking industry input to inform plans to invest up to $30 million over the next five years to establish and operate a coordination hub for semiconductor workforce development.

The organizations released a request for information following the signing of a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on workforce training amid a shortage of skilled workers in the microelectronics industry, the NSF said Wednesday.

Under the MOU, signed by the NSF and the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s CHIPS for America Research and Development Office within the Commerce Department, the agencies will create the National Network Coordination Hub to lead the National Network for Microelectronics Education, which will provide talents with training, instructional materials and experiential opportunities.

The hub will partner with academia, industry, and workforce and labor organizations to adopt related curricula and best practices, develop a public-facing digital portal where learners and educators can access educational resources, and inform the public about semiconductor industry careers.

According to the RFI, feedback on said plan will inform a future funding opportunity under the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.

Responses will be accepted until Aug. 14.

“Through partnerships and access to training for the skilled jobs that are needed to support America’s chips industry, we can keep the U.S. competitive and open new opportunities to expand geographically diverse participation in graduate, undergraduate and community college programs relevant to microelectronics in every corner of the country,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan.

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Senate Bill Seeks to Improve Access of Small Businesses to Federal Subcontracting Opportunities
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Senate Bill Seeks to Improve Access of Small Businesses to Federal Subcontracting Opportunities

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., has proposed a bill that seeks to enhance the federal subcontracting process for small businesses by improving the transparency of the process.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. This bill will help to ensure that small businesses—especially women, minority, and veteran-owned businesses—can compete for federal contract opportunities on a level playing field,” Casey said in a statement published Wednesday.

The proposed Ensuring Efficiency and Fairness in Federal Subcontracting Act would advance transparency by allowing small companies included in a subcontracting plan to seek updates from prime contractors on the status of relevant federal contracts.

The measure would direct the Government Accountability Office to study the use of Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System, a.k.a. CPARS, scores to better understand whether prime contractors’ behavior toward small subcontractors can impact such scores.

The bill would also permit agencies to include warnings and penalties for prime contractors for failing to meet small business utilization goals on incentive contracts.

The senator’s proposed legislation would require agencies to perform outreach events to raise awareness of small business subcontracting opportunities through online engagements and webinars, among others.

Under the legislation, the General Service Administration would be required to modernize the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System and help ensure compliance with small business subcontracting plans.

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New Report Shows Increasing Investments by Federal Government Entities in Artificial Intelligence R&D
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New Report Shows Increasing Investments by Federal Government Entities in Artificial Intelligence R&D

Federal entity investments in artificial intelligence research and development have seen an upward trend over the past few fiscal years, with $3.1 billion being requested for such efforts in FY 2024, according to a recent report co-authored by the Artificial Intelligence R&D Interagency Working Group and the National Science and Technology Council.

The report, titled “2020–2024 Progress Report: Advancing Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence R&D,” was posted Monday on the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program website. The purpose of the report is to summarize federal AI R&D activities from 2020 through 2024 and provide examples of such carried out by various agencies across the nine strategic priorities articulated within the National AI R&D Strategic Plan: 2023 Update.

Of the $3.1 billion being requested for investment in AI research, $1.9 billion will be used for “Core AI,” which the report describes as “[investments] with a primary emphasis on AI R&D,” while $1.2 billion will be used for “AI Crosscut,” which the report describes as “[investments] with primary emphases in areas other than AI.”

The report goes on to say that such investments will be used to advance strategic AI priorities through the promotion of collaboration between industry, the government, researchers and international partners.

The report also notes the importance of making investments in education, training and talent development in order to build up a workforce that is skilled in AI.

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ODNI Tells Tech Startups to Be Cautious of Foreign Investments
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ODNI Tells Tech Startups to Be Cautious of Foreign Investments

The U.S. government has warned emerging technology developers about the risks of accepting investments from foreign adversaries.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s National Counterintelligence and Security Center and partner organizations said Wednesday in a joint bulletin that adversaries may steal sensitive data from U.S. startups and threaten national security.

“U.S. emerging tech startups are at the forefront of American innovation, but they face risks when seeking potential foreign investment to expand their firms,” Michael Casey, director of the NCSC, commented in a press release.

In the joint bulletin, security officials provided examples of how foreign adversaries may take advantage of startups using U.S.-based partners or intermediaries to avoid scrutiny.

The two-page document specifically mentions a 2018 U.S. trade representative warning about the Chinese government using U.S. companies to obtain technologies and intellectual property.

It also warned that companies that become victims of foreign threat actors end up in failure.

To mitigate risks, startups are encouraged to thoroughly vet potential investors and limit data that should be shared.

The joint bulletin was also published by ODNI’s Office of Economic Security and Emerging Technology, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

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DOE Unveils Assessment of Cyber Asset Surface Management Tool runZero Through New Report
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DOE Unveils Assessment of Cyber Asset Surface Management Tool runZero Through New Report

The Department of Energy has released a report on the evaluation of a cybersecurity tool designed to counter cyberattacks against the energy sector.

DOE said Wednesday researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory assessed a cyber asset attack surface management tool, called runZero, as part of the Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator, or CECA, program’s second cohort and found that the technology could help scan and identify devices on industrial control systems — a.k.a. ICS — networks without hampering the performance of ICS assets.

The runZero tool is a configurable platform that uses active scanning and passive sampling to help organizations identify on-site devices, cloud-based resources and other information technology and operational technology assets on a network without disrupting system operations.

The technology seeks to help asset owners improve visibility into their network environments to better understand system risks.

“With evolving cybersecurity threats to U.S. energy systems, and with architectures changing as the grid modernizes, it is critical to drive adoption of innovative solutions,” said Dan LaGraffe, deputy director of the risk management tools and technologies division at DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response.

“We’re optimistic that the testing and results from the CECA program will help advance tools, like runZero, that can help improve security and resilience across the sector,” added LaGraffe.

The CECA program is part of DOE’s strategy that seeks to ensure the security, resilience and reliability of the U.S. critical energy infrastructure. The program’s Cohort 2 intends to address visibility issues facing asset owners when it comes to various devices linked to an ICS network.

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NASA Funds 5 Research Projects Focused on Space Sustainability
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NASA Funds 5 Research Projects Focused on Space Sustainability

NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy has selected five teams from various universities to receive space sustainability research funding with a combined value of $550,000.

Two of the teams will focus on lunar surface sustainability, including the protection of valuable locations and human heritage sites on the moon, while the rest will perform research to tackle the growing number of orbital debris and defunct human-made objects in space, NASA said Tuesday.

The research awards align with the agency’s Space Sustainability Strategy, which aims to ensure future generations can explore space in a safe, peaceful and responsible manner.

According to Ellen Gertsen, deputy associate administrator for the OTPS, the research projects will help NASA understand the economics, the policy considerations and the social elements of sustainability by generating new tools and evidence that enable better-informed decisions.

The selected proposals for lunar surface sustainability research are:

  • “A RAD Framework for the Moon: Applying Resist-Accept-Direct Decision-Making,” submitted by Caitlin Ahrens of the University of Maryland, College Park
  • “Synthesizing Frameworks of Sustainability for Futures on the Moon,” submitted by research scientist Afreen Siddiqi of Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The awardees for orbital debris and space sustainability research are:

  • “Integrated Economic-Debris Modeling of Active Debris Removal to Inform Space Sustainability and Policy,” submitted by researcher Mark Moretto of the University of Colorado, Boulder
  • “Avoiding the Kessler Syndrome Through Policy Intervention,” submitted by aeronautics and astronautics researcher Richard Linares of MIT
  • “Analysis of Cislunar Space Environment Scenarios, Enabling Deterrence and Incentive-Based Policy,” submitted by mechanical and aerospace engineering researcher Ryne Beeson of Princeton University
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Honeywell Receives Contract to Develop Prototype Counter-sUAS Capability for Air Force Global Strike Command
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Honeywell Receives Contract to Develop Prototype Counter-sUAS Capability for Air Force Global Strike Command

The Cyber Innovation Center has entered into a contract with Honeywell for the production of a minimum viable counter small unmanned aerial systems prototype that will work to protect the mobile assets of the Air Force Global Strike Command.

Strikewerx said Tuesday that Honeywell’s capability was selected out of the top 22 proposals under the Mobile C-sUAS Swarming Defeat Challenge.

Overseen by Strikewerx, the challenge saw a total of 60 submissions, which, over the course of 2023, were whittled down to the top 22. Capability showcases took place in December, resulting in the selection of the best idea to address the counter-drone requirement.

Commenting on the challenge, AFGSC Chief Scientist Donna Senft said, “The results of this project will positively impact U.S. integrated deterrence by strengthening safety, security, and effectiveness.”

For his part, CIC President Kevin Nolten said the challenge “uncovered a lot of great solutions, but the Honeywell proposal was the best integration of detection, cyber defeat, and kinetic defeat technology in a single package.”

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