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Sandia Partners With ASU in Photonics R&D for Quantum Computing
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Sandia Partners With ASU in Photonics R&D for Quantum Computing

Sandia National Laboratories and Arizona State University have partnered on research and development on the use of light frequency to process information for quantum computing and networking systems.

The Quantum Collaborative, a network of academic and research institutions, is funding the partnership, which is covered by a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, Sandia said.

The state of Arizona provides financial support to the collaborative, while ASU manages the initiative.

The R&D effort focuses on integrated photonics, the miniaturization of the large optical systems used in quantum computing to chip-sized devices that can selectively reflect different light colors.

According to Sandia, the innovation for encoding data into qubits or quantum bits, the smallest of quantum information units, provides scalability and performance improvements in various applications including advanced computing and securing communications.

Nils Otterstrom, a Sandia physicist and integrated photonics specialist, said the laboratory’s Microsystems Engineering, Sciences and Applications complex has the fabrication capabilities needed for fundamental research to create next-generation quantum microsystems.

Sandia’s R&D resources was also highlighted in February when the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity selected the laboratory along with three other institutions for a new foundational research program to demonstrate universal fault-tolerant quantum computing for the potential use of the Intelligence Community.

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GSA Expanding Login.gov Reach to Local Government Applications
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GSA Expanding Login.gov Reach to Local Government Applications

The General Services Administration has partnered with various states and cities to expand the Login.gov identity authentication service to local government applications.

Login.gov, launched in 2017, supports over 10 million monthly active users and 40 million monthly sign-ins across nearly 50 agencies and states, GSA said Monday.

The agency began offering the identity authentication platform to state and local governments in 2022.

According to GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan, expanding the adoption of Login.gov demonstrates the agency’s capability to provide the public with a secure and easy way to access state or federal government services.

California is one of the first states to adopt Login.gov to streamline access to Cal-ITP Benefits, a web application that enables contactless payment and provides discounted bus and train transit benefits for senior citizens and veterans.

The state has made the app available to Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District passengers, with plans to expand its implementation to 13 more transit operators.

The GSA also established an agreement with the Department of Labor to provide states with identity verification services to reduce fraudulent unemployment insurance claims.

Login.gov was integrated into the Labor Department’s UI system, with Arkansas as the first state to use the combined application, followed by Hawaii, Utah, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and West Virginia.

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GAO Says Recommendations Led to DHS IT Management, Disaster Response & Recovery Improvements
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GAO Says Recommendations Led to DHS IT Management, Disaster Response & Recovery Improvements

The Government Accountability Office identified 42 open priority recommendations for the Department of Homeland Security in June 2023 and found that DHS implemented 16 of them, which resulted in improvements across several areas.

In a report publicly released Monday, GAO said the implemented priority recommendations led to improvements in cybersecurity and information technology management, disaster response and recovery, the National Flood Insurance Program, the Transportation Security Administration’s assessment of pipeline risks, noncitizen processing at the southwest border and the strategy to counter violent extremism, among other areas.

The congressional watchdog offered 11 new priority recommendations and called on DHS to address them, along with the remaining 26 recommendations that were identified the previous year.

Of the 37 recommendations, one calls for DHS to ensure that special agents of the U.S. Secret Service meet annual training targets.

Most of the recommendations are classified into seven areas: IT and cybersecurity; emergency preparedness and response; border security; countering violent extremism and domestic terrorism; domestic intelligence and information sharing; chemical security; and infrastructure, acquisition and management.

IT and Cybersecurity Priority Recommendations

Under the IT and cybersecurity area, GAO has eight priority recommendations for DHS to help improve service delivery and enhance key department programs.

The recommendations include implementing practices for network security planning to help the U.S. Coast Guard mitigate risks related to disruption in network availability, incorporating scheduling best practices to address schedule delays in the department’s biometric identity management system modernization program and assessing the methods used to share cyberthreat information with critical infrastructure entities.

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Pete Waterman Named FedRAMP Director
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Pete Waterman Named FedRAMP Director

Pete Waterman has been named director of the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program at the General Services Administration, Federal News Network reported Monday.

The new FedRAMP director returned to government service six months after leaving the Technology Modernization Fund, or TMF, an investment program under which he worked as a senior technical adviser for more than a year.

In an email to Federal News Network, Eric Mill, executive director of cloud strategy at GSA, underscored Waterman’s extensive background in technology implementation and leadership across private and public sectors.

“Beyond Pete’s joining, there’s more growth to mention — FedRAMP has its second U.S. Digital Corps fellow starting today, as well as the first of a few key technical hires (with more to come) who will shape FedRAMP into a more technology-forward program that will be in a great position to collaborate and integrate with the work of many of you all across the Technology Transformation Service,” added Mill.

Prior to joining TMF, Waterman served as a staff engineer at the U.S. Digital Service for over three years. His private sector career includes time working as an engineer at Motorola, Seisint and Blackboard.

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DAF & Partners Introduce LaunchPad to Retool Digital Workforce
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DAF & Partners Introduce LaunchPad to Retool Digital Workforce

The Department of the Air Force Digital Transformation Office, in collaboration with Digital Platform as a Service and SAIC, is developing LaunchPad, a cloud-based software tool environment.

The U.S. Air Force Materiel Command said Friday the new enterprise-funded software environment aims to revamp the digital workforce by allowing users to adopt digital materiel management — a.k.a. DMM — methods and accelerate the enterprise’s digital transformation.

The project seeks to leverage strategic initiatives such as providing training to ensure the proper use of digital tools, promoting a digital-first culture, creating digital strategies, structuring and securing data and making DMM tools readily accessible.

LaunchPad utilizes digital tools to bolster the processes by making them faster and more efficient in delivering capabilities from development to support. Available tools include Cameo and Teamwork Cloud for model-based systems engineering software, IBM DOORS for requirements management programs and MATLAB for data analysis.

The software environment offers free, user-friendly and secure access to cloud-based tools, training and other services for more than 2,000 users. LaunchPad is currently supporting engineering programs and collaboration, but plans are underway to broaden the toolset to benefit all functions within the organization. It is expected to grow to 80,000 users by Sept. 2029.

Elizabeth Loiacono, LaunchPad lead at AFMC, emphasized that the objective of the project is to provide access to critical software tools across all functionals.

“Now that we can provide access to the tools, we can provide training to upskill people and make their work processes faster and better,” Loiacono said.

The exec also pointed out that engineering tools are costly and by creating a shared environment and implementing floating licenses, an estimated $120 million of cost avoidance has been recorded since the start of LaunchPad.

“We’re hoping to add program management tools and other tools to support other functional areas,” added Loiacono.

Noah Demerly, lead system safety engineer at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, shared his experience using the software environment.

“With LaunchPad’s tools, I connected over 11,000 artifact types to criteria in the handbook in under ten minutes – work that would have taken over six man-weeks manually. This model can now be used by any Air Force program to trace airworthiness source data,” Demerly noted.

Learn everything you need about Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, or CMMC. Register here to watch the webinar.

DAF & Partners Introduce LaunchPad to Retool Digital Workforce
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Army PEO EIS Leaders Discuss Digital Transformation Initiatives
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Army PEO EIS Leaders Discuss Digital Transformation Initiatives

Officials from the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems discussed PEO EIS’ digital transformation efforts at a four-day technology conference held in Augusta, Georgia.

During the TechNet Augusta conference, Michael Chappell, chief information officer of PEO EIS, talked about the creation of a new office, called Product Lead Innovate, that will serve as a product delivery unit across technical domains and enable PEO EIS to advance the adoption of innovative technologies in support of warfighters.

According to the CIO, DevSecOps, Neighborhood Watch and the Army Data Mesh are some of the digital transformation programs within PL Innovate’s pipeline and each will have a designated assistant product manager. Chappell said those are the first three initiatives and more will follow.

Sergio Alvarez, deputy project director for enterprise services, noted that PEO EIS intends to unveil a platform, called Digital Market, designed to help the Army and the Department of Defense facilitate the procurement of commercial off-the-shelf IT products and services.

“What we’re really trying to do is make that seamless,” Alvarez said during the event.

“Part of our challenge and what we’re working through right now is exactly that — build a digital marketplace that’s literally a marketplace where you can come in, place your orders, get in, get out and then be able to track that towards processes of when you’re going to receive it,” he added.

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Jon Kosloski Appointed Director of All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office
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Jon Kosloski Appointed Director of All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office

Jon Kosloski, previously with the National Security Agency, has been named director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office within the Department of Defense.

The Pentagon said Monday he will oversee its initiatives to reduce technical and intelligence challenges by utilizing the proper synchronization of scientific, intelligence, and operational processes with the help of the intelligence community. This is necessary to detect, identify and mitigate unidentified anomalous phenomena near national security areas.

Additionally, Kosloski will lead AARO’s efforts to study the U.S. government’s historical records on UAP and continue the declassification and release of UAP-related records to the public.

Before joining AARO, Kosloski served in various technical and executive roles in the research directorate of the NSA. He was responsible for conducting advanced mission-oriented research in networking and computing.

An expert on quantum optics research and crypto-mathematics, Kosloski created an advanced, language-agnostic search engine and advised different DOD agencies about free space optics. He also served in the special communications enterprise office of the DOD.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said, “Jon possesses the unique set of scientific and technical skills, policy knowledge, and proven leadership experience required to enhance AARO’s efforts to research and explain unidentified anomalous phenomena to the department, congress, and the American people.”

Join the Potomac Officers Club as they gather experts from the Intelligence Community, government officials and industry executives at the 2024 Intel Summit to discuss American intelligence’s future. Register now!

Jon Kosloski Appointed Director of All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office
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NASA Assessing Potential Operators for Astrobee Free-Flying Robotic System
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NASA Assessing Potential Operators for Astrobee Free-Flying Robotic System

NASA is looking into government, academic and commercial organizations from the U.S. interested in operating the Astrobee free-flying robotic system and has issued a request for information for the effort.

The flying robots are deployed aboard the International Space Station where, since 2018, they have worked to help astronauts and researchers carry out a variety of tasks, including scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, NASA said Monday.

According to the RFI, the space agency plans to hand over Astrobee operations to a partner organization via an unfunded Space Act Agreement. That partner organization will facilitate third party access to and use of the robotic system.

Under the agreement, NASA will retain ownership of Astrobee but provide government resources for support, including hardware and spares; technology assessments and demonstrations; planning, integration and testing; and community support.

For its part, the Astrobee operator will shoulder planning, use and sustainment costs, and provide various support services as well, including hardware and software maintenance.

Interested parties have until Sept. 27 to respond.

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DIU Seeking Gen AI Solutions to Accelerate, Enhance DOD Joint Planning
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DIU Seeking Gen AI Solutions to Accelerate, Enhance DOD Joint Planning

The Defense Innovation Unit has issued a solicitation for generative artificial intelligence solutions to accelerate and enhance the Department of Defense’s joint planning efforts.

The desired Gen AI capability is expected to speed up data processing, produce draft planning products and provide expanded options for human planners and command personnel, DIU said.

The solutions must also ensure that AI-generated content advances the commander’s objectives, maintains operational security, verifies the accuracy of AI-supplied information and allows human planners to engage with AI systems, the unit added.

Specifically, the government requires solutions to support information synthesis and analysis, plan development, course of action development and wargaming, and operational security and information assurance.

DIU said it will prioritize submissions from companies that can enhance planning processes and use responsible AI practices.

The agency will also consider solutions from potential partners capable of integrating with existing or new joint planning processes and providing strategies for testing, evaluating and building trust in AI capabilities.

DIU will accept proposed solutions until Sept. 6.

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VA’s Jeffrey Neill to Headline 2024 Healthcare Summit
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VA’s Jeffrey Neill to Headline 2024 Healthcare Summit

On Dec. 11, the foremost healthcare experts, decision makers and leaders in the U.S. will come together to discuss the future of the healthcare sector and the factors that influence it at the 2024 Healthcare Summit. Department of Veterans Affairs leader Jeffrey Neill will participate in the event as a keynote speaker. Read below to learn more about Neill, his career and his priorities in his current role at the VA.

Who Is Jeffrey Neill?

Jeffrey Neill is the associate executive director and head of contracting activity for the VA’s Technology Acquisition Center, known as TAC. In this capacity, Neill is responsible for providing business and contracting solutions for the VA’s major information technology programs. He was appointed to his current role in June 2024 and has been with the VA since October 2023.

Prior to his time at the VA, Neill was the alternate senior contracting official for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he oversaw a $100 billion portfolio, four USACE divisions, about 800 contracting employees and $18 billion in annual contracting awards. Before taking on that role, Neill served as the chief of contracting for the USACE’s Fort Worth, Texas and Galveston, Texas districts.

What Is the VA Technology Acquisition Center (TAC)?

Headquartered in Eatontown, New Jersey, the VA TAC is an organization of acquisition professionals that work to support business and contracting solutions for the department’s key IT programs. The TAC is home of the VA’s IT Acquisition Innovation Lab, and it’s organized into four main divisions: Contracting, Engineering, Customer Service and Operations.

The center’s customers include the VA’s digital service team, the VA Center for Innovation, the VA Office of Information and Technology, the Veterans Benefits Administration, the Veterans Health Administration, the National Cemetery Administration and other federal agencies.

VA TAC Contracts

Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology-Next Generation (T4NG)

The TAC manages several key IT contract vehicles, including T4NG, which is a multi-agency contract. The most recent iteration of the contract, T4NG2, covers cybersecurity, healthcare IT, strategy planning, enterprise network engineering, operations and maintenance, program management and systems and software engineering support services.

In October 2023, 30 companies secured positions on the potential 10-year, $60.7 billion T4NG2 contract vehicle. According to the VA, the TAC achieved cost efficiencies estimated at $627 million in fiscal year 2021 under the T4NG program.

Financial Management Business Transformation (FMBT)

The FMBT program is the VA’s plan to modernize its legacy Financial Management Systems. FMBT will “allow for the procurement of a full range of integrated program management services” to support the VA, according to the agency’s website.

Deloitte won a $219 million FMBT contract from the VA TAC in November 2023.

Hear From Jeffrey Neill at the 2024 Healthcare Summit

Learn more about VA TAC contract opportunities, priorities and strategies at the 2024 Healthcare Summit hosted by the Potomac Officers Club on Dec. 11. Visit the Healthcare Summit event page for more information on speakers and sessions, and register today to save your spot!

VA’s Jeffrey Neill to Headline 2024 Healthcare Summit
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