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NOAA Office of Space Commerce Invites SSA User Interface Demos for TraCSS Program
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NOAA Office of Space Commerce Invites SSA User Interface Demos for TraCSS Program

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is calling on companies with existing space situational awareness, or SSA, capabilities to demonstrate their technology’s viability for the Traffic Coordination System for Space, or TraCSS, program.

NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce on Wednesday published a call for demonstrations, which will take place on April 9 and 10 at the 2024 National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

OSC is looking for SSA technologies that are compliant with requirements for graphic user interfaces and RESTful web application programming interfaces. The chosen platform will enhance the ability of TraCSS to manage space flight traffic, safety, sustainability and international coordination.

Interested companies that will not attend the symposium may get a chance to show their SSA products during virtual 30-minute sessions to be arranged by OSC in mid-April.

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OMB Initiates Action to Strengthen US Critical Supply Chains
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OMB Initiates Action to Strengthen US Critical Supply Chains

The Office of Management and Budget is launching a pilot to bolster domestic sourcing of critical products and strengthen U.S. critical supply chains by helping agencies leverage federal procurement dollars.

OMB’s Made in America Office is collaborating with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy on the effort to help manage supply chain risks and promote competition, the White House said Wednesday.

The departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Energy and Health and Human Services and NASA have expressed their commitment to exploring enhanced price preference — or EPP — pilots to support the domestic production of critical products.

According to OMB, agencies should issue public notices of their planned use of EPP on the MadeinAmerica.gov site and solicit public comments on their plans.

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David McKeown Looks for AI Applications in Cybersecurity
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David McKeown Looks for AI Applications in Cybersecurity

David McKeown, senior information security officer and deputy chief information officer for cybersecurity at the Department of Defense, is looking for potential applications of artificial intelligence in the cybersecurity domain in support of DOD’s zero trust strategy, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

Speaking at an AFCEA TechNet Emergence panel, McKeown said he is “in search of ways we can leverage AI that are on the cybersecurity front” and called on industry members to present “any products out there that are leveraging AI to do cybersecurity things.”

McKeown said that inside the Pentagon, the Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Office oversees DOD’s data and AI future, but it is mainly focused on integrating AI into warfighter missions, such as optimizing aircraft maintenance activities.

The previous Wash100 awardee said that it is imperative to provide cyber defenders the capabilities to identify anomalous behavior rapidly as cyber actors are increasingly using sophisticated techniques to evade detection.

“They’re going to get on your networks, and in a lot of cases when they arrive there, they’re going to look like a legitimate user. Oftentimes they’re not uploading any payloads that have signatures that our tools will see,” McKeown warned. “[So] we’ve got to get really good at knowing what anomalous looks like. … What’s in the realm of the possible for anomalous behavior detection?”

David McKeown Looks for AI Applications in Cybersecurity

McKeown will serve as a keynote speaker at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Cyber Summit on June 6. Register here to join and hear from government and industry experts about the dynamic and ever-evolving role of cyber in the public sector.

Noblis’ Mile Corrigan and CBP’s Sonny Bhagowalia Make Executive Mosaic’s 2024 Wash100 List
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Noblis’ Mile Corrigan and CBP’s Sonny Bhagowalia Make Executive Mosaic’s 2024 Wash100 List

Executive Mosaic is pleased to name Noblis President and CEO Mile Corrigan and Sonny Bhagowalia, assistant commissioner at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Information Technology and CBP chief information officer, as 2024 Wash100 Award winners.

Mile Corrigan and Sonny Bhagowalia are contestants in GovCon’s most exciting race — the 2024 Wash100 popular vote competition! Visit Wash100.com to cast your ten votes for your favorite GovCon leaders. The winner will be revealed in May!

Noblis’ Mile Corrigan and CBP’s Sonny Bhagowalia Make Executive Mosaic’s 2024 Wash100 List

Bhagowalia will speak on a panel at the Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual CIO Summit on April 17! Register here for your chance to learn from government decision makers, expand your network and unlock new opportunities.

The annual Wash100 list is composed of the most innovative, impactful executives working in the federal government and the government contracting industry. These 100 outstanding individuals are the ones to watch in the GovCon sector in the coming year.

This marks Corrigan’s second consecutive year on the esteemed Wash100 list. She is recognized this year for her noteworthy leadership of Noblis, informed by more than two decades with the company. Learn more about why Corrigan was selected for the second time in a row — read her full Wash100 profile here.

Bhagowalia earned his first ever Wash100 recognition this year for his demonstrated artificial intelligence and information technology leadership at the helm of the largest IT organization in the Department of Homeland Security. The CBP CIO oversees a $1.8 billion budget and is responsible for bringing high-powered technological solutions to the nation’s borders. Read more about Bhagowalia here.

Executive Mosaic extends its most sincere congratulations to Mile Corrigan and Sonny Bhagowalia for their Wash100 wins.

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Launches Quantum Diamond Lab
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Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Launches Quantum Diamond Lab

The Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, or PPPL, has unveiled a new laboratory dedicated to studying and refining the process of using plasma to create high-quality diamond material for use in quantum information science applications.

The Quantum Diamond Lab features machines that use plasma to create quantum diamond material infused with other elements that allow scientists to create qubits for a range of use cases, from cracking unbreakable codes to helping diagnose cancer, PPPL said Tuesday.

Emily Carter, PPPL’s senior strategic adviser and associate laboratory director for applied materials and sustainability science, said the national laboratory is leading the growth of quantum materials for research purposes.

“We are using our expertise in plasma to serve as a technological driver of economic innovation — improving the plasma processes used to make computer chips, advancing quantum sensors and communication and contributing to a net-zero world,” Carter remarked.

Alastair Stacey, managing principal research physicist at PPPL, said the laboratory will apply its expertise in deep plasma “to measure the plasma in great detail and create accurate simulations of the plasma and diamond growth process.”

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VA’s Kimberly McManus: AI Could Help Improve Staff Experience, Health Outcomes
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VA’s Kimberly McManus: AI Could Help Improve Staff Experience, Health Outcomes

Kimberly McManus, deputy chief technology officer of artificial intelligence at the Department of Veterans Affairs, said VA sees the potential application of AI in three areas. The first is the capability of the technology to reduce burnout among health care providers, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

“And in that vein we have actively these AI tech sprints which are part of the AI executive order. We’re running two of them right now. One is around assisting with documenting clinical encounters, and the other is extracting information from paper medical records,” McManus stated on FNN’s Federal Monthly Insights-Operationalizing AI.

The other two areas McManus discussed are the potential uses of AI in enhancing veteran and staff experience and delivering better care to patients.

“And so that’s where I see a lot of these FDA approved medical devices, such as the ones in radiology. But there’s new ones also in pathology and dermatology,” she said of the third area.

The deputy CTO cited how VA uses AI in finding and summarizing information and the role of the technology in the department’s veteran suicide prevention efforts.

POC - 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit

Register here to attend the Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit on March 21 and hear federal leaders and industry experts discuss the latest developments in the field.

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NASA Begins Design, Production of Upgraded SLS Rocket for Artemis IV
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NASA Begins Design, Production of Upgraded SLS Rocket for Artemis IV

NASA has begun preparations for the production, testing and assembly of the Block 1B configuration of the Space Launch System super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle set to launch the space agency’s Artemis IV mission.

The early manufacturing phase has started at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and preparations for the green run test series for the SLS Block 1B rocket’s upgraded upper stage are underway at Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, NASA said Tuesday.

The Block 1B crew vehicle will use a more powerful exploration upper stage to enable NASA to send larger and heavier exploration cargo to the moon for future Artemis missions.

“We are building on the SLS Block 1 design, testing, and flight experience to develop safe, reliable transportation that will send bigger and heavier hardware to the Moon in a single launch than existing rockets,” said James Burnum, deputy manager of the NASA Block 1B Development Office.

In a single launch, the Block 1B rocket can carry a crewed Orion spacecraft and large cargo to the moon with a payload capacity of 83,700 lbs.

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NTIA Issues National Spectrum Strategy Implementation Plan; Alan Davidson Quoted
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NTIA Issues National Spectrum Strategy Implementation Plan; Alan Davidson Quoted

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration has issued an implementation plan to meet the goals of the National Spectrum Strategy.

The National Spectrum Strategy outlined a pipeline of spectrum bands to look into potential repurposing and highlighted the need for the development of a National Spectrum Workforce Plan and improved spectrum access, NTIA said Tuesday.

According to NTIA, the implementation plan for the strategy includes the milestones, timeline, agencies responsible for the study of the 2,786 megahertz of spectrum to determine potential new uses and expected completion dates of specific outcomes for each strategic objective outlined in the strategy.

“The U.S. is in the midst of an intense competition for global leadership in the wireless space,” said Alan Davidson, administrator of NTIA and assistant secretary of Commerce for communications and information.

“The Implementation Plan offers a roadmap to realize the vision of the National Spectrum Strategy and meet the global challenge before us,” he added.

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DOD Releases Final Rule on Changes to Eligibility Criteria for DIB Cybersecurity Program
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DOD Releases Final Rule on Changes to Eligibility Criteria for DIB Cybersecurity Program

The Department of Defense has issued a final rule that seeks to firm up revisions to the eligibility criteria for the Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Program as part of efforts to improve program participation and enable defense contractors to benefit from bilateral information sharing.

The rule will take effect on April 11, according to a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register.

The department solicited comments on the proposed rule in May 2023 and received four submissions.

One of the commenters suggested that DOD should launch a targeted marketing campaign to help small businesses explain the purpose of a medium assurance certificate, which is used to validate digital identity and facilitate the exchange of encrypted data.

DOD considered and moved to modify the requirement for industry to secure the certificate.

According to the rule, the department has proposed a revision that would require registration with the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment when filing mandatory cyber incident reports.

“This change will align the identity proofing processes used by DoD for the majority of DIB companies and will eliminate the cost associated with procuring medium assurance certificates,” the rule states.

The department will continue to accept medium assurance certificates to meet identity proofing requirements, according to the document.

For readability, DOD said it has finalized proposed changes to some definitions, including that of government-furnished information and DIB CS Program participants.

“With the revisions to the eligibility criteria, the Department will be able to reduce the impact of cyber threat activity on DIB networks and information systems and, in turn, preserve its technological advantage and protect DoD information and warfighting capabilities,” the rule reads.

POC - 2024 Cyber Summit

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Cyber Summit on June 6 and hear cyber experts, government and industry leaders discuss the latest trends and the dynamic role of cyber in the public sector. Register here.

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NIST Expresses Intent to Launch Funding Opportunity for AI-Focused Manufacturing USA Institute; Gina Raimondo Quoted
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NIST Expresses Intent to Launch Funding Opportunity for AI-Focused Manufacturing USA Institute; Gina Raimondo Quoted

The National Institute of Standards and Technology issued a notice of intent to launch a competition for a Manufacturing USA institute enabled by artificial intelligence.

NIST on Tuesday announced plans for the AI institute funding opportunity, which will open in early spring.

The facility will be the 18th addition to the Manufacturing USA network of regional research and development centers across the country. It is expected to “help domestic manufacturers maximize the potential of AI,” boosting their productivity, resilience and competence in the global marketplace,” according to Laurie Locascio, NIST director and under secretary of Commerce for standards and technology.

“AI is an accelerator of our productivity and of human abilities — it can make us better, faster and stronger in so many ways,” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo shared. “I’m particularly excited about the potential for AI to supercharge manufacturing and the ways it can strengthen American workers and businesses and make our country more competitive in the global economy.”

The Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit is only a week away and registration is still open. Click here to sign up and take part in the event.

POC - 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit
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