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Space Force Chief Tech & Innovation Officer Lisa Costa Retires
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Space Force Chief Tech & Innovation Officer Lisa Costa Retires

Lisa Costa has retired from government service after serving as the U.S. Space Force’s first chief technology and innovation officer for nearly three years.

Col. Nathan Iven, most recently deputy to Costa, will serve as acting CTIO.

“From helping define the role of Special Operations in the War on Terror to shaping homeland defense and bringing irregular warfare to space, my career has been marked by pivotal roles and groundbreaking initiatives. Leading innovation and operationalizing AI, cyber operations, and space has been truly rewarding,” Costa, a previous Wash100 awardee, said in a LinkedIn post published Tuesday.

In August 2021, she assumed the chief technology and innovation officer role at the Space Force, where she led the development of policy and strategy to advance research and development and science and technology, meet the service branch’s information technology needs, manage data and push digital transformation efforts.

Costa previously served as director of communications systems and chief information officer at U.S. Special Operations Command.

Her industry career included time as senior director of innovation and technology at Engility, vice president of intelligence and chief scientist at PlanetRisk and director of countering weapons of mass destruction and violent extremism at Mitre.

“While retiring from government service, I eagerly look forward to the next chapter where I can bring my expertise to new challenges and opportunities,” Costa said in her post on the professional networking platform.

Navy, Marine Corps Chiefs Sign Agreement to Maintain Amphibious Ship Readiness
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Navy, Marine Corps Chiefs Sign Agreement to Maintain Amphibious Ship Readiness

U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti have signed a memorandum of understanding defining new guidance for ensuring amphibious ship readiness.

The Navy said Monday that the signing of the MOU on Amphibious Warfare Ship Terms of Reference follows a separate letter from the chiefs ordering their three-star officers to focus on amphibious ship readiness and the training and certification requirements of amphibious ready groups, or ARGs.

The goal of the partnership is to ensure uniformity in amphibious force planning, assessment and execution between the Navy and Marine Corps.

“This MOU ensures consistency and uniformity in how each service talks about amphibious force readiness so we can better plan and execute naval operations. Ultimately, this creates a stronger Navy/Marine Corps team for all our Marines, Sailors, and the American people,” Smith said.

According to Franchetti, the partnership will ensure that the ARGs and marine expeditionary units remain “the centerpiece of our naval expeditionary warfare presence, forcible entry, and sea basing capabilities.”

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CISA, EAC Publish ‘Enhancing Election Security Through Public Communications’ Guide
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CISA, EAC Publish ‘Enhancing Election Security Through Public Communications’ Guide

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Election Assistance Commission, or EAC, released a guide to help state, local, tribal, and territorial election officials mitigate risk to election infrastructure and operations.

The Enhancing Election Security Through Public Communications guide provides officials with framework and practical tools for their development of a year-round communications plan and its execution, CISA said Monday.

CISA and EAC look to help election officials accurately communicate information about election security and administration, taking into account their frequent engagement with the media and the public to tackle various election-related topics.

“The ability for election officials to be transparent about the elections process and communicate quickly and effectively with the American people is crucial for building and maintaining their trust in the security and integrity of our elections process,” said CISA Senior Adviser Cait Conley. “This guide is about providing election officials with resources and tools that help them do that as they work tirelessly to meet the unique needs of their state and local jurisdictions.”

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Paula Osborn Appointed Deputy CDAIO at State Department’s Center for Analytics
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Paula Osborn Appointed Deputy CDAIO at State Department’s Center for Analytics

Paula Osborn, formerly chief data officer of the State Department’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs, has been appointed deputy chief data and artificial intelligence officer at the department’s Center for Analytics, or CfA.

Osborn’s appointment marks her return to CfA, having previously served as senior data scientist at the data-focused center, CfA said in a LinkedIn post.

She joined the State Department in 2016 and has been assigned as a political officer focused on human rights at the U.S. Embassy Moscow, a monitoring and data specialist at the U.S. Embassy Mexico City and a foreign affairs officer within the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

Osborn was an elections monitor for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Siberia.

CfA is the State Department’s enterprise data management and analytics center that provides data-informed insights to the State Department’s over 75,000 employees.

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GSA Unveils AI-Focused Cohort of Presidential Innovation Fellows; Robin Carnahan Quoted
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GSA Unveils AI-Focused Cohort of Presidential Innovation Fellows; Robin Carnahan Quoted

The General Services Administration has announced the latest class of 11 Presidential Innovation Fellows that will focus on advancing artificial intelligence capabilities to help the government deliver better services to citizens.

GSA said Monday the new class of fellows from tech companies will work at eight federal agencies for a year on AI-related projects, such as leveraging AI tools to improve access to justice and harnessing AI and data to improve the electric grid infrastructure.

“All of our fellows are making significant contributions to technology innovation and modernization across government – and this AI-focused cohort will do the same,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan.

“This new class of fellows will focus on values-driven implementation aligned with the Executive Order on AI so that we can harness the benefits of this new technology, mitigate the risks, and ensure Americans get better service delivery from their government,” added Carnahan.

The latest class of PIFs is the second cohort of fellows this year. In March, GSA announced a cohort of 21 technology and innovation leaders focused on supporting technology modernization goals at 14 agencies.

The new fellows and their respective partner agencies are:

  • Anjali Patel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  • Arushi Saxena, Office of Management and Budget
  • Brian Karfunkel, Department of Justice
  • James Pavur, State Department
  • John Cronin, Department of Defense
  • Maria Botchkova, DOJ
  • Matthew Versaggi, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services
  • Nandini Nayak, Federal Housing Finance Agency
  • Pranava Raparla, Department of Energy
  • Rebecca White, DOJ
  • Scott Riffle, DOD
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US, India to Expand Strategic Cooperation in AI, Other Emerging Tech Areas
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US, India to Expand Strategic Cooperation in AI, Other Emerging Tech Areas

The U.S. and India have agreed to further enhance strategic cooperation in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum, advanced telecommunications, space, biotechnology, clean energy and other critical technology sectors in a manner that aligns with democratic values, respects human rights and ensures the Indo-Pacific region’s security and prosperity.

During the second meeting of the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology — a.k.a. iCET — in New Delhi, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and his counterpart in India, Ajit Doval, emphasized their commitment to taking concrete measures in the next few months to address challenges to bilateral trade, industrial and technology cooperation, the White House said Monday.

The two countries will advance collaboration in several areas: bridging innovation ecosystems; deepening defense innovation and industrial cooperation; pursuing advanced telecommunications opportunities; combining capabilities in biotechnology and biomanufacturing; securing semiconductor supply chains; building a clean energy and a critical minerals partnership for the 21st century; and pursuing quantum, AI and high-performance computing collaboration.

Strengthening defense innovation efforts

To bolster defense innovation, the two countries are advancing discussions on India’s planned procurement of MQ-9B unmanned aerial systems and co-production of ground warfare systems. They are also accelerating the joint adoption of commercial technologies for military platforms by strengthening cooperation between the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit and India’s Innovations for Defense Excellence.

The U.S. and India will further expand defense industrial partnerships, such as pushing the launch of an artificial intelligence multidomain situational awareness platform developed by General Atomics and 114ai to support Combined Joint All-domain Command and Control.

In January 2023, iCET held its inaugural meeting, providing a venue for government officials from the U.S. and India to discuss opportunities to advance cooperation in critical technologies and strengthen connectivity across innovation ecosystems.

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GAO Says Pentagon Still Challenged With Slow Contracting Speed
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GAO Says Pentagon Still Challenged With Slow Contracting Speed

The Government Accountability Office has concluded its annual assessment of the Department of Defense’s weapon systems acquisition and found that the Pentagon continues to struggle with delivering new technologies in a timely manner.

GAO said that DOD has made changes to its department-wide acquisition policies, including creating the Adaptive Acquisition Framework, but “slow, linear development approaches” remain, hindering its ability to deliver innovative technologies quickly.

The Adaptive Acquisition Framework offers various pathways for acquisition programs, such as the major capability acquisition pathway, which covers major defense acquisition programs, and the middle tier acquisition pathway, which is for rapid prototyping and rapid fielding.

However, GAO found that some programs in the new pathways are not likely to deliver much faster than traditional programs.

GAO recommended that DOD address how MTA programs implement leading practices for product development, define goals for its software cadre and identify resources and strategies for achieving the set goals.

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Pentagon Offers Guidance on Contracting Officer Representative Policies Through New Memo
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Pentagon Offers Guidance on Contracting Officer Representative Policies Through New Memo

The Department of Defense has issued a memorandum providing guidance on contracting officer’s representative file review requirements and outlining best practices that contracting components should consider implementing.

According to the memo, when controlled unclassified information — a.k.a. CUI — is included in a requirement package, contracting officers, or COs, should assess the extent to which the requiring activity has met its responsibilities for submission of CUI contractor requirements.

DOD has called on COs to ensure that CUI-specific requirements are identified in the quality assurance surveillance plan and ensure that the training, handling and marking requirements on the contractor are tracked by the contracting officer’s representative, or COR, during contractor surveillance.

According to the document, COs should consider the department’s technical experience requirements for CORs who monitor a vendor’s cybersecurity services or accept cybersecurity deliverables. Within six months of contract award, COs should consider initial COR file reviews based on the contract’s value, risks and complexity.

“If any inadequacies are identified during the file review, communicating COR performance deficiencies must be within 30 days of each review to ensure timely corrective action,” the memo reads.

John Tenaglia, principal director of defense pricing and contracting at DOD, signed the memo on Monday.

Vibrint & QED Jointly Release New Quantum-Safe Products; Tom Lash Quoted
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Vibrint & QED Jointly Release New Quantum-Safe Products; Tom Lash Quoted

Vibrint has partnered with QED to develop services tailored to quantum safety in the federal government’s key infrastructures, defense and intelligence.

Through the collaboration, the team intends to aid federal customers as they prepare for “Q” day, or the expected moment when quantum physics breaks the barrier of current encryption protocols, Vibrint announced from Annapolis Junction, Maryland on Tuesday.

Tom Lash, CEO of Vibrint, said he is excited to work with QED due to their “creative and skilled technology people” having the potential to take both companies to the next level.

“Their incredible innovations in post-quantum cryptography and quantum random number generation align perfectly with our mission to deliver cutting-edge solutions to national security organizations,” Lash continued. “Together, we can provide unparalleled security for our clients’ most critical infrastructures.”

CEO of QED Jesse Van Grivensen is ready to battle the threat of quantum computing alongside Vibrint.

“These solutions are not only built to address today’s vulnerabilities but also designed to adapt and evolve with future advancements in quantum-resistant algorithms,” Grivensen said. “[Vibrint’s and QED’s] close relationships within the national security community, and their passion for driving rapid solutions for customers’ most critical mission challenges, open opportunities for providing valuable support at an important time. By teaming up, we are bringing advanced tech to secure systems from on-site to the cloud to the tip of the spear, helping safeguard forces, systems and America’s most vital assets.”

Vibrint and QED will showcase their quantum solutions at the HPE Conference this week in Las Vegas.

Energy Department to Offer $900M to Finance Next-Gen Small Modular Reactor Deployments in the US
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Energy Department to Offer $900M to Finance Next-Gen Small Modular Reactor Deployments in the US

The Department of Energy has released a notice of intent indicating its plan to provide up to $900 million in funding for initial deployments of Generation III+ small modular reactor technologies in the U.S.

SMRs are sufficiently versatile to be deployed in various settings not only to meet small, localized power demand but also larger energy requirements by being scaled up or paired with renewable sources, the DOE said Monday.

In relation to the funding effort, an informational webinar will be held on July 9, an industry day will take place in August and a funding solicitation will be released in late summer or in the fall.

Funding will be offered in two tiers. The first tier will provide up to $800 million to support two teams that will work to deploy a first plant and facilitate a multi-reactor Gen III+ SMR orderbook. The second tier will provide up to $100 million for additional Gen III+ SMR deployments.

Commenting on the notice of intent, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said, “Today’s announcement will support early movers in the nuclear sector as we seek to scale up nuclear power and reassert American leadership in this critical energy industry.”

Granholm also described nuclear energy as “the nation’s single largest source of carbon free electricity” and “a key pillar of our nation’s transition to a safe and secure clean energy future.”

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