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LCG Books Subcontract Under $952 HHS Award to Support Grant Management Software; Conrad Kenley Quoted
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LCG Books Subcontract Under $952 HHS Award to Support Grant Management Software; Conrad Kenley Quoted

LCG has received a five-year subcontract from Guidehouse under a $952 million U.S. Department of Health and Human Services award.

In collaboration with the Guidehouse team, LCG will assist with grants programs and deliver information technology services for the HHS-owned GrantSolutions grant management software, the Rockville, Maryland-based company announced on Oct. 4.

“We are honored to be selected to continue to support grants services at HHS with the team at Guidehouse. Providing strong solutions and cost savings so grant awards can have a greater impact for communities has been a part of our DNA at LCG for over 25 years.” said LCG CEO and President Conrad Kenley.

Services will be delivered through a task order and are intended to help HHS continue innovating and increasing efficiencies for GrantSolutions Partners.

This subcontract marks the beginning of LCG’s 11th year working on GrantSolutions initiatives and is one of many HHS awards the company has won this year. LCG’s most recent win came in September, when the organization booked a $16 million contract from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to provide IT services.

Earlier that month, LGC was awarded a one-year task order from the National Human Genome Research Institutes for Financial and Strategic Planning System support. In January, the enterprise received an $8 million IT services contract from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

LCG Books Subcontract Under $952 HHS Award to Support Grant Management Software; Conrad Kenley Quoted

Interested in learning more about how HHS is looking to upgrade its technology? For a deep dive into current HHS challenges and priorities, the Potomac Officers Club will host its 2023 Healthcare Summit on Dec. 6, where top HHS officials and industry experts will come together to discuss the intricacies of the modern federal healthcare landscape. To learn more and register to attend the event, click here.

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Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro Addresses Defense Manufacturing Summit, Marks Start of Training Center Construction
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Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro Addresses Defense Manufacturing Summit, Marks Start of Training Center Construction

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro joined state and local government officials and defense industry partners in the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing and Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence Summit on Wednesday to highlight workforce and technology improvements across the submarine industrial base.

The third annual event in Danville, Virginia, focused on the U.S. Navy’s plan to construct one Columbia-class submarine and two Virginia-class submarines by fiscal year 2026 in response to fleet requirements, Naval Sea Systems Command said Thursday.

Commenting on the AM CoE’s launch anniversary, Del Toro, a 2023 Wash100 awardee, said, “By bringing together partners to work collaboratively on a critical mission, the COE serves as an example of the teamwork that we need to maintain our technological edge by innovating, and is already supporting the growth of the additive manufacturing industry in this region.”

Meanwhile, ATDM has reportedly been supporting the development of a skilled workforce through advanced manufacturing technology training and qualifications. Over 280 people have completed the four-month rapid training program to date.

A formal groundbreaking ceremony for the ATDM Regional Training Center also occurred at the summit. The upcoming facility will host dedicated SIB workforce training as well as the infrastructure and equipment needed for the effort.

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FBI, CISA Update Cybersecurity Advisory Against AvosLocker Ransomware
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FBI, CISA Update Cybersecurity Advisory Against AvosLocker Ransomware

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency together issued an update regarding compromise indicators and detection methods for the AvosLocker ransomware.

Issued on Wednesday, the joint Cybersecurity Advisory includes a YARA coding rule to help analyze software that is potentially compromised by AvosLocker, CISA said.

The initial cybersecurity advisory against AvosLocker was published in March 2022 as part of CISA’s Stop Ransomware campaign. In the updated version, the FBI and CISA added indicators of compromise obtained between January and May of this year.

They also urged software developers to embrace secure-by-design and -default principles to help critical infrastructure organizations and network defenders be proactively prepared to combat ransomware attacks.

To secure remote access tools, allowlisting programs may be used to block unauthorized users or software. The advisory also recommended that organizations consider updating or restricting the use of PowerShell, a task configuration and automation program developed by Microsoft.

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Atlantic Council GeoTech Center Recommends Ways for Agencies to Procure, Scale Data-Centric AI Applications
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Atlantic Council GeoTech Center Recommends Ways for Agencies to Procure, Scale Data-Centric AI Applications

The Atlantic Council GeoTech Center recently conducted two private webinars to explore how government agencies can maximize the value of data through artificial intelligence.

During the webinar, GeoTech Center collected information on necessary components of creating a data mesh and data fabric as well as related challenges, and structured its findings into four categories, including the need for agencies to procure and scale data-centric AI applications, the Atlantic Council announced on Wednesday.

To scale large language models, generative AI and other AI applications, the GeoTech Center recommended agencies involve downstream users from the beginning of the transition process and allow them to provide feedback.

GeoTech Center said agencies should also develop a culture and messaging strategy to clarify that they are not fielding AI without looking at future scale and broader applications.

Another strategy the center suggested is that agencies move to contracts using flexible acquisition authorities and industry design principles and establish testing and evaluation, transparency and privacy safeguards while advancing responsible AI principles as part of the planning and procurement process.

The three additional key findings are establishing human capital and an “AI-ready” culture, planning and developing data-centric AI applications and piloting data-centric AI applications.

LANL, AirMettle Release Tool to Enable Large-Scale, In-Storage Data Analytics
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LANL, AirMettle Release Tool to Enable Large-Scale, In-Storage Data Analytics

Los Alamos National Laboratory and AirMettle have developed a data analysis tool to analyze complex information from large-scale simulation campaigns without compromising data security.

The team has created a common applications programming interface based on AirMettle’s Real-Time Smart Data Lake architecture intended to enable computational storage devices to perform in-place analytics and minimize data movement while ensuring data is safeguarded, LANL said Tuesday.

Donpaul Stephens, founder and CEO of AirMettle, said the architecture “is the first computational storage service with highly scalable in-place processing to accelerate analytics by 100 times or more and significantly reduce network traffic.”

AirMettle’s RT-SDL tool uses common data formats, such as Apache Parquet, and standard interfaces like the S3 object storage interface to perform analytics near data storage.

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DARPA Partners With Universities of Maryland, Pittsburgh to Enhance Triage Support During Mass-Casualty Events
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DARPA Partners With Universities of Maryland, Pittsburgh to Enhance Triage Support During Mass-Casualty Events

Two teams representing the University of Maryland and the University of Pittsburgh will provide trauma patient data in support of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program that aims to improve triage decision-making during complex mass-casualty events.

The DARPA Triage Challenge aims to develop new technologies that are capable of interpreting novel physiological signatures derived from trauma patient data collected under the Research Infrastructure for Trauma with Medical Observations effort, the agency said Wednesday.

Cmdr. Jean-Paul Chretien, program manager at RITMO, said the information gathered from this effort is “crucial to the success of the DARPA Triage Challenge.”

“As part of the challenge, we are aiming to develop algorithms and systems that interpret physiological signatures and sensor strategies for complex mass casualty events,” he explained.

RITMO data includes the vital signs of trauma patients, the kinds of interventions they received and the resulting medical outcomes.

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NETCOM, Partner Organizations Prepare for Full-Scale Migration to Army 365
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NETCOM, Partner Organizations Prepare for Full-Scale Migration to Army 365

The U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command has worked with other Army components and Microsoft to support the service branch’s full-scale migration to Army 365.

Under the collaboration, the team successfully developed and implemented updated techniques and procedures for maintaining and securing Army 365, the service branch said on Tuesday.

Army 365 is the largest environment authorized at Impact Level 5 in the Department of Defense, delivering services to 1.5 million users throughout the Army.

Army commands have until Sept. 30, 2024, to migrate personal file share to Army 365 and until June 30, 2024, to transition organizational file share to the cloud-based collaborative platform.

To support the transition, NETCOM has formed a file share migration support team to offer technical guidance to Army commands and organizations.

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Lawmakers Call for AI Bill of Rights Inclusion in Biden’s Upcoming Executive Order
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Lawmakers Call for AI Bill of Rights Inclusion in Biden’s Upcoming Executive Order

A group of U.S. lawmakers led by Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., has called on President Biden to integrate the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights into his forthcoming artificial intelligence executive order.

In a letter to President Biden, the lawmakers urged the administration to use the framework’s principles as a guide when designing, developing, deploying and utilizing automated systems, Markey’s office said Wednesday.

Published in October 2022, the blueprint states that the development of AI systems must be centered on OSTP’s five principles: safe and effective systems; algorithmic discrimination protections; data privacy; notice and explanation; and human alternatives, consideration, and fallback.

The letter said the AI Bill of Rights “would serve as a strong foundation for the executive order, a position echoed by more than 60 civil society, technology, labor, and human rights organizations.”

Lawmakers Call for AI Bill of Rights Inclusion in Biden's Upcoming Executive Order

Interested in learning more about how the U.S. government is approaching AI implementation? At the Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual AI Summit on Feb. 28, you will have the opportunity to hear from top federal officials and industry leaders, who will come together to consider key AI priorities within the public sector. Click here to learn more, and click here to register to attend.

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OIRA Guidance Calls for Agencies to Consider Competition in Regulatory Design; Richard Revesz Quoted
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OIRA Guidance Calls for Agencies to Consider Competition in Regulatory Design; Richard Revesz Quoted

The Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has released guidance intended to help agencies design, develop and analyze regulations that foster competition in the marketplace.

Developed in partnership with the Council of Economic Advisers, National Economic Council and other members of the White House Competition Council, the guidance includes an outline of key considerations for agencies and other background information for analysts, OIRA Administrator Richard Revesz wrote in a blog post published Wednesday.

“Considering competition in regulatory design is critical not only to improving the competition effects of regulations that primarily address other important issues, but also to directly enhancing competition through regulatory action,” said Revesz.

The first section of the document provides a list of questions that agencies could use to determine how a regulation may affect competition and market structure and presents some recommendations for designing regulations that could enable agencies to achieve other policy goals while promoting competition.

The second part seeks to provide analysts with more technical background on factors that influence market power, additional methods for analyzing competition effects and more information on labor market competition and implications for regulation.

Revesz noted that his office’s work on competition backs the current administration’s priorities, including efforts to address pricing practices such as junk fees and initiatives to limit the ability of companies to restrict employees from pursuing better-paying jobs.

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7 Tech Experts Selected to Oversee Operator for Semiconductor Tech Hub; Laurie Locascio Quoted
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7 Tech Experts Selected to Oversee Operator for Semiconductor Tech Hub; Laurie Locascio Quoted

An independent committee delegated by the Department of Commerce has selected seven members of a board of trustees tasked with managing a nonprofit body that will operate the National Semiconductor Technology Center.

The incoming board of trustees include esteemed tech industry leaders such as former Intel CEO and Chairman Craig Barrett, IBM veteran Nicholas Donofrio and former Palm Computing CEO Donna Dubinsky, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which will be indirectly responsible for NSTC.

“The members of the board of trustees will help to establish an NSTC that is visionary, agile and responsive to the needs of the semiconductor ecosystem,” NIST Director Laurie Locascio said.

“The NSTC will provide our domestic manufacturing industry with technological advances that will keep American-made products competitive, and it will help train the next-generation workforce to make these products in the world’s most advanced facilities,” she elaborated.

This center is one of four research and development programs overseen by NIST’s CHIPS Research and Development Office. Its purpose is to help chip manufacturers and suppliers expedite technologies at a lower cost and time-to-market.

Aside from Barrett, Donofrio and Dubinsky, the new board members are former Zilog interim CEO Robin Abrams, AE Industrial Operating Partner and Wash100 awardee Reginald Brothers, Erica Fuchs, who serves as professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and James Plummer, John M. Fluke Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University.

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