The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking for companies that can help produce battlefield-ready anesthetics that are safe to be administered by general military forces.

The agency on Monday unveiled the Anesthetics for Battlefield Care program in an aim to find easy-to-deliver anesthetic cocktails to reduce trauma for warfighters and civilians, and increase life-saving interventions in combat.

The ABC program is divided into two phases: first is the discovery of novel anesthesia-related targets and mechanisms and the second is drug development based on the discovery phase.

The participating vendors will collaborate with DARPA, the Food and Drug Administration, independent verification and validation partners and other regulatory agencies.

“Anesthetics for Battlefield Care is de-risking a problem that while targeted to the U.S. Department of Defense, will be disruptive to all of medicine. It could benefit first response from rural emergency services, to air medical services, all the way to level I trauma centers,” ABC Program Manager Michael Feasel explained.

DARPA will host a proposers’ day on June 16 to provide more details and answer questions from interested parties about the program.

The Department of Defense is undertaking a scholarship-for-service pilot program with various American universities to drive students’ interest in civilian occupations that support the DOD acquisition system.

Eighty students will initially become part of the Defense Civilian Training Corps program in August to engage in immersive learning through experiential and multidisciplinary educational approaches, paid internships and challenge projects, DOD said Monday.

Participants will have the chance to undergo the department’s expedited process for security clearance and pursue direct employment within the department once they graduate.

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Purdue University, University of Arizona and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University are currently evaluating DCTC applicants via a competitive selection process.

“DCTC will complement other workforce initiatives, while finding and developing the acquisition talent pipeline that is mission-driven on Day One to increase the DOD’s lethality, readiness and modernization as an enduring advantage over U.S. competitors,” said Tanya Skeen, acting assistant defense secretary for acquisition.

More than 50 representatives from DOD and the academic sector celebrated the launch of the initiative during a Thursday event at the Pentagon.

Air Force Materiel Command has released a white paper detailing its approach to accelerating the acquisition materiel lifecycle to deliver the latest warfighting capabilities.

The document, titled “Digital Materiel Management: An Accelerated Future State,” outlines key objectives that focus on harnessing the power of data, models and infrastructure to stay ahead of adversaries in sustainment and modernization efforts, AFMC said Monday.

To achieve a competitive advantage, AFMC aims to structure and secure data, modernize its information technology infrastructure, provide access to DMM tools and develop digital strategies.

The command is also working to instill a digital-first culture, train its workforce in digital technologies and strengthen collaboration between industry and government.

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s Technology Centers Division has released a strategic framework that aligns and focuses its research portfolio and communicates its priorities and objectives for the next three years.

The Technology Centers Research Agenda outlines the directorate’s investment priorities in research areas including advanced sensing, artificial intelligence and automation, biotechnology, cyber resiliency and novel materials and secure manufacturing, Melanie Cummings, director of the Technology Centers Division, wrote in an article published Monday.

According to the agenda, S&T aims to increase the resilience of the communications networks that are used to share voice and data between devices and mitigate the impacts of “adversarial AI” on homeland security missions.

Cummings said the directorate is also seeking to boost interagency collaboration on mission areas outlined in the framework.

“For our part, we continue to study all aspects of how advances in science and technology can be used to secure the homeland more effectively, in addition to understanding the vulnerabilities and potential misuses,” Cummings said.

The General Services Administration and the Department of Energy are investing $30 million to fund research projects on American-made clean energy technologies.

The funds will be awarded through their Green Proving Ground program, which advocates for the decarbonization of federal buildings through renewable power and innovative systems, GSA announced Friday.

For 2023, GPG will focus on grid-interactive efficient buildings, electric vehicle supply equipment, germicidal ultraviolet technologies that use light-emitting diode and far-UV camera light, greenhouse gas accounting and onsite renewables.

The program will test technologies in various locations including GSA’s Applied Innovation Learning Labs. The agency will determine if some of them can be combined and replicated to achieve net-zero emission in government facilities.

Since 2011, GPG has tested 104 technologies and deployed 23 of them across federally owned buildings, resulting in $28 million in annual cost avoidance.

“Across the country, we’re turning federal buildings into testbeds for clean energy innovation – which will mean more good jobs, savings for taxpayers, and a healthier planet for our kids,” GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said.