OSTP Spearheads RFI to Revise 2011 EHS Research Strategy for Nanotechnology
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OSTP Spearheads RFI to Revise 2011 EHS Research Strategy for Nanotechnology

The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office is soliciting public comment on possible revisions to the Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Strategy, created in 2011 by the National Nanotechnology Initiative.

In a request for information published in the Federal Register, NNCO said it is interested in better approaches to improve ethical, legal and social aspects of nanotechnology in the EHS research strategy.

The Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications Working Group has commenced its review of the 2011 EHS research strategy under the instruction of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. OSTP is seeking an updated plan that uses science-based risk analysis and management.

NEHI is looking for industry feedback regarding research accomplishments from human health and exposure assessment, environment, risk assessment and management methods, informatics and modeling, and nanomaterial measurement infrastructure. The working group also wants respondents to identify gaps in addressing the key research areas in the strategy.

The RFI will close on June 2.

USAF Seeks Info on Next Generation Reentry Vehicle for Sentinel ICBM
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USAF Seeks Info on Next Generation Reentry Vehicle for Sentinel ICBM

The U.S. Air Force has begun seeking industry input on its plans to award a contract for the development of a next-generation reentry vehicle for the service branch’s Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile weapon system.

A notice posted Wednesday on SAM.gov states that the Air Force is conducting market research to determine industry capabilities to support the NGRV effort and define the contract’s acquisition strategy.

The government plans to schedule one-on-one meetings in the second week of May at Hill Air Force Base in Utah to discuss the procurement effort with interested companies.

Sentinel, formerly the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent system, will serve as the ground-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad, replacing the Minuteman III ICBM system.

The Air Force plans to award the NGRV contract in fiscal year 2026 and responses to the request for information are due April 19.

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Jason Barke: OPM Close to Launching 2 Federal Cyber Workforce Dashboards
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Jason Barke: OPM Close to Launching 2 Federal Cyber Workforce Dashboards

Jason Barke, deputy associate director for strategic workforce planning at the Office of Personnel Management, said OPM expects to launch in the next few months two dashboards meant to help government agencies address gaps in the federal cybersecurity workforce, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

“The dashboards will allow agencies to better understand who is being hired, who is leaving, retirement eligibility, demographic status and other key information needed for workforce planning,” Barke told FNN in an email.

He said one of the dashboards will help job seekers find cyber-related positions at agencies and the other will provide “granular” data on recruitment and attrition rates.

The OPM official noted that the agency has been collaborating with the cyber community to better understand their data requirements and support their workforce initiatives through the two dashboards, which will use data derived from the OPM’s Enterprise Human Resources Integration database.

Barke said he expects the dashboards to help agencies track and understand long-term trends with regard to their cyber workforce.

“We look forward to really understanding that data, understanding where those hiring gaps are, where those staffing gaps are, and then being able to implement strategies [and] plans to close those gaps, and to really dive in and conduct some root cause analysis to understand why we may not be able to fill gaps,” he stated.

Inflation Reduction Act Invests $150M in NETL Projects, Infrastructure Modernization
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Inflation Reduction Act Invests $150M in NETL Projects, Infrastructure Modernization

The National Energy Technology Laboratory will receive $150 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to support infrastructure and laboratory modernization upgrades at its three research facilities in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Oregon.

Among the research sites is the Advanced Alloy Development Center in Albany, which will use the funding to prototype metal alloys designed to accelerate the commercialization of clean energy technologies for hydrogen transport and use and other purposes, NETL said Wednesday.

The Geological, Environmental and Materials Computational and Visualization Laboratory will harness the IRA investment to apply artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to monitor how carbon dioxide moves underground.

The legislation will also supplement existing Computational Science and Engineering Center funding to establish a new facility in Morgantown.

IRA investments in carbon conversion and critical materials research and development programs will support the modernization of laboratory facilities in Morgantown and Pittsburgh.

“This funding authorized by the IRA will enable NETL scientists and engineers to accelerate their work toward delivering solutions for our nation’s sustainable energy future,” said Brian Anderson, director of NETL.

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Danny Werfel: IRS to Issue Strategic Operating Plan for Inflation Reduction Act Funding
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Danny Werfel: IRS to Issue Strategic Operating Plan for Inflation Reduction Act Funding

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Danny Werfel said the IRS is set to release a strategic operating plan by the end of the week that outlines how the agency will spend nearly $80 billion in funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act, Thomson Reuters reported Wednesday.

At his swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, he said the upcoming plan will offer details on how the IRS will implement more digital platforms, add service locations, hire more personnel, end long wait times over the phone and respond to issues via electronic means.

Werfel, who was confirmed by the Senate in early March for the top post at IRS, highlighted the need for the adoption of modern technologies during his speech, including investments in digital scanning technologies to mitigate errors and speed up the processing of paper tax returns.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen attended the ceremony and highlighted the two major priorities that Werfel will focus on as the 50th IRS commissioner.

Those priorities are “dramatically improving taxpayer service and ensuring that large corporations and the wealthy pay the taxes they owe,” Yellen said in her prepared remarks.

The secretary cited the need to invest in data and analytics to facilitate audits of large corporations, complex partnerships and high earners and other technological improvements that could help the IRS expedite processes and avoid errors in tax returns.

“We must invest in technology that unlocks increased productivity for IRS employees, improves automated services for taxpayers, and digitizes many processes that for too long have been handled on paper,” Yellen noted.

Microway Gets NVIDIA Recognition for AI, High Computing Tech Delivery; Anthony Robbins Quoted
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Microway Gets NVIDIA Recognition for AI, High Computing Tech Delivery; Anthony Robbins Quoted

Microway has been named NVIDIA Public Sector Partner of the Year in the Americas.

NVIDIA recognizes Microway’s expertise in designing superior hardware and software deployments for customers running workloads in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, the partner company said Tuesday. 

Microway has provided customers with GPU clusters with NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPUs and NVIDIA DGX AI supercomputing deployments, including NVIDIA AI Enterprise software stack.

“Microway’s expertise in providing custom-built AI systems using NVIDIA technology is helping government agencies and enterprises solve their hardest problems, improve energy efficiency and discovery, and make communities safer and more connected,” said Anthony Robbins, vice president of North American public sector business at NVIDIA and six-time Wash100 awardee. 

NVIDIA’s Partner Network Awards annually recognizes partners that have demonstrated excellence as top providers of NVIDIA accelerated computing technology and service delivery. 

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Finland to Procure David’s Sling Air Defense System Under $344M Contract
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Finland to Procure David’s Sling Air Defense System Under $344M Contract

Finland’s defense ministry has authorized the country’s defense forces to acquire a long-range air defense capability jointly developed by Israel-based Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and U.S. contractor Raytheon Technologies.

The procurement contract for the David’s Sling system is valued at approximately $344.5 million with additional options that could be worth about $235 million if exercised, the Finnish government said Wednesday.

David’s Sling works to provide terminal-phase defense against tactical ballistic missiles, hostile aircraft, medium- to long-range rockets, drones and cruise missiles.

Finland expects the system to broaden the operational range of its ground-based air defense capabilities and allow its defense forces to counter targets at high altitude. The sale of the platform to the country will require approval from the U.S. government.

The European country’s defense industry will work with Raytheon and Rafael to facilitate the integration of the system.

The contract will include an arrangement between the defense ministries of Finland and Israel to ensure the availability of critical components and supply chain security.

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DOD Requests Commercial Tech Ideas for Countering Multi-Domain Uncrewed Systems
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DOD Requests Commercial Tech Ideas for Countering Multi-Domain Uncrewed Systems

The Department of Defense’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering is inviting companies to submit technology proposals for countering threats posed by multi and cross-domain uncrewed systems.

A notice posted Monday on SAM.gov states that OUSD R&E is interested in technologies that can be included in future capability demonstrations and experimentation events and undergo rapid fielding to defeat swarms of autonomous UxS powered by artificial intelligence.

According to the Needs Statement, the technologies must be capable of impacting and impeding UxS navigation, recovering from physical and electronic UxS attacks and providing assessment capabilities to measure the effectiveness of the Counter-Autonomy/Counter-AI UxS platforms.

Technologies may include novel sensor systems with enhanced detection capabilities, autonomous defensive platforms that can operate alone or as part of a group and passive defeat tools that can divert autonomy or AI focus.

Selected companies are invited to attend an Innovation Outreach Solutions Meeting hosted by the OUSD R&E Innovation and Modernization Office on or around mid-July.

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NAVAIR Accomplishes 5-Day Sea Trial of CH-53K Heavy Lift Helicopter
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NAVAIR Accomplishes 5-Day Sea Trial of CH-53K Heavy Lift Helicopter

The Naval Air Systems Command completed the second series of sea trials of the CH-53K King Stallion aboard the USS Arlington amphibious dock vessel.

The heavy lift helicopter was evaluated for performance in launch and recovery, shipboard compatibility testing and rotor start, as well as shutdown and blade fold, NAVAIR said Wednesday.

CH-53K underwent initial sea tests in 2020, as part of the U.S. Marine Corps’ plans to transition to the King Stallion from the CH-53E Super Stallion.

The latest trials took five days and nights, and were performed by 105 personnel, including Sikorsky pilots, engineers and technical experts. They also involved members of the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two One, H-53 Heavy Lift Helicopters Program Office and the U.S. Marines’ Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 and Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One.

“The results of these tests will enable the CH-53K to provide critical ship-to-shore heavy lift capability for future Marine Expeditionary Unit deployments,” said Sarah Naiva, assistant program manager of test and evaluation for the CH-53K program.

Leidos’ Gerry Fasano Receives 2023 Wash100 Award
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Leidos’ Gerry Fasano Receives 2023 Wash100 Award

Leidos President of Defense Gerry Fasano accepted his 2023 Wash100 Award from Executive Mosaic CEO and Wash100 Founder Jim Garrettson at a recent visit to Leidos headquarters.

The Wash100 is the annual compilation of who the EM voting body discerns as the leading talents in the government contracting market and adjacent spaces. Winners are picked for exceptional leadership, innovation, vision and reliability, among other factors, as well as their bankability for future success. Among past winners are some of the most recognizable names in the game, as well as the hidden gems and quieter change-makers who have no less of an impact.

Fasano won the distinction — his fourth consecutive — for his persistent efforts to help support national defense objectives through projects like a Defense Information Systems Agency contract to merge and streamline information technology architectures throughout 22 Fourth Estate agencies. Additionally, Leidos is slated to aid in the Department of Defense’s command, control, computers, communications, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance functions via an October 2022-announced contract.

Read our full breakdown of Fasano’s qualifications and accomplishments at ExecutiveBiz here.

There’s still time to have a say in the winner of the 2023 Wash100 popular vote contest! Everyone gets 10 votes before voting closes April 28. Visit Wash100.com now to participate.

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