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DOE Grants Funding to 10 Private-Public Fusion Energy Research Projects
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DOE Grants Funding to 10 Private-Public Fusion Energy Research Projects

The Department of Energy is funding 10 private-public partnership projects to help push fusion energy development forward.

Industry partners have committed a 20 percent cost share of the awards, which were granted through the DOE Office of Science’s Innovation Network for Fusion Energy program, the agency said Tuesday.

DOE is distributing one- or two-year awards worth between $50,000 and $500,000, bringing the cumulative funding value to $2.3 million. They will team up their national laboratories with companies including General Atomics, Tokamak, Focused Energy, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Energy Driven Technologies, Princeton Stellarators, and Type One Energy.

The initiative comes a month after researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved the first fusion ignition in a laboratory setting.

“We were elated when the team at Livermore delivered the news that they had achieved fusion ignition, and we knew that was just the beginning,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said. “The companies and DOE scientists will build on advances from the National Labs with the entrepreneurial spirit of the private sector to advance our understanding of fusion.”

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CISA Rereleases Strategy Outline for MITRE ATT&CK Mapping
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CISA Rereleases Strategy Outline for MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has updated the best practices for mapping to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, a knowledge base of techniques, software and tactics used by adversaries meant to help network defenders assess security tools, identify gaps in cyber defense and validate mitigation controls.

The document Best Practices for MITRE ATT&CK Mapping provides network defenders with instructions, examples and guidance on how to use the MITRE ATT&CK framework and seeks to help them improve their capability to detect adversary behavior and facilitate information sharing to ensure the security of networks and data.

CISA said Tuesday it made the update in coordination with the Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute, a MITRE-operated research and development center.

According to the agency, the update covers mapping mistakes, common analytical biases and specific ATT&CK mapping guidance for industrial control systems and changes to the MITRE ATT&CK framework since the initial publication of the best practices in June 2021.

These changes include the introduction of new platforms, addition of ATT&CK campaigns, expansion of macOS and Linux coverage and redefinition of data sources and detections.

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Air Force Updates Contracting IT Platform
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Air Force Updates Contracting IT Platform

The Department of the Air Force has deployed functionality updates to an information technology system that helps DAF personnel write and process contracts for acquisition programs.

Version 3.04 of the CON-IT software marks the largest program release to date and supports the department’s transition of data from the legacy contract writing automation software suite ConWrite, the Air Force Materiel Command said Friday.

DAF updated the platform in accordance with version 2.6.1 of the Procurement Data Standard, which supports the formatting of clauses and other text fields.

The low-code application supports more than 1,700 users at the same time and runs at a speed of up to 369 milliseconds when processing a large number of line items.

CON-IT has served as DAF’s contract management system since 2018.

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DHS S&T Selects 7 Federal Labs to Advance Tech Commercialization; Dimitri Kusnezov Quoted
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DHS S&T Selects 7 Federal Labs to Advance Tech Commercialization; Dimitri Kusnezov Quoted

The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate has selected seven federal laboratories to advance the commercialization of federally funded technologies.

Under the Commercialization Accelerator Program, the awardees will create partnerships with private industry to speed up research, development, testing, evaluation and delivery of new technologies and services, DHS said Tuesday.

The awardees and their respective technologies are:

  • Argonne National Laboratory: Autonomous Intelligent Cyber-Defense Agent
  • Idaho National Laboratory: Plug-N-Play Appliance for Resilient Response of Operational Technologies; Wireless Radio Frequency Signal Identification & Protocol Reverse Engineering
  • Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory: Out of Band Over Existing Industrial Control Communications
  • Los Alamos National Laboratory: Industrial Internet of Things – Physics-Informed AI Vibe Sensor for Condition Monitoring and Cybersecurity
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology Information Technology Laboratory: Artificial Intelligence Bug Finder
  • SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory: Grid Resilience & Intelligence Platform 2.0
  • U.S. Naval Research Laboratory: Portable Electrochemical Sensor & Test Kit for Explosive & Gunshot Residue

The federal laboratories will receive $1.1 million to transition the technologies from their research laboratories to the marketplace.

CAP seeks proposals from federal laboratories, federally funded research and development centers and university affiliated research centers that develop technologies in support of national security missions.

Dimitri Kusnezov, undersecretary for science and technology at DHS, said the program “bridges the gap between research and the marketplace, accelerating the use and expanding the availability of federally funded technologies.”

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OPM Moves to Bring Private Sector Tech Talent Into Federal Government
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OPM Moves to Bring Private Sector Tech Talent Into Federal Government

Representatives from more than 50 government agencies signed up for a virtual job fair co-led by the Office of Personnel Management with other organizations in the public sector, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

OPM intends to use the Tech to Gov job fair on Wednesday, Jan. 18, as an opportunity to bring into public service information technology professionals who were affected by layoffs at technology companies, including Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Twitter.

The office has established a Hiring Experience Group that seeks to reinvent the federal hiring experience and is helping agencies come up with a recruitment pitch to motivate the migration of tech talent from the private sector.

“We’re also looking at this as an opportunity fair; so not just a job fair in the traditional sense, but as an opportunity open house, that we can talk about what it means to be a federal employee — what it means to serve — to think about how can we bring in some of this talent now,” Kyleigh Russ, a senior adviser for OPM’s HX Group, told Federal News Network.

Agencies looking to hire through the job fair to support their IT modernization initiatives include the Department of Veterans Affairs, NASA and the State Department.

The HX Group at OPM also plans to ramp up the use of shared hiring certificates to help agencies quickly onboard tech hires.

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US Space Systems Command Hands Over 1st Hosted Payload for Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite Program
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US Space Systems Command Hands Over 1st Hosted Payload for Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite Program

The U.S. Space Systems Command has delivered one of two U.S.-hosted payloads in Japan as part of the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System-Hosted Payload program.

The two payloads will add to the five existing satellites that make up Japan’s QZSS constellation when they are launched in 2023 and 2024, SSC said.

SSC conceptualized and built the payload in partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratories. MIT/LL will work with the U.S. Space Force and their Japanese partners on the next phase of the project, which involves integration, testing, and other pre-launch services for the two QZSS host satellites.

“This delivery of the first spaceflight-ready payload represents an important milestone for QZSS-HP,” said Lt. Col. Brian Fredrickson, program manager and representative of U.S. Space Domain Awareness & Combat Power’s Space Domain Awareness Delta. “While a lot of work remains, I’m happy to report that we’re on track to meet our commitments. QZSS-HP has benefitted tremendously from being categorized as a prototype, as it has enabled the program to be responsive and move with speed.” 

The collaborative milestone was reached two years after the USSF signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s National Space Policy Secretariat.

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Jainey Bavishi Commences Tenure as Deputy NOAA Administrator; Rick Spinrad Quoted
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Jainey Bavishi Commences Tenure as Deputy NOAA Administrator; Rick Spinrad Quoted

Jainey Bavishi, a climate resilience and adaptation specialist, has officially assumed her duties as deputy administrator and assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In this capacity, she will oversee efforts related to climate resilience, coastal and ocean programs, fisheries and other initiatives related to NOAA’s implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, NOAA said Tuesday.

Bavishi previously served as director of the office of climate resiliency at the New York City Mayor’s Office. She also served as head of a philanthropic initiative aimed at establishing a coalition of community-based leaders to help advance recovery from hurricanes Katrina, Gustav, Rita and Ike in the Gulf Coast region.

Her government career included time as associate director for climate preparedness at the White House Council on Environmental Quality and director of external affairs and senior policy adviser at NOAA between 2010 and 2013.

“Jainey’s knowledge of NOAA, along with her skills and expertise, make her the right fit for this critical position at a time when climate and oceans are central to so many key policies and decisions,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad.

The Senate confirmed Bavishi to the position on Dec. 22.

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Marine Corps Activates New Command to Coordinate Information Management Capabilities
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Marine Corps Activates New Command to Coordinate Information Management Capabilities

The U.S. Marine Corps has activated a warfighting function tasked with coordinating and integrating information management capabilities across the Fleet Marine Force.

USMC said Tuesday the Marine Corps Information Command is a two-star command that will unify the Marine Corps Information Operations Center, the Marine Corps Cryptologic office and the Marine Corps Cryptologic Support Battalion under a single commanding officer.

The unit will be commanded by Maj. Gen. Ryan Heritage, who also heads U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Space Command. It is the seventh warfighting arm based on the service’s tenets to be established within the USMC.

“A single commander who can leverage the authorities and approvals needed to synchronize global cyber, space, influence, and intelligence effects creates unity of support for the FMF and generates information advantages in support of commander’s objectives,” Heritage remarked.

Lt. Gen. Brian Cavanaugh, commanding general of Marine Corps Forces Command, said the new unit’s activation will enable the joint force to meet national security goals and objectives.

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NASA Vet Shawn Quinn Tapped to Lead Exploration Ground Systems Program
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NASA Vet Shawn Quinn Tapped to Lead Exploration Ground Systems Program

Shawn Quinn, formerly a director of engineering at NASA, has been appointed manager of the Exploration Ground Systems program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Quinn will succeed Mike Bolger and lead a group that prepares the systems required to process and launch the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft in support of the Artemis space exploration mission, NASA said Friday.

Bolger retired from NASA in late 2022 after 35 years of service and following the launch of Artemis I, an uncrewed mission to explore the lunar surface.

Quinn brings to the role experience with the Exploration Ground Systems Program, having previously served as an associate program manager responsible for overseeing ground systems development activities.

He also served as manager of the vehicle integration and launch integration product team.

Quinn joined NASA’s Engineering Cooperative Education Program in 1985 while studying for his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.

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NASA Studies Learjet Engine Sound to Help Predict Noise Levels of Future Aircraft
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NASA Studies Learjet Engine Sound to Help Predict Noise Levels of Future Aircraft

Researchers at NASA are studying the sound of Calspan’s Learjet 25 jet engines in order to create a predictive modeling tool for noise levels of future supersonic air vehicles.

The findings could be useful in possible U.S. and international regulation as the industry takes interest in reviving commercial supersonic air travel, the space agency said.

NASA’s team has been examining the Learjet’s CJ610 engines since 2019, starting with scale models to gather information on the sound they are expected to produce.

In the Learjet Acoustic Flight Test, sensors and global positioning system equipment were installed inside the engines, while state-of-the-art microphones were set up on a runway at Niagara Falls International Airport. Researchers recorded temperatures, pressures and exhaust conditions from takeoff to landing.

The resulting data will be used to create a modeling tool that could aid in designing quiet supersonic aircraft, akin to NASA’s Quesst mission. It could also help regulators set standards for acceptable noise levels for supersonic flights, the agency explained.

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