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Open Philanthropy Offers Support to USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures Program
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Open Philanthropy Offers Support to USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures Program

The United States Agency for International Development’s open innovation program has received a $45 million gift from grant-making organization Open Philanthropy to help address development challenges across the world.

With the support from Open Philanthropy, USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures will launch a Stage 4 grants initiative to advance programs in its portfolio aimed at enabling change in burgeoning communities, the agency said Thursday. 

DIV provides grant funding in three-tiered stages to innovators and researchers to transform new ideas into efficient community development technologies.

The pilot stage offers up to $200,000 to support innovations that are in early development stages and require testing. It is followed by the test and position for scale phase that provides up to $1.5 million to innovators to test their products for market viability.

The third stage awards up to $15 million in funding to take proven technologies to scale in new geographies or contexts.

Sandia National Laboratories Operator Seeks Non-Federal R&D Partners
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Sandia National Laboratories Operator Seeks Non-Federal R&D Partners

The management and operating contractor for the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories is looking to pursue collaboration with non-federal organizations through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement.

National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, a Honeywell International subsidiary, issued a notice encouraging companies, universities and nonprofit entities to submit expressions of interest in working with NTESS.

The notice posted Monday on SAM.gov states that NTESS partnership efforts seek to drive technology advancements and research projects in support of the national security mission.

NTESS may license patents and copyrighted materials under such an agreement.

The CRADA opportunity has a response date of July 16 and is also open to other national laboratories, according to the notice.

Biden Announces Intent to Appoint 8 Members to National Science Board
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Biden Announces Intent to Appoint 8 Members to National Science Board

President Biden announced his intent to appoint eight members to a National Science Foundation body that provides advice and recommendations on the development of national policies related to research and education in science and engineering.

The 25-member National Science Board was established to serve as an adviser to Congress and the president, authorize NSF awards, provide congressional testimony and publish reports relevant to the science and engineering enterprise.

Members of the board consist of science and engineering experts from industry and academia representing a variety of disciplines and geographic areas.

Biden’s appointees are:

  • Deborah Loewenberg Ball, professor of education at the University of Michigan
  • Vicki Chandler, provost at Minerva University
  • Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska, professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering at The Ohio State University
  • Marvi Ann Matos Rodriguez, director of engineering at Boeing.
  • Keivan Stassun, Stevenson chair in physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt University
  • Merlin Theodore, advanced fibers manufacturing group lead for Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Science Division
  • Wanda Elaine Ward, executive associate chancellor for public engagement at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • Bevlee Watford, associate dean for equity and engagement and professor of engineering education at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering

National Science Board members will serve for a term of six years.

“The National Science Board plays an indispensable role in helping the National Science Foundation advance American innovation to achieve our highest aspirations, and helping the American people understand the importance of the U.S. science and engineering enterprise,” said Arati Prabhakar, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and a previous Wash100 awardee.

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DARPA Selects 4 Academic Teams to Develop Tool to Predict Vaccines’ Long-term Potency
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DARPA Selects 4 Academic Teams to Develop Tool to Predict Vaccines’ Long-term Potency

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has chosen four teams to support its Assessing Immune Memory program.

The goal of the initiative is to create a research and evaluation tool for early prediction of the long-term efficacy of vaccines, DARPA said Friday.

“The current state of vaccine durability assessment is to take a ‘wait-and-see’ approach,” AIM Program Manager Michael Feasel said. “AIM will take a systems-level view of the response to vaccination and explore the mechanisms that lead to long-lasting protection.

“The plan is that this will then be implemented as a tool to predict vaccine duration of protection without waiting years for clinical trial results,” Feasel continued.

Columbia University, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, Stanford University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore were selected to help accomplish the five-year program. 

It will be divided into two phases, the first of which will focus on establishing a “road map” for immune memory using cell and signaling contributors. Phase 2 will concentrate on assembly and validation of the assessment tool.

The Department of Defense hopes to use the technology to protect warfighters being deployed to locations where they could be at risk for biothreats and other immunological challenges.

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Lawmaker Urges CISA to Conduct Joint Cybersecurity Review of Air Travel Systems With DOT
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Lawmaker Urges CISA to Conduct Joint Cybersecurity Review of Air Travel Systems With DOT

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., has called on the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to work with the Department of Transportation to perform a joint review of cyber vulnerabilities facing the Federal Aviation Administration’s Notice to Air Mission system and other air travel platforms following an outage of NOTAM.

Torres wrote a letter to CISA Director Jen Easterly, a previous Wash100 awardee, Thursday asking the agency about policies and investments that could be made to protect air travel systems from cyberthreat actors.

“At a time when cyberattacks are rising in both scope and sophistication, modernizing the cybersecurity of air travel must be a priority for the federal government,” the letter reads.

The temporary disruptions in the function of the NOTAM system, which provides pilots with real-time alerts on safety conditions, led to thousands of flight delays and cancellations at major U.S. carriers Wednesday.

FAA said in a statement Wednesday that a corrupted file had resulted in the NOTAM outage.

“Our preliminary work has traced the outage to a damaged database file. At this time, there is no evidence of a cyberattack,” the FAA said.

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U.S., Japan Sign Pact for Peaceful, Collaborative Exploration of Space
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U.S., Japan Sign Pact for Peaceful, Collaborative Exploration of Space

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Hayashi Yoshimasa signed a framework agreement to strengthen the two countries’ collaboration on space exploration.

The pact centers on peaceful exploration of outer space, the Moon and other celestial bodies, NASA announced Saturday. The agreement was signed at NASA headquarters on Friday.

In 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President and National Space Council Chair Kamala Harris made separate visits to Japan to discuss initiatives to foster U.S.-Japan cooperation, which includes space operations. The new agreement brings those visits to fruition.

Under the terms of the partnership, the two countries will conduct joint activities in space science, operations, exploration, technology, transportation, safety and mission assurance. Projects will also focus on Earth science and aeronautical science and technology.

“From low-Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond, Japan is one of NASA’s most significant international partners, and this latest framework agreement will allow us to further collaborate across our agencies’ broad portfolios in exploration, science, and research,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.

Japan is one of the first signatories of the Artemis Accords for the revival of missions to the Moon. It also pledged to contribute to the Gateway program, the first multi-purpose space station in lunar orbit to be launched as part of the Artemis mission.

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GAO: Air Force Takes Steps to Document Planning Efforts for Advanced Battle Management System
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GAO: Air Force Takes Steps to Document Planning Efforts for Advanced Battle Management System

The Government Accountability Office found that the U.S. Air Force has initiated steps to act on GAO’s 2020 recommendations by developing planning and acquisition documents with regard to its Advanced Battle Management System, which serves as the service’s contribution to the Department of Defense’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control effort.

The Air Force has made two ABMS-related efforts through Capability Release 1 and cloud-based command and control, according to a GAO report published Friday.

Capability Release 1 seeks to establish data connectivity between F-35 fighter jets and command and control centers. Under this plan, the service intends to deliver prototypes in 2024.

For cloud-based C2, the Air Force plans to integrate various sources of air defense data in support of homeland defense and deliver initial capabilities in 2023.

According to the report, the military branch also created a consortium of companies in June 2022 to support the development of requirements for the ABMS Digital Infrastructure and formed a new leadership structure for ABMS in September 2022.

“While these are positive steps toward developing ABMS, the Air Force has not delivered any capabilities to date and is in the process of identifying future capabilities and when they will be delivered,” the congressional watchdog said in the report.

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Report: Germany’s New Minister to Decide Whether to Send Tanks to Ukraine
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Report: Germany’s New Minister to Decide Whether to Send Tanks to Ukraine

Germany’s new defense minister is set to decide whether to authorize the delivery of Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine in support of the latter’s fight against Russian invasion, Reuters reported Tuesday.

Boris Pistorius succeeds Christine Lambrecht as Germany’s defense secretary and is expected to host U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a two-time Wash100 awardee, on Thursday ahead of a meeting of Western allies on Friday at a U.S. airbase in Germany.

Berlin has expressed concerns that approving tanks for Ukraine could be looked at as an escalation of the conflict, according to the report.

“All of this currently relies on the German government’s decisions – not only whether the Germans will supply their own Leopards, but whether or not they’ll give permissions to others. I would urge my German colleagues to do that,” said Ben Wallace, U.K. defense secretary.

Finland and Poland have said they would send battle tanks to Ukraine once Germany grants its approval.

DOD News reported the U.S. has agreed to send Bradley fighting vehicles to Ukraine and Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said the country respects the decisions of NATO and other allies with regard to security assistance to the Eastern European country.

“We’re absolutely supportive of any type of defense capabilities that our international allies and partners can provide to Ukraine to include tanks,” Ryder said.

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RMA Companies Acquires C Below in Move to Develop Testing and Inspection Services Platform; Ed Lyon Quoted
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RMA Companies Acquires C Below in Move to Develop Testing and Inspection Services Platform; Ed Lyon Quoted

RMA Companies, a portfolio company of OceanSound Partners, has acquired C Below Subsurface Imaging, an organization that provides technology-enabled underground utility locating services.

The transaction will integrate C Below’s operations with RMA’s SiteScan Subsurface Imaging unit as part of RMA’s efforts to build a national testing and inspection services platform, the Rancho Cucamonga, California-based company announced on Tuesday.

“C Below operates with the same client-centric culture and a shared history of technology innovation as RMA, making it an invaluable addition to our family of testing, inspection, and certification services for infrastructure asset owners, contractors, and public agencies,” said RMA CEO Ed Lyon.

Lyon expects the combined reach of the two organizations to allow RMA to support its clients across a broader geographic footprint and present new services.

Chris Loera, CEO of C Below, will lead the acquisition, which serves as a milestone in RMA’s growth strategy.

C Below’s work includes utility locating and mapping services for federal agencies, engineers, architects and contractors involved with infrastructure initiatives spanning numerous end-markets. With the use of specialized equipment, the company’s engineers and technicians offer geophysical capabilities such as vacuum excavation, electromagnetic location, ground penetrating radar, BIM mapping and CCTV pipeline inspection.

These services are intended to impede construction delays by verifying the location, depth and type of buried utility materials.

“With this transaction, we expect to make new technology investments to offer additional service capabilities to our clients across the Western U.S.” Loera said.

“For C Below employees, the strategic combination with SiteScan creates exciting professional growth opportunities for our combined workforce,” he added.

Dave Menefee, former president of C Below, said the company sought out a partner to help extend its reach while ensuring its values and quality of service are not compromised. He is confident that RMA meets these expectations.

The acquisition marks RMA’s fourth since December 2021. Most recently, the company acquired Northwest Geotechnical Consultants, an organization offering geotechnical engineering, environmental consulting, construction inspection and construction materials testing services.

Hypori Closes Series B Investment Led by Hale Capital Partners to Scale BYOD Product; Jared Shepard Quoted
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Hypori Closes Series B Investment Led by Hale Capital Partners to Scale BYOD Product; Jared Shepard Quoted

Hypori has closed its initial $10.5 million Series B investment deal, which was led by Hale Capital Partners and included supplementary funds from Series A investor GreatPoint Ventures and David Petreaus, among others.

These funds are part of a total fundraising round with commitments to invest up to $18 million and represent the expansion and growing value of Hypori and its Halo bring-your-own-device product within the national security and user privacy areas, the Reston, Virginia-based enterprise announced on Tuesday.

Jared Shepard, president and CEO of Hypori, emphasized the importance of the deal in growing the company’s work to improve secure access and interaction with data from the edge.

“Hypori is changing the way the industry thinks about cybersecurity and operating at the speed of cloud to achieve mission success,” he said.

The Halo product is a virtualized Android OS designed to meet the security needs of companies following BYOD policies, especially those that employ hybrid and remote staff who rely on their personal devices to work. It functions individually as a private, virtual workspace on any mobile device and minimizes data at rest or in transit outside of an organization to further secure client data.

Hypori Halo is intended to secure the digital workspace of companies that currently hold these policies, which can decrease hardware and software costs but may produce security risks for an organization’s network and data.

Applying the concept of zero trust to mobile security, Halo shifts the security target from the edge device to a digital workspace in a secure and controlled cloud or data center and allows clients to isolate and safeguard privacy, personal data and organizational data.

The product also allows clients to remove data at rest requirements from the physical device, reduce the risk of data loss and prevent malware from entering an organization from an end-user device.

The product is already being used within the Department of Defense and the defense industrial base. As it becomes more widely adopted within the federal government, the investment funds will enable rapid scaling to support the U.S. Army’s phase 3 BYOD rollout, which is currently providing Halo to over 20,000 users within the Army, Army Reserve and Army National Guard.

Martin Hale, managing partner at Hale Capital Partners, will join Hypori’s board of directors as part of the financing.

“With no data at rest and no data in transit, their BYOD solution appears to us to be a game changer. We look forward to supporting Hypori as it scales and delivers unmatched security and ease of use to its customers,” said Hale.

Also joining the board is Rich Sawchak, CEO of Systems Planning and Analysis and former Hypori CFO.

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