The Department of Homeland Security has introduced a new website meant to provide the public access to resources such as grants, training opportunities and research as part of efforts to prevent terrorism and targeted violence.

The site PreventionResourceFinder.gov provides visitors information on grant funding, multimedia content and educational materials across 17 federal agencies and is organized into five categories, DHS said Thursday.

These searchable categories are community support resources, information sharing platforms, grant funding opportunities, evidence-based research and training opportunities.

“The website we are launching today equips our partners throughout the country with helpful resources to better prevent, prepare for, and respond to acts of violence,” said DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

“We will continue to provide additional resources, including grant funds and critical information and intelligence, to strengthen community efforts to prevent terrorism and targeted violence,” added Mayorkas, a previous Wash100 awardee.

According to the department, the website builds on the current administration’s National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism and features nearly 100 federal resources.

DHS worked with other agencies, including the departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Justice and Veterans Affairs, to develop the online platform.

The National Science Foundation has collaborated with five agencies to launch a $20 million program that aims to develop a prototype open knowledge network to help address existing challenges in health care, space, climate change and other areas.

The Proto-OKN initiative will fund projects to innovate a cloud-based infrastructure that will serve as an engine for interconnected data repositories  used for various purposes, such as developing evidence-based policies and artificial intelligence capabilities, NSF said Friday.

Research projects will be divided into three categories: use cases, interconnecting fabric and education and public engagement.

The first category will focus on the development of knowledge graphs to provide data-driven solutions to societal challenges and the second category will create new technologies to link the knowledge graphs.

The program will choose one awardee to develop educational materials and tools for Proto-OKN users.

 NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Justice, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Geological Survey are NSF’s partners in the endeavor.

“The open knowledge network will transform the nation’s ability to unlock insights from data and transform these data into useful, actionable information and knowledge crucial to address challenges for a more efficient and equitable future,” said Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of NSF.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has announced the participants in a program that aims to prevent the early deterioration of concrete used in Department of Defense structures.

Battelle Memorial Institute, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of Colorado Boulder have been selected to develop advanced technologies that can transport self-healing capabilities within the depths of existing concrete under the Bio-inspired Restoration of Aged Concrete Edifices program, DARPA said Thursday.

The participants will operationalize their proposed approaches to creating a network of “vasculature” substances to repair cracks and diagnose the root causes of material deterioration.

The research program includes a strategic track for long-term capabilities designed for large, heavy structures, such as missile silos and naval piers, and a tactical track to enhance rapid airfield damage recovery efforts in expeditionary settings.

“BRACE will attempt to push the limits of what is possible for engineering biological technologies to safely function and preserve our legacy concrete, and in doing so, we likely will learn about new possibilities for engineering biology and materials that we have not yet conceived,” said Matthew Pava, BRACE program manager.

Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing to question TikTok’s chief executive over the social media platform’s ties to China and access to data of U.S. application users, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew told lawmakers on Thursday that the video-sharing app is spending $1.5 billion to establish a firewall to ensure that user data would be stored in the U.S. and managed by a U.S. company.

“Our approach has never been to dismiss or trivialize any of these concerns. We have addressed them with real action,” Chew said.

The CEO also responded to a question about a possible sale of the platform saying the move would not improve security and safety.

The Biden administration recently called on Chinese company ByteDance to divest its stakes in TikTok and warned of a possible ban of the app if it fails to do so.

Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said the Department of Defense has yet to issue the National Defense Science and Technology Strategy but revealed that elements of the upcoming strategy inform key portions of DOD’s budget request for fiscal year 2024, DOD News reported Friday.

Shyu, a 2023 Wash100 awardee, told members of the House Armed Services Committee’s Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems subpanel on Thursday that NDSTS outlines three lines of effort to maintain the country’s technological advantage.

These lines of effort are: a focus on the joint mission; creation and deployment of capabilities at speed and scale; and establishment of an enduring advantage through cultivation of talent and pursuit of basic research.

“We are implementing this strategy in the president’s FY 24 budget request, which continues historic levels of investment in research and development,” she told lawmakers.

“It prioritizes delivery of near-term capabilities at speed and scale; direct support to joint warfighting concepts; and building the science and technology foundation for tomorrow,” she added.

Shyu told the House panel that the department has deployed directed energy systems to the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy following a series of tests and has fielded artificial intelligence tools meant to help warfighters strengthen advantage in undersea warfare.

“We are launching hypersonic and ballistic tracking space sensors this year and have transitioned deep space early indications and warnings capabilities using ground-based telescopes to the field,” she said during her testimony.

The undersecretary noted that the proposed FY24 budget also backs continued investment in the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs and offers support to Defense Innovation Unit projects.