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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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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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