NobleReach Emerge to Help Commercialize NSF-funded Research in New Partnership; Erwin Gianchandani Quoted
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NobleReach Emerge to Help Commercialize NSF-funded Research in New Partnership; Erwin Gianchandani Quoted

The National Science Foundation has teamed up with NobleReach Emerge to convert its research projects into biotechnology prototypes.

As part of the partnership, NobleReach will conduct needs assessment of NSF-funded research to help match them with entrepreneurs that can advise on product development and go-to-market strategy, NSF said.

The $5 million pilot program will initially use market research and grant analysis to select researchers and research with potential for commercial applications. NobleReach Emerge will deploy a team that will help them prepare their projects for marketization. Aside from product development, they will provide guidance in pitch deck creation and techno-economic analyses.

“The road to translate breakthrough research into technologies can be long and winding,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. “With this pilot effort, NSF hopes to equip interested researchers with the support and training necessary to much more seamlessly take the next step toward commercial and societal impact. Biotechnology breakthroughs contribute to a host of important applications, and we hope to support researchers as they begin their journey toward commercialization.”

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OSTP Releases Open Science Advancement Strategies & Initiatives for 2023
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OSTP Releases Open Science Advancement Strategies & Initiatives for 2023

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is declaring 2023 the Year of Open Science, as it gears up for the implementation of national open science policies.

OSTP on Wednesday released an action plan that includes the government’s official definition of open science, which is “the principle and practice of making research products and processes available to all, while respecting diverse cultures, maintaining security and privacy, and fostering collaborations, reproducibility, and equity.”

The department is imposing its memorandum on federal agencies’ reporting of public access plans for government-funded research. Agencies with at least $100 million in annual research and development expenditures are expected to submit their plans by Feb. 22, while the deadline for those with smaller R&D costs is on Dec. 31.

CENDI, which stands for the Commerce, Energy, NASA, Defense Information Managers Group, will launch the openscience.gov website, which provides information on the government’s open science initiatives, and funding opportunities. The online resource will be managed in partnership with the National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Open Science.

Other actions pledged by OSTP involves the National Science Foundation Directorate for Geosciences, Department of Agriculture, National Endowment for the Humanities.

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Federal Judge Upholds Executive Order on $15 Hourly Minimum Wage for Federal Contract Workers
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Federal Judge Upholds Executive Order on $15 Hourly Minimum Wage for Federal Contract Workers

A federal judge in Arizona upheld the White House’s April 2021 executive order that increased the minimum wage of employees working on federal contracts to $15 per hour, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

The Department of Labor’s final rule on the new minimum hourly wage took effect on Jan. 30, 2022. Federal subcontractors are also included in the pay bump.

U.S. District Judge John Tuchi said the executive order on the higher minimum wage for personnel working on federal contracts was well within the U.S. president’s authority, verified by the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act.

“The president here relied on a broad statutory delegation to exercise proprietary authority in an area — general administrative control of the executive branch — over which he enjoys inherent powers,” Tuchi wrote in his Jan. 6 ruling wrote in his Jan. 6 ruling.

Attorneys general for Arizona, Indiana, Idaho, Nebraska and South Carolina filed a preliminary injunction on the new minimum wage for federal contractor employees.

As of Jan. 1, 2023, the minimum wage of federal contractor employees rose again to $16.20 an hour, according to DOL.

Department of Transportation’s New 5-Year R&D Plan Includes $5B in Research Funding; Robert Hampshire Quoted
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Department of Transportation’s New 5-Year R&D Plan Includes $5B in Research Funding; Robert Hampshire Quoted

The Department of Transportation unveiled its five-year research, development and technology strategic plan, which includes $5 billion in funding for research activities from the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The plan builds on DOT’s 2022 Innovation Principles and aligns with the agency’s vision of providing safe, sustainable and equitable movement of goods and people, the agency said.

DOT will allocate $500 million to the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation program, which focuses on smart city innovations such as vehicles with bi-directional communications and smart technology traffic signals.

An annual funding of $50 million will be dedicated to a new Open Research Initiative to finance unsolicited proposals for disruptive and high-impact technologies. 

The RD&T strategic plan also details investments in university transportation centers that prioritize climate change and equality. Minority-serving institutions, such as historically black colleges and universities, will be involved in the initiatives.

“In this time of rapid change and experimentation, research must drive the learning necessary for the public sector to keep pace with technological advancement and to adapt to evolving socio-economic needs,” said Robert Hampshire, DOT chief science officer and deputy assistant secretary for research and technology. “By providing a vision for a future transportation system made possible by research, we seek to foster collaborative innovation to create a better transportation future for all.”  

DOD’s Enterprise Procurement Platform Undergoes Modernization
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DOD’s Enterprise Procurement Platform Undergoes Modernization

The Defense Contract Management Agency is modernizing a cloud-based enterprise platform that enables a procure-to-pay business process for the Department of Defense and supporting agencies. 

DCMA’s Functional Information Resources Management Center is leading a team effort to modernize contract and administration tools and standardize contract administration services within the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment, the agency said Wednesday.

The team has completed e-tool development efforts in areas such as contract administration service directory, shared data warehouse single sign-on and commercial item determination.

Enhancements are already underway for the audit tracking and action tool, delivery schedule manager and final contract closeout.

As part of the project, the team also expanded government-furnished property capabilities and completed the first installment of modifications and delivery orders.

“Developing replacement applications within PIEE creates efficiencies for DCMA personnel by reducing administrative burden and work delays related to obtaining and maintaining system access, as PIEE’s Single Sign-On functionality streamlines and condenses processes,” said Ben Schmidt, deputy director of the DCMA FIRM Center.

NIWC Pacific Demos Cross-Banding Capabilities Between Legacy, Modern Satcom Systems
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NIWC Pacific Demos Cross-Banding Capabilities Between Legacy, Modern Satcom Systems

The Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific has conducted a demonstration to validate cross-banding capabilities between legacy and modern military satellite communications for the Department of Defense.

During the event, operators established two-way communication between ultra high-frequency military satcom channels and modern mobile user objective system wideband code division multiple assets, Space Systems Command said Wednesday.

NIWC PAC configured a portable radio communication single-channel radio to the legacy UHF communications mode and another to the MUOS WCDMA group voice mode. A two-channel radio was used to receive legacy UHF voice communications and retransmit the communication over the MUOS WCDMA.

Operators made calls from each radio to SSC’s Narrowband SATCOM office and to Col. Jay Steingold, SATCOM mission area team chief of the U.S. Space Force’s HQ Space Operations Command.

“As more MUOS WCDMA-capable terminals are fielded, cross-banding concepts, like the one demonstrated today, will allow WCDMA users to take advantage of improved MUOS capabilities while retaining critical interoperability with DoD and coalition partners still operating legacy UHF terminals,” Steingold said.

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Jane Harman, Eric Edelman Named to Lead National Defense Strategy Commission
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Jane Harman, Eric Edelman Named to Lead National Defense Strategy Commission

The House and Senate Armed Services Committees have selected Jane Harman, former U.S. representative for California’s 36th congressional district, and Eric Edelman, counselor at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, to serve as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the Commission on the National Defense Strategy.

The commission, which was created in accordance with the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, is tasked with assessing the 2022 NDS and offering recommendations for its implementation, HASC said Wednesday.

Members of the commission will be expected to analyze the objectives, force posture and structure, defense investments, military risks and operational concepts of the NDS; examine the threats to U.S. national security and security environment worldwide; and submit a final report with recommendations within a year of the commission’s establishment.

Harman sits on the boards of the Department of Homeland Security and NASA and chairs the board of Freedom House. She is former president and CEO of the Wilson Center.

Edelman was undersecretary of defense for policy between 2005 and 2009 and served as U.S. ambassador to Finland during the Clinton administration and U.S. ambassador to Turkey during the George W. Bush administration.

The other newly instated commissioners are John “Jack” Keane, Thomas Mahnken, Mara Rudman, Mariah Sixkiller, Alissa Starzak and Roger Zakheim.

According to Defense News, Keane is former vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army, while Mahnken is president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Zakheim is the Washington director at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation.

Rudman is executive vice president for policy at the Center for American Progress. Sixkiller is a strategic defense affairs officer at Microsoft’s defense business unit. Starzak is a VP at cybersecurity firm Cloudflare.

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Brian Goodger Takes Permanent Director Role at NIH’s Acquisition Center
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Brian Goodger Takes Permanent Director Role at NIH’s Acquisition Center

Brian Goodger, acting director of the National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center, has been appointed to take on the role on a permanent basis.

He will oversee the administration of NITAAC’s government-wide acquisition contract vehicles for information technology services procurement, the agency said.

Goodger previously served as the associate director of NIH’s Office of Logistics and Acquisitions Operations, where he managed 125 federal employees and over 100 in-house contractors.

Before joining NIH, he was a deputy director at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Acquisitions Management, Contracts and Grants.

NITAAC administers three GWACs that offer defense and civilian agencies access to information technology platforms and services from pre-qualified vendors.

The program facilitated more than $5.2 billion in task orders in fiscal year 2022 with Goodger at the helm in an acting capacity.

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Pentagon CIO John Sherman: Cyber Workforce Strategy Coming Soon
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Pentagon CIO John Sherman: Cyber Workforce Strategy Coming Soon

Today’s cyber workforce is low density and high demand, and the federal government continues to compete with industry for top-level talent. Executive Mosaic sat down with the Honorable John Sherman, chief information officer of the Department of Defense, to find out more about the Pentagon’s plan to attract, retain and upskill top-level cyber talent.

Digital modernization and technology innovation have risen to the forefront of the DOD’s priorities in light of the looming peer and near-peer competition. However, Sherman asserted in a new video interview that strides in these areas are not possible without the cyber-trained personnel to accomplish them. 

John Sherman is scheduled to keynote the Potomac Officers Club’s 4th Annual CIO Summit on Apr. 13. Don’t miss your chance to hear from the Pentagon CIO and other GovCon leaders in person! Register here.

“Technology is critical, but without the people — the women and men behind it — we’re not going to be able to advance the way we need to be,” the Wash100 Award winner told Executive Mosaic’s Summer Myatt.

In response to ongoing talent shortages across the public sector, the DOD is focused on ensuring that the most highly trained and qualified individuals are executing the country’s most critical cyber roles. 

While Sherman revealed that the Pentagon will be releasing a Cyber Talent Workforce Strategy soon, he also noted that in the meantime, the department is using all the hiring tools it has at its disposal.

Cyber Excepted Service, for example, allows the department greater flexibility in hiring and compensation for cyber jobs. Additionally, the Defense Cyber Workforce Framework outlines over 50 digital and cyber work roles, allowing the DOD to understand where its talent gaps may be.

During his video interview, Sherman also discussed the future of JADC2, what zero trust success will look like, which technologies are taking the spotlight in the public sector today and more. Watch the full video here.

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Intelligent Waves’ GRAYPATH VPN Wins Prime Contract from Defense Agency; John Hammes Quoted
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Intelligent Waves’ GRAYPATH VPN Wins Prime Contract from Defense Agency; John Hammes Quoted

GRAYPATH, a virtual private network software developed by Intelligent Waves, has won a prime contract of an undisclosed amount from a defense agency to support the U.S. Army’s Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency strategy.

The delivery of GRAYPATH is expected to progress the PACE initiative’s goal of equipping Army operators with various terrestrial and space-based tactical networks to enable Joint All Domain Command and Control, Intelligent Waves announced from Reston, Virginia on Thursday.

“GRAYPATH is designed to meet the Army’s efforts to converge multiple networks, so operators can use communications systems anytime, anywhere, using the same standards in a deployed environment, using Unified Network approach,” said John Hammes, chief strategy officer of Intelligent Waves.

The GRAYPATH system is built to enhance the performance, resilience and security of sensitive data. Its array of features includes the ability to simultaneously burst the packets across multiple encrypted channels and share data throughput capacity over various mediums while automatically monitoring data channels and “smart switching” between data pathways.

Unlike legacy VPNs, GRAYPATH is a cloud-hosted and software-defined distributed virtual network that utilizes spread spectrum IP technology to reliably perform and deliver security.

Within the past year, the system has been adopted by the defense and intelligence community and is now being applied to the fight against cyber adversaries. Its ability to deter contested communications with multipath transport aligns with Army goals.

“GRAYPATH is a market disruptor as it accelerates mission outcomes for defense and IC communities at the speed and complexity of the mission. We look forward to expanding its market share in the coming years and seeing continued success,” added Hammes.

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