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NSF Program Selects 16 Teams Focused On Sustainable Materials R&D
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NSF Program Selects 16 Teams Focused On Sustainable Materials R&D

The U.S. National Science Foundation granted funding to 16 Phase I multidisciplinary research teams as part of its Convergence Accelerator program for sustainable material innovations.

NSF announced Monday that aside from its $11.5 million investment, the Australian government’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation will also provide funding and deploy Australian researchers to two of the projects.

“Creating environmentally – and economically – sustainable materials and products is critical to our future. The use-inspired solutions in which we are investing in today will advance the circular design of materials and manufacturing processes to reduce pollution and waste,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships.

The following awardees are involved in one or more projects selected by NSF.

  • Battelle Memorial Institute
  • Black & Decker
  • Cornell University
  • IBM
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Oregon State University
  • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • University of Alabama
  • University of Delaware
  • University of Florida
  • University of Georgia Research Foundation

Australia’s University of Wollongong and Western Sydney University are participating in one of the projects led by re:3D, a manufacturer of industrial 3D printers based in Texas. Research Foundation for the State University of New York will partner with the University of Queensland in another project.

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NASA Adds 4 Antennas to Near Space Network to Enable Terabyte-size Data Transmission
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NASA Adds 4 Antennas to Near Space Network to Enable Terabyte-size Data Transmission

NASA has added four global tri-band antennas to its Near Space Network of government- and private-owned space communications infrastructure.

The new antennas were launched to bolster direct-to-Earth communications for the benefit of science and exploration missions that gather massive amounts of data, the space agency said Tuesday.

The four ground stations were set up in Fairbanks, Alaska; Wallops Island, Virginia; Punta Arenas, Chile; and Svalbard, Norway. They feature S-, X-, and Ka-band capabilities and incorporate delay/disruption tolerant networking to ensure the transmission of critical data to their destination. Their installation will enable missions that use NSN and enhanced instrumentation to send terabytes of information back to Earth.

The antennas in Chile and Norway were developed in cooperation with Kongsberg Satellite Services. The Virginia and Alaska stations were built by NASA.

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Appeals Court Upholds Lower Court Decision Against Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate
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Appeals Court Upholds Lower Court Decision Against Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate

A U.S. appeals court on Monday rejected the White House’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for federal contractors in a 2-1 ruling, Reuters reported.

The U.S. Appeals Court for the 5th Circuit upheld a lower court ruling against the Biden administration’s requirement for contractors to ensure that their personnel are vaccinated against coronavirus in compliance with the September 2021 executive order.

The court’s majority opinion authored by Judge Kurt Engelhardt stated that a broad interpretation of the mandate could provide the president “nearly unlimited authority to introduce requirements into federal contracts.”

According to the Department of Justice, the executive order was lawful due to the Procurement Act.

In October, the Office of Management and Budget and the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force announced that they would release guidance documents to agencies on how to handle vaccine protocols in anticipation of the aftermath of a court decision that partially lifted the ban on the federal contractor vaccine mandate.

OMB and the task force also called on federal agencies not to take any measures to enforce the vaccine mandate until all the guidance documents were issued.

GSA Releases $300M Initial Funding Round for Green Renovation of Federal Facilities
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GSA Releases $300M Initial Funding Round for Green Renovation of Federal Facilities

The General Services Administration has distributed over $300 million in funds to support various construction and renovation projects through the Inflation Reduction Act, which will accelerate the administration’s efforts towards a net-zero emissions federal building portfolio.

As the first investment under GSA’s pledge to spend $3.4 billion to improve federal infrastructure, the project is intended to catalyze clean energy innovation and achieve domestic clean manufacturing through the integration of emerging technologies and low-carbon materials into these projects, the administration announced on Monday.

“We’re moving forward on the clean, electrified federal buildings of tomorrow,” said Andrew Mayock, White House chief sustainability officer. 

“As our country’s largest energy consumer, taking bold action to modernize the way we build, buy and manage federal operations creates good paying jobs in places that need them and helps us reach our nation’s climate goals,” he emphasized.

The first batch of construction and renovation projects to receive funding will use sustainable technologies as well as asphalt, concrete, glass and steel with low-embodied carbon content. Collectively, they are expected to offset approximately 120,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and save the U.S. government $35 million in energy costs over the next 20 years.

Facilities chosen for the initial funding round include the San Luis I Land Port of Entry in Arizona, Federal Center HHS-FDA Laboratory in Lakewood, Colorado, John C. Kluczynski Federal Building in Chicago, Illinois, Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building in Detroit, Michigan, Charles Evans Whittaker U.S. Courthouse in Kansas City, Missouri, Frank E. Moss U.S. Courthouse in Salt Lake City, Utah and Lewis F. Powell, Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia.

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GAO: DOD Should Conduct Portfolio Review of Fixed-Wing Tactical Aircraft
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GAO: DOD Should Conduct Portfolio Review of Fixed-Wing Tactical Aircraft

The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the Department of Defense analyze its portfolio of piloted fixed-wing tactical aircraft platforms and establish a requirement for the routine submission of information from that portfolio review to Congress.

The DOD integrated acquisition portfolio review should cover portfolio goals, potential tradeoffs and overlap, capability gaps, risk and schedule, cost and performance information on each platform, GAO said in a report published Tuesday.

According to the report, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy plan to invest approximately $20 billion per year in the acquisition and modernization of tactical aircraft over the next half-decade. This is largely due to the fact that most of the tactical aircraft — otherwise known as fighter and attack planes — were acquired in the 1970s and 1980s and are reaching the end of their lifespan.

Although the Pentagon has initiated measures to improve its portfolio management practices, the congressional watchdog found that the department has not yet performed an integrated acquisition analysis of its fighter plane portfolio.

“Without an analysis of the tactical aircraft platform portfolio and a requirement to report underlying information externally, DOD and Congress will continue to have limited information when making major investment decisions,” the report reads.

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USPS to Invest Nearly $10B in Electric Delivery Vehicle Procurement; Louis DeJoy Quoted
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USPS to Invest Nearly $10B in Electric Delivery Vehicle Procurement; Louis DeJoy Quoted

The U.S. Postal Service plans to invest approximately $9.6 billion in the acquisition of at least 66,000 battery electric vehicles by 2028 as part of its plan to advance the electrification of its fleet of delivery vehicles.

The investment includes $3 billion in funds from the Inflation Reduction Act and covers the purchase of 45,000 electric Next Generation Delivery Vehicles and 21,000 commercial off-the-shelf electric vehicles, USPS said Tuesday.

USPS expects the new NGDVs to begin servicing postal routes in late 2023 and plans to reach its goal of acquiring 100 percent electric delivery vehicles in 2026.

By May 2023, the agency intends to release a draft supplemental environmental impact statement that examines the environmental impacts of its vehicle procurement alternatives.

“The $3 billion provided by Congress has significantly reduced the risk associated with accelerating the implementation of a nationwide infrastructure necessary to electrify our delivery fleet,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.

“What is less widely understood is that our network modernization initiative is necessary to enable this vehicle electrification and will also provide meaningful cost and carbon reductions in other ways,” DeJoy added.

The White House said $1.7 billion of the Inflation Reduction Act funds will enable USPS to install charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

In March, USPS placed a potential $3 billion order for 50,000 NGDVs from Oshkosh Defense, including at least 10,000 electric battery-powered vehicles.

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Sens. Rob Portman, Ron Wyden: NSF Should Use Advanced Encryption to Protect NSDS Data
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Sens. Rob Portman, Ron Wyden: NSF Should Use Advanced Encryption to Protect NSDS Data

Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio,  and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are calling on the National Science Foundation to require government agencies to use advanced encryption technology within the National Secure Data Service platform.

In a letter to NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, Portman and Wyden stated that a unique encryption key will ensure protection of Americans’ data, that which is used by federal offices for research.

“The NSDS platform will enable government agencies to collaborate by using data for research projects. This research will help policy makers to improve government programs, and will shed light on the effectiveness of federal policies,” they wrote. “However, the NSDS program will only live up to its promise if it facilitates research while protecting Americans’ data from hackers, foreign spies and misuse by government agencies.”

They suggested that instead of using a master key to NSDS, NSF should use multi-party computation so that organizations can safely share information for research projects without giving away sensitive data, such as details about U.S. veterans.

Portman and Wyden asked the foundation to respond to their recommendations by Jan. 31.

Borenstein Group Achieves Third Recognition from Chief Marketer as Top 200 Marketing Agency; Gal Borenstein Quoted
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Borenstein Group Achieves Third Recognition from Chief Marketer as Top 200 Marketing Agency; Gal Borenstein Quoted

The Borenstein Group, a marketing and public relations agency focused on defense and technology government contractors, has been recognized as a Top 200 Chief Marketer Top Marketing Agency for 2023 by Chief Marketer magazine.

Among others listed, Borenstein Group ranked as one of the Top National B2B Brand Engagement Agencies, which marks its third year on the list, the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company announced on Wednesday.

“Increasingly, technology firms are seeking agencies that can deliver evidence-based, synchronized engagement strategies that align with their growth goals. That’s what The Borenstein Group delivers,” emphasized Gal Borenstein, the organization’s CEO.

Chief Marketer considered several factors during the selection process, including client testimonials, case study submissions, consistent work across programs and clients, creative executions and impactful concepts and ideas.

Agencies chosen for this year’s list are top brand engagement and activation marketing agencies across 11 categories and specialties, according to the magazine.

“This year’s CM200 represents an agency community made stronger and more resourceful than ever before,” said Jessica Heasley, group editor and publisher at Chief Marketer.

“They have all demonstrated incredible creativity and resilience and are poised to transform challenges into opportunities in the year ahead,” she added.

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L3Harris Secures All Regulatory Approvals for Viasat Link16 Acquisition; Christopher Kubasik Quoted
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L3Harris Secures All Regulatory Approvals for Viasat Link16 Acquisition; Christopher Kubasik Quoted

L3Harris Technologies has secured all regulatory approvals for its acquisition of the Tactical Data Link product line, also known as Link 16, from Viasat.

The deal, which was announced in October, is now expected to close by January 3 following the successful garnering of U.S. regulatory and allied partner approval, the Melbourne, Florida-based company disclosed on Tuesday.

“We are in position to close this acquisition much earlier than expected, which means we can welcome our new employees and begin work even earlier on this important modernization effort,” remarked Christopher Kubasik, CEO and chair of L3Harris and three-time Wash100 Award winner.

Viasat’s Link 16 is staffed by almost 450 people and generates approximately $400 million in sales annually. It is installed in over 20,000 U.S. and allied platforms globally, which enables multi-domain sharing of voice and data communications for warfighters. warfighters spanning multiple domains to securely share voice and data communications.

L3Harris aims to modernize the technology by adding advanced tactical data links to the existing Link 16 network to boost its resilience, which is said to be crucial for constantly changing environments and Joint All Domain Command and Control demands.

“The team is excited to deliver advanced tactical data links for this broadly used network, which will give our warfighters distinct advantages in multiple domains,” Kubasik added.

With a value of approximately $1.96 billion, the acquisition positions L3Harris to extend its communication and networking capabilities into a larger user base. 

“This acquisition is part of our strategic effort to ensure operators have access to the most advanced, multi-function Joint All-Domain Command and Control solutions available,” Kubasik said in a comment on the signing of the agreement in October.

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Peraton Subsidiary Books $343M TSA Contract for IT Support; John Coleman Quoted
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Peraton Subsidiary Books $343M TSA Contract for IT Support; John Coleman Quoted

A Peraton subsidiary has won a $342.7 million Transportation Security Administration award to operate, maintain and improve the agency’s information technology equipment, services and processes.

Under the IMPACT II contract, Perspecta Enterprise Solutions will provide support for the TSA community, which includes approximately 85,000 federal employees, contractors and other personnel at domestic and select international locations, Peraton announced from Herndon, Virginia on Wednesday.

“As the TSA continues to advance their mission of protecting our nation’s vital transportation systems and those who use them, Peraton is proud to provide the technologies and talent needed to support their evolving IT mission requirements,” said John Coleman, president of Peraton’s citizen security and public services sector.

Services delivered by the company are aimed to “protect the nation’s transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce” through the efficient provision of security technology.

The original solicitation from TSA was issued to seek out contractor support for IT management, performance analysis and collaborative technologies II requirement. Specific tasks requested include operating and maintaining the agency’s IT capabilities, designing and implementing TSA-directed system and infrastructure changes and providing programmatic management.

Perspecta was reconfirmed as the contract recipient following CACI’s protest challenging the issuance of the task order, which was denied by the Government Accountability Office.

Earlier this year, Perspecta won a $563 million award from the Department of Defense’s Cyber Crime Center for technology support services. Under the Technical, Analytical and Business Operations Services task order, the organization is providing digital and multimedia forensics, technical development, cyber analytics and vulnerability sharing support for the DOD.

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