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Victor LaGroon Appointed 1st Chief Diversity Officer at VA
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Victor LaGroon Appointed 1st Chief Diversity Officer at VA

Victor LaGroon, a U.S. Army veteran, has been named the first chief diversity officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he is responsible for developing strategy and overseeing its inclusive, diversity, equity and access initiatives.

VA said Tuesday LaGroon worked as director of strategic partnerships and alliances for the health equity division within the Department of Population Sciences at City of Hope prior to joining the agency.

Now, the VA official has oversight of I-DEA programs and policies, facilitating their department-wide creation, adoption and execution to support agency strategic priorities.

LaGroon’s career includes time with the Black Veterans Empowerment Council as chairman, GoCivic Chicago as member of its board of directors, Chicago’s VA Office as director and Army as intelligence analyst.

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6 Companies to Use DOE Supercomputers for Clean Energy Tech Manufacturing
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6 Companies to Use DOE Supercomputers for Clean Energy Tech Manufacturing

Six U.S.-based clean energy technology companies have been selected to receive funding to use the Department of Energy’s network of supercomputers to optimize their manufacturing processes and boost product development.

Awardees under the High-Performance Computing for Manufacturing program will access HPC facilities at DOE national laboratories and apply advanced modeling, simulation and data analysis to streamline the development of decarbonization technologies, DOE said Wednesday.

The awardees and their partner laboratories are: 

  • Allegheny Technologies and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • Danieli USA and National Renewable Energy Laboratory
  • Ford Motor Company and Sandia National Laboratory
  • M2X Energy and Argonne National Laboratory
  • Siemens and Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • Solar Turbines and Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The companies will receive $300,000 each — totaling $1.8 million for all six across the whole endeavor — and work on projects focusing on a range of topics, including enhancing the battery performance of electric vehicles and increasing the production of near-net shape mill-products to lower energy use and reduce carbon emissions.

HPC4Mfg is managed under the High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation initiative and is funded by the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office.

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Daniel Bardenstein Announces Exit from CISA Post
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Daniel Bardenstein Announces Exit from CISA Post

Daniel Bardenstein is stepping down as chief of technology strategy and delivery at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

He announced his departure from CISA in a tweet Wednesday.

“I’ve gotten to work on incredibly meaningful and impactful projects, but a unique opportunity came up that was incredibly hard to turn down,” Bardenstein said in his Twitter post. He has not yet specified what his new pursuit entails.

He cited his involvement in advancing cross-sector cybersecurity performance goals, tech modernization efforts and initiatives related to industrial control systems and operational technology.

In December 2021, he joined CISA from the Defense Digital Service, where he was director of cybersecurity programs. He also served as a cybersecurity co-lead for Operation Warp Speed at the Department of Defense.

Bardenstein formerly served as a tech policy fellow at the Aspen Tech Policy Hub. He also held product management leadership roles at Exabeam and Palantir Technologies.

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Doug Cossa on DIA’s ‘Company Storefront’ IT Initiative With NGA
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Doug Cossa on DIA’s ‘Company Storefront’ IT Initiative With NGA

Doug Cossa, chief information officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency, said DIA is working to evolve federal systems past a “stovepipe” information technology model by advancing an initiative called “Company Storefront” in partnership with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

Under Company Storefront, DIA and NGA are working to provide agencies common infrastructure services, including desktop services, for the classified environment.

“Agencies don’t have to maintain their own data centers or their own infrastructure services,” Cossa told FNN.

“They can adopt the model that we’re able to extend out to the rest of the community that integrates because it was designed that way from the beginning,” he added.

Cossa said he thinks Company Storefront will eventually offer cloud services to enable agencies to transition to a virtual desktop environment.

“I think that is the future of where we’ll go is more virtual desktop, and that’s where we really rely on the vendor community to not only work with us, but work across the other vendors to be able to have integration across the services that we depend on,” Cossa said. “Because it’s not an option for us to go back into a stovepipe model where we’re purchasing capabilities or bringing capabilities into our environment that don’t talk with anything else.”

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Gen. Chance Saltzman: Combat Readiness, Alliances, & Guardian Talent Are USSF’s Key Lines of Effort
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Gen. Chance Saltzman: Combat Readiness, Alliances, & Guardian Talent Are USSF’s Key Lines of Effort

Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations at the U.S. Space Force, has unveiled three lines of effort that he believes are essential to the success of the service branch.

He identified fielding combat-ready forces, strengthening existing partnerships and amplifying Guardians’ creativity, innovation and determination as key LOEs to execute Space Force missions.

The branch must build resilient and combat-ready equipment, servicemen, expertise and sustainment to endure and recover from attacks in a high-intensity operational environment, Saltzman said. Resilience must apply to mission critical support facilities, on-orbit constellations, ground stations, and even data and networks.

The space ops chief also pledged to take care of Space Force Guardians in order to unleash their creativity, innovation, determination and patriotism. He regarded their talent and expertise as the service’s most important operational advantage and made a commitment to improve transparency and professionalism in military and civilian personnel management.

Saltzman underscored the importance of USSF’s partnerships with other agencies, countries, academic institutions and the private sector. He called for direct and mutually beneficial collaborations built on trust and deep relationships to ensure that the branch can power through geopolitical, financial, and adversarial challenges.

DOD, USAID & State Department Issue Joint Oversight Plan for Ukraine Aid Efforts
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DOD, USAID & State Department Issue Joint Oversight Plan for Ukraine Aid Efforts

The offices of inspectors general for the Department of Defense, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department have issued their first joint strategic oversight plan for the country’s activities in response to the war in Ukraine.

The Ukraine Oversight Interagency Working Group comprises 17 organizations and convenes monthly to ensure transparency and coordination in the whole-of-government Ukraine response supervision efforts, the DOD’s OIG said Wednesday.

The working group’s Fiscal Year 2023 Joint Strategic Plan for Ukraine Response lists 14 completed and 64 planned or ongoing projects.

Its accomplishments include DOD OIG’s evaluation of accountability of equipment donated to Ukraine, DHS OIG’s audit of cyberthreats, and USAID OIG’s direct budget support brief.

Meanwhile, the agencies are continuously auditing DOD’s training of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as evaluating weapon stockpile replenishments and intelligence sharing. The State OIG is also monitoring humanitarian aid efforts and the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.

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Allen Gardner Tapped to Lead UAS Technology Development as CTO at Edge Autonomy
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Allen Gardner Tapped to Lead UAS Technology Development as CTO at Edge Autonomy

Allen Gardner, a specialist in unmanned aerial systems design and development, has been appointed chief technology officer at Edge Autonomy.

The San Luis Obispo, California-headquartered unmanned technology company said Tuesday that Gardner will help the company keep pace with the demands of the future and the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and autonomous capabilities.

“Allen brings key experience in delivering innovations in the unmanned systems market that will help us deliver ideal solutions to our clients’ key challenges,” noted Edge Autonomy CEO John Purvis.

Gardner began his career at Northrop Grumman’s aerospace systems business, where he held the position of aeronautical engineer, creating software programs for command and control and real-time survivability analysis of LO aircraft missions, among other projects. In a later stint with the company, he ascended to the role of chief architect for special programs.

In between his two periods spent with Northrop, Gardner worked for AME Unmanned Aerial Systems as chief engineer, where he was the driving force behind the development of the SharkFin mission control system and the conceptual portion of the Fury UAS. The organization was subsequently acquired by Lockheed Martin.

Before coming to Edge Autonomy, Gardner served for five years as CTO at Skydweller Aero, a U.S.-Spanish company focused on solar-powered aircraft technologies.

The executive reportedly holds a specific mastery of UAS mission control and optimization as well as artificial intelligence broadly.

In Dec. 2022, Jennifer Hagerty was installed as chief human resources officer at Edge Autonomy and charged with leading the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

Edge Autonomy transitioned to its current brand identity from its previous name, UAV Factory, in February 2022.

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Greg Bowman Appointed SVP & CSO of Siemens Government Technologies; John Ustica Quoted
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Greg Bowman Appointed SVP & CSO of Siemens Government Technologies; John Ustica Quoted

Greg Bowman has been named senior vice president and chief strategy officer of Siemens Government Technologies, where he previously served as chief innovation officer and vice president of corporate development.

In this position, Bowman will lead SGT’s strategic project development and partnerships by applying the company’s technology offerings to federal initiatives surrounding energy efficiency and resiliency, smart infrastructure and digital transformation, SGT announced from Reston, Virginia on Thursday.

“Greg is superbly qualified to take on this role for us at a critical time for our customers and our business. His deep understanding for the missions and constraints our customers face, combined with an extensive understanding for the applicable elements of the technology-rich Siemens portfolio, make him uniquely qualified for this role,” said SCG President and CEO John Ustica.

Bowman joined SGT in 2016 as director of operations for cross-divisional energy and infrastructure. He has held multiple positions within the company, spanning the areas of program leadership, business development and strategic partnering, and has led initiatives focused on trusted supply chain technologies and advanced microelectronics.

Prior to coming aboard the company, Bowman served in the U.S. Army for 25 years, most recently as the strategic law and policy advisor to the secretary of the Army. His roles in the service branch have equipped him with an understanding of policy, technology and operations hurdles that affect government contractors.

Last year, Bowman was appointed to the Defense Business Board, a group of business and academic leaders selected to advise on business management, governance and best practices for the secretary and deputy secretary of the Department of Defense.

He currently serves as chair of the Aerospace Industries Association Digital Transformation Council and as a member of the Board Council of Hope for the Warriors, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting post-9/11 veterans and caregivers.

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ITI Offers 14 Recommendations in 2023 Tech Policy Roadmap; Jason Oxman Quoted
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ITI Offers 14 Recommendations in 2023 Tech Policy Roadmap; Jason Oxman Quoted

Technology trade group ITI has unveiled its 2023 tech policy roadmap outlining 14 recommendations to improve U.S. economic competitiveness.

“For the U.S. to maintain its economic competitiveness, it must advance policies that support technology and the tech ecosystem,” Jason Oxman, president and CEO of ITI, said in a statement published Tuesday.

“ITI’s legislative and policy recommendations provide a roadmap for U.S. lawmakers and the Biden Administration as they examine issues including workforce development, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, privacy, and more,” Oxman added.

The recommendations outlined in the document include embracing AI; bolstering cybersecurity; modernizing public sector information technology; addressing climate change; increasing digital trade; tailoring export controls and outbound investment restrictions; improving supply chain resilience; deploying next-generation telecommunications; and bolstering U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.

For the AI aspect, the trade association called on the White House and Congress to accelerate the implementation of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s AI Risk Management Framework to manage AI risks and advance AI adoption.

ITI also urged the current administration to work with the private sector to implement the May 2021 cybersecurity executive order and improve transparency and security of software supply chains and federal networks.

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DOE Grants Funding to 10 Private-Public Fusion Energy Research Projects
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DOE Grants Funding to 10 Private-Public Fusion Energy Research Projects

The Department of Energy is funding 10 private-public partnership projects to help push fusion energy development forward.

Industry partners have committed a 20 percent cost share of the awards, which were granted through the DOE Office of Science’s Innovation Network for Fusion Energy program, the agency said Tuesday.

DOE is distributing one- or two-year awards worth between $50,000 and $500,000, bringing the cumulative funding value to $2.3 million. They will team up their national laboratories with companies including General Atomics, Tokamak, Focused Energy, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Energy Driven Technologies, Princeton Stellarators, and Type One Energy.

The initiative comes a month after researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved the first fusion ignition in a laboratory setting.

“We were elated when the team at Livermore delivered the news that they had achieved fusion ignition, and we knew that was just the beginning,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said. “The companies and DOE scientists will build on advances from the National Labs with the entrepreneurial spirit of the private sector to advance our understanding of fusion.”

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