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B&A CGO Michael Polmar Highlights Importance of Close Public-Private Partnerships in Government Innovation
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B&A CGO Michael Polmar Highlights Importance of Close Public-Private Partnerships in Government Innovation

Bart & Associates’ Chief Growth Officer, Michael Polmar, sat down recently with the Potomac Officers Club to discuss the pillars of his executive leadership style, the challenges of staying ahead of rapid technological advancements and the changes he would enact within the GovCon landscape to better facilitate innovation. Polmar joined B&A in April 2022 after serving as CEO of PCI Technology Services.

In this excerpt from his Executive Spotlight interview, B&A’s Michael Polmar shared the importance of close collaboration in the federal government’s modernization and innovation efforts:

“One of the key challenges for injecting innovation into any effort from a business perspective is determining the value of that innovation to the client. It is critical that industry understands the value that U.S. government decision makers assign for specific innovations. This is not always apparent in the procurement process, nor through the contract lifecycle. There are often disconnects, which make it more difficult for the government customer to take full advantage of innovations being offered by industry. Consistent and detailed communications between government decision makers and industry, especially new market entrants, will help ensure that industry fully understands where clients want innovation and how they value it.”

Click here to read the full interview with B&A’s Michael Polmar, and visit PotomacOfficersClub.com to learn more about the platform’s membership options and benefits.

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12 Teams From U.S., U.K. Win in Phase 1 of Privacy-Enhancing Tech Prize Challenges
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12 Teams From U.S., U.K. Win in Phase 1 of Privacy-Enhancing Tech Prize Challenges

Twelve groups won in the initial phase of the U.K-U.S. privacy-enhancing technologies prize challenges for proposing platforms that can either improve financial crime detection or predict infection risk levels in people in the event of a pandemic.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, one of the administrators of the PET prize challenge, said Thursday that the competition’s goal is to encourage the creation of artificial intelligence technologies that can manage sensitive data without violating privacy laws.

Aside from NIST, the challenges were prepared by the U.K. Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, Innovate UK, the U.S. White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the U.S. National Science Foundation.

The agencies reviewed 76 technical paper submissions vying for the $1.6 million prize pool. The chosen entries received a combined total of $157,000 for Phase 1 of the competition.

For the U.S. challenge, one of the winning teams comprised of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Harvard Business School, the University of Texas Austin, and the University of Toronto. Two other prizes went to representatives of IBM Research and machine learning software developer Inpher.

The winning organizations in the U.K. are:

  • Corvus Research Limited
  • Diagonal Works
  • GMV
  • Faculty
  • Featurespace Limited
  • OpenMined and DeepMind
  • Privitar Limited
  • University of Cambridge
  • University of Liverpool

“AI is driving rapid technology change that is based on ever-increasing amounts of disparate data, making privacy-enhancing technologies increasingly important,” said Laurie Locascio, under secretary of Commerce for standards and technology and director of NIST. “The U.S.-U.K. PET prize challenge provides a global venue to build and showcase cutting-edge and scalable solutions that respect human rights and civil liberties,” she commented.

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CAES Teams Up with Nonprofit to Support Disabled Veterans; Mike Kahn Quoted
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CAES Teams Up with Nonprofit to Support Disabled Veterans; Mike Kahn Quoted

CAES, an aerospace and defense systems provider, has partnered with Homes for Our Troops, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building and donating custom homes tailored to the needs of injured post-9/11 veterans.

As a partner to the organization, CAES aims to raise awareness for Homes for Our Troops’ mission and support the construction of new homes for qualified veterans, the Arlington, Virginia-based company announced on Friday.

“Supporting the warfighter is at the heart of what we do at CAES, and we’re honored to be partnering with an organization that extends this mission to when our servicemen and women return home,” said Mike Kahn, president and CEO of CAES and two-time Wash100 Award winner.

To support injured veterans even after they move into their new homes, Homes for Our Troops provides a pro-bono financial planner to aid in financial planning and budgeting for three years. Additionally, those aided by the nonprofit receive homeownership education and warranty coverage to empower long-term success.

The organization is also connected to a large network of other nonprofits, corporations and government entities that provide support for employment, education, health and other areas.

Tom Landwermeyer, president and CEO of Homes for Our Troops, expressed his excitement for the new partnership.

“The company’s enthusiasm for our cause – which I witnessed personally at the recent Association of the United States Army conference – will generate more awareness, enabling us to advance our mission of Building Homes and Rebuilding Lives,” he stated.

A video released by CAES highlighted the thoughts of a family who received a home, who emphasized the custom home’s role in encouraging family togetherness. They also commented on the benefits of accessibility features in allowing disabled veterans to perform daily tasks and partake in their hobbies.

Landwermeyer additionally stressed the importance of the partnership in the video.

“We couldn’t do what we do without patriotic individuals and patriotic organizations like CAES. It’s only through that support that we can continue to build these homes and put them on the ground for these veterans and their families,” Landwermeyer shared.

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Deloitte Report: US Government Can Help Drive Faster AI Innovation
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Deloitte Report: US Government Can Help Drive Faster AI Innovation

The U.S. government should address high computing costs, low quality of data, skilled workforce shortage and obstacles in federal contracting to accelerate artificial intelligence innovation, according to a Deloitte report published Wednesday on The Wall Street Journal.

Deloitte Principal Tasha Austin and senior data science consultant Kevin Lubin wrote in their joint article that the government should incentivize large companies to share their computing infrastructure with emerging tech providers in order to reduce processing time in securing certifications, such as the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program.

They said that startups can also speed up commercialization if they prioritize application development over seeking FedRAMP authorization.

Austin and Lubin highlighted the importance of overseas talent in meeting the demand for AI-skilled workers in the U.S. Federal agencies can conduct rigorous student visa application screenings as a security measure.

Their report noted AI innovation can thrive through a consortium similar to the European Union Partnership on AI, Data and Robotics to attract investments while encouraging collaboration between the industry and academia.

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NRL Completes Component-Level Tests on Robotic Servicing Payload for GEO Satellites
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NRL Completes Component-Level Tests on Robotic Servicing Payload for GEO Satellites

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s Naval Center for Space Technology has completed component-level tests on a robotic servicing payload designed to inspect and service commercial and government satellites in geosynchronous Earth orbit.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites payload has two robotic arms outfitted with control electronics, multiple robotic tools, cameras and lighting and a robotic tool changer to perform diagnostics, repairs and upgrades to GEO satellites, NRL reported Wednesday.

During the series of tests, NRL engineers determined the performance of the first assembled arm when subjected to simulated extreme temperature and vacuum of space.

The robotic arm system also underwent electromagnetic interference chamber testing.

The second arm is currently going through motion performance testing and is set to complete environmental testing in the fall. 

DARPA expects to launch the payload to GEO onboard a Northrop Grumman mission robotic vehicle bus for a demonstration mission in 2024.

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DOD Pilot Program Aims to Enable Employee-Owned Businesses to Receive Follow-On Contracts
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DOD Pilot Program Aims to Enable Employee-Owned Businesses to Receive Follow-On Contracts

The Department of Defense has created a pilot program to allow DOD contracting officers to award sole-source, follow-on contracts to employee-owned businesses.

Section 874 of the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the pilot program, which will run through Dec. 7, 2026, according to a memorandum signed by John Tenaglia, principal director of defense pricing and contracting at the office of DOD undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment.

Defense contracting officers looking to take part in the program should secure approval from DPC for each contract proposed for award under the pilot, come up with a justification and approval for each approved contract and award the contracts without conducting a full-and-open competition no later than Aug. 31, 2023.

Employee-owned companies must have a minimum performance rating of “satisfactory” in their predecessor contracts to be eligible for a contract award under the pilot program.

According to the memo, DPC will accept submissions from qualified businesses through April 28, 2023, or until it clears nine contracts for award through the program.

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Sharon Woods: DISA Strives to Speed Up Cloud-Based Tech Delivery via Industry Partnerships
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Sharon Woods: DISA Strives to Speed Up Cloud-Based Tech Delivery via Industry Partnerships

Sharon Woods, director of the hosting and compute center at the Defense Information Systems Agency, said DISA intends to expand partnerships with industry to accelerate the delivery of new cloud-based platforms to warfighters, FCW reported Wednesday.

Woods said DISA is working on a fourth cooperative research and development agreement to come up with infrastructure code equipped with pre-configured, pre-accredited baselines to enable service personnel to develop cloud environments within hours instead of weeks or months.

“That’s a really critical capability so that mission partners can get into the cloud quickly,” she said at an event Wednesday.

Woods said her center has been working to align offerings with DISA’s strategic plan for 2022 through 2024 and collaborating with the military and industry to determine private cloud services that could be fielded.

According to the report, DISA’s hosting and computer center is developing DevSecOps tools to enhance software development and testing on-premise containers as a service to deliver automated configuration controls, security patching and other offerings.

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Biden Administration Plans Amendments to Presidential Policy on Critical Infrastructure Security & Resilience
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Biden Administration Plans Amendments to Presidential Policy on Critical Infrastructure Security & Resilience

President Joe Biden told Congress that his administration will initiate a process to review the existing presidential policy directive on the security and resilience of the country’s critical infrastructure.

In his note to selected congressional leaders, Biden said the policy is due for an update as U.S. infrastructure increasingly adopts digitalization and automation.

Since the enactment of the directive in 2013, security threats have evolved and become more sophisticated. Revisions would protect critical facilities from being compromised by U.S. adversaries, foster private-public partnerships, and tailor a more environmentally friendly approach to automation, Biden said.

The plan would involve the Sector Risk Management Agencies of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, guided by the National Security Council and the Office of the National Cyber Director.

The national effort essentially endorses the recommendations of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas submitted in November 2021.

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CGI’s Momentum Java Cryptographic Module Earns FIPS Certification; John Owens Quoted
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CGI’s Momentum Java Cryptographic Module Earns FIPS Certification; John Owens Quoted

CGI Federal‘s Momentum Java Cryptographic Module has been granted a Federal Information Processing Standards certification, which validates the software’s capability to protect classified federal data.

The certification was issued following a comprehensive security assessment performed by SafeLogic, an accredited third party lab, the Fairfax, Virginia-based company announced on Wednesday.

John Owens, senior vice president and Enterprise Solutions Group head at CGI Federal, emphasized the intensity of the evaluation used to certify the module.

“The rigorous certification process, which includes an independent lab test that searches for flaws in the software, provides added, tested security that ensures our enterprise resource planning solution meets modern security threats, whether data is active or at rest,” he stated.

The Java Cryptographic Module enables CGI’s Momentum product suite to implement numerous cryptographic algorithms including Suite B algorithms, which are used by the National Security Agency to safeguard both classified and unclassified national security systems and information.

Services provided by the module include data at rest encryption, data in transit encryption, PKI key management, digital signature generation and other cryptography processes.

Saidul Islam, CGI Federal’s director of Momentum and product security, highlighted the importance of strong cryptography in implementing zero trust architecture.

“The use of a validated crypto module in the Momentum product suite helps our customers as they go through their ZTA journeys in line with federal mandates,” said the director.

Time constraints for the implementation of zero trust architecture were issued in a May 2021 executive order, requiring federal civilian executive branch agencies to have established zero trust safety measures by the end of September 2024.

Standards organizations must meet to fully establish zero trust focus on the constant monitoring of data access, multi-factor authentication and the modernization of encryption methods.

The Java Cryptographic Module’s certification follows the company’s previous FIPS validation for its Momentum C++ Cryptography Module and runs through April 2024.

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NOAA Weather Prediction Data Strengthened via L3Harris Tool; Rob Mitrevski Quoted
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NOAA Weather Prediction Data Strengthened via L3Harris Tool; Rob Mitrevski Quoted

A new tool that boosts satellite weather forecasting capabilities and built by aerospace and defense contractor L3Harris Technologies has launched on a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessel now in orbit.

The Cross-Track Infrared Sounder is expected to help the NOAA improve the exactitude of its short-term weather condition predictions as well as anticipate extreme weather scenarios such as tornadoes and hurricanes, the Melbourne, Florida-based company said Thursday.

Rob Mitrevski, vice president and general manager of spectral solutions within the space and airborne systems division of L3Harris, commented that, if successful, the CrIS instrument will help save lives and avoid damages from weather-based natural disasters through its enhancements in accuracy.

L3Harris’ tool is on board the NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System-2 weather satellite, which undertakes 14 orbits of the earth daily. The CrIS is a hyperspectral sounder that acts as a sensor, amassing infrared data that assists with both immediate and long-term forecasts. It can access more than 2,000 infrared channels and additionally has the capacity to contribute to environmental and climate projections along with greenhouse gas concentration information.

Specifically, the CrIS gathers temperature and water vapor data that is understood to be more precise than that of previously used technologies. It is slated to help the NOAA complete its mission of better preparing the U.S. population for upcoming shifts in weather.

In the future, it has been reported the CrIS will be incorporated on JPSS-3 and JPSS-4. The series is comprised of environmental machines born from a collaboration between NOAA and NASA, with the next iterations set to take flight in 2027 and 2032, sequentially.

A number of other L3Harris products are also present on the JPPS-2, like X-band and Ka-band payloads which convey images and critical information; a package of rocket launch avionics; and S-band transceiver uplinks.

The partnership between L3Harris and NOAA comes after another satellite-related transaction: the former organization’s $700 million July contract award from the Space Development Agency for the production of a fleet of Tranche 1 Tracking Layer satellites.

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