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Lindsey Saul on DLA’s Enterprise Data Management, Information Visualization Evaluation Efforts
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Lindsey Saul on DLA’s Enterprise Data Management, Information Visualization Evaluation Efforts

Lindsey Saul, chief data and analytics officer at the Defense Logistics Agency, said DLA is working to build up an enterprise data management division to raise the agency’s data maturity level from two to three, Federal News Network reported Monday.

“In today’s day and age, where data is is deemed a weapon — or they even say data analytics platform is almost like a weapon system of the future for the Department of Defense — we really need to be prepared and equipped to have access to our data very quickly, be able to understand our data, and not do what we’ve done in the past, which is really rely on a single person who has all of the knowledge,” Saul said during a webinar Thursday.

“And instead, we need to make sure that it’s well documented, we have the right data dictionaries in place, the correct metadata and metadata management tools to link the lineage of the data to the present day,” she added.

Saul discussed how data management and access enabled DLA to speed up the development of applications in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Ukraine crisis.

She also cited DLA’s work on the Information Visualization Evaluation program using the Department of Defense’s Advana analytics tool and how the initiative provides the agency with insights over the logistics of fuels, operational rations and other items.

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Battelle Seeks to Eliminate Source of Contaminated Drinking Water With Closed-Loop Tech
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Battelle Seeks to Eliminate Source of Contaminated Drinking Water With Closed-Loop Tech

Battelle expects to be operational by June 2023 at least four units of a closed-loop, on-site platform designed to destroy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in contaminated water.

The PFAS Annihilator can target and remove the source of contaminated drinking water by breaking down PFAS chemicals to non-detectable levels using the supercritical water oxidation process, the nonprofit research and development company said Sunday.

Also known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are used in non-stick cookware, food packaging, paint, cosmetics and other industrial and consumer products but are capable of resisting water, heat and oil, making them hard to eliminate from the environment.

Battelle said its platform will be deployed in North Carolina in the summer to destroy PFAS in firefighting foam, also called aqueous film forming foam.

In March, Battelle performed a pilot demonstration of the technology at a wastewater treatment facility run by Heritage-Crystal Clean in Michigan and showed the capability of the platform in eradicating PFAS in landfill leachate.

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House Armed Services Panel to Consider Chairman’s Mark for FY 2023 NDAA
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House Armed Services Panel to Consider Chairman’s Mark for FY 2023 NDAA

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has released his proposed fiscal year 2023 defense policy bill that would authorize $772.5 billion in funding for the Department of Defense.

HASC is set to consider Smith’s FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday, June 22, the House panel said Monday.

“This mark supports investments in the alliances and partnerships that the United States needs to help meet these challenges, including more than $6 billion in funding for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative and nearly $4 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative,” Smith said.

The proposal supports a 4.6 percent salary increase for warfighters and authorizes $131.3 billion in research and development funding across the national security enterprise, according to a summary of the chairman’s mark.

The measure would codify and make permanent DOD’s Mentor-Protege program to improve the defense industrial base’s resiliency, require a report on the supply chain for the Improved Turbine Engine program and enhance sustainment planning for major weapon systems acquisitions.

The bill would require the secretary of DOD to submit a plan with regard to the expansion of the Shared Early Warning System program to additional countries and assess the department’s hypersonic testing infrastructure.

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Neptune Receives Energy Department Contract for West Valley Project Support
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Neptune Receives Energy Department Contract for West Valley Project Support

Neptune and Company will perform a range of services in support of a Department of Energy project in West Valley, New York, under a five-year, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract.

The contractor is tasked to work on the Phase 2 decommissioning decision making effort for the West Valley Demonstration Project and the Western New York Nuclear Service Center, DOE said Thursday.

Under the potential $8 million IDIQ, Neptune will develop a model for probabilistic performance assessment and analyze proposed decommissioning alternatives to come up with a statistical decision. Task orders will be awarded as part of the contract.

DOE and the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority provided funding for the award. They also both manage the contract, which was awarded by the department’s Office of Environmental Management.

Neptune offers decision analysis, radiological performance assessment, environmental modeling, statistics and risk assessment as well as quality assurance to nonprofits and public and private customers.

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State Secretary Antony Blinken Announces Members of Foreign Affairs Policy Board
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State Secretary Antony Blinken Announces Members of Foreign Affairs Policy Board

Antony Blinken, secretary of the State Department and a 2021 Wash100 Award recipient, has named new members of an advisory board that provides advice on U.S. foreign policy concerns.

Thomas Donilon, chairman of the BlackRock Investment Institute who served as national security adviser during the Obama administration, and Cecilia Muñoz, former director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, will co-chair the Foreign Affairs Policy Board, the State Department said Friday.

Donilon and Muñoz will lead the advisory board in assessing pressing foreign policy issues such as climate change, global health, cybersecurity and emerging technologies, international economics and strategic competition with China.

Members of the Foreign Affairs Policy Board are:

  • David Autor, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Sameer Bhalotra, co-founder and CEO of ActZero
  • Hal Brands, professor of global affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
  • Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  • Mitchell Daniels, Jr., president of Purdue University
  • Janine Davidson, president of Metropolitan State University of Denver
  • Cathy Feingold, director of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations’ International Department
  • Dr. Margaret Hamburg, chair of the Nuclear Threat Initiative’s Bio Advisory Group
  • Jon Huntsman, vice chair of Ford Motor Company
  • Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, co-founder of Urban Ocean Lab
  • Ambassador Kristie Kenney, adjunct professor at Georgetown University
  • Gilman Louie, CEO and co-founder of America’s Frontier Fund
  • Katherine Maher, former CEO and executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation
  • James Manyika, senior vice president at Google
  • Meghan O’Sullivan, former deputy national security adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan
  • Annise Parker, former mayor of Houston
  • Vincent Stewart, chief inclusion and innovation officer for Ankura and the founder and CEO of Stewart Global Solutions
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DOE Awards $58M in Funding to Advance Clean Energy Technology Development
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DOE Awards $58M in Funding to Advance Clean Energy Technology Development

The Department of Energy has selected 30 projects to receive funding worth a total of $57.9 million from the Advanced Manufacturing Office to decarbonize the U.S. industrial sector and advance clean energy manufacturing practices across the industry.

DOE said Thursday the research projects, led by industry partners, universities and the national laboratories, will result in the development of technological innovations designed to support the Biden administration’s goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

“Decarbonizing American industry while expanding our capacity to manufacture clean energy technologies is the surest way to meet the nation’s climate and economic goals,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

The research projects will focus on three main topics: manufacturing process innovation, advanced materials manufacturing and energy systems.

In a separate announcement, DOE said 10 projects were awarded a total of $25.8 million to develop next-generation manufacturing processes for reducing carbon emissions of energy-intensive industries.

Fourteen projects were selected for a $24.6 million funding grant to develop and produce materials designed to reduce the operating costs of wind turbines and extend the life of hydrogen components.

The remaining six research projects will create “innovative manufacturing processes for lithium-ion batteries to enhance safety and reduce cost and time-to-market” under a $7.5 million funding grant.

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KBR JV Receives From BP Exploration to Reduce Carbon Footprint in Azerbaijan; Jay Ibrahim Quoted
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KBR JV Receives From BP Exploration to Reduce Carbon Footprint in Azerbaijan; Jay Ibrahim Quoted

KBR announced on Monday that the company’s SOCAR-KBR joint venture has been awarded a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract from BP Exploration to develop the Shah Deniz Alpha (SDA) platform in Azerbaijan.

“KBR has been working in the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey region since 1993, which gives us unrivaled expertise with on- and off-shore greenfield and brownfield assets,” said Jay Ibrahim, president of KBR Sustainable Technology Solutions. 

SOCAR-KBR will work to maximize local execution and significantly reduce SDA’s overall carbon footprint and increase operational efficiency to provide a robust, long-term, high-availability power supply. 

SOCAR-KBR will be responsible for the FEED services for decommissioning the existing five main power generators on the SDA platform. They will also create a power supply from the KBR-designed Shah Deniz Bravo platform. 

The workforce for the SOCAR-KBR team will feature 95 percent Azerbaijani engineers as well as specialist subject matter expert support provided from KBR’s London operations.

“Our SOCAR-KBR joint venture allows us to combine KBR’s proven tools, systems, procedures and project track record in the region with SOCAR’s operations knowledge and experience in the energy sector,” Jay Ibrahim added.

About KBR

We deliver science, technology and engineering solutions to governments and companies around the world. KBR employs approximately 28,000 people performing diverse, complex and mission critical roles in 34 countries.

KBR is proud to work with its customers across the globe to provide technology, value-added services, and long- term operations and maintenance services to ensure consistent delivery with predictable results. At KBR, We Deliver.

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Michael Baker International to Deliver F-35B Aircraft Maintenance Hangar at MCAS Cherry Point; John Alberghini Quoted
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Michael Baker International to Deliver F-35B Aircraft Maintenance Hangar at MCAS Cherry Point; John Alberghini Quoted

Michael Baker International announced on Monday that the global ladder in engineering, planning and consulting services has been selected to be a part of the design-team set to deliver a new F-35B aircraft maintenance hangar at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina.

“With the addition of this aircraft maintenance hangar to the installation, MCAS Cherry Point continues their progress in transitioning to the 5th generation capability F-35B Lightning II aircraft and securing U.S. air supremacy moving into the coming decades,” said John Alberghini, national market lead for the U.S. Navy at Michael Baker International.

Under the F-35 maintenance hangar project, where Michael Baker will serve as a subconsultant to Walsh Federal LLC, the work will include the design and construction of a two-story low-rise Type 1 maintenance hangar for the F-35B Lightning II aircraft. Michael Baker will provide design services through April 2023 and construction administration support through 2025.

The hangar’s special design and construction features will include aircraft maintenance workstations, hangar workstation kiosks, alarm systems, communication connections at aircraft parking locations, seismic construction, hazardous material storage areas, explosive material storage areas, sound attenuation and vaults.

“Michael Baker has a legacy of service to the U.S. federal government dating back to 1940 and our work on this project, in conjunction with our partners at Walsh Federal LLC, represents our latest effort in supporting the U.S. military’s stateside and global missions,” John Alberghini added.

The project will also include taxiway remarking and the renovation of existing aircraft parking aprons to provide electrical grounding, workstation kiosks and sunshades. 

About Michael Baker International 

Michael Baker International is a leading provider of engineering and consulting services with practices that encompass all facets of infrastructure, including design, civil engineering, planning, architecture, environmental, construction and program management and design-build project delivery. 

For more than 80 years, the company has been a trusted partner to commercial clients, all branches of the military and federal, state and municipal governments, providing comprehensive services and solutions. 

Marine Corps Posts RFI for Aviation Training System Support
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Marine Corps Posts RFI for Aviation Training System Support

The U.S. Marine Corps is seeking input from certified 8(a) small businesses on support services for aviation training systems needed by the Training & Education Command, Marine Air Ground Task Force, Training and Education Standards Division.

In a request for information notice posted on SAM.gov, USMC said the market research is for analytical, technical and operational support required during military aviation training operations.

The service branch is looking for potential sources of capabilities for tracking and analyzing operational and training data, using the Systems Approach to Training & Education, developing or revising Core Competency Resource Model products, coordinating operational and training requirements and leveraging web-based methods in support of Marine Aviation Training System Sites, among other needed capabilities.

Responses to the RFI are due July 13.

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Mitre’s Dave Powner, Mark Peters: FISMA Reform Should Align White House, Congress Cyber Policies
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Mitre’s Dave Powner, Mark Peters: FISMA Reform Should Align White House, Congress Cyber Policies

Dave Powner and Mark Peters, respectively an executive director and a cyber specialist at Mitre, said they believe Congress should align proposed legislation to reform the Federal Information Security Modernization Act with cybersecurity priorities and strategies from the White House.

“The top area where Congress and the administration need to align is zero-trust implementation,” Powner and Peters wrote in a joint guest piece for Nextgov published Friday.

They noted a codification of zero trust principles would drive a sustainable and consistent approach to cybersecurity across the federal government and urged lawmakers to simplify auditing, reporting and oversight of security practices at agencies.

Powner and Peters cited an October 2021 technical paper that suggested eight ways government could transform system implementation, maintenance and protection.

“As H.R. 6497 moves toward the floor, there are opportunities to incorporate these recommendations into the bill and to work for their inclusion into any negotiated conference bill.”

They added that cyber defense, supply chain risk management and threat-hunting efforts are key to improving the prevention and detection of security incidents in the government.

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