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DOE to Release 30M Barrels of Oil From Strategic Petroleum Reserve; Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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DOE to Release 30M Barrels of Oil From Strategic Petroleum Reserve; Jennifer Granholm Quoted

The Department of Energy will release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve 30 million barrels of crude oil for emergency sale to address supply and market disruptions associated with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

DOE said Wednesday the move is part of a coordinated effort of the U.S. and other International Energy Agency member countries to make an initial 60 million barrels of oil available to the market to help mitigate supply challenges related to Russia’s military attacks on Ukraine.

According to the department, companies registered in the Crude Oil Sales Offer Program are eligible to take part in the emergency sale.

DOE announced the notice after President Joe Biden authorized Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to make the commitment with regard to the deployment of oil from strategic reserves.

“We stand prepared to take additional measures if conditions warrant,” Granholm said. “We will continue advancing ongoing efforts to accelerate Europe’s diversification of energy supplies away from Russia and to secure the world from Putin’s attempts to weaponize energy supplies.

She also highlighted the need to invest in clean energy to reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas.

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Navy’s Fire Scout Mine Countermeasure Payload Set for Spring Demonstration
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Navy’s Fire Scout Mine Countermeasure Payload Set for Spring Demonstration

The U.S. Navy is planning to demonstrate a new mine countermeasure sensor payload built by BAE Systems for its intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting unmanned helicopters in spring

The Naval Air Systems Command said Wednesday the Single System Multi-Mission Airborne Mine Detection payload will look for mines in shallow and deep water onboard the MQ-8C Fire Scout aircraft in Panama City, Florida.

SMAMD, MQ-8C’s first mine countermeasure system and its heaviest payload, will provide servicemen the capability to scan for mines and obstacles on land and at sea and analyze visual information onboard an aircraft in real time.

Capt. Thomas Lansley, the Navy’s Fire Scout program director, pointed out that a mine warfare technology would help reduce risks for vessels traversing in littoral waters.

Results of the demonstration will validate the ability of the MQ-8C to operate a podded MCM system without any impact on its performance.

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FedRAMP Tasked to Ensure Vulnerability Testing on Commercial Cloud Systems Under Zero Trust Strategy
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FedRAMP Tasked to Ensure Vulnerability Testing on Commercial Cloud Systems Under Zero Trust Strategy

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program received in January its role in the implementation of a zero trust approach to cybersecurity across the federal government.

Citing an Office of Management and Budget strategy document, FedRAMP said Wednesday it will work to ensure that federal agencies can authorize vulnerability testing on commercial cloud applications and infrastructure hosted on contractors’ platforms.

Such authorization would help agencies in identifying and remediating application vulnerabilities by themselves and asking the general public to find weaknesses in their cloud technologies.

Under the federal strategy on zero trust, government organizations must migrate to a cloud-based infrastructure in which systems, users and devices will be verified every time they attempt to access information to detect cyber attacks.

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NIST Issues $54M in Grants for Manufacturing Projects on Pandemic Response
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NIST Issues $54M in Grants for Manufacturing Projects on Pandemic Response

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is investing a total of almost $54 million in 13 research and development projects focused on how manufacturing can support pandemic response. 

These projects run at eight manufacturing innovation institutes in the Manufacturing USA network, with the cooperation of over 80 partners including small and large businesses, nonprofits and universities, NIST said Monday. The American Rescue Act provided the funds for these grants.

Tackled topics include disposable photonics-based point-of-care sensors, a decision framework for robotics and automation, a domestic supply chain for vaccine manufacturing and the scaling of advanced respirator production.

Manufacturing USA consists of public-private partnerships specializing in advanced manufacturing applications, such as robotics, chip production and additive manufacturing.

Grant recipients under NIST’s new investment include the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, BioMADE, North Carolina State University and Advanced Functional Fabrics of America.

“Rebuilding our manufacturing economy is an essential component to strengthening our communities and creating opportunity for all Americans,” said Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce.

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Palantir Technologies, Jacobs Launch Global Strategic Partnership for Data Solutions; Steve Demetriou Quoted
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Palantir Technologies, Jacobs Launch Global Strategic Partnership for Data Solutions; Steve Demetriou Quoted

Jacobs and Palantir Technologies announced on Wednesday that the two companies have formed a strategic collaboration in order to target data and technology solutions for the challenges in the infrastructure and national security markets.

“Jacobs’ leadership in the water sector and proven Industrial AI and software solutions, combined with Palantir’s best-in-class platform, will deliver innovative solutions to our global network of water infrastructure clients,” said Jacobs Chair and CEO Steve Demetriou. “And in the process, unlock new opportunities to create a more connected and sustainable world.”

The immediate focus between the two companies will focus on the water sector, which involves the launch of a joint data analytics offering to support public and private sector clients in solving their most complex water infrastructure problems. 

In addition, Jacobs and Palantir are collaborating to develop solutions to respond to the critical data and cybersecurity challenges as well as managing and optimizing water and wastewater treatment plant operations. 

“Palantir is proud to partner with Jacobs to revolutionize water treatment and looks forward to working together across sectors tackling the world’s most pressing problems,” said Palantir CEO Alex Karp. “Jacobs’ vision, technical expertise and speed of execution make Jacobs an ideal partner for Palantir.”

Jacobs will leverage its existing O&M portfolio, as well as proprietary machine learning modules and wastewater process optimization tools, and combine their capabilities with the Palantir Foundry operating system, which connects day-to-day site operations with AI to optimize power, chemical usage and asset management.

The expectation is the combined analytics and insights from Jacobs and Palantir will help increase plant performance, reduce lifecycle costs and secure plants from cyber threats while supporting regulatory compliance and realization of ESG goals.

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Kelly Fletcher Named DOD Principal Deputy CIO
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Kelly Fletcher Named DOD Principal Deputy CIO

Kelly Fletcher, who has been serving within the Department of Defense’s office of the chief information officer since February 2020, has been appointed permanent principal deputy CIO at DOD.

She most recently performed the duties of DOD CIO and acting principal deputy CIO, the department’s CIO office said in a LinkedIn post Wednesday.

Fletcher, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, previously served as principal director for the deputy CIO for resources and analysis at the Pentagon.

Prior to DOD, she held the roles of deputy director for program analysis and evaluation at the Department of Homeland Security, acting CIO and business modernization lead at the Department of the Navy and special assistant to the deputy director at the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s cost assessment and program evaluation office.

POC - 3rd Annual CIO Summit

Join the Potomac Officers Club for its 3rd Annual CIO Summit on April 26 to hear government and industry CIOs exchange insights on current challenges and priorities as they advance modernization initiatives. Visit the Potomac Officers Club site to learn more about this event and view POC’s full calendar.

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DARPA Seeks Neuroscience Tool for Warfighter Health Screening Programs
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DARPA Seeks Neuroscience Tool for Warfighter Health Screening Programs

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has introduced a program with the goal of developing technology to help clinicians assess the behavioral and mental health of active-duty service members and veterans through preconscious thinking activity.

DARPA said Wednesday it intends for the Neural Evidence Aggregation Tool to augment current military health screening methods that use questions that a soldier could answer with filtered responses from their conscious mind.

The agency is scheduled to host a virtual event on March 15 to brief potential proposers on the NEAT program and expects to post a broad agency announcement on the SAM website in the coming weeks.

“Using the preconscious will hopefully enable us to detect signs of depression, anxiety, or suicidal ideation earlier and more reliably than ever before,” said Greg Witkop, a program manager at DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office.

“If successful, NEAT will not only significantly augment behavioral health screening, but it could also serve as a new way to assess ultimate treatment efficacy, since patients will often tell their clinicians what they think the clinician wants to hear rather than how they are truly feeling.”

The program covers a proof of concept phase that will run for 24 months and an operational setting phase that will last for 18 months.

DARPA plans to appoint an independent group to advise both agency personnel and contractors on ethical, legal and societal matters in connection with the cognitive science tool development effort.

The agency hopes to attract professional teams in the cognitive science, bioengineering, and machine learning disciplines to work in the program’s research and development and validation and verification areas.

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AECOM Secures Air Force Academy Master Planning Work
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AECOM Secures Air Force Academy Master Planning Work

AECOM has received a sole-source contract to create a master plan and conceptual designs for the Department of the Air Force’s military academy development project.

The company said Wednesday it will analyze spatial data, perform cost estimation, plan for sustainability, recommend historic preservation methods and initiate a public outreach campaign to help modernize the Air Force Academy as part of the indefinite-quantity/indefinite-delivery contract.

“As the U.S. embarks on a historic period of infrastructure investment, we’re pleased to further our enduring relationship with the federal government and offer USAFA the strength and capacity of our local technical team combined with our global network of professionals to deliver comprehensive integrated services that will help the Academy further its mission in education, athletics, and training,” said AECOM President Lara Poloni.

USAFA serves as a campus for training basic cadets of the Air Force and Space Force.

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Biden Cites Need to Boost Domestic Manufacturing in State of the Union Address
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Biden Cites Need to Boost Domestic Manufacturing in State of the Union Address

President Biden’s first State of the Union address highlighted the need to increase domestic manufacturing to fight higher prices of goods and cited the coordinated actions of the U.S. and its allies in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure climbed 5.2 percent in January, the highest since April 1983. Biden said domestic production of semiconductors and automobiles should be ramped up and the country’s bridges and roads should be rebuilt to counter inflation.

“Economists call it ‘increasing the productive capacity of our economy.’ I call it building a better America,” the president said.

He cited the passage of the COVID-19 relief measure and bipartisan infrastructure bill in 2021 and called on Congress to introduce bills that would reduce the price of electric vehicles and provide investments and tax credits to help weatherize businesses and homes as part of efforts to cut energy costs.

Biden announced that the U.S. would ban all Russian flights from entering U.S. airspace and form a task force within the Department of Justice to pursue Russian oligarchs as part of additional economic measures against Russia.

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US Government Continues to Target Russia’s Defense Sector, Oil Refining Capacity With New Sanctions
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US Government Continues to Target Russia’s Defense Sector, Oil Refining Capacity With New Sanctions

The Biden administration has imposed full blocking sanctions on 22 Russian defense entities, including those that produce combat aircraft, missiles, infantry fighting vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare systems, as part of additional economic measures in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Department of Commerce will implement restrictions on technology exports that support Russia’s oil refining capacity and extend to Belarus export control restrictions that were imposed on Russia to “degrade both countries’ ability to sustain their military aggression and project power,” according to a White House fact sheet published Wednesday.

Other measures are adding to the entity list organizations that have contributed to the military, defense and security sectors of Russia and Belarus and closing off U.S. airspace to all Russian flights as part of efforts to further isolate and put additional economic costs on Russia.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. offered $350 million in military aid to Ukraine to help the latter counter airborne, armored and other threats as a result of Russia’s invasion. 

“That brings our total security assistance to Ukraine in the past year to more than $1 billion – more than in any previous year,” Blinken, a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, said in his remarks Wednesday.

On Monday, the Department of the Treasury prohibited U.S. citizens from conducting transactions involving Russia’s central bank, national wealth fund and finance ministry as part of additional economic sanctions on Russia’s financial institutions.

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