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IonQ, Pacific Northwest Lab Generate Barium Qubit Source for Ion-Powered Quantum Computers
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IonQ, Pacific Northwest Lab Generate Barium Qubit Source for Ion-Powered Quantum Computers

A joint IonQ and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory team has produced a source of barium ions that the Maryland-based company believes could help in the commercialization of quantum computing technologies.

IonQ said Thursday the domestic source generates enough sustainable amounts of barium qubits, core components powering its quantum computers, to support an increase in its systems manufacturing operations perpetually.

According to the company, the public-private partnership also managed to shrink a barium material to a microscopic scale that could open the possibilities for smaller core system components and, in turn, quantum computers small enough to network with each other.

“IonQ’s work with PNNL to secure the domestic supply chain of IonQ’s quantum computing qubits is a fundamental step in the mass commercialization of quantum computing,” noted Peter Chapman, president and CEO of IonQ.

The partnership is part of various efforts to expand the company’s manufacturing work within the Pacific Northwest region. IonQ computers are designed to use trapped atoms, unlike the traditional synthetic quantum systems, to compute for complex math equations.

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T-Rex, NGA Partner to Bolster Geospatial Workforce, Tech Development
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T-Rex, NGA Partner to Bolster Geospatial Workforce, Tech Development

T-Rex’s innovation and entrepreneur center will help the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency develop technology and a corresponding workforce to address modern national security challenges.

NGA said Thursday it will work with T-Rex’s St. Louis, Missouri-based center under a partnership intermediary agreement signed the same day.

The PIA aims to establish a repository of unclassified imagery for academic and industry engagement, harness the expertise of academic researchers and boost the capacity for science, technology, engineering and mathematics in underserved communities.

“We are excited to partner with T-Rex and explore ways to leverage the deep ties T-rex has within the geospatial sector,” said Phil Chudoba, associate director for capabilities at NGA.

The agency can use PIAs to partner with companies, small businesses and non-traditional organizations to drive technology transfers.

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NOAA Releases Commercial Space Object Tracking Sources Sought Notice
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NOAA Releases Commercial Space Object Tracking Sources Sought Notice

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Space Commerce is looking for commercial sensors and tracking technologies that can be used to monitor objects orbiting Earth.

OSC plans to tap private companies to support the development of an open architecture data repository to provide commercial space situational awareness and fill in gaps in the government’s object-tracking capabilities, according to a sources sought notice on SAM.gov.

The office is particularly interested in technologies to track objects in Earth’s southern atmosphere, refine orbit estimates of priority spacecraft and follow calibration satellites within a timeframe between 2022 and 2030.

OSC will accept responses from the industry until March 21.

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DHS’ Lynn Parker Dupree Wants Privacy-Ready Systems in Department
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DHS’ Lynn Parker Dupree Wants Privacy-Ready Systems in Department

Lynn Parker Dupree, chief privacy officer at the Department of Homeland Security, said she wants to implement systems that already take information security into consideration, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

Dupree said she wants to begin including privacy in technical designs and deviate from the tradition of applying privacy mitigations after a technology’s development.

“I have been really working with academia and technologists to figure out how we can build tools that actually enhance privacy,” the chief privacy officer said.

Dupree noted that she and her personnel are working with the department’s chief information officer, Science and Technology Directorate and procurement arm on efforts to boost data privacy.

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Air Force Space Acquisition Exec Nominee Frank Calvelli Wants to Better Protect Satellites
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Air Force Space Acquisition Exec Nominee Frank Calvelli Wants to Better Protect Satellites

Frank Calvelli, nominee for the U.S. Air Force’s space acquisition executive role, has emphasized the need for a resilient space architecture to prevent adversaries from disrupting U.S. satellites’ missions, SpaceNews reported Thursday.

Calvelli told Senate Armed Services Committee lawmakers in his confirmation hearing that U.S. space assets should remain accessible both in peace or conflict as the nation as a whole depends on the domain.

To achieve such a level of resilience, the long-time National Reconnaissance Office leader suggested ideas such as improving space situational awareness, mixing up the makeup of constellations, integrating new technical capabilities and adopting commercial technologies.

“The nation needs to outpace its adversaries and maintain the technological advantage it gets from space,” stressed the nominee.

Once confirmed by the Senate, Calvelli, currently a senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, will become the first-ever Air Force assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration.

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Adm. Michael Gilday: Navy to Test Industry Tech for Future Unmanned Fleet
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Adm. Michael Gilday: Navy to Test Industry Tech for Future Unmanned Fleet

Adm. Michael Gilday, the chief of naval operations, said the U.S. Navy will test industry-made unmanned ship technologies as the service seeks to establish a fleet of operational unmanned platforms by the 2030s, Breaking Defense reported Thursday.

Gilday said at the West 2022 conference in San Diego that the Navy is focusing on seven classified “spirals,” through which the service will assess the viability of selected technologies to the envisioned, future fleet.

“We’re taking a look at problem sets like payload integration on larger unmanned [systems], reliability with respect to engineering plans or flight controls on other unmanned [vehicles],” he said.

The admiral said the Navy wants to implement smaller unmanned platforms in the near future but prepare for scaling up the fleet in the next decade.

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CGI Federal Finalizes Streamlining of DoJ Financial Management System; SVP Clay Goldwein Quoted
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CGI Federal Finalizes Streamlining of DoJ Financial Management System; SVP Clay Goldwein Quoted

Information technology company CGI has launched and integrated their Momentum program into the U.S. Department of Justice’s Unified Financial Management System, intending to yield more efficient methodology.

The Montreal, Quebec-based company announced on February 10 that Momentum consolidated six financial management and procurement systems into one combined database of financial and acquisition information for the DoJ.

“Successful completion of the implementation [of Momentum] enables DOJ to consider new approaches to improve enterprise systems…which will drive effective and efficient stewardship of assets for the Department,” commented Clay Goldwein, CGI senior vice president.

Goldwein said the program’s usage builds on over 20 years of partnership between CGI and the DoJ, which has given the company a “deep knowledge of DoJ’s business processes, accounting and technology.”

Due to Momentum’s implementation, the DoJ now has one enterprise resource planning system that controls data department-wide. The DoJ’s UFMS consolidates management information and acts in accordance with the standards of the Federal Acquisition Regulation and the Justice Acquisition Regulation.

In addition, the Momentum-powered UFMS delivers information to management figures in the department through its streamlining of business processes and procedures.

These efforts are positioned to bolster the DoJ’s overall financial management practices and aid in its mission and objectives.

The work was performed under a $250 million blanket purchase agreement awarded to CGI by the DoJ that was announced in January 2022.

Within this BPA, the company was extended a $133.9 million task order for Unified Financial Management System and Unified Asset Management System support efforts.

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Maximus Receives Secretary of Energy Achievement Award for NETL Partnership; GM Teresa Weipert Quoted
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Maximus Receives Secretary of Energy Achievement Award for NETL Partnership; GM Teresa Weipert Quoted

A Maximus-backed contingent responsible for consolidating Department of Energy and Fossil Energy Carbon Management research has been recognized with the Secretary of Energy’s Achievement Award.

The Secretary’s Honor Award was given to the Energy Data eXchange (EDX) Development and Operations Team for their work with the National Energy Technology Laboratory. The collaboration was deemed a significant accomplishment in addressing energy, environmental and nuclear issues, the company said on Tuesday, February 15.

“Our work at NETL is a prime example of our commitment to deliver unmatched technology support for federal agencies with the necessary experience to transform how agencies reach their mission goals,” said Teresa Weipert, General Manager of Maximus Federal and a recent Wash100 Award winner.

The EDX is a virtual tool designed to navigate data surrounding fossil energy and environmental research and development. The library is maintained in order to guide users from the research phase through a project’s cataloging and completion.

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm presented the award to Maximus and its team. The award is given annually to commemorate DOE federal workers and contractors who make noticeable contributions to energy-related and environmental causes.

The work with NETL was primarily carried out by Maximus-owned Attain Federal, the prime contractor under the Information Technology Support Services contract.

In October 2021, Maximus and Attain received a $323 million contract from the Securities and Exchange Commission to perform modernization upgrades to the department’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System.

That same month, Weipert participated in an interview with ExecutiveBiz. The scope of the conversation covered the company’s IRS contract, implementing Maximus’ Veterans Evaluation Services acquisition and the company’s efforts to stay current with new IT practices.

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Senators Ask Biden to Include $5B in Election Security Grants in FY 2023 Budget Proposal
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Senators Ask Biden to Include $5B in Election Security Grants in FY 2023 Budget Proposal

A group of 33 senators called on President Biden to include election security grants worth five billion dollars in the administration’s fiscal year 2023 budget request.

The Election Assistance Commission would distribute such grants to state and local government agencies to help them improve the administration of federal elections, modernize voting equipment and beef up cybersecurity for election systems, the lawmakers wrote in a Tuesday letter to the president.

“One analysis published last December found that over the next decade approximately $50 billion would be needed for election administration and security,” the letter reads.

A group of secretaries of states and chief election officials cited the analysis and requested the federal government to allocate $5 billion in election security grants for the next fiscal year.

The lawmakers said they are committed to pursuing bills to provide a “reliable stream of funding” to help election officials to continue to improve election administration.

“While funding is not a substitute for Congress passing comprehensive legislation to protect the freedom to vote and stop the ongoing attacks on our democracy, we must ensure that state and local election officials continue to receive the resources needed to administer, improve, and modernize our elections,” they added.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Richard Durbin, D-Ill., Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., were among the letter’s signatories.

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David Honey Confirmed as DOD Deputy Undersecretary for Research & Engineering
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David Honey Confirmed as DOD Deputy Undersecretary for Research & Engineering

The Senate voted 94-1 Wednesday to confirm David Honey, a special assistant to the director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, as deputy undersecretary for research and engineering at the Department of Defense.

He will support Heidi Shyu, defense R&E undersecretary and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, in overseeing defense investments in warfighting technology platforms in his new role.

Honey, who previously served as a program manager and deputy office director at DARPA, was nominated to the deputy undersecretary R&E role in August 2021.

He is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and former director of science and technology at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and deputy assistant secretary of defense for research at the Pentagon.

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