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Denice Ross Named US Chief Data Scientist
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Denice Ross Named US Chief Data Scientist

Denice Ross, a public interest technology expert, has joined the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) as U.S. chief data scientist, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

“The mission of the U.S. Chief Data Scientist is to responsibly unleash the power of data to benefit all Americans,” Ross wrote in a blog post published Wednesday. “I’m eager to get started and look forward to collaborating with data innovators already working inside of Federal government and at the State, Tribal, and local level.”

Prior to joining the White House, she served as a senior fellow at the National Conference on Citizenship and as a fellow at the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation.

Ross served as data strategy lead and public interest technology fellow at think tank New America. She is a former Presidential Innovation Fellow who worked at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as a senior adviser. She also held data leadership roles during her time at the City of New Orleans.

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NASA Explores Potential Imaging Sensor Sources for ‘Landsat Next’ Mission
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NASA Explores Potential Imaging Sensor Sources for ‘Landsat Next’ Mission

NASA has issued a request for information to identify potential industry sources of imaging sensor technology for future Earth observation satellites under the Landsat program.

A notice posted on SAM.gov says interested vendors, including underserved businesses, can submit capability statements for the Landsat Next Instrument Study through Nov. 17.

Specifically, the agency is interested in an imaging system that can measure up to 25 wavelengths of light and generate image and instrument ancillary data.

NASA intends for the Landsat Next observatory to process image reconstruction information from spacecraft and instrument ancillaries for eventual processing in-ground infrastructure.

The agency seeks input from the private sector to help inform the project design phase and expects to launch the mission sometime in 2029.

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INSA Urges US to Designate Space Systems as Critical Infrastructure; Larry Hanauer Quoted
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INSA Urges US to Designate Space Systems as Critical Infrastructure; Larry Hanauer Quoted

The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) has released a white paper calling for the designation of space systems as a U.S. critical infrastructure sector to help drive collaboration between public and private sectors and information sharing on threats and other vulnerabilities facing space assets and the space sector.

“Space-related capabilities have become essential to both national security and economic security, yet countries like Russia and China – which have advanced offensive cyber capabilities and anti-satellite weapons – have the potential to take them offline,” Larry Hanauer, vice president for policy at INSA, said in a statement published Tuesday.

“Designating the space sector as part of the nation’s critical infrastructure would make it easier for government organizations, the military, and commercial space companies to share information on threats and vulnerabilities and thereby enhance the space sector’s resilience,” Hanauer added.

The INSA white paper outlined the potential benefits of the designation, such as accelerating the development of best practices and technologies for ensuring resilience and safety, enabling the U.S. to form a national-level office of primary responsibility with oversight and resources to advance interagency efforts and identifying a baseline assessment of threats to space assets.

The organization noted that the designation would also help facilitate several types of collaboration. These include broad sharing of space-related data and region-specific expertise, greater awareness of threats and corrective action and analysis and case studies for the broader community.

Space Acquisition Forum

GovCon Wire will hold its Space Acquisition Forum on Jan. 19. Click here to register for the virtual forum to hear from defense officials as they share their insights on military acquisition reform and modernization efforts.

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Bipartisan Bill Would Make FedRAMP Permanent
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Bipartisan Bill Would Make FedRAMP Permanent

Four members of Congress have introduced a bill that would make the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) a permanent cloud computing initiative in the government.

The Federal Secure Cloud Improvement and Jobs Act would allocate $20 million to fund operations of the program, which began in 2011 and helped agencies gain access to certified cloud information technology offerings, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said Tuesday.

The legislation also calls for the formation of a Federal Secure Cloud Advisory Committee to facilitate coordination between cloud providers and federal agencies.

More than 200 providers of cloud services to the federal sector are certified under FedRAMP and 36 percent of the vendors come from the small business community, according to the committee.

Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich.; Josh Hawley, R-Mo.; Steve Daines, R-Mont.; and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., are the sponsors of the proposed bill.

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DOE Needs Input on Software Stewardship
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DOE Needs Input on Software Stewardship

The Department of Energy (DOE) asks the public to submit feedback on stewardship services for scientific software and high-performance computing applications. 

DOE said Monday that its Office of Science calls for companies, academic institutions, government agencies, research laboratories and other stakeholders to submit input on the multiple facets of scientific software stewardship.

These facets include software development infrastructure, curation, workforce support and shared engineering resources.

The department seeks input with regard to software dependencies, security-related practices, infrastructure requirements, community software development, workforce challenges, technology transfer and overall stewardship scope, as well as associated oversight and assessment criteria. 

DOE’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASRC) program will use the input to inform future software and HPC sustainment investments.

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USMC Creates New Group to Support Reserve Forces’ Cybersecurity; Maj. Vincent Sapeda Quoted
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USMC Creates New Group to Support Reserve Forces’ Cybersecurity; Maj. Vincent Sapeda Quoted

The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) has commissioned a New Orleans-based group as part of a larger effort to consolidate the service branch’s cyber operations. Network Activity Reserve (NetAct-Res) stood up on Monday to address a growing range of cyber threats for USMC’s reserve component across 158 home training centers, the service branch said Tuesday.

Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command (MARFORCYBER) established the new unit, which will directly report to the Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group.

“When the unit is initially staffed it will consist of a combination of 43 active duty MARFORCYBER Marines, 23 Government Service civilians and 118 contractors,” said Maj. Vincent Sapeda, executive officer of NetAct-Res.

NetAct-Res is the last of six network units that USMC created to support the service’s cyber needs. Three of the units will generally support marine expeditionary forces, and the other three will serve USMC establishments based on geography.

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Infor Acquires Smart Manufacturing Company Lighthouse Systems; CEO Kevin Samuelson Quoted
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Infor Acquires Smart Manufacturing Company Lighthouse Systems; CEO Kevin Samuelson Quoted

Infor, a New York City-based provider of cloud computing as-a-Service, has acquired Lighthouse Systems in a transaction whose financial terms have not been disclosed.

Under the acquisition, which closed on Oct. 27, Infor said it will integrate Lighthouse Systems’ manufacturing execution system (MES) software into its CloudSuite enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to offer a fully integrated smart manufacturing platform to its global government and commercial customers.

Lighthouse Systems’ MES software, including its flagship Shopfloor-Online product, provides manufacturing companies with a centralized software system designed to manage and improve production, maintenance, inventory and quality with 24/7 accessibility. 

Kevin Samuelson, CEO of Infor, said, “Integrating these capabilities with our industry-specific ERP systems will help us deliver even more powerful solutions to manufacturing organizations, as they look to digitize their operations and grow their businesses.”

Samuelson added that the addition of Lighthouse Systems’ “critical” MES products will help Infor deliver real-time visibility and enhanced data consistency to the partnership’s expanded customer base.

Lighthouse Systems was recently recognized as an Honorable Mention in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Manufacturing Execution Systems report

The company is based in Crowley, England and has approximately 100 employees across major offices in the U.K., U.S. and Singapore. Its customers span a range of industries including sustainable energy, automotive, life science and building and construction.

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CACI Enters Agreement to Acquire SA Photonics; CEO John Mengucci Quoted
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CACI Enters Agreement to Acquire SA Photonics; CEO John Mengucci Quoted

CACI International announced on Wednesday that the company has entered into an agreement to acquire SA Photonics, Inc. for a total purchase consideration of $275 million to advance the next-generation communications from space to airborne and ground platforms at scale.

Through the acquisition, CACI will expand its capabilities as the leading U.S.-based free-space optical (FSO) laser communications provider supporting space, airborne, and terrestrial missions to U.S. government and commercial customers.

“For two decades, CACI has successfully delivered FSO communications to advance evolutionary technology for the protection and exploration of the contested space domain,” said John Mengucci, president and CEO of CACI and two-time Wash100 Award winner. “With SA Photonics, our combined technology enables us to deliver immediate FSO communications across all domains.”

SA Photonics’ owned IP technology offers low size, weight, power, and cost (SWAP-C) solutions that transmit data 25 times faster than current radio frequency systems while also utilizing payloads that are half the normal size.

In addition, CACI will also expand its modern photonics production facilities in California, Florida, and New Jersey. CACI expects to close the transaction by the end of this calendar year.

During a recent Executive Spotlight with ExecutiveBiz, Mengucci commented on the level of CACI’s success and organic growth while also improving its product differentiation to create value for the company’s shareholders and customers?

“With 60 years of success with our employees and shareholders, we know that our strong culture of ethics and innovation, integrity and ethics is always going to be here. We focus very much on operational excellence,” said Mengucci. “We always have strong foundational elements. At the end of the day, that’s what drives growth from a financial side, but it also drives career growth for our employees.”

You can read the full Executive Spotlight with John Mengucci on ExecutiveBiz.

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Dr. Kenyon Crowley Named Health Analytics Leader for Accenture Federal Services; Jill Olmstead Quoted
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Dr. Kenyon Crowley Named Health Analytics Leader for Accenture Federal Services; Jill Olmstead Quoted
Dr. Kenyon Crowley Named Health Analytics Leader for Accenture Federal Services; Jill Olmstead Quoted
Dr. Kenyon Crowley, Health Analytics Leader, Accenture Federal

20-year health information technology veteran Dr. Kenyon Crowley has been appointed as managing director of health analytics for Accenture’s federal business arm, effective Nov. 2, 2021.

In his new role, Dr. Crowley will leverage information science, digital strategy and advanced analytical methods to enable the company’s federal government customers to achieve their healthcare goals and deliver value-based care, Accenture Federal Services said Wednesday.

Accenture Federal Services’ Health Managing Director Jill Olmstead welcomed the new segment leader and said, “Dr. Kenyon Crowley brings a unique combination of strategic vision and technical acumen that will help our federal health clients harness the power of data to make critical decisions.”

Prior to his appointment with AFS, Dr. Crowley served for nearly 13 years as managing director of the Center for Health Information & Decision Systems at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, where he spearheaded research and development programs focused on digital health and advanced analytics innovations.

Currently, Dr. Crowley teaches courses on AI in healthcare, user-centered mobile health app design, health IT strategy and health informatics as a faculty member in the university’s department of Decision, Operations and Information Technologies.

Additionally, the new health analytics leader is a Certified Professional in Health Information Management Systems and has previously served as a scientific reviewer for the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.

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Adm. Christopher Grady Nominated to Joint Staff Vice Chair Role
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Adm. Christopher Grady Nominated to Joint Staff Vice Chair Role

Adm. Christopher Grady, commander of the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Forces Command, has been nominated by President Biden to serve as the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s next vice chairman.

He will still hold the rank of admiral after his nomination pushes through, the Department of Defense said Tuesday.

Grady has concurrently led USFFC and U.S. Naval Forces Northern Command since May 2018. In February of the following year, he took on leadership responsibilities at U.S. Strategic Command’s Joint Force Maritime Component and Naval Forces Strategic Command.

He also previously commanded the U.S. 6th Fleet and Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO.

If confirmed by the Senate, he will succeed Air Force Gen. John Hyten, who intends to retire when his term as JCS vice chairman expires at the end of November.

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