DOD Hosts STEM Webinar in Advance of Future Solicitation
DOD Releases Naval Engineering Education Consortium BAA
DARPA to Release Young Faculty Award Solicitation
DARPA MTO Announces Proposers Day for Fast Event-based Neuromorphic Camera and Electronics (FENCE) Program
IARPA Releases BAA for Securing Compartmented Information with Smart Radio Systems (SCISRS)
BARDA Opens Registration for October 27 Industry Day
USAMRDC Announces xTechBOLT Prize Competition for Imaging Technologies
CDMRP Releases Additional FY 2020 Solicitations
WHAT WE'RE READING
JAIC Wants AI ‘Victory Gardens’ Across DoD
The US Military’s Latest Wearables Can Detect Illness Two Days Before You Get Sick
Military AI Coalition Of 13 Countries Meets On Ethics
VIEW FROM THE HILL
Congress to Delay NDAA’s Passage Until After November Election
Congress will not vote on a final version of the fiscal year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) until after the November Presidential election to buy more time for Congressional leadership and staff to negotiate a significant number of disagreements between the House’s and Senate’s versions of the bill. The NDAA is an annually passed bill that authorizes policies and programs at the Department of Defense (DOD) and other federal national security efforts.
The most significant roadblock to reaching an agreement are provisions in both bills that would direct DOD to change the names of military bases named after confederate officials. President Trump has threatened to
veto both versions of the bill due to this and other objections, including provisions concerning the Department’s use of the
Insurrection Act in light of recent protests, prohibitions for funding of nuclear weapons testing, and restrictions of the President’s ability to withdraw troops from Germany and Afghanistan, among other issues.
The House and Senate both passed their respective versions of the bill in July. Lewis-Burke’s earlier analysis of the House’s version of the NDAA can be found
here, while the analysis of the Senate’s bill can be found
here.
NSCAI Commissioners Call on Congress to Enact Critical AI Legislation in HASC Hearing
Commissioners on the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (
NSCAI) are calling on Congress to push for government reforms and to establish efforts to better integrate and ensure American leadership in AI, as seen in a recent hearing in front of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC). NSCAI was established by Congress in the fiscal year (FY) 2019
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to provide Congress with recommendations to advance U.S. leadership in AI. The Commission has already produced two sets of quarterly recommendations and is expected to release its final recommendations this fall. During the September 17
hearing, held by the HASC Subcommittee on Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities (IETC), four NSCAI Commissioners provided testimony:
- Dr. Eric Schmidt, NSCAI Chairman and Former Google CEO
- The Honorable Robert Work, NSCAI Vice Chairman and Former Deputy Secretary of Defense
- The Honorable Mignon Clyburn, Former Commissioner and Acting Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
- Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, President of Dakota State University and National Science Board (NSB) Member
The Commissioners thanked the Committee for adopting 11 of their interim recommendations into the House’s version of the FY 2021
NDAA and emphasized the importance of enacting these recommendations in the final version of the NDAA. These initial recommendations include elevating the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) within the Department of Defense (DOD), better integrating new technologies within DOD by establishing a Steering Committee on Emerging Technology, and multiple proposals to recruit and develop an AI workforce within the Pentagon, what some NSCAI commissioners noted to be their top priority. Griffiths and Clyburn, who have led the Commission’s workforce efforts, also highlighted their proposals to establish a Digital Service Academy modeled after the military service academies and a Digital Reserve Corps. Work also highlighted other top priorities for the Commission such as establishing an AI Research Resource to give academia better access to data (a provision in the House NDAA would establish a task force to explore this concept) and efforts to advance U.S. leadership in microelectronics, a key enabling capability for AI systems.
Members asked several questions about NSCAI’s proposals and concerns around competition with China in AI and emerging technologies. IETC Chairman Jim Langevin (D-RI) expressed concern that restricting foreign talent would play into China’s hands, to which Schmidt noted that Chinese grad students are critical to the AI field and cited legislation to build more pathways for foreign students would help U.S. leadership in AI. Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD) expressed concern about the absence of diversity in the field and lack of funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which could exacerbate widely reported issues of bias in AI. Overall, Members on the Subcommittee stressed the importance of NSCAI’s recommendations and expressed interest in seeing how additional NSCAI suggestions could be adopted further down the road, especially after NSCAI submits its final recommendations in the coming months.
HASC Members Call for Revolution to National Security Approach in Future of Defense Task Force Report
The Department of Defense (DOD) must make significant changes and reforms or risk being existentially unprepared for the long-term threats facing the country, according to a report from Members of the House Armed Services Committees (HASC)’s Future of Defense Task Force. The bipartisan Task Force, led by Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Congressman Jim Banks (R-IN), sought to assess the long term threats (30-50 years) the U.S. may face and develop a roadmap for how DOD and the U.S. government should prepare and respond to these threats. Reps. Moulton and Banks noted during the report’s unveiling at a September 30 Brookings Institution
event that their assessment of long-term threats was roughly in line with those of the National Defense Strategy (NDS). However, they also noted their recommendations reflect the belief that DOD and the government must enact significant changes to modernize technologies and streamline acquisition practices, including implementing structural reforms, fostering a culture at the Pentagon that is open to innovation and less averse to risk, and shifting its priorities and investments to emerging technologies and away from legacy systems that would be rendered outdated in future conflicts. Some of the Task Force’s 11 recommendations include:
- Establishing a “Manhattan Project”-like effort for artificial intelligence (AI), with specific efforts to fight cultural resistance to greater adoption. This would include requiring every major DOD acquisition program to be AI-ready, and evaluate at least one AI-supported or autonomous alternative before it is funded.
- Develop a global treaty on AI to ensure AI is used in accordance with global human rights principles.
- Identify and address weaknesses in the DOD supply chain to eliminate overreliance on foreign suppliers. This would be supported by strengthening institutions such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and establishing a National Supply Chain Intelligence Center under the Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
- Task a third party, such as the RAND Corporation, with studying legacy platforms to determine their relevance and resiliency to emerging threats.
- Increase investments for foundational science and technology efforts to meet the 3.4 percent of DOD’s budget. DOD should also expand innovation efforts within the Department that have been successful in building collaboration with the private sector such as the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), AFWERX, Army Futures Command (AFC).
- Invest in comprehensive efforts to expand the DOD STEM workforce by investing in STEM primary education, attracting and retaining foreign talent, and developing incentives and removing roadblocks that will allow DOD to compete with the private sector for STEM talent.
Additionally, Reps. Moulton and Banks noted during the event that they will likely devote the rest of their careers in Congress to ensuring that DOD and the government enact these changes. Both Members pointed out that enacting these recommendations would require forcing DOD to change its culture around risks and innovation and would require them to convince other Members of Congress who may want to protect companies in their districts that benefit from building legacy systems. Still, HASC is expected to take these recommendations seriously, as both HASC Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) and Ranking Member Mac Thornberry (R-TX) released a
statement praising the Task Force for its recommendations, and it is expected that the recommendations may be reflected in future versions of the annual
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Other Committee Members on the Task Force include Reps. Susan Davis (D-CA), Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Paul Mitchell (R-MI), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Michael Waltz (R-FL). The Future of Defense Task Force’s report can be found
here.
NATIONAL SECURITY NEWS
Future of DHS Requires Modernizing to Counter Emerging Threats, Current and Former Officials Say
Recent reports from the Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and former senior agency officials note dramatic shifts in the agency’s mission since its creation after the Septmber11 terrorist attacks on the United States and the agency’s increasing role in addressing new and emerging threats to the homeland, including COVID-19.
A report from the Atlantic Council, released September 9 and authored by several former senior DHS officials, calls for refocusing DHS’s mission on defending against nonmilitary threats and modernizing the agency’s approach to its unique public-private partnerships, such as cybersecurity information sharing partnerships and Centers of Excellence managed through the Department’s Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate.
The Atlantic Council recommends in its “
Future of DHS Project: Key Findings and Recommendations” report that the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate be restructured to help identify emergent, strategic threats and the technological capabilities needed to counter them. The authors specifically call on DHS and its stakeholders to “shift to a more anticipatory, proactive risk mitigation model” and that S&T’s focus should be to address “early and emerging technologies and technological solutions” to respond to potential threats. The report recommends DHS S&T consult more closely with DHS’s operating components as well as other parts of DHS responsible for leading forward-thinking efforts on issues like terrorism, cyberthreats, threats to large data systems, and upcoming legal challenges to management of data.
Meanwhile, Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf delivered his “
2020 State of the Homeland” address on September 9, noting that DHS was created with adaptability in mind and that the Department is leading the federal government’s response to the global pandemic. Wolf also discussed the Department’s efforts to address a host of other threats, including election security and foreign disinformation, immigration and economic security, and violence and civil unrest.
Wolf, who later testified at a tense Senate confirmation hearing September 23, in the midst of allegations that DHS employees were politically pressured to modify intelligence assessments and briefings, focused his annual address on the accomplishments and preparedness of DHS, with a laundry list of somewhat controversial successes in the past year. Related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wolf discussed the S&T Directorate’s efforts to curate the latest research and data on COVID-19, “keeping policymakers and decision makers abreast of the latest scientific information.” He also highlighted the role of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in keeping critical supply chains operational and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in combating criminals exploiting the pandemic by producing counterfeit face masks, FDA-prohibited COVID-19 test kits, and unapproved medications. While President Trump formally nominated Wolf to become the permanent Secretary in August, there has not been a Senate-confirmed leader at DHS since April 2019.
DOD Publishes Interim Rule for CMMC Requirements
The Department of Defense (DOD) published an
interim rule September 29 on implementation of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) framework for all solicitations and contracts. The proposed rule will be open for comments until November 30, 2020, when the Department will begin considering comments as it prepares a final rule.
The CMMC program was developed in response to concerns about vulnerabilities from cyberattacks and espionage within the contractors and organizations that support DOD. The CMMC framework will allow the Department to enhance protection of unclassified information, known as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), across the supply chain. When fully implemented, the program will require all contractors and grantees to receive a third-party certification that they meet new cybersecurity protection levels, ranging from level 1 to level 5, in order to receive a contract or grant award. It is anticipated that CMMC level 1 would apply to fundamental research; CMMC level 1 includes basic cyber hygiene such as monitoring and limiting access to operating environments (laboratories) and information systems; scanning systems for and maintaining updated systems to protect against malicious code; and limiting data access from DOD-sponsored projects to authorized users. Higher levels will require demonstrated compliance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity standards and additional processes laid out in the CMMC framework.
Several steps remain before this regulation is implemented, and the process has been delayed both by COVID-19 and internal controversies. The CMMC Accreditation Board (CMMC-AB) just last month selected the initial set of third-party provisional assessors and 11 licensed partners to provide CMMC training curriculum, but the board does not expect organizations to be able to receive CMMC certifications until winter or spring of 2021. DOD states in the rule that these requirements will be implemented gradually. DOD will carefully select a few pilot contracts and solicitations that will contain these requirements but not will not broadly integrate requirements across all DOD contracts and solicitations until October 1, 2025.
Higher education and research associations, including the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR), and EDUCAUSE are calling on the DOD to mitigate or exempt fundamental research from CMMC requirements. In a September 1
letter to Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)) Ellen Lord, the associations argue that fundamental research should not be treated as controlled information, and that there are potential impacts for the openness, collaboration, and ability to publish results of fundamental research if these grants and contracts are not treated as such. The letter also notes concerns of the burden that research organizations would face in working to comply with and obtain CMMC certification, in addition to the impacts the research community has already faced from COVID-19. Additional information on CMMC is available
here.
President Trump Signs New Space Policy Directive on Cybersecurity
President Trump has signed a memorandum outlining a new
Space Policy Directive (SPD) focused on cybersecurity, a growing concern for the national security space enterprise. The Trump Administration has released a total of
five SPDs to articulate its posture toward human exploration, space traffic management, commercial space, and most notably the establishment of the Space Force. SPDs do not supersede the budgetary authority of either Congress or the Office of Management and Budget, but they do offer guidance to federal agencies as they carry out their space-related agendas.
The Administration developed the newest directive, SPD-5, in response to growing cybersecurity threats posed to the nation’s space-based defense assets. Specifically, the memorandum directs federal agencies to “foster practices within Government space operations and across the commercial space industry that protect space assets and their supporting infrastructure from cyber threats and ensure continuity of operations.” SPD-5 also enumerates several principles for cybersecurity space systems to guide the implementation of this policy. These directives focus on a wide array of areas including, but not limited to, engineering solutions for space systems and infrastructure as well as capabilities for ensuring retention and recovery of positive control of space vehicles.
Space Force and NASA Sign New Memorandum of Understanding for Future Collaborations
The U.S. Space Force (USSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have signed a new
memorandum of understanding (MOU) affirming their interest in collaborating in areas of mutual interest. This MOU supersedes a previous agreement that NASA and Air Force Space Command had established in 2006. The MOU does not obligate either NASA or USSF to expend new funds, but instead establishes a high-level framework for interagency planning and coordination around specific topic areas.
The MOU was drafted in recognition of the long history of cooperation and collaboration between NASA and the Department of Defense on space-related matters. The document calls attention to the need for increased interagency engagement on planetary defense, noting the contributions that each agency has made in the areas of space domain awareness and near-Earth object tracking. These were among the 11 areas enumerated in the MOU, which also includes foci such as deep space survey and tracking technologies, search and rescue for human space flight, standards for safe operations for space, workforce development, and fundamental scientific research and development.
New Leadership Appointed for Defense Innovation Board and Joint Artificial Intelligence Center
The founding chair of the Defense Innovation Board (DIB), Eric Schmidt, and other founding members officially finished their four-year terms during the DIB’s public meeting on September 15. The DIB named Mark Sirangelo, entrepreneur scholar in residence at the University of Colorado Boulder, as the new chair and added a new member, Stanford biology professor Andrew Endy. As previously reported by Lewis-Burke, the DIB advises the Department of Defense’s (DOD) technology policies and practices, most recently providing recommendations on AI ethics principles and the use of AI-specific tools for testing and evaluation methods.
In addition, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper appointed Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Michael S. Groen on September 10 as the new director of DOD’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), which is tasked with accelerating the delivery and adoption of AI for DOD. Groen now awaits Senate confirmation and is currently serving as deputy chief of computer network operations at the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Maryland. If confirmed, Groen would replace JAIC’s Acting Director Nand Mulchandani, who also serves as the center’s chief technology officer, and officially replace Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, the first director of the JAIC who left the position in June.
CIA Establishes New Laboratory
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has
established a new laboratory, CIA Labs, to conduct in-house research and development (R&D) to solve challenges and develop new capabilities for the Intelligence Community. Though few details are known at this time, CIA Labs has stated its interest in working with academia and is specifically focused on the following R&D areas:
- advanced materials and manufacturing;
- artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics;
- bioscience and biotechnology;
- distributed ledger/blockchain-enabled technologies;
- virtual and augmented reality;
- high performance and quantum computing;
- future wireless and telecommunications technologies; and
- robotic, autonomous, and human interface systems.
More information, including contact information for potential partners, can be found at
https://www.cia.gov/offices-of-cia/science-technology/cia-labs.html.
FUNDING AND ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
DOD Hosts STEM Webinar in Advance of Future Solicitation
The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) recently hosted a proposers day workshop to discuss future STEM efforts under the National Defense Education Program (NDEP). This follows a recently closed request for information (RFI), which received over 80 responses, soliciting comments aligned with the Department of Defense’s (DOD) three current focus areas:
- Enhanced Civics Education
- Critical thinking and media literacy
- Voting and other forms of political and civic engagement
- Interest in employment, and careers, in public service
- Understanding the United States law, history, and Government
- The ability of participants to collaborate and compromise with others to solve problems
- STEM Education, Outreach, and Workforce Development
- Reaching/attracting military connected students to STEM opportunities
- Providing meaningful STEM experiences for students and teachers especially those from underserved populations
- Fostering/leveraging partnerships and ecosystems to amplify reach and impact of STEM activity
- Biotechnology Education and Workforce Development
- Competition model; to inspire the next-generation biotechnology workforce
- Education and/or curriculum support; to develop a foundation in biotechnology and related fields
- Training/re-training support; to support reskilling or upskilling towards careers in biotechnology
The workshop provided an opportunity to discuss the topics with the STEM community and provide insight on DOD’s planned request for proposals through a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that will be released later this fall. The workshop included over 200 participants and provided an overview of OUSD(R&E)’s
modernization priorities, along with the associated workforce challenges. OUSD(R&E) also hosted breakout sessions to discuss and gather feedback for the focus areas listed above. Some highlights include:
- In the civics education discussion, attendees reached a general consensus that teacher professional development is needed to create more critical thinking in K-12 students and that DOD will partner with the Department of Education in reviewing proposals.
- The STEM workforce discussion focused on enhancing virtual learning, increasing diversity and inclusion, and developing effective approaches to transitioning students from secondary schools to DOD career paths.
- Dr. Michelle Rozo, Assistant Director for Biotechnology at OUSD(R&E), led the discussion on biotechnology education and workforce development. Biotechnology workforce representatives across DOD laboratories, industry, and even a unified school district, described some of the challenges for educating students in this research area. The discussion indicated that potential foci for this topic in a future FOA may include curricula development, competitions/extracurricular activities, and re-training existing workers. Attendees also expressed interest in efforts to create bio-literacy in preschool as well as professional development for teachers in middle school.
Lewis-Burke will provide further updates on this effort in future newsletters.
DOD Releases Naval Engineering Education Consortium BAA
The Department of Defense (DOD) released a broad agency announcement (BAA) for the Naval Engineering Education Consortium (NEEC). The NEEC program, directed by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Warfare Center, encourages student participation in the naval engineering workforce through project-based research in naval technology. Some of the BAA topics of interest include data science, quantum information science, machine learning and artificial intelligence, cyber, and unmanned underwater vehicles.
Eligible applicants may submit full proposals through
www.grants.gov under more than one topic area. Applicants may submit multiple proposals but may not submit the same technical proposal to more than one warfare center or activity. The BAA will close on
October 30, 2020 at
11:59 PM ET. DOD anticipates multiple awards and will fund awards between $100,000 and $150,000 for a base year with an option to extend for two years, for a potential total funding level of $300,000 to $450,000. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to apply. The full BAA is available at
www.grants.gov under solicitation number “N00174-20-0001.” Lewis-Burke’s full analysis of the BAA can be found
here.
DARPA to Release Young Faculty Award Solicitation
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) hosted a proposers day webcast on September 25 in anticipation of releasing its 2021
Young Faculty Award Program (YFA) research announcement (RA) in October. DARPA’s YFA program aims to expose rising stars in junior faculty or equivalent positions at academic and non-profit research institutions to the Department of Defense’s (DOD) mission, challenges, and needs. DARPA specifically seeks to attract and fund candidates without prior DARPA funding and anticipates soliciting 2021 YFA research proposals in the areas of “physical sciences, engineering, materials, mathematics, biology, computing, informatics, social science, robotics, neuroscience and manufacturing.”
DARPA strongly encourages faculty to submit executive summaries before submitting a full proposal, and ensuring that research proposals address DARPA's
Heilmeier Catechism questions. Researchers that submit executive summaries will receive a response from DARPA on whether the agency encourages submitting a full proposal. Administrative, technical, and contractual questions about the YFA should be emailed to
YFA2021@darpa.mil. DARPA’s YFA FAQ page can be found
here, and the slides from the 2021 proposers day can be found
here.
DARPA MTO Announces Proposers Day for Fast Event-based Neuromorphic Camera and Electronics (FENCE) Program
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) will host a virtual proposers day on
October 9, 2020 for its Fast Event-based Neuromorphic Camera and Electronics (FENCE) program. The FENCE program will “develop next-generation event-based IR imagers, creating a new modality of low-latency, low-power sensing” for the Department of Defense (DOD). The FENCE proposers day is an opportunity to learn about the program’s vision and goals and network with other researchers for possible teaming ahead of the release of a FENCE broad agency announcement (BAA) in October. The virtual event also provides an opportunity to request one-on-one fifteen minute meetings with the DARPA MTO program manager, Whitney Mason. Meeting requests should be e-mailed to
DARPA-SN-20-68@darpa.mil with the subject “One-on-One Request” by
October 7, 2020, 5:00 PM ET. Interested attendees may
register until
October 7, 2020 at 5:00 PM or until capacity is reached, whichever comes first. The proposers day announcement can be found at
https://beta.sam.gov under Notice ID “DARPA-SN-20-68.”
IARPA Releases BAA for Securing Compartmented Information with Smart Radio Systems (SCISRS)
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) released a broad agency announcement (BAA) for the Securing Compartmented Information with Smart Radio Systems (SCISRS) program, following a proposers day on August 20. The goal of the SCISRS program is to “develop smart radio techniques to automatically detect and characterize radio frequency (RF) anomalies in complex RF environments.” IARPA intends for the methods produced be adaptable to numerous RF hardware so that information and data can be stored in remote locations or “in the wild.” Proposals must address the three Technical Challenges (TCs) in each of the program’s three phases:
- TC-1 – Detection and Characterization of Overt Signals
- TC-2 – Detection and Characterization of Anomalous Signals and Transmissions
- TC-3 – Detection and Characterization of Unintended RF Emissions
Proposals for the initial round of selections are due on November 13, 2020 at 4:00 PM ET. Multiple submissions are allowed, but team members across numerous groups will not receive duplicate funding. It is recommended that an “Academic Institution Acknowledgement Letter” is submitted with the proposal for each U.S. academic institution serving a role on the team. Multiple awards are expected, though funding levels have not been announced. The BAA can be found at https://beta.sam.gov under Notice ID “IARPA-BAA-20-03.”
BARDA Opens Registration for October 27 Industry Day
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) recently opened registration for its BARDA Industry Day 2020 on October 27. BARDA, within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, hosts BARDA Industry Day to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to hear from BARDA leadership and program managers on recent successes and future priorities, as well as a chance for public and private entities to foster collaboration on health security solutions. More information on BARDA Industry Day can be found
here and the link to registration can be found
here.
USAMRDC Announces xTechBOLT Prize Competition for Imaging Technologies
The U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) announced the xTech Brain Operant Learning Technology (xTechBOLT) prize competition regarding the development of imaging technologies to track four different types of learning traits to capture emotions and create an apparatus to access memories. Participants are required to submit a white paper and encouraged to submit an optional short video by
October 16, 2020. The ten winners will be granted $10,000 and an invitation to the semifinals where proposers will give a presentation at the virtual Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC). Five applicants will then be chosen to participate in the finals in November 2021. The first-place winner will receive $500,000, while the runners up will receive smaller prizes. The full prize competition announcement can be found
here.
CDMRP Releases Additional FY 2020 Solicitations
The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) is currently accepting research proposals for the following fiscal year (FY) 2020 research topics:
- Kidney Cancer
- Rare Cancers
- Reconstructive Transplant Research
Interested applicants can find the solicitations above listed
here, and can also subscribe for real-time updates, including forthcoming solicitations,
here.
WHAT WE'RE READING
JAIC Wants AI ‘Victory Gardens’ Across DoD
Breaking Defense reports on the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center’s (JAIC) intent to release a solicitation on a new a contracting portal for artificial intelligence (AI) projects, known as Tradewind, before November. Through the Tradewind effort, JAIC seeks to create a way for AI to be implemented easily throughout the Department of Defense (DOD), develop a platform for companies and interested partners to easily exchange information, and quickly and easily inform partners on the status of contracts and other updates at the JAIC. Upon Tradewind’s creation and full implementation, the JAIC plans to offer three Multiple-Award Contracts (MAC), to include a Data MAC and a Testing and Evaluation (T&E) MAC. Read more
here.
The US Military’s Latest Wearables Can Detect Illness Two Days Before You Get Sick
Defense One discusses the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) creation of a watch and ring kit that works to detect illness two days before a person feels sick and shows symptoms. The Rapid Analysis of Threat Exposure (RATE) system has already been proven to detect cases of COVID-19 among the 400 troops who were first used to test the device. The system runs on a scale of 1 to 100, from unlikely to very likely of getting sick in the near future. Given the recent successes, the DIU is expanding participation to 5,000 troops and soon will have the kit available for tier-one cohorts but will not be available to the general population for the foreseeable future. Read more
here.
Military AI Coalition Of 13 Countries Meets On Ethics
Breaking Defense reports on the “AI Partnership for Defense” forum, during which a broad coalition of formal and informal U.S allies met to discuss the ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) in military operations. The Pentagon’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) kicked off the event, which included discussions on the ethical principles and military use cases for AI and implementation of AI ethics theory. The forum provided a starting point for greater military technical cooperation, focusing on inclusivity and shared core values that brings countries “under one banner” for data and algorithms usage. Despite Russia and China not participating in the discussion, the JAIC hopes to expand to other allies and potential partners in the immediate future. Read more
here.
