Senate Confirms Space Force Chief of Space Operations
On October 11, the Senate confirmed Lt. General B. Chance Saltzman as the Chief of Space Operations for the U.S. Space Force.  Saltzman will be the second chief of the military's newest branch, succeeding General John Raymond, who served since its establishment in 2019.  Saltzman will be tasked with maturing the Space Force as a functional organization, maintaining the U.S. national security space priorities, and expanding Space Force’s operations into new domains.  This will include missions to cis-lunar space and transition the space traffic management capabilities to the Office of Commercial Space.

NATIONAL SECURITY NEWS

White House Releases 2022 National Security Strategy
The Biden Administration published its long-delayed National Security Strategy (NSS) on October 12.  The NSS provides a north-star vision of how the Administration chooses to view and address national security challenges.  This NSS is notable for its repudiation of 50 years of the effects of globalization on U.S. commercial and job markets, a call for robust economic investment and industrial policy to out-compete our global adversaries, and a technical focus on shared global challenges like climate change.  This unclassified version of the NSS is intended to center government, industry, and academic focus on the concept of integrated deterrence, which wields all elements of national power to shape adversary perceptions of risks and costs of action against U.S. interests.  This concept will guide national U.S. approaches to out-compete China, the main geopolitical adversary identified in the strategy.  The NSS also sets priorities for opposing Russia, combatting terrorism, and various additional global challenges like climate change.  Lewis-Burke's full analysis of the 2022 NSS is available here.

DOD Releases 2022 Defense Strategy and Strategic Reviews
Complementing the National Security Strategy (NSS), the subordinate 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS), Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), and Missile Defense Review (MDR) were published by the Department of Defense (DOD) on October 27.  The NDS re-articulates the NSS’s assertion of a “decisive decade” shaped by dramatic changes in geopolitics, technology, economics, and the environment.  The NDS reiterates the NSS’s central policy and overarching vision of integrated deterrence through four top-level defense priorities:

• Defend the homeland
• Deter strategic attacks against the United States, our allies, and our partners
• Deter aggression and be prepared to prevail in conflict when necessary
• Ensure future military advantage by building a resilient Joint Force and defense ecosystem

These documents are derivatives of classified versions with more detail and guidance to senior DOD and national security officials, versions of which DOD has been implementing since early 2022.  The NDS contains few surprises compared to the overarching NSS.  Some critics have derided these strategies as marginally improved over prior years given current threats, citing a lack of actionable activity.  However, the Pentagon has been executing in alignment with these strategies since 2021.  These strategies are meant to provide guidance only and helpful orientations to the Pentagon’s future warfighting posture. DOD-funded researchers, stakeholders, and other performers should align proposals and engagement to these goals in future research, science, and technology development to better complement DOD budgets and program offices.  A copy of the 2022 NDS is available here. 

Biden Administration Releases National Biodefense Strategy
The Biden Administration released its National Biodefense Strategy and Implementation Plan for Countering Biological Threats, Enhancing Pandemic Preparedness, and Achieving Global Health Security (the Strategy).  The Strategy highlights goals that bolster the nation’s biodefense and health security efforts through coordination with over twenty federal agencies and partnerships with international, state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector entities.  These goals will assist in the detection, prevention, preparation, response, and recovery from biological incidents, which include current pandemic and endemic diseases such as COVID-19, monkeypox, polio, Ebola, and avian influenza, as well as potential future highly infectious diseases and weaponized biological agents.
 
The release of the Strategy aligns closely with the President’s $88 billion request over five years for pandemic preparedness and biodefense in the fiscal year (FY) 2023 President’s Budget Request (PBR).  Pandemic preparedness and biosecurity will continue to be a top priority of the Administration, which is already implementing key actions in the Strategy with existing funding.  However, additional funding is needed from Congress through the yearly federal appropriations process to fully execute the goals and objectives outlined in the Strategy.  Additional information can be found in the full Strategy, which is available here, and its fact sheet, which is available here.

OSD(R&E) Releases Technology and Program Protection (T&PP) Guidebook
The Department of Defense (DOD) released the Technology and Program Protection (T&PP) Guidebook to provide instruction on protecting and maintaining the Department’s technological advantage, specifically for sponsored research and technology and defense acquisition programs.  The focus is to manage the risk of exploitation and compromise of DOD technology and programs through implementing practices such as cybersecurity, cyber resilience, and cyber survivability.  The guidebook provides different methodologies and techniques for science and technology (S&T) managers to help determine appropriate actions to protect themselves and their work from threats and attacks.  The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) will oversee and update the guidance.  Further information and details of the guidebook can be found here.
 
DHS S&T Publishes Research Partnership Guidance
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) published the first-ever DHS Partnership Guide on September 30, providing an overview of the office, DHS stakeholders and mission areas, and the different mechanisms available to partner with the agency.  The document provides valuable insight into the Directorate’s five research priorities: border security; chemical, biological, and explosive (CBE) defense; counterterrorism; cybersecurity/information analysis; and first responder capabilities.  The Department further describes various technology and capability needs relevant to the Homeland Security enterprise, including air, land, coastal, and chem-bio sensors; innovation solutions to critical infrastructure; climate and disaster resilience efforts; and investments in artificial intelligence and machine learning that will aid in safeguarding against explosions, exposures and violent extremism. 
 
On October 11, S&T’s Director of Industry partnerships, Megan Mahle, explained in an interview with the Federal News Network that the document’s purpose is to “put all the information in one spot and make it easy for people to learn how to work with us.”  In releasing this guide, S&T seems poised to develop new relationships to identify gaps in homeland related services and solve complex security problems.  While many of the current opportunities for partnering with DHS focus on industry and innovative small business, academia remains an essential partner to S&T through the Office of University Programs and the DHS Centers of Excellence program.  Interested parties are encouraged to contact the DHS Office of University Programs or the S&T Industry Liaison to learn more about DHS research opportunities.

DOD Ramps Up Climate Strategy
The Service Branches continue to respond to Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, by releasing respective climate strategies.  The Department of the Army released its Climate Strategy Implementation Plan in October, building on the Army Climate Strategy that was released in February.  Both the Army Climate Strategy and Implementation Plan share the same lines of effort that primarily focus on initiatives that will allow the Army to operate in climate-altered environments, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and create conditions for implementing the Strategy.  For example, the Department of the Army is preparing for hybrid electric vehicle tests next year, a potential area for relevant stakeholders to engage.

The Department of the Air Force released a Climate Action Plan in October that applies to both the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Space Force.  The objective of the plan is to make the Department of the Air Force resilient to the impacts of climate change and to maintain a combat-credible force that will prevail against pacing threats like climate change.  Specifically, the plan focuses on investing in climate-ready installations, including climate considerations in all Departmental activities, and reducing fossil fuel demands.
 
The Department of the Navy released its Climate Action Plan in May.  It reflects the same lines of effort as the Department of Defense’s Climate Adaptation Plan: to build climate resilience and reduce climate threats.  The plan mentions the Department of the Navy’s intention to develop innovative capabilities to help mitigate, predict, and adapt to climate change in oceanographic and meteorological modeling and prediction, efficient electrical power systems for ships, advanced water purification technologies, and resilient cyber secure energy networks.

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MICROELECTRONICS UPDATES

NSTXL to Run Microelectronics Commons with Solicitation Expected Soon
Lewis-Burke recently learned the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Office of the Undersecretary of Defense, Research & Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) plans to release its competition for Microelectronics (ME) Commons this winter through the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL) organization.  NSTXL was selected by OUSD(R&E) to expedite the establishment of the ME Commons, which will fund public-private partnerships through Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs), to ensure funding is obligated quickly.  As previously reported by Lewis-Burke, ME Commons will develop a national network of regional innovation hubs and core facilities that have complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication capabilities.  Selected regional hubs will be expected to execute funding over five years.
 
The ME Commons has three main goals:

• “Create ‘Lab-to-Fab’ testing/prototyping hubs to build a network focused on maturing microelectronics technologies;
• Provide broad access to these prototyping hubs, potentially through augmented academic facilities (i.e., a local semiconductor company or a Federally Funded Research and Development Center); and
• Facilitate microelectronics education and training of students at local colleges and universities, and provide a potential pipeline for an engineering workforce to bolster the local semiconductor economy.” 

The Department is expected to seek regional hub applications in six microelectronics-related research areas:

• Secure Edge Computing
• 5G/6G Technology
• Artificial Intelligence Hardware
• Quantum Technology
• Electronic Warfare
• Commercial Leap Ahead Technologies

On November 9, the ME Commons will be hosting a virtual Awareness Day from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET.  You can register for the Awareness Day here. DOD was appropriated funding for microelectronics research and development efforts through the recently enacted CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which included $2 billion for the “CHIPS for America Defense Fund.” The ME Commons was informed by a request for information earlier this year, seeking feedback from academia, startups, small businesses, government labs, and domestic semiconductor manufacturers about how to create the national network.  More information on DOD’s vision for ME research can be found here.
 
Request For Information: Manufacturing USA Semiconductor Institutes
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a request for information (RFI) seeking relevant public input to inform the development of its semiconductor Manufacturing USA Institutes.  The RFI aims to provide commentary that can ensure the success of Manufacturing USA Institutes focused on “strengthening the semiconductor and microelectronics innovation ecosystem through design, fabrication, advanced testing, assembly, and packaging capabilities.” 
 
This RFI specifically seeks comments to inform the development of up to three Manufacturing USA Institutes centered around semiconductor manufacturing.  These institutes may be centered around:

• Conducting research that supports virtual or automated practices that facilitate the maintenance of semiconductor machinery;
• Developing novel advanced testing practices, as well as assembly and packaging capabilities; and
• Developing and implementing curricula focused on the education and skills training needed to create a strong workforce pipeline to the semiconductor industry.

Provided in the RFI is a comprehensive list of questions that overviews the major topics for which NIST is seeking commentary.  This list of questions seeks public input on the scope of the institute, its structure and governance, potential education and workforce development plans, metrics to evaluate the success of the institute, strategies for garnering support for the institute’s required non-federal co-investment and engaging with the private sector.  Responders are encouraged to let the provided questions guide their comments; however, these questions should not limit the topics responders may address, as responders are encouraged to provide commentary on any topic that may have implications for the development of the institute.
 
Responses to this RFI must be received by November 28, 2022, by 11:59 PM. NIST plans to host a series of informational webinars briefing the public on the comment submission process.  The last webinar will be held on  November 16 from 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET.  You can register here.  More information on this RFI can be found here or on the NIST website. 
 
Request For Information: CHIPS Incentive Program
NIST released a request for information (RFI) for input on its Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Incentives Program.  This RFI focuses on industry input and follows the previous “Incentives, Infrastructure, and Research and Development Needs to Support a Strong Domestic Semiconductor Industry” RFI issued in January 2022.
 
Responses to the RFI will influence the implementation of NIST’s Incentives Program, including “grants, loans and loan guarantees to encourage investment in domestic manufacturing capacity and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.” Specifically, the RFI will seek input in the following areas (but not limited to):

1. “Structuring grants, loans and loan guarantees to ensure that they add to, rather than substitute for, private sector investments.
2. Identifying the most significant supply chain bottlenecks for U.S. semiconductor fabrication facilities.
3. Measuring the effectiveness of efforts to combat cloning, counterfeiting and relabeling of semiconductors.
4. Designing taxpayer protections that prevent recipients from spending CHIPS funds on stock buybacks or dividends.
5. Identifying the types of investments that have been most effective in promoting inclusive economic growth for workers and communities.”

Responses should provide recommendations of how NIST’s Incentives Program should address current and future needs of the public and private sectors for domestic semiconductor manufacturing.  Note that results from the January RFI were recently published here.  Responses to this RFI will be made public and posted on the NIST website, and are due by November 14, 2022, at 5:00 PM ET.
 
NSF Issues Dear Colleague Letter: Enhancing Engineering Technology and Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Technician Education (ETSTE)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) in partnership with the Intel Corporation to advance education and workforce development practices related to advanced manufacturing for “semiconductor manufacturing and/or semiconductor manufacturing and design.”  Under the NSF-Intel partnership, this DCL highlights new award opportunities in the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) and the Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) programs.   ATE focuses on two-year institutions of higher education (IHE) to educate technicians for high-technology fields by supporting “curriculum development; professional development of college faculty and secondary school teachers; career pathways; and other activities.”
S-STEM aims to support low-income students in STEM fields by providing awards to IHEs to fund scholarships and develop curricula.  Students can be pursuing 2-year, 4-year, or master’s degrees under this program. 
 
These new opportunities aim to leverage industry and academic partnerships to advance “semiconductor industry workforce development for high-technology fields critical to future semiconductor design and manufacturing.”  Proposals responding to this DCL should be submitted in accordance with the deadlines and requirements specifically laid out in the respective program (ATE or S-STEM) solicitation.  Eligibility to submit a response to this DCL is the same as eligibility for ATE and S-STEM; and IHEs are eligible to apply.  NSF and Intel will invest $10 million in this initiative as part of a larger $100 million 10-year collaboration between NSF and Intel.  ATE supports a range of award tracks up to $800,000.  S-STEM also supports a range of awards up to $5 million over six years.  Projects awarded under this DCL will have the opportunity to engage directly with the Intel Corporation.  Lewis-Burke’s full analysis of the DCL is available here, and the full DCL is available here.
 
NSF Issues Dear Colleague Letter: Research Coordination Network for Semiconductor (RCN-SC)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Engineering (ENG) issued a new Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) encouraging proposals to the Research Coordination Networks for Semiconductors (RCN-SC) program.  The DCL highlights the vital role semiconductor technologies play in society, industry, and toward solving grand challenges.  RCN-SC focuses on “developing, piloting, and sharing innovative and transformative approaches to enhance knowledge in the broader area of semiconductors (SC).”  RCN-SC will support networking activities to advance semiconductor research and development (R&D) and education.  The program aligns with the recently passed CHIPS and Science Act.  RCN-SC aims to support the development of a well-trained workforce, a better understanding of SC ecosystems, and a greater focus on SC R&D.  RCN awards aim to facilitate “SC communities to communicate, collaborate, and exchange information in research and teaching.”
 
NSF anticipates issuing four to five awards.  The total funding amount for the program is $3.6 million, with individual RCNs supported at less than $500,000 (although awards up to $1 million will be considered if well justified).  Full proposals should be received by May 31, 2023.  This program is open to institutions of higher education and non-profit, non-academic organizations.  RCNs are expected to be multi-organizational.  The full DCL is available here, and more information on the RCN program is available here.  Lewis-Burke’s full analysis of this DCL is available here.
 
NSF Issues Dear Colleague Letter: Supplements for Access to Semiconductor Fabrication (ASF)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) inviting researchers to apply for funding in the Supplements for Access to Semiconductor Fabrication (ASF) program.  The DCL involves the Directorate for Engineering (ENG), the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), and the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS).  The DCL announced the creation of a new supplement program to support access to semiconductor fabrication for Principal Investigators (PIs) of currently active awards in ENG, CISE, and the Divisions of Materials Research (DMR) and Chemistry (CHE) in MPS.
 
Principal Investigators (PIs) of current NSF awards within the ENG Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems (ECCS) Division; the Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing (CMMI) Division; the Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) Division; or any of the other participating CISE (CNS, CCF) and MPS (DMR, CHE) divisions and programs are eligible to request supplemental funding through this DCL.  This supplemental funding opportunity is specifically for semiconductor fabrication and not for systemic implementations.  PIs interested in submitting supplemental funding requests in response to this DCL should contact the relevant program officer identified in the DCL prior to submission.  There are no deadlines to submit supplemental funding requests.  Lewis-Burke’s analysis of the DCL is available here, and the full DCL is available here.

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Opportunity	Agency Name	Program Description	Poste Date	Close Date
N00014-23-S-C001 Science of Artificial Intelligence - Basic and Applied Research for The Naval Domain	Office of Naval Research	Seeks proposals in support of advancing artificial intelligence (AI) for future naval applications.  Proposals will support both basic and applied research in Human-Inspired Computational Models of Vision-Language Interactions for Agents,	10/12/2022	11/7/2022 (White Papers)
HR001123S0012 Ceres	DARPA - Biological Technologies Office	Solicits proposals to develop innovative technologies and approaches to build synthetic plant-microbe communities that aim to cleanse soil contaminants from military installations and battlefields; or overtly report soil status when cleanup is finished.	10/13/2022	11/8/2022 (Abstracts)
N00014-23-S-C002 Hierarchical Command and Control of Unmanned Systems (H- C2 UxS)	Office of Naval Research	Seeks novel methods for the command and control of unmanned military systems.  Autonomy and autonomous systems will be a key aspect of this research.	10/12/2022	12/1/2022 (White Papers)
FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2022-0008 Military Medical Photonics Program	Air Force Office of Scientific Research	Seeks research into the use of lasers and other light sources for in military medical applications such as surgery, combat care, and other medical applications.	9/22/2022	12/9/2022
N00173-23-S-BA01 NRL Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Basic and Applied Research	Naval Research Laboratory	Provides an updated list of NRL’s research interests.  While mostly unchanged, NRL has made updates to its Mathematical Foundations of High Assurance Computing areas and has added directed energy to its Electromagnetic Techniques and Technology Research and Development area.	10/3/2022	9/29/2023
N00014-23-S-B001 Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology	Office of Naval Research	Updates the Navy and Marine Corps annual BAA.  Specific technology areas of interest for each service can found in the full BAA.	9/30/2022	10/2/2023
HR001123S0001 Information Innovation Office (I2O) Office-wide	DARPA - Information Innovation Office	Seeks revolutionary research ideas for topics not being addressed by ongoing I2O programs or other published solicitations.  I2O thrust areas include: proficient artificial intelligence; advantage in cyber operations; confidence in the information domain; and resilient adaptable, and secure systems.	10/26/2022	10/27/2023 (White Papers)

DARPA Announces Advanced Research Concepts Program
At the October 5^th DARPA Forward event, DARPA Director Stefanie Tompkins announced the launch of the agency’s new Advanced Research Concepts (ARC) Program, focused on rapidly awarding and exploring high-risk, high-reward “What if?” questions.  The program, run out of the Defense Sciences Office (DSO), will allow DARPA to rapidly innovate and execute potentially game-changing ideas that can shift the paradigm in national security.  ARC will be managed by the Innovation Fellows.  The recently announced DARPA Innovation Fellowship seeks early career scientists to work within DSO.  Innovation fellows will identify and review topics and oversee their competition and completion.  Each topic will be open for up to six months with successful proposers starting their research within weeks of submission.  Funding would allow one researcher to work for up to a year.  More information on the ARC can be found here.

CDMRP Releases Additional FY 2022 Research Topics
The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) are currently accepting proposals for the following FY 2022 topics:

• Breast Cancer
• Toxic Exposures

All open funding opportunities and pre-announcements are available here.  Interested applicants can subscribe for real-time updates, including forthcoming solicitations here.  

U.S. Space Command Establishes Academic Engagement Enterprise
The U.S. Space Command established a new Academic Engagement Enterprise (AEE) to promote collaborations with institutions of higher education across the country.  U.S. Space Command oversees all national security operations in the space domain.  The AEE will be focused on four topics to support this mission:

• “Grow the capabilities of our future workforce.
• Increase space-applied research that enhances our collective understanding of the space environment to then spur innovation that refines our space operations. 
• Partner with academic organizations to improve access to space studies and extend an understanding of space to a much larger audience. 
• Facilitate a more globally-diverse dialogue about space to better represent the shared interests of all nations committed to the responsible uses of space.” 

Membership in the AEE will provide opportunities for universities to share academic resources with U.S. Space Command, have better access to leading national security space officials for campus visits and events, and will gain exclusive access to U.S. Space Command research opportunities and events. Application information and further details are available here.

DARPA Forward
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) hosted the 4th DARPA Forward event on October 25-26 at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta.  The event supported DARPA’s mission to make pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies for U.S. national security while raising awareness about its programs among researchers and to spur regional partnerships.  Topics included AI, microelectronics, pandemic preparedness, cybersecurity, future G, quantum computing and human machine ecosystems. 

Registration for the final two DARPA Forward events is now open, and researchers interested in national security are encouraged to attend.  As space is limited, attendees may join in person for one event and virtually for the other.  Registration information along with dates and locations for the events can be found here.

BARDA Industry Day
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will host its annual Industry Day November 15-16.  The virtual conference allows attendees to learn more about government-wide medical countermeasure priorities through program briefings, featured speakers, and breakout sessions.  Additionally, the event will facilitate networking opportunities with BARDA employees and other attendees.  Registration information and further details are available here.

SERDP and ESTCP Symposium
The Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program and the Environmental Security Technology and Certification Program (SERDP, ESTCP) will host their annual symposium in person in Arlington, Virginia, from November 29 through December 2.  The symposium allows environmental researchers to interact with SERDP and ESTCP program managers, learn about the latest developments in environmental technology, exchange ideas, and better understand the Department of Defense’s (DOD) priorities for environmental technology and installation resilience.  In addition to SERDP and ESTCP, DOD’s Operational Energy – Innovation program will co-host the symposium this year.  Registration details and more information are available here.  If your institution is interested in attending the 2022 SERDP and ESTCP Symposium, please contact Lewis-Burke Associates LLC.

2022 ChemBio S&T Conference
The 2022 Chemical and Biological Defense Science & Technology (CBD S&T) Conference poses an opportunity to engage with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's (DTRA) Chemical and Biological Technologies program managers.  DTRA seeks to review and identify cutting-edge basic and applied research in chemical and biological defense through this conference.  The conference will be held December 6-9, 2022, in San Francisco, CA.  Registration for the conference is open and must be completed by November 4, 2022.  More information is available here and registration is available here.

NSA’s HOTSoS Symposium Accepting Papers and Posters
The National Security Agency’s (NSA) Hot topics in the Science of Security (HOTSoS) Symposium—held virtually from April 3-5, 2023—is accepting research papers and posters to be presented and displayed at the conference.  The HOTSoS Symposium brings together industry and academia, including students working on the science of security and privacy.  Involvement and sponsorship from the NSA allow HOTSoS attendees to network with leading NSA researchers and practitioners.  Published papers, works-in-progress, and posters/demonstration abstracts will be accepted through December 18, 2022.  More information on the HOTSoS Symposium, including topics of interest for paper submission, can be found here.
WHAT WE'RE READING

American Technology Boosts China’s Hypersonic Missile Program
In front page reporting for the Washington Post, Cate Cadell and Ellen Nakashima expose the relatively open flow of American technology critical for advancing hypersonics to China’s military.  The technology—advanced physics simulation and engineering software that is crucial for testing hypersonics without expensive wind tunnels—has been freely flowing to Chinese institutions known to support the Chinese military, despite export blacklists and supposed oversight.  While the software sold has valid civilian research uses, U.S. companies are barred from selling products to China if they know it will be used by a blacklisted entity or in pursuit of developing missile technology.  That does not seem to be enough to stop software companies selling their products to Chinese intermediaries who are not subject to stringent American oversight.  Many of these companies have benefitted from partnerships and awards with the Department of Defense with some companies receiving millions from the Pentagon’s Small Business Innovation Research program.  The revelation will likely prompt increased scrutiny of these companies’ Chinese partnerships and could elicit further action from Congress and the Pentagon.

IARPA, Biodefense Community Announce FELIX Findings with Major Impacts for Biodetection
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), Ginkgo Bioworks, and DRAPER announced its results from the IARPA’s Finding Engineering-Linked Indicators (FELIX) program. According to initial press, the program’s results can lead to major breakthroughs in biodetection and biosurveillance capabilities, including a new suite of computational tools and a new experimental platform to detect engineered DNA.  In collaboration with IARPA, Ginko Bioworks developed an initial set of computational tools called ENDAR (Engineered Nucleotide Detection and Ranking), which would allow scientists to detect engineered data at scale.  Meanwhile, Draper created lab-based genetic tests that would change the game for biothreat detection, environmental monitoring, and food inspection.  Additional information on the new technologies can be found in the video released here.

Our Generals Are Bad at Strategy.  They Should Study the Civil Rights Movement
Noted Washington Post correspondent, author, and modern military historian Thomas E. Ricks opines for Politico that U.S. generals are terrible at strategy and should take cues from Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement of the 1960s to improve.  In his new book Waging a Good War: A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968, Ricks argues that today’s military leaders are schooled to merely develop and achieve objectives linearly versus the more existential approaches exemplified by King, Andrew Young, James Bevel, Diane Nash, James Lawson, and others.  Civil rights leaders focused heavily on questions of their own existence, working through their grievances as a form of definition for their ideals, values, and accompanying tactics.  This approach led to civil rights leaders’ exhortations of non-violence and acceptance of injury, crippling, or death in their fight against systemic subjugation.  Another difference Ricks details is the civil rights community’s brutal honesty with and acceptance by its leaders.  By contrast, military leaders rotate in and out of complex war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan and fail to grasp deeper issues in those conflicts, usually resulting in command delay or outright negligence.  Ricks notes that activists for civil rights in America were in it to win it, never backing down despite travail, threats, and even death.  Our generals should be so passionate.

Does NFT Trading Violate Federal Law?
Bloomberg reports that he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is probing Yuga Labs’s latest non-fungible token (NFT) offering to determine if sales and profits of the NFT should be regulated as stocks.  The SEC has gotten more invested (pun intended) in regulating cryptocurrencies like those traded under Yuga’s Bored Ape Yacht Club collection of NFTs, arguing that a 1940s Supreme Court decision indicated anything sold or traded by an asset management firm with the expectation of generating profit must be considered a security.  Securities, like those traded on Wall Street, fall under strict regulation by the SEC.  However, enthusiasts of the “web3” movement—a vision of the internet rooted in privacy protection, decentralized management, and blockchain-like cryptocurrency—push back against federal regulation of the crypto market, which includes NFTs.  SEC fines against major crypto managers and firms have passed $1 billion in recent years and resulted in tremendous swings in the crypto market, which has crashed values and left digital investors bankrupt.