Posts By Ross Wilkers

DHS Could Halt, Cancel Some Contracts During Shutdown

“Certain planned procurements may be cancelled and certain existing contracts may be stopped, reduced in scope, terminated or partially terminated.” Nick Nayak, chief procurement officer at the Department of Homeland Security, has advised contractors of these potential actions in the event of a government shutdown in a letter posted Thursday on FedBizOpps. DHS will notRead… Read more »

NASA, DHS Demo Victim Location Radar

NASA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday demonstrated a portable radar device intended to detect heartbeats and breathing patterns of victims trapped in large piles of rubble after a disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will also test the Finding Individuals for Disaster and Emergency Response system this year and next, NASARead… Read more »

Brookings Starts New Public Sector Research Center

The Brookings Institution has launched a new research center under its governance studies program that will work to help identify and solve challenges in the public sector. The Center for Effective Public Management will seek to identify the country’s top governance and political issues of the day and involve leaders and domestic policy experts fromRead… Read more »

NASA Signs Up Six Companies for Composite Research Program

Six companies will participate in a government-and-industry partnership run by NASA as the agency aims to move forward composite materials research and certification. A panel of officials from NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory reviewed proposals from 20 companies and assessed them according to technical expertise and willingness toRead… Read more »

NIST Plans $7M in Additive Manufacturing R&D Grants

The National Institute of Standards and Technology will allocate $7.4 million for research initiatives to evaluate technologies used in emerging product development processes, Green Car Congress reported Thursday. Ohio-based National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute and Northern Illinois University will receive $5 million and $2.4 million, respectively, for additive manufacturing projects. NAMII, which operates under theRead… Read more »

Navy to Hold UUV Briefing for Industry

The U.S. Navy plans to hold industry briefings in October on a program to build an unmanned underwater vehicle, Military & Aerospace Electronics reported Thursday. John Keller writes Naval Undersea Warfare Center officials will discuss the Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle program with interested companies on Oct. 16 at Alion Science and Technology in Washington,Read… Read more »

NASA, USGS to Explore Landsat Data Collection Tech

The U.S. Geological Survey and NASA are seeking ideas for new approaches to developing spaceborne technology intended to provide both agencies continuous data on the Earth’s landscape for at least two more decades. NASA will officially launch the sustainable land imaging architecture study at a public forum Wednesday at the agency’s Webb Auditorium in Washington,NASARead… Read more »

NASA, DHS Want Radar Device to Detect Disaster Victim Heartbeats

NASA and the Department of Homeland Security are working to develop a new radar technology for helping locate victims during emergencies. The Finding Individuals for Disaster and Emergency Response device is intended to identifyheartbeats of human beings buried at several depths under rubbles of catastrophes, NASA said Tuesday. DHS’ science and technology directorate and NASA’sRead… Read more »

DARPA Kicks Off Reusable UAV Program

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has launched a new project to develop a reusable unmanned aerial vehicle that would travel to-and-from space and deploy small satellites while in orbit. DARPA also wants XS-1 to fly 10 times in 10 days, achieve speeds of Mach 10 or greater at least once and launch a representativeRead… Read more »

BAE Signs On for Transportation Dept Hydrogen Fuel Program

BAE Systems has joined the Transportation Department’s $13.6 million initiative to develop hydrogen fuel with the goal of marketing fuel cells to the transportation sector, Hydrogen Fuel News reported Monday. DOT will distribute funding for eight hydrogen fuel projects and BAE will serve as a manufacturing partner of Ballard Power Systems, SunLife Transit Authority andRead… Read more »