Gov 2.0 Expo Keynotes [VIDEO]

Filed under Education & Culture, Technology, Videos by on May 29, 2010 at 12:50 pm {8 comments}

This week’s Gov 2.0 Expo in Washington, DC, brought together technology innovators, social media professionals, and public and private organizations to explore transformative technologies and discover new ways to improve government. Below, you will find three keynotes presented by the Defense Department.

Lt. General Jeffery Sorenson, Army CIO/G6, discussed “Apps for the Army”, the Army’s first ever applications development challenge. The winning web and mobile applications will be created by Army personnel to address everyday needs.


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DoD Deputy CIO: Workforce Must Adapt for “Net Generation”

Filed under Podcast, Policy, Technology, Videos by on May 28, 2010 at 1:03 pm {no comments}
David M. Wennergren, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Information Management and Technology, and DoD Deputy Chief Information Officer.

David M. Wennergren, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Information Management and Technology, and DoD Deputy Chief Information Officer.

This Tuesday’s DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable featured a very interesting discussion with David Wennergren, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Information Management and Technology, and Deputy Chief Information Officer for the Department of Defense.

Wennergren, who was recently named TechAmerica Foundation Government Executive of the Year, discussed the Net Generation guide, a 128-page report by the Federal Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council that focuses on preparing for change in the Federal Information Technology (IT) workforce.

The report identifies the challenges agencies currently face to backfill IT positions with the shrinking workforce, as 957,000 federal workers will become eligible to retire in the next few years. It also discusses how to attract workers between 17 and 31 years old, known as the “Net Generation.”

Listen to the interview or read the full transcript.

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Scientists Model Human Disease Caused by Deadly Nipah Virus

Filed under Life Sciences by on May 27, 2010 at 8:16 am {2 comments}
Study co-author Joan B. Geisbert sampling a study subject in the BSL-4 laboratory.

Study co-author Joan B. Geisbert sampling a study subject in the BSL-4 laboratory. (Photo: USU)

Christen McCluney
Defense Media Activity

Researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) have recently found the first successful nonhuman primate model to test the Nipah virus, which will assist in research into how the disease affects humans.

Nipah is an emerging virus that causes severe illness with symptoms that include inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and/or respiratory diseases. Nipah is closely related to Hendra virus and can cause severe disease in both animals such as pigs, resulting in significant economic losses for farmers, and people.

“It was because of the discovery of Hendra virus in 1994 in Australia that the CDC had reagents available to help identify this new virus, now called Nipah, that was infecting pigs in Malaysia in 1998-99,” Dr. Christopher Broder, USU professor of microbiology said.

In the initial Malaysia outbreak, transmission occurred largely from pigs to people, with pig farmers at high risk. But in more recent outbreaks of Nipah in Bangladesh, many cases have been linked to date palm sap contamination by fruit bats, also known as flying foxes.

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Can Caring Letters Prevent Warrior Suicide?

Filed under Life Sciences, Social Sciences, Technology by on May 26, 2010 at 9:58 am {3 comments}
A service member reads a letter. DoD photo by PHCS Mitchell

A service member reads a letter. DoD photo by PHCS Mitchell

Dr. David Luxton is a Research Psychologist at the National Center for Telehealth and Technology.

“Can caring letters prevent warrior suicide?” The Caring Letters Project, launched by DCoE’s National Center for Telehealth & Technology (T2), aims to answer this question. The project is part of the Department of Defense’s efforts to identify and disseminate the most effective suicide prevention strategies.

The Caring Letters Project is a suicide prevention intervention that involves sending brief caring letters and reminders of available treatment to individuals following psychiatric hospitalization. The project is currently underway at Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC) located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash.

Although much research has investigated the factors associated with suicidal behavior in both civilian and military populations, there haven’t been many controlled trial studies of suicide prevention interventions. Sending caring letters to patients after discharge from inpatient psychiatry treatment is one of the few techniques that have been shown to decrease suicide according to a randomized controlled trial (Motto & Bostrom, 2001, Comtois & Linehan, 2006).

Here’s how it works:

  • Research assistants meet with warriors on the MAMC inpatient psychiatry unit and speak with them about their hobbies, family and plans after discharge
  • Then, for the next two years, the Caring Letters Team sends these warriors a series of 13 personalized caring letters by handwritten postal mail or e-mail
  • At first the letters are frequent (about once a month), but by the end of the two years, the team sends letters every few months

About 15% of those participating have contacted the team to thank them for the letters. “It was an incredible feeling. It gives hope that we are doing a service for these individuals. We’re just letting them know that someone out there really cares,” said research assistant Jennifer June of a recent thank you note she received from a participating warrior.

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Laser Creates a Universal Stop Sign [VIDEO]

Filed under Physical Sciences, Technology, Videos by on May 24, 2010 at 12:23 pm {2 comments}



A laser that stops traffic? Yes, a new light tool called “driver defeat” will help soldiers slow approaching cars from a distance so they can determine if the driver is friend or foe.

It works like this: When a laser is pointed at the eye, the flashes create an “afterimage,” an optical illusion that limits a person’s sight for a very short time.  It’s a little like driving into the sun, says Gordon Hengst, a research physicist at Brooks City Air Force Research Lab.

So, “if somebody’s driving a vehicle the natural reaction is to either slow down or stop,” giving soldiers that extra moment they need.  Scientists are experimenting with the color, power and timing of flashes to make the laser a safe — as well as effective — universal stop sign.

Special thanks to the National Defense Education Program for providing this insider’s view of every day work undertaken by Defense Department scientists and engineers. For more awesome science, check out the LabTV website, or visit Lab TV on Facebook and Twitter! (more…)

Defense Fellow Helps Give Barbie a New Career

Filed under Education & Culture, Physical Sciences, Technology by on May 21, 2010 at 9:23 am {2 comments}

DoD's Dr. Erin Fitzgerald contributed to the design of Computer Engineer Barbie.

DoD's Dr. Erin Fitzgerald contributed to the design of Computer Engineer Barbie.

Dr. Erin Fitzgerald is a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow in the Basic Science Office within the Office of the Director, Defense Research and Engineering in the Department of Defense, where she develops strategic plans for future basic research investments.

This January, I was surprise to receive an email from Randy Atkins, the Senior Media Relations Officer at the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Although I had worked briefly last year at the National Academies before joining the Department of Defense in September 2009, I had never met Randy. (I did know his name and voice, however, from listening to NAE Engineering Innovation podcasts.)

Even more surprising was why Randy had contacted me: he wanted ideas for what a Barbie doll would look like if she were a computer engineer!

It turns out that every few years Mattel announces a new career for Barbie, and then in turn releases a new doll fitting of that career. This year, the career was selected by online vote from five possible options: architect, anchorwoman, computer engineer, environmentalist, and surgeon. The vote was targeted toward young girls, but computer engineers and scientists—such as Systers (the world’s largest email community of technical women in computing) and the Society of Women Engineers—organized their own online “get out the vote” effort.

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Pentagon’s Entertainment Office Brings Military Science to Hollywood

Filed under Education & Culture, Videos by on May 20, 2010 at 7:39 am {2 comments}
Phil Strub escorting then-Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, at the "Iwo Jima" memorial, where Clint Eastwood was directing a scene for the movie "Flags of Our Fathers."

Phil Strub escorting then-Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, at the "Iwo Jima" memorial, where Clint Eastwood was directing a scene for the movie "Flags of Our Fathers."

Phil Strub is the Director of Entertainment Media at the Department of Defense.

When people see what looks like an actual modern American combat vehicle or aircraft in a movie like “Transformers” or a TV show like “24,” chances are they don’t wonder “Did they get that from the U.S. military?” But for my two-person Defense Department (DoD) office in the Pentagon, and the small Military Service staffs based in Los Angeles, working with Hollywood filmmakers is a full-time job.

Entertainment media producers have wanted access to U.S. military equipment and real estate — including ships — since the dawn of American cinema. The first movie to get an “Oscar” in the then-new “Best Picture” category was the 1927 silent film “Wings.” “Wings” was a big hit commercially and critically because the support the studio got from the Army Air Corps allowed it to portray World War I training and combat far more realistically than it could ever have done on its own. And the Army got a great opportunity to showcase itself to millions of Americans.

Things haven’t changed much since then. Despite the sophistication of special effects, computer generated graphics, and other technologies, filmmakers still very much want U.S. military production support — even though it comes with strings attached. For example, along with their “wish lists” for military support, filmmakers must also send us the scripts. These ultimately have to present a reasonably realistic portrayal of the military — though obviously what is reasonably realistic varies widely depending on the production. It’s one thing for “Black Hawk Down,” and quite another for “Iron Man 2.” If filmmakers are willing to negotiate with us to resolve our script concerns, usually we’ll reach an agreement. If not, filmmakers are free to press on without military assistance, and they often do.

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ONR Open Innovation Summit

Filed under Technology, Videos by on May 19, 2010 at 8:17 am {2 comments}

ONRSummit_AwSOn Wed, May 19th, 2010, we will be live streaming the Office of Naval Research’s (ONR) Open Innovation Summit. Dr. Larry Schuette, ONR’s Director of Innovation, put together this collaboration event to explore open innovation business models for industry and government and how they apply in each environment. The event will examine how these models fit into new applications and how certain industry models can assist government processes. Each presentation will highlight why a model was introduced, how it was received, what incentives were used to get adopted, and the overall value to the customer.

The Open Innovation Summit has ended. Please feel free to download any of the presentations below:

Open Innovation Gateway, Gary Markovits, Innovations Business Partners
Open Innovation, Tracey A. Dodenhoff, Yet2.com
Innovative Contracting Methods, David Edwards, Strategic Analysis Inc.
NineSigma Overview: Leveraging the Global Innovation Community, Paul Stupay, NineSigma Inc.
Prototype Capabilities, Dave Aberizk, Integrated Consultants, Inc.
Broad Agency Announcements Process, ONR Contracts and Grants Placement Division
Navy Small Business Innovation Research,  Jim Blesse, ONR
Innovating…on a Reduced Budget, Bill Ryan, MFG.com
InnoCentive: Enabling Better Innovation, David Ritter, InnoCentive

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