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Category: Science

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘Sorry mate, I didn’t see you’: when drivers look but don’t see cyclists on the road

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giulio Ponte, Research Engineer at the Centre for Automotive Safety Research, University of Adelaide

    Serhii Milekhin/Shutterstock

    When a vehicle and a cyclist collide, the cyclist almost always emerges worse off. Globally, more than 40,000 cyclists are killed and millions more seriously injured in road crashes.

    In most of these collisions, the driver is responsible.

    So, what factors are involved when a cyclist and a car collide?

    The most common factors

    The most common types of vehicle-cyclist crashes are caused by:

    When drivers ‘look-but-failed-to-see’

    Many drivers fail to notice cyclists until it’s too late. Sometimes this phenomenon is referred to as SMIDSY (“sorry mate, I didn’t see you”).

    Crash researchers often classify these types of crash as a “looked-but-failed-to-see” error.

    Cyclists are extremely susceptible to this. They are small, not a safety threat to drivers, are outnumbered and are typically ranked low on a driver’s “attentional hierarchy”. It may also be that drivers just don’t expect cyclists to be around.

    Cyclists can be inconspicuous but even if they are visible, drivers may look but not “see” them because they’re focusing on something else.

    This selective attention test highlights how easy it is to end up in a looked-but-failed-to-see situation:

    It is inevitable drivers will occasionally make errors resulting in near misses and crashes. Telling drivers to look out for cyclists and not crash into them won’t stop crashes with cyclists. So what might help?

    Solutions with limited effectiveness

    While errors are inevitable, improving road infrastructure and using layouts that highlight cyclists in potential conflict areas can help.

    In practice, this means things such as advanced stop lines or holding areas that place cyclists ahead of motor vehicles at intersections so cyclists are more visible and can move off safely.

    Advanced green lights (where the traffic light turns green for cyclists before it does for cars) could also help, as they allow cyclists to move off while motor vehicle traffic is still stopped.

    Bicycle-activated warning signage provide a visual warning to alert drivers that a cyclist is near by.

    Improved road lighting to highlight cyclists better on the network at night, would also help.

    There are also things cyclists can do to improve their own safety. These include

    Many roads have white lines painted on them to allocate separate space to cyclists and there are mandatory passing distance laws throughout Australia as well as in some international jurisdictions.

    However, research has shown that close passing is still relatively common and that painted bike lanes may actually increase the frequency or severity of these dangerous interactions.

    Speed limit reform

    If we know that errors are inevitable and crashes will occur, then we should make those events survivable.

    Humans are fragile. Being struck by a car at 50 km/h is estimated to result in a 90% chance of being killed. At 30 km/h, the risk of being killed decreases to just 10%.

    Speed limits of 40 km/h and 30 km/h improve safety for both cyclists and pedestrians, particularly in high pedestrian and cyclist locations.

    While lowering speed limits is widely supported within the road safety fraternity, more efforts are needed to promote acceptance throughout the wider community.

    Telling drivers to look out for cyclists and not crash into them won’t stop crashes.
    Rocksweeper/Shutterstock

    Autonomous emergency braking

    One opportunity for reducing or eliminating collisions with cyclists (in the absence of speed limit reform) may be with advanced driver assistance systems such as autonomous emergency braking.

    These systems constantly and rapidly process visual information in the traffic environment.

    They can help prevent certain crashes, or reduce collision speeds, when human error occurs.

    They can also help prevent “dooring”, which is where a cyclist collides with a car door suddenly opened by the driver.

    However, these technologies are not 100% effective; emergency situations between vehicles and cyclists can occur suddenly, with little time for automated systems to respond appropriately.

    These systems are also generally only available on newer vehicles. Given the average age of Australian vehicles is over 11 years, it will take some time before they are widely prevalent and have a significant influence on bicycle safety.

    Eliminating conflicts

    Dedicated separated infrastructure is optimal for cyclist safety as it avoids interactions between vehicles and cyclists completely.

    However, this infrastructure often forces cyclists to share space with pedestrians such as children, dog walkers, wheelchair users, and parents with prams (which can introduce other safety issues).

    Additionally, these dedicated separated paths are not always well connected, or may “lead to nowhere”, so they don’t always appeal to cyclists.

    Another way to eliminate conflicts is through changes to the traffic network. For example, controlling turn movements at traffic lights with right-turn arrows means drivers no longer need to decide when it’s safe to turn.

    But this comes at a cost to traffic efficiency. In our society, unfortunately, there are many who value lost time more than the cost of road crashes and injury trauma.

    Ultimately, if we want to focus on the value of human life and live-ability, we need to rethink the transport hierarchy to place more value on the most vulnerable road users. This could be achieved with “presumed liability” laws, where a driver who collides with a cyclist must prove they were not at fault.

    Finally, we should remember that we are all vulnerable at some point in our transport journeys.

    Giulio Ponte has membership in Bike Adelaide, as well as his local Bicycle User Group, the Royal Automobile Association of South Australia and the Australian College of Road Safety (SA Chapter).

    Jamie Mackenzie is a member of the Australasian College of Road Safety. He is currently the Chair of the South Australian Chapter of the Australasian College of Road Safety and sits on the Executive Council of the national body.

    – ref. ‘Sorry mate, I didn’t see you’: when drivers look but don’t see cyclists on the road – https://theconversation.com/sorry-mate-i-didnt-see-you-when-drivers-look-but-dont-see-cyclists-on-the-road-244935

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Dogs see their world through smell – and scientists are starting to translate it like never before

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Boyd, Senior Lecturer in Animal Science, Nottingham Trent University

    Lorenzooooo/Shutterstock

    Scent is how dogs largely experience the world, a lot like the way we humans rely on sight. We know little about how dogs interpret scent, but thanks to a recent study, we may be getting closer to understanding what a dog’s nose actually knows.

    Dogs are primed to detect smells. The average dog’s nose has more than 10 million scent receptors in their nose, compared to humans, who only have about 6 million.

    This makes the canine nose more than 10, 000 times better at detecting scents than we are. They can detect minute quantities of scent. For example, forensic detection dogs can detect 0.01 microlitres of gasolene. A microlitre is one millionth of a litre.

    Humans have exploited dogs’ olfactory superpowers in a number of ways, which has no doubt contributed to the deep relationship we have developed with our canine companions over 40,000 years living together.

    Dogs still join us as hunting partners, sniffing out food. They work beside us as vital members of crime-fighting teams, finding illicit substances, as medical colleagues for disease detection, and as partners in conservation efforts, finding rare and endangered species.

    Despite the widespread involvement of dogs as natural scent detectors, we remain largely oblivious as to how dogs interpret what they smell and how they perceive the world in which they live.

    We don’t know much about dogs’ experience of smell – but we know they’re good at it.
    Sundays Photography/Shutterstock

    Exploring the brain activity of dogs when they are exposed to specific smells can help identify which of their brain regions are associated with scent detection. This helps scientists understand what the dog is experiencing, which might help us enhance the selection and training of sniffer dogs.

    Until now, scientists needed expensive equipment to study dogs’ brains and research methods that required dogs to stay still. This means we know less about the brains of active working dogs who might struggle to remain motionless for long periods.

    But we can’t simply apply the data from dogs who can cope with sitting still since dog breeds have differences in their training and scenting skills.

    Sensing scents

    The recent study I mentioned at the beginning of this article uses a new, cheap and non-invasive method to explore how the canine brain responds to scent. The researchers think that this method – known as AI speckle pattern analysis – will help us identify how dog brains react to scents and what it means for how dogs perceive and respond to the world around them in future research too.

    The researchers developed an optical sensor to target three brain areas involved in canine scent discrimination: the amygdala, olfactory bulb and hippocampus. The amygdala is responsible for emotional responses to stimuli.

    The olfactory bulb is involved with odour processing and the hippocampus is associated with memory formation.

    The equipment used in the study consisted of a high resolution digital camera linked to a computer, plus a green laser. Laser light, capable of penetrating dog fur and skull bone, was shone on the heads of four relaxed, blindfolded study dogs who were exposed to four different scents: alcohol, marijuana, menthol and garlic. These substances all appear to evoke similar olfactory responses in dogs.

    As laser light was reflected from the three brain areas, the camera detected interference as a distinct “speckle” pattern. The camera made recordings for five seconds, repeated four times for each scent.

    AI analysed differences in the speckle patterns from the different brain regions to create models of how the brain regions of the dogs responded to each scent.

    It’s not just sniffing

    The study results highlighted the importance of the amygdala for canine scent discrimination. This suggests that there could be an emotional component to how dogs sense their environment. Taste and odour detection are also known to be linked to memory formation and emotional state in humans.

    Because dogs appear to experience emotional responses to scents, training methods and experiences might need to take this into consideration. For example, dogs often link the characteristic aroma of the veterinary surgery with less-than-fun situations.

    Dogs in training for scent detection would also probably benefit from being in a positive emotional state when they are exposed to training odours.

    This research could even pave the way to developing specialised equipment for detecting and translating the olfactory responses of dogs. Mobile equipment that works rapidly could allow us to interpret what dogs’ noses are telling them in real time.

    This isn’t as far-fetched as it may sound. If you’ve seen the Disney movie Up, you probably remember Dug the dog who wore a bark translation collar. Well, scientists have developed a real collar that claims to tell you what your dog’s vocalisations mean.

    It’s difficult to say how accurate it is without analysing the data the collar’s AI was trained on, but the database is growing as more dogs use the collars. If the collars do prove accurate, it might not be too long before wearable technology can tell us exactly what our dogs are saying and smelling.

    Jacqueline Boyd is affiliated with The Kennel Club (UK) through membership and as advisor to the Health Advisory Group. Jacqueline is a full member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT #01583) and she also writes, consults and coaches on canine matters on an independent basis, in addition to her academic affiliation at Nottingham Trent University.

    – ref. Dogs see their world through smell – and scientists are starting to translate it like never before – https://theconversation.com/dogs-see-their-world-through-smell-and-scientists-are-starting-to-translate-it-like-never-before-252659

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NCEI Collaborates with FathomVerse to Celebrate Citizen Science Month

    Source: US National Oceanographic Data Center

    Every April, NCEI celebrates Citizen Science month, which is dedicated to celebrating the public’s participation in scientific discovery and research. Whether it be by using NOAA’s CrowdMag application to gather geomagnetic data on a smartphone or crowdsourcing weather reports using mPING, there are several ways to join in on Citizen Science month fun.

    This year, NCEI is pleased to collaborate with Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) by featuring their FathomVerse mobile game, which just launched their latest version on March 26. FathomVerse uses ocean data and imagery stewarded by NCEI/NOAA to create a hands-on, accessible approach to everyday ocean exploration.  

    What is FathomVerse?

    FathomVerse is a free mobile game that invites everyone with a smartphone or tablet to contribute to science. By playing productive mini-games and interacting with stunning ocean imagery, gamers can partner with researchers to identify ocean animals while training AI.

    Why play FathomVerse?

    Most of ocean life is still unknown to science, and FathomVerse was created to help fill the knowledge gap while engaging the public ocean researchers and scientists. AI is used to capture ocean images and analyze them, but relies on people to continuously train and verify the models. Every time someone interacts with the FathomVerse game, the machine learning models are trained and improved upon.

    How does FathomVerse work?

    FathomVerse aims to increase our capacity to measure and monitor marine life in a changing ocean. The game offers an interactive community science experience where players engage with scientific images collected by robots and researchers around the world. Every experience in FathomVerse is filled with imagery that researchers, government agencies, and coastal communities collected with imaging systems and shared with us.

    With advances in imaging and AI technology, we can capture images of the ocean and quickly analyze them. By interacting with the game, players help train the AI that researchers use to find and identify animals in real ocean imagery. In doing so, you’ll hone your skills and learn how to identify nearly 50 groups of ocean animals.

    By tapping into our collective curiosity, FathomVerse seeks to transform ocean exploration by engaging a community of passionate ocean enthusiasts to work alongside researchers.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Giving up a daily coffee or weekly parma? How the cost-of-living crisis is reshaping our spending habits

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meg Elkins, Senior Lecturer, School of Economics, Finance and Marketing and Behavioural Business Lab Member, RMIT University

    Bangkok Click Studio/Shutterstock

    Remember when grabbing a coffee was just… grabbing a coffee? When a parma at the local was a budget meal? When Friday night takeaway was a reward for getting through the week? It didn’t require a financial spread sheet.

    For many families navigating the cost-of-living crisis these small indulgences now have to be accounted for. They’re not just automatic purchases.

    We’re not just cutting back on buying large discretionary items, like new cars. The impact of inflation on household budgets has fundamentally reshaped our relationship with food, social connection and small pleasures.

    The current cost-of-living crisis can also create new spending habits. The ways we restructure our budgets can have lasting effects on our lives and local economies.

    Price anchors

    What five years ago was a A$3.80 coffee has now become $5.50 with some options as high as $7.00.

    Despite the price change, customers have a mental reference point of what a coffee should cost from the pre-inflationary period.

    Behavioural economists refer to this as “anchoring” – a rule of thumb price that purchase decisions are judged upon.

    So if you are used to paying $5 for a daily coffee, any price above this is beyond what you see as reasonable value for money.

    Look at parents at weekend sports matches. You’ll notice the increasing presence of the insulated mug full of homemade coffee, replacing the takeaway coffees from the local cafe.

    For my family, Friday night was pizza night and $50 would easily feed a family of four. Then the inflationary price creep started. For us $70 was the tipping point. When the same order cost more we started making pizzas at home.

    Mental accounting

    Nobel laureate Richard Thaler introduced the concept of mental accounting in 1985, as a model of how we allocate money into to different categories for spending.

    If the price is above our threshold point we mentally reassign its purchase to one of our other spending categories. It might shift from being an everyday item in our household budget to an occasionally purchased item.

    Decision fatigue

    During an inflation-fuelled cost-of-living crisis, we face not only financial strain but also significant decision fatigue from constant price revaluations.

    This cognitive burden emerges as mental exhaustion when making even routine purchases.

    Increasing pressure on our finances can trigger a scarcity mindset that consumes our thinking and affects our decision making.

    Our focus shifts to immediate needs, such as paying weekly grocery bills, instead of long-term financial planning for a holiday or retirement.

    The social cost

    These new purchasing habits and economic shifts also have implications for our social connections. The cafe, the pub and takeaway night are not only about food but they are about community and building social connections.

    The so-called third place is the place between work and home where you can be part of the community.

    Buying goods is often accompanied by an exchange of conversation. As the cost-of-living crisis continues making fewer purchases reduces opportunities to connect.

    If higher costs change our spending habits such as a weekly night at the pub, opportunities to connect are also affected.
    Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock

    If the little pleasures we consume as a daily or weekly ritual become luxuries, this can increase the loss of the third space. It means spaces such as cafes, restaurants and pubs no longer foster community cohesion and increase social capital.

    As these goods become luxuries, social division intensifies. Rising prices exclude certain groups and may restrict social mixing across income levels.

    What it means for businesses

    A big question here is how much longer can some hospitality services survive as the cost-of-living crisis continues?

    Australian Bureau of Statistics data reveals big changes for Australia’s café, restaurant and takeaway food industry.

    After a severe downturn during early COVID-19 lockdowns (-35.3% in March-April 2020), the sector rebounded to pre-pandemic levels by March 2021. This was followed by extraordinary expansion during 2021-2022 (26.8% growth) as pent-up demand was unleashed.

    But recent figures reveal a problem: while spending rose 3.76% from January 2024 to January 2025, real growth (adjusted for inflation) was negative at -0.43%.

    Inflationary psychology explains how customers’ behaviour changes and they buy less over time. Eventually a point is reached where they won’t pay the higher price.

    This means, in the case of the hospitality industry, fewer actual meals are being served due to higher prices.

    The industry faces a tough situation with costs rising faster than general inflation due to expensive ingredients, higher wages from worker shortages, and increased energy prices.

    Our happiness threshold

    Humans have a set-point of happiness. When economic pressures mean we adjust to new spending patterns to save money for an extended period, the new patterns, become the norm.

    Inflation, complicates social comparison. If everyone’s purchasing power falls simultaneously, relative positions may remain stable.

    As the current cost-of-living crisis continues our little pleasures such as a weekly parma or daily coffee are increasingly becoming conscious choices rather than automatic purchases.

    This has the potential to permanently change the way Australian households budget.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Giving up a daily coffee or weekly parma? How the cost-of-living crisis is reshaping our spending habits – https://theconversation.com/giving-up-a-daily-coffee-or-weekly-parma-how-the-cost-of-living-crisis-is-reshaping-our-spending-habits-253424

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Australians want nature protected. These 3 environmental problems should be top of the next government’s to-do list

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University

    Christina Zdenek

    Australia is a place of great natural beauty, home to many species found nowhere else on Earth. But it’s also particularly vulnerable to introduced animals, diseases and weeds. Habitat destruction, pollution and climate change make matters worse. To conserve what’s special, we need far greater care.

    Unfortunately, successive federal governments have failed to protect nature. Australia now has more than 2,000 threatened species and “ecological communities” – groups of native species that live together and interact. This threatened list is growing at an alarming rate.

    The Albanese government came to power in 2022 promising to reform the nation’s nature laws, following a scathing review of the laws. But it has failed to do so.

    If re-elected, Labor has vowed to complete its reforms and introduce a federal Environment Protection Agency, in some other form.

    The Coalition has not made such a commitment. Instead, it refers to “genuine conservation”, balancing the environment and the economy. They’ve also promised to cut “green tape” for industry.

    But scientific evidence suggests much more is required to protect Australia’s natural wonders.

    Fighting invaders

    Labor has made a welcome commitment of more than A$100 million to counter “highly pathogenic avian influenza”. This virulent strain of bird flu is likely to kill millions of native birds and other wildlife.

    The government also provided much-needed funding for a network of safe havens for threatened mammals. These safe-havens exclude cats, foxes and other invasive species.

    But much more needs to be done. Funding is urgently needed to eradicate red imported fire ants, before eradication becomes impossible. Other election commitments to look for include:

    Stopping land clearing and habitat destruction

    The states are largely responsible for controlling land clearing. But when land clearing affects “matters of national environmental significance” such as a nationally listed threatened species or ecological community, it becomes a federal matter.

    Such proposals are supposed to be referred to the federal environment minister for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

    But most habitat destruction is never referred. And if it is, it’s mostly deemed “not a controlled action”. That means no further consideration is required and the development can proceed.

    Only about 1.5% of the hundreds of thousands of hectares of land cleared in Australia every year is fully assessed under the EPBC Act.

    This means our threatened species and ecological communities are suffering a “death by a thousand cuts”.

    How do we fix this? A starting point is to introduce “national environmental standards” of the kind envisaged in the 2020 review of the EPBC Act by Professor Graeme Samuel.

    A strong Environment Protection Agency could ensure impacts on biodiversity are appropriately assessed and accounted for.

    Habitat destruction at Lee Point, Darwin.
    Martine Maron

    Protecting threatened species

    For Australia to turn around its extinction crisis, prospective elected representatives and governments must firmly commit to the following actions.

    Stronger environmental law and enforcement is essential for tackling biodiveristy decline and extinction. This should include what’s known as a “climate trigger”, which means any proposal likely to produce a significant amount of greenhouse gases would have to be assessed under the EPBC Act.

    This is necessary because climate change is among the greatest threats to biodiversity. But the federal environment minister is currently not legally bound to consider – or authorised to refuse – project proposals based on their greenhouse gas emissions. In an attempt to pass the EPBC reforms in the Senate last year, the Greens agreed to postpone their demand for a climate trigger.

    Key threats to species, including habitat destruction, invasive species, climate change, and pollution, must be prevented or reduced. Aligning government policies and priorities to ensure environmental goals aren’t undermined by economic and development interests is essential.

    A large increase in environmental spending – to at least 1% of the federal budget – is vital. It would ensure sufficient support for conservation progress and meeting legal requirements of the EPBC Act, including listing threatened species and designing and implementing recovery plans when required.

    Show nature the money!

    Neither major party has committed to substantial increases in environmental spending in line with what experts suggest is urgently needed.

    Without such increased investment Australia’s conservation record will almost certainly continue to deteriorate. The loss of nature hurts us all. For example, most invasive species not only affect biodiversity; they have major economic costs to productivity.

    Whoever forms Australia’s next government, we urge elected leaders to act on the wishes of 96% of surveyed Australians calling for more action to conserve nature.



    Read more:
    Protecting salmon farming at the expense of the environment – another step backwards for Australia’s nature laws

    Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action. Euan is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society, and President of the Australian Mammal Society.

    John Woinarski is a Professor at Charles Darwin University, a director of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, co-chair of the IUCN Australasian Marsupials and Monotremes Specialist group, a councillor with the Biodiversity Council, and a member of the science advisory committee of Zoos Victoria and Invertebrates Australia. He has received funding from the Australian government to contribute to the management of feral cats and foxes.

    Martine Maron has received funding from various sources including the Australian Research Council, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, and the federal government’s National Environmental Science Program, and has advised both state and federal government on conservation policy. She is a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, a director of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, a councillor with the Biodiversity Council, and leads the IUCN’s thematic group on Impact Mitigation and Ecological Compensation under the Commission on Ecosystem Management.

    – ref. Australians want nature protected. These 3 environmental problems should be top of the next government’s to-do list – https://theconversation.com/australians-want-nature-protected-these-3-environmental-problems-should-be-top-of-the-next-governments-to-do-list-253336

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Washington Waters Newsletter – Spring 2025

    Source: US Geological Survey

    Contents

    Message from Our Director

    Welcome to Washington Waters, a newly launched newsletter for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Washington Water Science Center. The purpose of the newsletter is to keep our partners, collaborators, and data users updated with current research projects, changes to our data network, and other water news.

    Though our motto is “Science for a Changing World”, we are guided and grounded by the mission of the U.S. Geological Survey: to provide objective and impartial science to decision makers, resource managers, and the public.

    At the Washington Water Science Center, we advance the USGS mission by maintaining a network of streamgages that provide reliable real-time information from Washington’s rivers and streams. USGS water data supports flood prediction and response, reservoir management and hydropower generation, water security, and the recreation economy. We also undertake scientific investigations to provide unbiased information in support of water resource management and decision making.

    In this first edition of Washington Waters, we showcase a couple examples of the work we do across Washington State. These include our growing data network and new webpages for data delivery as well as advances in streamflow permanence research.

    Collaboration is at the heart of our efforts, and we value our partnerships with entities across Washington. Together with our partners, we ensure that our science is relevant, timely, and impactful to the communities we serve. Thank you to our partners and data users for your continued support and engagement as we work together to fulfill our mission.

    – Scott VanderKooi, Director, USGS Washington Water Science Center

    New Water Data Web Pages

    New Water Data for the Nation web page.

    You may have noticed recent changes to the USGS water data web pages. Over the past several years, the USGS has been updating our pages to meet modern web standards, security needs, and the ever-increasing demand for USGS water data. Now we are ready to make the switch to the new pages and turn off the old ones. The decommissioning will take place over three campaigns between now and February 2027. Learn more about the changes by reading the Water Data for the Nation Blog and subscribing to their newsletter.

    The modernized pages contain new features including:

    • My Favorites is a centralized place to keep track of the monitoring locations you are interested in.
    • State Pages allow users to see current water conditions from all monitoring locations in a state that collect continuous data.
    • Explore USGS Water Data is a map tool with multiple filters available to help you refine a list of locations and find water data that meet your needs.
    • Data Collection Categories make all kinds of water data (continuous, daily, discrete samples, field measurements) accessible from the same place.

    We acknowledge that this will require a period of transition and learning. The Washington Water Science Center is here to support you through the transition; please use the “Questions or Comments” button at the bottom of the data pages.

    Picture This

    You know the saying “A photo is worth a thousand words”. We’re excited to show off our stellar science and staff with a photo.

    Pend Oreille River Below Box Canyon Near Ione, WA. Photo by William Elliot, USGS.

    This photo of a streamflow measurement on the Pend Oreille River captures a juxtaposition inherent to our work: we use cutting-edge technology to capture high-quality data while working in rugged, beautiful places. In the photo, a hydrologic technician riding a cableway guides an ADCP (streamflow measurement device) across the channel. On the snowy shore, a laptop displays the channel cross-section, allowing technicians to visualize the flow and validate the data. Field visits by hydrologic technicians provide critical information about changes to the channel which are used to calibrate continuous monitoring data.

    The Volcano in Our Backyard: 45 Years of Mt. St. Helens Water Research

    45 years after the Mt. St. Helens eruption, the North Fork Toutle River still carries high sediment loads. Photo by Adam Mosbrucker, USGS.

    45 years ago, Mt. St. Helens began to rumble. The May 18, 1980 eruption drew global attention and sticks in the minds of those who were alive to experience it. USGS volcanologists and seismologists closely monitored the mountain throughout the eruption cycle. USGS water scientists were at the scene too.

    The eruption and lahars forever changed the mountain’s slopes, valleys, and rivers, none more so than the North Fork Toutle River which was immediately loaded with billions of tons of sediment. Scientists and technicians from the USGS Washington Water Science Center quickly responded and led the water quality monitoring and surveyed the dramatically changed river corridor. Even today, sediment loads remain elevated, creating challenges for the downstream communities that rely on the Toutle and Cowlitz Rivers for drinking water and navigation. The Washington Water Science Center continues to monitor sediment loads to provide communities with critical information needed to protect their water resources.

    May 18th marks the 45th anniversary of this historic eruption. Retired USGS scientists from the Washington Water Science Center and the Cascade Volcano Observatory have compiled their personal stories and photos.

    Read Stories from the Smoking Mountain

    Expanding Our Data Network

    In 2025, the Washington Water Science Center expanded our water monitoring network, with the support of our cooperators. The new streamgages, wells, and data types will help address specific scientific questions such as supporting aquatic species health, flood warning, understanding groundwater movement, and quantifying precipitation in areas burned by wildfire. We’re excited to bring more water data to our partners and the public!

    View Washington Water Conditions

    New Water Monitoring Sites in 2025

    Will it Flow? USGS Streamflow Permanence Research Makes Splashes

    New Scientific Investigations

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Conference places the spotlight on ocean sustainability 

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    As the current holder of the G20 Presidency, South Africa is leading global efforts for ocean sustainability, particularly focusing on advancing sustainable ocean initiatives in Africa.

    The country is hosting the 14th International Conference on Southern Hemisphere Meteorology and Oceanography (ICSHMO), which is currently underway in Cape Town. 

    This premier scientific gathering, being held in Africa for the first time since 1997, brings together renowned meteorologists, oceanographers, and climate scientists to address the unique atmospheric and oceanic challenges of the southern hemisphere.

    The five-day event, which kicked off on Monday, is hosted by the National Research Foundation (NRF) through the South African Environmental Observation Network, with support from the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI). 

    The conference shows South Africa’s growing influence in global climate science.

    Opening the conference, the Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Nomalungelo Gina, emphasised the urgent need for scientific collaboration to combat the escalating threats of climate change.

    “The world is experiencing intensified heatwaves, prolonged droughts, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events that disrupt economies, displace communities, and strain infrastructure,” the department said. 

    South Africa has witnessed the devastating impact of climate change in repeated floods and recurring droughts. 
    These events highlight the pressing need for enhanced climate prediction, risk management, and adaptation strategies, all key topics at ICSHMO 2025.

    The Deputy Minister stressed the importance of turning scientific knowledge into tangible, actionable solutions. 
    Through the NRF, the country continues to support cutting-edge research in marine and coastal science, weather forecasting, and climate adaptation, to inform global policy and action.

    Gina welcomed the integration of ICSHMO with the Ocean20 initiative, a flagship programme introduced under Brazil’s G20 Presidency, which is designed to promote sustainable ocean governance, and reiterated South Africa’s commitment to leveraging science, technology, and innovation for sustainable development.

    The Deputy Minister stressed the importance of equitable access to artificial intelligence, big data and remote sensing technologies, which were transforming climate science, enabling more accurate forecasting, early warning systems, and disaster preparedness. 

    Collaboration and knowledge-sharing were key to building a more stable and resilient global future, especially for nations that were most vulnerable to climate change.

    A group of learners from Luhlaza and Usasazo high schools in Khayelitsha attended the conference and had a special interaction with Gina on the benefits of science for society.

    During the opening session, Kenya’s representative for the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Patricia Nying’uro, highlighted the critical role of indigenous knowledge in promoting sustainability. She stated that the extensive knowledge accumulated by indigenous communities over centuries should be utilized to enhance climate action efforts.

    NRF CEO, Dr Fulufhelo Nelwamondo, said the conference would provide a vital platform for advancing scientific collaboration, sharing cutting-edge research, and addressing the pressing challenges of climate variability and change in the southern hemisphere.

    “The insights and discussions over the next few days will undoubtedly contribute to shaping policies and strategies that enhance climate resilience in our region and beyond,” he stated. – SAnews.gov.za
     

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H., Sworn in as FDA Commissioner

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

    For Immediate Release:
    April 01, 2025

    Renowned surgeon-scientist and health policy expert, Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H., took the oath of office to become the 27th Commissioner of Food and Drugs. Dr. Makary was confirmed by a bipartisan vote of the U.S. Senate.
    “I am pleased to welcome Dr. Makary to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “He is a national leader in medicine with impeccable credentials. His extensive research, clinical experience, and national leadership make him uniquely qualified to lead the FDA as we work together to Make America Healthy Again.”
    Dr. Makary’s accomplishments as a researcher, clinician and prolific author are numerous. He has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed articles in medical literature and founded the Johns Hopkins Center for Surgical Trials and Outcomes Research. Dr. Makary has led cross-disciplinary research on a range of subjects including cancer care, obesity, frailty and psychologic reserve in older patients, adverse event monitoring, the Orphan Drug Act, antimicrobial resistance, and Alzheimer’s. Of note, he is the co-developer of the Surgery Checklist used in many operating rooms around the world today. A member of the prestigious National Academy of Medicine, Dr. Makary has been a visiting professor at more than 25 medical schools across the U.S. and internationally.
    “I am honored and humbled to assume this role at the FDA under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Kennedy,” said FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H. “I look forward to working with this Administration and the FDA workforce to advance our shared goals in meeting the agency’s public health mission. As Commissioner, I hope to ensure that the FDA holds to the gold standard of trusted science, transparency, and common sense so that we can Make America Healthy Again.”
    Dr. Makary is a graduate of Bucknell University, Thomas Jefferson University, and the Harvard School of Public Health. He completed his residency at Georgetown University and surgical oncology fellowship at Johns Hopkins. After six years on the faculty at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Makary was named an endowed chair in gastrointestinal surgery and subsequently promoted to full professor with tenure. He has held joint appointments at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How controversial nutritionist John Harvey Kellogg pioneered the path to modern plant-based eating

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Lauren Alex O’Hagan, Research Fellow, School of Languages and Applied Linguistics, The Open University

    MVelishchuk/Shutterstock

    When you hear the name Kellogg, Corn Flakes might be the first thing that comes to mind. But John Harvey Kellogg is famous for more than just breakfast cereals.

    In many respects, this American doctor, nutritionist, inventor and entrepreneur was ahead of his time. Perhaps the first wellness influencer over a century before Gwyneth Paltrow got in on the act, he advocated startlingly similar treatments and practices.

    But Kellogg was also a divisive figure due to his strong support for eugenics and “racial hygiene”. Driven by concerns about what he termed “race degeneracy”, he founded the Race Betterment Foundation in 1914 – a stance that has since blighted his reputation.

    Kellogg believed that food was medicine. Undoubtedly the pioneer of today’s plant-based movement, he may have been impressed by the explosive growth of the global meat substitute market over the past decade.

    As more people seek ethical, sustainable and health-conscious lifestyles, the demand for plant-based products has skyrocketed. In response, major food corporations have re-branded or developed new offerings to meet this shift in consumer preferences.

    What was once a niche market is now mainstream, with 4,965 products launched worldwide between 2019 and 2021. Today, the global meat substitute market is valued at over US$13 billion (£10 billion), and projections suggest it could reach nearly US$88 billion by 2032.



    Read more:
    A fixation on ‘clean eating’ can be harmful – and perfectionists may be at greater risk of taking it too far

    Kellogg’s game-changing invention

    As director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan, Kellogg redefined the connection between food, bodies and health. His philosophy of “biologic living” led him to experiment with a diverse range of health treatments. On the practical end, he championed fresh air, bathing and foods containing live bacteria. On the more eccentric side, he explored bizarre methods including yoghurt enemas, vibrating chairs and even genital mutilation.

    Inspired by the Progressive clean-living movement, Kellogg developed the Battle Creek diet system, which promoted vegetarianism as a way to counter the negative effects of meat on digestion and the nervous system.

    With his wife Ella, he set up an experimental kitchen to explore plant-based alternatives to meat. He was convinced that nuts and grains could provide healthier and more sustainable protein sources.

    In 1896, the US Department of Agriculture approached Kellogg with a request to create a plant-based food product that could serve as a safe, nutritious alternative to meat. Kellogg embraced the challenge and created several innovative products. These included Nuttose, made from ground-up nuts and cereal grains; Granose, a solid-wheat based biscuit; and Protose, a blend of wheat gluten, cereal and ground peanuts.

    Recognising their commercial potential, Kellogg launched the Sanitas Nut Food Company in 1899. By 1912, Sanitas was shipping over 65,000kg of its “vegetable meat” annually across the US. The Chicago Tribune boldly declared that Kellogg had solved “the meat problem”.

    The power of ‘shockvertising’

    Sanitas embarked on a major marketing campaign across popular US press outlets. Its advertisements relied on “shockvertising” to stir fear about meat consumption, often including disturbing images of animal suffering to drive home that message.

    One memorable advert, titled “Why Slay to Eat”, showed a chained, bleeding cow kneeling before a man wielding a mallet. Another took aim at readers, calling them “Pigarians” and claiming that eating pork made a man “piggified” with a “hoggish expression”. Others warned that unsanitary slaughterhouses and food contamination made meat toxic and caused diseases like tapeworm and trichinosis.


    The Vegetarian magazine vol.4 no.11, August 1900. Courtesy of HathiTrust

    Adverts also relied on testimonials from famous sports stars and leading medical figures, praising the health benefits of meat substitutes which were presented as a panacea that could make people fitter, stronger and more youthful. Calls to “return to nature” and eat like our ancestors were also frequent – what food scholars today refer to as “nutritional primitivism”.

    To reassure anxious consumers, the adverts emphasised the products’ similarity in taste and appearance to meat. They also suggested that meat substitutes could make housewives’ lives easier, as they required little preparation and could be served in a variety of ways.

    Meat substitutes today

    Today, many meat substitute products are made by large food corporations that also sell meat. Because of this, marketing has evolved, with meat substitutes often positioned as part of a wider range of dietary choices, rather than simply replacements for meat.

    As a result, the bold, critical ads of the past that attacked meat consumption have become less common. Instead, today’s adverts often focus on environmental concerns and the ethics of eating meat, linking bodily health with the health of the planet.



    Read more:
    Lab–grown and plant–based meat: the science, psychology and future of meat alternatives – podcast

    However, many still highlight how meat substitutes look and taste like real meat. This can unintentionally reinforce the idea that “good” nutrition is based on meat, and diminish the value of meat substitutes in their own right.

    I believe today’s adverts could do more to educate people about the nutritional benefits and variety of meat-free foods, while also raising awareness about the environmental impact of animal agriculture. This shift could help meat substitutes stand on their own as viable food choices, moving them beyond the trend cycle and into mainstream diets.

    Lauren Alex O’Hagan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. How controversial nutritionist John Harvey Kellogg pioneered the path to modern plant-based eating – https://theconversation.com/how-controversial-nutritionist-john-harvey-kellogg-pioneered-the-path-to-modern-plant-based-eating-252960

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Dogs see their world through smell – and scientists are starting to translate it like never before

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jacqueline Boyd, Senior Lecturer in Animal Science, Nottingham Trent University

    Lorenzooooo/Shutterstock

    Scent is how dogs largely experience the world, a lot like the way we humans rely on sight. We know little about how dogs interpret scent, but thanks to a recent study, we may be getting closer to understanding what a dog’s nose actually knows.

    Dogs are primed to detect smells. The average dog’s nose has more than 10 million scent receptors in their nose, compared to humans, who only have about 6 million.

    This makes the canine nose more than 10, 000 times better at detecting scents than we are. They can detect minute quantities of scent. For example, forensic detection dogs can detect 0.01 microlitres of gasolene. A microlitre is one millionth of a litre.

    Humans have exploited dogs’ olfactory superpowers in a number of ways, which has no doubt contributed to the deep relationship we have developed with our canine companions over 40,000 years living together.

    Dogs still join us as hunting partners, sniffing out food. They work beside us as vital members of crime-fighting teams, finding illicit substances, as medical colleagues for disease detection, and as partners in conservation efforts, finding rare and endangered species.

    Despite the widespread involvement of dogs as natural scent detectors, we remain largely oblivious as to how dogs interpret what they smell and how they perceive the world in which they live.

    We don’t know much about dogs’ experience of smell – but we know they’re good at it.
    Sundays Photography/Shutterstock

    Exploring the brain activity of dogs when they are exposed to specific smells can help identify which of their brain regions are associated with scent detection. This helps scientists understand what the dog is experiencing, which might help us enhance the selection and training of sniffer dogs.

    Until now, scientists needed expensive equipment to study dogs’ brains and research methods that required dogs to stay still. This means we know less about the brains of active working dogs who might struggle to remain motionless for long periods.

    But we can’t simply apply the data from dogs who can cope with sitting still since dog breeds have differences in their training and scenting skills.

    Sensing scents

    The recent study I mentioned at the beginning of this article uses a new, cheap and non-invasive method to explore how the canine brain responds to scent. The researchers think that this method – known as AI speckle pattern analysis – will help us identify how dog brains react to scents and what it means for how dogs perceive and respond to the world around them in future research too.

    The researchers developed an optical sensor to target three brain areas involved in canine scent discrimination: the amygdala, olfactory bulb and hippocampus. The amygdala is responsible for emotional responses to stimuli.

    The olfactory bulb is involved with odour processing and the hippocampus is associated with memory formation.

    The equipment used in the study consisted of a high resolution digital camera linked to a computer, plus a green laser. Laser light, capable of penetrating dog fur and skull bone, was shone on the heads of four relaxed, blindfolded study dogs who were exposed to four different scents: alcohol, marijuana, menthol and garlic. These substances all appear to evoke similar olfactory responses in dogs.

    As laser light was reflected from the three brain areas, the camera detected interference as a distinct “speckle” pattern. The camera made recordings for five seconds, repeated four times for each scent.

    AI analysed differences in the speckle patterns from the different brain regions to create models of how the brain regions of the dogs responded to each scent.

    It’s not just sniffing

    The study results highlighted the importance of the amygdala for canine scent discrimination. This suggests that there could be an emotional component to how dogs sense their environment. Taste and odour detection are also known to be linked to memory formation and emotional state in humans.

    Because dogs appear to experience emotional responses to scents, training methods and experiences might need to take this into consideration. For example, dogs often link the characteristic aroma of the veterinary surgery with less-than-fun situations.

    Dogs in training for scent detection would also probably benefit from being in a positive emotional state when they are exposed to training odours.

    This research could even pave the way to developing specialised equipment for detecting and translating the olfactory responses of dogs. Mobile equipment that works rapidly could allow us to interpret what dogs’ noses are telling them in real time.

    This isn’t as far-fetched as it may sound. If you’ve seen the Disney movie Up, you probably remember Dug the dog who wore a bark translation collar. Well, scientists have developed a real collar that claims to tell you what your dog’s vocalisations mean.

    It’s difficult to say how accurate it is without analysing the data the collar’s AI was trained on, but the database is growing as more dogs use the collars. If the collars do prove accurate, it might not be too long before wearable technology can tell us exactly what our dogs are saying and smelling.

    Jacqueline Boyd is affiliated with The Kennel Club (UK) through membership and as advisor to the Health Advisory Group. Jacqueline is a full member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT #01583) and she also writes, consults and coaches on canine matters on an independent basis, in addition to her academic affiliation at Nottingham Trent University.

    – ref. Dogs see their world through smell – and scientists are starting to translate it like never before – https://theconversation.com/dogs-see-their-world-through-smell-and-scientists-are-starting-to-translate-it-like-never-before-252659

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: FS Bancorp, Inc. and 1st Security Bank Announce the Promotion of Phillip Whittington to Chief Financial Officer

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, Wash., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FS Bancorp, Inc. (“Company”) (NASDAQ: FSBW), the holding company for 1st Security Bank of Washington (“1st Security Bank” or “Bank”) announced today that it has named Phillip Whittington as Chief Financial Officer of both the Bank and the Company effective May 1, 2025. Matthew D. Mullet, who previously served as Chief Financial Officer and President will continue to serve as the President for both the Company and the Bank.

    “We are delighted to announce Phil’s promotion to Chief Financial Officer,” said Joe Adams the Bank’s CEO. “I am confident his knowledge of the Bank’s accounting, treasury management and financial reporting requirements makes him the ideal person for this position.”

    Phillip Whittington has served as the Controller of the Bank since January 2020. Prior to joining 1st Security Bank, he was as a manager at the accounting firm of Elliott Davis located in Columbia, South Carolina. Mr. Whittington, a Certified Public Accountant, received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the College of Charleston and his Master of Accountancy from the University of South Carolina.

    About 1st Security Bank of Washington

    1st Security Bank offers a range of loan and deposit services primarily to small- and middle-market businesses and individuals in Washington and Oregon. It operates through twenty-seven Bank branches, and one headquarters office that provide loan and deposit services, and loan production offices in various suburban communities in the greater Puget Sound area, the Kennewick-Pasco-Richland metropolitan area of Washington, also known as the Tri-Cities, and in Vancouver, Washington. Additionally, the Bank services home mortgage customers throughout the Northwest predominantly in Washington State including Puget Sound, Tri-Cities and Vancouver.

    Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

    This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which can be identified by words such as “may,” “expected,” “anticipate”, “continue,” or other comparable words. In addition, all statements other than statements of historical facts that address activities that 1st Security expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Readers are encouraged to read the Securities and Exchange Commission reports of FS Bancorp, particularly its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, for meaningful cautionary language discussing why actual results may vary materially from those anticipated by management.

    Contacts:

    Joseph C. Adams
    Chief Executive Officer

    Matthew D. Mullet
    President and Chief Financial Officer
    (425) 771-5299
    www.FSBWA.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: From barriers to belonging: How supporting inclusivity enhances the well-being of people with disabilities

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Mohsen Rasoulivalajoozi, PhD candidate, Individualized Program, Faculty of Fine Arts, Concordia University

    To create truly inclusive cities, policy-makers and experts need to go beyond minimum standards and critically examine how our urban spaces continue to exclude people with disabilities. (Shutterstock)

    What does it mean for a city to be accommodating to all its citizens?

    This requires understanding how individuals feel included and valued in the places they live, and responding to their needs by emphasizing genuine inclusivity. For people with mobility challenges, it means feeling no different from others. This applies both to navigating urban spaces and engaging in social interactions.

    Despite efforts to improve accessibility in Canada, many urban spaces still fall short, leaving wheelchair users facing subtle but persistent barriers. We wanted to understand the different challenges and barriers people with disabilities face when using mobility aids.

    To do this, we interviewed 12 experienced physiotherapists in Iran to identify gaps in how mobility aid serve the needs of those who use them, and offer recommendations based on their extensive interactions with users.

    Given the universal needs of mobility aid users — emotional well-being, social integration and functional independence — and the common challenges they face accessing health-care systems around the world, our findings can are relevant for many people around the world, including in Canada.

    Inclusive design

    To create truly inclusive cities, it is vital for policymakers and experts to go beyond minimum standards and critically examine how our urban spaces continue to exclude people with disabilities.

    Marketing professors Vanessa Patrick and Candice Hollenbeck have developed the DARE framework — design, appraisal, response and experience — and propose three levels of inclusive design aimed to make spaces more inclusive for people with disabilities.

    Level 1 ensures accessibility through industry regulations, meeting minimum standards. Level 2 fosters engagement and equity, rooted in social justice principles, by validating user experiences and emphasizing empathy. Level 3 aims to minimize mismatches between users and design, promoting human flourishing through seamless interaction among individuals, the design and their environment.

    Our study outlines how people perceive the inclusivity of mobility aids based on the cost, how they are built and how effective they are in different environments.

    We also considered perceptions of trustworthiness, support and contextual factors, including the social interpretations and representations of these devices. We highlight gaps in users’ needs and provide recommendations to address them. Through this analysis, we identified four key themes that offer valuable insights for enhancing inclusivity.

    Financial burden

    For some, mobility aids can be an added financial burden. Financial constraints may limit access to mobility aids, often forcing users to seek alternatives or delay rehabilitation, potentially worsening their conditions. For example, individuals might resort to second-hand mobility aids which may not be fitted correctly for them.

    Globally, only five to 35 per cent of the 80 million people who need a wheelchair have access to one depending on where they live, with high costs being a primary barrier.

    The high cost of advanced electric wheelchairs further restrict access. This marks a gap at the first level of inclusivity in the DARE framework, where market-driven prices fall short of meeting mobility aid users’ needs.

    Initiatives like the European Union’s Rehabilitation Policy Action Framework have called for increased governmental financial support for mobility aid users. This framework offers 48 options across six domains to translate political goals into action, such as reallocating health-care funds to expand rehabilitation and improve inclusivity.

    Mobility aid users, like all individuals, deserve equal consideration in design and planning.
    (Shutterstock)

    Mismatches between users and mobility aids

    In using mobility aids, a user will typically evaluate two aspects: the design features of the aids themselves and how well they function in their environment.

    If the mobility aid is slightly mismatched with their requirements, the user may find alternative solutions, such as adding padding to a wheelchair to relieve pressure. However, severe mismatches can lead to negative outcomes and result in unmet mobility needs. Furthermore, inadequate anthropometric and ergonomic adjustments can lead to discomfort.

    Similarly, environmental mismatches, such as barriers that disrupt navigation, can reinforce negative stereotypes and condescending attitudes. These barriers can hinder a person’s mobility and ultimately deter them from going out and engaging in social activities.

    New developments and technologies can not only address and mitigate certain mismatches but also positively impact users’ psychological and social needs. However, integrating new technologies requires careful consideration, as assistive devices can also attract social stigma.

    Therefore, it is important to identify which technological or esthetic features of mobility aids evoke positive emotions and minimize stigma.

    Mobility aid users, like everyone, deserve equal consideration in design and planning. Programs like Europe’s Design for All (DfA) and Singapore’s Barrier-Free Accessibility (BFA) promote barrier-free design for all abilities and socioeconomic backgrounds.

    Improving trust

    Trustworthiness is a critical factor in the use of mobility aids, particularly in unfamiliar settings where users may feel uncertain.

    To address this, users seek continuous reassurance about the reliability of their aids, often depending on the support of physiotherapists to navigate mismatches between their needs and their surroundings. Such professional support enhances confidence and mental well-being. Physiotherapists, as trusted experts, can remarkably shape users’ perceptions and acceptance of mobility aids.

    Ensuring trustworthy designs is also crucial, as perceived fragility can undermine user trust. Validating experiences, building trust across environments — including trust in physiotherapists and mobility aid products — is essential to alleviating doubts about how effective they might be.

    Sociocultural influences

    Sociocultural context and the causes of a disability play a significant role in shaping perceptions of mobility aids.

    Regardless of users’ personal experiences, others tend to view mobility aids through the lens of prevailing societal attitudes toward disability. For some, mobility aids may reinforce stereotypes about disabilities. This highlights the critical role of esthetics in shaping public perceptions and social interactions.

    For example, incorporating esthetic refinements into the design can help counter negative perceptions. By addressing negative representations and promoting designs that reflect dignity and inclusivity, interventions can align with inclusively goals and enhance positive social engagement.

    Raising public awareness is key to challenging stereotypes and building empathy. To create an inclusive society, design and planning should consider both the physical and social barriers to accessibility. Achieving this requires a multi-disciplinary effort, and the active participation of people who use mobility aids.

    This article was co-authored by Morteza Farhoudi, an inclusive designer specializing in public transportation studies.

    Mohsen Rasoulivalajoozi receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    Carmela Cucuzzella receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. From barriers to belonging: How supporting inclusivity enhances the well-being of people with disabilities – https://theconversation.com/from-barriers-to-belonging-how-supporting-inclusivity-enhances-the-well-being-of-people-with-disabilities-249339

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Julia Cagé, co-laureate of the 2025 EEA-Yrjö-Jahnsson Prize

    Source: Universities – Science Po in English

    Home>Julia Cagé, co-laureate of the 2025 EEA-Yrjö-Jahnsson Prize

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    Institutional partnerships for research and innovation

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    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI: Greenbacker delivers 2024 results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Key Takeaways

    • Amid challenging market conditions, including inflationary pressures and macro uncertainty, Greenbacker announces decrease in NAV.
    • Charles Wheeler retires as CEO; Dan de Boer assumes position of interim CEO; Robert Brennan appointed Chairman of the Board.
    • Company institutes additional cost saving measures, including 10% reduction in workforce; operating expenses expected to reduce by $12 million, or 20%, by 2026.
    • Board of Directors authorizes review of strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value.
    • Total operating revenue in 2024 increased by 16% year-over-year, to $210 million.
    • Operating fleet grew by 8%, with 22 new solar energy assets in operation representing 117 MW of additional power production capacity.
    • Annual power production increase of 23% driven by new solar assets combined with Company’s milestone wind repowers.
    • Greenbacker’s fleet of clean energy assets generated 2.7 billion kilowatt-hours of power, enough to power 250,000 US homes.

    NEW YORK, April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC (“Greenbacker,” “GREC,” or the “Company”), an energy transition-focused investment manager and independent power producer, has announced financial results for 2024, including year-over-year increases in annual revenue, operating capacity, and clean energy generation.¹

    Market conditions, inflationary pressures, and re-underwriting process determined adjusted NAV

    With the renewable energy sector at a critical juncture, during 2024 Greenbacker initiated a detailed, multi-quarter re-underwriting process prior to releasing its December 31, 2024 net asset value (“NAV”), in which the Company evaluated the expected future performance of the assets in its portfolio relative to their historical performance, while also taking into account the impact of current market conditions. As a result, GREC adjusted its aggregate NAV as of December 31, 2024 to $5.03 per share, a 35.5% decrease relative to the September 30, 2024 NAV of $7.81 per share.

    Several factors contributed to the Company’s NAV revision. Inflationary pressures, supply chain imbalances, and increasing insurance costs due to heightened climate risk contributed to a significant increase in operating costs. New clean energy generation projections from independent engineers based on recent industry data have provided additional insight, replacing earlier projections that had been obtained during a period with limited historical data available and diverged relative to actual production. Additionally, there continues to be uncertainty around potential changes to the Inflation Reduction Act and the threat of additional tariffs, both of which are impacting the near-term outlook for renewables.

    These headwinds contributed to a challenging market environment and downward pressure in renewable energy asset pricing across the sector, which Greenbacker saw reflected through both market sale processes and a comprehensive asset-by asset-review.

    At the project level, the Company continues to maintain financial stability, resulting in strong financial coverage ratios. Additionally, at the firm level, Greenbacker continues to maintain sufficient overall liquidity and receive ongoing support from its leading project financing partners.

    Organizational restructuring executed to increase operational efficiencies

    Greenbacker is announcing an organizational restructuring designed to streamline operations, reduce costs, and better position the Company to capitalize on future market opportunities and deliver value to shareholders.

    As part of these changes, Charles Wheeler is retiring from his role as Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chairman of the Greenbacker Board of Directors (“Board”), effective April 1, 2025. Chief Investment Officer and Head of Infrastructure Dan de Boer has been named interim CEO, effective April 1, 2025, and Director Robert Brennan has been appointed Chairman of the Board. The Greenbacker Board is considering both external and internal candidates for the role of a permanent CEO, which is expected to be confirmed no later than the end of Q2 2025. Wheeler will continue to serve as a member of the Board until the earlier of December 31, 2025 and the date on which a permanent replacement CEO has been appointed.

    Wheeler, who is also one of Greenbacker’s Co-Founders, spoke about his retirement and Greenbacker’s future:

    “14 years ago, with a group of like-minded individuals, I created Greenbacker with the goal of providing an investment vehicle that would enable ordinary American investors to participate in the renewable energy revolution. We’ve built Greenbacker into a business that is contributing to the transition to clean energy with hundreds of projects representing more than 3.6 gigawatts² of clean power generation capacity across the country.

    Given current market conditions, changes are needed to best position Greenbacker to benefit from future market opportunities. I believe that Dan and Greenbacker’s other leaders are the right team to guide us through this period while promoting our mission to empower a sustainable world.”

    De Boer has been with Greenbacker since 2023 and brings nearly two decades of experience in private equity and renewable energy investing, with prior leadership roles and positions at Allianz Capital Partners, Onyx Renewable Partners within Blackstone Energy Partners, and D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments.

    In addition to restructuring the leadership team, the Company has progressed several cost savings initiatives, including a reduction of approximately 10% of its workforce, effective March 31, 2025. Greenbacker anticipates that the reduction in force and other operational efficiency efforts that began in mid-2024 will reduce overhead expenses by $12 million, or 20%, by 2026.

    “We want to recognize the impact that this decision has on the careers and lives of the individuals at Greenbacker,” said interim CEO, Dan de Boer. “We value our people and employed care and thoughtfulness as we attempted to balance our business requirements with any adverse impact to our team. While difficult, we believe that taking these measures will better position the firm to achieve long-term growth.”

    Additionally, the Company has identified opportunities to recycle capital within the portfolio by pursuing targeted non-core asset sales.

    Annual total operating revenue topped $210 million, as Company continued to move assets into operation, contributing to year-over-year production increase of 23%

    During 2024, Greenbacker increased total operating revenue³ by $29 million, or 16% year-over-year, to over $210 million.

    Revenue from the sale of clean energy within Greenbacker’s independent power producer (“IPP”) business segment totaled $185.2 million in 2024, of which $155.0 million, or approximately 84%, came from the Company’s long-term power purchase agreements (“PPAs”).

    For 2024, the net loss attributable to Greenbacker was $(242.3) million and Adjusted EBTIDA⁴ was $59.8 million, representing year-over-year changes of (205)% and 88%, respectively. The net loss was primarily the result of goodwill impairment charges, driven by a deterioration in macroeconomic conditions, as well as by depreciation, amortization, and other impairment charges in the period.

    GREC increased its operating fleet size by 8% in 2024, which included placing 22 new solar energy assets into operation, accounting for 117 MW of additional power production.⁵ Additionally, the three wind assets strategically taken offline during portions of 2023 for repowering (i.e., retrofitting with new, more efficient equipment) had all returned to full operation producing power by early 2024.

    In total, GREC’s new operating solar assets and repowered wind portfolio drove an annual power production increase of 23% year-over-year,⁶ as the Company’s fleet of clean energy assets generated 2.7 billion kilowatt-hours of power, enough to power over 250,000 US homes.⁷

    GREC Operating Fleet 2024 2023 YoY Increase
    (total)    		 YoY Increase
    (%)
    Clean power produced by solar assets (MWh) 1,504,580 1,256,183 248,397 20%
    PPA revenue generated by solar assets ($M) $ 87.8 $ 74.1 $ 13.6 18%
    Clean power produced by wind assets (MWh) 1,236,431 978,236 258,195 26%
    PPA revenue generated by wind assets ($M) $ 65.8 $ 53.9 $ 11.9 22%
    Total clean power generated by wind and solar assets (MWh) 2,741,011 2,234,419 506,592 23%
    Total PPA operating revenue generated by wind and solar assets ($M) $ 153.5 $ 128.0 $ 25.5 20%

    Some figures may not add to stated totals due to rounding. Total clean power generated does not include power generated from biomass facility during 2023 and a portion of 2024, nor does it include assets in which the Company holds a preferred equity position.

    Greenbacker secures nearly $1 billion financing for largest solar farm in New York State; completes $437 million financing for milestone wind repowers; and completes targeted non-core asset sale

    Throughout 2024, Greenbacker made substantial progress on one of its core objectives: securing the capital necessary for the construction of its remaining pre-operating assets—and converting those projects into revenue-generating operating assets selling electricity. The Company also continued to receive robust support from its project finance partners, enabling it to reach significant milestones over the year.

    In particular, Greenbacker secured nearly $1 billion in financing for the acquisition, construction and operation of its 674 MW Cider solar farm, the largest solar energy project in the state of New York to date. Cider also represents both Greenbacker’s largest clean energy asset to date and the largest project financing in Company history (for which it was awarded Proximo Infrastructure’s 2024 Solar Deal of the Year).

    The construction financing represented $869 million from six of the world’s top financial institutions, including ongoing Greenbacker partners MUFG, KeyBanc Capital Markets and Wells Fargo, as well as first-time partnerships with ING Capital LLC, Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A., New York Branch and Societe Generale. The Company also closed on an $81 million development loan with Voya Investment Management, its first partnership with the global investment manager.

    Greenbacker additionally completed $437 million in financing for its wind repower portfolio. GREC was able to create additional value from existing assets by updating the turbine blades, hubs, and nacelles at three wind projects in its Midwestern fleet. To finance the repowering, the Company collaborated with lending partner Bayerische Landesbank to secure $81.5 million in construction bridge loan facilities, as well as long-term debt and tax equity financing from Huntington National Bank, via sales leasebacks totaling $355.7 million.

    Also in 2024, Greenbacker completed the sale of its 54 MW Panther Creek pre-operating wind asset to an affiliated sustainable infrastructure-focused platform. The asset sale illustrated GREC’s ability to develop large clean energy assets through late-stage development, a key component of its go-forward strategy, while its affiliate platform viewed the project as an opportunity to add a fully developed, high cash-yielding asset, in line with its investment mandate.

    Long-term contracted cash flows with investment-grade counterparties

    As of December 31, 2024, the Greenbacker operating fleet represented approximately 1.6 gigawatts of total clean power generation and storage capacity, spanning over 30 states, territories, districts and provinces. Due to its size and geographic footprint, GREC’s operating fleet was listed among Solarplaza’s 2025 Top 50 Operating Solar Portfolios in North America.

    At the end of 2024, over 93% of Greenbacker’s entire portfolio of operating and pre-operating clean energy projects were currently, or will be when completed, selling power to investment-grade counterparties, including utilities, municipalities, and corporations, under long-term power purchase agreements (“PPAs”). The portfolio had approximately 17.4 years of contracted cash flows associated with these PPAs.

    Review of strategic alternatives

    In addition to the other measures to reduce costs, operate more efficiently, and promote a path to better outcomes for its investors, the Greenbacker Board has authorized the Company to conduct a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives.

    In regard to this review, the Board will consider a full range of operational and financial alternatives. A strategic review may result in Greenbacker securing additional capital to continue executing on its business plan: acquiring, owning, and operating a fleet of sustainable infrastructure assets that the Company efficiently manages to create both value and potential liquidity options for its shareholders.

    “During 2024, Greenbacker closed on the Cider deal, completed our milestone wind repowers, and brought 117 MW of additional capacity online, showcasing how we can utilize additional capital while continuing to deliver on our core focus,” de Boer said. “We believe current valuations in the renewables sector do not align with the supportive fundamentals driving the energy transition, leading to a compelling inflection point for renewable infrastructure investment. In short: we believe this is one of the better times to be investing in the energy transition.”

    Company’s investments produce power, abate carbon emissions, conserve water, and support green jobs

    As of December 31, 2024, Greenbacker’s clean energy assets had cumulatively produced more than 11 million MWh of clean power since January 2016, abating over 7 million metric tons of carbon⁸ and saving nearly 8 billion gallons of water.⁹ Greenbacker’s fleet of operating and pre-operating projects currently support, or are expected to support, thousands of green jobs.¹⁰

    Additional information regarding the Company’s impact can also be found in Greenbacker’s latest impact report.

    Forward-Looking Statements
    This press release contains forward-looking statements, including those that relate to our search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer, our strategy and initiatives and our expectations for growth, within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ from the predicted results, performance or achievements include, among others, difficulties or delays we encounter in identifying a permanent Chief Executive Officer; our ability to execute on, and achieve the expected benefits from, our operational and strategic initiatives; our inability to realize the expected reduction in overhead expenses as a result of our reduction in force; volatility of the global financial markets and uncertain economic conditions, including changes in interest rates, inflationary pressures, recessionary concerns or global supply chain issues; public response to and changes in the local, state and federal regulatory framework affecting renewable energy projects; risks associated with changes in the fair value of our investments and the methods we use to estimate the fair value of our assets; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in our most recent Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed with or furnished to the SEC. Although Greenbacker believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. Greenbacker undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement contained herein to conform to actual results or changes in its expectations.

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures
    In addition to evaluating the Company’s performance on a U.S. GAAP basis, the Company utilizes certain non-GAAP financial measures to analyze the operating performance of our segments as well as our consolidated business. Each of these measures should not be considered in isolation from or as superior to or as a substitute for other financial measures determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, such as net income (loss) or operating income (loss). The Company uses these non-GAAP financial measures to supplement its U.S. GAAP results in order to provide a more complete understanding of the factors and trends affecting its operations.

    Adjusted EBITDA
    Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company uses as a performance measure, as well as for internal planning purposes. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is useful to management and investors in providing a measure of core financial performance adjusted to allow for comparisons of results of operations across reporting periods on a consistent basis, as it includes adjustments relating to items that are not indicative on the ongoing operating performance of the business.

    Adjusted EBITDA is a performance measure used by management that is not calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation from or as superior to or as a substitute for net income (loss), operating income (loss) or any other measure of financial performance calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Additionally, our calculations of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

    Funds From Operations (FFO)
    FFO is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company uses as a performance measure to analyze net earnings from operations without the effects of certain non-recurring items that are not indicative of the ongoing operating performance of the business. FFO is calculated using Adjusted EBITDA less the impact of interest expense (excluding the non-cash component) and distributions to tax equity investors under the financing facilities associated with our IPP segment. 

    The Company believes that the analysis and presentation of FFO will enhance our investor’s understanding of the ongoing performance of our operating business. The Company considers FFO, in addition to other GAAP and non-GAAP measures, in assessing operating performance and as a proxy for growth in distribution coverage over the long term.

    FFO should not be considered in isolation from or as a superior to or as a substitute for net income (loss), operating income (loss) or any other measure of financial performance calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

    General Disclosure
    This information has been prepared solely for informational purposes and is not an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security, or to participate in any trading or investment strategy. The information presented herein may involve Greenbacker’s views, estimates, assumptions, facts, and information from other sources that are believed to be accurate and reliable and are, as of the date this information is presented, subject to change without notice.

     
    GREENBACKER RENEWABLE ENERGY COMPANY LLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
    CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
    (in thousands, except per share data)
        December 31, 2024   December 31, 2023
             
    Assets        
    Current assets:        
    Cash and cash equivalents   $ 120,057     $ 96,872  
    Restricted cash, current     38,403       85,235  
    Accounts receivable, net     27,103       23,310  
    Derivative assets, current     17,632       24,062  
    Other current assets     28,586       62,429  
    Total current assets     231,781       291,908  
    Noncurrent assets:        
    Restricted cash     3,128       5,568  
    Property, plant and equipment, net     2,232,486       2,133,877  
    Intangible assets, net     362,352       453,214  
    Goodwill     —       221,314  
    Investments, at fair value     74,136       94,878  
    Derivative assets     98,495       118,106  
    Other noncurrent assets     242,667       140,740  
    Total noncurrent assets     3,013,264       3,167,697  
    Total assets   $ 3,245,045     $ 3,459,605  
    Liabilities, Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests and Equity        
    Current liabilities:        
    Accounts payable and accrued expenses   $ 69,464     $ 79,288  
    Shareholder distributions payable     —       7,606  
    Contingent consideration, current     15,293       16,546  
    Current portion of long-term debt     88,901       82,855  
    Current portion of failed sale-leaseback financing and deferred ITC gain     45,868       69,436  
    Other current liabilities     8,767       7,997  
    Total current liabilities     228,293       263,728  
    Noncurrent liabilities:        
    Long-term debt, net of current portion     1,001,654       935,397  
    Failed sale-leaseback financing and deferred ITC gain, net of current portion     201,601       169,829  
    Contingent consideration, net of current portion     300       42,307  
    Deferred tax liabilities, net     35,316       58,696  
    Operating lease liabilities     196,911       108,406  
    Out-of-market contracts, net     180,640       194,785  
    Other noncurrent liabilities     59,261       53,492  
    Total noncurrent liabilities     1,675,683       1,562,912  
    Total liabilities   $ 1,903,976     $ 1,826,640  
    Redeemable noncontrolling interests   $ 1,851     $ 2,179  
    Redeemable common shares, par value, $0.001 per share, nil and 873 outstanding as of 2024 and 2023, respectively     —       1  
    Redeemable common shares, additional paid-in capital     —       7,245  
    Equity:        
    Preferred shares, par value, $0.001 per share, 50,000 authorized; none issued and outstanding     —       —  
    Common shares, par value, $0.001 per share, 350,000 authorized, 199,326 and 197,749 outstanding as of 2024 and 2023, respectively     199       198  
    Additional paid-in capital     1,773,758       1,770,060  
    Accumulated deficit     (584,733 )     (306,525 )
    Accumulated other comprehensive income     34,937       45,932  
    Noncontrolling interests     115,057       113,875  
    Total equity     1,339,218       1,623,540  
    Total liabilities, redeemable noncontrolling interests and equity   $ 3,245,045     $ 3,459,605  
             
             
    GREENBACKER RENEWABLE ENERGY COMPANY LLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
    (in thousands, except per share data)
        Year ended December 31,
          2024       2023  
    Revenue        
    Energy revenue   $ 185,225     $ 159,301  
    Investment Management revenue     18,757       13,490  
    Other revenue     6,085       8,434  
    Contract amortization, net     (14,301 )     (8,060 )
    Total net revenue   $ 195,766     $ 173,165  
             
    Operating expenses        
    Direct operating costs     124,681       105,586  
    General and administrative     52,552       60,617  
    Change in fair value of contingent consideration     (39,348 )     (603 )
    Depreciation, amortization and accretion     81,953       125,743  
    Gain on deconsolidation, net     (5,622 )     —  
    Impairment of goodwill     221,314       —  
    Impairment of long-lived assets, net and project termination costs     88,410       59,294  
    Total operating expenses     523,940       350,637  
             
    Operating loss     (328,174 )     (177,472 )
             
    Interest expense, net     (7,612 )     (20,328 )
    Change in fair value of investments, net     (14,701 )     932  
    Income from sale-leaseback transfer of tax benefits     22,764       —  
    Other income (expense), net     2,436       (267 )
             
    Loss before income taxes     (325,287 )     (197,135 )
    Benefit (expense) from income taxes     19,378       21,548  
    Net loss   $ (305,909 )   $ (175,587 )
    Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests and redeemable noncontrolling interests     (63,609 )     (96,116 )
    Net loss attributable to Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC   $ (242,300 )   $ (79,471 )
             
    Earnings per share        
    Basic   $ (1.22 )   $ (0.40 )
    Diluted   $ (1.22 )   $ (0.40 )
             
    Weighted average shares outstanding        
    Basic     199,313       199,293  
    Diluted     199,313       199,293  
             
             
    GREENBACKER RENEWABLE ENERGY COMPANY LLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
    (in thousands)
        Year ended December 31,
          2024       2023  
    Cash Flows from Operating Activities        
    Net loss   $ (305,909 )   $ (175,587 )
    Adjustments to reconcile Net loss to Net cash provided by operating activities:        
    Depreciation, amortization and accretion     96,254       133,803  
    Gain on deconsolidation, net     (5,622 )     —  
    Impairment of goodwill     221,314       —  
    Impairment of long-lived assets, net     74,782       59,294  
    Loss on sale of Illinois Winds LLC     12,656       —  
    Share-based compensation expense     378       11,248  
    Changes in fair value of contingent consideration     (39,348 )     (603 )
    Amortization of financing costs and debt discounts     6,261       6,711  
    Amortization of interest rate swap contracts     (1,055 )     6,750  
    Change in fair value of interest rate swaps, net     (44,748 )     (17,763 )
    Gain on interest rate swaps, net     (1,356 )     (2,428 )
    Change in fair value of investments     14,701       (932 )
    Deferred income taxes     (19,378 )     (21,548 )
    Interest expense on failed sale-leaseback financing and deferred ITC gain     7,549       —  
    Income from sale-leaseback transfer of tax benefits     (22,764 )     —  
    Other     3,565       5,743  
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities:        
    Accounts receivable     (4,864 )     (2,959 )
    Current and noncurrent derivative assets     52,602       56,696  
    Other current and noncurrent assets     9,416       (10,661 )
    Accounts payable and accrued expenses     14,164       14,891  
    Operating lease liabilities     (1,543 )     (1,290 )
    Other current and noncurrent liabilities     420       1,036  
    Net cash provided by operating activities     67,475       62,401  
             
    Cash Flows from Investing Activities        
    Purchases of property, plant and equipment     (287,822 )     (360,650 )
    Net deposits returned (paid) for property, plant and equipment     8,155       8,138  
    Proceeds from sale of Illinois Winds LLC     36,563       —  
    Purchases of investments     (734 )     (5,298 )
    Return of capital on investments     6,775       3,906  
    Loans made to other parties     (19,742 )     —  
    Receipts from notes receivable     46,204       30,725  
    Net cash used in investing activities     (210,601 )     (323,179 )
             
    Cash Flows from Financing Activities        
    Shareholder distributions     (37,196 )     (87,597 )
    Return of collateral paid for swap contract     —       1,735  
    Repurchases of common shares     (6,428 )     (82,719 )
    Shares withheld related to net share settlement of equity awards     (1,880 )     —  
    Deferred shareholder servicing fees     (3,150 )     (3,486 )
    Contributions from noncontrolling interests     110,216       144,895  
    Distributions to noncontrolling interests     (17,850 )     (17,498 )
    Proceeds from borrowings     404,580       425,532  
    Payments on borrowings     (320,174 )     (351,764 )
    Proceeds from failed sale-leaseback     111,453       240,969  
    Payments on failed sale-leaseback     (87,089 )     —  
    Payments for loan origination costs     (34,698 )     (11,447 )
    Other capital activity     (745 )     (865 )
    Net cash provided by financing activities     117,039       257,755  
    Net decrease in Cash, cash equivalents and Restricted cash     (26,087 )     (3,023 )
    Cash, cash equivalents and Restricted cash at beginning of period*     187,675       190,698  
    Cash, cash equivalents and Restricted cash at end of period   $ 161,588     $ 187,675  
             
    *Cash, cash equivalents and Restricted cash as of May 18, 2022 includes all consolidated subsidiaries of the Company upon the change in status.


    Non-GAAP Reconciliations

    Adjusted EBITDA

    Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company uses as a performance measure as well as for internal planning purposes. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is useful to management and investors in providing a measure of core financial performance adjusted to allow for comparisons of results of operations across reporting periods on a consistent basis as it includes adjustments relating to items that are not indicative of the ongoing operating performance of the business.

    The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) before: (i) interest expense; (ii) income taxes; (iii) depreciation expense; (iv) amortization expense (including contract amortization); (v) accretion; (vi) impairment of long-lived assets; (vii) amounts attributable to our redeemable and non-redeemable noncontrolling interests; (viii) unrealized gains and losses on financial instruments; (ix) gains and losses for asset dispositions; (x) other income (loss); and (xi) foreign currency gain (loss). Additionally, the Company further adjusts for the following items described below:

    • Share-based compensation is excluded from Adjusted EBITDA as it is different from other forms of compensation as it is a non-cash expense and is highly variable. For example, a cash salary generally has a fixed and unvarying cash cost. In contrast, the expense associated with an equity-based award is generally unrelated to the amount of cash ultimately received by the employee, and the cost to the Company is based on a share-based compensation valuation methodology and underlying assumptions that may vary over time;
    • The change in fair value of contingent consideration, which is related to the Acquisition, is excluded from Adjusted EBITDA, if any such change occurs during the period. The non-cash, mark-to-market adjustments are based on the expected achievement of revenue targets that are difficult to forecast and can be variable, making comparisons across historical and future quarters difficult to evaluate;
    • Beginning 2024, start-up costs associated with new investment strategies is excluded from Adjusted EBITDA. The Company evaluates new investment strategies on a regular basis and excludes start-up cost from Adjusted EBITDA until such time as a new strategy is determined to form part of the Company’s core investment management business.
    • Beginning 2024, placement fees, including internal sales commissions, related to fundraising efforts based on the capital raised, are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA. By excluding these fundraising-related fees from Adjusted EBITDA, we focus on core operational performance, separate from capital raising efforts, which might vary significantly from period to period.
    • Other costs that are not consistently occurring, not reflective of expected future operating expense and provide no insight into the fundamentals of current or past operations of our business are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA. This includes costs such as professional services and legal fees, and other non-recurring costs unrelated to the ongoing operations of the Company.

    Adjusted EBITDA is a performance measure used by management that is not calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation from or as superior to or as a substitute for net income (loss), operating income (loss) or any other measure of financial performance calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Additionally, our calculations of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

    FFO

    FFO is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company uses as a performance measure to analyze net earnings from operations without the effects of certain non-recurring items that are not indicative of the ongoing operating performance of the business.

    FFO is calculated using Adjusted EBITDA less the impact of interest expense (excluding the non-cash component) and distributions to Tax Equity Investors under the financing facilities associated with our IPP segment. The Company excludes these distributions as these are not recorded within Adjusted EBITDA and is therefore not a component of our earnings from operations.

    The Company believes that the analysis and presentation of FFO will enhance our investors’ understanding of the ongoing performance of our operating business. The Company considers FFO, in addition to other GAAP and non-GAAP measures, in assessing operating performance and as a proxy for growth in distribution coverage over the long-term.

    Adjusted EBITDA and FFO should not be considered in isolation from or as a superior to or as a substitute for net income (loss), operating income (loss) or any other measure of financial performance calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

    The following table reconciles Net loss attributable to Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC to Adjusted EBITDA and FFO:

        Three months ended December 31,   Year ended December 31,
    (in thousands)     2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Net loss attributable to Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC   $ (176,623 )   $ (15,822 )   $ (242,300 )   $ (79,471 )
    Add back or deduct the following:                
    Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests and redeemable noncontrolling interests     (14,635 )     (30,307 )     (63,609 )     (96,116 )
    Benefit (expense) from income taxes     (16,799 )     (7,393 )     (19,378 )     (21,548 )
    Interest expense, net     (27,546 )     28,240       7,612       20,328  
    Depreciation, amortization and accretion(1)     25,310       15,589       97,056       134,647  
    EBITDA   $ (210,293 )   $ (9,693 )   $ (220,619 )   $ (42,160 )
    Share-based compensation expense     (12,602 )     1,255       378       11,248  
    Change in fair value of contingent consideration     (35,584 )     3,500       (39,348 )     (603 )
    Change in fair value of investments, net     15,357       (2,200 )     14,701       (932 )
    Income from sale-leaseback transfer of tax benefits     (22,764 )     —       (22,764 )     —  
    Other income (expense), net     (1,808 )     512       (2,436 )     267  
    Gain on deconsolidation, net     100       —       (5,622 )     —  
    Loss on asset disposition     12,932       —       12,932       —  
    Impairment of goodwill     221,314       —       221,314       —  
    Impairment of long-lived assets, net and project termination costs     55,700       8,632       88,410       59,294  
    Non-recurring professional services and legal fees     1,560       468       8,654       3,388  
    Non-recurring salaries and personnel related expenses(2)     2,491       —       4,150       1,250  
    Adjusted EBITDA   $ 26,403     $ 2,474     $ 59,750     $ 31,752  
    Cash portion of interest expense     (7,828 )     (7,869 )     (30,217 )     (27,473 )
    Distributions to tax equity investors     (4,327 )     (2,449 )     (18,848 )     (15,748 )
    FFO   $ 14,248     $ (7,844 )   $ 10,685     $ (11,469 )
                     
    (1) Includes contract amortization, net in the amount of $4.9 million, $5.8 million, $14.3 million, and $8.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 and the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, which are included in Contract amortization, net on the Consolidated Statements of Operations; also includes certain other amortization costs included in Direct operating costs and General and administrative on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
                     
    (2) Non-recurring salaries and personnel related expenses for 2024 include start-up costs which primarily include salaries and personnel related expenses of incremental employees hired in advance to launch new investment strategy initiatives. Given the nature and scale of the related costs and activities, management does not view these as normal, recurring operating expenses, but rather as non-recurring investments to initially develop our new funds. Therefore, we believe it is useful and necessary for investors to understand our core operating performance in current and future periods by excluding the impact of these start-up costs as incurred. Non-recurring salaries and personnel related expenses for 2024 also include placement fees, including internal sales commission.

    Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2024 has not been adjusted for the charges of $16.6 million incurred as part of a settlement agreement with a third-party vendor due to the termination of the existing purchase contract in order to acquire the solar panels needed for our development and construction pipeline from a different vendor with significantly better economic proposition due to reduced expected cash outlays.

    The following table reconciles total Segment Adjusted EBITDA to Net loss attributable to Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC: 

        Three months ended December 31,   Year ended December 31,
    (in thousands)     2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Segment Adjusted EBITDA:                
    IPP Adjusted EBITDA   $ 26,532     $ 6,721     $ 81,197     $ 62,180  
    IM Adjusted EBITDA     3,033       1,601       2,051       (2,674 )
    Total Segment Adjusted EBITDA   $ 29,565     $ 8,322     $ 83,248     $ 59,506  
                     
    Reconciliation:                
    Total Segment Adjusted EBITDA   $ 29,565     $ 8,322     $ 83,248     $ 59,506  
    Unallocated corporate expenses     (3,162 )     (5,848 )     (23,498 )     (27,754 )
    Total Adjusted EBITDA     26,403       2,474       59,750       31,752  
                     
    Less:                
    Share-based compensation expense     (12,602 )     1,255       378       11,248  
    Change in fair value of contingent consideration     (35,584 )     3,500       (39,348 )     (603 )
    Gain on deconsolidation, net     100       —       (5,622 )     —  
    Loss on asset disposition     12,932       —       12,932       —  
    Impairment of goodwill     221,314       —       221,314       —  
    Impairment of long-lived assets, net and project termination costs     55,700       8,632       88,410       59,294  
    Depreciation, amortization and accretion(1)     25,310       15,589       97,056       134,647  
    Non-recurring professional services and legal fees     1,560       468       8,654       3,388  
    Non-recurring salaries and personnel related expenses(2)     2,491       —       4,150       1,250  
    Operating loss   $ (244,818 )   $ (26,970 )   $ (328,174 )   $ (177,472 )
                     
    Interest expense, net     27,546       (28,240 )     (7,612 )     (20,328 )
    Change in fair value of investments, net     (15,357 )     2,200       (14,701 )     932  
    Income from sale-leaseback transfer of tax benefits     22,764       —       22,764       —  
    Other income (expense), net     1,808       (512 )     2,436       (267 )
    Loss before income taxes   $ (208,057 )   $ (53,522 )   $ (325,287 )   $ (197,135 )
                     
    Benefit from income taxes     16,799       7,393       19,378       21,548  
    Net loss   $ (191,258 )   $ (46,129 )   $ (305,909 )   $ (175,587 )
                     
    Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests and redeemable noncontrolling interests     (14,635 )     (30,307 )     (63,609 )     (96,116 )
    Net loss attributable to Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC   $ (176,623 )   $ (15,822 )   $ (242,300 )   $ (79,471 )
                     
    (1) Includes contract amortization, net in the amount of $4.9 million, $5.8 million, $14.3 million, and $8.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 and the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, which are included in Contract amortization, net on the Consolidated Statements of Operations; also includes certain other amortization costs included in Direct operating costs and General and administrative on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
                     
    (2) Non-recurring salaries and personnel related expenses for 2024 include start-up costs which primarily include salaries and personnel related expenses of incremental employees hired in advance to launch new investment strategy initiatives. Given the nature and scale of the related costs and activities, management does not view these as normal, recurring operating expenses, but rather as non-recurring investments to initially develop our new funds. Therefore, we believe it is useful and necessary for investors to understand our core operating performance in current and future periods by excluding the impact of these start-up costs as incurred. Non-recurring salaries and personnel related expenses for 2024 also include placement fees, including internal sales commission.


    About Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company
    Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC is a publicly reporting, non-traded limited liability sustainable infrastructure company that both acquires and manages income-producing renewable energy and other energy-related businesses, including solar and wind farms, and provides investment management services to other renewable energy investment vehicles. We seek to acquire and operate high-quality projects that sell clean power under long-term contracts to high-creditworthy counterparties such as utilities, municipalities, and corporations. We are long-term owner-operators, who strive to be good stewards of the land and responsible members of the communities in which we operate. Greenbacker conducts its investment management business through its wholly owned subsidiary, Greenbacker Capital Management, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. We believe our focus on power production and asset management creates value that we can then pass on to our shareholders—while facilitating the transition toward a clean energy future. For more information, please visit https://greenbackercapital.com.

    About Greenbacker Capital Management
    Greenbacker Capital Management LLC is an SEC registered investment adviser that provides advisory and oversight services related to project development, acquisition, and operations in the renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainability industries. For more information, please visit www.greenbackercapital.com.

    Greenbacker media contact
    Chris Larson
    Media Communications
    646.569.9532
    c.larson@greenbackercapital.com

    ____________________________________________
    ¹ The financial and portfolio metrics set forth herein are unaudited and subject to change. Data as of December 31, 2024. Total assets and megawatts statistics include those projects where we have contracted for the acquisition of the project pursuant to a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (“MIPA”).
    ² Includes pre-operating and operating assets across combined GREC and GREC II portfolios. Data as of December 31, 2024.
    ³ Total operating revenue excludes non-cash contract amortization, net.
    ⁴ Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company uses as a performance measure, as well as for internal planning purposes. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is useful to management and investors in providing a measure of core financial performance adjusted to allow for comparisons of results of operations across reporting periods on a consistent basis, as it includes adjustments relating to items that are not indicative on the ongoing operating performance of the business. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for additional discussion. Adjusted EBITDA is unaudited. See the Company’s 10-K filed with the SEC for additional financial information and important related disclosures.
    ⁵ Data as of December 31, 2024. Total assets and megawatts statistics include those projects where we have contracted for the acquisition of the project pursuant to a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (“MIPA”). The financial and portfolio metrics set forth herein are unaudited and subject to change
    ⁶ Does not include power generated from biomass facility during 2023 and a portion of 2024, and also does not include assets in which the Company holds a preferred equity position
    ⁷ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
    ⁸ Data is as of December 31, 2024. When compared with a similar amount of power generation from fossil fuels. Carbon abatement is calculated using the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator which uses the Avoided Emissions and generation Tool (AVERT) US national weighted average CO2 marginal emission rate to convert reductions of kilowatt-hours into avoided units of carbon dioxide emissions.
    ⁹ Data is as of December 31, 2024. Water saved by Greenbacker’s clean energy projects is compared to the amount of water needed to produce the same amount of power by burning coal. Gallons of water saved are calculated based on Operational water consumption and withdrawal factors for electricity generating technologies: a review of existing literature – IOPscience, J Macknick et al 2012 Environ. Res. Lett. 7 045802.
    ¹⁰ Data is as of December 31, 2024. Green jobs calculated using The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) State Clean Energy Employment Projection Support, nrel.gov.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: New acting chair appointed for Mental Health Review Board

    Joanna Nefs has been appointed for a six-month term as acting chair of the Mental Health Review Board, starting Tuesday, April 1, 2025.

    The review board is an independent tribunal established under the Mental Health Act. The board conducts panel hearings for patients admitted by physicians and detained involuntarily in provincial mental-health facilities in a manner consistent with the principles of fundamental justice and Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

    Nefs holds a master in public policy degree, 2017-18; a juris doctor, 2008-11; and a bachelor’s degree in political science, 2006-08, all from York University.

    From 2020 until 2024, Nefs was the CEO of AIDE Canada, a national initiative funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. It focused on delivering information and resources to people with developmental disabilities and diagnosed with autism and their families.

    From 2018 until 2020, Nefs was executive director of the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and at the United Nations, working on projects with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and at the UN Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. From 2012 until 2018, Nefs was the assistant Crown attorney at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.  

    From January until May 2018, Nefs taught a course at Osgoode Hall law school about representing clients with mental illnesses and addictions.

    Since 2020, Nefs has been a member and alternate chair of B.C.’s Mental Health Review Board.

    Learn More:

    For more information about the Mental Health Review Board, visit: https://www.bcmhrb.ca/

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Marine Le Pen verdict ‘represents an effort to make democracy better’ in France – interview

    Source: The Conversation – France – By Luc Rouban, Directeur de recherche CNRS, Sciences Po

    Marine Le Pen, the figurehead of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party and a three-time presidential candidate, has been found guilty of misappropriating public funds and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and five years of ineligibility for public office, with immediate effect. Despite her decision to appeal, the March 31 ruling in a Paris court will probably eliminate her from the 2027 presidential race. Political scientist Luc Rouban analyses this major political development in an interview with The Conversation France.

    The Conversation: Marine Le Pen’s sentence of immediate ineligibility came as a surprise and a shock. Some legal experts had imagined that a heavy sentence would fall but doubted that the judge, under pressure, would take the logic of ineligibility to its conclusion – despite the fact that it is enshrined in the law.

    Luc Rouban: Yes, it’s a surprise and I don’t think the RN was expecting this decision. For the rule of law, it’s a form of revenge on a certain style of political life that, for decades, operated on the basis of arrangements, on the basis of the inner circle. That’s what we were used to during the Jacques Chirac and François Mitterrand periods, when there were dangerous links between politicians and certain members of the business class. It also brings to mind – of course – the more recent Nicolas Sarkozy affair. Today we are witnessing a historic turnaround. Marine Le Pen was no doubt expecting a suspended sentence, a slightly symbolic sentence. But this sentence is not symbolic at all. She is no longer part of the old style of political life.

    Is this ruling a good thing for democracy, with a judge who applies the law without trembling? Or is it a problem, as RN president Jordan Bardella, right-wing members of parliament Eric Ciotti and Laurent Wauquiez, and left-wing political leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon have said – and as Elon Musk, Viktor Orban, Geert Wilders, Matteo Salvini and the Kremlin have also said?

    Luc Rouban: This ruling represents an effort to make democracy better. Reaffirming the rule of law is absolutely essential and legitimate. The French democratic system is very fragile, much more so than in other European countries. Public confidence in politicians and the justice system is very low and needs to be restored. One way of doing this is to ensure that the law is applied to public figures who embezzle millions of euros, not just to supermarket cashiers who are fired and prosecuted for stealing a chocolate bar. The conviction of Marine Le Pen is undeniable progress for our democracy: it’s a sign that the relationship with politics is changing, that politics has become a professional activity like any other, subject to regulations and laws.

    Of course, there will be attacks on the judiciary, we will have the Trumpist argument of “government by judges”. But it’s important to remember that judges simply apply the law. We must also remember that the figures, including Marine Le Pen, who are criticising ineligibility penalties, had applauded the Sapin 2 law, which passed unanimously in 2016 following the Cahuzac affair (editor’s note: ex-budget minister Jérôme Cahuzac was ruled guilty of tax fraud in a Paris court).

    What does the future hold for Marine Le Pen and the RN? Is Jordan Bardella capable of replacing her?

    Luc Rouban: Barring the uncertain scenario of a favourable ruling on appeal before the presidential election, Marine Le Pen is likely to hand over her position as RN candidate to Bardella. But is Bardella capable of replacing her? That’s the question.

    Internally, he hasn’t really managed to establish himself within the party, particularly in terms of renewing the leadership and structuring the movement. As soon as Marine Le Pen was absent – which was the case after the death of her father (editor’s note: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the National Front) – the party seemed to collapse.

    What’s more, Bardella is Marine Le Pen’s heir apparent. The party’s “normalisation” could involve a form of “de-lepenalisation”. The Le Pen family has totally structured the party, which is very vertical, very organised around itself and its immediate entourage. This oligarchic model and this verticality are obviously going to be called into question. Will Bardella suffer as a result? Other RN leaders, such as Sébastien Chenu or Jean-Philippe Tanguy, who have established themselves in the media, may try to overtake him in the presidential race. However, this would require a break with Marine Le Pen in a party where dissidents are quickly excluded. The likelihood of such a challenge therefore remains low.

    What about Marion Maréchal? Could she take over?

    Luc Rouban: I don’t believe so because Maréchal (editor’s note: Marine Le Pen’s niece, who was elected to the European Parliament in 2024 on the ticket of the far-right Reconquest party, to which she no longer belongs) plays the Trump card and makes the RN feel uncomfortable. The RN electorate is too attached to France’s sovereignty, and has evolved toward a form of labour rights that is far removed from hard-line liberalism. The Reconquest electorate is more middle-class, older, better educated and wealthier than that of the RN.

    Will the RN benefit from this verdict or lose voters?

    Luc Rouban: It is possible that some abstentionist voters whose backgrounds are similar to those of RN voters will express their dissatisfaction with Marine Le Pen’s conviction by choosing to vote for the future candidate of the RN.

    But among the right-wing, upper middle classes who voted RN in the 2024 legislative elections, the vote could shift back to Les Républicains (editor’s note: the historic French right-wing party).

    Furthermore, for whoever becomes the future candidate of the RN, there will be a problem of support. To win a presidential election, you need to have support in the business world. But dragging around a party whose main leaders have been convicted of criminal offences is not a good look. Fundamentally, the RN was already isolated from the social elites. It could be even more so tomorrow.

    How might public opinion react to this major event, which deprives millions of voters of their candidate? Should we expect large-scale responses, possibly violent ones?

    Luc Rouban: As far as society in general is concerned, there may be hostile reactions for a while, isolated incidents, but I don’t think there will be mass movements like in the 1930s. The lack of enthusiasm for political life is obvious: who is going to take physical risks and engage in violent action to defend a political party and its representative? Not many people, I think.

    David Bornstein conducted this interview.

    Luc Rouban ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

    – ref. Marine Le Pen verdict ‘represents an effort to make democracy better’ in France – interview – https://theconversation.com/marine-le-pen-verdict-represents-an-effort-to-make-democracy-better-in-france-interview-253551

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: FLG Partners Announces Andrea Persily as Returning Partner

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PALO ALTO, Calif., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FLG Partners, a leading CFO and CEO consulting practice and Board advisory services firm serving over 500 clients from startups to Fortune 100, has announced the election of Andrea Persily as a Partner in the firm.

    Andrea worked as an FLG Partner from 2017 to 2019 before joining one of her clients in a full-time CFO capacity for over six years. “We are thrilled to welcome back Andrea to FLG,” said Managing Partner Jennifer Cho. “Andrea’s outstanding CFO credentials and deep breadth of financial and operational expertise make her a powerful addition to our already substantial bench of CFO expertise.”

    “I am proud to have this opportunity to return to FLG and rejoin this best-in-class team of top-tier CFOs,” shared Ms. Persily. “I look forward to joining my peers in delivering excellence and elevating the growth of our client partners.”

    Ms. Persily has significant experience as a CFO and COO in the Digital Content, Education, FinTech, Health & Wellness sectors. After beginning her career at Smith Barney, Ms. Persily joined Primedia, where she quickly grew to CFO of the Business to Business Group, overseeing strategy, financial planning, and analysis for a $350M division. She was later tapped to lead Prism Business Media (a subsidiary of Primedia) as COO, overseeing 300 employees. Later, as part of her work as CFO and COO of Spafinder Wellness, she led the spin out Booker.com, a SaaS appointment booking product, into a separate entity for which she helped obtain Series A funding. She also served as the Managing Director of WellTech Funding, a seed fund that invested in health and wellness tech startups. In 2017, Ms. Persily joined FLG Partners, bringing significant experience in M&A transactions, organizational design, and re-engineering while focusing on Media, FinTech, SaaS, and Health & Wellness. She joined FLG client Great Minds, a premier K-12 educational publisher, as a full-time CFO for over six years. There, she oversaw Finance, Accounting, Tax, Treasury, Operations, IT, and HR while converting the company’s organizational structure from a nonprofit to a public benefit corporation, setting up its first option plan.

    Ms. Persily holds a BA in Economics from Cornell University and an MBA in Finance/Strategic Management from The Wharton School.

    About FLG Partners
    Founded in 2004, FLG Partners is the leader in CFO solutions and CEO and Board advisory services in Silicon Valley and nationwide. FLG delivers financial and operational leadership to companies ranging from startups to multi-billion-dollar public and private companies across multiple industry sectors from technology, SaaS, life sciences, to consumer products and manufacturing. FLG Partners’ engagements span interim or permanent CFO and C-suite leadership roles, CFO consulting, board directorships, and board advisory and performance consulting. With a cumulative total of over 950 years of CFO experience, FLG partners bring outstanding expertise, independence and objective leadership and industry best practices to clients in business planning and execution; fundraising and financing; SEC reporting, tax and regulatory compliance; mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; and company turnarounds and restructurings. Throughout their careers, FLG’s partners have completed approximately 350 M&A transactions, 200+ IPOs and secondary offerings, 100+ divestiture transactions, and have raised $19 billion in equity and $12 billion in debt for their clients. For more information, visit flgpartners.com.

    Contact information:

    Melanie LoBue
    melanie@voyagercomms.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b3d8cf5d-8daf-4c9a-9220-d852e4733014

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How memes spread conspiracy theories – and what to consider before sharing one

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Emily Godwin, Senior Research Associate in Digital Marketing and Virtual Environments, University of Bristol, and PhD Candidate in Conspiracy Theories, University of Bath

    “I am become meme,” declared Elon Musk at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference, just after hoisting a chainsaw – a gift from Argentina’s president, Javier Milei – above his head. The tech billionaire and head of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) was correct. Within hours, images of the moment had spread across social media, spawning countless edits, humorous remixes and sharp commentary.

    This moment was more than just a spectacle. It exemplified how, in a digital age where the battle for attention is paramount, memes are a key part of political conversation. While memes might seem purely entertaining, my research confirms their influence goes deeper, shaping and intensifying political views and attitudes in significant ways.

    The power of memes lies in their ability to distil complex ideas into instantly recognisable forms. They rely on established visual templates, which eliminate the need for lengthy explanations and communicate to the viewer how they should think about the topic of the meme.

    Distracted boyfriend (in which a man looks over his shoulder at an attractive woman to the annoyance of his girlfriend) is a perfect example. It succinctly communicates the universal experience of being tempted by one option while neglecting another – applicable to everything from consumer preferences to political allegiances.

    Distracted boyfriend meme.
    Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock

    However, this simplification can quickly become problematic when memes portray distorted or misleading views of reality.

    Harmful stereotypes, misinformation and conspiracy theories have all found their way into meme format. Memes can transmit dangerous ideas, cloaked in humour that makes them more palatable.

    Conspiracy theories and memes

    Conspiracy theories prove especially adaptable to the meme format. Their narratives rely heavily on simple “us v them” portrayals of enlightened truth-seekers standing up against powerful conspirators and an unaware or passive public.

    My analysis of hundreds of memes from COVID conspiracy communities on Reddit revealed a striking pattern: the same templates appeared repeatedly, reinforcing this simplistic but powerful dichotomy.

    Many memes portrayed conspiracy believers as enlightened truth-seekers. “Lisa Simpson’s Presentation”, showing the comic cartoon character confidently presenting to an audience, was commonly used to share claims that challenged mainstream narratives about science, medicine and the government.

    Other memes portrayed authorities as powerful manipulators. “Daily Struggle/Two Buttons”, showing a character sweating over which of two contradictory buttons to press, was commonly used to suggest that health officials and media outlets deliberately switched between opposing vaccination narratives when convenient.

    Most prevalent were portrayals of an unaware or passive public, with “NPC Wojak” – a grey, expressionless figure named after video game “non-playable characters” – presenting a visual shorthand. Those who followed public health advice and mandates were portrayed as mindless automatons, incapable of critical thinking or independent judgment.

    These kinds of meme did not just reflect existing beliefs – they actively shaped and intensified them. Through repeated exposure, these ideas became normalised and accepted as truth. Memes created a feedback loop where existing suspicions were validated, amplified and spread to others – with real-world effects.

    During the pandemic, conspiracy theories that were shared widely via memes led to real-world action, from vaccine refusal to violent global protests against public health mandates.

    The accessible humour of memes served as an entry point, attracting audiences who might have initially engaged with the content as “just jokes”, but subsequently adopted increasingly extreme perspectives.

    Elon Musk, before ‘becoming meme’.
    Joshua Sukoff/Shutterstock

    Think before sharing

    Given their power to influence political views and attitudes and to spread misinformation, it is important to think critically before sharing a meme. Here are some key pointers:

    1. Think about the hidden message

    Memes often use humour or exaggeration, but consider the underlying message. Is it simplifying a complex issue or distorting reality? Remember that memes can disguise the extremity of viewpoints, making them appear more familiar and acceptable.

    2. Identify who’s behind it

    Consider the source or origin of the meme. Who might benefit from spreading this message? Is it associated with extreme or conspiratorial communities? If you are unsure, a quick check on Know Your Meme or a reverse image search can provide helpful context.

    3. Check for implicit assumptions

    Memes often operate through implicit assumptions about society, expertise and evidence that go unstated. Ask yourself: what core beliefs must someone accept for this meme to make sense? For example, a meme mocking people who “trust the science” might contain the unstated assumption that scientific consensus is merely opinion, rather than evidence-based conclusion.

    4. Think about emotional manipulation

    Memes rely heavily on emotional reactions – often humour, anger, or outrage – to encourage rapid sharing. Before clicking “share”, reflect on whether you’re being manipulated emotionally into spreading an idea you wouldn’t openly support.

    5. Consider potential harm

    Ask yourself if sharing the meme could contribute to harm, whether by reinforcing harmful stereotypes, or spreading misinformation or conspiracy theories. Humour can disguise the impact of these ideas, making them seem acceptable when they aren’t.

    6. Remember that context matters

    A meme may seem funny or insightful on its own – but within wider conversations, it can take on new meanings. Consider how it might be interpreted alongside other messages circulating in similar spaces. Could it be contributing to a pattern of misinformation, division or trivialisation?

    Ultimately, becoming mindful of the memes we share isn’t about losing a sense of humour, it’s about gaining control over the ideas we help circulate. Before you click share, take a second to think – every meme you spread can affect how people see the world.

    Emily Godwin receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for her position as a PhD Candidate at the University of Bath.

    – ref. How memes spread conspiracy theories – and what to consider before sharing one – https://theconversation.com/how-memes-spread-conspiracy-theories-and-what-to-consider-before-sharing-one-252780

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How to engineer microbes to enable us to live on Mars

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Samuel McKee, Associate Tutor and PhD Candidate in Philosophy of Science, Manchester Metropolitan University

    Alones/Shutterstock

    A field known as synthetic biology has become one of the most highly anticipated in science. Its outputs range from golden rice, which is genetically engineered to provide vitamin A, to advances stemming from the Human Genome Project, which successfully mapped the entire human genome. Prominent voices in biotechnology have heralded it as the next wave of the future of innovation.

    Synthetic biology is the use of genetic engineering and other advances in biotechnology to generate new organisms or manipulate existing ones to produce the effects you desire. It is what the British biologist Jamie A. Davies calls “the creation of new living systems by design”.

    What is perhaps less obvious is that it may even be useful in space exploration. We might eventually use microbes to detoxify Mars – helping humans to one day live on the red planet.

    Synthetic biology has transformed many lines of technological breakthrough in biology already. Thanks to technologies such as the Nobel-winning genomic “scissors” Crispr Cas9, gene editing is now cheap, fast and accurate, as is gene sequencing.

    All this means genomics can be done in the field and even in space thanks to new technology – such as the MinION by Oxford Nanopore Technologies, which allowed Nasa astronaut Kate Rubins to sequence the genomes of microorganisms on the International Space Station with a handheld device.

    Structural biology has also been revolutionised by breakthroughs in cryo-electron microscopy (enabling us to view large molecules in a solution), and more recently by the Nobel prize-winning protein-folding program “AlphaFold” by Google’s DeepMind.

    We can now know the structure and sequence of organisms at speed and with tremendous accuracy – and at low cost. Ultimately, this also presents an opportunity to make accurate changes to sequences and structures.

    This has important implications for space exploration, according to the Mars Society, Nasa and the Royal Society. Specifically, advances in synthetic biology are opening up new avenues for exploring and colonising Mars.

    So, how can we engineer microorganisms to make Mars habitable? Here are a few possibilities.

    Eating radiation

    Microbes could help us with the damaging radiation on Mars. We know there are bacteria and other single-celled organisms known as archaea living in some of the most hostile places on Earth. For example, Thermus Aquaticus thrives in extremely high temperatures, and psychrophiles live in extreme cold.

    The tardigrade genome, for example, is a rich source of information, explaining how these microorganisms can survive in the vacuum of space. Extremophiles that can digest radiation and toxicities are already used to clean up everything from oil spills to the fallout of radioactive sites.

    This means we could engineer microbes that are resistant to freezing temperatures and high levels of radiation. Such synthetic microorganisms could then be put to use on Mars in a variety ways to help shield us and our habitats from these extremes – or to develop crops with resistance.

    The Milnesium tardigrade.
    wikipedia, CC BY-SA

    For example, it is now well known that the Martian soil is full of perchlorates, which are toxic to humans. Nasa has several ideas of how this can be dealt with, including synthetic biology.

    Fixing atmospheric gases

    Long ago on ancient Earth, cyanobacteria flourished. They filled an ecological niche which transformed Earth’s atmosphere by enriching it with oxygen. We owe our existence in large part to this fertile bloom.

    Could they do the same for us on Mars? The atmosphere on the red planet is extremely thin and primarily made of carbon dioxide. The cyanobacteria would need a lot of help, which we could provide with synthetic biology. Theoretically, microorganisms could be engineered to survive the Martian environment and in turn pump out oxygen and nitrogen.

    Warming the surface

    Visions of terraforming the red planet (altering it to make it habitable for humans) often involve putting space mirrors in orbit to heat up Mars and melt its ice. This would cause a runaway greenhouse effect that would transform the planet into a more Earth-like state.

    But synthetic biology could (theoretically) skip this stage, which has been proposed to take at least 200 years at the very best estimate. Some five years ago, scientists proposed planetary engineering using synthetic biology to engineer microbes for ecological transformation.

    Given that microbes helped make Earth habitable, we could use synthetic biology to engineer microbes to speed up a similar process for Mars. Finding organisms that reduce greenhouse gases, remove toxicity and exhale helpful substances could help remove higher levels of greenhouse gases on Earth, too.

    Seeding new life on Mars

    We are not yet sure there is no life on Mars. The question of how ethical it is to engineer new life and then spread it to other bodies in the Solar System for our own ends is deep and complex. But these conversations need to happen.

    However, it certainly seems that synthetic biology may be our best technological bet to becoming an interplanetary species – and a lot of space and biotech agencies are taking it very seriously.

    According to recent research from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia: “From a holistic point of view, the ultimate synthetic biology approach to make the most of plant-based food on Mars would be to develop multi-biofortified crops with improved nutritional properties and enhanced quality traits (e.g., extended shelf life and reduced allergenicity).”

    Among emerging technologies, it may be that using synthetic biology improves our future more than any other factor – on Earth and beyond.

    Samuel McKee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. How to engineer microbes to enable us to live on Mars – https://theconversation.com/how-to-engineer-microbes-to-enable-us-to-live-on-mars-253456

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The dark side of psychiatry – how it has been used to control societies

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Caitjan Gainty, Senior Lecturer in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, King’s College London

    In his new book, No More Normal, psychiatrist Alastair Santhouse recalls an experience from the 1980s when he was a university student in the UK helping deliver supplies to “refuseniks” – Soviet citizens who were denied permission to leave the USSR. These people often faced harsh treatment, losing their jobs and becoming targets of harassment. Some were even diagnosed with a psychiatric condition called “sluggish schizophrenia”.

    By the time Santhouse encountered this diagnostic category, sluggish schizophrenia had been kicking around psychiatry in the Soviet Union for some time. It first entered the diagnostic lexicon in the 1930s, coined to describe cases in which adults diagnosed with schizophrenia had displayed no symptoms of the disorder in childhood.

    This notion of a symptomless disorder gave it tremendous value to Soviet officials in the 1970s and 80s, who wielded it ruthlessly against those who suddenly suffered from delusions of wanting a better society or hallucinatory desires to emigrate.

    But they weren’t the only ones to wield psychiatry to repress and control. “Punitive” or “political” psychiatry has proven to be quite a useful tool in many parts of the world. One well-known case is that of Chinese political activist Wang Wanxing, who marked the third anniversary of the 1989 pro-democracy student protests in Tiananmen Square by unfurling his own pro-democracy banner on that same spot.

    He was immediately arrested, jailed, and then diagnosed with “political monomania”: a “condition” characterised by the irrational failure to agree with the state. For treatment, he was confined for 13 years in a psychiatric hospital, part of the Ankang (“peace and health”) network of psychiatric institutions where dissidents like him were forcefully medicated and subjected to “treatments” such as electrified acupuncture.

    More recent applications of punitive psychiatry pop up periodically in our news feeds and disappear just as quickly. Some women who removed their headscarves or cut their hair as part of anti-government protests in Iran in 2022 were diagnosed with antisocial behaviour, forcefully institutionalised and subjected to “re-education”.

    Women in Iran who protested against wearing hijabs were sent for re-education.
    Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock

    In 2024, in Russia, an activist’s choice of T-shirt, bearing the slogan “I am against Putin”, was considered so problematic that it required the summoning of a “psychiatric emergency team”.

    As in the Soviet Union, the advantages of punitive psychiatry were not a little Orwellian: diagnosing a citizen with a mental illness made it easier to isolate their ideas, cut them off physically and discourage similar behaviour.

    Not just authoritarian regimes

    While authoritarian regimes certainly seem to wield it with the most abandon, punitive psychiatry has not been absent in the west. Indeed, at the height of the civil rights movement in the US, black activists protesting generations of racial prejudice and injustice were subjected to much the same diagnostic regime.

    One example was the pastor and activist Clennon W. King, Jr. who was arrested and confined to a mental institution in 1958 after he attempted to enrol at the all-white University of Mississippi for a summer course. It was an act so inconceivable that the state of Mississippi thought he must be insane.

    And, according to his FBI record, the militant civil rights leader Malcolm X was a “pre-psychotic paranoid schizophrenic”: a diagnosis made based on his activism and protest speech. As Jonathan Metzl has shown, the descriptors used to “diagnose” Malcolm X were later enshrined in the American Psychiatric Association’s 1968 updated definition of schizophrenia. Dissent in the US was as potentially pathological as dissent anywhere else.

    Though each of these cases undoubtedly constitutes a gross misuse of psychiatry, the practice of making distinctions between what constitutes normal and abnormal behaviour is fundamental to the discipline. And, as Metzl’s account of the shifting definition of schizophrenia implies, psychiatric disorders are especially sensitive to social change.

    Unlike most physical illnesses, psychiatric illnesses often have few physiological signs. Whereas a broken bone on an X-ray can be declared unambiguously broken, psychiatric problems are diagnosed in terms of constellations of symptoms, written on but not in the body, and recounted by patients in conversation with their therapist, or via a listing of these symptoms on one of the many diagnostic questionnaires that make up the psychiatric diagnostic arsenal.

    Psychiatry’s bible

    These are then matched to symptom clusters listed in psychiatry’s bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). Though in the everyday practice of mental health, there is much more to this process, in theory, the closeness of this match designates the absence or presence of disease.

    That psychiatric diagnoses are unusually socially responsive is by and large unavoidable. Our mental health is itself socially specific, so much so that some have argued that something as apparently universal as depression, for example, is actually an illness specific to western or even just anglophone cultures.

    Whether that hypothesis is true or not has no bearing on whether depression is in fact real. It only suggests what psychiatry intrinsically acknowledges already: that mental health has a critically significant social component.

    As the use of psychiatry for these punitive purposes makes clear, this necessary malleability lends itself to abuse. The radical psychiatrists of the 1970s certainly believed so when they re-examined the very notion of normal, exposing its role in policing society and enforcing categories of exclusion. It’s how homosexuality ended up as a diagnosable psychiatric illness in the 1952 edition of the DSM – a pathology built by and for the norms of the American mainstream.

    But it’s a malleability that can also lead to change in the opposite direction, where society – we, you and I – revisit and change these boundaries. Homosexuality was removed from the DSM in 1973, not because of any new scientific information, but because of a targeted gay rights activist campaign and, more indirectly, the slow shift over the intervening decades toward greater social inclusion.

    In his book, Santhouse reflects on where we are now in psychiatry, at a time when there is, to quote his clever title, “no more normal”. Though the definition of normal is always in a state of flux, ours is a moment of diagnostic surfeit, in which mental health clinicians have had to cede space to a superabundance of resources that allow us – even encourage us – to diagnose ourselves.

    And that makes this an interesting moment: one in which we explicitly see our vision of mental health being remapped onto the shifting politics of identity and inclusion that permeate now. Insofar as this forces us to reckon with the social aspects of our mental health in a more explicit way than we are used to, perhaps this is no bad thing.

    Caitjan Gainty has received funding from the Wellcome Trust.

    – ref. The dark side of psychiatry – how it has been used to control societies – https://theconversation.com/the-dark-side-of-psychiatry-how-it-has-been-used-to-control-societies-248493

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Priorities for the CAA within the uncrewed aerial system (UAS) sector

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Correspondence

    Priorities for the CAA within the uncrewed aerial system (UAS) sector

    Government’s expectations for how the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will prioritise work within the uncrewed aerial system (UAS) sector.

    Documents

    Priorities for the CAA within the uncrewed aerial system (UAS) sector

    PDF, 200 KB, 2 pages

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    Details

    Letter from the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security and Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation to the Chief Executive of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The letter sets out expectations for how the CAA will prioritise growth in the uncrewed aerial system (UAS) sector.

    These expectations are within the work programme that the Department for Transport has agreed to grant to the CAA for 2025 to 2026.

    Updates to this page

    Published 1 April 2025

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    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: John Snow Labs Integrates Select Guideline Central Content to Streamline Clinical Guideline Compliance with a New AI-Enhanced Knowledge Agent

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LEWES, Del., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — John Snow Labs, the AI for healthcare company, is now incorporating select Guideline Central content, introducing a turnkey AI solution designed to simplify and enhance clinical decision-making. By leveraging John Snow Labs’ advanced medical Large Language Models (LLMs) with select content from the largest guideline library in the world, healthcare providers can automatically access accurate, current, and actionable recommendations to promote guidelines-based decision making for improved patient outcomes. This will be introduced today in a session at the Healthcare NLP Summit.

    Healthcare organizations are increasingly required to adhere to complex standards and performance measures to comply with quality initiatives, pay-for-performance programs, and payer guidelines. However, many providers lack the time and resources to keep up with frequently changing industry standards, and thus, the ability to act upon an appropriate next step for each unique patient case.

    This solution ensures that providers can confidently determine the evidence-based next-best action for each patient—saving time while improving compliance and patient outcomes. With the ability to be used as a standalone tool for clinicians and medical societies or an embeddable module for Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Clinical Decision Support (CDS) vendors, integration is seamless.

    Key features include:

    • Advanced Question-Answering: AI comprehends and answers detailed questions about clinical guidelines, including interpreting visual tables, flowcharts, and nuanced criteria.
    • Patient-Specific Guideline Matching: It intelligently maps an unstructured patient case summary to the correct guideline and identifies the most relevant section tailored to the patient’s current condition.
    • Transparent Reasoning and Deep Linking: The solution explains its recommendations and provides direct links to the corresponding sections of guidelines for further review.

    “Guideline Central works with with approximately 50 medical associations to curate a library of the most comprehensive guidelines in existence, but because guideline content is mostly unstructured and spread across multiple platforms and locations, it’s impossible for providers to read in their entirety or easily access the specific information they need,” said David Talby, CEO John Snow Labs. “With our state-of-the-art medical LLMs, any healthcare organization can leverage the power of AI to access select guidelines-based best practices.”

    “The ability to quickly find and identify the key takeaways and recommendations from clinical guidelines is critical for all healthcare organizations to ensure the most optimal care is offered,” said Vickie Reyes, Director of Clinical Informatics, Guideline Central. “John Snow Labs’ licensed use of the select Guideline Central Pocket Guide content helps deliver the most current guidelines to healthcare providers in a way that’s fast, intuitive, and simple to integrate.”

    To learn more about this turnkey AI solution, register for the Healthcare NLP Summit or tune into the recording of John Snow Labs’ and Guideline Central’s session after the show.

    About Guideline Central
    Guideline Central is dedicated to providing healthcare professionals with evidence-based clinical decision-support tools that are current, practical, and easily accessible. Guideline Central partners with approximately 50 medical societies and government agencies to provide quick-reference tools that physicians can rely on for credible guidance in the management of a medical condition. For more information about licensing Guideline Central content visit GuidelineCentral.com/contact.

    About John Snow Labs
    John Snow Labs, the AI for healthcare company, provides state-of-the-art software, models, and data to help healthcare and life science organizations put AI to good use. Developer of Medical LLMS, Healthcare NLP, Spark NLP, the Generative AI Lab No-Code Platform, and the Medical Chatbot, John Snow Labs’ award-winning medical AI software powers the world’s leading pharmaceuticals, academic medical centers, and health technology companies. Creator and host of The NLP Summit, the company is committed to further educating and advancing the global AI community.

    Contact
    Gina Devine
    Head of Communications
    John Snow Labs
    gina@johnsnowlabs.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Movellus and RTX’s SEAKR Engineering Collaborate on Advancing Mission-Critical ASICs

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Movellus announced today that RTX’s, SEAKR Engineering, LLC, selected the Aeonic™ Generate Intellectual Property (IP) Platform for its next-generation radiation-tolerant ASIC designs.

    As part of the collaboration, Movellus provides a portion of the computer chip designs utilized in SEAKR’s spacecraft payload electronics to maximize ease of integration. Through the observable technology, mission operations staff can easily monitor the health of RTX’s SEAKR ASIC.

    “The Movellus IP enabled us to quickly meet our block-to-block communication performance goals and mitigate aging effects,” said Steve Tigner, Director of ASIC Development for SEAKR Engineering. “With the Movellus team, we have a solution that is robust and tolerant of radiation effects improving the performance and on-orbit availability of our next-generation ASICs.”

    The next generation of military and aerospace designs requires sophisticated computing capabilities built on advanced process technology. Movellus’ high-performance, synthesizable IP helps partners deliver on these requirements. The Aeonic™ Digital IP portfolio enables easy migration across advanced process nodes with a radiation-tolerant ready architecture that also provides mission-mode telemetry information.

    Movellus continues to advance high-performance silicon through feature-rich, synthesizable IP, with a unique, radiation-hardened ready architecture that enables increased use of commercial technology in military and aerospace applications. This is a pillar of U.S. Government technology strategy in areas including the Department of Defense Microelectronic Activity initiative, The Aeonic™ Digital IP portfolio, implemented across various process nodes from 40nm to 3nm, complements this charter.

    About Movellus
    Movellus provides critical technology that is integrated into an array of applications ranging from edge AI devices to performance-centric cloud datacenter compute and networking offerings. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, with R&D centers in Michigan and Toronto. Visit us at: www.movellus.com.

    About SEAKR Engineering
    SEAKR Engineering, LLC, is RTX’s leading-edge provider of advanced payload and mission solutions for space applications. For more than 40 years, we have developed and delivered reliable and innovative solutions across a wide range of space systems. SEAKR is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado. www.SEAKR.com

    About RTX 
    With more than 185,000 global employees, RTX pushes the limits of technology and science to redefine how we connect and protect our world. Through industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon – we are advancing aviation, engineering integrated defense systems, and developing next-generation technology solutions and manufacturing to help global customers address their most critical challenges. The company, with 2023 sales of $69 billion, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. 

    Movellus, the Movellus logo, Aeonic, Aeonic Generate, Elevating Silicon, Aeonic Insight and Intelligent Clock Networks are among the trademarks of Movellus. The term “Movellus” refers to Movellus Circuits, Inc and / or its subsidiaries. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

    Press Contact: Aakash Jani |   aakash@movellus.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Breaking AI to Make it Better: DASA’s investment in the future of AI assurance

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Case study

    Breaking AI to Make it Better: DASA’s investment in the future of AI assurance

    Advai, an AI focussed SME, is leading the way in military and commercial AI safety.

    How DASA and Dstl funding helped Advai become an AI Safety Leader

    • DASA’s and Dstl’s investment helped Advai build the UK’s first dedicated AI assurance capability before the generative AI boom
    • Advai’s solutions range from physical patches that degrade AI computer visions systems, to a system which can automatically retrain AI models out in the field
    • Advai’s evolution saw them develop into a UK leader in military and commercial AI safety, influencing national policy and standards

    When AI assurance saves lives

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionising modern life and with the boom of large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, its impact on defence and security is growing more each day. Yet as militaries worldwide rush to implement AI systems, an equally crucial challenge emerges: how to protect them.

    Understanding the challenge

    Advai’s CEO David Sully, who brought public sector experience to this critical challenge, explains:

    Everyone was talking about AI unlocking value, but nobody was asking what happens when AI goes wrong and why it does so.

    AI systems need rigorous examination to understand exactly when and how they might fail. This insight led to Advai’s simple but powerful mission: “We don’t make AI – we break it.”

    Advai’s early vision: Adversarial AI

    Beginning in 2020, DASA recognised the strategic importance of AI assurance and funded Advai through multiple innovative projects, starting with the development of Adversarial AI attack and defence methods for Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing (NLP).

    What exactly is Adversarial AI? Adversarial AI involves finding ways to make AI systems fail or produce incorrect outputs, essentially “breaking” AI to understand its vulnerabilities. Similar to testing safety equipment – before trusting it, you need to know exactly under what conditions it might fail.

    Advai’s initial projects aimed to develop methods of confusing AI while being undetected by humans. Such tools are invaluable for identifying weaknesses in any AI systems.

    Adversarial AI in defence: Physical patches

    Building on their expertise, Advai embarked on another project alongside the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) to develop Physical Adversarial Patches to manipulate computer vision systems. This innovative technology uses printable patterns capable of disrupting AI recognition systems. David Sully explains:

    We can apply a filter so an object is labelled as something completely different, or disappear entirely. An automated AI-based drone might read a van as a tree or fail to detect a vehicle entirely.

    Advai are just completing a second phase of this work, directly with Dstl, to significantly advance the concept of adversarial patterns. Significantly, says Sully:

    We can create an adversarial texture on a ‘blackbox’ as well as ‘whitebox’ basis. Additionally, the textures can be optimised to be visually similar to existing patterns, avoiding the problem of creating visually-jarring patches.

    Ahead of the curve

    When generative AI and large language models exploded onto the scene in 2021, Advai was already deeply experienced in AI assurance and had a head start in understanding how these systems work. Their early work provided crucial insights that transferred directly to new challenges in language model security, Advai’s leadership notes:

    No one saw the generative AI explosion coming, but our focus on AI robustness gave us a huge advantage in understanding how to manage and assure these systems.

    Commercial impact

    From its defence origins, Advai has expanded to serve commercial customers needing to ensure their AI systems are trustworthy and secure. Some of their tools and achievements include:

    • Independent verification and benchmarking
    • Live monitoring systems for AI vulnerability detection
    • Automated stress testing procedures
    • Protection against private information extraction

    The company’s work has influenced national policy, and contributed to the Turing Institute’s framework for AI security, in-turn helping to raise political awareness about AI safety. Advai also acted as an examiner for the Defence Cyber Marvel 2024 competition, organised by the Army Cyber Association.

    The future of AI safety and DASA’s crucial role

    Today, Advai stands at the forefront of AI assurance, planning to strengthen their defence sector credibility while promoting a “safety-first, not safety-last” approach. Their roadmap includes greater commercialisation using their scalable platform. But this evolution comes with challenges. Advai CEA, David Sully emphasises:

    Most of the world’s leading AI research is happening in the private sector behind closed doors rather than in universities. For AI assurance to have a chance of keeping up, companies like Advai need support from stakeholders like DASA to help ensure the UK has a domestic capability in AI safety.

    Advai is a demonstration of what is achievable by DASA. We have created a genuinely world-leading AI company, working across UK defence and security. As we expand, Advai is increasingly enabling and protecting critical commercial companies. Our ambition is for Advai to be the biggest player in AI Assurance, generating the most advanced IP and technology as a sovereign UK entity, all of which can be traced back to this initial funding and support.

    Advai’s adversarial AI expertise was highlighted when they demonstrated their technology to Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey and Chancellor, Rachel Reeves during a visit to Wellington Barracks, Westminster on 26 March 2025.

    The Secretary of State for Defence John Healey (left), Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin (centre) and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (right), visit Wellington Barracks in London.

    The road ahead

    As AI technology continues to evolve, so do its potential vulnerabilities. The problems and adversaries keep changing, requiring AI safety to evolve just as quickly. Advai’s journey from research to commercial success demonstrates how early government investment in critical technologies can create lasting national capabilities. Their story shows that in the race to develop artificial intelligence, ensuring its trustworthiness and security is just as important as advancing its capabilities. Sully concludes:

    The world is still coming to terms with generative AI and LLMs, let alone generative AI assurance. But thanks to DASA’s early vision, we’re ready to meet these challenges and ensure that as AI becomes more powerful, it also becomes more trustworthy.

    Updates to this page

    Published 1 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Brand Engagement Network to Present at the AI & Technology Virtual Investor Conference April 3rd

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WILMINGTON, Del., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Brand Engagement Network Inc. (BEN) (NASDAQ: BNAI), an innovator in AI-driven customer engagement solutions, today announced that CEO Paul Chang, will present live at the AI & Technology Virtual Investor Conference hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on April 3, 2025

    DATE: April 3, 2025
    TIME: 1:00 PM
    LINK: REGISTER HERE
    Available for 1×1 meetings: April 3rd, 4th, and 7th

    This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

    It is recommended that online investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.  

    Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com.

    Why BEN?

    • High-Growth Market Leader: BEN is positioned to capture opportunities in the $30B conversational AI industry with tailored, impactful solutions. Unlike generalist AI models that rely on expensive GPUs, BEN AI’s small language models run efficiently on CPUs, offering unmatched scalability and cost-effectiveness for businesses.
    • Proven Innovation and Technology: With 21 granted and 28 pending patents, BEN leads in personalization, adaptive AI, and secure integration. Cataneo’s MYDAS platform optimizes advertising for major broadcasters like Disney and BBC, unlocking new revenue streams.
    • Industry Versatility: BEN’s scalable AI-powered solutions transform customer engagement across industries, including automotive, healthcare, and media, creating measurable impact and value.
    • Commitment to Trust and Security: BEN AI ensures transparency, reliability, and U.S.-based data security with HIPAA and SOC2 compliance. Its Virginia-hosted servers and offline capabilities make it ideal for regulated industries like healthcare.
    • Visionary Leadership: BEN’s leadership team has the expertise to drive industry transformation and maintain its position at the forefront of customer engagement.

    Recent Company Highlights:

    • Transformational Acquisition: BEN recently announced the acquisition of Cataneo GmbH, a media technology leader managing over €5 billion in annual media spend. This $19.5 million deal combines BEN’s Generative AI with Cataneo’s Mydas platform, setting a new benchmark in global media engagement and interactive advertising.
    • AI-Driven Radio Advertising with Vybroo & Grupo Siete: BEN and Cataneo GmbH partnered with Vybroo and Grupo Siete on a pilot program to modernize radio advertising in Mexico by streamlining ad placement and optimizing campaign performance.
    • Cox Automotive Partnership: BEN successfully integrated its Digital AI Assistant with Cox Automotive’s Dealer.com, enhancing customer engagement and dealership operations through personalized, multimodal experiences.
    • Expanding Market Reach: BEN continues to explore new verticals and applications for its AI solutions, positioning the company to capture untapped opportunities and deliver sustained growth.

    About Brand Engagement Network (BEN)
    Brand Engagement Network Inc. (NASDAQ: BNAI) innovates in AI-powered customer engagement, delivering safe, intelligent, and scalable solutions. Its proprietary Engagement Language Model (ELM™) and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architecture enable highly personalized interactions supported by customers’ curated data in closed-loop environments. BEN develops AI-driven engagement solutions for the life sciences, automotive, and retail industries, featuring AI-powered avatars for outbound campaigns, inbound customer service, and real-time recommendations. With a global AI research and development team, BEN provides secure cloud-based or on-premises deployments, granting complete control of the technology stack and ensuring compliance with GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and SOC 2 Type 1 standards. The company holds 21 patents, with 28 pending, demonstrating its commitment to advancing AI-driven consumer engagement. For more information, visit www.beninc.ai.

    About Virtual Investor Conferences®
    Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to seamlessly present directly to investors.

    Providing a real-time investor engagement solution, VIC is specifically designed to offer companies more efficient investor access.  Replicating the components of an on-site investor conference, VIC offers companies enhanced capabilities to connect with investors, schedule targeted one-on-one meetings and enhance their presentations with dynamic video content. Accelerating the next level of investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences delivers leading investor communications to a global network of retail and institutional investors.

    BEN Contacts:
    Investor Relations
    Susan Xu
    E: sxu@allianceadvisors.com
    P: 778-323-0959

    Media Contact
    Amy Rouyer
    E: amy@beninc.ai
    P: 503-367-7596

    Virtual Investor Conferences
    John M. Viglotti
    SVP Corporate Services, Investor Access
    OTC Markets Group
    (212) 220-2221
    johnv@otcmarkets.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: BioLargo to Present at the AI & Technology Virtual Investor Conference April 3, 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WESTMINSTER, Calif., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQX:BLGO), a company that creates and commercializes sustainable technologies to solve tough environmental and cleantech challenges, today announced that Dennis P. Calvert, CEO of BioLargo, will present live at the AI & Technology Virtual Investor Conference hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on April 3, 2025

    DATE: April 3, 2025
    TIME: 12:00 PM EDT
    LINK: Register Here

    This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company
    questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the
    conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

    It is recommended that online investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.  

    Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com.

    About BioLargo, Inc.

    BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQX:BLGO) is a cleantech and life sciences innovator and engineering services solution provider. Our core products address PFAS contamination, achieve advanced water and wastewater treatment, control odor and VOCs, improve air quality, enable energy-efficiency and safe on-site energy storage, and control infections and infectious disease. Our approach is to invent or acquire novel technologies, develop them into product offerings, and extend their commercial reach through licensing and channel partnerships to maximize their impact. See our website at www.BioLargo.com.

    About Virtual Investor Conferences®
    Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to seamlessly present directly to investors.

    Providing a real-time investor engagement solution, VIC is specifically designed to offer companies more efficient investor access.  Replicating the components of an on-site investor conference, VIC offers companies enhanced capabilities to connect with investors, schedule targeted one-on-one meetings and enhance their presentations with dynamic video content. Accelerating the next level of investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences delivers leading investor communications to a global network of retail and institutional investors.

    CONTACTS:
    BioLargo, Inc.
    Dennis P. Calvert
    President and CEO, BioLargo, Inc.
    888-400-2863

    Virtual Investor Conferences
    John M. Viglotti
    SVP Corporate Services, Investor Access
    OTC Markets Group
    (212) 220-2221
    johnv@otcmarkets.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The Academic Council discussed the development of the corporate information system and the tasks of the Office of Technological Leadership

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    The meeting of the Academic Council on the last day of March traditionally began with a formal part.

    Rector of SPbPU Andrey Rudskoy awarded the “For Merit” badge of distinction to the CEO of the BuildHouse company, a 1988 graduate of the metallurgical faculty, Alexey Evstratov, noting his contribution to strengthening the university’s image, forming and replenishing the target capital of the Endowment Fund, promoting the development of the Polytechnic Museum, and involving graduates in university events and charity events.

    Andrey Rudskoy also presented the “For Merit” badges to Mikhail Volkov, Deputy General Director of the Zvezda plant for general issues; Dmitry Sachava, Head of the Advanced Technologies Marketing Department of the Computer Engineering Center; Dmitry Shamansky, Leading Specialist of the Advanced Technologies Marketing Department of the Computer Engineering Center; Nina Suratova, Head of the Scientific Literature Department and Curator of the University’s Information and Library Complex; and Natalia Sokolova, Director of the Information and Library Technologies Center.

    Vice-Rector for Digital Transformation, 1978 Physics and Mechanics Faculty graduate Alexey Borovkov was awarded a commemorative medal and gratitude from the university for facilitating the development of the Endowment Fund.

    For her great personal contribution to the development of the Endowment Fund and the Polytechnic Ambassadors’ Community and in connection with the anniversary, the university’s gratitude was received by the executive director of the fund, associate professor of the Higher School of Nuclear and Thermal Energy of the Institute of Power Engineering and the Higher Engineering and Economics School of the Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade, and a 1992 graduate of the Faculty of Economics and Production Management, Olga Novikova.

    The ceremonial part continued with the presentation of diplomas for conferring scientific degrees. Aleksey Chechevikin received a diploma of candidate of technical sciences. Diplomas of candidates of economic sciences were received by employees and postgraduate students of the Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade: Ekaterina Mikhel (scientific supervisor – Professor Andrey Zaytsev); Victoria Brazovskaya (scientific supervisor – associate professor Svetlana Gutman); Daria Kryzhko (scientific supervisor – Professor Irina Rudskaya); Chen Leifei (scientific supervisor – Professor Alexander Babkin); Ivan Samokhvalov (scientific supervisor – Professor Vladimir Glukhov); Vitaly Nikolaenko (scientific supervisor – Professor Olga Kalinina); Vyacheslav Melekhin (scientific supervisor – Professor Mikhail Afanasyev).

    Andrey Rudskoy presented certificates of conferring the academic title of “professor” to Elena Aleksandrova, chief research fellow at the Higher School of Cybersecurity, and Olga Vlasova, director of the Scientific and Educational Center “Fundamentals of Medical and Biomedical Technologies”.

    Certificates for conferring the academic title of associate professor were received by: Maria Bortkovskaya, Konstantin Greshnevikov, Mikhail Enuchenko, Alexey Kultyshev, Anatoly Novik, Irina Ptukhina, Sergey Rozov, Nina Rumyantseva and Dmitry Sharapov.

    SPbPU Academic Secretary Dmitry Karpov announced that by order of the President of the Russian Federation, employees of the Advanced Engineering School “Digital Engineering” under the leadership of Alexey Borovkov were awarded a scholarship from the Defense Industry Complex for scientists, designers, technologists and other engineering and technical workers of organizations implementing the state defense order in 2024.

    Another achievement of the SPbPU PISh is the resolution of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences dated June 25, 2024, based on the results of the competitive selection among student works in the field of “Mechanical Engineering, Mechanics and Control Processes” to a master’s student of the Advanced Engineering School “Digital Engineering” Lilia Nezhinskaya awarded the medal of the Russian Academy of Sciences with a prize for young scientists. Lilia’s scientific supervisor is Alexey Borovkov.

    A letter of thanks from the Ministry of Education and Science for their contribution to the development of practice-oriented education in the Russian Federation within the framework of the Service Learning program was presented to Vice-Rector for Youth Policy and Communication Technologies Maxim Pasholikov and Director of the Humanities Institute Natalia Chicherina.

    Victor Dashonok, Academic Program Development Specialist for the RISC-V Alliance, presented letters of gratitude for organizing and conducting the course “RISC-V Ecosystem: Development and System Programming” to Vera Loboda, Director of the Higher School of Electronics and Microsystems Engineering, Associate Professor Mikhail Enuchenko, Associate Professor Dmitry Budanov, as well as Pavel Drobintsev, Director of the Higher School of Software Engineering, and Assistant Nadezhda Stepina.

    Several Polytechnic University employees were awarded SPbPU honorary certificates. Head of the Department for Support of Scientific Projects and Programs Natalia Leontyeva was recognized for high professional achievements and effective work, and Chief Specialist of the Quality Control Department Igor Sechin was recognized for many years of work and high professionalism.

    Leading Manager of the Protocol and Organizational Service Anastasia Kedo, leading specialist Galina Kolmykova and specialist Maria Pagurskaya were awarded for their active participation in the implementation of particularly important projects and the holding of events at a high professional level that enhance the image of the university.

    Polytechnic athletes were also awarded honors.

    Coaches of the Student Sports Club “Black Bears-Polytech” Stepan Verbitsky, Evgeny Chupalov and Anatoly Dimitropulo, as well as students Dmitry Gultyaev, Pavel Timofeev and Petr Shlokkin presented the Polytech team, which brought from the XI tournament of the Association of Football Federations “North-West” among youth teams named after Anatoly Turchak first place cup and gold medals.

    On March 16, the Polytechnicians performed brilliantly at the Saint Petersburg University Dance Sport Championship. The university’s honor was defended by the pairs Anastasia Nazarova and Arseniy Bauman (1st place), Stefania Aldoshina and Gleb Gusev (1st place), Sofia Gordeeva and Arseniy Afonin (2nd and 3rd places). The team’s coach is Askar Isabaev.

    Students Kamilla Khakimova, Grigory Gavrilash and Maxim Telepanov took second place at the Saint Petersburg Student Sambo Competition. Coach: Grigory Galkin.

    After the congratulatory part, the members of the Academic Council moved on to the agenda of the meeting. Vice-Rector for Information Technology Andrey Lyamin spoke about the development of the university’s corporate information system.

    “The strategic goal of developing information technologies at the university is to strengthen the university’s position in the field of science, education and innovation by creating a global digital scientific and educational ecosystem, as well as dynamic and sustainable development to ensure Russia’s technological leadership,” noted Andrey Lyamin. “Information technologies at the university are developing in several directions: information infrastructure and information security, corporate and accounting information systems, portals and web resources.”

    Andrey Vladimirovich covered each area in detail, provided statistical and analytical data. He noted that special attention is paid at SPbPU to building a unified user support service (caliper@spbst.ru), in 2024, 9,685 requests were received there, user satisfaction was 4.9 out of 5. Andrei Vladimirovich also reported that a set of measures carried out by SPbPU to work with its own web portals brought the Polytechnic website tofirst place in the February ranking of media activity of Russian universities.

    The Academic Council meeting discussed personnel changes at the university. On April 1, Maria Vrublevskaya assumed the post of Vice-Rector for Personnel Policy, and Oleg Rozhdestvensky headed the SPbPU Office of Technological Leadership. Oleg Igorevich presented a report to the members of the Academic Council on the tasks of the new structural unit. He recalled that on October 29, 2024, a strategic session was held under the chairmanship of the head of the Russian government Mikhail Mishustin on the development of educational organizations that provide training for engineering personnel and scientific developments for technological leadership. Based on its results, 40 universities were to formulate development strategies until 2030–2036. SPbPU developed such a strategy, and on its basis, the University Development Program was created at the beginning of 2025, which Polytechnic successfully defended. Within the framework of this program, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Education and Science, the Office of Technological Leadership is being created.

    Oleg Rozhdestvensky spoke in detail about the management structure for the implementation of the SPbPU Development Program and answered questions.

    The members of the Academic Council also voted to award the academic title of associate professor to representatives of the Humanities Institute: Darina Barinova, Juntao Wang, Elena Krylova and Evgenia Tsimerman.

    Scientific Secretary Dmitry Karpov reported on monitoring the implementation of the decisions of the Academic Council.

    Among the current issues discussed at the meeting were the approval of tuition fees for the 2025/2026 academic year for different categories of citizens; approval of chief designers of key scientific and technological areas; the results of the 2024 competition of educational and scientific publications; prevention of offenses and the prevention of illegal actions among young people; the introduction of a working program for the education of students and the implementation of youth policy, etc. The meeting also approved the new corporate style of the university.

    Photo archive

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Career Successes of Recent Grads Underscore Strong ROI of a UConn Education

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    UConn’s newest alumni continued to excel after receiving their diplomas, with about 92% of recent graduates holding full-time jobs, continuing their education, or following other pursuits of their choosing within six months after graduating.

    The large majority also stayed in Connecticut, securing jobs with employers that cover the gamut from entrepreneurial start-ups and community-based small businesses to the biggest names in manufacturing, insurance, health care, and finance.

    While applying the skills they learned at UConn to support those industries, they also are augmenting Connecticut’s economy with strong starting salaries that are reinvested in their communities through housing, purchasing goods and services, and other spending.

    UConn’s most recent cohort of graduates earned annual starting salaries of nearly $65,000 on average – up about $5,200 from the previous year – with some exceeding $80,000 in high-demand fields such as nursing and computer science.

    The employment and salary figures for the recent graduates underscore the strong return on investment in a UConn education, and the University’s work to provide a highly educated workforce that supports and advances Connecticut’s innovation economy.

    “Every number represents a student who chose to enroll at UConn, drawn by its outstanding academic programs, rich research and entrepreneurship opportunities, and nurturing campus community – qualities that they believe will set them on the path to success. Year after year, UConn proves it is committed to fulfilling that promise,” says President Radenka Maric.

    At the national level, about 85% of the most recent cohort of college graduates report being employed, in graduate education, or in other pursuits of their choosing within six months of receiving their degree.

    UConn comfortably outpaces that at 92% reporting positive outcomes, tying with last year’s record high.

    Encouraging outcomes for current students

    The successful outcomes were evident across UConn, with the most recent alumni from Storrs and the regional campuses demonstrating strong results and overwhelmingly reporting that their jobs are related to their current career goals.

    The newest alumni outcomes also serve as an encouraging example for the thousands of UConn undergraduates slated to receive their diplomas in May and who either are interviewing for jobs, already have an offer in hand, or are considering graduate education.

    It also aligns with UConn’s Strategic Plan, which includes commitments to strengthen life and career readiness competencies in academic and experiential activities, and to position students for career and life success once they leave the University.

    The data on students’ post-graduation progress comes from the annual Undergraduate First Destination Survey, in which UConn participates along with most other colleges and universities through National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) survey protocols.

    The survey information and other details – including top employers of UConn graduates, their average starting salaries, employment locations and other details – can be found on the UConn Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills website.

    UConn’s work to engage its students through career services has repeatedly shown its effectiveness in their career readiness, resulting in post-graduation success. &#8212 Associate Provost James Lowe

    The most recent figures capture data on UConn undergraduates who received their degrees in August 2023, December 2023, and May 2024. The website also includes a tool to find specific information by school and college, academic major, and other attributes.

    Of the graduates in those cohorts, about 92% were in activities of their choosing within six months of graduating: working full time, pursuing graduate education, enlisted in military service, or engaged in other pursuits.

    Of those, about 58% were employed and 33% were pursuing higher education. The rest were either serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, engaged with non-profit organizations, or in other activities of their choosing. The remaining 8% includes people pursuing certifications or credentials needed for their specific career paths, and others still seeking opportunities.

    Many of the graduates increased their marketability by engaging in internships, job fairs, career counseling, and other experiential learning experiences through UConn’s Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills.

    Nutmeggers building their careers at home

    For some, like Stamford native Sarah Velez ’24 (BUS), those experiences led directly to job offers.

    Velez, who was selected in 2022 as a Spectrum Scholar, interned at the company starting in summer 2023 to learn from people across different marketing areas and broaden her understanding of various career paths available.

    With those skills and her UConn education, Velez landed a full-time position at Spectrum as a marketing associate, which she started after her graduation from UConn in May 2024.

    “This exposure, combined with hands-on experience and mentorship support, helped me narrow down my interests and develop the skills I need to succeed in my current role,” says Velez, who matriculated at UConn Stamford.

    Like Velez, many of the recent graduates were loyal to their home state when the time came to consider jobs and graduate school.

    About 76% of Connecticut natives who graduated from UConn stayed in the state for jobs, up 7 percentage points from just two years earlier. And, about 77% of in-state students who decided to pursue graduate degrees enrolled in Connecticut institutions, predominantly at UConn.

    Career services pay dividends for Huskies 

    They also often can be found giving back to their alma mater, including by representing their new employers at career fairs coordinated by the UConn Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills.

    In fact, about 300 employers participated in UConn’s All-University Fair in fall 2023, for which the University provided regional students with free transportation to and from the flagship campus.

    More than 4,300 students met over two days with employers at that event, the largest number to date to participate in a career fair.

    Thousands also took advantage of the chance to share their resumes, learn about internships, and have professional head shots taken on site in the new Iris Air photobooth. That booth, which is sponsored by General Dynamics Electric Boat, also is available to students for free use anytime at the Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills office in the Wilbur Cross Building.

    In the past year, average annual salaries were $14,500 higher for recent UConn graduates who had used career services than those who hadn’t, and they were much more likely to secure jobs either directly or very related to their career goals.

    “UConn’s work to engage its students through career services has repeatedly shown its effectiveness in their career readiness, resulting in post-graduation success,” says UConn Associate Provost James Lowe, who is also executive director of the Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills.

    The center’s mission is to deliver comprehensive, innovative, and inclusive programs and services for all students, he adds. That includes an extensive host of nationally recognized and award-winning offerings to ensure students are well prepared for life after UConn. It also entails cultivating connections to campus and community partners, promoting opportunities for students to contribute to the state, national, and global communities.

    UConn career consultants work throughout the year with students to help them articulate the skills they learned in part-time jobs on campus or elsewhere, and to show potential employers how that real-world experience boosts their qualifications for jobs.

    According to a national Gallup Poll, 60% of students utilize their university provided career services. At UConn, the number is 85% — a full 25% points above the national average.

    “Our enviable student engagement levels are a direct result of a meticulously curated marketing plan coupled with targeted programmatic offerings that address the career readiness needs of our students no matter what phase of the career journey they are in,” Lowe says.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Safe Harbor Financial Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2024 Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    — Adjusted EBITDA(1)is positive for each of the last 3 years; Adjusted Working Capital(2)is approximately positive $2 million

    — Loan Interest Income increased 82% and 123% year-over-year for the three months and full-year ended December 31, 2024, respectively

    — Revenue for the Q4 2024 increased 5% compared to the Q3 2024, led by a 35% sequential increase in loan interest income

    — Loan Loss Reserve of approximately $1.4 million reserved as a result of a modified Commercial Alliance Agreement (CAA) with Partner Colorado Credit Union (PCCU)

    — Modifications of PCCU Commercial Alliance Agreement and Note enable new CEO Terry Mendez to implement growth strategy offering broader solutions for clients

    GOLDEN, Colo., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SHF Holdings, Inc., d/b/a/ Safe Harbor Financial (“Safe Harbor” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: SHFS), a leader in facilitating financial services and credit facilities to the regulated cannabis industry, announced today its unaudited consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024.

    Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial and Operational Summary

    ●   Revenue was approximately $3.7 million, compared to approximately $4.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2023 and $3.5 million for the third quarter of 2024.
    ●   Loan Interest Income increased 82% to approximately $1.8 million from approximately $1.0 million the fourth quarter of 2023.
    ●   Compensation and Employee Benefits expense of approximately $1.4 million declined 32% compared to approximately $2.1 million in 2023.
    ●   General and Administrative Expense of approximately $1.1 million declined 36% from $1.7 million in 2023.
    ●   Adjusted EBITDA(1) was positive at $63,581, compared to $1.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2023(1).
    ●   On October 29, 2024, the Company announced it originated a $1.07 million secured credit facility for a Missouri cannabis operator.
    ●   On December 4, 2024, Safe Harbor, Collective Clean Energy Fund and Partner Colorado announced they are collaborating to fund a $500,000 sustainable upgrade loan for a Denver cannabis facility.
         

    Full-Year 2024 Financial & Operational Summary

    ●   Revenue was approximately $15.2 million, compared to approximately $17.6 million for the full year of 2023.
    ●   Loan Interest Income increased 123% to approximately $6.6 million for the full year of 2024 from approximately $3.0 million for the full year of 2023.
    ●   Operating Expenses decreased to approximately $22.3 million, compared to approximately $38.3 million in 2023.
    ●   Adjusted EBITDA(1) was approximately $2.9 million, compared to approximately $3.6 million for the full year of 2023(1).
    ●   Adjusted Working Capital(2) was approximately $2 million at December 31, 2024
         

    (1) Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial metric. A reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP measures is included below in this earnings release.
    (2) Adjusted Working Capital is a non-GAAP financial metric. A reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP measures is included below in this earnings release.

    Subsequent Operational Highlights

    ●   On December 31, 2024, the Company and PCCU entered into an Amended Commercial Alliance Agreement (the “Amended CAA”), extending the term through December 31, 2028, with automatic two-year renewal periods unless a party provides written notice of non-renewal at least 12 months before the current term expires. In addition, the Amended CAA eliminates the Company’s indemnification obligations for any losses related to any loans it facilitated under the Original Commercial Alliance Agreement or will facilitate in the future.
    ●   On January 16, 2025, the Company announced it had processed over $25 Billion in cannabis-related funds.
    ●   On January 29, 2025, Safe Harbor announced that Terry Mendez joined as Co-CEO, and he became CEO on February 28, 2025, upon the retirement of former CEO Sundie Seefried.
    ●   On February 12, 2025, the Company announced it had originated a $1,500,000 secured credit facility for a Missouri cannabis operator.
    ●   On March 4, 2025, Safe Harbor announced it successfully modified its debt obligation with Partner Colorado Credit Union (the “Amended PCCU Note”), unlocking $6.4 million in cash flow over the next two years.
    ●   On March 20, 2025, the Company announced Mike Regan has joined as Head of Investor Relations and Data Science.
         

    “Throughout 2024, the lending arm of Safe Harbor was a driving force for the Company as our loan interest income was up 82% for the fourth quarter and 123% for the year,” said Terry Mendez, Chief Executive Officer of Safe Harbor Financial. “We continue to be an innovator in this sector as we instituted a new small business line of credit program while also originating several debt and credit facilities at market-competitive terms for numerous clients across the U.S. We were able to do this while remaining diligent in lower overall expenses. While fourth quarter 2024 operating expenses increased 86% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, operating expenses declined 42% for the full year 2024. Operating expenses adjusted for material non-cash items declined approximately 15% year-over year in the fourth quarter 2024 and 24% for the full-year of 2024.”

    Mendez continued, “Subsequent to the quarter end, the Company surpassed $25 billion in processed cannabis-related funds through our trusted network of partner banks. This is a significant milestone that we achieved on our 10th anniversary and is another proven point that Safe Harbor continues to be a leader in offering compliant banking services to cannabis related businesses. We also originated a $1.5 million secured credit facility with a cannabis operator out of Missouri, further cementing our position as a trusted financial partner to cannabis businesses.

    “Finally, in a redefining transaction for the Company, we successfully modified our debt obligation with Partner Colorado Credit Union. This modification greatly improves our financial stability as we are able to unlock over $6 million in cashflow over the next two years and push the term of the debt obligation out to October 2030. This updated debt deal provides Safe Harbor with the financial flexibility needed to enhance and expand our overall business services as we execute on our business strategy throughout 2025 and beyond.

    “One of the major reasons I joined Safe Harbor is the tremendous opportunity I see to build upon our strong foundation, to evolve from a single compliance solution into a provider of a broad array of services focused on addressing the needs of our clients. I believe that Safe Harbor is well positioned to offer competitive solutions designed to protect, lend, connect and enable the success of our customers and our clients,” concluded Mendez.

    Full Year 2024 Financial Results

    For the year ended December 31, 2024, total revenue was $15.2 million, compared to approximately $17.6 million in the prior year. The decrease in revenue was due to a reduction in deposit activity and onboarding income and was primarily attributable to the decrease in the number of accounts related to the Abaca acquisition, offset by a 123% year-over-year increase in loan interest income. In the full-year ended December 31, 2024, PCCU accounted for $4.6 million of the revenue generated from deposits, activities, and client onboarding. Related to this revenue, the Company recognized $452,371 in account hosting expenses.

    Full-year 2024 operating expenses decreased over 42% to $22.3 million, compared to $38.3 million in the prior year period, which was comprised of the following:

    ●   Compensation and employee benefits expenses decreased 25% due to decrease in stock-based compensation and a lower headcount as compared to previous year. Restructuring efforts will continue as we optimize our talent portfolio.
         
    ●   General and administrative expenses decreased 39% across various categories including: i) $988,412 in investment hosting fees as a result of the decrease in investment income, ii) $900,034 in decreased bank sharing fees due to the decrease in the number of accounts, and iii) $661,776 in decreased amortization and depreciation.
         
    ●   For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company fully impaired goodwill and finite-lived intangible assets. Goodwill and intangible assets are now fully written down to $0 on the balance sheet.
         
    ●   The professional services expense increased primarily due to higher legal fees related to ongoing litigation.
         
    ●   Credit Loss Expense benefitted from the elimination of the indemnity liability from the Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2024, due to the Amended CAA.
         

    Net loss for full year 2024 was approximately $48.3 million, compared to a net loss of approximately $17.3 million in the prior year period. This includes the impact of approximately $43.9 million non-cash valuation allowance on the deferred tax asset and $9.1 million in non-cash Goodwill and Long-Lived Intangible Asset Impairment expenses.

    As of December 31, 2024, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $2.3 million, compared to $4.9 million at December 31, 2023.

     
    SHF Holdings, Inc.
    CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
                 
        December 31,
    2024
    (Unaudited)    		     December 31,
    2023    		  
                 
    ASSETS                
    Current Assets:                
    Cash and cash equivalents   $ 2,324,647     $ 4,888,769  
    Accounts receivable – trade     134,609       121,875  
    Accounts receivable – related party     968,023       2,095,320  
    Prepaid expenses – current portion     659,536       546,437  
    Accrued interest receivable     16,319       13,780  
    Forward purchase receivable     4,584,221       –  
    Short-term loans receivable, net     13,332       12,391  
    Other current assets     3,000,000       82,657  
    Total Current Assets   $ 11,700,687     $ 7,761,229  
    Long-term loans receivable, net     378,854       381,463  
    Property, plant and equipment, net     3,154       84,220  
    Operating lease right to use assets     703,524       859,861  
    Goodwill     –       6,058,000  
    Intangible assets, net     –       3,721,745  
    Deferred tax asset, net     –       43,829,019  
    Prepaid expenses – long term position     412,500       562,500  
    Forward purchase receivable     –       4,584,221  
    Security deposit     19,568       18,651  
    Total Assets   $ 13,218,287     $ 67,860,909  
                     
    LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ (DEFICIT) EQUITY                
    Current Liabilities:                
    Accounts payable   $ 140,723     $ 217,392  
    Accounts payable-related party     75,608       577,315  
    Accrued expenses     1,301,378       1,008,987  
    Contract liabilities     28,335       21,922  
    Lease liabilities – current     161,952       132,546  
    Senior secured promissory note – current portion     255,765       3,006,991  
    Deferred consideration – current portion     3,338,343       2,889,792  
    Forward purchase derivative liability     7,309,580       –  
    Other current liabilities     72,836       41,639  
    Total Current Liabilities   $ 12,684,520     $ 7,896,584  
    Warrant liabilities     1,360,491       4,164,129  
    Deferred consideration – long term portion     –       810,000  
    Forward purchase derivative liability     –       7,309,580  
    Senior secured promissory note—long term portion     10,748,408       11,004,175  
    Net deferred indemnified loan origination fees     –       63,275  
    Lease liabilities – long term     712,882       875,447  
    Indemnity liability     –       1,382,408  
    Total Liabilities   $ 25,506,301     $ 33,505,598  
    Commitment and Contingencies                
    Stockholders’ (Deficit) Equity                
                     
    Convertible preferred stock, $.0001 par value, 1,250,000 shares authorized, 111 and 1,101 shares issued and outstanding on December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023, respectively     –       –  
    Class A Common Stock, $.0001 par value, 130,000,000 shares authorized, 2,783,667 and 2,728,169 issued and outstanding on December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023, respectively     278       273  
    Additional paid in capital     108,467,253       105,924,859  
    Retained deficit     (120,755,545 )     (71,569,821 )
    Total Stockholders’ (Deficit) Equity   $ (12,288,014 )   $ 34,355,311  
    Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ (Deficit) Equity   $ 13,218,287     $ 67,860,909  
                     
     
    SHF Holdings, Inc.
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
           
        For the year ended December 31,  
        2024
    (Unaudited)    		     2023  
    Revenue   $ 15,242,560     $ 17,562,903  
                     
    Operating expenses                
    Compensation and employee benefits     7,783,331       10,334,212  
    General and administrative expenses     4,018,094       6,587,392  
    Professional services     2,518,394       1,858,137  
    Lease expense     258,477       315,615  
    Credit loss (benefit) expense     (1,393,131 )     290,857  
    Impairment of goodwill     6,058,000       13,208,276  
    Impairment of long-lived intangible assets     3,090,881       5,699,463  
    Total operating expenses   $ 22,334,046     $ 38,293,952  
    Operating loss     (7,091,486 )     (20,731,049 )
    Other (income) expenses                
    Interest expense     533,390       1,094,736  
    Change in fair value of warrant liabilities     (2,803,638 )     1,853,920  
    Change in the fair value of deferred consideration     (361,449 )     (4,570,157 )
    Total other (income) expenses   $ (2,631,697 )   $ (1,621,501 )
    Net loss before income tax     (4,459,789 )     (19,109,548 )
    Provision (benefit) for income taxes   $ 43,859,686     $ (1,829,701 )
    Net loss   $ (48,319,475 )   $ (17,279,847 )
    Weighted average shares outstanding, basic     2,772,867       2,128,728  
    Basic net loss per share   $ (17.43 )   $ (8.12 )
    Weighted average shares outstanding, diluted     2,772,867       2,128,728  
    Diluted net loss per share   $ (17.43 )   $ (8.12 )
                     
     
    SHF Holdings, Inc.
    Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ (Deficit) Equity
     
    FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2024 (UNAUDITED) AND 2023
                                   
        Preferred
    Stock    		     Class A
    Common Stock    		     Additional
    Paid-in    		     Retained     Total
    Shareholders’
    (Deficit)    		  
        Shares     Amount     Shares     Amount     Capital     (Deficit)     Equity  
    Balance, January 01, 2023     14,616     $ 1       1,186,644     $ 119     $ 44,808,286     $ (39,695,281 )   $ 5,113,125  
    Cumulative effect from adoption of CECL     –       –       –       –       –       (581,318 )     (581,318 )
    Issuance of shares to Abaca shareholders     –       –       291,791       29       4,085,047       –       4,085,076  
    Conversion of PIPE Shares     (13,515 )     (1 )     628,110       63       14,013,313       (14,013,375 )     –  
    Restricted stock units     –       –       61,623       6       1,252,037       –       1,252,043  
    Stock compensation cost     –       –       –       –       2,459,324       –       2,459,324  
    PCCU Restructuring     –       –       560,000       56       38,406,352       –       38,406,408  
    Reversal of deferred underwriting cost     –       –       –       –       900,500       –       900,500  
    Net loss     –       –       –       –       –       (17,279,847 )     (17,279,847 )
    Balance, December 31, 2023     1,101     $ –       2,728,168     $ 273     $ 105,924,859     $ (71,569,821 )   $ 34,355,311  
    Issuance of equity for marketing services     –       –       12,117       1       149,999       –       150,000  
    Conversion of PIPE shares     (990 )     –       39,600       4       866,245       (866,249 )     –  
    Restricted stock units     –       –       3,781       –       63,784       –       63,784  
    Stock compensation cost     –       –       –       –       1,462,366       –       1,462,366  
    Net loss     –       –       –       –       –       (48,319,475 )     (48,319,475 )
    Balance, December 31, 2024     111     $ –       2,783,666     $ 278     $ 108,467,253     $ (120,755,545 )   $ (12,288,014 )
                                                             
     
    SHF Holdings, Inc.
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
           
        Year ended December 31,  
        2024
    (Unaudited)    		     2023  
    CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:                
    Net loss   $ (48,319,475 )   $ (17,279,847 )
    Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:                
    Depreciation and amortization expense     711,929       1,373,707  
    Stock compensation expense     1,575,952       3,739,156  
    Net deferred indemnified loan origination fees     (63,275 )     (45,806 )
    Interest expense     –       663,208  
    Lease expense     23,181       136,097  
    Credit loss (benefit) expense     (1,393,131 )     290,857  
    Impairment of goodwill     6,058,000       13,208,276  
    Impairment of long-lived intangible assets     3,090,881       5,699,463  
    Deferred tax expense (benefit), net     43,859,686       (1,829,701 )
    Marketing expense settled via common stock     100,000       –  
    Change in fair value of warrant liabilities     (2,803,638 )     1,853,920  
    Change in the fair value of deferred consideration     (361,449 )     (4,570,157 )
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities:                
    Accounts receivable – trade     (12,734 )     81,183  
    Accounts receivable – related party     1,127,297       (863,593 )
    Contract assets     –       21,170  
    Prepaid expenses     86,901       (220,852 )
    Other current liabilities     527       –  
    Accrued interest receivable     (2,542 )     (6,460 )
    Deferred underwriting payable     –       (550,000 )
    Other current assets     (2,967,145 )     40,371  
    Accounts payable     (76,672 )     (2,515,442 )
    Accounts payable – related party     (501,709 )     386,660  
    Accrued expenses     292,396       (464,424 )
    Contract liabilities     6,413       20,926  
    Security deposit     (916 )     (856 )
    Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities   $ 430,477     $ (832,144 )
                     
    CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:                
    Purchase of property and equipment     –       (208,434 )
    Payment to Abaca Shareholder     –       (3,000,000 )
    Loan receivable repayment     12,394       1,027,986  
    Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities   $ 12,394     $ (2,180,448 )
                     
    CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:                
    Repayment of senior secured promissory note     (3,006,993 )     (488,834 )
    Net cash used in financing activities   $ (3,006,993 )   $ (488,834 )
                     
    Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents     (2,564,122 )     (3,501,426 )
    Cash and cash equivalents – beginning of period     4,888,769       8,390,195  
    Cash and cash equivalents – end of period   $ 2,324,647     $ 4,888,769  
                     
    Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information                
    Interest paid   $ 416,852     $ 450,258  
    Non-cash transactions:                
    Marketing expense settled via common stock   $ 50,000     $ –  
    Shares issued for the settlement of abaca acquisition     –       4,085,076  
    Operating lease right of use assets recognized     –       –  
    Operating lease liabilities recognized     –       –  
    Shares issued for the settlement of PCCU debt obligation     –       38,406,408  
    Cumulative effect from adoption of CECL     –       581,318  
    Reversal of deferred underwriting cost     –       900,500  
    Interest recognized on PCCU settlement     –       639,521  
                     

    Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) and Adjusted EBITDA

    To provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results, we have disclosed EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, both of which are non-GAAP financial measures that we calculate as net loss before taxes and depreciation and amortization expense in the case of EBITDA and further adjusted to exclude non-cash, unusual and/or infrequent costs in the case of Adjusted EBITDA. Below we have provided a reconciliation of net loss (the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure) to EBITDA and from EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA.

    We present EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA because these metrics are a key measure used by our management to evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans, and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of investment capacity. Accordingly, we believe that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management.

    EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA have limitations as an analytical tool, and it should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are as follows:

    ● although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future, and both EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect cash capital expenditure requirements for such replacements or for new capital expenditure requirements;

    ● EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs; and

    ● EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect tax payments that may represent a reduction in cash available to us.

    Because of these limitations, you should consider EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA alongside other financial performance measures, including net loss and our other GAAP results.

    A reconciliation of net loss to non-GAAP EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA is as follows:

        Year Ended December 31,  
        2024
    (Unaudited)    		     2023  
    Net loss   $ (48,319,475 )   $ (17,279,847 )
    Interest expense     533,390       1,094,736  
    Depreciation and amortization     711,929       1,373,707  
    Provision (benefit) for income taxes     43,859,686       (1,829,701 )
    EBITDA     (3,214,470 )     (16,641,105 )
                     
    Other adjustments –                
    Credit loss (benefit) expense     (1,393,131 )     290,857  
    Change in the fair value of warrants and forward purchase derivatives     (2,803,640 )     1,853,920  
    Change in the fair value of deferred consideration     (361,449 )     (4,570,157 )
    Deferred loan origination fees and costs     (63,275 )     27,271  
    Stock based compensation     1,575,952       3,739,156  
    Goodwill and long-lived intangible assets impairment     9,148,881       18,907,739  
    Adjusted EBITDA   $ 2,888,868     $ 3,607,681  
                     

    Working Capital and Adjusted Working Capital

    While the company reported a net working capital deficit of $983,833 at the end of 2024, this figure includes several non-cash liabilities that do not affect liquidity. After adjusting for these non-cash items and considering the cost of the Amended PCCU Note the adjusted working capital calculation is as follows:

    #   Particulars   Amount  
    A   Net working capital as reported on December 31, 2024   $ (983,833 )
    B   Forward purchase contract, net     2,725,359  
    C   Third anniversary payment consideration     322,000  
    D   Fees paid in 2025 on the Amended PCCU Note     (53,742 )
        Adjusted working capital as of December 31, 2024 (A+B+C+D)   $ 2,009,784  
                 

    About Safe Harbor

    Safe Harbor is among the first service providers to offer compliance, monitoring and validation services to financial institutions, providing traditional banking services to cannabis, hemp, CBD, and ancillary operators, making communities safer, driving growth in local economies, and fostering long-term partnerships. Safe Harbor, through its financial institution clients, implements high standards of accountability, transparency, monitoring, reporting and risk mitigation measures while meeting Bank Secrecy Act obligations in line with FinCEN guidance on cannabis-related businesses. Over the past decade, Safe Harbor has facilitated more than $25 billion in deposit transactions for businesses with operations spanning more than 41 states and US territories with regulated cannabis markets. For more information, visit www.shfinancial.org.

    Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    Certain information contained in this press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements other than statements of historical facts included herein may constitute forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to trends in the cannabis industry, including proposed changes in U.S. and state laws, rules, regulations and guidance relating to Safe Harbor’s services; Safe Harbor’s ability to issue loans in the same or similar fashion; Safe Harbor’s growth prospects and Safe Harbor’s market size; Safe Harbor’s projected financial and operational performance, including relative to its competitors and historical performance; new product and service offerings Safe Harbor may introduce in the future; the impact volatility in the capital markets, which may adversely affect the price of Safe Harbor’s securities; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Safe Harbor; and other statements regarding Safe Harbor’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “outlook,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would,” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in Safe Harbor’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Safe Harbor undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement made herein. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release.

    Contact Information

    Mike Regan, Head of Investor Relations and Data Science
    ir@SHFinancial.org

    KCSA Strategic Communications
    Ellen Mellody
    safeharbor@kcsa.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Compass Diversified Announces Appointment of Matthew Blake as CEO of Arnold Magnetics

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WESTPORT, Conn., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE: CODI) (“CODI” or the “Company”), an owner of leading middle market branded consumer and industrial businesses, today announced that Matthew Blake has been named Chief Executive Officer of its subsidiary, Arnold Magnetic Technologies Corporation (“Arnold”), a leading global manufacturer of high-performance electric motors, magnets, and thin metals, effective March 31, 2025. Concurrent with his appointment, Blake will join Arnold’s Board of Directors. After a successful nine-year tenure as CEO, Dan Miller will be concluding his time at Arnold after a planned transition period ending April 30, 2025.

    “On behalf of Compass and Arnold, I want to extend our sincere gratitude to Dan for his dedication and service in building Arnold into the industry leader it is today,” said Elias Sabo, CEO of CODI. “Under his leadership, Arnold has strengthened its position as a leading solutions provider, successfully navigated the COVID-19 pandemic and oversaw the company’s recent plant relocation. We wish him all the best. I also want to welcome Matt to both Arnold and Compass Diversified. With leadership experience spanning multiple facets of industrial manufacturing, I believe he is the ideal choice to lead Arnold in its next phase of growth.”

    Blake brings broad global operations experience across a range of industrial end-markets. He has a track record of driving growth, operational excellence and strategic execution. Most recently, he was the Chief Operations Officer at DwyerOmega, a manufacturer and global provider of precision measurement solutions. Prior to DwyerOmega, he held various leadership roles at Alpha Packaging, Cleaver-Brooks, and ESAB Welding & Cutting Products. Blake holds a Master of Science in Engineering and Global Operations Management from Clarkson University, as well as an MBA from Webster University.

    Ryan Thorp, Chairman of Arnold’s Board of Directors added: “We are extremely grateful for Dan’s stewardship of Arnold in continuing to grow and diversify the business and position it for continued success. I’d also like to welcome Matt to Arnold. Matt possesses a wealth of industrial experience and I am sure he will build on Arnold’s impressive performance.”

    Dan Miller added: “It has been an honor to lead Arnold and work alongside such a talented and committed team. I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together and wish the company continued success under Matt’s leadership.”

    “I am excited at the privilege of leading the exceptional team at Arnold and building upon its strong foundation,” said Matthew Blake, incoming CEO of Arnold. “I look forward to driving continued success and creating value for our customers and shareholders.”

    About Compass Diversified (“CODI”)

    Since its IPO in 2006, CODI has consistently executed its strategy of owning and managing a diverse set of highly defensible, middle-market businesses across the branded consumer, industrial, healthcare, and critical outsourced services sectors. The Company leverages its permanent capital base, long-term disciplined approach, and actionable expertise to maintain controlling ownership interests in each of its subsidiaries, maximizing its ability to impact long-term cash flow generation and value creation. The Company provides both debt and equity capital for its subsidiaries, contributing to their financial and operating flexibility. CODI utilizes the cash flows generated by its subsidiaries to invest in the long-term growth of the Company and has consistently generated strong returns through its culture of transparency, alignment and accountability. For more information, please visit compassdiversified.com.

    About Arnold Magnetic Technologies

    Based in Rochester, NY, Arnold serves a variety of markets including aerospace and defense, general industrial, motorsport/automotive, oil and gas, medical, energy, reprographics and advertising specialties. Over the course of more than 125 years, Arnold has successfully evolved and adapted its products, technologies, and manufacturing presence to meet the demands of current and emerging markets. Arnold produces high performance permanent magnets (PMAG), turnkey electric motors (“Ramco”), precision foil products (Precision Thin Metals or “PTM”), and flexible magnets (Flexmag™) that are mission critical in motors, generators, sensors and other systems and components. Arnold has expanded globally and built strong relationships with its customers worldwide.

    Forward Looking Statements

    This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements with regard to the expectations related to the future performance of Arnold and CODI. Words such as “believes,” “expects,” “will,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “continue,” “projects,” “potential,” “assuming,” and “future” or similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions, some of which are not currently known to CODI. In addition to factors previously disclosed in CODI’s reports filed with the SEC, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements: changes in the economy, financial markets and political environment; risks associated with possible disruption in CODI’s operations or the economy generally due to terrorism, natural disasters, social, civil and political unrest or the COVID-19 pandemic; future changes in laws or regulations (including the interpretation of these laws and regulations by regulatory authorities); and other considerations that may be disclosed from time to time in CODI’s publicly disseminated documents and filings. Further information regarding CODI and its subsidiaries and factors which could affect the forward-looking statements contained herein can be found in CODI’s annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by law, CODI undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    Investor Relations

    Compass Diversified
    irinquiry@compassdiversified.com

    Gateway Group
    Cody Slach
    949.574.3860
    CODI@gateway-grp.com

    Media Relations

    Compass Diversified
    mediainquiry@compassdiversified.com

    The IGB Group
    Leon Berman
    212.477.8438
    lberman@igbir.com

    The MIL Network –