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Category: Science

  • MIL-OSI Global: Americans own guns to protect themselves from psychological as well as physical threats

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Nick Buttrick, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

    Many gun owners cite protection as a reason to carry a firearm. RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

    Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Tim Walz and JD Vance all have something in common. All four of them, along with an estimated 42% of American adults, have lived in a home with at least one gun.

    Gun ownership in the United States is widespread and cuts across all sorts of cultural divides – including race, class and political ideology. Like all mass experiences in American life, owning a gun can mean very different things to different people.

    One thing that American gun owners tend to agree on, no matter their differences, is that guns are for personal protection. In a 2023 Pew survey, 72% of gun owners reported that they owned a firearm at least in part for protection, and 81% of gun owners reported that owning a gun helped them to feel safer. This perspective contrasts to that of gun owners in other developed economies, who generally report that guns are more dangerous than safe and that they own a gun for some other reason.

    I’m a psychologist who studies contemporary society. In the lab, my colleagues and I have been investigating this feeling of safety that American gun owners report. We’re trying to get a more complete sense of just what people are using their firearms to protect against. Our research suggests it goes much deeper than physical threats.

    Social scientists are exploring the motivations and effects of owning a gun.
    Cécile Clocheret/AFP via Getty Images

    Protection goes beyond the physical

    By combining social-scientific research on firearms ownership with a raft of interviews we’ve conducted, we’ve developed a theory that gun owners aren’t just protecting against the specific threat of physical violence. Owners are also using a gun to protect their psychological selves. Owning a gun helps them feel more in control of the world around them and more able to live meaningful, purposeful lives that connect to the people and communities they care for.

    This sort of protection may be especially appealing to those who think that the normal institutions of society – such as the police or the government – are either unable or unwilling to keep them safe. They feel they need to take protection into their own hands.

    This use of a deadly weapon to provide comfort and solace may come at a cost, however, as firearms often bring a heightened sense of vigilance with them. Firearm instructors frequently teach owners to be especially aware of their environment and all the potential dangers and threats within. When gun owners look for danger, they often are more likely to find it.

    Gun owners may end up perceiving the world as a more dangerous place, institutions as more uncaring or incompetent, and their own private actions as all the more important for securing their lives and their livelihoods.

    How gun owners feel during daily life

    What does this cycle of protection and threat look like in everyday life? My colleagues and I recently ran a study to investigate. We’re still undergoing peer review, so our work is not final yet.

    We recruited a group of over 150 firearms owners who told us that they regularly carry their guns, along with over 100 demographically matched Americans who have never owned a gun. Over two weeks, our research team texted the participants at two random times each day, asking them to fill out a survey telling us what they were doing and how they were feeling.

    To get a sense of how guns change the psychological landscape of their owners, we divided our gun-carrying group into two. When we texted one half of the group, before we asked any other questions, we simply asked whether they had their gun accessible and why they’d made that decision. For the other half of our gun-owning participants, and for our non-gun-owning control group, firearms and firearm carrying never came up.

    When subtly reminded of guns in general – regardless of whether their gun was accessible – our participants reported feeling more safe and in control and that their lives were more meaningful. Thanks to our random-assignment procedure, we can be pretty confident that it was thinking about guns, as opposed to any differences in the underlying groups themselves, that caused this particular increase in psychological well-being.

    About half of the times that we texted, the gun owners told us that they had a gun accessible at that moment. When a gun was handy, our participants told us that they were feeling more vigilant and anxious, and that their immediate situation was more chaotic. This result didn’t seem to be driven by owners choosing to have guns available when they were putting themselves into objectively more dangerous situations: We found the same pattern when we looked just at moments when our participants were sitting at home, watching television.

    Raising fear and promising rescue

    Contemporary American gun ownership may have conflicting messages embedded within it. First, a gun is a thing you can use to bolster your fundamental psychological needs to feel safe, to feel in control and to feel like you matter and belong. Second, having a gun focuses your attention on the dangers of the world.

    By both fueling a sense of danger and holding out the promise of rescuing you from the fear, messaging around guns may end up locking some owners into a sort of doom loop.

    A sense of responsibility goes along with gun ownership for the vast majority of Americans who own a firearm.
    Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images

    My collaborators and I are currently exploring whether stressing other parts of gun ownership may help owners to move beyond this negative spiral. For instance, while owners often talk about “danger,” they also talk frequently about “responsibility.”

    Being a responsible gun owner is central to many owners’ identities. In one study, 97% of owners reported that they were “more responsible than the average gun owner,” and 23% rated themselves as being in the top 1% of responsibility overall. This, of course, is statistically impossible.

    To more fully understand the many ways responsible firearm ownership can look, we are in the process of interviewing gun owners from all around the state of Wisconsin, a notably diverse state when it comes to gun ownership. We’re tapping into as many of the ways of owning a gun as we can, talking with protective owners, hunters, sport shooters, collectors, folks in urban areas, folks in rural areas, men, women, young people, old people, liberals, conservatives, and, of course, trying to capture the complex ways that race shapes ownership.

    Who do gun owners feel they are responsible for? What kinds of actions do they think responsible owners take?

    We hope to learn more about the many different ways that people conceptualize what a gun can do for them. American gun cultures are complex and distinct things. By exploring the worldviews that support firearm ownership, we can better understand what it means to live in the U.S. today.

    Nick Buttrick receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

    – ref. Americans own guns to protect themselves from psychological as well as physical threats – https://theconversation.com/americans-own-guns-to-protect-themselves-from-psychological-as-well-as-physical-threats-239363

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Young scientists from the State University of Management presented the results of their research at the All-Russian forum “Science of the Future – Science of the Young”

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    From October 29 to November 1, the IX All-Russian Youth Scientific Forum “Science of the Future – Science of the Young” is being held at the Samara National Research University named after Academician S.P. Korolev.

    The forum is attended by more than 500 Russian and foreign researchers, winners of the mega-grant program, heads of world scientific schools and laboratories, young scientists, students and postgraduates.

    At the opening ceremony, the participants were addressed with welcoming words by the Head of the Department of the Presidential Administration of Russia for Scientific and Educational Policy Tatyana Gracheva, the Director of the Department of State Policy in the Sphere of Scientific and Technological Development of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia Anton Shashkin, the Chairperson of the Committee on Education and Science of the Samara Regional Duma Svetlana Ilyina, the President of Samara University, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Viktor Soyfer, the Rector of Samara University Vladimir Bogatyrev and the Scientific Director of Samara University, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Evgeny Shakhmatov.

    The main topics of the forum’s business program were the search for effective ways to attract young people to solve the problems outlined in the Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation, and the formation of an effective system of interaction between science, technology and production. At the plenary sessions, leading scientists and experts spoke about new trends in aircraft manufacturing and space exploration, quantum technologies and artificial intelligence, problems of neurodegeneration and how young researchers can build a successful career in science.

    The State University of Management was represented at the forum by Associate Professor of the Innovation Management Department Denis Serdechny and Director of the Business Incubator Dmitry Rogov.

    Denis Serdechny spoke at the opening of the Information Technology and Mathematics section with a scientific report on software and hardware systems and intelligent platform digital solutions in the field of agro-industrial technologies. In his report, the associate professor of the Department of Innovation Management spoke about the competencies of the State University of Management in building ecosystems and platform solutions for business, as well as about the results of research within the framework of a large scientific project – developed methods for assessing the digital maturity of agricultural enterprises, the concept of a data parser for a digital platform and the concept of an intelligent decision support system for computer vision for agricultural tasks.

    Dmitry Rogov opened the Engineering Sciences section by presenting a report on the application of mass service theory tools to optimize the operation of transport infrastructure facilities. Particular attention was paid to simulation modeling, which is used both at the design stage of new infrastructure facilities, which are complex mass service systems, and to optimize the operation of existing ones. The SMU postgraduate student demonstrated to the meeting participants a transport hub model created in the AnyLogic environment, formed on the basis of several logical layers: a two-dimensional scheme, a process diagram, and 3D visualization, and presented the results of an assessment of the qualitative indicators of the system’s functioning, necessary for further analysis and management decision-making.

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 10/31/2024

    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 Canada: Keynote – 2024 Nuclear Law School

    Source: Government of Canada News

    On October 25, 2024, Pierre Tremblay, CNSC President and CEO, delivered the keynote address at the Canadian Nuclear Law Organization’s Nuclear Law School 2024, held in Toronto, Ontario. In his remarks, he spoke about areas of focus for the CNSC and the important function the CNSC’s Legal Services team plays in supporting Canada’s nuclear regulator.  

    – Check against delivery – 

    Introduction

    Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for that kind introduction.  

    Bonjour. Merci pour cette aimable présentation. 

    I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered here today on the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, and on what is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. 

    I am honoured to work with and learn from communities across unceded lands throughout Canada, and want to acknowledge all First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples who’s original and treaty territories we stand upon across Turtle Island.

    As mentioned, I am Pierre Tremblay, President of the 

    Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, or CNSC. I have now had the privilege of leading the CNSC for almost 3 months, and I could not be happier to be speaking to you all today on behalf of the regulator. 

    I’m so pleased you have also had the opportunity to hear from some of the CNSC’s many experts, with Pascale Bourassa speaking about the practical considerations around compliance with and enforcement of the nuclear regulatory requirements for Canadian export controls. 

    And from Catherine Howlett on the role of the regulator and how we intend to manage licensing decisions in the context of the Impact Assessment Act. 

    I myself have 40 years in Canada’s nuclear sector, all of which have been very rewarding. My career has given me a deep appreciation and respect for the people who work in the sector and their shared focus on safety and the culture that supports it. 

    My new position with the CNSC is affording me the opportunity to play an essential role in the nuclear sector by serving the public in protecting Canada’s environment and its people. 

    The CNSC is a world class nuclear regulator and I’m honoured to be leading this organization through such an exciting period for the nuclear sector. 

    For my remarks this afternoon, I’d like to speak about the work the CNSC is doing to fulfil our important mandate, while ensuring our readiness for the future.

    Important Work of the Regulator

    As Canada’s nuclear regulator, the CNSC oversees the full lifecycle of nuclear facilities and activities, regulating the use of nuclear energy and materials to protect the health, safety, and security of people and the environment while ensuring Canada’s respect for its international obligations, including non-proliferation. 

    All licensing decisions are made by the Commission, a quasi-judicial, independent tribunal set up at arm’s length from government, and with no ties to the nuclear industry. 

    This is an interesting and crucial time for Canada’s nuclear sector. With a growing global energy demand, driven by electrification and our collective response to climate change, the potential for nuclear as a reliable baseload energy source is significant.

    Given Canada’s long history and expertise in the nuclear field, there is of course a strong interest in maintaining its competitive advantage, and to keep pace with countries that are heavily investing in nuclear.

    While the CNSC is independent and impartial, we are aware of and engaged with the external environment in which nuclear operates. 

    The increased attention on and priority of nuclear are important factors motivating the CNSC to ensure regulatory readiness and efficiency. 

    This is particularly true as we prepare for the eventual deployment of advanced and small modular reactor technologies.

    In regulating to ensure safety, readiness and efficiency is achievable with no corners being cut. Our expectations for industry are the same. Together, we can all ensure the safe deployment of nuclear projects.

    The possibility of the broad deployment of small modular reactors – or SMRs – requires us to be ready in new and different ways.

    This is just one driver to modernize our regulatory framework and practices. 

    As a part of our modernization efforts, we undertook a full strategic review of the CNSC’s regulatory framework to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement to ensure clarity of requirements for SMRs, such as shifting from a prescriptive approach to a technology-neutral performance-based approach.

    This includes proposed Nuclear Security Regulations that respond to changes in security threats and adapt to technological advancements. 

    The current regulations do not in our view adequately consider a risk-informed approach – nor do they consider different technologies, sizes, locations, and alternative approaches to address potential security threats and risks. 

    This could prevent licensees and proponents from using new security technologies or innovative practices that meet – or exceed – the regulatory objective to delay potential adversaries. 

    Mind you, modernizing our regulations isn’t new. It is a continuation of years of work and something the CNSC is always in the process of doing.

    For example, in 2020, following extensive consultation, the Radiation Protection Regulations were updated to enhance protections for nuclear sector works, including accommodations for workers who are breastfeeding, and a lower annual limit for radiation doses to the lens of the eye.

    This is just one example where we have leveraged over 20 years of experience with the Nuclear Safety and Control Act and advances in science to ensure our regulatory framework reflects our current and modern reality.

    By necessity, this work is ongoing. As the sector evolves, so does the regulatory landscape.

    We are also ensuring we do not work in isolation. As we modernize and ready ourselves for new technologies, we continue to look for ways to collaborate and coordinate with other government agencies here at home, as well as our regulatory counterparts around the world. 

    For example, the CNSC is working closely with the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada to ensure processes are well aligned to reduce duplication of work. 

    The CNSC recognizes the vital role of the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada. The renewed emphasis on nuclear in the pursuit of clean growth requires many agencies to play equally important roles.

    We remain committed to supporting the work of our partners and the Government’s action plan – Building Canada’s Clean Future – while continuing to honour our own commitment of being efficient as the nuclear safety regulator.

    It’s not just coordination at home. International cooperation has far-reaching benefits for world-wide nuclear safety and helps to ensure a streamlined and safe approach to deployment for these projects. 

    CNSC along with our colleagues in the US and UK have taken essential steps to enable the sharing of knowledge and best practices to foster the safe deployment of nuclear technologies worldwide. 

    Agreements such as the trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation between the CNSC, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the UK’s Office for Nuclear Regulation support collaboration on the technical reviews of advanced reactor and SMR technologies.

    Under this agreement we work together to develop shared technical assessment approaches, collaborate on pre-application activities to ensure mutual preparedness, and collaborate on research, training, and in the development of regulatory approaches. 

    Preparing for the future is a global effort. When we join forces with international organizations, our collective expertise can grow considerably and accelerate our progress, while also enhancing our primary focus on safety. 

    Together, we will be well-equipped to manage any challenges that we may face. 

    The CNSC’s mandate also includes communicating objective scientific, technical, and regulatory information to the public. 

    As the regulator, we must instill confidence in Canadians that decisions are risk-informed, evidence- and science-based. And that the safety of Canadians and the environment are at the forefront of all that we do. 

    We do this by communicating and engaging with the public we serve – and by disseminating objective information to the public. 

    Nuclear technologies and activities are not limited by Canada’s provincial and territorial borders. 

    And so, we share information with and provide opportunities for engagement to all Canadians, not just those in the traditional nuclear-host communities. 

    The CNSC also encourages open dialogue through consultation and engagement, with staff from across our organization engaging with communities and stakeholders nationwide.

    In practice, this includes participating in community events, engaging with the public and intervenors during Commission proceedings, delivering educational presentations, and continuing to prioritize relationship-building with Indigenous Nations and communities through continued and meaningful engagement, consultation and mutual learning.

    Effective communication and engagement build trust through openness, transparency and listening – and public trust is critical. 

    We are doing our part and expect industry to do the same. 

    The CNSC has outlined such expectations clearly in our regulatory documents for Indigenous engagement and public information and disclosure. 

    Proponents and industry have the responsibility to develop meaningful, long-term relationships with Indigenous Nations and communities whose treaty lands, territories, and potential and established rights could be impacted by nuclear activities. 

    They must also develop and maintain programs that ensure effective communication with the public as a licensing condition. 

    Only through such efforts will they earn trust and support for their projects. 

    We as the regulator will be watching and expect performance to be maintained as new technologies are sought after. 

    Internal efforts

    I have mentioned a few times today, that safety is our top priority. A strong safety culture is an essential component, helping to build trust within the organization, as well as with the public we serve.

    That is why the CNSC continues to prioritize understanding and strengthening our regulatory safety culture through various mechanisms, most recently through the Independent Safety Culture Assessment led by the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA. 

    With almost 80 years of nuclear safety and security in Canada, our long history has taught us the importance of self-reflection and the need for continuous improvement, and that complacency is the enemy of excellence.

    We know that a culture for safety is an ongoing journey, which is why we continue to look for opportunities such as this mission to support our reflection and self-improvement. The IAEA recognized this in their preliminary findings, noting that we demonstrate a continued commitment for external review to help continuously improve. They recognized the strong personal commitment of staff to the CNSC safety mission, and our recognition that we face a significant amount of change in the coming years which we will need to continue to prepare for.

    The CNSC has also worked to better understand the important role diversity and inclusion play in safety culture. We know that diverse voices lead to better decision-making and better safety outcomes. 

    While I may not have faced the challenges in my career that some have, I am very aware of the need to direct our energies and efforts to ensure diversity in the talent pipeline. 

    Efforts such as this will let us engage the best and the brightest. It will foster innovation and improve our regulatory decisions. Complex challenges like those we face in the nuclear sector require varied perspectives. 

    Conclusion

    Many of you may be wondering, where do I fit? What role do I have to play? 

    There is value in gaining operational experience, which can be obtained in many ways. We live in a dynamic world, and our legislative framework is ever evolving. Embrace that uncertainty and the change that comes with it and challenge yourselves to continuously grow and learn. 

    The CNSC’s Legal Services team is a great example of this. They are an integral part of our organization, both in day-to-day operations as well as part of our management team. They act as counsel at Commission hearings and represent the CNSC in litigation. 

    Our Legal Services team directly supports the business of the CNSC as the regulator and, as such, contributes to the broader nuclear sector. 

    They do this by providing in-house legal advice to the CNSC, including advice on the interpretation of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act and its related regulations and other legislation that may affect CNSC operations. With their experience and knowledge, they assist the Commission in its modernization efforts to find ever more effective means of delivering on its mandate.

    As lawyers, you know that you do not make policy. You interpret the law and give advice. You are not in a position to dictate outcomes; rather you provide strategic legal perspectives that bring valuable insight and contributions through your work.

    There is a necessary balance here. Courageous decision-making is needed at this time, and your legal advice to your clients can help them advance their important priorities. 

    We are at a critical point in history. And we have lots to do. 

    I can reassure you that the CNSC will be here making sure that safety remains top of mind for everyone. 

    There is a strong foundation in place and a great deal of work already underway to ensure we are ready. I am eager to guide the CNSC as an organization as we continue this journey.

    This is a very exciting time for the nuclear sector, and I look forward to what the future holds.

    Thank you again for inviting me to speak at your 2024 Nuclear Law School, I look forward to answering any questions you may have. 

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Exceptional Teachers Chosen for Master Teacher Program

    Source: US State of New York

    Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the selection of 144 STEM teachers for the New York State Master Teacher Program, a professional network of more than 1,700 public-school teachers with a passion for inspiring the next generation of educational leaders. Twenty-six counselors were also selected as part of the inaugural Master Counselor Program.

    “Here in New York, we are incredibly grateful for our teachers’ and counselors’ dedication to inspiring and shaping the minds of our students – the next generation of leaders in our state,” Governor Hochul said. “Through the New York State Master Teacher Program, we’re recognizing the hardworking educational leaders who are helping us build a world-class education system here in New York for generations to come.”

    In addition, the application process for the next round is open now through January 26, 2025. Interested applicants can review the eligibility requirements and attend an information session with program staff.

    The new members represent 83 school districts with a Master Teacher or Master Counselor among their faculty, with 40 program members from high-needs districts including Albany, Buffalo, Binghamton, Plattsburgh City, Rochester, Schenectady, Syracuse, Utica, and, for counselors, New York City School Districts.

    Master Teachers support students in grades K-12 in the areas of science, technology, computer science, robotics, coding, engineering, math, and integrated STEM.

    More than half of the new members have been in the classroom for more than ten years, and more than 45 percent have been teaching for 15 or more years. The incoming group of Master Teachers is comprised of 25 percent elementary level teachers, 48 teachers with multiple teaching certifications, 15 teachers certified in Special Education and two teachers who hold a Bilingual Education Extension.

    The Master Counselors are active members of their professional associations serving in leadership roles, and regularly engage with local industries to help students and their families chart a path to student success. More than half of the 2024 Master Counselors have been in a counseling role for longer than ten years. The counselors serve in various district-level and state-level roles, joining the program as experienced leaders dedicated to developing and sharing best practices. One-third of the Master Counselors hold additional certificates or NYS trainings including Occupational Therapy, Disability Services, National Board, and Mental Health Counseling.

    SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said, “As the state’s largest educator preparation provider, SUNY is proud of the success of all teachers and school counselors throughout their careers. We applaud Governor Hochul for recognizing excellence in teaching as well as the importance of school counselors in helping New York State students achieve their aspirations for college and careers.”

    Master Teachers and Master Counselors are leaders in their professions, serving as mentors for students and early-career teachers and counselors. Many new members have been awarded grants for STEM or counseling program resources. The Master Teacher Program is hosted at nine SUNY campuses to leverage the expertise of the University’s faculty and existing educator preparation programs, and SUNY counterparts collaborate regularly with local STEM career and industry experts.

    The total number of teachers and counselors selected from each region, and the respective partner SUNY campus, are:

    • Capital Region: 219 Master Teachers and 4 Master Counselors (University at Albany)
    • Central New York: 213 Master Teachers and 3 Master Counselors (SUNY Cortland)
    • Finger Lakes: 223 Master Teachers and 3 Master Counselors (SUNY Geneseo)
    • Long Island: 206 Master Teachers and 5 Master Counselor (Stony Brook University)
    • Mid-Hudson: 200 Master Teachers and 7 Master Counselors (SUNY New Paltz)
    • Mohawk Valley: 140 Master Teachers and 4 Master Counselors (SUNY Oneonta)
    • North Country: 130 Master Teachers and 6 Master Counselor (SUNY Plattsburgh)
    • Southern Tier: 252 Master Teachers and 7 Master Counselors (Binghamton University)
    • Western New York: 244 Master Teachers and 7Master Counselors (SUNY Buffalo State)
    • New York City: 160 Master Teachers (in partnership with Math for America) and 5 Master Counselors

    Throughout their four-year participation in the Program, Master Teachers, and Master Counselors will receive a $15,000 stipend annually; engage in peer mentoring and intensive content-oriented professional development opportunities throughout the academic year; work closely with pre-service and early career teachers and counselors to foster a supportive environment for the next generation of STEM teachers and counselors; and attend required regional meetings to participate in and lead professional development sessions each year.

    A full list of Master Teachers and Counselors and their school districts is available.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: CEO Climate Alliance | Gim Huay Neo

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    With climate and biodiversity on the global agenda, the business benefits of net zero are clear, says Gim Huay Neo, co-chair of a Global Alliance of CEO Climate LeadersIn an open letter ahead of #COP29, the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders calls for urgent action to combat climate change.

    Highlighting the critical role of collaborative leadership from business and government, the world’s largest CEO-led climate community is advocating for ambitious, science-based targets to support climate action and spur investment.

    Read the full letter: wef.ch/COP29OpenLetter24

    The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

    World Economic Forum Website ► http://www.weforum.org/
    Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/worldeconomicforum/
    YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/wef
    Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/worldeconomicforum/ 
    Twitter ► https://twitter.com/wef
    LinkedIn ► https://www.linkedin.com/company/world-economic-forum
    TikTok ► https://www.tiktok.com/@worldeconomicforum
    Flipboard ► https://flipboard.com/@WEF

    #WorldEconomicForum

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L39TNIlTajc

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ‘Blood-Soaked’ Eyes: NASA’s Webb, Hubble Examine Galaxy Pair

    Source: NASA

    Stare deeply at these galaxies. They appear as if blood is pumping through the top of a flesh-free face. The long, ghastly “stare” of their searing eye-like cores shines out into the supreme cosmic darkness.

    It’s good fortune that looks can be deceiving.

    These galaxies have only grazed one another to date, with the smaller spiral on the left, cataloged as IC 2163, ever so slowly “creeping” behind NGC 2207, the spiral galaxy at right, millions of years ago.

    The pair’s macabre colors represent a combination of mid-infrared light from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope with visible and ultraviolet light from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.

    Image A: Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207 (Webb and Hubble Image)

    Look for potential evidence of their “light scrape” in the shock fronts, where material from the galaxies may have slammed together. These lines represented in brighter red, including the “eyelids,” may cause the appearance of the galaxies’ bulging, vein-like arms.

    The galaxies’ first pass may have also distorted their delicately curved arms, pulling out tidal extensions in several places. The diffuse, tiny spiral arms between IC 2163’s core and its far left arm may be an example of this activity. Even more tendrils look like they’re hanging between the galaxies’ cores. Another extension “drifts” off the top of the larger galaxy, forming a thin, semi-transparent arm that practically runs off screen.

    Image B: Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207 (MIRI Image)

    Both galaxies have high star formation rates, like innumerable individual hearts fluttering all across their arms. Each year, the galaxies produce the equivalent of two dozen new stars that are the size of the Sun. Our Milky Way galaxy only forms the equivalent of two or three new Sun-like stars per year. Both galaxies have also hosted seven known supernovae in recent decades, a high number compared to an average of one every 50 years in the Milky Way. Each supernova may have cleared space in their arms, rearranging gas and dust that later cooled, and allowed many new stars to form.

    To spot the star-forming “action sequences,” look for the bright blue areas captured by Hubble in ultraviolet light, and pink and white regions detailed mainly by Webb’s mid-infrared data. Larger areas of stars are known as super star clusters. Look for examples of these in the top-most spiral arm that wraps above the larger galaxy and points left. Other bright regions in the galaxies are mini starbursts — locations where many stars form in quick succession. Additionally, the top and bottom “eyelid” of IC 2163, the smaller galaxy on the left, is filled with newer star formation and burns brightly.

    Image C: Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207 (Hubble and Webb Images Side by Side)

    What’s next for these spirals? Over many millions of years, the galaxies may swing by one another repeatedly. It’s possible that their cores and arms will meld, leaving behind completely reshaped arms, and an even brighter, cyclops-like “eye” at the core. Star formation will also slow down once their stores of gas and dust deplete, and the scene will calm.

    Video A: Tour of Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207

    [embedded content]

    The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

    The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, Colorado, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.

    Downloads

    Right click any image to save it or open a larger version in a new tab/window via the browser’s popup menu.

    View/Download all image products at all resolutions for this article from the Space Telescope Science Institute.

    Media Contacts

    Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov, Claire Andreoli – claire.andreoli@nasa.govNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

    Claire Blome – cblome@stsci.edu, Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.eduSpace Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.

    Related Information

    Other images: View of NGC 2207 in optical, x-ray, and infrared light

    Video: What happens when galaxies collide?

    Video: Galaxy Collisions: Simulations vs. Observations

    Article: More about Galaxy Evolution

    Video: Learn more about galactic collisions

    More Webb News

    More Webb Images

    Webb Science Themes

    Webb Mission Page

    Hubble Mission Page

    Related For Kids

    What is a galaxy?

    What is the Webb Telescope?

    The Amazing Hubble Telescope

    SpacePlace for Kids

    En Español

    ¿Qué es una galaxia?

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Middlesex Biotech Alum Publishes Fruit-fly Research

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Jacqueline Guillemin, originally from the town of East Hampton, was homeschooled before deciding to pursue higher education. She wanted to further her studies but was unsure of which path to take. Her mother suggested CT State Middlesex (at that time Middlesex Community College), and it felt like an ideal choice, providing a smooth transition from homeschooling into college life.

    While at Middlesex, Jackie balanced being a full-time student with a part-time job. For a brief period, she also attended UConn as a full-time student while continuing her studies and work at Middlesex. At first, she was an environmental science major, driven by her interest in nature. However, her interests expanded when she enrolled in a biology course with Middlesex professor Frank Stellabotte, Ph.D.

    “When I took Dr. Stellabotte’s introductory biology course, I learned that the natural world had so much more to offer,” said Jackie.

    Jackie also added she was fortunate to study under several inspiring professors at Middlesex.

    “Clearly Dr. Stellabotte made an amazing impact on my education, introducing me to the topics I study today. Additionally, I would not be where I am without the support from [chemistry professor] Dr. Kimberly Thomas, who helped me find my passion for teaching in the sciences. Professor [Emerita] Donna Hylton, who gave me great guidance while working with the Computer Club as president,” Jackie said. “Honestly, I could list so many mentors from Middlesex as favorites!”

    Jackie recalls several standout Middlesex memories—from exploring genetics and zebrafish research with Dr. Stellabotte to hosting and gaming at Computer Club LAN nights.

    “Middlesex offered many opportunities to build a community and to truly feel connected which was very impactful to me,” said Jackie, who graduated from Middlesex in 2017 with an associate degree in biotechnology.

    When it came time to transfer to UConn to complete a four-year degree, Jackie again received strong support from Dr. Stellabotte along with advisor Emily Canto, who helped her build a compelling resume. Most of Jackie’s credits from Middlesex transferred smoothly, preparing her well for upper-level courses at UConn.

    Jackie went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in biology/biological sciences from UConn in 2019.

    Today, Jackie lives just outside of Burlington, VT, having chosen the University of Vermont (UVM) Department of Biology for her doctoral studies.

    “It’s a nice community of students and a broad biology program, which I appreciated for building my knowledge for a more integrative understanding of biology,” Jackie mentioned.

    At UVM’s Stanley Lab, Jackie’s research focuses on how fruit flies choose their food. She said she investigates feeding behaviors on a cellular and molecular level, seeking to understand how internal factors, like previous meals, influence their preferences.

    “We can use our knowledge of the fruit fly taste system to understand how humans integrate taste information and ways to decrease pest damage,” Jackie said.

    Jackie recently published an article in Cell Reports journal (Guillemin, 2023) describing previously unknown cellular functions in fruit flies, using innovative techniques to observe their taste response behaviors. Her findings revealed that certain cells activate upon detecting amino acids, prompting the flies to stop eating and lay eggs.

    “We use tools that allow us to modify the flies to piece together what parts are needed for taste and taste-related behaviors. Using these tools, I was able to ‘turn on’ the cell function and see what the fly does in response to that signal being sent to the brain,” Jackie explained. “Further, I can look at the brain in live flies and offer them different tastes and observe if the cell turns on to those tastes. We found that these cells turn on when in contact with protein building blocks called amino acids, and that they tell the fly to stop eating and instead lay eggs where ever they detect them.”

    Looking ahead, Jackie aims to complete her doctoral degree and hopes to secure a postdoctoral position that allows her to pursue independent research. Ultimately, she envisions a career that combines both research and teaching, passions she discovered during her time at Middlesex.

    During her time at Middlesex a decade ago, Jackie held various roles, including working in the Academic Success Center, serving as an educational assistant, and supporting the after-school STEAM Train computer training programs with Professor Hylton. At UVM, Jackie actively participates in her department’s social committee and holds a leadership position with the Out in STEM (OSTEM) group. Her teaching experience spans multiple semesters, covering subjects from genetics to comparative invertebrate physiology.

    This past summer, Jackie presented her research at the International Conference of Olfaction and Taste in Iceland, and in the fall, she attended the Society of Neuroscience conference in Chicago to showcase her latest findings for her next research paper.

    For prospective Middlesex students, Jackie encourages them to embrace every learning opportunity.

    “It may just feel like a class or two, but you are making connections for life in those classrooms. Relish in the time you have to talk with your professors about all of your favorite topics from that class,” advised Jackie. “And, most importantly, there is no such thing as a stupid question.”

    October 2024

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: US-Africa relations under Biden: a mismatch between talk and action

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Christopher Isike, Director, African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of Pretoria

    In his first year in office, US president Joe Biden committed to resetting US-Africa relations based on a doctrine of equal partnership.

    He sent his secretary of state, Antony Blinken, to Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria. The visit was used to outline the administration’s policy outlook towards Africa. It laid the ground for the official US-Africa policy commitment that Blinken launched the following year in South Africa.

    Since then, there have been high level engagements between the US and African countries to deepen ties. They included visits by top cabinet members of the administration: vice-president Kamala Harris, secretary of defence Lloyd Austin and treasury secretary Janet Yellen. First lady Jill Biden also came.

    Biden hosted a well attended US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington DC in December 2022. Kenyan president William Ruto paid a state visit to the White House in May.

    Yet our view, which is based on years of studying and writing on US and Africa relations, is that the Biden administration has not fulfilled its commitment to resetting US-Africa relations based on an equal partnership. It hasn’t recognised Africa’s growing agency in international affairs.

    We argue that there has been a mismatch between the rhetoric and practice of an equal partnership. For example, African leaders or the African Union were not consulted about the agenda of the 2022 US-Africa Leaders Summit. This was also the case with the US’s Africa strategy.

    This reflects the traditional paternalistic relationship of the US with Africa.

    Read more: Joe Biden in Africa: US president has ignored the continent for his entire term — why he’s visiting Angola

    Biden is due to visit Angola in December – his only African visit as president. A much more encouraging message of equal partnership would have been delivered if the US-Africa Leaders Summit, for example, had been held at the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia. Biden would have then been able to engage with African leaders in the continent early in his term.

    A full diary of engagements

    There are a number of positive indicators of Biden’s commitment to reset relations with Africa.

    August 2022: The first tangible step was through the US Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa. This presented a shift in emphasis from great power politics (vis-a-vis China and Russia in Africa) and Trump’s America First diplomacy, to one of mutual respect and partnership (at least on paper) under Biden.

    Priorities included fostering open societies, delivering democratic and security dividends, advancing pandemic recovery and economic opportunity, and supporting the climate agenda.

    December 2022: The US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington DC was attended by 49 African leaders, three months after the release of the Africa strategy. The focus was on

    strengthening ties with African partners based on principles of mutual respect and shared interests and values.

    Biden pledged US$55 billion in investments until 2025 to advance goals that aligned with shared priorities. The US is said to have allocated 80% of said funds.

    The US used the summit to formally announce its support for the African Union’s membership of the G20. This was realised when the AU officially joined the G20 as a permanent member in 2023.

    November 2023: Biden hosted Angolan president João Lourenço at the White House on an official visit. They discussed cooperation on the economy, security, energy, transport, telecommunications, agriculture and outer space.

    May 2024: Kenyan president William Ruto’s state visit was the first by an African leader in more than 15 years.

    September 2024: US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced US support for Africa getting two permanent seats on the UN security council.

    Finally, Biden’s visit to Angola, set for the first week in December would be the first by a US president since 2015.

    What’s gone wrong

    It’s possible to see serious flaws in the US approach towards Africa set against the expectation of an equal partnership.

    Firstly, the US has attempted to undermine African agency through its bid to pressure African countries to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Many African countries chose non-alignment.

    Secondly, the US championing two seats for Africa on the security council looks commendable on the surface. But the lack of veto power perpetuates power imbalances between Africa and the current permanent security council members – the US, France, the UK, Russia and China.

    US vice-president Kamala Harris visited Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema in 2023. Salim Dawood/AFP via Getty Images.

    The question again is how equal the partnership is if Africa will be a junior member of the security council.

    Thirdly, there has been a lack of joint agenda setting. African countries have made no input into US-Africa strategy or the US-Africa Leaders Summit.

    Failing to consult African leaders, institutions and civil society on the continent’s own priorities reflects the same old practice of imposing priorities on African states. It looks like a continuation of the usual passing off of American national interests as African interests.

    Fourthly, there have been challenges in implementing what’s set out in the US Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa. These have included inadequate resource allocation.

    Read more: US-Africa trade deal turns 25 next year: Agoa’s winners, losers and what should come next

    Fifth, the Biden administration has used the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) as diplomatic leverage over African countries. For example, in October 2023 it announced the removal of Uganda, Niger, Gabon and Central African Republic from the beneficiaries. Earlier, the administration removed Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso. These countries were removed from Agoa for not complying with US human rights and political demands.

    Between February and March 2024, the US Congress also considered the US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Bill, which risks South Africa’s exclusion from Agoa because of Pretoria’s position on the Israel/Palestine conflict.

    Lastly, the fact that Biden is only visiting Africa in the last days of his presidency suggests Africa is not a priority. The fact that only one African head of state has been afforded a state visit to Washington reinforces this thinking.

    If the US is serious about equal partnership, it mustn’t treat Africa as an afterthought. It must always consult African states in shaping policies that affect them and the continent.

    Ruth Kasanga, a postgraduate student in the Department of Political Sciences and Research Assistant at the African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of Pretoria, made contributions to this article.

    – US-Africa relations under Biden: a mismatch between talk and action
    – https://theconversation.com/us-africa-relations-under-biden-a-mismatch-between-talk-and-action-242307

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Chernyshenko held meetings with Russian teachers and youth of Uzbekistan in Tashkent

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    During his working visit to Uzbekistan, Dmitry Chernyshenko talked with teachers who are participants in projects of the Russian Ministry of Education. With the Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov and the head of the Department of Social Development of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Odil Abdurakhmanov

    October 31, 2024

    Dmitry Chernyshenko at a meeting with participants of youth projects and programs in Uzbekistan, implemented by the Russian Federation

    October 31, 2024

    Dmitry Chernyshenko at a meeting with participants of youth projects and programs in Uzbekistan, implemented by the Russian Federation

    October 31, 2024

    greeted the participants of the international motor rally of the project “The Path of the Future Games Trophy 2.0” and gave the start to the Tashkent – Jizzakh stage

    October 31, 2024

    Dmitry Chernyshenko greeted the participants of the international motor rally of the project “The Path of the Future Games Trophy 2.0” and gave the start to the Tashkent – Jizzakh stage

    October 31, 2024

    Previous news Next news

    Dmitry Chernyshenko, as part of a working visit to Uzbekistan, talked with teachers who are participants in projects of the Russian Ministry of Education. With the Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov and the head of the Department of Social Development of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Odil Abdurakhmanov

    During his working visit to Uzbekistan, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Chernyshenko spoke with teachers participating in humanitarian projects implemented by the Russian Ministry of Education: “Russian Teacher Abroad”, “Class!” (“Zur!”) and “Baby” (“Mittivoi”).

    The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the importance of the work of Russian teachers, who make a significant contribution to the development of bilateral relations between Uzbekistan and Russia.

    “The project “Russian Teacher Abroad” is developing in almost 30 countries. Uzbekistan is one of the leaders in the number of Russian teachers, which emphasizes the importance of bilateral cooperation in the field of education between our countries and the corresponding attitude of our Presidents to this. I know that you closely interact with your Uzbek colleagues and introduce advanced educational technologies here. It is important to build a continuous educational trajectory between specialists from Uzbekistan and Russian business,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

    Dmitry Chernyshenko thanked the teachers for their dedicated work and promotion of the Russian language and culture in the republic.

    “We are doing a lot of work within the framework of the “Class!” project. Teachers from the Russian Federation undergo appropriate training and advanced training at the A.I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University in St. Petersburg. Then they come to the Republic of Uzbekistan and teach Russian, exchanging experiences with local teachers,”– noted the Minister of Education of Russia Sergei Kravtsov.

    The head of the Russian Ministry of Education added that the Russian side is also ready to provide methodological assistance so that the training of in-demand specialists here is carried out at a high level.

    During the event, participants also discussed the Russian federal project “Professionalism” and textbooks on Russian as a foreign language.

    At a meeting with participants in youth projects and programs implemented by the Russian Federation, the Deputy Prime Minister noted the significance and legacy of the World Youth Festival and discussed strengthening international youth relations between Uzbekistan and Russia.

    The topic of projects and initiatives that are planned to be implemented within the framework of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War was separately touched upon.

    In addition, they discussed ways to increase young people’s interest in science and issues of media literacy.

    “You know that our country pays a lot of attention to the international youth agenda. Some of you personally took part in the World Youth Festival, which took place in the federal territory of Sirius. When organizing such an event, it was very important for us that young people from all over the world, including from our fraternal Republic of Uzbekistan, come, look at the created infrastructure and participate in the events,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko.

    He also noted the importance of Uzbekistan’s support for phygital sports and the Future Games.

    “The delegation of Uzbekistan was one of the largest at the World Youth Festival. More than 300 young people from all corners of our country participated in the festival, had the opportunity to find new friends to learn about the experience of countries around the world, and also to demonstrate the unique experience of Uzbekistan in working with youth,” emphasized the moderator of the event, head of the Volunteer Association of Uzbekistan Shirin Abidova.

    During the meeting, Dmitry Chernyshenko awarded the commemorative medal “World Youth Festival 2024” to representatives of Uzbekistan and Russia who made a great contribution to the preparation and holding of this large-scale event. The medals were awarded in accordance with the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    The meeting was also attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Uzbekistan Oleg Malginov, Deputy Head of Rosmolodezh Denis Ashirov, Head of the Representative Office of Rossotrudnichestvo in the Republic of Uzbekistan Irina Staroselskaya, Head of the Department of Social Development of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Odil Abdurakhmanov, First Deputy Director of the Agency for Youth Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Dilnozahon Kattakhanova.

    “Rosmolodezh is pursuing a course to strengthen international youth relations. It is important for us to help young people from Russia and other countries find common ground in various spheres of activity. Joint projects and programs are a contribution to the development of modern society and the construction of a happy future,” emphasized State Secretary – Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) Denis Ashirov.

    The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia also greeted the participants of the international motor rally of the Future Games Trophy Route 2.0 project and gave the start to the Tashkent – Jizzakh stage.

    The Deputy Prime Minister recalled that the run started in October at the Russia – Sports Power forum in Ufa. It will pass through the territory of eight states – participants of the global phygital movement.

    “Phygital and Future Games are a new competition format that was invented in Russia on the instructions of President Vladimir Putin and became known to the entire world. We know the intention of your head of state and the people of Uzbekistan to also be nominated to host the Future Games in your country. I thank the leadership of the republic and everyone who works with young people for their caring attitude to this format, which allows new stars to develop, who show themselves well both in computer games and in real sports,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko.

    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: A Proclamation on National Family Caregivers Month,  2024

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
         Family caregivers are the backbone of our Nation, making tremendous sacrifices to be there for the people who need and cherish them most.  This month, we honor their selfless love and courage, and we recommit to getting them the support they deserve.  They should know their country has their backs.
         For far too long, the cost of care in this country has been too high.  Today, millions of Americans are part of the so-called sandwich generation, caring for both young kids and aging parents at the same time.  Too many families struggle to afford help, spending their own retirement savings to pay for the care of their loved ones or quitting their own jobs to stay home and provide it themselves.  Most often, it is women who bear the brunt of care work.  And the pay for professional care workers is far too low.    
         In the United States of America, no one should have to choose between caring for a parent who raised them, a child who depends on them, and a paycheck that they need.  That is why I signed the American Rescue Plan, which made the biggest investment in child care ever.  It delivered historic support to over 225,000 child care programs serving as many as 10 million children across the country, helping keep their doors open for millions of working families who rely on them.  It expanded the Child Tax Credit, which helped cut the child poverty rate nearly in half.  Overall, my Administration increased funding for child care by nearly 50 percent while helping States expand and strengthen programs that enable low-income families afford child care as well.  We also required companies seeking significant Federal funding from our CHIPS and Science Act to submit a plan on how they will help employees access affordable child care.  
         We have finalized new rules that strengthen staffing standards in nursing homes to ensure residents can age with dignity.  We have made sure that home care workers get a bigger share of Medicaid payments so more Americans can keep living in their own communities and homes.  And we have worked to increase Medicare resources to promote equitable access to care and caregiver training.  
         But we have to do more to ease the load on America’s 50 million unpaid family caregivers, who too often still shoulder the burden of care all alone.  Through the American Rescue Plan, we devoted $145 million to the National Family Caregiver Support Program, which delivers counseling, training, and short-term relief to family caregivers and other informal care providers.  Furthermore, my Administration released the first-ever National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers, which includes new initiatives that directly support family caregivers and strengthen existing programs.  And I signed a historic Executive Order, representing the most comprehensive set of administrative actions ever to increase access to high-quality child care and long-term care and support for caregivers, including military and veteran caregivers.  The Executive Order is working to make sure caregivers get the support they deserve while building the supply of high-quality care so families have options.  My Administration is continuing to work toward lowering the cost of care across the country and providing stronger paid family and medical leave. 
         How we treat our young children, aging parents, and loved ones and how we value those who care for them are fundamental to who we are as a Nation.  During National Family Caregivers Month, we pledge to get every family caregiver in this country the same kind of relief, respect, and support that they give so selflessly to others.
         NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2024 as National Family Caregivers Month.  I encourage all Americans to reach out to those who provide care for our Nation’s family members, friends, and neighbors in need to recognize, honor, and thank them.
         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.
                                 JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Noma Exits Stealth with $32M to Secure the Entire Data & AI Lifecycle from Development to Production

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Noma exited stealth today, announcing $32M in funding and the launch of their application security platform for securing the entire Data & AI Lifecycle. The company’s series A round was led by Ballistic Ventures and comes less than a year after a previously undisclosed seed round led by Glilot Capital Partners, with participation from Cyber Club London. Dozens of strategic angel investors have backed Noma, including current and former CISOs of McDonald’s, Google DeepMind, Twitter, Atlassian, BNP Paribas, T-Mobile, and Nielsen.

    The rapid adoption of AI has thrown data science and machine learning teams into the spotlight, introducing new application security risks. “The Data & AI Lifecycle is significantly different from the software development lifecycle. It comes with a whole new supply chain, as well as unique open source components and runtime artifacts that traditional security tools don’t cover,” said Niv Braun, co-founder and CEO of Noma. “We’re already seeing organizations compromised by misconfigured data pipelines and MLOps tools and vulnerable and malicious open source models. It’s only a matter of time before we see AI’s equivalent of SolarWinds or Log4Shell. There’s an urgent need for a new security solution that holistically covers the Data & AI Lifecycle.”

    Noma’s platform provides end-to-end AI discovery, security, protection, and compliance. It protects against supply chain risks — like vulnerable data pipelines, unscanned code in data science environments, misconfigured MLOps tools, and sensitive data used for model training — as well as threats like vulnerable and malicious models, runtime prompt injection, and more.

    The platform seamlessly deploys across any cloud-based, SaaS, or self-hosted environment within minutes, requiring no agents or code changes and adding no friction to data science teams’ day-to-day workflows. Noma’s end-to-end approach provides coverage across the entire Data & AI Lifecycle, from development to production and from classic data pipelines and ML to GenAI.

    “Like traditional software development, AI has introduced a new range of security risks — but is moving at hyperspeed and with even higher stakes,” said Kobi Samboursky, Founder and Managing Partner of Glilot. “AppSec evolved over decades with fragmented tools for static and dynamic analysis, open source, supply chain, and runtime, but security teams have come to realize that they need consolidated solutions. Noma is uniquely positioned to tackle this problem from the start, consolidating multiple use cases into a single platform. We backed Noma to become the complete application security solution for the Data and AI Lifecycle.”

    “The role of data science teams has rapidly evolved from supporting business functions like reporting and analytics to developing AI-powered applications that significantly impact business outcomes,” said Jake Seid, Co-founder and general partner of Ballistic Ventures.

    “As security and compliance become more top of mind for organizations adopting AI, embedding security from the start ensures that innovation can flourish without compromise. Noma’s approach gives AppSec teams full visibility and confidence while empowering data science teams to move fast and drive business value.”

    Founders Niv Braun (CEO) and Alon Tron (CTO) met in the prestigious 8200 intelligence unit and have combined their respective experience leading security groups and data science teams to start Noma. Together they have quickly built a team with deep expertise in AI, application security, and beyond. Noma has helped shape industry standards for AI security as members of the OWASP AI Exchange and has contributed to US government policy on AI security, including informing guidelines like NIST SP 800-218A. The Noma platform is already used by paying customers, including Fortune 500 companies.

    Learn more about Noma’s platform and vision on the Noma website and blog.

    Media Contact
    Lazer Cohen
    lazer@concrete.media
    347-753-8256

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1996901b-4732-4856-b705-03949017b91e

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: US-Africa relations under Biden: a mismatch between talk and action

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Christopher Isike, Director, African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of Pretoria

    In his first year in office, US president Joe Biden committed to resetting US-Africa relations based on a doctrine of equal partnership.

    He sent his secretary of state, Antony Blinken, to Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria. The visit was used to outline the administration’s policy outlook towards Africa. It laid the ground for the official US-Africa policy commitment that Blinken launched the following year in South Africa.

    Since then, there have been high level engagements between the US and African countries to deepen ties. They included visits by top cabinet members of the administration: vice-president Kamala Harris, secretary of defence Lloyd Austin and treasury secretary Janet Yellen. First lady Jill Biden also came.

    Biden hosted a well attended US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington DC in December 2022. Kenyan president William Ruto paid a state visit to the White House in May.

    Yet our view, which is based on years of studying and writing on US and Africa relations, is that the Biden administration has not fulfilled its commitment to resetting US-Africa relations based on an equal partnership. It hasn’t recognised Africa’s growing agency in international affairs.

    We argue that there has been a mismatch between the rhetoric and practice of an equal partnership. For example, African leaders or the African Union were not consulted about the agenda of the 2022 US-Africa Leaders Summit. This was also the case with the US’s Africa strategy.

    This reflects the traditional paternalistic relationship of the US with Africa.



    Read more:
    Joe Biden in Africa: US president has ignored the continent for his entire term — why he’s visiting Angola

    Biden is due to visit Angola in December – his only African visit as president. A much more encouraging message of equal partnership would have been delivered if the US-Africa Leaders Summit, for example, had been held at the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia. Biden would have then been able to engage with African leaders in the continent early in his term.

    A full diary of engagements

    There are a number of positive indicators of Biden’s commitment to reset relations with Africa.

    August 2022: The first tangible step was through the US Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa. This presented a shift in emphasis from great power politics (vis-a-vis China and Russia in Africa) and Trump’s America First diplomacy, to one of mutual respect and partnership (at least on paper) under Biden.

    Priorities included fostering open societies, delivering democratic and security dividends, advancing pandemic recovery and economic opportunity, and supporting the climate agenda.

    December 2022: The US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington DC was attended by 49 African leaders, three months after the release of the Africa strategy. The focus was on

    strengthening ties with African partners based on principles of mutual respect and shared interests and values.

    Biden pledged US$55 billion in investments until 2025 to advance goals that aligned with shared priorities. The US is said to have allocated 80% of said funds.

    The US used the summit to formally announce its support for the African Union’s membership of the G20. This was realised when the AU officially joined the G20 as a permanent member in 2023.

    November 2023: Biden hosted Angolan president João Lourenço at the White House on an official visit. They discussed cooperation on the economy, security, energy, transport, telecommunications, agriculture and outer space.

    May 2024: Kenyan president William Ruto’s state visit was the first by an African leader in more than 15 years.

    September 2024: US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced US support for Africa getting two permanent seats on the UN security council.

    Finally, Biden’s visit to Angola, set for the first week in December would be the first by a US president since 2015.

    What’s gone wrong

    It’s possible to see serious flaws in the US approach towards Africa set against the expectation of an equal partnership.

    Firstly, the US has attempted to undermine African agency through its bid to pressure African countries to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Many African countries chose non-alignment.

    Secondly, the US championing two seats for Africa on the security council looks commendable on the surface. But the lack of veto power perpetuates power imbalances between Africa and the current permanent security council members – the US, France, the UK, Russia and China.

    The question again is how equal the partnership is if Africa will be a junior member of the security council.

    Thirdly, there has been a lack of joint agenda setting. African countries have made no input into US-Africa strategy or the US-Africa Leaders Summit.

    Failing to consult African leaders, institutions and civil society on the continent’s own priorities reflects the same old practice of imposing priorities on African states. It looks like a continuation of the usual passing off of American national interests as African interests.

    Fourthly, there have been challenges in implementing what’s set out in the US Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa. These have included inadequate resource allocation.



    Read more:
    US-Africa trade deal turns 25 next year: Agoa’s winners, losers and what should come next

    Fifth, the Biden administration has used the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) as diplomatic leverage over African countries. For example, in October 2023 it announced the removal of Uganda, Niger, Gabon and Central African Republic from the beneficiaries. Earlier, the administration removed Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso. These countries were removed from Agoa for not complying with US human rights and political demands.

    Between February and March 2024, the US Congress also considered the US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Bill, which risks South Africa’s exclusion from Agoa because of Pretoria’s position on the Israel/Palestine conflict.

    Lastly, the fact that Biden is only visiting Africa in the last days of his presidency suggests Africa is not a priority. The fact that only one African head of state has been afforded a state visit to Washington reinforces this thinking.

    If the US is serious about equal partnership, it mustn’t treat Africa as an afterthought. It must always consult African states in shaping policies that affect them and the continent.

    Ruth Kasanga, a postgraduate student in the Department of Political Sciences and Research Assistant at the African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of Pretoria, made contributions to this article.

    Samuel Oyewole is affiliated with Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria.

    Christopher Isike 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. US-Africa relations under Biden: a mismatch between talk and action – https://theconversation.com/us-africa-relations-under-biden-a-mismatch-between-talk-and-action-242307

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Overshooting 1.5°C is risky – that’s why we need to hedge our bets

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, Research Group Leader, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

    Further warming hugely increases the risk we will pass climate tipping points, such as the collapse of Greenland’s ice sheet. Michal Balada / shutterstock

    The global response to climate change has gained momentum since the 2015 Paris agreement, yet it remains inadequate to meet the scale of the challenge. That agreement established the goal of holding global warming to well below 2°C, and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. To achieve this, greenhouse gas emissions should peak and decline as soon as possible.

    The latest reports of the UN Environment Programme, the International Energy Agency and others have suggested that we are on the cusp of global emissions peaking. However, halting the increase in annual emissions is only the first step. Failure to act earlier and more decisively to bring emissions down to net zero has made limiting global warming to 1.5°C an uncomfortably close call.

    The IPCC has looked at “pathways” to keeping 1.5°C in reach. In nearly all of these, temperature rises will exceed 1.5°C, after which warming is reversed by humanity removing more carbon from the atmosphere than it emits. This temporary breach of 1.5°C for at least a few decades is referred to as “overshoot”.

    In a recent study in the journal Nature, we discuss the pitfalls of being overly optimistic about the feasibility and safety of such temperature overshoot scenarios. Excessive confidence could lead to underestimating the risks associated with going over 1.5°C – even temporarily.

    There is a need to be clear about what climate science does and does not know about overshoot, and plan accordingly. This means that, while some risks can be directly reduced by global climate action, others may require additional measures. A responsible strategy to limit near- and long-term climate risks requires both stringent near-term emission reductions and to develop a large-scale carbon removal capacity.

    What if the planet warms more than we expect?

    Even if warming goes below 1.5°C after the overshoot, the impacts of climate change will not automatically and uniformly reverse. Overshoot comes with irreversible consequences for people and ecosystems, such as species extinction, and the world we return to will be different from the one we failed to safeguard.

    We can’t be certain how much warming a given amount of greenhouse gas emissions will lead to, and overshoot projections are often based on a best estimate. The IPCC, for instance, talks about high overshoot pathways exceeding 1.5°C “by 0.1–0.3°C”.

    But those numbers are just the middle of a wide range of possible outcomes. In reality, uncertainty about how some features of the Earth system will respond to warming, such as the carbon cycle, means that peak warming could be substantially higher – by up to 1°C or more. We cannot even rule out continuous warming after reaching net zero carbon emissions. Every fraction of a degree of warming counts – exceeding 1.5°C by as much as an additional 1°C would come with grave repercussions.

    We may have to remove billions of tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere.
    TR STOK

    A capacity to remove several hundred billion tonnes of CO₂ in this century might be needed to hedge against the risks of high warming outcomes, and to ensure we can bring warming back to 1.5°C once this has been exceeded.

    In fact, our results imply we might need close to 10 billion tonnes of CO₂ removal a year after 2050 (about 25% of current annual emissions). This would require a massive effort, but might just be possible with the rapid scaling up of a range of methods.

    These include well-known strategies such as restoring forests and wetlands and managing the soil better. But it also includes novel methods such as direct air capture technology, in which carbon would be sucked directly from the sky, or bioenergy and carbon capture and storage, which involves extracting CO₂ from the atmosphere and storing it underground.

    Some of these methods may not work out as envisioned due to technological, economic, social or sustainability limitations. But even if they do not work at the scale envisioned, or not at all, we still need to try.

    Limiting near- and long-term climate risks

    Because we can’t be certain exactly how much the climate will warm, we’ll need to limit the risks as much as possible.

    First, we must reduce emissions as fast as possible to slow down Earth’s temperature increase, limit peak warming, and reduce how dependent we ultimately are on removing large amounts of CO₂ to achieve net zero emissions.

    The Paris agreement accommodates such temperature reversal. Even if 1.5°C is exceeded, countries are obliged to hold peak temperatures to “well below 2°C” and to aim for long-term temperature decline.

    However, every fraction of warming will disproportionately make poor and vulnerable people suffer greater hardship, so delaying stringent emissions cuts is not a resilient strategy. The urgency to reduce emissions now should guide the next round of countries’ targets for cutting emissions that are due early next year.

    Second, we should consider hedging against high-risk, high-warming outcomes by building up our capacity to remove carbon and reverse warming. Just as governments hold strategic food and water reserves to weather unexpected disruptions, the world needs to develop the ability to remove large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. But, given potential limits to how much carbon removal we can scale up in time, we also cannot afford to squander this capacity on any emissions that could be avoided in the first place.

    Investing in this kind of removal capability, on top of pursuing the most ambitious emissions cuts possible, is a no-regrets strategy. Should we have certainty that a more fortunate climate outcome will materialise, being able to remove this scale of carbon would enable us to bring temperatures down faster. And if the warmer side of our projections are realised, we will have put ourselves in a position in which we are best equipped to make temperatures decline again.

    Achieving temperature decline in the long run would limit longer-term climate impacts. For instance, in our study we showed that temperature decline could shave off about 40cm (and potentially up to 1.5 metres) of global sea level rise in 2300. This could be the difference between having a future or not for whole nations of people. It may also limit risks from triggering tipping points in the Earth system, such as the collapse of the Greenland ice sheet or currents in the Atlantic ocean.

    The high-risk outcomes of overshooting 1.5°C means we need to do more, not less, right now – and to focus on bringing temperatures back below 1.5°C in the long run.


    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get our award-winning weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Carl-Friedrich Schleussner received funding from European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
    programme under grant agreement No 101003687 (PROVIDE).

    Gaurav Ganti received funding from European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

    Joeri Rogelj received funding from European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

    – ref. Overshooting 1.5°C is risky – that’s why we need to hedge our bets – https://theconversation.com/overshooting-1-5-c-is-risky-thats-why-we-need-to-hedge-our-bets-241623

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Russia is meddling in politics in Georgia and Moldova – trying to do by stealth what it is doing by war in Ukraine

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Amy Eaglestone, PhD Candidate, University of Birmingham; Visiting Lecturer, Institute of Political Science, Leiden University

    Recent votes in the former Soviet states of Georgia and Moldova have been dogged by interference from Russian-backed elements. Both countries had previously aspired towards closer ties with western Europe and future membership of the EU. And in both countries there is a strong suggestion of influence from Moscow that could jeopardise those aspirations.

    The Moldovan government held a referendum on the country’s EU accession target for 2030 on October 20. Despite consistent polling suggesting that 60% of Moldovans support further integration, the referendum only passed by a slim majority of 50.4%.

    On the same day, the first round of Moldova’s presidential election saw pro-European incumbent Maia Sandu secure 41% of the vote. This was insufficient for an outright win. Sandu now faces a run off against her closest rival, pro-Russian Alexandr Stoianoglo, who garnered 26% of the first vote.

    In the run-off, Stoianoglo will be backed by the two other candidates, both them pro-Russian populists. This makes a Sandu reelection far from inevitable.

    Meanwhile, in Georgia’s parliamentary elections on October 26, Georgian Dream won its fourth consecutive term with 54% of the vote, its best result to date. It will allow the pro-Russia party to retain control of the government and continue the process of pulling the country further away from Europe and towards closer ties with Moscow.

    This is despite the fact that there has been consistently strong popular support for EU integration and growing dissatisfaction toward Georgian Dream’s increasingly pro-Russian policies.

    The difference between public opinion as expressed by independent polling in both Moldova and Georgia and the outcomes of these votes has raised suspicions of interference. These suspicions have been further corroborated by international and domestic election monitoring organisations raising concerns that the elections were not entirely free and fair.

    The pro-European camps in both Moldova and Georgia say Russia is behind this. There is a suggestion that these efforts are part of Russia’s multifaceted hybrid warfare. It’s a campaign aimed at destabilising these countries and hindering their European integration.

    Russia has long manipulated domestic fears and grievances. The Kremlin and its agents have strong influence over media, civil society organisations and the orthodox church.

    Both Moldova and Georgia also have a Russian military presence. In Moldova this is in the breakaway region of Transnistria, where there is a “peacekeeping force” of about 2,000 troops. Georgia has two pro-Russia breakaways making up 20% of the total land area of the country, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

    The war in Ukraine has also heightened concerns in both both countries about Moscow’s ambitions towards them. Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party campaigned for a closer relationship with Russia.

    Its slogan, “No to war! Choose peace!” contrasted peace and alignment with Russia with being dragged into a war by the west. In Moldova opposition parties used similar rhetoric, calling for Russian protection and framing EU integration as a threat to national sovereignty. This resonated particularly among Russian-speaking populations.

    Russia’s influencers have also escalated cultural tensions in both countries. In Moldova, Moscow-backed opposition groups have rallied conservative segments of society to fight against governments efforts to introduce EU-aligned anti-discrimination legislation.

    Similarly, the Georgian Dream party introduced Russian-style anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Georgia to appeal to the traditional family values of conservative and religious voters. By leveraging such issues, Russia has aimed to exploit people’s cultural concerns, to increase political polarisation, and to affect political choices.

    Follow the money

    But the most important way the Kremlin, or people associated with Russia, is interfering in the domestic politics of Georgia and Moldova is money. In the case of Moldova, fugitive pro-Moscow tycoon Ilan Shor (who lives in Moscow after being found guilty of fraud in Moldova) has been accused of bribery and helping orchestrate electoral fraud. Shor has denied any wrongdoing connected to the election.

    Georgian banking and tech billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili one of the country’s wealthiest oligarchs, founded Georgian Dream in 2012. He has been described in one article as “the man who bought a country”. With a fortune worth the equivalent of 25% of Georgia’s GDP, he is thought to wield an outsize influence in the country’s politics, influence he reportedly uses to “tilt the country towards Moscow” (although some say he primarily furthers his own interests).

    Ivanishvili himself, announcing his return to mainstream politics in 2023 as the honorary chair of Georgian Dream, said the party’s role was to “protect our national identity, restore state sovereignty and territorial integrity, and transform Georgian into a high-income state till 2030 and bring it into the European Union”.

    In the conditions in these countries, individuals’ vast resources can be used unchecked for political activities. The influx of funds disadvantages opposing parties, who don’t have access to similar financial backing. They have created a lopsided political environment that favours Russian-aligned candidates.

    There is also a risk that informal or unchecked financing could also have funded election day irregularities. Reports of vote buying, ballot stuffing and violence at polling stations were observed in both countries.

    In one incident in Moldova captured by the BBC, a woman from Transnistria, where people still hold Moldovan citizenship, was filmed openly inquiring where she should go to receive payment for her vote.

    In Georgia, Ivanishvili’s influence allegedly extends to civil servants and the electoral commission as well as the judiciary, which rules on complaints of vote rigging. Claiming victory shortly after polls closed, Ivanishvili said: “It is a rare case in the world that the same party achieves such success in such a difficult situation.”

    The exact impact of Russian interference remains difficult to prove. But the dramatic apparent shifts in electoral sentiment are highly suggestive. This kind of election interference opens the door for autocratic leaders to gradually dismantle democratic institutions.

    This then allows them to enact further illiberal policies, such as the hated recent “foreign agents” law modelled after similar Russian legislation, which targets pro-democracy civil society organisations critical of the government.

    Moldovans are now preparing to vote in the run-off election on November 3, which will determine the immediate future of the country and could affect its future relationship with Europe. Many Georgians, meanwhile – led by the country’s president, Salome Zourabichvili – have taken to the streets to protest what Zourabichvili has called the “total falsification” of the vote.

    If she and Sandu are right, Russia – along with its supporters – appears to be trying to achieve, through this “hybrid warfare” in Georgia and Moldova, what it is striving for on the battlefield in Ukraine: regaining control over currently free nations that used to be Russia’s obedient satellites.

    Amy Eaglestone 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. Russia is meddling in politics in Georgia and Moldova – trying to do by stealth what it is doing by war in Ukraine – https://theconversation.com/russia-is-meddling-in-politics-in-georgia-and-moldova-trying-to-do-by-stealth-what-it-is-doing-by-war-in-ukraine-242135

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: UK-Based HealthTech Startup Definition Health Raises £5.75 million in Pre-Seed Funding to Streamline Surgical Care with Advanced Predictive AI Technology

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LONDON, Oct. 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Definition Health, a UK-based, clinician-led HealthTech innovator, has secured £5.75 million ($7.5 million USD) in pre-seed funding for surgical care with cutting-edge predictive AI. This funding will further fuel the enhancement of its platform, designed to seamlessly integrate into healthcare systems, transforming surgical workflows. By delivering personalized, data-driven care, Definition Health’s platform improves surgical efficiency, reduces complications, and optimizes outcomes for patients, hospitals, and insurers—positioning the company as the leader in value-based care.

    “Medicine does not stand still, nor should it. In my opinion, Definition Health is quite literally a glimpse into the future,” says Dr. David Redfern, CEO of David Redfern Surgery, Orthopedic Surgeon, and Definition Health Angel Investor. “Not only do Definition Health systems already improve patient safety in the hospital environment but they offer perhaps one of the Holy Grails of medicine – The opportunity to tailor treatments to specific patient attributes. To link a whole host of parameters to outcomes and understand how to improve those outcomes.”

    Co-founded by Dr. Sandeep Chauhan, an internationally renowned practicing orthopedic surgeon with over two decades of clinical experience, and Dr. Rosie Scott, an NHS Clinical Entrepreneur and celebrated radiologist, Definition Health was born from a vision to modernize surgical care by addressing the inefficiencies that burden both clinicians and patients. “We saw firsthand how fragmented the surgical care process was, leading to delays, cancellations, and complications,” said Dr. Chauhan. “Our platform streamlines the entire surgical journey, surfacing actionable patient data to clinicians, enabling them to intervene earlier and make more informed decisions, resulting in better outcomes for patients.”

    U.S. hospitals face increasing pressure to maximize revenue from elective surgeries, a critical income stream that accounts for 48% of hospital gross revenue. With 40% of U.S. hospitals operating at a loss, current solutions are failing to address both financial and clinical inefficiencies. Definition Health combats this by drawing on proprietary data from over 400,000 surgeries to build predictive models that optimize care and mitigate surgical risk. With U.S. healthcare under pressure from staffing shortages, rising costs, and growing surgical demands, Definition Health’s platform integrates predictive analytics and machine learning into clinical workflows to optimize pre-op planning, reduce complications, and accelerate recovery.

    Their platform has already saved the NHS the equivalent of $2.6 million per 40,000 patients by reducing surgical cancellations, and Definition Health is eager to replicate this success in the U.S., where outpatient surgeries are growing exponentially. As a participant in the UK-Florida Life Sciences Trade Corridor, the company is well-positioned to connect with key players in Florida’s healthcare market, including leading hospitals and healthcare systems, making it an ideal partner for U.S. institutions looking to improve efficiency and patient outcomes.

    “As a former NHS Hospital CEO with over two decades of experience, I immediately recognised the transformative potential of Definition Health. Sandeep and Rosie’s vision for revolutionizing end-to-end surgical pathways is not just innovative – it’s essential for the future of healthcare. Their solution is a game-changer, offering tangible benefits for both patients and front-line staff. The evaluation results are not just impressive; they’re indicative of a significant leap forward in healthcare delivery. I am truly excited to see the contribution Definition Health will make to healthcare, not only in the UK and US but on a global scale. This is the kind of innovation that investors and healthcare systems should be paying close attention to.” – Dame Jackie Daniel, former CEO of NHS Newcastle Hospitals, Healthcare Advisor to Definition Health, and Global Luminary for Accenture

    As Definition Health scales, the company is focused on expanding into key U.S. markets, starting with Florida, where the demand for surgical innovation is growing rapidly. With the success of their pre-seed round, Definition Health has opened a Series A funding round to support this growth and foster strategic partnerships in the U.S. By combining AI-powered predictive analytics with seamless clinical integration, Definition Health is transforming surgical care and providing a comprehensive solution to the challenges facing hospitals globally. The company’s success in the NHS, the largest single-payer system in the world, demonstrates its capacity to deliver value-based care at scale.

    About Definition Health
    Definition Health is a clinician-led HealthTech company transforming surgical care through advanced predictive AI technology. By streamlining the entire surgical journey, from pre-op to recovery, its AI-powered platform improves patient outcomes, enhances clinical workflows, and reduces costs for hospitals and insurers. With proven success in the NHS, Definition Health is poised to expand globally, delivering value-based care solutions that address the critical challenges facing modern healthcare systems.

    Contact:
    Sandeep Chauhan, CEO
    hello@definitionhealth.co.uk
    sandeep@lifeboxhealth.com

    Disclaimer: This content is provided by Definition Health. This press release includes forward-looking statements about Definition Health’s future plans and growth, subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual outcomes to differ. These statements reflect current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance. Definition Health assumes no obligation to update these statements. This release is for informational purposes only, not investment advice.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/14572bea-f33e-4cbe-b409-d58b9e129005

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Why NASA’s SPHEREx Mission Will Make ‘Most Colorful’ Cosmic Map Ever

    Source: NASA

    The space telescope will detect over 100 colors from hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies. Here’s what astronomers will do with all that color.
    NASA’s SPHEREx mission won’t be the first space telescope to observe hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies when it launches no later than April 2025, but it will be the first to observe them in 102 colors. Although these colors aren’t visible to the human eye because they’re in the infrared range, scientists will use them to learn about topics that range from the physics that governed the universe less than a second after its birth to the origins of water on planets like Earth.
    “We are the first mission to look at the whole sky in so many colors,” said SPHEREx Principal Investigator Jamie Bock, who is based jointly at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech, both in Southern California. “Whenever astronomers look at the sky in a new way, we can expect discoveries.”
    Short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, SPHEREx will collect infrared light, which has wavelengths slightly longer than what the human eye can detect. The telescope will use a technique called spectroscopy to take the light from hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies and separate it into individual colors, the way a prism transforms sunlight into a rainbow. This color breakdown can reveal various properties of an object, including its composition and its distance from Earth.

    [embedded content]
    NASA’s SPHEREx mission will use spectroscopy — the splitting of light into its component wavelengths — to study the universe. Watch this video to learn more about spectroscopy. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

    Here are the three key science investigations SPHEREx will conduct with its colorful all-sky map.
    Cosmic Origins
    What human eyes perceive as colors are distinct wavelengths of light. The only difference between colors is the distance between the crests of the light wave. If a star or galaxy is moving, its light waves get stretched or compressed, changing the colors they appear to emit. (It’s the same with sound waves, which is why the pitch of an ambulance siren seems to go up as its approaches and lowers after it passes.) Astronomers can measure the degree to which light is stretched or compressed and use that to infer the distance to the object.
    SPHEREx will apply this principle to map the position of hundreds of millions of galaxies in 3D. By doing so, scientists can study the physics of inflation, the event that caused the universe to expand by a trillion-trillion fold in less than a second after the big bang. This rapid expansion amplified small differences in the distribution of matter. Because these differences remain imprinted on the distribution of galaxies today, measuring how galaxies are distributed can tell scientists more about how inflation worked.
    Galactic Origins
    SPHEREx will also measure the collective glow created by all galaxies near and far — in other words, the total amount of light emitted by galaxies over cosmic history. Scientists have tried to estimate this total light output by observing individual galaxies and extrapolating to the trillions of galaxies in the universe. But these counts may leave out some faint or hidden light sources, such as galaxies too small or too distant for telescopes to easily detect.
    With spectroscopy, SPHEREx can also show astronomers how the total light output has changed over time. For example, it may reveal that the universe’s earliest generations of galaxies produced more light than previously thought, either because they were more plentiful or bigger and brighter than current estimates suggest. Because light takes time to travel through space, we see distant objects as they were in the past. And, as light travels, the universe’s expansion stretches it, changing its wavelength and its color. Scientists can therefore use SPHEREx data to determine how far light has traveled and where in the universe’s history it was released.
    Water’s Origins
    SPHEREx will measure the abundance of frozen water, carbon dioxide, and other essential ingredients for life as we know it along more than 9 million unique directions across the Milky Way galaxy. This information will help scientists better understand how available these key molecules are to forming planets. Research indicates that most of the water in our galaxy is in the form of ice rather than gas, frozen to the surface of small dust grains. In dense clouds where stars form, these icy dust grains can become part of newly forming planets, with the potential to create oceans like the ones on Earth.
    The mission’s colorful view will enable scientists to identify these materials, because chemical elements and molecules leave a unique signature in the colors they absorb and emit.
    Big Picture
    Many space telescopes, including NASA’s Hubble and James Webb, can provide high-resolution, in-depth spectroscopy of individual objects or small sections of space. Other space telescopes, like NASA’s retired Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), were designed to take images of the whole sky. SPHEREx combines these abilities to apply spectroscopy to the entire sky.
    By combining observations from telescopes that target specific parts of the sky with SPHEREx’s big-picture view, scientists will get a more complete — and more colorful — perspective of the universe.
    More About SPHEREx
    SPHEREx is managed by JPL for NASA’s Astrophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate in Washington. BAE Systems (formerly Ball Aerospace) built the telescope and the spacecraft bus. The science analysis of the SPHEREx data will be conducted by a team of scientists located at 10 institutions across the U.S. and in South Korea. Data will be processed and archived at IPAC at Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA. The mission principal investigator is based at Caltech with a joint JPL appointment. The SPHEREx dataset will be publicly available.
    For more information about the SPHEREx mission visit:
    https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/spherex/
    News Media Contact
    Calla CofieldJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.626-808-2469calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.gov
    2024-152

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Government backs UK R&D with record £20.4 billion investment at Autumn Budget

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Yesterday’s Autumn Budget backs UK’s R&D sector with record highest ever level of government investment.

    DSIT in the Autumn Budget 2024 £20.4 billion to boost UK Science and Tech

    • The Chancellor announced £20.4 billion in investment for UK R&D to drive economic growth, including fully funding association to Horizon Europe research programme
    • Up to £520 million Life Sciences Fund to unlock £1.8 billion in private investment, advance health resilience and create high-quality jobs across the country
    • New R&D investments to power the UK’s national missions, with regional innovation accelerators supporting growth across the country

    At yesterday’s Budget (Wednesday 30 October) the Chancellor has announced the highest ever level of government investment of £20.4 billion in research and development for next year, reinforcing the government’s commitment to back the UK’s R&D ecosystem to drive economic growth and achieve its five national missions.

    The Budget will fully fund the UK’s association with Horizon Europe, providing scientists and innovators access to the world’s largest collaborative funding scheme, with over £80 billion available for cutting-edge projects under the EU scheme. DSIT’s own R&D budget has increased to £13.9 billion, and core research funding has also been increased to a record £6.1 billion, bolstering the UK’s leading research base.  

    A significant part of this Budget is dedicated to the UK’s life sciences sector, a cornerstone for positioning the UK as a leader in science and innovation, through a £520 million commitment to the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund.

    Additionally, the Chancellor announced funding for several other programmes to be led by DSIT. Together, these investments underscore the importance of science and technology in driving economic growth essential to raising living standards and funding public services, positioning the UK at the forefront of global innovation and progress.

    Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said:

    The Autumn Budget is clear recognition of this government’s view that driving economic growth and improving people’s lives cannot be done without investing in science and technology.

    That’s why we are taking R&D investment to record levels and matching our words with action by empowering researchers and businesses to solve real-world problems, grow emerging new industries and create high-quality jobs.

    DSIT’s Autumn Budget announcements include:

    Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund

    The Chancellor unveiled the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF), starting with £70 million in grants, as part of a long-term commitment of up to £520 million to secure major life sciences manufacturing investments across the UK.

    This fund strengthens the country’s ability to develop and produce life-saving treatments, ensuring quicker access to vital medicines and bolstering NHS stability.

    The LSIMF is expected to unlock up to £1.8 billion in private investment, supporting thousands of high-skilled jobs and driving economic growth nationwide, while preparing the UK for future health emergencies and enhancing NHS resilience.

    R&D Missions Programme

    The new R&D Missions Programme (RDMP), which we are initially investing £25 million for, will address specific challenges our National Missions face, such as advancing healthcare and transitioning to cleaner energy. Partnering with private and third-sector organisations, this initiative aims to turn scientific advancements into real-world benefits, improving public services and quality of life across the UK.

    Spin-Out Review Proof of Concept Fund

    To support the UK’s Growth Mission, the government is investing £40 million over five years in a Proof of Concept Fund, to turn pioneering university research into successful companies. This initiative aids researchers in bringing their innovative ideas to the market, creating high-potential start-ups that drive job creation and economic growth.

    Successful spinouts like Pragmatic Semiconductor, which raised £182 million to help open its first manufacturing facility and create 500 high-skilled jobs, or Oxford Nanopore with over 1,000 employees, highlight the potential impact of research-led innovation.

    Innovation Accelerators and Made Smarter Innovation programmes

    The government has extended for a further year, two key programmes that promote innovation across UK regions and manufacturing. The Innovation Accelerator programme will continue for another year, focusing on high-potential clusters in the Glasgow City Region, Greater Manchester, and the West Midlands.

    Successes include Chemify, a Glasgow-based spin-out developing new methods for chemical manufacturing, which has since attracted £28 million in private funding, and the Biochar Cleantech Accelerator in the West Midlands, which is creating new products to support green growth. These projects demonstrate the benefits of R&D across the country and its support for regional economic growth.

    Meanwhile, the Made Smarter Innovation programme will continue to be funded with up to £37 million, and empowers manufacturers to adopt digital technologies, enhancing productivity and sustainability by connecting digital solution providers with industry. 

    Project Gigabit

    The government will invest at least £500 million over the next year in Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Network, accelerating the rollout of digital infrastructure to underserved regions in the UK. The funding aims to deliver full gigabit coverage by 2030, ensuring fast, reliable internet access for communities and businesses, enabling equal access to digital opportunities nationwide.

    Shared Services Strategy

    DSIT will invest up to £80 million to enhance corporate functions across nine government departments. It aims to transform shared services and streamline systems, making them more efficient, modern, and cost-effective, delivering better value for taxpayers.

    Review of barriers to the adoption transformative technologies

    The government has commissioned a review led by the government Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Dame Angela McLean, and National Technology Adviser, Dr Dave Smith, to identify barriers to adopting transformative technologies. This review will focus on the high-growth sectors in the government’s Industrial Strategy, aiming to enhance and productivity and drive growth to boost the UK economy.

    In response to today’s Budget, Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society, said:  

    It is very good news for the science sector and for the UK that the Chancellor has recognised research and innovation as a ‘crucial national asset’ for delivering long-term economic growth. 

    Protecting the science budget, despite the challenges facing public finances, and investing £20.4 billion in 2025/2026, will create conditions that generate new knowledge, boost productivity and unlock opportunities for every corner of the UK. 

    There is clear recognition that delivery of net zero and support for innovation in growth sectors, like AI, will be key to capturing these economic opportunities. 

    The Chancellor rightly recognises that investing in education and skills today lays the foundation for the UK’s future prosperity and international competitiveness. Recruitment of specialist science teachers and reform of mathematical education as part of the upcoming curriculum review will be key to delivering this pledge.

    Professor Andrew Morris PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said:

    With this Budget, we are pleased that the government has recognised the pivotal role of research and innovation in powering economic growth and prosperity. The Academy will continue to support this by working with our partners to deliver the best possible outcomes for research and for the health of people everywhere. 

    It is encouraging that the Chancellor is providing much-needed stability for our research community by protecting core R&D budgets and we particularly welcome the real-terms increase in National Institute for Health Research investments, which are an important step towards delivering health research and innovations for patients across the UK.  

    The government’s commitment to fully cover the cost of the Horizon Europe programme is essential for advancing medical science and addressing global health challenges across borders and we encourage the UK research community to actively pursue these funding opportunities.

    By recognising innovation as one of the seven pillars of its Growth Mission, alongside the commitment to establish 10-year budgets in the Spring Statement and a roadmap to rebuild the NHS, the government is signalling an important shift to longer-term thinking. Stable, sustained funding is crucial for fostering productive partnerships between academia, industry and the NHS, and enabling the kind of transformative research that improves the lives of people across the UK.

    Dr Tim Bradshaw, Chief Executive of the Russell Group said:

    In a challenging fiscal landscape, we are pleased to see the government has protected the R&D budget, including core research funding, and recognised the value of research and innovation as a key pillar of the growth mission. This will allow universities to continue to deliver on growth and productivity, contributing to job creation, regional investment and advances that improve public services.

    We particularly welcome the introduction of a multi-year R&D missions programme which highlights the role of R&D in achieving the government’s top priorities, including the Industrial Strategy. We are also very encouraged to hear that full funding has been made available for our association to Horizon Europe. In both of these areas we will be working with our partners across industry and academia to maximise the benefits for the UK.

    Continuing to grow R&D investment for the UK, including in fundamental research, will be crucial to creating new industries, leveraging private investment and delivering high-value jobs across the country.

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    Published 31 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Recruiting Media Roundtable With Service Leaders

    Source: United States Department of Defense

    PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Ok. All right. Well, good afternoon, everyone. I’m Major General Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary. Thanks very much for joining us for today’s briefing and update on the Department of Defense recruiting efforts.

    As you know, the military — the US military is the strongest fighting force on Earth. For more than 50 years, our all volunteer force has been sustained by qualified patriots who stand up to serve and keep our republic secure. As Secretary of Defense Austin has said, our greatest strategic asset is our people. We must continue to recruit and retain the best that our country has to offer. The department remains deeply committed to ensuring that every qualified patriot has the opportunity to answer the call.

    We’re fortunate to have with us today a panel of defense leaders to discuss today’s recruiting environment and preview the service’s goals for fiscal year ’25: Dr. Katie Helland, DOD’s director of military accession policy; Major General Johnny Davis, commanding general, United States Army Recruiting Command in Fort Knox — at Fort Knox; Brigadier General Christopher Amrhein, commander, Air Force Recruiting Service; Rear Admiral James Waters III, commander, Navy Recruiting Command; and Major General William Bowers, commanding general, Marine Corps Recruiting Command.

    As a reminder, today’s briefing is on the record. I’ll turn it over to each of our panelists for brief opening remarks before opening it up to Q&A. And please note I will call on reporters and try to get to as many of you as possible. And with that, I’ll turn it over to Dr. Helland to kick things off.

    DR. KATIE HELLAND: Thank you. Good afternoon. I am Katie Helland, the director of accession policy. Thank you for inviting me to this media roundtable. And I’d like to start by expressing a special thank you to everyone over the past year, from our recruiting commanders to our recruiters to our MEPCOM [Military Entrance Processing Command] personnel, who’ve contributed to the success of fiscal year 2024 recruiting missions following significant shortfalls during the previous years.

    The military service concluded fiscal year 2024 in a much improved position compared to this time last year despite a continuously challenging and disinterested recruiting market. At the end of September, the services enlisted just shy of 225,000 new recruits in fiscal year 2024. That’s over 25,000 more than fiscal year 2023.

    Furthermore, the services had a 35 percent increase in contracts written compared to this time last year. USMEPCOM saw a year over year increase of medical exam by 48 percent, and the active components started fiscal year 2025 with a 10 percent larger starting pool or a delayed entry program pool compared to this time last year.

    OSD and the services will continue to build off the momentum that we’ve gained in 2024. Nevertheless, we need to remain cautiously optimistic about the future recruiting operations as we continue to recruit in a market that has low youth propensity to serve, limited familiarity with military opportunities, a competitive labor market and a declining eligibility among young adults.

    More specifically, we’ve observed over the last decade a growing divide between military and civilians. Data indicate that many of today’s youth are not interested in military service and have many misperceptions about what life is like as a service member.

    Additionally, for the first time since this metric has been tracked, the majority of youth have never even considered military service as an option. That is it’s not even on the radar. This divide has been brought about by a confluence of many factors, including the shrinking military footprint and declining veteran presence across society.

    Young Americans now have fewer direct ties to a family member or a close friend who has served in the military. For example, in 1990, 40 percent of our young adults had a parent who served. That’s down to 15 percent today. In the past, those direct ties were key to conveying the boundless opportunities and experiences that are gained from military service. And without these personal connections, we find fewer young adults are familiar with the benefits of service.

    Further complicating our recruiting challenges is the low number of youth who are qualified for military service. Data show nearly 77 percent of youth between the ages of 17 and 24 are not qualified for military service without some type of waiver. This is where programs like our medical records pilot, or MARP, and service member prep courses have been helpful to expand the market.

    But we also seek to expand the market by reconnecting with young adults and their influencers on the value proposition of service. For instance, the next generation of Americans to serve should know that there has never been a better time for them to choose military service. Youth today seek a larger purpose in their lives and desire jobs where they have greater participation in decision making and can create a direct tangible impact. Military service offers all of this.

    Service provides new perspectives, a sense of purpose, the opportunity to take on great responsibilities and challenge the status quos. Service members find personal fulfillment in serving in every part of the world, responding with skills to truly make a difference. Military service has more than 250 occupations, where each person will be individually challenged to reach their peak potential by providing a path to success.

    The military represents one of the most educated organizations in the world across all ranks. We provide our service members with competitive pay packages and benefits such as retirement savings and health care, along with unprecedented opportunities for continued education and training. We offer these things that the young adults today look for when choosing a career, but in many respects they just don’t know it.

    Too often, the military is falsely seen as an alternative to college or an option of last resort. We are working to reframe this narrative so that Americans understand that military service is a pathway to greater education and career opportunities while defending democracy and the freedoms we hold dear.

    This is why the Joint Advertising Market Research and Studies program has launched the digital Calling Answer campaign to build familiarity and — with the value proposition of military service to nest with the services’ specific campaigns. Further, the department’s There Tomorrow adult influencer media campaign targets parents, educators, and other relevant adult influencers to build advocacy for military service.

    Moreover, we have collaborated with our education partners through our military enlistment data to — access to LIFT students or our metals working group with state education agencies to develop a strategy and a plan to share military data with states in order to provide credit to public high schools for military readiness, in addition to college and career readiness.

    We’ve also partnered with our fellow national service agencies like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps to help amplify a message of service because, like military service, there has been a decline in propensity for national service opportunities. So, we are working a whole of government solution.

    While we’re here to talk about recruiting efforts today, we also want to celebrate the 225,000 young adults who’ve enlisted in fiscal year 2024. Through a spirit of selfless service, we continue to build and maintain the world’s most capable military.

    I thank you for having me and thank you for your continued efforts to better understand and support the department’s recruiting mission. I look forward to your questions.

    MG RYDER: Major General Davis.

    MG JOHNNY DAVIS: Well, good afternoon everyone. I’m Johnnie Davis, US Army recruiting commander. And thank you, Dr. Helland and fellow recruiting commanders for taking the time to be here.

    As mentioned, the US Army Recruiting Command exceeded our fiscal year 2024 recruiting mission, with more than 55,000 future soldiers going to basic combat training. Additionally, our dedicated recruiters capitalized on this momentum and surpassed the fiscal year ’24 delayed entry program mission of 5,000, contracting more than 11,000 future enlistments for fiscal year ’25. This is a great start and a very positive momentum. Achieving these goals helps ensure our Army has the personnel needed to meet end strength numbers established by Congress.

    Just over a year ago, the fierce competition for talented Americans and the need to modernize recruiting efforts led the secretary of the Army to announce recruiting as the Army’s number one priority and the need for recruiting transformation. In the past year, we’ve witnessed historic changes that generated incredible positive momentum for us in the Army.

    This really started in February 2024, after about a year of putting many of these initiatives together, and it hasn’t slowed down. Our hardworking recruiters, whole of Army support, and transformation initiatives made our fiscal year ’24 success possible. We know we are — we are not out of the woods yet, but we remain steadfast to mission success this year and beyond.

    So, as I look back on the past year, I think there are two main contributors to the success we’re seeing: our investment in the recruiting force and our families and the whole of Army investment in recruiting. We know the importance of putting people first, and started this investment with adapting our recruiter assessment and selection processes.

    Incorporating recruiter feedback, we also revamped training at the recruiting college and added two weeks to our Army recruiting course to focus on people and quality of life. Our People Week brings recruiters and their families virtually together to prepare them for the demands of life away from military installations.

    Our senior leader supported recruiters with historic incentives in fiscal year ’24: recruiter incentive pay continues; authority to promote sergeants who graduate the Army recruiting course to staff sergeant. These are all volunteers. Over 927 have been promoted; meritoriously promote up to 150 qualified sergeants and staff sergeants to the next grade; and promote fully eligible sergeants and staff sergeants who enlist 24 future soldiers to basic combat training in a 12 month period. As of today, we have 21 promotions in this category.

    In addition to the investment and professional development of our people, we continue to leverage our soldier referral program, where soldiers from around the globe in every formation have an opportunity to contribute to recruiting efforts. This program is a little more than 20 months old, and we’ve already received more than 77,000 referrals from soldiers, resulting in 5,000 contracts, and many more in the pipeline.

    The Army addressed the medical backlog and surged over 60 medical providers to 33 select Military Entrance Processing Stations across the country, increasing enlistments for the Army, Army Reserve, and our sister services. Our wonderful providers completed 6,000 more physicals as compared to last year.

    The Army is paving the way in other avenues for young Americans to serve. A first of its kind life accelerating program started in 2022, the Future Soldier Prep course, invests in young men and women, helping them unlock their potential and achieve academic and fitness readiness for military service, with a graduation rate over 90 percent in both academic and physical tracks.

    With recruiting transformation, marketing efforts are even getting better. Throughout fiscal year ’24, our teammates at the Army Enterprise Marketing Office built upon the Be All You Can Be campaign while synchronizing marketing and advertising efforts to reach expanded audiences and connect with more prospects interested in military service.

    Our recruiting staff and innovation team have been hard at work to transform the enterprise’s prospecting efforts and adapt to market expansion. We continue to look beyond the high school market, and in fiscal year ’24 had an average enlistment age of 22 years and four months, and this is going up. Also, one out of every five enlistees has some college or is a college graduate.

    Our increased usage of digital job boards and rollout of the Go Recruit mobile app, which was a recruiter recommendation, have improved our efforts immensely. We started Recruit 360 pilot, a new AI prospecting experiment that utilizes machine learning and AI assisted lead identification to enhance recruiter efficiency and focus on quality over quantity. So, we’re trying to get beyond the old days of high school lists and use AI to help us refine the lead market of our qualified applicants.

    Our investment in people and Army’s investment in recruiting made fiscal year ’24 a success. There are no words to express how proud I am of the hardworking recruiters that crushed it in every community. Compared to fiscal year ’23, these young men and women increased productivity by 43 percent, an outstanding improvement.

    As we kick start ’25, we will continue to invest in the people, maintain momentum, transform the enterprise, and innovate our workforce. The secretary announced earlier this month the Army’s enlistment goal for fiscal year ’25 is 61,000 future soldiers, with a delayed entry program target of 10,000. Our recruiters are already kicking it in high gear in fiscal year ’25, and they’re doing very well right now.

    Again, thanks again for your time. I look forward to your questions. I’ll turn it over to my good friend, Brigadier General Amrhein. And of course, be all you can be.

    BG CHRISTOPHER AMRHEIN: Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. I’m honored to speak on behalf of the Air Force Recruiting Service and provide you with an update of where the Air Force and Space Force stand as we concluded fiscal year 2024 and look to our FY ’25 goals.

    I’m proud to say that we have met our recruiting goals for FY ’24 across all components, the active duty Air Force, Air Force Reserve, the Air National Guard, and the Space Force. This is an incredible achievement, particularly in today’s challenged recruiting environment, where we face declining youth population, lack of familiarity, and intense competition from the private sector.

    I want to start by expressing my sincere appreciation for all the hard work, dedication, and commitment from every member of the Air Force Recruiting Service, to include our Reserve and Guard partners, who were instrumental in us achieving our Department of the Air Force goals.

    There was no one single element which got us across the line this year, but rather a broader shift in how we approach recruitment. Multiple levers, such as barrier removal, incentive adjustment, increasing medical review support, and a honed focus on recruiter development all played a critical role to our total force recruiting successes as we closed out this fiscal year.

    This was a blend of Department of the Air Force headquarters, senior support from SAF/MR, HAF/A1, Space Force S-1, HAF/SJ — SG, not to mention Secretary Kendall, General Alvin, and General Saltzman. Additionally, Air Education and Training Command Commander Lieutenant General Robinson has been a zealot on barrier removal and resourcing support. Our success is a testament to our collective effort and unwavering commitment to bringing in the best and brightest talent into our Air Force and Space Force.

    I need everyone to know the Department of the Air Force is still hiring. We have full and part time opportunities in more than 130 specialties, several with bonuses. We’ve put in place new incentives and modernized outdated policies beginning in the spring of 2023, bringing in a larger pool of qualified applicants. As of 30 September, more than 10,000 total force airmen and guardians joined the Air Force or Space Force due to policy changes and incentives implemented by the Air Force’s recruiting cross-functional team.

    By eliminating these barriers, we’ve optimized our recruitment requirements without sacrificing the quality and capabilities of our recruits. Some of the changes that have expanded accession opportunities attracting high quality youth include reinstating the Enlisted College Loan Repayment program, modifying the body composition program to the baseline DOD instruction, revising the tattoo policy, and continuing the Air Force THC pilot that does not disqualify high quality applicants if they test positive on their initial test and negative on a follow-on test during the application process. In 2024, I adjusted the legal permanent resident requirement in the Air Force from ten years to two years to align with DOD allowances.

    We also reviewed our medical policies and processes. The implementation of MHS Genesis and the Health Information Exchange complicated the medical accession process by increased workloads in reviewing potentially disqualifying conditions in applicants versus the pre MHS Genesis. This created a large increase in medical waiver requests and caused applicant waiting time for waiver adjudications to increase significantly.

    Late last fall, AFRS added 63 medical administrator contractors to help gather and screen supporting medical records, increasing efficiency and allowing for recruiters to focus more on face-to-face engagements with applicants. Additionally, we bolstered recruiter training and made adjustments to the goaling methodologies.

    The Department of the Air Force has not changed its high standards nor compromised the caliber of our applicants. Rather, we have expanded the opportunities for qualified individuals to join our ranks. We have partnered with military affiliated organizations to leverage their presence and manpower in communities across the country.

    The Air and Space Force Association, or AFA, has become one of our trailblazing partners in this effort, as this is an exciting opportunity to build our recruiting network beyond our traditional recruiting force. This year we have also launched a similar partnership with Civil Air Patrol, which has the potential to expand our reach and add another 30,000 members to our total force outreach network.

    As we celebrate the success, we must also turn and focus to the future. FY ’25 brings with it an increased enlisted recruiting goal of 32,500 for the regular Air Force, and a Space Force increase by 30 percent. Additionally, Air Force Reserve requirements will also increase from 7,200 to 7,600. Achieving these goals depends on our ongoing commitment to investing in both our recruiters and the resources they need to succeed.

    The Department of the Air Force allocated more than 370 additional recruiting personnel based on manpower studies, Rand reports, and the AETC/A9 analysis. Air Force Recruiting Service is in the process of rapidly onboarding these personnel with deliberate placement in and around the United States.

    As we move forward, these goals set before us in FY ’25 are ambitious, but we believe they are achievable. Make no mistake. We cannot take our hand off the throttle, and we must remain laser focused on mission. In the end, deterring or winning future conflicts in a time of consequence starts right here at home by winning in the competition space for talent.

    With continued innovation, dedication, and a relentless commitment to our excellence, we will bring in the talent of our Air Force, be that reg AF, Guard, or reserve, as well as the Space Force and what they need to meet the challenges for tomorrow.

    Thank you. I welcome your questions. Aim high, and Semper Supra. Sir, over to you.

    RADM JAMES WATERS: Awesome. Good afternoon. I’m Rear Admiral Jim Waters. I’m Commander, Navy Recruiting Command. It’s a privilege to be here this afternoon to talk about the Navy’s recruiting efforts over the last year and to outline some of our goals for fiscal year 2025.

    We know that, to remain the most capable Navy in the world, we must recruit the best of America, building pathways for all qualified Americans who choose to serve our nation. Fiscal year 2024 was a year of significant achievement for Navy recruiting due to the hard work and dedication of our recruiters, our leadership, and support teams across the country.

    Together we contracted 40,978 active component enlisted sailors into the Navy against a goal of 40,600. This was no small feat, and I want to take a moment to recognize the front line Navy recruiters who worked tirelessly to meet our goals. They did an outstanding job navigating a highly competitive recruiting market, and their efforts are a testament to the Navy’s commitment to building a talented, mission ready force.

    This success didn’t happen by chance. It was the result of strategic changes we made to adapt to the current recruiting environment.

    Key adjustments included increasing the number of recruiters by approximately 800 and removing bureaucratic barriers to rapid decision making and contracting. When we take care of our recruiters, they take care of the mission. Because we recognize that today’s recruits are engaging online more than ever, we ramped up our presence on social media, expanded our esports efforts and employed creative talent in our award-winning Sailor Verses YouTube series.

    Additionally, our marketing and advertising efforts focused on real, authentic stories from actual sailors addressing perceived barriers, concerns and key motivators related to joining. Another major initiative in fiscal year 2024 for the Navy was the establishment of our Recruiting Operations Center, or ROC, which has proven invaluable.

    The ROC consolidated our data and analytic capacity into a single source of truth to continuously assess and improve recruiting practices. This emphasis on shared learning and best practices is helping our recruiters meet their goals and it will continue to play a key role as we move forward in 2025. Finally, we streamlined our medical waiver process to make well-informed decisions in zero to three days, giving recruiters and candidates the opportunity to act quickly.

    As we turn our attention to fiscal year 2025, I want to note that while we’re coming off a successful year, we are not taking our foot off the gas. Our goal for fiscal year 2025 is to build on our momentum and recruit another 40,600 new sailors, which reflects the growing needs of the Navy as we continue to modernize and strengthen our capabilities.

    The road ahead won’t be without obstacles. As my fellow recruiting commanders have noted, the labor market remains competitive and military service is one of many options available to young Americans today. To stand out, we’ll continue to refine our message, positioning the Navy as a premier opportunity for professional development, education and service to the nation. And while mindful of evolving societal expectations, especially with regards to work life balance and career flexibility, we will continue to highlight the opportunity for each young American to forge a better version of themselves in America’s Navy.

    In the end, I’m optimistic about the year ahead. Fiscal year 2025 will bring its own set of challenges, but with the strategies we’ve implemented and the talent we have in place, I’m confident we will meet our goals. Thank you.

    MG RYDER:  General Bowers.

    MG WILLIAM BOWERS:  Good afternoon. Ladies and gentlemen, fellow military leaders, it’s a pleasure to appear before you today to provide an update of your Marine Corps recruiting efforts. Your Marine Corps exists to fight and win our nation’s battles and our performance in recruiting speaks for itself. Our combat heritage is embedded within Marine Corps Recruiting Command’s DNA, and we share the same fierce competitive spirit to win as those Marines who’ve gone before us, no matter the challenge.

    Over the past several decades, the Marine Corps has made institutional investments into recruiting to ensure that we are resourced with the very best commanders and Marine recruiters to accomplish this demanding mission. This has been and will continue to be our greatest source of strength as we face what some refer to as the most challenging recruiting environment since the inception of the all-volunteer force.

    Marine recruiters will continue to meet the expectations of our nation by holding true to our warrior’s ethos and our core values of honor, courage and commitment. We compete for the very best young people in every zip code in our nation and our marine recruiters are actively attracting and inspiring young men and women of character, eager to take up the challenge of earning the title Marine.

    While we welcome all qualified and motivated applicants to take up this challenge, we refuse to lower our standards. We understand that to meet the high, almost mystical expectations that the American people have of their Marine Corps, that we must continue to attract and inspire young men and women of character who desire to live a life of significance by becoming a US marine.

    Despite our success in fiscal year ’24, we continue to face the same challenges as the other services, historic lows in qualification rates, low propensity to serve, a challenging labor market and a fragmented media landscape continued to have a compounding effect on the recruiting environment. To combat these conditions, Marine Corps Recruiting Command will do what Marines have always done, innovate, adapt and win.

    As such, we are focused on my priorities of one, training the most proficient recruiting force in the world; two, manning all of our recruiting sectors; three, securing resources to support our people in the field; and four, adapting our geographic laydown to reflect the changing demographics of our nation.

    And we’re moving out at speed to make these organizational changes. As we attack in the fiscal year ’25, we will continue to reinforce and expand the trust of the American people in their Marine Corps, positively shape the future of the Marine Corps and enable our Marines and their families to be happy and successful.

    I look forward to answering your questions. Thank you. Semper Fidelis.

    MG RYDER:  Thank you very much to all of our panelists today. We’ll start with Associated Press, Lita Baldor.

    Q:  Thank you. Thank you all for being here. I don’t know, Dr. Helland, if you can answer this or if this is each one of you needs to answer. I’m wondering about bonuses. Can you tell me how much Overall the Defense Department has increased the amount of money it’s providing to the services for bonuses and other sort of monetary enhancements for the services to provide for recruiting last year over this year? If you can give sort of overall or if the services need to provide their own.

    And then Admiral Waters, for the Navy, can you say how closely the Navy is tracking the CAT IV that you have been bringing in over the last year or so to determine whether or not there are any increased disciplinary or other issues with that sort of larger chunk that the Navy’s been bringing in, that the other services have not done?

    DR HELLAND:  So I’ll actually open it up to the services to talk on bonus incentives.

    MG DAVIS:  Yeah. Ma’am, I don’t have the exact amount, but this is one of the areas that the, in terms of transformation, should we do the same thing that we’ve been doing every year. So we’re looking at a potential pilot to weigh bonus versus station of choice. And what we’re seeing is applicants are moving towards the station of choice. With that, has garnered savings.

    I don’t have the final amount, but it is sizable when you look at the total number of applicants. And let’s say, it could be an estimate from $3,000 to $5,000, or $6,000 each. So that’s one of the areas that when we look at transformation, how can we do something different, and I think it’s yielding — I mean what we’re seeing is applicants prefer duty station of choice over money.

    BG AMERINE:  Yeah. Ma’am, I’ll follow up with my colleague, we can get you the specific number. What we do though is the incentive options that are there, they do and can flex throughout the requirements from the Air Force, specifically AFSCs or Air Force specialty codes. And so, what we have seen is a shift in my time, a little over a year, focusing on some of the most high demand and low density jobs that are out there, specifically in our special warfare atmosphere for those Air Force specialty codes.

    And so, in many cases, several AFSCs are all eligible for a bonus, but the structure of this is always flexing based on the highest or the most demand. AFSCs right now for us, that is special warfare and a lot of our open and mechanical AFSCs, ma’am.

    RADM WATERS:  Yeah, so like the other services, we look at each rating to specifically allocate enlistment bonuses. But the short answer to your primary question is there hasn’t been a significant change in the bonus amount going from ’24 to ’25. And with respect to the CAT IV, we’re tracking that closely.

    We’ve seen no increase in attrition, no increase in disciplinary actions and I attribute that mainly to the fact that every recruit that comes into the Navy meets the standard for the rating to which they are assigned. So the CAT IV is from the AFQT, which is four parts of the ASVAB [Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery]. Each rating is a combination of scores from those four plus the other six parts of the ASVAB, and that has never changed.

    So a CAT VI sailor that comes in with an AFQT of 22, that’s going to go be a machinist mate, meets all of the line requirements for that machinist mate and always has. We have not changed that.

    MG BOWERS:  And, ma’am, the Marine Corps does not rely on bonuses to attract and inspire young men and women of character to take up the challenge of becoming Marines. That said, we do have some new incentives for some new career fields. This year, we have $15,000 bonuses for electronic maintenance, cyber and crypto operations and information and communication tech career fields. But again, we don’t rely primarily on bonuses.

    MG RYDER:  Thank you, all. Yes, ma’am?

    Q:  Audrey Decker, DefenseOne, I want to thank you so much for doing this. I have a quick follow up. I just wanted to make sure I have this correct. So the Army and the Air Force Space Force is increasing their goal for 2025, Navy staying the same. And then I didn’t hear Major General Bowers what the Marine Corps was doing for 2025?

    MG BOWERS:  Our goal is increasing by approximately 1,800 Marines.

    Q:  And then separately, Dr. Helland, you mentioned declining eligibility and I was just wondering if there were any specific efforts to get after that and specifically in terms of previous drug use? I know there was a provision in the ’25 NDAA that would stop the services from requiring someone to test for marijuana before enlisting.

    What does the DOD think about that provision? If you could provide any more guidance there.

    DR HELLAND:  Certainly. Yeah. When we look at eligibility based on estimates, about 23 percent of youth are eligible to enlist without a waiver. That’s for any of our various standards, whether they medical dependents, moral. So with regards to medical standards, it’s something the department continually looks at and looks at advances in medical science, looking at the data for those who’ve come in with waivers to see if we can refine the medical standards.

    We’ve also instituted a medical accessions records pilot where for at this point now, 51 conditions that used to have—most of them had any history of a particular condition, we’re testing the feasibility of reducing the timeframe for those conditions. ADHD has actually been one where we’ve seen a lot of individuals come in under that [inaudible] condition.

    We’ve also seen great success as we talked through the Future Sailor Future Soldier prep course, to invest in those individuals with potential to get them to whether it be the body composition or some of our academic standards as well. With regards to drugs, certainly marijuana is still a prohibited for federal employees and we’ll have to continue to follow federal law.

    MG RYDER:  Thank you very much. Let’s go to Haley.

    Q:  Thank you. Thank you all for doing this. Dr. Helland, you mentioned that for the first time since the metric has been tracked that there is a percentage of youth who are not even considering military service. Can you say for how long has that metric been tracked?

    DR HELLAND:  I’ll have to go back and double check, but I think it’s mid like 2010 or so.

    Q:  OK. So roughly at least a decade?

    DR HELLAND:  At least a decade. Yes. Yes.

    Q:  And then I apologize, I don’t remember who mentioned MHS Genesis, but that was — I’m curious kind of what you’ve seen as the trend of that. I know that that was a pretty significant issue for a lot of recruiters and a lot of recruits of just the challenges that MHS Genesis presented. So can you kind of talk through, are you still seeing those challenges? Are those being addressed? What does that sort of look like now that we’ve kind of gotten further away from its implementation?

    DR HELLAND:  Sure. So yes, when we rolled out MHS Genesis, which is the department’s electronic health record system and when we rolled it out across MEPCOM, that provided us access to the verifiable health records, which meant we now have a lot of information on our young adults to assess Them against our medical standards.

    That did increase our workloads given the sheer volume of information that was available through those health information exchange, But we’ve been able to implement technical solutions. One of the key ones was instituting natural language processing, to go through and pick out key elements that have helped us reduce the time frame.

    We also overhauled recently our whole prescreen process, So that’s the process where we’re reviewing the documentation and then giving them the approval of our applicants to go to the various MEPs. Through our overhaul of the process, now 80 percent of our applicants are cleared to go to MEPs within 48 hours of starting that prescreened process.

    And then for those 20 percent that have more complex medical histories, we’ve reduced the timeframe where it used to be about 29 days on average to get them to Florida MEPs, we’re now down to below seven. So we’re continuing to improve our processes. And with MHS Genesis, we’re able to leverage technology more, to automate more processes, but we’ve also brought in more staff as well and working to increase the staff to address the workload.

    MG RYDER:  All right. Let’s go to the phones here. Heather Mongillo, USNI News.

    Q:  Great. Thank you so much. So I guess one of my biggest questions that I’m trying to still figure out when talking about recruiting, is it that there are a lot more people who are propense to serve right now, or is it that the different services have found that they were having roadblocks preventing people from enlisting?

    I guess I’m trying to figure out, are there just more people interested and that’s who you tapped into Or was there a problem with the way the services were recruiting that created the services not meeting the goals the past two years?

    DR HELLAND:  Certainly. I can jump in and then turn it over. But when we look at on aggregate, our measure of propensity, which is a snapshot in time when someone takes a survey, we have seen stability in a low metric for propensity. Where about 10 percent of young adults are motivated to serve, that has not changed over the past few years.

    What we are seeing is propensity growing at an individual level, right? When our recruiters get out there and make contact with the individual, they can grow propensity one person at a time. That’s where I believe we are seeing success, is the operations and what we’ve been able to get back into communities where when you think about what happened during COVID, we had to pull out of communities for almost two years. It takes time to get back in and develop those relationships again. But again, I think this is what we’re seeing is a testament to our recruiting commanders and the hard work of our recruiters.

    MG DAVIS:  Yeah. Dr. Helland, if I could add, you’re absolutely right. I think not having our superstar recruiters in high schools across the nation for some two and a half years, has certainly had an impact and really bringing awareness and the face-to-face interaction really helps to fill knowledge gaps for, in our case, the United States Army.

    And so that awareness also impacts their desire to say, well, should I consider service? We have a declining veteran population. I grew up with a family of many veterans in Wisconsin, who either served in World War II or Korea or Vietnam and they were all there to answer my questions.

    Now, with the decreasing veteran population, that is also really impacting, I think, that knowledge base and propensity of those up and coming qualified military service men and women.

    BG AMERINE:  Yeah. And if I could add, I think with Dr. Helland’s comments, on 30 years ago if you asked somebody if they had a family member, 45 hands would go up. And if you ask now, it’s somewhere between 10 and 12 or so. And it is what it is, but what I would say is one of the focus areas for the Air Force and Space Force, is building back that familiarity because over time, that created this lack of familiarity.

    And then you have these exacerbating incidents like COVID that materialized. But this has been a focus point. And I know that we all spoke to this last fall as well, is all of the services are really focusing on that lack of familiarity and getting back out into the public and getting it won [ph], whether it’s one person, one touch point at a time that General Davis said, or expanding social media campaigns to meet this generation where they are.

    But I think that, for the Air Force aspect of it, it is a deliberate line of effort for us, is expanding that total force outreach or recruiting network to be able to build back that familiarity into America. Thank you.

    RADM WATERS:  Yeah, I think it’s important in this to not equate low propensity with high anti-military sentiment. It’s really an expression of lack of knowledge, lack of familiarity, to play off my shipmate here. And I think to answer a little bit more of the question that was asked, to say, this reflects an increased number of recruiters.

    I mean, the Navy added recruiters, other services added recruiters and it also reflects the recognition that we need to increase propensity one American at a time. It’s that prospecting work that’s done by recruiters to go out not only in the schools but at career fairs. And making phone calls, social media connections, all of it to build that human to human relationship that leads to a young American, recognizing the value of service and then making a commitment to it.

    MG RYDER:  Let’s go back out to the phone here. Jeff Schogol, Task and Purpose.

    Q:  Thank you. A question for Dr. Helland about the medical accession records pilot or MARP. So as you mentioned, it’s now up to about 51 conditions. Do you foresee this as the start of something that becomes permanent, a change to military accession regulations that makes it easier for people with previously disqualifying medical conditions to enlist without having to get a waiver first? Thank you.

    DR HELLAND:  Yes, so the whole intent of this is write a pilot to test the feasibility. If we can shorten these timeframes and with the data, then to make that decision to then modify our medical accession standards. So that’s where we’re in right now that that pilot phase. Largely we are seeing positive results, and we’ll continue to monitor the data.

    So ultimately again to make that decision to about these conditions and whether we can build them into our standards instruction.

    MG RYDER:  Let’s go out to Steve Beynon, Military Times.

    Q:  I appreciate you all for doing this. A quick question for the services minus the Army and Navy. Those services have seen a lot of good early data on the prep courses. Nearly a quarter of the Army recruits in FY ’24 did one of those prep courses. Has the Air Force or Marine Corps looking into establishing their version of that and Space Force as well? Thank you.

    BG AMERINE:  Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for the question. From a holistic perspective across the Department of the Air Force for Recruiting, I would offer the answer is no, there’s not. There’s not the overarching compelling requirement that we’ve seen. However, I would say that for our special warfare accession pipeline, we do have a very deliberate development program for them.

    So as folks identify or are interested in the special warfare Air Force specialty codes, there is a very deliberate development program both from a, you know, from a mental resiliency standpoint, but also a very in-depth training physical training regimen to prepare them for that pipeline.

    MG BOWERS:  Yes, in the Marine Corps, we are not looking at starting a special program for future Marines. We have the delayed entry program that’s working very well for us.

    MG RYDER:  All right. Luis?

    Q:  Thank you. I just want to follow up on Steve’s question here because it was almost related exactly to that, but I’m going to direct my question to the Army and the Navy about the future sailor or Future Soldier Prep Course.

    Can you confirm the numbers of how many of your recruits this year actually participated in that? And having heard the other two services, why did the Navy choose to follow what the Army program was and was it based on their success or what did you find that, yes, we did have a base that really needed that was of motivated individuals who wanted to join the Navy who just needed that extra incentive.

    And then I have a follow up.

    RADM WATERS:  Yeah, so thanks for that and I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me for how many went through for the two future sailor prep course physical or academic, but the reason that we followed the Army on this was because of their great success. I mean, General Davis talked about the percentages.

    It was a wonderful example and what we found especially for on the side of future sailor prep course physical which allows us to bring some folks in that are above body fat standards by up to 6 percent and have them work with our recruit division commanders. We had a lot of highly qualified, like nuclear trained operator qualified individuals, that couldn’t quite get there.

    And so when we saw that the Army was using that, we took it on and we’re 100 percent successful on getting folks through that course. We have a few that have tapped out because this isn’t for me, but anybody that was working toward that body fat standard has made it and is in recruit training. And what we found is those sailors are committed in a way that’s above and beyond the average that’s in recruit training command and many of them have gone on to leadership positions within their recruit divisions.

    Future sailor prep course academic allowed us to provide an opportunity for young Americans to expand the opportunities within the Navy. As I mentioned before, every rating, all of them are based on individual line scores. And so by giving them some more academic training and recognition that much of America had challenges with COVID in schools to increase that opportunity and give them the opportunity to have more choice and we can fill other ratings that we wouldn’t have otherwise. That’s why we followed the Army.

    MG DAVIS:  Yeah, if I could answer the data, so if Soldier Prep course for us is about 20-21 months, total number of graduates, we’re approaching over 28,188. Now that’s just more than compo-one. So now when I talk about that number, that’s active duty, Army Reserve and National Guard, so they all benefit in the total Army with the Future Soldier Prep Course for us from last year’s mission of 55,000, over 10,326 graduated to course.

    We already have another pending shipped already to Fort Jackson about 1,500 and another, you know, 3,000 over the next, you know, quarter or so into the new year. So we are filling all of the seats because of the demand.

    So let me go back to why we’re seeing the success when we saw the during COVID the drop in test ASVAB by like ten points, that’s the segment and it wasn’t you know, recruiting command, it was actually our training and doctrine command Lieutenant Gervais and team. That said, hey, the Army’s done this before, we saw this drop, why don’t we go and try to invest in that segment and, I mean, half of them were within five points of a fully meeting, you know, three Bravo or Alpha, which allows to open up many job opportunities.

    And so that’s what we invested in and that’s why we see this transformational success. Some of them are testing out within two weeks and some of them are testing to the highest category. So now every job in the Army is now open to them just from a classroom, not, you know, from an outside agency, of course the camaraderie like students, the physical fitness, academic training every day is, I think, is building this great cohort of future soldiers.

    Now what I recommend everybody take an opportunity and visit the Future Soldier Prep Course if they haven’t down at Fort Jackson, it will be an eye opener. I’ve been many times. I love it, it’s a great course.

    Q:  My follow up is do you plan to now expand the course as it continues to get 1 in 5, So new recruits in?

    RADM WATERS:  Yes.

    Q:  And also, what do you attribute the rise in age to? You said that your average age now is 22 years, four months.

    MG DAVIS:  Yeah. So I don’t know in terms of expansion because we want to go after that labor market, expanded market. The segment that is, you know, within ten points or that that whatever the 21 to 30 we think they can test up. So I don’t think we’re going to expand that based on what we’re seeing. Now, let’s go to the — this expanded market.

    What I’m hearing from recruiters is that many are you know, graduating high school and are going on to college. And maybe that’s not for them and what our recruiters are doing is really beginning to focus on that segment of the population and it’s really starting to pay off.

    Why are they focusing on that? Because when we were short in terms of what we’re bringing in to the Army, we needed to fill training seats. So basic training battalions can be filled and we weren’t filling them. So our recruiters weren’t going to the high schools because they won’t ship until the next year, so they’re going directly into the labor market. And that has really, really blossomed for us over the last two years.

    And I want to say to our recruiters, job well done. Let’s stay at it and this, the current delayed entry program, it I think the average age is about 22 years and five months. So I see it going up and the high school market as we see the student, you know, population, let’s say decline over time, we’re going to have to expand it into the labor market or the — some college or college market.

    MG RYDER:  We have time for one more. Yes, sir.

    Q:  John Seward. Notes on the prep courses for both services. What are you all seeing in terms of retention after initial contract? And then a similar sort of related follow up for all services, which is in terms of finding qualified applicants, where does physical fitness rank as far as challenge?

    RADM WATERS:  So as far as the Future Sailor Prep Course, the physical fitness part of it has been something of a challenge to make sure that we’ve got the right fitness for folks joining the Navy, but it’s not one that’s insurmountable. And the physical part, the future sailor prep course physical has given us the ability to really get after that. Especially in our ratings that require a much, much higher-end ASVAB score to get after.

    MG DAVIS:  So for the Army, Army Research Institute is tracking every graduate, so you need more time, it’s about 20 months. So we do have a large number of graduates and what we want to do longitudinally is really find out from an academic perspective if that impacts retention as they go on to the first duty station.

    For the fitness, that’s a really good question and we’re thinking through that because we know that in the Future Soldier Prep Course they lose about 1.2 percent body fat a week. And what we want to make sure is we keep tracking them as they move on to their first duty station and figure out in terms of retention. So are they continuing on this right path or are they going down or are they going up? So that’s what we’re tracking because we really need that data to figure out, hey, is this so transformational that we need to look at, you know, other expansion opportunities.

    RADM WATERS:  Yeah. So I think some of that’s because of the length of time that we’ve been running the Future Sailor Prep Course hasn’t been significant enough to really get after that. But I can say that our attrition rates in boot camp and A-school for this cadre, both physical and academic are on par. There’s no change for that group relative to the rest of them.

    Q:  And just a follow up for all services, where does physical fitness rank in terms of?

    BG AMERINE:  For the Air Force, I had mentioned in my opening statement that over the past year, we adjusted the Air Force actually had a higher than DOD standard and we aligned with the DOD standard. Since then we brought in over 5,800 airmen under that DOD standard. We’ve had one wash out of BMT for physical fitness reasons.

    And so I think it’s, you know, from that standpoint and I will tell you we get the question a lot, hey, have you changed the standard. Well, the PFT standards have not changed for our basic training and that small policy adjustment offered 5,800 very high quality folks to come into our service and we lost one person for it. Thanks.

    MG BOWERS:  Good question. Thanks for the question. So Marine Corps recruit training is 13 weeks long. It is the toughest, most physically demanding of the entry-level training of the services. So physical fitness is therefore very important to us. This is the value of our delayed entry program. We like every applicant to spend at least 30 days in the delayed entry program so we can work with them, they can work with their recruiter and we can get them in good physical shape to improve their chances of success at recruit training.

    The delayed entry program has an additional benefit for us. While these kids are getting in good shape working with their recruiters, they bring their friends along and 25 percent of our contracts, one out of four, comes from a referral from the delayed entry program. Our Marines love the opportunity to have a delayed entry program to work with their own little squad or platoon of recruits and this gets to propensity.

    You know, we like to replace propensity with inspired. So if only 9 percent of the population is propensed [Sic], 91 percent is just waiting to be inspired. What a golden opportunity. So this is the value of our delayed entry program.

    MG RYDER:  All right, ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much. I really want to say thank you to our distinguished defense leaders, panelists today as they talk about our efforts to improve our recruiting and service goals for fiscal year ’25. Thank you very much. This concludes our press briefing.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: A Proclamation on National Entrepreneurship Month,  2024

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
         Entrepreneurs embody the essence of America — their ideas and energy have always kept our country on the cutting edge, and their determination and drive uplift communities, create millions of jobs, and keep our Nation moving forward.  This month, we celebrate their unstoppable spirit.
         Supporting entrepreneurs, especially small business owners, has always been key in growing our economy from the middle out and bottom up, giving everyone a fair shot to get ahead.  Many entrepreneurs are at the heart and soul of their communities, running the mom-and-pop shops that are the glue of our neighborhoods.  But when Vice President Harris and I took office, hundreds of thousands of small businesses had been forced to close down due to the pandemic, and millions more were hanging by a thread.  Not only were entrepreneurs’ livelihoods on the line but also their life’s savings and hopes of growing wealth for the next generation. 
         That is why Vice President Harris and I were committed to investing in America’s entrepreneurs and innovators.  My American Rescue Plan provided billions of dollars in capital and support to small businesses.  My CHIPS and Science Act is investing more into research and manufacturing than ever before, building the high-tech industries of the future and the small-business supply chains to support them right here at home while helping them expand their businesses in high-growth, high-wage industries.  And my Inflation Reduction Act is incentivizing manufacturers to help tackle the climate crisis using American suppliers while cutting down on entrepreneurs’ overhead costs like health insurance and energy bills.
         The Biden-Harris Administration is also committed to ensuring every small business and entrepreneur has a fair shot.  This year, the Small Business Administration (SBA) provided a record $56 billion through more than 100,000 small business financings — the most in more than 15 years and a 50 percent increase over 2020.  The Federal Government has invested tens of billions of dollars into small disadvantaged businesses.  The SBA is lending tens of billions of dollars to small businesses that would otherwise struggle to access capital.  Since 2020, the number of SBA-backed loans doubled for women-owned businesses, tripled for Black-owned businesses, more than doubled for Latino-owned businesses, and increased by about 70 percent for Asian American-owned businesses.  And my Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also made the Minority Business Development Agency permanent to help close the gap for these and other entrepreneurs from underserved and underrepresented communities too long left behind. 
         Today, entrepreneurs across the country have filed nearly 20 million new business applications since Vice President Harris and I took office — each an act of hope and confidence in our economy.  A record number of those businesses are being opened by Black, Latino, and women entrepreneurs.  And 16 million new jobs have been created.
         I have often said that America can be defined in one word:  possibilities.  That is what entrepreneurship is all about.  During National Entrepreneurship Month, we honor every entrepreneur with a vision for something better and the grit to make it real, growing our economy and creating new possibilities for everyone.
         NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2024 as National Entrepreneurship Month.  I call upon all Americans to commemorate this month with appropriate programs and activities and to celebrate November 19, 2024, as National Entrepreneurs’ Day.
         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.
                                 JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SCHUMER: THIS IS IT! AFTER YEARS OF ADVOCACY, ALBANY NANOTECH SELECTED AS AMERICA’S FIRST NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY CENTER – CREATED BY HIS CHIPS & SCIENCE LAW

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New York Charles E Schumer

    Schumer Lands A Whopping $825 Million Initial Federal Investment And Establishes Albany NanoTech As Fed Headquarters For Semiconductor Research; A Once In A Generation Recognition Making The Capital Region A Chip R&D Center For The Entire World

    Schumer Created NSTC Program — With Albany As His North Star — And Worked Relentlessly To Secure This Prestigious Investment, Bringing Good-Paying Jobs, New Companies, And Innovation With Most Advanced Machinery In World To Upstate NY

    Schumer: A Historic Moment. Uncle Sam Just Picked Upstate NY & The Capital Region As THE Place To Develop The Future Of America’s Chip Industry

    After years of relentless advocacy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer today announced Albany NanoTech has been selected as America’s first location for the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) supported by an up to $825 million federal investment from Schumer’s bipartisan CHIPS & Science Law.

    The NSTC is a critical part of Schumer’s and the Biden-Harris Administration’s mission of re-establishing America’s leadership in the semiconductor industry and will bring together industry leaders, researchers from the nation’s top universities, innovators, and entrepreneurs to help give them access to the most advanced chip making machinery in the world and drive the next frontier of innovation.

    “This is the dawn of a new day for Upstate NY and a turning point in U.S. leadership in semiconductor research. I am proud to announce America’s first major National Semiconductor Technology Center facility will be right here in Albany. This will help ensure advancements in semiconductors that will shape the next century are stamped ‘Made in America’ and not developed and made in places like China,” said Senator Schumer. “Today, Uncle Sam is saying that Albany NanoTech is THE place for developing the next frontier of America’s technological future. I wrote the NSTC in my CHIPS & Science Law with Albany NanoTech as my inspiration, and now that dream is becoming a reality. Today we help usher in America’s next era of chip research and manufacturing, with Upstate NY leading the way.”

    The Department of Commerce and Natcast, the operator of the NSTC, will invest an initial up to $825 million to further build out equipment at Albany NanoTech, to conduct cutting-edge extreme ultraviolet (EUV) research and development (R&D), and to establish an NSTC presence with offices and support services in Albany. Today’s announcement not only makes Albany NanoTech the CHIPS for America R&D flagship facility but also the headquarters for national EUV research as the country’s NSTC EUV Accelerator. EUV technology is essential to the semiconductor industry and some of the most advanced machinery in the world, in which light is used to print patterns and make chips on wafers. EUV lithography is what has allowed the breakthroughs to make this technology nanoscopic and allows for the chips that power everything from smartphones, computers, and vehicles to artificial intelligence. Albany NanoTech will soon be one of the only two public facilities in the world with the most advanced EUV technology, a High NA Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography tool, and will be the only publicly-owned High NA EUV Center in North America.

    Schumer continued, “The NSTC is a historic and new effort by the federal government to fuel the quest to make breakthroughs in chips that engineers today cannot even fathom, just as Albany NanoTech had produced before, including most recently with the development of the world’s first 2 nanometer chip. This $825 million initial federal investment will further equip Albany NanoTech and fund EUV research projects that are central to the global chip industry, ensuring the U.S. leads the world in semiconductor innovation and manufacturing, with the Capital Region and Upstate NY central to that effort.”

    Schumer explained that the state-of-the-art new EUV facility at Albany NanoTech and today’s designation and federal investment will help the United States establish dominance in advanced semiconductor research and development. The NSTC EUV Accelerator will help address gaps in American knowledge about semiconductors and provide information to stakeholders including universities, small businesses and entrepreneurs, large manufacturers, and government agencies by providing NSTC members with access to EUV technology to facilitate research and commercialization.

    The NSTC EUV Accelerator at Albany NanoTech will be a place for leaders in the semiconductor industry to conduct research and collaborate, including bringing industry leaders like Micron, IBM, GlobalFoundries, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, ASML, and more to the table to partner on next-generation R&D. Being designated the EUV accelerator will also open up opportunities for Albany NanoTech and Upstate NY to attract further federal investment and help attract more companies from around the world to Albany to conduct research, all with the potential of creating more good-paying jobs and making Upstate NY a global leader in semiconductors. The U.S. Department of Commerce and Natcast intend for the NSTC EUV Center at Albany NanoTech to be operational by 2025. 

    Schumer added, “Having the federal headquarters for EUV research that is critical to the most advanced chip development in the world will benefit every corner of NY. It will supercharge the historic investments and thousands of new, good-paying jobs the chip industry has proposed across the state, spurred by my CHIPS & Science Law. The NSTC will help complete my vision of Upstate NY’s I-90 corridor becoming America’s Semiconductor Superhighway. From our Tech Hub in Western NY and Rochester to Micron’s massive $100+ billion planned investment near Syracuse and Wolfspeed’s investment in the Mohawk Valley, to now the National Semiconductor Technology Center here in Albany.”

    The NSTC, first authorized by Schumer in 2020 and then funded by the CHIPS & Science Law, which Schumer crafted and led to passage, will bridge the gap between research and industry to bolster semiconductor research and development for the U.S. and its allies. Today, practically none of the most advanced chips – which are critical to national security and growing industries like artificial intelligence – are manufactured in the United States. The research conducted through the NSTC will help ensure the U.S. remains on the cutting-edge globally in chip R&D and bring this manufacturing back to the United States, boosting local economies by creating good-paying jobs and strengthening the country’s national security.

    The EUV Center at Albany NanoTech is the first of three planned major NSTC facilities. The U.S. Department of Commerce has not yet made announcements about the NSTC’s Administrative and Design Facility and Prototyping and NAPMP Advanced Packaging Piloting Facility. Together, these three major hubs will lead the NSTC’s core functions and help fulfill the CHIPS & Science Law’s vision of developing more American-made technology and boosting America as a global semiconductor leader. The new NSTC EUV Center at Albany NanoTech will also open the doors to millions of dollars in additional awards and research opportunities with the federal government, as well as help bring in additional industry partners to leverage the state-of-the-art facilities to develop and manufacture advanced chips.

    Schumer said, “In the past two years, the federal government has made unprecedented investments in Upstate NY because of my CHIPS & Science Law. They listened when I said this community is the most qualified in the nation to bring this industry back from overseas, the most ready to build America’s future, and the NSTC is the crown jewel that will complete this vision as the centerpiece of research in the most cutting-edge chip development.”

    “From day one of my administration, I pledged that New York State would lead the charge to bring back advanced manufacturing and R&D to the U.S., creating good jobs and opportunity in the process,” Governor Hochul said. “Thanks to the winning combination of federal CHIPS funding and New York’s determination and ingenuity, the Albany NanoTech Complex will be home to the CHIPS for America EUV Accelerator, an NSTC Facility, and fuel America’s advanced manufacturing renaissance. I thank the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department of Commerce, Natcast, and our federal delegation for their partnership as we continue to work together to advance U.S. semiconductor leadership, safeguard our national security and create a brighter future for all.”

    “Building up America’s domestic semiconductor industry is critical to create good-paying jobs, protect our supply chains, and strengthen our national security, and I’m proud to see New York leading this effort,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Upstate New York is already a hub for cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing, research, and development, and the designation of NY CREATES’ Albany NanoTech Complex as the location of the CHIPS for America EUV Accelerator will help us maintain our status as a global leader in such a vital industry. I fought hard to pass the CHIPS and Science Act, and I’m proud to see this historic legislation bring scientific innovation and economic development to the Capital Region.”

    “Today is a monumental moment for our region, for job creation, for cutting-edge research, and for our 21st century precision economy,” Congressman Paul Tonko (NY-20) said. “In the years since Congress passed the CHIPS and Science Act, I have been relentlessly advocating alongside the many stakeholders who call NY CREATES home to leverage the shovel-ready infrastructure and advanced R&D capabilities right here at the Albany NanoTech Complex. Our region has long been poised to take the reins to steer America’s semiconductor revitalization and, thanks to the pioneering work and sound investment of New York leadership, local chip manufacturers, researchers, educational institutions, and other stakeholders, that reality is upon us. I’m thrilled to celebrate this groundbreaking announcement and remain as determined as ever to secure strong federal action that delivers for American workers, consumers, and communities.”

    NY CREATES’ President Dave Anderson said, “With a legacy spanning more than 20 years of technological achievements, NY CREATES and our industry partners have been central to establishing and growing New York’s — and the nation’s — semiconductor R&D ecosystem. This is an historic moment for New York and the semiconductor industry, and we look forward to working closely with Natcast to leverage our resources, capabilities, and know-how to bring this innovative vision to fruition. We are thrilled that the NSTC at NY CREATES will become an even greater beacon of opportunity and collaboration for our partners as we transform today’s ideas into tomorrow’s technologies. Together, we can shape the future and in doing so, bolster America’s economic and national security while cementing our position as a global leader. We are grateful to Governor Hochul, whose unwavering commitment to the industry has positioned NY CREATES to host the NSTC EUV Center, and to Majority Leader Schumer, who not only helped author and lead to passage the CHIPS & Science Act but also made the case for Albany NanoTech’s leadership of the NSTC, all of which makes today’s investment possible.”

    “Nearly 20 years ago, ASML shipped one of the world’s first EUV lithography demo tools to Albany, NY. The important role that New York has played in the industrialization of this critical technology is reflected in today’s announcement that the NSTC EUV Accelerator will be based at the Albany NanoTech Complex. The first chips made using High NA, ASML’s most advanced EUV tool, will power the technology of the future: robotics, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and beyond. As we work with partners across the industry to push technology to new limits, we applaud Senator Schumer and Governor Hochul’s clear commitment to semiconductor innovation in the U.S.,” said Christophe Fouquet, President and CEO of ASML.

    “GF applauds the decision to base the NSTC EUV Accelerator in Albany, NY. Building on years of R&D, semiconductor leadership and ecosystem partnerships, this center will stimulate innovation and work to develop the talent our industry needs to continue to grow and succeed. Congratulations to NYCREATES and thank you to Senator Schumer and Governor Hochul for their enduring leadership and commitment to strengthening both the U.S. and NY semiconductor industry,” said Dr. Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GlobalFoundries.

    “We are thrilled that New York State has been selected as the home of our nation’s first NSTC EUV Center. For over 20 years, IBM and our public-private partners at NY CREATES’s Albany NanoTech Complex have produced many of the technical breakthroughs that have propelled the semiconductor industry forward. Thanks to Sec. Raimondo, Gov. Hochul, Sen. Schumer, and many others, the new Center in Albany will support the United States’ mission to lead global chip innovation,” said Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM.

    “The compelling factors for Micron in choosing New York as home to our megafab are the rich ecosystem in support of research and development, synergistic university partnerships, an exceptional talent pipeline, and strong public support, which fosters an environment to grow semiconductor R&D in the U.S.  Micron is pleased to see that the U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded the NY CREATES Albany NanoTech Center the designation of being named the NSTC’s EUV Accelerator. Thanks to the leadership of Majority Leader Schumer and Governor Hochul, we will be able to scale our memory technology leadership and advance next-generation semiconductor R&D,” said Scott DeBoer, Micron’s Executive Vice President, Chief Technology and Products Officer.

    “The announcement of the National Semiconductor Technology Center here in New York State is a monumental step forward, not only for Wolfspeed but for the entire U.S. semiconductor industry. This Center will become a cornerstone of innovation, helping drive the research, development, and workforce training critical to meeting the world’s surging demand for advanced semiconductor technology. Thanks to Senator Schumer’s visionary leadership, New York State is now positioned at the forefront of this vital industry, advancing our nation’s technological independence and reinforcing its global leadership,” said Gregg Lowe, CEO of Wolfspeed.

    THIS HAS BEEN A YEARS-LONG EFFORT BY SCHUMER TO LAND THE NSTC IN THE CAPITAL REGION

    Schumer has worked for years to highlight Albany NanoTech and the Capital Region’s ability to lead the country’s semiconductor research and development efforts. In December 2020, after Schumer worked with key stakeholders across the semiconductor industry, including key partners at Albany NanoTech like IBM to develop the federal CHIPS programs, including the NSTC, he successfully authorized these programs in law as part of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.

    In addition to directly highlighting Albany NanoTech to President Biden, Schumer has brought top government officials to the Capital Region to promote Albany NanoTech as a major hub for the NSTC. In July 2021 prior to the passage of the CHIPS & Science Law, Schumer brought Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to Albany to show that Albany is a global leader in semiconductor research and development. Schumer brought Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves to tour Albany NanoTech’s facility in January 2022 and National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard toured the facility in February 2024 after Schumer’s invitation. In 2023, Schumer additionally brought Albany Nanotech head David Anderson as his personal guest to President Biden’s 2023 State of the Union to highlight the facility and leadership.

    Schumer has also promoted Albany NanoTech while meeting with both semiconductor industry and international leaders. Schumer highlighted Albany NanoTech when pitching Micron to locate their massive $100+ billion megafab project in Upstate NY, which Micron said was a critical factor in their selection of Central NY. Schumer also secured a commitment for South Korea to partner with Albany Nanotech on research, pushed for increased collaboration on semiconductor R&D between Japan and the United States, pitched Albany NanoTech to major Japanese chip suppliers for further investment, and met with the leadership of Belgium’s imec on multiple occasions to discuss ways Albany NanoTech and imec can collaborate as the two global leading semiconductor public-private research institutions. Schumer said these international partnerships underscore the ability of Albany NanoTech’s unique and world-renowned assets to help forge deeper ties with allies and partners in building more resilient chip supply chains and encouraging R&D collaboration, a key national security priority of the CHIPS programs, including the NSTC.

    Late last year, Schumer and Governor Hochul announced a new $10 billion public-private investment at Albany Nanotech which will help install a High NA EUV lithography machine, the most advanced semiconductor equipment ever made, designed, and manufactured by ASML, at its Albany NanoTech Complex. Schumer said this helps uniquely prepare them to quickly lead the NSTC as one of only two public research institutions in the world home to the new advanced EUV tool. In September 2023, Schumer announced NY CREATES, which leads Albany NanoTech, as one of the first to tap CHIPS funding with a $40 million award through the CHIPS DoD Microelectronics Commons Program to establish a new consortium, known as the Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub. In September 2024, the consortium received an additional $30 million. Schumer also recently helped secure $4.7 million from the National Science Foundation for NY CREATES to provide workforce training associated with Albany NanoTech. These funds, made possible by a program boosted in the CHIPS & Science Law, will support the establishment of the Education Alliance for Semiconductor Experiential Learning (EASEL) program to help address the growing national demand for a skilled workforce in the semiconductor industry.

    ACROSS NEW YORK THE CHIPS & SCIENCE LAW HAS DELIVERED HISTORIC INVESTMENT & IS CREATING THOUSANDS OF GOOD-PAYING JOBS

    Thanks to Schumer’s CHIPS & Science Law, Upstate New York has seen a major revival in tech manufacturing. Micron has announced plans for a historic $100+ billion investment to build a cutting-edge memory megafab in Central New York with the support of an over $6 billion preliminary CHIPS agreement. GlobalFoundries plans to invest over $12 billion to expand and construct a second, new state-of-the-art computer chip factory in the Capital Region, with support from a $1.5 billion preliminary CHIPS agreement. Wolfspeed has opened a 200mm silicon carbide fabrication facility in the Mohawk Valley, one of the largest in the world, with a $750 million preliminary CHIPS agreement accelerating their ongoing expansion in the Mohawk Valley and boosting good-paying jobs expected to be created at the Marcy facility. TTM Technologies, a printed circuit board manufacturer, plans to invest up to $130 million to expand its facilities in Onondaga County, supported by federal investment to strengthen domestic supply chains, creating up to 400 good-paying jobs. Menlo Micro will invest $150 million to build their microchip switch manufacturing facility in Tompkins County, creating over 100 new good-paying jobs. In addition, Upstate New York is home to semiconductor supply chain companies like Corning Incorporated, which manufactures glass critical to the microchip industry at its Canton and Fairport, NY plants, and following Schumer’s advocacy, Edwards Vacuum has announced a $300+ million investment to build a dry pump manufacturing facility, made possible by a $18 million preliminary CHIPS agreement, creating 600 good-paying jobs to support the growing chip industry in Western New York. Earlier this year, Schumer also secured a major $40 million in federal funding for the federally-designated “NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub”, one of only 12 awardees nationally, to further position Upstate NY as a semiconductor center for the world.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Leading expert appointed to turbocharge Euston housebuilding

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Regeneration expert Bek Seeley will chair the government’s Euston Housing Delivery Group.

    • Yesterday’s Budget confirmed Bek Seeley will chair government’s Euston Housing Deliver Group to deliver ambitious Euston regeneration.
    • Work begins immediately to support delivery of thousands of new homes and drive growth at the heart of the capital.
    • Appointment supports government’s plan to deliver biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation.

    A leading regeneration expert has been appointed as the Chair of a flagship government programme to drive growth and build thousands of new homes, in the heart of central London.  

    Yesterday’s Budget announced Bek Seeley, who has overseen major projects in London, Birmingham and Manchester, to chair the Euston Housing Delivery Group – which will drive forward an ambitious housing and regeneration initiative for the local area.

    The scheme will also include supporting a thriving life sciences district which will bolster the area’s existing Knowledge Quarter which works on important scientific discoveries and technological advances.  

    The Delivery Group will be made up of industry experts in urban design, landscape architecture, affordable housing delivery and financing large-scale projects. Their core focus is to unlock more investment in Euston and drive economic growth across the capital.   

    Working closely with the local community in Euston, Camden Council, the Mayor of London and ministers, the Group will help the area become one of Europe’s leading hubs for life sciences and innovation and set out wider ambitions to tackle the capital’s housing crisis with a new era of affordable homes.   

    Housing and Planning Minister, Matthew Pennycook said: 

    “The appointment of Bek Seeley as the Chair of the Euston Housing Delivery Group is an important milestone on the journey toward regenerating this historic London neighbourhood and supporting economic growth across the country.

    “The Government will continue to work with the London Borough of Camden, the Mayor of London, and local partners and communities to accelerate the delivery of significant numbers of new homes and an expanded Knowledge Quarter alongside a much-improved Euston Station”.

    The announcement comes as it was also confirmed HS2 trains will run to Euston, with funding provided for tunnelling to the central London terminus, catalysing private investment into the station and local area.

    The Delivery Group’s work begins immediately in Euston. A housing site under-construction in Somers Town was recently visited by the Housing Minister to see first-hand the progress being made to transform the area and deliver a new economic hub where people want to live and work.  
      
    Chair of the Euston Housing Delivery Group, Bek Seeley said:   

    “I’m hugely excited to be asked to chair the EHDG as we set about the task of delivering thousands of new homes to benefit the existing community and to also underpin growth in one of the world’s leading knowledge and life science districts.   

    “My ambition is that Euston provides safe and welcoming homes, ensuring that every resident feels secure and valued and that Euston is also a place that the UK is proud of on the world stage, driving our broader economy forwards.” 

    Leader of Camden Council, Cllr Richard Olszewski said:   

    “This commitment to deliver new and affordable homes in Euston, together with the local community, is a much-needed step forward to get Euston on track towards a better future. 
     
    “Not only have many families in Euston felt the impacts of the housing crisis, but they have lived through years of uncertainty and upheaval. They rightly deserve hope for the future and a Euston that delivers for them with job opportunities, affordable homes, new open spaces, and community facilities.   
     
    “At Euston, we also have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to achieve this alongside a rapid expansion of London’s Knowledge Quarter, transforming it into a tech and science powerhouse that generates investment and opportunity for the entire country. We look forward to working in partnership with the Housing Delivery Group, Government, and our residents to turn this opportunity into a reality.”  

    The government and the Mayor will be working hand-in-hand to ensure that London plays its part to deliver record levels of housebuilding and support ambitions for 1.5 million homes over this Parliament.   

    This includes working together on all possible steps to deliver the homes that London needs – and to meet the updated housing target for the capital that is more than double the delivery of recent years.   

    Deputy Mayor of London for Planning and Regeneration, Jules Pipe said:

    “I am looking forward to working with Bek and the Euston Housing Delivery Group to ensure that we maximise Euston’s contribution to housing alongside delivering a world-class transport hub and supporting the development and growth of the Knowledge Quarter.

    “The Mayor is committed to doing all he can to accelerate the pace of housing delivery in London. The unlocking of major sites such as Euston, which has been on hold for far too long has a vital part to play in delivering the growth we need. Leveraging the link between transport investment and housing, here and in other locations such as Thamesmead, will enable the delivery of new homes and jobs as part of building a fairer, greener and more prosperous London for everyone.”

    Alongside the Delivery Group, the New Homes Accelerator will see work across government and with the Mayor and boroughs to fast-track large sites in London to unlock more homes and offer direct support to speed up delivery.   

    A new housing package was also announced yesterday including £500 million in new funding for the Affordable Homes Programme – the biggest annual budget for affordable housing in over a decade which will support government efforts to deliver thousands of new homes in London and across the country.

    Further information

    In Spring, the previous government and London Borough of Camden announced the establishment of the Euston Housing Delivery Group, tasked with assessing the scale of housing opportunities in the Euston area.   

    Bek Seeley was previously the European Managing Director for Development at Lendlease, which is a multinational construction and real estate company. She also holds several senior advisory roles in regeneration and affordable housing delivery. Bek is responsible for leading major housing projects across London, Manchester and Birmingham.

    Updates to this page

    Published 31 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NIH trial of rectal microbicide for HIV prevention begins in the United States

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 2

    Media Advisory

    Thursday, October 31, 2024

    Study will assess safety and acceptability of rectal douche for pre-exposure prophylaxis.

    What

    A clinical trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched to examine the safety and acceptability of a novel rectal HIV microbicide douche containing the antiretroviral drug tenofovir. This “on-demand” HIV prevention approach involves using the microbicide prior to a potential exposure from receptive anal intercourse.

    Several forms of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) are in use in the United States and globally, namely daily oral pills, long-acting injections, and a monthly vaginal ring. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men who meet certain criteria can take “on-demand” oral PrEP around the time of sex to prevent HIV acquisition, but there is insufficient evidence to support its use in other populations. Rectal microbicides are another HIV prevention method being explored for use in an “on-demand” manner to expand the choices available to eligible people who engage in receptive anal intercourse and who stand to benefit from using PrEP.    

    The clinical trial will enroll about 150 adults assigned male at birth who have regular experience using an unmedicated rectal douche before receptive anal intercourse. Participants will each receive “on-demand” tenofovir rectal microbicide douche during one two-month period and on-demand oral PrEP with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine in another two-month period. All participants will be monitored closely for safety. The study also will assess participants’ experience using their assigned PrEP method, including measures of acceptability, adherence, and method preference. The study will take place at eight sites in the United States.

    While HIV incidence is slowly decreasing in the United States, 67% of U.S. HIV diagnoses from 2018-2022 were among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, pointing to the need for expanded HIV prevention options. The mid-stage study is sponsored NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and implemented through the NIH-funded HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN). NIH remains committed to developing safe and effective HIV prevention methods that people need, want, and are able to use.

    More information about this study, also known as HPTN 106, is available at ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT06560684.

    Who

    Sheryl Zwerski, D.N.P., director of the Prevention Sciences Program in NIAID’s Division of AIDS, is available to discuss this research.

    NIAID conducts and supports research—at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide—to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website.

    About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

    NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Peter Dutton’s reshuffle: David Coleman the surprise choice as shadow foreign minister

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    Peter Dutton has chosen a dark horse in naming David Coleman for the key shadow foreign affairs portfolio, in a reshuffle that also seeks to boost the opposition’s credentials with women.

    Coleman has been communications spokesman. He led the opposition’s campaign for an age limit on young people’s access to social media – a policy that was later adopted by the government and now has been legislated by the parliament.

    He is one of the opposition’s small band of moderates although not seen as a factional player.

    Coleman, who holds the Sydney marginal seat of Banks, has done extensive work with Middle East communities and the Chinese community. He is a former minister for immigration, citizenship, migrant services and multicultural affairs.

    The foreign affairs job, previously held by Simon Birmingham, who is departing parliament, was keenly sought by a number of frontbenchers. One of the aspirants was deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley, whose position entitles her to choose her portfolio, at least in theory.

    Dutton has also brought Julian Leeser back onto the frontbench, as shadow assistant minister for foreign affairs. Leeser quit the shadow ministry to fight for the yes case in the 2023 Voice referendum.

    While his return will be welcomed by many on merit grounds, it also reflects the high profile that Leeser, who is Jewish, has taken in demanding more action against the wave of antiseminism in Australia. Announcing his reshuffle on Saturday, Dutton described Leeser as “a powerhouse of support for Australia’s Jewish community”.

    The new shadow cabinet has 11 women, the same number as in the Albanese cabinet.

    Melissa McIntosh, from NSW, has been promoted to the shadow cabinet and takes Coleman’s previous job of communications. She stays shadow minister for Western Sydney.

    Claire Chandler, from Tasmania and the right, is promoted to shadow cabinet as shadow minister for government services and the digital economy and shadow minister science and the arts. Chandler was in the headlines before the last election for her campaigning against trans women’s access to female sports.

    The high profile Jacinta Price receives a promotion. In shades of Elon Musk’s role in the United States, in addition to her current responsibility as shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, she has been given a new role as shadow minister for government efficiency.

    Tony Pasin, from South Australia and the right faction, joins the shadow ministry as spokesman on roads and road safety. The government is emphasising its roads program in its campaigning, this month announcing $7.2 billion to upgrade the Bruce Highway.

    Matt O’Sullivan, a senator from Western Australia, joins the outer shadow ministry as shadow assistant minister for education.

    Ted O’Brien adds energy affordability and reliability to his key role as the opposition’s energy spokesman, in which he is prosecuting the nuclear debate. It has been speculated that the government is likely to do more to give people relief on their power bills.

    Kerrynne Liddle adds Indigenous health services to her responsibilities as shadow minister for child protection and the prevention of family violence.

    Victorian senator James Paterson, who as home affairs spokesman has been regarded as one of the opposition’s best performers, joins the Coalition leadership group.

    Michael Sukkar becomes manager of opposition business in the House of Representatives, the position that has been held by Paul Fletcher, who is retiring at the election.

    Michelle Grattan 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. Peter Dutton’s reshuffle: David Coleman the surprise choice as shadow foreign minister – https://theconversation.com/peter-duttons-reshuffle-david-coleman-the-surprise-choice-as-shadow-foreign-minister-248303

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI: Q3 & 9 MONTHS 2024 RESULTS

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Paris (France), October 31st, 2024, 17h45 CET

    Q3 & 9 MONTHS 2024 RESULTS

    DELIVERING ON CASH GENERATION AND FINANCIAL ROADMAP

    ON TRACK TO HIT OUR FULL YEAR TARGET

      Q3 9M1
    Revenue2 $246m $778m (-3%)
    Adjusted EBITDA2 $98m $298m (+7%)
    Net Cash-Flow $10m $34m (vs -$15m in 9M 2023)

    Sophie Zurquiyah, Chief Executive Officer of Viridien, said:

    “Our results since the start of the year demonstrate the strength of our strategic vision, with technology leadership, new business growth, and cash flow all showing significant progress.

    Geoscience was particularly strong this quarter, leveraging its clear differentiation, best-in class imaging technology and HPC computing power to achieve a record high order book. In Earth Data, the Laconia project, using our most advanced technology, saw increased prefunding and is continuing to progress well.

    Sensing & Monitoring is actively implementing its adaption plan and is on track to achieve in 2025 the expected outcomes in cost reduction and operational flexibility to improve performance across the industry cycles.

    Lastly, we continue to address our financial roadmap with the implementation of the bond buyback program and looking forward, reaffirm our full-year targets”.

    Third Quarter Highlights2

    • Group2
      • IFRS Revenue, EBITDA and Net Income of respectively $219 million, $71 million, $(10) million.
      • Overall group revenue decline in absence of mega crew in Sensing & Monitoring (SMO, revenue down 50%) compared to Q3 2023. Stable DDE revenue, with very strong momentum at Geoscience (revenue + 32% and order intake +91%).
      • Group adjusted EBITDA of $98M, including -$12M penalty fees from vessel commitment. DDE Adjusted EBITDA of $108 million, up 5% thanks to strong Geoscience performance. SMO adjusted EBITDA of $1M (vs $12M).  
    • Net Cash flow of $10 million, including -$18 million contractual fees from vessel commitment.
    • Implementation of the bond buy back program. $25M already bought on the $30M 2024 program as of October 31 (o.w. $12M bought and cancelled as of September 30).
    • Liquidity at $442 million (including $100 million undrawn RCF).
    • Digital, Data and Energy Transition (DDE)
      • Revenue $187 million, up 1%: strong revenue growth at Geoscience offset by lower level of aftersale at Earth Data.
      • Adjusted EBITDA $108 million, up 5%: profitability impacted by -$12 million in penalty fees from vessel commitments (vs -$20 million during Q3 2003).
      • Geoscience
        • Revenue at $103 million (+32%).
        • Geoscience performance continues to be driven by technology leadership. Order intake (up 91%) benefits from best in class imaging technology, new UK HPC hub and increased activity in the Middle East.
        • The new businesses confirm positive momentum, both in CCUS with the release of the latest phase of Gulf of Mexico Carbon Storage Study to support upcoming lease rounds and in Minerals & Mining with the award of a sensing program in Oman, to identify, map and rank mineralization prospectivity potential.
      • Earth Data
        • Revenue: $83 million (-22%).
        • Prefunding revenue at $58 million (+4%). First contribution of the Laconia project in the Gulf of Mexico. Weaker after-sales in Q3 (down 50% at $26 million) with unfavorable cut offs.
        • New businesses: revenue from the Norwegian survey for Carbon storage leading to the reprocessing of legacy data in the area.
    • Sensing and Monitoring (SMO)
      • Revenue at $59 million, down 51% across land and marine products, following delivery of the “mega crew” systems in 2023.
      • Adjusted EBITDA at $1 million (vs $12M).
      • Transformation plan on track to achieve the expected cost reduction and operational flexibility.
      • New businesses representing 17% of revenue. Delivery of land seismic nodes for large-scale seismic surveys planned in urban areas to target energy resources, including geothermal.
    • 2024 Financial objectives
      • The Group reiterates its 2024 financial objectives and confirms its 2024-2025 financial roadmap.
        • Revenue expected to be in line with 2023
        • EBITDA to be positively impacted by business mix
        • Earth Data cash Capex expected at $230-250M
        • Net Cash Flow to reach similar level as 2023
    • Q3 2024 Conference call
      • The press release and the presentation are available on our website www.viridiengroup.com at 5:45 pm (CET)
      • An English language analysts conference call is scheduled today at 6.00 pm (CET)

    Participants should register for the call here to receive a dial-in number and code or participate in the live webcast from here.

    A replay of the conference call will be made available the day after for a period of 12 months in audio format on the Company’s website.

    The Board of Directors met on October 31, 2024 and approved the consolidated financial statements ending September 30, 2024.

    About Viridien:

    Viridien (www.viridiengroup.com) is an advanced technology, digital and Earth data company that pushes the boundaries of science for a more prosperous and sustainable future. With our ingenuity, drive and deep curiosity we discover new insights, innovations, and solutions that efficiently and responsibly resolve complex natural resource, digital, energy transition and infrastructure challenges. Viridien employs around 3,500 people worldwide and is listed as VIRI on the Euronext Paris SA (ISIN until July 30: FR0013181864 and ISIN as from July 31: FR001400PVN6).

    Contact:

     VP Corporate Finance

    Jean-Baptiste Roussille
    jean-baptiste.roussille@viridiengroup.com

    Q3 2024 – Financial Results

     CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – September 30th, 2024

    Unaudited Interim Consolidated statement of operations – Year-To-Date

        Nine months ended September 30,
    (In millions of US$, except per share data) Notes 2024 2023
    Operating revenues   784.8 810.4
    Other income from ordinary activities   0.1 0.2
    Total income from ordinary activities   784.9 810.6
    Cost of operations   (587.1) (578.0)
    Gross profit   197.8 232.6
    Research and development expenses – net   (15.2) (20.5)
    Marketing and selling expenses   (28.6) (26.6)
    General and administrative expenses   (55.9) (54.2)
    Other revenues (expenses) – net 8 (3.6) (0.9)
    Operating income (loss)   94.6 130.4
    Cost of financial debt – gross   (82.3) (79.5)
    Income provided by cash and cash equivalents   8.7 4.0
    Cost of financial debt, net   (73.6) (75.5)
    Other financial income (loss) 9 (0.9) (1.6)
    Income (loss) before incomes taxes and share of income (loss) from companies accounted for under the equity method   20.1 53.3
    Income taxes   (14.2) (24.6)
    Net income (loss) before share of income (loss) from companies accounted for under the equity method   6.0 28.7
    Net income (loss) from companies accounted for under the equity method   0.9 0.5
    Net income (loss) from continuing operations   6.9 29.2
    Net income (loss) from discontinued operations 3 14.7 2.3
    Consolidated net income (loss)   21.6 31.5
    Attributable to :      
    Owners of Viridien S.A $ 21.2 28.0
    Non-controlling interests $ 0.4 3.5
    Net income (loss) per share      
    Basic $ 2.97 0.04
    Diluted $ 2.95 0.04
    Net income (loss) from continuing operations per share      
    Basic $ 0.91 0.04
    Diluted $ 0.91 0.04
    Net income (loss) from discontinued operations per share (a)      
    Basic $ 2.06 –
    Diluted $ 2.05 –

    (a)   Earning per share is presented as nil being less than US$0.01 at September 30,2023.

    See the notes to the Unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements

    Unaudited Interim Consolidated statement of comprehensive income (loss) – Year-To-Date

        Nine months ended September 30,
    (In millions of US$) Notes 2024 (a) 2023 (a)
    Net income (loss) from statements of operations   21.6 31.5
    Net gain (loss) on cash flow hedges   0.2 0.2
    Variation in translation adjustments   3.3 10.5
    Net other comprehensive income (loss) to be reclassified in profit (loss) in subsequent period (1)   3.5 10.7
    Net gain (loss) on actuarial changes on pension plan   0.4 (0.7)
    Net other comprehensive income (loss) not to be reclassified in profit (loss) in subsequent period (2)   0.4 (0.7)
    Total other comprehensive income (loss) for the period. net of taxes (1) + (2)   3.9 10.0
    Total comprehensive income (loss) for the period   25.5 41.5
    Attributable to:   –  
    Owners of Viridien S.A.   24.7 39.2
    Non-controlling interests   0.8 2.3

    (a)  Including other comprehensive income related to the discontinued operations.

    Unaudited Interim Consolidated statement of financial position

    (In millions of US$) Notes September 30,
    2023    		 December 31, 2023
    ASSETS      
    Cash and cash equivalents   341.7 327.0
    Trade accounts and notes receivable, net   287.3 310.9
    Inventories and work-in-progress, net   207.1 212.9
    Income tax assets   37.0 30.8
    Other current assets, net   67.4 92.1
    Total current assets   940.5 973.7
    Deferred tax assets   35.5 29.9
    Other non-current assets, net   7.8 6.8
    Investments and other financial assets, net   25.3 22.7
    Investments in companies under the equity method   2.6 2.2
    Property, plant and equipment, net 4 230.7 206.1
    Intangible assets, net   611.5 579.7
    Goodwill, net   1 098.1 1 095.5
    Total non-current assets   2 011.4 1 942.9
    TOTAL ASSETS   2 951.9 2 916.6
    LIABILITIES AND EQUITY      
    Financial debt – current portion 5 79.8 58.0
    Trade accounts and notes payables   94.1 86.4
    Accrued payroll costs   87.9 89.1
    Income taxes payable   21.2 12.5
    Advance billings to customers   19.1 24.0
    Provisions — current portion   8.1 8.7
    Other current financial liabilities   5.9 21.3
    Other current liabilities   233.6 250.3
    Total current liabilities   549.8 550.3
    Deferred tax liabilities   22.1 24.3
    Provisions — non-current portion   32.8 30.1
    Financial debt – non-current portion 5 1 265.1 1 242.8
    Other non-current financial liabilities   – 0.5
    Other non-current liabilities   1.7 4.3
    Total non-current liabilities   1 321.7 1 302.0
    Common stock: 11,212,215 shares authorized and 7,161,465 shares with a €1.00 nominal value outstanding at September 30, 2024   8.7 8.7
    Additional paid-in capital   118.7 118.7
    Retained earnings   1 004.0 980.4
    Other Reserves   19.8 27.3
    Treasury shares   (20.1) (20.1)
    Cumulative income and expense recognized directly in equity   (1.2) (1.4)
    Cumulative translation adjustment   (87.9) (90.8)
    Equity attributable to owners of Viridien S.A.   1 042.0 1 022.8
    Non-controlling interests   38.5 41.5
    Total equity   1 080.5 1 064.3
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY   2 951.9 2 916.6

    See the notes to the Unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements

    Unaudited Interim Consolidated statement of cash flows

        Nine months ended September 30,
    (In millions of US$) Notes 2024 2023
    OPERATING ACTIVITIES      
    Consolidated net income (loss)   21.6 31.5
    Less: Net income (loss) from discontinued operations 3 (14.7) (2.3)
    Net income (loss) from continuing operations   6.9 29.2
    Depreciation, amortization and impairment   71.8 63.3
    Earth Data surveys impairment and amortization   144.0 99.8
    Depreciation and amortization capitalized in Earth Data surveys   (11.6) (11.8)
    Variance on provisions   0.2 0.5
    Share-based compensation expenses   2.2 1.7
    Net (gain) loss on disposal of fixed and financial assets   0.1 0.1
    Share of (income) loss in companies recognized under equity method   (0.9) (0.5)
    Other non-cash items   (2.5) 1.8
    Net cash-flow including net cost of financial debt and income tax   210.2 184.1
    Less : Cost of financial debt   73.6 75.5
    Less : Income tax expense (gain)   14.2 24.6
    Net cash-flow excluding net cost of financial debt and income tax   297.9 284.2
    Income tax paid   (10.0) (3.8)
    Net cash-flow before changes in working capital   287.9 280.4
    Changes in working capital   10.0 (23.5)
    – change in trade accounts and notes receivable   (2.3) (29.4)
    – change in inventories and work-in-progress   7.0 17.4
    – change in other current assets   14.9 6.6
    – change in trade accounts and notes payable   10.6 (0.4)
    – change in other current liabilities   (20.2) (17.7)
    Net cash-flow from operating activities   297.8 256.9
    INVESTING ACTIVITIES      
    Total capital expenditures (tangible and intangible assets) net of variation of fixed assets suppliers, excluding Earth Data surveys) 4 (24.3) (48.3)
    Investment in Earth Data surveys   (180.1) (141.7)
    Proceeds from disposals of tangible and intangible assets   1.1 –
    Dividends received from investments in companies under the equity method   0.5 –
    Total net proceeds from financial assets   – (1.9)
    Variation in other non-current financial assets   (2.1) (2.9)
    Net cash-flow used in investing activities   (205.0) (194.8)
        Nine months ended September 30
    (In millions of US$) Notes 2024 2023
    FINANCING ACTIVITIES      
    Repayment of long-term debt 5 (12.2) (1.5)
    Total issuance of long-term debt 5 0.1 23.0
    Lease repayments 5 (43.4) (37.9)
    Financial expenses paid 5 (42.2) (46.5)
    Dividends paid and share capital reimbursements:   –  
    — to owners of Viridien   0.0 –
    — to non-controlling interests of integrated companies   (3.8) (0.8)
    Net cash-flow provided by (used in) financing activities   (101.6) (63.7)
    Effects of exchange rates on cash   1.1 (4.3)
    Net cash flows incurred by discontinued operations 3 22.4 (17.0)
    Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents   14.7 (22.9)
    Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year   327.0 298.0
    Cash and cash equivalents at end of period   341.7 275.1

    See the notes to the Interim Consolidated Financial Statements

    Unaudited Interim Consolidated statements of changes in equity

    Amounts in millions of
    US$. except share data    		 Number of Shares issued Share capital Additional paid-in capital Retained earnings Other reserves Treasury shares Income and expense recognized directly in equity Cumulative translation adjustment Equity attributable to owners of Viridien S.A. Non-controlling interests Total equity
    Balance at January 1, 2023 7 123 573 8.7 118.6 967.9 50.0 (20.1) (3.4) (102.4) 1 019.3 39.5 1 058.8
    Net gain (loss) on actuarial changes on pension plan (1)       (0.7)         (0.7)   (0.7)
    Net gain (loss) on cash flow hedges (2)             0.2   0.2   0.2
    Net gain (loss) on translation adjustments (3)               11.7 11.7 (1.2) 10.5
    Other comprehensive income (1)+(2)+(3) – – – (0.7) – – 0.2 11.7 11.2 (1.2) 10.0
    Net income (loss) (4)       28.0         28.0 3.5 31.5
    Comprehensive income (1)+(2)+(3)+(4) – – – 27.3 – – 0.2 11.7 39.2 2.3 41.5
    Exercise of warrants 238   0.1           0.1   0.1
    Dividends                 – (0.9) (0.9)
    Cost of share-based payment 12 951     1.7         1.7   1.7
    Variation in translation adjustments generated by the parent company         (10.7)       (10.7)   (10.7)
    Balance at September 30, 2023 7 136 763(a) 8.7 118.7 996.9 39.3 (20.1) (3.2) (90.7) 1 049.6 40.9 1 090.5
    Amounts in millions of
    US$. except share data    		 Number of Shares issued Share capital Additional paid-in capital Retained earnings Other reserves Treasury shares Income and expense recognized directly in equity Cumulative translation adjustment Equity attributable to owners of Viridien S.A. Non-controlling interests Total equity
    Balance at January 1, 2024 7 136 763 8.7 118.7 980.4 27.3 (20.1) (1.4) (90.8) 1 022.8 41.5 1 064.3
    Net gain (loss) on actuarial changes on pension plan (1)       0.4         0.4   0.4
    Net gain (loss) on cash flow hedges (2)             0.2   0.2   0.2
    Net gain (loss) on translation adjustments (3)               2.9 2.9 0.4 3.3
    Other comprehensive income (1)+(2)+(3) – – – 0.4 – – 0.2 2.9 3.5 0.4 3.9
    Net income (loss) (4)       21.2         21.2 0.4 21.6
    Comprehensive income (1)+(2)+(3)+(4) – – – 21.6 – – 0.2 2.9 24.7 0,8 25.5
    Dividends                 – (3.8) (3.8)
    Cost of share-based payment 24 703     2.0         2.0   2.0
    Variation in translation adjustments generated by the parent company         (7.5)       (7.5)   (7.5)
    Balance at September 30, 2024 7 161 465(b) 8.7 118.7 1 004.0 19.8 (20.1) (1.2) (87.9) 1 042.0 38.5 1 080.5

    (a)   Pro forma following Reverse Share Split

    (b)   Reverse Share Split: Pursuant to a delegation from the Combined General Meeting of shareholders of May 15, 2024, and a sub-delegation from the Board of Directors held on the same day, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer has decided to implement a reverse share split on the basis of 1 new share of €1.00 nominal value for 100 old shares of €0.01 nominal value.

    1All variations refer to the same period last year
    2Unless otherwise stated, all figures and comments are referring to “Segment” (i.e. pre-IFRS 15), as defined in the 2023 Universal Registration Document’s glossary, under section 8.7

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Viridien: Viridien announces the departure of Helen LEE BOUYGUES from the Board of Directors and the co-optation of Amélie OYARZABAL

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Paris (France), October 31, 2024

    Viridien announces the departure of Helen LEE BOUYGUES from the Board of Directors and the co-optation of Amélie OYARZABAL

    Helen LEE BOUYGUES resigned from her position as Director, effective as of September 11, 2024, to fully dedicate herself to new responsibilities.

    On October 31, 2024, upon recommendation of the Appointment, Remuneration and Governance Committee, the Board of Directors co-opted Amélie OYARZABAL as new independent Director for the remainder of Helen LEE BOUYGUES’ term of office, i.e. until the Annual General Meeting called to approve the financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2027. The co-optation of Amélie OYARZABAL as Director will then be submitted for ratification at the 2025 General Meeting.

    The Board also appointed Amélie OYARZABAL as member of the Audit & Risk Management Committee and of the New Businesses and M&A Committee. Sophie ZURQUIYAH, CEO and Director will serve as interim Chairman of the New Businesses and M&A Committee, until a successor is appointed.

    Philippe SALLE, as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Viridien said: “ We are delighted to welcome Amélie OYARZABAL to the Board of Directors of Viridien. Her extensive experience and accomplishments in finance will be highly valuable to our Company. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Helen LEE BOUYGUES for her commitment as a Director of the Company since 2018. Her insightful guidance  has greatly contributed to the Group’s transformation strategy.”

    Biography of Amélie Oyarzabal:
    Amélie Oyarzabal graduated from Sciences Po, Paris and from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
    Amélie Oyarzabal has more than 25 years of financial advisory experience. Partner at Lazard Frères for 16 years, Amélie Oyarzabal also played leadership roles in launching Lazard’s Beijing office and later in Chicago. In 2019, Amélie Oyarzabal joined Greenhill & Co., Inc. as a Managing Director to open the French office of Greenhill for which she is responsible.

    About Viridien:

    Viridien (www.viridiengroup.com) is an advanced technology, digital and Earth data company that pushes the boundaries of science for a more prosperous and sustainable future. With our ingenuity, drive and deep curiosity we discover new insights, innovations, and solutions that efficiently and responsibly resolve complex natural resource, digital, energy transition and infrastructure challenges. Viridien employs around 3,500 people worldwide and is listed as VIRI on the Euronext Paris SA (ISIN: FR001400PVN6).

    Contact: Legal Department, 27 avenue Carnot, 91300 Massy

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Fusion of academic and practical: students and postgraduates explore creative economy

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

    The HSE hosted The Fourth International Forum of Young Researchers in Creative Economy. The authors of scientific papers that passed the competitive selection presented their reports: Russian and foreign researchers under 35 years of age, postgraduates and students studying the socio-economic aspects of the development of the creative economy and creative industries.

    The Fourth International Forum of Young Researchers in the Creative Economy took place on the second day of the IV International Scientific Conference “Creative Economy: Key Development Trends and State Policy”. The event is being held Institute for Statistical Research and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEZ) under the auspices of the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia, within the framework of the activities of the World-Class Scientific Center “Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Human Potential» HSE University, with the support of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science.

    The researchers studied key trends in the development of the creative economy and creative industries, digitalization of creative industries, analysis of creative clusters, creative potential of cities and regions, etc.

    Every year more and more people participate in the competition, and now the competition was serious, emphasized the forum moderator, director of the center “Russian Cluster Observatory» Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge, National Research University Higher School of Economics Evgeny Kutsenko.

    The three best works were awarded diplomas and prizes. Elizaveta Fainshtein from the National Research University Higher School of Economics studied the perception of visitors to various public spaces based on a semantic analysis of reviews. The jury noted the relevance of the work and its practical focus. “Such spaces are appearing in many cities in Russia, and your research shows how they can help themselves, because, of course, there is not always enough money to develop them through the state,” noted Evgeny Kutsenko.

    The work of Ivan Slipchenko from the Central University of Finance and Economics (China) was devoted to the impact of government support measures on the dynamics of China’s creative goods exports in 2016–2023. The researcher analyzed which support measures are most important and used a panel model for this purpose, which allows assessing cause-and-effect relationships.

    Timur Malikov from the National Research University Higher School of Economics studied the reasons for overtime work in the video game industry. The jury noted the deep study of the topic, as well as the high-quality fusion of academicism and practicality.

    In addition, the members of the competition committee additionally singled out four more works that they liked. A team of HSE students presented the study “Bread and Wine: Defining the Boundaries of Influence of Modern Creative Clusters in Moscow Using the Example of Spaces Near the Dmitrovskaya and Kurskaya Metro Stations”. Another team of HSE students studied the phenomenon of “catch-up” creativity in northern regions using the example of the Murmansk Region. Vitaly Saakov from the Russian State University of Economics (RINH) conducted an analysis of the creative industries of the Rostov Region. Anastasia Makukhina from the State Institute of Art Studies studied social networks as a factor in shaping demand for theatrical goods.

    In conclusion, Evgeny Kutsenko called on the contestants to refine their research in accordance with the recommendations and take part in the HSE competition next year.

    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:  NSF Arecibo C3 opening moved to 2025, aligning with NSF’s 75th anniversary commemorations

    Source: US Government research organizations

    The U.S. National Science Foundation has announced that the official opening of the NSF Arecibo Center for Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Science Education, Computational Skills, and Community Engagement (NSF Arecibo C3) will be moved to 2025. The opening will now coincide with NSF’s 75th anniversary commemorations all year round, marking a milestone that celebrates decades of advancing scientific discovery and innovation.  

    “NSF and the Puerto Rican community are eagerly anticipating the opening of Arecibo C3. I want to assure you NSF recognizes the importance of taking the necessary time to ensure the center meets the highest standards of excellence,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. “By extending the timeline, we can ensure that the center has the time it needs while taking advantage of a unique opportunity to launch during NSF’s 75th anniversary — a significant year that reflects our long-standing commitment to scientific progress and STEM education.”  

    This decision is driven by several factors, including delays in the scheduling and transporting of essential equipment to the island and ongoing efforts to ensure the center meets the required standards for access and inclusivity.   

    Separate from the factors that led to this decision, this revised schedule allows the Arecibo C3 team to make necessary arrangements and adjust their organizational structure following Universidad del Sagrado Corazón’s recent decision to conclude its engagement with the project. This new structure will present new opportunities for institutional and organizational partnerships, community engagement, and science education and research at the site.   

    “At Sagrado, we are proud of the important contributions our team has made to the project so far. We have successfully completed our first-year milestones, establishing foundational protocols, processes, and collaborations essential for the project’s success. Additionally, we formed a communication team and built partnerships with Ciencia Puerto Rico and other organizations. These partnerships and structures have now been successfully initiated, and the remaining institutions involved in the project will continue this important work,” said Anuchka Ramos, Provost and VP for Academic Affairs, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón.  

    “The Arecibo C3 team extends our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Dr. Díaz Merced and Universidad del Sagrado Corazón for their contributions to this project. As we continue refining our programs and exhibits with input from collaborators and pilot participants, we’re building momentum toward our opening, which will now have the added honor of celebrating NSF’s anniversary,” added Jason Williams, Arecibo C3 lead investigator, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

    Credit: Greg Coll, NSF

    New parking lot banner

    The additional time will also allow the Arecibo C3 team to extend the pilot phase, which began in the summer of 2024 and has engaged small, invitation-only groups of local students and educators. The pilot phase has provided valuable insights that will shape the center’s future offerings, ensuring that when the doors officially open, Arecibo C3 will serve as a premier destination for science education and community engagement.  

    During the extended pilot phase, Arecibo C3 will continue to collaborate closely with students and educators to develop and refine programming across a wide range of STEM topics. Although the center will remain closed to the public, the community can expect continued engagement through invitation-only educational programs, workshops and outreach activities.

    Credit: Yadira Ortiz, Arecibo C3 

    Students explore DNA sequencing in a summer workshop.

    NSF will announce an exact date as soon as the agency is confident that all preparations are complete and will continue to provide updates on progress and next steps as they become available, ensuring that everyone remains informed and engaged. 

    For ongoing updates, visit nsf.gov and www.areciboc3.org. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Press Release: FDIC Appoints Amanda J. Lavis as Director of Office of Equal Employment Opportunity

    Source: US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDIC

    WASHINGTON – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today announced its Board of Directors has approved the appointment of Amanda J. Lavis as Director of the agency’s new Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (OEEO).

    In June, the FDIC Board announced the creation of the OEEO to serve as a single point of entry for employee complaints of discrimination and retaliation.  In this role, Ms. Lavis will lead the OEEO’s work to intake, investigate, and report on complaints of employment discrimination within the FDIC workplace.  The OEEO, along with the agency’s new Office of Professional Conduct (OPC), will report directly to the FDIC Board.

    Ms.  Lavis was selected from among several highly qualified candidates after a competitive, nationwide public solicitation.  Most recently, she served as Chief Culture Officer for the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), where she was the primary EEO advisor to the Commanding General and executive leadership.

    She previously served as the State of Hawaii’s EEO Officer, serving as the primary EEO advisor to the Governor and Executive Branch.  As an attorney and partner at Rhoads & Sinon LLP, Ms. Lavis worked with financial institutions and other private and public sector clients on employment issues and all aspects of EEO compliance.

    Ms. Lavis has a Juris Doctor from the Villanova University School of Law, a Master of Business Administration from Shippensburg University, and a Bachelor of Science in International Business from Messiah University.

    # # #

    MEDIA CONTACT: 
    mediarequests@fdic.gov


    FDIC: PR-94-2024

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Advancing prosperity in the age of AI

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Advancing prosperity in the age of AI

    As we approach another national election in the United States, both the country and the world are rightly focused on what comes next. The next president of the United States, along with new leaders in countries like the United Kingdom and Japan, will need to navigate economic and climate challenges, societal divides, and international conflicts. Looking more broadly, the next four years—and indeed the next quarter-century—will be marked by rapid technological change. This means that success for nations and the world will depend on our collective ability to manage this change well. 

    Today, we are at the threshold of major advances in life sciences, energy, and climate technology. However, the most significant opportunities in the second quarter of the 21st century will almost certainly be driven by advances in artificial intelligence (AI). This underscores the imperative for countries to develop national strategies and policies that effectively harness AI’s potential. For these strategies to succeed, it’s essential that we recognize AI’s role as a general-purpose technology and promote investments that support its broad adoption across the economy, including skilling initiatives that will position citizens to thrive in the new age of AI. 

    The World’s Next Great General-Purpose Technology 

    Economists categorize technologies into two types: single-purpose tools and general-purpose technologies, or GPTs. A single-purpose tool, like a smoke detector or lawn mower, excels at one specific task. But general-purpose technologies, like electricity or personal computers, have multiple applications and can be utilized across every economic sector. As we look ahead, it’s almost certain that AI will be regarded by economists as the next great GPT. 

    GPTs are transformative. They have the power to reshape economies and societies. A new book by Jeffrey Ding, a professor at George Washington University, documents the extraordinary degree to which GPTs have reshaped economies and even the economic balance among nations.  

    In “Technology and the Rise of Great Powers”, Professor Ding reviews the impact of GPTs over the past 250 years. He documents how the First Industrial Revolution, beginning in the United Kingdom in the 18th century, was defined by mechanization of agriculture and manufacturing based on ironworking, the most impactful GPT of the time. The Second Industrial Revolution, in the late 19th century, catapulted economic growth in the United States through the widespread adoption of two new GPTs: electricity and machine tools. The Third Industrial Revolution, which began in the 20th century, was driven by a new generation of GPTs—computerization and digital technologies—with the United States again leading the world in technology adoption. 

    Perhaps most importantly, Professor Ding documents a phenomenon that may surprise some policymakers but is familiar to many in the tech sector. He explains that the most important long-term determinant of a country’s economic growth during an industrial revolution is not whether it is at the forefront of innovation in a “leading sector” of the time. Instead, it’s whether the country “diffuses”—or spreads—the adoption of a critical GPT broadly across its economy.   

    This conclusion is intuitive, given that historically critical GPTs significantly boost productivity. The more widely a GPT is adopted, the greater its contribution to the productivity gains that drive economic growth. While it’s possible for a nation to have an advantage in both leading sector innovation and broad GPT adoption, Microsoft’s first-hand experience suggests that the sustained economic growth of nations in the first quarter of the 21st century is most closely linked to the widespread and consistent adoption of digital technologies. 

    This insight has profound implications for the impact of AI over the next 25 years. Today, policymakers in some capitals—and especially Washington, D.C.—are focused almost single-mindedly on whether their country can control and dominate cutting-edge innovation in new leading sector technologies such as graphical processing units and frontier AI models. While these are important policy issues, it’s equally, if not more, important to address what it will take to ensure the widespread and effective adoption of AI across all the societal sectors that can benefit from it. 

    Another important insight from the impact of GPTs over time is the contrast between early innovation and the delay in widespread technology adoption. The early stages of innovation often feel like an intense and even short-lived race to the technology visionaries involved, whether they are the inventors of electricity, automobiles, computers, or AI. However, broad technology adoption takes more time. Even innovations that advanced the cutting edge of technology in years required broad societal adoption that took decades. There are many reasons to believe that this pattern will hold true for AI. 

    That’s why it’s crucial to look forward now, both at the remainder of this decade and at the upcoming second quarter of the century. Countries will need to combine short and long-term strategies to be successful. These strategies will require multiple components, two of which I discuss here. 

    Building AI Skills 

    One of the vital lessons from history is the role of skilling in spreading the adoption of a critical GPT. Organizations across an economy cannot adopt new technology unless they have the skilled workers needed to use it. 

    I witnessed this firsthand during the early expansion of the PC sector. Before joining Microsoft in 1993, I spent four years in London as a lawyer helping the American PC software sector expand across Europe. In each country, this initial growth required two key components: the protection of software under copyright law to ensure organizations paid for it and investment in skilling programs to equip people with the skills to use it. 

    It’s easy to forget today that the early years of personal computing required users to study manuals or attend a class to learn how to use a computer or a new software application. When I bought my first computer in 1985, I kept a small library of manuals next to my PC, including Microsoft Word 1.0. Employers worldwide invested in PC training for their employees, but no country embraced this more broadly and rapidly than the United States between 1980 and the year 2000. 

    I recalled this experience when two weeks ago we brought more than 2,000 Microsoft employees from around the world to Seattle for a week of meetings that kicked off with a day of professional development classes. These included six different courses for non-technical employees on how to get the most from our Copilots and other AI applications. These classes were designed to help us bridge the gap between our current abilities and the evolving needs of the AI-driven workplace. While we live in a world with broad digital fluency and a vital computer science profession, the age of AI will require new efforts to learn the latest AI skills.  

    Professor Ding’s book illustrates that the need for new skills has been critical to the spread of all major GPTs since the 1700s. This extends well beyond the needs of everyday users, highlighting that an advanced skilling infrastructure is indispensable in expanding the professions that create applications that make broad use of new technologies. 

    For example, ironworking in the 1700s spread more rapidly in the United Kingdom than elsewhere because technical associations and apprenticeships in the country enabled workers to master new skills. Machine tooling in the late 1800s spread more quickly in the United States because land-grant colleges expanded the number of mechanical engineers. And the adoption of digital technology in the U.S. over the past 50 years has also benefited enormously from the rapid growth of computer science departments across American college campuses. 

    The second quarter of the 21st century will require countries to develop national AI skilling strategies. These strategies must build upon existing disciplines like computer and data science, projecting how these fields will evolve into jobs and careers for AI engineers and AI systems designers, among others. They also will need to reflect the broader array of AI fluency across different parts of the economy. And national strategies will need to build on existing educational infrastructure and determine the best ways to provide skilling opportunities across various economic sectors. 

    The Role of Social Acceptance 

    Another historical lesson involves the critical role of social acceptance of technology. This too reflects common sense: new technology never becomes truly important unless people want to use it.  

    Academic research in the 20th century made significant strides in understanding why some technologies spread more rapidly than others. Public or social acceptance typically comes down to two factors: usefulness and trust. Technologies must solve real-world problems and improve people’s lives. At the same time, they must be trustworthy, with safeguards in place to protect a country’s societal and ethical values. 

    When put in this light, it’s easy to understand why the early years of electricity involved such intense competition between Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla over the safety implications of different types of electrical currents. Each inventor was trying to prove that its approach was the safest and most reliable. They knew people would only use technology they trusted.  

    This provides important context for the evolution of both industry practices and government regulation of AI. The widespread adoption of AI will in part turn on the continued development of corporate governance models to ensure that AI is used safely, securely, and in a manner that the public regards as trustworthy. Companies that develop and deploy AI must continue to invest in AI governance processes and practices that earn the public’s trust.  

    While government leaders will change over time, every nation must continue to pursue balanced efforts to develop laws and regulations that govern these aspects of AI. Sustained public trust depends on it. And the ability for countries around the world to adopt AI broadly and inexpensively will require regulatory interoperability and consistency to ensure that AI advances in one country can move to other like-minded nations. 

    Broad social acceptance for AI will likely depend on three more factors. First, we need to ensure that AI creates new opportunities for workers, not just productivity growth. While this starts with broad AI skilling, it cannot stop there. Technology adoption across an organization requires thoughtful change management, and the most effective approaches typically involve input from the workers who will put it to work. There is a lot of room for new and innovative partnerships to spread best practices in this area, both among employer associations and with organized labor. 

    Second, the tech sector needs to take a responsible approach to AI competition issues. Elected and appointed officials will change, but if we look forward with the time horizon of the quarter century ahead, it’s apparent that governmental questions and proceedings will remain a fact of life—as they have since the United States adopted the Sherman Act to govern antitrust law in 1890 in reaction to the Second Industrial Revolution. Ultimately, public confidence in new technology requires confidence in the market that creates it. 

    This perspective is part of what led Microsoft to draft and adopt 11 AI Access Principles in February. These voluntary principles are designed to ensure open access, fairness, and responsibility as we deploy AI infrastructure, platforms, and applications around the world. We’re obviously not alone in thinking about these issues, and as always, governments will play the determinative role. This past year alone, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) adopted cutting-edge AI Principles, and the European Commission continues to focus on the application of its Digital Markets Act to AI. Plainly, these will represent an important part of the developments ahead. 

    Finally, social acceptance of AI will likely require a consistent focus on the impact of AI on another paramount challenge of our era: climate sustainability. We are optimistic about the ways that AI can help pursue new advances in climate technology and practices. However, we are also keenly aware that AI requires the construction of more datacenters and the use of more electricity. Both as companies and in partnership with governments, we need to conserve water and reduce carbon emissions. That’s why we’re investing as a company in greener technologies such as carbon-free sources of electricity and eco-friendly steel, concrete, and fuels. 

    The Path Forward 

    Ultimately, the world needs AI that is not only more powerful but also broadly accessible and trustworthy. Between now and the midpoint of the 21st century, countries can harness AI to enhance both productivity and prosperity.  

    We shouldn’t be pollyannish. Challenges are inevitable, as history shows. New leaders, both now and in the decades ahead, will need to navigate these challenges with thoughtfulness and agility. 

    But the opportunities ahead are far greater than the challenges. We can learn from history to ensure that AI creates benefits that are shared widely. Countries can invest in the skilling infrastructure needed for success. And across the public and private sectors, we can work together to earn and sustain public acceptance for the next great GPT that will not just shape but define a critical aspect of the quarter century ahead. 

    Tags: Accessibility, AI, AI for Accessibility, AI for Good, Governance, Responsible AI

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Recruiting the world’s first disabled astronaut doesn’t mean space travel is inclusive – here’s how to change that

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sean Cullen, Lecturer in Engineering Manufacturing, College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences, Brunel University of London

    In the past, spaceflight was the preserve of government-funded astronauts who had to meet stringent physical, cognitive, psychological and social requirements for selection. But in recent years, that has all been changing.

    In September 2024, two non-professional astronauts completed the first privately funded spacewalk, using the Crew Dragon spacecraft built by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX. Meanwhile, Houston-based private company Axiom Space is conducting regular flights to the International Space Station (ISS), carrying a mixture of government-funded astronauts and paying customers.

    In the last few years, nearly 100 people have become private astronauts through the space tourism companies Blue Origin, operated by Jeff Bezos and Virgin Galactic, by Sir Richard Branson. While the price of a seat on these vehicles remains out of reach for most of us, prices are expected to drop as more players enter the market.

    Despite the rapid growth in the number of space travellers, underrepresented population groups are still left behind, particularly those with disabilities. So how can space agencies and “space tourism” companies make spaceflight more inclusive for disabled astronauts?

    The European Space Agency (Esa) recently recruited John McFall, who lost his right leg aged 19, as the world’s first disabled astronaut. McFall, who is a surgeon and former paralympic sprinter, will participate in a feasibility study to improve understanding of, and overcome, the barriers that spaceflight presents for astronauts with physical disabilities.

    Esa’s most recent selection of astronauts was entirely of white European background, showing how far things still have to go. But its move to recruit McFall marked a significant milestone towards a more inclusive approach to spaceflight.

    Designing effective systems for the inclusion of disabled people is a longstanding challenge on Earth – and space presents a whole new paradigm. The very specific demands of spaceflight mean we can’t assume that traditional adjustments and assistive technology will work beyond Earth’s atmosphere. So, making spaceflight more inclusive requires looking at each step of going into space.

    Astronaut training is a complex process, designed to simulate the space environment and enable candidates to perform well under a variety of conditions they may encounter in orbit. But in many cases, the training facilities are not well designed for individuals with physical or sensory impairments.

    For example, in order to get on the plane that flies in an arc to simulate microgravity (colloquially referred to as the “vomit comet”), astronauts must climb a set of stairs, which presents a hurdle to anyone with a mobility impairment. Ironically, impairments that restrict the use of stairs on Earth might be much less of a restriction once in space.

    Spacecraft and space suit design will be another key focus. The space suits onboard the ISS were originally designed with male astronauts in mind, meaning that female astronauts have to “make do” with what is there. This has caused challenges as the number of female astronauts has risen.

    Older spacesuits were designed with male astronauts in mind.
    Nasa / Mike Hopkins

    In 2019, Nasa had to postpone the first all-female spacewalk because the torso of a space suit was too large for one of the spacewalkers. The Moon suit developed by Axiom Space in collaboration with Italian fashion house Prada is a step towards inclusivity, with anthropomorphic sizing to accommodate a wide range of crew members. Yet, future disabled astronauts might still encounter challenges if they have differences in their limbs or impairments to their dexterity.

    Interestingly, the new SpaceX Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) suits have something called “embedded modularity” – each section of the suit is customised to the intended astronaut, and all sections fit together. While intended to help with joint positioning, these suits present a unique opportunity to support disabled astronauts with limb differences.

    Inclusive suits could include a single fixed leg portion for individuals with paralysis, and removable parts for those with limb differences. Haptic gloves could provide tactile feedback through the space suit for astronauts with limb differences.

    For individuals with visual impairments, incorporating augmented reality (AR) heads-up displays (transparent displays that show the user data overlaid over their environment) and AI-powered image-to-voice software that can translate purely visual information into audio explanations could make a huge difference.

    Technological support similar to the app “Be My Eyes”, pairing sighted assistants with visually impaired people to help explain their environment, could also find uses in spacesuits.

    Exercise equipment need adjustments to allow them to be used by disabled astronauts.
    NASA

    Thriving in space

    An often overlooked part of astronaut life is maintaining physical fitness through intensive exercise regimes. Exercise is required because both muscle and bone waste away quickly in microgravity – but the fitness equipment aboard the ISS, such as the treadmill and bike, is difficult to adapt for disabled people. Both require use of both feet to operate.

    Re-engineering the systems for exercise, eating, working, going to the toilet and other essential activities is critical for enabling disabled astronauts to thrive in space.

    Assistive technologies that could be used inside a spacecraft, as opposed to within a spacesuit, are continually evolving and taking many forms. As such, there are always opportunities to improve the environment on a space mission to make it more inclusive for disabled astronauts.

    Examples could include virtual reality (VR) for use in ground training, smart prosthetics that enable the completion of complex tasks, and computer vision with AI guiding visually impaired astronauts.

    Policies implemented by space agencies have traditionally been exclusionary, focusing on able-bodied individuals and ignoring the potential of those who are different. And while some space agencies are establishing advisory committees and promoting diversity, this work is often limited to narrow purposes within these agencies.

    Despite the UK and many other countries having specific laws to reduce discrimination in the workplace, the international nature of the space sector can cause difficulty. For this reason, policies mandating inclusion and equity across the space sector are crucial. Most importantly, space agencies should ensure adequate funding and resources to support any inclusion initiatives and work with disability advocacy groups.

    Often, the root causes of inclusion barriers are a lack of understanding or awareness of disabilities. In many cases, consulting and involving disabled people in decision-making processes reduces these barriers. It is essential the space sector recruits individuals from diverse backgrounds to begin with.

    Although the concept of “diversity quotas” has historically been divisive, the first place to start is to understand the diversity both of current and potential space travellers. Publicising diversity statistics can help hold agencies accountable, and encourage initiatives aimed at greater inclusion.

    There remains a lot to do, but with a collaborative approach, the new commercial space race could act as a shining example to the rest of the world in its approach to disability.

    Sean Cullen receives funding from the Engineering Design and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). This project specifically was funded through the Brunel Research Interdisciplinary Lab (BRIL). He is affiliated with the Space 4 All community.

    Ezgi Merdin Uygur receives funding from the Marketing Trust and the British Academy / Leverhulme.

    Vanja Garaj currently receives funding from Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Research England.

    – ref. Recruiting the world’s first disabled astronaut doesn’t mean space travel is inclusive – here’s how to change that – https://theconversation.com/recruiting-the-worlds-first-disabled-astronaut-doesnt-mean-space-travel-is-inclusive-heres-how-to-change-that-242397

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –