SERDP & ESTCP’s Post

looking forward to sharing (and listening!) on critical materials + geoeconomics #geoeconomics #criticalminerals #criticalmaterials #risk

This is an exciting new - and critical - field in Economics that I encourage all economists to learn about. The post-WWII, American-led phase of free-trade and capital flows, like the Victorian Pax Britanica 110 years ago, is over whether you like it or not. The world of global bifurcation is upon us and the cleavage grows irreversibly every day. You can keep looking backwards to a world that no longer exists or run towards enhancing our understanding of the global political economy as it now exists. Your choice, but I know who will be more in demand as economists and analysts.

It was great to have the opportunity to discuss digital engineering (DE) with Nick Freije and Dan Reineke. When I took the position leading Digital Engineering efforts for NAVSEA Warfare Center HQ at the close of CY2022, I noted that the phrase "Digital Engineering" was a colloquialism used by many communities to mean different things. This led to a lot of misdirection and misalignment of priorities as organizations sought to advance "Digital Engineering" without verifying that they were working towards the same goals. Within the same room you may have someone transformation acquisition managmenet, another developing digital infrastructure, and a third working digital execution of tasks. All three individuals would claim they are "driving Digital Engineering" but yet they are working different objectives and potentially towards different ends. Over the last 18 months, I've seen an exponential growth in the attention given to DE. The rise in commercially available generative AI, proliferation in digital manufacturing applications, and advancements in MBSE adoption has bolstered the efforts of those already working in the space and led to former critiques of the "Digital Engineering" label to revisit the subject. Increased community interest, paired with the robust engineering and analytics footprint of our defense RDT&E establishment, has presented us the opportunity to move from "talking digital" to "executing digitally". Representing the warfare centers, I often joke that "I am the Lorax, and I speak for the trees" in reference to my advocacy of engineers, analysts, and developers who are the ones who actually have to implement DE concepts at the working level. DE remains a vast, multi-faceted field but the industry is quickly bringing digital concepts (which were previously academic at best) into the practical realm. We have a golden opportunity to combine our existing system expertise with new and exciting engineering capabilities to do things once considered impractical or impossible. It is going to be exciting to see how we are able to leverage DE to tackle more difficult problems and deliver more sophistocated capability solutions to the Fleet in the coming years.

We all know that traditional firefighting foam #AFFF is problematic because of the high #PFAS content. This week, Battelle’s Fire Research Team, including Heather Luckarift, Glenn Johnson and Josh Hebert who are based at Tyndall Air Force Base, presented findings on the validation of fluorine-free foams at the SERDP/ESTCP U.S. Department of Defense Energy and Environment Innovation Symposium. We're enjoying our time meeting others with a passion for confronting America's #PFAS challenge. https://okt.to/L39Vc7

The EVERY Company is breaking barriers 🌱💼. Despite a challenging funding climate, the company has secured a $2M grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. Read more about how they're pushing forward in the alternative protein space. https://lnkd.in/ghd-8RMh #FoodInnovation #CPGNews #SustainableProtein #FutureOfFood #AltProtein

💣🌊 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲-𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲 - 𝗞𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗠𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 💣🌊 We are excited to announce that north.io GmbH in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment of Schleswig-Holstein, will organise the 𝗞𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗠𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 (KMCW25) from June 18–20, 2025. This international conference is dedicated to addressing the challenges of munitions clearance at sea, fostering innovation, and showcasing the latest technological advancements to ensure the safety of our oceans and maritime infrastructure. 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟭𝟴–𝟮𝟬, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 Building on the success of the inaugural KMCW in 2021, this event will bring together experts from research, industry, and government to advance collaborative solutions for offshore munitions clearance. KMCW25 will also provide an excellent platform for industry leaders to exhibit cutting-edge technologies and innovations in this critical field. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀: 👉 https://lnkd.in/drWFyb86 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗠𝗖𝗪𝟮𝟭 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 📺 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄

At the invitation of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in New York, Professor Valentine Nzengung, on December 10, 2024, provided a briefing on the application of MuniRem technology as a safe and portable versatile solution to support ongoing global efforts to clean up explosive remnants of wars. Dr. Nzengung’s briefing focused on the application of MuniRem as a green and mature alternative to the disposal of munitions and explosives by open burning and open detonation. Specifically, Dr. Nzengung discussed the many applications of MuniRem products to neutralize unstable explosives, chemical destruction of bomb fillers (recovered bulk explosives), demilitarization of small arms, and rapid cleanup of explosives in different materials (e.g., soil, water, demilitarization equipment, storage magazines, etc.). In keeping with MuniRem Environmental’s mission to expand the application of its MuniRem technology to protect humanity from the hazards of explosives, our dedicated team of scientists and UXO Technicians are supporting the global commercial and military explosive industry.

Want to learn more about how the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is using existing data and models in new ways to improve and accelerate the identification of potentially jurisdictional aquatic resources under USACE’s permitting authorities? Go give this new Technical Report by Anthony M. Priestas, Jared McKnight, and Emily Stickney a read, where they provide a proof of concept for tools to aid in the identification of the jurisdictional limits of tidal waters. Looking forward to seeing these tools (with some additional heavy lifting by ERDC’s Dustin Brown) put into practice! https://lnkd.in/gfdv6S85

An allied exercise to defend the US and Canada in the Arctic. Notice who isn’t part of it? At this point, should NATO create a permanent Arctic base on territory Canada’s armed forces are now obviously too depleted to operate in?

A Nebraska company is turning old fluorescent light bulbs into a secret weapon for U.S. defense—caught your attention yet? Rare Earth Salts is revolutionizing how we produce terbium oxide, a key rare earth material in defense tech, with eco-friendly methods. Backed by a $4.22M grant from the Department of Defense, they're taking a big step toward reducing reliance on foreign materials. #RareEarthElements #Innovation #DefenseTech #Sustainability #USManufacturing #SupplyChain #GreenTech Read the full article on Rare Earth Exchanges: https://lnkd.in/gMJ_A-vU