Research NewsletterIssue: ORN-2025-01

Happy New Year!

Workshop Announcement

Nanobubbles for Sustainability: Transforming Agriculture and Environmental Management

Date: 01/24/2025; 9.30 AM – 5.00 PM

Location:  Weston Hall 220 Gallery - Conference Room, NJIT

Registration: Free to participants; For logistic planning, pre-registration is required before 01/10/2024 via this link: https://forms.gle/Hw23pwE67dGwW1LY7.

The workshop, "Nanobubbles for Sustainability: Transforming Agriculture and Environmental Management," will be hosted at NJIT on January 24, 2025, bringing together experts from academia, industry, and policy to explore the transformative potential of nanobubble technology. Focusing on sustainable solutions for global challenges in agriculture and environmental pollution, the workshop will highlight nanobubbles' applications in pollution mitigation, soil health enhancement, water efficiency, and boosting agricultural productivity. Attendees will engage with cutting-edge research, practical applications, and strategies for carbon emission reduction and environmental sustainability, complemented by interactive discussions and a field trip showcasing innovative farming technologies in action. Please see details at 2025-01-24 Workshop plan-NBs.pdf. 

NSF: Collaborations in Artificial Intelligence and Geosciences (CAIG); Translation and Diffusion (TD); Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC); Antarctic Research Requiring U.S. Antarctic Program Support for Fieldwork Partnership to Advance Conservation Science and Practice (PACSP); Materials Innovation Platforms (MIP)

NIH: Academic-Industrial Partnerships for Translation of Technologies for Diagnosis and Treatment (R01); Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R21); Advancing Vision Health Equity through Multi-level Interventions and Community-Engaged Research (R01); Cutting-Edge Basic Research Awards (CEBRA) (R21); NIH Small Research Grant Program (Parent R03); NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Project Grant (Parent R21); NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01); Supporting Talented Early Career Researchers in Genomics (R01); NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01)

Department of Defense/US Army/DARPA/ONR: ERDC Broad Agency Announcement; Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Directors' Research Initiative (DRI)

Department of Energy: FY 2025 SBIR Phase I Release 2; Next Generation of Academia-Based Cyber Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD&D)

DOD announces completion of pilot to identify medical AI vulnerabilities: The Department of Defense’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, or CDAO, announced on Thursday that it “successfully concluded” a generative artificial intelligence pilot focused on identifying vulnerabilities in the use of large language models to enhance military medical services.  The Pentagon said the initiative was conducted by Humane Intelligence, a technology nonprofit, through its Crowdsourced AI Red-Teaming Assurance Program. The Program Executive Office, Defense Healthcare Management Systems and the Defense Health Agency also collaborated on the pilot. CDAO’s LLM pilot focused on identifying potential system weaknesses and flaws when it came to using emerging tools for clinical note summarization and for a medical advisory chatbot. DOD said more than 200 people — including clinical providers and healthcare analysts within the department — participated in the red teaming effort, which “compared three popular LLMs.” According to a press release, the initiative uncovered over 800 “potential vulnerabilities and biases” when it came to using these LLMs to enhance military medical care. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

_______________________________

Strengthening open source: A roadmap to enhanced cybersecurity: In a pivotal move to enhance cybersecurity earlier this year, the White House Office of the National Cyber Director, in partnership with the Open-Source Software Security Initiative, unveiled an RFI summary report outlining strategic priorities for open-source software security. This initiative, rooted in the National Cybersecurity Strategy, aims to fortify the open-source software ecosystem by addressing critical vulnerabilities and promoting secure development practices. The report underscores the importance of secure software development, including using memory-safe languages and robust software development techniques, frameworks and testing tools. Additionally, the Open-Source Software Prevalence Initiative seeks to better understand the distribution and use of open-source components in critical infrastructure. By analyzing this data, the federal government and the open-source community can take targeted actions to mitigate risks and strengthen the overall security posture.

The RFI summary report further consolidates valuable insights from the open-source community, outlining 12 key activities planned for 2024-2025. These activities prioritize strengthening the software supply chain, promoting the use of Software Bills of Materials, and enhancing the security of legacy software components. By focusing on these areas, the federal government and OSSPI can work collaboratively to ensure open-source software's long-term security and reliability. More information is posted on the NextGov website.