Other -- Projects
Computational Biology and Biotechnology
Other Projects
Computational Biology and Biotechnology
DARPA Office: IPTO
DARPA PM: Dr. Sri Kumar
Jordan C. Feidler, Principal
Investigator
Washington
Problem
A large and expanding repertoire of available physiological, biochemical,
and molecular approaches has resulted in dramatic growth in the biological
sciences. These advances are inherently dual-use. Although they have lowered
the barrier for use in asymmetric warfare or terrorist activities, they
have also demonstrated vast potential as a source for new enabling technologies.
Objectives
DARPA's BioComputation Program will develop a computational framework,
BioSPICE, that facilitates the rapid construction of sophisticated simulations
of intracellular processes. This system will enable researchers to rapidly
explore the effects of a novel pathogen and to quickly identify possible
intervention strategies. Another goal is to develop novel and useful computational
architectures, sensor devices, and physical structures using biomolecules.
Activities
MITRE has had an active role in evaluating the usability, functionality,
and architecture of the BioSPICE software. In addition, MITRE provides
technical support in program management: evaluating current progress and
identifying new areas of research that have the potential to significantly
impact the program. MITRE has also staged technology demonstrations for
government sponsors from multiple agencies.
Impacts
MITRE has taken a leading role in guiding one of the key scientific efforts
that seeks to develop new technology for defending against biological
threats. MITRE's FFRDC role has been crucial for presenting the program
manager with an unbiased perspective on contributed BioSPICE software.
MITRE is also facilitating the transition of developed technology to other
government agencies and industry.
Center for Information and Technology
Michal Cenkl, Chief Engineer
Bedford and Washington
MII Research Resources
Janice Ballo (McLean) and Gayle Sobanek (Bedford), information analysts,
will demonstrate several MITRE Information Infrastructure- (MII) based
research resources, including Google, The Technical Exchange (TEx) and
ACM Portal. These tools are available to MITRE employees from their desktops
or from the kiosks in the MITRE InfoCenters. Learn how to leverage these
tools by accessing the business and technical information MITRE employees
need to support their work programs.
MyMII Portal
The MyMII Portal is the next phase in the evolution of the MII; the current
beta pilot is available for use by all MITRE employees. Building upon
the personalization provided by the MII, MyMII offers MITRE employees
a customizable view of the content and services that they choose, as well
as the ability to add, remove, and organize services the way they would
like to see them displayed on their home page. We are also developing
prototype web service applications and integrating content management
variants. The experience gained through the development and implementation
of Web Services will provide the groundwork for developing a technical
and operational impact analysis of Web Services infrastructure.
MyMII on the Internet (eMII)
MyMII on the Internet demonstrates technology that could provide MITRE
employees at sponsor sites or remote sites with the ability to access
parts of the MII with only a SecurID (without having to establish a VPN
connection). Services provided include access to your MITRE Time Card
(TRS), the MII PhoneBook, MII Banners, and the MII Admin Menu, which is
a gateway into other MII applications such as the VTC and Conference Room
Schedulers. This technology investigation will be used to gauge user interest
in the services offered and to solicit feedback on other services to extend
beyond MITRE's firewall.
Sponsor and Team Collaboration
There has been growing demand for tools that support communities of interest
(COI) both across the enterprise and with our sponsors. In an effort to
find a better way of collaborating with our sponsors, the eCommunities
team has been investigating the leading collaboration tool suites, such
as Sharepoint Portal Server, Sharepoint Team Services, and Lotus/IBM QuickPlace,
as well as Ensenyo, Livelink, eRooms and Introspective, to name a few.
These tool suites support collaboration by allowing the easy sharing of
documents, news, and calendar events, in addition to chat, shared whiteboard,
email notifications, and other functionality. Currently, we have established
communities using these tools to determine how they meet the collaboration
needs of our sponsors and integrate with their current infrastructure,
as well as that of the Corporation.
Remote Mail via Blackberry Enterprise Server
Email is considered by many as the true Internet killer app. Recent studies
have reported that although many professionals have stated that "they
can not live without email" the same group also proclaim that "keeping
up with it can be an arduous task." This message is particularly true
when applied to the highly mobile MITRE community. MITRE staff find themselves
consistently on the road on in meetings and can quickly become overwhelmed
with the amount of mail they have accumulated, and how little time they
have to respond to it. In some cases, not being able to respond to email
on a timely manner can have severe negative consequences, both internally
and with our sponsors. The Blackberry technology exploration looks at
using secure, mobile devices to convert downtime into productive time.
In addition to increased productivity, the Blackberry empowers users to
address concerns in a timely manner.
Voice Services for the Knowledge Worker (Voice over IP (VoIP)
Infrastructure)
Over the past two years, ACIS has been evaluating a VoIP infrastructure
as a part of the Advanced Infrastructure project. John Dewsnap and Stu
Kroner will be presenting the results of their technology investigation
to date. The demonstration will allow visitors to see how voice services
have been deployed to the VoIP phones along with the current infrastructure
that has been created for this project. Demonstrations will highlight
services offered by these phones, including voice activated phonebook,
conferencing, call screening, and myNotes. We will also discuss how these
services would be beneficial to the MITRE community.
Next Generation Media Center
The Advanced Computing Environment and Intelligent
Information Access Departments have partnered to work on the Next Generation
Media application. This application adds new functionality to the MITRE
Media Center, such as the ability to search for words or phrases within
video files that are accessible through the application. The Next Generation
Media application uses Media Indexer, a COTS tool that converts speech
to text, which allows users to then search on words and phrases from the
presentations listed on the Web site. This new functionality should assist
users in finding the information they want to view within presentations.
Technology Transfer Office
Gerard Eldering, Technology Transfer Office Director
Bedford and Washington
Technology transfer makes our technology affordable, supportable, and available to our government sponsors, academia, and industry. At the same time it can highlight MITRE's achievements and innovations. Technology transfer can be accomplished through a variety of means, such as licensing, cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs), open source publishing, consortia, and industry standards. MITRE's Technology Transfer Office (TTO) can help employees develop transfer strategies, plan and execute transfers, negotiate licenses, assess risk, evaluate patent applications, and develop business plans for corporate business investments.
Over the past year, MITRE’s TTO has negotiated more than 30 licenses,
established the company’s first CRADA, and fielded more than 20
intellectual property disclosures. This surge in activity is a credit
to the technological advances made through MITRE’s research program.