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MITRE in the News - 2009 Journal of Biomedical Informatics Article Title: "Cloud Computing: A New Business Paradigm for Biomedical Information Sharing" MITRE authors Arnon Rosenthal, Peter Mork, Maya Hao Li, Jean Stanford, David Koester, and Patti Reynolds examine how the biomedical informatics (BMI) community can take advantage of cloud computing resources. The authors conclude that substantial economies of scale potentially yield costs much lower than dedicated laboratory systems or even institutional data centers, and they maintain that clouds belong on the list of approaches to be seriously considered for BMI. The article presents an analysis of the plausibility of various cloud vendors' claims regarding cloud computing resources. Rather than listing the absolute strengths and weaknesses of cloud-based systems (such as for security or data preservation), the article focuses on the changes from a particular starting point, such as individual lab systems. IEEE Spectrum Article Title: "Interplanetary Internet Tested" The many paths a message can take through the Internet make that network robust and efficient—and the envy of those whose job it is to design communications schemes for the far-flung spacecraft leaving Earth each year. After more than a decade of development, NASA is in a rush to have a communications network ready by 2011 that can efficiently carry data between Earth and the multiple probes, rovers, orbiters, and spacecraft exploring the solar system—effectively binding them together to form an interplanetary Internet. Tests performed on the International Space Station last May were the second of three tryouts of the network's key technologies, called Delay Tolerant Networking, or DTN, protocols. MITRE principal engineer Keith Scott chairs a working group at the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems, an international organization that recommends standards for spacecraft communications. They are considering adopting DTN. Then, mission by mission, a network would grow, weaving an interconnected Web between the planets, the space station, and spacecraft. MIT News Article Title: "Project Whirlwind Comes Home" The Project Whirlwind Computer collection—a compilation of pioneering digital computing research conducted at MIT in the 1940s and 1950s—has been transferred back to MIT from The MITRE Corporation, and its contents are being opened to the public for the first time. In operation until 1959, Whirlwind laid the foundation for simulation and real-time technology and formed the basis for the U.S. Air Force's Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense system. MITRE was incorporated in 1958, one month following the installation of the first of 23 national SAGE centers, to provide systems engineering and ongoing support for SAGE. Government Health IT Article Title: "Keep an Open Mind: Public Health Agencies Consider Open Source Software to Reduce Costs Without Sacrificing Features" Public health departments across America are taking a closer look at open source IT software for its time and cost savings benefits, as well as adaptability. While open source can lower costs, users might have to purchase commercial support and maintenance. "The total cost of ownership is a key issue," said Harry Sleeper, an open source expert at MITRE, where an electronic health record testing tool was developed. Sleeper, who has been advancing services and applications using Java and Ruby on Rails (a Web application development framework) for the past five years, said even with commercial support, the cost of open source health IT will be lower than comparable proprietary systems. MIT Technology Review Article Title: "Detecting Aircraft Pathogens Before It's Too Late" Carrying millions of passengers each year, commercial airlines are vulnerable to biological contamination, making the rapid spread of disease a real threat. Researchers at MITRE have conducted a study that, for the first time, looks at the particle distribution of exhaled breath to better understand how airborne pathogens spread in aircraft cabins—and how best to detect the particles that may carry viruses. "If you want to detect infectious viruses from exhaled breath, you need a biosensor with single particle detection," says Grace Hwang, principal investigator of the study and a lead biosensors scientist at MITRE. "Our goal is to capture the infected cases coming into the U.S. before people are symptomatic," says Hwang. "That will buy time to defend against a pandemic spread, and the economic benefits would be enormous." To conduct the study, MITRE researchers used a computational fluid dynamics model to investigate the extreme coughing and sneezing situations of passengers. They determined that ultrasensitive biosensors are necessary to detect the presence of viruses. Fairfax Connection Article Title: "Science of Success" Virginia high school senior Narendra Tallapragada began working as a paid employee at The MITRE Corporation in McLean, Va., two years ago, during the summers after his sophomore and junior years. He became interested in the subject of materials structure and composition, and that project, with assistance from MITRE mentors, evolved into an award-winning entry at the 2009 Intel Science Talent Search. Out of 1,600 entries, Tallapragada's placed fourth. The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology senior is savoring his scholarship prize, and is leaning towards attending MIT as a double major in physics and electrical engineering. Bedford Minuteman Article Title: "Bedford Shows Strong Support for Dollars for Scholars Phone-a-thon" On February 28 and March 1, The MITRE Corporation in Bedford, Mass., hosted the local chapter of the Citizens Scholarship Foundation in a telephone fund drive to raise scholarship money for Bedford High School seniors planning to attend college or technical training. More than 2,300 Bedford and Hanscom Air Force Base community residents were reached via phone by 112 Bedford High School students located at the MITRE campus, in an effort that raised a record $35,250. Scholarships will be awarded at a reception in May. Defense AT&L Article Title: "Information Technology Acquisition: A Common-Sense Approach" Al Grasso, president and CEO of The MITRE Corporation, wrote an article published in the spring edition of Defense AT&L. The article discusses the realities and complexities of large-scale IT acquisition against the backdrop of rapidly evolving technology, business processes that are increasingly interconnected within and across federal agencies, and fiscal and human resource constraints. Grasso pinpoints three critical challenges to successful IT acquisition: governance (place emphasis on consistent management, cohesive policies and processes, and decision rights for a given area of responsibility), requirements management (invest sufficient resources in the requirements and concept definition phase), and program management practices (successful programs have a technically strong government program management office). He offers four ways to improve the process: focus oversight on best practices, take a portfolio approach to IT program management, attract and retain critical government professionals, and strengthen program management offices. U.S Department of Homeland Security Article Title: "DHS Science & Technology Directorate Establishes Two New Federally Funded Research & Development Centers" The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate recently announced the formation of the Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute (HSSAI) and the Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute (HS SEDI™). The MITRE Corporation will operate the HS SEDI federally funded research and development center, which will "provide advice on concept evolution, development integration, best practices in lifecycle systems engineering and management, and program-level technical and integration expertise across the homeland security enterprise." The Wall Street Journal Article Title: "SEC Moves to Review Whistleblower Complaints, Enforcement Tips" The Securities and Exchange Commission has partnered with The MITRE Corporation to conduct a comprehensive review of how the agency processes tips and complaints from investors and whistleblowers. SEC chairman Mary Schapiro announced this move to strengthen the SEC's enforcement division following charges filed against financier Bernard Madoff. PR-USA.NET Article Title: "Defense Industry Underscores Commitment to TM Forum Standards" The TM Forum—the world's leading trade consortium focused on business effectiveness for the communications, media, and defense sectors—and The MITRE Corporation recently co-hosted a defense industry meeting to examine the role of TM standards in managing defense networks. Held at MITRE's McLean, Va., offices, the gathering marked a significant step in the development of the Forum's Defense Interest Group, which focuses on enabling collaboration between key players to adapt TM Forum standards and best practices for the defense industry, allowing service providers, product vendors, and system integrators to best meet the needs of government defense departments, including the U.S. Department of Defense and NATO. "As part of its industry outreach, collaboration, and information sharing efforts on behalf of our DoD sponsors, MITRE was delighted to host this event," said principal systems information engineer Bob Natale, co-chair of the Defense Interest Group, formed in June 2008. The milestone meeting included more than 80 attendees representing 35 companies. Wired Magazine Article Title: "Key to Eliminating U.S. Flight Delays? Redesign the Sky Over New York City" The MITRE Corporation, in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration, is helping improve the flow of traffic in New York's ever-crowded airspace. The long-term plan—the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign—aims to make the airspace more efficient and flexible, decreasing delays due to the more than two million flights that pass over the city each year. With a third of all commercial flights in the U.S. affected by New York airspace, local delays contribute to delays across the country. Joe Hoffman, simulation modeling engineer, and his colleagues have been redrawing the "map of the roadways in the sky" over the metropolitan area's three busiest airports—John F. Kennedy, Newark, and LaGuardia—for maximum efficiency. Using MITRE's Air Traffic Management Laboratory, the group has been working closely with air traffic controllers to test various solutions to shave several seconds off of each flight, which will ultimately lead to hours of time saved in the aggregate. The redesign entails adding new arrival posts, departure gates, takeoff headings (similar to streets leading up to the intercity highways), and "expanding the low-altitude zone in which all arriving and departing aircraft fly." The FAA started implementing the new takeoff headings in December 2007. It plans to have the full strategy in place by 2012. By then, the FAA hopes to have reduced delays in New York by an average of three minutes per flight. Best Practices in HR Article Title: "Company Fulfills Resolution to Promote Healthy Lifestyles All Year" The MITRE Corporation's Embrace Your Health (EYH) initiative—an award-winning program that promotes physical activity, good nutrition, and work-life solutions—was recently featured in Best Practices in HR. The article highlighted the programs offered through the company's health services centers in Bedford, Mass., and McLean, Va., MITRE's principal locations. The centers provide on-site access to a wide range of services, including ergonomic evaluations, chiropractic care, and monthly lunchtime seminars on health-related topics. Employees are encouraged to get cholesterol, blood pressure, bone density, and other screenings at in-house health fairs. Additionally, MITRE's food service provider recently adopted a "zero trans fat" cooking method and features at least one "healthwise" or "carb-conscious" meal choice for lunch every day. Bill Albright, director of Quality of Work Life and Benefits, and Joyce Barth, Health and Wellness program manager, said EYH is a success largely because management fully supports the initiative and that the activities offered are relevant to employees in different stages in their lives and careers. This focus on health and wellness has contributed to the company's low voluntary turnover rate, Albright noted. Federal Computer Week Article Title: "DHS Turns to Old Model for R&D" The Department of Homeland Security is creating two new federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) to support its complex technology programs and vast procurement needs—the Systems Engineering and Development Institute and the Studies and Analysis Institute. FFRDCs play a critical role in "leading agencies to significant innovations in specific areas" and offer agencies "unbiased, objective, and independent analysis and advice from leading experts who otherwise would not be available." The MITRE Corporation's Raymond Haller, director of the Defense Department's Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I) FFRDC, explained that, while the centers have broad access to private government information, there are rules and restrictions in place to ensure the protection and proper use of the information. "Those restrictions are in place for a sound set of reasons," said Haller. Federal regulations require sponsoring agencies to review FFRDCs and limit contracts for the centers to five years. Nature Article Title: "Glycobiology: Surface Sensing" The cutting-edge nanobiotechnology research of MITRE's Grace Hwang and Elaine Mullen is featured in the latest edition of the scientific journal Nature. One of several articles in the issue with a focus on the new field of Glycobiology (the study of complex sugar molecules and their role in biology),"Glycobiology: Surface sensing" discusses Hwang and Mullen's groundbreaking collaborative work with University of California, San Diego researchers Lin Pang and Prof. Yeshaiahu Fainman that has led to the development of an ultra-sensitive nanotechnology-enabled sensor for the detection of pathogens, such as viruses. When a glycoprotein is attached to the sensor's gold foil surface—which is perforated with nanometer-wide holes—and a pathogen or carbohydrate-binding lectin attaches to sugar receptors on the protein, the device detects a change in plasmon resonance.* This key advance in pathogen detection has important applications in the health and bio-defense fields. Hwang, Mullen, Pang, and Fainman are still working to improve the device's sensitivity to identify under one million influenza particles per milliliter. The current sensor development was described in the December 2008 issue of IEEE Sensors Journal. *Note added by MITRE: Basic research and preliminary demonstration of the sensing capabilities of the device were conducted by Professor Fainman's lab in 2006 (Tetz et al. Optics Letters, 31(10), 1528-1530) as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) University Photonics Research Center for Opto-Fluidic Integration. Network World Article Title: "MITRE Offers Recommendation-tracker Software and Free One-day Course" Network World recognized The MITRE Corporation's free Recommendation Tracker (RT) software and course as an important tool to help operations managers improve security by keeping track of vulnerabilities, patches, and interactions of applications software with operating systems. RT is "an open source program that facilitates development of automated security benchmarks. System administrators use benchmarks—essentially a set of recommendations—to securely configure an operating system or software application and then set up automatic testing to ensure proper configuration." MITRE is offering a one-day RT course at its Bedford and McLean campuses. CSO Security and Risk Article Title: "Security Experts ID Top 25 Programming Errors" The MITRE Corporation, the SANS Institute, and experts from more than 30 U.S. and international cyber security organizations developed a list of the 25 most significant programming errors that can lead to serious software vulnerabilities. The errors, which can lead to security bugs and enable cyber espionage and cyber crime, are common mistakes made in the process of developing software—not the vulnerabilities that result from programming errors. With the list, programmers can write more secure code; buyers can purchase more secure software; and educational institutions can "teach secure coding more confidently." MITRE in the News Archives
Page last updated: September 16, 2009 | Top of page |
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