AUTHOR ARCHIVES
Researchers Use 3D Printing To Create Bomb-Sniffing Dog Noses
October 20, 2014 Bomb-sniffing dogs (and their noses) have for some time been part of federal efforts to detect drugs and explosives at airports and other checkpoints. Now, a new $228,977 3-D printer will churn out some of the best artificial dog noses anywhere. Because dogs are precision sniffers able to distinguish odors...
Feds Use New 3-D Printer to Create Bomb-Sniffing Artificial Dog Noses
October 20, 2014
FROM NEXTGOV
Bomb-sniffing dogs (and their noses) have for some time been part of federal efforts to detect drugs and explosives at airports and other checkpoints. Now, a new $228,977 3-D printer will churn out some of the best artificial dog noses anywhere. Because dogs are precision sniffers able to distinguish odors...
Getting Health Info to Low-Income Cellphone Users
October 17, 2014
FROM NEXTGOV
The digital divide is shrinking, but that alone isn’t enough to help underserved populations, according to a blog post on the federal website for health data. “We have so many apps and gadgets to make our lives more efficient and convenient, yet products and solutions designed with and for vulnerable...
What ‘America’s Data Agency’ Should Be Doing With Its Data
October 17, 2014
FROM NEXTGOV
Much of the world’s best data comes from the U.S. government and much of the best data in government comes from the Commerce Department, which publishes weather information, demographic numbers, economic stats and scientific standards. This is why Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker last summer declared her department “America’s data agency”...
A New Way to Find Federal Contracting Information
October 15, 2014
FROM NEXTGOV
When I started writing up a post about a new alternative to FedBizOpps -- the intimidatingly clumsy government website for contracting notices -- I actually got distracted by it. The new site was created by GovTribe, a four-man team of former federal contractors that aims to make it easier to...
CDC Looks to Expand Ebola Screening at Major US Airports
October 14, 2014
FROM NEXTGOV
Update: CDC canceled its request for information two hours after this story posted. CDC was contacted before this story posted and declined to comment. The government is considering hiring more doctors and nurses to expand its Ebola screening programs at major U.S. and West African airports, according to documents posted...
Feds Buy Back USASpending Website After Contractor Bankruptcy
October 10, 2014
FROM NEXTGOV
The government procured its own spending transparency website and the primary data system behind it on the same day last month the contract to manage the systems was set to expire, new documents show. The move frees up previously contested federal contracting data, which will facilitate increased competition for future...
FAA Needs a Cloud for Its PDFs
October 9, 2014
FROM NEXTGOV
The Federal Aviation Administration is asking industry about cloud storage options for the profusion of PDFs the agency stores. FAA’s Aeronautical Navigational Products -- AeroNav Products -- last year stopped selling paper versions of aeronautical charts and other materials to the public, but the program continues to offer them as...
Peace Corps Sees Record Interest After Simplified Application Goes Online
October 8, 2014
FROM NEXTGOV
Any holdouts thinking it doesn’t matter how government does its business in a digital age should consider this: The month Peace Corps put its simplified application online, the number of applicants rose 400 percent over the previous year. After updating the application on July 15, the government volunteer program saw...
App to Help Feds Nab Child Predators Expands to Android
October 7, 2014
FROM NEXTGOV
An app that enables the public to help federal law enforcement locate suspected child predators on Tuesday launched for Android-based smartphones and in Spanish. The iPhone version of the app debuted in September 2013 and within 36 hours led Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to a suspect, ICE said in...