ARPA-E's new leader, NVTC awards and maps in the cloud
News and notes from around the federal IT community.
Amazon Web Services' Teresa Carlson, who won FCW's 2013 Eagle award, was honored this year as NVTC's Technology Executive of the Year.
Senate confirms new ARPA-E director
The Senate has confirmed Ellen Williams, a former chief scientist at BP, to be director of the Energy Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency.
DOE's tech research agency is "central to the department's advancement of energy technology innovation," Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a statement, adding that Williams' expertise in condensed matter physics and technology's impact on markets will be assets.
Williams, who has a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, replaces acting director Cheryl Martin.
NGA deploys map in the cloud
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency became the first intelligence agency to host "an operational capability" within Amazon Web Services' commercial cloud, with the help of Lockheed Martin, the company said Dec. 8.
The company helped NGA move its Map of the World to the cloud as part of a contract awarded in 2012. The map is a set of searchable geospatial databases available to agencies and contractors. The cloud deployment will give the broader intelligence community access to the map, Lockheed Martin officials said.
Carlson is NVTC's Tech Exec of the Year
Amazon Web Services' Teresa Carlson is the Northern Virginia Technology Council's Tech Executive of the Year, the industry group announced on Dec. 8 at its annual TechCelebration banquet. Carlson was recognized not only for her work at AWS to move more of public-sector IT into the cloud, but also for "championing programs that build the talent pool in Northern Virginia and help to create a new generation of leaders."
The NVTC also gave organizational awards to the Consumer Electronics Association, CSC, Monster Government Solutions, Vencore and Zoomdata. More details are available on the NVTC web site.