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Tech Titan: Victor Hoskins, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, has been named as a “2022 Tech Titan” by Washingtonian Magazine. “Hoskins has boosted economic development throughout the area. First was the District, where he helped develop CityCenterDC, the Wharf, and Union Market. Then it was over to Arlington, where he helped attract Amazon. Now he’s with Fairfax County, working to grow the presences of companies like Microsoft, Google, and Meta,” noted Washingtonian. According to the magazine, the 2022 Tech Titans are “the 225 most innovative and important people in D.C.’s tech scene right now: entrepreneurs, government officials, cybersecurity experts, venture capitalists, and others to know.” Click here to see the full list.

Accelerating growth and innovation: Herndon information technology contractor ManTech International agreed to be acquired by D.C. private equity powerhouse The Carlyle Group in an all-cash transaction valued at $4.2 billion. Carlyle’s purchase is expected to close sometime in the second half of the year. Dayne Baird, a managing director on Carlyle’s aerospace and government services team, said in a statement his company looked to “accelerate growth and innovation” at ManTech “to drive greater value for customers and employees.” Washington Business Journal has more.

Tech hub vision: Boeing’s move to Arlington pushes Northern Virginia’s tech hub vision closer to reality. The aerospace giant’s move from Chicago also underscores the success of Virginia’s economic development strategy, which has focused on attracting companies by growing and diversifying the state’s tech workforce, according to the Washington Post in an article for subscribers.

Achieving affordable housing goals: Fairfax County won $8.9 million in grants and other funds by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for its efforts to increase the availability of affordable housing. Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay says federal funds “are critical” to helping the county achieve its affordable housing goals, which was recently doubled to 10,000 new units by 2034. “Fairfax County is working every single day to ensure that everyone here access to a safe, secure, and affordable home,” said McKay. FFXnow has more.

Disruptor kudos: Tysons-based kidney care firm Somatus ranked at no. 26 on CNBC’s 10^th annual 2022 Disruptor 50, which highlights private companies that “grew through the ups and downs of the pandemic and are poised to meet increasing economic and consumer challenges.” Somatus raised over $325 million in February in a Series E funding round at a valuation of over $2.5 billion, with investors including Wellington Management and Fidelity, noted CNBC.

From intern to company president: SHRM Online interviewed Daniel Weissland, president of Herndon-based Audi America about his career path there from intern to president. Weissland was an industrial engineering and management student from Germany learning the automotive business in 1998 as an intern at Audi of America in Michigan, while struggling to understand his English-speaking host family and colleagues. In 2015, he became president of Audi Canada and today leads Audi of America, headquartered in Herndon, as its president. “I believe in the company, I believe in the values of the company, and [I created] a path for myself to grow and develop,” Weissland said in the Q&A article.

Space traffic study: Tysons-based MITRE and the National Academy of Public Administration published a white paper that recommends a global strategy to space traffic coordination to ensure that existing and future users have access to space. The document offers key measures to protect the future of space use and one of the steps is identifying and establishing an independent convener to bring together various groups across government, academia and industry worldwide, according to ExecutiveGov.

Acquisition at-las-t: Reston-based Modus Create, a digital transformation agency, acquired Atlas Authority, a New York-based consulting firm specialized in Atlassian software. The acquisition will add additional certified experts to Modus Create’s team and expand its offering to include marketplace applications. Potomac Tech Wire carried the release.

Through the looking glass: Reston-based LookingGlass Cyber Solutions, an actionable threat intelligence firm, will acquire Loudoun-based Next5, a business intelligence and strategic advisory firm focused on securing American leadership in critical technologies. The merger positions LookingGlass for continued growth and complements the company’s existing suite of cyber solutions, reported citybiz.

Seeing images: Reston-based Noblis received a U.S. patent for an artificial intelligence-based process of identifying image quality issues. The nonprofit company said its patented method involves the use of pre-trained algorithms that work to classify low-quality images. Chris Barnett, CTO of Noblis, noted the potential application of such a tool in defense and homeland security missions that use unmanned aerial vehicles, according to ExecutiveBiz.

Alleviating airport airborne pathogens: Reagan National and Washington Dulles International airports now have ultraviolet disinfection technology to combat the spread of viruses, including Covid. The disinfection method that kills airborne pathogens is recommended as a ventilation strategy to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reported Washington Business Journal.

Electric school buses: The Fairfax County School Board has set its sights on achieving carbon neutrality by 2040. To support this effort, Fairfax County Public Schools has set its own goal to completely transition its 1,625 school buses to electric or zero-carbon alternatives by 2035. With eight electric school buses in operation today and 10 more to come, the eighth largest school bus fleet in the country is on its way to electrifying trips for its 140,000 student riders and its drivers. World Resources Institute has more in a project update focused on urban mobility.

Next step: Fairfax County approved plans for the second phase of The Boro, a master-planned community in Tysons, which will add 600,000 square feet of development to the area. The Boro development, a joint venture between The Meridian Group and Akridge, will consist of a trio of buildings with 543 market-rate and workforce units, according to Commercial Observer.

Honoring Sharon Bulova: Fairfax County’s Merrifield Center’s name was changed to The Sharon Bulova Center for Community Health, taking its name from the former Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chair who helped develop the Diversion First initiative aimed at shifting people with mental health and substance use challenges to treatment instead of incarceration, reported FFXnow.

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Contract Wins

• Booz Allen Hamilton secured a five-year, $622.5 million contract from NASA to help manage the security and privacy of information technology processes across the NASA enterprise. GovConWire
• Peraton received a 7-year $339.1 million contract from NASA to continue operating the agency’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Texas. Washington Exec