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Unleashing the power of quantum

The global convening of the inaugural Quantum World Congress will take place Nov. 29 – Dec. 1, 2022, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.

• Learn more, see the list of expert speakers, and reserve your spot at quantumworldcongress.com.

This global event will bring the future into focus while establishing the Greater Washington region as a go-to destination and meeting place for quantum technology visionaries, policymakers, researchers, business and investment leaders, and students. With the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, and the Commonwealth of Virginia as major sponsors, the event is organized by Connected DMV.

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How to Make Northern Virginia Workforce Resources Work for You

Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, in partnership with Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance (NOVA EDA) jurisdictions, is presenting a free virtual event Workforce Development Resources for Northern Virginia Companies on Thursday, October 20, 2022, from 11:00 AM – 12:05 PM ET. Join us to hear from a panel of Virginia’s top workforce development experts on wide range of free resources available to Northern Virginia companies. Participants will have an opportunity to join the conversation via a live chat. You will hear from:

• William “Ed” Trumbull, Vice President, Workforce Innovations, ICF
• Michael Glascock, Regional Program Manager, Virginia Values Veterans V3 Program
• Ann Hyslop, Managing Director, Northern Region 7 Council, GoVirginia
• Crystal Thrower, Registered Apprenticeship Consultant, Division of Registered Apprenticeship, Virginia Department of Labor

Click here to register for this free event!

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Weekly Business News Digest

High water response mission: Tysons-based security firm Global Guardian CEO Dale Buckner was interviewed by ABC News 7 and CNN about his company’s efforts in supporting clients in Florida impacted by Hurricane Ian. “For us it’s all about speed and response. On Monday [Sept. 27] we put assets and people in Jacksonville Florida, Miami, Bradenton, Fort Meyers and Naples not knowing where the final storm would hit. Ultimately, once we knew the final path, we adjusted where those assets were. The storm then hit Fort Meyers at about 3:00 p.m. local. By about 7:30 p.m. that evening we were executing our first high-water emergency response missions to get people out of their homes,” Buckner said.

Best workplaces for women: For the fourth year in a row, Tysons-based Hilton ranked at no. 1 in the nation on the recently released Fortune Best Workplaces for Women 2022 list in the large company category. In addition, three more Fairfax County area-based companies placed on the list in the large company category: Navy Federal Credit Union (Vienna) at no. 35; Capital One (Tysons) at no. 51; and CustomInk (Merrifield) at no. 74. In the small/medium-sized company category, Highlight Technologies (City of Fairfax) ranked at no. 2 on the list. This year’s rankings were based on 1.2 million confidential employee survey responses that included more than 60 questions about satisfaction, including trust, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie. Companies also provided data such as industry and number of women in their workforce and in management positions, reported WTOP.

Championing women technologists: For the second year in a row, Reston-based Dev Technology was honored as the AnitaB.org 2022 Top Companies for Women Technologists winner in the small technical workforce size category. Top Companies for Women Technologists is a national program from AnitaB.org that identifies key trends around the equity of women technologists in the workforce. It is a benchmarking program that signals a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and recognizes companies committed to cultivating workplaces where women technologists succeed and grow.

Transforming Northern Virginia: Fairfax County is home to six of the 12 of the most expensive and biggest development projects underway in Northern Virginia that were featured by the Washington Business Journal: Halley Rise; Reston Station; and the Reston Town Center expansion—all located in Reston; as well as The Mather in Tysons; Skyline in Bailey’s Crossroads; and Rivana at Innovation Station (Fairfax-Loudoun county line). “Amazon HQ2, while certainly large and always a headline grabber, isn’t the biggest, perhaps by a long shot,” wrote Dan Brendel in the article. “Some truly colossal projects, especially along Metro in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, have been lumbering away, or at least stirring, for years. These are the ones you should really keep an eye on. As the ‘burbs have continued to construct what they often describe as mixed-use ‘places,’ you don’t have to go ‘into the city’ anymore to be in an urban environment.  The idea is that people want to live, visit and work in locations with lots of stuff to do and places to shop and eat within an easy walking radius.” Check out the article to see photos and project details.

Sustainable land development gift: Reston-based Bowman Consulting Group founder and CEO Gary Bowman committed $5 million to Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering for the expansion of sustainable land development learning initiatives, Virginia Business reported. “The Bowman gift solidifies Virginia Tech as the premier undergraduate and graduate programs in the field of sustainable land development,” Mark Widdowson, head of the Charles E. Via Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, said in a statement. “In partnership with the land development industry and through the generosity of Gary Bowman, our department has set the standard for curriculum innovation and experiential learning that will enrich the education of civil engineering students for years and decades to come.”

Launch plans: Herndon-based HawkEye 360 plans to have 60 satellites — 20 clusters of three satellites — in orbit by 2025, Alex Fox, the company’s chief growth officer, said this week, Via Satellite reported. The company said that the 20 clusters will have a global revisit rate of 12 to 20 minutes, as opposed to the 90 minutes now provided by the company’s five cluster constellation of 15 satellites. HawkEye 360 plans to launch a cluster each quarter and to launch the next cluster aboard Rocket Lab USA‘s Electron rocket from Wallops Island, Va., in December, Fox said.

I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon: Melbourne, Australia-based Swinburne University of Technology students are working with experts at Leidos to design a telescope that could be built on the dark side of the moon, Swinburne News reported. Six final-year students developed the telescope design, including building a prototype lunar rover that could help with construction. The proposed design could be the next big thing in deep space observation, helping reveal the secrets of the so-called cosmic dark age. Leidos Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reston-headquartered Leidos, a Fortune 500 company. Leidos Australia’s 1,500 employees work with some of Australia’s largest government agencies. “Working with Swinburne engineering and physics students is so professionally rewarding, and as a technologist it is immensely encouraging to watch the development of some very impressive engineering solutions, said Glenn Frankish, Director of Research and Emerging Technologies at Leidos.

Another funding round: Herndon-based Expel, a managed security provider, announced that it has increased its Series E funding round, led by Alphabet’s independent growth fund CapitalG and Paladin Capital Group to $171.3 million. The additional investment includes participation from existing investors Scale Venture Partners, March Capital, Index Ventures, and Battery Ventures and brings the company’s total funding to $288.8 million, according to citybiz.

Health tech firm investment: careviso, a Falls Church-based healthcare technology company, raised $17 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Ballast Point Ventures, with participation from existing investors Mercury and Lytical Ventures. The company’s technology platform provides real-time estimates for patients about the total costs for diagnostic care. Potomac Tech Wire carried the release.

Guiding complex challenges: Tysons-based Guidehouse, a portfolio company of Veritas Capital, completed its acquisition of Grant Thornton‘s Public Sector Advisory practice, citybiz reported. The transaction was announced in August 2022. “This exciting acquisition will strengthen our expertise and offerings to help clients address their most complex challenges. Looking ahead, we will continue to rapidly expand our business by investing in strategic opportunities to enhance our capabilities and drive growth,” said Scott McIntyre, CEO of Guidehouse.

Tunnel views: Tysons-based PenFed Credit Union signed a “multi-million dollar,” three-year deal to maintain 4,000 square feet of mostly digital advertising along the moving walkways on the Concourse C Connector at Washington Dulles International Airport, Credit Union Times reported. Dubbed “The PenFed Tunnel,” the digital media tunnel is comprised of LEDs as well as directional audio via sound cones. “PenFed is thrilled to continue ramping up our presence here in our hometown Washington region while also reaching travelers from across the nation,” said PenFed Credit Union President/CEO and PenFed Foundation CEO James Schenck.

CACI kudos: Reston-based CACI International received the Nunn-Perry Award from the U.S. Department of Defense for its support and partnership with a small disadvantaged business that specializes in software development and information technology management services, ExecutiveGov reported. The recognition highlighted CACI’s team-up with CDIT, a small business enterprise in Louisiana, under the DOD Mentor-Protege Program. “CACI is committed to supporting the DOD’s critical missions and introducing them to new businesses that can help them achieve their goals,” said Dan Cuviello, senior vice president of business development at CACI.

Hack Factory: D.C.-area resident and entrepreneur Matt Devost has launched the Hack Factory in Reston, a startup studio and growth accelerator designed to launch new business endeavors and support the local startup ecosystem. The new initiative will be located in the Reston Town Center and will focus on building an environment for new entrepreneurs custom-tailored to their unique requirements. The initial focus of the studio will be on cybersecurity, AI and data science, blockchain/Web3, and dual-use technologies. Yahoo Finance carried the release.

Happy Centennial: The McLean Volunteer Fire Department is celebrating its 100-year anniversary of providing service to the community by honoring a culture of volunteerism at the McLean station, McLean Patch reported. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department partners with the McLean Volunteer Fire Department on providing public safety to the McLean community. The McLean VFD celebrated its centennial with a banquet last weekend that included Chief John Butler of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, Jeff McKay, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman, and John Foust, Dranesville District Supervisor. Click here to see a video commemorating the 100^th anniversary.

Oh, and since Halloween is this month, here’s some candy news: Mars, which has its global headquarters in McLean, is launching a new addition to its line of M&M’s candies: M&M’s Caramel Cold Brew, the Washington Business Journal reported in an article for subscribers. M&M’s Caramel Cold Brew will hit stores in the U.S. beginning in February. M&M’s is also preparing to launch a limited-edition espresso flavor for the winter holiday season.

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Contract Wins

Iron Bow Technologies (Herndon) won a five-year, $743 million contract from the Defense Information Systems Agency to provide software support services for the Department of Defense. GovConWire

MITRE (Tysons) received a $486.1 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to continue serving as administrator of a federally-funded research and development organization. GovConWire

CACI International landed a $174 million task order under a Department of Defense Information Analysis Center contract to perform various research, development and analysis duties for a U.S. Navy ship maintenance operation. ExecutiveBiz

Inadev (Tysons) obtained a $33 million contract from the Department of Health and Human Services to enhance the payroll operations of its Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. ExecutiveBiz

Blackhorse Solutions (Herndon), a Parsons subsidiary, secured an $11.6 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to automate cyber threat emulation planning and execution for network security assessments. ExecutiveBiz

December 6 — 2022 NVTC Tech 100 Celebration. The Northern Virginia Technology Council will host their annual event at Capital One Hall in Tysons. Nominations are sought now (deadline Oct. 16) for NVTC Tech 100 Awards that celebrate the top companies and leaders in the Greater Washington tech community. The honorees will be recognized at the event. Click here to register.

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