Weekly Round Up: September 1-5, 2025

Artificial intelligence

NIH Prepares to Launch AI to Transform Medical Imaging, Data Analysis. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is gearing up to launch artificial intelligence programs to integrate technology into medical imaging and other use cases, said Chris Kinsinger, assistant director for catalytic data resources at the NIH Common Fund. “It’s called PRIMED-AI, which is precision medicine with AI with a focus on imaging,” said Kisinger. “So, we know that there’s a lot of machine learning classifiers for imaging out there – that’s going great, I think industry is doing a fantastic job there.” NIH is trying to “bring those images together and as well as reports, other types of data, and really do precision medicine with AI models that come out of that.” 

CIA, CISA Stress Proactive Defense, Plus Response Readiness. While artificial intelligence is becoming indispensable to proactive cyber defense strategies, federal cyber leaders warned that agencies must pair AI-driven detection with strong response planning and resilience measures to withstand inevitable cyberattacks. Officials from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said AI is already helping agencies move beyond compliance-driven security by spotting anomalies faster, accelerating response times, and guiding decisions in real time. 

NSF Launches Integrated Data Systems, Services Program. The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced the launch of its new Integrated Data Systems and Services (NSF IDSS) program to build national-scale data systems and selected 10 datasets for integration into the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot. Both of those efforts, NSF said, are working toward the goal of the White House’s AI Action Plan released earlier this month. The NSF IDSS program, the agency said, “will fund the development and operation of powerful national-scale systems and associated services that allow researchers across the country to access, use and share scientific data — accelerating innovation and strengthening American competitiveness in AI and other sectors.”

Technology

HHS Looking to Simplify IT Policies for Greater Transparency. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – spearheaded by its Administration for Children and Families (ACF) division – is reviewing more than 40 IT policies that it hopes to simplify to provide greater transparency to federal employees and the acquisition community.

DAF Unveils New Plan for Adoption of Commercial Network Tech. The Department of the Air Force’s (DAF) Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has released a new strategy outlining how it will leverage commercial technology to modernize and secure its IT networks.

CMS Pushes Modern Tech Tools for Patients, From QR Codes to AI. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is leveraging technology to modernize how Americans interact with the health care system, launching a new Health Technology Ecosystem initiative that aims to “kill the clipboard” and deliver personalized care. Amy Gleason, acting administrator of the U.S. DOGE Service and strategic advisor to CMS, shared details on the Health Technology Ecosystem, which the agency unveiled in July. Gleason explained that the initiative invites companies to voluntarily join in CMS’s vision to bridge the gap between the modern digital experiences consumers enjoy in daily life and the outdated systems they face in health care.

Quantum

DARPA Looks to Industry to Solve Quantum Computing’s Isolation Problem. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is calling on the tech and research community to help solve one of quantum computing’s biggest barriers: the inability of quantum systems to communicate and collaborate. According to a new solicitation notice, DARPA is launching a new contract called Heterogeneous Architectures for Quantum (HARQ), which aims to break this isolation issue by funding technologies to develop the hardware and software needed to enable diverse quantum systems to interconnect and operate as a cohesive whole, rather than as isolated, independent machines.

NSF Awards $16M to Build Quantum Discovery Infrastructure. The National Science Foundation (NSF) said that it is awarding $16 million to four teams it has selected to build high-tech infrastructure to accelerate quantum science discovery over the next two years.  

Those teams will work under NSF’s National Quantum Virtual Laboratory (NSF NQVL) and will receive $4 million to give quantum researchers across the country access to specialized resources.  “The National Quantum Virtual Laboratory is a critical bridge between basic discovery and deployment, specifically focused on turning America’s leadership in fundamental quantum science into practical technologies, products, and systems that will strengthen our nation’s competitiveness and ensure U.S. dominance in this field for decades to come,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director, in a statement. 

Acquisition

Navy CTO Emphasizes Streamlining Tech Acquisitions. The U.S. Navy is narrowing its technology priorities and streamlining its acquisition strategy, according to Acting Navy Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Justin Fanelli. He said this week that the service is prioritizing efforts to streamline technology acquisition and accelerate delivery of cutting-edge capabilities as it seeks to keep pace with commercial innovation and growing global threats. Fanelli emphasized the Navy’s focus on five priority technology areas – artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, cyber capabilities, directed energy, and hypersonics – as part of a broader strategy to reduce development timelines and eliminate barriers to fielding new systems.

Leadership

How to Successfully Drive Change When Everything Is Uncertain. While traditional change management emphasizes gradual tactics like pursuing small wins and building coalitions, in turbulent times these gradual tactics aren’t necessary—and they can hold leaders back from taking advantage of bigger opportunities. Research from healthcare settings both senior leaders and frontline managers are more successful at prompting change during turbulent times when they do three things: 1. Selecting a shovel-ready idea and reframing it as a solution to a problem at hand as well as long-term success, 2. Moving quickly to take advantage of a window in time when people are more open to change, and 3. Thinking more expansively about what’s possible.

Protecting Your Team in a Toxic Organizational Culture. Leading a team in an organization where communication and trust have broken down can leave you feeling powerless. The bad energy has a way of seeping into everything, threatening to contaminate your team. But you have more control than you might realize. Here are seven ways to protect your team if your organizational culture has turned toxic: 1) Set your own standards; 2) Reinforce good habits; 3) Make sure you’re not part of the problem; 4) Be the lightning rod; 5) Make impact front and center; 6) Build community to fill the void; 7) Don’t wait for exit interviews.

Lessons from U.S. Army Special Ops on Becoming a Leader.  In today’s volatile and uncertain world, leadership skills have become more crucial than ever, yet many organizations struggle to train their managers to lead effectively. But experiential learning and failure-based training, as practiced by U.S. Army Special Operations, can transform managers into leaders who excel in high-pressure situations. By focusing on initiative, emotional confidence, imagination, and strategic vision, the Special Ops curriculum offers a unique and effective approach to leadership development that can be adapted to various industries and organizational contexts.

Research in Brief: With a Bonus on the Line, Teams Prioritize Leadership.  Adapted from our September-October 2025 magazine, this succinct write-up offers insights from a recent study on incentives and group performance. Researchers found that not only did the possibility of a bonus make teams more likely to finish the escape rooms faster, but it also made them more likely to emphasize the importance of leadership in subsequent interviews. In a follow-up study in which some escape room teams were prompted to select a leader, the researchers found that those who did so outperformed other groups.

Life’s Work: An Interview with Renzo Piano. The famed Italian architect — designer of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Shard in London, Kansai airport in Osaka, and the Whitney Museum in New York —  talks about finding inspiration in the genius loci of a place, managing creative talent with a convivial spirit, bridging cultures when serving stakeholders across an array of disciplines and geographies, staying innovative and excited at work into his eighties.

THIS WEEK @ THE CENTER 

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