Under Contract

• The University of Hawaii in Honolulu will continue its work with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which awarded the school a $27.7 million contract to “maintain and operate the Infrared Telescope Facility and to develop and implement a science strategy that will support NASAs science and mission goals.” The facility houses a 3-meter telescope located in the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii.

• The Department of the Army purchased 200 paintball guns, masks and CO2 cartridges from Paintball Online, costing almost $72,000. The M16-style toy guns are for the National Guard in South Dakota, according to contract documents.

• The State Department is pouring $22.4 million into “physical security upgrades” for an area just south of the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a, Yemen. The contractor, Turkish construction company Zafer Taahhut Insaat Ve Ticaret A.S., will design and construct the secure site, located on about 14 acres of land, though more details are not given in the award notice 

• Noblis, a nonprofit research company, will be conducting an “an organizational culture assessment” for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Office of the Chief Information Officer. It will evaluate the results of years of various programs aimed at enhancing the internal work environment within the office and standardizing how work gets done. A report in 2005 described a dysfunctional “culture” in the office that did not prioritize the management of electronic records. The contract is worth more than $480,000. 

• The Department of Education is dumping $900,000 into the second phase of a project aimed at increasing private-sector innovations in technology. This contract, awarded to Attainment Company, will last two years and have a more intense focus on research and development of the products being created. According to contract documents, the tools will focus on new technologies for various types of classrooms, including ones to be used by “infants, toddlers, or students with or at risk for disabilities” or by teachers working in special education. 

• The Leadership Group won a $150,000 contract to run two one-week leadership training courses for the U.S. Agency for International Development Mission to Iraq, covering topics such as, “What does it mean to be a leader?”, “What kind of leader am I?”, “Leading change in ambiguous and turbulent times” and empowering local Iraqi staff to “make a positive difference.” 

Contract information compiled from General Services Administration data and government press releases. Send announcements about government contracts to mwilson@digital-staging.thehill.com.