MindSET

On Today's Show:In this finale, we look back on the conversations we've had throughout season three, with Robert Franceschini, Deputy Chief Technology Officer at Leidos. He'll walk us through the highlights from the season, how all of these separate mindsets work together to form an unstoppable ecosystem and gives us a look into Leidos' future.Key Takeaways:Highlighting the various mindsets and technologies discussed in season threeHow these technologies come together in the ecosystemLooking ahead at what's next for Leidos

On Today's Show:"It will be a wonderful day when individuals come to work and can be their true whole selves and not worry about, “Do I fit in?” “Do I need to behave a certain way?”  People that are worried about being themselves authentically are expending so much energy on something other than being at work and being present.” - Liz PorterDiversity in health tech will inevitably save lives. Having representation at all levels of development and implementation will ultimately lead to better service and success for everyone. That's something Liz Porter, President of Leidos Health Group and Kristin Gowers, Chief of Staff for Leidos Health Group, recognize and work hard to achieve.Key Takeaways:Why diversity in tech is vital to successWhy diversity needs to be at all levelsThe changing global workplace's impact on diversityLinks: https://leidos.com/diversity

On Today's Show:"If you're a firing battery, you have to move quickly and constantly. You cannot stay in the same location, and you have to expect there's gonna be periods of disconnection (but) you have to be able to operate in that and still deliver fires, still know where you are, still have the right information at your fingertips." - John GeorgeIn defense operations, there is no room for error. Decisions need to be made fast, but they also need to be the right decisions. To make the right decisions, the speed of vital communication and information can be the difference between a successful mission and a failed one. That's where Leidos comes in. Leidos is in partnership with the United States Department of Defense on JADC2, or Joint All-Domain Command Control and the Army’s version of JADC2 – Project Convergence – to ensure the most advanced tech and procedures are available. In this episode, John George, Vice President and Army Senior Account Executive and Dan McCormack, Program Manager of C4ISR Solutions, join to explain what JADC2 and Project Convergence are, how Leidos is involved, and why the initiatives are so vital to American defense.Key Takeaways:What Joint All-Domain Command Control (JADC2) and Project Convergence areHow the initiatives fit together and why they're so importantHow Leidos is involvedLinks:https://leidos.com/defense

On Today's Show:"I wanted to know how I could go into that space, how I could help, and I felt like my background being just a Black woman who is very interested in her own health, (meant) it would be a good area for me to go into and see how I can make a difference." - Gabby ThomasGabby Thomas is a two-time Olympic medalist, a Harvard graduate, and a former Leidos intern. She is now pursuing her master’s in public health at the University of Texas. While her life has taken her on multiple different paths, they all intersect with her love for health. Along the way in her journey to reach her own peak health, she discovered a passion for healthcare equity. Today she joins to share how her experience on the track has impacted her healthcare career and interests and how she balances it all.Key Takeaways:Gabby's path to athletics and healthcare studiesGabby's experience as a Healthcare Innovation Analyst at LeidosHow she manages her busy life and her advice to others

On Today's Show:"We tend to focus on technology, and so the soft touchy feely becomes secondary. We need to switch that around. We need to start thinking always about how the customers are going to use whatever we provide and then start designing to that." - Lakshmi AshokFar too often, organizations put tech first and user experience second. In doing so they build a digital foundation that will steer away users and inevitably lead to patchwork fixes down the line. Lakshmi Ashok is the Vice President of Enterprise Service Management at Leidos. She joins to tell us why focus on DUX is so crucial, where businesses are getting things wrong, and the approaches to take to get it right.Key Takeaways:What DUX is and why it mattersWhy building out a good DUX early is cost effectiveHow Leidos is applying their own recommendations

On Today's Show: "I mean, we're basically looking at the transistor revolution (...) that took computers from the size of rooms to something you can put in your pocket. It's that kind of, you discover new technology, you apply it everywhere and see what you can do." - Elizabeth IwasawaA new frontier for technology is upon us. Quantum Technology is utilizing the fascinating world of quantum physics to revolutionize technology. The practical applications are abundant, and cybersecurity is one of the biggest sectors that stands to gain from this progression. The technology is already in use for quantum encryption, quantum computers, and more. Elizabeth Iwasawa is Leidos' Quantum Technology Lead and a Research Scientist. She joins to explain what Quantum Technology is, why it's revolutionary, and what it means for the future of cybersecurity.Key Takeaways:What Quantum Technology is and how it's differentHow Cybersecurity will be revolutionized by Quantum TechnologyHow it will change the future of computing

On Today's Show:"It's not that we don't invest enough, it's that an awful lot of people would say we don't get enough value for the money we spend. That's where our team and our opportunity comes to do more, better, faster to drive better resiliency in the system and to ultimately keep costs low so everybody benefits from a more resilient, clean energy." - Josh WepmanThe world relies on energy. It's integral to our way of life, and that reliance is only growing. But while the technology we use has advanced at a rapid pace, throwing us into the future, our energy grid supplying that power hasn't. It's full of outdated infrastructure, in need of desperate repair, and there just simply isn't enough human power to get it done. That's why Josh Wepman is finding solutions elsewhere like in automation and modern technologies. Josh Wepman is the Technology Officer for Commercial Energy Solutions at Leidos. He joins the show to explain some of the major issues our energy grid faces, and the solutions he and his team are working on keep America running.Key Takeaways:What energy automation offers to our way of lifeHow climate change is increasing the need to an update to our energy gridThe strategies we're working on right now to fix our systemLinks:Leidos.com/energysolutions

On Today's Show:  "The first step is realizing that the first decision you make won't be your last. There's not a perfect solution out there. There are a lot of variables to consider when we build a system or solution. We can't just pick the hot new thing because it might not be mature enough or it might not work in our customer space." - Paul Burnette. There's a lot of care and big decisions that go into successful software planning for an organization. Changes in the software world happen at an astounding pace. It's not only important to pick the right solutions for today, but also to think about resiliency in the future. Not to mention finding the right solutions that fit in with the tech landscape already present in an organization without sacrificing practicality or efficiency. Today, Paul Burnette, Vice President of the Software Accelerator, and Drew Formica, Software Architect at Leidos join to share why it's so important for organizations to keep up with software tech and how they can do it in a way that keeps workflows fast and ready for the future.  Key TakeawaysWhat Mission Software isThe importance of keeping up to date with softwareWhy looking to the future is crucial when finding solutions. Linkswww.leidos.com/software

On Today's Show:"The security is actually more stringent and more secure, even though from a practical sort of perception standpoint, it may not seem that way at, at first glance. But when you peel back the onion layers, you'll realize this way of operating, yeah, it's different, but it's actually much more secure and it gives the users a much better experience." -  David ChouThe modern digital landscape requires a new way of thinking about both cybersecurity and user experience. Cloud technology offers the solution for both of those things while not sacrificing efficiency. David Chou is the Director of Cloud Capabilities at Leidos. He joins to tell us about how the cloud works, why it's the safest option, and why it's crucial when working with Zero Trust or Beyond Compliant strategies.Key TakeawaysWhat Digital Modernization is and where the Cloud fits inThe differences between the Cloud and on-site serversHow the Cloud makes modern security approaches possibleLinkswww.leidos.com/cloud

On Today's Show:"There will always be incidents to respond to though. And that's part of this mindset too, is that you're assuming breach much like in zero trust. You're awaiting it, but you already have mechanisms in place to help you in that situation" - Meghan GoodAs cyber threats continue to evolve, security is more important than ever. It is no longer effective to just meet basic requirements. In today's world, security needs to be proactive. It needs to look ahead and predict the future threats it may need to fend off. That's exactly what the Beyond Compliance approach is, and why it's such a game changer. Meghan Good is VP and Director of the Cyber Accelerator at Leidos. Today, she joins to explain what Beyond Compliance means, how it works, and the best way for organizations to begin with this modern-day approach to cybersecurity.Key TakeawaysHow to think Beyond ComplianceOvercoming the challenges involved in always looking aheadWhy collective defence is the way forwardLinkswww.leidos.com/cyber

On Today's Show:"If you can get the trust relationship right, when humans and machines actually work together to solve problems you can really transform the way that business is done. If you build that relationship with intention based on trust, then humans actually really like working with AI-enabled capabilities traditionally." - Ron KeesingSome of our best work in technology comes when humans and machines work together. That also applies to AI-enabled tech. But to see those rewards, like any relationship, trust needs to be present, and that means it needs to be built. Building that trust is a task the team at Leidos is heavily focused on. Today, Ron Keesing, Senior VP for technology integration at Leidos and Tifani O'Brien, Lead for the AI and Machine Learning Accelerator at Leidos join us to walk us through how they're doing that and the challenges they face.Key TakeawaysHow trust in AI impacts the application of the technologyMethods for evoking trust in AIHow AI can help humans unlearn biasesLinkswww.leidos.com/ai

On Today's Show"This philosophy is very different from traditional thinking, which is if we build a wall big enough, we can keep all the bad guys out. Well, eventually the bad guys will master flight and make it over our walls. And then what? That's where Zero Trust philosophy says, protect the inside just like we do outside the walls." - Jeff MimsZero Trust is a cybersecurity approach that looks at security not just from the lens of keeping people out, but also at how we can protect all spaces when hackers do get in. It's not necessarily a new mindset, but it's been seeing a lot of traction since President Biden signed an executive order in 2021 making adoption mandatory for federal organizations. Jeff Mims is a Leidos Chief Technologist. He spends most of his time in the Zero Trust world and he joins the show to explain more about what it is, how it works and why it's so important.Key TakeawaysHow Zero Trust is different from a typical cybersecurity mindsetRecent events that have made adoption crucialWhat it means for the future of cybersecurityLinkswww.leidos.com/zerotrust

On Today's Show"It's interesting thinking back to what sent a man to the moon the first time." ... "To see the sheer size and volume of those (computers) and to know now that we have that technology at our fingertips and the ability and the power that it can provide is really beyond imagination." - Nate ApodacaIn December 2022, it will officially be 50 years since humans set foot on the moon. In half a century, the world has changed drastically, and so has the technology that got us there. But as the world has turned more digital, the importance of secure and stable IT infrastructure has never been more important. That's why as NASA looks forward to the most ambitious era of space travel in history, they need a team that can be trusted to bring the best and most reliable systems possible.Nate Apodaca is the Vice President and Division Manager of the NASA portfolio at Leidos. He joins host Shaunté Newby to share what IT infrastructure means in the context of space exploration, why it's more important than ever, and the new challenges that his team at Leidos are working to overcome.Key TakeawaysWhat makes IT infrastructure for NASA uniqueWhy the technology is so much more sophisticated than in previous space agesAs NASA increases its velocity in its race to space, Leidos IT services will transform and transfigure the way that NASA consumes, accepts, and embraces information technologyLinkshttps://www.leidos.com/nasa-ithttps://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/

MindSET Season Three kicks off this June. New host Shaunté Newby brings us conversations about Trusted AI, IT infrastructure in space and a whole lot more. Get ready to get in the MindSET of some of the greatest thinkers at Leidos and across the country.For more information, visit https://www.leidos.com/mindset

The technological Valley of Death sounds dramatic because it is. In the life cycle of a program or product, it’s the difficult divide between concept and production. “[The Valley of Death is] called that because many, many programs get to level three, level four, and they don't go any further, or they may make it to level five, but they don't go any further.”Why is the technological Valley of Death such a hot topic? Because getting a product from one end of the valley to the other - from inception to operational - is how innovative ideas come to life. But things don’t make it across the valley often enough. Innovation is the lifeblood of an organization - if new ideas don’t get to the operation stage, a company’s growth quickly stalls. Stephen Cook, Deputy Group President at Dynetics, knows all about the technological Valley of Death. In today’s episode, he explains why it’s so hard to cross the valley successfully, and how Dynetics and Leidos successfully live in the valley. “Don't fear it. Right. It's gotten this name for good reason. But there are reasons to change it and there are ways to deal with it.”On today’s podcast:What is the the technological Valley of DeathWhy it has become so common5 keys to success in crossing the Valley Examples of innovations that made it through the Valley

With the rising number of cyber attacks reported in the news, and the growing importance of complex cyber environments, there has never been a better time to talk about cyber awareness. Given the increasingly more sophisticated threats including data breaches and ransomware attacks that are occurring all too frequently, how can organizations protect the data within their cyber environments? And what are the core cyber challenges our customers face? Vice President and Director of the Cyber Accelerator Meghan Good shines a light on emerging cyber technologies, trends in cybersecurity, and the increasing adoption of the zero trust philosophy. “There's a lot of promise about applying machine learning to cyber use cases. For us, we're looking at the detection challenge, and how we can use machine learning to enhance our detection capabilities, which really is very similar to how it would be used in zero trust cases.”On today’s podcast:The major challenges for cyber technologyPresident Biden's executive orderWhat zero trust means Why create “weird” environmentsThe challenge facing cyber-physical systems

Since we first spoke to Leidos Chief Medical Officer Dr. Donald Kosiak 18 months ago, the world has changed in a myriad of ways we could never have imagined.In today’s episode, Dr. Kosiak discusses variants, vaccines, masks, what the strategy is for exiting the pandemic and what we might see in the future when we manage to move past it. At the start of the pandemic, people were thinking we might be able to suppress the virus, meaning we would eradicate it, but that’s just not the case. Coronaviruses tend to need to become endemic, like the common cold. Meaning the only way out of the pandemic for all of us is through immunity. And that immunity can come in several ways: from getting COVID in the past and recovering, from getting the vaccine and gathering immunity, or a hybrid of those, i.e. getting the vaccine and having COVID infection. “Until a large percentage of the global population, not just that of the United States, has one of those three things happen, we'll be reading about COVID and dealing with COVID for the foreseeable future.”On today’s podcast:The strategy for exiting the pandemicWhat we can learn from past pandemicsThe vaccines and their effectivenessThe Delta variant and breakthrough casesThe debate on masks

When technology works, humans trust it very quickly. But you can’t go from zero to building a really trusted AI system overnight. It takes time for technology to get to the stage where people are ready to develop a trust relationship with it. We’ve come so far in the last decade developing AI at Leidos, as a company we’re incredibly passionate about our trusted AI mission. While research has shown we trust self-driving cars within 10 minutes, there's still a tremendous need for trusted AI across the government, in combat and in matters of national securityIn this episode of the Leidos MindSET podcast, we have Head of AI at Leidos, Ron Keesing, talking about confronting AI’s trust issues. He shares how the AI that we view today as an easily trusted system is in fact the result of extensive development, testing, expertise and interaction that’s occurred over a long period of time. On today’s podcast:The consequences if AI isn’t trustedFrom self driving cars to the sea hunter platformThe 4AI methodology for developing trust in AINavigating the ethics of AIWhat’s next for trusted AI?

Mental health is a big story right now in the military community. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are often referred to as the “invisible wounds of war,” and military doctors consider concussions to be the signature wound of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.June is PTSD Awareness Month, and it comes at a time when the military science community is making huge advances in how it mitigates, diagnoses and treats these invisible wounds. This episode of the Leidos MindSET podcast explores topics of military mental healthcare and new discoveries in the field.In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Jennifer Belding, Dr. Jessica Watrous and Robyn McRoy, San Diego-based Leidos scientists who are discovering new solutions to mental health challenges through research. On today’s podcast:Studying the “invisible wounds of war”The intersection of physical and mental healthConfronting the stigma of seeking mental healthcareCaring for the mental health of military familiesLinks:Wounded Warrior Recovery ProgramMental Health MonthPost Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month

Welcome back to Season Two of the Leidos MindSET podcast. The past year has been remarkable in terms of the climate. 2020 saw extraordinary wildfires, tropical storms and heat. As we saw more recently in Texas, extreme weather can have devastating effects on the power grid and put lives at risk. What have we learned about the grid’s vulnerabilities? To learn more, we welcome Leidos energy expert Josh Wepman to discuss:The effects of extreme weather on the power industryDistributed energyWhat are microgrids?The impacts of climate changeAlternative energy sourcesLinks:www.leidos.com/mindset