New Video Series | The Spark of Innovation: Booz Allen Problem Solvers Explain What It’s Like to be on the Front Lines of Tomorrow’s Challenges

The people of Booz Allen – an army of problem solvers who are passionate about their service to clients’ missions and the communities in which they live and work—are leading groundbreaking innovations. This summer, learn about the people creating impactful change in the world – check in on June 14 for the launch of “The Spark of Innovation” video series.

What is The Spark of Innovation?

The collection of 2-3 minute videos will capture Booz Allen problem solvers discussing their approach to tackling tomorrow’s biggest challenges, one innovation at a time. These stories span geographies and industries, but all reflect a shared desire to change the world. Below is a preview of what’s to come:

• Why Space Matters
  All over the country, Booz Allen’s offices are looking more and more like the open seating, modular floor plans you’d see at the campuses of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley. Together with WorkDesign Magazine and Agilquest, Kurt Scherer, principal and director of the Washington, D.C. Innovation Center discuss the future of office design and the impact that space has on firm culture and innovation.
   
• Out-Innovating Hackers: Car Companies Come to Booz Allen
  The world’s major automakers put aside competitive differences and rely on Booz Allen’s Alexandra Heckler and Josh Laredo to run a cyber threat intelligence sharing portal from the floor of the DC Innovation Center. Heckler and Laredo explain the challenges of building Auto-ISAC from the ground up and what it’s like to be at the organization’s epicenter of activity.
   
• Beat Awake to Stay Awake
  Michael Jacob and André Nguyen, now Booz Allen employees, talk Beat Awake, which they conceived as interns at last year’s Booz Allen Summer Games. Beat Awake pairs up to smartwatches and leverages biometric data to determine anomalies in heartrate that might indicate a driver is falling asleep, alerting the driver when this occurs. The pair describe how Beat Awake could prevent drivers from falling asleep at the wheel.
   
• School’s in for Summer
  Alexe Weymouth has built a flourishing and unique summer intern program at Booz Allen. In 2016, the program attracted 3,000 applicants for just 300 positions. But what does it take to lure away talent from Silicon Valley firms? Alexe reflects on her own journey at Booz Allen and some of the most memorable experiences of the last few summers.
   
• From Store Shelves to the Battlefield: How Commercial Products Can Solve Tough Government Challenges
  Jason Eller spends most of his time in Booz Allen’s Advanced Prototyping Lab developing systems and demonstrations for government and commercial clients. The lab has become known for taking unusual, technically challenging ideas that are out of scope of active contract work and turning them into functioning prototypes. Jason talks about using Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) products to solve issues the US government faces.
   
• Holy Hackathon
  For years, Booz Allen has been taking advantage of the hackathon model to promote collective ingenuity across the private and public sectors. Brian McCarthy reflects on the value of hackathons and why it’s so satisfying to set aside weekend R&R to gather with strangers and solve the world’s most pressing problems.

Booz Allen Hamilton, a values-driven organization with a guiding purpose to empower people to change the world, remains focused on providing long-term solutions to its clients’ ever-evolving challenges. Want to learn more about Booz Allen’s Culture of Innovation? Visit: https://www.boozallen.com/s/insight/publication/building-a-culture-of-innovation.html