We have the government to thank for the internet, GPS and unmanned aerial systems. Much of the machine learning and advanced analytics powering the data-driven economy are made possible by government-funded research. And agencies themselves are being transformed by new technologies and innovative ways of weaving IT into critical missions.

Public-sector tech, in other words, is far cooler than the government often gets credit for. These awards aim to give these innovators the credit they deserve. 

The Public Sector Innovation category focuses on transformative tech that is truly reinventing government -- at the federal, state and local levels. That potentially mission-critical impact can stem from a new technology itself or from the innovative ways established tech is being leveraged to make government function better.

Congratulations to 2018's winning Public Sector Innovations, which are listed below. Each will be profiled in more detail this fall, and honored in person at the Nov. 8 Government Innovation Awards dinner.

3-D Printing for Replacement F-35 Parts
U.S. Marine Corps, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, Combat Logistic Battalion 31

Administrative Data Research Facility
Census Bureau

Ambient Temperature Monitoring in the Global Supply Chain
USAID

Business Intelligence for Better Oversight
Government Accountability Office

BUYSMARTER Initiative
Department of Health and Human Services

Career PathFinder
County of Los Angeles

Code.gov
General Services Administration

Cyber Direct Commissioning Program
U.S Army, Cyber Command

Enhanced Dynamic Geo-Social Environment
Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate

Federalist
General Services Administration

FedRAMP Tailored
General Services Administration

High-Fidelity Adaptive Deception & Emulation System
Sandia National Laboratories

HSIN Migration to AWS GovCloud
Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN)

Human Capital IT Modernization
Office of Personnel Management, Human Resources Line of Business (HRLOB)

Intelligent Grants Automation
Department of Health and Human Services

International Trade Blockchain Proof of Concept
Customs and Border Protection

JPL Open Source Rover
NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

LEADER Replacement System (LRS)
Los Angeles County, Department of Public Social Services

MOCYBER RockNSM
Missouri National Guard/Air National Guard

North Atlantic Right Whale Protection System
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

OC Ballot Express
Orange County, Calif., Registrar of Voters

Ohio Benefits Process Automation Pilot Project
Ohio Department of Administrative Services

Paper Automation & Digitization
Federal Election Commission

Risk-limiting post-election audits
Colorado Department of State

Roadway Monitoring with AI and IoT
City of South Bend, Ind., Department of Public Works

Software-Defined Networking for the DISN and the DoDIN
Defense Information Systems Agency

StormSense
Virginia Commonwealth Center of Recurrent Flooding Resiliency; City of Virginia Beach; City of Newport News; City of Norfolk; National Institute of Standards and Technology

Transforming SBA Cybersecurity via the Cloud
Small Business Administration

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Healthcare Delivery
USAID

Unstructured Machinery Repair for Navy Ships
U.S. Navy, Military Sealift Command

VA Medical Images & Reports
Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration

Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP)
Federal Bureau of Investigation

Virtual Situation Room
City of Independence, Ore.

Wake County Tax Assessment Model
Wake County, N.C., Revenue Department

Wireless Vital Signs Monitor
U.S. Navy, Office of Naval Research

Wrong-Way Driver Detection System
Arizona Department of Transportation