Award Data

Research in silicon photonics has received much attention in recent years for its potential to utilize well developed silicon processing technology. A broad range of linear and nonlinear silicon photonic devices such as modulators, splitters, switches and detectors have been demonstrated. However, the most important challenge in silicon photonics thus far is the difficulty of making electrically p ...

NP Photonics proposes to develop a fiber-based, compact, tunable, THz spectroscopic/fingerprinting system that offers ultra-high resolution (< 1 MHz), high sensitivity and room temperature operation over the 1-3 THz range. This proposed system will provide high resolution molecular fingerprint information by leveraging NP Photonics high power and narrow linewidth fiber-based THz source, which is b ...

In this program, Omega Optics and the University of Texas at Austin propose to develop an on-chip surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectrometer array for single molecule detection. The sensitivity of the SERS spectrometer comes from the 5-nm gap between gold nanowires, which can achieve 108 enhancement factor (EF) for the Raman scattering signals. Especially, these gold nanowires are preci ...

TRACLabs Inc. has worked with NASA to create indoor/outdoor, vision-based leader-following systems for sparse, extra-terrestrial environments. Brown University's Robotics Group has demonstrated leader-following and gesture recognition in high-traffic, dynamic, indoor environments using active lidar sensing. We propose to combine our technologies in order to create a passive sensing system that w ...

Highly scalable parallel random number generators (RNGs) will be developed, evaluated and implemented for use in high performance computing on thousands of multi-core processors and general purpose graphics processing units. The main contributions are: (a) design and implementation of new parallel test methods that capture the inter-stream correlations exhibited in practice and complement the curr ...

The current produced in electrochemical galvanic cells is primarily dependent on the rate of the electrode reactions where the cell's anode is less negative, supplying less energy than thermodynamically predicted, and the cell's cathode is less positive, supplying less energy than thermodynamically predicted. Reduction of electrochemical overpotentials in electrochemical systems has been the prim ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We have raised murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to a conserved region of the CD4 binding site of gp120 (CD4bs) that neutralize genetically diverse HIV strains. The MAbs have a novel mechanism of action. They hydrolyze multiple molecules of gp120, thereby imparting MAb increased biological efficacy. About 10% of HIV infected subjects develop resistance to cur ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Bacterial biofilm formation on medical implants is a serious clinical problem. Biofilms can turn a simple implant into a serious complication. Recently we showed that the covalent attachment of micrograms of organo-selenium to the surface of an orthodontic device will inhibit the formation of a biofilm without harmful side-effects. This has recently (2009) led ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Acute and chronic wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers represent a major area of medical concern. With roughly 27 million patients suffering from these types of partial thickness wounds, representing substantial billions in medical expenses, a means to rapidly close such acute and chronic wounds with minimal medical staff involvement would be a major new bre ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Optimal use of operating room (OR) personnel and resources is an important problem from multiple perspectives. Unanticipated waits and delays continue to add tremendous costs and negatively impact outcomes. There are over 55 million ambulatory and 45 million inpatient procedures performed in the U.S. annually, with increasing case complexities and patient comor ...