Award Data

DIFFERENTIATING AMONG THE DENOMINATIONS OF U.S. CURRENCY IS A PROBLEM FOR THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED. CURRENTLY AVAILABLE DEVICES THAT ASSIST THE BLIND IN DETERMINING CURRENCY DENOMINATIONS ARE RELATIVELY LARGE AND EXPENSIVE. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IS A SYSTEMATIC APPLICATION OF PATTERN RECOGNITION AND MICRO-ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOP A PEN-SIZE PAPER CURRENCY READER. RECENT AD ...

VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUND (VOC) EFFLUENT STREAMS ARE A SERIOUS AIR POLLUTION PROBLEM. CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES FOR VOCS HAVE BEEN OXIDATION OR CARBON ABSORPTION BUT RECENTLY MEMRANES HAVE SHOWN EFFECTIVENESS. PRESENT MEMBRANE PROCESSES WORK BY PREFERENTIALLY PASSING VOCS (VERSUS AIR) THROUGH THE MEMBRANE AND THEN COMPRESSING AND CONDENSING OUT DOWNSTREAM VOCS. ADVANTAGES OF THIS MEMBRANE PROCESS INCLU ...

MOUTHSTICKS OR ORTHODONTIC ORTHOSES ARE WIDELY USED BY PEOPLE WITH SPINAL CHORD INJURIES OR SIMILAR DISABILITIES TO INCREASE CONTROL OVER THEIR ENVIRONMENT. PEOPLE WITH THE ADDITIONAL LIMITATION OF LITTLE OR NO ANTERIOR/POSTERIOR HEAD MOTION MAY BENEFIT FROM AN EXTENDIBLE MOUTHSTICK. HOWEVER, COMMERCIAL EXTENDIBLE MOUTHSTICKS SUFFER IN THAT THEIR ACTION IS OFTEN SLOW, EXTENDIBILITY IS LIMITED, OR ...

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REMOVAL OF TOXIC METALS FROM WASTEWATER STREAMS HAS BECOME A PROBLEM OF INCREASING NATIONAL IMPORTANCE, AS A RESULT OF INCREASING CONCERN FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT, AND INCREASINGLY STRINGENT WASTE DISPOSAL REGULATIONS. CHROMATOCHEM, INC., HAS DEVELOPED AN ECONOMICAL AND EFFECTIVE NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR THE REMOVAL OF LOW LEVELS OF TOXIC METAL IONS FROM WASTEWATER STREAMS, USING SOLID PHASE EXTRACTION (SPE) ...

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A RESEARCH AND EVALUATION PROJECT TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY AND FORM OF A FULLY AUTOMATED NATIONWIDE DIRECT DIAL TELEPHONE NUMBER DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE SERVICE FOR THE DEAF CONTAINING TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF ALL INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES OWNING TDD/TTYS, WHICH WILL BE ACCESSIBLE BY TDDS (TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICES FOR THE DEAF), TTYS, AND PERSONAL COMPUTERS. THE PROJECT WILL EVALUATE THE TECHNICAL ...

THE DESTRUCTION OF ORGANIC HAZARDOUS WASTE BY ELECTRIC ARC PYROLYSIS HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO BE TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE BY OTHERS. THE PRINCIPAL PROBLEMS LIE IN (1) THE SHORT LIFEOF THE ELECTRODES (AND RELATED STRUCTURES) DUE TO THE HIGH TEMPERATURES INVOLVED, AND (2) THE RELATIVELY HIGH COST OF THE ELECTRIC POWER NEEDED. APPLIED RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC. PROPOSE TO DESTROY ORGANIC HAZARDOUS WASTE B ...

THE U.S. POSSESSES HUGE COAL RESERVES, BUT SULFUR DIOXIDE (SO2) RELEASED UPON COMBUSTION IS A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO ACID RAIN. SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES HAVE BEEN MADE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MICROBIAL PROCESSES FOR PRECOMBUSTION REMOVALOF INORGANIC SULFUR FROM COAL. THIOBACILLUS AND SULFOLOBUS SP. HAVE BEEN MOST FREQUENTLY EMPLOYED. THEY ARE OPTIMALLY ADAPTED TO FUNCTION AT A PH BELOW 3 AND OFTEN AT ELEV ...