Award Data

Analysis of nuclear material samples in the field has many advantages over laboratory analysis. Laboratory analyses can be slow, involve increased expense, lead to additional waste generation and disposal problems, and may introduce errors due to sample degradation or mishandling. In situ analysis mitigates all of these problems. The specific aim of this project is the development of a truly por ...

Radiation tolerant Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA's) have gained wide and rapid acceptance by military and aerospace equipment suppliers; however, there are presently a limited number of chip-sets available for production. The lack of FPGA alternatives severely limits the range of available functions and applications that would greatly benefit from increased performance with radiation hardn ...

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: United States domestic rice production is an important industry that directly and indirectly generates over 55,000 jobs and over $9 billion in income. An abundant by-product of the rice milling industry is rice bran. Rich in nutritious proteins, vitamins, and antioxidants, it is nevertheless an underutilized resource because of its tendency to spoil rapidly. Spoilage is caus ...

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Imported fire ants have a combined impact/cost of over $6B annually including loss of human life. Of that, approximately $1B is agricultural damage to crops, livestock and other domesticated animals. The purpose is to improve/reformulate then laboratory/field-test the efficacy of a series of "very successful" Phase I SBIR sustained-release prototypes for deliverying volatile ...

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Net-pen aquaculture, in both freshwater and marine environments, is a large agricultural sector and produces a significant component of the world's fish for human consumption. Increasing pressure to generate profit and decrease production costs, plus pressure by the public and private sector to address ecological concerns associated with waste generated by these aquaculture ...

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Biodiesel, a diesel fuel made from oil seed crops offers an environmentally sound alternative to conventional diesel fuels reducing emissions and conserving carbon dioxide. Conventional diesel engines can use biodiesel with no change in engine performance . In addition, it can be produced domestically from oil seed crops, thereby reducing our dependency on foreign oil. Curre ...

This SBIR project proposes a new approach to making liquid fuels from cellulosic biomass sources (a Biomass-to-Liquids or "BTL" process) that would significantly reduce the cost and complexity of production. The project uses innovative chemistry and reactor designs to enhance efficiency, selectivity, and reduce operating condition severity. Phase I aims to demonstrate process feasibility by determ ...

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Soil erosion from disturbed lands, construction sites and low-volume roads is a major source of water pollution in all areas of the United States. This project will develop a wood-based erosion control material for forest and wildlands applications that performs or exceeds the functionality of agricultural straw while addressing straw's known limitations.

Our firm has been cooperating with engineers and scientists to develop materials that can be made from shredded woody debris. Field work during those projects put us in contact with many contractors and community-based organizations who were frustrated with the lack of markets for "chipped" woody biomass. We found that most community-based wildfire protection program leaders were unaware of the qu ...

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: In the southwestern United States, rural communities face a daunting problem of coping with the death and stranding of illegal immigrants in isolated border areas. In 2002 in Arizona, at least 120 people died trying to cross border areas. The initial actions of public officials at the onset of an incident can make the difference between life and death. In these complicated i ...