Award Data

Both chemicals Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) are very persistent, toxic, and bio-accumulate in the environment and human body. PFAS can end up in soil from multiple sources, often mixed with other pollutants. Because of their unique lipid- and water-repellent characteristics, PFOS and PFOA are used as surface-active agents in various high-temperature applicatio ...

This SBIR addresses EPA’s need for improved sampling and analysis technologies to detect Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). PFAS are used in firefighting sprays, at airports, and for wild fires, and have been used in textile treatments (e.g., it is a component in Scotchgard). It is estimated that 65 million Americans are at risk of PFAS exposure in their drinking water. Seacoast propose ...

Advances in materials and automation are rapidly reshaping the American manufacturing economy. These advances must be embraced to sustain a strong manufacturing sector in the United States. Additive manufacturing is possibly the fastest growing example of this trend, growing at an astonishing compound annual growth rate of 25.7%. The plastic materials market for additive manufacturing, valued at $ ...

Altex’s Renewable Bioplastics Production (RBP) technology meets the Greener Plastic Manufacturing needs; to eliminate harmful-petrochemical feed sources, to accomplish toxic-free, low-energy, low cost bioplastics production, to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, and to have environment friendly-biodegradable bioplastics. Altex’s proposed RBP technology combines a novel feeding-sizing-pret ...

In this project, researchers will develop a prototype of a web-based tool through which English Learners (EL) can practice conversation with an automated avatar. The Speaking and Listening Learning System will provide support, feedback, and will adapt to the conversational level of students. At the end of Phase I, in a pilot study with 20 EL students in grades 1 and 2, the researchers will examine ...

In previous research and development, the developers created codeSpark, a game that employs a visual and block-based approach with puzzles to teach programming skills to children ages 5 to 9 years old. In this project, the developers will create a prototype of a fantasy-based story to be integrated within the existing game. The pretend-play scenarios will include characters, storylines, and incent ...

In resource limited settings, rapid and accurate diagnosis of infections is critical for managing potential exposures to highly virulent pathogens,whether occurring from an act of bioterrorism or a natural event. This is especially important for hard to detect intracellular bacterial andalphavirus infections, that overlap symptomatically and often treated empirically due to a lack of reliable and ...

There are currently no vaccines or therapeutics available for Marburg Virus Disease (MVD). Given the specter of weaponization and the terriblemorbidity and high mortality rate of MVD, this represents a critical threat to the operational readiness of the Warfighter. While traditionalvaccines have proven to be a huge contribution to public health, they do have some limitations especially in the cont ...

Flow Pharma, Inc. is a biotechnology company in the San Francisco Bay Area developing fully synthetic cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL)stimulating peptide vaccines for Marburg virus. The FlowVax vaccine platform allows us to create dry powder formulations of biodegradablemicrospheres and TLR adjuvants incorporating class I and class II T cell epitopes. FlowVax vaccines can be designed for delivery by i ...

In this project, the team will develop a prototype of a web-based coding progression tool for high school students to practice coding from easy to successively harder levels. The prototype will provide graded practice exercises, solutions, and explanations for important coding tasks. At the end of Phase I, in a pilot study in five high school classrooms, the researchers will examine whether the pr ...