Award Data

Hazard assessment tools that model the transport and dispersion of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) materials through urban areas are only as good as the 3D models that inform the physics model. Maintaining accurate, up-to-date 3D models of urban areas is challenging. Even in the commercial world, urban construction and demolition may result in the models created a ...

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 and alphavirus infections, that overlap symptomatically and often treated empirically due to a lack of reliable an ...

In this SBIR project, a mathematical and numerical framework with efficient conforming methods for the design, analysis, and optimization of the performance of mobility system components will be developed. Phase I effort will focus on the development of automated isogeometric mesh generation to enable the dynamic simulations of surface deformation or relative motion encountered in applications suc ...

Melanin is a largely unexplored biomolecule with a large diversity of molecular composition. It has broad electromagnetic absorbance, is capable of absorbing gamma radiation, is a strong antioxidant, and is resistant to environmental degradation. Despite many intriguing qualities, it has never been produced at industrial scales to enable innovations in materials and coatings. In response to the de ...

There is a significant need to improve the IR attenuation performance of military obscurants and advanced nanostructures could fulfill this demand. Metal flakes Physical vapor deposition (PVD) affirm that more than order of magnitude increases over current performance levels are possible if high aspect-ratio conductive flakes/discs can be effectively disseminated as an un-agglomerated aerosol clou ...

America’s infrastructure is aging, and in countless instances there is a critical need to address the degradation of structural components before disaster strikes. Two main infrastructure components are bridges and railways. MELD can fabricate or repair unweldable metals, yields wrought properties, is portable, and has significantly lower operating costs than other processes. MELD, formerly know ...

Epigenetic changes in DNA methylation pattern can result due to aging, diseases, or environmental changes and have been identified as biomarkers for several neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As a result, DNA methylation signatures are being explored to assist with disease diagnosis, monitoring disease p ...

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a forefront of public health concern as the problem is especially acute among war veterans. The current treatment methods for PTSD mainly consist of antidepressant medications and psychotherapy, however, these are still not very effective considering drug use disorders and suicide. Epigenetics, in particular, DNA methylation has been known to show a signifi ...

The growing reliance on GPS for position, navigation, and timing (PNT) capabilities is a vulnerability as GPS can be readily compromised. We propose an artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) driven toolkit - a system of systems of interoperable components and methods that can be seamlessly used as necessary and appropriate for the tactical requirement and area in question. This suite ...

Shared Spectrum Company (SSC) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT) propose to develop and demonstrate an Adaptable Tactical Communications system that the reduces the complexity of operating tactical radios in contested spectrum conditions. Tactical radio systems have many parameters (frequency, modulation, routing, IP address, where to deploy, etc.) that need to be control ...