Award Data

Underground cross-border tunnels of all sizes and shapes are an increasingly important threat to our National security. Finding cross-border tunnels is a challenging task and once found, an additional challenge is secure and map the entire underground tunnel. Manned entry into these dangerous underground environments is a risky endeavor. The use of robotics offers a great improvement over human en ...

ABSTRACT: For navigation of space platforms under GPS denied conditions, there is a need for micro-inertial sensors, with better accuracy and smaller volume and weight than the state of the art. We at Digital Optics Technologies (DOT) have been developing a superluminal ring laser gyroscope (SRLG) that can improve the accuracy of rotation sensing by nearly six orders of magnitude. Alternativel ...

ABSTRACT: There is an urgent DoD desire to better enable effective ground testing T & E methodologies in order to maximize the information return for DE systems. During the planning phase for wind tunnel tests, the finite number of options for positioning the source, target, and sensors are evaluated. If the dynamic environment of each location is known, a motion damping system can be used to mit ...

ABSTRACT: FG Systems proposes to develop a Solid State Magnetocaloric Refrigerator (SSMR) which will provide a means of cooling infrared focal planes and other system components to their operating temperatures without significant consumption of cryogens. The SSMR will be a low vibration level system suitable for space-borne and air-borne applications, as well as have a very high efficiency comp ...

ABSTRACT: IllinoisRocstar LLC and Purdue University propose a framework that enables field assessment of particle size and shape for use in ultra-high performance concrete. We will implement portable scanning approaches for particle size measurement and combine this with high performance computer modeling to optimize altering particle size proportions. Critically, the framework will be implemente ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will employ Nanofiltration to generate sulfate ion feedstocks and high current density on-site generation (synthesis) of the powerful oxidant peroxodisulphate (“persulfate”) with novel, high reliability boron-doped untrananocrystal-line diamond (UNCD) electrodes to dramatically lower the cost of unconventional fossil fuel (FF) waste water ...

A team of EP Purification and the University of Illinois engineer and chemists is pursuing the commercialization of low cost microchannel plasma modules capable of efficiently producing ozone for water treatment. The conservation of water resources for human consumption is a growing national priority. Contamination of ground municipal water by animal manure, fertilizer and pharmaceuticals, for e ...

ABSTRACT: The data transmission capacity required for fixed and tactical information networking continues to increase. Deploying traditional RF or microwave broadband direct line of sight (DLoS) links does not meet future warfighter needs. A key thrust for the Air Force (AF) is Assured Access Communications. This involves the pursuit of affordable low probability of intercept and detect (LPI/D ...

ABSTRACT: The current designs of telescopes for space borne applications use monolithic glass, beryllium, or silicon-carbide optics. With the existing optical technology, it is increasingly difficult or impossible to meet the new goals and requirements of AF, ORS, and other modern DoD missions. In particular, (a) rapid fabrication, response to needs, (b) ultra-lightweight optics, (c) compact si ...

Phosphorus (P) remediation is an extremely difficult and costly environmental problem and could cost $44.5 billion dollars for treatment using conventional water treatment plants to meet EPA requirements. Phosphorous runoff can lead to“dead zones” due to eutrophication and can also cause hypoxia, leading to death of aquatic life that thrive in an oxygen-rich environment. None commercial prod ...