Award Data

Single chirality of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is critical for their superb mechanical, thermal, optical and electronic properties. All known methods for producing nanotubes give mixtures of tubes with different chiralities. Physical separation of SWCNT by chirality is thus an enabling step for many potential applications and fundamental studies. The existing anion exchange resins are ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will substantially and rapidly increase environmental and food safety by testing the feasibility of using carbon nano-tube covered sensors to electrochemically detect the amount of mercury in substances such as water or fish, by vaporizing a small spot of the substance to determine mercury levels in each sample as it is being processed ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of using a novel enzyme from a marine bacterium as part of a process to convert biomass to ethanol. The Trillium laboratory has preliminary data that indicates that this enzyme has unique characteristics that enables a low-cost process for converting xylose, a common biomass-derived sugar, into ethanol ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a novel approach to generate electricity without ?burning? fuel by using organic material obtained from bio-waste as a fuel. Unlike the conventional biomass-to-energy conversion, the current approach directly converts bio-waste, such as waste wood and agricultural biomass into fuel. Fuel has a zero carbon footprint, as ...

The applicant will develop a wave energy harvesting system for NOAA buoys. It will ve entirely self-contained (no protruding elements), modular, scalable, and easily deployed. The system employs a unique, inertial mechanism that responds to acceleration forces created by waves. This mechanism will be combined with (1) a proprietary generator that is sensitive to very low levels of torque and ha ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the need for renewably powered and always available energy for powering personal medical and other location aware sensors. The project advances wearable thermoelectric generator (WTEG) technology. The system will yield new advances in terms of miniaturization, increases in WTEG power densities, application of advanced heat t ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will further develop the IBUCS' Utility Accountant electrical load disaggregation system and conduct performance trials in small commercial settings. Utility ratepayers need granular information to more effectively identify and mitigate inefficient appliances and activities. The new generation of smart electric meters currently b ...

One of the most critical challenges facing our war fighter is to detect enemy fire quickly and accurately for force protection. Existing acoustic systems protect against gunshots only and are relatively slow; optical systems are large and expensive, suffer from a high false alarm rate, and do not provide 360 degree coverage. To address these issues, Oceanit has developed an enhanced Hostile Fire ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a new Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) detector system, which will measure signals over seven orders of magnitude with a digitization resolution of better than 1 percent (from a single laser pulse). The detector system hopes to bridge the gap between analog to digital converters and photon counting systems. The i ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will demonstrate superior power-delivery, rapid-charge, and long cycle-life performance of prototype carbon-coated, nanoparticle-based electrodes for use in inherently safe, moderate-to-large sized lithium ion batteries of various commercial designs. The primary innovation is the use of optimally sized, arranged and assembled carbonc ...