Award Data

Detection of bioaerosols is a cornerstone in the protection of our nation from bioterrorist events. Rapid bioaerosol detection systems have advanced dramatically in recent years, but the lack of integratable automated sample preparation for these systems remains a major deficiency. Three significant issues associated with current sample preparation components in these systems are (a) a lack of an ...

Electronic devices used in criminal activity provide excellent evidence when examined, which is getting increasingly difficult as devices shrink and tools fall behind in capability. Law enforcement face an uphill battle to stay ahead of the latest technology changes since devices evolve so quickly. Central to all of these devices is the role of flash memory, which is the long-term storage availabl ...

Currently, there are over 10,000 MRI scanners used in the US alone. US citizens today are mobile and many times medical treatments may require MRI scans from several different facilities. Images from MRI scanners can also drift over time. There is a tremendous need for all medical imaging scanners to be on the same level. Sigma-K will develop the commercialization of the ISMRM/NIST MRI Calibration ...

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 ...

The objective of this proposal is to establish the feasibility of developing an integrated decision support framework that transforms the current time-consuming and reactive (post completion of final design) sustainability assessment into a proactive CAE approach that enables the ability to revise designs based on performance against selected sustainability targets in the product design process, i ...

Our vision is that of an integrated decision support solution that transforms the current time-consuming and reactive (post-design) sustainability assessment of a product into a proactive approach available in the early design phases. This solution called Sustainability Integrated into Early Design (SIED) will deliver lifecycle sustainability data into early design processes and focus primarily on ...

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 ...

A DNA sequencer for biometric applications will be developed. The system will enable rapid and low-cost identification of individuals and kinship verification using a self-contained and portable device. All process steps from DNA extraction to DNA sequencing will be automatically performed within the disposable single-use cartridge. This high-level of functional integration is made possible by Adv ...

The recent emergence of the Silicon Drift detector (SDD), for use in energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDS), has made possible x-ray event streams with count rates as high as 1-10 Mcps. A problem with existing digital signal processing, as applied to SDDs, is the significant presence of coincidence peaks above the x-ray background. These coincidence peaks occur with amplitudes comparable to lo ...

We propose to run 3 experiments to refine and utilize measures of oculomotor activity and pupil diameter change to assess an individual's malicious or deceptive intent. We also propose to concurrently develop the software and determine the hardware necessary for online, real-time assessment of malintent based on prior research results and the results of the proposed experiments. In addition to ocu ...