Award Data

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT: Animal-borne electronic instruments (tags) are critical tools for monitoring the behavior and ecology of cetaceans, providing data needed for managing their populations and mitigating the threats they face. Although remote-deployment of tags onto cetaceans that cannot be captured has provided valuable data, attachment durations have been frustratingly short and variable. Our Ph ...

Milk samples are a rich matrix of diagnostically relevant biomarkers that capture the acute physiology of the dairy cow. Almost all serological ELISAs are applicable in milk and, as forensic technologies continue to become a superior diagnostic tool in the dairy industry, the use of genetic markers in milk are becoming the forefront of dairy molecular diagnostics. Established national DHI sampling ...

In the US alone, 3 billion pounds of consumed fresh tomatoes are grown in greenhouse farms. These farms improve food security, require less land, and consume less resources; however, for these farms to operate, large labor forces are needed to maintain, harvest, and package the tomatoes. These jobs, though paying well above minimum wage, do not attract local workers and force farmers to use immigr ...

Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. will develop a low-cost, high-efficiency condensation irrigation system to desalinate brackish water and provide affordable freshwater for agricultural applications. Solar thermal energy or low grade waste heat will be used to vaporize water from brackish water and humidify air; the hot humid air will then be sent to buried perforated condensation pipes and cond ...

As biodiesel production in the USA increases, bottlenecks in feedstock appear likely. Several companies have formed to investigate novel forms of conversion of lower cost feedstocks but all have found the same substantial hurdle, meeting the 15PPM sulfur specification of ASTM D6751. Numerous experiments have shown that low-cost fats, oils and greases may contain 300 - 500PPM sulfur and that no sin ...

Project Description and Objectives:The overarching goal of this SBIR project is to develop a cost-effective, small-scale milk processing line for HTST pasteurization as a pathway to increased revenue and profitability for small and mid-size dairy farms. Intensive research will answer critical questions in two key areas: 1) Technical Feasibility - analysis of currently available processing line com ...

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT: The objective of this project is to research the technical feasibility of designing a software tool “Permit Wizard” that will automate the process for aquamarine permit application submittal, review, approval/disapproval and issue (including collection of fees). Aquaculture producers are currently faced with slow, complex, and often confusing permitting processes that must ...

Deep-frying is a very popular cooking technique that is used worldwide. Deep-frying gives a crispy texture to food and creates savory flavors. Since it is one of the costlier kitchen commodities, frying oil is typically reused several times before being discarded. Using the oil for long periods of time is bad for the oil, causing it to degrade quickly, depending on the type of food being fried, te ...

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT: We propose developing a new observational capability for measuring upper atmosphere (20-Km to 200-Km+ altitude) wind and temperature dynamics, based on Doppler imaging of Limb concentrations of NO, N2O, and CO2 called the Doppler Wind Temperature Sounder. The principle of operation is that by measuring the Doppler shift of trace gases created by the differential velocity betwee ...

NECi proposes to develop a low cost, handheld device similar in form and function to the glucose meters used by diabetics, but for measurement of the plant nutrients nitrate and phosphate. The inexpensive meter will use disposable sensor strips. Sensing is based on immobilized enzyme films "printed" onto the electrode material of the sensor strips. Recombinant enzymes are the sensing agents: nitra ...