Award Data

The increase in the ability of a wave energy converter (WEC) to capture energy from waves is critical to ensuring the viability and cost effectiveness of wave energy power devices. WECs absorb wave power by applying a back force to oppose the forces that waves exert on the system. The back force is implemented by the systems Power Takeoff and is typically chosen via a constant damping value (resis ...

Current lighting technologies are relatively energy inefficient and heavy resulting in considerable energy consumption, particularly in aircraft interiors. Organic light-emitting diode (OLED), potentially an inexpensive diffuse source, may compete directly with conventional lights, and also with inorganic electroluminescent lamps in energy efficient diffuse lighting applications. We have identifie ...

Phthalates are a class of petroleum-derived chemicals used as plasticizers to improve the properties of polymeric materials like PVC. However, they are currently being phased out of use in the US and elsewhere due to concerns about their toxicity and action as endocrine disruptors. One viable substitute for phthalates is esters of isosorbide. Isosorbide is a di-alcohol containing two fused oxolane ...

Energy costs are the main cost drivers for large industries like chemicals & amp; gaseous products & amp; they depend on massive economies of scale and an efficient supply chain to stay competitive. Todays approaches to supply chain optimization are based on static snap-shot data and are not suitable for real-time use in tactical demand fulfillment. Companies have yet to effectively harness the po ...

An effective approach to addressing the needs of the American energy market includes both the exploration and implementation of alternative energy sources along with improvements in the efficiency. Thus far, a relatively untouched sector of energy consumption has been the efficiency of household and consumer devices. Small, incremental improvements in energy consumption by air conditioners, comput ...

The negative-electron-affinity (NEA) photocathodes which produce polarized electrons are a vital component of electron accelerators such as that at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) and DoE Jefferson Lab. Future systems, such as the International Linear Collider (ILC), will require a polarized electron beam intensity at least 20 times greater than produced by strained GaAs, which is us ...

In ballistic missile defense (BMD), sensor placement and sensor-to-target assignment are daunting tasks; even one missed threat has devastating consequences. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) seeks innovative algorithms for sensor coordination that recommend placement and response options in near-real time to provide maximum coverage against multiple BMD threats using a minimum number of land and s ...

The objective of this SBIR Phase I proposal is to develop a lightweight, cost-effective, and high-temperature resistant portable helipad for future helicopters and vertical landing aircrafts. Portable helipads are critical for forward operating bases, and enable aircrafts to land in any area safely and quickly without causing the brownout. The current technology is very effective for rotary crafts ...

The Navy is interested in developing high power and high operation efficiency pumps at 808nm for multiple Navy applications. VCSEL technology offers an excellent choice for the development of such laser pumps. Princeton Optronics has developed the technology of high power VCSEL arrays delivering hundreds of watts of power from small chips with>55% efficiency at 976nm. We would use improvements of ...

Lasercom, namely, free-space optical (FSO) communication, has many advantages over the traditional RF communication channels widely used in military communications. Some notable advantages of lasercom are no need for licensing for frequency allocation, immunity to radio frequency interference, and low probability of interception and detection. The biggest disadvantage of lasercom, however, is its ...