Award Data

Using a novel concept for humidity control, based on a proprietary saturated air source, MAC will construct and evaluate a prototype of an environmental chamber for use with NIST’s SPHERE UV source, in weathering or other UV degradation studies. The chamber will interface to the exit ports of the SPHERE, maintaining the material coupons, mounted in a standardized sample holder, at a programmed t ...

Toyon proposes to develop a system that can automatically count the number of gray whales that pass nearby a shore-based installation. The system will be comprised of infrared cameras and a set of computers, which automatically scan the video for whale blows. We have implemented and tested such an algorithm using Matlab during Phase I and we propose to extend this algorithm to run in real time dur ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop a "close-to-care" instrument that can assess antibiotic susceptibility of infection-causing bacteria in less than one hour. MEMS-fabricated sensors and integrated fluidics will measure the mass and growth rate of a small number of bacteria in-vitro with a resolution near 1 femtogram. By exposing the bacteria to a panel of ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) II project outlines in vivo testing of semi-synthetic therapeutic protein conjugates. Low molecular weight peptide drugs have had limited therapeutic utility due to rapid clearance and, consequently must be injected very frequently. These drugs could be conjugated to a carrier protein. Attachment to large biomolecules, such as carrier proteins, improv ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will continue the development and commercialization of spider silk fibers commenced in the Phase I effort. Spider silk is a unique material in nature that is currently inaccessible on a commercial scale. Spider silk and other protein polymers are broadly useful in fields ranging from specialty textiles, to medical devices and advanced ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will further develop and commercialize a groundbreaking technology for high-throughput cost-effective screening and analysis. This technology addresses the growing disparity between the ability to generate high-complexity chemical libraries with molecular genetics and combinatorial chemistry approaches, versus the ability to rapidly s ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop technologies to enable commercialization of nanoscale Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). Conventional DMA works by applying an oscillating stress to a sample and measuring the time-dependent strain. Analysis of DMA data gives information about material stiffness, viscosity, thermal transitions and activation energies, for ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will expand on the successful work from Phase I project on synthesis and characterization of metal oxide nanocomposite materials that can capture HBr and be regenerated to produce bromine. The capture and regeneration capabilities of these materials are integral to the economic viability of the GRT Gas-to-Fuels/Chemicals rocess and the GRT P ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase II project is designed to commercialize a consumer self-serve, automated kiosk for the evaluation, buy back, and collection of used electronics directly from consumers. Prototype kiosks deployed during Phase I provided convincing proof of the feasibility of the baseline technical approach to the visual and electrical inspection technology, roboti ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will study the feasibility for commercialization of an intelligent reconfigurable modular robot system called iMobot, which was originally developed at the University of California, Davis. Robotics has grown beyond automation to encompass systems that are self-reliant, reconfigurable, mobile, intelligent, and aware of their environmen ...