Award Data

The goal of this effort is to demonstrate an high efficient photodetector to replace the conventional photo multiplier tubes (PMT) in gamma radiation detection process. In the proposed effort. Cermet will grow and fabricate ZnO based photodetectors for the detector of scintillated light in the wavelength region between 340 and 430nm. The proposed technology will bring an improved, high efficient p ...

Community Enterprise Opportunities (CEO) Praxis, Inc. is proposing to investigate the feasibility of developing an expert system decision making tool for local economic development organizations. The tool will assist in evaluating the viability of business opportunities and their suitability to the community's resources and local competitive advantages. The expert system will enable evaluation o ...

Farm equipment and other industries use biodegradable hydraulic fluids (BHF), esters based on agricultural raw materials, that provide rapid decomposition and reduced environmental problems associated with spills. Hydrolytic stability is major problem, since BHFs react with dissolved water creating alcohols and acids accelerating degradation. This program introduces a membrane system to remove wat ...

The development of new technology that can facilitate natural food and flavor biochemistry reactions has potential to have fundamental and tremendous impact on food science and nutrition and other high value products. Reactor time and temperature are an extraordinarily expensive aspect of food and flavor development. Enabling technology that can improve product yield, improve separation, decrease ...

Plasticulture describes the use of plastics in agriculture, and encompasses a variety of materials including agricultural mulch film. Plasticulture enables farmers to extend both the growing season and the land area that can be used for profitable crop production. The disadvantage is that removal and disposal of polyolefin plastics is required after harvest. The objective of this project is to dev ...

MANY OF THE DEFECTS THAT APPEAR IN WOOD DURING DRYING OR DURING MATCHINING ORIGINATE FROM SHRINKAGE DURING DRYING AND FROM ITS ASSOCIATED STRESSES. THE ABILITY TO SENSE SHRINKAGE AND STRESSES MAY ALLOW SUCH DEFECTS TO BE AVOIDED NY CAREFUL CONTROL OF TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY, AND AIRFLOW CONDITIONS WITHIN THE KILN. THIS COULD ULTIMATELY RESULT IN IMPROVED WOOD QUALITY AND INCREASED LUMBER YIELD BY RE ...

Insecticidal efficacy is a major insecticide market driver. In 2004, InsectiGen" announced a scientific breakthrough, BtBooster", a new technology that enhances the performance of the leading biopesticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). BtBooster" is a peptide obtained from a cadherin-like protein of Manduca sexta (tobacco hornworm) and has no known or predicted toxicity to living organisms. It has ...

This study will determine the feasibility and effectiveness of the new sensors design by comparative analysis of laboratory wind tunnel and field saltation data to that of existingvertically oriented sensors.The wind erosion sensor provides high resolution data of saltatingparticles allowingthe determination of threshold of movement i.e.,the wind energy required to cause particle movement.Existing ...

Self-calibrating, low-cost, microprocessor based, combined soil volumetric water content, conductivity, and temperature sensor is proposed herein. The objective of this feasiblity study is to conduct tests to evaluate the device under a variety of conditions and to demonstrate the validity and viability of the sensor design. Existing low-cost, high volume commercial devices designed to determine ...

Due to environmental and regulatory concerns, research and development of non-chemical alternatives for pest suppression is necessary. Entomopathogenic nematodes are environmentally friendly biocontrol agents that can suppress a wide variety of economically important insect pests including white grubs, root weevils, and clearwing moth borers. Commercialization of these nematodes, however, has not ...