Award Data

Plants are under almost constant attack by fungal pathogens in the environment and economic losses are a frequent consequence of this assault. To avoid or reduce economic loss, synthetic chemical fungicides have been traditionally used to keep the development of disease in check. However, the impact of chemical pesticides on the environment and human health can be harmful; this impact has been wel ...

While bacteria cause fewer plant diseases than fungi and viruses, they do cause serious economic damages to both US and worldwide agriculture. Citrus canker caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis has resulted in the destruction of over 20 million trees in Florida, while fire blight caused by Erwinia amylovora costs exceed $100 million per year in the United States alone, and recent epidemics have cost o ...

Hundreds of existing wind power projects have transformed communities by creating jobs, improving economic development, and reducing environmental pollution. However, 85 percent of rural communities cannot utilize wind power today due to community concerns or poor wind resources at ground level that make projects uneconomical. Altaeros Energies is developing an airborne wind turbine that adapts pr ...

Obesity is a growing epidemic that continues to threaten the health of both adults and children around the world. Additionally, challenging economic times and increasing food costs puts pressure on consumers to purchase lower priced meals. While there are many ingredients available that can lower fat and calorie contents of foods, their usage is somewhat limited because either their quality is not ...

USDA secretary, Tom Vilsack recently urged the Forest Service to "develop new markets" for forest by-products, which encourage healthy timber management. Small-diameter round timber is an abundant by-product of healthy timber management and could serve emerging green commercial markets if technical barriers, specifically round timber "connections", can be solved. Whole Trees Architecture and Const ...

Enterotoxigenic Escherictia coli causes diarrhea (E. coli scours) in young weaned pigs. There currently are no licensed killed vaccines for the disease, and the available living vaccines do not express toxins which should be a major target of a vaccine. This lack of toxin antigens may affect how well the vaccines protect pigs. We have recently developed an experimental killed vaccine for pig strai ...

The "KickinKitchen.TV" project combines: technology, education and research strategies to address the USDA challenge area of improving nutritional health and reducing childhood obesity. This study involves the following partners: racially diverse, urban public schools, KidsCOOK Productions, an independent production company committed to addressing childhood obesity risk through its digital educati ...

This SBIR Phase II project targets early intervention in math and science for preK-3 students in high need rural areas. The research timeline will design, build and validate a web-based Early Math and Science Preparation and Intervention Program that that trains and develops the underlying facilities required for future math learning. Working in tandem with national leaders in cognitive neuroscien ...

Plant-eating insect pests cause significant economic loss in commercial greenhouse growing operations, sometimes amounting to tens of thousands of dollars per hectare. Insects as a vector of plant pathogens also rank very high on the problem list for greenhouse/hothouse growers. Efficiently managing pests requires an array of complementary methods including traps and other physical methods, biolog ...

The development of an inexpensive, field pesticide sensor would serve a large market for researchers, municipalities and regulatory agencies to minimize the risks involved in pesticide use. The long-term vision is for this technology to become a key environmental science tool to support water quality monitoring efforts. The proposed device will solve two of the most important shortcomings of prese ...