Award Data

Opportunity: Guayule, a US native plant, is the only alternate rubber crop with an established, mechanized, agronomic system. Problem: Low rubber yields and lack of effective resin and bagasse coproduct valorization, have prevented widespread adoption by American farmers and processors. Rubber is only made when the cytoplasmic monomer pool (isopentenyl-pyrophosphate; IPP) is larger than that requi ...

Natural rubber is an essential manufacturing material that possesses performance properties that are superior to synthetic rubber for many product applications. However, natural rubber production is limited to a single species (rubber tree) in a limited geographic area (Southeast Asia) and is predicted to be incapable of meeting future demand. Producing rubber from another commercial crop such as ...

Traumatic injuries account for 30% of all life years lost in the US and is the leading cause of death for people under 46 years of age. Uncontrolled bleeding or hemorrhage constitute 30-40% of trauma related deaths and are considered to be a major cause o

Portable Advanced Battlefield and Ground surveillance radar can now provide effective detection of small targets, posing challenges for troop movement and stealth missions. Radar absorbent strategies have been achieved in composites and larger textile objects, but effective light-weight solutions for current operational clothing and individual equipment systems such as uniforms, knapsacks and body ...

Nanoparticles represent an attractive alternative in coating processes due to their functional versatility, including surface, optical, conductive and catalytic properties. However, current processes of coating textile products with nanoparticles results in rapid loss of the nanoparticles during laundering or use, leading to a significant decrease in product durability and functionality and increa ...

The objective of this project is to develop a compact and efficient avalanche photodiode (APD), operating between 200-250 nm, for implementation in the next generation bio-chem-detectors. The proposed detectors will be based on the AlGaN materials system and will be solar blind, highly sensitive, smaller, less expensive, and more robust than current UV detectors. Development of such APDs will enab ...

Developing knowledge-driven nanoelectronics for military applications requires understanding the fundamental physics that governs the behavior of the underlying materials. Strongly correlated materials have very desirable properties such as interfacial superconductivity, ferroelectricity, ferromagnetism, and huge magnetoresistance, which make them an ideal set of candidates to integrate with semic ...

Defense against chemical weapons is a critical DoD requirement. An effective defense requires the development of unique respirator systems that prevent inhalation of chemical warfare (CW) agents. In addition, the protective equipment exposed to CW agents must not pose a residual hazard after use in the battlefield. Existing respirator canisters remove CW agents, but they do not self-decontaminate ...

The objective of this proposal is to enable high-sensitivity, passive imaging system of natural mm-wave emissions, which can be used as standalone or fused with other imaging modality such as conventional IR imagery in degraded environments. This is achieved through a unique antenna integrated electro-optic (EO) modulator, where received mm-wave signals modulate an optical carrier. The optical car ...

W-band millimeter waves have a number of important applications, including directed energy and, more recently, 5G FR2 network development. Reliable measurements of electric fields in the W-Band, while critical to the development of these applications, have proven challenging. This proposal addresses the development of an accurate, traceable, cost effective W-band RF field strength detector. The so ...