Award Data

Our biosensor is made of silicon nanowire arrays functionalized with antibodies to measure the concentration of specific proteins. In this grant we will take a sensor that has been demonstrated for use in measuring a set of generic host cell proteins and we will apply the sensor to measure a set of proteins for a specific cell line. In doing so, we will demonstrate the utility of our sensor to be ...

Phase I has proven that the current setup achieves better than 8mm spatial resolution for 2.2MeV prompt gammas. However, 1mm spatial resolution presents a significant challenge for the current setup due in part to limited timing resolution and count rate. A new analog ASIC will be developed to replace the current analog ASIC that will have better timing resolution and deliver higher count rates. I ...

Industrial facilities, manufacturing plants, and electric power plants that burn fossil fuels exhaust the combustion products to atmosphere through their smokestacks. Stack pollutant emissions are quantified using manual testing methods developed in the 1960s, which are prone to error if non-axial flow exists in a stack.Recently, NIST has been working on an improved technique of performing 3D flow ...

To evaluate the technical feasibility of prompt gamma neutron activation (PGAA) as an alternative to a set of standard destructive tests of concrete petrography including aggregate type, water/cement ratio, aggregate/binder ratio, density, chloride content and chloride bulk diffusion constant; and to determine the specifications for the design of a dedicated commercial laboratory-based PGAA facili ...

Conventional characterization and test methods are increasingly ineffective when applied to structures less than 100 nanometers, causing challenges across R&D, process control and failure analysis. An increasing number of subtle defects become prominent drivers of failure as device size and operating margins decrease, e.g., processing anomalies in thin gate oxides, substrate problems related to do ...

In response to the DTRA182-002 solicitation, we propose CANTEAN: Cave and Narrow Tunnel Exploration and Navigation, a flying system that employs the use of low-SWaP sensors and processors using advanced algorithms for rapid navigation and mapping of unknown, subterranean areas as part of a heterogeneous team. Bio-inspired obstacle avoidance and navigation and the efficient exchange and merging of ...

The Radionuclide Aerosol Sampler and Analyzer (RASA) is a completely automated monitoring system that detects airborne radioactive particles and is one of the detection systems used in the U.S. and global International Monitoring System (IMS) of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) to detect nuclear detonations. Mainstream proposes develop a high-efficiency cyclone separa ...

Scintillators are the major components of radiation detection systems used in identification of Special Nuclear Materials. One of their key properties is the energy resolution (ER) that links directly to isotope identification capabilities. Typically the ER for scintillators varies from 3% (at 662 keV, FWHM) for the best materials to more common 6-7%. At the moment, many detectors use latter mater ...

Increasing the distance for standoff detection of nuclear materials, beyond that capable with direct radiation detection, using “alternative signatures”, such as the concentration of ionization in the surrounding atmosphere, improves the ability to locate, track and monitor this material. Ionizing radiation generates free elections, ions, and exited states in the nearby atmosphere, even when t ...

GreenSight Agronomics (GSAg) is proposing to develop a man-portable, fully autonomous aerial mapping system to satisfy the goal of the solicitation: quickly and completely mapping a confined space with no human guidance. The vehicle will have a 400 mm frame size to provide an ideal balance between maneuverability, flight time, and payload capacity. We have chosen the Pixhawk platform running ArduP ...