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 ...

Rubber is pervasive in our economy, with over 50,000 products requiring natural rubber (NR), including military grade tires. Yet significant global shortfalls are projected. Rubber dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz) produces natural rubber (cis-1,4, -polyisoprene) in root latex vessels (laticifers) almost identical to rubber from the tropical rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis). Problem: Cost-effective ...

Conventional methods for detecting pathogens, which are based on culturing the microorganism, are time-consuming and laborious. Machine learning provides an alternative path to identify pathogens using supervised learning algorithms. Most current computational tools utilize genomic or protein data to identify bacteria. These methods look for features in the whole genome that correlate to pathogeni ...

New pathogens, both naturally occurring and adversary-engineered, are increasingly likely to emerge and represent a significant and growing risk to global health and security. These new threats often have limited genetic similarity to prior known pathogens and cannot be identified through standard genetic tests. The application of machine learning algorithms to phenotypic tests to predict pathogen ...

The goal of the research is to provide a solar-blind, deep-UV photo-detector array that can be used in instruments detecting chemical and biological agents, such as TAC-BIO II, using UV Raman and Fluorescence measurements. The overall approach is to develop a solid-state detector array that achieves the performance goals for QE (>70%), gain (>1E6), dark current (

It is here proposed to demonstrate AlGaN based solar-blind avalanche photodiodes and arrays operating in both linear and Geiger mode that would be suitable for replacing photomultiplier tube technology bio-agent detection, missile warning systems, and hostile fire identification. These objectives will be reached through a comprehensive R&D thrust in the areas of semiconductor material epitaxial gr ...

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 ...

StampPump is a postage-stamp-sized (27x27x6 mm), fully-self-contained, closed-loop insulin patch pump system that is filled at the factory with enough insulin to treat a person with T1- or trauma-induced hyperglycemia for a full week. The device is shelf stable for at least 90 days and so is compatible with critical-care or forward deployment use. We propose to augment this system with the ability ...

It is well established that hyperglycemia of critical illness, general glucose intolerance, and insulin resistance are common among critically ill patients, including those without a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus upon hospital admission. Such glycemic dysregulation has been linked to increased patient morbidity and mortality, and longer recovery times. Furthermore, tight glycemic control has been ...