Award Data

AT THE PRESENT TIME, ALL MATURITY SORTING OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, SUCH AS APPLES, PEACHES ANDTOMATOES, IS ACCOMPLISHED EITHER BY HAND, BY COLOR OR BY THE USE OF THE MAGNESS-TAYLOR . EACH OF THESE TECHNIQUES HAVE MAJOR DISADVANTAGES IN THE HIGH-SPEED MATURITY GRADING OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. THE ANNUAL VALUE OF THE THREE NAMED FOOD CROPS ALONE IS IN EXCESS OF ONE BILLION DOLLARS, AND THE OPPORTU ...

XMCO HAS IDENTIFIED AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONDUCT RESEARCH TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A COUNTY AGENT ADVISOR SYSTEM (CAAS). THIS INNOVATIVE CONCEPT WOULD INVESTIGATE THE APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY, SPECIFICALLY HYPERMEDIA TECHNOLOGY WITH EMBEDDEDEXPERT SYSTEMS, TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND REQUIREMENTS OF COUNTY AGENTS. THIS MEETS A USDA NEED FOR INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY ...

THE UNCERTAINTY IN MEASURING NEUTRON DOSE EQUIVALENT RATES RESULTS IN UNCERTAINTY IN ASSIGNMENT OF THE PROPER DOSE TO OCCUPATIONAL RECORDS AND CAN RESULT IN IMPROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF CONTROLS TO LIMIT THE EXPOSURE. A NOVEL PORTABLE NEUTRON SPECTROMETER IS PROPOSED WHICH WILL REDUCE THE UNCERTAINTY OF SUCH MEASUREMENTS TO LESS THAN 20%. MANYCOMPONENTS OF THIS DEVICE ARE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE. SYS ...

PREDICTING THE RATE OF SOIL WATER MOVEMENT AND THE IMPACT OFAGRI-CHEMICALS ON WATER RESOURCES IS VITALLY IMPORTANT TO MANAGING AGRICULTURE, FOR OPTIMIZING PRODUCTIVITY AND MINIMIZING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. SOPHISTICATED MODELS FOR MAKING SUCH PREDICTIONS ARE AVAILABLE, BUT DATA ON SOIL HYDRAULIC PROPERTIES ARE DIFFICULT AND OFTEN EXPENSIVE TO OBTAIN. IN FACT, AT DEPTHS BELOW THE ROOT ZONE THERE IS ...

MRC PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A SAFETY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR (PI) OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC (EM) PROTECTION STATUS OF A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT (NPP). WE BELIEVE THAT SUCH A PI IS NEEDED BECAUSE: (1) EM ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IS ON THE INCREASE,(2) ADDITIONAL EM THREATS MUST BE EVALUATED, AND (3) DISRUPTION OF NPP OPERATIONS BY EM EFFECTS CAN AND MUST BE AVOIDED. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE ADDRESSED THE ISSUE OF E ...

N/A

THIS PHASE I SBIR PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING INOCULATION TECHNIQUES FOR THE SUCCESSFUL CULTIVATION OF USTILAGO MAYDIS (COMMON CORN SMUT) EAR GALLS AS AN EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME-GENERATING CROP OPPORTUNITY IN RURAL AREAS WHERE THE CULTIVATION OF CORN IS A TRADITIONAL CROP. THE PROPOSED FEASIBILITY STUDY COVERS THREE MAJOR AREAS OF RESEARCH: (1) THE COMPILATION OF EXISTING ...

LOCATING NATIVE QUARTZ GRAVEL DEPOSITS WITH THERMAL IMAGERY HAS BEEN FOUND FEASIBLE BY THE USDA FOREST SERVICE SOUTHERN REGION, BUT THE COST OF OBTAINING IMAGERY WITH RESEARCH SCANNERS IS EXCESSIVE AND IMPRACTICAL. THE PYROELECTRIC VIDEO SYSTEM MANUFACTURED BY THE ISI GROUP OFFERS A POTENTIAL LOW COST ALTERNATIVE, BUT NEEDS RESEARCH TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS APPLICATION. A DUAL CAMERA S ...

This project addresses two problems of environmental and economic importance to New Mexico.The first problem is the value-added utilization of pecan shells, and agricultural waste from oneof New Mexico's most important crops. The second problem is the need to remove metal andorganic contaminants of environmental concern from wastewater produced by some of NewMexico's economically important indust ...

Water quality and soil erosion are high priority issues for U.S. agriculture. In more humid areas of theU.S., vegetation filter strips have proven to be an effective method of reducing erosion and improvingwater quality. Filter strips are less effective in the West due to sparser vegetation and more variablerainfall. In addition, establishment of vegetation is more difficult in many western wat ...