Award Data

Leveraging Agiltron’s industrial leading developments for optical measurement of motion in MEMS devices, we propose to use electro-optical sensors for measuring the displacement and gap in the NIST micro-rheometer. No electrical connections are required to the moving parts. All electronics and optics are removed from the chip so that it is inexpensive and disposable. A fixed, simple micro-fluidi ...

We propose a high performance library of signal processing tools that incorporate a newly developed technique known as fluctuation enhanced sensing (FES) to enhance the novel microsensor developed at NIST. Our goal is to improve the performance of the NIST sensor from two angles. One is to apply our existing proven algorithms to the NIST data. The other one is to incorporate advanced FES concept t ...

Currently, there are over 10,000 MRI scanners used in the US alone. US citizens today are mobile and many times medical treatments may require MRI scans from several different facilities. Images from MRI scanners can also drift over time. There is a tremendous need for all medical imaging scanners to be on the same level. Sigma-K will develop the commercialization of the ISMRM/NIST MRI Calibration ...

G2 proposes to develop an intuitive, interactive SCAP content creation and editing utility that will provide a user-friendly operating environment. The promise of security automation offers the opportunity for great advances in software assurance, security governance/reporting, and ongoing monitoring activities. Hindering that promise is the fact that current data exchange protocols are cumbersome ...

To further advance the characterization and utility of microcantilevers, next generation optical detectors with higher frequency response, improved displacement resolution and lower noise for weak signal detection are needed. Consequently, Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc. (RMD) will develop a turnkey optical detector module for use in characterizing the displacement and resonant frequencies of m ...

Severe weather impacts our daily lives, society and nation’s economy. From an average of $10B (2005 dollars) annual loss due to tropical cyclones since 1900 to $200B in the commercial shipping industry that is threatened by severe ocean storms to the hundreds of lives and assets being lost in the $20B recreational boating industry. In these cases and many more, accurate now-casting and forecasti ...

One of the most promising biomass sources for fuels and other feedstocks is photosynthetic algae. Algae can produce lipids, proteins, and other compounds, and can be grown in salt water. Current production practices rely on expensive means of harvesting, concentrating, and extracting the algae. This makes the “bio-crude” produced by algae more expensive than petroleum. Recovering the cellular ...

Biological agents pose high threats, because they are invisible and odorless and a relatively small amount can infect a large population when released in a densely populated area. For the same reasons, assuring safety after cleaning decontaminated sites can be challenging. Currently available technologies require considerable labor, and results typically cannot be obtained before 24 V 48 hours up ...

Leveraging on Agiltron industry leading development of optical systems and the PI experience with FTIR spectrometer design, we propose to develop a new class of compact monolithic Fourier-transform spectrometers for the long-wave (7.5-13 m) infrared optical range. The proposed solution is based on creating a spatial interferogram with a pair of a calomel Wollaston prisms and digitizing it with an ...

Longwave infrared (LWIR, 8-12µm) focal plane arrays (FPAs) play an important role in hyperspectral chemical and biological (CB) sensing and spectral imaging. Existing thermal detectors are unable to meet the high sensitivity and fast response requirements of many hyperspectral chemical and biological sensing applications. FPAs based on photon excited electron generation process can fulfill the sp ...