Award Data

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Project will result in the generation of a new nano-technology specifically tailored to increase the efficiency of the boiling processes used in heat exchangers and electronics cooling hardware. Unlike traditional flat surfaces and previously investigated microporous surface (MPS) coatings, homogeneous nanoporous surfaces (NPS) offer a simple-to-manuf ...

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project develop a new generation of proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology. The proposed project will investigate processing techniques for synthesizing polyphosphazine membranes, which are hydrogen bonded to form supramolecules. Such supramolecular interactions can be fully miscible or self organized polymeric backbones to form two or more ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a tool to help engineering faculty design and administer assessments of engineering education. The tool will also assist in the management of assessment data to support instructional decisions for individual students, decisions on courses and programs, and accreditation decisions through the Accreditation Board for Engine ...

The pressing need exists within industry to accurately measure high aspect ratio microscale structures. For example, diesel injector nozzles are manufactured with microscale holes ranging from 50-200 micrometers in diameter and 3-5 mm depths. One fundamental challenge is to nondestrucvely measure these features in order to validate models, enhance manufacturing processes, and reduce fuel emissions ...

Manning Applied Technology proposes to develop a handheld infrared spectrometer, ideally suited to detection of airborne chemical agents at and below permissible exposure limits. This approach offers unmatched sensitivity and specificity for detection of all types of chemical vapors. The instrument is modular, rugged, compact and highly sensitive. Volume pricing will be less than $1000 each. ...

Flax containing omega 3 fatty acids and relatively high protein content offers advantages as a potential source of plant protein and oil to replace fishmeal and oil in aquaculture feeds; reducing both pressure on marine fisheries and the principal source of contaminants in farmed fish. MMP ahs used innovative fungal culture technology in separate processes to develop low cost, multi activity cell ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of using ResonantAcoustics (low-frequency acoustic mixing) as the basis for developing a highly efficient BioAcoustic Mixing Platform (BMP). Conventional biological orbital shakers and cell culture flasks have substantial drawbacks that include low oxygen transfer capability and presence of detrimental oxygen ...

This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of using multiple acoustic frequencies as a multimodal approach to mixing small diameter carbon nanotubes into a polymer matrix to create a high-performance nanocomposite material. Multiple acoustic frequencies are employed to effect distributive and dispersive mixing. Conventional, industrial polymer mixers, ...

MCNC PROPOSES A FEASIBILITY STUDY AND EVALUATION OF THREE PROMISING APPROACHES TO THE FABRICATION OF SURFACE TEST STRUCTURES ON SILICON. SURFACE FEATURES ON THE FIRST STRUCTURE WILL BE PRODUCED BY CONTROLLABLY ETCHING THERMALLYGROWN OXIDES. FEATURES ON THE SECOND WILL BE MADE BY ETCHING PIEZOELECTRIC THIN FILMS. USING THE PIEZOELECTRIC FILM AS PART OF A CAPACITOR, STEP-HEIGHT CAN BE VARIED AND PRO ...

WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP THE RUDIMENTS, IN PHASE I, OF A SOFTWARE SHELL THAT WILL ALLOW TEACHERS AND OTHERS INTERESTED IN SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION TO CONSTRUCT SPECIFIC SCIENTIFIC "EXPERIMENTS" ON PERSONAL COMPUTERS. THE SHELL WILL INCORPORATE A GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE, ALREADY DEVELOPED IN PREVIOUS WORK, GRAPHICS FILES, AND OTHER STORAGE AND PRESENTATION UTILITIES IN A WAY THAT DRAMATICALLY STREAMLINES ...