Award Data

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop an inorganic-reinforced proton exchange membranes for application in vanadium redox flow batteries (RFBs). New proton exchange membranes with reduced vanadium permeability as well as enhanced stability and durability are needed for cost-effective operation of RFBs. The composite membrane to be developed will have high chemic ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a novel, spring-based, adjustable stiffness actuator, that will power future wearable robots and exoskeletons. The actuator will be integrated into a powered prosthetic ankle which will meet the demanding requirements for lower limb mobility. Its unique ability to tune stiffness allows it to be customized to an individual ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project will lay the groundwork for an Entrepreneurial Education (EE) simulation/exercises infrastructure. Researchers have uncovered that training simulations indispensable in closing the gap between gaining knowledge in the classroom and application of that knowledge in the field. The operational gap will be closed by using a simula ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is designed to discover compounds from a unique Natural Products Library that block the altered patterns of gene expression seen in pancreatic cancer. The extract and fraction library to be screened is from Dr. Gunatilaka at the University of Arizona and are derived from Sonoran desert plants and their associated microorganisms. These ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on the development of a compact all-fiber-based, short pulse (< ps) mode-locked laser operating in the 2-micron wavelength band. The laser will be constructed from Tm-doped germanate glass fiber, which provides high optical gain in a short length, and the fiber is embedded with carbon nanotubes (CNT), which act as a saturable a ...

What is the intellectual merit of the proposed project? This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will establish the feasibility of producing a novel class of amphiphilic graft copolymers to serve as thermoplastic hydrogel copolymers. Thermoplastic hydrogels are not available commercially and would be of great interest because, unlike conventional cross-linked hydrogel materials, th ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the viability of a new III-V nitride semiconductor alloy and bipolar transistor structure with the potential to enable ultra low power device operation in applications requiring both RF and digital electronics. Increasing power efficiency has been a major issue for portable and high performance electronic devices and ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a nanostructured, lightweight material which, in addition to its high mechanical strength, can also be used to store electrical energy. Such materials can be produced in the form of large formable sheets, cylinders, or other three-dimensional shapes. A unique production process is used, based on a high speed layer-by-lay ...

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project involves the development of a system for monitoring the structural integrity of highway slopes, dam foundations, and other soil and rock exposures associated with the US infrastructure. The monitoring system will integrate state-of-the-art 3D imaging hardware, 3D point-cloud processing software and wireless communication. The system wi ...

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project seeks to develop biomimetic structures in engineering ceramics based on the damage-tolerant sea shell micro-architecture. Poor damage tolerance of engineering ceramics leads to catastrophic failure modes under stress, which restricts their structural utility. In extreme conditions, ceramics generally function only as a thermal or chemical ba ...