Award Data

Modern Model-Based Enterprise / Engineering (MBE) systems rely on freeform surfaces built as complex combinations of geometric primitives to define engineered objects. Unfortunately, the intersection of freeform surfaces in MBE applications results in highly approximated solutions, degrading models that cost billions annually by US industry to fix. Current technology limits the abilities of users ...

In this Phase I SBIR proposal, SandBox Semiconductor™ proposes to develop an Advanced Manufacturing and Material Measurements software tool called Weave ™ for accelerating and automating SEM image analysis for the semiconductor industry. During the development of a new manufacturing process line for a semiconductor device, tens of thousands of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images are take ...

This project will develop a new scientific instrument optimized for the advanced characterization of near-infrared fluorescent nanoparticles that can exist as left- or right-handed structures (enantiomers). Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are the leading current example of such nanomaterials. Applied NanoFluorescence, LLC (ANF) proposes a novel multi-mode chiroptical spectrometer that can ...

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been identified as a serious health contaminant in water at levels between 12 and 516 parts per trillion by the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry. In 2016, the EPA set a lifetime health advisory of 70 parts per trillion for two PFASs, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). These compounds come from a variety of so ...

In addressing Topic 1C in this solicitation, “Innovative pretreatment technologies for PFAS in industrial wastewater”, this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel nanofiber mats fabricated by electrospun polymer nanofibers for the “smart” (selective) removal of perand polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from landfill leachate. The co-contaminants, low ...

The Construction and Demolition Debris Support Vector Machine Optical Recycling Technology (CDDSORT) is our proposed system that detects hazardous, problematic, and recyclable components in the 150+ million tons of construction and demolition (C&D) debris discarded annually at US landfills and recycling facilities. Our system and technology leverages a combination of emerging computer vision techn ...

Distributed energy offers a means of providing reliable, cost-effective electrical power to residents of rural communities. These requirements often cannot be met by current distribution methods due to limitation of remote central station power generation and transmission. With the migration of population from urban areas to rural areas and the increased power demands placed on electrical grids fr ...

There is a finite amount of fossil fuels, which will only last a few more decades. Therefore, it is imperative to develop renewable sources of energy. An area that has recently attracted a lot of attention is the conversion of renewable oils to biodiesel, primarily through the methanolysis of triglycerides. The use of an immobilized lipase as a heterogeneous biocatalyst to transform oils into biod ...

In this program, Omega Optics, Inc. and the University of Texas, Austin, propose a novel lab-on-chip photonic crystal slot waveguide infrared spectrometer for detection and spectroscopic analysis of BTEX hydrocarbons (benzene and toluene) in water and greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) in air. The device utilizes the unique dispersive properties of slow light photonic crystal waveguides together with ...

Smart Polymers Research Corporation proposes to create a fluorescence-based fully automated flow sensor for real-time environmental detection of biothreat pathogens in water or in the air. The sensor will be utilizing pathogen-specific aptamers chemically modified with highly fluorescent quantum dots. The detection will be performed in the flow mode and provide results in real time. Based on the f ...