Award Data

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project technology has potential to be transformative in power generation. The ultimate goal of this project is to produce aneutronic fusion energy in a system that is small, simple and inexpensive. This system will produce power that is as clean as renewable energy while simultaneously removing the need for ...

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to place the power of genetic identification in the hands of those who need it, at the front lines of conservation. The DNA Barcode Scanner will enable anyone, anywhere, to perform a low-cost, rapid, automated DNA test to validate the identity of a tissue sample, without specialized trainin ...

Shale gas is reshaping petrochemicals. A big change is the generation of “on purpose” propylene (OPP) plants. These OPP plants in most cases are based on propane dehydration (PDH). The reason for OPP plants is the change of mixtures being fed to crackers produces less propylene. In PDH plants, propane are converted to propylene but not quantitatively (e.g. 85% yield) so there is a need to impr ...

Functional metabolic imaging of plant and microbial systems requires a sensitive, high spatial resolution microscopy method that can image metabolically important compounds in situ. This will require new chemically sensitive imaging methods to be developed. In this SBIR/STTR, we will develop a new coherent Raman-based microscopy technique that will improve ensitivity over existing stimulated Raman ...

The US scientific and industrial research communities in the broad areas of soft matter (i.e., polymers, complex fluids, nano and colloidal solutions, coatings and inks) and biological materials (i.e., drug delivery, hydrogels, tissue engineering) need, but lack, the ability to effectively study these important materials under flow conditions. Shear fields are widely used as much to process and co ...

A growth of renewable energy technologies will help to accommodate the growing demand for electricity, provided that energy storage technologies address the intermittency of renewable energies such as solar and wind power. Lithium polysulfide (Li-PS) redox flow batteries (RFBs) have been considered as one of the most promising electrochemical energy storage technologies because of their high energ ...

Detailed accurate data on temperature variations and water vapor concentration distributions are needed for weather and climate forecasting. Water vapor is particularly important for predicting precipitation amounts from storms. Measurements are needed from the ground to the top of the troposphere at about 10 km altitude. Existing ground-based instruments often have measurement uncertainties due t ...

Rapid and sensitive remote detection of chemicals remains a challenging and currently unmet need for a wide range of monitoring and sensing applications. Remote detection is needed when it is not possible or practical to obtain samples for analysis of chemicals in a laboratory, and thus measurements must be performed without physical access to the source release point. In particular, quantitative ...

High quantum efficiency photodetectors are a critical component of quantum squeezed state systems. Providing optical-to-microwave transduction fidelity allows these systems to significantly improve upon the noise performance of traditionally shot noise limited photonic links and sensors. However, as quantum information science is still a small, but rapidly growing field, there is a distinct lack o ...

The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project includes both societal and economic benefits. Upon successful completion, the project will introduce a new type of radiation protection monitor or dosimeter that would be worn by individuals that are potentially exposed to ionizing radiation (like x-rays). Typically, this includes health care workers, nuclear ener ...