Award Data

To address the DTRA's need for a field deployable mass spectrometer for nuclear forensic analysis (NFA), Hedgefog Research Inc. (HFR) is developing a new Field-Expedient Nuclear Isotope Characterization Spectrometer (FENICS), based on species-selective ionization and novel signal enhancement schemes. New system features in FENICS enable rapid, on-site characterization of nuclear debris samples in ...

Echo Ridge proposes to deliver a Hardware-in-the-Loop RF environment emulator with high fidelity scintillation simulation within which propagation models will in real-time accurately simulate a nuclear-disturbed environment for testing MILSATCOM communications links. The emulator will accommodate the attachment of physical devices (MILSATCOM communications link equipment or simulators), and/or mod ...

Spectral Labs proposes the development of a radiation dosimeter capable of accurately measuring both prompt and residual gamma and neutron particles without saturating at the dose rates expected from a nuclear event. The proposed dosimeter will be capable of live readout but will typically operate in a low power sleep state for extended battery life, and the dosimeter will utilize a well-tested ci ...

Advances in materials and automation are rapidly reshaping the American manufacturing economy, and must be embraced to sustain a strong manufacturing sector in the United States. Additive manufacturing is possibly the fastest growing example of this trend, growing at an astonishing compound annual growth rate of 25.7%. The plastic materials market for additive manufacturing, valued at $700M in 202 ...

Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in food packaging, as coatings for cloth (e.g. Scotchgard), firefighting foams, electronics, and industrial and automotive components. Being perfluorinated species, they are engineered to breakdown slowly (half-life >92 years in water), and thus persist for very long times. Their high water-solubility makes them especially dangerous, and much like perchlo ...

Current petroleum-derived-plastics contain additives such as phthalates or bisphenolA that are harmful to human health and the environment. Thus, it’s critical to replace such toxic non-biodegradable plastics with biodegradable bioplastics. To meet bioplastics production need, Altex, and Texas A&M University (TAMU) have teamed up to utilize renewable biomass, such as forest residue, agricultural ...

DTRA uses High Fidelity Computer Codes (HFCC) to investigate weapon effects and techniques for countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). End-to-end HFCC simulations in support of the DTRA Agent Defeat Warfighter Capability will require calculations including multiple phenomena that occur in vastly different time scales (µ-sec to hours). As DTRA becomes increasingly reliant on computational mo ...

In previous R&D, the developers created codeSpark Academy, a game that employs a visual and block-based approach with puzzles to teach coding skills to students ages 5 to 9 years old. codeSpark Academy is in widespread use in and out of schools around the world. In this project, the developers will expand storytelling creative tools within the existing game. The pretend-play scenarios will include ...

With the advent of high-density low-power sub-20nm technology processes and circuits with tens-of-billions of transistors, radiation-induced single-event effects present a new set of design challenges for terrestrial applications. Developing reliable single-event effect resilient microelectronics in these modern technology nodes is a resource and time-intensive endeavor that further requires valid ...

Over 820 million Indians, about 65% of its population, cook on polluting open fires, causing ~1 million premature deaths annually. Fifty million households have no electricity. The Power Stove is a household energy solution combining clean cooking and reliable, ondemand power. Clean combustion and thermoelectric power technology, make it a high performance, user desirable solution based on low cos ...