Award Data

Cornerstone Research Group, Inc. (CRG) has developed a solid Ceramic Polymer Composite Electrolyte (CPCE) for metal-air power sources. The existing electrolyte solutions favor ionic conductivity at the sacrifice of mechanical performance resulting in metal-air batteries that are fragile and unpractical for portable applications. In Phase I, CRG developed a solid CPCE by combining superionic conduc ...

Random numbers are essential for a growing number of modern applications. As computer speed and communications bandwidth have increased the potential for practical streaming cipher and large-scale Monte Carlo simulations have become technologically feasible. For these and other applications, ultrafast random number generators are essential. This is intuitively clear. Additionally, however, the ide ...

Barron Associates, Inc. proposes to develop the Phase II Automated Deployable Robust Training (ADROIT) System, a comprehensive environment to train and deploy vertebrates to detect and mark landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) quickly and accurately. The ADROIT system will be designed to be cost-effective, automated, flexible, scalable, modular, and robust, with a focus on training efficiency. ...

There is an unmet demand for ultra-low-power, ultra-compact and low-cost radios to address emerging sensing and communication needs for military and commercial applications such as IoT/IoE. To overcome the limitations in existing bulky and power hungry radios, we propose a disruptive solution by integration of a nano-scaled THz transceiver, on-chip antenna, and energy harvesting circuits in a form ...

ADA Technologies, Inc. (ADA) and Dr. Massoud Pedram at the University of Southern California (USC) have successfully completed a Phase I STTR effort for the development of a lithium ion (Li-ion)/ supercapacitor hybrid electrical energy storage system (HEESS) to afford pulse power characteristics (projected ~10 kW/kg) in a high energy system (100-150 Wh/kg). The system is enabled via a constant cur ...

Beginning from an advanced stage of development, this Phase II STTR project will produce designs and prototypes for a ricin-specific artificial antibody constructed using DNA origami. These novel constructs will provide both a capture function (mimicking the properties of an antibody) and intrinsic optical reporting functionality, which marks a significant improvement over current antibody capabil ...

Swabs are routinely used by crime scene investigators and forensic scientists for the collection of a wide range of biological evidence for analysis. Sterile cotton swabs are popular with forensic investigators due to their proficiency in adsorbing cellular material, however they are known for their low efficiency of sample (DNA) release. To better meet the needs of forensic investigators, Luna I ...

Decontamination of chemical and biological threats demands a very reactive solution. It is ideal to generate the decontaminants on-site: the activated decontaminant is highly reactive and quickly destroys chemical and biological warfare agents; prior to activation the ingredients can be safely stored for years, shipped, and handled. TDA's electrochemical decontamination (eClO2) technology u ...

Barron Associates, Inc.~proposes to develop the Rugged Automated Training (RAT) system, a cost-effective, rugged, automated environment to train and deploy small animals to detect landmines and other compounds of interest, and to evaluate their performance. The RAT system will train animals to recognize odorants using standard Pavlovian conditioning procedures in specialized, automated operant ch ...

The objective of this research is to develop materials that replace the current generation of visible smoke formulations used by the U.S. military. In particular the materials must produce low or no flame so that they don't present a fire hazard, have relatively low toxicity, and are efficient. The efficiency is defined in a figure of merit that combines fill factor, yield factor, extinctio ...