Award Data

An advanced sensor for proximal detection of contaminants on surfaces is proposed based on hyperspectral differential polarization reflection of LWIR radiation from an active IR source, blackbody lamp or wavelength agile laser and an advanced unmixing algorithm whose feasibility was demonstrated by field test data in the Phase I program. The high signal-to-noise ratios provided by the active irrad ...

Raman spectroscopy is well suited for detecting trace surface contaminants that may indicate the presence of explosives, harmful chemical or biological agents, illicit drugs, or specific combinations of indicator chemicals used in processing nuclear materials. An example mobile Raman spectroscopy system is the vehicle mounted Joint Contaminated Surface Detector (JCSD), which uses a gaseous KrF exc ...

Purpose: Children who do not learn foundational mathematical concepts during elementary school generally get further behind in math as their math deficiencies compound over time. Through a prior IES SBIR Fast-Track award, the project team developed a series of supplemental math games designed to provide elementary students with engaging, adaptive, and personalized or team-based learning opportunit ...

Purpose: Children who do not learn foundational mathematical concepts during elementary school generally get further behind in math as their math deficiencies compound over time. Through a prior IES SBIR Fast-Track award, the project team developed a series of supplemental math games designed to provide elementary students with engaging, adaptive, and personalized or team-based learning opportunit ...

Electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the most rapidly growing waste problems worldwide. Improper handling of e-waste results in vast amounts of toxic waste being sent to landfill and leaching into the water supply. Due to these concerns, e-waste recycling is a rapidly growing industry. Unfortunately, most current e-waste recycling processes rely on either manual hand sorting or differential densit ...

The environmental impact of wood coatings has become a pressing issue as the manufacturing of wooden products such as flooring, cabinetry, furniture and doors moves back to the United States amidst rising labor costs overseas. For 30 years, the bulk of these products have been painted in countries with lax environmental regulations, allowing the use of inexpensive but environmentally hazardous oil ...

There are approximately 7,000 flares in operation at industrial facilities across the United States. Flares are one of the largest volatile organic compounds (VOC) and air toxics emission sources. Based on a special emission inventory required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in 2007, highly reactive VOC emissions from 28 flares located in Harris County, Texas were 1469.5 tons in a ...

Coastal communities have witnessed their ecosystems change over the past 25 years due to nitrogen loading and phosphate pollution from high-population density and no access to centralized sewage systems. Some effects have been eutrophication, algal blooms, fish dying and, most notably, consequences for local development and real estate.CLEW provides an inexpensive, efficient and an environmentally ...

Water quality is critical for human health and habitation, so a timely identification of pathogens is necessary to avoid severe infections and ensure safe and sustainable water resources. Most of the existing microorganism concentration methods are based on filtration using size or charge membranes, and a generic membrane-filtration method with the ability to simultaneously concentrate all microor ...

A uniquely qualified team consisting of ETSVP-JV, a small business joint venture, and subcontractor RTI International, brings together all of the skills and experience needed for the development and testing of innovative nanomaterial filters. For this Phase I SBIR project, we propose to develop a dual-stage nanoporous filter media for controlling PM2.5 and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Materi ...