0000405 January 15, 2000 Planning Grant to Establish an Alternate Site for MAST at the Colorado School of Mines. EEC-0000405 Baldwin This planning grant funds the Colorado School of Mines for industry/university interactions to determine the feasibility and viability of becoming a research site of the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Membrane Applied Science and Technology. The Co-Directors of the site would be Dr. Robert Baldwin and Dr. Douglas Way. The Colorado School of Mines expertise will broaden the Center's research base by addressing research in Sample Membrane Interactions Using Field Flow Fractionation, Separation of Gene-Therapy Products with Field Flow Fractionation, Cyclodextrin Modified Adsorbents and Membranes for Chiral Separations, Cell-Bacteria Sorting Using Laser Tweezers, Switchable Selective Channels in Porous Materials for Separations, Separation and Fractionation of Viral Precursers by Field Flow Fractionation, Membrane Reactor for Methanol/Ethanol Reforming, The Influence of Free Volume on the Permeation and Sorption in Super-Glassy Polymers, Faujasite Membranes for CO2/N2 Separations and Fundamentals of Nanofiltration at High Composition. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Baldwin, Robert J. Douglas Way Colorado School of Mines CO Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 AMPP 9165 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0001282 January 15, 2000 Planning Grant for Participation in the Power Systems Engineering Research Center (PSERC). EEC-0001282 Kezunovic This planning grant funds Texas A&M to become a research site of the multi-university Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Power Systems Engineering. The research projects being considered for addition to the Center's established research agenda are, 1. Power System State/Parameter Estimation and Measurement Design for Distributed Multi Utility Operation, 2. Power System Reliability Analysis Including Dynamics and Control Effects, 3. An Approach to Select Cost-Effective ASD Ride-Through Technologies, 4. Accurate Fault Location in Transmission and Distribution Networks Using Modeling, Simulation and Limited Field Recorded Data, 5. Power System Monitoring Using Wireless Substation and System-Wide Communications. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Kezunovic, Mladen Texas Engineering Experiment Station TX Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 HPCC 9139 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0001879 August 15, 2000 NSF Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing of Macromolecules - Operational Grant. EEC-0001879 Gross The goal of the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing of Macromolecules at the Polytechnic University of New York is to conduct research on a wide range of issues applicable to the use of biocatalytic methods in polymer synthesis and materials processing. The research program includes three themes: (1) In-vitro enzyme-catalyzed polymer synthesis and modification; (2) Biocatalytic degradation of polymers; and (3) Biosynthesis of novel polysaccharide copolymers. The Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) consisting of representatives from nine participating companies review the progress of research, and provides guidance to the Center's management and technology transfer activities. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Gross, Richard David Kaplan Polytechnic University of New York NY Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 350000 5761 OTHR 0000 0001880 August 1, 2000 Incorporating the Center for Advanced Control of Energy and Systems at Arizona State University into the Power Systems Engineering Research Center (PSerc). EEC-0001880 Arizona State University Heydt It is proposed to bring the Arizona State University portion of the Center for the Advanced Control of Energy and Power Systems (ACEPS) into the Power Systems Engineering Research Center (Pserc). Both these efforts focus on research in electric power engineering. The ASU portion of ACEPS will bring expertise to Pserc in the areas of electric power quality, high voltage engineering, and power electronics. These areas are believed to beneficially supplement the existing Pserc power engineering efforts. Additionally, ASU-ACEPS will bring expertise in power system instrumentation and control, and power system analysis. The combined center is expected to be one of the largest power engineering efforts in the world, focusing on questions of power systems, deregulation of the power industry, power quality, transmission and distribution , and the efficient use of power infrastructure. An educational component of the program is proposed in the form of graduate and undergraduate student training and research and bringing advanced concepts in power engineering into the undergraduate classroom INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Heydt, Gerald Arizona State University AZ Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 1890508 V915 V638 V105 T846 T313 T752 T479 H232 H108 5761 SMET OTHR EGCH 9251 9178 9177 9102 7218 1325 127E 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0002018 April 1, 2000 Planning Grant for CPPR/NSF Center. The University of Puerto Rico plans to host a planning meeting to explore the potential to become a research site of the Purdue University/University of Connecticut I/UCRC for Pharmaceutical Processing. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Ghaly, Evone Dane Kildsig Ilia Oquendo University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus PR Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 MANU 9146 0002610 May 1, 2000 Satellite Center/Research Site to Center for Dielectric Studies The Pennsylvania State University with Focus on High Energy Density Dielectrics. EEC-0002610 University of Missouri Rolla Anderson The purpose of this initiative is to understand the high field properties of high dielectric constant materials and determine how these properties relate to pulse power applications. Examples of some of the fundamental information which needs to be known are: 1) field distributions within dielectrics - i.e. field modeling 2) basic defect structure of high voltage dielectrics to mitigater ionic conductivity and associated electrical degradation, 3) high field dielectric behavior: losses and dielectric constant, 4) the influence of macroscopic processing on properties 5) resonant behavior under pulsed conditions, 6) charging and discharging behavior under high field conditions 7) the influence of rapid surface discharge on high dielectric constant materials. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Anderson, Harlan Wayne Huebner Missouri University of Science and Technology MO Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0002669 August 1, 2000 Relating Field Data to Accelerated Life Testing. EEC-0002669 Smith This project brings together two NSF I/UCRC's to improve accelerated life testing (ALT) of vehicle electronics. The Center for Advanced Vehicle Electronics (CAVE) of Auburn University with partner with the Quality and Reliability Engineering (QRE) Center of Rutgers University and Arizona State University to investigate the relationship between wear, degradation and failure of vehicle controllers as experienced in the field with that expected by the results of ALT conducted in the laboratory. DaimlerChrysler Electronics of Huntsville, Alabama supplies the test bed. Vehicle electronics are subject to stress due to temperature, humidity, cycling and other environmental hazards. The materials that comprise the controllers are susceptible to the effects of corrosion and oxidation. The solder that connects the controller components can crack due to fatigue and creep under high temperature and thermal cycling stresses. These failures affect the performance of the vehicle from slightly to severely. The research of this project will develop a general methodology for specifying accelerated life tests so that they result in an accurate characterization of the degradation and failures that will be experienced in the filed. The failure mechanisms for the assembly materials in field units will be investigated in the development of the accelerated life tests. ALT standards, which new units must pass prior to marketing, will be adequate without being overly conservative, potentially allowing new designs and new materials to be used in vehicle electronics. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS MANFG ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG Smith, Alice R. Wayne Johnson Auburn University AL Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 101800 9150 5761 1786 1360 SMET OTHR MANU 9251 9231 9178 9150 9147 7218 1359 0000 0002775 September 1, 2000 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center in Coatings. Establishment of a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) in Coatings at the University of Southern Mississippi and Eastern Michigan University is proposed. The Center's mission will be two-fold: (i) to be a world leading academic organization that develops relevant, pre-competitive scientific knowledge for understanding and advancing the technologies of polymeric coatings and (ii) to enlarge the cadre of scientists and technologists capable of being productive in the field of coatings. With this program the Center will directly address barriers that impede progress in coatings: (1) a shortage of precise polymer synthetic methods, (2) a need to better understand film formation and molecular level processes that control resistance to mechanical and chemical damage, (3) a need to extend and develop systematic understanding of degradation processes in coatings, and (4) a shortage of scientists and technologists who understand coatings science and technology. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG Urban, Marek University of Southern Mississippi MS Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 361500 5761 1360 SMET OTHR 9251 9231 9178 9177 9102 7218 0000 0002916 August 1, 2000 University of Puerto Rico Research Site with Purdue University I/U CRC for Pharmaceutical Processing Research. EEC-0002916 Ghaly The proposed research agenda stresses understanding, at the molecular level, the effects of processing on critical quality attributes of pharmaceutical products and on minimizing validation requirements through improved process monitoring. Representative research projects will include improved process monitoring technology, blending of pharmaceutical powders, application of Near-IR to pharmaceutical testing, solid state properties, formulations development, extruder/marumerizar technology, compaction process, innovative analytical methods for validation, dissolution and bio-availability, tablets coating and disperse systems. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Ghaly, Evone Mikhail Antoun LLia Oquendo University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus PR Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 250000 9150 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0002917 September 1, 2000 I/UCRC: Power Systems Engineering Research Center (PSerc). EEC-0002917 Kezunovic This proposal expresses the intent of Texas A&M University (TAMU) to join the Power Systems Engineering Research Center (PSerc). To emphasize this intent, the following issues are discussed: benefits of TAMU's participation in PSerc, benefits of participation of TAMU's industry partners, proposed research areas, proposed research projects, TAMU's support of the proposal, and site director credentials. The main objective of TAMU's participation in PSerc is to enhance research capabilities of both PSerc and TAMU. This will in turn provide the research infrastructure that will serve better PSerc industry partners as well as the public at large as the benefactors of the developments in the industrial base. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS CONTROL, NETWORKS, & COMP INTE IIP ENG Kezunovic, Mladen Texas Engineering Experiment Station TX Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 602486 V915 V105 T846 T313 T479 H232 H108 5761 1518 OTHR 127E 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0002918 May 1, 2001 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Power System Engineering Research Center (PSerc). EEC-0002918 Shoureshi The goal of the Pserc Center at the Colorado School of Mines will be to integrate advances from power systems, control theory, artificial intelligence, diagnostics, new sensor-technologies, etc. to assist the electric utility industry in facing these new challenges. The research, which is complementary to those of the other Pserc sites, will focus on the following topics: Development of Intelligent Substation; Advanced Power Generation Control with Integrated Economics, Variable Demands and Short-Term Load Forecast; Development of Advanced Sensors and Sensory Feedback Systems for Increased Reliability and Lower Maintenance Cost; Predictive Maintenance for Reduction of Operating Cost; Development of Remote Health Assessment Techniques T&D; and EMAT Based Diagnostics of Overhead Transmission Lines. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Simoes, Marcelo Colorado School of Mines CO Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 219204 W242 5761 SMET OTHR HPCC 9251 9231 9178 9139 0000 0002962 September 1, 2000 Planning Grant for BioMolecular Interaction Technology Center. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries play a vital role in maintaining and promoting a healthy population, and constitute a major sector of the US economy. These industries have evolved from the empirical treatment of disease to a sophisticated approach for drug development which requires a deeper understanding of the biochemistry of life processes. As a consequence, the accurate description of biomolecular interactions has become a central element in understanding disease mechanisms, and now is an essential ingredient for devising safe and effective pharmaceuticals. A variety of instruments and methods are used to characterize biomolecular interactions. One group of these technologies, used physical first principles for their analysis. These first principle techniques could be used to address a great many needs in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries than they currently do. Meanwhile, the development of prototype instruments and methods for characterizing molecular interactions is being pursued in the academic world. While some of these developments have been commercialized, others, mostly due to their limited market size, have remained prototypes in academic laboratories. These prototypes, while suitable for addressing academic questions, are not optimized for industrial uses, and are housed in laboratories that do not provide the level of security required by industry. Consequently, a barrier to technology transfer has developed. The formation of an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center is an ideal mechanism for overcoming this barrier and advancing the field of molecular interaction science. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Laue, Thomas University of New Hampshire NH William S. Butcher Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0002971 November 15, 2000 I/UCRC for Fundamentals and Applications of Photopolymerizations. EEC-0002971 Scranton A National Science Foundation I/UCRC on Fundamentals and Applications of Photopolymerizations that will be housed jointly at the University of Iowa and the University of Colorado. The new center is motivated by the fact that photopolymerizations offer tremendous advantages over traditional thermal processing methods, including low energy requirements, spatial and temporal control of initiation, and high polymerization rates. These advantages have led to tremendous growth in applications of photopolymerizations in areas such a solvent-free processing, biomedical materials, and high-technology devices; however, much of this growth is occurring without a fundamental understanding of the underlying photochemical processes. Hence, there is a critical need to establish an active dialogue between academic and industrial researchers. The objective of the center are 1) to advance the fundamental understanding of the kinetics and mechanisms of photopolymerizations; 2) to establish a venue for active discussions and collaborations among industrial and academic researchers; 3) to explore high-risk, cutting-edge research on photopolymerization processes that could lead to technological innovations; and 4) to promote and/or develop novel applications that exploit the unique set of advantages offered by photopolymerizations. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Scranton, Alec University of Iowa IA Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 368000 5761 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 0000 0002985 July 15, 2000 I/U Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Packaging of Microwave, Optical, and Digital Electronics. EEC-0002985 Mahajan The Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Packaging of Microwave, Optical and Digital Electronics (CAMPmode) is completing it's 5th year of operation as an I/UCRC. Since its inception the Center has made significant technical accomplishments in it's current focus areas, namely: area array packaging, RF-microwave design methodologies, RF-MEMS and technologies for high yield manufacture of electronics. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTERS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG Mahajan, Roop University of Colorado at Boulder CO Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 315050 W244 5761 1480 1360 SMET OTHR 9251 9231 9178 9102 0000 0002986 August 1, 2000 Effect of Interface Strength on the Solder Joint Reliability of Flip Chip Packages. EEC-0002986 Mahfuz The PI's proposed to apply both the finite element and experimental methods to study the effect of underfill/die or underfill/substrate adhesion on the solder joint reliability of flip chip packages. This work will be a collaborative effort between researchers at the Tuskegee University Center for Advanced Materials and Auburn University Center for Advanced Vehicle Electronics. For the finite element methods, two conditions, namely, strongly-bonded and weakly-bonded interfaces will be considered. The weakly-bonded interface will be modeled using a set of gap elements at the interface. For modeling the strong interface, a common set of nodes will be employed at the interface which will be shared by both the constituent materials. Results for the die stresses at the underfill interfaces will be correlated with the test chip sensor measurements. Also, the cycles to failure of the solder joints will be predicted using finite element method due to cyclic thermal loads. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Mahfuz, Hassan Ahsan Mian Tuskegee University AL Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 9150 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0002987 September 1, 2000 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Particulate Materials. The Particulate Materials Center (PMC), a National Science Foundation I/UCRC , is a focal point for interdisciplinary research, education, and technology transfer of particulate materials processing. Particulate materials processing and manufacture is of vital importance to the advanced materials, ceramics, chemical, cosmetic, electronics, image processing, mineral processing, and pharmaceutical industries. Continual technological developments and improved scientific understanding are required to enhance product quality, to reduce process costs and time, and to minimize pollution during manufacture. Powder formation, powder handling and fabrication, particle dispersion, and sintering of shaped products from powders are disciplines of central interest to PMC members. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Adair, James Cheryl Knobloch Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 212381 5761 AMPP 9165 0003010 January 1, 2001 Wireless Measurement and Control of the Indoor Environment in Buildings. As the information available to a building's control system is increased, its control can become more sophisticated, and improve the operation of the building. Improvements can be obtained through: reduced energy consumption in lighting, ventilation, and temperature control systems, improved comfort and productivity of occupants, and improved safety. Unfortunately, the cost of adding to a building's sensor network is significant; involving not only the cost of the sensors themselves, but also the expense of running wire between the sensor and the control system. As a result, most buildings are operated with few sensors installed, a situation that contributes to low efficiency, poor indoor environmental quality, and increased operating cost. Recently, sensors based on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology have been developed that offer the potential to run indefinitely without the need for wires for either communication or power. MEEMS technology uses the semi-conductor fabrication techniques traditionally employed in making integrated circuits, to produce many types of devices, including sensors, radios, batteries, and power collecting devices. The technology has the potential to eliminate the wire required for sensors in buildings because the devices can be made extremely small, thus requiring little power. In this research, the building control capabilities of the Center for the Build Environment (CBE) at UC Berkeley are combined with the microfabrication capabilities of the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC), also at UC Berkeley. This project is intended to provide the initial funding for a program designed to investigate the potential for applying MEMS technology to building control systems. It is expected that the cost reduction potential and increased information density achievable with MEMS technology will fundamentally change the way that buildings are controlled. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Arens, Edward K Pister University of California-Berkeley CA William S. Butcher Standard Grant 100000 5761 OTHR 0000 0003047 August 1, 2000 Advanced Simulator Networking for Vehicle and Equipment Distributed Product Design. EEC-0003047 Papelis This project aims to link the revolutionary new National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS), located at the University of Iowa, with the Virtual Reality Applications Center (VRAC), located at Iowa State University, through the existing Iowa Communications Network (ICN). The two universities us the ICN as part of their participation in the NSF very high speed Backbone Network Service (vBNS) and related Internet II activity. Both facilities cooperate with Deere & Company which strongly supports the project and will provide industrial-quality test problems and support in the form of personnel that will participate in the design process and assist with demonstrations. Challenges and benefits of linking these facilities will be investigated through two demonstrations. The first will use two operator-in-the-loop simulators. The second demonstration will focus on an "engineering tele-presence" application. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS ADVANCED NET INFRA & RSCH IIP ENG Papelis, Yiannis Edward Haug University of Iowa IA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 300000 5761 4090 OTHR HPCC 9217 0000 0003063 September 1, 2000 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center in Ergonomics. The Industry/University Cooperative Reseaerch Center (I/UCRC) in Ergonomics at Texas A&M University is being renewed for the first year of a five year continuing grant. The research of the Center will contribute to the technology and information base necessary to evaluate and redesign existing workplace environments and work methods and to provide the leadership for the effective design of future work systems. The Center will continue to provide an opportunity for industry to coordinate and direct research objectives in response to safety, health, and ergonomic guidelines and standards that are being adopted. A focused research program will span interdisciplinary fields aimed at reducing injury/illness rates; reducing cumulative trauma disorders; reducing costs; increasing productivity; and developing responses and research for regulatory activity. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS SPECIAL STUDIES AND ANALYSES HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG Congleton, Jerome Steven Moore Texas Engineering Experiment Station TX Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 154000 5761 1385 1360 SMET OTHR EGCH 9251 9198 9178 9102 0000 0003064 September 1, 2000 NSF I/UCRC in Pharmaceutical Processing. The University of Purdue proposes to establish a multi-university National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center in Pharmaceutical Processing. Partner universities are the University of Connecticut and the University of Puerto Rico. The purposes of the Center are to explore and develop new technology for pharmaceutical processing, to foster collaborative research projects between industrial and academic scientists, and to promote an interdisciplinary approach to training students in pharmaceutical process research and development. The organizational structure of the Center comprises an Industrial Advisory Board, consisting of one member from each participating company, establishes research priorities and approves all spending by the Center. The Center Director manages day-to-day operation of the Center and acts as liaison with member companies as well as the University administration. The University Policy Committee assures that graduate student research is appropriate for the degree objective, that faculty development is not adversely affected by participation in the Center, and that Center activities are carried out in accordance with University policy. Dr. Ken Hemilich, retired Executive Director of Pharmaceutical Research and Development at Merck, will serve as external evaluator for the Center INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Pinal, Rodolfo Purdue Research Foundation IN Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 494952 V189 5761 OTHR MANU 9146 1049 0000 0003257 October 1, 2001 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Electronic Materials, Devices and Systems. N/A INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Fitzer, Jack University of Texas at Arlington TX Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 30000 5761 OTHR 0000 0003258 September 1, 2000 Center for Optoelectronic Devices, Interconnects and Packaging (COEDIP). The University of Arizona and the University of Maryland are proposing the renewal of their successful joint Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC), entitled "The Center for Optoelectronic Devices Interconnect and Packaging (COEDIP)" under the sponsorship of the National Science Foundation. The Center was created five years ago to promote collaborative research between the two Universities and industries based on their strengths in the field of optoelectronics components, packaging and interconnection. The major goals of the Center are: - To promote collaboration and joint projects between the two universities; - To transfer new technology developed within each university to their industrial partners; and - To train highly qualified students and promote their interaction with industries. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Peyghambarian, Nasser University of Arizona AZ Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 164000 5761 SMET AMPP 9231 9178 9165 9102 0003771 November 1, 2000 NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center in Coatings at Eastern Michigan University. Establishment of a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) in Coatings at the University of Southern Mississippi and Eastern Michigan University is proposed. The Center's mission will be two-fold: (i) to be a world leading academic organization that develops relevant, pre-competitive scientific knowledge for understanding and advancing the technologies of polymeric coatings and (ii) to enlarge the cadre of scientists and technologists capable of being productive in the field of coatings. With this program the Center will directly address barriers that impede progress in coatings: (1) a shortage of precise polymer synthetic methods, (2) a need to better understand film formation and molecular level processes that control resistance to mechanical and chemical damage, (3) a need to extend and develop systematic understanding of degradation processes in coatings, and (4) a shortage of scientists and technologists who understand coatings science and technology. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Provder, Theodore Eastern Michigan University MI Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 273727 X825 V561 5761 OTHR AMPP 9165 0000 0004060 September 1, 2000 Health Monitoring of FRP Composite Bridge Decks. This work will provide a structural "health" monitoring capability for Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite bridge decks. Three bridge decks are being built by an interdisciplinary team of the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) investigators to demonstrate the effectiveness of new FRP composite in enhancing constructability, life span, and performance. Each bridge deck will feature a different construction technology. They are being constructed in the City of St. James, Missouri using funds from the UMR, the City of St. James, and the Missouri Department of Economic Development. The construction contract has been awarded; hence, the funding need was immediate for adding "health" monitoring. Multiple fiber-optic strain sensors are being incorporated for long-term dynamic and static monitoring of performance and strength in this supplementary program which is being supported as a Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER). INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS STRUCTURAL MATERIALS AND MECH IIP ENG Watkins, Steve Antonio Nanni Halvard Nystrom Missouri University of Science and Technology MO William S. Butcher Standard Grant 50000 5761 1635 OTHR 0000 0060004 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Optimizing Generator Reactive Power Resources. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses a major ancillary service, that of optimizing generator reactive power in support of system voltage profile. The rated reactive power of generators are based on their field, stator, and end-iron heating limits. Their operating ranges are further limited by the max/min voltage limits of generator terminal, plant auxiliary motors, the system bus, and generator's protective and control systems. These voltage limits are interrelated by the tap positions on the transformers directly connected to the generator. The objective is to integrate an optimal power flow model with the generator reactive capability model for optimal selections of generator transformer taps. It is anticipated that the research would result in an analytical tool which would help the industry achieve the desired lag/lead reactive powers in support of system voltage profile. The proposed research leads to development of a power flow program that would include the actual generator reactive capability limits. Such a model would determine optimal tap settings to allow an increased supply of reactive power during transfer of large blocks of power and an increased absorption of reactive power during light-load condition, both in support of system voltage profile. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Adibi, Mahmood Industrial Research and Development Corporation MD Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99546 5371 EGCH 1403 1325 1266 0510604 Analytic Tools 0512004 Analytical Procedures 0060006 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Estimating Software Costs for Web-Enabled Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project from Reifer Consultants, Inc. develops mathematical models to be used to size multi-media applications and estimate costs and schedules for web-enabled software development projects. As the business world moves to electronic commerce, more and more organizations are being powered by a web-enabled economy. Success in such an economy relies on the ability to accurately estimate and control costs and schedules. Accurate estimates enable returns on investment to be quantified and economic benefits to be computed. Unfortunately, existing software estimating tools do not provide the needed capability. The reason for this is simple; they fail to address the unique characteristics of web-based development projects. The research of Reifer Consultants, Inc, would fill the gap by collecting the data needed to calibrate and validate proposed size and estimating models that can be used to address the need for innovation in this area. The products of this research will be a validated mathematical model, prototype software estimating tool, and user test results that could serve as the basis of future product development and commercialization. This project will also investigate the market for aligned products and services and prepare a business plan for future developments. The commercial applications of this research are software tools that managers and estimators can employ to accurately estimate the costs and schedules for web-enabled applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Reifer, Donald Reifer Consultants, Inc. CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 96803 5371 HPCC 9216 0108000 Software Development 0060018 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Management Tool for Software Development Risk and Uncertainty. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from Decision Science Associates (DSA) has the goal of developing a decision support tool that combines methods from software measurement, Bayesian statistics, and multiattribute utility theory (MAU). This tool will support a software manager's assessment and evaluation of risks and assist in making tradeoffs and decisions under uncertainty. Descision Scienct Associates' innovation addresses the following needs: software risk assessment methods; measures of the effectiveness of software development techniques and processes; and automated tools to support managing and developing software systems. The three technical objectives of Phase I are to: (1) develop methodologies to support a software manager's assessment and evaluation of risks and to assist him in making tradeoffs and decisions under uncertainty; (2) obtain preliminary evaluations of the methodologies from prospective customers; and (3) encode the methodologies in a Phase I prototype tool. These objectives will be pursued by conducting four tasks: (1) develop prototype user interfaces for the tool, MAUS-R (MultiAttribute Utility for Software, Risk); (2) seek feedback from prospective customers; (3) revise methods in response to the feedback from prospective customers; and (4) develop a revised Phase I prototype. The full-scale development and demonstration of the tool will occur in the next phase of the research. Decison Science Associates proffered technology, MAUS-R, is directed at any industry with an information technology (IT). It is particularly suited for industries with larger percentages of IT to total workers including: financial businesses like banks, investment companies, insurance companies; telecommunications businesses; transportation businesses, food and consumer goods companies; Point-of-Sale equipment manufacturers; pharmaceuticals; and the power and energy industry. Government agencies are also prospective customers; approximately 50% of the top US spenders on IT are state governments. The target market consists of software professionals at the group leader, supervisor, manager, or CIO level; software process standards professionals-those performing metrics collection, benchmarking, and the like; and software systems buyers. DSA has established a strategic alliance with PRICE Systems, the world-wide leader in Computer-Aided Parametric Estimating (CAPE) tools, to facilitate the commercialization of this proposed R&D) SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ulvila, Jacob DECISION SCIENCE ASSOCIATES INC VA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9218 1321 1108 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0060032 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Membrane Process to Recover Hydrogen from Waste Gas Streams. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the incorporation of a carbon dioxide/hydrogen separating membrane unit into steam reformer pressure-swing adsorption (PSA) hydrogen plants. This membrane unit will increase the amount of hydrogen produced by a reformer PSA plant by 10-20%. The goals of the project are to optimize and produce a new type of composite membrane in bench-scale quantities and to fabricate bench-scale modules containing this membrane. The modules will be evaluated with model feed gas mixtures representative of those generated in reformer PSA plants. The experimental data obtained will be incorporated into a computer simulation of the process to determine the technical and commercial potential of the process. Based on this work, the overall feasibility and advantages of applying the technology to reformer PSA operations will be assessed. The initial target of the carbon dioxide/hydrogen membrane process to be developed is PSA tail gas. More than 300 large steam reformer PSA plants are operating in U.S. refineries and petrochemical plants. All of these plants can potentially be retrofitted with this new membrane technology. Longer-term, several other large potential applications such as hydrogen production for fuel cells exist. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Da Costa, Andre Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. CA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9197 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060046 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: High Speed Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Using Electron Beams. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will combine electron beam curing and dynamic beam control technology to create equipment for electron beam rapid prototyping/manufacturing. The unique advantage of this technique is that it offers 'ultra-high' speeds in the range of 5 - 20 cc/second. If successful, the resulting technology can produce one liter sized, large, complex plastic parts in times of order 1 minute. This increase in speed will dramatically reduce the cost of rapid prototyping so that this technique can be used in small and medium production run manufacturing. In addition to increasing speed, electron beam curing can use a much wider range of materials than optical curing because the electrons stimulate polymerization directly, without requiring photoinitiators as part of the cured compound . Electron beams can also be used to integrate metals and carbon fibers into the rapid prototyped part. In Phase I, crude parts will be produced using this technique, and develop plans for a complete Phase II system that will focus on the large variety of available electron beam curable plastics. Applications for the technology include production of parts for small lot production such as electronic enclosures, custom mechanical equipment or medical equipment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Adler, Richard North Star Research Corporation NM Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99976 5371 MANU 9146 1468 1052 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060048 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Novel Low Cost Technology for High-Performance Integrated Microcombustor/Evaporator. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project demonstrates a new approach for fabrication of microscale combustors for hydrocarbon fuels. Novel technology for microchannel products will be combined with a microreactor concept to fabricate a highly efficient microscale integrated superalloy combustor/evaporator, which uses methane combustion for heating and/or boiling working fluid. The innovative fabrication technique enables dramatic cost reduction in comparison with the existing technologies. The technical objective is to demonstrate that the proposed combustors can produce at least 30 watts of thermal energy per square centimeter of heat transfer area and efficiently transfer that energy to a cooling fluid. This is approximately 20 times higher than the heat transfer rate of conventional water heaters. The proposed approach provides solutions to many materials problems as well as the opportunity to miniaturize numerous components and devices that are currently in existence. Potential commercial applications of the research include lightweight, safe and high performance microcombustors for microturbines, man-portable microheaters for cold climates, man portable cooling microsystems for hot climates, on-board fuel processors for hydrogen generation, distributed space conditioning of buildings, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tuchinskiy, Lev Materials and Electrochemical Research Corporation (MER) AZ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9147 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060051 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Innovative Blasting to Eliminate Nitrogen Dioxide Formation While Maximizing Energy Efficiency in Surface Mining. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a chemical solution to stop the formation of Nitrogen Dioxide in the surface coal mining industry where cast blasting is used. The creation of Nitrogen Dioxide is the result of deflagration or burning of the Ammonium Nitrate in the Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil (ANFO) blasting agent. This chemical pollution avoidance technology prevents deflagration by utilizing a technique known as shaped charge detonation. The shaped charge produces a jet of supersonic heat and pressure that initiates the reaction between the Ammonium Nitrate and the fuel oil to achieve near-instantaneous hydrodynamic velocity. The economic advantages of employing the new CastMax detonation system are two fold: the primary purpose is to eliminate NOx emissions and the attendant regulatory costs (monitoring, reporting, etc.) that would be applied; the secondary purpose is to maximize the energy efficiency of the blast. Ceasing the NOx formation will result in the recovery of $25,000,000 of lost blasting efficiency in US surface coal mining for 2001. Not only will energy costs be recovered, but also the use of this technology will forestall the costs associated with litigation, legislation and regulation about how to solve the Nitrogen Dioxide problem. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Derr, Henry Industrial Alchemy WY Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 9150 EGCH 9187 5371 1417 1414 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060053 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Feasibility Study for a New Technology to Mitigate Brdige Flood Damage. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the validation and feasibility of a new technology for the mitigation and correction of local scour damage at bridge foundations caused by periodic floods, tidal flows, or sustained stream flows. The technology involves a flow control device that mitigates the enhanced turbulent mixing and local scour at the streambed and is applicable to thousands of bridges nationwide. An extensive survey of the nation's bridges has recently been completed by the Department of Transportation and the U.S. Geological Survey; and twenty to thirty percent of the existing bridges have been found to be scour critical. Phase I research will formulate a suitable test matrix to evaluate the feasibility and performance for the technology. Scaled flume tests will be performed at Colorado State's Hydraulics Laboratory and evaluations for a Phase II follow-on R/R&D and commercial applications study will be made. If successful, the potential for savings by the State and Federal Governments through the use of this technology can be conservatively estimated to be over 10 million a year. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lynall, Ian BaE Research Institute Inc NY Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99989 5371 CVIS 1635 1057 0109000 Structural Technology 0060065 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: VirtualFit - A Novel E-Commerce Tool for Custom-Fitting Eyeglass Frames. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of a novel hybrid three dimensional (3D) imaging and animation technique for custom-design and custom-fit eyeglass frames, based on the 3D imaging technology recently developed by Genex Technologies, Inc (GTI). The 3D camera is able to acquire both 2D and 3D face images of a customer in a snapshot. The digital 3D face model is then converted and immersed into a virtual simulation environment, dubbed as the "VirtualFit(TM)", that allows customers to select a large number of eyeglass frames in a variety of styles, sizes and colors to try them on the realistic 3D face model of themselves. The VirtualFit(TM) also performs digital measurement of all critical dimensions from the 3D-face model and offers recommendations to assist the custom-fitting process. The 3D model can also be transferred over Internet to frame manufacturers for custom-made frames. Low-cost 3D-camera hardware prototype and virtual simulation software will be developed and tested in Phase 1. The fully functional prototype system will be developed in Phase 2 and field tests will be performed in retail store to obtain feedback for improvement. Enormous commercial potential virtually guarantees the deployment of the VirtualFit system as a widespread E-Commerce tool for optical spectacle industry. The VirtualFit technology can be applied to many other applications, such as apparel fitting, shoe fitting, hairstyle selection, furniture selection, and ergonomic product design. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Li, Hui GENEX TECHNOLOGIES INC MD Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060068 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Skin Friction Reduction Using Moving Surfaces. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel mechanical means of reducing the skin friction of surfaces immersed in water. The concept to be analyzed and tested shows promise of reducing skin friction by 30 percent. The passive device would be fabricated in sheets and installed on existing immersed surfaces. While the concept is straightforward and conceptually simple, a major portion of the Phase I effort will be devoted to a proof of performance test using a simple gravity powered test rig, which will measure skin friction reductions achieved with the proposed device. If successful, the technology would be capable of reducing skin friction drag of moving objects significantly. Reducing the skin friction by 30 percent on a typical tanker crossing a 5,000 mile ocean at 20 knots would save over 156,000 gallons of fuel (one way). Other potential applications include pump inlets and pipes, long-haul tractor trailer trucks, and high-speed trains. Military applications are multifold and include torpedoes and vehicles where high speed is a requirement. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Teske, Milton Continuum Dynamics, Inc. NJ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99980 5371 MANU 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060082 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Low Temperature Formation of Polycrystalline Ferroelectric BaTiO3 Thin Films. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a process for growing ferroelectric, polycrystalline barium titinate (BaTiO3) thin-films, by anodic oxidation of polycrystalline titanium, in a barium hydroxide (BaOH2) electrolyte. By utilizing this novel, low-cost method of ferroelectric formation, it will be possible to obtain thin, uniform ferroelectric films at relatively low temperatures (less than 100C) that exhibit dielectric constants around 200. Though films of this nature find applications in various other electrical devices, the company will utilize this novel technology, if successful, for integral thin-film decoupling capacitors due to the significant advantages offered over traditional discrete decoupling capacitors. Another potential application is optical waveguides. Ferroelectric thin films have applications in thin-film passive components as well as optical waveguides. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Nelms, David Integral Wave Technologies, Inc. AR Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 97284 9150 MANU 9147 5371 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060088 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Novel, Low-Cost, High Temperature Composite Proton Exchange Membrane for Advanced Automotive Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a low-cost composite proton exchange membrane (PEM) capable of high temperature operation (>150 degrees C) with excellent chemical resistance and good thermal and dimensional stability suitable for advanced fuel cells in next generation vehicles (NGV). The key to this new composite membrane is a high temperature, high strength, chemically resistant membrane support structure fabricated from Foster-Miller's patented porous single crystal alumina material. Tailored porosity structures have been fabricated with interconnected passages suitable for infusion with a suitable ion conducting polymer (ICP) for high strength PEM's. This new PEM will address the serious cost/performance problems associated with current perfluorinated membranes. Fuel cells based on this new technology will achieve power density greater than 0.2 W/cm2. Membrane cost should eventually approach the $80/m2 level necessary to promote development of the NGV. Commercial scale up of the porous single crystal alumina manufacturing is already underway with a commercial processor of ceramics. During Phase I small composite Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEA's) will be fabricated, characterized and electrically tested for high temperature conditions (150 degrees C) and peroxide stability. Phase II will optimize the composite PEM with fabrication and testing of MEA fuel cell stacks. Commercial applications for the proposed advanced composite PEM include cost efficient fuel cells for automotive, utility and space/military applications. As a potentially key enabling technology for the automotive (NGV) application, the market potential is very large. Utility uses include communications, computers (laptop) and remote power generation. Space and military include manned space missions (space station), shipboard power, battery replacements and portable/mobile field generating units. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kovar, Robert Foster-Miller Inc MA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99923 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 1414 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060109 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Novel Magnetostrictor Compositions. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is aimed at developing cryogenic magnetostrictors that have high mechanical strength and can be fabricated more cost-effectively than existing materials. The potential for the use of cryogenic magnetostrictive materials for a variety of applications such as adaptive optics, robotics, automation and linear motors is great. Several cryogenic magnetostrictive materials have been discovered recently exhibiting high strain and excellent mechanical properties. These materials, consisting of an alloy of terbium dysprosium and zinc, are not commercially available but can be fabricated in small quantities. The process is complex and expensive because of the mismatches in the melting temperatures of the constituents. The focus of this research effort is to develop compounds of alloying materials that more closely match each other thereby eliminating a time consuming and costly step of the fabrication. The result of this work will be a low-cost scalable manufacturing process for magnetostrictive materials. If successful, this project will make low-cost cryogenic magnetostrictive materials and devices available in the marketplace for precision positioning of optics, vibration control, semiconductor fabrication, valves and pumps, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Joshi, Chad ENERGEN, INC. MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9147 1632 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060114 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Enhanced Product Sound Design Choices via Perceptual Attributes Mapping. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is concerned with consumer preference for product sound, with the goal of establishing a "mapping" or set of tools that product designers can use to achieve a preferred sound. The P. I. completed a NSF-supported SGER study that related product design choices and user reactions to the sound of the product. This study has used a panel of expert listeners to develop "sensory profiles" (SPs) for a limited range of product sounds, and a consumer jury to judge the same sounds in terms of product acceptability. Preliminary relationships have been established between the product SPs and physical metrics for these sounds, and between the product SPs and consumer judgements. This project seeks to determine the feasibility of extending the methodology developed to an expanded range of product sounds. Three major issues are addressed that will affect the utility of the concept as far as industry is concerned. One issue is the ability of metrics to anticipate user reactions to product sound because of their correlation with the product SPs. The second issue relates to the breadth of a product class that can be represented by a SPs. Variations on the sounds of particular vacuum cleaners and washing machines have been used as a way to develop the ideas, but this set needs to be expanded further. The third issue is concerned with products with different function but which are used in the same physical environment. While there is widespread commercial interest in product sound quality, there is at present no structured way for manufacturers to relate the preference for sound to design goals. By developing methods that are broadly applicable and as easy to use as possible, the research can provide sound quality measurement procedures that can be applied to any product for which sound is an issue. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I CONTROL SYSTEMS IIP ENG Lyon, Richard RH Lyon Corp. MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99765 5371 1632 MANU 9147 5514 0107000 Operations Research 0060115 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Next Generation Component Software for Simulation-Based Econometric Estimation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop user-friendly component software for classical econometric estimation and inference based on simulation methods. In the last decade, different simulation-based methods have been developed to tackle complex economic/statistical models which cannot be estimated by conventional methods such as maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and generalized method of moments (GMM). Although these simulation-based estimators have desirable theoretical properties, they have remained as research topics in academia and have not become useful tools for practitioners because of the lack of user-friendly software. This project provides a plan to study three leading applications for simulation-based methods: multinomial probit model for cross-sectional data, multiperiod multinomial probit model for panel data, and stochastic volatility models for time series data. MathSoft will use extensive Monte Carlo experiments to explore finite sample properties of various aspects of estimation and inference, with an aim of improving and stabilizing the current algorithms. The user-friendly component software will be developed using the state-of-art JavaBean technology and provide intuitive graphical user interface. The JavaBeans will also be supplied as S-PLUS functions to gain a broad user base. The software will help worldwide economists and practitioners in other fields such as financial industry, social sciences, and biotechnology to conduct flexible and extensible model estimation and inference. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Jiahui Insightful Corporation WA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99916 5371 HPCC 9139 0108000 Software Development 0510604 Analytic Tools 0512004 Analytical Procedures 0060133 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: The Auto-Autodidact - A Web-Delivered Learning Environment Based on Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project will combine the Internet, electronic libraries, and a new machine learning technique that simulates human understanding of text to produce an independent learning and problem solving environment for individuals and groups. Using Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), Auto-autodidact (autodidact: a self taught person) first learns the vocabulary and concepts of a topic by automatic training on textbooks. Then, as students study and write, and groups discuss and plan, it will continuously evaluate what they know and what they do not know, find relevant information anywhere in the electronic library, and connect participants with complementary needs and knowledge. Auto autodidact capitalize s on the motivational power of peer interaction, the instant availability of enormous textual resources, and the possibility of sharing individual knowledge over time and space. Auto autodidact will integrate LSA with Knowledge Forum, a state-of-the-art facilitator for distributed knowledge-building discussion, and newly available electronic libraries, to provide continuous embedded assessment, tutorial dialogue, and meaning-based information insertion. It will be unique in its ability to construct a learning environment for a new domain in a matter of days. Knowledge Analysis Technologies proffers a learning environment technology that has potential value for science and engineering education throughout the life cycle and for research and design organizations. The firm plans to commercialize the technology directly and through publishers, distance education providers, and educational testing organizations. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Laham, Darrell Knowledge Analysis Technologies CO Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99858 1666 SMET 9178 9177 7410 7355 7256 0108000 Software Development 0060136 January 1, 2001 STTR Phase I: Highly Conductive Transparent Coating via Nanostructured Colloidal Sol-Gel Process. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will support the current trend in developing nanophase materials. This is spirited by an increasing need for nanometer-scale structures in a variety of applications. It is clear that to achieve unique mechanical, physical, chemical, and biomedical properties, it is necessary to develop novel synthesis routes by which an entirely new nanostructure can be developed. When the thickness of the metal down to nano-meters, the metal/dielectric multilayer coating exhibits metallic conductivity and dielectric transparency. The periodic nature of the metal/dielectric lattice causes the light to propagate through the metal layers with extremely low loss. The most unique feature of the metallic optical filter is the ability to have a single pass band and block all other radiation from static fields to soft X-rays. This remarkable property is a result of the highly dispersive nature of metals. This research program will develop a nano-engineered powder: bilayer coated nanopowder. This powder composses three functionalities: highly transparent, highly conductive and a broad band radiation blocking from static fields to soft X-rays. Development of such unique nanostructures would not only benefit the specific industrial applications, such as panel displace and anti-static/anti-reflection (ASAR) coating for lenses and CRT, but also the electronic industry, in general. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Huang, Yuhong CHEMAT TECHNOLOGY INC CA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 1505 AMPP 9163 9102 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060137 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Saving Post-Chemical Mechanical Planarizing/Polishing (CMP) Wafers Using Acoustic Coaxing Induced Microcavitation (ACIM). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to save semiconductor wafers from being deeply scratched by unchecked large errant particles in chemical mechanical planarizing or polishing (CMP) slurries. CMP has become the method of choice for restoring the surface trueness of wafers at all stages of its manufacture. No method currently exists that can implement a CMP-safe slurry at the point of use. The proposed novel technology of acoustic coaxing induced microcavitation (ACIM) is a means to constructively control acoustic microcavitation and direct its high intensity energy implosions at specific particle sites. ACIM will achieve both the detection and destruction of the stray large particles and render the entire slurry CMP-safe at the point of use. The ACIM slurry monitor-comminuter would be the first fully in-line, real-time, point of use method for detecting stray large particles and agglomerates and for reducing them to a nano-fine state. The rapidly growing CMP industry presents a well-developed market for this environmentally friendly ACIM tool. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Zambrano, Isabel Uncopiers, Inc. KS Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 9150 AMPP 9163 9102 5371 1443 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060143 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Low Temperature Joining of Alumina Structural Ceramics. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a low temperature joining compound for structural alumina. The paste will rely on the low melting point of alumina preceramic materials to effectively wet the joining surfaces and alumina filler, thus forming a dense joint with characteristics similar to the joined ceramics. The program will investigate three different filled paste preparations: a) a dissolved processor paste, b) a suspended precursor paste, and c) a precursor salt mix with a lowered melting point paste. This technology will make possible the production of complex alumina structures from simple geometric alumina pieces, which have been previously densified. Innovations in this area will make the realization of complicated structural ceramics more cost effective in production. The paste will decompose to alumina, and will be densified at temperatures lower than that needed to sinter alumina. The technology to be developed under this project will find wide application in the structural ceramics market. Low temperature joining technologies are needed to increase the complexity of structures that can be economically produced from these materials. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Van Calcar, Pamela Eltron Research, Inc. CO Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99997 5371 MANU 9146 9102 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060155 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Low Cost Semiconductor Metallization-Planarization Process. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of an innovative process for copper metallization and planarization of semiconductor scale features. In contrast to geometric leveling or true leveling in the presence of levelers and brighteners, the proposed electrochemical deposition process is based on charge or Faradaic mediated leveling. The current copper metallization process utilizes a difficult to control plating bath containing levelers and brighteners and generates between 30 and 50 liters of waste slurry for each 8-inch wafer processed. The proposed charge modulated electrochemical deposition process will operate in a simple, easily controlled plating bath and will eliminate or substantially reduce the waste and cost of the current chemical/mechanical-processing step. During the Phase I program, the theoretical basis for the Faradaic mediated leveling process will be established and validated using state-of-the-art ULSI wafers. It is anticipated that the Faradaic mediated leveling process will eliminate or substantially reduce (i.e., by greater than 85%) the copper waste slurry and provide substantial cost savings relevant to the state-of-the-art copper metallization processes in the semiconductor industry SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Taylor, E. Jennings FARADAY TECHNOLOGY, INC OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99182 5371 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060156 January 1, 2001 STTR Phase I: Copper Seed Layers and Interconnects Derived from Nanocrystal Solutions. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project involves the synthesis of soluble, monodisperse copper nanocrystals as precursors in the formation of microelectronic copper seed layers and interconnects. The proposed synthetic component builds on existing nanoparticles syntheses to obtain soluble, monodisperse copper nanocrystals. Copper nanocrystals are to be applied by spin coating, thereby eliminating the current need for vacuum deposition. A passivating agent will be used to control average particle size and impart particle solubility in conventional spin coating solvents such as amyl acetate, cyclohexanone and ethyl lactate. Unlike conventional electrochemical and vapor deposition techniques, seed layer and interconnect formation occurs preferentially in wafer trenches and vias by taking advantage of the slower rates of nanocrystal solvent volatilization in these regions, as compared to substrate plateaus. Chemical mechanical polishing, associated with existing deposition techniques should be eliminated along with the undesired scouring of copper to form a nonlinear interface. Nanocrystals not adhering to a trenched substrate are readily redissolved, purified and reapplied to further lessen waste. The nanocrystals stranded in trenches are melted at a reduced, size-dependent melting temperature; to form bulk copper seed layer or interconnect structures. Nanocrystal melting temperatures will be tailored to remain below 350 degrees Celsius. This project has immediate commercial application in the production of microelectronic seed layers and interconnects through the elimination of vacuum vapor deposition, chemical mechanical polishing and reduction of waste streams. Longer-term value is created through the formation of narrower and higher aspect ratio interconnects which are necessary for the continuing increases in computational speed demanded by the microelectronics industry. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Goldstein, Avery Starfire Electronic Development & Mktg, Ltd. MI Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 1505 AMPP 9163 1771 0106000 Materials Research 0060158 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: High Performance Nano-Fe/SiO2 Soft Magnetic Cores Based on Exchange Coupling. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of exploiting novel nanocomposite materials for significantly improved magnetic performance in high frequency applications, using the exchange coupling concept between nanoparticles. To date, the exchange-coupling concept has not been realized in bulk form magnetic nanocomposites in high frequency magnetic applications. The improved properties will include a combination of higher permeability, higher electrical resistivity, and lower core loss than those for the conventional ferrites. In this project, ceramic coated Fe nanoparticles with various Fe volume fractions will be manufactured using a wet-chemical technique. The performance of the end product will be tested and compared with conventional ferrites. This innovation is expected to have a major impact on the electrical and electronic industries by enabling the manufacture of low cost shaped magnetic structures. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhang, Yide INFRAMAT CORP CT Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1771 0106000 Materials Research 0060164 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Novel Composite Materials for Hydrogen Separation Membrane Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop and evaluate a new class of mixed proton and electron conducting materials which are capable of operating at intermediate temperatures (400-700C). These materials could be used as membranes in a wide variety of hydrogen separation applications resulting in an efficient, economic, and selective process. The composite materials of interest will be based on a proton conducting oxyacid salt and a metallic or ceramic electronically conducting component. Composite powders of different components and compositions will be fabricated using various preparation techniques. These will then be fabricated into dense membrane disks, which will subsequently be tested for their structural, electrical, and transport properties with the proton and electronic conductivity being of particular interest. The composite materials showing the most promise will then be incorporated into laboratory scale membrane separation configurations and evaluated for their ability to mediate hydrogen. The development of a new membrane-based hydrogen separation process will have multiple applications for use in industry. It would allow for the separation and purification of hydrogen in one step. Furthermore, these membrane systems could act as novel reactors for carrying out different chemistries such as hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions at potentially lower costs and higher yields. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wu, Zhonglin Eltron Research, Inc. CO Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99993 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060166 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Electrochemical Brush Patination for Outdoor Copper and Bronze Objects. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop a new means of caring for patina-covered copper and bronze outdoor statues, sculptures, and other structures, by developing Electrochemical Brush Patination (EBP). If successful, this technique will allow conservators and others responsible for the care of patinized objects to repair small localized areas of damage to the patina layer without damaging the surrounding intact layer. Stripping away large sections of patina, as is commonly done now when repairs to damaged areas are effected, followed by repatination through non-electrochemical means, can be time-consuming, expensive, and potentially damaging to the object to be restored. The proposed technique will use controlled electrochemistry to grow a new patina layer only in the damaged area. The new patina shall share the visual appearance (e.g., color, texture, thickness) of the original patina layer, and shall provide equivalent protection against corrosion of the substrate metal. The proposed EBP technique will provide a new and improved means of repairing localized areas of damage to patina layers on copper and bronze. While the initial inspiration for this work was the desire to repair outdoor art objects, the commercial applications may extend to any patinized commercial or private structures, including but not limited to statuary, sculptures, building details, bridge details, etc. Repair of damaged patina on such structures is important not only for visual appearance, but also for protection of the underlying substrate metal from ongoing corrosive attack. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Krebs, Lorrie DACCO SCI, INC MD Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9147 9102 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060201 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Novel Methodology for Purification and Separation of Platinum Group Metals. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will synthesize novel diquaternary amines with a high selectivity towards platinum group metals (PGMs) from acidic chloride media. State-of-the-art molecular modeling techniques will be utilized to predict structures likely to have a high affinity for the anions of interest. The diquaternary amines are predicted to have a much greater selectivity than comparable monoquaternary amines due to increased steric interactions between the two nitrogens and the polyvalent ion of interest. These compounds will facilitate the separation and purification of high value metals, such as platinum, palladium and rhodium, from base metals using solvent extraction techniques. The diquaternary amines will be synthesized, characterized and then evaluated in comparison with an existing monoquaternary amine (Aliquat 336) that has already been used in PGMs separation. Improved separation of PGMs will lead to a reduction in metal costs, facilitate recycling (e.g. auto exhaust catalysts) and thus minimize the dependence of the United States on imported PGM supplies. These novel diquaternary amines will primarily have applications in precious metal refining. Additionally, they could also be used in the separation and purification of actinides, such as plutonium, and in the preconcentration of trace levels of certain anions (e.g. chromate, arsenate) to aid in environmental analysis SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Singh, Waheguru Lynntech, Inc TX Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060204 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Alternative Membranes for High-Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membranes (PEM) Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project would develop membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) utilizing alternative polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) for high-temperature fuel cell operation. Under this project, GESC, LLC will develop and test MEAs utilizing polymer films. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have received increased attention for supplying power for Next Generation Vehicles due to their high power densities, high efficiency, low environmental impact, ease of assembly and quiet operation. A barrier to PEMFC technology is poisoning of the anode catalyst by CO, a by-product of the reformer. CO poisoning is disfavored at temperatures above 100 degrees C, however current PEMs are prohibited from operating at these temperatures as the membrane loses water necessary for ion conductivity. Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells (PAFCs) can operate at elevated temperatures (140-200 degrees C) but are limited due to difficulty in retaining the phosphoric acid. A great need then, exists for a PEMFC membrane that can operate at high temperatures. The goal of this project would be to develop MEAs that incorporate proton transporting phosphoric acid functionalities directly into the PEM through covalent bonds, greatly extending the life of the PEMFC by eliminating the loss of electrolyte. Fuel cells that operate on reformate feed are being developed for both Next Generation Vehicles and stationary power applications. The potential market for a PEMFC that can operate with increased tolerance to CO concentrations in the anode feed is very large. Such a system would not only capture a large sector of this emerging market, but would increase the range of applications for fuel cell systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mittelsteadt, Cortney GINER ELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS, LLC MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99463 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 1414 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060205 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Low-Cost Glass Fiber Composites Tailored Towards Concrete Reinforcement. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop a new class of low-cost glass fiber composites that are compatible with the highly alkaline environment of concrete. The polymer matrix in these composites incorporates a fine dispersion of ion-exchange polymers for reducing the alkalinity of diffusing concrete pore water. Ion-exchange polymers are prepared by attaching polar groups to polymeric matrices; they are now produced at relatively low cost for use in filters and conditioners. The matrix incorporating ion-exchange polymers can feasibly act as a molecular sieve that removes alkali metal ions from the pore solution, and thus protects glass fibers against alkali attack. Preliminary analyses suggest that ion-exchange polymers possess the capacity, in the context of composite reinforcement in concrete, to lower the alkalinity of concrete pore water to levels that are not aggressive against glass fibers. Blending of conventional thermoset matrices of glass fiber composites with ion-exchange polymers promises to alter the favorable economics of glass fiber composites. This would facilitate large-scale introduction of composites as corrosion-proof and truly durable replacement for steel in concrete, noting that the relatively high cost of carbon and aramid fiber composites limit their potential for use as reinforcing bars in concrete. The resulting composites should meet the demands on concrete reinforcement in terms of mechanical performance, bond strength to concrete and cost, and should also be chemically and dimensionally stable in the alkaline environment of concrete under diverse exposure conditions. Potential commercial applications of the technology cover reinforced concrete systems subjected to corrosive environments, including bridge structures, parking ramps and offshore structures. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chowdhury, Habibur DPD INC MI Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99718 5371 CVIS 1635 1057 0109000 Structural Technology 0060213 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Magnetohydrodynamic Formation of Metal Monospheres. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project tests feasibility of a novel cost-efficient process for manufacture of monodispersed spherical micron-sized metal powders. Whereas there exist today various methods for making uniform sized particles, they are either unsuited to high -melting point materials, unperfected at sizes below 100 gm, slow or very expensive. Commercial spherical gas-atomized powders are available, but have wide size distributions. We propose to demonstrate liquid metal pressurization and perturbation of flow through a plate containing multiple high-speed drop-forming nozzles by means of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The objective is a system suitable for use at high temperatures (<=2000C) permitting continuous feed (vs. batch processing), no moving parts, no high-pressure reservoir of liquid metal and high productivity. The research includes analysis, design, construction, and testing of MHD pressurization and perturbation equipment and the nozzle plate. The Phase I goal is production of uniform drops of low melting point metals using MHD and a multiple nozzle array. In Phase II, the process will be extended to accommodate high temperature and increased throughput in a complete bench-top system producing "monospheres" of cobalt and iron. This technology offers a means of producing significant quantities of desirable monospheres at commodity prices. The primary customers for powders manufactured by the process innovated herein are Powder Metal parts producers, initially by Metal Injection Molding and Hot Isostatic Pressing. By serving as uniform substrates for coating, the uniform particles will improve the ability to produce consistently alloyed and dense parts cost-competitively. Among many other markets are filters, catalysts, new magnetorheological fluids and biomedical uses. Initial markets exceed $15 million and the potential market in ten years exceeds $100 million. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Dean, Jr., Robert SYNERGY INNOVATIONS INC NH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99968 5371 MANU 9147 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060220 January 1, 2001 STTR PHASE I: Use of Nanoclusters for Recovery of Strategic Metals. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project addresses the problem of recovery and recycle of strategic and critical metals. This project will determine the performance benefits of a nanocluster ion exchange media over traditional ion exchange resin, when used to recover strategic and critical metals, such as chromium, nickel and mercury. The basic innovation is the deposition of an extremely thin film (2 nm) on nanoparticles, coupled with low-temperature consolidation of nanoparticles to form nanoclusters, and the use of chemically reactive coatings to remove metal ions from industrial process and waste streams. The integrated ion exchange (IIX) electrochemical process reactor, will allow a close coupling of the nanostructured clusters with charge modulated electric fields for enhanced treatment of industrial process and waste streams, and for in-situ regeneration of the nanostructured clusters. The proposed process will facilitate cost-effective and selective separations assisted by electric fields, for cost-effective recovery and recycle of strategic and critical metals from aqueous based processes, such as in-process recycling in metal finishing operations, process and waste streams from chlor-alkali operations, and waste from dental and medical operations. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Inman, Maria Donglu Shi FARADAY TECHNOLOGY, INC OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 97000 1505 AMPP 9163 9102 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060225 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Liquid Crystal Material for High Performance Switchable Multi-Functional Holographic Device. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to demonstrate the proof-of-concept of innovative switchable holographic devices through material research. The new holographic device, made from a novel liquid crystal and polymer composite material, consists of alternating polymer and liquid crystal planes without liquid crystal droplets and is expected to exhibit a higher performance than the prior technologies in terms of reflection efficiency, switching voltage, spectrum tuning flexibility, polarization flexibility, switching speed, and switching mode. The Phase I effort will be focused on a special liquid crystal composite material development that leads to the construction of demo devices. In addition to the switchable Bragg reflection, the demonstration devices will exhibit tunable Bragg wavelength and multiple switching modes. The new holographic technology can be used to build polarizer, spectrum dispersion element, spectrum tunable mirror, optical switch, spectrum filter, beam splitter and combiner for optical telecommunication, display and photonics instrument such as spectrophotometer, lasers, optical imaging and detection systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Li, Le Kent Optronics, Inc. NY Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99965 5371 AMPP 9163 1773 0106000 Materials Research 0060244 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Innovative System for Bioinformatics and Computer Microscopy. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I from MicoBrightField, Inc provides a plan for creating a bioinformatics system that will allow users to acquire images of complete microscopic specimens at the highest magnification of a light microscope, to store these very large images in a web-enabled database, and to share them with students and researchers over the Internet. For conceptual purposes, these very large images will be "virtual slides" that can be viewed at any magnification. An innovative viewer technology will, in effect, provide the capabilities of a "virtual microscope", one which will also provide additional capabilities, including dynamic zooming and panning for viewing the virtual slides. A demonstration web site will be set up to test the feasibility of the bioinformatics system. Although the general definition of informatics may vary, this system is comprised of three main functions: image acquisition, database storage, and visualization. The system will help bridge the current gap between computer technology and biology by providing an architecture that will decentralize data distribution so that virtual slides can be routinely shared throughout the educational and scientific communities. This bioinformatics system, consisting of software and hardware, will be marketed to educational and research institutions, providing them with the means to produce and view virtual slides on their own web sites. The software for creating the virtual slides will be sold with all components needed to set up a computer microscopy system. Among the longer-term opportunities for consideration are as follows: an Internet system for archiving and comparing images for clinical pathology, a service to create and maintain the virtual slides and database for a customer's web site, and creation of large-scale images for on-line text books and stereotaxic atlases in conjunction with an author and/or publisher. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Glaser, Jacob MicroBrightField, Inc. VT Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 76683 1666 SMET 9178 9150 7256 0522400 Information Systems 0060245 January 1, 2001 SBIR PHASE I: High Rate Synthesis of Highly Reactive Solvated Metal Atom Dispersion Nanoparticles. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on the development of a Solvated Metal Atom Dispersion (SMAD) synthesizer for high rate production and eventual commercial adoption of metal nanoparticle materials. Several high value applications (from magnetic tapes to highly reactive catalytic materials) have been identified with corresponding significant commercial interest expressed, yet development of innovative, scalable processes has been a sizeable barrier for commercialization of these important nanotechnologies. During Phase I, several key technical parameters will be optimized including vaporization of multiple precursors, solvent recovery and recycling, as well as nanoparticle formation, separation and purification technologies. At the completion of the Phase I Research, a conceptual design for a continuous scalable synthesizer will be developed. Metallic, bimetallic, organometallic and encapsulated nanoparticles produced by the SMAD process meet a wide range of high value critical needs. Specifically, initial applications of the technology include superior catalysts, magnetic materials including information storage, improved transformer cores, radiation shield and coatings, and ferrofluids, as well as tracers for advanced systems. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Winecki, Slawomir NANOSCALE MATERIALS INC KS Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99853 9150 AMPP 9163 5371 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060252 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Thermal Forming Combustion Synthesis (TFCS) - A New Process for Coating Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I investigates the feasibility of Thermal Forming Combustion Synthesis (TFCS) of coatings. TFCS will combine two established materials processing techniques - thermal spray forming and Self-propagating High-temperature Synthesis (SHS) -as a novel method for synthesizing advanced coating materials in-situ to produce structural, wear and/or corrosion resistant coatings on the surfaces of substrates using simple, low-cost, starting materials. The technique is also applicable for the production of thin-walled freestanding structures. Layered deposits of Ni-Al and MoO3-AlxSi materials will be thermally sprayed onto 'model' steel and graphite substrates in both flat coupon and cylindrical configurations. The microstructures of the 'as-sprayed' layers will be characterized to determine porosity, contact area etc., prior to initiation of an SHS combustion synthesis within the layers and studies of the reaction mechanisms during combustion. The composition, microstructure, porosity level, and basic mechanical properties of the resulting deposits will be characterized using metallography, X-ray diffraction, SEM and microhardness testing. The critical sprayed layer thicknesses required for both the Ni-Al and MoO3-AlxSi material systems will be determined and compared to theoretical predictions. Economic (thermal spray forming + SHS reaction) production of coatings would have significant commercial applications, particularly for the in-situ coating of parts where cost is the primary concern, such that conventional approaches, including the thermal spraying of more costly 'engineered' composite powders is not an option. In addition, the SHS component of the investigation will enable compositional and microstructural variations to be achieved within reacted coatings, which could not be readily obtained by other methods. The approach may enable thin-walled tubes of novel structures and compositions to be produced, for use as catalyst supports, filters and in fuel cells etc. Once proven, the thermal spray forming + in-situ SHS synthesis of coatings promises to be a new, economical, coating process. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Shtessel, Emil EXOTHERM CORP NJ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99933 5371 MANU 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060254 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Nanoparticle-Based Photostimulated Luminescent Optical Storage. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on the development of nanocomposite materials that are capable of producing photostimulated luminescence (PSL) and the demonstration of their ability to do so at room temperature for durations that would support practical applications. Successful production of PSL with such materials would suggest that this technology could be used to create optical storage media for X-ray and other imaging techniques. Nanoparticle-based PSL optical storage systems would provide images with higher resolution at lower levels of production energy. Because of the extensive use of X-ray and similar technologies in the medical industry, manufacturing, security field, inspection and non-destructive testing processes, and many other applications, the proposed approach would offer substantial reductions in costs, complexity, hazards, and other negative aspects of the use of these processes. This technology will be applicable to virtually all X-ray processes and many other imaging and information storage techniques. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chen, Wei NOMADICS, INC OK Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 97729 5371 AMPP 9163 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060255 January 1, 2001 STTR PHASE I: Methods for Continuous Synthesis of Carbon Nanostructured Materials. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I Project will develop new methods for continuous synthesis and purification of important carbon-based nanostructured materials, including fullerenes and endohedral metallofullerenes. Due to their unique properties, structured carbon nanomaterials including fullerenes and nanotubes have become a large field of research that extends from chemistry, to physics and materials science. Intense effort is directed in increasing the fabrication yield of these materials, since current synthesis methods have typical yields of less than 0.5% for the more exotic and revolutionary nanomaterials. Low yields, coupled with the current high cost of fabrication, has limited the development and commercialization of these important new materials. Luna Innovations will develop new methods for continuous synthesis and purification of fullerenes and endohedral metallofullerenes based on recent advancements developed through joint research with our university research partners. This approach will not only increase the quantity of these critical nanomaterials, but will in addition reduce manufacturing costs and usage of associated hazardous solvent materials. Applications of these carbon nanostructures are predicted to revolutionize many areas of technology, including optical communications, high-strength composites, thermally-tailored structures for microelectronic and space applications, quantum computing, advanced medical diagnostics and treatments, and others. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Stevenson, Steven Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99981 1505 AMPP 9163 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060257 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Process for Preparing Nanometer-Sized Ceramic Particles at High Production Rates. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of a novel method, Combined Atomization and Reaction Technique (CART), for mass producing nanometer-sized ceramic powders. The SBIR Phase-I research is aimed at designing and building a bench-top CART apparatus to demonstrate the general technical and commercial feasibility of this method as applied to the synthesis of nano-sized oxides, carbides, and nitrides of both low- and higher-melting metals (e.g., Al, Fe, Si, and Ti). Nano-grained materials can be employed to replace various load-bearing and non-structural parts in automobiles, infrastructures, off-shore structures, pipings, containers, and electronic equipment housings, etc. this could be commercial attractive to many industries. Transparent nano-grained ceramics can be utilized in a broad array of applications including transparent ceramic appliance components, clear "glassware" and artistic artifacts. Transparent ceramics may be used as ballistic protection armors by law enforcement, security police and armored car personnel. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Yang, Junsheng Nanotek Instruments, Inc. OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 9150 AMPP 9163 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060258 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Nanomaterial for Microchip Chemical Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel microchip chemical analyzer that incorporates a new nanomaterial that performs both separation and detection of small quantities of chemicals and biochemicals. This will be accomplished by developing the required chemistry and processing to coat microchannels (20 x 50 microns) with a proprietary material that contains silver nanoparticles capable of supporting plasmon surface modes and generating surface-enhanced Raman (SER) spectra. Preliminary studies suggest this new nanomaterial will provide continuous, reproducible, quantitative, reversible, and rapid chemical analysis to part per trillion concentrations in nanoliter sample volumes. Phase I will prove feasibility by preparing microchip chemical analyzers and testing their SER-activity. Testing will include several test chemicals (p-aminobenzoic acid, phenyl acetylene, etc.), pharmaceuticals (amobarbital, barbital, and phenylbarbital), and the four DNA bases (adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine). The commercial market applications for this technology include biotechnology (DNA sequencing, protein analysis), medicine (metabolite analysis), and pharmaceutical (high-throughput molecular structure identification). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Farquharson, Stuart Advanced Fuel Research, Inc. CT Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99993 5371 AMPP 9163 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060278 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: High-Speed, High-Density Optical Disk Data Storage Based On A New Coding Concept. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project studies a new coding technique for high-speed, high-density optical disk data storage. It is well known that conventional optical disk storage is based on recording and readout binary data pits in an optical disk such as compact disk and DVD. The size of these pits that can be recorded and readout optically due to diffraction limitation thus limit the data storage density. The proposed research explores a new coding concept that can facilitate recording and readout many bits of data in a single pit. The data storage density can thus be significantly increased using the same diffraction limited focusing spot size as DVD. The proposed concept is supported by commercially available data recording material to result in a read-only super high-density optical disk. The concept is also supported by a new ion-exchanged photochromic glass to result in an erasable and rewritable disk with excellent room environmental stability and non-processing after data recording. Fast data code recognition using table lookup can improve the data access rate as well. Phase I research will demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed disk storage concept. Phase II will realize a complete disk data storage system. This project will demonstrate the feasibility of a new coding concept for high-speed, high-density optical disk data storage. Using such a coding concept can significantly increase the disk storage density for commercial and military, e.g. on-line storage, library archival applications, image storage and processing for medical applications and military target identification, and fast access to large intelligent databases. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG DeMasi, Ralph NEW SPAN OPTOTECHINOLOGY INC FL Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99985 5371 HPCC 9215 0522100 High Technology Materials 0060282 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Polymer Silicate Layered Nanocomposites for Dental Core. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of Polymer Silicate Layered Nanocomposites (PSLN) as applied to dental materials. A specific material system is chosen that optimizes key properties including compressive, flexural and tensile strength, hardness and reduction of polymerization shrinkage while maintaining the critical working and handling characteristics of the material. The quantum effects realized through the novel mechanistic dispersion of the nano-sized and geometrically ideal filler will lead to dramatic property enhancement of the composite affecting the durability and longevity of the dental restoration. Feasibility of this application of PSLN technology will be investigated through a series of experiments with subsequent characterization by x-ray diffraction and TEM analysis. Due to a high failure rate attributed to lack of strength, marginal leakage and technique sensitivity, methacrylate based dental composites have not been universally accepted as a replacement for amalgams. Preliminary findings and data from other industrial applications support the idea that PSLN technology provides superior property enhancement enabling remarkable potential for further acceptance of dental composites. This research project addresses the development of an enhanced dental composite specifically for use as core build-up material and provides future avenues for improvements to all dental composites, including anterior, posterior and flowable composites. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Smucker, Lisa Dental Technologies, Inc. IL Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99626 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060283 January 1, 2001 SBIR PHASE I: Integrated Gas Phase - Surface Reaction Simulator for Plasma Etch and Chemical Vapor Deposition Process Development. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop state-of-the-art computational models to accurately simulate the next generation of plasma-etch tools for SiO2 and low-k dielectric materials. Modeling tools necessary to address these challenges are not currently available, and will be developed by two companies specializing in chamber scale multi-dimensional and surface reaction chemistry simulations. The Phase I effort will focus on plasma sheath model (unified plasma sheath model of Riley/Bose) implementation, software integration and development of new ion assisted reaction formalism. Feasibility of the proposed integrated simulator will be demonstrated utilizing simple C2F6 plasma mechanism of CFDRC and complex C2F6 plasma etch mechanism developed by SEMATECH. The commercial availability of the proposed capability will allow process engineers to design better processes and identify equipment/process deficiencies before they are performed on a R&D or production scale. Implementation of the proposed computational innovation will produce major impact on technology readiness, and affordability through better process chamber designs and higher throughput. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Zhou, Ning CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION AL Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99943 9150 AMPP 9163 1407 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060284 January 1, 2001 STTR Phase I: Light Transparent, Electrically Conductive Coatings by Filtered Cathodic Arc Plasma Deposition. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project proposes to develop a new class of UV-transmitting, electrically conductive coatings by using filtered cathodic arc plasma deposition (FCAPD). Cathodic arc plasmas are characterized by relatively high ion energy (20-150 eV) that lead to denser films. Macroparticles which typically contaminate such plasmas can be filtered using curved magnetic filters that have been developed by Berkeley's Plasma Application Group. Filtered cathodic arc coatings are not only dense but may be grown in a vacuum or reactive environments. The window of partial pressure for stochiometric compound films is wider than for evaporation or sputtering methods. Moreover, sputtered coatings (and more so beam-evaporated films) are characterized by porosity, which increases the thickness for the required electrical conductivity, with reduced optical transmission. The primary objective of Phase I is to demonstrate that a thin coating can be produced which is highly conductive and transmits between 80- 90% of the incident UV radiation. Once the feasibility of using FCAPD for producing high density coatings that show high electrical conductivity and high light transparency have been answered, Phase II will optimize the process for larger areas. Engineering development, marketing and sales of coating units is the province of Phase III. Commercial applications for FCAPD films include: electrochromic automotive and aircraft windows; heat mirrors; optoelectronic devices such as UV triggered diamond high voltage switches; solar cell surfaces for space applications Cathodic arc deposition of TiN coatings is a well established technology which supports tens of millions of dollars of business annually worldwide in coating equipment sales and hundreds of millions of dollars annually for the coatings generated by that equipment. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Schein, Jochen Alameda Applied Sciences Corporation CA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 1505 MANU 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060286 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Nongray Radiation Model Coupled with a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Code for Large-Scale Fire and Combustion Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I study is aimed toward demonstrating the feasibility of using the correlated k-distribution approach, in conjunction with the control-angle discrete ordinates method (CA-DOM), for accurate and fast simulation of non-gray radiative transport in large-scale fires and combustion systems. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been used in the combustion industry with considerable success during the past decade. Currently, however, there exist no CFD package, which treats non-gray radiation in combustion gases with the desired level of accuracy and computational efficiency. With a trend towards cleaner combustion, radiation from molecular gases is assuming a major role in the determination of combustor performance, and NOx emissions in particular. Under this Phase I study, a novel approach to predict radiative transport in combustion gases, based on the correlated k-distribution approach, will be developed. The correlated k-distribution approach has recently been used with great success, and has the potential of improving computational efficiency by orders of magnitude. This is as opposed to other models, which promise only marginal improvements. The proposed development will be conducted within the framework of the commercial CFD code, CFD-ACE+. The model will be evaluated by comparing its predictions against experimental and analytical data. Special attention will be paid towards computational efficiency. The proposed radiation model will be the first commercial tool of its kind. Its uniqueness lies in its ability to predict radiative transport both accurately and fast. It is expected to have significant impact on the gas turbine, furnace building, and automotive industry, where CFD design and optimization is already standard practice. In addition, the tool could be used effectively for the simulation of large-scale fires and for atmospheric radiation calculations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mazumder, Sandip CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION AL Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99944 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1406 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060288 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Superior Corrosion Resistant Undercoating for Vapor Deposited Hard Coatings. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new type of corrosion resistant undercoating for application to metal substrates prior to the deposition of a hard decorative top coat applied by physical vapor deposition (PVD). PVD metal nitride coatings such as TiN and ZrN are extremely hard, and thus provide excellent scratch and wear resistance. However, they do not provide adequate corrosion resistance because of micron-scale flaws that act as corrosion sites, and thus a corrosion-resistant underlayer is needed. This undercoat must be smooth, sufficiently hard to support the hard PVD coating, and provide good adhesion to both the substrate and to the PVD coating. Ideally, the undercoat would provide a leveling effect to minimize polishing of the metal substrate. Recently, a new method for coating metal with a thin layer of glass has been developed. This coating, which is being optimized as a protective outer coating for polished aluminum, has many of the attributes of a successful PVD undercoating including corrosion resistance, hardness, and leveling. The key technological step will be to develop good adhesion between this glass coating and a PVD coating, and that will be the main focus of the proposed research. PVD coatings are widely used for applications that require both durability and an attractive appearance; for example, metal-nitride coatings can be made to closely resemble polished metals including brass, gold, and chrome. Current applications include personal items (pens, glasses, watches, jewelry, etc.), door hardware, plumbing fixtures, decorative trim on automobiles, and architectural detailing. All these PVD applications require an undercoating to improve corrosion resistance, but current undercoating options are inadequate for a number of reasons such as cost and environmental impact. Electroplating, the most widely used undercoating, uses significant amounts of toxic chemicals. A new type of undercoating which could meet performance and cost requirements while being environmentally friendly would thus have significant and immediate market potential. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Jennings, Hamlin Evanston Materials Consulting Corporation IL Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99891 5371 MANU 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060295 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Universal Home Network Based on Ultrawide Band Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop an innovative wireless network infrastructure for residential homes that can integrate Internet, data communication, telephony, home automation, audio, and video. This infrastructure is called "Universal Home Network"(UHN). The backbone of UHN is the emerging Time-Modulated Ultrawide Band (TM-UWB) radio technology. TM-UWB is a radio communication method that sends pulses of RF energy instead of sine waves. These pulses that enable precise ranging, operate in multi-path environments, and more easily penetrate indoor obstructions. The average RF transmit power of these pulses is below the noise floor, allowing UHN to perform tracking and data communication while coexisting with existing RF systems. TM-UWB radios only transmit pulses with 0.1% duty cycle, so they consume very little power. Pulses in the time domain have a bandwidth of more than 2 GHz, so TM-UWB signal is very difficult to intercept and jam. UHN may achieve a bandwidth of more than 100Mbps using multiple channels. The brain of HUN is the HUN Home Server, which is a dedicated real-time computer managing, sharing, routing, storage, and processing voice, video, data, and control commands coming in and out of the house. The Home Networking market is growing rapidly, because of the declining price of computers, increasing number of homes with multiple PCs, and Internet access. There are also an increasing number of digital devices used in the home, with a prevalence of multimedia content. Park Associates anticipates that computer-and entertainment-based networks alone will exceed $4 billions in five years. Existing home network technologies can only meet parts of the interconnection needs of homeowners. The proposed UHN is designed to carry data, voice, audio/video, and home automation messages in a unified infrastructure. Intelligent Automation Inc.'s near term commercialization plan is to provide interfaces between UHN and other existing protocols to speed up the acceptance of UHN by consumers and industries. The long term plan is to partner with consumer electronics, appliance, and home automation manufactures to design and sell products with native UHN interface. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lin, Chujen Intelligent Automation, Inc MD Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99999 5371 HPCC 9215 9102 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060298 January 1, 2001 SBIR PHASE I: A New Approach to Particle Characterization - The Probability Density Function Propagation (PDFP) Model. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an innovative particle transport and dispersion model called the Probability Density Function Propagation (PDFP) models, and implements the model into a commercial code. The PDFP model tracks the Probability Density Function (PDF) of particle position as a function of space and time. Only one trajectory for each class of particle size or type needs to be calculated, as compared to the 2000 to 6000 trajectories needed in current state-of-the-art particulate models. This makes the PDFP model very computationally efficient, which is important for simulations with large numbers of particles where the particle calculations take a significant percentage of the CPU time. From the particle PDF's calculated in the model, the properties of the dispersed phase (solid or liquid) can be calculated anywhere in the model, providing a complete statistical representation of the particle behavior. The combination of computational speed and capability to completely describe the particles (solid or liquid) will make the PDFP model a valuable tool for engineers analyzing two-phase flows. In Phase I, the feasibility of the model will be demonstrated by comparing predictions with published data. The Probability Density Function Propagation (PDFP) model will be developed and implemented in a commercial code. The capability will be implemented in an existing commercial code and will provide the capability to easily simulate two-phase flows that are difficult or very time consuming using current state-of-the-art particle models. Examples of applications where the PDFP model can be used include characterizing nonreacting sprays for ignition calculations, atmospheric dispersion, pneumatic transport, spray cooling, and any other application where large number of particles must be modeled. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Black, David CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION AL Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99984 9150 AMPP 9163 1443 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060302 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Engineered Zeolite Catalyst for Paraffin Alkylation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a new class of engineered zeolite catalysts for the petrochemical and refining industry. A looming reformulated gasoline boom is driving the development of solid-acid catalysts routes to alkylates. The intent is to replace sulfuric and hydrofluoric acids with safer and more environmentally benign solid-acid catalysts in the 60-million tons/year alkylates market. Although zeolites have been tried as a potential candidate, they deactivate rapidly on stream. The deactivation is mainly due to the formation of 'coke' deposits that plug up pore mouth openings and block the active sites. The novel zeolite catalyst uses smart structure-directing agents to create highly ordered micro and macro-pores. The larger pores provide efficient access and quick diffusion of reagents to the micro-porous system, while the smaller pores can offer high-surface area and size selectivity; thus specific catalytic and sieving functions. Engineered zeolite catalysts will be synthesized, characterized and tested for activity and stability as part of the Phase I research. It is expected that the unique pore architecture will reduce intra-pore diffusive barriers leading to higher product selectivity and a significantly longer catalyst life compared to conventional zeolitic systems. This new class of engineered zeolites can be used effectively as a solid-acid catalyst for fast liquid phase reactions such as the production of iso-octanes, cumene and EB. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mukherjee, Mitrajit Exelus, Inc. NJ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060304 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Connecting Science and Mathematics through Data. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop materials to help science learners use mathematics more effectively. The project provides a plan for creating new curriculum materials for the science classroom. These materials will use Fathom tm, a new data analysis software package originally developed for mathematics. Also, enhancements for the software to make it more appropriate in science will be designed and implemented. Too often, science students use less-sophisticated mathematics--for example, computing means or proportions--than they use in parallel math classes. Fathom software, coupled with data sources such as the web and probeware, can be used-to help students bring the mathematics they are learning to bear on science. Students' understanding of science concepts will improve, and they will see more connections between their science and mathematics learning. With three successful sample lessons, Epistemological Engineering will be poised to create additional materials and to implement further software enhancements. The proposed research will lead to significant enhancements to Fathom software and open the door to creating curriculum materials in science education using tools previously available only to math educators. Epistemological Engineering will benefit both from opening the science market for Fathom and from the sale of the science curriculum materials that the firm will publish. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Erickson, Timothy BigTime Science CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 95562 1666 SMET 9177 0101000 Curriculum Development 0108000 Software Development 0060306 January 1, 2001 STTR Phase I: IntelliStitch AI: Intelligent Computerized Embroidery Design Automation for the Textile Industry. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project builds upon the technology and success of the company's software product, one of the industry's first embroidery design automation systems. It provides the textile industry with simplified mechanisms for converting scanned artwork into high quality embroidery design data. This data is then utilized by commercial sewing equipment to produce the embroidered artwork that has become quite common on all types of garments and woven goods. Unfortunately, embroidered artwork is often quite expensive to produce. In many cases, it may substantially exceed the costs of the actual garments being imprinted. These costs arise from a variety of factors including an embroidered design's size, layout, and complexity. Well-designed embroidered artwork permits efficient production with high yields (i.e. causing very few defective items to be produced). Automating this design creation process provides additional benefits by eliminating the time consuming manual process that must otherwise be undertaken by a human expert. With these factors as the primary motivation, this research will investigate advanced artificial intelligence and machine vision mechanisms, such as neural nets and structural indexes, to substantially improve capabilities and performance. The advantages of a robust automation system to the textile industry are quite substantial. Creating sophisticated embroidery designs is a tedious, time-consuming activity requiring the skills of a human expert (called a digitizer). Even after this process has been completed, any miscalculations by the digitizer could substantially impede production on machinery. A well-designed expert system could inevitably eliminate these costs and perhaps even provide a level of quality that is not achievable by its human counterparts. Additionally, this research may also have broad application within other fields such as document processing or other areas where image understanding and interpretation is important. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Goldman, David Soft Sight, Inc. NY Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 99999 1505 MANU 9147 5514 0107000 Operations Research 0060307 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Development of High Efficiency NanoFilter Media. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposal focuses on providing a feasibility demonstration of producing electrospun nanowebs of nanofibers, and combining them with conventional filter media to form novel NanoFilter media for specific filtration applications. These applications are well suited to address the problems of removal of particles smaller than 3 microns from effluent streams -where superior efficiency of nanowebs in capturing sub-micron particles is very attractive for cost considerations as well. Initially, the nanofibers will be electrospun from a solution of Nylon 6 in formic acid and laid directly on to a conventional support filter media as a nanoweb. The web architecture will be easily tailored to achieve the desired composite filter performance by varying fiber diameter, fiber orientation, fiber packing fraction within the nanoweb, and the nanoweb thickness. This project will be carried out collaboratively by eSpin Technologies, a small, high-technology start-up company based in Chattanooga, TN, and specializing in providing custom-made electrospun nanofibers, with academic centers and major corporations as its partners. Together they possess the skills and facilities needed to successfully carry out the work under this grant. Nanotechnologies developed in the coming years will form the foundation of significant commercial platforms. This business will be a key supplier of nanofiber technology which have the potential for commercial applications in a variety of fields including, filtration: industrial filters, biological separations, ultra pure air and water systems, next generation clean rooms, agriculture and food industries, and microelectronic industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Doshi, Jayesh ESPIN TECHNOLOGIES INC TN Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99993 5371 MANU 9146 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060309 January 1, 2001 SBIR PHASE I: Supercell for Achieving Very High Static Pressures and Temperatures in Relatively Large Working Volumes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new high pressure/high temperature (HPHT) cell for conventional hot pressing units, which will be capable of achieving very high static pressures and temperatures in relatively large working volumes. This new unit, which is called a 'supercell', will enable pressures up to 30 GPa and temperatures up to ~5000C in a working volume of >>1 mm3. In contrast, a conventional diamond anvil cell can attain pressures of ~30 GPa in a working volume of only ~1 mm3, with temperatures limited to about 400C. Thus, the supercell will have capabilities for processing materials that reach beyond those of today's systems. Utilizing the significant pressure/temperature/volume range of the supercell, it should be possible to obtain the very high pressure and very high temperature needed for crystallization of diamond from liquid carbon, and make possible the study of unknown regions of the carbon state (phase) diagram. HPHT crystallization of diamond from liquid carbon provides an opportunity to produce nanocrystalline, microcrystalline, or monocrystalline diamond, depending on the cooling rate from the liquid state, as well as opening new possibilities for doping diamond with boron and/or nitrogen. This project, if successful, will enable manufacture of pure and doped nanocrystalline, microcrystalline and monocrystalline diamonds, and will facilitate the production of advanced anvils for the diamond industry as well as for production of inserts for drill bits. The technology also has important potential for university laboratories. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Voronov, Oleg DIAMOND MATERIALS INC NJ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9163 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060326 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Boron Nitride Nanotubes Manufacture. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will synthesize boron nitride nanotubes by a continuous pyrolysis method that can be readily scaled to produce industrial quantities at reasonable costs. Intensive research is being conducted on single-walled carbon nanotubes (C-SWNTs) to take advantage of their incredibly high specific strength in composite material reinforcements, and their unusual electron transport properties in nanoscale electronic devices. Their properties and applications stem from the defect-free arrangement of carbon atoms into a filament with extremely high aspect ratio (length/diameter), currently around 10,000. However, the high aspect ratio, tubular geometry, and atomic perfection are not unique to carbon; nanotubes (NTs) can be formed from many other layered materials, including boron nitride. BN-NTs, while also exhibiting high strength, have commercially attractive properties that are complementary to the C-SWNTs, based on the chemical differences between BN and graphite. The most prominent characteristics unique to BN-NTs are oxidation resistance, optical transparency, and uniformity. BN-NTs are currently made in benchtop reactors by arc evaporation of boron rods, a low-throughput, uneconomical batch process. By developing an improved synthetic method, BN-NTs will become available for materials research and applications. Boron nitride nanotubes will have applications as reinforcements in high-end composite materials. The best uses of BN nanotubes are complementary to those of C-SWNTs. For example, the BN-NTs have the potential to form high strength, high temperature, form metal carbides. As another example, BN-NT reinforcement of a polymer matrix will maintain the electrically insulating and optical transmission properties of the matrix, whereas C-SWNTs impart electrical conductivity and opacity to the polymer matrix. Also, the improved chemical resistance, particularly to oxygen attack, will improve the BN-NT stability at elevated temperatures and other severe service conditions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Diener, Michael TDA Research, Inc CO Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060327 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: "RT Photocurable Preceramic Polymers to Si3N4 Ceramics". This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate an innovative photo-curable "cure on demand" room temperature preceramic polymer approach for the fabrication of high yield silicon nitride (Si3N4) and Si3N4/SiC ceramics. No photo-curable preceramic polymer to silicon nitride or any other nitride ceramic has ever been previously demonstrated. The proof of concept will be demonstrated by synthesizing and subsequently photo-cross-linking poly(ethynyl)silizane (PESZ) prior to pyrolysis. This is expected to result in a low-dielectric, low creep, high ceramic yield matrix or coating with wide applications. This represents a new core enabling technology with potential for microelectronics, thermal management, and high temperature structural applications. Specifically, the unique combination of high strength, high temperature stability, high thermal conductivity, and unusual dielectric properties of silicon nitride lend themselves to unique applications that include hybrid circuit substrates for microwave electronics, hypersonic interceptor nose cones, and antennas. The photo-curability permits the eventual photolithographic patterning of both carbide and nitride ceramics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pope, Edward EDWARD POPE DR CA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1775 0106000 Materials Research 0060329 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Development of an Interactive 3D Environment for Power System Visualization. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project from PowerWorld Corporation addresses the problem faced by the electric power industry in visualizing vast quantities of power system data. The entry of new players into the electricity industry has resulted in a large new demand for tools to help them understand and analyze power systems. Areas such as system operations that have traditionally been the domain of highly trained engineers now need to be understood by a broader spectrum of professionals. The restructuring of the industry has resulted in new terms, transaction methods, and technical calculations to facilitate the many different types of transactions needed to realize promised economies and profits. The purpose of the proposed work is the development of an interactive 3D environment tailored to the needs of power system analysts. This work will include development of a prototype interactive environment and methods for visualizing power system data. The market niche that PowerWorld Corporation is attempting to exploit is the development of high-quality, yet extremely user-friendly power system visualization software to meet the expanded needs for power system visualization that are a result of industry restructuring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Laufenberg, Mark POWERWORLD CORPORATION IL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060333 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Scanning Automultiscopic 3-D Visualization System. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a scanning automultiscopic 3-D visualization system. Visual information gathering and interpretation can be significantly improved by presenting information in three dimensions. Current 3-D systems have very limited field-of-view or require intrusive headgear with head tracking to emulate look-around, and suffer from inconsistencies between binocular convergence and eye accommodation. Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes a new class of 3-D displays based on proprietary liquid crystal scanner panels that time-sequentially project a large number of perspective images over a wide field-of-view into the view space in front of the display. POC will investigate the feasibility of the proposed concept through simulation, analysis, design, and experimentation, culminating in a proof-of-concept demonstration. The proposed automultiscopic 3-D visualization system, without glasses or head tracking equipment, will produce a correct 3-D image without convergence and accommodation inconsistencies, thus eliminating eye strain that has recently been identified as a potential cause of eye damage. The proposed research effort will result in a novel kind of high performance 3-D visualization system that overcomes the limitations of current stereoscopic display technologies. The 3-D system will be used for visualization of multidimensional scientific and medical data, for 3-D design, training and education of government and civilian personnel in a cooperative 3-D environment, and for telepresence and teleoperation SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Aye, Tin PHYSICAL OPTICS CORPORATION CA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99995 5371 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060342 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Web-Based Collaborative Virtual Model Building for Learning in Astronomy. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop, deploy, and evaluate a virtual reality-based modeling kit that will enable students to collaboratively build, cohabit, and present virtual models of the solar system within a web-based inquiry framework. This system will enable students to explore fundamental questions of planetary motion; independently or collaboratively construct models of the solar system; share and cohabit these virtual models with other local and remote students, mentors or teachers through the web; and present these models to large audiences. This general instructional approach has been tested and validated through pilot projects using limited off-the-shelf virtual reality tools. Cybernet Systems Corporation believes that this instructional approach and base technology will open up an entirely new mode of instruction that will be extendable to many other mathematics, science, and technology domains. The market for the project for this immediate version of the software will be middle school earth science, high school physics, and university freshman-level astronomy survey courses. It is important to realize that the underlying technology and instructional approach will be applicable in a wide range of domains (weather, ecology, mathematics, geometric, etc.) and Cybernet Systems Corporation intends to explore and develop these potentials in the next phase of the research. In the near term, the research team believes that there is a significant impact to be made at all levels with the initial domain of planetary motion. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cohen, Charles CYBERNET SYSTEMS CORPORATION MI Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 SMET 9180 9178 9177 7355 7256 0108000 Software Development 0060345 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Technique for Polymer Encapsulation of Nanopowders. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project plans to develop a novel technology for polymer encapsulation of nanopowders. Nanoparticles, because of their unique properties and advantages, are fast gaining acceptance by all sectors of the industry. Currently, the use of nanoparticles is restricted by either its unavailability or lack of technology for its processing. One such technology is for the coating of nanopowders with a polymeric material. Polymer coated iron nanoparticles (size range of 5-15 nm), because of their super-paramagnetic properties, have extensive applications in the area of bio-separation, detection of toxins in water, immunoassays, DNA probes, and magnetic resonance imaging. The super-paramagnetic nature of these beads means a lower magnetic field (about 1/10 to 1/20) is required for their separation and this translates to significant cost reduction. It should be emphasized that currently there is no technique for coating nanopowders with a polymer. During this Phase I effort, a novel technology for coating of iron nanopowders with a polymer-polystyrene will be developed. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sampath, Arun Materials Modification Inc. VA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 98900 5371 AMPP 9163 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060356 January 1, 2001 STTR Phase I: Autonomous Undersea Systems Network (AUSNET). This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will produce a network application programmer's interface (API) specification and related implementation, referred to as the Autonomous Undersea Systems Network (AUSNET), for the distributed control of robotic and/or sensor systems in a low bandwidth, dynamic network environment. AUSNET will allow expanded networking services specifically tailored to the unique acoustic environment. The proposed effort builds upon emerging ad-hoc (self-forming, self-maintaining) network protocols. Specifically, platform applications will gain access to network generated and propagated data, as well as enhanced control of the actual networking protocols. This will provide significant improvement both locally and network wide in the use of the acoustic band. It will also enable great adaptability to the harsh underwater environment. The AUSNET effort will examine and demonstrate the potential to greatly enhance application level functionality by exploiting network capability and infrastructure in previously unexplored ways. Phase I will result in a feasibility demonstration. The Phase I development environment will be a simulation testbed, with a transition to a live operational environment planned for Phase II. The market for tools that maximize the potential of flexible next-generation computer networks is significant and extends beyond the immediate oceanographic application into other domains. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Benton, Charles Technology Systems, Inc. ME Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99995 9150 HPCC 9215 1505 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060357 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: New Compression Techniques for Surveillance Video. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate and evaluate a new class of video compression algorithms specifically designed for digital CCTV (closed circuit TV) systems. As the market for surveillance video systems has been increasingly becoming digital,"compression has become a critical enabling technology. Current systems employ conservative, standard, and generic compression algorithms that often result in jerky object motion and waste of memory and network bandwidth. This project will investigate a new class of compression algorithm that can significantly improve picture quality at bit-rates lower than or comparable to those in current systems/products. This is done by exploiting the special characteristics of surveillance video and by adopting a segmentation model. The result will be a prototype software module that can be installed in digital CCTV systems as their compression units. This technology can be used in video surveillance systems for monitoring banks, airports, government and corporate buildings. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhang, Jun JunTech, Inc. WI Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060364 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Interface Design for Diamond-coated Steels. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop a diamond coating technology for steel that has the chipping and spalling resistance needed for commercial applications. Friction and wear between rolling, sliding, and cutting surfaces causes lost efficiency, reduced service life, and lost capital. For example, the loss of a bearing while drilling a deep oil well can cost $40,000 an hour in lost production. Diamond, which has a hardness that is twice that of cubic boron nitride (CBN) and four times that of silicon carbide (SiC), cannot be used in these commercial applications due to its poor spalling resistance. The innovation set forth in this proposal seeks to develop interfaces between the steel and diamond that will resist spalling of the film. Advanced computing techniques will be used to identify and evaluate the best prospects for a revolutionary substrate(steel)-interface-coating(diamond) system (Phase I deliverables). The commercialization of a chip-resistant diamond coating will facilitate the development of various advanced bearing and wear products including rolling and sliding bearings, engine parts, cutting tools, and biomedical devices. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Thompson, Raymond VISTA ENGINEERING INC AL Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99626 9150 MANU 9147 5371 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060372 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Video-based Head and Face Gesture Recognition System for Hands-Free Control. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project from Future of Technology and Health, (FUTH), LC, will develop video-based gesture recognition technology to provide an effective new type of computer access for people who have difficulty using a standard keyboard or mouse due to disabilities including cerebral palsy, Lou Gerhig's disease (ALS), stroke, spinal cord injury, or repetitive stress injury. This technology is also expected to provide the capability for 'hands-free' control of computers and other electronic equipment for all users who may be using their hands for other tasks (such as typing, driving a motor vehicle, operating test equipment, etc.). This project focuses on recognition of multiple head and face gestures using standard low cost digital video cameras (under $100) and standard personal computers. The system may also be implemented on pocket computers for mobile and in-vehicle applications. Face and head gestures are used to generate mouse or keyboard actions to control a computer or to control signals that in turn control other types of electronic devices. For example, one application is the capability to 'surf the web' hands-free using head gestures to navigate web pages, including selecting and activating desired links. Gesture recognition can be used to replace or augment existing switch interfaces or expensive eye/head tracking systems for people with disabilities, and it has a number of advantages over voice recognition in many applications. Early customers for this technology include computer users with mobility impairments who cannot effectively use a standard keyboard or mouse. Other commercial applications include hands-free control of desktop computer software such as web browsers or text-to-speech, and hands-free control of in-vehicle information systems and personal digital assistants (PDA's). The technology may also be applied for highly reliable hands-free control of industrial, scientific, or military equipment. RES IN DISABILITIES ED IIP ENG Bishop, Jeffrey Future of Technology and Health, LC IA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99999 1545 SMET 9180 9102 1545 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0060377 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: An Intelligent Qualitative Coding Program. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project from Idea Works, Inc. tests the feasibility of using intelligent programming strategies to improve the quality, timeliness, and cost effectiveness of qualitative research. A prototype computer program for qualitative data analysis, currently in initial stages of development, will be further developed and assessed. This program uses artificial intelligence strategies of natural language understanding, machine learning, rule-based expert systems, semantic networks, and case-based reasoning to actively assist researchers in coding data. Two related experiments will compare experienced and inexperienced coders performing with and performing without the aid of the program in order to assess the program's ability to help in coding, to enhance reliability and validity, and to increase the speed of coding. Ease of use and user acceptance of the program will also be examined. The program is expected to improve the quality of research while dramatically reducing cost, time, and training requirements. This will make it feasible to apply rigorous qualitative research techniques to a vast range of problems, from coding transcripts or field notes, to examining the content of Internet sites, to conducting literature reviews. The program proffered by Idea Works, which marks a significant improvement over existing qualitative analysis programs by offering suggestions for code assignments to the users, has commercial potential in both research and business applications. Not only can the computer program be used to assist trained social scientists in coding a wide range of data from field notes to interviews to documents, but, because the program is not limited to any specific coding scheme, it can also be applied in areas as divergent as doctor-patient interaction, studies of man/machine interfaces, content analysis of Internet documents, and literature reviews. The project has the potential to dramatically improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of qualitative coding of a broad range of data. It has the potential for achieving cost effectiveness; not only by reducing the time required to code, but also by making it possible for less experienced coders to code with higher levels of reliability and validity. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Myer, Brent Idea Works Inc MO Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99992 5371 HPCC 9215 0108000 Software Development 0510604 Analytic Tools 0512004 Analytical Procedures 0060379 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Software for Interactive Chemistry Tutoring. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is aimed at advancing the state-of-the-art in chemistry education software in a critically important respect demanded by students and teachers. The primary research objective is the development of meaningful interactive tutoring capabilities for problem solving. This area has been repeatedly identified as that where existing offerings are weakest. This project offers a new and different approach, adapting and incorporating certain concepts from artificial intelligence that have not previously been applied in chemistry education. A program will be constructed that not only solves problems, but also can explain its work to the student coherently and respond to various questions. The program will dynamically create detailed explanations of worked-out solutions for problems entered by the student or teacher, and provide the connections to the underlying fundamental chemical concepts. This technology will be implemented as a sophisticated tutoring "engine" that can be easily interfaced to add interactive tutoring capabilities to any existing educational program or curriculum, such as those dealing with practical real-world applications of chemistry. The chemistry education software has broad commercial implications, creating opportunities for tremendous synergy in use with other packages and curricula. In addition, the improvement to be developed is of a fundamental nature, is portable and scalable, and can be deployed equally well on CD-ROM, on the desktop, or on the Internet. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Johnson, Benny Quantum Simulations Incorporated PA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 1666 SMET 9178 9177 0108000 Software Development 0060386 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: An Information Handling System for Low Vision. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project from JBliss Imaging Systems will determine feasibility of specialized software that enables people with low vision to quickly read and process information from many sources, and to write and send information to many locations. The research objective is to combine optical character recognition (OCR), speech synthesis and recognition technologies, together with displays based on the latest vision research to provide an integrated system with a consistent, easy to learn, command structure. Customizable displays are needed to accommodate a variety of visual impairments. The user interface should not require viewing the screen, yet it should present visual displays useful to a low vision person and be intuitive to fully sighted teachers experienced with graphical user interfaces (GUIs). System functions should include the following: reading printed documents; enlarging pictures; writing and word processing documents; receiving, reading, and writing e-mail; accessing and interacting with the Internet; using an address database; saving and retrieving documents; printing; performing calculations; tracking financial accounts; and using a video camera for magnification while hand writing and viewing 3D objects. Commercial applications are in schools, libraries, businesses, and homes. Since approximately 5% of individuals over age 15 have difficulty reading newsprint, even when wearing corrective lens, the potential market is large. RES IN DISABILITIES ED IIP ENG Bliss, James JBliss Imaging Systems CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99923 1545 SMET 9180 1545 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0060391 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Ultrafast Block Retrieval for Optical Storage. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is designed to develop an ultra-fast data retrieval method for multi-layered optical memory technology. The memory technology uses 3-D stacking of N paired chiral films with unique optical properties. The chiral stack can provide very high areal data storage densities of 100 Mb/cm 2 per layer with an equivalent volumetric density of 0.5 Tb/cm 3 . The data retrieval method uses image capture and pattern recognition techniques instead of the usual bit-by-bit read out technique to retrieve a large block of data in a single step. The proposed technique can retrieve 2NB bits per readout operation, where the block size B can be 100 MB or higher. Retrieval rates of more than6N Gb/s are feasible or 6 G/s for a single pair of films. The retrieval method utilizes massive parallelism and is readily achievable thanks to recent progress in digital signal processing and CMOS imager chip technologies. Phase I will demonstrate block readout from a pair of stacked chiral storage films (N=1) and will develop optimal data organization schemes for both block reading and writing. Phase II will develop, build and demonstrate prototypes. Phase III will develop product prototypes that lead to commercialization. The proposed data retrieval method provides orders-of-magnitude increases in throughput that will benefit all areas of computing performance. The improvements will benefit scientific, engineering, business and home computing, in addition to the military C3I. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fan, Bunsen Reveo Incorporated NY Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99838 5371 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060397 January 1, 2001 SBIR PHASE I: Machine Vision System for Automated Imaging and Process Control. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an entirely new form of machine vision technology for process control during the manufacture of precision metal components. The technology will be based on a two-dimensional array of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensor elements capable of providing high resolution three-dimensional images of metallic components in real-time. Previous research with individual GMR sensor elements with dimensions of 10 microns has demonstrated detection capabilities with sensitivities up to 60 dB better than conventional eddy-current sensors at a lower per unit cost A densely packed, two-dimensional GMR sensor array, combined with a variable frequency, uniform magnetic field generator, will produce high resolution, three-dimensional spatial information for complex metallic parts as they are produced using a rugged, non-contacting sensor system. The data from these images will provide on-line feedback information for process control, quality assurance, and safety protocols during the manufacturing process. The data will also be valuable for the design of more effective manufacturing processes. The successful development of GMR material fabrication techniques and sensors will provide the unique capabilities required to develop a magnetic field sensor array for machine vision and automated manufacturing. The proposed technology will find markets in manufacturing, quality assurance (QA), and process development. It will be used for rapid imaging and on-line analysis of parts used in aerospace, automotive, transportation, construction, and other industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tiernan, Timothy TPL, Inc. NM Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99996 5371 MANU 9147 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060404 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Approach to Optically Transparent Hard Coatings on Polymer Substrate. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will lead to an economical wet chemical method for depositing hard and scratch resistant coatings on transparent polymer substrates. The proposed program, when successfully carried out, will solve the ubiquitous problem of transparent polymer surfaces being scratched and worn. Solution methods, which are easily scalable, have been used to develop polymer-oxide nanoparticle (hybrid) transparent coatings on transparent polymers. Such materials lack high hardness values, which can be dramatically increased by incorporating coarse oxide ceramic particles in the hybrid matrix. Based on this innovative approach to maintain transparency even with addition of a significant volume fraction of coarse particles (> 0.25 microns) to a hybrid matrix, transparent coatings will be developed on polycarbonate and acrylic substrates with excellent wear and chemical resistance. Solution methods of forming polymer nanocomposites coatings are far more economical compared to vacuum/gas phase processing (e.g., plasma polymerization), but its use has been restricted because of the poor abrasion resistance of these coatings. This novel approach will lead to exceptional wear, scratch and chemical resistance coatings, which will have a wide range of applications in the automotive, aerospace and other industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Singhal, Amit NEI CORPORATION NJ Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 99997 5371 AMPP 9163 1775 0106000 Materials Research 0060414 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Zeolite Membrane Module For High-Temperature Hydrogen Separation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks the development of highly selective, energy efficient H2 separation technologies. The research addresses the development of low cost, high-performance zeolite membrane modules for high-temperature H2 separation from CO and/or light hydrocarbons such as CH4. The availability of such membrane modules for high-temperature hydrogen separation in industrial processes would: (1) improve the cost efficiency and/or energy efficiency of hydrogen separation processes currently performed; and (2) provide an enabling technology to make hydrogen separation economically viable in a number of processes. Such processes include many with very large potential volumes and are predominant in the petroleum refining and petrochemicals industrials, such as synthesis gas H2/CO ratio adjustment, H2 recovery from hydroprocessing purge streams, fuel cell H2 purification, membrane reactors for dehydrogenation etc. However, to date, such membrane-based high-temperature H2 separation methods do not exist on a commercial scale due to lack of low-cost, high-performance membranes. Large-scale commercial use of membranes for gas separations currently is limited to organic polymeric membrane modules in low-temperature service. This program is aimed to develop low cost, high-performance zeolite membrane modules for high-temperature H2 separation from CO and/or light hydrocarbons such as CH4. The membrane modules which will be developed will consist of a highly selective zeolite top layer, in situ synthesized on high-surface-area honeycomb ceramic monoliths with appropriate underlying membrane structures. Because of the unique structural properties of the zeolite material used, the membrane modules fabricated are expected to have high selectivity and permeance for high temperature H2 separation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Li, Zhijiang CeraMem Corporation MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060415 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Nanoparticle Te Inks for Spray Deposition of Submicron Te Contact Layers in CdTe Solar Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the need for a non-vacuum deposition approach for contact layers in CdTe solar cells. While sputtering is at present successfully employed, the objective of this project is the development of a nanoparticle ink that could be used to print submicron thick Te thin films. To date, Te inks produce non-uniform coatings owing to particle agglomeration. The research objective of this project is the formulation of a Te ink composed of dispersed, nonagglomerated Te particles with diameter less than 50 nm. The efficacy of this ink will be demonstrated by fabrication of CdTe solar cells as follows. First, the Te ink will be sprayed onto the CdTe layer of a solar cell heterostructure. Then, this green body will be subjected to a thermal treatment. Finally, the solar cell will be finished by deposition of an opaque electrode. Characterization will be performed on the ink, the sprayed layers, and the finished CdTe devices. If successfully developed, it is anticipated that this research would be translated to a production-sized (i.e., 100 megawatt) CdTe solar cell facility through the industrial subcontractor of this project. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schulz, Douglas CeraMem Corporation MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060418 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Nanowire Photocathode Array. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop nanometer scale photocathode structures for use in miniature high-speed photodetectors. The innovation is to use material property based self-assembling techniques to engineer nanostructures for use in optoelectronic devices. NanoSciences proposes to prototype nanowire array photocathode structures for potential photomultiplier applications. The technique employed is to electroplate Sb into a porous Al2O3 matrix of nanochannels. The Al2O3 matrix is partially removed exposing a uniform ordered array of Sb nanowires that are exposed to cesium to form Cs3Sb. As a result of the reduced dimensionality of the nanostructures, the proposed nanowire photocathode has an increased surface area, a tunable refractive index, and a decreased electron affinity. These qualities result in enhanced quantum efficiency over conventional architectures. This research seeks to develop components for miniature high-speed photomultipliers that have applications in optical communications, medical imaging, night vision systems, robotic and machine vision systems, mass spectroscopy, missile defense systems, and basic scientific research. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Habib, Youssef NANOSCIENCES CORP CT Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 1415 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060427 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: An Instrument for Swelling Measurements of Crosslinked Polymers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project describes the development of an instrument that will quantitatively measure the dimensional change, i.e. swelling behavior, of crosslinked polymer samples as they are exposed to changing environments, such as solvent conditions, pH, and temperature. The wide prevalence of radiation and chemically-crosslinked polymers in industries including biomedical, wire and cable, and packaging has led to the need for a reliable measurement technique to quantify the degree of crosslinking, obtainable from swelling measurements, for process development and quality control. Additionally, end-users would like to know the environmental response of these materials a priori. Currently, researchers rely on weighing techniques to monitor the swell ratio as a sample is placed in a solvent. Solvent evaporation and technician procedure make this technique prone to error and transient measurements difficult to obtain. In the instrument proposed here, a micrometer system will monitor the change in one dimension of a sample as it swells or de-swells in controlled environment with a resolution far better than gravimetric means. These transient measurements will provide the steady state swell ratio, degree of crosslinking anisotropy, and the kinetics of swelling, the latter information valuable for drug release systems, hydrogels, and smart materials. There are currently no commercial instruments designed specifically to measure the swell ratio of crosslinked polymers. The orthopedic industry, in conjunction with the ASTM, is developing a new guideline for these measurements that requires dimensional measurements made while the sample is in the swelling solvent. In addition to providing material parameter information, this instrument will allow quantitative prediction of material behavior when exposed to changing environments. This technology has applications to hydrogels, smart materials, films, granular material, and the wire and cable industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Spiegelberg, Stephen CAMBRIDGE POLYMER GROUP INC MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 95605 5371 CVIS 1630 1057 0109000 Structural Technology 0060431 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Carbon Electrodes to Reduce Ultracapacitor Size and Cost. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will significantly increase the energy density and reduce the manufacturing cost of ultracapacitors for NGV applications. Cell voltage constraints presently limit the energy density and increase the number of cells required for high voltage ultracapacitors. The composition of porous carbon electrode materials will be modified to adjust the open circuit potential, thereby increasing the cell voltage. Anodically stable electrolytes will be investigated to further increase cell voltage. The objective is to increase cell voltage to 3.6 V versus 2.5 V typical for present commercial carbon-based ultracapacitors. Since energy density scales with 2 V, 3.6 V cells would more than double the energy density. This increase would also reduce manufacturing cost by reducing the number of cells in high voltage devices by >30%. Prototype capacitor cells will be prepared and evaluated to determine the cell voltage window. Extended charge/discharge and constant potential measurements will be made to assure that the increased cell voltage is sustained. Ultracapacitors complement or replace batteries in applications where weight, peak power, and battery life are key factors. Commercial applications include cellular phones, power conditioning (UPS), electromechanical actuators, and conventional or next generation vehicles. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wixom, Michael T/J Technologies, Inc MI Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060438 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Instrument for the Determination of Extensional Rheology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project describes a unique instrument capable of quantifying the extensional rheological behavior of solutions, pastes and melts. In this instrument a small quantity of fluid is rapidly stretched between two plates to form a liquid bridge, and the diameter decrease is subsequently monitored as the fluid drains under gravity and surface tension. Comparison of rheological models with the data allows one to extract viscosity, surface tension, elasticity and other parameters relating to extensional flows. Currently, researchers rely purely on simple shear characterization or capillary rheometry, neither of which can provide unambiguous quantitative information about extensional flow behavior. The integration of hardware and analysis software will make the instrument both versatile and unique. The instrument will be invaluable to industry where all processing flows (such as extrusion, filling, pumping, blow molding, spraying etc.) involve extensional flow fields. It will find utility in industry as both a quality control tool and a research grade device. Additionally it will be of use to academia, where no simple quantitative analytical device exists for examining the draining (and filament forming) behavior of fluids. In addition the instrument described has a number of intrinsic advantages that make it ideal for a shop floor installation. It is compact (our envisioned design will have a footprint smaller than 0.1 m 2 ) and robust (with few moving parts it will be tolerant of dust and vibration). It should also be easy to use, especially in an indexing mode for intra-lab comparisons (or floor level quality control). The removable plates will allow easy cleaning and the ability to change plate surface chemistry. Finally the sample volumes will be small. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Braithwaite, Gavin CAMBRIDGE POLYMER GROUP INC MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99625 5371 AMPP 9163 1443 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060447 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Eddy Current Condition Monitoring of Metallic Flaws Under Surface Coatings Using Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to use giant magnetoresistance (GMR) magnetic sensors and eddy current techniques to detect flaws in metallic components under insulative coatings. Innovations and improvements in surface treatments such as coatings and sprayings including thermal barrier coatings are useless unless degradation, wear, corrosion and oxidization due to thermal and mechanical stresses can be monitored under these surface treatments. Conditional monitoring using GMR sensors has the following advantages: (1) Refinement of present sensor technology will enable the manufacture of eddy current sensors of very high sensitivity thereby increasing the permissible lift-off. (2) Unlike ultrasonic methods, magnetic fields are not significantly affected by the presence of electrical insulating coatings. (3) The directional sensitivity of GMR based sensors allows detection of flaws near edges where cracks are more likely to initiate. This project will prove the feasibility of using GMR sensors and eddy current techniques to detect flaws under coatings. High sensitivity GMR sensors will allow the design of small, easily maneuvered, portable NDE units which can be used for structure monitoring, surveillance, critical component monitoring and equipment preparedness. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Smith, Carl NVE CORPORATION MN Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99726 5371 MANU 9147 9146 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060455 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Direct Conversion of Infrared Radiation with Nanowire Antenna Arrays and Nanometer Scale Monolithically Integrated Rectifying Diodes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an enabling innovation that directly converts infrared (IR) radiation from heated sources using nanowire antennas and nanometer scale monolithically integrated diodes. This program will create IR-collecting modules using very inexpensive metal materials and electrochemical processing. The low efficiency, expensive materials, and the need to chemically tailor compositions to efficiently couple to different emitters have substantially limited commercialization of thermophotovoltaic modules to niche applications. The feasibility of electrochemically formed IR-collecting modules will be demonstrated. Once demonstrated, antennas will be engineered for maximum collection efficiency. The applications vary from low temperature portable power packs to the generation of electricity from high temperature nuclear and conventional heat sources. In addition, the creation of a non-biased, room temperature, quantum confinement structure has the potential to revolutionize IR detector technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Simpson, Lin ITN ENERGY SYSTEMS, INC. CO Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99919 5371 AMPP 9163 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060457 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Genetic Algorithm Decision Aid for Network Management and Design. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop new automatic methods for designing, configuring, and reconfiguring communications networks. New communications technologies, like Wave Division Multiplexing, or fully mobile wireless networks and new communications services with Quality of Service requirements all require fast, reliable methods for reconfiguring network topologies, defining fixed and mobile equipment locations, selecting from available media, and providing and configuring required interface equipment. The resulting networks must be able to recover from temporary traffic congestion, equipment outages, or interference. This project uses innovative Genetic Algorithm (GA) techniques to solve these problems and provide end users with reliable cost-effective methods for network design, management, and reconfiguration. The GA based decision aid will shorten planning cycles and increase reliability in designing, managing, expanding, and adding new services on current multi-site commercial and military networks. It will also provide reliable, effective support for configuring military, commercial, or disaster relief wireless networks using mobile switching equipment. It will also shorten the time and expense required for Internet Service Providers to upgrade their networks for new users and services. The methods will also apply to fault diagnosis, network expansion, vulnerability analysis, and performance tuning in existing networks and extend the capabilities of current network management tools. These application areas represent growing multi-billion dollar markets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Perloff, Michael SCIENTIFIC SYSTEMS COMPANY INC MA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99999 5371 HPCC 9215 0206000 Telecommunications 0060472 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Pultrusion-Based Production Automation for Revolutionary Low Cost Carbon/Carbon Structural Elements. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop and demonstrate a pultrusion-based continuous, automated, near net shape manufacturing technology. The technology may be able to reduce the finished cost of constant cross section carbon/carbon composite structures by an order of magnitude or more. The resulting change to accepted cost/performance paradigms arising from this revolutionary reduction in carbon/carbon price will open a wide range of new commercial markets that until now have been constrained by cost to using much lower-performance pyrolytic graphite. The research includes design and fabrication of a lab-scale, automated production line, plus process optimization runs and analytical characterization of the resulting carbon/carbon test samples. Key technologies to be demonstrated include the continuous matrix impregnation of moving dry carbon fiber preforms as they pass through the wet-out portion of the processing equipment, plus continuous in-line rigidization of a high char yield matrix. The resulting "green" composite is expected to be developable into a commercially viable high-density carbon/carbon part after a single carbonization cycle. Mechanical and thermal properties of the low cost carbon/carbon will be many times better than the current commercial materials this product will replace. Carbon/carbon has unique high temperature thermal and mechanical properties. A few large dollar-value markets that will eagerly accept and apply commercially-priced carbon/carbon components include heat treating furnace structures, steel-making electric arc furnace electrodes, fuel cell components, heat exchangers, thermal radiators and crucibles. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Carroll, Thomas KAZAK COMPOSITES INC MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060476 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Development of Novel Steganography Detection Capabilities for Digital Images. In this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I research project, Mission Research Corporation proposes to develop algorithms and implementation techniques for detecting steganography (i.e., hidden information) in digital imagery files. Although considerable research has been performed on developing novel steganographic methods, very little work has been performed on the important topic of detecting the presence of steganography in digital images. The fundamental goal of this SBIR research is to develop and refine techniques for detecting steganography and implement these techniques into user friendly software products. The proposed Phase 1 research will consist of identifying the most commonly used steganography techniques, determining image characteristics/statistical measures that can be calculated and used to identify the presence of steganography in various image formats (including lossless, lossy, and palette formats), developing an artificial neural network decision model, and implementation/testing of the results using a prototype Matlab algorithm. This research will provide valuable tools and methodologies that would enable system administrators to monitor files that may be leaving (or entering) a site on the Internet or from a secure facility, with the objective of determining the probability that such files contain hidden information. There are a wide variety of potential users of steganography detection techniques. Computer systems administrators at US government installations would likely be among the first to benefit from development of these steganography detection techniques. Due to the sensitivity of tremendous amounts of data handled by the US government, tools that would ensure security of electronic traffic through their many worldwide sites would be a valuable asset. In addition, are many other establishments including private businesses, law enforcement agencies, and health care facilities that are also very concerned with ensuring that unauthorized transfer of information does not occur to or from their facilities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fridrich, Jessica Mission Research Corporation (MRC) CA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99957 5371 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060480 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Supply Chain Management via the World Wide Web. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the viability of a new manufacturing Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) representing an innovation in enterprise resources planning (ERP) supply chain management that: (1) Is more effective than existing supply-chain management software paradigms; (2) Incorporates many of the "lean manufacturing" principles; and (3) Is more available to smaller manufacturing companies than existing systems in that it can be delivered via the worldwide Web. The result would be more effective inventory management, production planning, and production control resulting in greater customer responsiveness, lower inventory levels, and higher utilization of critical resources. By delivering over the worldwide web with a free trial period followed by a "pay-per-use" protocol, smaller companies can make use of the same powerful scheduling tools that are used by large companies. The concept is a considered to be a better fit for real manufacturing systems than existing ERP approaches. If successful, the results would enable U.S. manufacturing companies to be better suited to compete in the new web-based marketplace that takes low cost and high quality as given, leaving customer service as the key aspect for distinction. Such companies will be able to deliver customized products to customers with almost zero lead-time, thereby enhancing their position in an increasingly competitive global environment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Spearman, Mark Invistics Corporation GA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99510 5371 MANU 9147 5514 0107000 Operations Research 0060482 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Surface Engineering of Metals with Plasma Polymers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will conduct research to replace current environmentally damaging metal pretreatment processes with an environmentally benign process. In the approach the metal surface is etched then coated with a sub-micron film of plasma polymerized SiO2. Current metal pretreatment processes for painting and adhesive bonding perform well, but generate tremendous volumes of wastes, including hexavalent chromium and various inorganic acids. To obtain performance superior to the current state-of-the-art wet chemical surface treatments, the surface chemistry and morphology of the plasma polymerized films need to be tailored for specific interactions with the adhesive. Effects of variables including substrate chemistry, monomer chemistry, and ion kinetic energy on surface chemistry and morphology of plasma polymers will be determined. Then, the effect of the resulting structure on the strength and durability of adhesive joints will be determined. By combining in-situ analytical techniques with accelerated aging and mechanical testing of adhesive specimens, a superior, environmentally benign process based on plasma polymerization will be developed and commercialized. These primers will have well understood morphologies and surface compositions tailored to the adhesive chemistry through control of the deposition conditions and/or chemical derivitization of the plasma polymer surface. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Dillingham, Giles BRIGHTON TECHNOLOGIES GROUP, INC OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 92682 5371 MANU 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060484 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Novel Engineered Materials - Non-Equilibrium Metallic Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the demand for structurally efficient damage-tolerant engineering materials. New and ingenious methods are required to generate novel, application-specific materials, particularly for the service temperatures between 400C and 650C. Metal matrix composites (MMCs), characterized by a metallic alloy matrix (typically aluminum or titanium) reinforced with a second phase ceramic (typically carbides or borides) have emerged as promising candidates offering increased specific strength and modulus, at ambient and elevated temperature at the expense of ductility. The opportunity exists to create novel Non-Equilibrium Metallic Composites (NMCs) using metallic second phase reinforcing constituents, thereby combining the load sharing advantages of MMCs while maintaining the practical service advantages of a totally metallic material. This new class of materials can be created by powder metallurgy, using solid-state diffusion to generate the non- equilibrium structures. Based upon promising preliminary investigations with the titanium- tungsten system, tungsten particle reinforced titanium alloy test bars will be produced for critical microstructural, physical and mechanical property evaluation in this program. It is anticipated that increased specific strength for intermediate service temperature can be achieved without sacrifice in toughness. The Non-Equilibrium Metallic Composite materials being investigated in this program could be applied to four major market areas: industrial transportation (engine/automotive), biomedical and aerospace/defense where tailored compositions could offer significant competitive advantage. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Abkowitz, Stanley DYNAMET TECHNOLOGY INC MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99310 5371 AMPP 9163 1771 0106000 Materials Research 0060491 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Improved Catalysis for Carbon Fiber Production. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks make high performance vapor-grown carbon fiber (VGCF) into a commercially viable product by using improved catalysis to increase the growth yield by an order of magnitude. This material has been used to create composites with record setting thermal properties in a variety of matrix materials, while reducing weight. However, the cost of this material is high and the quantities that can be produced are far too low to allow its widespread commercial exploitation. The production rate is limited by a very low efficiency of the catalyst that nucleates fiber growth. Work under this program will improve the method of catalyst dispersion, thereby optimizing the size distribution of catalyst particles, and leading to an increased nucleation rate. Improved catalyst efficiency will result in proportionate increases in production rates and decreases in costs. Markets for VGCF reinforced composites include fields that need improved, lighter weight, thermal management systems, such as space and aviation, high power electronics, consumer electronics, and power generation. For many applications, the thermal performance of VGCF reinforced composites will be enabling. For others, it will allow passive cooling to replace active systems, thereby reducing cost and increasing reliability. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Jacobsen, Ronald APPLIED SCIENCES, INC. OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99794 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060500 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: High-Strength, Electrically Disbondable Adhesive for High-Volume Manufacturing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I program will develop a rapid cure, high strength epoxy adhesive that can be disbonded by application of low amperage direct current, is proposed. This adhesive will allow both the rapid assembly and disassembly of manufactured goods. Used as a replacement for conventional fasteners, nuts and bolts or welds, this adhesive will provide reduced machining costs and increased production rates. In addition, the disbonding feature of the epoxy will permit repair and refurbishment of these manufactured items and will allow the rapid end of life disassembly of the items greatly facilitating recycling procedures. The disbonding feature will also allow manufacturing errors to be corrected. Currently, the use of aluminum in automobile manufacturing is limited by the fact that aluminum cannot be easily stretched or bent to compensate for misjoining during welding or other fastening operations. The proposed research will involve the development of rapid cure chemistries for the electrically disbonding adhesives. Chemical and microstructural analyses will be used to gain insight into the disbonding mechanism and allow advancement of the technology. Formulations suitable for high volume manufacturing will be developed. The commercial opportunities are wide ranging in manufacturing applications involving automotive, electronics SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gilbert, Michael EIC Laboratories Inc MA Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1773 0106000 Materials Research 0060502 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Closed Loop Recycling of Copper Indium Diselenide Photovoltaic Modules. This Small Business Innovation (SBIR) Phase I Research project addresses the environmental issues confronting the emerging photovoltaic technology based on copper indium diselenide. This technology has just entered the commercial market. As it expands into high volume production the industry faces rising raw material costs, escalating waste disposal costs and future liabilities. This project develops an electrochemical method specifically tailored to recycle photovoltaic modules which contain extremely low quantities of hazardous material relative to large bulk stream. It uses an innovative closed-loop approach to remove, separate and regenerate the semiconductor films in a single compact system with minimum waste. Phase I will develop the method for copper indium diselenide. The research will lead to unique a prototype recycling capability that is safe, fast, cost-effective, non-destructive, simple to operate and easy to maintain and that could be readily integrated into the manufacturing line. Converting defective panels into efficient modules will lead to rapid turn-around and higher production yield. The innovation will provide the photovoltaic industry with a timely and expedient solution to manage hazardous waste disposal and improve module production yield. Its implementation would increase productivity, save over 80% on disposal costs, recover scarce raw materials and ensure the commercial success of thin-film photovoltaic technology. The approach can be applied to recycle other thin-film products, e.g. infrared detectors, flat panel displays, mirror scrap. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Menezes, Shalini InterPhases Solar, Inc. CA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060505 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Source for High Rate Growth of Gallium Nitride Films. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is for the development of a neutral, high flux/fluence nitrogen atom beam source for application to the high rate growth of III-V nitride semiconducting materials over large areas. The proposed source is based on Physical Sciences Inc.'s (PSI's) proprietary MID-JET technology. This technology employs an electrode-less discharge contained by vortex flow, rather than a dielectric tube commonly used in traditional sources. The discharge is formed at 1 atm which results in efficient Ion recombination and a charge-free beam. Previously, high flux, high fluence oxygen and fluorine atom beams have been demonstrated using a MID-JET with a gas temperature of ~ 3000 K. However, to produce a nitrogen atom beam, the basic configuration of the MID-JET must be changed to obtain the > 5000 K temperatures required to dissociate nitrogen. In Phase I, PSI will examine at least two new configurations via modeling, select one, and fabricate and test an experimental source for nitrogen. Techniques for combining the nitrogen beam with a gallium source will be examined via detailed numerical modeling. If successful, PSI will demonstrate a charge-free nitrogen atom source with a fluence of about 10 21 atoms/s, 2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than that generated by currently available sources. This project will develop a charge-free, high flux/fluence nitrogen atom beam for the growth of III-V nitride materials which can replace existing plasma-based tools. The source can allow higher growth rates over larger areas of high quality material with application to the fabrication of high power/high temperature semiconductor devices and blue illumination sources (including those for flat panel displays). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Read, Michael Physical Sciences Incorporated (PSI) MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99981 5371 AMPP 9163 1407 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060510 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Mesh Generation for High-Order Finite Element Methods. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop technologies to generate curved meshes over general three-dimensional domains that are appropriate for high-order finite element analysis. A current stumbling block to the wide adoption of high-order finite element techniques is the lack of automatic means to generate appropriate curved meshes. This project will develop a new and innovative procedure for the effective generation of these types of meshes. The commercial application of this research is the integration of CAD technologies with advanced automated simulation techniques to be used within engineering design processes. These tools will reduce the time and costs associated with performing engineering analysis during design and increase the accuracy of the predictions obtained. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG O'Bara, Robert Simmetrix, Inc. NY Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99761 5371 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060511 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Minimal Sensor Signal Processing for Turbine Engine Health Monitoring. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop full waveform models and minimal sensor algorithms for the GDATS eddy current sensor (ECS), recently chosen for the EMD phase of the JSF development. These algorithms will enable the practical real-time high performance health monitoring for turbine engines. Current processing techniques could require four or more sensors; however, these approaches do not make use of all the information made available by the ECS. Using the full ECS signature, it is possible, in theory, to estimate integral vibration frequency, phase and amplitude using only a single sensor. The reduction of the number of sensors required in each engine stage could potentially save millions of dollars. There are no systems commercially available today for continuous health monitoring of aircraft gas turbine engines. The minimal sensor algorithms for continuous health monitoring have a large market. The customers are USAF, USN and UK MOD. Not only are such systems expected to be put on all new turbine engines such as for the JSF, but they will be retrofitted to the older aircraft as well. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Teolis, Carole Techno-Sciences, Inc. MD Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 9102 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060513 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Cofacial Metal Complexes as Oxygen Reduction Catalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project involves developing highly active oxygen reduction catalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Most of the technologies and subsystems for PEM fuel cells are currently well established via vigorous efforts by both the government and private industries. However, the electrochemical reduction of O2 to H2O in acid at potentials close to the thermodynamically permitted value remains a daunting challenge. The primary technical barrier to achieving higher operating voltages is the large cathode overvoltage due to the low activity of the oxygen reduction catalyst. Therefore, improvements are necessary in oxygen reduction catalysts to meet PNGV performance and cost targets. In this SBIR Phase I program, highly active oxygen reduction catalyst will be synthesized by supporting cofacial metal complexes on nanostructured carbon aerogels. Electrode structures will be designed for fuel cell catalysts. The aerogel support will be designed to stabilize the cofacial structure of the metal complexes and optimized for both reactivity and facile molecular access. The catalysts will have significantly higher activities and utilization efficiencies than current state-of-the-art Pt catalysts and lead to reduced catalyst loadings. The catalyst activity in PEM fuel cells is too low to make these cells attractive power plants for transportation applications. If the proposed research is successful the resulting catalysts that are more active than the Pt/C catalyst would make PEM fuel cells commercially viable power sources. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rhine, Wendell ASPEN SYSTEMS INC MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060515 January 1, 2001 STTR Phase I: Control of the Nanostructure of Organic Photovoltaic Films by Interdiffusion. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will demonstrate a new approach to optimize thin film photovoltaic device fabrication. The requirements for the efficient conversion of solar radiation to light are a challenge to modern solid state physics and engineering. The task is to provide conversion elements, which are efficient, cheap, and long-lived in order to compete with sources of electric energy which exploit non-regenerative resources of our planet. Organic solid state devices offer several advantages which make them highly interesting for this area of scientific research and commercial development: (1) tunability of the absorption properties, (2) low cost of production due to the ease of fabrication and low costs for the raw materials, (3) mechanical flexibility. One could produce 10,000 m2 of active solar panels with a film thickness of the organic active layer of 100 nm using only 1 kg of organic material. Luna proposes to use an interdiffusion process to fabricate thin film, organic photovoltaic devices that are characterized electrically and optically during the fabrication step. This unprecedented, new approach allows one to optimize device performance during fabrication and to resolve the kinetics of the chemical and physical processes which take place during the interdiffusion of two species of organic molecules. Thin film photodiodes and solar cells have immediate application in various commercial areas for inexpensive, large area, flexible optical detection and energy conversion devices in optical communications, household appliances, and commercial electronics. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Miller, Michael Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99946 1505 AMPP 9163 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060519 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Transparent Nanocrystalline Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG) Ceramics. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project, proposes to synthesize and consolidate nanocrystalline powders of yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) for optical window applications. Optical window materials must meet extreme service requirements because they control the beam effectiveness and power output characteristics of laser/optical devices. Single crystal YAG is an ideal material for laser optics because of its excellent opto-mechanical properties. It is optically transparent in the wavelength region 200 to1200 nm (from ultraviolet to near-infrared) and from 2.5 to 6.0um (infrared). Unfortunately, single crystal YAG is costly and technically difficult to produce because of its high melting point (1970oC). One economically viable alternative is to fabricate transparent YAG ceramics using fine-grained polycrystalline powders. The field of nanomaterials offers excellent opportunities to fabricate optically transparent materials from polycrystalline powder, with opto-mechanical properties similar to single crystals. The use of polycrystalline YAG as a window material will revolutionize the laser industry by significantly reducing window cost. Transparent YAG has many applications in the laser and optics industries. It can be used as a window in high performance laser modules, wavefront analysis systems, beam collimation testers, spectrometers, laser power/energy meters, industrial turnkey laser systems for coding, 3D optical surface mapping, micro-machining, laser Doppler anemometers and imaging spectrographs. Lower cost laser systems will find more applications, especially in personal computers CD-ROMs with laser diodes, laser printers, and modems, which require optical isolation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ravi, B. G. Materials Modification Inc. VA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99500 5371 AMPP 9163 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060522 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Microlaser Array. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a new class of low threshold, high efficiency laser array for telecommunication and optical integration applications using nanomaterial fabrication technology. By incorporating photonic crystals into nanochannel-hosted dye lasers, a novel microlaser array will be developed. Laser active dye materials have been proven to emit coherently in microcavities of nanopore host microcrystals. By incorporating the photonic crystal concept in the microlaser cavity design, more efficient lasing is anticipated for the embedded dye microlasers. Success in developing a microlaser array will lead to flexible and novel products for telecommunication and optical circuits. The Phase I program will investigate the fabrication of nanochannel materials, characterize the nanochannel materials, and determine how to incorporate the photonic crystal into the nanochannel materials. Since microlaser arrays can be readily incorporated into silicon-based photonic devices, there are immediate commercial applications to the telecommunication industry. There is also long term potential for microlaser arrays in display, laser printing and all optical integrated circuits. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Xu, Hongwei NANOSCIENCES CORP CT Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060524 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Concise Visualization of a Document Collection via Conceptual Clustering. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will spin off NSF-sponsored basic research on knowledge discovery at Carnegie Mellon University computer science department. The result will be commercial software that can convey the contents of hundreds or thousands of documents on one computer screen with minimal clicking and scrolling. This capability will enhance information needs as diverse as search, overviewing, and browsing, and alleviate the problem of information overload, which today confronts all retrievers of computer-based textual information. The basic approach is a new form of conceptual clustering that emphasizes the human describability of the resulting document clusters. The techniques combine classical hierarchical clustering with results from the PI's research on data-driven knowledge discovery, which focused on generating very concise and contrastive descriptions of a large number of classes (here, document clusters). The overall goal is to replace the tedious long ranked list display of matching documents, which is nearly universal, but which forces users into repeated and inefficient clicking, backtracking, and scrolling. The potential market opportunities include any domain where more than a few dozen relevant matches are returned for typical information queries, such as web searches, news, patents, scientific research abstracts, proprietary corporate information, and, generally the content delivered by the numerous vendors of specialized information services. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Valdes-Perez, Raul Vivisimo, Inc. PA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99437 5371 HPCC 9216 9102 0522400 Information Systems 0060526 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Computer Interfaced Fermentation Biotechnology Resources. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project deals with the science of fermentation which to date has not been integrated into teaching laboratory activities. While molecular biology is an important aspect of biotechnology, thus far other aspects of biotechnology such as fermentation technology have not been incorporated into science curricula. The following are the main objectives of this project: (1) to research and design classroom laboratory bioreactors; (2) to interface bioinformatics and fermentation technology; (3) to develop problem-based fermentation experiments; and (4) to assess the pedagogy of fermentation resources to be researched. The intention is not to duplicate existing microbiology activities, but rather to develop fermentation experiments that fit the proposed bioreactor strategy. Equally important, the experiments to be researched will provide real world "beginning to end" biological problems instead of reagents out of bottles. There is a significant business opportunity since currently no equivalent commercially available fermentation bioreactors are available for science education. There is research grade equipment, but such equipment is not affordable for the education market. The company's customers are high school teachers and undergraduate college faculty. These customers are also potential customers for fermentation bioreactors and related products. The proposed fermentation product would broaden the current offerings and increase sales. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Chirikjian, Mark EDVOTEK Inc MD Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99869 1666 SMET 9178 9177 7256 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101000 Curriculum Development 0060533 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Sputtered Quasicrystalline Films: A Commercial Breakthrough. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop low friction, wear resistant coatings of the Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystalline (QC) phase. QC coatings appear to be especially suited for anti-seize, anti-fretting applications for both fixed interfaces subjected to vibration or long duration exposures to hostile ambients that include intermittent vibration. These qualities of QC films are believed to be a result of the unusually low surface energies for these structures. The overall program objective is to demonstrate the low friction and wear resistive properties of dense, high quality, magnetron sputtered Al-Cu-Fe icosahedral, quasicrystalline thin films. Magnetron sputtering of QC films will be conducted from thermal shock resistant targets, manufactured from a new proprietary technique developed by TA&T. Coefficient of Friction, wear resistance, surface energy, phase content, and stoichiometry of the films will be measured and correlated with DSC measurements and sputtering and annealing parameters. The ability of QC coatings to resist chemical changes, fretting and sliding wear while maintaining low surface energy (non-adhesive) characteristics could make them ideal coatings for a variety of commercial and military applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fehrenbacher, Larry Technology Assessment & Transfer, Inc. MD Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99980 5371 MANU 9163 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060534 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase 1: A Novel Joining Process for Tubular Structures in Automotive and Aerospace Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project explores the feasibility of using a newly invented novel materials joining process based on electromagnetic theory as a reliable and economic method to weld tubular structures. The project will conduct research and engineering that will address the following critical technical hurdles for the commercial implementation and dissemination of the new welding technology: (1) A comprehensive understanding and characterization of the process; (2) An effective methodology for design and optimization of the system apparatus and welding procedure; (3) Special weld head design and manufacturing to allow for quick loading and unloading the workpiece in the production environment; (4) Industrial system prototyping for an automated welding system that can be integrated in automotive assembly line, and (5) Process and performance specifications. The successful development of such technology would revolutionize the assembly process of the hydroformed tubular structures in automotive chassis and space frame applications. It will also promote the hybrid automotive body structure design that uses both aluminums and steels, and enable joining of different materials such as titanium to superalloys for aerospace and electronic applications. A new multi-million dollar/year specialty tube joining process is expected in about 5 years. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Feng, Zhili Engineering Mechanics Corporation of Columbus OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060540 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Interphase Development for Nanofiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will create nanofiber reinforced thermoplastics as an economical composite for use in structural components. Carbon nanofibers have superior and highly touted intrinsic mechanical properties to contribute to reinforcement of composites. However, their extremely small size, and thus high surface to volume ratio, makes attainment of a strong interface crucial to transferring the intrinsic nanofiber properties to the composite as a whole. Starting from a knowledge base developed under a prior NIST ATP program, this project will further develop methods of nanofiber surface modification and characterization to solve the interface problem, promote solid adhesion between the nanofibers and thermoplastic matrix materials, and create and test the first practical nanofiber reinforced composits for structural materials. Nanofiber reinforced thermoplastics will result in lighter, less expensive structural composites for applications in automobiles, sporting goods and aerospace vehicles. The use of thermoplastics will reduce material costs relative to thermoset composites, and permit economical injection molding processes to be used. Also, electrostatic painting processes will be enabled, reducing the emission of solvents and other unwanted effluents. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I MECHANICS OF MATERIALS IIP ENG Glasgow, D. Gerald APPLIED SCIENCES, INC. OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99960 5371 1630 CVIS 1630 1057 0109000 Structural Technology 0060546 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Parallel Processing of Time-Lapse Seismic Data via the Internet. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project from Fourth Wave Imaging Corporation concerns the processing and analysis of time-lapse seismic data on parallel computers, using the internet to control the processing flow and visualize the results. In recent years, there has been exponential growth in time-lapse seismic project activity. Time-lapse seismic analysis facilitates the management of oil and gas reservoirs by imaging fluid movement in the reservoir over time. The results are used to guide reservoir management decisions--such as where to place a new well or where to inject water, gas, or steam to stimulate hydrocarbon movement--and help maximize the life of both new and existing fields while minimizing recovery costs. The computer algorithms needed to process time-lapse seismic data are complex and require advanced computational hardware--typically multiprocessor Unix workstations or clusters of personal computers--that can execute instructions in parallel. There is little standardization in parallel hardware. Customers typically have no parallel machines at all or machines whose architecture is fundamentally different from that of the software vendor--hindering the marketing and deployment of this software. The proposed innovation will allow customers to process their data on a centralized PC cluster, using the internet to control the processing and visualize the results. It will also improve the links between the components of the time-lapse seismic workflow, leading to greater understanding and more widespread commercial acceptance of the technology. Potential applications of the proposed research include petroleum industry mapping of bypassed oil, monitoring of costly injected fluids, and imaging flow compartmentalization and the hydraulic properties of faults and fractures. Non-petroleum applicatons include monitoring groundwater reserves, subsurface monitoring of contaminant plumes and environmental clean-up projects. The internet-based parallel software system developed for this project could be applied to other compute-intensive fields suchas medical and satellite imaging, weather forecasting, and finance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cole, Stephen Fourth Wave Imaging Corporation CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99852 5371 HPCC CVIS 9139 1038 0109000 Structural Technology 0060554 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Fast Parallel Grid-Free Method for Simulating Turbulent Incompressible Flow In/Around Time-Varying Geometries. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project prepares the ground-work for the development of the first commercially available Computational Fluid Dynamics package for a truly grid-free Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of turbulent incompressible vortex dominated flow in complex time-varying geometries. The computational engine is based on the parallel, fast multi-pole implementation of a Lagrangian vortex-boundary element method. Turbulence is accounted for via LES, using a Lagrangian dynamic Smagorinsky sub-grid scale model. The method is: (1) fully grid-free in the fluid domain, (2) free of numerical diffusion, (3) inherently solution-adaptive, and (4) capable of modeling inhomogeneous unsteady wall-bounded turbulent flow. To this end, two new ideas will be developed during Phase I: A grid-free method for predicting diffusion with variable-viscosity, which is a pre-requisite for LES modeling; and a non-diffusive vortex merging strategy to curb the proliferation of particles and maintain long-time accuracy. These will then be incorporated into the Lagrangian vortex element method to demonstrate the salient features of grid-free vortex-based LES modeling of turbulent flows, using the prototypical example of the evolution of an initially perturbed infinite-Reynolds-number vortex ring in free space. The software is ideal for simulation and analysis of complex turbulent flow phenomena. This includes vortex breakdown, (massive) flow separation, vortex shedding, transient jets in cross-stream, wake-body interaction, high-swirl flow, etc. All are associated with the design of advanced flow control mechanisms used, for example, to reduce flow-induced noise and vibration, and to improve lift/drag performance at reduced energy consumption rates. Examples are flow over bluff bodies such as ground or under-water vehicles; in engines; in/around rotating machinery such as pumps and fans; helicopters; or in data storage units with rotating and moving parts. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gharakhani, Adrin Applied Scientific Research CA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 84338 5371 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060564 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Carbon Composite Transmission Conductor Development. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the development of Advanced Carbon Composite Transmission Conductors for application in high voltage transmission grid systems. This technology will enable greater electric power transmission capacity to be realized by facilitating operation at higher temperatures as compared with conventional metallic conductors. The demand for electric power in North America and Europe has risen in proportion with economic growth. Utilities worldwide are seeking new methods to transport more power though overhead transmission corridors. This demand is not anticipated to diminish as the technological age advances. Environmental, regulatory and economic constraints have constrained the installation of new transmission line corridors that are needed to meet this demand. An alternative is to upgrade existing transmission corridors to accommodate increased power flow. In order to address the increasing power demands of industrialized nations advanced conductors offer the potential to enable distribution grids the capacity to meet this challenge. This project will address the requirements for utilities worldwide to facilitate increased power flow through existing overhead high voltage transmission corridors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Smith, Jack Applied Thermal Sciences, Inc. ME Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99372 5371 CVIS 9163 1630 1057 0109000 Structural Technology 0060575 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-Based Decision Support Management Application to Optimize Site-Specific Environmental Stewardship. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project leads to increased productivity at environmental restoration sites through an innovative integrated application of geographic information systems (GIS), databases, simulation modeling, optimization, and artificial neural networks. The project begins with the understanding that environmental decisions involve many stakeholders, each with different priorities among several objectives. The research goals for this environmental information technology project are to: (1) identify and develop a hierarchy of neural networks that efficiently estimate uncertainty in data and predict the uncertainty as a result of monitoring and remediation decisions; (2) integrate such estimates and data into methods to optimize monitoring and remediation operations, which are coupled with large-scale simulation models used for environmental fate, transport, and risk analysis; (3) store sets of optimized results, which can include different stakeholders' objectives and constraints, in databases; and (4) present results to decision making end-users through a GIS interface. The commercial application of this research, presenting results to decision making end-users through a GIS focuses on subsurface (groundwater and soil) remediation at thousands of sites nationwide, and will be realized by licensing to firms for sales to remediation contractors. The research has near-term applications in climate, weather, air pollution, water, forest, and mineral resources, and emergency planning. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rizzo, Donna SUBTERRANEAN RESEARCH, INC. VT Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99495 5371 EGCH 9197 9150 9102 0313000 Regional & Environmental 0060587 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Question Answering. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I proposal will enable the development of commercial products baced on the advanced technology of Language Computer Corporation (LCC). The technology involves Question Answering (Q/A). Several research objectives are identified to make this work. The first one is to develop a viable commercial product out of the technology by redesigning the key components of the system: indexing, search engine, and the answer extraction module. The second objective is to study and design a scalable, distributed Q/A system architecture capable of serving a large number of users simultaneously. The third objective is to extract user profile information for the purpose of increasing the service quality and revenues. The final objective is to evaluate the performance of the products in the laboratory environment, as well as in a small scale Application Service Provider (ASP) model with real users of two beta customers. The proposed suite of three products is based on leading edge research on question answering performed by the LCC management team. The significance of this work is that by developing robust, scalable question answering products, it takes the search engine technology a step closer to providing users with quality information that is accurate and concise. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sheraw, Barry Language Computer Corporation TX Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99852 5371 HPCC 9215 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0060589 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: In-Situ Spectral Ellipsometry Feedback Control Instrument for Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) of Complex Oxides. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project lays the foundation for developing and implementing an in-situ feedback control instrument for Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) of complex oxides. If successful, the project will result in real time in-situ feedback monitors addressing the quality of the actual film being deposited by a complex oxide MOCVD tool for process development and for production. The program is specifically focused on lead zirconium titanate (PZT) for non-volatile ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) fabrication, but the resulting technology will be applicable to other oxides. This project will develop a real-time in-situ Spectral Ellipsometry film analysis tool that can feedback into process control. Specifically, the developed technology will monitor the optical constants, thickness, composition and surface/interface morphology. Phase I will focus on development of ex-situ sample-data libraries (calibrated to physical measurements) and refine the tool design. In Phase II, a film analysis unit will be mated to an existing pilot production reactor. The unit will be implemented, data libraries refined, and feedback control software and hardware developed. Phase III commercialization will consist of marketing complete oxide MOCVD systems with Spectral Ellipsometer based in-situ process monitors that enable real time feedback for quality control of deposited films. This will enable high yield economical manufacture of complex material based devices such as non-volatile memories and infrared detectors, among others, at levels far above those now possible. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tompa, Gary STRUCTURED MATERIALS INDUSTRIES, INC. NJ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060590 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: New Coordination Complexes for the Synthesis of Nanocrystalline SrRuO3. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate a method for making nanocrystalline strontium ruthenate (SrRuO3) using new coordination compounds. Strontium ruthenate has been identified as a replacement for pure metal electrodes in dielectric and ferroelectric thin-film devices. For these devices, there will be a need for high-density SrRuO3. Strontium ruthenate powder made by traditional solid-state synthetic techniques does not sinter sufficiently owing to the powder's large particle size. To achieve higher densities, nanocrystalline SrRuO3 is needed. Reducing the particle size generally reduces the densification temperature making it easier to achieve a high-density material. Chemical routes to produce nanocrystalline SrRuO3 will be used. Coordination compounds will be identified for use as precursors. At the conclusion of Phase I, a precursor will be identified that allows for the production of nanocrystalline SrRuO3. Nanocrystalline SrRuO3 will be needed to make high-density sputtering targets that will be used to make thin-film electrodes in the next generation of high capacity stack storage capacitors memory devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Revur, Rao SUPERCONDUCTIVE COMPONENTS INC OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1984 1968 1954 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0106000 Materials Research 0060593 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Latent-Reactive Surface Modification Reagents for Biofilm Control. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop new reagents subject to thermal activation for bonding water-soluble microbicidal polymers and surfactants to the lumen surface of a variety of opaque tubing materials at temperatures compatible with the plastics. Materials have been developed with bulk physical properties needed for transport of water and aqueous mixtures; however, the development of biofilm on the wet surfaces is a continuing serious problem in the dental, pharmaceutical, food processing, and marine transport industries. Surface modification of water lines could decrease the formation of biofilm while retaining the desired bulk properties of the tubing. Photochemistry has been proven commercially successful in enhancing the surface properties of medical devices with radical-based surface modification initiated by RF plasma or ultraviolet light. However, these energy sources are not effective for modification the inner surfaces of 'opaque' tubes such as water lines used with dental units and plastic plumbing in pharmaceutical plants. This project is designed to develop latent-reactive radical generators activatible with external source energy that penetrates these 'opaque' devices. This innovative approach to scheduled activation of radical generators is expected to facilitate the coupling to many 'inert' surfaces that cannot be activated with external light or plasma sources. Microbial colonization and biofilm formation remain a major cost and threat to human health and product quality for dental and pharmaceutical industries, health care and public lodging, and marine vessel utilization. Successful development of microbicidal and antifouling coating technology for the luminal surface of opaque transport and storage vessels for aqueous liquid ingestible products, constitute a significant market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Guire, Patrick SurModics, Inc. MN Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99468 5371 MANU 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060598 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A New Thermoplastic Hydrogel (TPH). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the synthesis and production of a new thermoplastic hydrogel (TPH). The TPH will be made by the modification of poly-2-ethyloxazoline, a commercially available polymer. The new TPH will have the properties of a crosslinked system when cold but will flow when heated. This property is unique for hydrogels, typically covalently crosslinked systems, which are limited in their use due to process restrictions. The TPH will have the ability to be extruded or molded by the end user into virtually any form, allowing the manufacture of new products that cannot be made today. The water soluble polymer is an ideal candidate due to its high thermal stability. This project will describe two routes for attaching graft polymers onto the polymer backbone. Both routes are viable from a high volume production standpoint. Applications of the TPH would include: medical products (catheters, contact lenses, and synthetic wound dressings), adhesives, recyclable super absorbents, ink jet printer media, and a variety of agricultural materials. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG DiBattista, James Bernard Gordon POLYMER CHEMISTRY INNOVATIONS, INC AZ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 85125 5371 AMPP 9163 1773 0106000 Materials Research 0060607 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Dependence Graphs for Internet Technologies. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project from GrammaTech aims to conduct research that will address fundamental problems facing developers of the software systems that comprise the Internet. Problems with Internet systems such as software faults, security vulnerabilities and inefficiencies can lead to a lack of confidence in the medium and hinder its further development. The tools used to construct these systems have so far mostly failed to help mitigate these problems because they were generally designed for more traditionally-constructed systems-- those that are mostly static and mostly single-threaded. In contrast, Internet systems are typically highly dynamic and often involve concurrency. A new breed of tools based on techniques that use static-semantic analysis of programs has recently emerged for static and sequential systems. The research objective of this proposal is to extend and apply these techniques to the analysis of highly-dynamic concurrent systems. The key technical challenges are to devise representations and methods that make these enhanced analyses accurate and tractable and to invent mechanisms for querying and organizing the results of the analyses. The target will be the Java programming language. The potential applications of this research include tools for program understanding, restructuring, parallelization, debugging, and testing. The results of this research have commercial application in Interactive Development Environments (IDEs) for software construction, and in tools for all other phases of the software development process. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Anderson, Paul GRAMMATECH, INC. NY Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99804 5371 HPCC 9216 0510604 Analytic Tools 0522400 Information Systems 0060611 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Improved Electrodes for Capacitive Deionization. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will develop improved monolithic carbon electrodes for capacitive deionization. Capacitive deionization is a new technology being developed for the purification of ocean and brackish well water. A constant voltage is applied and soluble salts are collected on the surface of porous carbon electrodes, thus purifying the water for human consumption or industrial processes. Unfortunately, the current carbon aerogel electrodes are very expensive and their ion storage capacity is relatively low. The problem is that the carbon aerogel electrodes only have small pores, which prevents complete and rapid ion transport through the material. A route to monolithic carbon electrodes with a combination of large (mesopores) and small pores (micropores) that is much easier and less expensive than the carbon aerogel electrode production process has been developed. The benefit of the mesopores is that they allow the liquid to penetrate the carbon for easy access to the high surface area micropores. This greatly increases the rate of salt uptake and the useful capacity of the electrodes. In Phase I TDA will develop monolithic porous carbon electrodes with the correct pore size distribution for use in capacitive deionization. In Phase II the production will be scaled up and the carbon electrodes will be tested in commercial capacitive deionization systems. Commercial Applications: Inexpensive mesoporous carbon electrodes could be used in capacitive deionization to purify water for human consumption and for industrial processes such as boiler feed. These carbon electrodes may also be useful in electrical energy storage, such as in capacitive energy storage. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Dietz, Steven TDA Research, Inc CO Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060615 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Programming Environment to Enable Engineers Program Distributed Smart Sensor Networks. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of a high level graphical programming environment for Smart Sensor arrays. Ideally, application developers should be able to describe the desired behavior of their system at a high level of abstraction (e.g., 'control motor speed', 'monitor bearing', 'monitor pump'). In addition they must be provided with tools that take a system description at this high level and map it onto a specific set of hardware. The development of a 'mapping' tool is critical to the success of this, as the typical application developer (e.g., an industrial engineer or process control engineer) will not have all of the specific expertise needed to perform this manually. They will not be able to answer questions like: How many processors should I have? Which sensors should be connected to which processors? Mapping algorithms onto sensor networks involves expertise in programming and software, knowledge of the algorithms needed to analyze the, and an understanding of the distributed nature of the sensor network. The goal of this research is to develop a set of tools to allow application experts to customize the behavior of smart sensor arrays to solve their real world problems. Sensors that are being used in industry are transitioning from analog to digital interfaces. While the digital interface can be exceptionally powerful, the lack of a standard communication protocol has allowed for 60 proprietary busses to appear in this market. To remedy this, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) has created a standard for these sensors, the IEEE 1451 smart sensor standard. By defining a standard interface, the IEEE 1451 will allow easier networking of industrial sensors from a variety of manufacturers. The reasons are compelling for industry to adopt this standard, however, a high-level software interface, like the one proposed here, is critical. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sharp, Thomas SHEET DYNAMICS LTD OH Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99967 5371 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060635 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Collaborative Field Tools for Project-Based Learning. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to produce high-quality and creative educational activities that are based on project-based contextual inquiry. Student inquiry is an essential part of the learning process and is front and center in the American Association for the Advancement of Science Benchmarks (AAAS, 1993). The project entails the development of Palm-based applications that support inquiry-based learning activities as part of an integrated system of personal digital assistant (PDA), plug-in sensor(s), Internet-enabled desktop analysis tools, and (optionally) wireless networking. This combination will support a new generation of learning activities centered either on changes-in-space (e.g., varying temperatures across a playground or school, varying observations by different observers) or changes-in-time (e.g., changes in tree-girth between years, variations in stream pH over time, etc.). Coupling PDA-made observations with database systems in the classroom and globally will allow the construction of new student inquiry activities. A part of the data interpretation can occur immediately as students collect their observations, some can occur upon return to the classroom, and another set of tasks can center around collaborative explorations with students elsewhere. Hence the system to be developed supports both inquiry-based learning and collaborative investigations. The evaluation of this project will be based on feedback from teachers in a testbed and on feedback from potential publishers interested in participating in Phase II and beyond. Given the growth of investment in instructional technology and the concurrent growth in availability of ubiquitous computing, as illustrated by the growing popularity of PDA's, it is anticipated that the market for the integrated system will grow dramatically. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cruz, Matthew Living Text LLC MI Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99637 5371 SMET 9177 7355 7256 0522400 Information Systems 0060638 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Solution Processing of Carbon Matrix Precursors for Control of Char Microstructure and Oxidation Behavior in Carbon-Carbon Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the problem of imparting intrinsic oxidation resistance to a carbon-carbon composite when the matrix is derived from a carbonaceous precursor via pyrolysis. The overall goal of the project is to assess the feasibility of using blends of pitch and pre-ceramic polymers as matrix precursors for carbon-carbon produced with a commercial processing cycle. The research objectives are two-fold: (1) Determine the relationship between blend formulation and the resultant microstructure following processing, and (2) Compare the oxidation kinetics and room temperature mechanical behavior of composite samples produced in this manner. Matrix precursors will be formulated by solution-blending pitches with silicon-containing compounds and then subjecting the blends to a conventional carbon-carbon processing cycle. The resultant chars are expected to exhibit unique two-phase microstructures with intriguing micro- and nano-scale features, and to impart oxidation resistance without deleterious impact on mechanical properties. The first commercial application of this method is expected to be used in lieu of baked coatings in carbon-carbon aircraft brakes. If successful, the technique may become an enabling technology for the use of carbon-carbon composites in a broad range of high temperature structural applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hager, Joseph MotorCarbon Research LLC OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 CVIS 1630 1057 0109000 Structural Technology 0060653 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Multiple Criteria-Based Approach to Automate Conflation in Geographical Information Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project describes an innovative approach to automating the integration of geographical data from multiple resources. This process is commonly referred to as conflation. The most important aspect of the conflation process is feature matching. Feature matching is the process of merging corresponding geographical features from various datasets. Previous attempts at automatically solving this problem have only focused on the geometrical characteristics of geographical data; yet, there are other aspects of geographical data that should be considered: topological, nonspatial, and spatial. An improved approach to automating the feature matching process that utilizes these other aspects of geographical data is presented. In the context of the growing use of geographical information systems (GIS), the need for tools to process, analyze and conflate geographical data is increasing. Such tools will find application in the Department of Defense, in the drilling and mining industry, in the agriculture industry, and by urban planners and GIS developers. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Foley, Harold Apex Systems Inc LA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99313 9150 HPCC 9139 0313000 Regional & Environmental 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060667 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Novel Steam Reforming Catalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovative Research Program (SBIR) Phase I involving Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells offers a unique opportunity to create zero and ultra-low emission vehicles. While current nickel or noble metal catalysts used in the reformer of PEM fuel cells are effective for the steam reforming, they are very sensitive to sulfur poisoning and also deactivate by coke deposition. This research will effort will develop a new, sulfur-tolerant catalyst with low coking and low cost for gasoline steam reforming. TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) has identified a novel sulfur-tolerant catalyst for gasoline steam reforming to generate hydrogen for PEM fuel cells. In this program TDA will prepare and evaluate this catalyst, using an existing automated steam reforming reaction system to test our catalyst. The Phase I work will include an engineering analysis to assess the effect of the catalyst on sulfur poisoning, coke deposition and processing costs as well as the cost of producing the catalyst. The catalytic activity of TDA's catalyst will be measured in the presence and absence of H2S. A successful project will result in the production of sulfur tolerant and coking resistant catalysts for the fuel processor of PEM fuel cells. PEM fuel cells are suited for automobiles applications where quick startup is required, and are the primary candidates for use in light-duty vehicles. They will create zero and ultra-low emission vehicles. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wei, Di TDA Research, Inc CO Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060675 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Maximum Entropy Data De-duplication. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of high-risk, high-return research toward creating general-purpose de-duplication software. De-duplication software identifies multiple database records that refer to one entity (such as a person), thereby enabling the merger of fragmented data. ChoiceMaker markets a research-derived de-duplication system called MEDD. Many fundamental social services, including child immunization, require accurate de-duplication. New York City currently uses MEDD to de-duplicate its immunization records, thereby successfully improving children's public health. However, smaller public health organizations cannot benefit from MEDD because they cannot afford the 6 weeks of computer consulting that are required to customize MEDD for their data. ChoiceMaker's proposed research would decrease the adaptation time by an order-of-magnitude-making de-duplication affordable for most public health organizations and nearly every business with mission-critical databases. MEDD employs an important emerging information-theoretic statistical technique (called maximum entropy) to mimic the decisions made by people evaluating whether to merge similar records. Maximum entropy technology supports software that can 'understand' each individual database's idiosyncratic information semantics and structure. In the proposed research, ChoiceMaker will investigate significant, innovative extensions to maximum entropy technology that will dramatically increase MEDD's convenience and flexibility. This research has applications to enhancing the data quality of any database which might contain multiple entries for the same entity due to the lack of a reliable identifying key. Specifically, there are applications to the management of master patient indices by health care providers and lists of clients and vendors at large institutions. The system is equally useful for matching and linking records in two different databases, such as for merging mailing lists for direct marketing, linking medical records for epidemiological research, and matching buy and sell orders for securities transa SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Borthwick, Andrew ChoiceMaker Technologies, Inc. NY Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99984 5371 HPCC 9215 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0060685 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Nanomaterials for Energy Storage. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is focused on developing an efficient and cost-effective electrochemical capacitor for use in Next-Generation Vehicles (NGV's). This new capacitor will be designed to significantly advance the state of the art in this area, and to fully meet the specifications identified for NGV applications. No current technology meets those specifications. The key innovation here is the development of new electrode materials based on recently identified composites. The Phase I program will demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach by preparing candidate electrode materials, fabricating laboratory-scale capacitors, and demonstrating that the prototype capacitors already meet or have the clear potential to meet the target specifications. The capacitors will be evaluated in terms of: (1) specific capacitance (farads/g); (2) specific energy (Whr/kg); (3) equivalent series resistance; (4) specific power (W/kg); (5) energy density (Whr/L); (6) leakage current; (7) cycle lifetime; (8) ease of manufacturing; and (9) cost. Successful development of this enabling technology will represent an important advance in the state of the art and will provide a key innovation for the commercial development of next-generation vehicles. Other important potential commercial applications include consumer electronics, communications, and computer technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Reynolds, Thomas REYTECH CORPORATION OR Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060688 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Newton-Krylov Based Solver for Modeling Finite Rate Chemistry in Reacting Flows. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a Newton-Krylov based Computational Fluid Dynamics flow solver for simulating reacting flows that must account for finite rate chemistry. Sub-models will be included for describing the finite rate chemistry with global, skeletal and reduced mechanisms. The non-linear solver strategy will use a matrix-free Newton-Krylov method and will include high quality preconditioners constructed from application specific data, adaptive forcing terms and mesh sequencing for problem initialization. The Phase I project will demonstrate proof of concept for the non-linear solver strategy. Simulations of NOx formation in a furnace will be used to evaluate the improved computational efficiency. The Phase II project will focus on creating a solver for production level use. The Phase II product will use the best techniques developed in Phase I and in addition will include capabilities for local adaptive grid refinement and parallel computing. The final product will find commercial application by engineers and scientists in the combustion, chemical process and waste incineration industries that need to perform detailed analysis of complex chemically reacting flows in a cost effective manner. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bockelie, Michael REACTION ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL UT Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060702 January 1, 2001 SBIR PHASE I: High Throughput, Ion Selective Metal Separation Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop high throughput metal ion-selective separation composites for the extraction and purification of critical metals in production, and water and metal recycling environments. The problem this research addresses is the high cost and inefficiency of existing metal separation resins. Ion exchange processes operate by passing the metal-containing solution through a bed of porous particles with functional chemistry inside the pores. Since the solution prefers to flow around the particle, the diffusion of metal ions into the pores is slow and rate limiting. This research literally turns the pore diffusion problem inside out by synthesizing composite column matrices composed of solid nonporous particles. The composite materials are assembled by formation of thinly crosslinked, functional polymers that are covalently tethered in the interstitial volumes between solid particles. The polymer networks can be visualized as an array of 'spider webs' suspended in the micron-scale interparticle volumes of the composite columns. The strands of the nano spider webs are functionalized with metal-selective chelating reagents. The research objectives are to synthesize and test transition metal-selective extraction composites. The project is expected to produce prototype high throughput columns that are manufacturable at an extremely low cost. The commercial applications of the research involve most fields of water and metal separations. The uses include extraction of toxic metals from water, water deionization and recycling, semiconductor wastewater recycling, and the mining of copper, gold, platinum, nickel, and cobalt. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Hammen, Richard ChelaTech, Inc. MT Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99999 9150 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060706 February 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Nanoscale Heterostructures via a Combinatorial Approach. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on the development of a new, pulsed laser deposition based method to the combinatorial approach for generating nanoscale heterostructures. Nanoscale heterostructures, or "superlattices", have previously been shown to exhibit properties that are not expected from the known characteristics of the constituent materials. However, a systematic study of such structures has been impossible due to the lack of a high-throughput synthesis method. The proposed approach is based on a newly introduced, patented continuous-compositional spread technique and will be applicable to a wide variety of materials, including magnetic materials, piezoelectric materials, and optical materials. The direct result of this program will be the availability of an automated apparatus for the growth of a rich variety of nanoscale heterostructures. Since such an instrument is not currently available on the market, the company anticipates strong sales to university and industrial research laboratories. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Harshavardhan, Kolagani NEOCERA INC MD Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99994 5371 AMPP 9163 1415 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060707 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Self-Reinforced Materials for Rapid-Prototyping of High-Integrity Components. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on rapid prototyping processes involving organic materials that are among the most advanced of such techniques due to the ready processability of resins and polymers. Unfortunately, organic polymers typically do not offer mechanical performance competitive with materials such as metals or ceramics and, therefore, cannot be utilized to directly fabricate high-integrity components. The company has developed unique thermoplastic, self-reinforced polymers (SRPs) with exceptional mechanical strength and stiffness rivaling that of metals and composites. Development of suitable SRP formulations will enable fabrication of low-density, high-integrity components by rapid-prototyping techniques for a variety of relatively low-volume applications including launch vehicles, spacecraft, aircraft, custom commercial products, etc. The focus will be on the development of SRP powders that can be processed by laser sintering techniques into such components. The research will entail preliminary optimization of resin composition (e.g., molecular weight and distribution, melt rheology, additives, etc.) and powder characteristics (e.g., particle size and distribution, bulk density, etc.) to enable effective sintering with high retention of mechanical properties. Initial test coupons will be fabricated at the University of Texas at Austin for evaluation and verification of the proposed innovation. High-performance polymeric powder materials will enable fabrication of low-density, high-integrity components by cost-effective rapid-prototyping techniques for a variety of relatively low-volume applications including launch vehicles, spacecraft, aircraft, custom commercial products, etc. The same resin materials, albeit in pellet rather than powder form, can also be utilized to fabricate similar parts in higher volumes by more conventional extrusion or injection molding techniques. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Gagne, Robert Mississippi Polymer Technologies, Inc. MS Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99937 9150 MANU 9146 5371 1468 1052 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060708 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: New Lithium Salts for High Energy, High Rate Lithium Ion and Lithium Polymer Batteries. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will utilize known chemistry and economical materials to create imide-based anions containing greater charge delocalization and ligands for anion solvation. The solvent levels needed for high conductivity for safe, high rate (10 degree C) operation of lithium ion cells will be determined. Acceptable densities in small cells create safety concerns in large capacity batteries, particularly at high load levels, because solvent-lithium reactivity, heat, and solvent volatility can generate explosive or pyrotechnic mixtures. Better electrolyte conductivity and stability are needed for safe high power operation. The lithium prototypical salt is not as stable or conductive as desired and is less stable than imide-based anions. Solid-polymer-based electrolytes reduce the danger of catastrophic battery failure, but they have lower power densities due to lower conductivity compared to liquid electrolytes. A new class of imide-based lithium salts containing covalently attached ligands to solvate anions and enable Li+ (lithium ion) dissociation and conductivity, using little or no molecular solvent will be developed. Large, safe, high rate, rechargeable lithium ion batteries are needed for a variety of applications, including electric vehicle propulsion, aircraft and space vehicles, and communications equipment. Improved consumer electronic products, such as portable telephones, computers, cameras, and power tools, could also be a market for this proposed technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kepley, Larry Electrophorics NM Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99995 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060710 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Census Microdata in the Classroom. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to research ways to increase accessibility and utilization of census microdata in secondary school mathematics classrooms. Historically, microdata published by the Census Bureau as part of each decennial census has rarely been used in schools for lack of access and lack of software tools to handle it. The Internet and the availability of software tools such as KCP Technologies' Fathom tm change this situation dramatically. In collaboration with the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) project at the University of Minnesota, this project will develop streamlined interfaces with which students can use the World Wide Web to gather data from one or more Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the country from any of the census back through 1850. Research into modifications to the Fathom software will aim to develop new and better ways to gather data from the Internet, to create enriched data structures, and to design other functionality particularly well-suited to working with microdata. New curriculum and professional development materials created in this project will provide a means for teachers to begin using census microdata in mathematics and statistics classrooms. The proposed research will lead to licensing opportunities for the software technology already embodied in Fathom software, web-based technology for gathering and analyzing microdata, curriculum products to be sold to schools, and an increased market for Fathom in education. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Finzer, William KCP Technologies CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99227 1666 SMET 9178 9177 0101000 Curriculum Development 0108000 Software Development 0060715 January 1, 2001 STTR Phase I: Enhanced High Volume Reinforced Al/SiC Metal Matrix Composites. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop metal matrix composite (MMC) and ceramic matrix composite (CMC) materials with tailorable properties (thermal expansion, conductivity, stiffness, ductility, etc.). An increase in properties for high volume reinforced (25-65 wt% SiC) aluminum materials using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) fluid bed coated powders and low cost consolidation techniques has been achieved. Dramatic increases in flexure strength (30%) and modulus (40%) have been achieved with Al coated SiC powder and using low cost consolidation techniques. A greater understanding of the effect of CVD coated powder and consolidation processing is required to fully understand the nano-engineered material being produced, and to develop even greater and distinctly different physical and mechanical properties. In this Phase I project, this fundamental understanding will be developed. The family of composites to be developed will be applied as cost-effective substitutes for titanium and beryllium materials for applications in electronic packaging, lightweight structures, aircraft engine and airframe components, and sporting goods. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Baker, Dean POWDERMET INC OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99998 1505 AMPP 9163 1771 0106000 Materials Research 0060718 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Nanocrystalline Diamond Coated Aligned Nanotubes as Electron Emitter. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will establish the electron emission behavior of aligned nanotubes coated conformal coating of nanocrystalline diamond. Carbon nanotubes and nanocrystalline diamond has recently attracted attention due to their promising electronic and structure properties. Due to the aligned structure and electrical properties of nanotubes and the negative electron affinity of the wide band gap of diamond it is expected that diamond coated aligned nanotubes could be ideal materials for highly efficient electron sources. It is proposed to produce aligned nanotubes with varied growth density, develop and coat with conformal coating of nanocrystalline diamond, and to characterize these novel materials for electron emission behavior. These results will be compared to existing and developmental emitters. The proposed approach if successful can be applied to produce large flat panel displays economically. Flat panel displays are becoming increasingly important in today's society. With the demand for portability in such applications as laptop computers, automobiles navigation system, cellular telephones, pagers, etc., the market for flat panel displays is growing rapidly. A low cost scaleable technology of efficient emitter urgently needed. Aligned nanotubes coated with diamond can the breakthrough needed. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Loutfy, Raouf Materials and Electrochemical Research Corporation (MER) AZ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99999 5371 AMPP 9163 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060725 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: ELEX - Innovative Low-Cost Manufacturing Technology for High Aspect Ratio Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of developing an innovative manufacturing process for prototyping and batch manufacturing high-aspect ratio microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and related microparts and microstructures. The goal is to replace an electrodeposition-based micromachining technique, requiring the use of a $10-20 million synchrotron (the so-called LIGA process) with an innovative extrusion-like process performed in an automated desktop machine selling for $250,000 or less. By supplying the MEMS industry with capital equipment for the manufacture of LIGA-type microstructures at a cost two orders of magnitude lower, this project could greatly accelerate the commercialization of MEMS and other microscale devices, and make the U.S. more competitive in this rapidly-growing global industry. If successful, the resulting technology could also significantly reduce time-to market for new products, fabricate much taller structures than are possible with LIGA, and provide better control over the uniformity of material properties. Commerical applications cover many highly-miniaturized sensors and actuators in a variety of industries, allowing reduced cost, weight, size, and power consumption. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cohen, Adam Microfabrica, Inc. CA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99593 5371 MANU 9146 5371 1468 1052 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060728 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Information Retrieval. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address central problems of information retrieval(IR) and the human/computer interface. QuantumFind wishes to develop a dynamic, graphically presented information space in which users can immediately visualize multiple aspects of large information sets. QuantumFind will build a pioneering new IR platform that contains the following: (1) A collaborative filtering systems based on analysis of users' search paths through data, which will allow users to benefit from other's experience; (2) Integrated Ostensive Modeling systems which will match the results of collaborative path analysis and other relevancy measures to user's current information needs; and (3) A dynamic user interface which integrates these measures, allowing users to immediately see and explore multiple 'relevance paths'. QuantumFind's product will dramatically reduce the time spent in locating, retrieving and browsing documents, and significantly increase users' recall of document contents. The need for better information search tools is widely recognized, and the potential market covers almost every industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chen, Heyning Quantumfind CA Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 33333 5371 HPCC 9215 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0060761 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Pulsed High Acceleration Spray Technique for Wear and Corrosion Resistant Coatings. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project investigates the use of a new and unique hypervelocity acceleration technique to deposit powder particles for the creation of superior wear and corrosion resistant coatings. The research objective is to determine if metallic powders, at temperatures below their melting point, can be accelerated to high velocities, impact a substrate and adhere, to produce a high quality coating. The coating device that will be used is an experimental Pulsed High Acceleration Spray Technique (PHAST) Gun. The PHAST coating technique can be described as a high velocity cold spray type process that utilizes a pulsed capillary discharge. Screening experiments will be performed in Phase I to determine if various alloys can be deposited by the PHAST Gun. The PHAST process is expected to result in plastic deformation of the feed particles upon impact with the substrate, thus forming coatings characterized by good adhesion, high density, and low oxide content. Measured properties will be compared with existing thermal spray coating properties to determine the improvement attributed to the PHAST Gun. There are numerous commercial applications for dense corrosion and wear resistant coatings in the chemical process industry, industrial machinery, and aircraft industries. Some of these applications are for the replacement of hard chrome plate and others will be new applications for previously unprotected parts. PHAST coatings are expected to protect and extend the life of components such as, pump shafts, die gates, linings for process vessels, housings, nozzles, ball and roller bearing surfaces, and hydraulic cylinder shafts. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Whichard, Glenn UTRON, Inc. VA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99902 5371 MANU 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060764 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Pulsed Plasma Atomization of Rapidly Solidified Hard Magnetic Nanophase Nd-Fe-B Powders. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate a new technique to economically synthesize rapidly solidified magnetic (Nd-Fe-B) powders with diameters in the 1-10 m range. In preliminary experiments using pulsed plasma jets to atomize metal melt streams, the company has produced spherical copper powders down to several hundred nanometers. These pulsed plasma jets produce momentum fluxes 2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than conventional gas atomization, thus allowing production of fine powders. The objective of this project is to use a fundamentally different configuration, which is more amenable to the production of rapidly solidified hard magnetic nanophase powders. This will be accomplished by coupling the pulsed plasma jet to a pulsed wire arc metal source instead of the more conventional melt stream source. This has the anticipated advantage of eliminating material incompatibilities during processing and avoids the need for large induction melt systems. It can also provide controllable coupling to a repetitively pulsed plasma jet, allow production of refractory metal powders, and provide easier access to the atomization zone for enhancing the cooling rate of the atomized powders. The project will be carried out in cooperation with the University of Utah, which will provide expertise in processing-microstructure-property relationships in hard magnetic materials. Commercial applications of permanent magnets reach virtually every corner of technology, including automobiles, computers, medical technology, power generation equipment, aerospace, and telecommunication industries. These magnets are used in compact powerful electric motors for computer disk drives and fly-by-wire aircraft. They are also find applications as high precision actuators used to focus the laser in a compact disk player and in miniature loudspeakers of personal stereos. Automotive applications include starters, small motors, alternators, sensors, meters, and electric and hybrid vehicle propulsion systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kincaid, Russell UTRON, Inc. VA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99724 5371 AMPP 9163 1407 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060765 January 1, 2001 STTR PHASE I: Integration of Electromagnetic Actuation Using VOST Design. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of using electromagnetic force to actuate a Venturi Off-Set Technology VOST(TM) valve. Traditional valve actuator stems and packing are significant sources of harmful emissions and provide opportunities for fluid contamination. The actuator innovation to be developed in this project would eliminate stems and packing, thereby eliminating this source of emissions. The VOST(TM) axial design provides the platform to accomplish this task, but only if actuated electromagnetically. This investigation will utilize design modeling (numerical models) and actuator testing to determine torque, speed and displacement properties needed to configure an electromagnetic actuator. First the work plan will evaluate the VOST(TM) design for torque, speed and rotational displacement specifications. Information obtained will be used to rank three potential actuator configurations. The most promising configuration will be prototyped and tested for performance. In addition, commercial feasibility of this configuration will be assessed using component cost, complexity, and serviceability. It is anticipated that the selected electromagnetic configuration will meet desired operational parameters. VOST(TM) designed valves incorporating this actuation concept will eliminate sources of emissions. If successful, the research will result in an electromagnetic actuator configuration that can facilitate a hermetically sealed valve. The actuator concepts developed can be extended to any application requiring an axial rotation of 180 degrees or less. This will apply to control systems beyond valves. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Burgess, Robert Big Horn Valve, Inc. WY Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99828 9150 MANU 9147 1632 1505 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060769 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Thermal Spray of Nanocomposites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of an advanced technology for the direct formation and deposition of nanocomposite polymer coatings and films. The technology encompasses the use of novel thermal spray techniques that are solventless and that may also be developed for use in directly forming functionally-graded nanocomposite materials and near-net-shape thermoplastic nanocomposites. The objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of using an advanced thermal spray process to directly melt-blend and form nanocomposite coatings and films. Experimental work will be conducted to spray coat nanomaterials onto a substrate, followed by an evaluation of the sprayed material properties for suitability as an advanced nanocomposite coating material. The proposed technology addresses the global interest in nanostructured polymeric materials that have significantly improved performance properties over conventional polymeric materials. This technology has direct application in the powder coating industry, where thermoset and thermoplastic materials are sprayed for a broad range of applications, which include coatings on automobiles, appliance coatings, architectural coatings to a broad range of general metal finishing uses. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Farrar, Lawrence RESODYN CORPORATION MT Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060771 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Novel Catalyst Substrate for the High and Low Temperature Water Gas Shift Reactor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop compact Water Gas Shift Reactors (WGSR) with rapid startup and load following through the use of a novel catalyst substrate design consisting of multiple Ultra Short Channel Length (USCL), high cell density metal monoliths in series. These USCL monoliths have very high heat and mass transfer coefficients due to the absence of fully developed boundary layers; this increases bulk mass transfer on the order of 20 fold over conventional honeycomb monolith supports. The high cell density, up to 2500 cells per square inch, results in a considerably higher Geometric Surface area (GSA) per unit volume compared to honeycomb monoliths. The improved transport properties and increased GSA translates into much smaller reactor size and weight compared to pellet bed or conventional honeycomb substrates and more efficient catalyst utilization under mass transfer controlled operation, which can lead to significant cost reductions, especially when using precious metal catalyst. The very low thermal mass of the individual USCL catalyst substrate elements combined with the high heat transfer coefficient gives improved transient response and fast startup. The proposed WGSR catalyst technology is primarily intended as part of an integrated fuel processor system to produce hydrogen for Proton exchange Membrane fuel cells in automotive applications. The proposed technology provides a very high potential benefit to cost opportunity, offering significant improvements in the WGSR component of volume, weight and potentially cost, as well as provides spin-off applications to other catalytic reactors (including other fuel processor components). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Castaldi, Marco Precision Combustion, Inc. CT Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060776 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Imagery System for Automatic and Efficient Analysis of Fish Stock. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is designed to contribute to better and more efficient management of a part of our natural resources. Current analyses of fish stocks (by National Marine Fisheries Service and several state departments of fish & game) are unnecessarily expensive, time-consuming and inaccurate. Ultimately, this contributes to compromised Government resource management policy-making. The result is the risk of over fishing and considerable economic damage. Via research and development this project will produce a prototype integrated 'plug & play' system to automate these analyses. The developed system will be marketed first to the several dozens of U. S. federal and state agencies having a need for it, and thereby will help to establish more precise measurement standards that will be accepted by the worldwide community. The subsequent result of worldwide marketing activity will benefit the fish management and research activities in more than 20 countries, and solidify the U. S. developed and promulgated standards and measurement techniques. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Vasilkov, Valeriy DataFlow/Alaska, Inc. AK Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 0 9150 HPCC 9215 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0060786 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Electro-Mechanical Micro-Vibratory Transducers for Convective Heat Transfer Enhancement. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is focused on developing a method to adapt the use of a novel electro-mechanical micro-vibratory transducer to enhance convective heat transfer rates in heat exchangers while minimizing any added flow pressure drop. The transducer is composed of a very thin, light weight composite sheet that contains the combination sensors and vibratory actuators that are used to detect boundary layer flow conditions and to excite the viscous wall layer to control boundary layer transition and separation. The innovative approach uses localized sub-micron level wall vibrations to increase the wall skin friction while attenuating the overall turbulence level in the flow. This is expected to lower the flow pressure drop increase compared to traditional forms of heat transfer enhancement through turbulence enhancement. The power consumption of the transducer is also about three orders of magnitude smaller than the best competing active flow control devices and is expected to be insignificant in comparison to the heat transfer rates. The transducer can be easily integrated to plates, fins or tubes on the airside of a heat exchanger. The commercial viability is that it can improve waste heat recovery and utilization for manufacturing and processes industries involving gaseous phase drying. It can also make stationary and vehicle mounted heating ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) and power generation systems more compact and efficient. It can allow denser packaging of electronic components by facilitating heat dissipation in a smaller space. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Sinha, Sumon SINHATECH MS Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 9150 AMPP 9163 1406 0308000 Industrial Technology 0060796 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Automating Workflow In Agriculture - Integrated Pest Monitoring System for On-Time and Online Decision Making. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will generate an Internet based system that will connect large groups of users with similar agricultural commodity interest. ISCA Tech will start with a system that will allow growers to easily collect and manage pest-monitoring data for rapid and precise decision-making. ISCA Tech proposes to integrate into this single user-friendly system many nascent and some established techniques that facilitate monitoring and rapid data management. Handheld-collected data will be incorporated into an Internet hosted database where the tools of data management and query reside. Internet access will connect users into area-wide monitoring programs that are independent of location. It will also greatly increase the speed of data processing and report generation, and democratize the access of data management tools, such as GIS, to a broad base of users. This system will allow growers to be self-sufficient in their data analyses, and to procure extension and scientific advice in the e-community. If successful, this system will catalyze the generation and spread of knowledge about pests dynamics, cultural practices and management through the different layers of agricultural systems. The proposed integrated system will create the basis for a full development of agricultural practices, such as precision farming and integrated pest management. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mafra-Neto, Agenor ISCA TECHNOLOGIES, INC. CA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 9102 0522400 Information Systems 0060805 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A New Pseude Amorphous High Temperature Oxide Material. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate a new class of highly disordered materials that possess unique chemical, physical, and high temperature properties. The disorder appears to be stable over a range of temperatures, raising the possibility of use as high temperature ceramic materials with unique properties. Based on preliminary evaluation, it appears that the materials may be useful as coatings for many applications. The materials are synthesized using specially prepared precursor solutions that allow for intimate molecular mixing. The decomposition behavior of the precursor to form this class of inorganic materials appears to be important. The proposed work involves determination of some basic properties of the materials, processing of the material in bulk and coating forms, and modeling/simulation experiments to understand the nature and stability of the disorder. High temperature applications including ceramic matrix composites, protective coatings on metals and ceramics, and thermal insulation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Steiner, Kimberly APPLIED THIN FILMS INC IL Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1775 0106000 Materials Research 0077512 August 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Statistical Absorption Tomography for Turbulent Flows. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project involves the development of a commercial optical patternator, based on Statistical Absorption Tomography. The mathematical deconvolution procedure that forms the basis for optical patternation of turbulent flows was developed and evaluated during the Phase I research. Local absorptances, resolved to less than 1/10th of the integral length scale were obtained in a turbulent spray, using the deconvolution algorithm, in conjunction with an optical patternator, suited for constant temperature, axisymmetric flows. During the Phase II, three research issues that affect the commercialization of the optical patternator will be addressed. The three issues that will be addressed during the Phase II research are: (1) obtaining local transmittances in turbulent flows with temperature gradients, (2) obtaining spatially resolved mass flux in turbulent sprays, and (3) obtaining patternation factors for turbulent flows issuing from non-axisymmetric nozzles. Two broad areas of commercial applications for the optical patternator are for obtaining pattern factors in commercial nozzles and for monitoring smoke stack emissions. The immediate market for the patternator is as an on-line quality control instrument for spray nozzle manufacturers. The estimated annual market size is approximately 150 million dollars. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sivathanu, Yudaya EN'URGA INC IN Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 395322 5373 HPCC 9139 1260 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0078234 July 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Enhanced 3-D Seismic Imaging of Subsalt Gas and Oil Reservoirs Using Primary and Converted Waves. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project from 3DGeo Development Incorporated will develop a software package which utilizes primary and converted-wave energy to accurately and efficiently image gas and oil reservoirs, and to determine rock properties for reservoir evaluation and management. In the recently completed Phase I project, 3DGeo demonstrated the feasibility of imaging with converted waves by analyzing the nature and occurrence of converted waves in synthetic seismic data. Full wavefield modeling and ray tracing in realistic models was used to simulate both towed-cable and ocean-bottom-cable marine data. Both acquisition geometries show important converted-wave events that will be used in Phase II to accurately image reservoirs and estimate rock properties. In addition to the mode converted energy, this project will incorporate two other significant propagation phenomena that commonly occur in geological settings which give rise to converted waves, namely: (1) multiply reflected events [multiples], and (2) transmitted and reflected energy propagating along multiple paths in the subsurface [multi-valued traveltimes]. These two phenomena, coupled with the mode conversions, which are the main focus of this research effort, comprise the greatest challenge to seismic prospecting for oil and gas. This Phase II project develops a comprehensive and synergistic subsalt imaging solution that exploits the full potential of the seismic wavefield for reservoir imaging and rock property estimation in complex areas. Commercial potential of the proposed technology is directly applicable to subsalt oil and gas exploration in complex areas such as the Gulf of Mexico. US companies will spend $50 billion drilling deep subsalt prospects over the next 5 years, and this project could have a direct and significant impact by developing an accurate and economical reservoir monitoring and imaging technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Bevc, Dimitri 3DGEO DEVELOPMENT INC CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 500000 5373 OTHR EGCH 9186 1580 0510704 Geophysical Monitoring 0078347 September 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: New Oxide Coatings for Protection of Alloys in a High-Temperature Oxidizing Environment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project's objective is to provide oxide coatings that resist deterioration in a high-temperature oxidizing environment. A new, innovative process is will be developed that should form strongly-adherent, high-temperature, oxidation resistant coatings on steel alloys, iron and nickel superalloys, aluminides, and superalloy matrix composites. Using this process in Phase I, Alger Stirling Company (ASC) alpha-Al2O3 as well as ASC alpha-Al2O3/Ti2O3 protective coatings, whose coating-to-substrate bond strength was measured to be in excess of 10,000 psi, were formed on six different aluminum-containing and aluminum-and-titanium-containing alloy substrates. Phase II testing (1) will optimize oxide thickness to provide maximum oxide/substrate bond strength, and (2) perform lifetime testing of the oxidized specimens in a high-temperature oxidizing environment. These coatings have broad application in industry throughout the nation. Products that utilize the ASC coatings can achieve longer lifetimes because of the surface protection provided by the coatings. Such longer lifetime translate directly to user dollar savings that are, first of all, a benefit to the entire nation and, second, make the products more competitive in foreign markets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Alger, Donald Alger Stirling Company OH T. James Rudd Standard Grant 380669 5373 MANU 9146 1444 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078350 October 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Low-Frequency Sonochemistry -- A Cutting Edge Industrial Processing Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research (sbir) Phase II project will demonstrate use of the novel low-frequence sonic technology for application as an advanced fermentation process. This project objective will establish a fundamental understanding of the low-frequency sonic technology capabilities to increase the productivity and yield of various aerobic fermentation processes, e.g., bacteria, yeast and mycelial. The Phase II program includes the development, design and demonstration of a prototype processing system as an efficient and cost-effective method for advanced fermentation applications. The Phase I objectives were fully achieved and feasibility of the innovative technology was demonstrated to provide extraordinarily high rates of gas mass transport into liquids, at low energy values and at low shear rates. The quality and amount of scientific and engineering data exceeded expectations, providing a solid base for a Phase II success. Post-Phase II experimentation was undertaken, which demonstrated a specific commercial applications that have market-pull for use of the innovative fermentation methods. Several potential Phase III commercial fermentation applications have been identified. A commercial partner for Phase II co-funding and Phase III funding has been obtained. The commercial partner has also agreed to purchase equipment from Montec for their newly acquired fermentation business. Commercial applications for fermentation processes include large quantity drug production for enhancement of both human and animal health, amino acids such as lysine for animal feeds and phenylalanine for production of aspartame, food preservatives such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C), vitamins and a plethora of other commodity compounds. In general, the production of an increasing number of biologically active compounds is shifting from traditional organic synthesis to fermentation. In these areas, the development of a lower cost, higher productivity technology has strong commercial appeal both in new and retrofit situations. Fermentation is the commercial end of the genetic engineering revolution and is virtually used in all of the cutting edge therapeutics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG van Walsem, Johan RESODYN CORPORATION MT Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 434000 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9153 9150 1359 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078367 June 1, 2000 SBIR/STTR Phase II: Cavity Ringdown Evanescent Wave Fiber Optic Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project plans to develop a new fiber based chemical sensor technology that can be used to make rapid trace chemical analysis of gaseous and liquid environments without the need for time consuming sample extraction and preparation. This new miniature sensing technology will combine aspects of fiber optics, enhanced absorption analysis techniques, and ultimately wireless internet communications. This technology will provide commercial and government users a chemical monitoring system which can be inexpensively networked over wide areas. Such a network of sensors can be monitored in real time from any secured computer via the Internet, providing real time information relating to chemical processing and transport, as well as for the monitoring of leaks and hazardous accidents. Such a system could be used as a warning network for large plant facilities and neighborhoods. This technology is being developed for commercial application in several areas in collaboration with an established fiber sensor supplier for trace detection of chemicals around storage facilities and industrial facilities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG O'Keefe, Anthony LOS GATOS RESEARCH INC CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 399352 5373 EGCH 9187 1974 0313040 Water Pollution 0078371 July 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Tricontinuous Diamond /Carbide/Metal Composite (TCCC) Cutting Tools for High Rate, High Precision Machining of Nonferrous Material, Composites, and Ceramics. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase II project will conduct research to develop a new class of cutting tools for high rate/high precision machining of Al-Si alloys, composites, and ceramics. Advanced cutting tools will improve machining economics in the automotive, aerospace and related industries. The new cutters will be made from a patent pending Tricontinuous Diamond/Carbide/Metal Composite (TDCC) material formed using high pressure/high temperature sintering technology. The potential of this TDCC technology was demonstrated in Phase I, wherein proof-of-principle TDCC cutters outperformed conventional PCD cutters and showed up to two times longer tool life in Al-Si alloy machining tests. In Phase II development of the TDCC sintering process will be carried out, with emphasis on demonstrating TDCC tool performance improvement, cost reduction, and quality control applicable for mass production. In addition development and performance demonstration of prototype cutting tools that use TDCC inserts are planned. The primary objective of Phase II research will be to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of making machining tools using TDCC material. Collaboration with a leading automotive parts manufacturer, that will provide facilities and equipment for testing of the TDCC tools, has been arranged. This will help insure that the successful completion of the Phase II effort will lead to Phase III commercialization in the area of high rate / high precision tool manufacturing for automotive and other markets. Use of low wear high impact resistance TDCC tools will significantly impact the automotive and aerospace parts manufacturing industry allowing high transfer line speeds, lower operation count, and better surface finish which in turn will lead to improved production efficiency and lower product cost. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Voronov, Oleg DIAMOND MATERIALS INC NJ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 400000 5373 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078383 September 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Redox Polymer Catalysts for Electrochemical Synthesis of Hydrogen Peroxide. 0078383 Gopal This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will investigate the use of redox catalyst electrodes for the synthesis of hydrogen peroxide through electrochemical regeneration of the redox catalyst. In the Phase I research, catalysts were developed and their short-term stability for peroxide synthesis was successfully demonstrated. Flow cell operation with 10 cm2 electrode cells showed the preparation of hydrogen peroxide in acidic condition (1N H2SO4) at 60% current efficiency and up to 2% in peroxide concentration. However, Phase I work indicated poor catalytic current with oxygen for these redox systems, as well as an upper limit for hydrogen peroxide concentration (2%). Phase II research effort will be directed towards improving the catalytic effect of these redox catalysts through changes in preparative procedures, electrode structure, and fabrication technique. The electrodes will be tested and optimized for peroxide synthesis using oxygen/air and almost pure water (pH adjusted, if necessary) using flow cell experiments. The electrodes will be tested for long-tem stability (500 hours). Larger electrodes (100cm2 ) will be fabricated using the best composite electrode for long-term stability testing and process optimization. Commercialization of the process will be carried out with a Phase III partner upon the successful completion of Phase II work. Potential Commercial Application of the Research Hydrogen peroxide is a clean oxidant, which reacts to form water as its reaction product. It is therefore environmentally acceptable in many industries. The market for hydrogen peroxide is expected to grow by almost 10% for the next few years. New technology (synthesis of hydrogen peroxide from water and air) described in this Phase II proposal could be implemented for various applications. These areas include wastewater treatment, on-site generation (for industrial and consumer application such laundry bleach etc.), as well as commercial peroxide production. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Gopal, Ram The Electrosynthesis Company, Inc. NY Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 357904 5373 MANU 9146 9102 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078385 August 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Ultra-Hard Boron Coatings through Vacuum Arc Deposition. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to demonstrate the operation of a commercially viable boron deposition source based on vacuum arc technology. The source is for the deposition of boron-based, self-lubricious coatings of hardness comparable to diamond, which are also compatible with high-temperature applications. A special sintering method, developed in the Phase I, produced boron cathodes that survive the severe vacuum arc environment, when properly supported and heated. This patentable Phase I technology will be applied in the Phase II to demonstrate the production of the desired films. The emphasis will be in ultra-hard forms of nearly-pure boron, although some compounds are also of interest. Water cooling of the anode and surrounding structures will be used to avoid damage in continuous operation of the source. Well established wall conditioning techniques will be used to reduce contamination of the films from the inner surfaces of the vacuum chamber. Partnering with both a major coatings company and with a major manufacturer of heavy machinery, that require low-friction, hard-coatings for components, will enhance this Phase II project with valuable in-kind support, as well as a clear path to the Phase III commercialization. Boron coatings have excellent hardness, tribological (low friction) and corrosion resistance properties. Their high temperature and combustion environment compatibility would make them ideal for advanced automotive applications. For example, such coatings could potentially eliminate the need for added lubricants in high temperature, low heat loss diesel engines, leading to substantial reduction in particulate emissions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Klepper, C. Christopher HY-TECH RESEARCH CORP VA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 399996 5373 MANU 9146 1444 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078403 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Nanolaminate Structural Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project deals with the fabrication of ultra high strength Polymer/Metal Multi-layers (PML) nanolaminates. In Phase I, Sigma Technologies has demonstrated that the Aluminum/Polymer nanolaminates have distinctive advantages over Aluminum, (a) a superior tensile strength (over 3 fold in some cases), (b) and a lower density. Furthermore, Sigma has developed, based on experimental results, a numerical model to predict the tensile strength of multilayer composites. The attractive features of the PML composites have generated a significant interest in this product by a major aerospace and avionics OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer. Additional functionality of this composite includes ultra-high gas and vapor barrier, high electrical conductivity, electromagnetic shielding, preferential heat conductivity that is useful for low observable applications, and structural self-monitoring characteristics. In Phase II, Sigma will further optimize the properties of the PML composites and upgrade equipment that is already in place to produce 7ft x 4ft PML panels. Parts will be tested independently by Sigma and its industrial and university partners. Market research has shown that several applications may be served by the multifunctional structural PML composites. Sigma will follow a systematic plan to identify niche markets and supply samples for evaluation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Yializis, Angelo SIGMA TECHNOLOGIES INTL., INC. AZ T. James Rudd Standard Grant 399996 5373 CVIS 1057 0106000 Materials Research 0078419 February 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Planar Magnetic Levitation Technology for Precision Microelectronics Manufacturing Equipment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a planar magnetic levitator/positioner for precision microelectronics manufacturing equipment. Based on feasibility proven in Phase I, Phase II will design, construct, and test a minimum-actuator maglev stage that can be readily integrated in a process tool. A single-moving maglev platen will be driven in all six degrees of freedom with three levitation motors. The platen will generate large two-dimensional motions for transportation with small four-axis motions for alignment and small adjustments. It will lead to a clean-room compatible, lightweight, compact, inexpensive structure that can meet demanding dynamic performance requirements in next-generation precision microelectronics manufacturing. Magnetic levitation has many potential applications in microelectronics manufacturing equipment that require precise planar position control, such as wafer steppers, wafer handlers, wire bonders, surface profilometers, scanned probe microscopes, and precision inspection machines. This technology is expected to figure prominently in the highly competitive microelectronics manufacturing capital equipment industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Lovelace, Edward SATCON TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 341175 5373 MANU 9147 0308000 Industrial Technology 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0078444 December 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Whole Wafer Thermal Imaging for Real-Time Process Monitoring and Control. 0078444 Latvakoski This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a real-time, whole wafer sensor for process monitoring and fault detection in advanced semiconductor and thin film fabrication processes. The production of future semiconductor and optoelectronic devices will depend critically on continued advances in process sensing and control. In present-day manufacturing, process yield and productivity are limited by the high sensitivity of layer properties to process conditions, and by an inability to control process conditions adequately throughout the process sequence. Current technology relies primarily on open-loop control using indirect sensor signals; a costly practice resulting in significant scrap and equipment downtime for preventative maintenance. To address this problem through improved closed loop control, this project will develop a high performance imaging radiometer with advanced thermographic and wafer mapping algorithms. Phase II includes hardware, software, and applications development that addresses important components of the sensor technology for monitoring blanket and patterned substrates. The sensor will provide near video-rate, spatially resolved whole wafer measurements of temperature and film properties from a model-based analysis of thermal radiance images. In-house testing on a rapid thermal processing tool and field testing on a MOCVD reactor will be performed. Potential commercial applications are anticipated in optimization and control of many advanced semiconductor fabrication processes such as rapid thermal processing (RTP), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Improved whole wafer sensors have potential for significant increase in the number of process steps performed by RTP and thus increase the RTP as a generic process method. The commercial benefits of an in-situ wafer state sensor include reduced scrap, reduced equipment preventative maintenance, improved process efficiency, and improved device uniformity and performance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Cosgrove, Joseph Advanced Fuel Research, Inc. CT Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 399991 5373 MANU 9147 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0078454 August 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Blind Fastener Inflation for Structural Joining of Aluminum. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project continues the development of a hyper-pressure fluid pulse system for installation of blind structural fasteners. Riveting is the preferred method of assembling load-bearing aluminum airframe structures. Upset riveting requires the application of high load to both ends of the rivet using impact or hydraulic pistons. A structural fastener that could be installed from one side of the structure - blind fastening - would simplify aircraft assembly and repair. Existing blind fasteners are expensive, time-consuming and do not match the corrosion and fatigue performance of upset rivets. Phase I of this project demonstrated that a compact, hyper-pressure pulse generator can inflate aluminum alloy rivets with an interference fit and strength approaching conventionally upset rivets. Blind fastening was demonstrated in unsupported aluminum panels. Phase I analysis showed that rivet inflation can be accomplished with a much smaller tool. The Phase II effort will involve the development of a lightweight, hand-held tool with an enhanced trigger mechanism that will provide the pulse control required for reliable fastener installation. The work will continue the development of techniques for inflating rivets with aluminum pins to form a solid, all-aluminum fastener. The objective in Phase II is to meet the performance specifications for a fluid-tight aerospace structural rivet. Airframe assembly represents a major portion of the cost of military and commercial aircraft. The process to be developed will halve the cost of manual airframe fabrication and can be used in an automated flexible-manufacturing environment. There are a variety of other potential applications of hyper-pressure pulse technology including: fastening composite/titanium airframes; automotive aluminum sheet bonding; pulsed-jet peening for stress-relief and forming of aluminum sheet; and research into the behavior of materials under dynamic loading at extreme pressures. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kolle, Jack TEMPRESS TECHNOLOGIES, INC WA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 349922 5373 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078459 December 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Reliable, Low Cost Support System for Flywheel Energy Storage. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will result in the development of a prototype flywheel energy storage system (FESS) utilizing the innovative passive, non-contacting bearing developed in the Phase I project. This new type of passive magnetic support and damping (PMSD) system consists of integrated stiffness and damping elements in a configuration that overcomes the most significant problems of previous systems. The new bearing technology will result in a more efficient, more reliable, and less expensive FESS than is currently available. The resulting FESS will facilitate the use of alternative energy systems in remote and/or hostile environments. Phase II efforts will focus on 2 objectives: (1) The refinement and experimental validation of design equations predictive of PMSD performance; and (2) The development, installation, and testing of PMSD systems in a prototype FESS. The FESS system for the prototype will be a commercial unit provided by the commercialization partner, and modified to accommodate the new technology. The partner currently manufactures FESS for commercial power quality and uninterruptible power supplies applications. Follow-on funding commitments and other agreements have been secured from the Alaska Science and Technology Foundation and from the commercialization partner to pursue additional technical work and for Phase III commercialization. In addition to providing storage for alternative energy systems, there are numerous commercial applications for FESS incorporating the PMSD technology including utility load leveling and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). The commercialization partner expects that the combination of technical and cost advantages demonstrated in Phase I would enable rapid market acceptance and encourage application of FESS in new markets. The PMSD technology is also applicable to turbo-molecular pumps (TMPs). These are used in the manufacture of silicon chips and in scientific instrumentation requiring high vacuums. Predicted market penetration into these areas is in excess of 18,000 units per year by 2005 and in excess of 30,000 units per year by 2009. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Imlach, Joseph Imlach Consulting Engineering AK Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 483061 5373 EGCH 9197 9150 0311000 Polar Programs-Related 0078467 December 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: A Computerized Test Battery to Evaluate Workplace Stresses. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project from RSK Assessments, Inc. will expand and improve upon the test battery implemented for Phase I, including cross validation, examination of other behavioral scoring approaches (signal detection theory, Bayesian methods), other agents (viz., sleep loss) as well as the interplay of these methods on special purpose hardware and new software. Phase I examined the feasibility of conducting human performance-based fitness-for-duty (FFD) testing as an alternative to chemically-based testing. The testing method was brief and inexpensive, and the tests were stable and reliable. Using a multiple cut-off analysis varying proportion of tests passed, they yielded 98+% specificity (minimal false positives) with 80% sensitivity for high dosages of alcohol (and 60% for low). The new battery tightens security, running within self-contained kiosks and providing data encryption and access via smart card usage. Improved managerial control will be implemented within the test system, including test control and scheduling, data analysis methods, and reporting. Additional means of quantifying behavioral decrements will be obtained from sleep deprivation research, analyses of past alcohol research, and an "alpha" test site. Data from these sources will yield a better assessment model and refine calculations for tradeoff between test length, specificity, and sensitivity. RSK Assessments proffers a tool for testing human performance that could facilitate higher productivity in industrial plants, a means of testing employees while in the field, and reduction in worker on-the-job injuries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kennedy, Robert RSK Assessments Incorporated FL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 379144 5373 EGCH 9197 1180 0000912 Computer Science 0108000 Software Development 0078468 October 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Advanced Positron Beam Source. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop and demonstrate a laboratory prototype of the Advanced Positron Beam Source (APBS) that will provide a high quality pulsed positron beam suitable for a range of analytical instruments for materials science. The project extends the latest developments in techniques to accumulate positrons from a radioactive source in Penning traps. The technical objectives of the Phase I project were fully achieved. The technical objectives of Phase II are: (1) to develop a compact, low-cost, two-stage positron trap; (2) to develop an advanced cryogenic positron moderator system; (3) to develop a high- performance positron buncher; (4) to refine the Phase I approach for extracting positrons from the magnetic field of the trap; and (5) to assemble and demonstrate the APBS system. If successful, this project will provide the basis for commercialization of the APBS in Phase III. A major obstacle to the commercial exploitation of positron-based surface analytical techniques has been the lack of a suitable slow positron beam source. The APBS will fill this need by providing a compact, low-cost, user-friendly positron beam source that can function ultimately as a turnkey system in an industrial environment. The APBS will have advanced performance characteristics that are not available from any other system. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Greaves, Rod First Point Scientific, Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 588491 5373 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078469 September 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Environmentally Compatible Recycling Method for Cadmium Telluride Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop an electrochemical method specific to recycling photovoltaic modules, which contain extremely low quantities of hazardous metals in large bulk-streams. It uses an innovative closed-loop approach to remove, separate, and regenerate semiconductor films in a single compact system, and do it with minimum waste. Phase I identified key process parameters, focusing on efficient removal and recovery of semiconductors from devices. Retrieval of sulfur-free cadmium telluride demonstrated method feasibility. Phase II will design a practical system to recycle the entire module for in-plant or centralized applications. It will identify the optimum parameters to delaminate modules, dissolve semiconductors, regenerate useful semiconductor precursor films, and re-utilize the electrolyte. The research will lead to a viable prototype recycling capability featuring low cost, high efficiency, low cycle-time, and production line amenability. Converting defective panels into efficient modules will lead to rapid turn-around and high production yields. Potential commercial applications are expected in the photovoltaic industry with a solution to managing hazardous waste disposal and improvement in module production yield. It has short-term applications for recycling other end-of-life products such as flat panel displays, infrared detectors, and mirror scrap. Benefits are anticipated in increased productivity, large savings in disposal costs, recovery of scarce raw materials, and enhanced commercial success of the emerging cadmium telluride photovoltaic industry, which has grown 50-fold in production capacity within two years. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Menezes, Shalini InterPhases Solar, Inc. CA George B. Vermont Standard Grant 400000 5373 MANU 9153 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078470 August 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Chemically Resistant Gas Separation Perfluoromembranes. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase II project will optimize and scale up the system developed in Phase I (a nonporous perfluoromembrane system for harsh gas separations). These nonporous perfluoromembrane systems provide industry for the first time with a system (membrane module, glue lines, potting, valves, etc.) that has good gas transport rates and separation capabilities composed totally of perfluorocomponents. In Phase I, laboratory testing and economic evaluations showed these membranes could economically remove hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and key non-condensable gases from chlor-alkali tail gases and in so doing dramatically enhance the recovery of chlorine. Analysis comparing the Compact Membrane Systems, Inc. (CMS) technology to alternative membrane and other unit operations (e.g. absorption) technologies, indicated the CMS technology is significantly superior. Large sheet nonporous perfluoromembrane fabrication has been demonstrated in Phase I. All the key components are in place for large scale module fabrication in Phase II. In Phase II we will optimize and scale up the system. Detailed and representative (-20oC) end use testing and long term testing will be conducted in the laboratory prior to field testing. While the focus of this program is chlor-alkali harsh chemical separations, other harsh chemical processes (e.g. fluorochemical synthesis) will be considered. Our close working relationship with a number of large membrane manufacturers and end users allows us to rapidly and effectively drive this program. Phase I testing was done using both single gas testing and mixed gas testing. Materials evaluated include chlorine, Cl2CF2, SF6, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and helium. Results showed mixed gas results were equal or superior to single gas results. This suggests that minimal plasticization or other anomalies are occurring within the system. This would suggest we can project actual end use performance accurately. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Bowser, John COMPACT MEMBRANE SYSTEMS, INC DE Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 686048 5373 MANU AMPP 9251 9178 9163 9146 1414 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078471 October 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: A Novel Integrated Bioleaching Process for Chalcopyrite: An Alternative to Smelting. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is developing a novel electrobiochemical leaching (EBL) approach to recover copper from chalcopyrite, providing an alternative to smelting. Chalcopyrite is the most common copper ore, yet it is difficult to process hydrometallurgically because it passivates due to formation of refractory surface layers. The EBL approach in Phase 1 was shown to prevent this passivation and to result in faster and more complete copper extraction than conventional bioleaching approaches. The Phase II research objectives are to: 1) demonstrate the versatility of the process by determining the extent of copper extraction from different sources of chalcopyrite ore; 2) determine the optimum bioreactor configurations for the EBL approach; and 3) make a large laboratory scale (50 to 100 kg) demonstration of the process for determining preliminary process economics. The research will measure the extent of copper extraction and extraction kinetics by EBL, including the determination of metallurgical balances. The results of the Phase II research will provide the data required to establish preliminary economic feasibility of the process and to convince investors or operators (mining company) to support a pilot scale demonstration. If successful, the EBL approach will provide a new technology in mineral extractions that will open additional reserves of copper in the US and elsewhere and reduce smelting of copper. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Olson, Gregory LITTLE BEAR LABORATORIES INC CO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 322708 5373 EGCH 9197 1179 0118000 Pollution Control 0078473 September 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Engineered Lumber from Sawmill Residue. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will enable conversion of low value residual edgings from sawmill operations into a structural quality engineered wood composite called Structural Strand Lumber (SSL). Edgings are created at sawmills when round logs are sawn into rectangular pieces of lumber. The SSL concept is to cut these edgings into strands, align them directionally, and then glue and compress them into a high value product. Edging material currently is used for low value wood chips for use in paper production. The SSL process will enable sawmills to convert up to 14% more of forest raw materials into structural quality lumber compared to conventional practices. SSL manufacturing will yield a high value added wood product, dramatically reduce waste, reduce demand on natural resources, and increase sawmill operating efficiency. These benefits will reduce dramatically the environmental impacts of sawmill operations. Phase I research provided a fundamental understanding of key processes, and clearly demonstrated the feasibility of the SSL concept. Phase II will demonstrate the operation of critical SSL components, and enable a manufacturing facility prototype demonstration early in the Commercialization Phase. If the research is successful, dramatic increases in the fraction of a log that can be used for quality structural materials will result. The cost of the engineered material will be competitive with solid high-grade structural material. The method is applicable to virtually all sawmills operating in the United States and around the world. More efficient utilization of existing wood supply will be enabled by this innovation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Schmidt, Ernest WYOMING SAWMILLS INC WY T. James Rudd Standard Grant 749999 5373 MANU 9163 9153 9150 0118000 Pollution Control 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078474 August 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Fabrication of Low-Cost Modules Incorporating Microporous Silica Membranes for Natural Gas Purification. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project addresses development of economical membrane-based devices primarily suitable for: (a) purification of sub-quality raw natural gas to pipeline quality and (b) carbon dioxide recovery from enhanced oil recovery operations. A large fraction of domestic natural gas reserves are uneconomical for recovery based on current market conditions because they contain significant amounts of non-methane gas. Membrane-based devices are currently commercially employed to purify sub-quality natural gas, but membranes with improved productivity compared to now state-of-the-art devices are required to allow economic use of currently unrecoverable natural gas. The overall objective of this program is to develop an innovative fabrication approach to incorporate microporous silica membranes within low-cost, highly compact modules. Microporous silica membranes exhibit combinations of carbon dioxide permeance and CO2/CH4 selectivity that are unrivaled by conventional organic gas separation membranes, but have not yet been incorporated in low-cost modules to allow their commercialization. Commercial availability of such modules would greatly reduce costs associated with upgrading sub-quality natural gas reserves. In Phase I, the feasibility of the novel module fabrication approach was demonstrated. In Phase II, the separation properties of very small modules will be improved through systematic optimization of processing. Modules with ca. 0.1 m2 membrane area will be fabricated and tested for extended duration for separation of simulated raw natural gas, and a detailed manufacturing scheme with related costs will be developed in preparation for commercialization of the technology. The devices to be developed in this program would significantly reduce costs associated with purification of gas streams in the following applications: natural gas upgrading, carbon dioxide recovery from enhanced oil recovery operations, and biogas processing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Higgins, Richard CeraMem Corporation MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 400000 5373 AMPP 9165 1414 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078486 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Improvement of Spatial Resolution in Scanning Microwave Microscopy. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase II project focuses on the improvement of spatial resolution in microwave microscopy, reducing in particular the measurement sampling area over which sheet resistance and dielectric permittivity at 1 GHz - 20 GHz can be determined with numerical accuracy. A particular focus will be on proprietary semiconductor applications and on the imaging of dielectric properties. Modifications of the existing prototype as required for this goal will lead to additional applications in fields of economic and academic importance, including the non-contact measurement of the electric field dependence and the frequency dependence of the dielectric permittivity at microwave frequencies. Work at Neocera will include instrument modifications, test sample preparation, and a thorough analysis of the probe-sample interactions. Numerical simulations, semiconductor sample preparation, and comparison to an instrument based on a different feedback mechanism will be per-formed through a subcontract with the University of Maryland. The result of this Phase II SBIR will be an instrument developed for a particular (proprietary) semiconductor application, leading to a multi-million dollar market. In addition, the technology will be available for various research applications, with universities being potential customers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Schwartz, Andrew NEOCERA INC MD Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 396537 5373 AMPP 9163 1775 0106000 Materials Research 0078525 September 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Computer-Assisted Document Interpretation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the outdated methods by which companies use material and process specifications. Specifications are a fact of life for any organization involved in complex manufacturing (e.g., aerospace, automotive, materials). Specifications are comprehensive and voluminous documents, covering hundreds of different key characteristics. The constant reading, checking, and analyzing of specifications is extremely labor-intensive, quality-impacting, and time-consuming. During Phase I research, the feasibility of the concept was successfully determined, and a conceptual design solution for tools was created which provides computer-assistance in the interpretation of specification requirements. The conceptual solution is based on the theories of Information Extraction and the analysis of specification content within the context of a meta-specification created as a result of prior NSF-sponsored research. This meta-specification provides an ontology for capturing the semantic knowledge contained in the text of specifications. The Phase II objectives are to build a working prototype of the solution as the foundation for potential full-scale commercialization. The tools created as a result of this prototype will be used to convert existing text-based specifications into the computer-sensible ontology. The Phase II solution is not attempting to totally automate the interpretation process. Instead, the focus is on innovative approaches for providing computer assistance in the semantic analysis of a limited domain of documents. The organizations which have their processing, inspecting, and testing controlled by specifications are extremely interested in using tools that access specifications in an intelligent, computerized format. These organizations include the United States Government as well as suppliers and prime contractors in American industry. This effort could 'jump-start' an entire industry related to providing tools for the computer-assisted analysis of specification requirements. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sokol, Dan COHESIA CORPORATION OH Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 750000 5373 HPCC 9139 0000912 Computer Science 0078527 January 1, 2001 SBIR/STTR Phase II: Development of Stable Membrane-Based Gas-Liquid Contactors for SO2 Removal from Flue Gas. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will demonstrate the enhanced performance of membrane-based gas-liquid contactors to abate SO2 emissions from flue gas. SO2 present in flue gas streams leads to deforestation and damage to crops and property as a result of its participation in the formation of acid rain. In Phase I, Compact Membrane Systems, Inc. (CMS) developed a nonporous perfluorocopolymer composite membrane designed for use in membrane-based gas liquid contactors to scrub flue gas of SO2 using an aqueous absorbent solution. This membrane is designed to overcome the major drawbacks of conventional microporous supports, i.e. progressive wetting out of the microporous substrate by the (typically) aqueous absorbent and in some instances salt precipitation at the liquid-gas interface. In addition to all the operational advantages of membrane contactors, CMS membranes result in sustained improved SO2 removal efficiencies. During Phase I it was demonstrated that this membrane permeated SO2, scrubbed a flue gas simulant gas stream of SO2 as well as if not better than a conventional microporous membrane contactor under identical conditions, and showed no loss in performance despite exposure to an acidified silica suspension. Phase II will scale-up the process to employ large pilot-scale contactors, study absorbent regeneration technologies, demonstrate the whole process on a pilot-scale combustor, and demonstrate that the CMS system offers better efficiencies and economics of flue gas removal compared to existing systems. The enhanced performance of membrane-based gas-liquid contactors to abate SO2 emissions from flue gas is of considerable interest to ore processors, pulp and paper industries, many oil and natural gas processors (particularly those which have to treat tail gases from gas sweetening processes), power plants employing coal as a fossil fuel, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Majumdar, Sudipto COMPACT MEMBRANE SYSTEMS, INC DE George B. Vermont Standard Grant 403656 5373 EGCH 9251 9197 9178 1179 0118000 Pollution Control 0078536 September 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Aligned Carbon Nanotubes for Use as Atomic Force Microscope Tips. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to establishing the first-ever, large-scale production capability needed to manufacture carbon nanotube tips for scanning probe tools. To achieve this, the investigator must combine several fabrications technologies in a unique way. The investigator must also solve challenging problems related to the design, structural form and attachment of the tips themselves that will enable them, as the manufacturer, to guarantee that the products sold meets customers' performance specifications. It is believed, for example, that one of their proprietary technologies will enable them to produce carbon nanotube tips that meet the important requirement for adequate stiffness in lateral bending. The core technology being commercialized stems from a new approach for growing a single, aligned carbon nanotube directly on a cantilever, originally identified by the PI. This approach is suitable for fabricating both the carbon nanotube tip and the cantilever in one continuous process, ideal for large-scale manufacturing. Xidex will develop, manufacture and sell carbon nanotube tips for use with critical dimension atomic force microscopes (CD-AFMs), scanning capacitance microscopes (SCMs), regular atomic force microscopes (AFMs) and scanning tunneling microscopes (STMs) SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Mancevski, Vladimir XIDEX CORPORATION TX Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 369369 5373 HPCC 9139 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0078548 October 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Antigen-Mediated Selection of Hybridomas. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop a rapid, sensitive and highly specific method for monoclonal antibody production and hybridoma cell line development by combining single cell gel microdrop (GMD) encapsulation technology, a novel protein capture format, and fluorescence activated cell sorting. Using insulin as a model antigen, Phase I studies demonstrated that individual cells, which comprised a 1% sub-population of a heterogeneous population, could be rapidly isolated based on both secretion level and antigen specificity of the secreted antibody. Phase II research will optimize the assay format by permitting simultaneous analysis of other antibody properties, including antibody isotype and blocking properties. Using newly fused hybridomas, Phase II research will isolate and enrich productive clones and compare results with conventional methods which require use of time consuming and labor intensive limiting dilution cloning. Monoclonal antibodies are widely used as research, therapeutic, diagnostic, and imaging reagents, and are increasingly used in the emerging field of proteomics for discovering new drug targets and locating disease specific markers. The GMD method will reduce production time and costs, improve antibody quality and yield, and permit isolation of rare cells. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Akselband, Yevgenya ONE CELL SYSTEMS, INC MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 510714 5373 BIOT 9251 9231 9183 9178 9102 1136 0201000 Agriculture 0078551 August 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Material for Efficient Laser Diode-Pumped Laser and Upconversion Phosphor Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will focus on improving solution growth of Nd and Yb,Pr-doped NaYF4 single crystals. Two alternate techniques are proposed: top seeded solution growth and traveling solvent zone. Phase I results indicate that spectroscopically Nd:NYF is superior to YAG and YLF and as good or better than YVO4 as a laser diode-pumped laser; and that Yb,Pr:NaYF4 is a 1.3 micron emitter with favorable properties for use in telecommunications. In a parallel effort to crystal growth, laser evaluation of NYF will continue through laser tests and by measurements of NYF's thermo-optic properties. In Phase I a very efficient single phase green emitter Yb,Er :NYF phosphor was demonstrated. A second thrust of this Phase II effort will then be to develop synthesis processes of granular doped NYF materials for their use in 2-D and 3-D displays. Combinations of Yb,RE-doped NYF will be prepared to extend the range of colors to red and blue. Nd:NYF is seen as a superior material to YLF and YAG for compact diode pumped lasers and an economical alternative to Nd:YVO4 currently used. Yb, Pr: NYF can be used as amplifiers for telecommunications in the important 1.3 micron wavelength range. NYF phosphors, dispersed in plastic hosts can be used in 2 and 3-D transparent displays for head mounted applications such as air traffic control, medicine, autos and aircraft. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Cassanho, Arlete AC MATERIALS, INC. FL Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 398330 5373 AMPP 9163 9102 1775 0106000 Materials Research 0078556 September 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Investigation of Ferroelectric Materials with Properties Optimized for Electron Emission. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project was motivated by recent research demonstrating that ferroelectric cathodes using commercial ferroelectric materials that were optimized for transducer applications can produce current densities in excess of 30 Amperes per square centimeter at 500,000 Volts, and can sustain an emission pulse (at 50,000 Volts) for a time in excess of 2 microseconds. Under the Phase I project ferroelectric materials optimized for use as cathodes were fabricated and tested, and promising materials were identified for further testing and optimization. The objective of the Phase II project will be to demonstrate a ferroelectric material with emission characteristics and lifetime meeting industry-defined requirements for application as a cathode in a commercial electron tube. Phase II research will include cathode testing at 20,000 volts, 1 microsecond with hundreds of pulses per second, characterization of the electron beam produced by the ferroelectric cathode according to size, energy and emittance, and validation testing of the cathode at an electron tube manufacturer's facility under commercial operating conditions. It is anticipated that these tests will demonstrate the efficacy of the ferroelectric cathode materials developed under this project for use in commercial electron tubes. Cathodes are used in a wide variety of microwave tubes. Applications include radar, communications, radio and TV transmission, accelerators for medical, waste treatment, environmental and research applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Len, Lek FM TECHNOLOGIES INC VA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 399880 5373 AMPP 9163 1774 0106000 Materials Research 0078563 September 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Advanced DSP Toolkit For Java. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will contribute mathematical services in signal and image processing for distributed Java computing. A major component of internetworked information is digital images and audio signals. Current vector, signal, and image processing standards are evaluated to achieve advanced signal processing for Java. Phase I emphasized the design, algorithms, and Java relevance. VSIP (vector signal and image processing) constitutes a viable option for commercialization in the distributed Java environment. This Phase II effort seeks to bridge the gap between the theoretical and the commercial for VSIP in Java, while identifying operational modes and service requirements for this non-traditional programming environment. If successful, a huge community of Java programmers in academia, industry, and government could be enabled, as well as all the service recipients whose applications exploit such as library. Standardization for platform independence is a critical issue for Internet applications. An advanced commercially DSP toolkit would provide for a greater level of portability for signal-processing-intensive Internet applications. This would provide for better support for processing audio/visual information in valuable application settings. Embedded Java applications will make use of the toolkit to provide advanced signal analysis capabilities with mobility, portability, and high quality. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Watkins, Andrew MPI Software Technology, Inc. AL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 376481 9150 5373 OTHR HPCC 9216 9215 9150 0000912 Computer Science 0078580 September 15, 2000 SBIR/STTR Phase II: Gas-Cluster Ion Source for Mass Spectrometer and Microelectronic Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will design, fabricate and test a prototype gas-cluster ion-beam (GCIB) sputtering tool for depth profiles with monolayer-specific surface analysis of thin films. Applications will be to multilayer thin films of key importance in the microelectronics industries including semiconductors, metals in magnetic sensors, and dielectrics in photonic and micro-optical devices. The sputtering tool is expected to meet aggressive performance specifications including depth resolution of less than 1 nm in conjunction with mass spectrometry. This GCIB tool will be designed particularly for in-situ sputtering with surface-analytical instruments including the secondary-ion mass spectrometer (SIMS), the Auger electron spectrometer (AES) and the x-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS). The overriding motivation is the critical need in microelectronics for techniques to obtain accurate sputter depth measurements. The Phase-I effort demonstrated those GCIB methods with argon clusters sputter with near-atomic smoothness, high depth resolution and high secondary-ion yields. Minor instrumental design issues limited the cluster beam exposure uniformity and this artificially limited the average depth resolution measured. Straightforward engineering solutions are well known and are expected to yield improvements in Phase II that will provide depth resolution of well below 1 nm. The proposed technology will enable analysis of next-generation microelectronics devices having much thinner films. Epion is the first and only to manufacture GCIB systems. The tool to be prototyped will enable and have a wide applicability to many areas of the electronic materials processing and manufacturing industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Fenner, David EPION CORPORATION MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 398416 5373 AMPP 9163 1775 0106000 Materials Research 0078582 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Design-Based Developments for Pump Cavitation Control. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is to provide the means to reliably calculate turbopump stiffness and damping matrices based on dynamic force measurements collected using a magnetic bearing rig. During Phase I exploratory development of a high suction specific speed (NSS) = 65,000 rocket engine turbopump pump stage was carried out and laid the foundation for this project. A complementary Phase I project for NASA focused on an NSS = 85,000 stage. Earlier Air Force funding concentrated on demonstrating magnetic bearings as a useful lab instrument. More recent breakthroughs include a novel fix for auto-oscillation and establishing the structure of an innovative dynamic force matrix measurement methodology. The primary challenge in this work is to isolate those forces on the rotor (with and without cavitation) due to the interaction of the impeller with the stator using innovative test and signal processing techniques. By testing a series of impellers, a database of rotordynamic coefficients will be established based on component dynamic force data. An additional objective is to evaluate the capability of CFD for replicating those physical force measurements. The goal is to create scientifically based design methods for lighter high-performance turbopumps. Smaller, lighter, and higher speed rocket engine turbopumps are required to meet lower space launch cost requirements. Successful accomplishment of this fundamentally based approach for measuring component specific rotor dynamic forces and a method for using experimental results on a broader basis in the design process can lead to a breakthrough technology. It will enable turbopump designers to overcome current thresholds due to hydraulic induced rotor dynamic instabilities. In addition to reducing equipment size and cost, reliability will improve. The technology is also applicable to industrial turbomachinery including industrial pumps, aircraft engine fuel pumps, and compressors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Baun, Daniel CONCEPTS ETI, INC. VT Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 399883 5373 MANU 9148 1464 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078583 September 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: 3D Volumetric Image Display. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is to develop a new computer peripheral: a Volumetric Image Display system that displays 3D images in a real space. Many viewers can walk around the display and see the 3D images from omni-directions without special glasses. The overall business objectives corresponding to this project are to develop and implement the technologies required for building the VID product, to demonstrate the market viability, and to complete the financial preparation for Phase III. In order to speed up commercialization, a Basic Model product will be completed in year 1. It will feature a flexible configuration and good specifications to address the initial need in various fields. Marketing will then begin in year 2 to test market and seek business alliances, using the Basic Model as a demonstration platform as well as an evaluation product. A low-volume manufacturing procedure will be established to support initial sales. In year 2, techniques that further improve product color and gray scale will be developed and demonstrated. We already have a Phase III funding commitment. Based on the demonstrated market viability and technical readiness, a new business plan will be prepared to raise additional funding commitments to complete the finance preparation for Phase III. The marketing goals also include obtaining at least one development contract from a major corporation, as part of the Phase III finance. Market analysis indicates great commercial potential in four major segments: medical, computer aided design and engineering, visual data analysis, and computer gaming. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Tsao, Che-Chih ACT Research Corporation MA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 423999 5373 HPCC 9251 9231 9178 9139 6855 0104000 Information Systems 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078585 December 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: IBEX - Restoring Functional Mobility in the Elderly Through In-Bed Exercise. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project completes development of a production In-Bed Exerciser (IBEX) and tests its efficacy. This unique, active exerciser is a portable and efficient means of giving, in bed, physical therapy sufficient to maintain or restore the walking muscles of bedridden people. Geriatrics are especially vulnerable to bed confinement; they can lose ability to walk after 5-10 days. Becoming bedridden is a leading indicator of mortality for the elderly. A growing elderly population, a shortage of Physical Therapists, their inability to provide force levels and intensity of exercise needed, and pressure to constrain medical costs, demand such a machine. The Company has innovated a portable exerciser that attaches to the bed, is computer controlled, provides bilateral, reciprocal or one-leg exercise and records performance. Phase I demonstrated feasibility. The objective of this SBIR Phase II project is to use scientifically designed clinical trials to prove efficacy. Results are the prelude to successful commercialization according to the enclosed plan. The greatest social benefit will be improved quality of life for the elderly. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Greenwald, Richard SYNERGY INNOVATIONS INC NH George B. Vermont Standard Grant 399659 5373 BIOT 9184 5342 0116000 Human Subjects 0203000 Health 0078608 December 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Simulation of Rapid Thermal Processing in a Distributed Computing Environment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will continue to develop and demonstrate a computational tool for detailed simulation of Rapid thermal processing (RTP) in a distributed computing environment by taking advantages of the findings in Phase I. RTP has become a key technology in the fabrication of advanced semiconductor devices. As wafers get larger and chip dimensions smaller, the understanding of the highly coupled physics such as radiative heat transfer, transient fluid flow and heat transfer as well as chemical reactions through numerical modeling using high-performance computing is the key to the design, optimization, and control of RTP reactors. In Phase II, A 3D surface radiation model based on the modified discrete transfer method (MDTM) will be developed to treat radiative transfer in the lamphouse and process chamber as a whole process. The detailed pattern effects will be taken into account by rigorously solving time-domain Maxwell's equations through a finite volume approach. The rarefied gas dynamics in low pressure RTP will be modeled by adding Burnett terms into the Navier-Stokes equations. The governing equations that contain various multi-disciplinary physical models will be solved by a 3D unstructured finite volume method. To address computationally intensive 3D simulation needs, an efficient parallel strategy will be implemented in the solution procedure. Data communication among parallel processors will be conducted by the Message Passing Interface (MPI) library. To accelerate the overall solution convergence and improve the parallel performance, the algebraic multi-grid (AMG) method will be used to solve the discretized equations in each processor. It is expected that the proposed simulation tool can be used to systematically investigate the underlying physics occurring in RTP systems, and to help in the design, optimization, and control of RTP reactors. The proposed simulation tool will significantly benefit the semiconductor manufacturing equipment industries that require a detailed understanding of multimode and highly coupled transport phenomena. The potential applications include the design, optimization, and control of RTP reactors and many other manufacturing and materials processing systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Liu, Jiwen ENGINEERING SCIENCES, INC. AL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 399576 5373 MANU 9150 9146 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0078617 August 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Microminiature, High Resolution, Passive Peak Strain Detector for Smart Structures and Materials. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project combines hermetically packaged, differential variable reluctance transducers (DVRT) capable of peak strain detection (PD) with shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators to produce improved passive PDs. These detectors can withstand harsh environmental conditions, e.g., moisture, salt, vibration, and can be reset for repeated uses. Sensors in smart structures generally require system power in order to operate, but power outages may result in loss of key data. Therefore, sensors that can record peak information without power, i.e., passively, are needed in smart structures. Earlier passive PDs have relied on measuring the magnetic properties of transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels. However, these devices suffer from bulky size, low resolution, high nonlinearity, and a one time use limitation due to material yielding. This technology addresses these problems by using modified, microminiature DVRT-PDs. Phase I successfully designed, built, and tested hermetic packages, and SMAs were successfully employed for resetting of the devices. Techniques for remote interrogation using radio frequency identity tags were investigated, micropower prototypes were designed and built, and methods for wireless delivery of power to the SMA actuator were demonstrated. In Phase II, highly integrated microelectronics will be combined with the hermetic DVRT-PD packages to produce self-contained, remotely queried and remotely resettable PDs. Novel micropower sensor excitation circuits, capable of long range interrogation, will be built, tested, and packaged for independent laboratory evaluation and eventual field deployment. Field tests will include health monitoring of structural joints, repairs, and supporting members of civil structures, including bridges. The physical attachment of the DVRT-PDs to these structures will be designed for reliability, low cost, and ease of use. Applications include health monitoring of composite structures, aircraft, trains, bridges, dams, and buildings. Military and commercial markets for these systems are significant. Health monitoring has the potential to enhance the safety and life of military, aerospace, and civil structures. Sensate structures equipped with passive networks of peak displacement or strain measurement devices could be interrogated for their response to test loads or potentially damaging events, and either replaced or their embedded sensors reset for future interrogation. Critical civil and military structures require 'smart' sensors in order to report their strain histories; this can help to insure safe operation after exposure to potentially damaging loads, e.g., earthquakes, hurricanes, military combat, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Arms, Steven MICROSTRAIN INC VT Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 486491 5373 OTHR MANU CVIS 9146 1059 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078622 August 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: An Economical Continuous Metal Coating Method for Electronic and Other Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will conduct research to develop a new approach to coating metals continuously and rapidly on large areas of moving substrates. Currently, these types of coatings are electrochemically plated resulting in higher operating costs due to environmental regulations in the U.S. This has added to the declining share of the world market for the U.S. electronic metal-coating industry. Consequently, the Phase I results on the technique have generated interest in the commercial sector and a prototype demonstration is needed for the identified customers. The proposed method is suitable for coating conductive as well as nonconductive substrates, and rigid as well as flexible substrates. In this Phase II project, a prototype will be developed for continuously coating nonconductive substrates used in electronic applications. Then metal coatings will be deposited at a rate better than that of the conventional methods. Further research will be conducted to meet customer's expectations of the coating quality and process economics. In addition, process repeatability will be assured by running the equipment for the identified customers. Finally, the coating price will be determined and a cost benefit analysis will be performed. The proposed method has the potential to reduce operating costs in the intended coating operations substantially. Copper, nickel and other metal coatings are widely plated on nonconductive substrates in several electronic and automotive applications. Typical application include EMI/RFI shielding in cellular phones, conductor lines in printed wiring boards used in computers and flat panel displays, and decorative trims in automobiles. The method to be developed could provide a lower-cost alternative to the conventional methods in use today and make the US. coating industry more competitive in the international market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sunthankar, Mandar IonEdge Corporation CO T. James Rudd Standard Grant 400000 5373 MANU 9163 9153 0118000 Pollution Control 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078635 September 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: CO-Tolerant Pt-Mo Electrocatalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project addresses the development of highly dispersed Pt-Mo electrocatalysts for application as anodes in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Alternative anode electrocatalysts remain a critical development area for the cost reduction and performance enhancement of PEM fuel cells operating on reformate hydrogen fuel. Specifically, there is a need for catalysts that are tolerant to reformate by-products such as CO. Supported Pt-Mo is a leading candidate for the next generation of these catalysts. The Phase I research successfully produced highly dispersed Pt-Mo catalysts supported on Vulcan XC-72 using two distinct methods. The catalysts produced by both methods show excellent hydrogen oxidation characteristics in 0.5 M H2SO4. The performance of these materials in 100 ppm CO/H2 indicated high activity but did not, however, show the degree of CO-tolerance expected on the basis of results from bulk Pt-Mo alloys. These findings were surprising in light of voltammetric evidence that showed electrochemical interaction between Mo and Pt. Phase II of this effort will develop a more comprehensive understanding of the nature of Pt-Mo interactions. The results from the Phase I research at T/J suggest that the promotion of enhanced H2 oxidation at lower potentials in CO/H2 fuel streams is critically dependent upon the nature of the Pt-Mo interaction. We intend to examine the influence of surface composition/coverage of Mo on solid Pt electrode surfaces in the presence of CO/H2 fuel streams as a function of potential using a rotating disk electrode (RDE) system. These fundamental studies of solid electrode surfaces will identify the basis of CO-tolerance. Based on these results, we will pursue rational development of supported Pt-Mo catalysts with the appropriate surface chemistry and structure using three novel dispersion methods. As a part of this work, we will conduct in-depth physicochemical characterization of the catalysts as well as more comprehensive electrochemical analysis. We intend to produce prototype membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for testing in fuel cells. In addition, we will supply catalyst materials for external evaluation by leading catalyst manufacturers. These companies have committed over $840,000 in follow-on funding for this SBIR project. Low cost CO-tolerant catalysts developed under this SBIR project will enable the commercialization of high performance PEM fuel cells operating on reformed hydrogen. Reducing catalyst costs addresses a key obstacle hindering the commercialization of PEMFCs for vehicle propulsion and off-grid electric power generation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Lei, Hanwei T/J Technologies, Inc MI Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 400000 5373 EGCH 9197 1972 1417 0207000 Transportation 0078637 September 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Development of AlGaN Field Emission Cathodes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project focuses on optimization and scale-up of an aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) field emitter technology that could be used for practical applications. Materials have been identified that are very promising to deal with the wide-band-gap for field-emission applications. These materials have low to negative electron affinity. The Phase I project demonstrated various AlGaN compositions that possessed different doping levels for field emission properties. The Phase II project will carry out a detailed and systematic parametric optimization using closely-coupled theoretical modeling and experimentation to produce rugged, low-voltage III-V nitride field emitters. The project will utilize the company's deposition chamber and will demonstrate the effects of composition, doping, ion implantation, substrate temperature and other parameters. Effects of microstructure and conductivity of grain boundaries will also be investigated to develop better understanding of the AlGaN cold cathode technology. The commerical potential for this technology is a compact addressable X-ray source. Additional applications will include electronic coolers, electron guns, solar-blind UV detectors, large-area lighting and flat-panel displays. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kumar, Nalin UHV TECHNOLOGY, INC. TX Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 399995 5373 AMPP 9163 1775 0106000 Materials Research 0078660 August 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Affordable Braille Display Using Novel Microactuators. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project from Orbital Research Inc. will design and test an affordable, multiline refreshable Braille display system (RBDS) able to display computer screen information either from the hard drive or the Internet. The proposed RBDS will combine state-of-the-art microelectromechanical (MEMS) actuators with cutting edge electronic assembly technology to assure ease in manufacturing and robustness. Additionally, Orbital Research will implement a modular architecture that allows for unprecedented versatility through tailoring the Braille surface for various applications requested by the end users. Traditionally, MEMS actuators are very small, cost efficient and low power. However, traditional packaging of the MEMS devices results in a much larger and much more expensive component. In Phase I of this project, Orbital Research as produced a MEMS actuator capable of producing Braille dots. In this phase, Orbital Research will integrate a flexible assembly process to overcome the traditional complexities associated with packaging MEMS actuators. Orbital Research will take full advantage of the features offered by cutting edge manufacturing processes such as MEMS, IC processing, flip-chip and surface mount technologies to assure the final proposed RBDS is light weight and small in size, cost affordable, robust, modula, enables tactile acuity, and is "user friendly." The refreshable Braille Display system proffered by Orbital Research will enhance access to electronic information on the job or at home. It will also provide for enhanced educational and employment opportunities for visually impaired individuals in line with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This device will create employment and research opportunities for the visually impaired, especially for those whose interests extend to mathematics, scientific, and technical fields that require frequent access to reference works in order to perform their tasks efficiently. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Lisy, Frederick ORBITAL RESEARCH INC OH Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 762000 5373 SMET 9251 9180 9178 9102 1138 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0078664 June 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Micro Pulse Lidar for Water Vapor Profiling. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the need for a new generation of laser transmitters for differential absorption lidar (DIAL) measurements of water vapor. Phase II will develop a new laser technology for mini-DIAL measurements of water vapor. DIAL transmitter requirements will be achieved using a revolutionary technology that allows diffraction limited performance from diode bars. These ultra bright diode bars enable efficient end pumped, q-switched, low-gain, quasi-three level lasers. Recently, a laser material that operates directly at the 944.1 nanometer water vapor absorption line has become commercially available. Coupling these two technologies will result in an efficient compact DIAL transmitter. This technology will result in a new class of compact, efficient, and low-cost DIAL transmitters for atmospheric water vapor profiling. Low cost DIAL transmitters are important for future improvements in weather forecasting, global climate models, and understanding of the transmission of communication signals in the atmosphere. In addition, potential commercial applications will be found in the medical and material processing industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Shannon, Dave ACULIGHT CORPORATION WA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 749881 5373 EGCH 9188 0313010 Air Pollution 0078670 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Integrated Diagnostics for Operations and Maintenance of Installed Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will focus on enhancing maintenance operations scheduling methodologies with condition assessment and diagnostic tools to produce an 'integrated' maintenance management system. The company has developed scheduling tools that allocate maintenance resources on the basis of elapsed calendar time and unit utilization. This project will augment these tools with condition assessment modules. If successful, the result would be a generally applicable system combining condition, time, and utilization as drivers for the maintenance process. The project will develop algorithms for condition assessment based on signal processing and feature extraction using both conventional sensors such as accelerometers, and 'next generation' sensors such as eddy current devices, fiber optic sensors, and MEMS sensors. These methods, when applied a maintenance service program, will lead to new methodologies for the synthesis of integrated diagnostics techniques and for the design of new hardware and software systems to realize those techniques for a wide range of practical applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Teolis, Carole Techno-Sciences, Inc. MD Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 773404 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9146 9102 1359 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078672 September 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Three Dimensional Video Motion Detection for Science and Mathematics Learning. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will complete the research and development to product of a low-cost tool for exploratory science and math learning, a three-dimensional motion detector. This device uses a passive optical detection scheme with two ordinary home video cameras as sensors. For at least 15 years, systems that capture and display motion in real-time have been used for studying the meaning of graphs and to investigate physical phenomena, and their educational effectiveness has been researched and documented. To date, all low-cost systems have been constrained to one dimension, and generally use ultrasonic echo location. This project will make 3D-motion detection affordable and competitive with one-dimensional systems when used with schools' existing video equipment. It offers great learning potential by allowing students to build a bridge from their universal 3D-world experience into mathematical space. The Phase II project proceeds along three fronts: refinement of the signal processing hardware, coding of the 'host' software for capture, display, and analysis of the 3D data, and the development and testing of educational activities. The software and activities are targeted for high school mathematics and physics. This small business proffers a hands-on exploratory system to allow students multiple views and ways of understanding the complex study of motion. Several of the largest national distributors of educational electronic laboratory equipment have demonstrated interest in selling and promoting the motion detector. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kimball, Nathan Alberti's Window, LLC MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 399937 5373 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0078706 December 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Bootstrap Tilting Inference and Large Data Sets. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is for development of fast bootstrap confidence intervals and hypothesis tests, and ways to make bootstrapping feasible for large data sets. Classical inference (intervals and tests) methods are known to be inaccurate when theoretical assumptions are violated, the usual case in practice. For example, skewness causes the usual t-test to be in error. The new methods are an order of magnitude (power of sqrt(n), where n is the sample size) more accurate in general than classical inferences. Bootstrap methods are a promising alternative to classical inferences, and can handle complex statistics including modern robust statistics, but are slow and have been little used in practice. The methods proposed are typically 17--37 times faster than other bootstrap methods. The methods are fast enough to be seamlessly incorporated into standard software, alongside or instead of classical inferences. This provides statistical practitioners a realistic alternative to easy but inaccurate classical inferences and non-robust methods. The competitive advantage to the firm that does this first is a major opportunity. Furthermore, the large sample methods would be attractive in the thriving data mining market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Hesterberg, Tim Insightful Corporation WA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 487103 5373 HPCC 9231 9216 9178 1359 1260 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078716 December 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Clinical-Scale Suspension Bioreactor for Primary Hematopoietic Culture. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project describes the development of a disposable, highly efficient suspension bioreactor for primary hematopoietic (blood cell-forming) cell culture. The unique challenges (heterogeneous nature, donor variability, and shear-sensitivity) of these cultures render traditional flask or suspension cultures unable to economically and consistently produce large quantities of cells. In Phase I, the feasibility and characteristics of a disposable suspension bioreactor was demonstrated. In Phase II, a scaled-up prototype of a large, agitated disposable bioreactor designed for clinical use (stem cell transplantation) will be constructed, characterized, and tested for reliability and durability. Gas and mass transfer correlations established in Phase I will be verified and extended. The use of medium optical density as a surrogate measure for cell density will be investigated. The final product will be a system that combines the simple, disposable nature of flask culture with the control and monitoring capabilities of a suspension bioreactor. The resulting system will enable the cost-effective production of large numbers of primary hematopoietic cells and will improve the effectiveness and decrease the cost of medical procedures in the fields of transplantation, immunotherapy, and gene therapy. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG McAdams, Todd Tissue Therapeutics IL George B. Vermont Standard Grant 400000 5373 BIOT 9181 1491 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078718 July 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Rapid Detection of Cyanide. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project will result in the development of two detection systems utilizing Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) capable of rapidly measuring the concentration of cyanide, a highly toxic substance used in large quantities in the extractive metals industry. A portable system will be well suited for use in the field for on-site measurements of cyanide for environmental compliance monitoring. An automated system will be useful for the measurement of cyanide levels in process control of precious metal extractive processes, and in monitoring wells for environmental compliance. Current methods of cyanide analysis give either the total amount of cyanide present in all forms, or that of free cyanide in combination with cyanide in weak acid dissociable (WAD) metal complexes. Our method of cyanide determination will be markedly superior to these methods because it will yield the concentration of free cyanide in addition to that of WAD cyanide. This has very important practical and economic implications for the precious metals extractive industries (e.g., gold and silver mining), since it is free cyanide which is of importance in optimizing metal extraction efficiency, and it is free cyanide which is the species of primary interest from an environmental regulatory standpoint. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Carron, Keith DeltaNu, LLC WY Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 400000 5373 EGCH 9187 9150 1974 0313040 Water Pollution 0078722 October 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Thresholdless Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project's goal is a commercial quality liquid crystal exhibiting V-shaped switching with no hysteresis. This LC will be used in gray-scale displays and telecommunications optical switches. Ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs), due to their fast switching speed and wide viewing angle, have inherent advantages over the more commonly used nematic liquid crystals. However, when used in displays, they have a disadvantage - they generally can be driven to only two states, on and off. Since displays require intermediate gray states, FLCs currently attain gray scale by rapidly switching on and off. This project uses a new type of FLC which, in addition to its speed and viewing angle advantage, also shows analog switching. This type of material, previously known as a "thresholdless antiferroelectric", is now known to be an FLC with a linear optical response to applied field (also known as "V-shaped switching"). This project's objective is to make new liquid crystal compounds and mixtures that exhibit V-shaped switching. Towards that end, a variety of cores, chiral tails, and achiral tails, all of which are either known or suspected to promote a de Vries-type smectic A, have been proposed. About 50 - 100 liquid crystals will be synthesized by combining these various components. These new LCs will be combined with LCs made in the Phase I or earlier, giving mixtures that ideally will have not only a de Vries smectic A phase, but also a wide room-temperature smectic C phase, good low-voltage analog electrooptic response, good alignability, and fast hysteresis-free switching. An optimal alignment layer configuration will be determined. The newly formulated mixtures will be placed in cells containing this alignment layer to give V-shaped switching displays. This project could be instrumental in advancing our knowledge of the root causes of V-shaped switching in FLC and, by extension, add insight into the responses of self-assembling molecules to applied forces. In addition, since the interaction of the alignment layer with the liquid crystal is crucial for V-shaped switching, much more so than for typical FLCs, this project will provide a better understanding of the alignment layer-LC interactions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Thurmes, William Displaytech Incorporated CO Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 328372 5373 AMPP 9163 1762 0106000 Materials Research 0078726 May 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Integrated Microsensors for Detection of Aqueous and Gas Phase Volatile Organic Compounds. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project involves development of an integrated sensor system that will accurately and rapidly measure small quantities of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) both in air and in aqueous environments. At present, no inexpensive sensor system is sufficiently sensitive and rugged for use in continuously monitoring of VOCs in underground water streams, soil, effluent discharge, fugitive emissions and in spent liquid and vapor streams. To capture this business opportunity, this project involves the development of low-cost continuous organic chemical sensors based on the change of fluorescence of dyes embedded in polymeric and sol-gel thin films. This program is innovative in combining sensitive diode laser-excited fluorescence with total internal reflection methods of analysis to provide a continuous monitor of VOCs. The Phase I research program was successful in demonstrating the feasibility developing several highly sensitive polymer/dye films for use in detection of aqueous and gaseous phase VOCs. Detection limits in the part-per-billion (ppb) range for both aqueous and vapor phase trichloroethylene were achieved using fluorescence detection spectroscopy. The Phase II research and development program will accomplish the feasibility demonstrated in Phase I by developing a turnkey sensor system for multiple chemical analysis. The Phase II Research Objectives include synthesis of polymer and sol-gel solid matrices with pendant functional groups, development of a fluorescence monitoring array and algorithms for multi-chemical analysis, design and integration of miniaturized total internal reflection fluorescence array instrument, acquisition of families of test data to establish instrument specifications, and demonstration of the total-internal reflection fluorescence instrument at environmental remediation facilities and a water treatment plant. This sensor platform together with sensitive polymer/dye films is significant in providing rapid on-site identification and quantification of volatile organic compounds and environmental pollutants in groundwater, soil, effluent discharge and fugitive emissions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Aquino, Eugene American Research Corporation of Virginia VA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 412000 5373 MANU EGCH 9251 9187 9178 9146 1472 0300000 Problem-Oriented 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078730 August 15, 2000 SBIR/STTR Phase II: Sol-Gel Processed Thin-Film Nitrogen Oxides Sensors. 0078730 Aruchamy This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop thin-film nitrogen oxide sensors based on novel binary-phased nanocomposites by sol-gel processing. Sol-gel processing offers many advantages for sensor fabrication, including facility and versatility for nano-engineering of the microstructure. In Phase I, such sensor elements have shown much improved microstructure, enhanced sensitivity, and faster response speed than powder-derived sensor elements of the same composition by conventional processing. Thin-film sensors can be readily incorporated with silicon microelectronic technology and conveniently allow miniaturization, low process costs, and high reproducibility. Phase II will systematically optimize the processing, microstructure, and performance of the binary-phased thin-film nitrogen oxides sensors by sol-gel processing. Potential commercial applications of the research are expected in reliable, compact solid-state chemical sensors. This innovation is expected to provide highly stable and sensitive thin-film nitrogen oxides sensors for automotive emission control, industrial processing control, and environmental monitoring. These sensors may be used as stand-alone sensing devices or as sensing units to be integrated into on-chip multifunctional sensors and smart structures. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Aruchamy, Ayyasamy AMSEN TECHNOLOGIES LLC AZ Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 400000 5373 EGCH 9187 1472 0300000 Problem-Oriented 0078754 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Novel Catalyst Substrate for the Preferential Oxidation (PROX) of Carbon Monoxide. 0078754 Precision Combustion, Inc. Menacherry This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project advances the development of an improved catalytic reactor, based on a novel catalyst substrate design, for the preferential oxidation (PROX) of carbon monoxide in a hydrogen rich feed. The Phase I objectives were fully met and demonstrated the viability of this catalyst substrate for substantial reductions in the size, weight and cost of the PROX component and also identified parameters for designing a full scale PROX reactor. This Phase II effort will focus on catalyst optimization and integration of a PROX reactor based on the catalyst substrate in a fuel processor system for automotive fuel cell applications. This potential breakthrough could significantly advance fuel processing technology for automotive fuel cell applications. The proposed technology has the potential to provide near-order of magnitude improvements in fuel processor volume, weight and cost, with a broad range of potential spin off applications to other catalytic reactors. Success with the PROX reactor would lead to exploring use of this substrate for other components in the fuel processor, including the reformer and the Water Gas Shift reactors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Castaldi, Marco Precision Combustion, Inc. CT Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 756000 5373 EGCH 9251 9197 9178 1972 1417 0207000 Transportation 0078774 August 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Digital Cadaver - An Immersive Environment for the Direct Reconstruction of Anatomical Data Sets. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will continue research and development of the Digital Cadaver Environment -- software that makes available to students multiple views of virtual cadavers with improved visual quality of the computed image, an increase in the size and attributes of the data sets used for rendering images, support for automatic configuration of imaging parameter using heuristics, and support for interpolation of missing sections of a user stain document. Marking a unique approach to the application of computer technology to the undergraduate anatomy and physiology curriculum, this environment supports an interactive work model where students engage in the cycle of observation, interpretation, and action that characterizes the historic "dissect & sketch" paradigm. The Digital Cadaver environment allows students to produce an individual and unique record of their investigations. The Phase I demonstrated the feasibility of implementing the core functionality of the environment as a Java application and produced a beta version of the software. Phase II of the research will focus on research extending this development in four areas: 1) Tools for collaboration between students will be created, and an intuitive project management system implemented for managing collections of images and documents; 2) Imagery from Visible Productions will be introduced into the environment to overcome defects in the Visible Human (VH) data sets; these images may also serve as links to other content, such as animations, photographs, or other images and documents that serve to augment the current environment; 3) tools will be expanded to include volume rendering of images in all viewing planes (i.e., sagittal, coronal, and axial) and arbitrary slicing of any image set; the data sets available to the student will be expanded to include selected cryosections of the female VH data set and selected MRI (magnetic resonance imagery) and CT (computerized tomography) imagery from the male and female; and 4) on the server, a more sophisticated illumination model will be implemented for added realism, user selectable image display properties will be included (i.e., setting some tissue layers to transparent), and higher resolution images will be used; improved support for higher resolution images will complete the Digital Cadaver Immersive Environment. The Digital Cadaver Environment enables a wider range of people to gain greater competencies in human anatomy and physiology. These competencies may translate into better health care, wellness initiatives, and improved research outcomes. The use of the National Library of Medicine's Visible Human Project in the creation of new instructional tools for the health professions offers a good public policy model of government/industry collaboration. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG McCracken, Thomas VISIBLE PRODUCTIONS INC CO Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 399713 5373 SMET 9178 9145 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0078865 September 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Carbon Nano Composite Filtration Media. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will make self-assembled, nanocomposite building blocks, composed of carbon nanotubes on a macroscopic support. Phase I demonstrated the growth of high quality, long nanotubes, adhered to a metal mesh. The support catalyzes the growth of a dispersed uniform structure of sootfree nanotubes. Additional processing is not required. Traditional manufacturing processes can convert the composite into filters, electrodes, and structures that transport mass, charge, and stress on nanometer scales. The nanotubes remain organized and connected electrically and mechanically. Intimate solid-gas and solid-liquid contact accompanied by high transport rates result. Unlike porous nanoscale media, the pore size can be independent of the nanotube diameter, allowing rapid access to their surface. The Phase II product will be microfiltration media with unprecedented filtration efficiency and low energy cost. Carbon nanotubes have enhanced single-collector efficiencies and substantially high surface to volume ratios. These advantages produce enormous, pound-for-pound value. The industrial partner has committed Phase III funding based on initial testing and market pull for low-energy, cost-effective separation technology. The industrial partner is committed to nanoscale technologies and the tremendous physical properties of the supported nanocomposites. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Jaffe, Stephen Material Methods CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 400000 5373 AMPP 9163 1762 0106000 Materials Research 0078887 August 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Enhanced Phase Sensitive Spectroscopy Using Matched Gratings. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a trace-gas detection system based on a novel laser spectroscopic technique called Phase Sensitive Spectroscopy. This new spectroscopy technique may increase sensitivity by an order of magnitude compared to existing capabilities, and it is expected have lower capital and operating costs as well. The proposed technique relies on measurements of phase shifts of an amplitude modulated laser beam that occur when the laser is tune through a molecular resonance. Unlike current technologies, the measured quantity is insensitive to variations in the amplitude of the frequency components within the modulated laser beam. This fundamental difference promises to eliminate the need for calibrations that are currently required. Phase II will develop the fundamental understanding and lay the groundwork for commercialization. A prototype instrument will be fabricated by utilizing the 'backbone' of an existing commercially successful laser based trace-gas detector. The detection limit, stability, and cost of the prototype instrument will be characterized. Potential commercial applications are expected in monitoring gases in aluminum production and in other industries as environmental regulation and work place safety may require. Point source monitoring SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Swanson, Rand ADVR, INC MT Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 399387 5373 OTHR EGCH 9188 9150 9145 0313010 Air Pollution 0078897 January 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Uncopying Xerox - Acoustic Coaxing Induced Microcavitation (ACIM) Assisted DeInking of Paper. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop an optimized prototype of the UNCOPIER-a chemical-free, energy-efficient, ACIM-based device designed to non-destructively deink laser-xerographic prints one sheet at a time. Acoustic Coaxing Induced Microcavitation (ACIM) is a novel, chemical-free, and energy-efficient process which uses only "Silent Sound and Clean Water." Underlying ACIM's energy efficiency is microcavitation's ability to concentrate an enormous amount of energy on an extremely small (i.e. sub-microscopic) point. These controlled concentrations of energy result in nearly spontaneous cleaning which does not hurt the substrate. ACIM is the ideal technology for deploying energy exactly at the point of use. UNCOPIER technology will revolutionize the paper recycling industry in a number of ways, as well as innovation in the recycling process itself. Since the UNCOPIER leaves the deInked paper immaculately white and undamaged, it will save environmental resources by making it possible to manufacture new print grade paper from the recycled laser-xerographic prints. The UNCOPIER is being developed as an office machine to advocate a pioneer method for recycling paper-at-source deinking, "one sheet at a time." DeInking paper prior to recycling protects confidentiality. This novel approach will appeal to banks, hospitals, law firms, government agencies, and other institutions interested in recycling, but also concerned with safeguarding confidentiality. The UNCOPIER system will reduce recycling costs and enables vital commercial motivations for its improved recycling endeavors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Madanshetty, Sameer Uncopiers, Inc. KS Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 767339 5373 MANU HPCC EGCH 9251 9231 9186 9178 9163 9150 9102 7218 0308000 Industrial Technology 0078904 September 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Chatter Avoidance Software for High Speed Milling. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will integrate a novel, inexpensive device to measure tool dynamics with a general purpose analysis program that will optimize the use of high speed machining centers as a routine shop floor practice. High speed machining is often limited by chatter conditions. These conditions depend on system dynamics and cutting conditions. The product to be developed will provide an integrated hardware/software solution to assist users in selecting optimal spindle speeds and tool depths without the intervention of experts or specialized equipment. The product will handle general tool geometries, tool paths and in-process part geometries working in conjunction with an industrial grade NC verification program. The program will specifically provide recommendations under low tool immersion (light cut) conditions that are commonly used to avoid tool wear in hard materials. Novel aspects include: (1) the study of chatter under transient conditions; (2) sculptured surface parts; (3) a new analytical solution that provides important physical insights under low tool immersion conditions; (4) a new simulation model that is not restricted to uni-directional feed; and (5) the extension of a new measurement device to provide full tool dynamic data. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Esterling, Donald VulcanCraft NC Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 424000 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0079163 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: A Large Mosaic Liquid Crystal Fabry-Perot Etalon for Atmospheric Sensing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the traditional size limit of the Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) input aperture. This limit (approximately 8-inches) is imposed by (1) practical fabrication limits to the size of glass flats that can be polished to a surface figure of lambda/100 and (2) by cost limitations. Although an array of smaller glass plates might be used to expand the collecting area of the FPI, coordination of spectral scans over the array elements requires unwieldy control systems or else is not possible with conventional barometric or piezo-electric FRI systems. This research establishes arrays of innovative FPI etalons that use liquid crystal (LC) in the FPI resonant cavity. Spectral scanning of these devices is accomplished by application of a low current to conducting layers applied to the glass substrates. The electric field imposed upon liquid crystal in the resonant cavity alters the orientation of the LC, and thus the index of refraction of the material in the resonant cavity. The ease of electronic control over the refractive index in the FPI cavity permits simple, low weight, low power coordination of multiple LC filled cells and thus makes possible a large array of FPI cells, scanning a spectrum in unison. Phase II will design and fabricate two 10-inch diameter arrays of LC FPI (LCFP) filters. One array will be configured for Doppler measurements of atmospheric emissions and the other for 0.16-nanometer spectral resolution. Potential commercial applications are expected in (1) atmospheric lidar, (2) space-based environmental sensing, (3) passive airglow sensing, (4) clear-air turbulence detection, and (5) target detection. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kerr, Robert Scientific Solutions Incorporated MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 397788 5373 EGCH 9188 0313010 Air Pollution 0079262 October 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Net Shape, SiC-Toughened Molybdenum Disilicide Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims at further developing and optimizing the innovative technology for the cost-effective fabrication of dense silicon carbide (SiC) fiber-reinforced molybdenum disilicide (MoSi2) composites with enhanced strength and toughness up to very high temperatures (1400 degrees C). Molybdenum disilicide has very attractive thermal, oxidative, and corrosion resistance properties for applications in turbine engines, burner rigs, hot gas filters, molten metal lances, and heating elements, but is structurally weak. Reinforcement with a mechanically superior second phase material makes MoSi2-based composites serious candidates for such applications if the composites can be processed to net shape cost effectively. The Phase I project demonstrated the feasibility of reaction forming the MoSi2 matrix with controlled amounts of SiC whiskers or particles, which themselves are formed in-situ. Further, several SiC(f)/MoSi2 compositions were developed that are strong, dense, and resistant to pesting. These compositions were developed using a single step process that combines Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis (SHS) of elemental mixtures of Mo, Si, and C with psuedo-Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) -- electroconsolidation. Phase II research will demonstrate the near-net shape capability of the process along with the ability to produce robust MoSi2-based composites. Based on design specifications from turbine engine manufacturers, the project will also fabricate prototypes for testing at the end of Phase II. Immediate commercial use of the SiC(f)-toughened MoSi2 composites can be realized as heating elements, combustion and burner rigs, and molten metal filters. Future applications include uses for aviation and gas turbine engine components, heat exchangers, hot gas filters, and waste incinerators. Other advanced applications include energy storage devices such as ultracapacitors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Nageswaran, Ramachandran COI Ceramics, Inc. UT T. James Rudd Standard Grant 394814 5373 AMPP 9163 1774 0106000 Materials Research 0079315 July 15, 2000 SBIR/STTR Phase II: Ploidy Induction with Penaeid Shrimp for Protection of Investment in Selective Breeding. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project focuses on mass production of triploid marine shrimp. Marine shrimp culture experienced exponential growth between 1980 and 1990, increasing from 5% to 28% of total world production. Since then, farmed shrimp production has stagnated due to disease and water quality problems. Disease problems are largely due to dependence on wild caught shrimp broodstock and post larvae, which carry many untreatable viral diseases. A solution to this problem is closed-cycle culture, which also permits genetic selection for improved production performance. To protect a breeder's investment in specific pathogen free (SPF)stock, specific pathogen resistant (SPR) stock, and genetic selection, it is highly desirable to sell only sterile post larvae. Triploidy is a possible solution since triploids of other species are typically sterile and may exhibit superior culture performance. In addition triploidy may allow for the culture of exotic species in environmentally sensitive areas where exclusion of exotics is desirable. Phase II will focus on development of tetraploid breeding stocks that will be crossed with normal diploid stocks to produce triploid progeny. The successful outcome of our R&D effort will result in significant changes in marine shrimp culture. It will prevent competitors from propagation of shrimp stocks that have been genetically selected for aquaculture performance. It will help stimulate large-scale investment in SPF, SPR, genetic selection and closed-cycle shrimp culture. It will help create opportunities to expand use of exotic shrimp species into environmentally sensitive culture areas. Our company intends to be at the forefront of these opportunities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Shleser, Robert Aquatic Farms HI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 399800 5373 BIOT 9183 1116 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0079323 August 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Visible Light Audio Information Transfer System. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop an inexpensive Visible Light Audio Information Transfer System (VLAITS) that transmits information to small Personal Audio Receivers (PAR) for blind, hard of hearing, non-physically impaired and non-English speaking users. VLAITS uses already-installed visible lighting fixtures like fluorescent lights to provide modulated light as a carrier medium for data. The PAR receives this modulated light and presents audio to the user. VLAITS is remarkably inexpensive because it requires no additional equipment or special wiring other than typically used in existing lighting fixtures. There is no perceptible visual flicker in light because of data coding schemes. Phase I demonstrated VLAITS, qualified commercial visible light as an information carrier, and demonstrated wayfinding and aural assistance with blind and hard of hearing users. This project seeks to design and refine a commercial VLAITS system and validate system functions and capabilities with blind and hard of hearing users. Included are miniaturization and reduction of production cost of the computer-controlled light ballast transmitter and computer-controlled portable receiver. The receiver will also be designed to be compatible with currently installed infrared systems. This project proffers a solution for the communication of information to people, particularly to those with disabilities, that leverages existing infrastructure in an innovative and cost effective way. Commercial products will be modified light ballasts, personal audio receivers and design of assistive networks. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Hinman, Roderick TALKING LIGHTS LLC MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 400000 5373 SMET 9180 1545 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0079350 July 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Mathematics Multimedia for Children with Hearing Loss. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the need for customized learning tools in mathematics education for primary students with physical disabilities, in particular, those with significant hearing loss. The Phase II study focuses on modifying and testing sections of existing multimedia so that they will be appropriate as instructional tools for PreK-K children with significant hearing loss. The need is critical: 2 out of every 1,000 young children in the U.S. have hearing loss severe enough to adversely affect learning. In addition, resources for these individuals are normally allocated to the development of language acquisition; thus, the development of mathematical computation and reasoning often is not addressed until a significant learning window has lapsed. The National Action Plan for Mathematics Education Reform for the Deaf recommends that more resources address mathematics instruction for children with significant hearing loss. Learning in Motion intends to modify a research-based, field-tested multimedia program for early learners of mathematics. This program was the direct result of Phases I and II of a NSF SBIR project. The multimedia program includes three-dimensional graphics and characters, completed game logic, and four interactive game areas that are suitable for modification. The study's main objectives: 1) design, program, and test modifications to existing software games (4) with students with hearing loss, 2) conduct and use subjective observations from teachers and researchers to further refine the modifications, and 3) initiate a testing plan for the complete modified program. Ultimate results include: salable multimedia for the under-represented group of students with significant hearing loss and publishable design guidelines for others electing to produce specialized software. Learning in Motion seeks to provide in a completely modified mathematics multimedia program for hearing-loss children. Design guidelines informed by the WGBH guidelines will also be produced, encouraging commercial collaboration with other publishers looking to produce similar programs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Cappo, Marjorie Learning in Motion, Inc. CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 400000 7256 5373 SMET 9177 9102 7355 7256 1545 0108000 Software Development 0079484 September 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: A New Vibration Mixer for Bone Cement. This SBIR Phase II project is aimed at developing a novel vibration mixer for the mixing of surgical grade bone cement. Self-curing polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or acrylic bone cement is used extensively in total joint replacements, in the repair of bony defects and in the fixation of pathological fractures. For surgical use, the methylmethacrylate polymer and the liquid monomer are hand mixed. This hand-mixing entraps air bubbles making the cement porous. Presence of these bubbles adversely affects the mechanical properties of bone cement, making it much weaker under load and may contribute to early failure of cemented artificial joints. Results of the Phase I study indicate that ultrasonic vibration during cement mixing significantly reduced its porosity and increased the fatigue life and mechanical strength of bone cement, compared to hand-mixed cement. Recently, it was shown that combining sonication and vacuum mixing reduced the porosity and further improved the fatigue life, compared to either mixing methods alone. During the Phase II study, the frequency and amplitude of sonication and the vacuum pressure to obtain the best mechanical properties of the cement will be optimized. Subsequently, a new cement mixer will be designed and built incorporating these mixing features. It is expected that the improved mechanical properties of vibrated bone cement will reduce the incidence of cement fracture and this will improve the success rate of total joint replacements. Considering that cement mixers are used in several thousand hospitals in the United States alone, we expect this new cement mixer to be adopted by a large number of Orthopaedic surgeons in these hospitals. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Saha, Pamela Clinical and Industrial Technology Co SC Gregory T. Baxter Standard Grant 0 5373 OTHR BIOT 9184 9150 9102 5342 0203000 Health 0080012 September 1, 2000 Georgia Tech Proposal to Join PSerc. The Power Systems Engineering Research Center (PSerc) is one of the Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC) supported by the National Science Foundation. The mission of the center is to support research activities in electric power systems. PSerc is headquartered at Cornell University. Presently, several corporations support and direct the activities of PSerc. In addition to Cornell, the University of California at Berkeley, Howard University, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Washington State University, Iowa State University and Arizona State University participate in PSerc. The addition of the Georgia Institute of Technology to the participating universities will have many benefits, as outlined in the proposal. The main objective of this proposal is to outline the Georgia Tech research plan within PSerc and to establish a research site for PSerc at Georgia Institute of Technology INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS CONTROL, NETWORKS, & COMP INTE IIP ENG Meliopoulos, Athan GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 706240 X943 X672 W351 W242 W004 V915 V105 T846 T313 T194 T752 T543 T479 H232 5761 1518 OTHR HPCC 9139 127E 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0080128 August 1, 2000 STTR Phase II: Microsensors for In-Situ, Real-Time Detection and Characterization of Toxic Oganic Substances. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase II project has as the primary focus the development and commercialization of a novel microsensor for the in-situ, real-time detection of toxic organic chemicals. The proposed microsensor will be capable of operating under field conditions, with sufficient sensitivity to permit high detection rates, and with sufficient selectivity to prevent high false alarm rates. Using a revolutionary photo-thermal concept, the detector will operate with both high chemical selectivity and a less than parts per billion sensitivity. The technological concept of the proposed detector (CalSpec) won the 1998 R&D 100 award. The chemical sensitivity can be substantially enhanced to a less than parts per trillion level by simply operating in an integrating chemical detection mode. The objective of this research is to demonstrate highly specific, sensitive and selective detection of organic chemical compounds and to develop a multichemical detector which can detect toxic organics with concentrations varying from a few parts per thousand to a few parts per trillion. Sensitive monitoring and detection is an area of continuing importance to EPA, DOD, DOE and other federal agencies. The CalSpec detector could be used in a variety of applications, including process monitoring and control, environmental compliance (including emissions monitoring), ambient air monitoring, airport security, personal dosimeters for toxic gases or metal vapor, and smoke and fire constituent detection. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Carter, James Panos Datskos Irene Datskou Environmental Engineering Group, Incorporated TN Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 448547 5373 1505 BIOT 9107 1505 0308000 Industrial Technology 0080372 August 15, 2000 STTR Phase II: Optic Fiber Sensors for the Detection of Pathogenic Microorganisms. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase II project addresses the need for rapid, reliable instrumentation for the detection of pathogenic microorganisms in food and environmental screening. The proposed system is based on MEMS-based, optical fiber, extrinsic Fabry-Perot (EFPI) biosensors. During Phase I, Luna Innovations (formerly F&S, Inc.) optimized the EFPI sensing platform for refractive index measurements, applied affinity films to measure kinetic binding with specific antibodies and non-hazardous proteins, and integrated the sensors with an inexpensive signal conditioning system for a complete detection combination. The newly developed system is capable of cost effective, robust, operationally simple detection. It is easily adapted to incorporate microfluidics or other sampling system interfaces thereby offering improvements in refractive index measurements, as well as biosensing capabilities. During Phase II, this sensing system will be incorporated with microfluidic sampling systems and used to demonstrate simple detection of proteinacious targets of Escherichi coli and Vibrio cholerae, and will later be expanded for other high priority pathogens found in raw and processed food products, contaminated water and soil, and biological warfare agents. Anticipated Benefits/Potential Commercial Applications of the Research or Development: The prototype system has already generated tremendous interest from many companies involved in refractive index measurements for process control, target screening within the food industry, and other biological research applications. The EFPI as a refractometer has found applications within the beverage industry for milk processing, and the petroleum and chemical industry for distillation processes and concentration monitoring. As a biosensor, the EFPI will find widespread application in multibillion dollar annual markets in food, environmental, medical, and industrial applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG VanTassell, Roger Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 449464 5373 1505 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0080569 December 1, 2000 STTR Phase II: A Microsensor for Rapid Detection of Airborne Endotoxin. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project is expected to result in a biosensor based instrument that can reliably and economically capture and measure airborne endotoxin in-situ with better specificity than existing assay methods. Airborne endotoxin has been identified as a major health hazard to both humans and animals in many agricultural and industrial settings. Endotoxins in the environment primarily enter the body through the lung and are difficult to clear. This contributes to the development of respiratory disorders. Regulation of human endotoxin exposure has not been possible to this point since no quick, reliable system exists to measure airborne endotoxin in the field. Current methods of measuring airborne endotoxin involve collecting dust samples in a sterile filter and sending them to a laboratory for analysis. The results of the analysis take weeks to receive and have poor specificity to endotoxin. The proposed instrument is expected to provide a more accurate, specific, rapid, and reliable alternative to existing assays for detecting airborne endotoxin in the range of 0.01 mg/m 3 to 20 mg/m 3. Measuring endotoxin levels and subsequent modification of airflow will minimize human endotoxin exposure, and lead to improvement in the respiratory health of workers. A biosensor to detect airborne endotoxin will have commercial applications to protect human health in areas such as livestock confinement and processing facilities, produce storage and processing facilities, cotton processing facilities, waste management facilities, and air quality monitoring of office buildings. Since endotoxin also represents a threat to the health of livestock, particularly swine and poultry, the animal/veterinary sciences market is also expected to be significant. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Mileham, Russell Microconversion Technologies Co SD George B. Vermont Standard Grant 449929 9150 1505 BIOT 9150 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0080598 August 15, 2000 STTR Phase II: Cell-Mimic Optical Waveguide Sensor for Real-Time In-Line Biological Pathogen Detection. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase II project will develop a cell-mimic optical-based biosensor for the real-time detection of foodborne biological pathogen. Five million analytical tests are performed on food annually in the U.S.; unfortunately, current microbiological test methods are time consuming and labor intensive. Intelligent Optical Systems, in collaboration with the Scripps Research Institute, proposes to develop an optical biosensor that mimics a cell membrane that has undergone biological pathogen attack. The response of the cell-mimic biochromatic membrane to the foodborne toxins is sensitive, specific, and instantaneous. During Phase I, the team developed "highly stable" cell-mimic membranes and demonstrated them in two laboratory systems: (1) a cell-mimic optical waveguide sensor (COWS) for "in-line" monitoring, and (2) a cell-mimic optical bead sensor (COBS) for "on-site point detection". These laboratory systems were used to detect foodborne toxins (E. coli-enterotoxin and cholera toxin) with excellent speed (< 1 minute), sensitivity (500 - 1 ng/ml), specificity (molecular receptor), and simplicity (one step). Phase II will focus on optimizing the cell-mimic biochromatic polymers, engineering and field-testing a portable COBS prototype, and extending the tests to other foodborne toxins. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Allan INTELLIGENT OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 449998 5373 1505 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0080956 June 15, 2000 STTR Phase II: Early Detection and Identification of Individual Pathogenic Microorganisms in Food with a Flow Cytometer. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase II Project will demonstrate the real-time detection of single foodborne pathogenic bacteria in a real-world operating environment. SoftRay demonstrated an innovative technique to detect pathogenic microorganisms in Phase I, based on laser-induced fluorescence coupled with flow cytometry. The Phase I research showed conclusively that this approach is feasible, and that the technique has key advantages over current alternatives including it is: 1) capable of detecting single microorganisms (techniques other than immunofluorescent flow cytometry or immunofluorescent microscopic imaging require in excess of 104 microorganisms), 2) able to completely examine a large volume of food or water in real time, 3) intrinsically automatic, and 4) sensitive only to the selected bacteria or viruses. In Phase II, SoftRay will demonstrate a lost-cost, self-contained prototype system for the detection of pathogenic microorganisms in food or water, including E. coli O157:H7 on beef. This innovative technique is based on laser-induced fluorescence in which a stream of solution containing the microorganisms is labeled with fluorescent probes and is then illuminated with a laser diode (commonly called flow cytometry). The resulting fluorescence is detected with a CCD imager using a novel time-integration scheme. The proposed device will use a simple optical configuration and a laser diode to provide a low-cost, rugged, small, lightweight package that can be used to detect specific, individual bacteria in real time. Key technology objective is to develop a pathogenic bacteria detection technique that can analyze 1 ml of fluid for selected pathogens in less than 1 minute, to a sensitivity of less than 10 pathogenic microorganisms per ml. The result of the Phase I and II project will be the demonstration of a prototype sensor capable of individual microorganism detection of unprecedented sensitivity, selectivity, and speed. This will enable rapid detection of individual specific pathogenic microorganisms in a wide array of applications, including: food processing inspection, clinical applications (such as detection of tuberculosis in sputum), biological warfare defense, and many other situations where single microorganism detection is required. The technique can also be used to detect small numbers of molecules, including explosives and groundwater contaminates. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Shorthill, Richard Paul Johnson SoftRay Incorporated WY Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 449988 1505 BIOT 9150 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0083223 August 1, 2000 Relating Field Data to Accelerated Life Testing. This project brings together two NSF I/UCRC's to improve accelerated life testing (ALT) of vehicle electronics. The Center for Advanced Vehicle Electronics (CAVE) of Auburn University with partner with the Quality and Reliability Engineering (QRE) Center of Rutgers University and Arizona State University to investigate the relationship between wear, degradation and failure of vehicle controllers as experienced in the field with that expected by the results of ALT conducted in the laboratory. DaimlerChrysler Electronics of Huntsville, Alabama supplies the test bed. Vehicle electronics are subject to stress due to temperature, humidity, cycling and other environmental hazards. The materials that comprise the controllers are susceptible to the effects of corrosion and oxidation. The solder that connects the controller components can crack due to fatigue and creep under high temperature and thermal cycling stresses. These failures affect the performance of the vehicle from slightly to severely. The research of this project will develop a general methodology for specifying accelerated life tests so that they result in an accurate characterization of the degradation and failures that will be experienced in the filed. The failure mechanisms for the assembly materials in field units will be investigated in the development of the accelerated life tests. ALT standards, which new units must pass prior to marketing, will be adequate without being overly conservative, potentially allowing new designs and new materials to be used in vehicle electronics. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Elsayed, Elsayed David Coit Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 5761 OTHR 0000 0083253 October 1, 2001 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Electronic Materials, Devices and Systems. N/A INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG McDaniel, Floyd University of North Texas TX Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 30000 5761 OTHR 0000 0084648 August 15, 2000 Planning Grant for I/UCRC of Thermal Processing Technology. Thermal processing is a fundamental part of almost all materials manufacturing processes. Thermal processing encompasses a broad range of processes in which heating or cooling are used and during which process the material may undergo some change in internal structure and/or external geometry. The thermal processing industry faces a number of challenges to continued growth and international competitiveness as outlined in a technology road map for the industry, "The 1999 R&D Plan for Heat Treating" published by the Heat Treat Society. This planning grant is to support activities aimed at determining the feasibility of establishing an I/UCRC focused on thermal processing technology. The activities will culminate in a planning meeting with industry to develop a research agenda and commitments for membership. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Nash, Philip Robert Foley T. Calvin Tszeng Illinois Institute of Technology IL William S. Butcher Standard Grant 9975 5761 OTHR 0000 0084731 August 1, 2000 CAPPS: Effect of extended cold and cold/acid storage on subsequent heat, acid, and freeze/thaw tolerance and virulence factor expression of Escherichia coli O157:H7. EEC-0084731 Drake This Study will address the effects that extended cold storage conditions such as those encountered in extended shelf life refrigerated foods (cold stress, cold/acid stress) have on subsequent growth characteristics, heat tolerance, acid tolerance, freeze thaw stability, and virulence factor expression of E. coli O157:H7. Studies will be conducted in broth as well as in a model food system, skim milk. A better understanding of the effects of cold storage and cold/acid storage on subsequent growth characteristics and virulence of E. coli O157:H7 will enable design of food processing and storage regimes to minimize risk and will expand knowledge of cold adaptation of this foodborne pathogen. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Drake, MaryAnne Mississippi State University MS Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 9150 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0084906 August 15, 2000 Planning Activity for The Center for Identification Technology Research. Automated biometric identification systems measure a physiological, behavioral, or biological "signature" from the human body or environment, process and recognize classifiable signal components, and then renders an identification decision based upon the parameters of a given application. Effectively addressing the breadth of needed biometric identification system research from to life sciences to the computing sciences represents a significant challenges to industry and government. The proposed Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR) organizes the activities of faculty groups at four universities spanning the physical, health, and computer sciences and engineering, to effectively address the cross-cutting research needed to advance identification technology and systems in the application domain spanning security/law enforcement, information systems, and public health. CITeR will serve an enabling role in the technical and economic development of this area through research of new enabling technologies, the integrative training of scientists and engineers across its breadth, and the facilitation of the transfer of this technology to the private and government sectors. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Hornak, Lawrence West Virginia University Research Corporation WV William S. Butcher Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0084994 August 15, 2000 Planning Grant: Lasers and Plasmas for Advanced Manufacturing. The mission of the Center for Lasers and Plasmas for Advanced Manufacturing (LPMC) is to develop a science, engineering, and technology base for laser and plasma processing of materials, devices and systems. Laser and Plasma processing of materials is used in various manufacturing sectors such as semiconductor/electronic manufacturing , aerospace, automotive, general manufacturing, life science products, medical device manufacturing. The focus of this center in the area of lasers and plasma processing will include: bulk processing, surface processing, coatings, surface etching and patterning. The center will build upon the on going large number of industrial projects and state supported center for plasma and photon processing at the Applied Research Center. This center will also take full advantage of being sited next to Free Electron Laser Facility of Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The Free Electron Laser Facility is the world's most powerful, tunable laser, currently delivering kilowatt average power in the mid-infrared. The lead institution is Old Dominion University and partner institutions are Christopher Newport University, College of William and Mary and Norfolk State University (historically black college and university). INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Gupta, Mool Old Dominion University Research Foundation VA William S. Butcher Standard Grant 10000 5761 MANU 9146 0085639 September 1, 2000 Interaction Mechanism of imidazoline inhibitors with C-steel in corrosion product layer (CPL) evolution in multiphase CO2 corrosion. This award provides funding for a one-year Research Opportunity Award to the University of Florida to work on a joint research project with the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center on Corrosion in Multiphase Technology at Ohio University. This interdisciplinary research program will focus on inhibitor/steel interactions and its effect on the chemistry and morphology of corrosion product layers. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG Seal, Sudipta University of Central Florida FL Mary Poats Standard Grant 31000 5761 1360 SMET OTHR 9251 9232 9178 0000 0086047 February 15, 2001 A Proposal for the collaboration between the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the NSF I/UCRC in Ergonomics at Texas A&M University. This award provides funding for a two-year collaborative project between the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center in Ergonomics at Texas A&M University and Professor Arun Garg from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The purpose of this proposal is to expand the intellectual capital of selected research projects at the Ergonomics I/UCRC through Dr. Garg's participation in several research projects. Dr. Garg will contribute to these projects by interacting with the students, faculty, and industrial partners on the design, analysis and interpretation of the selected studies. The expected outcome of the proposed collaboration would include higher quality research in ergonomics at the Center which should enhance the Center's reputation both in the scientific community as well as in industry. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Garg, Arun University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee WI Mary Poats Standard Grant 31234 5761 OTHR 9232 0000 0086182 September 1, 2000 Multiuniversity I/U CRC for Membrane Applied Science and Technology at the University of Cincinnati. EEC-0086182 Krantz This proposal will initiate a second site at the University of Cincinnati of the NSF I/UCRC for Membrane Applied Science and Technology (MAST) that was established at the University of Colorado in 1990. The MAST Center has focused on polymeric and inorganic membrane formation, catalytic membranes, and membrane fouling and characterization. The proposed MAST site at the University of Cincinnati will complement the Colorado site via thrusts in biomedical, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, paper industry, and personal home care product applications of membranes. The University of Cincinnati has commitments in the amount of $160,000 from four sponsors and has an expression of interest from 14 additional companies and government laboratories. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Krantz, William Sun-Tak Hwang University of Cincinnati Main Campus OH Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 5761 OTHR 0000 0086218 September 1, 2000 Biosurface Contact and Bioadhesion Studies Using AFM: A RUI Project. Over a two year period, the research will focus on Biosurface Contact and Bioadhesion Studies Using Atomic Force Microscopy, using fungal spores. Other aspects of the research will address monocyte and hepatocyte adhesion to reference substrata. Surface characterization expertise at UB will supplement the research performed by Towson and Frostburg undergraduates and faculty. IUCB colleagues at the U.S. Army Biotechnology Program and at the US FDA Division of Mechanics and Materials also will participate in the program. In addition to providing quantitative, time dependent evaluations of hepatocyte, monocyte, and fungal spore attachment strengths to different substrata, this study will produce techniques that can be applied to other applications involving cell and/or particle adhesion. These techniques could be applied to the dental and medical industries, as well as environmental health issues of the paint and xerography industies. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Baier, Robert SUNY at Buffalo NY Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 56000 5761 OTHR 0000 0086508 September 1, 2000 SINTERING OF MULTILAYERED CERAMIC FILMS: LARGE-SCALE MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS ON PARALLEL COMPUTERS. EEC-0086508 Vashishta The goal of this project is to understand atomistic processes involved in the constrained sintering of multilayered ceramic films and the mechanical properties of the sintered systems using large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. Research will focus on 1) ceramic/ceramic interfaces involving, Si3N4, SiC, and Al2O3 with amorphous SiO2 interlayers; and 2) sintering in laminated multilayer films consisting of nanoparticles of these ceramics with glassy coating. The objectives are to investigate: structure, stresses, friction, and debonding at interfaces; effects of thermal-expansion mismatch/anisotropy, nanoparticle size, and interfacial glassy layers on sintering; residual stress distribution; and delamination. Algorithms will be designed to carry out multiscale simulations combining the coarse-grained MD and the finite element methods in a metacomputing environment with multiple parallel machines, mass storage devices, and immersive and interactive virtual environments on a Grid with high speed networks. The proposed research will have significant impact on new multilayer ceramic integrated circuit technologies in the electronic industry. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Vashishta, Priya Aiichiro Nakano Rajiv Kalia Louisiana State University & Agricultural and Mechanical College LA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 9150 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0086534 August 15, 2000 Precision Manufacturing for High Density Servo Motors. The Electromechanical Systems Laboratory (EMSyL) is an existing consortium composed of the University of Alabama, Auburn University, the University of Tulsa, Shelton State Community College (with HBCU status), and the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science. The EMSyL industrial partners are: Bartronics (minority owned), Honeywell, T.B. Kim Technologies International, Lockheed Martin, Moog, and Preco Industries. The federal partners in EMSyL are Oak Ridge National Laboratories and NASA - Glenn Research Center. The consortium is presently in the first year of a two-year NSF/EPSCoR standard grant. EMSyL represents a vast collection of resources, both human and capital, that provides a unique opportunity to tackle the complex issues associated with the proliferation of electromechanical systems in industry. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Haskew, Timothy Robert Scharstein University of Alabama Tuscaloosa AL Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 47450 9150 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0086554 September 1, 2000 Optoelectronic Devices, Interconnects, and Packaging (COEDIP Center). The University of Arizona and the University of Maryland are proposing the renewal of their successful joint Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC), entitled "The Center for Optoelectronic Devices Interconnect and Packaging (COEDIP)" under the sponsorship of the National Science Foundation. The Center was created five years ago to promote collaborative research between the two Universities and industries based on their strengths in the field of optoelectronics components, packaging and interconnection. The major goals of the Center are: - To promote collaboration and joint projects between the two universities; - To transfer new technology developed within each university to their industrial partners; and - To train highly qualified students and promote their interaction with industries. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Christou, Aristos University of Maryland College Park MD Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 139000 5761 AMPP 9165 0090319 September 1, 2000 New Dimensions in Post Occupancy Evaluation Using the Web. Post Occupancy Evaluations have been used to provide technical feedback to designers, developers, owners, operations, tenants and researchers following completion of newly constructed buildings and provide a basis for identifying research needs. They are an invaluable source of information for improving the design and performance of buildings. Surveys allow designers, developers, owners, operators and tenants to objectively gauge which building services and design features are working and which aren't. This project will evaluate whether a new, web-based survey instrument can provide these groups with a more robust performance analysis at a lower cost than existing methods. IIP ENG Arens, Edward University of California-Berkeley CA William S. Butcher Standard Grant 71999 X719 W014 OTHR 0000 0090393 October 1, 2000 A Partnership for Innovation: Promoting Education and Research in Nanofabrication Applications to Biology and Medicine. 0090393 Wormley This award is to The Pennsylvania State University to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners for this award include the Pennsylvania State University; Pennsylvania Nanofabrication Manufacturing Technology Partnership, which includes the Pennsylvania State University, industry in Pennsylvania, 14 Community Colleges, and several public school districts. Proposed Activities The activities for this award include formation of an associates degree to train associate degree workforce in nanotechnology, biology, and medicine for the biomedical industry; assessment of the needs of industry for their workforce; curriculum development; research for industry. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals for the program include training a well-qualified workforce for the emerging nanotechnology field (biological and medically related). The range of academe involved goes from high school to community colleges to the Pennsylvania State University. The proposed effort should stimulate economic activity in the private sector creating jobs and economic well being in the state. Potential Economic Impact The potential economic outcomes include a trained workforce to attract and enable biotech industry; research infusion to provide technical assistance to new and emerging companies; state-of-the-art facilities for research and education. Potential Societal Impact The potential benefits to society include creation of new high tech jobs for all levels and all classes of people in the state and general economic well being in the state in emerging biotechnology and biomedical fields. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Wormley, David Stephen Fonash Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0090422 February 15, 2001 Great Plains Rapid Prototyping Consortium. 0090422 Maleki This award is to South Dakota State University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners are South Dakota State University; Daktronics, Inc; Falcon Plastics, Inc; MTR, Inc. Proposed Activities The activities of this award include support for education; product development; research in rapid prototyping; technology transfer; developing a rapid prototyping facility at the university; product design; assistance in rapid prototyping to small industries in the region. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals include transfer of the latest research in rapid prototyping to medium and small manufacturing firms in the state. The proposed activities will bring an important capability to a region that needs to develop more technology-based manufacturing. This activity will make the region more attractive to businesses and manufacturing firms and make the existing firms more competitive nationally. The educational component will provide a technologically literate workforce at the engineering level. Potential Economic Impact The rapid prototyping facility will provide a laboratory for education of engineers in South Dakota, provide the economic benefits for small companies in the region who cannot afford to own the facilities, provide technical support for emerging small manufacturing firms in the region. The facility should be self-sustaining by year four by membership fees. Potential Societal Impact The activity will provide more high tech manufacturing jobs for the state, and raise income in a region that has lagged the nation. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Brown, Lewis South Dakota State University SD Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 599898 9150 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0090427 February 1, 2001 Institute for Emerging Technologies: Strategic Technology Education for Non-Tech Majors. 0090427 Harris This award is to the University of Central Oklahoma to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners in this award include the University of Central Oklahoma; Edmond Economic Development Authority; Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center; Pinnacle Business Systems, Inc; Main Street Enterprises; Executive Women's Forum; Edmond Public Schools; Capitol Hill High School; Latino Community Development Agency. Proposed Activities The activities in this award include education of a workforce in computer technology-related fields; enhancement of faculty technology skills for information technology; summer internships for faculty and students in private sector; scholarships to the University of Central Oklahoma for high school students for technology training and internships in industry. Industry will provide mentors for interns. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals for the award are to provide increased computer-related skills for high school and college graduates for central Oklahoma to enable innovation in information technology. Hispanics, women, and African American student populations will be targeted. Interactions with industry partners will make the education and training relevant to the needs of the private sector in central Oklahoma. Potential Economic Impact Potential economic outcomes include thirty percent more technologically-competent students, including 20% more women and/or minorities will complete a higher-education offering technological training for high tech industry, as well as training for computer skills for non-computer majors at the University of Central Oklahoma. Potential Societal Impact Potential benefits to society from this activity include increased skills for under-represented groups to allow them to compete in the job market in information technology. Resulting economic activity will increase available jobs in the area. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Harris, David Steve Kreidler University of Central Oklahoma OK Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 599267 1662 OTHR 0000 0090437 October 1, 2000 Maryland Technology Partnership for Innovation (MTPI). 0090437 DeLoach This award is to Morgan State University to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners for this award include Morgan State University; Maryland Technology Development Corporation; Baltimore Development Corporation's Emerging Technology Center; Chesapeake Bay Regional Technical Center of Excellence; Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation. Proposed Activities The activities include technology transfer; business incubation; education and workforce development; strengthening local economies in targeted economically distressed communities; utilization of science and technology of federal laboratories in Maryland. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals are creation of economic wealth through technology transfer of research and development in the universities and federal laboratories in Maryland to create new companies and new jobs; creation of infrastructure to enable innovation; strong emphasis on education and training. Potential Economic Impact The activities will provide general economic well being in both rural (Maryland Eastern Shore) and urban (Baltimore and Prince George County) areas to reach under-represented groups. Potential Societal Impact The potential benefits to society include involvement of under-represented groups in the innovation enterprise in both rural and urban areas by creating new companies and new jobs for the disadvantaged and provision of the needed training to enable innovation and empower people to create economic well being; higher paying jobs in the region. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG DeLoatch, Eugene LeeRoy Bronner Phillip Singerman Morgan State University MD Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 667500 1662 OTHR 0000 0090472 February 1, 2001 Advanced Polymer Materials for Construction and Aquaculture Marketing Development. This award is to The University of West Virginia to support the activity described below for a period of 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnernerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners University of Akron; Kansas/West Virginia Structural Composites, Inc.; West Virginia Department of Highways; Transportation Research Board; U.S Department of Agriculture Proposed Activities The proposed activities include: develop, manufacture, implement, field-test, and market novel honeycomb fiber-reinforced polymer sandwich composite materials for applications in civil infrastructure and aquaculture industries, with particular emphasis on highway bridge decks, guardrail systems, and modular fish culture tanks for use with impaired mine water supplies in rugged terrain. Kansas/West Virginia Structural Composites, Inc is in the process of establishing a manufacturing plant close to the West Virginia University campus. The program will include cost-effective innovations for manufacturing technologies; concurrent optimization of materials and design; prototype development and evaluation; product implementation and marketing; work-force training and curriculum development; technology transfer. The initial effort will emphasize development and marketing of bridge decks, guardrail systems, and modular fish culture tanks. Feasibility studies and field implementation studies are being supported by West Virginia Department of Highways, Transportation Board, and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Proposed Innovation The proposed innovation includes: technology transfer of new knowledge of composite materials to improve highway civil infrastructure and to create technology for aquaculture for economic enterprise (fish farming) and food production, as well as education of engineers in design with new materials for civil infrastructure. Potential Economic Impact Estimated income from fish aquaculture is $12M annual sales ($4.6M annual income) and includes approximately 300 new jobs. Highway materials are targeted to a potential percentage of the $1T civil infrastructure market. West Virginia estimates that 40% of the highway bridges are in immediate need of repair. Potential Societal Impact Potentail societal impact includes increased food production, jobs, and improved highway safety. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI STRUCTURAL MATERIALS AND MECH IIP ENG Davalos, Julio Allen Cogley Pizhong Qiao Karl Barth Roger Viadero West Virginia University Research Corporation WV Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 597378 9150 1662 1635 OTHR 0000 0090474 February 15, 2001 Distance Education Delivery for Isolated Rural Communities: A Contingency Approach. 0090474 Scott This award is to Ilisagvik College to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners for this award include California Virtual Campus, Bay Area Region 1; Lewis-Clark State College; Northwest Indian College; Phillips Community College; Arctic Slope Regional Corporation; North Slope Borough Office of the Mayor; Alaska Growth Capital; Arctic Development Council; Central Council Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska; Interior Athabascan Tribal College; Tanana Chiefs Conference. Proposed Activities The activities for this award include delivery of post-secondary education to Alaska Natives living in intensely rural villages, typically far off the road system, with unemployment rates 3-5 times the national average; develop, test, and refine a situational model for distance education that takes into account variables for indigenous communities; combine distance learning with technical assistance for entrepreneurs and job placement services to develop Alaska's rural economy; assess occupational demand in the region; determine the skill levels of the workers; design and deliver two rounds of distance learning; provide small business training and technical assistance; assess the emerging model and disseminate the learnings. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals for the award include providing distance training to prepare workers for job demands in remote Alaska; providing small business training and technical assistance; research and development of models for remote education in rural indigenous populations; enablement of increased business and job opportunities in rural Alaska. Potential Economic Impact The economic outcomes for this award include increased skills and technical assistance for small business in rural Alaska, as well as increased jobs and business training and opportunity. Potential Societal Impact The potential benefits to society from this award include involvement of indigenous tribal population in a rural environment in job training and opportunity, plus creation of increased wealth in remote Alaska. DIGITAL SOCIETY&TECHNOLOGIES ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ARCTIC RESRCH SUPPRT & LOGISTI CISE RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI ENGINEERING EDUCATION IIP ENG Bartholomew, Courtneay Curt Madison Ilisagvik College AK Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 573662 6850 5208 5205 2885 1662 1340 OTHR 0000 0090517 February 1, 2001 Partnership for Innovation (PFI) to Enhance Puerto Rico's Economic Development. 0090517 Gomez This award is to the University of Puerto Rico to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners for this award include the University of Puerto Rico; Inter American University of Puerto Rico; Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico; Industry/University Research Consortium; Chamber of Commerce; Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association; venture capital; incubator facilities. Proposed Activities The activities for this award include workforce development; improved access to new knowledge for companies; creation of infrastructure for innovation; development of a strategic plan for innovation for Puerto Rico. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals include development of entrepreneurial skills in the workforce; integration of research and education; technology transfer to create new companies; creation of the infrastructure for innovation in Puerto Rico; development of a strategic plan for innovation in Puerto Rico; creation of new jobs and a technologically literate workforce. Potential Economic Impact This activity should have the following outcomes: general economic well being with new start-up companies and new high tech jobs for the citizens of Puerto Rico. Potential Societal Impact This activity should provide new jobs and economic well being for under-represented groups. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI ENGINEERING EDUCATION IIP ENG Gomez, Manuel Brad Weiner Winston Liang Victor Rivera University of Puerto Rico PR Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 599997 1662 1340 OTHR 0000 0090518 February 1, 2001 Low Cost RTM Based Carbon/Carbon Composites for Automotive to Space Applications. 0090518 Shivakumar This award is to North Carolina A&T State University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners North Carolina A&T State University; 3-TEX Inc.; General Electric Aircraft Engine Group (Cincinnati, OH); NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH) Proposed Activities The activities include commercial technology development and work-force advancement; commercial development; attract minority students to graduate programs; launching new start-up companies; licensing technology for transfer to existing businesses. Proposed Innovation Carbon/carbon composites are being developed for ion thruster optics and other ion thrusters for deep space flight engines, bearing cages for large and small aircraft engines, valves for internal combustion engines, textile products, and sports equipment. Potential Economic Impact The current market for these materials is not known at this time, but the potential market for engines for commercial aircraft is very large. The combination of small business to manufacture the components, a large aircraft engine manufacturing company, and NASA produces a partnership that has the potential to sustain the economic enterprise for the short-term future. Once manufacturing produces a product for a reasonable market price, additional applications may arise. Potential Societal Impact North Carolina A&T is a historically African-american institution. The program would increase the number of African-american engineers with BS and post-graduate degrees in the US. The economic activity has the potential to create new markets and new jobs. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI MATERIALS PROCESSING AND MANFG IIP ENG Shivakumar, Kunigal Earnestine Psalmonds North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University NC Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 614961 7347 1662 1467 SMET OTHR 9177 1662 0000 0090521 October 1, 2000 Innovation Networks: A Strategy of the Regional Technology Alliance. 0090521 Byron This award is to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners for this award include the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; Massachusetts Ventures Corporation; Springfield Technical Community College; Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts; Kollmorgen Aerospace and Defense Group; Rexam Image Products; Western Massachusetts Electric Company; Western Massachusetts Software Company; Mass Ventures Equity Fund; National Collegiate Innovators and Inventors Association. Proposed Activities The activities for this award include: establishment of enabling innovation networks; technology exchange; entrepreneurship activities; commercialization; workforce development; capitalization on the strengths in research in polymer science, computer science, chemical engineering, environmental technology, and electrical engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to integrate research and education and transfer technology. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals for the award are to capitalize on the strong intellectual output from the University of Massachusetts to start new economic activities in western Massachusetts, which has not benefited from the economic well being of the eastern part of the state and to establish new businesses in telecommunications, and manufacturing. Potential Economic Impact The potential economic outcome includes formation and fostering of early stage companies; to establish a collaborative infrastructure to help isolated companies; to increase public and private investment in targeted areas. Potential Societal Impact The potential benefits to society include creation of new wealth through creation of new companies and new jobs, training of a technologically literate workforce with higher paying job opportunities. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Byron, Frederick Shaw Ling Hsu Jerome Schaufeld Allan Blair Thomas Holland University of Massachusetts Amherst MA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 596309 1662 OTHR 0000 0090523 October 1, 2000 Models for Better Academic-Industrial Partnerships to Create Value from Concepts. 0090523 Kohn This award is to Rutgers University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners are Rutgers University; University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Institute of Technology; New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, which includes 15 industrial members. Proposed Activities The activities in this award include implementation and evaluation of better models for academic-industrial partnerships; improved business assessment and planning tools for the innovation process; development of marketable technology from underutilized intellectual property within the industrial sector; engage faculty from business school entrepreneurship programs and public policy departments; education of graduate students in innovation and entrepreneurship. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals are the implementation and evaluation of better models for innovation including Technology Enablement Partnership (TEP) and Virtual Research Organization (VRO). TEP model is for more efficient utilization of underdeveloped intellectual property within the academic sector by improved business assessment and planning. VRO is for development of marketable technology from underutilized intellectual property within the industrial sector by novel interactions with academia. Business schools and public policy departments are participating, as well as scientific and engineering departments from academia. Business and government agencies complete the partnerships with their traditional strengths. The models and their evaluations will be disseminated through normal channels plus a public Innovation Workshop. Potential Economic Impact Workforce needs for innovation in the form of graduate student education will provide the infrastructure to enable innovation in the biomaterials sector. The models will be evaluated and the results will be disseminated. Any business enterprises from the commercialization activities will also have economic impact. Potential Societal Impact Biomaterials have many applications that will be important to medicine and public health. In addition, new jobs in the technology sector will be a benefit in New Jersey. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Kohn, Joachim Joseph Seneca Michael Jaffe William Adams Bozena Michniak Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 599344 1662 OTHR 0000 0090526 February 15, 2001 "Room temperature infrared lasers based on rare earth doped CaGa2Se4". 0090526 Poole This award is to Fisk University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners Fisk University; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL); Coherent Technologies Incorporated (CTI) Proposed Activities Fisk University will grow crystals; LLNL will evaluate the crystals; CTI will build the laser systems. Proposed Innovation The primary application for these laser devices is as transmitters for eyesafe active remote sensors. These sensors are used for a variety of commercial applications including pollution monitoring, atmospheric trace gas monitoring and meteorological studies and wind sensing (lidar systems for aircraft to detect clear air turbulence). CTI has a proposed plan to obtain funding for development of markets for future developments with these laser materials. Potential Economic Impact The proposal does not assess the economic impact, although the potential applications and companies that could participate in the marketing of the products are identified. The primary applications for these lasers is as transmitters for eyesafe active remote sensors used for pollution monitoring, atmospheric trace gas monitoring, meteorological studies, and wind sensing (clear air turbulence). The potential applications range from aircraft safety to air quality and pollution monitoring and control. Education of African American students, especially in engineering is another strong benefit to society. Potential Societal Impact The technology will contribute to public safety, air pollution monitoring etc. In addition, the number of African Americans with both undergraduate and graduate degrees will increase. The strength of the research and education of this institution will be increased. DMR SHORT TERM SUPPORT PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI INTEGRATIVE SYSTEMS OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY AC IIP ENG Poole, Robert Arnold Burger Fisk University TN Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 599778 1712 1662 1519 1253 OTHR 0000 0090536 February 1, 2001 A Partnership for Innovations in Nanocomposites Technology. 0090536 Jeelani This award is to Tuskegee University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners are Tuskegee University; Auburn University; Nanotek Instruments; Advanced Composites Technologies and Associates (ACTA). Proposed Activities Nanotek will supply nano particles and fibers. Auburn University will develop process technology and microstructural characterization of the materials. Tuskegee University will incorporate the fibers and particles into composites and characterize the materials performance. ACTA will assist Tuskegee and fabricate isogrid cylinders through filament winding. The sole use for these cylinders at this time is for space applications via NASA. Proposed Innovation The proposed innovation is development and commercialization of high tech nano composites for isogrid cylinders for space applications. Potential Economic Impact The Space industry is the sole market at the moment. However, there are other potential applications if the current partners expand their vision and mix of partners. Potential Societal Impact The lead institution is a historically african-american institution. Involvement in the economic enterprise would have a good impact, especially if the partners pursue other potential applications. Increasing the number of african-american scientists and engineers with graduate degrees will be a major outcome. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DMR SHORT TERM SUPPORT PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI MATERIALS AND SURFACE ENG OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY AC IIP ENG Jeelani, Shaik Hassan Mahfuz Derrick Dean Tuskegee University AL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 612072 9150 7347 1712 1662 1633 1253 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0090556 February 1, 2001 Advanced Materials for PEM-based Fuel Cell Systems. 0090556 McGrath This award is to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners are Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Virginia Commonwealth University; Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS); Acadia Elastomers; United Technologies; ChemFab; Dais Analytic; BPAmoco; Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Grambling University; Hampton University. Proposed Activities The activities in this award are systems engineering analysis of membrane electrode assembly of fuel cell stacks; predictive modeling of materials durability; synthesis and characterization of new polymers for electrodes; summer intern education programs; modeling and reliability testing; scale-up from materials, models, processing to prototype; technology transfer to industrial partners; commercialization. Proposed Innovation Fuel cells have been in existence for over one hundred years, but they are not economical or reliable enough for commercialization. Materials that operate at higher temperatures and increased efficiency for thousands of hours are needed. Reliability modeling and lifetime prediction models are being investigated. This will allow expansion of the technology to other systems. Once fuel cells become economically competitive, the potential commercialization is enormous. Quiet, clean, reliable, mobile power generation will have a huge range of applications with a large potential economic market. Potential Economic Impact Fuel cells have potential for clean generation of electrical power, but the materials available currently are not adequate for reliable, long-life high temperature economic operation. Inclusion of under-represented minorities in graduate programs is important. Long-term sustainability is assured if economic, reliable fuel cells can be made. Potential Societal Impact Two of the partners are historically african-american colleges. An increase in the number of african-american scientists and engineers with graduate degrees would be a major outcome. Clean generation of electrical power would be a major societal impact. PROJECTS DMR SHORT TERM SUPPORT PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY AC IIP ENG McGrath, James Kenneth Reifsnider Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University VA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 649965 1978 1712 1662 1253 OTHR 9251 0000 0090559 February 1, 2001 AzPATH-A Partnership for Housing Innovation in Arizona. 0090559 Bashford This award is to Arizona State University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners are Arizona State University; Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing; Home Building Association in Central Arizona; Del Webb Corporation; Pulte Homes; Eagle Homes; Trend Homes; Maracay Homes; Gateway Community College. Proposed Activities The partners are doing the following: identification of challenges faced by home builders where technology could change the process significantly; identification of technologies to address the challenges; research on new materials, products, and processes (especially where manufacturing can lower cost and increase quality); modeling and simulation of home construction; develop prototypes and work techniques to apply them; education/training of a workforce to use the new building technology developed. Proposed Innovation Housing is the industry that missed the innovation revolution in America. The industry is mature and extremely fragmented, making innovation very difficult. The proposed innovation activities include research and a management plan to incorporate new materials, manufacturing practice with obvious economic and quality control benefits, training of skilled craftsmen, energy savings, and modification of building codes could modernize the house construction industry with enormous savings for the US economy. Potential Economic Impact The following economic impacts are likely: improve durability and reduce maintenance costs for new homes by 50% by 2010; reduce cost of new homes by 20% by 2010; reduce energy costs by 50%; increased safety of construction workers. The housing industry is a huge driver in the national economy. Potential Societal Impact Active recruitment of Hispanics through chamber of commerce activities and Gateway Community College will help provide opportunity for this group to participate in the program. Affordable and maintainable housing will provide obvious benefits to all Americans, especially Americans who can afford custom homes. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI STRUCTURAL MATERIALS AND MECH IIP ENG Bashford, Howard Peter Crouch Kenneth Walsh Anil Sawhney Arizona State University AZ Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 1635 OTHR 0000 0090569 October 1, 2000 Upstate Alliance for Innovation. 0090569 Boyd This award is to the Rochester Institute of Technology to support the activity described below for 27 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners for the award include Rochester Institute of Technology; the City of Buffalo; the City of Rochester; High Tech of Rochester; IP.com; State University of New York at Buffalo; University of Rochester; Western New York Technology Development Center. Proposed Activities The activities of this award include creation of an infrastructure for commercialization; creation of business start-ups; encouragement of academic patenting; establishment of regional practices to foster innovation; training of entrepreneurial experts who understand intellectual property, formulation of business start-up models; and development of community economic development resources; establishment of the infrastructure to connect university researchers, administrators, technology transfer offices, business builders, and venture capitalists to enable the innovation process. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals are to build the infrastructure to enable innovation connecting the universities to all of the other key elements in the innovation process; to train leaders in innovation; to start new businesses to create regional wealth. Potential Economic Impact The potential economic outcomes include increased patents and business start-ups (10-15 new ones); increased collaborative research; assessment of invention potential; education on intellectual property. Proposed Societal Impact Potential benefits to society include creation of new jobs and new regional business; involvement of under-represented groups in leadership positions in the economic enterprise of the region. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Boyd, Donald Mark Coburn Marjorie Zack Jerry McGuire Rochester Institute of Tech NY Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 643874 1662 OTHR 0000 0090578 October 1, 2000 The Kansas City Regional Innovation Alliance. 0090578 MacQuarrie This award is to the University of Missouri Kansas City to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners include the University of Missouri Kansas City; University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute; Kansas City Life Sciences Institute; University of Missouri Columbia; Midwest Research Institute; Center for Business innovation. Proposed Activities The activities in this award include training scientists, business people and graduate students in technology-based entrepreneurship; developing and implementing a system for identifying and evaluating new discoveries and technologies that may have commercial value; developing a supporting infrastructure to foster and sustain innovation; commercialization. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals include education of scientists, businesspeople, and graduate students in technology-based entrepreneurship and creation of a regional partnership for innovation that enables transformation of knowledge in life sciences into innovations that create new wealth. A system to identify ideas that have commercial potential will be developed. A supporting infrastructure to foster and sustain innovation to commercialization will also be developed. Potential Economic Impact Education of personnel plus technology transfer that might lead to economic activity will have significant economic impacts. Proposed Societal Impact Innovations that benefit health care will result. Training of personnel for high tech jobs in the health care industry and new jobs in the health care industry will result. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG MacQuarrie, Ronald David Bodde Thomas Sharpe University of Missouri-Kansas City MO Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0090582 February 1, 2001 Rapid Product Development in International Production. 0090582 Chen This award is to the University of Texas Pan American to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners for this award include the University of Texas Pan American; Michigan State University; Instituto Technologico Y De Estudios Superiores de Monterrey; General Electric Engine Services; Bissell; TRW; Automation Tooling Systems; Alpine Electronics. Proposed Activities The activities for this award include a University/Industry/Economic Development Partnership to facilitate the process of taking academic research into product design and development. The target region is the US/Mexico border near Brownsville, Texas (predominantly Hispanic population with high unemployment-up to 20%), which is rapidly evolving from agriculture to industry. The program provides internship for students in industry for design projects, virtual international design teams, technical support for small and medium businesses, experience and expertise in rapid product development, interdisciplinary teams (computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing engineering), and experience for students in a global environment. Another goal is promotion of economic development in an impoverished region with a large under-represented minority population. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals for this award include integration of university research and education to provide technical assistance for small and medium industry, education of a technologically literate workforce at the university level to enable innovation, creation of new industries, creation of new jobs, providing economic well-being in an impoverished region Potential Economic Impact The potential economic outcomes include producing graduate engineers with experience in rapid product development in an international setting; creation of new industries and new jobs; providing technical assistance to small and medium companies. Potential Societal Impact This activity has the following potential benefits to society: economic wealth, jobs and workforce training to increase wages in an impoverished region, increased participation of Hispanic persons in the economic enterprise. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI ENGINEERING DESIGN AND INNOVAT IIP ENG Villarreal, John Miguel Gonzalez University of Texas - Pan American TX Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 589216 1662 1464 OTHR 0000 0090595 February 1, 2001 North Carolina Technology Development Initiative: A Novel Approach to Assess, Disseminate and Test a University/Venture Capital/Incubator Partnership Model. 0090595 Lea This award is to the University of North Carolina System to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners include the University of North Carolina System; Centennial Venture Partners Fund; Longleaf Venture Fund; NC Technological Development Authority; NC Biotechnology Center; Research Triangle Institute; NC Board of Science and Technology; NC Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology; NC Economic Development Regions. Proposed Activities This award has the following activities: education; invention prospecting; technology assessment; intellectual property management; business development planning and fundability assessment; license negotiations; venture capital networking; strategic planning for involving the entire University of North Carolina system. Proposed Innovation The proposed activities will study technology transfer in a multi-institutional setting to develop models for improved tech transfer methods. It will involve characterization of successful technology transfer, develop a training program to facilitate faculty understanding of technology transfer, enhance innovation, develop a model to optimize the capability of each campus type to work with the state's science and technology infrastructure to manage intellectual property for the economic development of the state. Potential Economic Impact General increase in economic well being in North Carolina plus more involvement of the University of North Carolina System in the innovation process will occur. Potential Societal Impact Potential societal impacts include more economic growth for the region; jobs for university graduates; higher salaries for the underdeveloped regions of the state. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG lea, russ University of North Carolina General Administration Office NC Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 535766 1662 OTHR 0000 0090596 February 1, 2001 INNOVATION INCUBATOR: Flaming the Sparks of Creativity. 0090596 Loewer This award is to the University of Arkansas to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners in this award include the University of Arkansas; several venture capitalists; Arkansas Science and Technology Authority. Proposed Activities The activities in this award are creation of business start-ups at the campus incubator; advancing discovery and education in microelectronics and photonics; technology transfer; providing technical and business expertise to start-up companies. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals include providing the infrastructure to fill the gap between university research and commercialization in the form of an on-campus incubator in nano and microelectronics and photonics, and education of students in entrepreneurial activities. Potential Economic Impact The potentials economic impacts include increased success for small start-up ventures because of nurturing of small companies by faculty expertise; a workforce trained in entrepreneurial activities; an active partnership between the schools of engineering and business. The number of small businesses and jobs in the region will increase. Potential Societal Impact Small firms will be able to utilize the resources of the university including space, facilities, faculty and students. The workforce in the region will become technologically literate and have more jobs available for their skills. The number of african-american graduates in science and engineering will increase. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI INTEGRATIVE SYSTEMS IIP ENG Loewer, Otto Gregory Salamo Ken Vickers John Ahlen University of Arkansas AR Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 499657 1662 1519 OTHR 0000 0090616 February 1, 2001 Caltech Entrepreneurial Fellows Program. 0090616 Murray This award is to California Institute of Technology to support the activity described below for 30 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners Partners for the partnership include California Institute of Technology; Art Center College of Design; State government through Business Technology Center incubator; private industry. Proposed Activities The activities for this award include creation of post-degree entrepreneurial fellowships with the goal of preparing students previously trained in science or design to adapt their skills to the development of commercial products in the start-up environment; training in entreperneurialship (business plan, develop engineering prototypes; financial sources, etc); industrial partner mentor program. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals for the award include education of entrepreneurial leaders who have primary graduate and post-graduate education in science and engineering; formation of start-up high tech companies; development of educational modules for entrepreneurial courses for export to other universities. Potential Economic Impact The potential economic outcomes include teaching modules for export to other schools; spin-off companies; network of entrepreneurs and industry partners; graduates in science and technology with entrepreneurial training for leadership roles in the private sector. Potential Societal Impact The major benefit to society from this award will be the creation of high tech jobs and an education methodology for training future leaders in an innovative society. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI ENGINEERING EDUCATION IIP ENG Murray, Richard John Ledyard Kenneth Pickar California Institute of Technology CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 597246 1662 1340 OTHR 0000 0090635 October 1, 2000 Farm and Ornamental Fish. 0090635 Hatch This award is to the University of Idaho to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners include the University of Idaho; Clear Springs Food; Rangan Feeds; SeaPac; Fish Breeders of Idaho; Tribal Fish Commission; US Fish and Wildlife Service; Idaho Department of Fish and Game; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; Boise State University; Idaho State University; Washington State University; University of Idaho at Hagerman. Proposed Activities The activities include research on aquaculture; development of broodstock for specific aquaculture needs; development of feeds that meet requirements of environmental protection and aquaculture; technology transfer; education and training in biology, nutrition, genetics. Proposed Innovation The collaborating representatives involving scientists from universities, native American tribes, industry, and government all associated independently with different aquaculture affiliated programs or products will bring the components that supply, produce manage, regulate, and market fish, fish feeds, and recreation to resolve the problems facing aquaculture to create an expanded industry. Potential Economic Impact Fish products account for $11B in the US trade deficit (the US imports 65% of the annual fish food consumption). The world supply of fish products is limited, requiring aquaculture to meet the growing demand. Environmental concerns over wastes from current aquaculture will be costly and will need addressing. Sport fishing and fish for aquarium hobbyists also have a large economic base that can benefit from the results of this innovation activity. Potential Societal Impact Increased capacity to provide fish as a foodstuff will require aquaculture for an increasing societal demand. Clean water from the "waste" products from the aquaculture industry will have environmental impact. Sport fishing for recreation is another societal benefit. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Hatch, Charles Ernest Brannon Ronald Hardy Madison Powell University of Idaho ID Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 564709 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0090959 February 1, 2001 Synergistic Electronic Commerce (SynreCom) Partnership for Innovation. 0090959 Sera This award is to Texas A&M University to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners for this award include Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service; Edgewood ISD, San Antonio School District; Our Lady of the Lake University; TEKSA Innovations Corporation; San Antonio Day Care Providers. Proposed Activities The award supports the following activities: formation of minority-lead entrepreneurial teams to form and assist small businesses; provide e-commerce capability for small business; job training (computer training) for at-risk students; provide business management tools, including incubation support, to small minority-owned small businesses. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals of this award include formation of minority-led entrepreneurial teams to assist formation and growth of small business in the San Antonio area; enablement of economic growth by providing e-commerce capability of small businesses, especially minority owned businesses; providing incubator services where needed; providing workforce training for at-risk under-represented groups and providing job opportunities for them in small companies. Potential Economic Impact The potential economic benefits from this award includes a wide range of outcomes, such as job training and job placement for under-represented, at-risk of poverty groups by creation of new business and new jobs. Potential Societal Impact The potential benefits to society include education and training for at-risk under-represented minorities; creation of business opportunities for minority-owned small businesses; creation of new employment opportunities for minorities. THEORY OF COMPUTING PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Sera, Gary George Bennett Texas Engineering Extension Service TX Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 598347 2860 1662 OTHR 0000 0090978 April 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Semi-Automatically Constructing Wrappers to Access Internet-Based Information Sources. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project focuses on developing technology for semi-automatically creating wrappers that extract data from semi-structured web pages. The key innovation is a bootstrapping method for wrapper generation, so that experience in wrapping previous sites can be automatically re-used to minimize the effort required to wrap new sites. The proposed technology will make it practical to create thousands of highly accurate wrappers almost completely automatically, creating new opportunities for web-based information integration. The proposed technology will enable Fetch Technologies to scale our current wrapper generation technology far beyond what his now practical. Thousands of Internet services create value for their users by aggregating and integrating information from Internet sources. The proposed technology will make these types of services radically simpler to implement. Applications include portal sites, comparison shopping services, auction sites, finance integration, and competitive intelligence-gathering services. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Minton, Steven FETCH TECHNOLOGIES CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 748368 5373 HPCC 9216 0522400 Information Systems 0091356 April 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Understanding 'Construction/Deconstruction' and the Role of Resistance in Accelerated Learning. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the need to improve the success rate at which new technologies can be introduced into the workplace. A methodology and service, ATTAIN(TM), has been conceived to accelerate the integration of technology by rapidly and aggressively identifying critical processes and practices in the organization and shifting them in value-added ways at the level of worker cognition and operational specifics. This method has been shown to be highly successful, but is labor intensive, expensive, and requires highly skilled practitioners. Furthermore, the method upon which ATTAIN is based is not sufficiently targeted. That is, more often than not, businesses have only 3-4 workplace processes or practices that need to be changed in order to increase the company's competitiveness. The original method does not single these out as more important than other elements of the workplace. To date, increasing the effective incorporation of new technology by changing workplace practice and worker cognition through specialized simulation training, but not at identifying the most appropriate target for the technology implementation or change has been very successful. The work of Phase II will involve integrating the current methods with those of another company. Their method has been shown to identify the "vital few" practices that mitigate a company's overall competitive survival and which are the most appropriate targets for change. Phase II has two goals. First, a hybrid method that is quicker and more targeted will be developed. Second, a practitioner training approach and supporting materials that make it possible for professionals without extensive experience to deliver the method in a high quality manner will be developed. Training and licensing practitioners in a hybrid method of workplace learning will contribute significantly to the problem of efficient and successful technology integration and implementation of new technologies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG DiBello, Lia Workplace Technologies Research Inc. NY Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 679647 5373 1666 SMET 9179 9102 6850 0105000 Manpower & Training 0091357 May 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: A Universal Protein Interaction Biosensor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is focused on developing nanotechnology reagents and tools for the emerging field of proteomics. The technology is modular. This means that universal reagents are produced to which an end-user can, in a simple step, attach any protein or antibody for a variety of biological assays. The detection technology under development is electronic. Electronic detection can be readily multiplexed for high throughput assays. Large numbers of experiments can be simultaneously analyzed, over short periods of time, using state of the art electronics techniques like time-division multiplexing. Since the output of the technology is electronic, massive data sets can be directly transferred to bioinformatics systems for automated analysis and storage. The technology uses cheap off the shelf components coupled with proprietary state of the art, nanotechnology reagents. The speed and multiplexing capabilities of the technology make it orders of magnitude less expensive than existing or competing technologies. The technology will be tailored to the special needs of proteomics: the study of the function of the gene products, proteins. With the sequencing of the human genome nearing completion, the need for tools to facilitate the study of proteomics is a high priority near-term application. Pharmaceutical companies would use this technology to identify families of proteins that are implicated in disease and construct databases that define networks of interacting proteins to determine points of intervention and potential drug targets. End-users will prefer to use the proposed technology because it will be more cost effective, sensitive, faster and flexible enough to adapted to many user applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Bamdad, Cynthia ROSENTIEL MEL SCOTT 029 MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 498751 5373 BIOT 9184 9102 1108 0203000 Health 0091359 April 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: An Intelligent Three-Dimensional (3D) Mosaic Tool for Multiple 3D Images Integration. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program investigates a novel software tool for integrating multiple 3D images. Three-dimensional (3D) modeling of physical objects and environment is an essential part of the challenges for many multimedia tasks. However, most physical objects self occlude, and no single view 3D image suffices to describe the entire surface of a 3D object. Multiple 3D images of the same object or scene from various viewpoints have to be taken and integrated in order to obtain a complete 3D model of the 3D object or scene. This process is called the "3D mosaic". The primary objective of this SBIR effort is to develop a fully automatic and intelligent software tool that is able to mosaic (i.e., align and merge) multiple 3D images of the same object taken from different viewpoints, without a priori knowledge of camera positions. The main innovations of this proposed effort are threefold: (1) an intelligent alignment method that is able to register multiple un-calibrated 3D images without needing any priori knowledge of camera location and orientation; (2) a seamless merge method to "stitch" together the aligned 3D images using the fuzzy logic principle; and (3) an intelligent 3D image compression algorithm that preserves 3D image geometric features while achieving high compression ratio. The 3D Mosaic technique to be developed under this SBIR program has enormous commercial applications, including industrial design and prototyping, reverse engineering, manufacturing part inspection, part replacement and repair, animation, entertainment, 3D modeling for WWW documents, archiving, virtual reality environment, education, virtual museum, commercial on-line catalogues, etc. It will become an important part of future 3D TV technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Zhuang, Ping GENEX TECHNOLOGIES INC MD Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 750000 5373 HPCC 9139 0108000 Software Development 0091369 March 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Reactive Nanoparticles as Destructive Adsorbents. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project focuses on the development and optimization of a continuous, easily scalable and economical synthesis of reactive nanoparticles (RNPs); characterization and control of physical and chemical properties of these materials; development of flexible synthesis approaches for production of complex nanoparticle metal oxides; and identification and establishment of quality control procedures. This effort is critically needed in order to develop commercially viable nanomaterials for applications in both civilian and military markets. As demonstrated during the Phase I research, nanomaterials, produced using the proprietary continuous process, possess the same chemical and physical properties as those prepared in a batchwise mode. The research is broad and spans a number of significant markets including decontamination technologies for military and civilian applications, improved catalysts and catalytic supports, industrial gas scrubbing, and active ingredients for high efficiency air and water purification systems. Each of these market applications represents an initial subset of the market opportunities for these highly reactive nanomaterials. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Klabunde, Kenneth NANOSCALE MATERIALS INC KS Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 749865 5373 AMPP 9165 9150 1415 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091378 January 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Phase Locking of High Power Fiber Laser Arrays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is aimed at achieving the first ever 350W (cw) output power in a high brightness and diffraction-limited laser beam from a multicore phase-locked fiber laser array. Under Phase I, the feasibility of the unique power combining concept has been demonstrated by phase-locking a group of 7 Yb-doped single mode fiber lasers, embedded in a common cladding. In addition, a theoretical model has been developed, providing a deeper understanding of physical mechanisms responsible for phase-locking of a multicore fiber laser array. These results clearly indicate that this extremely challenging goal for Phase II can be accomplished. Nevertheless, there remain several obstacles that need to be removed before embarking on commercialization. First, a significant improvement of the laser performance must be made. This can be accomplished by exploring various parameters, which include fiber length, cavity finesse, gain saturation, temperature and stress distributions, as well as fiber structural parameters, such as core separation and the V-value. In addition, an order of magnitude improvement for efficient coupling of pump power into the clad must be made. To advance this technology, various pumping techniques will be explored, in particular the side-pumping of the fiber laser from the cladding walls, instead of the fiber end facets. If successfully developed, this could be the most viable way to obtain the maximum output power without causing catastrophic damage. Finally, the reliability of the device when operating at very high power level must be established by raising the power damaging threshold. High power diode-pumped multicore fiber lasers can be very competitive in the market place as compared to high power diode-pumped solid-state lasers and C02 lasers presently employed by automotive, aerospace and ship-building industries for precision drilling, high-speed cutting and welding of metals and composition materials. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Cheo, Peter P C PHOTONICS CORPORATION CT Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 749987 5373 AMPP 9165 0522100 High Technology Materials 0091388 March 1, 2001 STTR Phase II: Low Cost, Nano-Crystalline Sensors, for Real-Time Monitoring of Carbon Monoxide and Volatile Organic Compounds. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase II project will develop a fully functional, cost-effective, prototype sensor for carbon monoxide and volatile organic contaminants in air. Phase I results suggest that a sensor array based on catalyst-doped, nano-crystalline metal oxide films will provide a marked improvement in detection of contaminants, such as formaldehyde, and thereby upgrade control of indoor air quality. Phase II will develop this sensor technology with objectives of long-term use, low cost, high sensitivity, and sufficient selectivity for commercial applications. These applications include indoor air quality monitoring, environmental air monitoring, oil refining, chemical manufacturing, automotive emission control systems, and industrial process STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Smilanich, Nicholas Chung-Chiun Liu SENSOR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OH Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 504908 1505 MANU 9251 9178 9148 9147 0110000 Technology Transfer 0118000 Pollution Control 0091412 April 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Web-Based Urn Sampler and Statistical Authoring Environment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will create web-based courseware featuring software (the "Urn Sampler") built around the simulation/resampling method in statistics which focuses on the process of formulating a statistical test. This courseware will also feature a statistics text (Statistics: Making Sense of Data by Stout, Marden and Travers), self-assessment tools, a "Virtual Professor" help system, a "Virtual Statistics Consulting Lab," and entry-level spreadsheet-based statistical software. The target market is students in introductory statistics courses, who will purchase the product just as they now purchase texts. The courseware aims to leverage the latest and most standard web technologies that are anticipated to be in place at the conclusion of the project's development phase. The plan combines the power of a web-based structure with the new resampling techniques to create a unique learning environment for statistics students. The Urn Sampler will be an open and flexible lab tool that will let teachers create exercises to supplement class lectures and other course materials. It will make it easy to teach the new compute-intensive resampling methods that have proven successful in teaching statistical inference. It addresses a diverse audience, including undergraduate and graduate students taking a required course in quantitative reasoning or statistics, students taking an undergraduate major or minor in statistics, and graduate students studying statistics and continuing education students. Additional product sales will come through purchases of parts of the web product by students whose instructors have adopted a text other than the Stout, et al. text. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Bruce, Peter CYTEL SOFTWARE CORP INC MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 494973 1666 SMET 9178 7400 7256 0104000 Information Systems 0108000 Software Development 0091432 February 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: In Situ Remediation of Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) Using Bioaugmentation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project is designed to develop and demonstrate a new in situ treatment technology for the destruction of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in groundwater. The gasoline additive MTBE is the second most prevalent groundwater contaminant in the United States, and there are currently no economical technologies for its removal from the water supply. This technology utilizes a novel bacterium of the species Hydrogenophaga flava (ENV735) for the remediation of MTBE. This bacterium, which was recently isolated by Envirogen scientists, is one of only two bacterial strains discovered that are capable of growth on MTBE. Phase II experiments will be conducted to: (1) assess the movement and distribution of the bacterium in the subsurface; (2) develop an adhesion-deficient strain for improved aquifer distribution; and (3) optimize commercial-scale growth, shipment, and injection of the bacterium for field application. A field demonstration will be conducted to fully test the technology under in situ conditions. The bioaugmentation with ENV735 has broad potential as an in situ remediation technology for MTBE-contaminated aquifers. If the results of the field trial are positive, commercialization of the bioaugmentation technology is anticipated in the short term. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Hatzinger, Paul Envirogen, Inc. NJ Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 495582 5373 EGCH 9198 0313000 Regional & Environmental 0091446 February 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Combinatorial Synthesis of Electrocatalysts for Ozone Production. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project describes an innovative combinatorial approach to the discovery of new electrocatalysts for electrochemical ozone generation. Ozone is increasingly being used in water treatment, as a sanitizing agent in the food industry and is preferred over chlorine and its derivatives. Electrochemical ozone generation, where ozone is generated by electrolysis of water, can potentially offer several cost and process advantages over the conventional electrical discharge methods of ozone generation. However, existing methods for generating ozone electrochemically use electrodes, which offer low Faradaic (i.e., current) efficiencies and have limited materials stability. In Phase I, ozone electrocatalysts were screened using a combinatorial approach, and two novel electrocatalysts for ozone formation were identified. A new rapid screening approach was also devised and will be used to evaluate focussed combinatorial arrays in Phase II. Phase II will identify the precise stoichiometries of the new ozone electrocatalysts using the techniques pioneered in Phase I. The catalysts will then be synthesized on a macro scale and evaluated in ozone cells using existing ozone electrocatalysts as a benchmark. The catalysts identified during this project will enable a more cost-effective generation of ozone with applications in municipal water treatment, point-of-entry and point-of-use water treatment, food sanitation, medical waste treatment and medical sterilization. Ozone could also be utilized in the chemical industry as a replacement for chlorine in a variety of processes, e.g. paper and pulp bleaching. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Tennakoon, Charles Lynntech, Inc TX Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 578564 5373 AMPP 9165 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091447 February 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Internet Based Remote Seismic Depth Imaging. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a seismic processing system that enables the delivery of leading-edge seismic services over the Internet and Intranets. Internet-based seismic processing (INSP) enables exploration companies to directly control their critical seismic imaging projects, without the need of purchasing and maintaining expensive hardware and software. INSP is a complete processing system that includes a client-based Java GUI, and server-based processing and database modules. The computationally intensive modules run on shared-memory parallel computers and Linux clusters. Phase I implemented the essential functionalities for a useful product, demonstrated concept feasibility, and laid the groundwork for the Phase II project. Phase II will add functionality to the product, and implement all security and data management aspects necessary for Internet deployment. INSP ushers in a paradigm shift for the upstream oil and gas industry. Commercial potential is significant because INSP makes digital information and compute-intensive technology accessible to a large client base that wishes to outsource its non-core competencies to an application service provider, while maintaining control of projects. INSP greatly increases interaction between the client and contractor, thereby increasing the quality of the final seismic image, and reducing exploration and development cost. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Bevc, Dimitri 3DGEO DEVELOPMENT INC CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 750000 5373 CVIS 1038 0109000 Structural Technology 0091448 February 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Instrument for Tumor Cell Purging. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project describes a novel laser-based technology for large-scale analysis and processing of living cells. One application of this technology is the detection and elimination of contaminating tumor cells from autologous hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplants for cancer patients. Published studies have shown that: (1) contaminating tumor cells contribute to cancer relapse; (2) successful tumor purging provides a clinical benefit; and (3) current purging methods are inadequate. Therefore, technology that reliably eliminates tumor cells from transplants, while leaving HSCs undamaged, is needed. A patented innovative approach integrating fluorescence scanning cytometry, real-time image analysis, and specific laser-induced killing of individual cell targets will be used. The Phase II project will complete the clinical-scale prototype instrument, leading into clinical trials. The instrument design will then be configured for successful commercial manufacturing, and further improvements in capabilities will be pursued in order to maintain market leadership and expand into other markets. The studies conducted in the Phase II project will lead to commercialization of a method to eliminate detectable tumor cells from an HSC transplant with a several hour automated procedure. The resulting instrumentation will also be useful in a number of other clinical and research applications that require cell analysis and purification with high purity, yield and speed. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Koller, Manfred Cyntellect, Inc CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 511982 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091451 January 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: An Imaging Sensor for Measuring and Controlling the Particle Conditions in Thermal Sprays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a short-exposure imaging sensor for measuring and controlling particle temperature and velocity of thermal sprays. Thermal spray is a rapidly growing element of the metals processing industry, which needs process control. Currently, there are no direct particle condition controls, for lack of a sensor to provide real-time measurements. This imaging sensor technology will continuously view the entire particle stream, utilize the entire emission across the spectral range of the sensor, and employ fast image processing algorithms to obtain on-line measurements. Phase II will develop a sensor response model, hardware and software design, and prototype sensors will be constructed and calibration tested. These sensors will be incorporated in process control systems and operated in an industrial environment. Thermal spray technology is changing and improving the way high quality metal parts are manufactured for the automotive, aerospace, energy, and heavy equipment industries. Sensor and thermal spray controls will provide new levels of cost efficiency and consistency to challenges in material processing, namely thermal, wear and corrosion, by coating the surface with metals and ceramics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Craig, James Stratonics Inc CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 484747 5373 MANU AMPP 9146 1467 1444 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091452 March 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Imaging Subsurface Fluid Flow with Time-Lapse Seismic Data. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project concerns the development and implementation of seismic imaging and inversion methods and parallel computer algorithms to estimate subsurface fluid-flow properties from time-lapse seismic data. In recent years, there has been exponential growth in time-lapse seismology project activity. These projects have yielded seismic difference anomalies that result from monitoring time-variant changes in the earth's subsurface related to fluid flow. However, such anomalies are often qualitative and ambiguous--what causes the anomalies, and what do they mean? The proposed Phase II research will enable the capability to make quantitative estimates of the 3D distribution of subsurface fluid pressure and fluid saturation changes that cause the seismic anomalies, using wave-equation seismic imaging and inversion techniques, coupled with rock physics analysis. The research consists of three parts: optimized parallel software and computational design, amplitude preserved seismic imaging and impedance inversion, and robust rock physics inversion to estimate pressure and saturation. The software and services generated by this Phase II research will be invaluable to help guide new wells and optimize reservoir management decisions in the 70+ oilfields world-wide that are being actively monitored with time-lapse seismic data. Near-term commercial applications of the proposed research include petroleum industry mapping and monitoring of commercial oil reserves, monitoring of costly injected fluids (water, steam, CO2, miscible gas), and imaging pressure compartmentalization and the leaking or sealing properties of faults and fractures. Non-petroleum applications may include monitoring groundwater reserves, near-surface monitoring of contaminant plumes and environmental clean-up projects. Potential far-market applications may include sub-sea acoustic imaging, synthetic aperture radar satellite imaging, and medical imaging. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Lumley, David Fourth Wave Imaging Corporation CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 462777 5373 HPCC EGCH 9215 9189 1266 0313040 Water Pollution 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0091454 April 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Novel Electric Field Probe for High-Speed Integrated Circuits and Semiconductor Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a prototype high speed, non-invasive, optical probe for electric fields, and hence waveforms, in semiconductor devices. The technique is designed to work on any semiconductor regardless of its crystal structure and can be used for both imaging and single point detection without degradation of temporal resolution. Because the technique is optically based, no parasitic capacitance is added to the device being measured. A femtosecond laser probes the device to be measured, and temporal resolution is several orders of magnitude faster than the time resolution required to probe present devices. Bandwidths of greater than 10 terahertz should be possible. This non-invasive probe technique will be applied to silicon-based devices. In their production and testing in the semiconductor industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kane, Daniel Southwest Sciences Inc NM Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 500000 5373 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0091492 February 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Novel Microphase Separated Solid Polymer Electrolytes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop novel nano-structured solvent free polymer electrolytes for solid state Li-ion batteries. The important characteristics of these electrolytes are that they are of high ionic conductivity and have excellent mechanical strength. The combination of these properties results from an ordered structure on the nanometer scale, consisting of a co-continuous network of an epoxy scaffold and a polymer electrolyte. This unique structure is obtained by self-assembly during curing of the epoxy in the presence of a partially emersiable block copolymer containing the ion-conducting phase. Polymer electrolyte batteries based on the new electrolytes promise great configuration flexibility in design and substantially increased energy density. The new polymer electrolytes will permit fabrication of high performance Li- ion batteries for use in portable consumer products such as cellular telephones, portable power tools, video cameras and laptop computers. Other applications include "dye sensitized solar cells", and electrochromic devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Peramunage, Dharmasena EIC Laboratories Inc MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 500000 5373 MANU AMPP 9163 9146 1773 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 0091499 March 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Advanced Formal Techniques for Dependable Reactive Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop the automated tool support that will enable engineers to deploy powerful and mathematically rigorous, yet easy-to-use and cost-effective, techniques to model, analyze and implement correct and reliable reactive software systems. Such systems are intended to maintain an ongoing interaction with their environment in order to provide appropriate responses to stimuli the environment generates. Examples include the embedded software found in medical, automotive, aeronautical, consumer-electronic, e-commerce, and telecommunications applications. Many of these are safety- or business-critical. Providing an enabling technology for the cost-effective development of correctly functioning reactive systems would thus be of great social and economic benefit to the nation. The main tangible outcome of the proposed effort and the flagship product will be the React tool environment. React will allow reactive-system designers to create mathematical models of their systems; validate models via simulation and automatic verification; and automatically generate implementations or test suites from models. The key innovation of the proposed technology is its reliance on powerful formal techniques, developed by RSI for modeling systems and validating properties of these models in a fully automatic fashion. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sims, Steven REACTIVE SYSTEMS INC VA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 499890 5373 HPCC 9216 0108000 Software Development 0091507 May 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Novel Multi-Wavelength Time-Resolved Laser Induced Fluorescence Detector. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will lead to a breakthrough in the use of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) for chromatographic detection. Commercial standalone LIF detectors are based on CW lasers and collect data at a fixed wavelength. Consequently, they add minimal capability for resolving complex mixtures beyond that inherent in the chromatographic separation itself. On-the-fly fluorescence lifetime measurements at a single emission wavelength have been proposed as a better way to resolve the signals of co-eluting species. Our approach is far more powerful because it provides lifetimes on-the-fly and at several wavelengths simultaneously. A new prism flow cell fiber optically coupled to the emission spectrograph was introduced in Phase I. In addition, two different algorithms strategies for analyzing the multi-dimensional fluorescence data were developed and demonstrated. In Phase II a diode-pumped laser will replace the flashlamp pumped excitation laser, thereby providing 100 times higher pulse repetition frequency, 10 times shorter pulse duration, and 10 times better shot-to-shot stability. New digitizer technology will be incorporated to accommodate the laser's high repetition frequency. Important Phase II activities include fluorescence methods development to extend the range of applications to drugs and drug metabolites and elaboration of the chemometric algorithms. The instrumental approach to be realized through the Phase II research will have a profound impact on QA/QC assessments of drug purity, bioequivalence and pharmacokinetic studies, and research investigations in humans and animals. Sales of several hundred units per year to pharmaceutical manufacturers, contract research organizations, and universities are anticipated. The technology will later be adapted for faster and more accurate DNA sequencing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Engebretson, Daniel DAKOTA TECHNOLOGIES INC ND Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 459780 5373 EGCH 9251 9231 9150 1317 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091510 May 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Auto-Tracking Using Trailing Templates and Skeletal Guides. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project continues research and development aimed at demonstrating the feasibility for automatic video tracking of the motion of animals and humans in unconstrained environments. The Phase I study succeeded by designing low-level intelligence into predictive search algorithms that were able to confine their search for the correct position in a succeeding image to specific, small regions predicted by the system. The objective is to create a software system, easily operable by an unsophisticated user that can quickly and accurately track multiple points or regions of a moving animal or human through a sequence of video images. This tracking can be done despite background clutter and intermittent occlusion, and without attaching any distinguishing markers to the subject. In Phase I, a user interface was designed that allowed the user to choose a 'skeletal template' to be tracked with a pointing device (a mouse) by selecting vertices of closed polygons and connected rotation points. By sensing the direction and speed of motion of the system, the model-based tracking algorithm told the search mechanism where it should look in the next image to match a 'trailing template' derived from previous locations and orientations of the template. In Phase II, more sophisticated modeling and prediction algorithms, including supervised learning of constructed models, and a pyramided coarse-to-fine scale-space, constructed at video load time, will be brought to bear that will increase speed and efficiency of the tracking algorithm and improve the robustness of the model-based approach. At the same time, the user interface will be redefined to improve the 'look and feel' and give it a more intuitive structure. Applications for this software have a ready market demand. Present commercial tracking technology of biological motion requires the placement of intrusive control targets at critical positions on the subject. The commercial need for tracking and characterizing general biological motion will be exploited, including tools for animal behavior analysis, and predicting and improving motion efficiency in athletes. In addition, this technology has applications in diagnostics and medicine/health applications, surveillance, and other uses ranging from NASA's space research, to ergonomic design, to the fingering of musical instruments. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Mostert, Paul Mostert Group KY Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 750000 5373 HPCC 9251 9178 9150 9139 6840 0104000 Information Systems 0091512 February 1, 2001 STTR Phase II: Integrated Water Quality Monitoring System. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase II project will develop optical sensors, called optrodes, and their systems for monitoring environmental water quality. Phase I research demonstrated the ability of optrodes to gather long-term environmental water quality data in harsh environments. Phase II technical issues are concerned with: (1) analyte specific probe chemistries; (2) optical coatings; and (3) optical configurations. With respect to systems, Phase I found lifetime phase-base measurement systems superior to traditional intensity-based systems. Phase II will develop an integrated phase-based analyzer capable of: (1) resolving dissolved oxygen, dissolved carbon dioxide, acidity, and temperature; and (2) transmission by remote data telemetry. These innovations in optrode technology will: (1) improve mapping of geophysical fields; (2) substantially reduce direct labor costs associated with conventional monitoring technologies; (3) produce robust data for enhanced modeling capabilities; and (4) enable other technology for protecting natural resources. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Duncan, Paul AIRAK, INC VA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 512000 1505 MANU EGCH 9251 9178 9147 9146 1325 1317 0110000 Technology Transfer 0118000 Pollution Control 0091513 June 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Suction Retention Smart Variable Geometry Sockets (SVGS) for Transtibial Prostheses. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will complete development of a production Smart Variable Geometry Socket (SVGS) for transtibial amputees (TTAs) and will test it with a clinical study. This non-electrical system is a simple means for ensuring and maintaining a good socket fit, with security and stability increased over the state of the art. Poorly fitting sockets, which cause pain and skin lesions, are responsible for a significant portion of TTAs rejecting a prosthesis. The SVGS/TT utilizes suction retention, which provides an important benefit, particularly to diabetics, by increasing blood circulation in the residual limb. The unique SVGS system consists of multiple, liquid-filled bladders placed by the prosthetist during socket fitting and a control for maintaining appropriate pressures on the residual limb at selected locations, all contained within the dimensions of a conventional prosthesis. The SVGS can be applied by the prosthetist with existing equipment and conventional art, thereby minimizing implementation cost. This attribute will enhance market acceptance. Phase I demonstrated feasibility; Phase II will measure efficacy and acceptance by TTAs. Phase II results will be the catalyst for successful commercialization. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Greenwald, Richard SIMBEX LLC NH F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 805988 5373 BIOT 9251 9183 9178 7218 5342 0116000 Human Subjects 0203000 Health 0091519 March 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: X-ray Microscope. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is directed at improving the capabilities of high resolution x-ray imaging systems. The enabling technology in this approach is a novel x-ray detector formed from transparent scintillation crystals. A prototype developed in Phase I demonstrates a spatial resolution of six microns. This surpasses the resolution of commercial systems based on microfocus x-ray sources, and is 4-6 times better than current x-ray detectors. Based on these results it is anticipated that a resolution of 1-2 microns can be achieved in Phase II. If fully successful, the end result of Phase II will be a commercialized x-ray microscope with five to ten times the resolution of existing products. High-resolution x-ray imaging is used in many fields, including manufacturing, medicine, and scientific research. The product developed in Phase II will have better technical performance and be lower in cost that presently available systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Smith, Steven Spectrum San Diego, Inc. CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 467678 5373 CVIS 1038 0512205 Xray & Electron Beam Lith 0091520 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Innovation of Real-Time, Integrative Computer Vision System for Accurate, Full-Field Characterization of Complex Component Response. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance full-field, three-dimensional image correlation measurement technology to a level far beyond the current state-of-the-art. The research will produce a prototype commercial measurement system that will present a cost effective solution to a wide range of deformation measurement problems. The four areas of research for this project are: system calibration, algorithm development, distributed computing and system validation. The completion of this project will result in an easy-to-use, real-time measurement system applicable to a wide range of size scales with high accuracy and a known level of uncertainty. The unique ability to simultaneously measure surface shape, displacement and strain with high accuracy meets industrial measurement demands in many areas. The method is ideally suited for structural evaluation, computer model verification, non-destructive testing, material property measurement and shape measurement. Among others, the technology has applications in the following industries: automotive industry, commercial aviation manufacturers, space vehicle manufacturers, academic research institutions, government laboratories, and the biomedical and electronic packaging industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Echerer, Scott Alpha Manufacutring, Inc. SC Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 794000 5373 MANU HPCC 9251 9178 9150 9146 9139 7218 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0091522 February 1, 2001 STTR Phase II: High Twisting Power Chiral Materials for Nanostructured Bragg Reflective Displays. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II Project develops a new class of chiral materials, the dioxolanes, which provide unprecedented helical twisting power. When added to a nematic liquid crystal, a concentration of only a few percent is required to twist the nematic phase into a tight helix with a periodicity of the wavelength of light. Because of the low concentration, the chiral additive does not dilute important physical properties of the nematic material required to optimize Cholesteric displays for brightness, contrast, speed and low operating voltages. Being simple molecular structures, dioxolane derivatives can be synthesized in both left and right hand moieties to enable, for the first time, Cholesteric displays that nearly double the reflective brightness to where it approaches that which we are used to seeing from paper. Phase II research has both a basic and an applied component. The basic component studies the helical twisting power and its relationship to the molecular structure of the chiral compounds and host mixtures. The applied component uses this information to design and develop chiral additives for advanced Cholesteric displays for use in electronic books and other handheld devices. The chiral materials will be used in display products primarily used in handheld devices whee low power, sunlight readability, and wide angle viewing of high resolution, full color images are important. Devices targeted are electronic book, cell phones, pagers, etc. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Doane, J. William KENT DISPLAYS INC OH Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 509063 1505 MANU 9252 9178 9147 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091528 October 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Integrated Reactor Scale and Topography Feature Scale Simulator for Plasma Enhanced Semiconductor Processes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will provide a commercial software tool that integrates reactor scale, (pre)sheath transport, and feature scale models for comprehensive analysis of thermal chemical vapor deposition and low pressure plasma processes in integrated circuit fabrication. Phase II will focus on development of (pre)sheath models, a feature scale simulation tool, a charging model, and the supporting infrastructure in proprietary software, called CFD-ACE+, to integrate these models. (Pre)sheath models from Phase I will be enhanced to address additional common plasma reactor operating conditions. A feature scale simulator, based on the multi-physics models of the existing proprietary software and embedded in the reactor model, will be developed. The model for surface charging will be integrated with the (pre)sheath and sheath models for ion transport and the feature scale models. The software infrastructure will be extended to simplify the model definition steps common to all feature scale simulators. This tool will provide engineers in the semiconductor industry with a means to predict the effect of both reactor designs and process conditions on the size, shape, and quality of the device components they are producing. It will extend the CFD-ACE+ commercial reactor scale modeling software to interface properly with feature scale simulators. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Cole, James CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION AL Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 504465 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091549 March 15, 2001 STTR Phase II: High Speed Instrumentation for Real Time Biological Imaging. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project is to develop a new type of atomic force microscope that can image nanometer scale features, in real time, in the physiological environment. In all of its forms, the microscope is probably the most widely used tool in the investigation of biological structure and function. The introduction of the atomic force microscope (AFM) to biology created much excitement because the AFM fills a gap in the capabilities of the microscopes that are available to biologists. The study of living and moving biological systems, on time scales of seconds, with nanometer scale resolution, is becoming increasingly important in biological research. Self-assembled monolayers, proteins, and cellular processes all fall into this category. Existing AFMs fall short of the requirements for these applications because of speed and sensitivity limitations in fluid operation. The project is based on the AFM, for nanometer scale imaging of biological samples that is orders of magnitude faster than current AFMs. Additionally, the new system will be optimized for fluid operation in order to give researchers active control over imaging dynamics. This composite system will allow researchers to probe nanometer scale biological phenomena at speeds never before accessible. The technology could dramatically increase biological imaging in two ways: (1) faster imaging and (2) higher resolution in fluid. The increase in speed and resolution will help facilitate projects to provide faster results to researchers. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Minne, Stephen Calvin Quate NanoDevices, Inc CA George B. Vermont Standard Grant 479359 1505 MANU 9147 0110000 Technology Transfer 0091550 February 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Variable-Focal-Length Liquid Crystal Objective Lens. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is designed to develop and commercialize our electrically controllable, dynamic-focusing liquid crystal microlens/microlens array device for 3D optical media readout and writing. The device will be the worlds first compact, electrically controllable, dynamic focusing liquid crystal (LC) microlens reading/writing device for 3D data storage, and has the potential to revolutionize optical data storage and retrieval. The device will dramatically increase both the reading and writing speed of conventional CD/DVD systems and multi-layer DVDs and will be the enabling component in the next generation of truly 3D data storage technologies. In Phase I, the feasibility of the technology was demonstrated and tested various dynamic liquid crystal lens structures to gain an understanding of the issues of design, fabrication, and optical properties of LC microlenses. Building on this success, Phase II is dedicated to the optimization of the LC microlens structures and the development of a fast-switching dynamic focusing LC microlens with large variable focal length range and numerical aperture. Finally, a microlens array to develop parallel reading/writing devices will be designed and built. A prototype 3D reading device will be demonstrated. In Phase III, Reveo will commercialize the new technology. Optical storage offers higher capacities, removable platters, and more durable media than magnetic disk storage, but it is limited by slow access speeds and higher costs of drives and media. The first product to be developed from the microlens technology will be an electrically-controllable, dynamic-focusing liquid crystal microlens device for integration into the data reading system of current DVD players and other optical storage drivers. The device will maximize retrieval efficiency of current optical storage media so customers can immediately enjoy the benefits of 3D data storage technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Lin, Jackie Reveo Incorporated NY Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 490600 5373 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0091551 February 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Ultraviolet-Polarizing Chiral Film. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is designed to develop and commercialize high-durability UV polarizer optics with unprecedented performance. The breakthrough polarizers are made from stacks of oriented, birefringent thin film layers, which are obtained by vacuum deposition at an oblique angle. The film material itself is optically isotropic, but the birefringence arises from the nanostructure of the layers in the film stack. Films can be constructed from a single material, relieving the conventional constraints on material transparency and enabling a wider operating wavelength range. Using LiF as the film material, for example, could extend the operating range down to 110 nm. Extension to the far UV and extreme UV appears possible with materials such as silicon carbide or boron carbide. The deposition technique thus offers an exciting opportunity to engineer unique film properties. In Phase II, the investigator proposes to enlarge the database of film materials for UV chiral film polarizers and design, fabricate (using a customized deposition system), and characterize UV chiral film polarizers for practical applications. The investigator will then develop high-speed deposition techniques to ensure the polarizers are low-cost. Commercialization activities will accelerate in Phase III. The inorganic UV polarizer films may have several advantages over conventional polarizer components, and become key devices in many important industrial manufacturing processes, including systems for chemical synthesis, drug development, and liquid crystal alignment for LCDs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Fan, Bunsen Reveo Incorporated NY Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 499939 5373 AMPP 9163 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091557 April 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Microsphere-Based Optical Spectrum Analyzer. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will build upon the exciting results of Phase I, which demonstrated that whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonances of a microsphere can be tuned over a significant range by sweeping the microsphere's temperature. It is intended to employ this effect to produce a temperature-tunable optical filter suitable for development of a next-generation optical spectrum analyzer (OSA) for remotely monitoring dense wavelength division multiplexed (DWDM) networks. Such a device will greatly benefit the telecommunications industry by providing a means of embedded real-time monitoring of system operation and signal quality. This capability has the potential to virtually eliminate costly system failures. The plan for reaching the project goal is to develop a first-generation prototype and use this prototype to demonstrate the expected capabilities of a next-generation OSA. The initial application for the technology is as an embedded test and monitoring system for telecommunications fiber networks. The major customers are optical network installers and service providers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Roark, Joel NOMADICS, INC OK Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 628958 5373 AMPP 9165 9150 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091559 June 15, 2001 STTR Phase II: Nano-Layered Composites as High-Temperature Hard Coatings. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II Project aims to develop novel nano-layered coatings for high-temperature tribological applications, specifically cutting-tool coatings that perform well at elevated temperatures (up to 1000 degrees C). There is a high level of interest in these coatings because of the desire to cut at higher rates and due to increasing environmental concerns over the use of coolants during machining. Traditional coating materials do not perform well under these conditions, primarily because their hardnesses decrease rapidly as temperature rises. Research in Phase I developed a new class of coatings, combining many alternating nanometer-thick layers of metals and nitrides, which show substantial hardness enhancements. Hardnesses up to 44 gigapascals (GPa) were maintained after high temperature annealing, demonstrating the feasibility of these new materials as high-temperature stable coatings. Strong dislocation confinement in nano-layers is likely to yield higher high-temperature hardness than in monolithic coatings, providing improved wear resistance. In Phase II, nano-layered coatings will be developed that optimize key properties including hardness, thermal expansion match with the substrate, stability against dissolution into different workpieces, and oxidation resistance. Nano-layered coated cutting tools have the potential to make dry-cutting a practical alternative, and to improve wet-machining performance. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Kim, Ilwon Anita Madan APPLIED THIN FILMS INC IL Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 500000 1505 MANU 9163 9147 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091563 February 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Ultra Low Hysteresis Giant-Magnetoresistive (GMR) Bridge Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop giant-magnetoresistive (GMR) sensing devices that yield superior hysteresis performance over existing bridge sensors and GMR signal isolators and provide intrinsic self-biasing without using affixed magnets or power consuming coils. Phase I demonstrated that edge pinning techniques can be used to fabricate low hysteresis push-pull and shielded bridge sensors with designed bias points. Before the technology can be commercialized, Phase II research must: (1) develop hard edge resistor elements that minimize hysteresis and maximize signal; (2) optimize hard edge processing and implementation; (3) determine the viability of alternate pinning strategies; (4) develop specification, architecture, and physical designs for prototype sensor or isolator products; (5) fabricate target devices; and (6) characterize devices for magnetic and electrical responses. A fully developed magnetic field sensor and/or signal isolator is expected, one that is ready for commercialization. Potential commercial applications are discrete low hysteresis bridge sensors and isolators, improved digital magnetic switches, and ultra-low field sensors employing integrated circuit (IC) based feedback amplifiers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Anderson, John NVE CORPORATION MN Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 729869 5373 CVIS 1038 0106000 Materials Research 0109000 Structural Technology 0091564 February 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Sub-Nanosecond Spin Dependent Tunneling Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop prototype Spin Dependent Tunneling (SDT) devices by combining high-speed magnetic thin films and low-RC SDT structures achieved in Phase I. These devices will be fabricated using standard microelectronic photolithography and packaging techniques, suitable for volume production. Sub-nanosecond switching will be demonstrated with these devices which are integrated with integrated circuit (IC) electronics. Fast IC electronics will be implemented using low voltage differential signaling (LVDS). SDT devices exhibit large signal, low switching field, and high resistance, which lead to high sensitivity, low power consumption, and small size and weight, when compared with giant magnetoresistive (GMR) devices. Fast SDT devices will require improvements in both magnetic speed and electronic speed, while existing attractive static properties need to be maintained. Phase II is expected to produce integrated SDT devices with state-of-the-art properties and switching time less than one nanosecond. Potential commercial applications for this research are expected in high-speed isolators, high-speed magnetic field and current sensing devices, fast magnetic random access memories (MRAM), reconfigurable magnetic logic, read heads, and gigahertz (GHz) inductor/transformers, as well as their derivative products. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Wang, Dexin NVE CORPORATION MN Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 755966 5373 MANU AMPP 9251 9178 9163 9146 1771 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 0091570 March 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Monochromatic Micro X-ray Fluorescence Analysis Using Toroidal Crystal Optics. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will meet the demand from the microelectronics industry for an improved micro x-ray fluorescence instrument for thin film measurements. A new technique, monochromatic micro x-ray fluorescence (MMXRF) analysis using doubly curved crystal optics can meet this significant market need. A toroidal crystal can focus characteristic x-rays from a microfocus x-ray source based upon diffraction. The focused beam is monochromatic and the beam size is expected to be significantly smaller than that of current MXRF systems. This technique will provide high sensitivity and enhance excitation of low Z elements with the selection of beam energy. In addition, this technique will significantly increase the speed of high-energy x-ray measurements. A prototype MMXRF system will be developed that incorporates a modular dual beam system to probe samples with two energies simultaneously. The initial application of the technology is in the area of semiconductor manufacturing. As semiconductor manufacturing moves to larger wafers and higher levels of integration, a single wafer may require hundreds of steps. These wafers are expensive to produce and very difficult to repair. The instrument under development would provide elemental and thickness analysis to identify defective thin film deposition at the earliest opportunity, avoiding the considerable loss associated with rejections at the end of the production line. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Chen, Zewu X-RAY OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC. NY Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 496758 5373 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091572 March 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Computational Tool for Plasma Equipment Design Using a Non-Statistical Boltzmann Solver. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will further develop, validate and demonstrate a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tool for plasma equipment/processes using a non-statistical Boltzmann solver for the analysis of charged particle kinetics. Phase I implemented a new Boltzmann module and clearly demonstrated the feasibility of coupling a Bolzmann solver to the company's plasma simulator for efficient kinetic description of low-pressure plasma reactors used in semiconductor manufacturing. The Phase II project will focus on: (1) the development of elliptic representation of the velocity distribution function (VDF) valid for arbitrary anisotropy of the VDF; (2) full integration of the Boltzmann solver with a commercial software; (3) kinetic simulations for industrial plasma systems; and (4) interfacing the Boltzmann module with plasma simulation codes developed by different research groups. Using an elliptic representation will extend the applicability of the Boltzmann solver to problems with arbitrary VDF anisotropy such as electron beams, ion kinetics, etc. The goal of Phase II will be to validate the new CAD tool for wide variety of plasma technologies and expand the software usage to new industries. The total commercial markets of plasma etch and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) equipment is currently in excess of $2 billion per annum with strong projections for growth. Commercial application of the proposed software tool will allow optimization of the performance of all hardware equipment of this market and to "smartly" design new equipment. It is projected to "save" millions of dollars of equipment and process development costs to Plasma Equipment Manufacturers and to semiconductor chip producing companies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kolobov, Vladimir CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION AL Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 761212 5373 AMPP 9251 9231 9178 9163 9150 7218 1266 0512004 Analytical Procedures 0091576 May 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Smart Fiber Composite System Capable of Early Detection of Material Failure. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will build on results of Phase I research to fully demonstrate an early warning system for potential failure of ceramic matrix composite (CMC) materials. In Phase I, a novel detection technique called Composite Failure Onset Response Test (ComFORT (TM)) was demonstrated for use with high temperature CMCs. ComFORT (TM) is a composite failure detection technique whereby proprietary thermally stable electrically conductive ceramic fibers are selectively placed, together with regular reinforcing fibers, and are then processed into a dense ceramic composite. Once in place, existing hardware is used to monitor the condition and the health of the electrical signal, while an especially designed algorithm minimizes false negatives during use. As the ceramic composite begins to fail, the failure of the fiber reinforcement is preceded by the failure of the conductive coating, which is recognized through a weakening or loss of electrical conductivity. This novel technique lends itself to a powerful early warning system, whereby the conductive fiber can be designed to fail before catastrophic failure of the composite itself. Proper placement of these conductive fibers enables tracking of even minute levels of breach within the composite. Moreover, through a novel design, it may be possible to extend the performance to detect matrix cracking. The lack of reliability and little to no warning before catastrophic failure has prevented a more widespread use of CMC's. The smart fiber system to be developed in this project will allow the use of CMC's in more demanding applications with greater certainty of success. The successful commercialization of the proposed technology will lead to the insertion of continuous fiber reinforced composites into power generation, energy, air, space and missile applications, where high temperature, lightweight, and mechanically reliable materials are needed, and the cost of part failures is high. Ceramic composites can be used in a larger number of these applications, if part reliability can be assured. Substantial benefits in operating efficiency of gas turbine, automotive and rocket systems can be realized with increased operating temperatures. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kuchinski, Frank TRITON SYSTEMS INC MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 657218 5373 AMPP 9251 9178 9163 0522100 High Technology Materials 0091582 June 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Novel Joining Method for Self-Assembly of Reliable Three Dimensional Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will continue to develop a solder self-assembly process that was the concept explored in Phase I. It will build upon the successful Phase I results that demonstrated the use of solder to self-assemble two-dimensional surface micromachined Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) into useful three-dimensional structures. This concept is a next step in the evolution of MEMS assembly. The overall objective of Phase II is to move the technology from the lab environment to a commercial production process that is well understood and has excellent yield. Research personnel from industry and education are involved and state-of-the-art equipment will be utilized. A number of promising commercial applications have been identified and discussions with potential commercial partners suggest interest in commercializing this technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Schaible, Brian SPORIAN MICROSYSTEMS, INC. CO Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 499867 5373 AMPP 9165 9146 1467 1444 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091586 March 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Computer-Directed High Throughput Screening for Improved Enzymatic Activity. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project focuses on the development of an enabling technology for computer- directed high-throughput screening of proteins with improved properties. Xencor's Protein Design Automation (PDA) predicts all the possible amino acid sequences that will fold into the three-dimensional structure of a protein. There should be molecules among those sequences that have the structure and function of the "parent "protein, together with additional novel properties such as increased thermo-stability or alkaline pH optima. In Phase I the company addressed this possibility using xylanase as a model protein. After targeting the active site of the enzyme for PDA re-design, the company found sequences that were more active than the wild-type protein and one that had a different pH profile. These results were achieved by testing only 260 of a possible 110,592 sequences. In Phase II the company will develop a high-throughput assay system that will allow testing the majority of the predicted sequences. The research will also improve electrostatic functions of the PDA algorithm, and then use this version of the program to re-design the entire xylanase molecule instead of just the active site, thereby finding mutations located away from the active site that effect the protein's characteristics. The PDA technology improves enzyme efficiency and expands the reactions and process conditions where they can be applied. Major markets include polymer manufacturers, value extraction from waste streams and food processing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Desjarlais, John Xencor CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 499986 5373 BIOT 9184 1108 0203000 Health 0091589 June 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Smart Instrument Controls with Feel Display. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will build on Phase I results to take advantage of an exciting opportunity to revolutionize the way people interact with the machines they encounter in everyday life. Visual displays have progressed remarkably in past decades. Aircraft cockpits that used to have hundreds of gauges and dials now have just a few color displays that provide rich visual information that changes depending on the situation. Yet physical interfaces--knobs, buttons, sliders, etc.--remain as primitive as ever. Regardless of context, these interfaces always feel the same and can serve only a limited number of functions. Phase I results demonstrated the potential human factors benefits of Smart Instrument Controls with programmable feels-- operator performance improved, especially when visual attention was critical, such as during a driving simulation task. These systems also could simplify interfaces by reducing the number of separate controls. One control could operate several functions, each function having a distinctly separate "feel". Phase II will continue human factors studies and expand to include research into novel sensor and actuator technologies for Smart Instrument Controls in order to develop a technology that simplifies elaborate system interfaces while improving or maintaining operator performance. Immersion Corporation proffers a man-machine interface technology that enhances an operator's experience and in many cases can improve performance by leveraging the underutilized sense of touch. These benefits have attracted companies SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Anastas, George IMMERSION CORPORATION CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 755766 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091590 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Intelligent World Wide Web (WWW) Access for the Visually Impaired. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop screen reading software (used by the visually disabled to access computers) that responds to changes in task context. The proposed software will allow screen readers to automatically generate task-specific scripts--sophisticated macros that determine the behavior of the screen reader in response to the current state of an application--based on an analysis of the user's actions while performing a specific task. The end result of this project will be a functioning prototype screen reader (based on Henter-Joyce's JAWS (Job Access With Speech) screen reader) with the ability to observe the user's actions, identify the user's goal based on those actions (referred to as plan recognition), and then either create a script that automates the task of achieving that same goal in the future or remind the user that such a script already exists. Throughout the course of the project, feedback will be sought from members of the visually impaired community through user trials, focus groups, and formal experimentation. While investigators will work exclusively with the JAWS screen reader during Phase II, many of the algorithms developed during this project will be applicable to other screen readers. The software developed will be licensed to others to improve the performance of existing and new screen readers. The enhanced screen reading software will provide a number of significant benefits. First and foremost, the visually impaired will have significantly improved access to computers for both personal and job-related activities. They will be able to use computers for tasks that were previously impossible or impractical, and they will be able to perform their current activities faster and more effectively. Second, employers will be more open to employing the visually impaired because of the reduced cost in time and effort of job training and the increased level of productivity; visually impaired employees will be able to do more jobs, will be able to learn jobs faster, and will be able to do their jobs better than before. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Huber, Marcus Intelligent Reasoning Systems CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 455568 5373 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0091591 March 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Holographic Disk Data Storage on a New Photochromic Glass. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project studies holographic data storage in a new ion-exchanged photochromic glass disk. It is well known that holographic data storage can significantly increase data storage capacity and reduce access time. However, the technology maturity of holographic data storage is believed to be impeded by: the lack of good holographic material that can be erased and recorded optically with almost unlimited rewriting cycles, with large index modulation for large capacity multiplexed data recording, and with long lifetime and immunity to destructive readout for archival applications. As demonstrated in Phase I the new ion-exchanged photochromic glass can satisfy all above requirements. In addition, it does not require developing or fixing after hologram recording making it an attractive candidate to replace other holographic materials in holographic storage applications. The Phase II research will first explore techniques to increase the recording volume thickness. The holographic performance parameters will again be determined after the thickness improvement. A compact holographic storage system will then be designed and constructed to show the effectiveness of disk type storage application. High capacity storage will be demonstrated. Commercial development will be explored with some major storage companies. Using the new ion-exchanged glass can significantly improve the holographic data storage technology for commercial and military applications such as computer data storage, on-line storage, library archival applications, image storage and processing for medical applications and military target identification, and fast access to large intelligent databases. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG DeMasi, Ralph NEW SPAN OPTOTECHINOLOGY INC FL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 523999 5373 HPCC 9251 9231 9215 9178 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 0091593 April 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Problem Solving Environment for Reduced Kinetic Mechanisms. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a computational Problem Solving Environment (PSE) for the creation, optimization, testing, and application of reduced chemical kinetic mechanisms. Inclusion of detailed chemistry into 3D simulations with turbulence-chemistry interaction will be computationally intractable for the foreseeable future. Practical simulation of reacting flows requires reduced mechanisms tailored to the application and conditions of interest. The PSE created in Phase I allows the user to rapidly create reduced mechanisms, set up multi-parameter test problems for comparison to detailed chemistry, and interrogate and visualize the results more thoroughly than was previously possible. Human effort for reduced mechanism validation is reduced from days to hours. Rigorous testing is necessary to make reduced mechanisms a reliable commercial product. In Phase II the PSE will be extended to automatically optimize reduced mechanisms to the users' specification, and produce reduced mechanism modules for a variety of applications that seamlessly integrate into a variety of Computational Fluid Dynamics codes. These technologies will have commercial value due to the ever-increasing need to include more detailed chemistry into the design and analysis software used by scientists and engineers. The problem solving environment provides the engineer with the ability to rapidly create reduced mechanisms, set up multiple test problems covering a multidimensional parameter space for comparison to detailed chemistry, and efficiently interrogate and visualize the results. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Montgomery, Christopher REACTION ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL UT Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 762000 5373 HPCC 9251 9216 9178 0108000 Software Development 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091594 May 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Neuromorphic Color Sensor for Object and Place Recognition. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project proposes the construction of a miniature object recognition and color segmentation system on a chip. This chip will be tuned to recognize various predefined targets in natural environments. The chip will use an object recognition model, color histogramming, originally derived from research in cognitive neuroscience. Taking advantage of recent advances in Neuromorphic Engineering, the company will implement the basic sensing and computational elements directly in silicon using mixed analog/digital processing. In contrast, implementing the same model or algorithm with conventional microprocessor technology would require that the basic computations be simulated as an intermediate step. The removal of this intermediate step will result in an intelligent sensor with dramatically lower cost, smaller volume, and reduced power usage-achievements not possible using competing microprocessor-based technology. The applications for this technology include intelligent toys and prosthetic devices. A toy might be made to recognize, and therefore be able to respond to, the presence of another toy or specially designed environment. More advanced and elaborated versions of the chip might be used as an aid to the blind by assisting them in finding standardized (i.e. specially colored) objects. For example, a blind person might be assisted in localizing a coffee mug, distinguishing between two similar items of clothing differing only in color, or finding a standardized 'EXIT' sign in a building. The broader impact of this technology is that it will help bridge the gap between the natural, unstructured environment and computing technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Lewis, M Iguana Robotics, Inc. IL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 795018 5373 SMET MANU HPCC 9251 9178 9146 9139 7218 6840 0104000 Information Systems 0091595 June 1, 2001 STTR Phase II: Development of an Automated Instrument Platform for Facilitating Submitochondrial Particle (SMP) Toxicity Assays. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will develop and optimize a novel bioassay tool for routine low-cost biomonitoring of water quality. Submitochondrial particle (SMP) toxicity bioassays, based on the in vitro responses to toxicants of the integrated enzyme functions in oxidative phosphorylation, are good predictors of conventional whole organism tests, yet can be completed in minutes. Phase I research proved the concept that SMP technology could be streamlined and semi-automated, enhancing their convenience and commercial potential. In Phase II, prototypes of two dedicated instruments will be developed to accommodate both the cuvette and 96-well microplate-based formats. Accessory liquid and cuvette handling tools will be developed to increase sample throughput. Features will be added to computer software developed in Phase I for running the tests, including support for other protocols; better error detection; statistical treatments and graphical presentation of data. SMP production methods and quality control procedures will be improved and standardized. The software and instrument prototypes will be tested at four independent laboratories to establish assay variability and to gain additional information on appropriate applications of the tests. If successful, this project will provide affordable tools that will allow for screening of water quality and wastewater discharges by industry and municipalities. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Gustavson, Karl Harry Read Harvard Bioscience, Inc. MA Gregory T. Baxter Standard Grant 221475 1505 BIOT 9107 1402 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091596 January 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Electrochemical Chlorine Purification. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase II project will further the development of the electrochemical chlorine purification process and conduct a pilot trial with a 0.5 square meter cell at a chlor-alkali plant. During the Phase I phase, densities as high as 0.5 A/cm2 (at room temperature) were demonstrated for this process, with a potential of less than 300 mV at the highest current density. A pilot scale MP-cell with 100 cm2-electrode area was successfully demonstrated to purify chlorine in the flow through electrode mode using anion exchange membranes. Chlorine purity at the outlet was 100%. A complete mass balance was carried out for the chlorine gas and the chloride ion. The objectives of the Phase II program include (a) study and understanding of the mechanism of chlorine reduction in concentrated hydrochloric acid, (b) investigation of catalysis of both the chloride oxidation and chlorine reduction processes in concentrated HCl, (c) building a 0.5 square meter pilot cell, and (d) conducting field trials in a chlor-alkali plant with the pilot cell. At the end of Phase II, a detailed economic analysis would have been completed to enable commercialization efforts. The world chlor-alkali industry is projected to grow from the current production capacity of 42.1 million tons to 49 million metric tons in the year 2002. The total amount of tail gas to be processed is 562 million dollars through the year 2007 for a technology that replaces third stage liquefaction. The market for the second stage liquefaction is approximately 1.7 billion dollars. The U. S. market size for a low cost, energy efficient technology such as electrochemical purification is approximately 160 million dollars through 2007. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sarangapani, Srinivasan ICET, INC MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 507499 5373 EGCH 9251 9197 9178 1414 0118000 Pollution Control 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091601 May 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Reconfigurable and Scalable Fiber-Optic Ultra-High-Speed Multi-Media Networks. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the next generation data networks which will require terabit information handling capability. Future networks must be reconfigurable, highly secure and easily upgraded in both bit rate and number of nodes. The company will apply its extensive fiber optic expertise and its proprietary wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) technology to the development of a reconfigurable high-speed fiber-optic backbone structure that supports the transmission of multiple data protocols between multiple network stations. The approach is based on the company's all-fiber, static and dynamic WDM network access designs which offer high efficiency, compactness and low cost. In Phase I a three-node, two-wavelength system was constructed with static access modules to demonstrate the feasibility of simultaneously transmitting different protocols such as ATM and Ethernet. Phase I formed a basis for Phase II engineering development where the reseacher will employ dynamic access modules and expand the network to 8 nodes and 4 wavelengths to demonstrate network reconfigurability and scalability. The market for fiber-optic networks is growing at a rate of over 20% per year and is expected to exceed $18 billion in 2001. Multi-protocol fiber backbones have applications in commercial platforms, such as enterprise networks, ships, airliners, automobiles, and integrated manufacturing equipment. Each optical fiber can replace hundreds of wires resulting in substantial drop in costs, component weight, and an increase in performance. The project will integrate well with the Internet-II, and SuperNet programs for the government-wide Next Generation Internet (NGI). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Moslehi, Behzad INTELLIGENT FIBER OPTICS SYSTEMS CORP. CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 785999 5373 HPCC 9251 9231 9178 9139 9102 0116000 Human Subjects 0206000 Telecommunications 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091624 February 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Carbon Monoxide-Tolerant Anode Catalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells via Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to implement a Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD) process for the production of anode electrocatalyst layers for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) applications requiring reformate fuel feed gas. In Phase I it was demonstrated that fabrication of Pt:Ru electrocatalysts as unsupported, metallic nanoparticles is possible using CCVD. These electrocatalyst layers behave electrochemically in a similar manner to commercially available Pt:Ru electrocatalysts prepared on carbon supports using wet chemical methods, but can be deposited directly onto both gas diffusion media and proton exchange membranes. The Phase II project would involve optimization of catalyst composition, continued development of web coating technology for mass production of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) and commercialization of the technology through construction of production equipment and licensing. Fuel cells are of huge interest to the marketplace, as illustrated by sizable investments in the technology and market capitalization of fuel cell companies. For example, Daimler Chrysler has targeted the year 2004 for planned production of fuel cell vehicles, and has slated more than $1.4 billion in investments to reach that goal. However, for commercial viability, performance and cost of the electrocatalyst layers must be improved. MCT, if successful, could contribute in both arenas. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Breitkopf, Richard NGIMAT CO. GA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 772219 5373 MANU AMPP 9251 9231 9178 9165 9146 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0091632 October 1, 2000 Expanding Innovation Opportunities in Tennessee. 0091632 Johnson This award is to Tennessee Technological University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners include Tennessee Technological University; Austin Pea University; East Tennessee State University; University of Memphis; Middle Tennessee State University; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Tennessee Biotechnology Association; Cumberland Emerging Technologies; TenneSeed; Tennessee Board of Regents. Proposed Activities The activities for this award include screening new ideas for suitability for commercialization; new courses in entrepreneurial training; spin-off companies for students; development of an electronic communication system to track developments and offer assistance to small spin-off companies; connecting the research, knowledge, discovery of the universities to the generation of new patents, and licenses, stimulate new economic growth and economic well being in the state. Proposed Innovation The innovation goals for this award include creation of intellectual property by the universities in the state, transfer of new knowledge to the private sector, creation of new economic enterprise, raising the economic well being of the entire state (most of the economic wealth is in the eastern part of the state). This activity will also provide the necessary workforce training to support the new business and industry. Potential Economic Impact The economic outcome will be the general economic well being of the region. Potential Societal Impact The societal benefits include increased economic well being for the region and participation of under-represented groups in the enterprise. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Johnson, Glen Tennessee Technological University TN Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 579693 1662 OTHR 0000 0091686 June 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Noncorroding Steel Reinforced Concrete. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a new class of cement-steel interfaces for high performance steel reinforcing bars for concrete. In Phase I the project demonstrated a bar coating system that can protect against corrosion of steel in concrete structures and has improved adhesion characteristics between steel reinforcement and the cement matrix. Phase II continues to refine the properties and techniques for producing this new class of High Performance Non-corroding Steel-Reinforced Concrete. Improved corrosion resistance of steel reinforcement in concrete structures could address a major infrastructure problem that has been estimated to require up to $3 trillion for repair. The potentially cost effective coatings to be developed and commercially applied during production runs in steel mills would result in a value added product of major importance for managing the infrastructure. Improvements in adherence and corrosion resistance would be highly beneficial, for example, in corrosive highway deicing environments and marine structures. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Varacalle, Dominic Concrete Sciences Corporation ID Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 469332 5373 AMPP 9163 0522100 High Technology Materials 0093092 October 1, 2000 Partnerships for Innovation: A Center of Excellence in Regenerative Biology. 0093092 Chernoff This award is to Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0082). Partners The partners include Indiana University Purdue University - Indianapolis; Indiana University; Terre Haute Center for Medical Partner Organizations; Indiana University School of Medicine; Eli Lilly & Company; Indiana 21st Century Fund for Research and Technology; Indiana Business Modernization and Technology Corporation. Proposed Activities The activities for this award include innovative research in regenerative biology; technology transfer leading to development of therapies; training the workforce for regenerative biology. Proposed Innovation The goals of this innovation are research on regenerative biology to understand the regeneration process and identify proteins of therapeutic value for healing, and technology transfer to private companies for healthcare delivery. Potential Economic Impact The potential economic impacts are creation of an estimated 7000 new jobs over the next 10 years from the partner companies alone (10% of these will be in Indiana), and increased participation of minorities in the health care industry. Potential Societal Impact The development of therapies for injured and degenerating tissues will have medical and health benefits to society beyond anything known today. The plan also includes strong involvement of minorities in the workforce training programs with subsequent participation in the anticipated expanded healthcare job market. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Chernoff, Ellen David Stocum Anthony Mescher Anton Neff Simon Rhodes Indiana University IN Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0096336 April 1, 2000 MOTI: A Strategic Alliance for Management of Technology and Innovation Research. TRANS TO QUAL ORG PROG-PROGRAM OPERATIONS RESEARCH INNOVATION & ORG SCIENCES(IOS) MANAGEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY PRGM GRANT OPP FOR ACAD LIA W/INDUS IIP ENG Bean, Alden Stephen Markham North Carolina State University NC Donald Senich Continuing grant 293821 8243 5514 5376 5374 1504 OTHR MANU 9149 9148 8243 5376 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 0103935 December 1, 2000 A Planning Grant to Initiate an Industry-University-Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) at Arizona State University. This award is to hold an Industry/University planning meeting for a proposed research site at the Arizona State University which will be a part of the I/UCRC for water Quality at the University of Arizona. The planning meeting will examine the organizational feasibility and economic viability of the research site. A portfolio of initial research projects will be determined. New members will be recruited during the tenure of the award. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Abbaszadegan, Morteza Arizona State University AZ Tapan K. Mukherjee Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0104423 December 1, 2000 A Planning Grant Proposal for the Establishment of a NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) on Intelligent e-Maintenance Systems (IMS). This award is to hold an Industry/University planning meeting for a proposed research site at the University of Michigan which will be a part of the I/UCRC for Intelligent e-Maintenance Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The planning meeting will examine the organizational feasibility and economic viability of the research site. A portfolio of initial research projects will be determined. New members will be recruited during the tenure of the award. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Ni, Jun University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0107641 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Triploidy Induction of Giant Tiger Prawn (Penaeus monodon) for Increased Value. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop techniques and equipment for simple, cheap and reliable mass production of triploid and tetraploid giant tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) using a new technology called Automated Polyploid Induction System (APIS). This proprietary APIS system uses a specially designed spawning tank, an automated spawn sensing device and computer applied shock treatments. The specific objective of the Phase I project is to determine the optimal values of the three key parameters for triploidy induction in P. monodon: time to start shock application, shock intensity, and shock duration. This determination will allow the complete development and demonstration of APIS during Phase II of the project. Additional objectives in Phase II will include production of tetraploid P. monodon, and completion of production trials with diploid, triploid and tetraploid shrimp. The commercial application of this project is in the farmed shrimp production market. Farmed shrimp from Asia constitutes approximately 75% of the world's farmed shrimp production, and P. monodon accounts for greater than 50% of that production. Successful mass production of the triploid P. monodon, and demonstration of superior culture performance of triploids will allow marketing of this proprietary technology throughout Asia. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Wyban, James High Health Aquaculture, Inc HI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 9150 BIOT 9117 5371 0521700 Marine Resources 0108355 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Low-cost, High-Efficiency Power Amplifiers for Magnetic-Resonance Imaging. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate techniques for low-cost, high-efficiency, wide-bandwidth power amplifiers for magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) systems. To date, MRI transmitters have been based upon broadband linear power amplifiers, which are inefficient and consequently large, heavy, and expensive. Further, there is a growing demand for systems operating at higher frequencies with larger bandwidths. Existing high efficiency transmitters are relatively expensive and have limited bandwidths. The approach in Phase I is based upon high-level amplitude modulation, low cost RF power transistors, digital signal processing, and electronic tuning. The principal potential commercial application is MRI. Other applications include radio frequency communications, high frequency radar, radio frequency heating (plasmas, semiconductors), and laser drivers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Raab, Frederick GREEN MOUNTAIN RADIO RESEARCH CO VT Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99999 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0108831 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Fiber Optic NOx Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is designed to build a prototype miniature fiber optic NOx sensor for the control of auto emissions. The proposed sensor is based upon a company invention on miniature chemilluminescence detector for gas chromatography. The prototype will be miniature in size (4 cubic inch approximately), weight (1/2 lb) and capable of ppt level detection as a result of the innovative design. Commercial applications will focus on pollution monitoring, insitu auto NOx emission monitoring and reduction, and biochemical/drug analysis when coupled with a miniature catalytic converter. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Dong, Jim NanoTek, Inc. AZ Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99400 5371 EGCH 9197 0118000 Pollution Control 0108840 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Ultrafast Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Analyzer for Water Recycling Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the development of an ultrafast TOC analyzer to enable real-time recycling of spent rinse waters from semiconductor wet benches. At the present time, semiconductor fabrication facilities generate about 3800 gallons of wastewater discharge per wafer, which is equivalent to 53 million gallons of wastewater per year for facilities operating at 100 gpm (gallons per minute). Recycling spent rinse waters from semiconductor wet benches provides a viable solution to dramatically reduce the environmental impact of this manufacturing process. On-line monitoring of key contaminants in real time is necessary to successfully operate future water systems having recycle and reuse capabilities. Phase I research will be directed at developing microfluidic sensors having reliable, ultra-fast response times to trace concentrations of organic contaminants found in spent r5inse waters from simiconductor wet benches. Specific performance goals for Phase I devices include: <30 s response time, <30 ppb detection limit, operation in <10 microSiemen/cm water conductivity, and 100% +/- 30% recovery of key contaminants. An ultra-fast TOC analyzer will be developed that enables real-time recycling of water used by seimiconductor manufacturing to reduce their demand upon regional water supplies. This novel instrument will find widespread applications in the semiconductor industry as well as other manufacturing environments that require real-time detection of organic contaminants in aqueous effluent. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Thomas, Ross Eltron Research, Inc. CO Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99996 5371 EGCH 1325 0313040 Water Pollution 0108844 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Miniaturized Biosensor for the Amperometric Detection of Phenolic Contaminants. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a small, portable, low-power amperometric biosensor to detect phenol in wastewater. A renewable, robust biosensor integrated into a microfluidic system is proposed and will be designed to specifically detect phenol in aqueous solutions based on an enzyme-based biosensor. This method will allow analysis of phenol without significant dilution or reduction in the sensitivity of the detected species. The microfluidic biosensor will use sol-gel modified, screen printed microband electrodes which will enhance the sensitivity and limit of detection of the device compared to electrodes of conventional size. The device will also use a simple pump and valve system for both electrolyte and analyte introduction into the sensor and proven electrochemical instrumentation for phenol detection. The proposed sensor will be applicable to real time, on-site monitoring of phenol concentrations in wastewater. The commercial application of this project will be in industries such as pulp and paper, petroleum refining and plastic resins that need a cost effective and robust device to detect phenol in wastewater. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cepak, Veronica Eltron Research, Inc. CO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99996 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0313040 Water Pollution 0109003 September 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Silicon Chip Antenna for Radio Frequency Identification Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will build a small form factor silicon chip antenna for radio frequency identification (RFID) applications in smart tags. A new high-performance, low cost, small size silicon chip antenna, fabricated by wafer batch processing, will be combined with a standard, passive (no battery) RFID chip to form a low cost, high-performance RFID tag of small dimensions. The antenna and the RFID chip are stacked directly on top of each other. Phase I used a simplified process and scaled up structures. In Phase II the process will be optimized, devices with the intended dimensions will be used, and the antenna chip and the RFID chip will be stacked. Passive RFID systems are used in applications such as object tagging, asset management, hazardous materials tracking, and tracking of important documents. Existing RFID technology is limited by the need for large transponder antennas (~ 1 inch by 2 inch minimum) and costly multi-component assembly. The silicon wafer batch processed antenna chip technology will produce millimeter-scale smart tags (programmable replacement for bar codes), enabling products for large commercial markets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Dimmler, Klaus HiPoint Technology Inc. CO Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 499752 5373 HPCC 9139 0104000 Information Systems 0206000 Telecommunications 0109070 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Novel Method for Class Switching IgM Secretors to IgG. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a rapid and reliable method for inducing, detecting and recovering isotypic switch variants in hybridoma cell lines using in-vitro switching media, gel microdrop (GMD) technology and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). Antibodies are widely used in research and clinical applications. Antibodies of the IgM subclass are generally considered the least useful due to their pentameric structure and lack of affinity for protein A and protein G which makes purification and modification of IgM antibodies difficult, and enzymatic digestion for Fab fragment production almost impossible. Many of the hybridomas produced, however, are of the IgM subclass. IgM producing hybridomas do, however, spontaneously switch the subclass of antibody they produce to IgG, although at very low frequencies. Currently there is no simple method for controlling class switching and isolating class switch variants. Several protocols have been developed to effect class switching of IgM producing hybridomas and to isolate class switch variants, but these procedures are lengthy and very labor-intensive involving multiple screening cycles. By providing a rapid method for isolating IgG switch variants, the GMD method will significantly improve bioprocessing of monoclonal antibodies for research and therapeutic use. The commercial application of this project will be in the development of monoclonal antibody products for research, therapeutic, diagnostic and imaging purposes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Akselband, Yevgenya ONE CELL SYSTEMS, INC MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109095 July 1, 2001 STTR Phase I: A Rapid-deployment, Three-dimensional (3-D), Seismic Reflection System. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will design a prototype for a rapid-deployment, three-dimensional (3-D), seismic reflection system for shallow subsurface exploration. Although the 3-D seismic reflection method enjoys tremendous commercial success in marine applications, 3-D seismic systems for land-based geophysical exploration have been limited because cost-effective and environmentally friendly deployment systems have not been developed. Such a system would be useful to build models of ground water flow, track pollutants, identify mineral-laden zones, and aid the siting of large construction projects. The customer base for this seismic reflection system includes civil and environmental engineers and geophysical contractors. PFM Manufacturing and Montana Tech propose to design a rapid-deployment, 3- D, seismic reflection system that employs multiple land streamers with gimbal-mounted vertical geophones. An industrial, low-impact All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) is a critical part of the system both to pull the land streamers and minimize environmental impact. PFM builds an ideal ATV for this purpose. The primary advantage of such a system is that fewer field personnel would be needed compared to conventional surveys and data could be collected more efficiently. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Miller, Patrick PFM MANUFACTURING INC MT Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 1505 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109098 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Randomly Textured Nanoscale Surfaces for Silicon Solar Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will integrate random, reactive ion etching (RIE) texturing techniques into low-cost, multi-crystalline (mc) silicon (Si) solar cells. RIE texturing techniques, developed in Phase I, are distinguished by their low-reflection (1 percent), large area (200 square centimeters) application, and the ability to control etched profiles. This texture control has been employed to increase near infrared absorption in Si by enhanced oblique optical coupling into the substrate. RIE-texturing techniques have potential application in several fields including low-cost substrates for surface enhanced Raman scattering and field emission devices. Phase II will be concerned with conformal emitter formation techniques uniquely suited to RIE-textured surfaces. These methods will lead to solar cell manufacturing in a cluster environment with similar chambers for texturing, emitter formation, and nitride films for surface passivation. Potential industrial applications are expected in high-efficiency, RIE-textured, mc-Si solar cells using processes suitable for their respective manufacturing environments. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Zaidi, Saleem Gratings, Incorporated NM T. James Rudd Standard Grant 649584 5373 MANU 9251 9231 9178 9150 9146 9102 0106000 Materials Research 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109141 June 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Battery Design by Using an Electronic Interface (ENTERFACE). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop prototype software for designing batteries based on user requirements. A user will specify an objective (such as maximize runtime) and use conditions (such as the electrical current), and the software determines, based on first principles(trade mark) models, the optimal design. The Phase I project successfully yielded, based on optimization of capacity, significant improvements in runtime for devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs). The Phase II project will develop a user-friendly, prototype system that can handle multiple battery chemistries, simulate abuse testing, and predict battery life. The software serves as an intermediary between battery developers and users by capturing expertise from both groups, allowing them to accrue benefits of simulation. Aligning development cycles of batteries to devices leads to better products (with concomitant market penetration, share growth, and lower costs). The software protects confidential information of all parties, creating opportunities for broader partnerships. The commercial benefits will come from the development of the software, which provides a ready outlet for academic research and a rational basis for product specifications. It is anticipated that if this project is successful it will open up the battery industry to innovation and will help to create new partnerships. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Spotnitz, Robert Battery Design Co. CA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 645742 5373 AMPP 9251 9178 9165 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109171 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Optical Angle Encoders for Advanced Powertrains. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project deals with the need for improved angle encoders or resolvers for advanced automotive powertrains. The performance of powertrains for electric vehicles (EV's) and hybrid electrical vehicles (HEV's) as well as for such concepts now being envisioned as a camless engine will require drive shaft angle encoders with higher resolution and faster response. This proposal addresses these needs in the form of an optical encoder based on an old concept, but used in an innovative fashion and executed with component technologies, both optical and electronic, that have recently become available. The design, in addition to its high performance is extremely robust, in terms of temperature, alignment and in its tolerance to high levels of electro magnetic interference (EMI). Also, and essential for the automotive industry, that performance is achieved with the reliability and low cost demanded by that industry. Angle encoding is basic to rotary drive systems. It is required for commutation and phase angle adjustment to affect the control of energy flow. Angle encoders are also essential to optical and radar scanning mechanisms. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wyntjes, Geert VISIDYNE INC MA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99970 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109181 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Ultraviolet (UV) Water Treatment with Short Wavelength Surface Discharge Lamps. 0109181 Schaefer This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the need for cost effective water treatment. Ultraviolet (UV) light treatment for chemical contaminants in water is attractive because contaminants are destroyed, unlike adsorption techniques that transfer the contaminant to a different media. However, the use of UV is limited by electricity costs for lamp power. This project uses a newly developed Surface Discharge (SD) UV lamp with UV efficiency three times higher than the industry standard mercury UV lamp, which will reduce electricity costs. Furthermore, the shorter wavelength UV spectrum of the SD lamp can both increase destruction rate and reduce the amount of chemical oxidant additive. Project objectives are to optimize lamp operation, to demonstrate the advantages of the SD lamp to treat atrazine and nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), two contaminants of national concern, and to establish commercial feasibility. A successful Phase I will establish the feasibility of a water treatment process based on the SD lamp, and will lead in Phase II to a prototype system and to commercialization in Phase III. The near term commercial applications of this project will be in the large water treatment market that includes groundwater, industrial and municipal wastewater, drinking water and general disinfection SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schaefer, Raymond PHOENIX SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, INC. MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0313040 Water Pollution 0109188 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: New Elastomeric Microelectrodes for Improved Neuroprostheses. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I will develop new implantable electrodes for use in neurological sensing and stimulation. Neuroprostheses have been traditionally fabricated from metals such as stainless steel. The effectiveness of metallic implant devices can be compromised by exposure to the corrosive physiologic environment. Material property mismatches between body tissues and metals can also reduce the tolerability of these devices, especially of those used around muscle tissue. Plastics are finding increasing application in implants due to their more natural stress transfer properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. The proposed research objective is to develop a novel molecularly ordered silicone elastomer that offers tailorable mechanical properties, excellent biocompatibility, physiological stability and high electrical conductivity. Conducting polymers will be incorporated in a polysiloxane matrix to yield ordered structures for maximizing conductivity while preserving the desired elastomer properties. Conductive composites will be prepared and tested for electrical conductivity, mechanical properties, physiological durability and suitability for implantable devices. The principal commercial application of this project is in the neuroprosthesis device market. Successful development of non-metallic electrodes having high electrical conductivity and improved biomechanical properties will have significant potential in this market. Other potential product areas include anticorrosion coatings and electrical shielding materials. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Keohan, Francis Cape Cod Research, Inc. MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99947 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0109190 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Self Assembled Bacteria - A Route to Tuned Photonic Bandgap Materials for Inrared Chemical Sensing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will determine the feasibility of using monolayers of bacteria to form hexagonal arrays of small holes in metal coated semiconductors. Such micron-sized patterned materials form tuned photonic bandgap structures with narrow band emission. These narrow infrared line sources allow detection of liquid or vapor chemical species through changes in absorption. Very high- resolution, high-cost lithography was required to fabricate proof of principal devices. The proposed research would significantly lower production costs by as much as a factor of ten. Phase I research would demonstrate: (1) growth of uniform sized bacteria, (2) uniform dispersal on a substrate in a hexagonal array, (3) use of inherent electrostatic repulsion to maintain uniform separation, and (4) transfer of this pattern to a treated substrate. Varying growth time and size of bacteria alters emission wavelength and chemical selectivity of the sensor. Existing infrared vapor sensors, that are more reliable than electrochemical sensors, are used for high end applications that can afford an instrument costing hundreds of dollars. The proposed materials development would reduce costs to below $10 per sensor, $50 per complete instrument, allowing IR chemical sensing applications to reach mass markets for automobiles or homes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pralle, Martin ION OPTICS INC MA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99984 5371 MANU 9165 9146 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109257 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Microchip-Laser-Based Optical Alloy Analysis Instrument. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project has as its goal the demonstration of the feasibility of an optical alloy analysis instrument based on a microchip laser excitation source. This instrument will determine elemental composition using laser-induced plasma spectroscopy (LIPS). It will have the advantage over existing portable instruments of being able to determine concentrations of light elements such as carbon, aluminum and silicon. The key to this innovation is the microchip laser, which has been shown to have several advantages in LIPS applications, while being remarkably small, lightweight and robust. In Phase I observations will be made using a laboratory LIPS apparatus, and a set of specifications will be derived for an instrument capable of determining carbon in steel at levels of interest to potential customers in industries where alloy identification is critical. This proposal involves collaboration with a manufacturer with a dominant position in the market. With their input, the optimum instrument configuration which can offer both useful capabilities and easy, portable operation will be determined. There currently exists a strong market for alloy identification instruments, even though existing devices are either limited by inability to determine some of the most important elements, or by significant drawbacks in portability and ease of use. An optical device with important advantages could lead to a much expanded market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wormhoudt, Joda Aerodyne Research Inc MA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109271 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Subwavelength Structures for Enhanced Absorption in Thin Silicon Films. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop thin film (less than 50 microns) crystalline silicon (Si) photovoltaic (PV) cells. At present, Si wafers account for approximately 50 per cent of the completed PV module cost. Weak near-infrared absorption requires 250-micron thick Si films to absorb available optical radiation. Preliminary calculations indicate that appropriately designed subwavelength structures can achieve comparable absorption in films 20-50 microns thick. These subwavelength structures can now be fabricated using recent advances in Si reactive ion etching (DRIE) technology. Preliminary tests with DRIE techniques have demonstrated aspect ratios (depth to linewidth) greater than 30 for grating periods less than 1 micron. Phases I will explore a technique of microstructured thin films lift-off from a conventional Si substrate. The lift-off film is bonded to a low-cost substrate for subsequent solar cell processing. Original wafers are re-used following a simple planarization step. Several lift-off steps from the same Si wafer will offset added processing costs and permit savings in Si material costs. The underlying technology is expected to find applications in homo- and hetero-epitaxial growth on nanostructured Si substrates. Commercial applications are anticipated in this new approach to thin film Si solar cell technology. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Zaidi, Saleem Gratings, Incorporated NM Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 9150 MANU 9165 9148 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109285 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Evanescent Microwave Probes with Neuromorphic Signal Processing for Real-Time Process Monitoring and Control. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will design, fabricate and test parallel coaxial evanescent microwave probes (EMP) with integrated piezoelectric actuators and neuromorphic electronics. EMP is being developed and commercialized by MICC in collaboration with researchers at Case Western Reserve University for a variety of imaging applications including thin film quality control, semiconductor characterization, biological studies, and other applications in metrology. EMPs have very fast scan rates (>1 cm/s) and they yield information regarding the dielectric constant as well as the microwave conductivity of materials. They are also non-contact with the capability of imaging both conducting and insulating materials. Integration of actuators and neuromorphic electronics with EMP's will enable their development in manufacturing quality assessment and other high throughput applications. EMPs have very high spatial resolutions (=0.1 um -100 um and in some cases atomic resolution) and their application in manufacturing will have significant impact on quality control and assessment. The possible market for such a system is in multi-billion US dollars per year in the US alone. The proposed parallel EMP arrays will be tested using a mock pulsed-laser deposition set-up at MICC. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Natal, Rodrigo Manufacturing Instrumentation Consultant Company OH Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99297 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109291 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Miniaturized High Voltage Thin Film Capacitors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating low volume, low parasitic, i.e., low series resistance and inductance, high energy density capacitors using stacked, thin-film tantalum pentoxide dielectrics fabricated on Kapton film and tantalum foil. Low resistance capacitors will shorten both charge and discharge time, as well as lower the resistive load on the battery or power source. Low inductance is also important in high voltage systems. Power supplies have high transformation ratios with many turns for secondary windings that induce high leakage inductance. Therefore, capacitor inductance must be minimized in order to reduce the total system inductance, ultimately improving power usage factors and system efficiency. Numerous high power systems are used in the medical, defense, space, and consumer electronics industries, where substantial reduction in size and weight and increased speed and performance are desired. Special anodization techniques used to form capacitor dielectrics will allow fabrication of capacitors with a wide range of high performance configurations and characteristics that are expected to benefit all of these industrial markets. Miniaturized, high energy density thin-film capacitors are used in many high power devices, such as defibrillators, DC power supplies, and automotive electronics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nelms, David Integral Wave Technologies, Inc. AR Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99986 5371 AMPP 9165 9150 0522100 High Technology Materials 0109295 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: The Construction of Strains of Yeast for Bioethanol Production from Cellulose. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop yeast strains to efficiently catalyze the conversion of cellulose to ethanol. Current technology requires the addition of purified cellulase enzymes to convert cellulose to glucose, which is then fermented to alcohol by the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The proposed research intends to make three significant improvements over the existing technology : (1) Use of a high temperature tolerant yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus to effect a very efficient fermentation, (2) Expression of genes encoding cellulase in the fermenting yeast, and 3) Isolation and selection of the yeast and the cellulase genes from the cellulosic waste specifically for optimal performance. The commercial applications of this project are in the reduction of cellulose waste material produced by agriculture and industry, and in the production of a cost effective fuel grade ethanol. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Levine, Robert Enogen Inc. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0109300 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Increased Profitability and Pearl Quality Using Recombinant DNA Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will identify commercially-important genes in Pinctada margaritifera as targets for future manipulation in order to improve the efficiency and profitability of black pearl farming. This work will also attempt to produce transgenic pearl oysters that carry the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) transgene under a constitutive eukaryotic promoter. Transgenic animals expressing the reporter gene will be followed to monitor expression patterns of the transgene in a controlled quarantine nursery system. Concurrent experiments will isolate genes involved in growth regulation and nacre formation in this species. Candidate growth hormone and nacre protein genes will be sequenced, compared to known genes of similar function in other molluscs and verified as homologous The commercial application of this project will be at the high end of the black pearl market that is estimated to be of the order of $ 150 million in the Pacific alone. This project is expected to result in the production of faster growing oysters that yield bigger and higher quality pearls than those currently available. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sarver, Dale Black Pearls Inc HI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 110063 9150 5371 BIOT 9251 9231 9181 9178 9102 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 0521700 Marine Resources 0109351 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Focused Beam Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis Using Doubly-Curved Crystals. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address improved wafer contamination analysis in the microelectronics industry. Phase I will examine a new technique called focused beam total reflection x-ray fluorescence (TXRF). Based on point-focusing toroidal crystal optics, focused beam TXRF is expected to improve spatial resolution by a factor more than 100 and provide 30 times better detection sensitivity for local contaminants on silicon (Si) than the conventional TXRF method. This technique also has potential for low level aluminum (Al), sodium (Na), and other low atomic-number (Z) elements that not performed effectively by conventional TXRF and other techniques. Phase I will demonstrate improved sensitivity and resolution for transition metal detection. Theoretical calculations will be also carried out to determine the feasibility for Al and Na detection in wafer contamination control. Focused beam TXRF analysis has commercial applications in the microelectronics industry for wafer contamination control, including localized and homogeneous contaminants with high resolution. These contaminants include many important elements, such as transition metals, Al, Na and other low Z elements. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chen, Zewu X-RAY OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC. NY Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 94318 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109356 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Novel Process Sensor for Alternative Energy and Catalysis Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will demonstrate the feasibility of constructing a low cost process control sensor for advanced alternative energy and catalysis applications. Sensor could be a component in as many as 1.2 million fuel cell vehicles projected to be on the road in 2010 and a component in the electrical generation market which could surpass $100 Billion in 2010. The sensor will measure carbon monoxide in the part-per-million to percent range in a wet, high concentration, hydrogen stream with significant carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2) concentrations. Although large nondispersive infrared (NDIR) instruments are the standard solution to this measurement problem, NDIR is prohibitively expensive for many applications including fuel cell power plants, and transportation applications, and quite expensive for industrial processes such as urea manufacture and oil refining. Phase II will develop an easily manufactured sensor costing a few dollars apiece in large quantity as opposed to current IR systems costing thousands to tens of thousands of dollars apiece. This project will have a direct impact on reducing United States dependence on foreign oil by making highly efficient fuel systems practical. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Roehl, Joseph SCENTCZAR CORPORATION VA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99390 5371 EGCH 1325 0306000 Energy Research & Resources 0109371 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Nonintrusive Diode Laser Sensor for Bottled Drugs. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is designed to assess the feasibility of developing a nonintrusive diode laser sensor for oxygen contamination in drug product bottles. In this project, designs for overcoming problems associated with ambient oxygen signals and optical interferences due to etalons will be examined. In addition, the sensitivity and accuracy of the proposed technique will be demonstrated. Lastly, a preliminary examination of the possibility of performing measurements on the production line will be made. If successful, this technology will be extendable to nonintrusive measurements in a variety of packaged and bottled food and drug products. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Paige, Mark Southwest Sciences Inc NM Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109385 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Microencapsulation of a Biocontrol Agent to Improve Control of Soilborne Pathogens. This Small Business Phase Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate microencapsulation technology, including microencapsulated phase change materials (microPCMs), to improve biological control of soilborne plant diseases. Success in this program would enhance the potential of using this technology in a broad range of biocontrol arenas. Previous research has demonstrated that microPCM(s) can significantly improve bioherbicide efficacy through microclimate regulation. Biocontrol organisms for plant diseases have environmental constraints (moisture and temperature) to practical application. Additionally, many of these organisms also lack a suitable carrier or delivery system. The technology proposed in this program will address these constraints by providing supplemental moisture, supplemental nutrients and temperature regulation to a viable biocontrol bacterium that is encapsulated inside a protective capsule. Innovative microencapsulation techniques will combine water, microPCMs and nutrients in a form that can be delivered to seeds or vegetative cuttings. The key objectives of the Phase I project are as follows : (1) to evaluate compatibility of microencapsulated materials, (2) to design and to fabricate water microcapsules and microPCMs, (3) to encapsulate a test biocontrol bacterium, and 4) to evaluate these formulations individually or in combination with the test bacterium to control soilborne diseases in selected crops. The commercial applications of this project will be in the huge, multibillion dollar market for materials needed to control soilborne diseases in flowers and in crops such as corn, soybeans, cotton, grain sorghum and rice. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cartwright, D Agricultural Research Initiatives Inc AR Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 94207 5371 BIOT 9181 9150 0201000 Agriculture 0109392 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Compact, Low-Cost, Time-of-Flight Residual Gas Analyzer. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new type of residual gas analyzer based on a novel ion-trapping concept. The new instrument will have significant cost and size advantages over current commercially available residual gas analyzer (RGA) systems. If the concept is successful, it has the potential to provide performance capabilities exceeding current RGA technology. The new trap also has potential application as a general purpose ion source for precision mass spectrometry. Phase I will: (1) design and construct a proof-of-principle experiment to demonstrate the novel ion trap as an ion source for a compact RGA; (2) conduct experiments to characterize the performance of the new instrument; and (3) evaluate possible extensions of the instrument and develop the conceptual design for a Phase II laboratory demonstration instrument. These new RGA instruments are expected to reduce capital and manufacturing costs in industries such as semiconductor manufacturing, vacuum coating, electro-optics, chemical processing, and environmental monitoring. It will also make RGAs more available to new users in industry and university research laboratories, who presently cannot afford such instruments. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Greaves, Rod First Point Scientific, Inc. CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109407 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Harmonic Radio Acoustic Sounding System (HRASS). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate a proprietary method of measuring atmospheric temperature starting at 10 meters above the surface. Our concept, if successful, will overcome the current Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) low altitude and temperature resolution limits. The temperature measurement accuracy will be increased by at least a factor of two. This system will support research by providing a continuous low altitude temperature profile for a better understanding of the atmosphere and improved weather prediction. Localized weather forecasts are particularly important for airports predicting fog, air quality control, controlled burns of grasslands and forests, and uncontrolled forest fires. The ability to predict the behavior of the smoke emanating from these fires is important since it is a threat to many segments of the population. Results from this research could provide accurate low altitude temperature profiles to businesses that need local weather data (airports, fire departments, television and radio stations, air quality control, and disaster management of nuclear or chemical mishaps, etc.). EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Wollny, W. Tom Quick Reaction Corporation CA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 9150 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0109419 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Two-Photon Resonant Holography. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a Two-Photon Resonant Holography (TPRH) imaging technique capable of recording time-resolved number densities of atomic or molecular species. Resonant holography and the innovative application of two-photon absorption and photorefractive quantum well (PRQW) holographic devices will allow the development of high-speed systems using only low-cost, solid-state components. Phase I will develop the TPRH technique by constructing a prototype system and demonstrating its operation with a selected species. The use of two-photon absorption with resonant holography allows visible or infrared (IR) lasers to probe species with ultraviolet (UV) absorption lines. Costly UV lasers and optics can be avoided. The PRQW device enables high recording rates. These devices are capable of kiloHertz or megaHertz rates with energy requirements in the nanojoule range. Commercial applications are expected in industrial and fundamental research areas: combustion, plasmas, reacting flows, in vitro biomedical testing, supersonic mixing and reacting flows, and basic research into the nonlinear behavior of atomic or molecular electronic systems. Furthermore, TPRH may find applications in very low cost video rate systems; lightweight, low-power airborne or space-based systems; and multiple-view systems for tomographic measurements. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lysogorski, Charles North Dancer Labs, Inc. VT Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99279 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0109430 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Fabrication of High Aspect Ratio Microstructures in Polymers: Applications in Microcolumn Separations. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop commercially viable methods for the fabrication of high aspect ratio micro- and nano-structures for microfluidic applications using contact nano-printing. X-ray lithography will be used to produce molding tools to emboss structures in polymers. Microfluidic channels will be fabricated with ordered arrays of micro- and nano-posts filling these channels. Molding tools will be constructed from metal electroform to allow hot embossing or injection molding of various polymers. Mechanical properties of both the electroform and the polymers will be evaluated for the ability to minimize structure deformation during demolding. Various gluing and heat annealing assembly methods to enclose the microfluidic channels will be investigated. A number of post geometries will be examined for feature integrity during molding, demolding and assembly. Fluid transport through the ordered arrays will be studied in detail using confocal fluorescence microscopy. The commercial applications of this project will be in the area of micro-column separations such as for reversed phase chromatography and for micro-reactors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ford, Sean Mezzo Systems Inc. LA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99850 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109434 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: EvoBeaker Simulation Software for Teaching Evolutionary Biology. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I (SBIR) project seeks to develop simulation software for teaching evolutionary biology. Evolution is the core subject in biology, yet it requires concepts and ways of thinking that are challenging for most students. Moreover, it is a subject that is poorly understood by many non-scientists, with important consequences on the way science is taught in public schools. This project will lead to the development of a very flexible piece of software that allows users to design evolutionary simulations and students to graphically see evolution in action. The software will be accompanied by a set of classroom-tested laboratories teaching a variety of evolutionary topics. Students will learn by designing and performing their own experiments. The commercial potential of this project is immediate and obvious. To date, a good, general purpose teaching program of the type proposed in this project is not available and the market is very large, consisting of virtually every secondary school and college in the country. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Meir, Eli SimBiotic Software NY Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 97770 5371 BIOT 9181 0108000 Software Development 0109441 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I:Rare Earth-Aluminum Oxide Glass Photonic Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate photonic devices based on novel rare earth-aluminum oxide (REAl) glass. These devices exploit electronic transitions in rare earth doped and co-doped glass that potentially enable efficient laser action at wavelengths from 480 to 2250 nanometers (nm) when pumped by inexpensive diode lasers. Phase I will focus on the feasibility of devices having emissions at 1480 nm and possibly 1300 nm emission for telecommunications applications. The behavior of 480-490 nm emissions will be characterized with a view toward use in optical data storage applications. Phase I will also synthesize and characterize doped rare earth-aluminum oxide glasses, and establish protoype device performance. Measurements on the rare earth doped REAl glasses will include the spectral absorption coefficient at the pump wavelength, fluorescence cross section line shape, slope efficiency, fluorescence lifetime, single pass gain, and IR transmission. Potential commercial applications include small laser or optical amplifier devices to extend the fiber telecommunication bandwidth for use in high-density optical data storage devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Weber, J.K. Richard Containerless Research, Inc. IL Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0110000 Technology Transfer 0109447 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Ferroelectric Thin Films on Low-Cost Substrates for Wireless Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is aimed at producing high-quality BaxSr1-xTiO3 (BST) films with low dielectric losses and high tunability on low-cost substrates (sapphire and metal). These ferroelectric thin films are of great interest for advanced tunable microwave devices that are being used in, for example, wireless telecommunication hardware. To date, there are only two process technologies (PLD and MOCVD) that allow depositing BST onto sapphire and none exists for depositing BST onto metallic substrates. Hence, there is a compelling technical and commercial need to develop an advanced deposition process that can overcome these apparent shortcomings. In related work we have shown that the proprietary Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD) process can deposit high-quality, epitaxial BST thin films onto a variety of substrates. The goal of this Phase I program is to demonstrate the capability of the CCVD process to produce tunable microwave devices using CCVD-grown thin films of ferroelectric BaxSr1-xTiO3 (BST). The effect of systematically varying film composition and substrate on thin-film properties will be investigated with a special focus towards the intended wireless applications. The market for low cost, tunable microwave devices continues to grow every year as the world untethers itself from the telephone lines. Over $300 million worth wireless handsets were sold this past year and that number is projected to rise to over $1.5 billion by the year 2005. Tunable devices also benefit the manufacturers of RF radios, satellite communication equipment, and active antennas. There is a tremendous interest in low-cost phase shifters with a price target of approx. $5. This goal is achievable with the right combination of advanced thin films, low-cost substrate and high-volume deposition technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Stollberg, David NGIMAT CO. GA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9165 0106000 Materials Research 0109450 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Underground Pipe Locator. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of using magnetic tensor gradiometry to both locate and determine the depth of buried underground and/or submerged underwater ferrous pipes. Detection and location of subsurface pipes is of great importance to the utility, natural gas, and petroleum industries. Existing techniques such as Ground Penetrating Radar suffer from a number of limitations, including the inability to accurately scan through multi-component soil and water. This technique uses passive magnetic gradiometry to detect underground and underwater ferrous pipes, and is unaffected by the presence of water. Commercial magnetometer-based pipe locators do not measure enough component of the magnetic field and the magnetic gradient to be able to correctly find the depth of the buried pipe. During Phase I, the feasibility of detecting and locating one ferrous pipe in the presence of other ferrous pipes in the vicinity will be studied. A magnetic tensor gradiometer based pipe locator will first find applications in the natural gas, petroleum, and the utility industries. In addition, the gradiometer could be easily adapted to find underground structures, underwater vehicles, buried current-carrying conductors, buried unexploded ordnance and mines and concealed weapons. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kumar, Sankaran Quantum Magnetics, Inc. CA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99998 5371 CVIS 1059 0110000 Technology Transfer 0109460 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Antimony-based Mid-Infrared Quantum Cascade Lasers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop mid-infrared (IR) quantum cascade lasers based on type-II indium arsenide/gallium anitmonide/aluminum antimonide (InAs/GaSb/AlSb) quantum well structures. These lasers emit radiation in the mid-IR region, enabling commercial products in fields including chemical sensing, medical diagnostics, and industrial process controls. The wavelength of Sb-based quantum cascade lasers can be tailored over a wide spectral range due to the large conduction band-offset between InAs and AlSb. In addition, because of the band-gap blocking in type-II quantum well structures, electron injection efficiencies near 100% can be achieved without requiring Bragg reflector layers. Another advantage of this material system is the small electron effective mass in InAs, contributing to reduced phonon scattering rates. Hence, the inter-sub-band quantum cascade lasers based on type-II InAs/GaSb/AlSb quantum well structures are excellent candidates for compact, reliable, efficient mid-infrared light sources operating at room temperature. Phase I will involve the design, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth, characterization, and optimization of InAs/GaInSb/AlSb quantum cascade lasers to demonstrate their feasibility of operation at low threshold current and at ambient temperatures (or at temperatures accessible with a thermoelectric cooler). High performance mid-IR quantum cascade lasers would be developed in Phase II. The first mid-IR semiconductor lasers are expected to operate under continuous wave (cw) conditions at ambient temperatures. This would enable commercial products in several fields including chemical sensing. One example is detection, at the parts per billion (ppb) level, of formaldehyde and related compounds for medical diagnosis purposes. These laser sources will potentially find other commercial and defense applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bruno, John Maxion Technologies, Inc. MD Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 98550 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0109461 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Determination of Optimal Bidding Strategies and Nash Equilibria in Electric Power Markets. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses a major problem faced by participants and government regulators in the electrical power industry. The electric power industry in the United States and throughout much of the world is presently in a period of radical and rapid restructuring. The ultimate goal of much of this restructuring is lower prices, to be achieved through the development of competitive markets for electricity. These changes require new tools both for the market participants and for the market regulators. For the participants one such new tool is the ability to optimize their market decisions in order to maximize profit. For the regulators a new tool is needed to insure that the market operates without undue market power abuses by the participants. As will be shown in this proposal, the software tool needs of both the participants and regulators are quite similar. The goal of this project is the development of such a tool. PowerWorld Corporation's present customers include traditional utilities, power marketers, industry consultants, several state regulatory commissions, as well as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Many of these customers have expressed a great desire for PowerWorld to expand its products to include a detailed market simulation tool. PowerWorld Simulator, with further development, has a tremendous potential to be one of the most valuable new tools available in the coming years. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Laufenberg, Mark POWERWORLD CORPORATION IL Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109462 July 15, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Precision-Biodegradable Microspheres for Sustained-Release of Bioactive Substances. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I (SBIR) project will use ink-jet printing technology to fabricate precision biodegradable microspheres, 20-200m in diameter, for sustained-release of bioactive substances. The microspheres will be fabricated at specific diameters, as determined by the application, thereby producing an excellent platform for delivery of drugs, hormones, growth factor, DNA vectors / plasmids, cytokines, and enzymes. For the initial application, the microspheres will incorporate antineoplastic agents, such as taxol, for the treatment of head and neck cancer. The physical parameters of the microspheres will be verified with a scanning electron microscope. Release kinetics profiles of the taxol loaded microspheres will be determined by in vitro pharmacokinetic modeling. Quantification of antineoplastic agent release will be performed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Retention of efficacy will be tested by first fabricating the taxol microspheres and then extracting and testing the antineoplastic agent in a cell culture model of squamous cell carcinoma. The intact microspheres will also be tested in a nude mouse model of human squamous cell carcinoma. The commercial applications of this project will be in human therapeutics as an alternative to conventional administration of those drugs that have a short half-life or that cause considerable systemic effects. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Romero, Andres MicroFab Technologies Inc TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0109473 July 1, 2001 SBIR/STTR Phase I: New Magnetoelastic Force/Corrosion Sensor for Cable-Stays in Bridges Using Measurement of Anhysteresis Curve. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of direct measurement of live forces in civil infrastructures such as the cables of cable-stayed bridges, using a new magnetoelastic sensor. Knowledge of stress conditions is essential for detection of stress changes due to fatigue, overload, or corrosion and thereby, to prolong a structure's service life and/or to improve its performance. Knowledge of the stress state is also valuable for evaluating the structural integrity of cables during and after natural disasters such as earthquakes or severe winds. These measurements should be made rapidly and cost-effectively. Conventional sensors, such as strain gages and accelerometers, do not respond to stress directly. The new magnetoelastic sensor depends on the magnetic properties of structural steels in a stressed state. The sensing circuit is external to the steel, simple to install, and sensitive to in-situ stress with an error less than 3%. A magnetic property called the anhysteresis curve is measured. The commercial application of the new magnetoelastic force/corrosion sensor is in maintenance and repair of cable-stays in bridge structures and numerous other steel and metal-based infrastructural elements. The end-users include infrastructure managers, bridge engineers, and officials of transportation authorities of Federal and local governments. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Qi, Gui-Zhong InfraTech Inc MD Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99786 5371 CVIS 1038 0109000 Structural Technology 0109487 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: High Speed, All-Fiber, Low-Power Dense WDM Optical Switches. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop novel high-speed broadband optical switches, where the optical data do not leave a fiber waveguide. Unlike integrated optics and planar waveguides, this approach has strong advantages in lower insertion loss, higher speeds, lower drive voltages, and reduced fabrication costs. Since these devices are inherently narrow-band, they can support dramatic reduction in channel width (higher channel count) in dense wavelength division multiplexed systems. At the same time, the lower voltage and faster electro-optic switching allow greater speeds, already demonstrated in excess of 110 GigaHertz in planar devices using this technology. The commercial market for high-speed, power-efficient optical switches is among the largest in the modern economy. The potential for cost savings via improved efficiency is expected to justify the retrofit of existing infrastructure. Considering revenue increases due to capacity expansion, this technology could figure prominently in the next expansion of transcontinental, intercontinental, and metropolitan high-speed data transfer service devices, sensors, and other devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schaafsma, David IPITEK CA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99873 5371 HPCC 9139 0110000 Technology Transfer 0109491 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Rare Earth Doped Polymer Optical Fiber Amplifiers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate optical amplification in a single-mode polymer optical fiber. Phase I will: 1) incorporate various rare earth chelates into polymer systems; 2) demonstrate amplification in the material; 3) make a polymer fiber with a rare-earth core; and 4) demonstrate amplification in the fiber. Single mode polymer optical fiber waveguides will be made with a mode profile that matches that of standard silica glass fiber, thus making the amplifier fiber compatible with existing fiber-optic components. Besides applications in phased array radar, these amplifiers are expected to impact the long-haul fiber amplifier business, but it's largest impact will be in small and regional network applications, particularly for fiber-to-the-neighborhood and fiber-to-the-curb uses. The new technology will also impact the amplifier market for local intranets, as well as provide cost-effective amplifier solutions for small networks and hybrid fiber-coax cable TV systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Welker, David Sentel Technologies L.L.C. WA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99587 5371 HPCC 9139 0110000 Technology Transfer 0109500 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Novel Surface Modified Catheters for Infection Control. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I (SBIR) project will develop a novel antimicrobial surface modification for polymeric biomaterials. This surface modification could be used to develop antimicrobial catheters, hubs, fabrics, and surfaces for medical instruments, as well as biofilm resistant dental and water lines. The need for antimicrobial catheters is great. Every year in the U.S., twenty million hospital patients are catheterized. Use of these devices places large numbers of patients at risk for a variety of catheter-related infectious complications. In U.S. ICUs approximately 500 to 4000 patients die annually of central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections. The annual cost of caring for patients with central line-associated blood stream infections is $60 to $460 million. This Phase I project proposes a novel antimicrobial surface modification (1) that will covalently attach active groups to the surface of a variety of plastics, including polymers commonly used in medicine; (2) that can be formed on both the inner and outer surfaces of complex geometries; (3) that will inhibit bacterial adhesion by nonspecific oxidative destruction and by electrostatic repulsion of negatively charged bacteria; (4) that will be effective against bacteria, fungi, and spores; and (5) that will not promote increased antibiotic resistance. The primary commercial application of this project will be in the medical instrumentation market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Krause, Wendy Lynntech, Inc TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0203000 Health 0109504 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Optical Fiber Chloride Sensor for Concrete Structures. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes an optical fiber sensor to determine concentrations of chloride ions in composite concrete structures such as buildings and bridges. Maintaining the integrity of this nation's infrastructure is a major challenge, and the incursion of chloride ions into concrete is a major cause of structure failure in the U.S. To solve this problem, Intelligent Optical Systems (IOS) will develop an innovative distributed intrinsic fiber optic sensor (DIFOS) that will consist of an optical fiber coated with a cladding that contains an indicator sensitive to chloride ions. The cladding changes its spectral properties in the presence of chloride, causing the fiber's optical properties to reflect chloride ion concentration. The sensor will detect chloride along its entire length, reliably indicating when structures need repair or replacement. Embedded or retrofit in a concrete structure, the sensor will detect the incursion of chloride ions and provide real-time monitoring of chloride diffusion within the structure. This sensor can be used to prevent structure degradation and potential catastrophic failures. The proposed system will be a valuable tool for safeguarding concrete structures. It will be used by civil engineering and construction companies. This sensor can be embedded into new structures during fabrication and into old structures that are being repaired. In addition, the concept of an optical fiber cladding that is sensitive to different analytes can be extended to smart structures such as aircraft, ships, and buildings to increase the safety of these structures and to decrease maintenance and inspection costs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Egalon, Claudio INTELLIGENT OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC CA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99997 5371 CVIS 1038 0109000 Structural Technology 0109519 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Novel, Non-Toxic, General Purpose Oxygen Activated Disinfectant. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop a novel potent class of biocides for use in the food and medical industries. Over the last decade, the emergence of pathogenic microbes that resist conventional treatment, such as antibiotics and chemical disinfectants, has caused great concern to officials in the food and medical industries. Each year nearly two million patients contract an infection while hospitalized. During the last two decades the rate of nosocomial infections per 1,000 patient days has increased 36 percent, while in 1995 nosocomial infections cost 4.5 billion dollars and contributed to more than 88,000 deaths. These "super bugs" have also reeked havoc in the food industry as foodborne disease causes approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. The novel class of biocides proposed in this project will be generated on-site and on-demand and will contain the beneficial characteristics of ozone and carboxylic acid or alcohol-based disinfectants while eliminating their respective weaknesses. This new armamentarium of biocides will meet the criteria for an ideal disinfectant that can be recommended by public health officials for food and medical uses. The primary commercial applications of this project will be in the food and healthcare industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hitchens, G. Duncan Lynntech, Inc TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109525 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Stable High Volume Cu Precursor Evaporation Module. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address development of an advanced precursor evaporation module with a specific focus application to copper metalization. Rapid large area CVD is required for the copper seed layer or, preferably, for deposition of the full contact layer. CVD equipment manufacturers have responded to the deposition tool need; as have developers of the copper precursors to enable Cu CVD. However, the copper precursor of choice, Cupra Select TM (a liquid), has a relatively low vapor transport rate because of its low vapor pressure, compounded by a narrow temperature operating range (vapor pressure equals 0.4 Torr at 43 C and beyond ~ 45 C this precursor begins to decompose). Flash Evaporation is not a solution because of the low decomposition temperature. The limited vapor transport hinders high speed large area growth. This has led to the development of a multistep-multimachine copper metalization process (CVD seed layer followed by electrochemical deposition of the whole layer). This is tolerable but highly inefficient and hence costly. SMI proposes to create a patentable high volume liquid vaporization source. Our proposed source offers at minimum a 5 fold increase in available Cu vapor transport and is expected to allow CVD to replace the present two-step process. If successfully developed, SMI's source will be made available commercially. This effort will help accelerate the large scale manufacturing of ICs with Cu interconnects, and may apply to any other CVD process utilizing low volatility liquid precursors. An improved liquid vaporization source will find immediate use on all Cu CVD systems and hence be a strategic SMI component product. The unit will also find applications to similar temperature sensitive, low volatility liquids and well meets SMI's CVD components sales thrusts. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tompa, Gary STRUCTURED MATERIALS INDUSTRIES, INC. NJ Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109543 August 1, 2001 Reasons for Carnegie Mellon to Join PSERC. This is a proposal for Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to join Power Systems engineering research center (PSerc) PSerc is a consortium of universities and industries, formed to collaboratively tackle critical power systems problems. The inclusion of CMU in PSerc will benefit both institutions: CMU has resources that will enhance PSerc's problem solving capabilities, and PSerc will make it possible for CMU's researchers to work on problems that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. CONTROL, NETWORKS, & COMP INTE IIP ENG Talukdar, Sarosh Carnegie-Mellon University PA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 205745 W242 V105 1518 OTHR 0000 0109554 August 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Catalyst for Near-Zero NOx Emissions from Natural Gas Fired Power Plants. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project involves the development of a catalyst to control NOx emissions from combined cycle power plants using natural gas fired turbines (natural gas fired power plants). During the Phase I effort, Guild Associates developed an environmental catalyst for the control of NOx emissions using NH3. Operating in the presence of excess (about 20-33%) NH3, the catalyst was able to achieve greater than 95% NOx reduction without NH3 slip. NH3 slip is avoided because the catalyst is able to simultaneously reduce the excess NH3 to N2 and H2O. The objective of this project is to modify the catalyst developed during the Phase I effort in order to enhance its commercial viability. Enhancing the commercial viability will involve increasing the reactivity of the catalyst and eliminating platinum metals from the formulation. Enhancing the reactivity will allow the catalyst to operate at higher space velocities. Eliminating platinum metals from the formulation will greatly reduce the cost of the catalyst. Successful completion of this effort will result in a simple, low cost technology for control of NOx emissions from natural gas fired power plants without NH3 slip. Potential Commercial Applications include the control of NOx emissions from natural gas fired power plants. Other commercial applications include controlling NOx emissions from semiconductor manufacturing, fine and specialty chemical manufacturing and nitric acid manufacturing processes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Rossin, Joseph GUILD ASSOCIATES INC OH Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 599891 5373 EGCH 9197 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109570 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Wireless Firefighter Lifeline. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will explore a low-frequency positioning system for locating and tracking people inside of buildings. Phase I will establish system feasibility by showing that lower frequencies will not be subject to the guided-wave propagation modes caused by typical indoor structures of hallways, partition walls, and floors. These guided-wave modes can cause unacceptably large errors in indoor positioning systems. The concept will be validated by a combination of electromagnetic modeling and experiments. It is expected that a phase-only, low-frequency approach will produce high accuracy and good penetration into buildings with modest bandwidth requirements and minimum problems for licensing approval. The principal commercial application is in the firefighter market. The system will monitor not only a firefighter's position but also vital biometric data, e.g., pulse, respiration, temperature, air tank level. Further, this system will be portable, obviating the need for a supporting infrastructure. It can also be used for tracking prison guards and rescuers entering a collapsed building after an earthquake or other natural disasters. Hospitals could use this technology to track critical mobile equipment or personnel. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Halsey, James INFORMATION SYSTEMS LABORATORIES INC CA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99656 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0109573 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Mechanism of the Layer Transfer Process for Silicon-on-Insulator. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will explore an improved process of manufacturing Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) wafers. The SOI process includes: (1) forming a hydrogen-rich buried layer in a donor silicon wafer; (2) prebonding the donor wafer to a handle wafer; (3) cleaving the donor wafer along the buried layer to thinner top silicon; and (4) postbonding and surface smoothing of the final SOI wafer. An initial wafer is oxidized allowing it to get the buried oxide of SOI. A new feature is an improved activation of wafer surfaces to be bonded. Activation is termination of surfaces with either hydrogen or with hydroxyl groups. Preliminary results show that the terminated surfaces contain more than a monolayer of hydrogen. And the excessive adsorbed hydrogen causes transfer faults during subsequent layer transfer. The Phase I activation process allows control of the hydrogen dose. The process uses radio frequency plasma treatment instead of wet processing. It is expected that the yield of the SOI process will be increased. The new process will be used in the silicon wafer market, which currently totals $10B annually. Estimates indicate that SOI wafers will increase to around 20% of this market within 10 years as SOI is one of the few solutions for production wafers based on less than 0.18 micron design rules. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Usenko, Alex Silicon Wafer Technologies, Inc. NJ Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109578 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Photonic Crystal Defect Cavity Enhanced Photodetector. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel photonic crystal defect cavity enhanced photodetector with wavelength selectivity, fast response speed, and low noise. By introducing photonic crystals into the design of a cavity enhanced photodetector, the problems associated with lattice matched reflector growth, low refractive index contrast, and heterojunction charge accumulation will be avoided. The photonic crystal defect cavity enhanced photodetector will be easy to fabricate and have superior performance compared with traditional detectors. The design can be expanded to photodetector arrays in many materials systems. Phase I will investigate the fabrication of photonic crystal defect cavity, characterize the photonic crystal band structure, and test p-i -n photodetector structures. Phase II would produce the prototype photodetector devices and optimize their performance. Novel products utilizing a photonic crystal defect cavity enhanced photodetector are anticipated in optical communications and telecommunications. Since silicon (Si)-based photodetectors can be easily incorporated into Si-based integrated circuits, there will be immediate commercial application to the telecommunications industry. There is also long term potential application in imaging and optical communications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Xu, Hongwei NANOSCIENCES CORP CT Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0109591 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Low Cost, Cavity Ringdown Spectrometer for Gas Analysis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will lead to the development of compact, low cost gas sensors and analyzers based on cavity ringdown spectroscopy using near-infrared lasers manufactured for fiber optic communications. Although conventional cavity ringdown spectroscopy can achieve part per trillion detection limits for many gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, ammonia), few commercial applications require such extraordinary sensitivity. Instead, price and reliability are controlling factors for the sensors and analyzers market. That is why we propose a modified form of ringdown spectroscopy that should lead to low cost, compact, and rugged instruments. The Phase I effort is designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed technique which will lead to the development of a prototype instrument in Phase II. Commercial applications include industrial process analysis and control, bioreactor monitoring, and worker safety. Ideally, the sensors and analyzers will be low power (possibly battery operated), self-calibrating and self-checking devices that will be sufficiently rugged to allow in situ installation. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Bomse, David Southwest Sciences Inc NM Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 9150 AMPP 9163 0110000 Technology Transfer 0109593 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Analysis of Combinatorial Bioproducts using Absorbance-Based, Multiplexed CE (Capillary Electrophoresis). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I (SBIR) project will develop high sample throughput methodologies via multiplexed capillary electrophoresis (CE) for applications in the areas of combinatorial synthesis and proteomics. CE has the potential to function as a platform for a high- throughput analysis system, but suffers from unacceptable variations in migration times and injection volumes. Furthermore, today's multiplexed CE systems use fluorescence detection only, which without labeling is ineffective in detecting ~90% of all known compounds. This project proposes the fabrication and validation of a 96-capillary array CE system that employs 1) absorbance-based detection, and 2) current measurement in each capillary. The former eliminates the need and problems with fluorescence, significantly expanding the scope of multiplexed CE. The latter uses the collected current to reduce migration time and injection volume variability to the levels required for routine analytical work. Success in Phase I will lead to a Phase II program in which the analysis system will be optimized and protocols for peptide mapping and combinatorial synthesis will be developed and standardized. Potential commercial applications of this project are in markets needing high throughput screening methods. Target customers for the technology include fine chemical makers that use combinatorial techniques to develop new catalysts and other materials, pharmaceutical firms that conduct high-throughput screening in drug discovery for the development of pharmaceutical compounds, biotechnology companies that utilize peptide mapping for the rapid fingerprinting of proteins, and clinical and forensic laboratories that require high-throughput screening to analyze samples and develop evidence in criminal investigations SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pang, Ho-ming CombiSep, Inc. IA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109616 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Prevention of Fibrosis of Peritoneal Hydrogel Implants. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will develop the technology to inhibit and / or to prevent the fibrosis of peritoneal hydrogel implants. BioHybrid Technologies' microreactors are hydrogel-based sustained-release devices containing living cells that manufacture and secrete therapeutic substances. By encapsulating the appropriate cells derived from primary isolates, cell lines or stem cells; BioHybrid's microreactors can be geared to the treatment of a large variety of diseases. These microreactors have been shown to protect the cells from cellular and humoral immunity. However, the current design is still prone to cellular overgrowth, resulting in suffocation of cells within the microreactor and ultimately leading to microreactor failure. The objectives of this project are to determine (1) if anti-fibrotic agents included in the microreactors or those used systemically can inhibit fibrosis of microreactors, and (2) if geometric changes made to the microreactors will render them less fibrogenic. The ability to control or to eliminate the host fibrotic reaction to such microreactors would represent a major advance in this promising technology . This is likely to be the last hurdle that must be overcome to finally bring BioHybrid's microreactor technology into the clinic. The commercial applications of this project are expected to be immediate and significant. The final refinement in BioHybrid Technologies' microreactor technology is likely to lead to substantial improvements in treatment for a large number of human diseases including diabetes, Alzheimer's, liver failure, chronic pain, hemophilia, dwarfism, anemia, hypocalcemia, ALS, Parkinson's, epilepsy, Huntington's, spinal cord injuries, strokes, kidney failure, immunodeficiencies, and several others. The commercial market for these diseases is huge, measuring in billions of dollars in the U.S. alone. The therapeutic improvements that would result from this technology will lower healthcare costs and enable other technologies that can take advantage of the advances in therapeutic substance delivery. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kuhtreiber, Willem BioHybrid Technologies Inc. MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99914 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0109627 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I:Novel Use of Microspheres In Plasma Display Device. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will show the efficacy of using small hollow glass microspheres, "Plasma-spheres", as cellular-size gas containers for plasma display panels. Current plasma panel technology utilizes an "open" plasma system, which captures ionizable gas between two glass panels. This system is difficult to fabricate. Production costs are high due to time consuming gas processing techniques presently in use. If successful, the new system is expected to decrease the gas processing time significantly, thereby lowering costs, and it will allow the production of flexible plasma panels. Phase I will fabricate and gas fill the microspheres, construct prototype, monochrome Plasma-sphere panels, and compare their critical characteristics, such as efficiency, brightness, life, operating voltage requirements, with those achieved with a standard monochrome plasma panel. Successful replacement of extant open plasma systems with plasma-sphere systems can reduce costs sufficiently to make high definition television available to the home consumer market. Plasma-spheres may also extend plasma panel use to low pressure environments, e.g., high altitude and space applications, and to high-pressure environments, e.g., undersea applications. The possibility of an open flexible plastic substrate can lead to various aerospace, military, and consumer applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Henderson, Timothy IMAGING SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY INC OH Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99765 5371 MANU 9148 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109644 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Laser Ultrasonic Receiver Using Polarization Self-Modulation in Photorefractive Semiconductors. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of using a new type of adaptive receiver as part of a low-cost laser ultrasonic inspection system for manufacturing inspection and process control. The test of feasibility will be very high detection sensitivity, while maintaining the capability to compensate for mechanical vibrations and atmospheric turbulence that are present in the factory environment. High sensitivity helps to reduce power/energy requirements for lasers used in an inspection system and thus to reduce overall production costs. The cost of the receiver, itself, will also be lower as a result of simplicity of design. Phase I will develop analytical models to describe receiver performance, characterize receiver experimental performance, and evaluate a laboratory prototype eceiver. There is a broad need for low cost sensors for many manufacturing applications. Laser ultrasonic inspection can be used to inspect hot and/or rapidly moving parts and to scan large structural panels. Systems cost reduction is expected to justify laser ultrasonic inspection over a wider range of manufacturing applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Klein, Marvin LASSON TECHNOLOGIES, INC. CA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 71466 5371 MANU 9146 0109000 Structural Technology 0109649 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Parallel Hardware Implementation of the Split and Merge Discrete Wavelet Transform for Wireless Communication. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop the hardware implementation of a novel image compression/signal decomposition algorithm based on the discrete wavelet transform (DWT). This fully parallel, low-power, scalable, multi-resolution implementation is particularly well suited for use in reduced bit-rate applications over wireless communication channels as found in the next generation of web enabled cell phones. This particular implementation is a highly efficient implementation of the wavelet transform and makes use of a novel overlap state wavelet decomposition algorithm that minimizes both memory usage and interprocessor communication overhead. Over the next decade, spiraling consumer demand for fast mobile communication of voice and IP over increasingly integrated terrestrial and satellite-based radio systems plagued by a limited electromagnetic spectrum allocation necessitates the pursuit and development of better compression algorithms at low bit-rates. As a consequence of extensive research, transform-coding techniques has come to virtually dominate every single image and video coding scheme proposed to-date. Consequently, efficient software and hardware based transform coding system designs and implementations have become a high priority objective at both academic and commercial research centers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Moopenn, Alexander Mosaix, LLC CA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0104000 Information Systems 0109652 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Two-Dimensional X-Ray Diffraction Detector Using New Fluidic Self-Assembly Manufacturing Techniques. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will apply fluidic self-assembly (FSA) technology to the fabrication of large area silicon-based X-ray imaging arrays. FSA technology offers potential for cost-effective production of high-speed, high-performance X-ray imaging arrays that are now in demand for synchrotron protein crystallography, X-ray astronomy, and mammography. Silicon X-ray diode arrays and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuit chips will be micro-machined into the appropriate shapes for subsequent assembly using FSA. The FSA apparatus for transporting the micro-machined chips to the receptor substrate will be assembled and evaluated. Phase I will evaluate these techniques in fabrication of an X-ray imaging array. Phase II would include the design and fabrication of optimized detector structures and custom CMOS readout circuits, and optimization of the assembly procedures for a prototype-imaging array for synchrotron protein crystallography. Potential applications are expected in the commercial production of X-ray imaging devices for medical, scientific, and other purposes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tull, Carolyn Photon Imaging, Inc. CA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109666 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: New Methods for Studies of Single Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I (SBIR) project will apply Multi Photon Detection (MPD) to quantify the minute amounts of proteins contained in and secreted from a single cell. The successes of genomics have led to the need for improved knowledge of the protein content of cells (proteomics). The elucidation of all proteins requires better methods for the study of low abundance proteins because the majority of "molecular switches" are expected to be expressed at less than 10,000 copies per cell. The goals of this project are to further improve the sensitivity of the MPD-enhanced immunoassays down to the level of a few zeptomole/sample, to study intracellular processing of the important family of cytokines (IL-1, IL-18) and to study the levels of caspases in a single cell. The commercial applications of the technology to be developed in this project are in the rapidly expanding proteomics market, especially in the area of low abundance proteins proteomics. This market is currently estimated at around $ 200 million and expected to grow severalfolds over the next few years. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Drukier, Andrzej BioTraces Inc VA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99587 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0109671 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Integrated Circuit Design for Biological Data Transmission. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop integrated, wireless transceiver Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) circuits for neuron based data acquisition (DAQ) systems. Currently available multi-channel neuron DAQ systems require a tethered connection for the surgically implanted analog head stage electronics. This wired connection limits the subject's freedom and motion. If a low power, wireless connection were possible, these limitations are eliminated. Furthermore, a wireless connection broadens the use of DAQ systems to clinical possibilities with humans. The critical design parameters for the wireless head stage transceiver circuits are 4 Million Bits per second (Mbs) data rate and 1mWatt power dissipation. The first is needed to meet the 16-channel bandwidth requirement.The second is required because of the miniature size and lightweight constraints of the battery power source needed for a wireless connection. The specific objective of the project is to design the most efficient wireless transmitter and receiver for the neuron DAQ system. Two protocols, namely, minimum Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) and Ultra Wide Band (UWB) will be considered and evaluated. This comparative evaluation, also involving Bluetooth radio chip sets, will be conducted on the basis of efficiency, layout area, noise and process immunity. Integrated CMOS filters, mixers and oscillators with off chip antennas will be simulated, designed and extracted to meet the 4Mbs and 1mWatt benchmark. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of neuroprosthetics to restore sensory and motor function in patients with neural damage. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Morizio, James Triangle Biosystems, Inc. NC Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 98030 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0109672 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Low Cost, Disposable Microfluidic Manifolds for Lab-On-a-Chip (LOC) Technologies. 0109672 Scherer This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop a low cost, disposable microfluidic manifold that includes a micropump for lab-on-a-chip (LOC) applications. The microfluidic devices will be engineered for integration with disposable chemical and biological LOC detector systems. The key objectives in this Phase I project are : (1) to construct and to test a proof of principle system, (2) to assess the compatability of the technology for an array of LOC applications, (3) to design an integrated microfluidic system, and (4) to determine specifications of the Phase II prototype. The commercial applications of this project are expected to be in a broad range of markets, extending from specialty medical industries to general consumer products. Examples of commercial devices that may potentially incorporate this technology include chemical analysis systems, drug delivery systems, MEMS actuator systems and embedded health monitoring systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Scherer, James LOS GATOS RESEARCH INC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109679 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Nonintrusive Species Specific Velocimeter. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an optical instrument that measures velocity distribution in a flame species by species---and on multiple scale sizes---with an accuracy of 1%. This novel velocimeter is nonintrusive and passive, relying completely on light emitted by the flame itself. The instrument will be developed with experts in commercial combustion chemical-vapor deposition, a process that inexpensively produces thin-film coatings for a variety of applications, including electronics, glass, anti-corrosives, superconductors, catalytics, polymers, and nanopowders. The velocimeter will monitor species mixing and velocity in the flame, facilitating "smart" deposition that can streamline real-time process control and increase the reliability of the coating process. The instrument will map the velocity of the flame as a whole. Phase 1 will prove the feasibility of species-specific, variable-scale-size velocimetry. Phase II will perform a proof-of-principle demonstration with a prototype instrument. The principal commercial application is smart deposition that monitors real-time species-specific velocity distribution in a flame to maintain flame consistency and maximize deposition efficiency. Other potential applications include plasma-based manufacturing and plasma thruster control. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Flusberg, Allen Science Research Laboratory Inc MA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99933 5371 AMPP 9165 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109687 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A High Power, High Efficiency W-Band Amplifier. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project, A High Power, High Efficiency W-band Amplifier, is a new W-band, high-power microwave source. A point design based on a frequency of 11.424 gigaHertz (GHz) at the input cavity produces a one megawatt output at 91.4 GHz. It has a 51.5% system efficiency and 57.9 decibel (dB) gain. Phase I will make a detailed analysis to establish credible estimates of radio-frequency power, pulse length, emittance, efficiency, gain, and other key parameters. This W-band amplifier will provide a high power, high-frequency source suitable for many applications, such as improved tracking and mapping in atmospheric and near-atmospheric studies. Benefits will accrue to: (1) High resolution planetary mapping studies using inverse synthetic aperture radar, affording an improved signal to noise ratio at short wavelengths; (2) Cloud physics studies with greater range at improved resolutions; and (3) Space debris detection and tracking of near earth asteroids with improved accuracy. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zaidman, Ernest FM TECHNOLOGIES INC VA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99999 5371 EGCH 1317 0510304 Electron & Energy Sources 0109691 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Automated Analyzer for Drug Delivery Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I (SBIR) project will develop a new class of real time aerosol mass spectrometers (AMSs) for analysis of respirable powder and liquid aerosol in pulmonary drug delivery systems. Three parameters control the effective delivery of drugs to the lungs: (1) the number density of entrained aerosol particles per unit volume of respirable fluid; (2) the particle size distribution; (3) the concentrations of active ingredients as a function of particle size. Aerosol Mass Spectrometers, with proper calibration, can measure all three parameters simultaneously. Aerodyne Research, Inc. (ARI), in collaboration with several university research groups, has developed, demonstrated, and commercialized an innovative and quantitative AMS system. With suitable modification and calibration, this system could greatly reduce the time and effort required to characterize pulmonary drug delivery systems, both for research and for production quality assurance. This Phase I project will design and test a real-time AMS system to characterize novel pulmonary drug delivery systems. The principal commercial application of this project will be in the pulmonary drug delivery analyzer market. Potential customers are likely to include drug delivery companies, pharmaceutical companies, academic research organizations and regulatory agencies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Worsnop, Douglas Aerodyne Research Inc MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0109693 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Device for Flat Panel Displays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating a carbon nanotube based field emission device (FED) and of operating FEDs. The approach is a natural extension of the patented Nanotube Catalyst Retaining Structure (NCRS) method. Phase I is expected to overcome limitations that have prevented FEDs from successful use in the established liquid crystal display (LCD) market and to initiate a broad range of other applications that require growth of aligned carbon nanotubes as functional elements of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). This new concept in nanotechnology will be useful in application of carbon nanotubes as functional elements of integrated circuit (IC) and MEMS devices involving a multi-layered structure of metal, insulator, and carbon nanotubes. Potential commercial applications are expected in field emission displays, electron microscopes, illumination devices, sensors, and similar devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mancevski, Vladimir XIDEX CORPORATION TX Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0110000 Technology Transfer 0109696 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Molecular Level Nanoassembly of Optical Fiber-Based Breathing Sensors. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I (SBIR) project will investigate the feasibility of utilizing nanoscale molecular self-assembly methods to synthesize high performance optical fiber-based humidity sensors for breathing diagnostics. NanoSonic proposes to use molecular-level electrostatic self-assembly (ESA) processing methods to form multilayered, interleaved metal nanocluster and polymer thin films on the ends of optical fibers. Initial studies have shown that these small, robust and safe optical fiber sensors respond to humidity over a wide range of relative humidities, with a response time of milliseconds or less. All of these factors overcome current significant limitations in the fabrication of breathing monitors for clinical diagnostics. The commercial applications of this project will be in clinical research and in home health care management. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cooper, Kristie Nanosonic Incorporated VA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99999 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0109699 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Identification and Enhancement of Coalbed Methane Methanogenesis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will examine the feasibility of culturing naturally occurring bacterial consortium that exist in coal seams. These bacteria generate the bulk of the 450 million cubic feet of methane now being recovered daily from coal seams in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. However, only indirect studies have thus far been carried out on the character, environment, and activity of these organisms. Isolating the bacterial consortium will allow development of methods to detect critical parameters for biogenesis in the field and to determine conditions under which this biogenesis may be optimized. The commercial application of this project is in detection of new methane rich coal seams and in enhancement of methane production from existing coal seams. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Herries, John WELLDOG, INC. WY Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 9150 BIOT 9181 9104 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 0313000 Regional & Environmental 0109700 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Cluster Ion Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization (MALDI) - MS/MS by Coincidence. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I (SBIR) project will test Cesium Iodide cluster ion beams as an alternative to lasers for desorbing bioions from a MALDI ((Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization) matrix. This offers the possiblity of performing the post source decay tandem mass spectrometry on an event by event basis, making possible the application of coincidence techniques which allow specific correlations to be made between metastable parent ions and their ionic fragments. This is an anaolgy to what has already been demonstrated for 252Cf fission fragment plasma desorption mass spectroscopy of bioions. Thus post source decay becomes a true MS/MS technique. There is also the possiblity that the use of cluster ions can increase the fragmentation and the degree of metastability of the desorbed bioions compared to using a laser. If so, the cluster deorption technique may be more suitable than lasers for imaging biomolecules on materials such as polymers or tissue slices. This Phase I project proposes to develop a cheap and reliable cluster ion source for MALDI. At the conclusion of Phase II, this ion source could be combined with a curve field reflector TOF mass spectrometer and marketed as a new approach to post source decay measurements. The commercial applications of this project will be in the area of biomolecular mass spectrometry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schultz, J. Albert IONWERKS, INC TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99647 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109702 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Out-of-Plane Ultrasonic Inspection of Paper Materials. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project investigates advanced ultrasonic techniques for out-of-plane laboratory inspection of paper materials. Experimental ultrasonic test methods are available to probe thickness direction elasticity, predict internal bond strength of paperboard, detect delamination defects in multi-ply boards, and evaluate the softness of tissue products. However, an analysis of these methods indicates serious shortcomings in the measuring principles: presence of interfering signals, poor resolution, simplified interpretation of sound attenuation commercial ultrasonic instrument already exists to investigate wetting and liquid penetration in paper, but the technique cannot distinguish between penetrating depth and amount of penetrating liquid. Also, other measurement needs such as coating thickness evaluation are not addressed. Since the future of the U.S.Pulp and Paper Industry largely stands on the manufacturing of low volume but high quality value-added products, product development, superior quality, and end-use performance are critical elements of a competitive market environment. In that context, SoniSys plans to develop new ultrasonic measuring tools, which will sustain the subsequent development of a versatile commercial ultrasonic instrument for out-of-plane paper inspection. SoniSys anticipates at least seven market segments for its instrument in the paper industry: (1) Nondestructive prediction of internal bond strength and evaluation of board structural integrity (paperboard mills;paper testing companies); (2) Measurement of elastic stiffness for product development, quality control purposes and calibration of on-line measurements (paper and paperboard mills;R&D centers); (3) Detection and localization of delamination defects (paperboard mills); (4) Investigation of amount of penetrating liquid and liquid penetrating depth in wetting and liquid penetration tests (paper and paperboard mills, R&D centers); (5) Determination of coating thickness and assessment of paper substrate-coating layer interface (paper and paperboard mills,R&D centers); (6) Quantitative evaluation of bulk and surface tissue softness (tissue industry); and (7) Testing of wood coupons and prediction of pulp and paper properties from raw materials (pulp and forest industries). . SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Brodeur, Pierre SoniSys, LLC GA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99974 5371 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109719 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Rubbed Protein Substrates for Low Cost Biochips Based on Liquid Crystals. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will initiate the development of an entirely new class of biochips, with a particular focus on biochips designed to track the expression, activation and post-translational modification of proteins involved in cell signaling processes. These biochips will be widely applicable to the field of proteomics. The technology is based on the use of liquid crystals to image biomolecular interactions at structured surfaces. The goal of this project is to demonstrate that substrates for liquid crystal-based biochips can be prepared from mechanically rubbed films of protein that are covalently attached to glass substrates. The important issues of non-specific adsorption, binding of specific target proteins and stability of rubbed protein films will be addressed. This approach to fabrication of biochips aims to leverage the manufacturing knowledge generated over past decades for liquid crystal display technology and thereby provide low cost biochips with potential for broad impact.This class of biochip has the potential to be extremely rapid (minutes), to be highly sensitive (magnitudes more sensitive than gels and ELISA), to be inexpensive (less than $0.20/determination) and when combined with microfluidics, to make possible the imaging of large numbers of proteins simultaneously . The commercial applications of the technology and the products to be developed in this project will be in well defined markets, ranging from biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to general scientific research laboratories that are conducting research in cellular signalling pathways. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Israel, Barbara PLATYPUS TECHNOLOGIES L L C WI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 98041 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109728 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I:Development of a Novel Sensing Material for Waterborne Pathogens. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I (SBIR) project will develop a novel sensing coating that will be deposited on filters for the detection of water-borne contaminants. The initial target will be the oocysts of Cryptosporidium parvum, a water- borne pthogen. C. Parvum was responsible for the outbreak of cryptosporidiosis affecting 400,000 in Milwaukee WI in 1993 and other smaller outbreaks. Cryptosporidiosis is characterized by abdominal pain and severe diarrhea, and can be fatal to immune-compromised individuals. There is currently no easy and reliable test for C. parvum that allows routine monitoring of drinking water supplies. The proposed research will develop a sensing polymer coating, with antibodies and fluorophores incorporated, on a nanoporous membrane. The membrane will be used as filter to simultaneously concentrate and detect C. parvum in water. Binding of C. parvum to the coating will lead to a fluorescent signal. The Phase I research will focus on antibody conjugation to the polymer, fluorophore incorporation, and coating preparation, with the aim of demonstrating the feasibility of the sensing material. In Phase II, the materials will be optimized and incorporated into a detector that will combine filtration and fluorescence detection for monitoring drinking water supplies. The principal commercial application of this project will be for detection of water-borne contaminants in our drinking water supplies, with a potential market comprising of a majority of public water systems in the country. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Reppy, Mary ANALYTICAL BIOLOGICAL SERVICES INC. DE Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 97456 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109730 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Nanocrystalline Fe-Co For Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Suppression. This Small Business Innovation (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to produce soft magnetic Fe-Co nanocomposites with end applications in EMI suppression, motors, generators, magnetic bearings, magnetic recording heads and many advanced electric systems. High performance electronic color image display has become a standard feature of many modern commercial products. These products must use timing circuits and operating frequencies from as low as 30 MHz to over 130 MHz. Wide bandwidth electromagnetic interference (EMI) noises are inherent to these characteristically high frequency architecture systems. Hence development of cost effective and high performance materials are of great interest to prevent EMI. Excellent magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Fe-Co can find an important application in EMI prevention devices. In accordance with this development, Materials Modification Inc. (MMI) proposes to synthesize and process Fe-Co nanocomposites by the powder metallurgy (P/M) route. MMI has expertise in nanopowder processing techniques that can be easily scaled up for production. Upon completion of this Phase I project, an advanced Fe-Co soft magnet with high permeability, large saturation magnetization, low energy loss (hysteretic and eddy current), and high temperature properties will be developed. Composition and structure will be tailored at the nano-scale to obtain the desired mechanical and magnetic properties required for EMI suppression devices. The nanocrystalline Fe-Co soft magnets can be used in EMI prevention devices, motors and transformers, generators, magnetic bearings, data communication interface components, magnetic recording heads, sensors, and reactors. Fe-Co nanocomposite with superior magnetic properties, low core-loss, and creep resistance at elevated temperatures can be used in integral starter/generation (ISGs) and power units (IPUs) in a modern aircraft. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sudarshan, T. Materials Modification Inc. VA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109731 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Novel Ultrasensitive Gas Chromatography (GC) Detector with Highly Specific Response to Aromatic Hydrocarbons. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project details the roadmap to rapid commercialization of a powerful new gas chromatography (GC) detector, the Aromatic Specific Laser Ionization Detector (ArSLID). Like a conventional photoionization detector (PID), the ArSLID creates ions by photoabsorption. But its two-photon laser ionization process confers many significant advantages over the PID, including: extraordinarily low limit of detection, potentially the lowest of any GC detector; extremely fast response ideally suited for fast GC; miniscule background signal; far higher selectivity for aromatic hydrocarbons; stable esponse over long periods of time; and compatible with all carrier gases, including air. Preliminary data taken with a prototype ArSLID already show the low background, selectivity, and sensitivity; it is as sensitive as any PID (ca. 1 pg toluene injected on-column). At least an order of magnitude further improvement will be achieved in Phase I with incorporation of a compact, low cost microchip laser ionization source that also offers much higher pulse repetition frequency and shot-to-shot stability compared to the laser source used to date. The ArSLID will find numerous applications that are difficult or impossible for a PID to meet. In the case of environmental analysis, the signals from the toxic and hazardous aromatic species (specifically the BTEX fraction) are too often buried in the aliphatic signals with a PID. Similarly, in pharmaceutical analysis, approximately 75% of the drugs contain an aromatic moiety and it is often challenging to find the drugs or their metabolites in the sea of endogenous compounds. It is estimated the annual sales of PIDs for GC detectors at $21 million and expect to rapidly capture a significant fraction of this market owing to the superior performance capabilities of the ArSLID. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Very, Brian DAKOTA TECHNOLOGIES INC ND Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 9150 EGCH 9188 5371 0313010 Air Pollution 0109733 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: No Preparation, Flexible, Dry Physiological Recording Electrodes. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel and flexible, dry, physiological recording electrode that conforms to non-planar surfaces and does not require extensive surface preparation or conductive gels to achieve a low impedance interface with the body. This innovative electrode will be fabricated inexpensively using microfabrication techniques and priced competitively with existing commercial electrodes despite its enhanced performance and features. The proposed dry electrode will provide substantial improvement in all areas of biomedical research and medicine that involve use of electro- physiological potentials such as EEG, EMG, EOG, and ECG signals. This unique electrode is particularly well suited for long-term and multiple electrode physiological monitoring as compared to existing commercial electrodes,since multiple electrodes can be easily fabricated into a single array with a common connector, thereby simplifying application. Additionally, by providing a low impedance interface with the body, this electrode will eliminate the need for an electrolytic gel or the need to abrade the skin prior to applying the electrode. The commercial applications of this project will follow directly from the development of the novel electrode (Orbital Research Dry Physiological Recording Electrode) that seeks to improve electro-physiological signal quality (for EEGs, EMGs, ECGs or EOGs), eliminates the harsh side effects and signal deterioration common with existing electrodes and is competitively priced. By enhancing quality of life at no additional cost, this biomedical innovation is expected to lead to new long-term monitoring applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lisy, Frederick ORBITAL RESEARCH INC OH Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109736 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Trait-Targeted Activation Tagging in Rice. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an innovative approach for targeting genes involved in a specific trait or pathway using the model cereal plant, rice. Rice is known to have highly conserved disease resistance signal transduction pathways and yet so far a very few signaling molecules have been studied. Application of Activation Tagging methods may allow for the discovery mechanisms involved in disease and other defense-related signal transduction pathways. Therefore, instead of using the common activation tagging vector, this project proposes to use a rice chitinase gene promoter RCH10 and luciferase reporter gene fusion expression cassette in activation tagging T-DNA binary vector to activate genes in defense-responsive pathways. This approach will allow the identification of chitinase or chitinase-related genes or transcription factors in luc+ expressed rice tissues and plants both at earlier and in later stages of the experiment. The RCH10 gene promoter is highly inducible during pathogen response both in plants and in cell culture and therefore, transformed and non-transformed in vitro tissues and leaf discs can easily be subjected to high throughput screening. This trait-targeted activation tagging approach will enable collection of only chitinase or chitinase-related overexpressed phenotypes and thereby expedite the process of gene isolation and recapitulation of potential disease resistance phenotypes in rice. The commercial applications of this project will be in agriculture for screening and isolation of agronomically important genes in major crops. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bommineni, Venkat Exelixis Plant Sciences, Inc. OR Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 95416 5371 BIOT 9181 0201000 Agriculture 0109737 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Baculovirus-mediated Gene Silencing Biocontrol Agent. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project seeks to modify insect viruses for the purpose of generating a new class of species-specific insect biocontrol agents. The approach will combine the emerging technique of RNA inhibition (RNAi) with existing baculovirus technology to generate recombinant insect viruses capable of targeting individual or closely related insect pests with great specificity . Standard molecular biology techniques will be used to engineer baculoviruses containing a portion of an essential host insect gene inserted between convergent promoters, which when activated by host transcription factors, will synthesize both the sense and antisense RNA strands of the inserted gene. This double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecule specifically inhibits the expression of the corresponding gene in the host insect, thereby killing the animal. Standard bioassays will be performed in which the recombinant baculovirus will be delivered to host insects by feeding or injection, and the LD50 of this virus will be compared to that for an unmodified baculovirus and for a recombinant baculovirus expressing an insect neural toxin. The commercial application of this project will be in the market for insect biocontrol agents. The recombinant insect viruses have the potential to serve as highly selective and environment- friendly insect biocontrol agents that kill pest insects faster than unmodified viruses and with greater specificity than viruses expressing insecticidal toxins that also affect beneficial insects. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chouinard, Scott CAMBRIA BIOSCIENCES, LLC MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 98182 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109743 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Printable Conducting Polymers for Polymeric Electronic Circuits. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop printable, soluble conducting polymers that can be crosslinked using ultra violet light. These printable, conducting polymers can be printed using photolithography into thin films with 2-dimensional features ranging from solid thin films for flexible displays to highly detailed features for printed wiring boards and multi chip modules. These printed conducting polymers will also be low-cost, flexible, lightweight and mechanically more robust than inorganic electronics. Soluble, conductive polymers will be synthesized with functional groups that can be crosslinked by a polymerization reaction induced by ultraviolet light. Thin films will be cast onto substrates and then rendered insoluble by the crosslinking polymerization under ultra violet light. The kinetics of photopolymerization will be measured and optimized to maximize the resolution of photoimaging for micron sized conducting features. An engineering analysis will be performed to determine if the process conditions, printing resolution and conductivity of our proposed conducting polymers is commercially attractive for electronics applications. Commercial applications for printable conducting polymers include flexible displays, printed wiring boards, multi chip modules, transistors, and light emitting diodes especially when the combination of conductivity and the properties of plastics (flexibility, mechanical stability, etc.) are desired. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Elliott, Brian TDA Research, Inc CO Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109745 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Ultra-High Resolution Technique for the Fabrication of Nanoelectronic Device Arrays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new approach for the fabrication of periodic nanoelectronic device arrays. Processing of structures on the sub-100nm scale poses significant challenges due to limited resolution of available lithographic methods. The proposed technique will address the deficiencies of the existing nanofabrication approaches by directly growing nanostructures inside a molecularly self-assembled NanoWell shadow mask, which offers an unprecedented atomic-scale control over the nanostructure size. During the proposed research, a silica shadow mask with cylindrical pores ~3-30 nm, or NanoWells, will be self-assembled employing organic surfactant molecules. Silicon nanorods will be grown inside NanoWells by both CVD and sputtering, followed by chemical removal of a shadow mask. An array of Si nanorod LEDs will be fabricated to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach as well as the quantum size effect for the Si nanorods. If successful, this cost effective, high-throughput, and ultra-high precision technique will figure into a wide range of electronic device array applications such as sensors, processors, memories and displays, and provide enhanced miniaturization, speed, and power reduction. The proposed technique will offer the dramatically improved nanoprocessing capabilities for the fabrication of flat panel displays, sensor arrays, quantum dots, nanomagnetics, image and signal processors. It will have a broad range of potential applications in commercial microelectronics and image processing industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Guliants, Elena Taitech, Inc. OH Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99635 5371 MANU 9146 9102 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109753 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Distributed Sensor Networks for Autonomous Management of Small Parts Inventories. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses an automated vendor-managed inventory (VMI) system for distributors of small parts. Small parts inventories introduce several difficulties because of the large quantities that are maintained and the multitude of different part types that have similar physical appearances. For such systems, where inventory is stored in many racks of bins, it is labor intensive to provide continuous accountability for each part. Distributors are often left with two choices: maintain high inventory levels to avoid short-term surges in demand; or monitor levels closely by hand to ensure an adequate supply without unnecessary overhead. Phase I will develop an economical means of providing real-time usage statistics for small parts through the use of intelligent electronic sensing bins. Each bin reports the quantity of parts enclosed to a central communications module, which in turn compiles a report listing the replenishment requirements for each part. This information is then provided to vendors so that they may create a timely order for the customer. VMI technology will find use by suppliers that wish to provide VMI services to a large number of small clients. By avoiding continuous human monitoring and intervention, VMI will be applied to small contracts, resulting in savings for both parties. This technology is expected to be used in the industrial fastener market, which is growing at a rate of 3.7% annually. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Garman, Christopher Redpoint Controls, LLC WV Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99774 9150 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109756 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Thermostable Phage DNA Polymerases: Improved Tools for Genomics Research. 0109756 Schoenfeld This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop new thermostable bacteriophage and archaeaviral DNA polymerases for use as improved reagents for DNA amplification, sequence analysis and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection. This will be accomplished by direct isolation of thermophilic bacteriophage and archaeaviral genomes from hot springs, construction of expression libraries and screening for novel thermostable DNA polymerase activities. The proposed approach is expected to be significantly more rapid and comprehensive than traditional approaches that have been used for enzyme discovery. These traditional approaches rely on the limiting intermediate step of culturing a microbe and its cognate virus. In contrast, the proposed approach on this project will allow screening of all expressible viral DNA polymerases present, including those from unculturable phage that is believed to predominate in the environment. The primary commercial application of this project will be in the marketing of novel thermostable DNA polymerases to organizations involved in genomics research for use as improved reagents for specific molecular biology methods. . SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schoenfeld, Thomas LUCIGEN CORPORATION WI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99052 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0109762 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Development of Integrated Fluid/Solid/Bio-Kinetic Simulation Software for the Characterization of Microsphere-based Bio-analytic Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I (SBIR) project will demonstrate the feasibility and value of advanced simulation methodology for the prediction of biomolecular binding on the surface of microspheres used in biosensing applications. Models in current use employ many ad-hoc assumptions, particularly related to convective mass transport. Large, systematic errors are commonly encountered in predictive efforts. Novel, high-fidelity simulations proposed here hold the promise of providing a systematic understanding of the complex interaction between multiphase flow, diffusion and surface chemistry. An integrated simulation environment featuring Discrete Particle Simulations (suited for small beads) and Chimera Particle Simulations (for larger beads) will be developed in Phase I. Detailed bead-surface chemistry models (featuring finite-rate adsorption, desorption and conversion to irreversible state) will be developed and fully coupled to the flow model. The technique will be demonstrated using Immunoflow , a food bio-sensor based on fluidization developed at Utah State University. Both flow and binding simulation results will be validated against experiments. In Phase II, both Discrete and Chimera particle techniques will be further developed along with more generalized, user specifiable surface reaction mechanisms and model development for bio-molecule specific binding phenomena. The commercial application of the technology and the software to be developed in this project is in the area of biosensors for marketing to the biotechnology community. The product will enable the rapid creation of the next generation of optimized biosensors while simultaneously enhancing the fundamental understanding of biochemical processes. The technology would also benefit research in the traditional chemical and pharmaceutical industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sundaram, Shivshankar CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION AL Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99968 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109764 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Harsh Environment Fluid Viscosity-Density Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address bulk micromachining of single crystal silicon carbide and III-V nitride semiconductors to develop miniaturized fluid density and viscosity sensors based on acoustic wave (AW) principles. Phase I will develop sensors capable of precisely measuring fluid viscosity and density over wide limits under harsh operating conditions: high pressure, high temperature, corrosive, or abrasive. The harsh environments require fabrication of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for fluid viscosity-density sensors from silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium-aluminum nitride (GaN-AlN) compounds, which have high melting temperatures (1700-3000 degrees Centigrade) and favorable chemical and mechanical properties. Phase I will test the feasibility of the micromachined SiC-AlN fluid viscosity-density sensors by fabricating an unpackaged pre-prototype device from these materials and demonstrate the measurement of viscosity and density in a variety of fluids at various temperatures and pressures. Harsh-environment MEMS fluid viscosity and density sensors have commercial applications in boreholes for oil exploration and production, monitoring of engine fluids in automobiles, aerospace and military vehicles, and monitoring chemical synthesis and production processes. These devices are expected to increase oil-well production at reduced cost, promote more efficient use of engine fluids resulting from direct and continuous feedback of fluid characteristics, and enable real-time in situ monitoring of chemical processes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mlcak, Richard BOSTON MICROSYSTEMS INC MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0109773 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Single-Pass Growth of Full Color Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) Displays Using a Scanning Localized Evaporation Methodology (SLEM). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project involves a novel technique to fabricate full-color organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays in a cost-effective manner. The proposed scanning localized evaporation methodology (SLEM) circumvents the need for using elaborate substrate patterning and large vacuum chambers (to attain film uniformity), currently employed to manufacture OLED flat-panel displays (FPDs). The benefits of SLEM over current fabrication methodologies stem from its parallel processing of various layers, as opposed to sequential techniques. Dedicating a SLEM head to a particular material, multiple evaporating heads are integrated into a unit that yields full-color OLED displays in a single pass. Current projections indicate that using this technique, deposition time for growing all layers for a 3"x4" OLED display (consisting of an array of 270 360 pixels) is estimated to be in the range of 3 to 7 minutes. Considering the wastage in material supplies and equipment infrastructure needed for conventional OLED processing, dedicated SLEM units would provide significant cost advantages in manufacturing OLED displays for various applications. SLEM represents a natural evolution of thermal evaporation that incorporates many features of ink-jet printing. This will naturally allow the production of inexpensive, larger and flexible OLED displays to claim a significant share of the FPD market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Phely-Bobin, Thomas Optoelectronics Systems Consulting Inc. CT Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99956 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109774 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Polymeric Amplification for Rapid Listeria Monocytogenes Detection. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to demonstrate how a radically new technology can be applied to real-time detection of food-borne pathogens. Current ready-to-eat food inspection test methods require 3-6 days due to the need to enrich the pathogenic population to the point to make them detectable. During this time, the food is stored, awaiting the results of the tests. This method necessitates additional expenses and resources to store and track the tested lots and reduces the market shelf-life by as much as a week. With the proposed approach, detection of pathogens can be done in real-time as part of the food processing work flow. This is possible because of an innovative technology involving the use of a proprietary amplifying polymer that greatly amplifies detection events. This polymer has been shown to detect subfemtogram masses of inorganic compounds. In the proposed research, proven methods of identifying Listeria will be coupled to the amplifying polymer, resulting in a highly sensitive detection mechanism that will eliminate the need to grow enriched cultures. The immediate commercial application of this project will be for the inspection of ready-to-eat foods that are subject to Listeria contamination. The low cost and convenience of the system will be attractive to in-plant quality control inspectors, government regulators and institutional users. The broader applications of the basic sensor platform would be for detection of other food borne pathogens and of pathogenic releases in laboratories and in the general environment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Clarke, Jean NOMADICS, INC OK Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99976 5371 BIOT 9181 9150 9102 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109778 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Immunoconjugate Luminescent Sensors Based on CdTe/CdS Nanoparticles. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to design a nanoparticle-monoclonal antibody conjugate that is capable of detecting select biological warfare agents including Brucella and Francisella. This novel approach to detection is effective, sensitive, selective, inexpensive and truly portable. The system uses an innovative detection method involving two wavelengths of fluorescence, which further increases selectivity and sensitivity. The sensor mechanism uses a thin film of conjugate that can be exploited in a number of ways for detection of other pathogens of relevance to both military and non-military sectors. The commercial applications of the technology to be developed in this project will be in the area of counter-terrorism and in medical, food, agricultural and related fields where pathogen contamination must be detected. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chen, Wei NOMADICS, INC OK Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99995 5371 BIOT 9181 9150 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109786 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Inhalation Dosage Method. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel drug delivery method for treatment of diseases and symptoms that currently require intravenous, subcutaneous injections or oral intake. This method is based on the use of drugs in an extremely fine and ultra lightweight particle form called AerohalantTM that is especially formulated for advanced inhalation therapy. AerohalantTM particles will have much higher tendency to stay aloft than state-of-the-art inhalants and next generation inhalants currently under development by the pharmaceutical companies. AerohalantTM particles will reach mucous membranes of the innermost part of the patients' lungs without depositing any matter in the throat or the thoracic region, and therefore, utilize most of the tennis court sized alveolar surface area inside human lungs. These ultra light drug particles, on contact with thin fluid layer on mucous membranes in the alveoli, can dissolve and reach the blood stream much faster than by state-of-the art inhalants, subcutaneous, intravenous injections and orally ingested medications. Alternately, these particles could also be designed to release slowly. This Phase I project proposes to produce one commonly injected pharmacotherapeutic agent in the special powder form and to conduct feasibility tests with respect to suspension characteristics of Aerohalant TM particulates in the air, the in vitro activity, and the rate of dissolution and absorption. The commercial applications of this project are in the medical field for production of inhalable forms of common therapeutic drugs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Henry, John ASPEN SYSTEMS INC MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0109789 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Fisheries Data Fusion. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a tool for fisheries biomass assessment that fuses airborne LIDAR with ship-borne SONAR data. This is expected to be an improved survey technique that extends a fishery survey area while also increasing the quality of the data that is collected. Phase I will apply the system to two important fisheries issues: the decline of the endangered Stellar Sea Lion population in the presence of commercial fishing; and the need for increased information for salmon life cycle modeling. Both of these issues impact thousands of lives in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. The mathematical relationship between LIDAR and SONAR backscatter will be established. A prototype fusion engine will be developed and validated on existing data from the North Pacific. The system will be migrated to a web-based prototype LIDAR-SONAR data fusion engine for use in the fisheries management and scientific communities. A real-time data fusion engine will be deployed for future fish survey operations. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Rogers, Eric Scientific Fishery Systems, Inc AK Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 9150 EGCH 9189 5371 0117000 Marine Mammal Protection 0206000 Telecommunications 0109790 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: High-Throughput, Multiple Scanned-Head Critical Dimension Atomic Force Microscope (CD-AFM). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of a multiple scanned-head Critical Dimension Atomic Force Microscope (CD-AFM) with high throughput as a CD metrology tool. Phase I will develop key design innovations for commercial in-line production quality control in: (a) multiple scanned CD-AFM heads, each dedicated to scanning one site; and (b) a modular, high-performance head design that enables greatly reduced move-acquire-measure (MAM) time. The principal commercial application is to replace CD Scanning Electron Microscopes (CD-SEMs) as the semiconductor industry's primary CD metrology tool for in-line production quality control. Other applications are seen in micromanipulators for microelectronics, including mask repair, and in biology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mancevski, Vladimir XIDEX CORPORATION TX Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109792 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: BioTELL - A Novel Biosensor for Microbes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will test new methods to detect and distinguish similar strains of the bacteria Haemophilus influenzae. Ninety-five percent of systemic infections in childhood are caused by H. influenzae strains of the serotype b. They include meningitis, sepsis, epiglottitis, pneumonia and otitis media. Bacterial meningitis and epiglottitis are life-threatening diseases with a lethality of five percent to twenty-five percent. Thus, a real-time sensor capable of detecting specific strains of H. influenzae in the parts-per-trillion range is needed. Any new detection device must be highly sensitive and selective, miniature, self-diagnostic, low cost, have rapid response time, and require no sample preparation. This Phase I project proposes such a novel point-of-care detection device for highly sensitive determination of H. influenzae and other bacteria strains. This approach builds on recent research conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory using microcantilevers as sensor platforms. The BioTELL sensor will consist of an array of microcantilevers with one surface derivatized by an antibody coating receptive to H. influenzae antigens. The commercial applications of this project will be in the biosensor market for detection of H. influenzae and other disease causing microorganisms. The primary customers for products developed through this project are expected to include pediatricians, general practitioners and consumer households. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hansen, Karolyn QGENICS Biosciences, Inc. TN Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109798 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Novel Silyl Ether Protecting Groups for RNA/DNA Synthesis. This Small Business Research Phase I project will develop novel silyl protecting groups for RNA/DNA oligonucleotide synthesis. The synthesis of RNA is more difficult than DNA because a more complex protection scheme for nucleoside monomers is required. The 5-silyl-2-orthoester (2-ACE) strategy addresses this problem and provides RNA of excellent purity and yield. This achievement is invaluable to RNA scientists studying molecular biology or developing therapeutic strategies. Such research absolutely requires synthetic oligonucleotides that often incorporate modifications and are made by no other means. The goal of this SBIR Phase I proposal is to reduce the cost and increase the reliability of RNA synthesis so that amidites can be provided to the scientific community. The new silyl groups to be developed will facilitate nucleoside monomer preparation by improving selectivity for 5-protection and will promote economical purification strategies including crystallization. Nucleosides 5-protected with potential silyl candidates will be examined for their stability, ease of deprotection during solid phase synthesis, and amenability to incorporation of chromophores for real-time assays of coupling efficiency The commercial application of this project will be in the rapidly growing RNA synthesis market to support research endeavors in molecular biology and drug design. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Scaringe, Stephen DHARMACON INC CO Gregory T. Baxter Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109801 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Hypertension Treatment Responder Prediction. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop the software platform, GeneRx, to incorporate pharmacogenetics and nonlinear adaptive algorithms toward optimizing anti-hypertension therapy on a patient specific basis. Preliminary studies on the psychotropic drug, olanzapine, show a 40% patient-by-patient error between predicted starting dose and optimal therapeutic dose, using a prototype trained only with patient chart information. This is a significant reduction from the range of starting doses for olanzapine currently used, which is from 1 to 80 mg/day. Anti-hypertensive drugs, like psychotropic drugs, have a large window of therapeutic options, including significant variation in dosages, medications, and combinations of therapies used. Using patient information and blood samples from a hypertension study done elsewhere, this Phase I project proposes to apply GeneRx to include genetic data in the modeling of hypertension treatment in combination with patient chart data. Genetic data for each patient will be acquired by genotyping DNA from the blood samples, scored as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) present or absent in key hypertension-related genes. GeneRx will take a patient's individual genetic, demographic, and environmental variables and predict if initial diuretic medication or initial beta-blocker medication will be effective. A more efficient method to prescribe effective anti-hypertension therapy would expedite recovery, minimize side effects, and reduce medical costs. The commercial application of this project will be in the field of healthcare management. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Man, Albert PREDICTION SCIENCES, LLC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99189 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0109805 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Multi-Orifice Microarrayer with Disposable Droplet Generator. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop a low cost micro droplet generator for use in creating large scale micro arrays for biotechnology applications. Conventional methods are expensive and require cleaning operations and chemicals which can be eliminated with the disposable pump unit thereby reducing the costs for pumps, chemicals, cleaning hardware and associated operations. Principal aspects of the development plan are insuring that drop volume and shape are of highest quality among disposable pump units. The commercial application of this project will be in the potentially large market for production of microarrays. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bertera, James Adaptive Medical Systems, Inc MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99990 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109806 July 1, 2001 STTR Phase I: High-Temperature Polymeric Relative Humidity Sensors. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project addresses the need for relative humidity (RH) sensors that operate at high-temperature with good stability. The research objective of this project is the fabrication of composite RH sensors. The morphological stability mandated by the composite coupled with the documented excellent humidity response of the sensing material should result in enhanced durability and drift stability. Owing to the thermal stability of the composite sensing layer, these RH sensors should function at temperatures up to 300 C. If successful, the technology proposed will enable a new high temperature regime of RH sensing. The composite materials science and engineering proposed is straightforward but innovative. If successfully developed, the research project proposed is quite amenable to large-scale production and will make a significant contribution in this field. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Schulz, Douglas CeraMem Corporation MA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 1505 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109821 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A Near-Instantaneous, Whole Blood Immunoassay. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase 1 Project (SBIR) will contribute towards the development of a near-instantaneous, all-optical biosensing technology to replace ELISA-type (enzyme-linked immunoadsorbant assay) assays. Utilizing the unique optical properties of Metal Nanoshells, a new type of nanoparticle containing a dielectric core coated with a thin metal layer, immunoassays can be performed in the near-infrared region of high physiological transmissivity (wavelengths between 800 and 1300 nm) using Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering techniques. The equipment required to perform this immunoassay will be both highly portable and inexpensive. Initial research with a model antigen has shown that the nanoshell-based assay can produce results on whole-blood samples in 20 seconds. This is quantitatively equivalent to ELISA results requiring 24 to 48 hours. The proposed research will investigate the effects of bioconjugation of clinically important antibodies onto the nanoshell surface and examination of multiple Raman dyes for multi-antigen/analyte assays . The primary commercial application of the technology being developed in this project is in the $20 billion immunoassay market. The proposed research could lead to rapid immunoassay devices for ambulances, military and civilian health agencies, point-of-care analysis and high volume pharmaceutical testing. The core technology may have additional commercial applications in the area of biochips, in genomics and proteomics research, and in animal biology SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Watkins, Daniel NANOSPECTRA BIOSCIENCES, INC. TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0109828 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: A High Frequency Beam Steered Electromagnetic Impulse Radar to Locate Human Targets Through Opaque Media. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate beam steered electromagnetic radar using differential synchronization signal path switching (DSSPS) to increase the operable frequency and target resolution. The research will also determine the effective imaging beam refraction as it exits opaque media, the feasibility of classifying human targets in the downrange profile, and the feasibility of implementing fractal geometries into bow-tie antennas to reduce ringing. Phase I will result in a compact system capable of penetrating thick opaque materials using high frequencies to locate targets in an arena that is otherwise reserved for low frequencies because of attenuation and the steering limitations of electronic delay methods. Potential commercial applications are expected in electromagnetic application for subsurface feature detection, including voids, contaminants, hazardous waste containers, hydrologic-lithologic interfaces, the location of buried utilities, and for locating human targets through opaque materials such as buildings, earth, rock, and snow. The smaller size of a high frequency array offers portability for the latter application. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Thompson, Scott REALTRONICS CORPORATION SD Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9150 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109829 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Synthesis of Long RNA Oligonucleotides via Enzymatic Ligation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop methods to prepare 60-200 base RNA/DNA oligonucleotides. Current methods for preparing long oligonucleotides suffer from limitations that hinder their application in biological science. Investigators have expressed an immediate need for longer material incorporating unnatural modifications and non-canonical substitutions. Access to these oligonucleotides is critical for continued discoveries in molecular biology and nucleic acid based therapeutics. Despite such demand, the most reliable synthetic method, 2-ACE chemistry, can provide quality oligonucleotides no longer than 50 bases. This SBIR Phase I project will use 2-ACE RNA to develop a novel biochemical technique using RNA ligase to enzymatically splice oligonucleotides together. RNA substrates will be coupled as part of a complex with a complementary splint. This project will evaluate different conformations of the ligation site, the tolerance of the enzyme for different substrate sequences, the optimal design and composition of the splint, and the ideal concentrations of substrates and cofactors. Once determined in an iterative process, the best conditions will be applied to more challenging research problems identified by collaborators. This research will directly address a critical deficit in the resources available to the national biotechnology research community. The commercial applications of this project are expected to be varied and immediate. As example, site-specifically modified RNAs of 50-200 bases in length should be in high demand by investigators who are developing RNA-targeted drugs or other RNA-dependent technologies beyond the reach of current synthetic means. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Scaringe, Stephen DHARMACON INC CO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0109845 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Microfluidic Protein Crystallization Device with Valves. 0109845 Haushalter This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop micromachined fluid handling components as part of a new technology platform for high throughput protein crystallization and the collection of single crystal x-ray diffraction data. As increasing effort is directed toward proteomics and high throughput protein structure determination, the data derived from the determination of 3-D protein structures will have enormous impact in such areas as protein engineering, recombinant DNA technology and gene therapy. This project proffers a simple design for an inexpensive device, a Microfluidic Protein Crystallization Chip (MPCC), that possesses a high-density array of vessels, each with fluid inlets and vents, and a design for simple on-chip two-way valves. Methods are proposed to rapidly prototype new designs with design modifications made on the order of a day. The MPCC will be able to dose solutions appropriate to run commercial screening matrices. Since the device will be on the order of 1 mm thick, x-ray data will be collected by simply placing the crystal-containing MPCC device directly into the x-ray beam, thereby abrogating the expensive labor and equipment intensive exercise of isolating several micron sized crystals from 20-100 nL of mother liquid. The commercial applications of this project will be in the Structural Genomics market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Haushalter, Robert Parallel Synthesis Technologies, Inc CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99416 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0109851 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Next-Generation Nonlinear Optical Materials for Production of Ultraviolet Laser Light. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is focused upon demonstrating the feasibility of developing a new class of nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. Continued advances in laser-based system components are essential for keeping the nation's technology infrastructure at the forefront. Diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) laser systems represent one of the most important technologies being developed for many of these applications-with particular emphasis being placed on generation of coherent light at heretofore unrealized combinations of power levels and wavelengths extending from the IR to the deep UV. A limiting factor in the development of DPSS laser technology is the lack of suitable laser and nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals having optimized physical properties. The development of new, efficient, robust, versatile, and readily manufacturable fixed- or tunable-frequency laser and NLO crystals is essential for the continued advancement of DPSS technologies. Demonstrating the potential to develop materials having these required NLO properties-coupled with unprecedented transparency into the DUV combined with superior thermal and mechanical properties-is the Phase I goal. Successful completion will lead to commercialization of a new class of materials that will enable production of a variety of state-of-the-art laser-related products. In the private sector, laser materials and systems have become critical components in the manufacture of essentially all microprocessor-based electronic devices and in a variety of medical therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. Other key government and commercial uses include sensors for remote sensing of pollution and atmospheric gases such as ozone and water vapor, satellite-to-satellite communications, optical computing, and advanced communications. Clearly, the potential market for this type of next-generation technology is substantial and diverse. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Reynolds, Thomas REYTECH CORPORATION OR Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99998 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109853 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Laser Direct-Writing Technique to Produce Integrated Optical Amplifier/Splitter. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop integrated optical amplifier/splitters through direct writing of sol-gel-derived, erbium-doped coatings. Since optical signals decrease with transmission and manipulation, amplifiers are required. Current designs involve serial arrangements of passive (splitters) and active devices (amplifiers). This serial design is bulky and expensive, due to the number of components and interconnects. Integrated optical devices would greatly simplify optical communication networks. Phase I will incorporate amplification into passive devices, such as splitters, resulting in lossless optical devices. To provide amplification, erbium will be incorporated into ceramic films via wet-chemical processing. Subsequently, laser irradiation will selectively densify channels in porous coatings, thereby locally increasing the refractive index and providing light containment in the channels. Pumping the planar device will amplify signals as they pass. This technology in integrated amplifier/splitters will be key to making more complex integrated optical circuits in telecommunication. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Taylor, Douglas TPL, Inc. NM Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99512 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0109860 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Gallium Nitride High Temperature Gas Sensor for Measuring Combustion Gas Product Concentrations. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project comprises the design, fabrication and testing of continuous and discontinuous catalytic metal films as detection elements on a gallium nitride metal-semiconductor-field-effect transistor (MESFET) gas sensor for measuring combustion gas products in high temperature gas streams. Gas adsorbs and reacts on the metal surface. The steady state composition of adsorbed species changes the metal work function. The significant innovation is a gallium nitride (large bandgap) semiconductor device which will advance this emerging technology to high temperature (ca. 600 C) applications. The multiple catalytic metals: platinum, palladium/silver and rhodium have different sensitivities and detection limits. These differences can in principle be used to distinguish the effects of up to three concentration variables. This is the first time rhodium will have been used in this kind of sensor. The outcome of this work will be a proof of the concept that quantifying high temperature gas compositions is possible with the multiple catalytic gate FET sensor technology. A work product will be: (1) the isotherms for gas (propane, methane, propylene, NO, NO2 and CO) adsorption on polycrystalline films of Pt, PdAg and Rh; (2) investigation of anticipated significant interactions of multiple gases on these metals; (3) the documentation of any solid-state reactions between the metals and the gallium nitride substrate by x-ray, TEM and other surface techniques; and, (4) the mechanical and electrical effects on the FET structure in various gases and at temperatures as high as 850 C. The goal of the research is a robust sensor structure and composition that can be used to monitor combustion gas including automobile exhaust for "breakthrough" of the catalytic converter and possibly engine control for better efficiency. The potential commercial applications of the research is a sensor for monitoring emission to meet anticipated regulatory requirements for ultra-low-emissions-vehicles for the future. Other applications include a variety of combustion gas environments and monitoring and real-time control of refinery and other industrial chemical processes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pyke, Stephen Peterson Ridge LLC (dba Fluence) OR Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 96957 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109865 July 1, 2001 STTR Phase I: Near Field Microscope Intra-cellular Imaging of Intact Cells. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project seeks to develop a novel high-resolution instrument, the Near-Field Cell Penetrating Microscope (NCPM), for analyzing and comparing molecular characteristics of cells. This instrument will adapt a Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscope (SNOM) with a probe that can penetrate the cell membrane and image the inside of intact cells. The hypothesis is that precancerous, cancerous and normal cell lines have different molecular profiles and can be differentiated with the resolution power of SNOM. The proposed instrument will be able to collect data via high-resolution imagery, thus providing the means to investigate tumor cells at the sub-cellular and the molecular level. Incorporation of this data into a signature will facilitate the molecular analysis of cell lines and their transformed counterparts. The near term commercial application of the product to be developed in this project is in the near field optical microscopy market as a research tool for the medical and biological community. The long term commercial application is in the medical diagnostic market as an early warning device for detection of diseased cells. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG O'Connell, Daniel OCEANIT LABORATORIES INC HI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99850 9150 BIOT 9184 5371 1505 0203000 Health 0109868 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Bioremediation of Chlorinated Solvents in Saturated, Low Permeability Soils. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the problem of chlorinated solvent contamination in saturated, low permeability soils. The specific objectives of Phase I research are : (1) to quantify the effectiveness of chitin as an electron donor facilitating reductive dechlorination and enhancing bioavailability of tetrachloroethylene (PCE and TCE); ( 2) to incorporate chitin into a delivery system designed for low permeability soils; and (3) to evaluate the delivery method in the field. Preliminary studies have shown that chitin may be an ideal candidate to facilitate low cost, low maintenance bioremediation of chlorinated solvent residual sources. Obtained as a byproduct from the shellfish industry, chitin is particularly attractive as it is very commonly available. If favorable results are obtained during Phase I column and field studies, then a follow on Phase II project will further examine mechanisms controlling process efficiency and longevity. The commercial applications of this project will be in the multi-million dollar bioremediation market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sorenson, Kent North Wind Environmental, Inc. ID Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99478 5371 BIOT 9181 9150 0201000 Agriculture 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0109913 September 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Ultra-Compact Driver Technology for Extending the Lifetime of High Power Laser Diode Arrays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop compact, all-solid-state, pulsed drivers coupled with solid-state protection circuitry for powering laser diodes/diode arrays and increasing their reliability and lifetime. New high-current semiconductor switch technology will be coupled with proprietary new diode protection circuits featuring fault-mode detection and high-speed current limiting to extend laser diode lifetime tenfold. This leads directly to a tenfold reduction in annual laser operating cost. Recent breakthroughs in high power semiconductor technology, namely the Gate Commutated Thyristor (GCT) switch, also offer significant improvement in speed, power, and compact size over existing commercial devices. Phase II will develop advanced, compact pulsed power modules based on these technologies. GCT technology, coupled with a proprietary fast protection circuitry, offers a significant decrease in diode laser system size and weight and a tenfold decrease in laser cost-of-ownership made possible by increased diode lifetime. New commercial applications for the diode-pumped solid-state lasers are expected to include powering diodes for optical telecommunications and ultraviolet and X-ray point sources for Next Generation Lithography in the semiconductor industry, as well as in laser cutting and welding. Medical uses for this new fault-protected, solid-state driver technology will include oncology and gene therapy. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Petr, Rodney Science Research Laboratory Inc MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 497208 5373 HPCC 9139 0104000 Information Systems 0206000 Telecommunications 0109973 September 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Development of a Differential Long-Path Spectrophotometer for On-line Measurements of Controlled Halogenated Organic Compounds in Potable Water. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a prototype instrument for measuring harmful bi-products of chlorination in drinking water. These disinfection bi-products are subject to EPA regulations. The Phase I project demonstrated that the concept of differential UV absorption measurement, i.e. absorption before and after chlorination, is suitable for the needed measurement. A pre-production prototype instrument will be constructed during the Phase II project. This device shall employ a multi-pass cell design using our novel dual-ratio technique that eliminates concerns about long term drifts. The overall instrument architecture design and systems design will be carried out prior to assembly of the full microprocessor-controlled recording device. Extensive laboratory and field tests will be used to review design changes before production. The potential commercial applications of the instrument proposed may be used in the laboratory or in-line at utilities. The market for the proposed product is quite substantial as EPA regulations will result in the installation of such devices at all utilities and drinking water facilities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Agrawal, Yogesh Sequoia Scientific, Inc. WA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 498274 5373 EGCH 9197 1179 0118000 Pollution Control 0109976 March 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Broadband Split-Beam Fish Tracker. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project will develop a broadband split-beam fisheries sonar system for shallow water applications. As the number of fish in rivers and streams diminishes and becomes threatened, endangered or extinct, there is a need for better fish monitoring tools for such shallow water environments. Through a series of workshops, the leaders in the riverine sonar community have highlighted several deficiencies in the current monitoring systems. This Phase II Project proposes to build a fish tracking and counting system that addresses many of these deficiencies, and that has a ten-fold better range resolution and at least a 6 dB improvement in detection. The broadband sonar system, to be built in the course of this project, will include (a) a unique bizonal shaded transceiver array, (b) a full complement of functions for collection, storage, analysis and display of data, and (c) a multi-hypothesis tracker for tracking fish in low SNR and dense target environments. The sonar system will be validated first in a comprehensive set of pool tests, and then subjected to a rigorous set of evaluation experiments in the Kenai and Copper Rivers of Alaska and in the Rogue River of Oregon. The commercial applications of this project are in a broad range of markets that require fish counting and tracking equipment. The overall market size for such equipment worldwide is estimated to be on the order of 1.8 billion dollars. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Jung, Jae-Byung Scientific Fishery Systems, Inc AK Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 518000 5373 BIOT 9251 9178 9104 1148 0521700 Marine Resources 0109981 August 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Novel Low Temperature Partial Oxidation Reactor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop an economically competitive, novel, catalytic process for low temperature hydrocarbon partial oxidation. An innovative process for ethylene epoxidation will be developed as a commercially significant application. Most heterogeneous hydrocarbon partial oxidation reactions utilize engineered catalysts, which incorporate novel promoters to enhance selectivity. However, reactor heat management significantly impacts process energy efficiency, catalyst selectivity, and ultimately, process profitability. The Phase II project will develop an innovative process for hydrocarbon partial oxidation which addresses these issues. In Phase I, technical and economic viability of the novel process was demonstrated. The Phase II project will focus on the intrinsic reaction kinetics, heat transfer, and mass transport. A continuous ethylene epoxidation process will be demonstrated at the bench-scale and small pilot-scale in novel, three-phase reactors. In addition, an engineering process design and cost analysis will be developed. The commercial application from this project will be the heterogeneous hydrocarbon partial oxidation, if successful would greatly increase raw material and energy efficiency as well as increase process profitability in the chemical and petrochemical industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Bradford, Michael CeraMem Corporation MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 500000 5373 AMPP 9165 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0109983 September 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Copper Selective Silica-Polyamine Extraction Materials for Processing Copper Ore Leach Liquors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will investigate production of an exciting new material CuWRAM (Copper Waste Recovery from Aqueous Media). Evaluation of these pilot procedures will support the design of full scale manufacturing facilities. A processing system utilizing the patented ISEP separations hardware obtained from Calgon Carbon Corp. and CuWRAM as the extractant material for copper extraction and separation from iron (III) will be produced. Extensive testing will provide information to: (1) establish the effectiveness of the CuWRAM - ISEP system on real samples; (2) establish the economic feasibility of this system under various conditions; and (3) develop a targeted marketing strategy based on the first two items. Results from the Phase I project have generated excitement throughout the mining community. Initial testing on actual mining solutions will be conducted with one of the largest copper producers in the U.S. Commercial applications for a CuWRAM copper extraction include use in the primary extraction circuit of copper mining operations, recovery of copper for reuse in copper plating processes and recovery of copper from remediation projects. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Fischer, Robert Purity Systems, Inc. MT Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 512000 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9146 0106000 Materials Research 0109985 September 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Revenue Management in a Dynamic and Stochastic Network Environment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a state-of-the-art Revenue Management (RM) application suite that addresses inventory allocation and supply-chain management issues. RM, a new way of approaching the supply/demand concept, is best understood as the set of actions leading to revenue maximization by efficiently utilizing the available perishable resources. In Phase I a software prototype was developed based on highly optimized inventory allocation algorithms that produced 2-5% revenue improvements over algorithms used in practice. Phase II has a two-fold objective: to advance the software and produce a state-of-the-art RM application suite to be used in the airlines, hospitality and equipment rental industries; and, to add new components that address supply management decisions interconnected with the inventory allocation decisions addressed in Phase I. RM is currently applied primarily to the airlines and (to different degrees) to cruise lines, hotels, car rental companies, energy, entertainment industry and telecommunications. It is widely acknowledged that companies that neglect to implement RM techniques to maximize their revenue will risk becoming uncompetitive. Therefore, there is a large potential market for a flexible state-of-the-art RM suite built on highly sophisticated algorithms. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Mourtzinou, Georgia DYNAMIC IDEAS, LLC MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 378101 5373 MANU 9148 9102 1465 1464 1463 0107000 Operations Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110105 September 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Flexible and Transparent Coating Polymers for Flat Panel Displays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a new optically transparent intrinsically conducting polymer (ICP) that can be processed from organic solutions. Despite much information on ICPs in the technical literature, the number of commercial applications of ICPs is still very small because of their intrinsically poor stability and the lack of reasonable processing methods. Phase II will address the problem of processability. Phase I successfully prepared ICPs that are soluble up to 15% weight in alcohols. Cast films are optically transparent, have conductivity of 1-100 Siemens per centimeter, and maintain constant conductivity when elongated up to 30%. ICPs were made from commercially available monomers. Phase II will bring the polymers developed in Phase I from a feasibility stage to commercial products by optimizing their composition and synthesis and scaling up production and purification. These materials could be used to replace indium tin oxide in flat panel displays and other electronic applications. ICPs are expected to find application in the manufacture of electronic components, inks, biomedical materials, electronic devices, and specialty coatings. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Luebben, Silvia TDA Research, Inc CO Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 504956 5373 MANU AMPP 9231 9178 9163 9146 9102 1773 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 0110193 August 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Novel Facilitated Transport Membranes for Olefin Separations. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project focuses on olefin/paraffin separations. In the USA, ethylene and propylene are produced in larger quantities than any other organic chemical. Currently, olefin/paraffin separation is done by distillation, an extremely energy-intensive process because of their low relative volatility. Selectivities of polymeric membranes are inadequate for these separations, but selectivities of facilitated transport membranes are higher. However, membrane instability, low gas fluxes, and a required water-saturated feed limit their industrial application. To overcome these problems a new type of facilitated transport membrane is being developed. The membrane has high gas fluxes, dramatically improved olefin/paraffin selectivities over conventional facilitated transport membranes, operates with a dry feed, and is stable for several weeks. The commercial applications from this project will be membranes that will significantly lower cost and energy consumption of industrial olefin/paraffin separations. Other applications include by product/vent gas streams in polyethylene/polypropylene, cumene, isopropanol and acrylonitrile plants. Subsequent applications are propylene recovery from FCCU off-gas and from large processes (propane dehydrogenation and steam crackers). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Merkel, Tim MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH, INC. CA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 500000 5373 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 0110214 October 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Digital Machine Shop - An Immersive Two-Handed Precision 3D Modeling Environment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project, The Digital Machine Shop, is a practical immersive precision modeling system. With the aid of Digital Jigs, Digital Blades, and other innovative techniques, the user sculpts and assembles precision objects in a natural fashion with his or her own two hands. Real users from many backgrounds have validated the approach, showing these new paradigms to be easy to learn and easy to use. They have achieved comfort and productivity in a fraction of the time required by conventional modeling products because natural dexterity and real-world strategies apply. The apparent absence of Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) in the Digital Machine Shop's two-handed interface promises to be a bonus of immeasurable value. The ease of use of the Digital Machine Shop will serve to tap the talent, creativity, and expertise of a large segment of society that has been discouraged by the complexity and tedium of conventional interfaces. Those comfortable with digital methods will benefit from enhanced productivity and creativity. The Digital Machine Shop embodies enabling technologies whose impact far exceeds the scope of this project. It is through the example of practical innovation that the industry will adopt new and improved methods. The potential commercial applications include: architectural design, visual simulation modeling, game modeling, industrial design, automotive design, education, fine arts, and medicine. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Mlyniec, Paul Digital ArtForms CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 551985 5373 HPCC 9139 4080 0108000 Software Development 0110217 September 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Robotic Systems for Network Interrogation of Smart Civil Structures. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II, project is aimed at the continued development and field testing of an autonomous robotic structural inspection system capable of remote powering and data collection from a network of embedded sensing nodes with remote data access via the internet. The system will utilize existing microminiature, multichannel, wireless, programmable Addressable Sensing Modules (ASM's) to sample data from a variety of sensors. These inductively powered nodes do not require batteries or interconnecting wires, which greatly enhances reliability and reduces installation cost. Networks of sensing nodes can be embedded, interrogated, and remotely accessed in applications where visual inspection by people is not practical due to: physical space constraints, remote geographic locations, high inspection costs, and high risks involved for those performing the inspections. The sensors can indicate the need for repair, replacement, or reinforcement, which will reduce the risk of catastrophic failure and will be useful after natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. The availability of critical structural health data on the internet would greatly assist highway engineers and scientists to acquire information about these structures, which will improve our understanding of the safety of civil structures and their requisite maintenance. Market potential is significant, as various task specific robots can be employed (with our systems) for remote inspection and internet data delivery from a broad spectrum of structures, such as: bridges, bridge footings, dams, offshore oil rigs, buildings, hazardous waste sites, and nuclear power plants. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is aimed at the continued development and field testing of an autonomous robotic structural inspection system capable of remote powering and data collection from a network of embedded sensing nodes with remote data access via the internet. The system will utilize existing microminiature, multichannel, wireless, programmable Addressable Sensing Modules (ASM's) to sample data from a variety of sensors. These inductively powered nodes do not require batteries or interconnecting wires, which greatly enhances reliability and reduces installation cost. Networks of sensing nodes can be embedded, interrogated, and remotely accessed in applications where visual inspection by people is not practical due to: physical space constraints, remote geographic locations, high inspection costs, and high risks involved for those performing the inspections. The sensors can indicate the need for repair, replacement, or reinforcement, which will reduce the risk of catastrophic failure and will be useful after natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. The availability of critical structural health data on the internet would greatly assist highway engineers and scientists to acquire information about these structures, which will improve our understanding of the safety of civil structures and their requisite maintenance. Market potential is significant, as various task specific robots can be employed (with our systems) for remote inspection and internet data delivery from a broad spectrum of structures, such as: bridges, bridge footings, dams, offshore oil rigs, buildings, hazardous waste sites, and nuclear power plants. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Arms, Steven MICROSTRAIN INC VT Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 733285 5373 CVIS 9251 9150 5371 1038 0109000 Structural Technology 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110221 September 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Dissolution of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a cost-effective procedure for the production of soluble single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) in commercial quantities. Phase I results demonstrated dissolution of full-length SWNTs in common organic solvents by exfoliation and covalent functionalization. It has been found that the purity of as-prepared SWNT (AP-SWNT) soot greatly influences both the cost and quality of the final product. The major emphasis for the project will be directed towards the synthesis of byproduct-free AP-SWNT soot, in purification of the SWNTs and in optimizing and scaling-up the dissolution step. The dissolution of carbon nanotubes can greatly enhance the processability of this unique material and facilitate the entry of SWNTs into commercial applications requiring high strength light weight materials, electromagnetic shielding materials, conductive composites and nanoelectronics. The development of the solution chemistry of SWNTs will facilitate applications in polymer science, and in medicine. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Itkis, Mikhail CARBON SOLUTIONS INC CA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 376589 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9148 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110266 December 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Design of a True Three Dimensional (3-D) Information Display System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes the development of a low-cost desktop true three dimensional (3-D) information display system suitable for commercialization during Phase III. The proposed video monitor will provide highly realistic static and dynamic 3-D images by presenting information over a volumetric space, rather than a conventional planar space. As a result, the displayed information neither suffers from the loss of actual depth information as in a conventional monitor, nor requires the use of specially designed eyeglasses needed for stereovision systems. Fullcolor true 3-D views will be generated by projecting plane-by-plane image slices onto a projection screen that moves backward and forward in synchronization with the information generated on a CRT screen. By accessing these planes-of-view 30 times per second, flicker-free true 3-D views are generated over a volumetric space that are viewable from multiple angles. The anticipated low cost of this practical system should make it affordable for personal use since it will be designed primarily with commercially available system components, aided by novel digital imaging techniques and software approaches. Thus, the proposed system is expected to find many diverse applications ranging from scientific and industrial visualization to entertainment. Some of the initial applications include biomedical image processing, scientific visualization, protein structure determination, general-purpose 3-D computer graphics, radar imaging, battlefield management, and aircraft design. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Chakrabarti, Soma BioComp Systems KS Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 503325 9150 5373 HPCC 9251 9215 9178 9150 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110267 July 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Concentration of Thermally Labile Solutes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will demonstrate in actual field tests the novel room temperature dewatering process. In the Phase I project, Compact Membrane Systems, Inc. (CMS) demonstrated a stable osmotic distillation (OD) process on orange juice, grape juice, and coffee. In typical applications, solids levels were increased from approximately 10% sugar to approximately 70% sugar. Taste tests showed no significant difference between original juice and re-diluted OD product. Process stability was demonstrated by obtaining equivalent product when operating temperature was increased to 40C and maintaining performance after multiple juice dewatering and cleaning cycles. Product stability was demonstrated by leaving OD juice concentrate open to air with no microbiological growth due to very low water activity in the juice concentrate. In the OD process the solution to be dewatered is placed on one side of the hydrophobic membrane and a high salinity feed is placed on the other side. Water vapor then moves from the solution to the high salinity side. While OD has been around for 15 years, no significant commercial products have been developed due to these hydrophobic microporous membranes rapidly wetting out. This project will demonstrate a novel, non-porous perfluoromembrane that eliminates wet-out while maintaining high water vapor transport. Potential commercial applications include beverages, pharmaceuticals, neutraceuticals, and industrial chemicals. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Bowser, John COMPACT MEMBRANE SYSTEMS, INC DE Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 576146 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9146 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110276 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Inversion of Geophysical Measurements for Fracture Geometry. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project considers an innovative method for detecting and quantifying natural fracture systems in rock. The geometry of the fracture system controls the permeability of many oil and gas reservoirs and aquifers. Both oil and gas and environmental applications require new tools and techniques to quantify the fracture geometry, thus allowing prediction of permeability. During the Phase I research an inverse method was developed for fracture geometry from diverse geophysical measurements. This was accomplished by combining forward models relating fracture geometry to various anisotropic, stress-dependent properties including permeability, electrical conductivity, and seismic velocity with a maximum entropy regularization criterion. It was demonstrated that a relatively small number of geophysical measurements could be used to invert for a statistical description of the fracture geometry with some predictive power. Following this proof of principle, in Phase II, this method will now be turned into an interactive tool for studying and understanding fracture system behavior for oil and gas and environmental applications. To accomplish this, the forward models will be refined, the inversion algorithm will be tuned for this specific problem, and the algorithms will be validated using case studies. This new capability will likely provide many improvements to exploration, development, and reservoir performance activities by defining realistic input parameters for reservoir fluid flow simulators. It is in our national interest to develop new innovative and cost effective exploration and reservoir simulation technologies which will extend the useful lifetime of oil and gas reservoirs and extending the period of time that competitively priced oil and natural gas can be produced in this country. l SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Brown, Stephen NEW ENGLAND RESEARCH, INC. VT Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 492251 5373 CVIS 1266 1038 0510703 Rock Fracture Mechanics 0110278 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Workflows to Enable Agile Virtual Enterprises (WEAVE). This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project, Workflows to Enable Agile Virtual Enterprises (WEAVE), is envisioned as an on-line service to manage workflow for virtual enterprises. Phase I feasibility was undertaken in the context of virtual enterprises that arise in supply chain management. Phase II will do full-scale implementation of WEAVE to efficiently establish and manage supply chains in an e-commerce environment. Traditional supply chains are built with a small number of long-term suppliers because of the high cost of finding and establishing new supply sources. The Web and a variety of legacy data sources provide abundant information about possible supply sources. But this information is often dynamic and unstructured requiring manual effort to discover. XSB, Inc has developed technology to infer supplier capabilities, giving manufacturers an instant view of 'who makes what' across their own supply chain as well as thousands of potential suppliers across the web. WEAVE will implement this technology to locate sources of supply. This ability to locate sources for parts will be integrated with a system to plan and manage purchasing strategies for a user's complete bill-of-materials. Using WEAVE small-to-medium manufacturers can quickly create supply chains that is relevant for their enterprise. In the long-term WEAVE will serve as the infrastructure for establishing a peer-to-peer supply network. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Pokorny, Robert XSB, INC. NY Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 730566 5373 HPCC 9251 9178 9139 6850 0108000 Software Development 0110316 September 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Active Control of Gas Turbine Engines Using Eddy Current Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop and test algorithms for active control of blade vibration and engine stability (stall and surge) using an eddy current sensor (ECS) array. The approach utilizes signal analysis and diagnostic tools in active control algorithms for the detection of engine faults. Phase II will extend the functionality of the ECS system beyond diagnostics to active and automatic real-time control of gas turbine engines. An ECS array is currently the favored sensor system for installation on the Joint Strike Fighter, in which a software system upgrade capable of using ECS data to compute the necessary indicators and estimate the disturbances needed is desirable for active vibration and engine stability control. It would reduce the number of new sensors needed for active control and potentially save millions of dollars. Large commercial markets are indicated in commercial aircraft and gas turbine power plants. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Teolis, Carole Techno-Sciences Incorporated MD Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 661332 5373 MANU HPCC 9251 9231 9178 9146 9139 9102 7218 1359 0104000 Information Systems 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110317 August 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Development of a Dynamic, High-Resolution Volumetric Dilatometer. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop innovations pertaining to optrodes (optical sensors) and electro-optical instrumentation for advanced material characterization. Specifically, this project will develop the first commercially available high-resolution volumetric dilatometer. In addition, the innovations will allow for: (1) a linear dilatometer that possesses a resolution that is 2-3 orders of magnitude better than its conventional linear counterparts; (2) an optical control system for micro-translation stages; (3) an optrode for thin film characterization that possesses a linear resolution exceeding 1 nanometer; and (4) an ultra-fast, high-resolution spectrometer that will enable commercialization of three optical sensors (pressure, temperature, and load) suitable for harsh environments. Potential commercial applications are expected in electronics and microelectronics manufacturing for dilatometry, thin films analysis, micro-translation stages, ultra-fast spectroscopy, and various optical sensors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Christian, Sean AIRAK, INC VA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 512000 5373 AMPP 9251 9231 9178 9163 9102 0522100 High Technology Materials 0110323 September 1, 2001 STTR Phase II: Cold Gas Dynamic Spray Processing of Bioactive Nano-hydroxyapatite/Titanium Nanocomposite Coatings. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II Project will develop a fully integrated process for applying a well-bonded, bioactive coating to the stem of an orthopedic hip implant by a novel Cold Gas Dynamic Spray (CGDS), or Hyperkinetic Deposition process. The new process is a potential major advance in the state-of-the-art for surface modification of medical implants. The medical community hitherto has relied primarily on plasma spraying to activate implant surfaces. Plasma spraying is a cost-effective means of applying the coating material but is far from ideal. In particular, the high temperatures experienced by the hydroxyapatite feed powder during plasma spraying can seriously degrade its compositional integrity and thus its bioactive properties. The cold spray process eliminates this problem, and enables, for the first time, high-surface-area nanostructured hydroxyapatite powder to be incorporated into the implant surface without sacrificing its intrinsic bioactivity. As an added benefit the implant surface is left in a state of compression, which should extend the service life of the implant by eliminating the possibility of surface cracking caused by low-cycle fatigue. The commercial applications for this project will be to improve the life of implants. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG McCandlish, Larry Ceramare Corporation NJ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 500000 5373 MANU 9147 0110000 Technology Transfer 0110341 September 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: On-Line, Non-Destructive, Rapid Characterization of Nanopowders and Agglomerates. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will further develop, test, and demonstrate a novel approach for characterizing nano-scale powders and their agglomerates. Nanostructures are a novel family of materials that allow customization of structural, electrochemical, electrical, electronic, optical, magnetic, and chemical properties. The use of nanomaterials to fabricate valuable devices and to manufacture new products depends in large part on the ability to characterize these materials during synthesis, processing, and device production. Current high resolution characterization techniques are off line, slow, expensive, and unreliable; the few on-line particle sizing instruments available make questionable assumptions (e.g., that all particles are spherical in shape) which introduce unnecessary error into the diagnosis. The commercial applications of this project is to use nano-scale powders, which are the fundamental building blocks of many products used in a wide variety of industries (e.g., advanced ceramics, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, etc.). As the technology develops, the application areas will increase. The ability to characterize nano-scale particles and agglomerates on-line is crucial for controlling the quality of products and for the invention of new products and processes. In addition, characterization of environmental particulates is critical for understanding air quality concerns and health effects - leading to improve clean air regulations and monitoring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Manickavasagam, Sivakumar Synergetic Technologies, Incorporated KY Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 511997 5373 MANU 9251 9231 9178 9163 9146 1415 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110358 October 1, 2001 STTR Phase II: Development of a Compact Cloud Spectrometer and Impactor. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will develop a compact cloud spectrometer and impactor (CSI) for the measurement and study of condensed water in the atmosphere. Condensed water includes cloud droplets and ice particles. Phase I demonstrated the feasibility of integrating a counterflow virtual impactor (CVI) for condensed water content (CWC) measurement together with a new forward scattering spectrometer system for measurement of the cloud droplet size distribution. This combined airborne instrument will be considerably lighter than previous versions of the two separate instruments, and easier to use. The objective of Phase II is a commercial, integrated instrument for the study of atmospheric condensed water content and droplet size distribution. The accurate measurement of these parameters is important in weather prediction as well as understanding global climate change. This instrumentation will have worldwide application, and the users will be government, university, and commercial atmospheric research institutions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Kok, Gregory Droplet Measurement Technologies CO Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 460945 5373 1505 EGCH 1325 0110000 Technology Transfer 0110363 September 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Interactive Tools for Active Learning (ITAL). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project, ITAL-2 (Interactive Tools for Active Learning) will develop comprehensive e-Learning solution for conventional academic Science, Mathematics, and Educational Technology (SMET) education and for corporate training. The project product, 'Active Learning Suites' (ALS), is a highly interactive online learning content delivery and management system. It includes an Active Shell, Simulations and Virtual Experiments interactive lessons, a Problem Solving Tutor, a scriptable Instructor's Agent, an Assessment system, Authoring tools, and more. ALS uses real-life objects and situations, such as those related to home, telecommunications and sports, as the context for science investigations. Immersion in these contexts that are populated with appropriate sets of objects enables learners to discover the connections between the scientific theory and its practical applications in technology. Authoring tools helps instructors to easily assemble a single e-learning environment from heterogeneous educational resources and the WWW. ALS can facilitate both problem-based learning and more conventional learning strategies. It can be used on a campus or in a school equipped with either stand-alone computers or a local network, at home (self-learning), in a corporate setting, or via distance learning over the Intranet and Internet. Active Learning Suites (ALS) offer a wide variety of lessons that can be designed to address many different audiences: (1) two-year college students enrolled in science, technology and engineering programs; (2) non-science majors; (3) high school students taking science and technology courses; and (4) instructors and technicians of telecommunications companies. The approach of immersing students or technicians in practical problems has great potential for facilitating understanding of science. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Cherner, Yakov ATEL, LLC MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 499855 5373 SMET 9177 7355 7256 0108000 Software Development 0110370 November 1, 2001 STTR Phase II: Electrochromic Devices Fabricated from Self-Assembled Polyelectrolytes for Flat Panel Displays. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will continue development of a new electrochromic device based on self-assembly of organic nanomaterials. Phase I used these materials to create laboratory scale devices. Precise control of the material composition at the nanometer (nm) scale, combined with the thin layers deposited (40 nm thick), allowed switching speeds of 25-50 milliseconds for the first time, which are nearly fast enough for display applications. Further, it was found that these materials, fabricated in the solid state, could be switched by applying only 1.0 volt. Phase II will focus on optimizing device performance, developing tri-state and multi-color devices, and evaluating performance under environmental conditions necessary for commercial product development. Markets for the technology are very large and range from automotive self-dimming rear-view mirrors to smart windows for residential and commercial buildings, smart glasses, and display products. Phase III is planned for manufacturing scale-up and will be conducted in an industrial partnership. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Phillips, Paige Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 511913 5373 1505 MANU HPCC 9251 9178 9146 9139 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110399 October 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Fabrication of Photonic Band Gap Structures Embedded in Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic for Millimeter Wave Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop new materials engineered for microwave electronics. As microwave applications expand, including portable wireless devices, and as digital integrated circuit speeds and clock rates increase to the millimeter wave (MMW) range, the need arises for low-loss elements of microwave/MMW interconnects (EMIs) with properties uniform over a broad range of frequencies and environmental conditions. A new technique is now sought to embed EMIs based on Photonic Band Gap Structures (PBSs) in ceramic substrates at an early stage of fabrication. PBSs will reduce radiative losses in devices fabricated using the Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic On Metal technique by preventing radiation leakage and by minimizing undesired scattering. The result will be improved performance, without increasing manufacturing costs. Phase I designed, fabricated, and tested PBS-based EMIs, wherein, cross waveguides with low cross talk were successfully tested. Phase II will automate the design and production of devices that include PBS EMIs. The technology will be demonstrated through the design and fabrication of a MMW antenna based on PBS. A PBS will lead to quite new applications: frequency-band controlled filters, perfect channel-drop filters, point-defect resonant cavities, line-defect ninety-degree waveguide bends, waveguide intersections with low crosstalk, and others. The new technique will be employed in high-volume production items for applications such as automotive radars, avionics, as well as in a variety of broadband wireless communication devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Manasson, Vladimir WAVEBAND CORPORATION CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 761828 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9165 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110419 August 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Bimetallic Oxygen Reduction Catalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop platinum-transition metal alloy catalysts that are supported on high area carbon for oxygen cathodes in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The Phase II project will build on the success of Phase I by optimizing the alloy composition and particle size of supported Platinum (Pt) alloy catalysts for efficient oxygen reduction. Low temperature synthesis methods allow T/J Technologies to produce supported Pt alloys with minimal Pt aggregation. Alloy compositions that reduce the over potential toward oxygen reduction by >50 mV versus Pt alone and will be produced with particles sizes (3-5 nm) that maximize Pt utilization and oxygen reduction efficiency. Performance will be demonstrated in half-cell and full fuel cell experiments. Catalysts resulting from this project will enable PEM fuel cells to operate more efficiently. The potential commercial applications from this project would be improved oxygen reduction catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells for vehicle propulsion and kilowatt-scale off-grid electric power generation. These are potentially large markets with beneficial impacts on energy efficiency, international competitiveness, and emissions reductions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Renock, Devon T/J Technologies, Inc MI Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 637000 5373 AMPP 9251 9178 9163 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110432 November 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Revitalizing Spectrofluorimeters with Cryogenic Fiber Optic Probes, Fluorescence Lifetime Capability, and Tunable Laser Sources. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop new instrumentation for fluorescence and phosphorescence spectral measurements. Phase I produced a customized spectrofluorimeter equipped with a tunable laser source, fluorescence lifetime capability, and fiber optic probe for cryogenic measurements. However, better methods are needed to analyze benzo[c]fluorene, which researchers now believe may be an environmental concern comparable to benzo[a]pyrene. Phase II will develop an upgraded new instrument, capable of retrofitting the low temperature probe, fluorescence lifetime, and tunable laser capabilities onto laboratory spectrofluorimeters. The emission monochromator, photomultiplier tube detector, and control/analysis computer can be retained from the spectrofluorimeter, and none of its functionality will be lost. Phase II is expected to produce several models of commercial spectrofluorimeters, test data for publication in technical journals and trade magazines, and instrument upgrade options as a commercial service. The market for these upgrades presently has an estimated 30,000-40,000 spectrofluorimeters in service. An additional 4,000 individuals or institutions purchase new units each year. The new instrument upgrades will be used in research and development, analytical services, quality control, environmental studies and surveys, and teaching and other applications. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Gillispie, Greg DAKOTA TECHNOLOGIES INC ND Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 762000 9150 5373 EGCH 9251 9197 9178 9150 0110000 Technology Transfer 0118000 Pollution Control 0110442 September 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: High Temperature Pressure Transducers from Shape Memory Alloys. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will complete the development of a prototype, cost effective high temperature pressure sensing device that can be integrated into diesel and turbine engines. Phase I results show that it is feasible to use the proposed novel metal alloy as a sensing element in a high temperature pressure transducer. However, further work needs to be performed to optimize the fabrication process of the sensing element, improve the design of the transducer, and to establish the manufacturing process for future production. The project will address five major aspects of developing a novel, high temperature pressure transducer and present a final packaged prototype at the end of the project. These are to develop the sensing element fabrication process, develop the manufacturing process for a 400 degrees C sensor, fabricate the sensor diaphragm, design and fabricate a substrate heater, and to package the sensing element. The firm has already received significant interest from potential manufacturing and commercial partners in the diesel engine and aircraft turbine engine industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Snyder, Joseph ORBITAL RESEARCH INC OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 499999 5373 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110447 September 1, 2001 STTR Phase II: Magneto-Rheological Fluids for Sensor Actuator Systems. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will develop advanced magnetorheological fluids for various damping applications. The Phase I project focused on a microwave plasma synthesis technique (NANOGENTM) and chemical precipitation technique; both techniques were successfully used to synthesize nanoparticles of iron, cobalt and iron oxide. NANOGENTM was selected as one of the 100 most innovative technologies in 1998 when it won the prestigious R&D 100 Award. MR fluids were prepared from these fluids and preliminary results on their damping behavior was found to be comparable with commercially available fluids. The Phase II project will scale-up the production of nanopowders and will conduct testing of their damping characteristics to help foster the development and application of MR fluids in key technology driven areas. The possible commercial applications will be in automobile suspensions, hybrid actuator valves, semi-active vibration control in turbines and bridges as well as for seismic damping. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Radhakrishnan, R Norman Wereley Materials Modification Inc. VA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 500000 5373 MANU 9147 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0110453 August 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: High Sensitivity Raman Spectrometer. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will design, build, and test a hybrid Raman analyzer suitable for "on-demand" or continuous process monitoring. The Phase I project demonstrated feasibility by designing and testing a unique combination of components that yielded greater than 100 times improvement in sensitivity (defined as the signal-to-noise ratio) compared to traditional Raman analyzers. The novel design also demonstrated high resolution (1 cm -1), invariant wavelength stability, and freedom from fluorescence interference; which are critical requirements for autonomous chemical process monitoring or rapid raw-material identification. The Phase II project will further improve sensitivity, as well as demonstrate long-term temperature and vibrational immunity, and fast "turn-on" time. Complete internal analyzer diagnostics will allow greater than 1000 hours of unattended operation. As such, the analyzer will be rugged, compact and portable (10"x 12" footprint), low-maintenance, require minimum power, and suitable for numerous industrial applications. The commercial applications will be directed toward the chemical manufacturing industries. The Phase II prototype will be used to develop specific applications with customers during Phase III. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Farquharson, Stuart Advanced Fuel Research, Inc. CT Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 499997 5373 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110456 August 15, 2001 STTR Phase II: Alignment of Low Cost, High Modulus, High Strength Carbon Nanofibers in Composites. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase II project will develop low-cost, composites reinforced with carbon nanofibers. Methods demonstrated in Phase I will be further developed to generate alignment and promote adhesion of nanofibers polymer systems. These efforts help to capture the extraordinary intrinsic mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of carbon nanofibers in practical, affordable composites. One thrust of the program seeks to align nanofiber in extruded and spun flows, in materials that include polypropylene, polyester, and nylon. The composite filaments produced by these means will then be formed into net-shape composite components for a variety of applications. A second thrust focuses on fabrication of nanofiber papers for applications that include fuel cell electrodes. Potential end users of the technology and leaders in their respective markets, will evaluate materials and prototypes produced during Phase II. Specific commercial applications targeted by the Phase II work include nanofiber reinforced polyester and nylon tire cord, thermally conductive plastics for electronics packaging, nanofiber paper for fuel cell components, and conductive, high service temperature plastics for electrostatic precipitators needed to clean exhaust streams from power and chemical production. Each of these applications has an associated Phase II partner participating in the program. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Jacobsen, Ronald M. Khairul Alam APPLIED SCIENCES, INC. OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 499980 5373 MANU 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110460 October 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Programmable, Scalable Wireless Information Infrastructure. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project has two primary objectives: to continue the research and development of clustered software radio technology begun in the Phase I project, and to use that technology to extend current waveform implementations to a fully functional base station. A high impact application of clustered software radio is for cellular telephone base stations, changing them from fixed hardware devices into flexible software devices that can support multiple commercial standards and also public safety needs. This Phase II project will develop a clustered software radio base station that interoperates with commercial GSM mobile units and switching centers. The goal is a base station sufficiently functional to be deployed in a field trial, which is the necessary next step in commercializing the technology. The project will include innovative technology development in timing control, wideband synthesis, and intra-cluster data transport. In the telecommunications industry, many foresee that base stations for third-generation wireless systems will be software radios or software-defined radios. The development of clustered software radio technology by Vanu, Inc. for this market will improve interoperability, improve service to underserved rural areas, enable more efficient use of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum, provide substantial public safety benefits, and increase the pace of technological innovation in the wireless communication marketplace. Moreover, the firm's computing architecture has broad application to signal processing problems outside the wireless industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Chapin, John Vanu, Inc. MA Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 749683 5373 HPCC 9218 4096 0206000 Telecommunications 0110472 August 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Expression Pattern Screening for Agriculture Genomics. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will use a novel high throughput platform comprising of many, small gene arrays, contained within the wells of microtiter plates. This platform, termed Multi-Array Plate Screening (MAPS), allows simultaneous testing of the expression of a specific group of genes of interest and appropriate controls using RNA derived from 96 separate samples, within each well of a 96-well plate. MAPS provides the endpoint assay for a high throughput screen, in which investigators can evaluate how different chemical compounds, applied to cells, tissues, or organisms in vivo, affect the expression pattern for the genes of interest. This technology will address an unmet need of the agricultural industry to make efficient use of novel genomics information in a manner that does not require distribution of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the form of transgenic plants. The plants are grown in each well of a 96 well plate to facilitate high-throughput screening. The platform allows facile and efficient testing of gene targets including newly identified genes, and also provides important information about selectivity and specificity. The commercial potential from this project is in the agricultural market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kris, Richard NeoGen, LLC AZ Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 500000 5373 BIOT 9109 1167 0201000 Agriculture 0110478 August 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Information Extraction from Synthetic Procedures. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is directed at developing a collection of software tools for use in selective extraction of information from the running text of synthetic recipes. Synthetic procedures are batch recipes used in the creation and discovery of new chemical entities for drug discovery. The ultimate aim of the project is to automate information extraction and place the information in a computer-understandable data structure that fully captures the data and semantics of the synthetic recipe. The Phase I program successfully demonstrated feasibility of the approach by constructing a prototype system and using it to solve a range of representative synthetic-recipe-related information extraction problems. In Phase II, the objectives are to (1) refine and extend the features of the prototype system; (2) implement machine learning capability for extraction rule induction, (3) construct focused demonstration applications, and (4) test, evaluate and validate the software system in conjunction with pharmaceutical-company research-collaborators. The ultimate goal of the program is to develop a commercial software toolkit that enables chemists to easily construct systems for information extraction from synthetic recipes. Recipes for more than 19 million unique compounds are contained in the public literature, and there are a comparable number in the archives of pharmaceutical companies. The vast majority of these procedures are maintained as unstructured running text. Intellichem, Inc. proffers tools for extraction of synthetic recipe information into computer-understandable data structures that will benefit the following: database construction and updating, summarization, chemical process discovery, knowledge reuse, improved productivity of the chemist, and chemistry-related e-commerce. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG van Eikeren, Paul IntelliChem Inc. OR Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 781919 5373 SMET HPCC 9251 9216 9178 7218 6856 0104000 Information Systems 0110486 September 1, 2001 STTR Phase II: Nanostructure Fabrication Using Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will further develop a revolutionary approach to nanostructure fabrication. This Near-Field Scanning Optical Nanolithographic approach, which we have already shown to be capable of writing 100nm width lines, utilizes a direct, optical write technology in conjunction with optical photoresists. The direct optical writing is performed with a customized Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscope (NSOM) tool. The major goal of the proposed work is to design and construct a commercially viable NSOM lithography tool and demonstrate processes for flexible pattern generation on 4" wafers. Phase I work demonstrated the preliminary design of the NSOM lithography tool and photoresist processes using a novel inorganic hydrogenated amorphous silicon resist, as well as conventional polymer resists. Best line widths of approximately 100nm, comparable to the probe diameter, were obtained. The commercial benefits from this project will be the construction and demonstration of the NSOM lithography tool for rapid prototyping of nanostructures in university and corporate research labs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Hollingsworth, Russell Reuben Collins ITN ENERGY SYSTEMS, INC. CO Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 485615 5373 MANU 9147 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110490 September 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Material Processing for Optimizing the Performance of an Embedded Bragg Grating. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will enable the fabrication of waveguides in potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) containing Bragg gratings with specified spectral and electro-optic characteristics. These characteristics include reflectivity, bandwidth, central wavelength, and electro-optic tuning range. To achieve this goal, the relationship between the processing steps used to form the Bragg grating and its resulting spectral and electro-optic properties will be fully quantified. The ability to control the spectral characteristics and electro-optically tune these gratings will enable a broad range of new and commercially useful devices. Using the processing steps developed, an array of Bragg gratings will be fabricated with each grating optimized for stabilizing the wavelength of a laser diode. Translating the waveguide array with respect to the laser diode will tune its wavelength. This novel tuning technique will have significant technical and cost advantages over other tuning techniques. Potential commercial applications include tunable filters for active dispersion compensation, high-speed add/drop filters for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), and a broadly tunable source for test and evaluation of network components. Other applications include stabilizing laser diodes for spectroscopy, seeding high power lasers, and frequency doubled diode-based replacement lasers for low power Argon-Ion and helium cadmium (HeCd) lasers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Battle, Philip ADVR, INC MT Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 773021 5373 MANU 9251 9231 9178 9150 9146 9102 7218 1359 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110499 October 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Spinning Performance of Melt-Spun Fibers Containing Microencapsulated Phase Change Material. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project continues the development of the spinning performance of melt spun fibers containing microencapsulated phase change materials (microPCMs). In Phase I, polypropylene fibers less then 3 denier per filament were demonstrated with a good balance of physical properties (tenacity, percent breaking elongation, modulus, etc.) and thermal energy storage capability (latent heat content). Phase II will focus on process and materials variables that affect, in particular, the structure and properties of the as-spun fiber, and in general, the overall spinning process. A key objective is to convert the microcapsule wet cake into a well-dispersed microPCM/polymer concentrate devoid of volatilizing components for adding to virgin polymer and extruding into fiber. Innovative spinning concepts will be employed to improve the capture of microPCMs to maximize thermal energy storage properties. The commercial availability of melt spun fibers and resulting fabrics with enhanced thermal energy storage capabilities will enable products with superior performance for use in situations where comfort, endurance, or survivability in cold or hot environments is demanded. Thus, the perfection of this technology for the production of good quality fabric could be a major breakthrough in the textile industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Bryant, Yvonne Triangle Research and Development Corporation NC T. James Rudd Standard Grant 499991 5373 MANU 9146 9102 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110500 November 15, 2001 STTR Phase II: Development of an Autonomous Equilibrating pCO2 Sensor. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will develop and test an autonomous, low cost, robust, precise, and miniaturized partial and total carbon dioxide measurement system. This system will be able to characterize the carbon dioxide exchange between ocean surface waters and the atmosphere, thus helping to analyze the "greenhouse effect" and assess global warming on a worldwide basis. The partial and total carbon dioxide systems are miniaturized for deployment by the International SeaKeepers Society in ocean and atmospheric monitoring modules on cargo ships, cruise ships, and super yachts around the world as well as for use on piers, ocean buoys, and other platforms. The prototype partial carbon dioxide system, developed in Phase I, measures carbon dioxide in seawater that has been equilibrated with air using an infrared detector. It is sensitive to five parts per million and responds to rapid changes in carbon dioxide. The prototype miniaturized total carbon dioxide system has a precision of three parts per million. Phase II will miniaturize and test both systems in the laboratory and in the field. Based on these tests and any modifications required, final commercial partial and total carbon dioxide measurement systems will be produced. The International SeaKeepers Society is expected to deploy hundreds of these carbon dioxide sensor systems. Other purchasers would include government agencies worldwide performing research and monitoring on the global warming phenomenon. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Cook, Regis GENERAL OCEANICS, INC. FL Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 495996 1505 EGCH 9197 0110000 Technology Transfer 0313000 Regional & Environmental 0110520 August 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Reference Electrode with an Invariant Liquid Junction Potential. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a long-lived, stable reference electrode that dramatically improves potentiometric measurements, such as pH, redox, and other ion-specific measurements. The new reference electrode exploits recent developments in microfluidics and nanotechnology to stabilize the liquid-junction potential, a source of error and a cause of frequent sensor calibration and maintenance. Stabilizing the liquid-junction potential of the reference electrode opens a new realm of potentiometric sensor design and application. The technical feasibility of this innovative electrode was demonstrated in the Phase I project. Testing in a variety of environments showed variations less than 0.5 mV in the reference electrode potential over an 8 hour period and response times less than 60 seconds, compared to potential variations up to 20 mV and response times of over an hour for conventional reference electrodes. The flow of electrolyte through the junction was less than 0.1 l per minute, or 50 ml per year of continuous operation. The Phase II project will develop assembly processes, more robust structures, and develop and build sensors for field-tests. The potential commercial application reduction in sensor calibration and sensor replacement which would save the US process industries approximately $240 million per year in sensor costs and labor expenses. Exports of US manufactured sensors with this technology will significantly increase as foreign process industries seek similar cost savings. Furthermore, this reference electrode can serve as a basic building block in microfluidic sensors, estimated to be a multi-billion dollar industry in the next decade. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Broadley, Scott Broadley-James Corporation CA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 630478 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9146 0106000 Materials Research 0110524 October 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Non-Contact Measurement of Residual Strain in Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a novel non-contact strain sensor for quality control in production of polymers and fiber-reinforced composites. By measuring residual strains, good parts can be distinguished from bad parts in the production stream. Internal and surface residual strains will be measured by a strain gauge based on the principle of nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR). A small percentage of tiny additive crystals are blended into the resin during fabrication of the composite. For strain measurement, the composite is irradiated with radio frequencies (RF) to evoke a strain-dependent NQR response from the embedded crystals. Phase I manufactured parts with embedded additive via compression molding. Phase II will build a single-sided strain prototype and measure residual strains in pultruded parts. The NQR-active additive will be introduced into the pultrusion process, and several batches of different types of composites, e.g., fiberglass, will be manufactured. Pultrusion will permit several large batches of samples to obtain the statistics needed to refine the NQR-based quality control method. Potential commercial applications are expected in many industries, such as civil infrastructure, automotive, sporting goods, aerospace, and many others utilizing composite materials. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Vierkotter, Stephanie Quantum Magnetics, Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 499978 5373 MANU 9146 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0110570 December 15, 2001 STTR Phase II: Development of a Solar Air Conditioner for Small Cooling Loads. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will develop a reliable prototype of a novel, compact and low cost solar air conditioning system for hot and humid climates. The system will consist of an air-cooled single effect absorption machine driven by an array of high performance flat plate collectors and a thermal storage tank. A microncontroller based control system will allow an optimal system operation. The capacity of the system is projected to be in the range of 3-5 cooling tons. The marketing, manufacturing, installation, and product development of the proposed technology is envisioned as a partnership of three small businesses dedicated to: installation of A/C systems, marketing and manufacturing of solar collectors, and to research. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Sanchez, Hector A/C & Mechanical Services Corp. PR Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 522000 9150 5373 1505 EGCH 9251 9231 9197 9178 9150 9102 1179 0118000 Pollution Control 0111223 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Three-Dimensional Atom Probe Imaging for Nano-Biotechnology. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I (SBIR) project will develop the means necessary to adapt the Local Electrode Atom Probe (LEAP) to provide three-dimensional atomic-resolution imaging and elemental analysis of biochips and other nanoscale biotechnological specimens. Hard lithography used in the microelectronics and biotechnology industries already produces nanostructures that are extremely difficult to evaluate with current instrumentation. Soft lithography, self-assembly, and other methods will produce even smaller features from biological and organic materials. Structural characterization for bio-nanotechnology is already problematic because analytical electron microscopy has substantial limitations in the quantitative imaging of carbon and other low atomic number elements. Further compounding this problem is the fact that unlike the simpler geometries of microelectronics devices, the biomacromolecules intrinsic to biotechnology are three-dimensional. Without analytical instrumentation better suited to the evaluation of 3-D bio-organic structures, industry will be "flying blind" as it develops complex nanoscale biotechnologies. Our project is designed to adapt and develop methods for the LEAP to perform atomic-scale analysis of bio-organic biotechnological specimens. After adaptation, LEAP should be able to rapidly image 3-D structures at atomic (0.2-0.5 nm) resolution, while providing quantum-level elemental composition of synthetic polymers, proteins, and nucleic acids critical for biochips and other biomacromolecular nanoengineered devices. The primary commercial application of the technology and the product developed in this project will be as a supplement to the existing analytical instrumentation used for the determination of structure and composition of nano-biotechnology devices and components. Additional applications are envisioned in academic and industrial research in the areas of structural biology, cell biology and pharmaceutics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Goodman, Steven Imago Scientific Instruments Corp WI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99960 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0111331 September 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Disease Block - Genetically Engineered Plants with Disease Resistance. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to produce transgenic citrus and rice plants carrying novel gene fusions for the purpose of controlling citrus canker and rice blight disease. The fusions consist mainly of peptide aptamers and single chain variable region fragments from monoclonal antibodies (SCFVs) that bind to and interfere with bacterial pathogenicity (Pth) proteins that must be injected by the pathogens into host cells to cause disease. Fusions will be selected that show improved binding at physiologically appropriate pH and temperature ranges by BIAcore analyses. Binding affinities of aptamer SCFV fusions over a range of pH and temperatures will be determined. The Phase II project will lead to a new, cost-effective genetic method to control a variety of important plant diseases caused by bacterial plant pathogens. Commercial potential would be to the agricultural and forest industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Ramadugu, Chandrika Integrated Plant Genetics Inc. FL Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 562000 5373 BIOT 9231 9181 9109 9102 1167 0201000 Agriculture 0111605 October 15, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Development of NZP-Based Advanced Thermal Barrier Coatings. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will further develop and optimize the NZP (sodium zirconium phosphate type) ceramic-based thermal barrier coating (TBC) technology for use in advanced turbine and power generation systems. These advanced systems drive the need for higher operating temperatures to achieve better efficiencies without compromising durability. Such requirements heighten the threat of: (i) microstructural changes which reduce thermal barrier effectiveness; (ii) premature oxidative spalling; and (iii) susceptibility to mechanical stresses in conventional yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)-based TBCs. Some NZP ceramics have very low thermal and oxygen conductivity, excellent thermal cycling resistance and high temperature stability but also have low thermal expansion. Phase I demonstrated the feasibility of thermal spraying simple and functionally graded (to minimize thermal expansion mismatches) TBCs of NZP with YSZ that are better thermal barriers and also have very good thermal cycling resistance to 1200 degrees C. The primary goal for Phase II is to complete the scientific and engineering development in order to commercialize the NZP-based TBC technology. A team of academic and industrial collaborators will work under the guidance of committed end-users to achieve this goal. Potential successful development of the NZP-based TBC concept will enable applications in high efficiency power generating systems and gas turbine engines; specifically, for turbine vanes and blades, and combustors and afterburners. Coatings based on NZP can also double up as environmental barrier coatings (EBCs), and find use in diesel engines and as abradable seals. The financial benefits of the NZP-based coatings could be over $100M arising from reduced component maintenance and fuel and operational costs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Nageswaran, Ramachandran COI Ceramics, Inc. UT T. James Rudd Standard Grant 496470 5373 AMPP 9165 1467 1444 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0111712 August 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Subgrade Repair and Stabilization. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop and demonstrate a novel vitrification process for subgrade soil stabilization. The process includes a method to inject readily available materials into the vitrification zone eliminating subsidence that would otherwise occur as the soils densify during vitrification. The process is based on the use of modifiers that adjust the vitrified soil properties. The Phase I work demonstrated feasibility of the process and that the vitrified material was suitable for subgrade stabilization and resulted in materials having strengths qualified for structural reinforcement applications. Economic analysis completed in Phase I indicated that the method is competitive with conventional subgrade repair methods. The Phase II work will establish the commercial merit of the process by demonstrating its economy, robustness and versatility to produce subgrade synthetic rock from soils in the field. The Phase II work includes participation by a university and an end user. The proposed research and development will yield a fundamental understanding of the relationships between the vitrification process parameters, soil and synthetic rock properties. This will enable optimization of the process in commercial applications. The commercial market for the proposed technology includes soil stabilization of inadequate foundation and slope materials around many kinds of structures including building, bridges and waterways. Customers will be highway departments (state and federal), airport authorities, municipalities and the industrial sector. Essentially, the process will be useful to any entity, including contractors that deal with maintenance of subgrade and/or new construction that have "local" subgrade instability issues to overcome. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Williams, Richard RESODYN CORPORATION MT William Haines Standard Grant 524000 5373 AMPP 9251 9231 9178 9163 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 0111853 July 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Nondestructive Testing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the problem of new non-destructive testing methods. The research will try to develop a smart composite based on inductive coupling. Objectives include successful integration of magnetic material into the composite without causing delamination and successful transmission of the signal out of the composite. The result will be a low-cost alternative to embedding sensors in composites and will be geared especially for thick composites. Commercial applications may include all types of composites where monitoring is important. This technology will be especially useful for civil structures where thickness of composites has often limited monitoring in the past. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Williams, Brent WILLIAMS-PYRO, INC. TX Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0114140 July 1, 2001 Evaluating the Efficacy of Low PPM Process Control Schemes in a High Volume Production Environment. This research focus is on the investigation of a variety of process control schemes for regulating and improving highly reliable systems such as those found in the high volume electronics assembly environment. When the entire manufacturing process is considered, there are a large number of operations that must be performed properly in order to manufacture high quality electronics modules. The Center for Advanced Vehicle Electronics (CAVE) at Auburn University recently undertook an extensive effort to evaluate the entire solder paste process for the electronics manufacturing environment, and this effort complements that research in the area of electronics placement and visual inspection of the component devices. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Farrington, Phillip Sherri Messimer University of Alabama in Huntsville AL Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 9150 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0114288 February 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Imagery System for Automatic and Efficient Analysis of Fish Stock. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is designed to contribute to better and more efficient management of a part of our natural resources. Current analyses of fish stocks (by National Marine Fisheries Service and several state departments of fish & game) are unnecessarily expensive, time-consuming and inaccurate. Ultimately, this contributes to compromised Government resource management policy-making. The result is the risk of over fishing and considerable economic damage. Via research and development this project will produce a prototype integrated 'plug & play' system to automate these analyses. The developed system will be marketed first to the several dozens of U. S. federal and state agencies having a need for it, and thereby will help to establish more precise measurement standards that will be accepted by the worldwide community. The subsequent result of worldwide marketing activity will benefit the fish management and research activities in more than 20 countries, and solidify the U. S. developed and promulgated standards and measurement techniques. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Skvorc, Paul DataFlow/Alaska, Inc. AK Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99949 9150 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0114370 July 15, 2001 Evaluation of Distributed Electric Energy Storage and Generation. The objective of this Power Systems Engineering Research Center (PSERC) project is to develop a database of information for use by utilities and electricity end-users in evaluating distributed generation (DG) and distributed energy storage (DES). The information in the database can be used with utility, end-user, and investor economic evaluation methods to compare the various DG and DES technologies with central station generation and transmission and distribution improvement options. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Jewell, Ward Wichita State University KS Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 56000 9150 5761 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9150 9102 0000 0114555 August 1, 2001 Completely Automated Open-Path FT-IR Spectrometry (I/UCRC for Measurement and Control). This project will develop an open-path Fourier transform infrared spectrometer capable of monitoring a variety of volatile organic compounds in a commercial environment. The instrument will be capable of operating for extended periods of time without the need for any intervention by an operator. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Griffiths, Peter University of Idaho ID Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 9150 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0114744 August 1, 2001 Collaborative Research: Center for Health Management Research. The Center for Health Management Research, then based at Arizona State University (since moved to the University of Washington), received its initial designation as an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center in July 1992. From the outset, this has been a multi-university center, drawing its academic resources from a consortium of 15 universities. The goals for the Center are to: 1) Develop a research agenda in collaboration with the corporate members; 2) Undertake research, development, and evaluation projects on behalf of the corporate members; 3) Disseminate to the members findings of health services research; 4) Identify and disseminate to the members successful innovations and management practices from other health care organizations; and 4) Identify and disseminate to the members relevant research findings, successful innovations, and management practices from other industries. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Rundall, Thomas University of California-Berkeley CA Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 150000 5761 OTHR 0000 0115217 February 12, 2001 Commercalization Planning Assistance for Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Servo, Jenny Dawnbreaker Inc NY Joseph E. Hennessey Contract 240000 5371 OTHR 9102 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116924 July 15, 2001 Validated Modeling of Network Component Performance: A Collaborative Research Effort Involving the Center for Advanced Computing and Communication (CACC). The purpose of this project is to extend existing knowledge in the field of network traffic modeling in two ways. One objective is to develop approximation and bounding techniques that will provide first-order estimates of the performance of deterministic servers under arrival process having long-range dependence. This effort will build upon both our previous work in developing approximate solutions for closed queuing networks having analytically intractable service distributions and the more recent work of Norros which characterized the behavior of a system having a self-similar arrival process and a constant service rate. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Westall, James Robert Geist Clemson University SC Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 9150 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0117518 September 1, 2001 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Intelligent Maintenance Systems (IMS). The objectives of this multi-campus research Center are 1) to explore, conduct research and to bring about innovation and practical solutions by focusing on the industrially relevant research needs; 2) to foster collaborative research projects between industrial and academic engineers and scientists; and 3) to promote interdisciplinary and intra-university research activities and to nurture students through testbed and collaborative projects. The Center proposed four key program areas, namely 1) production equipment e-monitoring and e-maintenance systems; 2) web-enabled industrial systems management and optimization program; 3) smart business to devices technologies program; and 4) web-enabled development tools for e-maintenance application systems INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS MANFG ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS MECHANICS OF MATERIALS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG Lee, Jay University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee WI Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 343000 5761 1786 1630 1360 SMET OTHR MANU 9251 9231 9178 9147 9102 0000 0118091 July 15, 2001 Design Parameterization for CAD-Based Mechanism Optimization. The project "Design Parameterization for CHD-Based Mechanism Optimization", is studying how product solid models can be parameterized following a systematic approach to capture design intents in multiple CAD systems and determine if an accurate and efficient design sensitivity analysis can be developed that supports CAD-based mechanism optimization for industrial applications. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Chang, Kuang-Hua University of Oklahoma Norman Campus OK Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 9150 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0118300 September 15, 2001 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Power Systems Engineering (PSERC). The power industry must undertake a managed redesign of the Nation's power system so that it can adapt to deregulation and to rapid changes in the power requirements and regional economic conditions. The need for research in this area is vividly illustrated by the recent California power problems. This second five year continuing grant funds the University of California, Berkeley as part of a multi-university Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Power Systems Engineering (PSERC). The I/UCRC involves 10 university research sites generating over $1.5 million. The four universities, Cornell University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Illinois-Champaign, and the University of California-Berkeley, being addressed in identical proposals as a group have generated over $600,000 in the last year. The Center addresses research projects in marketing, transmission and distribution and systems in electric power generation and transmission. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS CONTROL, NETWORKS, & COMP INTE ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTERS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG Thomas, Robert Cornell University NY Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 4989015 X935 W242 V915 V638 V188 V105 T313 T752 T543 T479 H232 H108 5761 1518 1480 1360 SMET OTHR 9251 9231 9178 127E 122E 1049 0000 0306000 Energy Research & Resources 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0118889 August 1, 2001 Collaborative Research: Center for Health Management Research. The Center for Health Management Research, then based at Arizona State University (since moved to the University of Washington), received its initial designation by NSF as an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center in 1992. The goals for the Center are to: Develop a research agenda in collaboration with the corporate members; undertake research, development, and evaluation projects on behalf of the corporate members; disseminate to the members findings of health services research; identify and disseminate to the members successful innovations and management practices from other health care organizations; and identify and disseminate to the members relevant research findings, successful innovation, and management practices from other industries. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Conrad, Douglas University of Washington WA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 175000 5761 OTHR 0000 0119230 October 1, 2001 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Power Systems Engineering (PSERC). The power industry must undertake a managed redesign of the Nation's power system so that it can adapt to deregulation and to rapid changes in the power requirements and regional economic conditions. The need for research in this area is vividly illustrated by the recent California power problems. This second five year continuing grant funds the University of California, Berkeley as part of a multi-university Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Power Systems Engineering (PSERC). The I/UCRC involves 10 university research sites generating over $1.5 million. The four universities, Cornell University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Illinois-Champaign, and the University of California-Berkeley, being addressed in identical proposals as a group have generated over $600,000 in the last year. The Center addresses research projects in marketing, transmission and distribution and systems in electric power generation and transmission. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTERS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG DeMarco, Christopher University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 2478074 X943 X935 W351 V915 V638 V105 T313 T479 H371 H232 H108 5761 1480 1360 SMET OTHR 9251 9231 9178 9102 127E 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0119301 September 15, 2001 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Power Systems Engineering (PSERC). The power industry must undertake a managed redesign of the Nation's power system so that it can adapt to deregulation and to rapid changes in the power requirements and regional economic conditions. The need for research in this area is vividly illustrated by the recent California power problems. This second five year continuing grant funds the University of California, Berkeley as part of a multi-university Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Power Systems Engineering (PSERC). The I/UCRC involves 10 university research sites generating over $1.5 million. The four universities, Cornell University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Illinois-Champaign, and the University of California-Berkeley, being addressed in identical proposals as a group have generated over $600,000 in the last year. The Center addresses research projects in marketing, transmission and distribution and systems in electric power generation and transmission. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS CONTROL, NETWORKS, & COMP INTE IIP ENG Oren, Shmuel University of California-Berkeley CA Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 613153 W351 W004 V915 V638 V105 T846 T313 T479 H232 H108 5761 1518 OTHR 127E 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0119654 August 1, 2001 MOLECULAR SIMULATIONS OF CHEMICAL STABILITY OF MODEL PEPTIDES IN AMORPHOUS POLYMERS. Due to the inherent instability of protein/peptide drugs in aqueous solution, the successful formulation of these compounds in lyophilized form has become an important activity within the pharmaceutical industry. However, the extent to which the stability of a given protein/peptide is improved in the amorphous solid-state depends on many variables including moisture, temperature, the viscoelastic properties of the solid, chemical nature of the excipients and impurities present, and the nature of the degradation pathways. Molecular dynamics simulations are uniquely suited to the exploration of various molecular details which are important in the degradation of proteins/peptides in amorphous solids. The researchers will investigate how changes in molecular mobility and conformational flexibility in amorphous matrices influence both the formation of reactive intermediates and the subsequent partitioning of these reactive intermediates to products, which depends on the relative translational and rotational mobility of either the protein itself or smaller molecules which may be participants in the overall reaction. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Xiang, Tian-Xiang Bradley Anderson University of Kentucky Research Foundation KY Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 9150 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0119825 September 1, 2001 I/UCRC: BioMolecular Interaction Technology Center. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries play a vital role in maintaining and promoting a healthy population, and constitute a major sector of the US economy. These industries have evolved from the empirical treatment of disease to a sophisticated approach for drug development which requires a deeper understanding of the biochemistry of life processes. As a consequence, the accurate description of biomolecular interactions has become a central element in understanding disease mechanisms, and now is an essential ingredient for devising safe and effective pharmaceuticals. A variety of instruments and methods are used to characterize biomolecular interactions. This I/UCRC will enable pharmaceutical and biotechnological, and instrumentation companies to work together toward the development of advanced technologies for characterizing molecular interactions. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Laue, Thomas University of New Hampshire NH Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 548242 5761 OTHR 5761 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0120153 September 15, 2001 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Power Systems Engineering (PSERC). The power industry must undertake a managed redesign of the Nation's power system so that it can adapt to deregulation and to rapid changes in the power requirements and regional economic conditions. The need for research in this area is vividly illustrated by the recent California power problems. This second five year continuing grant funds the University of California, Berkeley as part of a multi-university Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Power Systems Engineering (PSERC). The I/UCRC involves 10 university research sites generating over $1.5 million. The four universities, Cornell University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Illinois-Champaign, and the University of California-Berkeley, being addressed in identical proposals as a group have generated over $600,000 in the last year. The Center addresses research projects in marketing, transmission and distribution and systems in electric power generation and transmission. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS CONTROL, NETWORKS, & COMP INTE IIP ENG Sauer, Peter University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign IL Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 516496 X943 W338 W242 V915 V105 H232 H108 5761 1518 OTHR 5761 127E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0120433 September 15, 2001 Evaluation for the I/UCRC for Health Management Research. This award is for continued support for the I/UCRC for Health Management Research. The evaluator will attend a number of Industrial Advisory Board meetings and make presentations on "Gatekeeping" as a method to improve information flow from Centers back to member companies. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Tansik, David University of Arizona AZ Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 53125 5761 OTHR 5761 0000 0120479 August 1, 2001 NSF IUCRC PLANNING GRANT. This proposal discusses the planning phase of a proposed I/UCRC Research Site of the Ohio State University Center for Advanced Polymer and Composite Engineering (CAPCE) at FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. CAPCE is an existing, successful I/UCRC. The proposed Florida Research Site compliments CAPCE by bringing to the joint I/UCRC (1) strong partners in the aerospace and construction industries as well as federal labs, and (2) additional capabilities in composite process design, modeling and simulation, and advanced material testing and characterization. This is in addition to conducting advanced polymer and composite materials research and manufacturing technology research similar to CAPCE's research focus. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Wang, Hsu-Pin (Ben) Florida State University FL William S. Butcher Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0120725 August 15, 2001 CU-UC Membrane Applied Science and Technology [MAST] Center: A Multi-University I/U CRC. The research focus of the NSF I/UCRC for Membrane Applied Science and Technology (MAST) is membranes, microporous films, and barrier layers. Membranes are permable films that permit separation or the controlled release of solutes. They are used for water desalination, wastewater treatment, artificial kidneys, and in the controlled release of pharmaceuticals, flavors, cosmetics, inscticides, and herbicides. Microporous films are used in breathable fabrics, surgical dressings, artificial lungs, batteries, and fuel cells. Barrier layers are used in breathable contact lenses, food packaging, water barriers, and protective coatings. Membranes offer exceptional potential for smart sensor and bioMEMS technologies since tey are the only separations technology that will work on the microscale. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG Noble, Richard Alan Greenberg University of Colorado at Boulder CO Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 790465 W598 W145 V885 V362 T179 5761 1360 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 129E 116e 1049 0000 0120748 September 1, 2001 Multi-University Industry-University Cooperative Research Center for Glass. The proposed continued affiliation is considered crucial to the mission of the Center in at least three ways. First, the affiliation adds immeasurably to the credibility and salability of the Center to prospective members of the U.S. Glass industry and the continuation of the present members. Second it allows the NSF to carry out an annual evaluation of the Center (a total quality management function). Third, it permits the Center Directors to participate in the national I/UCRC meetings and programs offered by NSF. Beyond this, of course, the additional funding from NSF relieves some of the financial burden of Center administration from the members and university. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Seward III, Thomas Alfred University NY State College of Ceramics NY Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 180000 5761 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 0000 0120754 August 15, 2001 COLLABORATIVE: Center for Engineering Logistics & Distribution--CELDi. This planning grant proposal presents information supporting a multi-university, multi-disciplinary Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (CELDi). The proposed center will be a National Science Foundation sponsored Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC). The vision for the center is to provide integrated solutions to logistics problems, through modeling, analysis and intelligent-systems technologies, building upon the knowledge and expertise available at the three member campuses, the University of Arkansas, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Louisville. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Taylor, Gaylon Don University of Louisville Research Foundation Inc KY William S. Butcher Standard Grant 10000 9150 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0120755 August 1, 2001 Establishing an IUCRC Center for Microcontamination Control at Northeastern University: a Planning Meeting Proposal. The proposed center's goal is to develop state of the art techniques for micro and nanoscale contamination control, removal and characterization in manufacturing and fabrication processes. The center will contribute to the competitiveness of the semiconductor, information technology, pharmaceutical, imaging, aerospace and other industries affected by particulate and ionic contamination. The center will especially focus on surface cleaning of patterned, structured and flat substrates. Faculty in the center have identified mechanisms to effectively clean ionic contamination from patterned wafers. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Busnaina, Ahmed George Adams Nicol McGruer Jeffrey Hopwood Sinan Muftu Northeastern University MA Glenn H. Larsen Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0120757 July 1, 2001 Center for Technology and Innovation Management (CTIM): Planning Proposal. The objective of the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center is to establish a leading edge Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Technology and Innovation Management (CTIM), challenge and advance the field of technology and innovation management with emphasis on creation and analysis of concepts, tools and processes. The Center will leverage and apply the unusual industry-academic partnership of the Northwestern University and the MATI - a consortium of 17 multi-billion dollar, multinational, technology-intensive firms and the central node in a domestic and international network of other industry-academic collaborations. This Center will contribute to the practical knowledge and application of technology and innovation management. Practice-driven, CTIM will constantly interact with domestic and global firms and institutions. This link will highlight fertile and important topics and provide a dynamic laboratory for research and review of Center output. Membership will consist of actively participating industrial, consulting, legal and other firms and affiliates. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Radnor, Michael Northwestern University IL William S. Butcher Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0120793 August 15, 2001 COLLABORATIVE: Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (CELDi). This planning grant proposal presents information supporting a multi-university, multi-disciplinary Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (CELDi). The proposed center will be a National Science Foundation sponsored Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC). The vision for the center is to provide integrated solutions to logistics problems, through modeling, analysis and intelligent-systems technologies, building upon the knowledge and expertise available at the three member campuses, the University of Arkansas, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Louisville. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Landers, Thomas University of Oklahoma Norman Campus OK William S. Butcher Standard Grant 10000 9150 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0120796 August 1, 2001 Compact High Performance Cooling Technologies Research Center - A Planning Grant Proposal for an NSF I/UCRC. The proposed Compact High Performance Cooling Technologies Research Center will address research and development needs of industries in the area of high-performance heat removal from compact spaces. All product sectors in the electronics industry (high-performance, Cost/Performance, Telecommunications, Hand-held, Automotive, and Military/Avionics) face critical electronics cooling challenges, and the Center brings together an excellent team of faculty to address these needs. Faculty participants in the proposed Center are from the Schools of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering and Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University, and contribute complimentary competencies in heat transfer, microfluidics, microfabrication, mechatronics, controls, acoustics, sensing and actuation, diagnostics and measurements, and systems-level research. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Garimella, Suresh Purdue University IN William S. Butcher Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0120799 August 1, 2001 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Software Engineering. The SERC addresses the needs for software productivity and quality. It also provides a focal point for the exchange of ideas among industry and academia and serves as a direct infusion of these ideas, thereby accelerating technology transfer. SERC resources include over 50 faculty and 100 students at 9 universities working with practitioners from software intensive industries to solve software problems and advance the state-of-the-practice in software engineering. WESTERN EUROPE PROGRAM INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Zage, Wayne Dolores Zage Ball State University IN Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 198642 5980 5761 OTHR 5914 0000 0120807 November 1, 2001 Industry-University-Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) at Arizona State University. This award establishes a research site at the Arizona State University of the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Water Quality (WQC) located at the University of Arizona. The research will focus on applied health-related water microbiology and environmental engineering. The overall objective is to perform research to improve the quality of drinking water and investigate physical, chemical and microbial processes that affect the quality of potable water supplies. In addition, the IUCRC at Arizona State University will establish an undergraduate training program for the minority students. A number of area municipalities and industries will form an industrial consortium to provide financial and intellectual support of the research site. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG Abbaszadegan, Morteza Arizona State University AZ Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 360000 5761 1360 SMET OTHR 9177 7218 5761 1049 0000 0120812 August 15, 2001 Formation of an I/UCRC Multi-University Center for Dielectric Studies. The Multi-university Center for Dielectrics will target research in three focal areas: evolutionary, revolutionary, and basic. Evolutionary topics will emphasize near-term industrial needs such as dielectric degradation mechanisms, which affect component reliability. Revolutionary research involves a paradigm shift in the industry. For example, nanoparticle deposition by electrophoresis will produce new capacitor structures with submicron layers. Basic topics will permit in-depth investigation of defect chemistry and microwave dielectric relaxation mechanisms which opens new research areas in pulse power and wireless components. IUCRC FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTERS IIP ENG Randall, Clive Michael Lanagan Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 800000 7609 5761 1480 OTHR 122E 0000 0120823 July 1, 2001 CU-UC Membrane Applied Science and Technology [MAST] Center: A Multi-University I/U CRC. The research focus of the NSF I/UCRC for Membrane Applied Science and Technology (MAST) is membranes, microporous films, and barrier layers. Membranes are permable films that permit separation or the controlled release of solutes. They are used for water desalination, wastewater treatment, artificial kidneys, and in the controlled release of pharmaceuticals, flavors, cosmetics, inscticides, and herbicides. Microporous films are used in breathable fabrics, surgical dressings, artificial lungs, batteries, and fuel cells. Barrier layers are used in breathable contact lenses, food packaging, water barriers, and protective coatings. Membranes offer exceptional potential for smart sensor and bioMEMS technologies since tey are the only separations technology that will work on the microscale. This Center will expand the MAST Center to a Multi-University I/UCRC. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS RES EXP FOR TEACHERS(RET)-SITE ENGINEERING EDUCATION IIP ENG Clarson, Stephen University of Cincinnati Main Campus OH Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 391326 X898 W592 W255 W229 W053 5761 1359 1340 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9177 9102 7218 115E 1049 0000 0120943 January 15, 2002 Collaborative Research: Fundamentals and Applications of Thiol-Ene Photopolymerizations. This is a tie project between the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Photopolymerization at the University of Colorado and the I/UCRC for Coatings at the University of Southern Mississippi. The objectives of the research are to synthesize a series of novel thiol-ene monomers and study their photopolymerization behavior under a variety of conditions. The mechanisms and kinetics of photopolymerization will be investigated. The fundamental knowledge about the structure-property relations will be used to develop stable photopolymers as industrial coatings. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Bowman, Christopher University of Colorado at Boulder CO Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 5761 OTHR 0000 0120965 January 15, 2002 Collaborative Research: Fundamentals and Applications of Thiol-Ene Photopolymerizations. This is a tie project between the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Coatings at the University of Southern Mississippi and the I/UCRC for Photopolymerization at the University of Colorado. The objectives of the research are to synthesize a series of novel thiol-ene monomers and study their photopolymerization behavior under a variety of conditions. The mechanisms and kinetics of photopolymerization will be investigated. The fundamental knowledge about the structure-property relations will be used to develop stable photopolymers as industrial coatings. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Hoyle, Charles University of Southern Mississippi MS Tapan K. Mukherjee Standard Grant 50000 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0121307 July 15, 2001 Research Site of the Industry/University Cooperative Center entitled, "Repair of Buildings and Bridges With Composites (RB2C). The proposed research site is an extension to the current active Industry/University Cooperative Research Center entitled: Repair of Buildings and Bridges with Composites (RB2C) located at the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR). The Research Site of the Center, at North Carolina State University will focus on addressing the needs of the construction industry in development of new innovative structural components and systems using advanced composite materials. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Rizkalla, Sami North Carolina State University NC Glenn H. Larsen Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0121868 August 1, 2001 Research Site in Sensors and Nondestructive Testing for the NSF-IUCRC at UMR: Repair of Buildings and Bridges with Composites. The proposed research site will be based at the University of Illinois - Chicago (UIC) and the R&D activities conducted will be to address the needs of the construction and manufacturing industry in the area of sensors and nondestructive testing technologies for repair of buildings and bridges with composites. The focus of the R&D activities will be development of technologies, manufacturing, implementation, and evaluation of the technologies developed. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Ansari, Farhad University of Illinois at Chicago IL Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0124037 August 15, 2001 Novel Surface Active Polymers Using Biocatalysis: NSF I/UCRC COLUMBIA/PINY Tie Project. This is a tie project between the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing of Macromolecules at the Polytechnic University of New York, and the I/UCRC for Advanced Studies on Novel Surfactants at Columbia University, New York. The research program includes (1) synthesis of new functional polymers from renewable resources by selective biocatalytic transformations, and (2) investigation of fundamental relationships between the polymer structures, adsorption and conformational characteristics at surfaces and interfaces. Surface and interfacial properties of the polymers and copolymers synthesized at the Polytechnic University will be studied at the I/UCRC at Columbia University. A companion award (EEC-0124037) will support the research at the Columbia University. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Somasundaran, Ponisseril Richard Gross Columbia University NY Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 75000 5761 OTHR 0000 0124092 August 15, 2001 Novel Surface Active Polymers Using Biocatalysis: NSF I/UCRC POLYTECHNIC/COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY NY Tie Project. This is a tie project between the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing of Macromolecules at the Polytechnic University of New York, and the I/UCRC for Advanced Studies on Novel Surfactants at Columbia University, New York. The research program includes (1) synthesis of new functional polymers from renewable resources by selective biocatalytic transformations, and (2) investigation of fundamental relationships between the polymer structures, adsorption and conformational characteristics at surfaces and interfaces. Surface and interfacial properties of the polymers and copolymers synthesized at the Polytechnic University will be studied at the I/UCRC at Columbia University. A companion award (EEC-0124037) will support the research at the Columbia University. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Gross, Richard Ponisseril Somasundaran Polytechnic University of New York NY Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 75000 5761 OTHR 0000 0124322 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: 360-Degree Display Monitor for Video Conferencing. This Small Business Innovation Research project has as its primary objective the investigation of the feasibility of a novel 360-degree display monitor concept for video conferencing. Videoconferencing technology has long sought to facilitate more natural and effective one-on-one and group communications and collaboration among people separated by distance. The plan is to build a 360-degree monitor to show panoramic video images from the center of the table to all 360-degree viewing angles. All participants can see the displayed image from where he/she is seated. At the same time, all participants in the conference room can see each other directly, while communicating with people from the other site via the 360-degree display monitor and a 360-degree camera. Genex Technologies' proffered technology will be of interest for a broad range to a broad range of consumers. Its applications include videoconferencing, security, and the entertainment industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Feng, Yuanming GENEX TECHNOLOGIES INC MD Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 0522400 Information Systems 0124649 August 1, 2001 NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers: Evaluation Project. Since its inception as a formal program, one of the unique characteristics of the I/UCRC Program has been its commitment to a systematic and objective evaluation effort. As it has evolved over the years, the evaluation effort relies heavily on standardized collection of data by independent on-site evaluators at every IUCRC Center. An evaluation system built upon a national network of local evaluators requires a considerable amount of support and coordination. Although the support and coordination provided by NSF staff and the "evaluators coordinating committee" are essential to the program's success, these mechanisms are not adequate to meet the needs of an evaluation project that has grown to be national in scope. Funding is also being provided for a one-year project, "Quantifying Industry IUCRC Benefits" The project will attempt to develop quantitative measures of some of the benefits firms might receive via their participation in IUCRCs. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Gray, Denis North Carolina State University NC Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 390936 5761 OTHR 0000 0124874 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: A Toolbox for Optimal Design. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a prototype of an integrated set of software tools for computer aided optimal design. This tool box will require interfacing with large scale proprietary codes for the simulation of physical phenomena. The industry problems to which will be addressed are such that conventional optimization techniques are not applicable. Intelligent search methods and parallel computing in distributed networks will be the basic tools to be considered. and the applicability of a recently developed system for asynchronous parallel pattern search. The system, that exist today, needs to be extended so that nonlinear constraints can be introduced and larger dimensional problems can be solved. Initial focus will be on optimal structural design, piezoelectric transducer design and the design of optoelectronic devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pereyra, Victor Weidlinger Associates Incorporated, NYC NY Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99407 5371 HPCC 9216 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0124925 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Development of Web-Based Modularized ERP Software System for Manufacturing-Related Companies. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will apply agile manufacturing, and lean production concepts in studying the real time workflow patterns at plant level in a manufacturing-related company. The results will be used to develop a new generation ERP (enterprise resource planning) software system. This project will develop a web-based modularized software for upper/middle levels and as well as shop-floor-level production planning, execution, monitoring, and evaluation using agile manufacturing and lean production principles. The commercial application will be directed toward the U.S. Manufacturing industry. This new ERP system will provide rapid and quality responses to plant-level production needs of manufacturers. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Bai, Xue Harbinger NV Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 9150 MANU 9150 9148 9102 1464 0308000 Industrial Technology 0125122 June 1, 2002 Innovations in Internationalization: Building Multi-Sector Partnerships for Research, Education and Economic Development. 0125122 Kalonji This award is to the University of Washington to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179). Partners The partners for the award include the University of Washington (Lead Institution), Washington State Office of Economic Development, Washington State China Relations Council, Northwest Environmental Business Council, Earth Tech, Inc., and Hart Crowser, Inc. Proposed Activities The proposed effort has the following goals: (1) create new team-based approaches for faculty, students, government and industry partners to collaborate on international research and education, (2) translate the work of these teams into products, systems, and services, (3) produce a scientific and engineering workforce to work in an international marketplace. Teams of faculty and students from the University of Washington and Sichuan University in Chengdu, China will be working collaboratively on water resource management, waste water treatment, forest ecology, environmentally-friendly materials processing, biodiversity, and the impact of humans on the ecology. Proposed Innovation The focus of the project is on building sustainable relationships for research-education-economic development. Innovation outcomes include creation of a workforce to participate in the emerging Chinese market, creation of the opportunities for small businesses to participate in academic research and to gain access to new international business opportunities, increase trade with China for Washington, and "internationalization" of some of the faculty at the University of Washington. Potential Economic Impact The major economic impact will be the expanded opportunities for Washington State business with markets in China. Potential Societal Impact The Pacific Rim could be a very large market for the United States over the foreseeable future. Preparation of a workforce to participate in this market is vital to the citizens of the US in general and especially the West Coast. Asians have already trained a workforce, and the US is behind. This effort will provide the workforce to open trade for small business in China. EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC PROGRAM PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Kalonji, Gretchen Denice Denton University of Washington WA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 597542 5978 1662 OTHR 9200 5251 0000 0125272 September 1, 2001 TALPA: Technology Applications and Learning toward Professional Achievement. 0125272 Schroeder This award is to the University of Alaska-Anchorage to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179). Partners The partners for this activity include the University of Alaska-Anchorage (Lead Institution), University of Alaska-Fairbanks, University of Hawaii-Manoa, University of Washington, Ford Motor Company, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Boeing Company, Kimberly Clark, Alcoa, IBM Kirkland-Washington, Bureau of Reclamation, Microsoft, Flour Daniel, Alaska Technical Center, Northwest Arctic Borough School District, White Swan High School, Confederate Bands and Tribes of the Yakama Nation, NANA/DOWL Engineers, and NANA/Colt Engineers. Proposed Activities The effort will bring computer technology to remote communities, provide high school students with a vision of a career in science and engineering, connect students with professionals in industry and academia, provide industrial partners with a technologically trained workforce, and develop the enabling infrastructure necessary to sustain the effort long-term. Proposed Innovation The academic institutions will establish a modern computer laboratory with space, utilities, and Internet access in a remote rural community in each state in the partnership. High school juniors and seniors in a college-ready high school curriculum will be targeted. These students will be given state-of-the-art hardware and software training. Students will have summer internships with partner companies where they will be paid cash as well as scholarship money with any of the partner universities. The students will attend a summer bridging program the summer after graduation from high school to prepare them for college. The industry partners provide $500,000 annually for the bridging program. Potential Economic Impact The program will provide hundreds of high school students with access to technology-based education and jobs. These students are from sparsely populated rural states, and most are Indigenous Americans. The economic benefits result from a highly skilled workforce for the industry partners. Potential Societal Impact The targeted students are Indigenous Americans from rural Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington. The program can be replicated for any region with an indigenous population. More than 300 students have "graduated" from the internship program in the past. The current award will provide needed resources to attract more students, provide more computer facilities, and interact with more industrial partners. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Schroeder, Herb E.Lee Gorsuch University of Alaska Anchorage Campus AK Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 599832 9150 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0125304 March 15, 2002 Genes for Georgia: Translating Genomic Research into Regional Economic Growth. 0125304 Holbrook This award is to the University of Georgia to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179). Partners The partners for this award are the University of Georgia, Avigenics Inc., Georgia Cotton Commission, Georgia Research Alliance, OneGeorgia Authority. Proposed Activities The effort will focus on creating gene encyclopedias and bioinfomatic infrastructure needed to identify diversity of potential value to bio-based industries. Proposed Innovation Leveraging genomic technologies in this manner is expected to spawn an unprecedented era of innovation in bio-based industries, nurturing the development of new value-added products and intrinsic genetic solutions to agricultural challenges, in a manner that is publicly acceptable and compatible with responsible stewardship of the ecosystem. Potential Economic Impact Outcomes from this effort will include: (1) new ventures to expand and diversify regional bio-based industry opportunities, (2) empowering small businesses to compete with multinationals by partnering with public researchers as a virtual R&D resource, (3) strengthening the national science infrastructure by adding enabling tools for new plants and animals, (4) partnering with existing outreach networks to provide regional professionals with the training needed to exploit these tools, while preserving the links of the individuals to their home regions. Potential Societal Impact Young professionals will receive the education and jobs needed to provide regional economic wellbeing and remain in the region avoiding a regional "brain drain". PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Patel, Gordhan Robert Ivarie Andrew Paterson University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc GA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0125343 January 1, 2002 Development And Commercialization of Advanced Wood-Based Composites In Maine. 0125343 Dagher This award is to the University of Maine to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179). Partners The partners for the award include the University of Maine (Lead Institution), Maine Technology Institute, Eastern Maine Development Corporation, State Department of Economic and Community Development, The Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Maine Department of Transportation, Louisiana Pacific, Dow Chemical, State Farm Insurance, Henderson and Bodwell, The Kenway Corporation, Market Development Alliance of the FRP Composites Industry, APA the Engineered Wood Association, National Institutes of Standards and Technology, USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Proposed Activities The award will support the following activities: (1) strengthen partnerships among the University of Maine, private industry, state organizations, forest product industry organizations, and national laboratories to foster commercialization of composite reinforced wood, (2) develop innovative strategies for commercializing composite reinforced wood hybrids that can become models for other university research centers, establish commercialization projects (reinforced wood composite beams using low-grade hardwoods, disaster-resistant housing using reinforced sheathing panels, novel long-strand composite lumber beams and columns). Proposed Innovation Housing industry in the US accounts for 28% of the total construction industry, and most of the wood used is high-grade conventional wood lumber. The supply of high-grade lumber is declining in the US. Reinforced composite wood will allow the use of low-grade lumber from other species of trees in more abundant supply, and provide skilled jobs in Maine. These products will lower the cost of wood products for housing in the US. Increasing the resistance of housing to disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes will make a major impact on the economy of the nation. Potential Economic Impact Ninety percent of Maine is forested, and 25% of the state's economy is based on forest resources. The forest economy has traditionally been based on export of raw lumber with unskilled labor and few value added timber products. Other manufacturing jobs have moved from the state recently, leaving unskilled jobs and service industries (e.g., tourism) as the major source of income. Successful commercialization of composite reinforced wood will play a large role in developing a growing state economy. Lower costs for wood products for housing construction will have a major economic impact in the US. Increasing the resistance of housing to disasters will lower the cost of repair, maintenance, and insurance for disasters. Potential Societal Impact Maine ranks 29th in the nation in terms of advanced degree scientists/engineers and 50th in science/engineering graduate students. The job market for young scientists and engineers is bleak in Maine. The educational program will include entrepreneurial education as well as science and engineering to provide a skilled workforce for the economy surrounding the new wood-based technology/economy. The housing industry amounts to $800 billion/year in the US alone. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Dagher, H.Joseph Heather Almquist James Ward William Davids University of Maine ME Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 575543 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0125380 November 1, 2001 Implementing a Knowledge Management Infrastructure. 0125380 Reed This award is to Michigan Technological University (Lead Institution) to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179). Partners The partners for this award include Michigan Technological University, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, NASA, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Upstate Alliance for Innovation (NY), and North Carolina Technological Development Authority. Proposed Activities The award will support the following activities: (1) coupling technology transfer and sponsored research programs in the academic institutions, (2) create an inventory of knowledge assets at the academic institutions via an on-line data base, (3) managing and sharing knowledge assets among the partners via internal collaborative relationships among the partners, and any new partners. Proposed Innovation When completed the integrated knowledge management infrastructure will support university to university as well as university to industry knowledge sharing. The new system will facilitate the recognition and management of the full range of academia's knowledge assets with a sharp focus on identifying, implementing and managing partnership opportunities. The knowledge management infrastructure will be easily replicated by other academic institutions and their partners. The innovation is the research to identify which knowledge an academic institution has that has potential for commercialization plus development of the information technology needed to inventory and manage it. Included in this research is the development of methodology to identify the knowledge of interest to the various private sector partners, both current and future. Potential Economic Impact The methodologies should be invaluable to academia to recognize the value of its intellectual property and to target potential private sector and government partners needed for commercialization more effectively. Potential Societal Impact General economic wellbeing that results from new sustainable businesses will be of benefit to the citizens of the affected regions. The results will be easily replicated by other academic institutions and their regions. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Reed, David David Winwood James Cross Wriston Crowell Michigan Technological University MI Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 599997 1662 OTHR 0000 0125385 January 1, 2002 Statewide Partnership to Support Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship in South Dakota. 0125385 Ustad This award is to the University of South Dakota to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179). Partners The partners of the award are the University of South Dakota (Lead Institution), Black Hills State University, Dakota State University, Northern State University, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, South Dakota State University, South Dakota Board of Regents, Forward Sioux Falls, Rapid City Economic Development, Genesis of Innovation for South Dakota, Genesis Equity Fund, LLC, Small Business High Technology Institute, South Dakota Health Research Foundation, Dairean, Inc., Pacer Corporation, South Dakota Health Technology Innovations, TJ Technologies, Inc. Proposed Activities The activities include: (1) creation of a series of technology entrepreneurship education modules that will be integrated in science, math, engineering, and other subjects, (2) modify several existing business and entrepreneurship undergraduate and graduate courses to focus on technology and R&D businesses, and (3) integrate university and private sector partners into technology evaluation and development teams to move innovations and technologies to market. Current innovation courses at the academic institutions are business-oriented with little science, engineering, and technology emphasis. This award will support integration of science and engineering with the business and management courses and establishment of offices for technology transfer. Proposed Innovation The project will develop the knowledge and skills needed by students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and private sector partners to start and expand technology-based businesses in the technology business incubators being developed in South Dakota. The project involves a collaborative effort between public universities and the private sector to facilitate technology transfer into viable technology and business. The project will educate and encourage new technology entrepreneurs to start and grow new businesses. The technology sectors being emphasized are biomedical sciences and health, materials, information technology/education, and biotechnology and agriculture. Potential Economic Impact The businesses formed will contribute to the economic wellbeing of South Dakota. Education of a workforce to fill positions in those businesses will be a priority. The six university campuses will lead as a source of new knowledge through research and a source of education for the businesses as well as in providing an entrepreneurial workforce. Potential Societal Impact Creation of wealth and high-paying jobs for the citizens of South Dakota will be a major outcome. Indigenous Americans will also benefit from PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Ustad, G. Melvin Royce Engstrom University of South Dakota Main Campus SD Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 598247 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0125429 October 15, 2001 Consortium for Stable Laser Applications. 0125429 Craig This award is to Montana State University (Lead Insititution) to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179). Partners The partners include Montana State University (Lead Institution), AdvR, Inc., Tektronix, Inc., Scientific Materials Corporation, IBM Almaden Research Center, ILX Lightwave Corporation, MSU Techlink Center, Gallatin Development Corporation, and Montana Board of Research and Commercialization Technology. Proposed Activities The partners will collaborate to develop the requisite technology and to incorporate it into various operational optical communications and computing systems. The Lead Institution will do fundamental research and transfer the results to the partner companies. Two companies will assist in the development of the technologies based on the research results. Two of the partner companies will provide insertion platforms into systems level products. One company will provide fabrication facilities for the products. The not-for-profit partners will ensure a pro-business climate for establishment of new small and medium-sized companies. The state partner will provide funds when needed to promote the development and commercialization of promising technologies. This effort builds upon a new state-funded center for optoelectronics, named the Spectral Information Technologies Laboratory. The charter of the laboratory includes the directive to perform transfer of technology that results form basic research on optics. Proposed Innovation The consortium of companies, university, and public partners cover the entire chain from research to development, to insertion, to fabrication to development of business opportunities, to funding for formation of companies necessary to transform new research into commercial activities. The optical technologies covered will have a large role in the future of information technologies that underlie the current innovation economy of the last ten years. Potential Economic Impact Montana's economy is currently in the bottom 10% nationally. The population of the state is below 750,000. Creation of 2000 new high-tech jobs in the state will have a major impact. Potential Societal Impact The proposed activity will use the research and education of the state university system to promote new high-paying jobs for bright Montana citizens. Heretofore, most university graduates had very limited opportunity for jobs in the state, making the state a net exporter of highly educated talent. The resulting income will raise the economic wellbeing for the entire state. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Babbitt, Wm. Randall James McMillan Montana State University MT Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 598553 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0125449 October 1, 2001 National Technology Transfer and Commercialization Network - TTCN. 0125449 Silverman This award is to the University of Southern California to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179). Partners The partners for the effort are the University of Southern California (Lead Institution), California State University Fresno, Caltech, Claremont Graduate University, University of Arkansas, University of Nevada-Reno, University of Pittsburgh, NASA Ames, California Technology Trade and Commerce, LA Economic Development Corporation, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Niagara Broadband, and National Collegiate Innovators and Inventors Alliance. Proposed Activities The partners propose to create and implement a national Technology Transfer and Commercialization Network to coordinate and provide a variety of resources and knowledge so that network users can collaborate and innovate. The activity will provide private sector partners that supply needed technology, financial, and legal expertise, national labs and state and local governments that assist in firming and evaluating the program, academic partners that supply vital content and structure. The partnership will allow the partners and their clients to be successful innovators, sustaining the partnership in the future. Proposed Innovation The proposed network of academic institutions will provide a variety of resources and knowledge to partners, especially under-served schools, that they could not generate on their own. The infrastructure will allow academic institutions to move their intellectual property into commercialization through partnerships with venture capital, private companies, start-ups etc. The combined engineering expertise of the partners will provide resources to small companies that they could not afford otherwise. The business school expertise of the major academic institutions will be available for small universities and businesses alike. Potential Economic Impact The partnership will stimulate and support innovation growth by linking sources of knowledge and expertise with those needing such sources to make their enterprises prosper, particularly those in under-served areas. The resulting economic growth and development will generate additional resources to sustain the partnership. Potential Societal Impact Creation of economic wellbeing and jobs for people in under-served areas will have a beneficial effect on the people of those areas. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Nikias, Chrysostomos Randolph Hall Kathleen Allen University of Southern California CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 700883 1662 OTHR 0000 0125516 October 1, 2001 From Intellectual Capital to Successful Business Enterprises. 0125516 Urban This award is to the University of Southern Mississippi to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179). Partners The partners involved include the University of Southern Mississippi (Lead Institution), Petal High School, Jones Junior College, Pearl River Community College, Mississippi Department of Economic and Community Development, Mississippi Technology Alliance, Mississippi Technology Incorporated, Mississippi Center for Community and Economic Development, Area Development Partnership, Mississippi Polymer Institute, Office of Naval Research Laboratories, Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service, National Institute of Science and Technology, John C. Stennis NASA Space Center, Bayer, Inc., Rohm and Haas, J.M. Huber, Eastman Chemical Company. Proposed Activities The proposed activities include: (1) develop, promote, and sustain an accessible infrastructure for innovation, (2) develop mechanisms for innovation for three model companies (an existing startup, a developing company, a new company), (3) design and implement educational program leading to the increase of the workforce. The vision is to develop a mechanism capable of translating polymer science and engineering discoveries to commercialization through development of new and retention and enhancement of existing companies. Proposed Innovation Proposed innovations include: creation of new jobs in the region, establishment of an infrastructure for beta testing and marketing to drive business plans and strategies for success, provide an educated workforce (engineers, scientists, management, sales), attraction of capital investors, provide continuing technical support for new and young companies, return of capital to the research base to ensure continued innovation. Potential Economic Impact The potential economic impacts include creation of three new companies with up to 300 new jobs in Mississippi over the next five years, establishment of an infrastructure for technical support for new companies to ensure success, establishment of an education partnership to provide a workforce from skilled laborers to Ph.D. scientists and engineers to support the polymers industry in Mississippi, attraction of investment capital to the region. Potential Societal Impact The major societal impact will be the increased standard of living for the state resulting from higher paying jobs and wealth/taxes from new companies in the state. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Urban, Marek Cecil Burge Robert Lochhead Shelby Thames Angeline Dvorak University of Southern Mississippi MS Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 714998 9150 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0125668 December 1, 2001 Delaware Valley Community College and High School Outreach Network. 0125668 Luzzi This award is to the University of Pennsylvania to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179). Partners The partners in this effort are the University of Pennsylvania (Lead Institution), Drexel University, the Collegiate Consortium, HUBS (Hospitals, Universities, Businesses, Schools), MAGPI (Metropolitan Area GifaPop in Philadelphia for Internet2), Bucks County Community College, Delaware County CC, Montgomery County CC, the CC of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, Camden County CC in New Jersey, Delaware Technical CC in Delaware, Hartford CC in Maryland, SAIC through HUBS, Centocor, Cephalon, Sunthes, Life Sensors, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Ben Franklin Technology Partners. Proposed Activities This proposal presents a partnership or academic, non-profit and corporate partners in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland region to provide the infrastructure, curriculum development, teacher training and curriculum implementation for Associates Degree programs in nano- and nano-bio-technology. The proposal includes the building of an infrastructure that will leverage the power of high bandwidth communications for regional virtual classrooms and telexperimentation. The program also includes outreach to high schools in the region. Proposed Innovation The proposal centers on the need for a technically skilled workforce, if the region is to achieve its full economic potential in the technology-rich pharmaceutical, life science and advanced chemical sectors. The companies in these technology sectors will need workers from PhDs to technicians to enable growth and economic well-being. The partners propose a coordinated effort in tech-based outreach for education and training, especially at the associates degree level. Approaches included are internet portal and collaboration groupware to support dynamic formation of research teams and virtual classrooms, distance learning, tele-experimentation with remote participation in experiments via near-real-time digital images of scientific instruments, high-bandwidth communication through Internet 2 for video-conferencing. Potential Economic Impact Partnerships with universities, community colleges, the private sector, and regional government are needed to provide the workforce education/training from associate degree through PhD degrees will provide the workforce needed to attract and retain high-tech industry in pharmaceuticals, advanced chemical, and life sciences to the four-state region. Potential Societal Impact Currently a significantly lower percentage of the high school graduates in the region receive education beyond high school than for Silicon Valley. The region needs a highly-trained workforce to attract and retain industry for high paying jobs. The young people in the region now have to accept low-paying jobs or relocate. This integrated effort will provide the training and the jobs needed to change that. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Luzzi, David Eduardo Glandt David Graves Sally Solomon Ali Houshmand University of Pennsylvania PA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 714999 1662 OTHR 0000 0125703 January 1, 2002 Enhancing the Northeast Ohio Biotechnology Sector. 0125703 Wagner This award is to Case Western Reserve University (Lead Institution) to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179). Partners The partners in the proposed effort include: Case Western Reserve University (Lead Institution), Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Inc., KAL Equity Capital Fund, Metro Health Medical Center, Nortech-Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition, Ohio Innovation Fund, Seven Roien Funds, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Edison Biotechnology, Inc., CID Equity Partners, Enterprise Development Inc. Proposed Activities The award has the following activities: (1) internships for local high school students to work at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Bio Technology Park, (2) academic degree programs for undergraduate students to take one semester of bioengineering and management and internships for post graduates as part of the master's degree, (3) research activities in bioengineering or biomedical design where students design a product plus a business plan for its commercialization, (4) technology transfer with the use of a new incubator activity. Proposed Innovation The goal of the effort is to change the culture in Northeast Ohio to promote vibrant entrepreneurship by attracting young people to biotechnology, creating new biomedical undergraduate and graduate entrepreneur track degree programs that combine engineering and management studies, funding for biology-related entrepreneurs for early evaluation of product concepts and commercialization, and mentoring for entrepreneurs by successful business partners. Potential Economic Impact The award will allow the Northeast Ohio region to apply its considerable academic research and education strengths to entrepreneurial endeavors that will generate economic development. The goal is for the region to become one of the top ten regions for biomedical industry employment by the year 2010. Potential Societal Impact Young people will be recruited for careers in biotechnology and be given education in both engineering and management to prepare them to become entrepreneurs to lead the new biotechnology economy that will be one of the top ten in the nation by 2010. The emphasis on recruit and education of under-represented minorities is a major societal benefit. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Wagner, James Patrick Crago Jeffrey Glass A. Dale Flowers Robert Hisrich Case Western Reserve University OH Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 599834 1662 OTHR 0000 0125746 November 1, 2001 Rocky Mountain Agile Virtual Enterprises (RAVE): RAVE Technical Development Center. 0125746 Donovan This award is to Montana Tech (Lead Institution) to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179). Partners The partners for the award are Montana Tech, Montana Department of Commerce, Montana State University-Northern, Structural Dynamics Research Corporation, PFM Manufacturing, S&K Electronics, Lincoln Electric Company. Proposed Activities The activities for the project include: developing systems through which educational resources can be rapidly deployed to the widely distributed population of Montana, creating virtual organizations through which independent organizations efficiently combine core competencies to attain strategic market advantages, development of on-line courses in concurrent engineering and collaborative commerce, establishment of procedures and systems through which Montana's private industry can rapidly and efficiently for mutually beneficial collaborations with units of the Montana University System, and advancement of the state-of-the-art in collaborative methodologies. Proposed Innovation The proposed innovation is the development and establishment of state-of-the-art systems and methodologies for collaborative virtual organizations to promote combination of core competencies for a rural economy that is widely dispersed. Potential Economic Impact The proposed economic impact is the potential to increase the ability of small companies to respond to opportunities for business by combining their core competencies in virtual organizations. The average company size in Montana is 12 employees and the ability of any one company to meet the talents needed to compete is limited to its talent pool. Combinations of talents from several companies increases the opportunity to respond to business opportunities on an ad hoc basis. Potential Societal Impact The economy of Montana is dominated by farm income which has remained constant for more than 20 years. The average company size in the state is 12 employees. The population is sparsely dispersed. Increased business revenue that will result from these companies becoming more competitive will create much-needed wealth for stability and growth. The project involves underrepresented minorities, especially native Americans in the business enterprise of Montana EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IIP ENG Donovan, Richard Joseph Figueira Montana Tech of the University of Montana MT Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 719299 9150 1662 1465 OTHR 9150 0000 0125752 October 1, 2001 Large Scale Dynamic Simulation And Optimization Tools For Chicago Freight Infrastructure And Operations. 0125752 Ziliaskopoulos This award is to Northwestern University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179). Partners The partners for this award include Northwestern University (Lead Institution), University of Illinois-Chicago Circle Urban Transportation Center, Chicago Area Transportation Study, City of Chicago, Metropolitan Planning Council, Business Leaders for Transportation, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company, Union Pacific Railway Company, Central States Trucking Company, and Roadway Express. Proposed Activities The objective of this effort is to forge an effective partnership among all major stakeholders of the intermodal freight industry in Chicago. Three interdependent research programs will be established to create a sustainable effort: (1) development of a framework with advanced quantitative decision support tools, to evaluate innovations in business process, infrastructure, and technology that streamline operations and eliminate unnecessary delays, (2) perform in-depth analyses of past, current and future trends of the intermodal freight industry by collecting and interpreting data, and (3) promotion of the use of decision support tools through educational programs for the partners. The framework with decision support tools includes a dynamic traffic simulation assignment/simulation module, a terminal operations module, and a logic module to assist in coordinated planning of all operations in the Chicago area. The in-depth analysis of past, current and future trends will include data from Illinois DOT, City of Chicago, trucking companies, rail companies, maritime and custom data, shippers, and freight industry proprietary data. Proposed Innovation Modules exist that model each sector of the intermodal transportation system, but there has not been an integrated analysis/simulation of the integrated transportation system for a city as large as Chicago. The proposed effort will incorporate data and models for each sector and integrate them in a mathematical tool for scheduling the movement of freight to minimize loss of time and efficiency for the system. Potential Economic Impact More than 60% of the US container movement go through the Chicago region. Conservative estimates predict a fourfold growth by the year 2020. This means more than 100,000 daily truck movements between rail terminals, all over existing streets and roads. Empty trucks returning to a terminal plus traffic delays taken alone will cost millions of dollars in lost revenue. An integrated computer-based scheduling tools to minimize empty trips and efficient use of the street grid will save millions. Potential Societal Impact The impact on the efficiency of movement of freight plus the reduction of unnecessary traffic on the street system in the Chicago region will have a large impact on the quality of life in the region. Loss of freight traffic because the region has reached gridlock could have a huge negative societal and economic impact. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Ziliaskopoulos, Athanasios John Birge Jay Franke Northwestern University IL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 592376 1662 OTHR 0000 0126172 April 15, 2002 Florida Interdisciplinary Center for Environmentally Sound Solutions. 0126172 Phillips This award is to the University of Florida to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 0179). Partners The partners for this award include the University of Florida (Lead Institution), Florida A&M University, the University of Miami, Alachua County Environmental Protection Department, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, NASA Kennedy Space Center, Bionetice, Camp Dressen & McKee, Inc., Dynamac Corporation, Jones Edmunds & Associates, Koppers Industries, and Post, Buckley, Shuh, and Jernigan (PBS&J). Proposed Activities The proposed partnership will establish the Florida Interdisciplinary Center for Environmentally Sound Solutions. The center will create a forum for effective communication and collaboration among all synergistic university researchers while serving as a focal point for establishing an interface with the private sector and government. The center will identify and respond to important environmental problems and develop innovative solutions. Proposed Innovation The partnership will provide science and engineering solutions for environmental problems, improve understanding of complex relationships involving public policy, economic issues, risk assessments, and public education. Potential Economic Impact The potential impact will depend upon the perceived economic value the public places on environmental issues and the cost the private sector places on abatement and cleanup. Potential Societal Impact The societal goal of economic growth compatible with preservation of the environment using renewable resources can be achieved by a judicious marriage of technology with public policy. The center will contribute to this. The potential societal impact of environmental protection is limitless. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Phillips, Winfred Timothy Townsend John Schert University of Florida FL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 719992 1662 OTHR 0000 0126460 August 1, 2001 Adaptive and Survival Strategies of Microorganisms in Biofilms. A collaborative research program will study adaptive and survival strategies of microorganisms in biofilms. The collaborating team includes researchers at the University of Buffalo and at Malmo University (Sweden). The program has three objectives: as a clear test of the induction hypothesis with a well-studied system, to identify the general and acid-specific stress proteins induced in S. mutans H7 during the early stages of the acid tolerance response and to initiate studies on their function; to establish the relationships between the acid tolerance and starvation responses in S. mutans, as functions of the surface energies of the substrata to which they have attached as biofilms; and to expand the study of the induction of stress proteins to include the response of S. mutnas to dynamic shear stresses that characterize relevant microbial biofilm environments. WESTERN EUROPE PROGRAM INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING IIP ENG Baier, Robert Anne Meyer SUNY at Buffalo NY Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 180000 5980 5761 1440 OTHR 5937 0000 0126602 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Dense Shaped SiC by Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis (SHS) Reaction in Electroconsolidation Process. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project will develop a cost-effective commercial method for production of fully dense structural ceramic parts of complex shape directly by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) reaction under pressure using the Electroconsolidation process. Many already developed high-performance ceramic materials are not used because of the high cost to fabricate components. The use of SHS to make parts offers considerable opportunity to reduce costs if dense, shaped parts can be made directly from reactant powder mix. Electroconsolidation is a newly developed process for low-cost pressure-assisted densification that is uniquely capable to meet this requirement. The project will determine the technical and economic feasibility of employing Electroconsolidation for making dense silicon carbide. The commercial benefit if successful, would be products made from high-performance materials such as carbides, silicides, and carbo-nitrides could become more economical to produce. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Goldberger, William Superior Graphite Co. IL Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0126629 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Time-Lapse P- and S-Wave Monitoring of Fluid Flow. 0126629 Tura This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project concerns using elastic P-wave and S-wave seismic data simultaneously to obtain time-lapse seismic monitoring images of fluid saturation and pore pressure changes in an oil reservoir. Time-lapse seismic using P-waves alone may not allow discrimination between fluid saturation changes and reservoir pressure changes since such information is contained in the large source-receiver offsets of P-wave seismic data, which can be contaminated by noise and subject to data acquisition aperture limitations. Using S-waves in addition to P-waves in time-lapse analysis can lead to more accurate inversion results, yielding reliable estimates of reservoir saturation and pressure changes. The proposed project will allow customers to avoid costly errors in development and production of economic oil reservoirs and yield higher recovery rates. For this feasibility phase a reservoir model will be constructed, and three-dimensional P- and S-wave synthetic seismic data at two production times will be generated. These time-lapse P- and S-wave data sets will be processed simultaneously and will be cross-equalized and inverted to yield changes in reservoir saturations and pressure. The inverted data will be analyzed to assess the feasibility of the proposed approach on field data. Commercial applications of the technology proffered by Fourth Wave Imaging will include accurate mapping of bypassed oil and monitoring of costly injected fluids. In addition, the firm will be able to better image flow compartmentalization and determine the hydraulic properties of faults and fractures. These applications will allow cheaper and more efficient production of oil reservoirs, guide reservoir management decisions, and help maximize the life of both new and existing fields while minimizing recovery costs. The proposed methods also have commercial applications in monitoring ground water reserves, contaminant plumes and environmental clean-up projects. In medical imaging, use of elastic waves has the potential to yield superior results over acoustic waves alone. Commercial products resulting from this work will consist of time-lapse P- and S-wave seismic data processing, interpretation and analysis tools and methods. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lumley, David Fourth Wave Imaging Corporation CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9197 1038 0109000 Structural Technology 0306000 Energy Research & Resources 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0127603 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Light Weight Composites for Automotive Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will integrate materials processing and will develop a new lightweight and resilient three-dimensional woven fiber reinforced cellular matrix composite (3DCMC) material. Lightweight materials will allow fuel efficient and more environmentally friendly vehicles. The 3DCMC have the potential to significantly surpass the strength, stiffness, damage tolerance, energy absorption, and characteristics of current composite materials. Predictive analysis for a detailed characterization and optimization will be performed. The commercial potential of this project will be a new class of lightweight 3-D woven composites with cellular matrix; this will benefit the automotive industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mohamed, Mansour 3TEX, Inc. NC T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99739 5371 MANU 9147 5514 0107000 Operations Research 0127714 January 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: Automation of the Crosscut Operation in a Wood Processing Mill. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project is to design and develop appropriate mathematical models and algorithms for optimizing the crosscut operation in a wood processing (lumber processing) rough mill. The goal is to incorporate these algorithms into an integrated software system for automatic control of the process. The software system consists of a main engine that contains the mathematical models and algorithms for finding an optimal cutting pattern for each piece of incoming uncut lumber, along with all necessary mechanisms to interface with (and to coordinate the operation of) various components of the manufacturing line. These components include automatic scanners, automatic crosscut saws, and all associated conveyor belts and positioning devices. At the present time in most rough mills the task of identifying a good cutting pattern for each piece of lumber is done by visual inspection. The commercial benefits of this software system wil be on the efficiency of the crosscut operation, by increasing both its speed and its yield. This could lead to substantial reductions in the manufacturing cost as well as significant savings in the overall consumption of wood, which is a scarce national resource. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Mullin, Alexander Barr-Mullin Inc. NC Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99835 1505 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0127812 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Development of Smart Seal Using Shape Memory Alloy Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will development a smart seal using shape memory alloy technology (SMA) combined with elastic foundation bedding. The use of active control allows corrections to take place during the operation. Active control protects against seal failure and preserves the tribological characteristics. The objective is to develop a class of non-contacting mechanical annular seals (e.g. labyrinth, smooth bushing, and step) where their clearance can be actively controlled. The commercial benefits from this application will be in compressors and steam/gas turbines. This project will have a significant advantage over existing types of labyrinth seals by reducing the leakage rates, extending operational life, decreasing required maintenance, decreasing fuel consumption or electric power of the machinery and will lessen contamination of the environment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Lei B & C ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 9102 1468 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0127834 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Carbon Fiber/Boron Nitride Matrix Composites: A Unique Low Wear Friction Material. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will explore the processing of boron nitride (BN) composites for a wide variety of wear applications with a focus on aircraft brakes. Significant research has been performed worldwide to develop greatly improved braking materials at significantly lower cost. Of the approaches under consideration, a composite using BN as a matrix appears best in terms of desired cost-performance characteristics. Phase I will produce stable boron nitride composites from a unique pre-ceramic polymer (borazine) that allows for simple impregnation. The oxidative and hydrolytic stability of these composites is greatly improved over current carbon fiber/carbon (C/C). Based on preliminary testing, a carbon fiber/carbon-BN matrix displayed a five-fold decrease in wear as compared to C/C. C/C matrix composites have been used extensively for both military and commercial aircraft brakes since they were first developed in the mid-1960s and later optimized in the early 1970s. Problems with such systems include rapid wear at elevated temperatures leading to frequent replacement. In fact, commercial airlines consider the maintenance of brakes to be the second most serious cost problem. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mangun, Christian EKOS Materials Corporation IL T. James Rudd Standard Grant 95753 5371 AMPP 9163 0106000 Materials Research 0127886 January 1, 2002 SBIR PHASE I: A New Process for Hot Rolling Titanium Alloy Sheet. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will study the feasibility of an innovative new process for the production of hot rolled titanium alloy sheet. Hot rolled titanium alloy is currently manufactured using facilities designed to produce other materials, such as stainless steels. As a consequence, it is common for the production of hot rolled titanium alloy sheet to require several months of processing, with a material yield of less than one-half. In the proposed research, equipment specifically designed for the production of titanium sheet will be developed and implemented to streamline production. In conjunction with equipment improvements, cutting-edge processing technology and innovative ideas will be incorporated to yield the following benefits over traditional titanium alloy sheet production processes: 1) significant reduction in the number of manufacturing steps required; 2) improvement in the quality and mechanical properties; and 3) substantial reduction in the yield loss, production time, and final cost. The commercial benefits of this new process will make hot rolled titanium alloy sheet more competitive with other metals on a cost basis. Ultimately, it is believed that the proposed process will lead to an increase in the market share and number of products that can economically incorporate titanium alloy sheet. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Busby, Charles Advanced Rolling Technologies LLC WV Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99968 5371 MANU 9150 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0127918 January 1, 2002 SBIR PHASE I: Functional Nanostructures Through Spontaneous Emulsification and Self-Assembly. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project explores the feasibility of a novel and inexpensive synthesis, fabrication and processing route for creating nanostructures at high rates. The approach specifically targets synthesizing synthetic gecko pads. Geckos have the unusual ability to adhere to surfaces with a dry nanostructure found on the pads of their feet. These nanostructures are so flexible and numerous that stresses on the order of one atmosphere result. This permits walking up walls and hanging upside down on ceilings. Phase I and Phase II, if successful, will provide adhesive manufacturers with synthetic gecko pads. The commercial applications of this project include toys, clothing, and shoes, and any application that requires a dry, self-cleaning adhesive. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Campbell, John Cape Cod Research, Inc. MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99420 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0127938 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: OODLE: An Object-Oriented Design Learning Environment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop and evaluate a software prototype to assess the technical and commercial feasibility of an Object-Oriented Design Learning Environment (OODLE) that will help software engineers acquire expert-level object-oriented design skills rapidly and economically. Unlike earlier tutoring systems that help novices learn to write short programs that generate "merely" correct results, OODLE will help software engineers learn to design more complex software systems by appropriately balancing factors such as the importance of each functional requirement, time and space efficiency, simplicity, flexibility, clarity, and code modularity. Because complex design problems have no single correct solution, the tutoring system will assess the strengths and weaknesses of each student's design and then "converse" with the student within a Socratic dialog to clarify understandings, intentions, and rationales, as well as point out additional facts, issues, and experiences that suggest design alternatives worth considering. Although OODLE will teach object-oriented software design skills, many of the findings of this research may also apply to other engineering disciplines. Thus, this research would significantly advance our ability to create curriculum development and learning assessment tools that help student and professional engineers enhance their design skills. Software engineers require better methods of acquiring the extensive experience and instructional feedback needed to become proficient designers. Ideally, the engineers would receive individualized instruction in one-on-one or small group mentoring situations. In practice, however, mentored instruction can be difficult to achieve because expert mentors are an expensive resource that is infrequently available. To satisfy this market need, the company will develop an object-oriented design skills tutor that can be marketed to software vendors and IT organizations. Initially, the OODLE technology will be packaged within semi-custom solutions sold directly by the firm to large end-user companies or indirectly via licensing or reseller arrangements with software training and consulting companies. ADVANCED LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Domeshek, Eric Stottler Henke Associates CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 1707 1666 SMET OTHR HPCC 9179 9178 7355 7256 0000 0000912 Computer Science 0108000 Software Development 0127991 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Novel Magnetorheological Fluids with Nanosized Magnetic Particles. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop magnetorheological (MR) fluids using nano-sized magnetic particles. MR fluids are a family of smart materials that have the unique ability to undergo rapid, reversible, and significant changes in their rheological properties on application of an external magnetic field. These unique properties make MR fluids very attractive for such applications as shock and vibration control, brakes, and precision finishing technology. However, problems persist with commercial MR fluids due to the relatively large magnetic particles used (typically 3-5 um). These problems include poor stability against sedimentation and redispersibility. In this Phase I project, nanosized magnetic powders will be developed to produce MR fluids with improved stability and redispersibility. This will be followed by optimization of synthesis, characterization, and testing of the MR fluids. The commercial applications of this project are expected to include electrically controllable dampers, brakes, clutches, engine mounts, throttle valves, cross steppers and precision finishing technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Giri, Anit Nanomat, Inc. PA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128026 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Fabrication of High Temperature/Low RH Catalyst Coated Fuel Cell Membranes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is aimed at optimizing the mass-transport properties of the cathode electrode for high temperature (120C), and dry air operation. The overall objective is to fabricate complete catalyst coated membranes utilizing the newly engineered cathode electrode layer, and test the improvements in a high temperature(120C) fuel cell. A second objective is to understand the water and reactant transport mechanisms occurring in the cathode electrode that are limiting the operating temperature and requiring high levels of cathode humidification. Major benefits could be realized if proton exchange membrane fuel cells could be operated under hotter (> 90C) and drier conditions on the air electrode. Higher operating temperatures allow for an easier system heat rejection and a greater anode tolerance to CO contaminants typically found in reformed hydrocarbon fuel streams. Similar benefits can also be realized in building co-gen applications where a higher temperature. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Grot, Stephen Ion Power, Inc. DE Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99580 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128034 January 1, 2002 SBIR PHASE I: Revolutionary Manufacturing Process for UV Cured Composite Structures. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a novel method of UV curing composite structures that will extend UV curing techniques to any size, thickness, or shape composite and with any type of reinforcing fiber by uniformly distributing UV light throughout a composite structure. The anticipated result is a new UV curing process that can be used in many diverse applications, including aircraft, automotive, spacecraft, and marine. The process will significantly reduce the cost of manufacturing composite parts, improve the performance of these parts (by reducing residual stresses), and open new applications for composite materials using this fabrication technique. This novel UV curing technique is most attractive for large or complex composite parts. The proposed UV curing process has the potential to replace thermal curing for nearly all composite parts because it will achieve large cost and time savings while improving, or at least equaling, the thermally cured composite part performance. Additionally, the size limitations imposed by the use of an autoclave are removed because this UV curing process does not require an autoclave or any specialized tooling. Applications for this UV curing process exist in all fields, including next generation vehicle applications SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bilanin, Alan Continuum Dynamics, Inc. NJ Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99935 5371 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128040 August 1, 2001 Multi-University Industry/University Coop Research Center for Glass. The proposed continued affiliation is considered crucial to the mission of the Center in at least three ways. First, the affiliation adds immeasurably to the credibility and salability of the Center to prospective members of the U.S. Glass industry and the continuation of the present members. Second it allows the NSF to carry out an annual evaluation of the Center (a total quality management function). Third, it permits the Center Directors to participate in the national I/UCRC meetings and programs offered by NSF. Beyond this, of course, the additional funding from NSF releives some of the financial burden of Center administration from the members and university. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Smith, Jeffrey Missouri University of Science and Technology MO Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 120194 W236 5761 OTHR 0000 0128046 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Interactive Software for Environmental Sampling and Analysis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will provide interactive software to improve the quality of data obtained in environmental monitoring projects that involve chemical analysis. It will facilitate understanding and successful implementation of the complex interactions between project data quality objectives, sampling and analytical method selection, and numbers and kinds of samples analyzed. Developing an expert system that can be used as a tool for cost-effective project planning will do this. Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiated systematic planning for environmental sampling and analysis over ten years ago, successful implementation of it has been difficult. This SBIR project will provide solutions to the frequently misunderstood areas of data quality, information quality, and method performance. It will enable scientists and engineers to generate environmental analytical data at a quality level (and resulting cost) based on the use of that data (i.e., performance based measurement systems - PBMS) instead of only using current prescriptive protocols. Interactive software will be developed that facilitates more rapid and cost-effective environmental sampling and analysis which is based on the interrelated factors of confidence levels, numbers of samples, and analytical method selection. The software will combine method performance information from a new National Environmental Methods Index (NEMI) with U.S. EPA's Data Quality Objective (DQO) Process and a user's desired Measurement Quality Objectives (MQOs). Although it will be primarily a commercially useful product for industry and government organizations, it will also function as an educational tool to support university and technical school curricula. Another potential application is for the software to be incorporated as a technical basis for a future front-end user interface to NEMI. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Keith, Lawrence Instant Reference Sources, Inc. GA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 88054 5371 HPCC 9215 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128048 January 1, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase I: Detection Systems for High-Speed Optoelectronic Sortation of Low Z Metal Alloys. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project will develop a novel optoelectronic sensing system for the high-speed identification and sorting of metals including aluminum alloys. The goal is to demonstrate the ability to unambiguously identify metal alloys by alloy type, including low atomic number elements, in less than 50-milliseconds per sample. The Scrap Recycling Industry reports that more than 30 billion pounds of nonferrous scrap metals are produced each year in the U.S. alone. About 70% of this scrap is aluminum or aluminum alloys. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) reports that more than 10 billion pounds of these nonferrous metals are discarded each year in landfills, because recycling is neither technically nor economically practical. Existing methods of sortation use visual examination and hand sortation. Smelting facilities for mixed metals are polluting and expensive to build and operate. Using advanced spectrographic radiation and detection techniques, including computer analysis, the proposed technology will improve alloy identification accuracy and sort metal alloys automatically by type of alloy at speeds never before attainable. The commercial impact of this project will be increased scrap utilization, increased scrap value and reduced environmental pollution is enormous. The potential worldwide market exceeds $2 Billion annually. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Spencer, David wTe Corporation MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99934 5371 MANU 9146 1468 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128052 January 1, 2002 SBIR/STTR PHASE I: Fluorescent Polymeric Nanoparticles. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will exploit the unique fluorescence and signal amplification qualities of poly(phenylene ethynylene)s in a nanoparticle format. This combines the intense solid-state fluorescence and sensing capabilities of poly(phenylene ethynylene)s (PPEs) with the many unique attributes of nanoparticles, including their tremendous surface area and their surface adsorptivity. In this project, a series of charged PPEs whose emissions span the color spectrum will be synthesized and systematically evaluated for the formation of stable, aqueous nanoparticle dispersions. They will be functionalized and conjugated to biologic recognition molecules (i.e. antibodies and nucleic acids). The Phase I effort will yield a series of functional, highly fluorescent nanoparticles which may be used directly for the labeling of biological molecules. The commercial applications of this project will be in standoff explosives detection for wide area mapping. Standoff, wide area mapping is of intense interest for military and humanitarian uses as well as for environmental remediation of explosives contamination. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hancock, Lawrence NOMADICS, INC OK Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128054 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Low-Cost Hydrogen from Organic Wastes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will determine the feasibility of a process for producing pure hydrogen and electricity at low cost from the oxidation of organic wastes. This program will measure oxidation and eduction properties of the chemistry, efficiencies of oxidation for model organic materials, and effects of other species. This should result in the identification of an effective chemistry and establishment of the technical and economic feasibility of the proposed process. Commercial application of the process will result in lower pure hydrogen costs, increased energy efficiency, lower fossil fuel use, pollution prevention, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and a safer environment. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Dhooge, Patrick Environmental Technology & Education Center NM Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 9150 AMPP 9163 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128073 January 1, 2002 SBIR PHASE I: Incorporation of Carbon Nanotubes into Nylon Filaments. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project will develop a method for incorporating Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNT) into nylon fibers to act as reinforcement. This incorporation will be achieved by wrapping the SWNTs with a functionalized polymer that both allows the tubes to be dissolved in the solution containing the nylon precursors and acts as a load transferring conduit between the fiber matrix and the nanotubes in the final composite. The primary focus of this project is to optimize the SWNT/nylon matrix interaction in order to obtain the best load transfer properties and to direct the orientation of the SWNTs along the long axis of the nylon filaments in order to maximize the fiber's strength. The commercial application of this project will be in the aerospace industry. The high strength nylon fibers are expected to be used to construct flywheel rotors for airplanes and spacecraft that are capable of performing the dual functions of high density energy storage and control of gimbal and altitude. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bley, Richard Eltron Research, Inc. CO Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99998 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128081 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Nanoparticle Production for High Performance Coating. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new approach to economical, ultra high performance coating composites. This approach is based on the use of alumoxane nanoparticles. These functional inorganic-organic nanoparticles improve physical properties such as toughness, impermeability, chemical resistance and flexibility. This novel approach to production will demonstrate a highly cost effective manufacturing methodology that can be easily carried out in the coating plant, wherein the nanoparticle production becomes an integral part of the coating manufacturing process. The project will seek an understanding of the mechanisms that influence the top down fragmenting phenomenon. Nanoparticles, in slurry form, will be functionalized and then incorporated into the high performance coating. The commercial applications of this project will have a broad and significant impact in the nation's 1.7 billion dollar industrial coatings market. This market includes interior linings, chemical resistant coatings and rail car linings. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lomasney, Hank Isotron Corporation KS Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99913 5371 MANU 9150 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128082 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Polysiloxane-Polyimides for Low Temperature Curable Polymer Matrix Materials. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the synthesis of new polysiloxane-polyimide co-polymers for use as high-temperature resistant polymeric matrix materials. Phase I will develop new highly usable synthetic methodologies for the production of inorganic-organic hybrid materials composed of cross-linked polysiloxane-polyimide segments. The cross-linking or curing (hydrosilylation) reaction may be conducted at room temperature, thus providing the opportunity to develop a non-autoclave or low-temperature curing system, similar to the well-established room temperature vulcanization process widely used in the silicone industry. The expected high-performance polymeric materials would be employed in Phase II as matrix materials for low-temperature fabrication of polymeric matrix composites (PMC). In Phase II polymer formulation will be optimized, and distinctive PMC components will be fabricated by employing proprietary low-cost resin transfer molding technologies. Commercial applications are expected in low-temperature curable/high-temperature resistant cure-in-place materials. Potential fields of application include automotive components, aeronautics, microelectronics, composites, construction materials, and other industries where outstanding thermal, chemical (solvents and oxidation resistance), physical, and mechanical properties are important. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Homrighausen, Craig Eltron Research, Inc. CO T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99998 5371 AMPP 9163 0106000 Materials Research 0128090 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Concrete-Filled Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Modular Framing System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop: connections between concrete-filled fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) tubes (splicing and joints) and with other traditional construction materials; a cost-effective structural framing system; and design aids and specifications for these structural framing systems. The advantages of concrete-filled FRP tubes (CFFT) over concrete-filled steel tubes (CFST) include high strength-to-weight ratio, durability, and the possibility of optimizing and engineering the fiber orientation for best result. Experiments have shown that CFFTs can significantly increase strength and ductility of normal strength concrete (3-5 thousand pounds per square inch (ksi) and 0.003-0.004 ultimate strain) to the level of high-performance concrete (15-20 ksi and 0.02-0.04 ultimate strain). Phase I will develop both analytical and experimental components, conduct modeling, calibration, and parametric studies, and perform limited proof-of-concept testing. Phase II would concentrate on manufacturing these new system components. The new framing system utilizing CFFTs and other structural forms are expected to be used in civil construction such as buildings and bridges. It will offer superior seismic performance and higher resistance to explosion damage, such as in terrorist attacks, in comparison with traditional systems. In addition, long durability and corrosion resistance are expected to extend the designed life span of many civil structures with low maintenance costs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Shahawy, Mohsen SDR Engineering Consultants Inc FL T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99750 5371 AMPP 9163 0522100 High Technology Materials 0128093 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: High Volume MOCVD AlGaN Production Tool. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will develop a high volume/high pressure RDR-MOCVD nitride production tool. Two fundamental problems will be addressed. The first is the need for large area substrate quality and the second is the need for large area/high volume MOCVD nitride epitaxy production tools. This project will demonstrate a scaleable tool to meet these needs. The commercial applications of this project will be in electronics and optoelectronic device markets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tompa, Gary STRUCTURED MATERIALS INDUSTRIES, INC. NJ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128103 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Automating Regression - An Optimization Approach. The Small Business Innovation Phase I Research will develop a formal algorithm, and a corresponding software package, which constructs and evaluates regression models automatically and can handle large data sets efficiently. Regression analysis is widely used in all areas of physical and social sciences, medicine, management, and engineering. Despite its widespread use, there is a significant element of art in building regression models. In addition, the wide availability of data makes it important to be able to perform regressions with very large data sets and a large number of potential explanatory variables. The objective is to take the art out of the construction of regression models, and, in doing so, will achieve better regression models that are significantly faster, and extend their capabilities to build much larger models in the presence of very large data sets. The commercial benefits of an automated regression package would allow data mining in diverse areas such as marketing, health care, insurance, credit cards, and finance. An automated regression package that can handle very large data sets and many explanatory variables can become the critical engine for data mining in all these industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mourtzinou, Georgia DYNAMIC IDEAS, LLC MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99950 5371 MANU 9148 9102 5514 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128105 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: A Compressible Gas-Liquid Framework For Simulating Cavitating Pumps. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will study an innovative formulation for simulating unsteady cavitation phenomena in pumps. The formulation is based on a compressible gas-liquid framework that accurately models the acoustics in multi-phase mixtures, and may be extended to account for generalized thermodynamic effects. An innovative cavitation model based on tracking the surface area associated with dense, bubbly vapor clouds is presented: this permits the implementation of detailed bubble dynamics within a continuum framework. The multi-phase formulation will be available within a commercial CFD code CRUNCH, which has a multi-element unstructured framework and is ideally suited for complex turbomachine geometries. The Phase I effort will focus on validating the procedure for unsteady cavitation in unit problems that will be extended to three-dimensional pump geometries in the Phase II program. This technology will be applicable to a wide variety of pump systems that have to operate over a range of low, off-design flow rates and Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH)conditions, where the coupling of unsteady hydrodynamics and cavitation has the potential for causing excessive vibration and damage. The limited reliability of current design tools in this flow regime makes this innovation a useful tool for high-energy pump designers. Commercial Potential Manufacturers of high-energy pumps have to certify their systems for operation at off-design conditions. However, unsteady flow behavior coupled with fluctuating vapor volumes at low NPSH levels can result in significant damage in this flow regime. Hence, considerable resources are currently being expended by the pump industry to better understand the formation of cavitation instabilities. The development of innovative designs that eliminate or mitigate the formation of cloud cavitation will result in a significant competitive advantage for both marketing of new products as well as aftermarket upgrade opportunities. However, current design tools, such as empirical correlations and one-dimensional analyses, have limited reliability in this flow regime. Furthermore, experimental testing over the entire flow regime is impractical. The proposed effort here will address these needs by providing a tool for refining preliminary designs, as well as correcting problems with existing designs. In addition, The innovative technology proposed here would resolve the deficiencies of currently available commercial CFD codes: such codes typically do not resolve the acoustics within the gas/liquid mixture, which can have very low sound speeds and directly impact hydrodynamic time scales. Indeed for accurately modeling this unsteady multi-phase problem, the generalized compressible framework proposed is essential for simulating the coupling between hydrodynamic pressure fluctuations and the cavitation rate process. Potential customers for this product are anticipated to be U.S. manufacturers of a broad range of high-energy industrial pump systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hosangadi, Ashvin Combustion Research and Flow Technology, Inc. PA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99955 5371 AMPP 9163 1443 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128109 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Guided Generation of Software Requirements. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate methods for improving the process of requirement definition for software projects. It will investigate how the stakeholder in a project can be constrained to create only those requirements that have good characteristics. The approach is to codify the domain comprised of "all tasks which can be implemented on a computer" and present the stakeholder with decisions to make about what will be implemented in a specific system. Use cases will be used to facilitate the process. After capturing the requirements, an initial object-oriented analysis model will be generated automatically from the requirement descriptions. The model will be based on the Unified Modeling Language (UML). However, diagram notations will define the model in terms of UML metamodels rather than by diagram notations. UML modeling tools such as Rational Software's Rose can import the metamodels and create their associated graphical representation. This research will develop a prototype tool that will guide the stakeholder to describe requirements within a fixed format, and automatically create UML metamodels. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pia, Patricia Software Frameworks, Inc. CT Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99508 5371 HPCC 9216 9102 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0128117 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: An Aspect-Oriented Solution for Unit Test Generation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will conduct research to design a system for the unit testing of modules. This system will operate by automatically capturing events at the boundary of the module under test while a client of the module executes test cases. These events will be logged to a file so that they can later be replayed to the module in isolation. It is proposed to use Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) techniques to implement this tool and to use a third-party open-source licensed tool named AspectJ to implement this tool for Java. Unit testing solutions offer considerable cost-savings by automating the recording and playback of events for testing by organizations that either develop or use software. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Anderson, Paul GRAMMATECH, INC. NY Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99657 5371 HPCC 9216 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0128122 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Electrochemical Impedance Sensor to Monitor Composites in Infrastructure. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will use a moisture sensor to monitor moisture ingress, corrosion, and delamination of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) concrete structures. Phase I will build on the development of a moisture sensor for composite aircraft and adapt its use for infrastructure such as bridges. FRP is increasingly being used to reinforce such structures during rehabilitation, but uncertainties concerning the health of the composite and the bond between the composite and the concrete prevent widespread application. The moisture sensor, which is based on the established technique of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), will allow moisture intrusion and the effects of moisture to be tracked from very early stages. Initial commercial applications will involve an inspector using a portable computer to interrogate the sensors to determine structural health. The advanced application would include a permanently mounted potentiostat module that would periodically send signals to a central location. Commercial opportunities include over100,000 structurally deficient bridges that are candidates for FRP rehabilitation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Davis, Guy DACCO SCI, INC MD T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 0512204 Nondestructive Measurement 0128125 January 1, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase I: Electro-Explosion of Composite Metal Wire for the Production of Nanometer-Scale Alloy Powder. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an innovative process for the fabrication of nanometer-scale alloy powders. The innovation will result from the combination of state-of-the-art composite wire manufacturing techniques with recently developed powder fabrication technology. The project will focus on the production of nanometer-scale Nb-Al (Niobium-Aluminum) powders for use in the fabrication of improved Nb3Al superconducting wire. A Nb-Al composite jelly-roll wire will be fabricated, this wire will be converted to nanometer-scale Nb-Al solid solution powder by an electro-explosion process, and this powder will be used to fabricate monofilament wire by a powder-in-tube process. Samples of the wire will be heat treated to form Nb3Al and the resulting superconducting properties will be measured. The commercial applications will be in magnets for high energy physics and fusion machines, high frequency NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) units, and, potentially, cryo-cooled MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) units. This process could be extended to the fabrication of nanometer-scale aluminide powders, these materials could be used as in the fabrication of structural parts for use in high temperature environments encountered in aerospace applications (e.g., turbines), and in the automotive industry (e.g., heat treatment furnaces). Nanometer-scale refractory alloy powders could be used to coat parts in the corrosive environments found in the chemical industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rudziak, Mark Supercon Inc MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9147 5514 0107000 Operations Research 0128133 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Surface Engineered Powders by Fluidized Bed Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop the Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD) process to modify surface properties of particulate matter in a fluidized bed. The proposed Fluidized Bed CCVD (FBCCVD) technique will enable production of next generation surface engineered powders for applications such as decorative and specialty chemicals. In the CCVD process, low-cost, environmentally friendly, metal-bearing reagents are dissolved in solvents that serve as a combustible fuel. Using MicroCoating Technologies (MCT) innovative atomizer, the Nanomiser TM , this solution is atomized to form submicron droplets that are then combusted in a flame to produce the desired material. This flame-based method will be integrated with an externally recirculating fluidized bed and used to encapsulate particulate matter suspended in the fluidized bed with dense and well-adhered thin films. The effect of the FBCCVD process variables on the encapsulated powder properties, deposition efficiency, and production rate will be investigated. Inexpensive powders with functionalized surfaces are in high demand for decorative, optical, specialty chemicals, and electronics applications. The powder market is estimated to be over a billion dollar market annually and represents a growing segment. Success of the proposed research will result in a new FBCCVD process that could facilitate inexpensive production of encapsulated powders. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Oljaca, Miodrag NGIMAT CO. GA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128136 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Scalable, Parallel Automatic Mesh Generation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop technologies to automatically generate large meshes appropriate for finite element and similar analyses. This will be done using scalable, parallel algorithms that will enable the generation of meshes on distributed parallel computers including workstation clusters. The result of this project will be software that is capable of generating meshes with hundreds of millions, or billions of elements in an efficient manner. The generated meshes will already be partitioned to be compatible with the needs of parallel analysis codes. The commercial applications of this research are in those industries that need to perform large scale simulations of complex problems over general domains. The procedures to be developed will allow simulation based design technologies to be applied to applications that demand massive simulations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Beall, Mark Simmetrix, Inc. NY Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 98155 5371 HPCC 9216 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128141 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: A Parallax Barrier Technique for Autostereoscopic Displays. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project will be used to investigate an optical system to be used with LCDs or plasma displays to produce 2D/3D switch-able autostereoscopic displays which produce images possessing the full resolution of display. Various companies have begun to market autostereoscopic displays. Such displays are encountering a market barrier in some applications because they achieve their 3D effect by sacrificing resolution. They divide the pixels on the display between a right and left eye image, thus leaving each image with half the resolution of the flat panel itself. The proposed technology will produce autostereoscopic images without sacrificing resolution. The objective of the project is to establish the feasibility of the autostereoscopic imaging concept, to identify the best configuration for the optics, and to determine the feasibility of using the concept on LCD and plasma displays. To accomplish this objective, small test optics will be created and evaluated, measurements of relevant properties of representative plasma and LCD panels will be made, and a development path for the next phase of the project will be identified. The project has the potential to produce a practical high resolution flat panel autostereoscopic displays suitable for high resolution 3D imaging applications. The direct commercial potential of the projects lies in autostereoscopic products that will be manufactured using this technology. Such display products will find widespread use in scientific and medical visualizations applications, industrial inspection, telerobotic and other remote vision applications. Consumer based applications may include electronic commerce and computer gaming. l SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Eichenlaub, Jesse DIMENSION TECHNOLOGIES INC NY Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0128156 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Development of a High Manufacturing Rate and Low Cost Membrane and Electrode Assembly for PEM Fuel Cells. This Phase I SBIR program will investigate and develop a new process for depositing catalysts on fuel cell membrane and electrode assemblies (MEAs). The proposed process for producing reliable MEAs is conducive to high volume manufacturing using fabrication tools familiar to industry. In addition to high rate production capability, the proposed process optimizes the electrode/catalyst structure allowing us to reduce the catalyst loading that further reduces the MEA cost. This program will demonstrate the process in operating fuel cell stacks and evaluate the economics of employing the process on a larger scale. The proton exchange membrane fuel cell is a promising power source for vehicles with residential, stationary, and portable power applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pien, Michael ELECTROCHEM, INC. MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99975 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128163 May 15, 2002 Establish a NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Lasers & Plasmas for Advanced Manufacturing (LAM). The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) in the area of Lasers and Plasmas for Advanced Manufacturing will develop a science, engineering and technology base for laser and plasma processing of materials, devices and systems. Laser and Plasma processing of materials is used in various manufacturing sectors such as semiconductor/electronic manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, general manufacturing, life science products, medical device manufacturing. The focus of the center includes: bulk processing, surface processing, coatings, surface etching and patterning. The I/UCRC will also take full advantage of being cited next to Free Electron Laser Facility of Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The Facility is the world's most powerful, tunable laser, currently delivering kilowatt average power in the mid infrared. The strong interest in the center is evidenced from various letters of commitment received from industry and federal laboratories. INTERNATIONAL PLAN & WORKSHOPS INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS ELECT, PHOTONICS, & DEVICE TEC IIP ENG Gupta, Mool Old Dominion University Research Foundation VA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 249000 7299 5761 1517 OTHR 5998 5979 0000 0128164 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Protective Metal Foam Hybrid Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will result in manufacturing processes for low-cost, multi-functional composite materials that have marine, rail and other ground transportation safety applications. The key steps will involve (1) development of innovative manufacturing methods using out-of-autoclave processes, that are derivatives of liquid molding approaches, to co-infuse resin systems in multi-layered composites of simple shapes representative of structures and (2) production of a number of fiber ply/metal foam combinations and measurement of mechanical and physical properties of these combinations to assess potential improvements in structural performance such as damage tolerance and high fatigue life. Existing materials designed to protect against flying debris or provide impact protection in vehicles tend to be heavy and to be appendages on structural systems. The new materials produced here, which consist of a metal foam surrounded by facing plies of resin-infused glass, carbon, or aramid fibers, will be designed to integrate affordability and functionality. Improved properties will lead to new markets with a focus on enhanced passenger protection in aviation, marine, and ground vehicles. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Grow, Dana SIOUX MANUFACTURING CORPORATION ND T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99250 9150 AMPP 9163 0522100 High Technology Materials 0128168 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: A Platform for Designing and Evaluating Electric Power System Generation Sources. 0128168 Laufenberg This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes a new software platform for designing and simulating electric power generation and delivery networks. The demand for reliable electric power, both in this country and in developing nations seeking to forge a sustainable industrialized economy, is growing dramatically. At the same time, fears over the environmental repercussions of burning carbon-rich matter, particularly in regards to the emission of greenhouse gases and acid rain, are intensifying. While using cleaner energy sources and technologies could help mitigate the environmental impact of increased power production, the larger initial investment required by such alternatives has made their adoption a tough sell. The software will enable system architects to design a system graphically and to assess and compare its merits using an integrated approach that considers reliability, financial cost, and environmental impact. Users will be able to distribute generation resources throughout a system, change generator fuel and technology types, and experiment with various transmission topologies with unprecedented ease. The package will assess system reliability using an integrated contingency analysis tool. It will evaluate the financial implications of a design by accounting for start-up and construction costs associated with various generating and transmission equipment and calculating projected operating costs using economic dispatch. Finally, it will assess the environmental impact of a design by calculating the amount of pollutants emitted by its power sources based on empirical formulas for emissions defined by the user. The market niche that PowerWorld Corporation is attempting to exploit is the development of high-quality, yet extremely user-friendly power system visualization software to help answer the question: how can increased demand for electric power be met reliably, cleanly, and economically? By integrating reliability, economic, and environmental analyses into a single package, the tool will enable developers, engineers, economists, and policy makers to develop efficient and clean power system designs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Laufenberg, Mark POWERWORLD CORPORATION IL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0128180 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Volumetric Microbatteries Using Soft Lithography. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop microelectronic systems that will increase speed and capability combined with smaller size. As the patterning/feature size of microelectronics continues to decrease, the need for power systems of smaller physical size emerges as a critical need. This project will develop novel microbatteries that will deliver a minimum-area, volumetric electrochemical energy source in a MEMS device. In order to realize minimum volume devices, the project approach will be to exploit zinc-air (Zn-air) chemistry that promises the highest energy density available for battery chemistries (36 J/mm3). The company has developed a novel microfabrication process for non-silicon materials, including polymers, ceramics, and glasses that will enable reliable microscale fabrication of Zn-air batteries using appropriate materials. In this way, miniaturization of the highest performance system will be realized. The commercial potential of this project will be batteries that have increased life and will be smaller. This will help the electronics industry in reducing the size of many electronic and microelectronic devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lakeman, Charles D. TPL, Inc. NM Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99998 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128185 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: The ResonantSonic Enhanced Mixer and Coalescer (RSEMC) as an Advanced Solvent Extraction Technology. This Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of using an agitation device based on a resonating elastic member for dispersing and coalescing immiscible liquids. This will have a significant impact in the liquid processing for solvent extraction of metals. The proposed technology offers a mixing regime that promotes high mass transfer, yet easy disengagement between immiscible liquids by forming uniform droplet dispersions and creating interfacial activity that increases mass transport. The post-contact phase disengagement can be further enhanced by applying higher frequency energy. The near term commercial application would be presented by the changing technological landscape of the international mining and metals industries. The shift to leaching technology has created a need for advanced solvent extraction equipment. Applications also exist in the pharmaceutical industry, where solvent extraction is an entrenched and accepted approach to recovering products from microbial fermentation broths. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pierce, Joel RESODYN CORPORATION MT Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128198 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Light Weight Thermal and Electrical Insulation Using Fullerenes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop as well as establish technical and commercial feasibility of the advanced low weight thermal and electrical insulation materials using fullerenes. This approach combines high reflectivity of metal foil and high absorptivity of low thermal conductivity fullerenes in attempt to produce effective structurally integrated low cost insulation material, which is expected to be much thinner than any other option currently available on the market. During the course of investigation, the proposed insulation materials will be fabricated and fully characterized in terms of density, thermal conductivity as well mechanical integrity and compared with other candidate materials. The approach should provide viable solutions to various heat management problems in numerous fields. If proved viable, this insulation will find extensive applications in rockets and satellites, cryogenic industry, electronic devices, fire-retardant packing materials, thermal insulators for temperature-sensitive products, insulative clothing, insulation of buildings, cars, refrigerators, water heaters, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wexler, Eugene Materials and Electrochemical Research Corporation (MER) AZ T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1406 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128201 January 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: Magnetically Controlled Microwave Powered Fluidized Bed Reactor. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project proposes development of a magnetically controlled and microwave powered fluidized bed reactor, incorporating three primary innovations: [1] highly energy efficient waveguide-based microwave transmission and irradiation of fluidized media, [2] unique self-regulation of fluidized bed temperature using a localized magnetic field gradient and the temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility to confine only relatively cold particles within the heating zone, and [3] a novel microwave-compatible temperature measurement system. The temperature dependence of the benefits of microwave heating have been applied to a vast array of chemical syntheses and related unit operations. However, most work to date has been conducted using relatively inefficient multi-mode cavities with poor temperature control. The innovation couples the excellent mass transfer efficiency of Fluidized Bed Reactors (FBRs) with the vastly superior heat transfer efficiencies achievable using high performance waveguide-based microwave irradiation systems. Anticipated benefits include: 1) energy savings resulting from improved thermal efficiency, 2) much faster reactor start-up due to substantially improved heating rates, 3) improved temperature uniformity, 4) improved control of reactor operating temperature, 5) development of novel magnetically controlled particles, and 6) greater understanding of the heat transfer characteristics in fluidized bed reactors. The successful coupling of optimal heat transfer and mass transfer characteristics with novel temperature control materials can be utilized to improve reactor efficiency and reduce costs. It is most probable that small-scale laboratory units will be the first commercial product STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Atwater, James Goran Jovanovic Umpqua Research Company OR Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 1505 AMPP 9163 1443 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128203 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Microstructurally Stabilized Pd-based Hydrogen Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop Pd-based sensors that are durable and exhibit stable response to hydrogen gas. These sensors will be fabricated using microstructurally stabilized Pd films. The morphological stability mandated by the novel composite film should result in enhanced durability and drift stability by circumventing the issue of film delamination often observed in Pd-based systems. This should result in the commercial development of safe, reliable and inexpensive hydrogen sensors, and thus help promote commercial acceptance of hydrogen as a fuel. The commercial application of this project is in the hydrogen sensor market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schulz, Douglas CeraMem Corporation MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128213 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Exploring Complex Biological Concepts in an Interactive 3-D Learning Environment over the Internet. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will catalyze the creation of interactive worlds accessible over the Internet where students, professionals, and consumers can experientially learn scientific concepts not readily accessible to human physical interaction. The specific focus is the construction of a cellular world where University students can explore complex cellular mechanisms, and through customized versions, corporations can educate physicians, researchers and patients on the cellular basis of their products. As a proof of concept, Voyager Interactive has created a demonstration of 3D content delivered over the Internet using narrowband connectivity. This demostration allows students to become" a virus particle and if successful, infect a cell. The student moves within a 3D cellular world, activates viral functions, interacts with objects, and triggers events in the world. A Cellbot companion interacts by voice and by uploading text and figures to assist the student. The content and functionality requirements described in the proposal will be translated into a comprehensive software development plan, which will serve as the blueprint for success in the phase of the research. The BioMachine Cellular World proffers a significant contribution to science education and an excellent launch point for custom commercial collaborations. It has prospects for science publishers interested in immersive 3D cellular educational software for use by electronic texts as well as indirect benefits associated with the identification of functional requirements for promoting student active learning in these highly interactive environments. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Seifert, Douglas Syandus, Inc. PA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 1666 SMET 9180 9178 9177 7355 7256 0108000 Software Development 0116000 Human Subjects 0128236 January 15, 2002 SBIR/STTR PHASE I: Novel Ambient Temperature Emissions Control Catalyst. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to establish the technical and economic feasibility of a novel technology to completely oxidize formaldehyde at dilute concentrations in air at room temperature by use of a novel catalyst system. Formaldehyde-containing resins are widely used in the U.S., leading to widespread emissions of formaldehyde at the product formation molds, and in storage and use of these resins. A novel technology will be developed to completely destroy the formaldehyde using room temperature catalytic oxidation with a new class of noble metal reducible oxide (NMRO) catalysts designed specifically for such compounds. This new class of catalysts provides destruction efficiencies for the complete oxidation of formaldehyde dramatically higher than traditional platinum VOC oxidation catalysts. This research program will utilize catalyst composition studies to tailor a superior catalyst for this application, reactor studies of the destruction efficacy of the NMRO class of catalysts, and a competitive cost analysis of the technology relative to other alternatives for formaldehyde destruction. The commercial applications for the concept will be for efficient cleansing of indoor air, cleansing of workplace air, and control of emissions at ambient temperature and low cost, capable of rapid deployment. The commercial applications of the research should be of value to both the private sector and the government sector, providing cost effective commercial systems to enhance indoor air quality and emissions controls. The program should help protect the nation's environment and improve economic competitiveness. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kittrell, James KSE Inc MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128263 January 1, 2002 SBIR/STTR PHASE I: NMR Properties of Carbon Nanomaterials for Medical Applications. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will develop novel trimetallic nitride template endohedral fullerene (TNTs) materials for use as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). TNTs, which offer significant diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities, are now available in sufficient research quantities. Chemical functionalization reactions to solubilize the TNTs are also now available. TNTs offer an exciting alternative to current MRI contrast agents. TNTs offer the flexibility of excapsulating a variety of paramagnetic metals into the C80 fullerene cage. As several of the metals are paramagnetic, a production optimization plan balancing cost of materials versus efficiency as an MRI contrast agent is a primary focus of this project. The development of TNT based contrast agents is expected to lead to smaller patient doses, increased T1 relaxation rates and increased product safety. The commercial application of this project is in the contrast agent segment of the MRI imaging market. If successful, this project could result in a significant expansion in MRI capability and usage, with the potential of developing new business on the order of $700 million per year. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Stevenson, Steven Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99901 1505 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128268 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Green Solvent Mixtures as Alternatives to Environmentally Damaging and Toxic Solvents. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 project will demonstrate the capability of a universal solvent set concept to reduce the environmental and health impact of solvents used in the construction of fuel cells and printed wiring boards, without significantly increasing cost or reducing performance. The key objectives involve (1) development of solubility maps for mixtures of solvents using only the solvents and solvent mixtures contained in the proposed universal solvent set (2) Formulation of trial precursor solutions derived from the solubility maps (3) Screening of the trial formulations for desirable characteristics (thermal stability, ease of atomization, shelf life, low nozzle buildup) (4) Performance of trial thin film depositions to produce sample fuel cell catalyst membranes and resistor materials for printed wiring boards and (5) customer evaluation of fuel cell and resistor material samples. The proposed work will facilitate creation of environmentally friendly precursor solutions that will have impact in the fuel cells and embedded passives industry and, in particular in the combustion chemical vapor deposition process which is enabling next generation products in electronics, advanced energy, and broadband. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Flanagan, John NGIMAT CO. GA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 1417 1414 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128288 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Fullerene Production. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop and assess electrochemical methods for recovery of the giant and insoluble fullerenes that comprise the bulk of the fullerenes made by the hydrocarbon combustion route. Of the fullerenes produced by the combustion system at TDA, ca. 10 0E 12 % of the raw soot weight is recovered as fullerenes (C60, C70, etc.) by washing the soot with o-xylene and filtering. Yet other analyses demonstrate that most of the fullerenes are not recovered by straightforward washing techniques. In a prior NSF SBIR Phase I, Diener and Alford (Nature 393, 688) demonstrated an electrochemical method for separation of C74, giant fullerenes, and other traditionally insoluble fullerenes from mixed fullerene sublimate. This Phase I project is for the expansion of those ideas to processing of the extracted soot and implementation on a kilogram or greater batch scale. The recovered fullerenes will be useful for applications demanding a more robust, but still fullerenic material or coating. One possibility is carbon coatings for artificial biomaterials, where roughness on a nanometer scale promotes cell growth and increases the already high biocompatibility of carbon. A thin, robust film of higher fullerenes on steel implants potentially offers the high performance of carbon implants, but with a fraction of the cost. It is also possible that the small bandgap fullerenes could have roles that make use of their postulated three- dimensional electrical conductivity, as optical limiters, or as scaffolds for nanotechnological devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Diener, Michael TDA Research, Inc CO Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128291 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Analytic Simulation Method for Oil/Gas Field Management and Optimization. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project assesses the feasibility of new oil and gas reservoir management tools for optimization of hydrocarbon recovery. It proposes extension of state-of-the-art analytic solution methods for potential flow in porous media from 2-D to 3-D. It will incorporate 3-D analytic fluid flow simulation technology into large-scale optimization routines where reservoir recovery performance is required. Unlike previous analytic solution methods, complex heterogeneous reservoir architecture can be entertained. Well conditions are modeled directly, making possible design of complex wells. Phase I will also address the possible extension of the method to alternate subregion shapes to allow even faster and more flexible implementations. This project will provide a new class of reservoir management tools capable of rapidly and accurately screening what-if scenarios for field development. The objectives of the research as to 1) generalize analytic solution boundary element methodology to three dimensions; 2) build a prototype, 3-D, analytic simulation tool; 3) propose and test algorithms or well and field optimization using an analytic solution performance evaluation; and 4) extend algorithms to include additional geometric shapes for enhanced flexibility. The next phase of the research involves algorithm refinement, generalization, optimization shell implementation, and testing. Subsequently, concentration will be on commercial software development and a user interface. There is a recognized need for speed, accuracy, and simplicity in reservoir engineering management tools. There is also a demand for such tools without the high-end computational horsepower expected of most numerical reservoir simulators. Potential Research Solutions envisions a PC software product as a deliverable from this research and development, allowing improved management of existing hydrocarbon resources, especially in mature reservoirs. The proffered software product would benefit in-fill drilling programs, allocation of production rates to balance well load and drainage volumes, and screening of a large portfolio of reservoir management options--all with accurate reservoir performance predictions in complex reservoir architecture--and, it will be of particular interest to independent oil and gas producers with limited access to high-end computers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hazlett, Randy POTENTIAL RESEARCH SOLUTIONS TX Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 9186 9139 1266 0306000 Energy Research & Resources 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0510604 Analytic Tools 0128306 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Spectroscopic Imaging Polarimeter using Nanoscale Antenna Arrays and Integrated Nano-Diodes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop the technology to perform Spectroscopic Imaging Polarimetry using Antenna Arrays with Integrated Diodes (SIP-AAID) to measure both the amplitude and phase of the light in an image at each pixel. Typically, visible and IR detectors / imagers measure only the intensity of light, ignoring potential information in the phase. Since antenna size and diode capacitance scales with electromagnetic radiation wavelength for optimum collection, this SIP will require the use of antenna's with features < 100 nm, and diodes with layer thicknesses < 5 nm and geometric areas < 50 nm, for visible and IR light. The development of a high resolution SIP-AAID that determines the complete polarization state of light at each pixel over a broad range of wavelengths is expected to revolutionize the IR and visible imaging detector industry. The relatively low cost and the unique capabilities of the SIP-AAID, when compared to present IR detectors, will likely provide a market pull for applications ranging from in/on-line process and product control to surveillance with unmatched recognition and tracking abilities. The commercial applications of this project will be in space and defence related industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Simpson, Lin ITN ENERGY SYSTEMS, INC. CO Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99984 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128308 January 1, 2002 SBIR PHASE I: ECR (Electron Cyclotron Resonance) Plasma Treatment of Polymer Tubing Such As Catheters. This Phase I Small Business Innovation Research project will develop plasma processes to treat both internal and external surfaces of medical polymer tubing such as catheters. The treatments will facilitate attachment of bioactive coatings, will clean, sterilize, and reduce friction; similar processes can also deposit organic or inorganic coatings. Plasmas driven by electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) will treat the lumen and external surfaces more uniformly, and over a greater range of process parameters, than conventional glow discharge or corona plasmas. Phase I will demonstrate that all treated surfaces of polymer tubing samples have been significantly and uniformly activated by the ECR plasma treatment without causing damage or discoloration of the material. A final Phase I test will evaluate the uniformity of a heparin-containing bioactive coating applied to the lumen wall of actual hemodialysis catheters. Phase II will refine plasma processing parameters for attachment of antithrombotic and antibiotic coatings, sterilization, pore sealing, and removal of contaminants on the lumen wall and exterior surfaces of medical catheters. Phase II would also begin applying research results to an ECR plasma activation system for Phase III production and commercialization. The ECR plasma process should be expandable to large-scale, low-cost commercial production of polymer tubing for catheters. A surface treatment to facilitate attachment of bioactive coatings and for cleaning, sterilization, and friction reduction would add both therapeutic and economic value to dialysis and other catheter types. The same plasma treatments can be applied to tubing for other medical and non-medical applications, such as prevention of biofilm formation in dental water lines SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Halverson, Ward Spire Corporation MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1407 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128313 January 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: Solid Freeform Fabrication Based Dental Reconstruction. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will determine the technical and commercial feasibility of using the rapid freeze prototyping (RFP) and jet model making (JMM) processes to produce ice and wax patterns used in investment casting to fabricate metal castings for dental restorations. The Phase I effort is to develop a solid freeform fabrication based dental reconstruction system that can be used by dental labs to produce high-quality crowns, bridges, and implant structures rapidly and cost-effectively from digital images and computer-aided design data. The commercial potential of this project will be more precise dental restorations costing less. In 1999 this market was estimated to be about $2.5 billion with an expected annual growth between 10-15 percent. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Schmitt, Stephen Tel Med Technologies MI Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 1505 MANU 9146 1468 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128316 January 1, 2002 SBIR/STTR PHASE I: Novel materials technology for high conductivity p-type AlGaN based on AlxGa(1-x)N / AlyGa(1-y)N superlattices. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a highly conductive p-type AlGaN by construction of AlGaN superlattices. The material p-type AlGaN is key to many optoelectronic and some electronic semiconductor devices. Many characteristics of semiconductor devices containing p-type AlGaN (that is, power efficiency, maximum power, noise properties, maximum operating temperature, heating of the device and reliability) depend on the resistivity of this layer. In this Phase I project, a novel approach for a low-resistivity p-type AlGaN is proposed, namely p-type AlxGa1-xN / AlyGa1-yN superlattices. This approach is based on exploiting potential variations induced by the superlattice and on the polarization fields occurring in the AlGaN material system. The commercial applications of this project will be in the market for electronics and optoelectronic devices. Examples of such devices include bipolar transistors, lasers, LEDs, and photodetectors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Graff, John Boston Nitride Technologies, Inc. MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128320 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Assessing Complex Learning Outcomes through Web-based Classroom Assessment Services. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop database information technology for constructivist teachers who are dissatisfied with the limitations of classroom testing for guiding reform. The Learning Partnership will provide Web-based classroom assessment services that measure a wide range of complex learning outcomes. Unlike EduTest.com, a test preparation program, The Learning Partnership's system will be optimized to diagnose student learning and provide direction for improvements in the learning process. The technical objectives for this project are as follows: 1. Adapt the discrete assessment approaches developed at the NASA Classroom of the Future for use with the Looking at the Environment curriculum, a one-year comprehensive inquiry-based high school science curriculum that is fully technology integrated that is being developed at Northwestern University in partnership with the Chicago schools.. 2. Create an assessment framework that integrates these discrete assessment approaches. The framework will track student performance at three levels: activity level, module level, and course level. 3. Develop database information technology that will support mass customization of assessment tasks, tracking of student performance, and reporting of results. These services will address a growing demand for online assessment materials. If science education reform in the U.S. is to succeed, new approaches to assessment are critical. On the one hand, assessment is essential provide school administrators with empirical evidence of student learning for accountability purposes; on the other hand, it is also essential to provide teachers with the depth of information needed to guide their practices. The Learning Partnership proposes to address this problem by providing classroom assessment services that bring together multiple forms of assessment for tracking student progress from the activity level to the high-stakes testing level. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG McGee, Steven The Learning Partnership IL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 9150 SMET 9180 9178 9177 9150 0108000 Software Development 0522400 Information Systems 0128326 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Innovative And Cost-Effective Process for Net-Shape Microfabrication of Ceramic Components. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop and characterize a novel ceramic material and microcomponent fabrication technique for two different industrial sectors: the fiber-optic communications industry and the chemical industry. Current processes for microcomponent fabrication, primarily based on silicon processing technology are expensive, and often do not meet the production rates required for optical component (fiber-connectors, beam splitters) fabrication or possess the desired high-temperature performance for chemical industry applications (micro-channel devices for gas separation/reforming). The objective of this project is to develop a cost-effective technique for microfabrication of components with properties and/or production efficiency comparable to or superior than silicon technology. The process will use a low-temperature, net-shape fabrication technique that is expected to be efficient, cost-effective, scalable and environmentally friendly (no-byproducts). The commercial benefits will be an alternative to silicon processing technology. The high production capacity and tight dimensional tolerances for components fabricated using this material/technique makes it an attractive option for optic fiber component manufacturers. The high achievable surface areas and the inherent thermochemical stability of ceramics make this material very attractive for fabrication of microchannel devices for gas separation/reformation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nair, Balakrishnan CERAMATEC, INC. UT Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99885 5371 MANU 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128328 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Rapid Oven-less Fabrication of SiC/SiC Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address the high cost and size and shape capability of ceramic matrix composites. Silicon carbide (SiC) fiber reinforced silicon carbide composites require furnaces, reactors, or ovens to produce the SiC/SiC composite matrix. These reactors, furnaces, and ovens are large capital expenditures limiting product size and shape and significantly increasing the cost of composites. Phase I will use an oven-less process to make SiC/SiC composites with a reaction-bonded silicon carbide matrix to remove cost, size, and shape constraints on SiC/SiC composites. Phase I will determine the thermal processing parameters required to produce SiC/SiC composites comparable to furnace-produced composites. Density, microscopy, and strength will be used to evaluate the process. This is a technology for producing SiC/SiC composites that are not dependent on furnace proportions that control the size, shape and cost of the composite parts. Large and complex shapes are expected to be produced rapidly in an oven-less process for advanced turbine engines, radiant tube heaters, heat exchangers and the numerous erosion, corrosion and thermal applications of the chemical, petroleum, and paper and pulp industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sibold, Jack TDA Research, Inc CO T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128330 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Nanocrystalline Superhard Homometallic Films for Replacement of Ceramic Hard Coatings. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop the technology for fabrication of M50 bearing steel coatings that are superhard, adherent, nanocrystalline, homometallic (an integrated layer without interface), and resistant to scratch and corrosion. These homometallic coatings will be similar in composition to the metallic substrates onto which they will be deposited. However, their nanocrystalline structures will provide enhancement in important properties such as hardness, toughness, and wear and corrosion resistance, without the brittleness, poor adhesion and other problems associated with conventional ceramic coatings. Prior research has demonstrated that nanocrystalline (3-40 nm grains) Co-Cr deposited onto Co-Cr-Mo substrates possesses hardness close to that of some ceramics (18-26 GPa, 400% increase) without the associated problems with adhesion to metallic substrates, and that fabrication of nanocrystalline (<40 nm crystals) Ti, with hardness of 12-14 GPa, can be accomplished. The commercial application of this project will be in the manufacture of aircraft, boats and ground vehicles. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Namavar, Fereydoon Spire Corporation MA Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 0 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128356 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Automated Linking and Metainformation Services. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will help launch the development of a Metainformation Engine. Every application could be supplemented by a rich set of links; most items on display screens should have multiple links tailored to current task and preferences. The Metainformation Engine will automatically generate links within the majority of computer applications, generate metadata about the application elements and the relationships underlying each link (which users can examine for better understanding), and provide several hypermedia-style services such as annotation. Instead of keyword search or lexical analysis on the display text, the Metainformation Engine generates links on application elements based on application structure and context. These links lead to related elements in the same application or in related applications or databases. Integration requires few or no modifications to existing applications. This product will be valuable to enterprises as they attempt to collect and integrate new and legacy information meaningfully across corporations and the entire supply chain. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bhaumik, Anirban Metainformation Inc. NJ Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 0108000 Software Development 0128372 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Software Tools for Authoring American Sign Language. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop software tools allowing educators, interpreters, and linguists skilled in American Sign Language (ASL), but not skilled in computer 3-D animation, to create fully grammatical synthesized ASL to provide access for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals to Internet web pages and CD-ROM based interactive media; and to create interactive courses for learning ASL. While this project will build upon Vcom3D's commercial SigningAvatar(TM) product, a signficant advance is proposed. The current SigningAvatar(TM)technology allows users to generate unique sentences in Signed English thus providing partial access to digital media. However, the absence of many elements of ASL grammar limits the use of SigningAvatar(TM) by the larger segment of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing population who require grammatical ASL for comprehension and for ASL courses. This project addresses the numerous requests to provide fully grammatical ASL that Vcom3D has had from the Deaf community. The resulting ASL products will significantly reduce federal costs of public school education for Deaf children and will move toward improving universal access and equity of service goals, as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act; and Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act. UNIVERSAL ACCESS RES IN DISABILITIES ED IIP ENG Roush, Daniel VCOM3D, INC. FL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 6846 1545 SMET 9177 9102 1545 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0108000 Software Development 0128375 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Multi-Phase Acoustic Fluid Micro-Mixing and Mass Transport. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will establish a method to quantitatively predict the level of micromixing and mass transport in single-phase and multiphase fluid systems that are generated by a novel low-frequency acoustic technology. The primary Phase I objective is to demonstrate the feasibility for development of a theoretical understanding of the governing mechanisms for the transformation of high-intensity, low-frequency, acoustic energy radiation into useful work for mixing and mass transport applications in multi-phase fluids. A secondary, but essential, objective will be to develop the transfer functions coupling the acoustic transducer to the radiated acoustic energy in the fluid. The models will be accompanied by experiment methods that will correlate classical micromixing amd mass transport techniques with acoustic field experiment data. The proposed work will result in establishing a fundamental understanding of the governing mechanisms for acoustically-driven, single-phase and multiphase fluid processes, as well as fluid-particle interactions. The analytical models are essential for exploitation of the industrial market by innovative low-frequency acoustic mixing methods that are emerging. Mixing is the most common operation encountered in the Chemical Processing Industries. In North America alone, the conventional industrial mixer market is between $200 million and $250 million annually. Other industries reliant upon mixing and mass transport include food, petroleum, mining, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, water treatment and municipal waste water treatment. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Post, Thomas RESODYN CORPORATION MT Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 9150 AMPP 9163 9150 1443 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128377 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Low Cost Synthesis of Polymer Composites with Functional Nanoparticles via Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an economical platform technology for producing well-dispersed polymer nanocomposite films. Emphasis has been placed on the mechanical property advantages of mixing nano-sized clay flakes into conventional polymers. Processing techniques include sol-gel, various vacuum-based deposition methods, physical mixing, gas phase synthesis, chemical synthesis, liquid dispersions, and mixed solvent casting. To overcome potential production problems, a low-cost alternative technology, the modified Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD) process can be utilized. The modified CCVD process allows for the incorporation of nanoparticles of various sizes, distributions, and types in the polymer matrix. As a test bed for this platform technology, nanocomposite films for light emitting diode (LED) with voltage dependent wavelength output will be synthesized for display applications. The commercial application of this project will be in the polymer based LED segment of the flat panel display market. A low-cost, voltage variable LED system that is less expensive to manufacture, more reliable and with a longer life-span could have a significant impact in capturing more of this market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lee, Stein NGIMAT CO. GA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128378 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Nanocomposite Metal Oxides for Advanced Catalytic Converter Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop compositions of nanocomposite metal oxide catalysts for use in automotive catalytic converters. Such nanocomposite catalysts will potentially lower emissions of polluting gases, such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides (NOx) particularly in the initial warm-up phase of engine operation. With more stringent regulations on mobile source emissions, the need for improved catalytic conversion has become a major priority for research efforts worldwide. The key task will be to develop the ceria-based nanocomposites suitably doped with highly dispersed noble metal (Pt or Pd) to achieve highly active and thermally stable performance at costs comparable to conventional catalysts. The proposed project will have a major impact on commercial and consumer automotive applications. Catalytic converters are used in nearly all gasoline-powered automobiles. Improvement in catalytic converter efficiency will have significant environmental impacts on the mobile air pollution sources. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zarur, Andrey Advanced Nanotechnologies Corporation CA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 92983 5371 OTHR 1417 1414 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128379 January 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: NUMBERS: Bringing Statistical Machine Translation into the Real World. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project concerns R&D aimed at assessing the feasibility of applying statistical Machine Translation (MT) techniques to the problem of improving the productivity of human translators. Currently, human translators use translation memory tools, i.e., software packages that provide access to databases of previously translated sentences. Unfortunately, these tools do not provide significant help in translating previously unseen sentences and do not improve over time (with the exception of providing access to increasingly larger databases of previously translated material). Because automatic translation systems produce low quality translations that are not tailored to their genre and domain of interest, human translators refuse to use automatic translation systems. In this program, a prototype hybrid translation system and computer interface that will permit humans to translate text by exploiting both a translation memory and an automatic, statistical-based MT system will be built and the increase in text translation productivity that is enabled by the use of the hybrid tool will be measured. A hybrid translation tool such as that proposed here has the potential to reduce significantly the costs associated with human translation, and increase translation productivity. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Wong, William WEAVER LANGUAGE INC CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 1505 HPCC 9216 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0128392 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Characterization of Three Dimensional Discontinuity Properties from Digital Images of Rock Masses. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the usefulness of image processing technologies for characterizing discontinuities in rock masses. Discontinuities in rock masses include joints, faults, bedding planes, etc., and characterizing these features is one of the most important inputs to engineering design in rock masses. Split Engineering LLC has developed image processing and mathematical algorithms for I) delineating fracture traces in images of rock fractures, and 2) extracting three-dimensional properties (including strike and dip) from the delineated fracture traces. The first objective of the Phase I work is to test and further refine the image processing and mathematical algorithms that have been developed. The second objective is to investigate the synergies between this technology and the laser scanning technologies, which also have great commercial potential in the field of fracture characterization. The third objective is to conduct a number of field case studies to validate the trace analysis approach and to determine under what circumstances it is beneficial to incorporate laser-scanning technologies into the approach. Knowledge of geologic discontinuities is important for a number of industries. Current technologies have resulted in either millions of dollars in damage due to a missed fracture or costly reinforcement where it was not needed because of a misinterpreted discontinuity. Important end-users of the technology proffered by Split Engineering LLC, referred to as the trace analysis technology, are the mining and geotechnical industries. The capability fits in especially well with the need to automate certain rock characterization tasks and incorporate the resulting information into the mining process. If the project is successful in developing improvements in fracture system characterization, benefits for the petroleum and environmental industry are also plausible. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Handy, Jeffrey SPLIT ENGINEERING LLC AZ Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 90770 5371 CVIS 9102 1038 0108000 Software Development 0109000 Structural Technology 0128395 January 1, 2002 SBIR PHASE I: Meshless Petrov-Galerkin Geo-Environ Technology For Wide Scale Field Uses. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project seeks to develop a meshless Petrov-Galerkin geo-environ technology for wide scale field uses. Groundwater supplies are increasingly threatened by organic, inorganic, and radioactive contaminants introduced to the environment by improper disposal or accidental releases. Estimates of remediation costs at U.S. government sites alone range into the billions of dollars. Geo-environ assessment tools play an important role in design and evaluations of remediation alternatives and long-term management of groundwater. Proposed mesh free geo-environ technology will open a new era for easy simulation of large complex systems without grid generation. Node density will adjust dynamically for accurate solution. A Petrov-Galerkin based model will provide stable robust technology for contaminant transport and remediation alternative evaluations. Interfaced 2D and 3D displays and animations will provide efficient means for easy communications within project team, decision-makers, and regulators. Consultants for Environmental System Technologies' proposed technology has applicability to numerous waste site restoration programs and groundwater management projects that are implemented at an enormous cost by Federal agencies, states, counties, petroleum facilities and chemical industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gupta, Sumant CFEST INC CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 CVIS 9197 1666 1038 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128400 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Catalysts for Hydrogen/Air Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is for the development of platinum catalysts for hydrogen/air proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. The proposed catalysts will be more active than the current catalysts. The goal is to develop advanced fuel cell catalysts that are sufficiently active to meet DOE's goal for precious metal loading for fuel cells. More active Platinum catalysts will help commercialize hydrogen/air proton-exchange membrane fuel cells for vehicle and low- to medium-power generator applications. Fuel cell manufacturers and users will benefit greatly if the proposed research becomes successful. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kim, Kwang GINER ELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS, LLC MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99993 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128402 December 15, 2001 Operating Center Proposal for The Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR): An I/UCRC in Biometrics. The automated interaction of computers with humans and the biosphere in which they reside represents an increasingly important attribute of computing in the information age. Identification is a critical component of this interaction whether the application be projection of human identity at a distance over the internet, criminal justice and forensics, or medical diagnostics and therapy delivery. Defined across this application spectrum, automated biometric identification systems measure a physiological, behavioral, or biological "signature" from the human body or environment, process and recognize classifiable signal components, and then renders an identification decision based upon the parameters of a given application. Effectively addressing the breadth of needed biometric identification system research from the life sciences to the computing sciences represents a significant challenge to industry and government. Cohesive university faculty groups are particularly well suited to address innovations at this intersection of disciplines. The Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR) organizes the activities of faculty groups at four universities spanning the physical, health, and computer sciences and engineering, to effectively address the cross-cutting research needed to address automated advance biometric identification technology and systems. CITeR will serve an enabling role in the technical and economic development of this area through research of new enabling technologies, the integrative training of scientists and engineers across its breadth, and the facilitation of the transfer of this technology to the private and government sectors. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIS SPECIAL PROJECTS INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Hornak, Lawrence West Virginia University Research Corporation WV Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 2189961 W462 W354 W235 W107 W089 W064 V977 V922 V910 V702 V641 V639 V606 V484 V467 V425 V332 V107 T428 T376 T312 T219 T178 T160 T140 T106 T071 T673 T620 T552 9150 7484 5761 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9150 9102 122E 1049 0000 0128410 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Dye-Loaded Mesoporous Material for the Amplified Fluorescence-Quenching Detection of Metal Ions. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase Iproject will explore a system for improving the sensitivity of fluorescence-based metal-ion sensing. It will use a novel mesoporous material that responds to the presence of certain metal ions by undergoing a precipitous drop in fluorescence intensity. This will enable the detection of trace amounts of toxic or otherwise problematical metal ions in e.g. drinking water, hazardous waste sites, and industrial waste streams. This sensing system can then be incorporated into a test strip-like format in a polymer matrix to give a mass-producible and hence cost-effective, single-use trace metal sensor. These sensors can be made widely available and thereby can improve the amount of information on the presence of metals of concern in the home, workplace, and environment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Stuhl, Louis CHEMMOTIF INC MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99996 5371 AMPP 9163 0106000 Materials Research 0128420 December 1, 2001 SBIR Phase I: Residual Stress and Part Distortion Prediction in Machined Workpiece Surfaces. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project will develop and validate a three-dimensional finite element modeling capability to predict machining induced residual stresses. This project will significantly extend the current state-of-the-art that is limited to 2D residual stress analysis and recently, 3D oblique cutting models of single cutting edge geometries. Residual stress has become increasingly important because of its effects upon surface quality, fatigue, and workpiece distortion. Residual stress has high economic impact to industry since the cost of manufacture is incurred prior to any measurement or detection. Testing methods are very expensive, difficult, and not developed for production purposes. Industry and government testing has determined that machining induced residual stresses can be significant enough in magnitude to induce part distortion and out-of tolerance conditions on completed workpieces. This project will demonstrate an integrated approach to predicting residual stress effects upon completely manufactured parts. Workpiece residual stress due to machining parameters will be modeled, verified, and then integrated into a complete part analysis to determine the final state of stress and distortion for a complete workpiece part prior to any manufacture. The commercial applications include large, thin walled aerospace parts (such as wing spars), structural components, and parts susceptible to high rates of fatigue (rotor wing hubs and load carrying parts, spindles, structural, and powertrain components). The economic impact to predict and control part distortion induced by machining processes is very high. The cost of rejection of one part due to out-of-tolerance conditions can easily exceed $100,000 and routinely create weeks in production delay and scrap. The automotive sector, primarily within engine block manufacture, piston liners, bearings, spindles, and hard turning applications (generally) could also benefit from this technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Marusich, Troy THIRD WAVE SYSTEMS, INC. MN Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128423 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Niobium Silicide Intermetallics Castings for the Next Generation of Very High Temperature Applications. 0128423 Chen This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will test the feasibility of a new production technology for affordable near-net shape components of a class of advanced refractory metal intermetallic composites. Niobium (Nb)-based intermetallics will permit a revolutionary increase in operating temperatures for many very high temperature applications. Phase I will employ an innovative reactive metal investment casting method to create a cost-effective and robust process for manufacturing complex shapes. Phase II would explore strategies for producing actual components. Anticipated commercial applications are those at very high temperatures, such as turbine airfoils now made of single crystal nickel-based superalloys. Unprecedented levels of fuel efficiency and thrust-to-weight ratio are expected for future aircraft systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chen, Edward TiTech International, Inc. CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 0106000 Materials Research 0128429 January 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: Real Time In Situ Sensor Development for Thermal Spray Coating Properties. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project proposes to develop a real time coating property sensor to measure intrinsic material properties of thermal spray coatings. The project proposes to develop this technology into a production capable tool for thermal spray process development and control with the following attributes: measures useful coating properties in situ; usable by real world spray shop operators at both small and large shops; relatively inexpensive (<$25K); able to operate in harsh environment; and uses minimal assumptions and complexities associated with property interpretation. The project will demonstrate feasibility of producing such a tool under Phase I. Under Phase II, a production tool will be developed and important relationships between the tool output and the functional properties of the coatings will be generated. Despite this need, there are no simple procedures currently available to rapidly determine the mechanical properties of coatings both in laboratory and industrial settings. As thermal spray coatings evolve from a role of life extension of components to performing a prime reliant function, there exists a critical need to develop procedures to obtain design relevant properties. The impact of this project will provide commercial thermal spray customers with engineering support directed at improving quality and repeatability of coatings application. This should result in significant capital expenditure savings for companies over many disciplines that are involved in manufacturing. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Greenlaw, Rob Integrated Coating Solutions, Inc. CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 1505 MANU 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128435 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Environmentally Benign, High-Pressure Plasma Cleaning Tool for Photoresists. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will establish the performance of the Plasma Flow Source for stripping and residue cleaning of photoresists on 200 mm semiconductor wafers without producing any environmentally-damaging waste streams. In particular, it will determine the effect of process conditions and gas chemistry on stripping rate and uniformity. Measurements will be performed on standard and heavily implanted photoresists as well as on patterned wafers following reactive ion etching. The novel Plasma Flow Source system produces a large flux of oxygen atoms at low-temperatures and pressures between 10 and 1000 Torr. It has been shown that this source strips photoresists from 100 mm wafers at rates of up to 0.9micron/min at 120 C and 3.0 micron/min at 250 C, with excellent uniformity. The high ash rate observed at 120 C shows promise for removing heavily implanted resists and hardened residues from reactive ion etched substrates. Moreover, operation at higher pressure reduces gas consumption and dramatically decreases pumping requirements. The knowledge gained from this study will establish the potential of this exciting new technology for environmentally-benign, photoresist stripping of wafers for next-generation semiconductor devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Babayan, Steven Surfx Technologies LLC CA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99200 5371 AMPP 9163 1407 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128443 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Real-Time Image Processing Based Motion Detection for Science and Mathematics Learning. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project will create image processing based software that tracks objects using real-time video input for use in the teaching of mathematics and physical science. Image processing has not previously been used in educational motion detection. Compared to the currently used methods-real-time graphing and frame-by-frame analysis of stored video-the proposed innovation will have many advantages, such as the simultaneous display of video and graphs and the automatic generation of stroboscopic images. Phase I has two research objectives. To develop a system that can track one object and display a graph of its motion on a computer screen in real time, and to investigate with teachers and students the applications of this system to understanding motion, graphing, shapes, visualization, and projection. Used in conjunction with inquiry-based curriculum, the system proffered by Paul Antonucci & Associates could improve teaching and learning of physical science and mathematics nationwide, and it expands the possibilities for exploring motion in real-world situations. This innovation will create the opportunity to surpass in learning effectiveness and ease-of-use the technologies now used widely in high school and college physics. In addition it will potentially reach a much larger market-mathematics classrooms from middle school through college. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Antonucci, Paul Alberti's Window, LLC MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 88835 5371 SMET 9180 9177 9145 7355 7256 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0108000 Software Development 0116000 Human Subjects 0128451 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Wireless Smart Devices and Their Coordination. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop innovative technologies for smart infrastructure, and in particular coordinated wireless sensors and control devices. The first smart wireless devices will focus on measurement and control of environmental parameters such as temperature and humidity, although these devices are archetypes for a wider range of smart components. The behavior of the smart devices will be coordinated by the MetaOS, a software system developed by Ambient Computing, Inc. to provide traditional operating system functions to fully distributed collections of smart computing and networking devices. The system will demonstrate the technical and commercial feasibility of connected and coordinated smart devices. The early commercial applications of the proposed work will focus on improvement of energy consumption and personalization of environmental parameters. Existing means of addressing these problems are highly proprietary, difficult and expensive to deploy, and have limited flexibility. The proposed more advanced systems will lead to significant reduction in overall energy consumption while providing personal comfort and financial benefits to consumers. This effort aims to build some of the missing and necessary pieces for smart environments, specifically, small and low-cost wireless devices with integrated computing capabilities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ewy, Benjamin Ambient Computing, Inc. KS Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 9150 0108000 Software Development 0128452 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Information Theoretic Learning and Application to Fetal ECG. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project focuses on the development and evaluation of a new class of algorithms for blind source separation (BSS) and independent component analysis (ICA) based on a recently proposed information theoretic learning (ITL) criterion. The algorithms yield several practical criteria to adapt universal mappers, either under unsupervised or supervised paradigms. The ITL criterion can dramatically improve upon systems trained with mean square error. NeuroDimension will develop new algorithms to choose the segments for separation, address BSS of noisy mixtures, and extend the ITL criterion to convolutive mixtures. The firm further proposes to validate these methods via the fetal heart rate monitoring problem, which requires the separation of the maternal and fetal ECGs, a blind source separation problem. The ITL criterion of minimum cross entropy can exploit the fact that the ECGs are statistically independent. The expectation is that the new information theoretic learning will extract a much cleaner ECG because it is exploiting all the information about the signal statistics, not only the second order statistics (as MSE does). Finally the ITL criterion will be compared with the conventional interference cancellation algorithms in real data obtained from the University of Florida College of Medicine. The project has the potential to develop a new piece of clinical instrumentation, a fetal heart monitor, for which there is a demonstrated market. The firm utilizes a new approach to information signal process that may be able to identify the elusive fetal heart signal in a practical, real-time manner. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Euliano, Neil Convergent Engineering, Inc FL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 96874 5371 HPCC 9216 0510604 Analytic Tools 0128453 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Visualizing Arbitrary Basis Functions for Advanced Engineering Analysis and Simulation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the lack of visualization technology for advanced engineering simulation tools. Such tools routinely depend on interpolation and approximation (basis) functions for a variety of purposes, including modeling geometry via CAD/CAM tools, or for computational techniques such as the finite element method. What distinguishes advanced tools from earlier, less sophisticated tools is their dependence on higher-order basis functions, as compared to the linear functions typical of early tools. While modern simulation tools have moved to more sophisticated basis functions, visualization technology has lagged behind. Visualization technology, which plays a vital role in understanding, communicating and steering computational design, has not moved beyond supporting linear basis functions, with a few special exceptions (e.g., quadratic). This situation poses a significant problem for engineering computation, since advanced techniques of high accuracy are coupled with lower-accuracy display of results. Such an approach is error prone, and introduces significant penalties in terms of time and computer resources required. Kitware, Inc. proffers software technology that will enable analysts to use higher-order basis functions for visualization. This technology will be available for licensing in the combined CAD/CAM and finite element market. In addition, Kitware, Inc. will build visualization applications for commercial sale. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schroeder, William KITWARE INC NY Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0128456 January 1, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase I: Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser Based on Nanostructured Active Material. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I Project will further develop a nanostructure technology for use as the active material of a fiber optic laser. Prior research has demonstrated that self-organized III-V semiconductor nanostructures grown on GaAs (gallium arsenide) substrate can operate as the gain region of a 1.3 micron wavelength laser, and that these structures are effective in realizing vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). 1.3 micron VCSELs are a key device for high speed fiber optic links for use in Ethernet and other metro access and metro applications. This project will have access to a high quality epitaxial growth facility with the capability to grow the III-V nanostructures and VCSEL mirrors and to develop a broad range of electronic and optoelectronic device materials. The commercial application of this project is in the fiber optics communications market. It is estimated that the market for a 1.3 micron VCSEL could reach close to $1 billion within the next 10 years. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Pan, Noren MICROLINK DEVICES INC IL Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 1505 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128460 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Surface Passivation to Prevent Coking in Pyrolisis Environments. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will eliminate coking in ethylene furnaces and dusting in steam reformers. Ethylene and hydrogen, two very important feedstocks, are produced by processing hydrocarbon feed streams at high temperatures. Unfortunately, when hydrocarbons come into contact with iron and nickel (major components of steel) at high temperature, reactions can occur which cause coking in ethylene production and formation of metal oxide particulate (dusting) in hydrogen production by steam reforming. The lost time required to decoke ethylene crackers and the removal of metal oxide particulate from steam reformers are costly. Although pyrolysis and steam reforming are carried out under different conditions, the initial steps in coking and dusting are identical, the formation of iron and nickel carbides. In this project, additives will be developed that bind strongly to iron and nickel on the steel surface, eliminating the formation of these metal carbides. Additives that reduce coke in ethylene crackers and eliminate dusting in steam reforming would find immediate application in both ethylene and hydrogen production industries. These problems are significant sources of cost to each of the industries and their elimination would result in measurable reductions in price for both ethylene and hydrogen. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wickham, David TDA Research, Inc CO T. James Rudd Standard Grant 96153 5371 MANU 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128469 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Novel Solid State Facilitated Transport Membranes for Carbon Dioxide Removal. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on the development of novel solid state facilitated transport membranes for the separation of carbon dioxide/hydrogen and carbon dioxide/methane mixtures. Current best technologies are amine absorption or pressure-swing-adsorption both expensive, energy intensive processes. The key objective of this project is to deliver a new type of facilitated transport membrane in the form of a solid polymer electrolyte. To provide high gas fluxes, the membranes will be formed as thin-film composites. Preliminary studies indicate that solid polymer electrolyte composite membranes can show significantly improved performance over conventional facilitated transport and polymeric membranes. Separation of carbon dioxide from natural gas and from hydrogen-containing refinery off-gases in refineries present a significant opportunity for membrane-based-gas separation. About 17% of U.S. natural gas requires processing to remove carbon dioxide. In refineries, hydrogen is typically produced by steam reforming of natural gas or light hydrocarbons and must be separated from carbon dioxide, which is produced as a by-product. Membrane separation offers many advantages over amine absorption or pressure-swing adsorption in these two applications. However more selective and robust membranes are needed to achieve these economics over conventional separation technology and this is reason for developing solid polymer electrolyte composite membranes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pinnau, Ingo MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH, INC. CA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128483 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Encasement of Light Emitting Ceramic Devices for Signage and Lightscaping Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will establish the feasibility of a materials system to encase customized ceramic signage (and other lightscaping products) which utilize solid-state ceramic lamps as a backlight source. These systems should achieve extraordinary power efficiency by illuminating the information rather than the entire sign area and are intended for external operation over a wide environmental range (e.g. extremes in temperature, humidity, acid rain, etc). The proposed encasement method uses special materials formulations applied through ultrasonic spray and CNC technologies to create custom ceramic surfaces. These surfaces display the information content in a backlit format while protecting the light emitting ceramic layer from the external operating environment. This system provides a semi-transparent, multi-colored outer ceramic layer exhibiting a combination of information display and artistic presentation features when backlit by a solid-state ceramic lamp. This technology can be applied to a wide variety of commercial signage and lightscaping applications. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Brown, Wayne Meadow River Enterprises, Inc. WV T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99981 9150 AMPP 9163 0000908 Urban Problems 0128488 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Novel Low-Cost Inorganic Nanofiltration Module. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project involves development of fully inorganic nanofiltration (NF) membrane modules that combine the attributes of low cost, excellent chemical resistance in aggressive organic and aqueous media, high thermal stability, and high mechanical strength. The key objectives will be to develop NF membrane modules based on low-cost multi-channel honeycomb supports with 220 square cetimeter membrane area and to demonstrate they have NF retention capability, high productivity (flux rates), and resistance to aggressive organic and aqueous media. Preliminary work to fabricate analogous modules with 1200 square centimeter membrane area will be performed. The modules, when ultimately commercialized to very large size, will be especially suitable for in-process recycling of solvents used in a wide variety of applications and could replace distillation as a cost-effective purification method for solvents such as hexane and acetone that are used in very large quantities in edible oil processing. In addition, the products would have wide application in the chemical manufacturing, petrochemical, petroleum production, pharmaceutical, food processing, and water treatment industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Higgins, Richard CeraMem Corporation MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128492 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: The Use of Gestural Interface and Robotics Technology to Facilitate Language Development. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project examines the feasibility of using gestural interface technology and interactive robotics to facilitate receptive and expressive language development of children with severe and/or multiple disabilities. Developed by AnthroTronix, Inc., the technology uses a child friendly robot controlled by various interfaces adapted to individual needs, regardless of physical limitations. The robot imitates movements and tells the child's written or spoken stories, providing reinforcements and motivation for learning. Speech and language impairments, affecting 10% of school children, including most children with severe disabilities, significantly impact abilities to read, write and communicate. Objectives are to examine the technology's (a) applicability across a range of disabilities, ages, and interventions in the promotion of speech, language, reading, and writing skills, and (b) ease of use by therapists and teachers. Methods will include qualitative data and pre-post tests with 3-5 children representing a range of disabilities, cultural backgrounds, and ages who attend a K-5 public school. Results will enable Beta Prototype design specifying a range of applications for children with disabilities and will determine specific interventions to be tested in the next phase of the research. Completion of the project will enable the refinement of the hardware and software to target specified interventions that promote language literacy across a range of children with disabilities. The technology will be marketed in a package that includes a CD-ROM and instructional manual to teachers and therapists working with children with disabilities. RES IN DISABILITIES ED IIP ENG Lathan, Corinna ANTHROTRONIX, INC. MD Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 1545 OTHR 9102 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0108000 Software Development 0116000 Human Subjects 0128496 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Microwave Molecular Dynamics of Bound Water in Hydrating Cements. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the correlation between bound-water dielectric relaxation observed by broadband permittivity measurement and the degree of hydration in Portland cement, and apply the results to the refinement of a concrete cure monitoring system under development at the company. Complex permittivity over the frequency range 10 kHz to 10 GHz in curing cement shows signal components due to 1) free-water behavior near 10 GHz which decreases during cure and follows percent hydration, and 2) bound-water behavior between 1-1000 MHz which increases during early hours of cure and decreases and broadens thereafter. The bound-water relaxation does not appear in the initial cement paste but does appear after several hours of cure, mirroring the formation of hydration products to which it is attaching. This behavior will be elucidated by varying initial chemistry and determining effects on signal, quantifying changes in relaxation frequency and amplitude with cure time and fitting to appropriate models. The commercial potential of this project is in the construction industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hager, Nathaniel Material Sensing & Instrumentation PA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 98748 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128498 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Education on Demand for Technique Training. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project investigates the feasibility and design of a novel authoring and server-client system that delivers interactive education-on-demand for technique training and telescience. Rich media including live and archived video, data, and 3-D models are (1) collected from instructor sources, (2) objectized and integrated into MPEG-4, MPEG-7, and MPEG-21 compliant streams, (3) securely conveyed via dynamically selected transport protocols to wide audiences with diverse computing platforms (from workstations to wireless PDAs), (4) tailored to individual demographics and physical handicap, and (5) rendered in a participant-driven interactive fashion that supports user-directed manipulation of views and articulation of models, real-time scientific visualization, technique learning, real-time analysis of experiment data, and experiment control (if authorized) without the need of special hardware. The client admits future media types, and user-supplied extensions (e.g., MatLab workspaces) for personalized data analysis, and content is adapted to the demographics, physical handicaps, and computing resources of the student. A graphical authoring tool facilitates the set-up of lectures and peer sessions, and assessment of student performance and courseware. The concept proffered by Sorceron provides technique training and telescience to the academic and commercial markets, which require interactivity not available in traditional streaming media architectures. Commercial success is enhanced by compliance with emerging multimedia standards and partnering with potential clients during technical and business requirements assessment. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Bandera, Cesar Sorceron NY Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99520 1666 SMET 9178 9177 7355 7256 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000912 Computer Science 0102000 Data Banks 0104000 Information Systems 0522400 Information Systems 0128508 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Xtractica: A System for Extracting Coherent Data from Documents. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of designing and building a software system: Xtractica. This software system will allow domain experts to specify programs that transform unstructured or partially structured data from a variety of document sources, such as World Wide Web sites, PDF files and text into structured, coherent and readily usable information. Xtractica will consist of a set of tightly integrated powerful syntactic and semantics-driven data extraction technologies that are managed from a graphical user interface to retrieve information that was created for human understandability, and extract and reason about it to create knowledge that can support automated decision making and transactions. An important feature of Xtractica is that users can rapidly create extractors by simply supplying examples of the data to be extracted. Thus it will empower users who are knowledgeable about their application domains but are not necessarily trained as computing technologists, to structure data into knowledge. The Phase I project will develop the operational specifications of Xtractica and determine its feasibility by prototyping its critical components. Phase 2 will then produce a fully functional Xtractica system based on results from Phase I. Finally Phase 3 will make Xtractica commercially available to clients with diverse business interests including content aggregation, e-procurement, ERP and supply chain management vendors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Davulcu, Hasan XSB, INC. NY Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99804 5371 HPCC 9216 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0128511 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Electrochemical Disinfectant Generator for Multiple In-Situ Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will focus on the development of an electrochemically operated organic peroxy acid generator. Peroxyacids are popular disinfectants that can eliminate even resistant microorganisms (i.e. spores, viruses). Peracids produce biodegradable end products, are effective at dilute concentrations (ppm levels), are safe for use even in food preparation applications, and are thus applicable to many point-of-use applications in homes, restaurants and hospitals. These include the use of peroxylactic or peroxyacetic acids for diverse uses, including: i) preventing the build up of heterotrophic bacteria in water treatment appliances, ii) destroying pathogens in water and on food surfaces, iii) sterilizing medical devices, and iv) sanitizing food processing equipment by incorporating a clean-in-place capability. The conventional method of manufacturing peroxy acids involves mixing concentrated hydrogen peroxide, organic acid, and inorganic acid catalyst (concentrated sulfuric acid) with numerous stabilizers and additives. In the proposed method, peracids can be generated and used on demand using oxygen or air, thus eliminating the need for hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid. In Phase I, optimization of the electrocatalyst (to improve current and energy efficiencies), preliminary cell design and catalyst configuration, and biocidal properties of the peracid product will be conducted. There is a considerable need for miniature and scalable clean-in-place devices in point-of-use applications in homes, hotels, food service establishments and hospitals. Many equipment manufacturers are trying to incorporate a self cleaning capability into their existing product lines due to concerns of microbial contamination, especially one that requires minimal user interaction, is cost effective, and environmentally friendly. In water treatment applications alone, the market for these decives is estimated to be over $1billion annually in the U.S. and $3 billion worldwide. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tennakoon, Charles Lynntech, Inc TX Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128513 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Surface Modification of Textiles for Protective Clothing. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project concerns the surface modification of textiles in order to impart properties to the fabric necessary for their use as protective clothing. The increase in disease transmission, the widespread use of pesticides in agriculture, and the increased proliferation of chemical and biological weapons worldwide have increased the need for the development of effective fabric treatments for protective clothing. During the Phase I research, agents will be covalently attached to the surface of fabric in order to give them the desired properties. The modified fabric will then be tested for antimicrobial activity against a broad spectrum of pathogenic microorganisms, for detoxification of chemical pesticides and appropriate surrogates for chemical and biological weapons, as well as for skin cytotoxicity. The Phase I research will show that the modified textiles are able to effectively eradicate a broad range of pathogenic microbes, detoxify chemical pesticides and surrogates for chemical and biological weapons while retaining their original physical properties and possessing no skin cytotoxicity. Potential applications for this technology include protective clothing and materials for medical and dental institutions, agricultural workers, and military soldiers as well as for cloth products for household disinfection and various consumer products. Commercial applications for fabric that is active against pathogenic microorganisms as well as chemical agents are wide and diverse. Protective clothing for agricultural workers and military servicemen could be produced from these modified fabrics. A multitude of applications could be found in the medical and dental area. Clothing for medical and dental personnel and patients including lab coats, scrubs, caps, shoe covers, masks, privacy drapes, surgical drapes, bed sheets, etc. could be rendered antimicrobial utilizing this technology. Consumer products such as diapers, athletic socks, water filters, and disinfectant wipes could also be prepared from these materials. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Elrod, Don Lynntech, Inc TX T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128515 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Development of MAC-to-PHY Convergence Tools for Broadband Fixed Wireless Access. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address one of the major obstacles to commercial development of broadband fixed wireless access under 5 GHz, namely overcoming a "convergence bottleneck" arising from distance-sensitive propagation conditions. It is well known that as distance ranges from line of sight to well beyond line of sight, transmission parameters can degrade dramatically. However, current state-of-the-art treats this condition in a highly unsatisfactory way, through statistical models, through "handshake" schemes, modulation fallback, use of preambles and embedded pilot tones, to name just a few. An innovative concept will be demonstrated for rapid, two-way, unobtrusive and easily scaled RF measurements that permit characterizing thousands of hub-to-subscriber paths precisely without guesswork. Regional operations centers, hub base station and consumer terminals will operate more efficiently due to the network's ability to converge rapidly on near-optimum transmission characteristics. This innovation will make broadband more readily available to populations that live and work where DSL, fiber, and cable modem service is not offered. This includes: people who work in outdoor locations, in hard-to-get-to schools, libraries, college campuses, transportation systems, factories, waterways, and small businesses. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Arnstein, Donald Saraband Wireless, Inc. VA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99608 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0128526 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Functionally Gradient Partial Insert Development for Thin-Skin Sandwich Composite Structures. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an innovative system for reliably and inexpensively attaching medium- to heavy-weight equipment to thin-skin composite sandwich structures. This will be accomplished with proprietary metallic foam (patent applied) and polymeric partial inserts with functionally graded stiffness. This is different from the stiffness of the sandwich material and is set to the stiffness and strength required to carry the equipment. By varying the stiffness of the insert from low to high, it will be possible to carry the weight of the equipment without damaging the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) core material. Inserts of metal foam and polymer composite with varying density and stiffness will be fabricated by a patented extrusion, free-form fabrication technology. Due to the materials low density, less than one or two pounds of the attachment material will be of adequate volume for a composite attachment system. Thus, the material cost of the attachment system will be small relative to the cost of a traditional sandwich composite structure. Potential applications are anticipated in manufacture of vehicles for commercial transportation, e.g., buses, trains, small crafts, and aircrafts. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Vaidyanathan, Ranji ADVANCED CERAMICS RESEARCH, INC AZ T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 0522100 High Technology Materials 0128529 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Synthesis of High Capacity Sn/MOx Nano Composite Anode Materials for Lithium Rechargeable Batteries. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project will develop technologies to synthesize nano tin/metal oxide anode materials for lithium rechargeable batteries. Reducing tin particles to nano size is known to be critical for a good cycle life of tin-based anode materials. The materials are expected to show a capacity of >1000 mAh/cm3 which represents a >50% increase over the practical capacity of carbonaceous materials presently used in lithium rechargeable batteries. In addition, the materials are expected to have a first cycle reversibility of >80%, comparable to that of carbon. The commercial application of this project will be in the materials market for the next generation of lithium rechargeable batteries. The market for portable batteries is about $6 billion, with an annual growth rate of 15% in the last 10 years. Of this, the worldwide portable lithium-ion battery market is $2.93 billion, with 530 million cells shipped in 2000. New markets are also emerging for electric and hybrid vehicle propulsion. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Liya T/J Technologies, Inc MI Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128531 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Optimal Replisnishment Algorithms for Service Parts Logistics Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new methodology to manage the inventory of service parts used to provide after-sales support of mission-critical products. In particular this research will develop computationally efficient and optimal algorithms for replenishment and allocation of inventory in service parts logistics networks. Subsequently, the algorithms will be incorporated into a commercial software product platform for service supply chain optimization. Service part optimization requires specialized models, since demand (due to machine failures and unscheduled maintenance) is infrequent and difficult to predict. Movement of parts must be coordinated across many inter-connected stocking locations in order to facilitate on- time delivery, often within hours or even minutes. In addition, there are multiple sources of supply for these parts such as internal manufacturing, external suppliers, repair vendors, and de-manufacturing. Current commercial service supply chain optimization systems do not incorporate these complexities of the service supply chains. As a consequence, they perform poorly in after-sales service environments resulting in extensive in service parts inventory that turns only 1 to 2 times per year. This research can lead to commercial technology that can reduce this expense substantially. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Agrawal, Vipul MCA SOLUTIONS INC PA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0128542 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Electrochemical Method to Fabricate Flexible Solar Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes a new low cost electro- chemical fabrication method to produce flexible photovoltaic cells based on the commercially important copper indium diselenide (CIS) films. The project will develop an innovative n-CIS solar cell with fewer components and processing steps. The cell will be constructed on a flexible foil to reduce weight, fragility and balance-of-system costs. The project also develops a new roll-to-roll electrodeposition technology for large volume manufacturing. Phase I will synthesize CIS films and construct n/p heterojunction devices on metal foils. It will evaluate the solar cell performance to validate the concepts. The proposed n-CIS solar cell configuration and its fabrication are specially designed to simplify manufacturing, reduce costs and increase production speed. It will circumvent the complexity, expense, safety and scale-up issues of the present p-CIS technology. Its commercialization will provide a timely solution to the nation's escalating energy and environmental problems. It will avert future power crises and help reduce global warming. Applications for the copper indium diselenide technology range from the electric utility to satellites. Flexible, lightweight, photovoltaic cells may be used in non-utility applications such as electric vehicles, building integration, mobile systems and new space systems. Lower costs, fewer components and easier manufacturing could translate into a wider spectrum of commercial markets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Menezes, Shalini InterPhases Solar, Inc. CA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128545 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Enabling Sharable Infrastructure for the Human/Computer Interface. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the challenge of seamless interoperability among computer systems and user interface components such as displays and keyboards. Today these components are tightly coupled with the computer, which restricts the utility of both-especially in mobile computing systems, where users invariably have to choose between usable displays and reasonable portability. A familiar manifestation of the opportunity is the "conference display swap" problem. The over-all goal of the project is to develop and specify robust, efficient and secure interfaces that enable computers to dynamically discover, connect to and use displays over moderate-bandwidth network connections. The Phase I investigation will focus on efficient encoding techniques for an interoperable virtual display interface that can be run over existing wireless network technologies. The interface will make it possible for multiple computers to share a projection display serially via software. In the longer term, it frees mobile computing systems to evolve independently of display technology, and leads to a model in which user interface devices are considered public infrastructure. This research has commercial application in a number of industries where seamless display sharing is routinely required but is not yet supported, such as conference management, higher education, and medicine. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Seales, William Lumenware LLC KY Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 112000 5371 HPCC 9251 9215 9178 9150 0108000 Software Development 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128547 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Environmentally Benign Process to Enhance Performance of CuInSe2 Films. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new surface modification technique for manufacturing copper indium diselenide (CIS) thin films, an important emerging photovoltaic technology. It will eliminate present toxic processing steps involving cadmium sulfide deposition, cyanide etch, all of which have many unfavorable repercussions to the manufacturer and the environment. The key step will be to devise a simple, inexpensive process, using air and a non-toxic aqueous solution, to alter the surface properties of CIS films. This step will eliminate the need for the cadmium component, the cyanide etch and the disposal of hazardous chemicals. It will also improve the efficiency of solar cells made with inexpensive coating methods. Performance evaluation of the modified CIS solar cells will validate the new concept. This innovation is anticipated to simplify manufacturing, lower costs and improve the efficiency of photovoltaic modules. Applications for the CIS photovoltaic technology range from powering small appliances to electric utility. Non-utility applications include solar cars, building integration, mobile systems and space systems. Lower costs, fewer components and easier manufacturing could translate into a wider spectrum of commercial markets for CIS solar cells. Eliminating the toxicity issues will enhance the public perception of CIS photovoltaic technology. Its implementation will promote the market success of CIS solar cells to provide a timely solution to the nation's escalating energy and environmental problems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Menezes, Shalini InterPhases Solar, Inc. CA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 9102 1417 1414 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128556 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Decision Support Software for Short-Term Hospital Occupancy Forecasts. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address the problem of short-term hospital census prediction. Fluctuating occupancy can impact many operational metrics: direct staffing costs, emergency center ambulance diversions, medical errors triggered in understaffed patient areas, quality of care, and job satisfaction for the dwindling nursing pool. This project will result in a computer based decision support system for predicting short-term patient occupancy at a nursing unit level over 72-hour time horizons. The short-term forecasts will be tested in a 226-bed community hospital. The first objective is to quantify sources of error in an alpha-version of the model and to develop an improved model. The objective is to prove that the improved model generates accurate predictions of patient census. Next, the research will quantify the potential impact of short-term forecasts on nurse staffing and scheduling. Surveys with hospital personnel will gauge the interest in and utility of the forecast information. The national shortage of nurses demands better use of this limited resource. Improvement Path Systems' objective is to build commercial forecasting software to be licensed to hospitals. The daily forecasts of hospital occupancy will allow hospitals to make better staffing decisions and operate more efficiently. The proposed decision support system can be generalized to other dynamic systems involving people flows. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Littig, Steven Improvement Path Systems, Inc. MI Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 9125 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0510604 Analytic Tools 0128562 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Digital Starlab. This Small Business Innovation (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of a computerized projection system to be used in planetariums in the nation's schools. With such a digital projector, a simulated night sky can be imaged with the capacity for a multitude of motions and displays surpassing all but the most sophisticated of museum planetariums. When coupled with suitable simulation software, information-based technology can be used to encourage interactive and inquiry-based activities. In addition, the planetarium projector will have capabilities shared by no other; that is, being able to project dynamically changing information displays of the earth, including plate tectonics, weather patterns, and biological distributions. The system proffered will help promote interdisciplinary studies, use the latest astronomical and GIS data, and aid in teaching the content of the national standards, especially earth science at the elementary and middle school level. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Stupp, Edward LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES, INC MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 98048 1666 SMET HPCC 9215 9180 9177 7355 7256 0101000 Curriculum Development 0108000 Software Development 0128583 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Segmented Proton Exchange Membranes with Edge Seals for Compact Fuel Cell Electrode Structures. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate a design approach for a high energy density hydrogen/air Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The proposed research will demonstrate a means of creating sections of membrane, integral with the parent material, which are thermoplastic in nature and which are impermeable to hydrogen, oxygen and water for sealing edges. The same membrane modification will be used to create narrow, inerted sections of membrane to serve as borders of inactive membrane between segmented, series-connected, coplanar fuel cells. The material innovations will be demonstrated in actual 50 cm 2 PEM fuel cells, both single and segmented. Ionic conductivity and water and gas permeability will be determined to show the extent of inactivation in treated regions. Tensile strength tests will be conducted to demonstrate the integrity of the structures and the strength of thermally bonded edge seals. PEM segmented or coplanar have potential fuel cells applications where exceptionally long total service lives (>30,000 Hrs) of operating times are required. Long service life is required for residential applications, battery replacement and standby power supplies for critical computer and control facilities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG McDonald, Robert GINER ELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS, LLC MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99996 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128588 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: UNiCAP--Universal Combinatorual Auction Platform. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is aimed at developing a general platform for conducting combinatorial auctions. It is proposed to develop a bidding language and user interface, along with a system architecture for an integrated combinatorial auction platform that can be used to facilitate combinatorial auctions. The system will provide a wide degree of flexibility in terms of the number of rounds, stopping rules, and bidder and/or object-specific constraints that can be implemented. If successful, this project will lead to a development of a combinatorial auction system that will become a standard part of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and will greatly enhance electronic procurement in business-to-business environments. Some examples of industries that can benefit from combinatorial auctions include: airport time slots for flights; shipping and transportation companies, as well as the retailers and manufacturers who use these shippers; computer hardware manufacturers, as well as auto manufacturers who can use combinatorial auctions for material procurement; and television networks who can use combinatorial auctions to sell advertising space in TV shows. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Katok, Elena Active Decision Support, Ltd. PA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 105600 5371 HPCC 9251 9231 9178 9139 9102 0522400 Information Systems 0128599 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Adaptive Online Assessment of Mathematical Problem Solving Strategy Applications for Students with Learning Disabilities. This SBIR Phase I project from Learnimation (TM) will produce a browser-based assessment and feedback engine prototype that evaluates mathematical problem solving skills for students with learning disabilities. This assessment engine prototype will provide adaptive instruction in a learning environment designed to meet individual students' needs. It will also provide adaptive guidance to a student's teacher and caregiver. The importance of high level mathematical problem solving and reasoning and the assessment of these skills is emphasized for all students by the national standards-governing bodies in the United States (NCTM, AAAS, NRC), yet as many as 6% of all school age children have severe math deficits with very few tools at their disposal to help them gain fluency and measure accountability in an increasingly information-based society. This investigation will provide an alternative assessment platform for mathematics skill development designed specifically for learning disabilities and will ensure that all students with disabilities are included in the present national educational assessment reforms. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Manning, Sarah Learnimation NY Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 96080 1666 SMET 9178 9177 9102 7355 7256 0108000 Software Development 0522400 Information Systems 0128603 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Securing Operating Systems Against Intruder Attacks. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses security of operating systems. This approach is based on developing specifications that capture security-relevant behaviors of programs, and constraining their execution to ensure adherence to these specifications. Since all security-relevant operations are administered through system calls, program behaviors are modeled in terms of sequences of system calls made by them, together with their arguments. The system will achieve enhanced security without compromising on functionality by (a) being able to protect against known as well as novel kinds of attacks, (b) maintaining a very low false-alarm rate, and (c) reduced maintenance needs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ganapathy, Umamaheswari Immunet Security Solutions, Incorporated NY Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99942 5371 HPCC 9215 9102 0108000 Software Development 0128604 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Comprehensive Database Resource on Protein Localization. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will enable the development of the first knowledge management system dedicated specifically to protein localization (ProLoc). Data generated from high-throughput genomic and proteomic experimentation and information published across the entire spectrum of cellular and molecular biology is proliferating at exponential rates. Moreover, current database systems remain incapable of handling the intricate network of relationships between proteins. ProLoc, a database system that integrates expert-curated information from published literature with primary data from a range of experimental methodologies, will begin to attack this problem by focusing on one discrete area of cell biology (protein localization). Researchers will be able to mine pathways and mechanisms, leading to disease elucidation and new therapies. Phase I will be used to create the framework for a functioning relational database, with representative entries for initial beta testing. This will provide an essential foundation for Phase II, when comprehensive content and ancillary tools will be added, creating a highly structured, sophisticated, and interactive relational database system. Once the daunting challenge of reflecting biological pathways into standard database formats has been met through the ProLoc database, the ProLoc structure can be extended to many other cell regulation pathways and processes. ProLoc will stand out as an extremely high quality specialized resource in the field of protein localization that will be a necessary part of any set of molecular biology benchtop databases and tools. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rubin, David Cognia Corporation NY Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 106444 5371 HPCC 9251 9231 9215 9178 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128606 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Direct Manufacturing Method for Miniature Medical Components. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will develop a hybrid, co-flow laser material deposition system in order to enhance the ability to fabricate materials with nanocrystalline microstructures and to produce miniature, three dimensional structural components such as dental implants and stents directly from a CAD (Computer Aided Design) solid model. This work will leverage two technologies previously developed by the researchers : (a) Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS), and (b) Direct Write Electronics (DWE). The LENS process provides the ability to fabricate large structures directly from a CAD solid model, whereas the DWE process provides the ability to fabricate microelectronic components directly from a CAD representation. The principal commercial application of this project will be in the field of miniature biomedical components. Additional applications are expected in the field of electronics and defense. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Keicher, David Optomec Design Company NM T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99952 9150 MANU 9146 0203000 Health 0128609 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Simulator for Use in Education. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will determine the feasibility of designing the scanning electron microscope (SEM) component of an instrument simulator. Cost prohibits that incorporation of a variety of image/composition-based instruments used in research and industry into relevant modern science/math/ engineering/technology curricula. Some of these instruments are becoming available over the Internet, but they provide limited access to students and, in general, they are not fully functional. The research objectives in Phase I to will primarily relate to the method(s) of manipulating a very large image (the equivalent of over 1000 SEM images) in a manner that faithfully simulates the operation of a real WEB-based SEM. The key research area will be to develop an image-management and input/output engine. The anticipated deliverable of Phase I is the SEM image simulator, and the outline of several educational modules on CD/DVD media. Instrument simulation proffered by the RJ Lee Group has the potential to distribute the benefits of the resource of a variety of image/composition-based instruments (via CD or DVD) to all students in a class throughout a school year. A simplified viewer mode would be developed for the informal education and home markets, and an advanced mode incorporating specific science content interactive discovery-based modules would be developed for the K-college formal education market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Casuccio, Gary RJ LEE GROUP, INC PA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99796 5371 SMET 9267 9180 9178 9177 7355 7256 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0108000 Software Development 0128610 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: CdSe Nanoparticle/Metal-Organic Inks for Printable Electronics. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a low-temperature, atmospheric-pressure deposition process for metal chalcogenide nanomaterials in electronics. This process will use a hybrid ink containing CdSe nanoparticles mixed with a reactive dispersant in a non-aqueous solvent. The reactive dispersant, a metal-organic molecule, will strongly coordinate to CdSe nanoparticles to form a suspension at ambient temperatures. During spray deposition, this reactive dispersant will thermally transform into CdSe and byproducts at relatively low-temperature. As a consequence, this approach will allow printed CdSe thin film materials on temperature-sensitive substrates such as those of interest in flexible displays. The commercial applications of this project include large area flat panel displays, thin film transistor fabrication, jet deposition ink formulations and printed electronic materials. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schulz, Douglas CeraMem Corporation MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128613 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Mechanical Characterization of Artificial Muscle. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the commercial feasibility of conducting polymer muscle-like actuators as active elements in prosthetics, pumps and automatic valves. Rigorous characterization has been performed, demonstrating the active stress, strain, power to mass and efficiency of actuators in which the active element is a thin film of the conducting polymer polypyrrole. Studies show that polypyrrole actuators generate up to 100 times the force per cross-sectional area of mammalian skeletal muscle, and up to 10 times the work per stroke. Conducting polymers convert electrical energy to mechanical work at low applied voltages (typically 1 V), and increase in speed as the film thickness is reduced, making them ideal for micro and nanoscale applications such as micro-pumping and fluid switching. The commercial potential will be for polymer driven artificial urinary sphincters and low cost automatic irrigation valves. Later applications include incorporation into micro and nano-devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Madden, John Molecular Mechanisms LLC MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 98700 5371 MANU 9147 5514 0107000 Operations Research 0128618 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Hybrid Lattice Boltzmann Technique for Heat Transfer Prediction. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will produce a unique computational tool for heat transport prediction. The novel approach to be used here will hybridize the Digital Physics technology based on Lattice Boltzmann Methods (LBM) for hydrodynamics with efficient partial differential equation (PDE) solution methods for heat transfer using grids of up to a hundred million computational cells thus allowing for quantitative prediction of heat transfer phenomena of interest in materials processing and manufacturing. With this platform, the highest standards of numerical accuracy, efficiency (including nearly perfect parallel scalability) and geometrical flexibility (including full integration with commercial CAD tools), as well as a user friendly interface, shall be naturally inherited. Upon algorithm optimization and benchmarking against test flow data, a complex heat transfer problem of industrial level complexity shall be simulated. The hybrid thermal transport prediction tool will open major new commercial markets for the PowerFLOW product, especially at the engineering design level. This new technology shall enable prediction of internal flow and heat transfer within the automotive industry. The ability of the proposed LBM-PDE methods to address microscale thermal transport problems in which Knudsen number effects are important should open important new markets for novel technologies in MEMS and related industries as well as broad new markets for computer aided engineering (CAE), especially in manufacturing industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Staroselsky, Ilya Exa Corporation MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99774 5371 MANU 9146 1406 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128623 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Ultrasonic Cavitation Probe for Monitoring and Testing Engineered Surfaces. This Small Busuness Innovation Research (SBIR) project will develop an initial prototype design for a cavitation probe that uses the property of a collapsing cavitation bubble to produce visible photons (sonoluminescence) has been designed and constructed. These light emissions can be easily detected within a small, finite volume and thus this probe provides a direct means of measuring the cavitation density (activity/per unit volume) within a cavitating fluid and the delivery of ultrasonic energy at an engineered surface. As a result, ultrasonic methods treating a surface can be directly monitored and controlled in real-time, leading to the ability to improve and predict the performance of the resulting structure. For example, since cavitation is thought to be the principal mechanism that leads to particle removal from silicon wafers during an ultrasonic/megasonic cleaning operation, it is likely that a strong correlation exists between cavitation probe output and cleaning effectiveness. Thus, this probe provides the potential for constructing a real-time monitor of ultrasonic/megasonic cleaner efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, because the entire three-dimensional cavitation field can be measured with this probe, it can also serve as a useful tool in ultrasonic/megasonic cleaner design. A real-time cavitation-density measuring device would have great utility in the semiconductor cleaning industry and thus this probe provides considerable promise for commercial development. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gens, Timothy L-Tech Corporation CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128631 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Group Coding for Reliable High Performance Network-Centric Storage. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will study the feasibility of building a reliable, high-performance network-centric storage system technology (NetSTOR). NetSTOR's architecture is based on a new very fast group data coding (GC) scheme that will achieve efficient and dependable data delivery across the network. Recently, the need for network storage has burgeoned, without truly universal solutions being available. Phase I will evaluate the performance improvement achieved by NetSTOR's unique architecture and validate the effectiveness and efficiency of the GC technique. Efficient decoding algorithms will be employed to achieve reliability against server failure and faulty network connections. Multi-threaded parallel data transfer will ensure high performance data delivery. Automatic system reconfigurability will provide high data availability. The system will be application-aware addressing application specific issues such as cache management, data layout, and prefetching will be employed for performance optimization. Potential commercial applications of the proposed storage system include distributed web hosting, multi media network-based services, high performance computing, modeling and simulation, distributed information retrieval, and terrain visualization. Applications of group coding in areas other than data storage include mobile communication, reliable multicasting, audio/video streaming, and digital fountain systems will be considered. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Malluhi, Qutaibah Data Reliability Inc. MS Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 100000 9150 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0128636 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: A Universal Technology Platform for Remote Sensing and Controlling. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims at the development of a universal technology platform for remote sensing and controlling. This technology development will be carried out with a focus on affordability, ease of use, reliability, usage of and compatibility with existing communication standards, computer platform independence, modularity/reconfigurability, scalability and expandability. One commercial application using this Internet-based technology will foster the enhancement of education through remotely accessible experimental devices, the availability of which will provide significant relief to the strain on the spatial, temporal and fiscal resources that traditional laboratories impose on educational institutions. The initial beneficiaries of the proposed technology will be students at the undergraduate and graduate college levels. Subsequently, the propagation of the technology into the K-12, corporate training, and scientific experimentation arenas as well as into industrial and consumer applications appears to be both feasible and plausible. The enabling of remote access to various experimental devices proffered by JDS Technologies will facilitate improved student learning of scientific and technical principles. The proposed technology will promote independent and asynchronous learning patterns. It will also permit experimental demonstrations in lectures and allow experimentation to be included in distance learning programs. It thus provides access to sophisticated and cost intensive experimentation for a much larger student audience than would be possible in the absence of the remote-access capabilities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hromin, Dennis JDS Technologies NJ Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99641 5371 SMET 9267 9180 9178 9177 7256 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0128641 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Nanofabricated Clay/Polyion Multilayers for use as a Proton Exchange Membrane in Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project will evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of using nanofabricated clay membranes as proton exchange membranes (PEMs) in fuel cells. The project team will incorporate high cation exchange capacity materials (clays) with polyions as thin films and compare them to Nafion, the current material of choice for PEMs. Initially, fifty four different nanomembranes will be assembled and evaluated against Nafion. The project team will identify those formulations of nanomembranes that show the most promise in terms of technical performance and economic feasibility. The fuel cell market has tremendous potential and initial estimates forecast growth from $5 to 60 billion between 2005 and 2020. Successful research developing nanofabricated clay/polyion membranes for use in PEM fuel cell could lower the costs of fuel cell systems by 38% (1 kW system). These nanomembranes have the potential to increase the power output of fuel cells because they are orders of magnitudes thinner and use high cation exchange capacity materials. Furthermore, these nanomembranes are inexpensive to make, thus reducing the cost of the overall fuel cell substantially. Not only do nanomembranes have the potential to cost less than Nafion, but they can also lower the price of fuel cells due to higher operating efficiencies. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Taft, III, Karl HOKU SCIENTIFIC, INC. HI Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 9150 AMPP 9163 9150 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128647 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: A New Technology for Rapid Identification of Aluminum Metals. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will determine the technical feasibility for applying a new innovative sensing technology to rapidly identify and sort aluminum metals from other non-magnetic metals such as copper, zinc, nickel, and non-magnetic stainless steels commonly found in scrap metals, particularly metals derived from automobile shredder facilities. The objective will be to develop an environmentally friendly computerized dry process which can be situated locally and which can rapidly and cleanly sort aluminum scrap from mixtures of nonmagnetic metals at low cost. This technology will replace the large, costly, and environmentally burdensome heavy media process that is current used. The commercial applications for this technology will be sorting of aluminum from automobile shredders. This technology will significantly reduce the environmental impact of sending these materials to landfills. The materials recovered can be recycled and sold back to industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sommer, Edward NATIONAL RECOVERY TECHNOLOGIES INC TN Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1468 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128649 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Feasibility of Using Anonymous Cell Phone Tracking for Generating Traffic Information. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is an investigation of the feasibility of using anonymous tracking of cellular phones to generate traffic information on a road network. Delays due to congestion are expensive both in terms of lost time and in aggravation. Management of congestion is difficult due to lack of information on current conditions. While most information is gathered via expensive detector systems installed in the roadways, it is possible to determine traffic conditions by following the movements of sample vehicles, called probes. Many vehicles contain a cellular phone, and, due to a recent FCC mandate, which requires that all telecommunication carriers be capable of locating a cellular phone to within 125 meters, an opportunity exists to build a system where the movements of a large number of cell phones can be used to determine conditions on every road in a road network. This project will determine whether the location systems installed by the carriers can be used to generate traffic information. The results will enable the development of an area-wide traffic information system which can be used for the dissemination of travel information and for the study of traffic patterns on road networks. Commercial application of the results of this project fall into 3 areas: traffic management, fleet operations, and information dissemination. Traffic information is valuable to the users of the road network. Traffic management includes the many public agencies around the country tasked to aid in the management of the roads. Fleet operators consist of large and small delivery vehicles. Information dissemination includes cellular phones, personal digital assistants, in-vehicle display systems, websites and radio. All three markets are significantly affected by traffic congestion, particularly unexpected congestion. Each market is large and commercially addressable by a traffic information system based on cell phone tracking. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cayford, Randall IntelliOne Technologies Corporation GA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99908 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0128657 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Applications of Fluid Models to Semiconductor Fab Operations. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will evaluate the use of innovative multiclass fluid models for analyzing factory capacity and finding optimal scheduling policies for semiconductor fabs. Historically, queuing theory models and other analytical tools have not modeled wafer fabs well because of their massive size and highly reentrant flows. Recently, researchers in modern queuing theory have made considerable progress in developing a new type of model known as a multiclass fluid network, which addresses many of the shortfalls of earlier analytic methods. The objective of this project is improved analytic and computational techniques and tools for design, optimization, and simulation of fab operation systems using queuing theory and stochastic processes (as models of complex, dynamic fab systems and processes) for production planning and control in scheduling wafer processing and integrated material logistics (including automated material handling and human delivery to and operation of equipment). The project will show the feasibility of several algorithms for solving fluid models when applied to realistic fab data in a robust, usable, portable, and scalable computing environment. Anticipated results include the development of new software tools to improve the performance of manufacturing production systems. The commercial benefits will be to semiconductor manufacturing companies and other firms that operate large factories with reentrant flows (such as flat panel and disk drive producers). The worldwide semiconductor revenue was over $203 billion in 2000 (with 914 fabs in current operation), and is projected to be nearly $283 billion by 2004 (with an additional 38 fabs on line). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Billings, Ronald Fluid Analysis for Balancing Queues TX Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128660 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Low-bandwidth Long-distance Learning. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project investigates the opportunities inherent in long-distance learning alternatives fashioned around the telnet internet protocol. To date, virtually all long-distance learning trials have been designed to operate using the procedures of the world-wide web (HTTP, CGI, Java, etc.), but these web-based solutions have a number of obvious intrinsic problems. Such solutions tend to be quite slow, and they are capable of only moderate interactivity, often quite fragile, and rapidly become surprisingly complex. In contrast, the telnet protocol, when used with a more or less standard terminal emulator, tends to be very responsive over the internet, especially when the protocol is very slightly modified, and very simple to program against. The creation of a freely distributed player and accompanying inexpensive authoring tool built around a standard terminal interface could be of importance to areas with underdeveloped communications infrastructures, thus making the internet accessible to those who can afford only low-bandwidth internet. The distributed player and authoring tool proffered by Aics Inc has the potential to have an important impact on the nature and methods of the distribution of information opportunities for secondary education through graduate and continuing professional education, and they could serve in technical commercial sales and training and in more generally in crossing the digital divide. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Atmar, Wirt Aics Inc NM Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99438 9150 SMET 9180 9178 9177 9150 9102 7355 7256 0108000 Software Development 0522400 Information Systems 0128662 January 1, 2002 SBIR/STTR PHASE I: Ceramic/Polymide Nanocomposite Possessing Controlled Coefficient of Thermal Expansion. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will focus on development of unique ceramic/polyimide nanocomposite materials. It will demonstrate the ability to formulate a polyimide (or other polymer material) with a designed coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) through the covalent incorporation of ceramic nanophase materials. The key tasks involve (1) sol-gel synthesis of ceramic nanospheres possessing a negative CTE (2) covalently bonding them into the backbone of the polyimide through the use of bi-functional linker molecules and (3) evaluation of various doping levels of the ceramic nanospheres to determine optimum impact on the CTE of the composite material. In terms of commercial uses, polyimides have wide application as films in the electronics, aerospace, and manufacturing industries where they are used for flexible circuitry, insulation materials, speaker cones, automotive switches, disk drives, and in many other applications. A common problem in the design of these systems using polyimides is the inherently high CTE of these materials and to a certain extent poor thermal dimensional stability. The proposed effort seeks to provide an approach to resolve these issues. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Paxton, James PHYSITRON, INC. AL T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 9150 MANU 9150 9147 5514 0107000 Operations Research 0128664 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: BriefMaker - A Requirements Definition Tool. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will enable design professionals and their clients to produce concise and accurate statements of project requirements. The initial work will be done for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. The proposed requirements definition tool empowers businesses to develop on-line user needs and analysis statements according to customers' preferences and to model, in real-time, the type of constructed project desired. With superior understanding of clients' needs, designers can shorten the product delivery cycle and provide an end product with greater customer satisfaction. The potential market for this innovation is since it can be used in any segment of the AEC industry such as industrial, office, commercial, residential, hotel, and education. Firms producing large, complex products-such as aircraft, flight simulators, and telecommunication systems-have the same need for early, accurate identification and statement of requirements. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hansen, Karen EHPW Design and Construction Consulting CA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 97595 5371 HPCC 9139 9102 0522400 Information Systems 0128677 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Low-Temperature, Low-Cost Manufacture of Oxide Thin Films. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a rapid, low-cost, low-temperature, scalable, environmentally benign method for the deposition of crystalline oxide thin films. The specific Phase I goals are to demonstrate the feasibility of developing procedures for growing these specific high-quality thin-film crystals and to evaluate their crystal structure, optical properties and texture. The commercial benefits of this type of processing method would revolutionize applications ranging from electronics to medicine to energy. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Reynolds, Thomas REYTECH CORPORATION OR Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9163 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128691 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: High-Throughput Purification of Combinatorial Libraries. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project will develop a highly-parallel, mass-selected purification system for large pharmaceutical drug libraries. The need for high-throughput purification is driven by the industry recognition that combinatorial chemistry samples must still be purified even after chemical screening. This is a daunting task considering the exponentially increasing number of drug candidates being synthesized by combinatorial and parallel methods. This proposal will examine monolithic parallel flash chromatography and preparative liquid chromatography configurations. The key enabling technology is photoionization mass spectrometry, which permits accurate molecular detection in mixtures of compounds without the problems of competition-for-charge and ion suppressions that plague conventional ionization methods. This will make it possible to monitor several chromatography columns at the same time. The goal of the project is to have a purification system in place that has a practical purification rate of 1 min per sample (16 parallel purifications in about 16 min) corresponding to a potential 16 hr daily rate of 960 sample purifications per day. The commercial application of this project will be in the important niche market of molecular analysis and screening for drug discovery. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Syage, Jack SYAGEN TECHNOLOGY INC CA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99862 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128695 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Continuous Recovery of Bioethanol by Dephlegmator-Enhanced Pervaporation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will focus on the development of a commercially viable continuous process for bioethanol recovery. The proposed process will integrate a novel permeate condensation approach with the energy-efficient pervaporation technology. Due to increased interest in renewable fuels, domestic use of bioethanol is expected to grow steadily over the next decade. The primary processing steps, fermentation and ethanol recovery and purification are a significant component of the total cost of bioethanol production. Process improvements, such as incorporation of continuous fermentation and development of energy-efficient ethanol recovery technologies would reduce the production cost significantly. Successful completion of the project objective will lead to a reduction in the sizes of the fermentor and elimination of the distillation step, and consequently reduce the cost and enhance the energy efficiency of the entire bioethanol production process. The primary customers of the proposed technology will be the ethanol producers, but the technology has potential applications in the recovery of other fermentation-derived organic solvents as well. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mairal, Anurag MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH, INC. CA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128698 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Using Variable Polarization Ultrasonic Shear Waves to Isolate and Quantify the Competing Effects of Microstructure and Stress on the Acoustic Properties of Steel. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop prototype equipment to achieve control of acoustic shearwaves in ferromagnetic materials, and introduce innovative technology to enable scientists and engineers to utilize variable shear wave polarization as a new tool for measuring and characterizing material properties. This will greatly enhance non-destructive testing of metals.To establish the feasibility of the proposed technique, a specially configured Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer (EMAT) will be used to demonstrate electronic steering of shear wave polarization. Acoustoelastic relationships, relative to polarization angle, will then be analyzed for several steel samples of varying microstructure with the objective of establishing a measurement method capable of accurately determining longitudinal stress, independent of sample microstructure. Commercial applications exist for both rapid, in-situ, nondestructive assessment of microstructure, and for longitudinal stress measurement in steel members. Specific examples include monitoring and process control at critical stages of steel manufacture and thermomechanical processing; improving railroad safety through early detection and preemptive correction of extreme rail stress that can contribute to train derailments; and verification of correct load distribution in older or compromised steel structures such as bridges, stadiums, factories and multi-story steelframe buildings. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Turner, Steven Analogic Engineering, Inc. WY T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99958 5371 MANU 9150 9147 5514 0107000 Operations Research 0128709 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Friction Materials & Manufacturing Process. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate a unique method of producing hybrid metal ceramic composite friction materials.Friction materials are the replacement elements in braking,clutch and transmission systems.In this effort,Thor Technologies,Inc.will team with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)and an aircraft braking systems company to integrate two novel technologies into an innovative method of producing hybrid ceramic composite brakes.Preliminary studies with the Polymer Infiltration/Microwave Pyrolysis (PIMP)processing method indicate that it is capable of producing fiber-reinforced ceramic brakes with integral metal features.Such ceramic brakes will offer substantial competitive advantages over traditional friction materials,and should integrate seamlessly with existing systems.Thor Technologies will use the LANL Gyrotron Facility to produce hybrid ceramic composite frcition materials through the PIMP process.These will be evaluated through dynamometer tests conducted at the braking systems company.These tests will validate hybrid ceramic composites for friction applications,and will justify full-scale development of the PIMP manufacturing process.Thor Technologies,Inc.and the Principal Investigator are uniquely well positioned to meet the technical challenges of producing ceramic friction products and transitioning them to the market. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Schwab, Stuart Thor Technologies, Inc. NM Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99998 9150 MANU 9150 9146 9102 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128710 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: eTandem Distance Coaching. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of a distance coaching system for foreign language learners using the tandem method through electronic media (eTandem). The objectives of the proposed research are to establish a fundamental understanding of issues and parameters affecting eTandem distance coaching and to demonstrate feasibility of an eTandem distance coaching system. Language learners lacking access to foreign language learning opportunities will be targeted. Rural and disadvantaged learners are key target groups. Tandem is an autonomous form of language learning where two native speakers of different languages form a reciprocal learning partnership. Tandem coaching was conceived, researched and demonstrated to improve the effectiveness of the tandem learning process. Since 1994, Tandem has been practiced using electronic media (eTandem) with great success. The concept of distance coaching for eTandem learners, not previously researched, offers high potential to advance language learning and intercultural exchange for an international audience. Parvis proffers a system, eTandem coaching, with potential for a dramatic impact on distance foreign language learning worldwide, serving a wide range of possible customers from K-12 to adult education. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG D'Atri, Dawn Parvis, Inc. MT Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 1666 SMET 9178 9177 9102 7355 7256 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0522400 Information Systems 0128715 January 1, 2002 SBIR PHASE I: Heterogenized Homogeneous Catalysts based on Polymer-Supported N-Heterocyclic Carbenes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will research technical and commercial feasibility of heterogenized homogeneous (supported) palladium N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalysts. Homogeneous palladium-catalyzed reactions are powerful methods for carbon-carbon and carbon-hetero atom bond formations, such as Heck and Suzuki reactions. However, their commercial adoption in fine chemical manufacture has been burdened by the inefficiencies associated with homogeneous catalysts, primarily recovery and recycling, which could be eliminated by the development of supported catalysts. Successful research and development would result in commercial products that would simplify post-reaction processing, reduced waste streams and reduction in costs via recycling. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Labadie, Jeffrey Argonaut Technologies CA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128718 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Dendritic Carbon Tape Adhesive. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a a dry, strong, compliant adhesive tape that is removable and reusable. This will be based on a novel dendritic architecture consisting of a compliant velvet of micron-diameter carbon fibers, each with a compliant carbon nanotube array on its tip. Pressed against a surface, each nanotube array will make contact at multiple points on an atomic scale, resulting in a strong intermolecular (van der Waals) adhesive force. The Phase I project is expected to accomplish fabrication of dendritic structures, examination of these structures with electron microscopy and measurement of adhesive properties to a variety of surfaces under varying environmental conditions (i.e. air, vacuum, elevated temperature). The commercial applications of this project will be in a broad range of markets, extending from aerospace to consumer electronics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Seaman, Christopher Energy Science Laboratories, Inc. CA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128723 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Photo-Curable Silicon Oxycarbide Fiber for Diesel Engine Particulate Filters. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an innovative new ultraviolet (UV) curable pre-ceramic polymer chemistry for the fabrication of high yield and low cost silicon oxycarbide (SOC) fibers for diesel particulate filters and other applications. Silicon carbide (SiC), silicon nitride (Si3N4), and silicon nitride/silicon carbide (Si3N4/SiC) ceramics have been fabricated from UV photocurable pre-ceramic polymers to SiC and Si3N4/SiC with higher than 85 percent ceramic yield. Preliminary experiments have demonstrated that SOC fibers can also be fabricated from high-viscosity, photocurable thermoplastic pre-ceramic polymers. The poly(ethynyl)siloxane pre-ceramic polymers also have potential as a binder or matrix phase in SOC/SOC composites. Phase I will optimize fiber production techniques. Potential commercial applications are expected in particulate diesel filters for manufacturers in the automotive and truck markets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pope, Edward EDWARD POPE DR CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 0522100 High Technology Materials 0128729 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Numerical Techniques for Human Oriented Interaction. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will research and develop the missing link in current virtual prototyping systems for computer-aided design (CAD). This missing element is the human hand. Current virtual prototyping strategies involve mice or other low-dimensional point-like interaction mechanisms. By adding life size, real-time interaction at the level of the human hand, virtual prototyping becomes significantly more valuable because of the higher order information available to the user. Interaction methods like grasping, pushing, sculpting as well as force feedback data can provide designers with critical product related information not usually available until a physical prototype has been built. Building on Immersion Corporation's existing SOLID infrastructure for real-time interaction with NURBS geometries and kinematic assemblies, the firm proposes to both research and develop numerical techniques necessary for true interaction with realistic models as well as the interaction paradigm itself. This innovation has great potential for all designers who build and prototype products that humans interact with. The introduction of interaction at the level of the human hand will leverage existing infrastructure at Immersion Corporation for intellectual property, product evaluation and marketing. The result will be an efficient transition to a product with a large existing market of designers and engineers from a significant cross-section of industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kramer, James IMMERSION CORPORATION CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0128779 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Versatile Low-Pressure Injection Molding Process for Net-Shape Ceramic Components. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an innovative and versatile low-pressure injection molding (LPIM) process for the fabrication of net-shape ceramic components. LPIM has been recently recognized as an attractive process for the fabrication of high-precision, complex-geometry ceramic parts. However, one major factor that limits the use of injection molding process for production is the lack of reliability and throughput. Thus, there is an immediate need for technologies that can substantially improve the LPIM process. This project will utilize a low-pressure injection molding approach for the net-shape forming of high performance ceramics reliably and at low cost. Specific innovations include: utilizing an environmentally-safe solvent extraction debinder technique, improving the thermal conductivity of the current binder system, and demonstrating an improved fabrication versatility that is relatively insensitive to material and size constraints. The commercial benefits will be to alumina ceramic based cross-flow particulate filtration systems for liquid waste streams; mullite based filters for hot gas streams; NZP based engine liners; and alumina based element holders for furnaces. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nageswaran, Ramachandran COI Ceramics, Inc. UT Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0128814 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Implementation of an Internet-Based Natural Language Query System. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the widespread need to improve the productivity of the student learning process in a wide variety of public, private and commercial environments. Using the Internet. speaktomi, LLC. has conceived, developed, and, demonstrated an innovation: a natural language query system (NLQS). This system is an Internet-based intelligent query system that combines distributed speech recognition and natural language understanding technologies. Speaktomi demonstrated and tested a NLQS prototype system using English in 2000 and Japanese in May 2001. The core technology of speaktomi's NLQS is a set of proprietary software components, integrated by speaktomi, LLC., using speaktomi's architectures and approaches (patents applied for) which support several languages and require no speaker training. The objectives of this research are to advance the performance of the NLQS system to the point of being able to define the specifications for a commercial product embodying NLQS. Specifically we will improve the system accuracy, latency, port the system to a PDA and identify client-server bottlenecks. The applications span learning grades K3-16 and above, in a broad array of commercial and military training programs, and when in combination with a translation engine, the NLQS technology can form a basis for systems that support interactive queries and real time collaboration across several languages. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bennett, Ian speaktomi LLC CA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99955 5371 HPCC 9216 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0128817 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: HARBINGER: A Networked Embedded Systems Design Environment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the problem of constructing high-assurance real-time, networked embedded systems. The project will develop a design environment, called HARBINGER, supporting the specification, composition, analysis, and refinement-to-code of embedded systems, in a way that preserves consistency between requirements and code. HARBINGER will also supported guided refinement, e.g., by generating resource tradeoffs throughout the process, enable capture and reuse of design knowledge, and yield formal proofs of correctness to the extent possible. It is anticipated that HARBINGER will lower the cost of producing new embedded systems and improve the assurance of their correctness. Once in use, HARBINGER will also make radical improvements in the evolution of systems originally constructed in its environment. Practical problems such as targeting applications to changing host platforms will be handled much more easily within HARBINGER In this project, the firm will assess the practicality and effectiveness of the HARBINGER approach for commercially important applications. This will require selecting an initial market with strong requirements for high assurance software and systems as the basis for a proposal for the next phase of the research. Initial application candidates include automotive and aviation vehicle control systems, areas in which the firm has extensive connections. In both of these areas, attention will be paid to the practical consideration of legacy code and to the impact of important new protocols. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Smith, Douglas Kestrel Technology LLC CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99803 5371 HPCC 9216 0128846 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Protecting Multimedia Authenticity with Vaccination Of Electronic Bacteria Watermarks. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 project develops a novel method to protect the authenticity of multimedia. The Internet allows cost-free distribution of multimedia products of all sorts, from simple documents to music, video, or virtual reality. Free product samples become the gravity for snowballing success. Yet the same medium is plagued with theft and piracy of copyrighted media. The resolution of this dilemma is critical for inventors and copyright holders, and indeed for the growth of e-commerce as a whole. Media duplication is critical for exposure as long as the author, artist or company is cited. This novel research embeds three markings in multimedia by an independent component analysis (ICA) blind mixing algorithm: a visible logo or advertisement, an invisible watermark, and an invisible electronic bacteria code. The logo serves as a "vaccination" against a dormant digital "electronic bacteria" code. Once the logo is removed the bacteria code awakens and degrades only the multimedia. The invisible watermark enables retrieval by hardware media players and tracking. The product of this research is twofold: intellectual property and software tools. Revenue originates from the sale of advertisement space, IP licensing, and sale of software to the content producers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Landa, Joseph BriarTek Inc. VA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99960 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0131228 March 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: A New Digital Video Surveillance System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a digital video surveillance system prototype. Over the past few years, video surveillance systems have been moving from analog to digital. The success of a digital video surveillance system depends on three key enabling technologies: compression, search and retrieval and network transmission. Existing commercial systems generally use standard video compression techniques, which often result in higher memory and bandwidth requirements and jerky object motion. In current video search and retrieval, the existing systems offer only search-by-time and no search-by-content. In network transmission, today's systems use relatively simple techniques that tend to make remote monitoring slow and sluggish. The company is using a highly efficient compression algorithm that exploits the special characteristics of surveillance video and is based on a segmentation technique. This technique, when applied to video search and retrieval, leads to search-by-content, which is more efficient and effective in practical applications. Finally the proposed system will employ fast network transport protocols and scalability techniques to make remote monitoring faster, uninterrupted by network traffic surges, and to allow display on a range of user devices. This digital video surveillance system can be used to maintain the security of banks, airports, government buildings, corporate sites, homes, and small businesses. It can also be used to monitor the performance and operating conditions of machines and equipment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Drake, Laura JunTech, Inc. WI Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 500000 5373 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0131395 March 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: A Process for Preparing Nanometer-Sized Ceramic Particles at High Production Rates. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop and commercialize a new technology for mass producing nanometer-sized ceramic powders at dramatically reduced costs. The technology, Combined Atomization and Reaction Technique (CART), involves providing an atomizing gas medium containing a reactant element such as hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, chlorine, fluorine, boron, or sulfur; preparing a metal alloy melt super-heated to a spontaneous reaction temperature at which the alloy can undergo a self-sustaining reaction with the selected reactant element; and introducing reactant gas to concurrently mix, atomize, and react with the critically super-heated alloy melt to form ultra-fine ceramic particles in an atomizer chamber. This Phase II project will design and build a prototype pilot-scale CART apparatus to demonstrate the commercial viability of the technology as applied to the synthesis of nano-sized oxides of selected metals that are deemed to have the greatest commercial potential. The commercial potential of ultrafine powders are in the production of catalysts, coatings and films, conductive pastes, cosmetics, electromagnetic components, electronic devices, fire retardant materials, magnetic fluids, sintered and injection-molded parts, ceramic composites, magnetic storage media, phosphors, pigments, polishing media, and toners. Indium-tin oxide (ITO) powders are used to prepare sputtering targets for deposition of transparent films for use in flat-panel display technology. Nano-grained materials can be employed to replace various load-bearing and non-structural parts in automobiles, infrastructures, off-shore structures, piping, containers, electronic equipment housings, etc. Nano-grained cermets and ceramics are outstanding cutting tool materials. Transparent nano-grained ceramics can be utilized in a broad array of applications, including transparent ceramic appliance components, clear "glassware" and artistic artifacts. Transparent ceramics may also be used in ballistic protection armor by law enforcement, security police and armored car personnel. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Huang, Wen Nanotek Instruments, Inc. OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 382093 5373 AMPP 9163 9150 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0131791 March 15, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase II: A Low Cost Semiconductor Metallization-Planarization Process. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II Project will establish market demand for a novel electrically mediated leveling technology and position the technology for market launch via a joint venture. The specific Phase II objectives are: 1. Scale-up and demonstration of the electrically mediated process on eight inch wafers, 2. Development of a process library for feature sizes 1-5 down to 0.17 microns, and lower, and 3. Design of a "proof of concept" plating tool. Preliminary concept design of a plating tool incorporating the electrically mediated process will be performed by an outside firm. The sustainable competitive advantage associated with the project for leveling is cost. Minimal overplate will eliminate or minimize the need for chemical/mechanical planarization (CMP) by reducing the copper waste slurry compared to the state-of-the-art copper metallization processes. This in turn would eliminate the associated control, environmental, and cost issues. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Taylor, E. Jennings FARADAY TECHNOLOGY, INC OH Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 530042 5373 MANU AMPP 9251 9178 9163 7218 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0131833 March 1, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase II: Census Microdata in the Classroom. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to research ways to increase accessibility and utilization of microdata from censuses of the U.S. and other countries in secondary school and college courses in mathematics. A seamless, XML-driven interface to a web server at the Minnesota Population Center will make it possible for teachers and students to specify, request, and import this microdata into Fathom Dynamic Statistics software. Enhancements to Fathom software will increase its already considerable ease and power for working with census microdata; curriculum materials in mathematics will provide teachers with effective ways to begin working with this highly motivating data--both to teach existing content and to teach data literacy. Phase I research suggested strong similarities between census microdata and school census microdata data that is gathered by K-12 schools about student demographics and performance, course offerings, and classroom practice. Accordingly, Phase II leverages this overlap to produce greatly needed interfaces for easily accessing school census microdata, survey tools for producing it, and extensions to Fathom for analyzing it. KCP Technologies' census microdata project exploits the merging web connectivity in American schools, thus symbiotically fitting a larger pattern of evolution of school technologies. The project offers a product that supports analysis of complex data through an easy-to-use interface which will contribute to data anlysis and learning from data analysis. U.S. education is very much in need of the kinds of software and curriculum resources to be produced under this project SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Finzer, William KCP Technologies CA Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 499831 5373 SMET 9178 9177 0101000 Curriculum Development 0108000 Software Development 0131966 February 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Organized Search Results with Document Clustering. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will produce advances in document clustering technology. The company's proprietary software transforms a long list of raw search results into organized hierarchical folders that are browsed in Windows Explorer style. This software brings into easy view relevant information that otherwise would remain buried in the search results. It also enables effortless knowledge discovery: at a glance, a user learns themain subtopics corresponding to the query. The company has the first document clusteringtechnology good enough for mass use, in terms of speed, quality of the clustering, and ease of interaction. The resultant software product will augment the capabilities of web, enterprise, and database search engines. The market will include search engine vendors, system integrators and large organizations in business, academe, and government. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Valdes-Perez, Raul Vivisimo, Inc. PA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 862027 5373 HPCC 9251 9216 9178 9102 7207 0522400 Information Systems 0131967 February 15, 2002 STTR Phase II: Long-Gage Fiber Bragg Sensors for Structural Health Monitoring and Damage Identification. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will further explore the use of long-gage fiber Bragg grating strain sensors in conjunction with vibration-based system identification techniques for health monitoring and damage identification of civil structures. In phase I, the proof of concept was shown based on static and dynamic laboratory experiments on small-scale structural models. In this Phase II effort, field tests on bridges identified in Oregon and California will be performed to further validate this very promising tool for structural health monitoring and damage identification. These bridges provide unique opportunities as two of them are scheduled for demolition and both State Departments of Transportation have agreed to support testing as these bridges are systematically damaged to provide a true real-world test of the damage identification system. These field tests will be an important step in providing feasibility data for future commercialization of the structural health monitoring and damage identification system. Once the proposed methods are debugged and validated for field applications, the California and Oregon DOT's will strongly consider adopting them for widespread use in their structural health-monitoring and bridge rehabilitation programs. The proposed structural health monitoring and damage identification system offers very promising advanced solutions to the triple problem of: (1) monitoring the state-of-health of the civil infrastructure system for optimum allocation of rehabilitation resources, (2) optimally designing the rehabilitation scheme for a specific deficient civil structure, and (3) evaluating the efficacy of the rehabilitation measure. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Udd, Eric BLUE ROAD RESEARCH, INC OR Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 553249 5373 1505 MANU CVIS 9251 9178 9146 7218 1038 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0132003 February 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Advanced Software for Interactive Chemistry Tutoring. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will produce a set of completed and commercially viable intelligent tutoring systems for chemistry education, building upon a rule-based, model-tracing, cognitive modeling tutor prototype for chemical equation balancing. Teachers, students, parents and administrators state that existing chemistry education software does not satisfy their need for truly interactive and on-demand computer instruction. Current approaches are rigid and linear, offering only a limited number of fixed and statically scripted problems. They do not deal with the individual student's own work in any meaningful or intelligent way. By simulating reasoning using chemical principles rather than compiling a database of problems and answers, artificial intelligence methods can provide a route to overcoming these serious fundamental limitations. Although the technology proffered by Quantum Simulations, Inc. is technology that will assist all students, those students of average or marginal performance will benefit the most. Creating tutoring systems that can function as guides and not just as graders of student work is an important step in realizing the full value of computers in education. The proposed work takes a significant step in this direction. Moreover, the technology has been designed in a general way such that it can be applied to other educational topics beyond chemistry and can work together in a synergistic, value-added fashion with other tools and curricula in a multi-resource learning environment. Quantum Simulations, Inc., customers are driven by strong end user needs and include textbook publishers, software provides, and distance learning companies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Johnson, Benny Quantum Simulations Incorporated PA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 582000 5373 SMET 9178 9177 0108000 Software Development 0132025 February 15, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase II: Machine Vision System for Automated Imaging and Process Control. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop an entirely new form of machine vision technology for process control of metallic components. The technology is based on an array of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensors that produce high-resolution images of hidden defects, missing parts, and other features. Minute GMR sensors detect magnetic fields associated with eddy currents induced in the component being imaged. High spatial resolution images are achieved through the high density and small size of the sensors in the array, coupled with the high sensitivity, low noise, and fast response of the sensors. A GMR sensor array, combined with a magnetic field generator, can produce high resolution, three-dimensional images of parts as they are produced, using a rugged, non-contacting sensor system. The images provide on-line feedback for process control, quality assurance, and safety protocols. The Phase I project developed functional GMR sensor arrays, and successfully imaged defects in metallic parts clearly demonstrating that the technology is feasible. The commercial potential of the proposed technology will be in manufacturing, quality assurance (QA), and process control. It will be used for rapid imaging and inspection of parts used in electronics, aerospace, automotive, transportation, construction, biomedical and other industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Summers, Steven TPL, Inc. NM Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 487477 5373 MANU 9150 9147 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0132030 February 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Nanoparticle Photostimulated Luminescence Based Optical Storage. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project will demonstrate the ability to generate photostimulated luminescence (PSL) in nanoparticles. The potential applications in digital imaging and storage offered by PSL phosphors, including X-ray imaging could be significant. PSL phosphors currently in use present several drawbacks including greater expense and poorer resolution as compared to conventional screen-film methods. The quantum confinement of nanoparticles offers solutions to many of the shortcomings of existing PSL phosphors. The project will characterize nanoparticles with a goal of optimizing these materials for use as phosphors in thin films. The project will also fabricate the required thin films and compare them to commercially available PSL phosphors for performance, longevity, and other factors of interest. The commercial applications will be widely applicable to digital imaging, offering high resolution, low cost, easy storage, low complexity, easy portability, and other desirable features. Materials with efficient PSL have great potential for technical applications such as optical storage, X-ray imaging, radiation measurements and quality control, optical dosimeters and dating, infrared sensors, image intensifiers, near-infrared-to-visible light converters, and bio-molecular structure recording and probing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Chen, Wei NOMADICS, INC OK Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 499988 5373 AMPP 9163 9150 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0132035 March 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: The Auto-Autodidact - A Web-Delivered Learning Environment Based on Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will combine the Internet, electronic libraries, and a new machine learning technique that simulates human understanding of text to produce an independent learning and problem-solving environment for individuals and groups. Using Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), Auto-autodidact (autodidact: a self-taught person) first learns the vocabulary and concepts of a topic by automatic training on textbooks. Then, as students study and write, and groups discuss and plan, it will continuously evaluate what they know and do not know, find relevant information anywhere in an electronic library, and connect participants with complementary needs and knowledge. Auto-autodidact capitalizes on the motivational power of peer interaction, the instant availability of enormous textual resources, and the possibility of sharing individual knowledge over time and space. Auto-autodidact will integrate LSA with a state-of-art environment for distributed knowledge-building discussion and newly available electronic libraries to provide continuous embedded assessment, tutorial dialogue, and meaning-based information insertion. It will be unique in its ability to construct a learning environment for a new domain, customizing it for the needs of either an individual learner or a collaborating team, in a matter of days or even minutes. As we move into a networked world, Knowledge Analysis Technologies' proffered technology has the potential to weave together people and ideas, generating knowledge and fostering collaboration. If the project realizes its potential and consistently delivers useful results to users, it could transform how we interact with data and with one another. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Laham, Darrell Knowledge Analysis Technologies CO Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 671257 5373 1666 SMET HPCC 9178 9177 9139 7410 7355 7256 0108000 Software Development 0132046 February 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: A Novel Instrument for the Determination of Extensional Rheology. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project describes the development of a Capillary Breakup Rheometer (CaBER) from a proven breadboard design to a commercially viable instrument for both analytical and process control functions. In this document the results of the successful completion of a Phase I SBIR are outlined. The fundamental operation of the CaBER's component parts is supported by data that validates the chosen components and verifies the suitability of the design. In addition, sample data from model fluids will be used to both illustrate the functionality of the CaBER and to highlight the broad applicability of the instrument. Ongoing developments of the CaBER include more robust software analysis, cheaper manufacturing costs and a more intuitive user interface. These improvements will result in an instrument that is invaluable to industry in both a research laboratory and a process control environment. Currently there is only one commercially available extensional rheometer and a handful of academic rheometer designs. By providing a virtually unique tool for the determination of extensional viscosity in a freely draining fluid thread, this instrument will fill a segment of the instrumentation field that as here to fore been neglected. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Braithwaite, Gavin CAMBRIDGE POLYMER GROUP INC MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 499127 5373 AMPP 9163 1443 0308000 Industrial Technology 0132055 March 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: A Source for High Rate Growth of Gallium Nitride Films. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II Project will develop a neutral, high flux/fluence nitrogen atom beam source for application to the high rate growth of III-V nitride semi-conducting materials over large areas. The proposed source is based on proprietary MID-JET technology. This technology employs an electrode-less discharge contained by vortex flow, rather than a dielectric tube commonly used in traditional sources. MIDJET technology utilizing a temperature of 5000 C to produce1021 nitrogen atoms has been demonstrated. This is 2-3 orders of magnitude higher than that generated by currently available sources. It is particularly applicable to Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) systems, where it will allow both high growth rate and the elimination of the use of ammonia. The MIDJET will be adapted for use in a MOCVD reactor and a demonstration made of the system's ability to grow gallium nitride at a rate of at least 10 microns per hour. This project will develop a charge-free, high flux/fluence nitrogen atom beam for the growth of III-V nitride materials which can replace existing plasma-based tools. With higher growth rates of high quality material over larger areas, systems based on the MIDJET will have with application to the fabrication of high power/high temperature semiconductor devices and blue illumination sources (including those for flat panel displays). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Schwarz, Willi Physical Sciences Incorporated (PSI) MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 493649 5373 AMPP 9163 1407 0308000 Industrial Technology 0132058 March 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: An Information Handling System for Low Vision. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop software and hardware products that assist people with low vision to efficiently read and process information from many sources. These products will combine optical character recognition (OCR), speech synthesis and recognition technologies, together with customizable displays based on the latest vision research to accommodate a variety of visual impairments. These products will incorporate a 'Pick and Click' user interface, developed in Phase I, which does not require viewing the screen, yet presents visual displays useful to a low vision person, and is intuitive to fully sighted teachers experienced with graphical user interfaces (GUIs). Included in the products will be functions particular to the low vision market, such as reading text optimally, enlarging pictures, and using a video camera for magnification while handwriting and viewing 3D objects. In addition, 'Pick and Click' interfaces to the most common computer applications programs, such as word processing, e-mail, Internet browser, spreadsheet, and financial accounting will be included. Low vision users will benefit from a low cost interface that provides a clean and less cluttered presentation of information on the screen. JBliss Imaging's proffered new technology has potential to improve access to and capability of manipulating information for the low vision population.. The technology also has potential to serve individuals with other disabilities, such as dyslexia and other forms of challenges to learning and reading abilities. Commercial applications are in schools, libraries, businesses, and homes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Bliss, James JBliss Imaging Systems CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 498629 5373 SMET 9180 1545 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000912 Computer Science 0116000 Human Subjects 0132076 March 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Next Generation Component Software for Simulation-Based Econometric Estimation. This SBIR Phase II research project proposes to develop user-friendly component software for classical econometric estimation and inference based on simulation methods, such as maximum simulated likelihood, method of simulated moments, and efficient method of moments. In the last decade different simulation-based methods have been developed to tackle complex economic/statistical models which cannot be estimated by conventional methods such as Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). Although these simulation-based estimators have desirable theoretical properties, they have remained as research topics in academia and have not become useful tools for practitioners because of the lack of user friendly software. Building upon the Phase I research and development, Insightful (formerly MathSoft) plans to study two classes of models: mixed logit models for discrete choice analysis which represent cross sectional and panel data problems, and models for term structure of interest rates which represent discrete time and continuous time structural models. Extensive Monte Carlo experiments will be used to explore finite sample properties of various aspects of simulation, estimation and forecasting, with an aim of improving and stabilizing the current algorithms. The user-friendly component software will be developed using both object oriented S-Plus language and the state-of-art JavaBean technology, and it will provide intuitive graphical user interface. The S-Plus functions of the technology proffered by Insightful for econometric estimation and inference will serve the purpose of quickly gaining a broad user base, while the JavaBeans can be used to develop custom applications. The software will help economists and practitioners in other fields such as the financial industry, social sciences, and biotechnology to conduct flexible and extensible model estimation and inference. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Zivot, Eric Insightful Corporation WA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 511604 5373 HPCC 9251 9231 9178 9139 0108000 Software Development 0510604 Analytic Tools 0512004 Analytical Procedures 0132078 March 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Advanced Carbon Electrodes to Reduce Ultracapacitor Size and Cost. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop advanced carbon electrode materials for ultracapacitors. Presently, ultracapacitor voltages are limited to 2.3 - 2.7 V/cell. New carbonaceous electrode materials are expected to increase cell potential limits to >3.6 V. Given the quadratic dependence of energy density on cell potential, these materials will increase ultracapacitor energy storage by >100%. The increased cell potential will reduce device size and cost by reducing the number of cells required to attain a given voltage rating. Phase II will demonstrate that these materials can withstand extended charge/discharge cycling to high voltage. A scalable process will be developed to produce the new carbon electrode materials. Prototype ultracapacitors will be produced to support customer demonstrations. The commercial potential of this project is for ultracapacitors that are used in portable electronic devices, power conditioning (UPS), and electromechanical actuators. Additional applications include hybrid electric and conventional vehicles to service intermittent high power loads (e.g. regenerative braking, engine start, electromechanical valves, and electric power steering). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Wixom, Michael T/J Technologies, Inc MI Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 500000 5373 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0132084 February 15, 2002 STTR Phase II: Autonomous Undersea Systems Network (AUSNET). This STTR Phase II project will result in the creation of an advanced network capability to enable ad-hoc networks to operate in a low bandwidth undersea environment. The specific application of the resultant capability will be to support Autonomous Undersea Systems Networks (AUSNET), which are fleets of unmanned robotic vehicles that can provide survey, search, and monitoring functions for customer bases including the oil industry, environmental monitoring, undersea communications infrastructure, search and rescue, and military applications. The capability will build upon the emerging standard Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) protocols to create a network that is entirely self-configuring, bandwidth conserving, and tailored to the unique requirements of cooperative undersea robotic operations. The two technical thrusts of the effort include AUSNET low-level protocol development, and higher level Application Programmer Interface specification and development. The cooperative Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (AUV) market is emerging and substantial. There are currently 17 companies selling undersea communications devices, each of which is a candidate licensee for AUSNET technology. Near term application of Phase II results is anticipated in Naval applications. Even greater application is to be found in support of offshore undersea operations addressing requirements of the oil industry, communications (undersea cable) installation and maintenance, environmental survey and monitoring, search and rescue operations, and exploration/scientific research. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Benton, Charles Technology Systems, Inc. ME Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 725000 5373 1505 HPCC 9215 9150 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0132096 April 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: A Novel Joining Process for Tubular Structures in Automotive and Aerospace Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop and commercialize the Magnetic Pulse Welding (MPW) system, a novel materials joining process. The goal is to establish MPW as a reliable and economic method to weld tubular structures. The project will conduct research and engineering that will address the critical technical hurdles for the commercial implementation and dissemination of the new welding technology. The commercial applications would revolutionize the assembly process of the hydroformed tubular structures in automotive chassis and space frame applications. This process will promote the hybrid automotive body structure design that uses tubes of both aluminums and steels and will enable joining of different materials such as titanium to superalloys for aerospace and electronic applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Cheng, Wentao Engineering Mechanics Corporation of Columbus OH Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 478535 5373 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0132112 January 15, 2002 STTR Phase II: A New Device for Quantitative Determination of Trace Gas Species. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II Project substantially furthers the development of a powerful means to simultaneously measure trace amounts of multiple species vital to environmental control, industrial process control, and human health and safety. A fast, flexible, accurate, and low power-consuming technique, prism Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) will measure trace species to levels as low as parts-per-trillion. The research completed in Phase I demonstrated that the technology requires prisms fabricated from high-purity, super polished materials of high optical homogeneity. Phase I served both to identify appropriate materials to construct a fully functional prism and to prove that the prism cavity operates from the near UV down to the near IR range, greatly enhancing the breadth of CRDS performance. The commercial market for the prism cavity lends itself to a wide range of applications: manufacture of compound semiconductors for telecommunications; continuous emissions monitoring for environmental compliance and workplace safety; laser weapon development and performance verification; detection of explosives or chemical warfare agents; and chemical analysis of breath for medical diagnostics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Yan, Wen-Bin Tiger Optics, LLC PA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 500000 5373 1505 OTHR 0000 0110000 Technology Transfer 0132118 February 15, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase II: Development of High Efficiency NanoFilter Media. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will demonstrate using a prototype design the commercial feasibility of electrospinning to produce nanofibers. Nanofibers will be combined with conventional filter media to form a novel NanoFilter media for liquid and air filtration applications. These applications have been shown to remove particles smaller than 3 microns from effluent streams with superior filtering efficiency and attractive cost potential. The acrylic nanofibers will be electrospun as a nanoweb directly on to a conventional support (filter media) substrate. The web will be combined with a protective cover layer to form a sandwich structure, which will be collected as a roll. The filter will be easily tailored to achieve the desired composite filter performance by varying architecture: substrates, nanofiber diameter, nanoweb density, and the nanoweb thickness. This project will be carried out collaboratively with academic centers and major corporations as its strategic partners. Nanotechnologies developed in the coming years will form the foundation for a significant commercial platform. Commercial applications in a variety of filtration processes such as: high-end industrial raw material purification, biological separations, ultra pure air and water systems, hospital clean rooms, agriculture and food industries filters, and microelectronic industries next generation clean environment needs are anticipated. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Doshi, Jayesh ESPIN TECHNOLOGIES INC TN Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 1051999 5373 MANU 9146 7218 5373 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0132126 March 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Novel Catalyst Substrate for the High and Low Temperature Water Gas Shift Reactor. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project seeks to develop a compact, lightweight, and low cost Microlith Water Gas Shift (WGS) reactor capable of rapid start-up, excellent transient response and high CO conversion efficiency with very low levels of methane formation. This technology offers a key low cost contribution to meeting objectives for efficiency and clean emissions. The Microlith based WGS reactor will be optimized by developing prototype reactor designs for fuel processor applications, and demonstrating predicted durability of up to 5000 hours. Target customers and markets are fuel processor/fuel cell manufacturers developing and seeking to sell Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell products for stationary residential and distributed power, and for heavy duty vehicles in the short term, fuel processor/fuel cell manufacturers developing products for automotive markets in the long term and opportunistically, specialty chemical reactor applications (e.g. for hydrogen and syngas production and in ammonia synthesis) where the technology's size and performance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Lyubovsky, Maxim Precision Combustion, Inc. CT Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 646745 5373 AMPP 9163 5371 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0132134 February 15, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase II: Rapid, Low-Cost Processing of Continuous Fiber-Reinforced Ceramic Composites. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II Project will validate the polymer infiltration/microwave pyrolysis (PIMP) process and ceramic product whose feasibility was demonstrated in Phase I. The Phase I project demonstrated a reduction in pyrolysis time of greater than 90%; the Phase II project will confirm a corresponding cost reduction. During the Phase I, a strategic partnership with a major original equipment manufacturer (OEM) was established. The Phase II project will refine the process to produce ceramic parts for a specific commercial application, and will validate the weight and performance enhancements projected in Phase I. The PIMP process will be expanded to the pilot plant scale, and with the collaboration of the OEM and a business development specialist. Commercial applications exist for fiber-reinforced ceramics, if they can be produced at low cost. The potential applications range from gas-fired turbine engines for power plants and aircraft to brakes, waste incineration and chemical production. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Schwab, Stuart Thor Technologies, Inc. NM Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 499756 1505 MANU 9150 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0132146 March 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: A New Pseudo Amorphous High Temperature Oxide Material. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will investigate the use of a new high temperature amorphous oxide material, CerablakTM, as a protective coating on components used in the molten aluminum industry. CerablakTM is a newly discovered sol-gel derived material that is thermally stable up to 1400 degrees Celsius over many hours. A patented precursor is used to form a continuous, dense, and smooth thin film using a simple dip coating process. The key property of CerablakTM is its relatively low oxygen diffusivity which enables its use for oxidation protection of metal and alloy surfaces exposed to elevated temperatures. The Phase I project showed that the material is non-wetting and compatible with molten aluminum. CerablakTM coatings developed on full-size thermocouple protection tubes showed excellent durability and non-wetting behavior. The Phase II project will optimize the coating quality for use in protection of thermocouple protection tubes, riser stalk tubes, molds, and dies. The commercial applications include protective coatings for metals and alloys used in turbine components and petrochemical refining, molten metal processing, thermal protection systems for space propulsion, cookware, and glass. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Steiner, Kimberly APPLIED THIN FILMS INC IL Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 489887 5373 AMPP 9163 9102 1775 0106000 Materials Research 0132155 April 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: "RT Photocurable Preceramic Polymers to Si3N4 Ceramics". This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will develop a program that will optimize poly (ethynyl) silazanes (PESZ) synthesis with an emphasis on improved efficiency and low production costs; will scale-up the production of PESZ polymers to pilot scale batch sizes; will optimize PESZ processing for component fabrication; will fabricate "real world" components, such as thrust deflectors and diesel engine particulate filters; and will obtain "real world" mechanical and performance testing data. Through the course of achieving these objectives, commercial opportunities will be pursued. This approach potentially permits the fabrication of extremely large ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) structures never before possible in much the same manner as large polymer matrix aircraft structures and boat hulls are currently manufactured. The commercial application will be the fabrication of extremely large CMC structures that can be used in the aircraft industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Pope, Edward EDWARD POPE DR CA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 613600 5373 AMPP 9163 1775 0106000 Materials Research 0132164 February 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Automating Workflow In Agriculture - Integrated Pest Monitoring System for On-Time and Online Decision Making. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will proceed with the development of a fully automated and integrated pest management (IPM) system. The goal of IPM is to minimize reliance on pesticides by emphasizing the moment-to-moment knowledge of the field situation to dynamically make decisions and deliver timely, targeted actions. Current IPM programs use data collection technologies from early 1900s, thus lacking speed and integration necessary to generate reports required by decision-makers who need to act quickly. With the Phase II development of a robust centralized Internet hub housing expert systems for automated data analysis, reporting (with GIS) and quick distribution of information, the benefits to agriculture will be unsurpassed. The company targets its suite of field data management and decision-making tools the pest management market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Mafra-Neto, Agenor ISCA TECHNOLOGIES, INC. CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 836001 5373 HPCC 9251 9215 9178 9102 7218 1359 0522400 Information Systems 0132166 January 15, 2002 STTR Phase II: Enhanced High Volume Reinforced Al/SiC Metal Matrix Composites. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) project will develop advanced, nano-engineered thermal spray powders for producing composite coatings with revolutionary enhancements in performance. The Phase I project demonstrated the production of high volume reinforced (25-65 wt % SiC) aluminum and nickel matrix composite materials using CVD fluid bed coated powders and low cost consolidation techniques. Dramatic increases in flexure strength and modulus were achieved, with results showing greater than 5% (80% increase) ductility and a 600% increase in flexural strength compared to current metal matrix composite state of the art. A greater understanding of the nano-engineered particles being produced, and the relationship between nano-structural features and the resulting mechanical property improvements will be developed leading to repeatable, predictable performance and application to additional composite and coatings systems. The commercial potential will be for producing low cost; high volume fraction consolidated spray-deposited composite systems with significant improvements in mechanical properties and desired physical properties for structural and corrosion applications for the electronic industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Patel, Parth POWDERMET INC OH T. James Rudd Standard Grant 499998 5373 1505 AMPP 9163 1771 0106000 Materials Research 0132241 February 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Magnetohydrodynamic Formation of Metal Monospheres. This NSF Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project continues research and development of a commercial process for the manufacture of mono-size-dispersed, spherical powder (size 1-10 micron) from metals melting up to 200C. A unique magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) jet exciter will be designed, fabricated and developed as a component of the system essential to producing monosphere powder to high tolerances (e.g., as demanded by the electronics industry of ball grid arrays for surface-mount components). The electrostatic means, for preventing coalescence in the drop cloud, will be developed further. Development of cooling means for solidification will be completed. Specific industry quality control standards and testing will be applied to qualify the monosphere product. Finally, a refined analysis of cost of manufacture, and a complete business plan will be produced. The outcome expected from this project is the technology base for the commercial, large-scale production of monospheres. This unique process innovation for large-scale production of monospheres, will provide a major new source of precise and economical powder for electronic solder balls and paste, powder metallurgy, composites, magnetorheological fluids, catalyst carriers, solid/fluid reactions and a multitude of other uses. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Dean, Jr., Robert SYNERGY INNOVATIONS INC NH Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 563999 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9147 7218 1467 1359 0308000 Industrial Technology 0132521 September 1, 2001 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) on Intelligent Maintenance Systems (IMS). The objectives of this multi-campus research Center are 1) to explore, conduct research and to bring about innovation and practical solutions by focusing on the industrially relevant research needs; 2) to foster collaborative research projects between industrial and academic engineers and scientists; and 3) to promote interdisciplinary and intra-university research activities and to nurture students through testbed and collaborative projects. The Center proposed four key program areas, namely 1) production equipment e-monitoring and e-maintenance systems; 2) web-enabled industrial systems management and optimization program; 3) smart business to devices technologies program; and 4) web-enabled development tools for e-maintenance application systems INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Ni, Jun University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 405000 5761 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 1049 0000 0132742 February 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Mesh Generation for High-Order Finite Element Methods. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop technologies to generate meshes over general three-dimensional domains that are appropriate for high-order finite element analysis. A current stumbling block to the wide adoption of high-order finite element techniques is the lack of automatic means to generate appropriate curved meshes. This project will develop a new and innovative procedure for the effective generation of these types of meshes. The commercial application of this research is the integration of CAD technologies with advanced automated simulation techniques to be used within engineering design processes. These tools will reduce the time and costs associated with performing engineering analysis during design and increase the accuracy of the predictions obtained. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG O'Bara, Robert Simmetrix, Inc. NY Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 562839 5373 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0138192 September 15, 2001 Commercialization Planning Assistance for Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION PROG IIP ENG Servo, Jenny Dawnbreaker Inc NY Joseph E. Hennessey Contract 1176000 5371 5370 OTHR 9102 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0140203 May 1, 2002 RUI: Development of the Back Index: A Collaboration Between Lamar University and the NSF I/U CRC in Ergonomics at Texas A&M University. This research will employ a faculty/student team to develop an epistemological study using non-occupational, psychosocial, and personal risk factors to predict occupationally related low back pain. The study will validate the usability and predictive power of the "Back Index" model to predict a manual materials handling job's risk for producing low back pain. This work will be an extension of the work done by the PI at the Texas A&M Ergonomics Industry/University Cooperative Research Center which will collaborate in this study. Research results will be incorporated into undergraduate teaching. Low back and trunk injury was responsible for 30% of the 2.8 million industrial injuries in 1998. In 1996 the total cost of industrial injuries was $122.6 billion. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Craig, Brian Lamar University Beaumont TX Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 49745 5761 OTHR 9229 1504 1049 0000 0196151 January 1, 2001 CAPPS: Effect of extended cold and cold/acid storage on subsequent heat, acid, and freeze/thaw tolerance and virulence factor expression of Escherichia coli O157:H7. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Drake, MaryAnne North Carolina State University NC Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 9150 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0196320 February 1, 2001 STTR Phase I: A New Device for Quantitative Determination of Trace Gas Species. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Yan, Wen-Bin Tiger Optics, LLC PA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 20000 1505 OTHR 0000 0110000 Technology Transfer 0196323 January 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: IBEX - Restoring Functional Mobility in the Elderly Through In-Bed Exercise. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Greenwald, Richard SIMBEX LLC NH Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 311744 5373 BIOT 9251 9184 9178 5342 0116000 Human Subjects 0203000 Health 0200076 May 1, 2002 Polymer Engineering Center at University of Wisconsin-Madison. This planning grant is the first step toward the setting up a multi-institutional Polymer Engineering Center (PEC) of the Center for Advanced Polymer and Composite Engineering (CAPCE) at the Ohio State University (OSU). This proposed multi-institutional I/UCRC is a university-industry-government collaborative initiative to create, integrate, transfer, and apply knowledge of polymer engineering and processing. It is aimed at enhancing the competitiveness and effectiveness of companies involved in design and manufacturing of plastic components or production of manufacturing and sensing equipment related to the plastics industry. The Engineering Polymer Industrial Consortium (EPIC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides a formal means for the PEC faculty and its industrial collaborators to jointly set up a research agenda, share expertise and resources, validate research outcome, educate a preeminent workforce, and facilitate two-way transfer of technology. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Osswald, Tim Lih-Sheng Turng University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0200377 January 15, 2002 Center for Experimental Research in Computer Systems. This planning grant award is the first step toward the setting up of the Center for Experimental Research in Computer Systems (CERCS) seeks to address complex communication/computation systems by bringing together researchers with knowledge of the key technologies underlying these systems, and thereby, create research teams that can address future systems and applications in a fashion that is integrated across multiple technologies and heterogeneous system components. The mission of CERCS is to develop new hardware and software technologies, to create technological advances, and to take advantage of these advances to remove technological barriers faced by complex, integrated systems. The CERCS approach is experimental and fosters research in which new technologies are evaluated experimentally, with large-scale applications and on systems of substantial size or complexity. The aim is to understand the challenging application requirements that cause novel system-level research, where insights at the system level motivate changes in how certain applications are implemented, and where new system technologies enable new classes of applications. The Center will work with external partners to comprehend their needs and requirements, and to experiment with alternative solutions and approaches. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Schwan, Karsten Douglas Blough Calton Pu Sudhakar Yalamanchili GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0200471 March 1, 2002 I/UCRC for Fuel Cell Research - Planning Grant. This planing grant plans to expand the research on Fuel Cells by creating an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Fuel Cell Research. This center builds on the strength of electrochemical engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of South Carolina. The center provides an opportunity to focus research, nationally and perhaps internationally, to benefit commercialization of an environmentally friendly technology with a $10 billion US economic potential. The vision for the Center is to be recognized internationally for developing mathematical models useful for PEMFC design; producing experimental data and techniques that provide an understanding of PEMFC stack performance; studying hydrogen storage materials, devices, and their interface with PEMFCs; and developing new catalysts development for reforming hydrogen from hydrocarbon fuels and the oxygen electrode. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Van Zee, John University South Carolina Research Foundation SC Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0200502 January 15, 2002 Planning Grant: Connection One--Telecommunications Integration Circuits and Systems Center. This planning grant award is the first step toward the establishment of a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center I/UCRC at the College of Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU). The focus of the proposed consortium is to develop a Telecommunication Circuits and System Center through leadership that offers the vision, focus and direction for the advancement of the next generation of telecommunication systems. The "Connection One: Telecommunications Circuits and Systems Center" has established a foundation for ASU researchers and industry partners that are committed to the advancement of integrated circuits and systems for wireline and wireless communications. The focus of the Center will be to simplify communication by identifying new circuits and system technologies that will enable a "system on a chip" single communication device. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Kiaei, Sayfe Arizona State University AZ Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0200639 November 15, 2001 SBIR PROPOSAL PROCESSING SUPPORT. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION PROG IIP ENG TRIUMPH TECHNOLOGIES INC VA Joseph E. Hennessey Contract 4744855 5373 5371 5370 OTHR 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0202463 November 1, 2001 SBIR Conference Support Contract. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION PROG IIP ENG DelaBarre, D. DelaBarre & Associates, Inc. WA Joseph E. Hennessey Contract 2750680 T443 5373 5371 5370 OTHR 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0308000 Industrial Technology 0211111 May 1, 2002 First International Workshop on Glass and the Photonics Revolution. Recognizing the pivotal role that glass as a material has played in development of the field of photonics, a workshop entitled "Glass and the Photonics Revolution" will be convened in Bad Soden, Germany, in May 2002. Held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the German Society of Glass Technology, the workshop will be sponsored jointly by the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Glass Research, The New York State Center for Advanced Ceramic Technology, both located at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and the Research Association of the German Glass Industry, Germany. Held over a two-day period, the workshop will conclude with a panel discussion of important recent developments in the field of photonics and optical glasses. A major goal of the workshop is to convene glassmakers and glass users engaged in research, development or manufacture of photonic devices and to provide a forum in which both groups can learn the needs and capabilities of each other. WESTERN EUROPE PROGRAM INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Pye, L. David Alfred University NY State College of Ceramics NY Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 20000 5980 5761 OTHR 5936 0000 0211203 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Investigation of Charge Trapping in Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) Dielectrics Using Electrostatically Actuated Mechanical Resonators. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project will develop a novel way to measure charge trapping in dielectrics. The feasibility of our method by applying it to the characterization of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) nitride and oxide will be demonstrated. The deposition chemistry of these materials leaves trap sites that capture charge when subjected to large electric fields. Trapped charge affects the stability and performance of micro-electro-mechanical (MEM) devices that employ these dielectrics. A novel technique that uses a resonant, electro-statically actuated mechanical structure to measure charge trapped in a suspended dielectric layer is proposed. The real part of the device impedance, measured using a network analyzer, can be correlated to changes in electric field in the dielectric resulting from trapped charge.. PECVD dielectrics are critical constituents in MEM devices that enable $3.5 Billion in annualized sales (optical components, RF components, and medical imaging components). Although the technique itself is not a commercial product, it is broadly applicable to the engineering of MEMs devices utilizing suspended PECVD dielectric layers, such as radio frequency (RF) switches and micro-mirrors. This control of charge trapping in highly process sensitive PECVD dielectrics will allow us to realize the full commercial potential of our ultrasound devices in medical imaging applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fitzgerald, Alissa Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99998 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0211408 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Software Tools for the Design of Nanoscale Electronic Devices and Circuits. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project features as the main goal, the development of a simulator of nanoscale electronic devices, and circuits. Emphasis will be placed on devices and circuits that are based on carbon nanotubes, or tunneling in lithographically defined junctions. The simulator will be based partly on the extensive collection of theoretical and numerical techniques that have been developed by the firm to describe charge transport in single electron devices. A diagrammatic technique and non-interacting Green's functions were used to obtain the tunneling rates in such junctions. Those techniques will be extended to describe the nanotubes. A graphical user interface will be developed, as well as a module that provides movies of the dynamics of charge flow. A package that enables the visualization of charge transport in these ultrasmall devices is expected to be a stimulating teaching and learning tool. with the standard SPICE package. Powerful simulation tools are essential for the evaluation and development of nanoelectronic devices and systems. The primary customers of the proposed nanosystems simulator is expected to be chip manufacturers, manufacturers of high sensitivity electrical measuring instruments and academic researchers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Richardson, Wayne Qusemde CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 96850 5371 MANU 9148 0110000 Technology Transfer 0211476 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Advanced CdZnTe for Room Temperature Radiation Detection. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the fundamental issues limiting the applications of Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride/Cadmium Telluride radiation detectors. Currently, x-ray and gamma ray equipment industry producing medical imaging, manufacturing, and security inspection instrument is a multi-billion dollar business. Room temperature Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride/Cadmium Telluride detectors and arrays appear to be the obvious choice as the sensing elements. However, after forty years of research, many problems remain. It was not clear why the yield in producing Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride/Cadmium Telluride detectors is still so low. Based on semiconductor physics, two parameters are most crucial in determining the detector performance: the need of the deep level of donor or acceptors to pin the Fermi level near the middle of the bandgap and the necessity to avoid defects which trap the carriers. Potential commercial applications of the research can be used by researchers at accelerator laboratories for particle analysis, by scientists for crystallography, by security personnel for inspection, by engineers for the control of packaging such as bottling, and for numerous medical applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chu, Muren Fermionics Corporation CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 0110000 Technology Transfer 0211501 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Coherent and Tunable Terahertz (THz) Module for Chemical Identification. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on the implementation of a Terahertz (THz) module that can emit coherent and tunable Terahertz waves. This project naturally follows the recent result obtained by the Project Investigator. Recently, coherent Terahertz radiation was generated at room temperature, which could be continuously tunable from 56.8 mm to beyond 1618 mm (5.27 to 0.18 THz), in Gallium Selenide, based on difference-frequency generation. The peak Terahertz power can be as high as 69.4 W at 196 mm. The corresponding photon conversion efficiency reaches 3.3%. This value has been greatly improved owing to the combination of extremely low absorption coefficients in the Terahertz domain and a large second-order nonlinear coefficient for Gallium Selenide. On the other hand, it has been demonstrated that optical parametric oscillator in Lithium Niobate can be used to generate a Terahertz wave tunable in the range of 110-460 m (2.7-0.7 THz) with a peak power of 300 W. However, Lithium Niobate suffers from photorefractive damage. One needs a much higher laser intensity to achieve parametric oscillation. The Terahertz source will dramatically impact molecular spectroscopy. Such an instrument can be eventually used to control pollution and to identify toxic chemicals, for remote sensing, bio- medical imaging, and security screening. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Shi, Wei DING, YUJIE J. PA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0211557 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Cavity-Enhanced Capillary Electrophoresis. 0211557 Gupta This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project proposes to apply cavity-enhanced spectroscopy to Capillary Electrophoresis (CE). CE typically relies on absorption spectroscopy to detect analytes eluting from a separation column. Although this detection method is very useful, the capillary's short absorption pathlength has limited its sensitivity, forcing the development of more complex detection schemes. Preliminary results suggest that an optical cavity can be used to enhance this absorption sensitivity by a factor of hundred to over ten thousand. The aim of this proposal is to interface a CE column to an optical cavity and demonstrate the enhanced detection of various biological samples. Due to the increasing popularity of CE in biochemical research, the commercial applications of this technology continue to grow. It is currently used to analyze DNA fragments, proteins, and various drugs. Moreover, it is also being considered as an alternate to gel electrophoresis for DNA sequencing and is a leading prospect for lab-on-a-chip technologies. The commercial applications of this project are in genomic sequencing, medical diagnostics, and drug screening. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gupta, Manish LOS GATOS RESEARCH INC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0211584 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Urea Sensing Biocatalytic Polymers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase Iproject proposes to develop a urea sensor using enzyme polyurethane polymers. The product concept is inexpensive, very easy to use and requires no additional analytical equipment or electricity. The strict specificity of the enzymes used in its formulation will provide the sensor with high precision in detecting urea and should limit false positive and negative signals. Sampling of surfaces and solutions will require only 1 simple step, limiting the potential for user error. Finally, rapid response times, on the order of a few minutes, will correspond well with the target applications of the sensor. The commercial applications of this project will be in the area of regulatory testing linked to the food service industry and health care establishments. Because improper cleaning practices of restrooms can lead to bacterial contamination, the use of urea-detecting sensors in hospital bathroom facilities may aid in reducing patient infection rates. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Erbeldinger, Markus AGENTASE LLC PA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 96180 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0211933 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Polymer Imaging Guide For Endoscopic Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to use novel polymer processing techniques to fabricate high quality, inexpensive polymer (plastic) optical fiber image guides and other highly customized endoscopic devices. Polymer based imaging guides have several distinct advantages over their glass counterparts. The key advantages include reduced cost, a smaller bend radius, and increased ruggedness. Additional benefits include the ability to dope the polymer matrix with molecules that can be used as environmental probes or indicators, to tailor the imaging guide for specialized applications, and to impart diverse functionality into a single imaging guide. The cost of the polymer imaging guide is expected to be significantly lower than those currently in use. This will allow the polymer guides to be used as disposables if desired. Disposable endoscopes for one-time use will eliminate the need for sterilization, which is costly, often unreliable and time-consuming. The commercial applications of this project will be in the area of medical devices and instrumentation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Welker, Dave PARADIGM OPTICS INCORPORATED WA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99958 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0212012 July 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: Novel Water-Soluble TNT Metallofullerene Derivatives for Imaging Applications. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I Project proposes to functionalize TNT-metallofullerenes with highly water-soluble, steric-stabilizing ligands and to evaluate these materials as general MRI(Magnetic Resonance Imaging) contrast agents. Classical endohedral metallofullerenes are produced in exceedingly low yields and are unstable in air. In contrast, the development of trimetallic-nitride-template (TNT) process by the investigators has allowed the production of a new class of extremely stable endohedral metallofullerenes in sufficient research quantities. Biomedical applications in diagnostic and therapeutic areas offer a near-term opportunity to utilize these materials because the quantities required for such applications are relatively small, and these nanomaterials offer unique advantages over current systems. The TNT process allows the encapsulation of 1-3 paramagnetic lanthanides, isolating the metals from the body. Preliminary data indicates that hydroxylated, gadolinium-containing TNT-metallofullerenes increase the proton relaxation rate of surrounding water molecules significantly over currently used gadolinium chelates. However, aggregation of typical hydroxylated fullerenes prevents their maximum efficiency and utility. Addition of large, highly soluble ligands is expected to promote enhanced water solubility, deter aggregation, and deliver an even larger enhancement over current gadolinium MRI contrast agents. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of Biomedical Imaging. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Stevenson, Steven Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99988 5371 1505 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0212035 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Nanofabricated Gas Chromatography Column-Oven System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will fabricate a nanostructured, palm-size gas chromatography (GC) for the in-situ, and low cost analysis of volatile chemicals. Gas chromatography has been widely used as an analytical instrument for volatile organic compounds. The existing GC instruments, including the portable ones, have inherent limitations that make them unsuitable for the continuous, on-line/in-situ monitoring applications. The proposed program will design and demonstrate a nanotechnology-based miniature GC to detect, identify, and quantify chemical pollutants. The proof of principle demonstration is based on an EPA furnished test matrix. The miniature GC is expected to be pocket sized, low power (1-5 W), low cost (< $500/unit) and low maintenance. In addition to the EPA environmental monitoring applications, the miniature GC has a variety of other applications for DOD, NASA, and other government agencies involve in chemical warning medicine, homeland security, and demilitarization and treaty verification. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Dong, Jim NanoTek, Inc. AZ Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99200 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0212405 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Bioremediation of N-nitrosodimethylamine in Groundwater. This Small Business Phase I Project is to develop a bioremediation technology for treating groundwater contaminated with N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). NDMA is a potent carcinogen and an emerging groundwater contaminant in the United States. Accordingly, the State of California has established an acceptable level in drinking water for NDMA of only 20 ng/L. Current technologies for treating NDMA, such as ultraviolet irradiation and carbon adsorption, are expensive and/or ineffective for removing the contaminant to required levels. Envirogen scientists have recently discovered a bacterial strain that is capable of metabolizing NDMA during growth on a second substrate (i.e., by co-metabolism). This bacterium is one of only a few strains that are known to degrade NDMA. In the course of this Phase I project, the biodegradation of NDMA by this organism andby other bacterial strains possessing similar broad specificity oxidase enzymes will be examined. The most effective culture(s) will be seeded into bioreactors and the abilities of these strains to remediate NDMA in groundwater will be quantified. In addition, the potential to stimulate specific microorganisms in contaminated aquifers to degrade NDMA by cosubstrate application will be tested. The commercial application of this project is in the area of wastewater treatment linked to municipal drinking water supplies. Additional industrial and military uses of the core technology are also expected. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hatzinger, Paul Envirogen, Inc. NJ Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99976 5371 BIOT 9181 0313040 Water Pollution 0213210 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Ultra-Broadband Ferrite Circulators/Isolators. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project addresses the development of Innovative Ultra-Broadband Ferrite Circulators/Isolators providing a transmission bandwidth broader than a 10:1 frequency ratio. A traditional circulator junction utilizing a single ferrite material results in a 3:1 bandwidth. A non-traditional stripline junction circulator for which the transmission band extends from 1.6 to 16 GHz has been designed and fabricated. This circulator design involves 3 different kinds of ferrite materials to be packed as tiles to form a composite junction. Even broader bandwidth has also been theoretically predicted, if more ferrite materials are used to compose the junction, rendering a bandwidth covering from 1 to 20 GHz. Researches on broadband transformer circuits are thus proposed, allowing for 50 S impedance to be realized with the input/output ports accompanying the operation of the broadband circulator/isolator junctions. The proposed innovative circulators/isolators can be used as universal instruments under broadband considerations. For example, it can be used in measurements requiring interband operation, such as encountered in a Network Analyzer performing scattering parameter measurements. In radiometry applications it allows for narrow-width electromagnetic pulses to be used with monostatic radars. Multiple radars operating at distinctive frequency bands can be combined to share a common antenna aperture so as to reduce overall radar cross section. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG How, Hoton HOTECH INC MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0213594 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Low-Voltage Poling of Waveguides in Nonlinear Optical Materials. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a novel low-voltage periodic poling technique for creating highly efficient quasi-phase matched waveguides in nonlinear optical materials. The key innovation of the proposed technology is the use of co-planar micro-comb electrodes to periodically pole waveguides embedded in a nonlinear optical material such as potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP). Periodically poled waveguides will enable highly efficient, quasi-phase matched (QPM), nonlinear optical frequency conversion of continuous wave and low peak power quasi-continuous radiation. The proposed technique will allow multiple waveguides with different QPM gratings to be fabricated onto a single device, thereby building in wavelength flexibility as well as reducing cost. The anticipated benefits of low-voltage poling are waveguides with significantly improved conversion efficiency, low scattering loss, and increased manufacturing yields. The commercial applications of this project are in the areas of bioanalytical instrumentation (such as medical diagnostics, flow cytometers and medical imagers) and telecommunications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Battle, Philip ADVR, INC MT Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99761 5371 MANU 9150 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0213601 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Carbon Isotope Ratiometer. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project concerns the novel application of cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy to determine the carbon isotope ratio of carbon dioxide emitting from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Although, this isotope ratio has recently been identified as an indicator of biological activity, the currently used analytical methods are expensive and inaccurate. The aim of this Phase I proposal is to design a portable cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy system to accurately determine isotope ratios of deep-sea samples in situ. Preliminary results suggest that the system can determine isotope ratios to better than 0.1 percent, which is sufficient to determine the presence of biological activity. This effort will provide an accurate determination of carbon isotope ratios in an inexpensive, portable device. It will also have significant commercial impact in medical diagnostics, the petroleum industry, and environmental monitoring. Projected sales of the ratiometer in the former two areas alone are expected to exceed $65M over the next five years. Moreover, the proposed prototype can be readily modified to monitor various industrial gases, further increasing its commercial impact. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gupta, Manish LOS GATOS RESEARCH INC CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0213609 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: An Optical Sensor for Semiconductor Back-End Processes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to develop an innovative intelligent optical sensor for semiconductor back-end processes control and inspection by using our matrix-addressable laser/detector array chip. The sensor will be incorporated into the fine pitch component placement machines, to ensure accurate component placement, and co-planarity of component leads and to inspect components immediately before placement. Identification of defective or damage lead tips that lie within the same plane will be. Additional inspection capabilities include solder bump volume and height, bump position and quality, ball height and diameter of ball grit array, ball coplanarity and foreign materials. The sensor actually is a miniature confocal scanning laser microscope without any moving parts. Since there are no moving parts or bulky optics, we are able obtain image rate at least 60 frames per second, and sensor can be made a very small dimension. This sensor will enable semiconductor packaging manufactures to increase operating efficiency, increase product yield, and add to their quality control. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hang, Jim New Dimension Research MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0213614 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Large Depth of Field and High Resolution Imaging Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project's objective is to overcome the drawbacks of existing imaging sensor designs, and to demonstrate a novel video camera design concept. Named the Super-Eye, this camera is able to provide simultaneously both large depth of field the dynamic scene and selective high-resolution video images for the object of interest. The unique advantages of the proposed Super-Eye concept include: (a) achieving simultaneous high image resolution and large depth of field; (b) Intelligent guidance of the high-resolution image channel; and (c) 3D Modeling Capability. The requirements for high image resolution, large depth of field, and wide field of view are applicable to both the commercial and military markets. The security surveillance market has experience near double-digit growth and is expected to maintain this growth in light of the events of 9/11. Security cameras are roughly 30 percent of the $100 billion global security industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Li, Hui GENEX TECHNOLOGIES INC MD Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0213619 July 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: High Intensity, High Brightness Source of Low Energy Positrons Based on the Generation of Free Nitrogen-13. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop a novel positron source based on the generation of free 13 N produced via the 12 C(d,n) 13 N reaction. In a major advance over existing technologies, the 13 N will be extracted as nitrogen gas from a porous carbon target, fed to a remote location, and condensed onto a small diameter spot. A layer of solid Ne will moderate the 13 N beta-particles to produce a beam of slow positrons. This approach will yield an unrivaled brightness and two orders of magnitude higher intensity than current 22 Na sources, thus opening the door to many valuable uses of positron probes for science and industry. The high intensity, high brightness positron source to be developed will have many applications to high-data-rate, positron micro-beam instruments for use in determining such things as: (1) the effects of radiation damage due to ion implantation on the conduction characteristics of IC semiconductors; (2) the effects of electro-migration on the failure of current carrying leads in ICs; (3) the properties of low-k dielectrics used in high speed ICs; and (4) the aging of the mechanical properties of plastic films. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Bayless, John First Point Scientific, Inc. CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 1505 MANU 9146 5371 1505 0110000 Technology Transfer 0213645 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Patterened substrates For Biochips. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 Project is to develop microarrays for analyzing thousands of sequences of DNA for genomic and diagnostic applications. The microarrays would be made from sol-gel coatings with specific microstructures. These substrates will allow higher density arrays and higher signal/noise ratio from each of the array elements. This will result in increasing analytical throughput with an improved accuracy in detection and reproducibility of the data. The commercial applications of this project will be in the areas of healthcare and agriculture. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Agrawal, Anoop ENKI Technologies AZ Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0213789 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Optical Instruments for Monitoring Asthma and Treatments. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a diagnostic instrument to detect molecular species, such as nitric oxide, in exhaled breath as a biomarker of airway inflammation to assess the effectiveness and compliance of asthma therapies. This project will result in the fabrication of a biosensor suitable for clinical use. Pre-clinical studies will be performed during the Phase I research to ensure that a proper protocol has been established. The follow on Phase II project will incorporate clinical trials in preparation for FDA approval. The commercial applications of this project will be in the area of biomedical diagnostic devices and instrumentation. It is hoped that the instrument developed in the course of this project will acquire a good share of the $1 billion a year asthma diagnosis and treatment monitoring market. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Namjou, Khosrow EKIPS TECHNOLOGIES INC OK Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 9150 BIOT 9181 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0308000 Industrial Technology 0213843 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Novel Optical Sensor for Monitoring Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) Levels in Soil at Underground Storage Tank (UST) Cleanup Sites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I addresses the development of a remote-telemetry compatible sensor for measuring reductions in methyl tertiary butyl ether levels in soil at underground storage tank cleanup sites. At present, there are over 160,000 sites with petroleum and methyl tertiary butyl ether contaminated soil, which poses a significant threat to the environment as well as human health and safety. In addition, there are approximately 286,000 underground storage tanks that pose a significant risk to the environment because they are not in compliance with federally mandated leak detection requirements. This sensor would enable the development of a new and improved chemical detection system for identifying methyl tertiary butyl ether levels in soil and to accurately determine the risks of underground storage tanks in cleanup sites. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Thomas, Ross Eltron Research, Inc. CO Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99995 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0213863 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Micromachined Ultrasonic-on-a-Chip for Medical High-Resolution Imaging. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project objective is to research and develop the next generation of ultrasound real-time volumetric imagers, with enhanced spatial resolution and picture definition. The innovation is based on LEEOAT Company's patented micromachining technology and its expertise in parallel high-density electronic interconnections to innovate the Ultrasound-on-a-Chip (UOC) device. In phase I of the SBIR program, LEEOAT Company will design the device and demonstrate the fabrication feasibility of the crucial components, thus demonstrating the proof-of-concept of the UOC imaging system. Additionally, LEEOAT Company will theoretically simulate the UOC device and the support electronics for performance optimization and to predict the anticipated final performance of the imager. Finally, the cost/effort will be estimated for the final development, fabrication and testing of the UOC imaging system prototype for medical applications. The major commercial application involves ultrasonic noninvasive medical imaging. Industrial applications include non-destructive evaluations such as defect identification in integrated circuits. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wiener-Avnear, Eli Leeoat Company CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0213876 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Genomic Mapping of DNA by Means of Gene Engine\(TM\) Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to refine the novel Gene Engine Technology foruse in effective and inexpensive genomic analysis. The specific objectives of this project are to experimentally determine the actual limits of applicability of the Gene Engine TM technology and to develop all components needed for its use in high-resolution genomic mapping. To accomplish this, fluorescent sequence-specific tags will be designed and methodsdeveloped for their attachment to DNA targets. Microfluidic system will be improved to reliably stretch long DNA fragments. Algorithms needed for data processing and DNA map building will be developed. During the Phase I study, mixture of DNA fragments up to 200 kilobases long will be analyzed. Further development will lead to design and commercialization of an instrument capable of analyzing genomes up to 10 megabases in length. The commercial applications of this project will be for rapid screening of populations as well as for personalized genetic analysis in clinical settings in the form of routine laboratory tests. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gilmanshin, Rudolf U.S. GENOMICS INC MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99873 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0213900 July 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: A Molecular Approach for the Long-Term Preservation of Shrimp Embryos. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I Project will examine the feasibility of long-term preservation of shrimp embryos using gene transfer technology. Encysted embryos of the brine shrimp, Artemia franciscana, are resistant to extreme environmental stress including temperature, salt, anoxia and desiccation. A small heat shock crystallin protein (p26) gene identified from A. franciscana has been shown to play a major role in the brine shrimp's ability to tolerate environmental stress. This Phase I Project proposes to introduce the p26 gene into the commercially important marine shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, through micro-injection and electroporation techniques, and to use the shrimp -actin promoter (that has previously been isolated from L. vannamei) to drive the expression of the p26 gene, resulting in the production of transgenic shrimp capable of surviving harsh environmental conditions. The commercial application of this project will be in the marine shrimp industry. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Chen, MingCheng Rainbow Hawaii Farms HI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 31716 9150 BIOT 9181 9150 5371 0521700 Marine Resources 0213917 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Development of Reduced Engineering Models for Prediction of Growth of Ternary III-V Semiconductor Materials Grown by Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I study is aimed toward development of an efficient procedure for predicting growth of ternary III-V semiconductor materials grown by Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (MOVPE). These techniques are now used extensively in the semiconductor industry to model growth of materials on substrates by chemical vapor deposition. The success of such modeling depends largely on the complexity of the gas phase and surface reaction mechanisms used to predict the growth process. While multi-step finite-rate reaction mechanisms involving approximately ten to twenty species are adequate for modeling growth of binary alloys, accurate modeling of ternary alloy growth necessitates many more reactions and species. This renders the calculations for such scenarios extremely expensive and prohibitive. This technology can improve a wide variety of electronic and opto-electronic are devices. Optimization and characterization of their growth is crucial to the success of the opto-electronic and semiconductor industry. While commercial these codes have been used with great success for modeling growth of pure and binary semiconductor materials, their success has been limited (if not non-existent) for ternary materials due to the lack of knowledge of the chemistry and the extreme computational efforts required o perform such calculations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mazumder, Sandip CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION AL Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99988 5371 MANU 9150 9147 0107000 Operations Research 0213924 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Innovative Phase Shifter Utilizing Nonreciprocal Phase Shifter. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project addresses the development of Innovative Phase Shifter Utilizing Nonreciprocal Resonator. In a nonreciprocal resonator, such as a ferrite disk, wave propagation is non-degenerate, and the resonant modes all assume at differently frequencies. Thus, for a given resonant mode its phase is unambiguous, allows it to be coupled out providing the function of a phase shifter. Phase shift obtained in this manner is uniform, and the operation is independent of the phase angle obtained. The phase shifter for this project will be compact in size, providing 360 degrees phase angle with low insertion loss. Furthermore, it allows for circuit minimization facilitating fabrication as a large array. Potential commercial applications include Low-cost, small-volume collision avoidance radar capable of beam steering. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG How, Hoton HOTECH INC MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0213982 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Ultra-Sensitive Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) Technology: A Photon Counting Camera. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will result in an innovative, technologically advanced, imaging system-with the potential of counting of individual photons. The imaging system will be a compact avalanche-gain, charge-coupled device, and digital camera. The innovation will offer high photo-response from the deep ultraviolet to the near infrared in very Low Light Level, as well as photonic light conditions. In addition, the Photon Counting Camera will present solid-state reliability without typical intensifier imaging tube limitations, such as, image burn-in and blooming. A possible research, military, law enforcement, or "home land security" application for the Photon Counting Camera will be "black-on-black" detection that is when faint objects are difficult to discriminate from the background. This far-reaching technology will also be beneficial for many non-military applications, such as astronomy, bio- and chemical-luminescence, microscopy, and beam imaging. Furthermore, the innovation will offer significant cost savings and enhance multi-spectral imaging performance, compared to conventional intensifier imaging systems. In short, the Photon Counting Camera will have the most impact where MHz readout speeds (real-time or TV speeds) and lowest possible noise are required. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Meisner, Mark Titan Optics & Engineering NH Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214074 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Hybrid Coatings for Dental Biofilm Control. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to synthesize and test lubricious/antimicrobial coatings to prevent biofilm formation in dental water lines. Microbial contamination of water delivered by dental-unit water systems continues to be a significant problem. The most common cause of dental-unit contamination is believed to be the formation and subsequent sloughing off of microbial biofilm from the surfaces of tubing within dental-unit water systems. Persons who are immunocompromised may be at risk due to some opportunistic microorganisms present in most biofilm. Contaminated water may be ingested by the patient or be aerosolized and inhaled by the patient or dental worker. During the Phase I research, antimicrobial monomers will be incorporated into copolymers with additional monomers, that upon wetting, cause the coating to become quite lubricious. The coatings will be tested in order to evaluate their effectiveness in preventing biofilm formation. The lubricious component will help prevent microbial attachment while the antimicrobial constituent will eradicate microorganisms on contact. The antimicrobial and lubricious parts of the coating are expected to perform synergistically when used in combination in order to significantly inhibit biofilm formation. The commercial applications of this project will be in a number of areas, including medical, industrial, marine and consumer products. Specific examples include the following: medical coatings for catheters, stents, endoscopes, implants and endotracheal tubes; various industrial coatings; food/beverage packaging; coatings for ship hulls; and coatings for various consumer products. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Elrod, Don Lynntech, Inc TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0214075 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Mouthrinse Generator for Plaque and Halitosis Control. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a miniature electrochemically operated antimicrobial agents generator for suppression of dental plaque and halitosis control. Plaque, oral malodor, gingivitis, periodontal disease, and discoloration of the teeth are all undesirable conditions that affect many people. It is broadly estimated that 25-85 million Americans have halitosis, especially due to gram-negative anaerobic bacteria. While good oral hygiene, as achieved by brushing the teeth with a cleansing dentifrice, reduces the above-mentioned conditions, it does not necessarily prevent or eliminate their occurrence. Microorganisms contribute to both the initiation and progression of these conditions. Thus, suppressing microorganisms is the key to good oral hygiene. In this Phase I project, optimization of the electrocatalyst (to improve current and energy efficiencies as well as long term stability) and biocidal properties of the dual disinfectants will be conducted. In the follow on Phase II project, the miniature device will be constructed. This miniature mouthwash generator, simultaneously producing two FDA approved antimicrobial agents, has a significant potential for commercialization. The device is expected to be robust and maintenance free, and will require only the replacement of penlight batteries and inexpensive consumables. The commercial application of this project is in the area of dental hygiene for general household use. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tennakoon, Charles Lynntech, Inc TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214077 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: An Electrochemical Array-Based Nondestructive Evaluation System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project concerns the development of an electrochemical-based array nondestructive testing and evaluation (NDE) system for the detection of corrosion at the microscale level. Formation of small flaws of a destructive nature results during corrosion of a number of engineering metals and alloys used in transportation, microelectronics, electrical power production, and hazardous waste containment. The stability of these materials is determined by the extent to which a high integrity passive oxide film forms and is retained during continuous exposure to the ambient environment. Localized corrosion due to breakdown in these oxide films is responsible for limiting the lifetime of components made from these materials. The key to avoid flaw formation in engineering metals and alloys is the detection of early stages of corrosion. The proposed technology will provide spatially resolved information on the corrosion process at the microscale level as well as information on corrosion rates. The fabrication and test of a lab-scale electrochemical array-based corrosion sensor will be carried out during the Phase I project. There are large potential commercial applications for this technology in various industries, such as aerospace (defense and commercial), marine and automotive industries, electric utility plants, chemical processing plants, refineries, microelectronics, electrical power production, and hazardous waste containment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gonzalez-Martin, Anuncia Lynntech, Inc TX Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9146 9102 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214083 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Innovative Integrated Optical Circuit Fabrication and Processing Techniques. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop a method of fabricating integrated optical circuits (IOCs) using alternate waveguide materials (AWMs). Currently, IOCs comprise silica glass waveguides, and are patterned using an expensive, multi-step photolithography process in conjunction with high temperature deposition techniques. However, AWMs are associated with lower glass transition temperatures, and have the potential of patterning optical circuits through alternate printing methods, bypassing the photolithography process. This will dramatically reduce the complexity and hence the cost of photonic device manufacture. Another important advantage of AWMs is lower minimum attenuation levels, possibly one to two orders of magnitude lower than that of silica glass. This is critical for long waveguide applications such as integrated optic delay lines for telecommunications, integrated optic gyroscopes, and more sensitive chemical sensors. In addition, because some alternate materials can host rare earth elements, the development of AWMs has further applications for improved optical switches, amplifiers, and solid-state blue lasers. This project will establish the feasibility of fabricating optical circuits comprising AWMs. Improved fabrication of optical waveguide circuits has the immediate potential for integrated optic amplifiers, lossless splitters, and up conversion blue fiber lasers, essential to numerous commercial applications in optical storage, color printing, and projection, up converters, isolators and fluorescent coolers, as well as convenient, low-cost solid-state laser sources for the laboratory. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fitzpatrick, Colleen Rice Systems, Inc. CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9146 9102 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214150 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Of Ultra-High-Speed Electronic Integrated Circuits, Interconnects, and Dielectric Ribbons. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project will describe a new way to use specially designed low loss dielectric ribbons (with attenuation as much as 100 times less than that of a conventional circular polymer rod at Ka band), made with either alumina, silicon, InP or GaAs as fundamental building blocks for electronic integrated circuits or interconnects. The absence of metallic structures in the ribbon approach provides the possibility of high power carrying capability. This technology offers the possibility of directly incorporating active devices with a low-loss transmission medium, provides the foundation for ultra-high-speed integrated circuits. Major commercial markets include the automobile, semiconductor, computer, and satellite industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yeh, Cavour California Advanced Studies CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99700 5371 MANU 9148 5371 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214256 June 15, 2002 Collaborative Research: Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (CELDi). The Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (CELDi) is a new multi-university, multi-disciplinary Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC). The vision for the center is to provide integrated solutions to logistics problems, through modeling, analysis and intelligent-systems technologies. The four universities involved in this proposal, the University of Arkansas, serving as the lead institution, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Louisville, and Oklahoma State University are assuming a leadership role in engineering logistics research and education. The scope of CELDi will address (1) value-adding processes that create time and place utility (transportation, material handling, and distribution), (2) value-sustaining processes that prolong useful life (maintenance, repair, and rework), and (3) value-recovering processes that conserve scarce resources and enhance societal goodwill (returns, refurbishment, and recycling). EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ENGINEERING EDUCATION IIP ENG Heragu, Sunderesh University of Louisville Research Foundation Inc KY Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 316000 9150 5761 1360 1340 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9177 9150 9102 7218 1049 0000 0214272 July 1, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase I: Targeted Drug Delivery with Magnetic Nanoparticles. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I Project will develop a methodology for improved diagnosis and treatment of cancer by combining therapy and imaging in the same drug. Specifically, this study proposes to bind polyethylene glycol (PEG) coated magnetic nanopheres to a cancer targeting therapeutic agent (doxorubicin encapsulated temperature sensitive liposomes and hydrogels) and chelated to Tc-99m for imaging. After administration, the drug will be concentrated at the site of action by external magnetic guidance, verified by gamma camera imaging and released to the tumor using herperthermia treatment. A tumor specific marker bound to the complex will improve drug transport into the tumor. Once inside the tumor, therapeutic agents will be released to kill the cancer cells. Specific Goals of this Phase I Project are: (1) to develop the necessary chemistry and conjugation, (2) to examine the magnetic susceptibility of the complex using an in vitro flow model, and (3) to conduct tests in an in vitro cell culture model. The commercial applications of this project are in the treatment of cancer. The proposed method will enhance the efficacy of cancer treatment by ensuring that the drug reaches the target tissue while minimizing non-target tissue uptake. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Giri, Anit Nanomat, Inc. PA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99999 5371 1505 BIOT 9181 9102 0203000 Health 0214280 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Anthrax Detector for Mail Sorting Systems. 0214280 Farquharson This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project proposes to develop a real-time anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) detector for mail-sorting systems. The proposed analyzer would allow detecting, identifying and removing anthrax laden letters in a mail-sorting machine prior to distribution. The Phase I Project will focus on improving sensitivity so that 1000 spores can be detected in 10 seconds. The folow on Phase II Project will develop a prototype anthrax detector for testing in mail sorting facilities. Successful completion of the proposed project will result in a tool that will decrease the threat of widespread anthrax infection and increase homeland security. The commercial applications of this project are self evident. The proposed analyzer wil be of immediate use at the US Military Postal Service Agency, at the US postal office, at private postal services, as well as in large office buildings and corporations that employ their own internal mailing office centers. Modifications to the system would also allow rapid detection of chemical agents in glass or plastic containers at ports of entry (e.g. at airports). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Farquharson, Stuart REAL-TIME ANALYZERS, INCORPORATED CT Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99994 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214408 July 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: Novel Lipid Deposition for Biosensor Surfaces. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop sensing instrumentation containing bioengineered surfaces that are compatible with relevant, disease-associated proteins. Of particular interest in the fields of pharmaceutical design and cell biology is the seven-transmembrane segment, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). GPCRs represent a class of bioactive proteins that encompass 1-2 percent of all encoded protein within the human genome and have been the focus of extensive study in signal recognition and propagation within the human body. These receptors, it is estimated, comprise up to 70 percent of potential drug candidates. However, a valid measurement of protein-protein interactions has been elusive due to the technical reliance upon cell extracts or live cellular systems, both of which can convolute data. Luna Innovations along with their partners at the University of Pennsylvania propose a novel, cell-free system to measure the biophysical association between hydrophobic GPCRs and their ligands. The proposed optical fiber-based system, based on a lipid bilayer deposition, is essential not only to understand the important components of biological systems but also to vastly improve the accuracy of contemporary biochip measurements. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of biosensor instrumentation. An instrument capable of detecting and characterizing protein interactions is expected to have a good market in the pharmaceutical industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Pennington, Charles Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 99984 5371 1505 BIOT 9181 9102 5371 1505 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214416 June 1, 2002 Collaborative Research: Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution \(CELDi\). The Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (CELDi) is a new multi-university, multi-disciplinary Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC). The vision for the center is to provide integrated solutions to logistics problems, through modeling, analysis and intelligent-systems technologies. The four universities involved in this proposal, the University of Arkansas, serving as the lead institution, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Louisville, and Oklahoma State University are assuming a leadership role in engineering logistics research and education. The scope of CELDi will address (1) value-adding processes that create time and place utility (transportation, material handling, and distribution), (2) value-sustaining processes that prolong useful life (maintenance, repair, and rework), and (3) value-recovering processes that conserve scarce resources and enhance societal goodwill (returns, refurbishment, and recycling). EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES RET SUPPLEMENTS INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Ingalls, Ricki Oklahoma State University OK Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 340000 9150 7218 5761 SMET OTHR 9177 9150 7218 115E 114e 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0214442 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Electrostatic Based Adhesion Test for Thin Films. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a novel, electrostatic based metrology solution that has the potential of being developed into a rapid and quantitative test of interfacial adhesion for the semiconductor industry. The portion of a semiconductor device that carries logic signals between the transistors on a chip is commonly known as the Back-End-of-the-Line (BEOL). The BEOL typically consists of, among other components, current carrying metal lines surrounded by an insulating or low-dielectric constant (low-k) material. To keep increasing chip performance at the current pace, it will be necessary to replace the current dense insulators with a porous low-k material. Interface adhesion between porous low-k and the various other layers in the BEOL is known to be poor and extremely problematic during integration. The semiconductor industry faces a significant barrier to further progress, because a rapid and quantifiable test to assess interfacial adhesion does not currently exist. The principle of the technique is to use a normal tensile force created by an electrostatic field to delaminate thin films from their underlying layers. This is a unique undertaking with regards to adhesion testing and reflects a revolutionary shift in how adhesion tests will be conducted if successful. The economic benefit to the industry will be achieved by reducing the time to market and improving yield. If interfacial adhesion can be monitored rapidly and quantifiably, the effects of varying process parameters (deposition, etch, pre-treatments) on film-adhesion can be quantified in a greatly shortened time reducing the length of the process development and R&D phase. This would lead to shorter times to market, increased productivity, and may increase market share for early adopters of the technology in the US. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lucas, Barry Fast Forward Devices, LLC TN Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214457 June 1, 2002 Collaborative Research: Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution \(CELDi\). The Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (CELDi) is a new multi-university, multi-disciplinary Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC). The vision for the center is to provide integrated solutions to logistics problems, through modeling, analysis and intelligent-systems technologies. The four universities involved in this proposal, the University of Arkansas, serving as the lead institution, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Louisville, and Oklahoma State University are assuming a leadership role in engineering logistics research and education. The scope of CELDi will address (1) value-adding processes that create time and place utility (transportation, material handling, and distribution), (2) value-sustaining processes that prolong useful life (maintenance, repair, and rework), and (3) value-recovering processes that conserve scarce resources and enhance societal goodwill (returns, refurbishment, and recycling). EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG Pulat, Babur M. Cengiz Altan University of Oklahoma Norman Campus OK Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 1348258 W602 V976 V819 V550 V027 T911 S092 T670 T618 H344 9150 5761 1360 SMET OTHR MANU 9251 9178 9150 9146 9102 7218 5514 124E 122E 114e 1049 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0214478 June 15, 2002 Collaborative: Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (CELDi). The Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (CELDi) is a new multi-university, multi-disciplinary Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC). The vision for the center is to provide integrated solutions to logistics problems, through modeling, analysis and intelligent-systems technologies. The four universities involved in this proposal, the University of Arkansas, serving as the lead institution, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Louisville, and Oklahoma State University are assuming a leadership role in engineering logistics research and education. The scope of CELDi will address (1) value-adding processes that create time and place utility (transportation, material handling, and distribution), (2) value-sustaining processes that prolong useful life (maintenance, repair, and rework), and (3) value-recovering processes that conserve scarce resources and enhance societal goodwill (returns, refurbishment, and recycling). EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT RES EXP FOR TEACHERS(RET)-SITE ENGINEERING EDUCATION IIP ENG Meller, Russell University of Arkansas AR Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 1236713 W445 V759 V532 V031 T304 T035 S083 T671 T606 9150 5761 1360 1359 1340 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9177 9150 9102 7218 125E 122E 115E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0214480 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Microfabricated Silicon Devices for Low Cost Microarray. 0214480 Haushalter This Small Business Innovation Research Project proposes to use silicon microfabrication techniques to produce new silicon spotting pins that will be used for the preparation of microarrays. Microarray technology has rapidly spread into many diverse areas of biological research. The preparation of a large portion of these arrays is accomplished by direct contact printing using high precision metal spotting pins, which are individually machined at costs up to $400 each. Using straightforward silicon microfabrication techniques,this company has prepared prototype silicon spotting pins, holders and transfer devices for the preparation of microarrays whose performance characteristics are expected to far exceed those of current state-of-the-art devices. Advantages of silicon spotting pins over machined metal components include 10-100 fold higher dimensional tolerances, less than 1% of the weight (lighter pressure gives more uniform spots), tip hardness, the ability to chemically modify the SiO2 surface of the pins to control wetting and liquid uptake/release, higher pin density in array (higher spot density in microarray), more precise volumetric uptake into pin, lower surface friction (ease of sliding movement in holder), resistance of tip to bending damage and the ability to fabricate complex features not obtainable by traditional machine shop fabrication. Since the parts will be mass produced, it is estimated that a hundred to a thousand fold reduction in cost per pin would result. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of DNA microarrays. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Haushalter, Robert Parallel Synthesis Technologies, Inc CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99700 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214522 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Novel Breath Diagnostic Instrument for Detection of Disease. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a carbon isotope ratio analyzer based on Off-Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy to measure the ratio of C13 to C12 in exhaled breath in real time. The analyzer will serve as a medical diagnostic instrument that will operate in a point-of-care setting and reference labs. The instrument will be inexpensive, portable, easy-to-use and report C13/ C12 measurements with sufficient sensitivity and precision to replace mass spectrometry in C13-labeled breath tests for diagnosis of a number of conditions, including exposure to chemical and biological warfare agents, sepsis, assessment of liver and pancreatic function, delayed gastric emptying, bacterial overgrowth, irritable bowel syndrome and viral infection. The Phase I Project will develop an instrument to determine infection due to Helicobacter pylori, a Class-1 carcinogen, using the C13-urea breath test. The follow on Phase II Project will develop a prototype commercial instrument for clinical trials. The commercial application of this project is in the area of medical diagnostics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Baer, Douglas LOS GATOS RESEARCH INC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0214598 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Membrane-Electrolyte Assemblies (MEAs) for Small Fuel Cell Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop highly proton conductive, water insoluble and thermally stable electrolytes for proton exchange membrane fuel cells, based on a hybrid membrane of a functionalized polyoxometalate (POM) cluster in a sol-gel matrix. Phase I will focus on developing the technology of fabrication of cathode/electrolyte and anode/electrolyte membranes. The procured cathode/electrolyte and anode/electrolyte membranes can then be pressed together and thermally cured to form a cathode/electrolyte/anode membrane assembly. The development of small fuel cell systems for residential may provide the householder with electricity and heat at a significant saving over conventional services. Fuel cells make distributed cogeneration a competitive alternative as they provide a unique combination of advantages. Being small, clean and quiet, they can be sited wherever electricity is needed, even in the most congested urban location. Fuel cell generators can be used in hospitals and computer centers where there is a need for uninterruptible, high quality power. Micro fuel cells as portable generators and to replace batteries since they are quick and easy to refuel, have longer operating times and lower operating costs. Systems are suitable for a number of applications, including portable computers and telephones, video cameras and generators for camping, boating and emergency power. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wei, Qiang (Ethan) CHEMAT TECHNOLOGY INC CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214614 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Hybrid Jet Vapor Rotating Disk Tool for SiC-Thin Film Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will synthesize will demonstrate that a hybrid system combining the attributes of Jet Vapor Deposition and Rotating Disk Reactors solves existing Silicon Carbide film deposition problems and can be developed to create a superior film production tool. The high speed "jet" convectively transports precursors directly to the surface, overcoming diffusion-limited transport rates, and largely avoiding unwanted pre-reactions in the gas phase; the rotation allows the "jets"to uniformly "paint" the surface with precursor. Our Phase I efforts will focus on proving that the hybrid tool will be a superior tool for Silicon Carbide epitaxy--highly desired for microelectronic devices such as high-power, high-temperature, high frequency devices. Potential commercial applications of the research are expected in reliable, micro-fabrication process. The successful development of Silicon Carbide film deposition would represent an important advancement in metal thin film deposition process. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tompa, Gary STRUCTURED MATERIALS INDUSTRIES, INC. NJ Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214618 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Programmable Liquid Crystal Based Optical Attenuator. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a programmable motionless optical attenuator that over performs commercial electro-mechanical attenuators and state-of-the-art MEMs attenuator. Made from a revolutionary liquid crystal and polymer composite material, i.e., polymer stabilized liquid crystal material, the new technology ultimately promises to achieve the following performance specifications, (a) over 10,000:1 contrast ratio, (b) less than 5 ms response time, and (c) less than 2dB insertion loss. In Phase I, the demo device will be constructed to show the technological feasibility. The Phase II effort is to develop the prototype attenuator that meets all the projected performance specifications followed by a full commercialization in the later phase. The technology, once successfully developed, will be used in liquid crystal display, photonics instrument, telecommunication, and military systems SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Li, Le Kent Optronics, Inc. NY Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99873 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214621 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Ultra High Resolution Head Mounted Display. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate three key components necessary to incorporate Dimension Technologies Inc's (DTI's) proprietary ultra high resolution display technology into head mounted systems for virtual reality applications. To be commercially viable, the technology must provide additional resolution without tradeoffs in key areas such as visual performance, size, weight and field of view. The objective of this Phase I will be to assess the feasibility of applying DTI s increased resolution technique to leading edge HMD products. Three main areas will be investigated. The first is the design of an array of compact, bright, rapidly flashing colored light sources. The second is the optical design to efficiently direct light from the light sources to a light valve and then to the user's eye with maximum brightness and even light distribution. The third area will be means of configuring and fabricating flat, precisely formed microlens arrays. . If successful, virtual reality displays will be capable of generating images with near eye limited resolution across a wide, immersive field of view. Products resulting from this research will expand markets for virtual reality systems in many markets. This technology could find initial use in small scale, moderate budget, or tight quarters simulation or public exhibit applications where high end VR systems are now used. In the longer term, as the capabilities of PCs increase, consumer products for games and other recreational activities will incorporate the technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Eichenlaub, Jesse DIMENSION TECHNOLOGIES INC NY Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214624 July 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: Development of Versatile Proximity Effect Correction Schemes. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project proposes to create state-of-the-art proximity correction software, which will ultimately be merged with the Nanometer Pattern Generation System, which is an advanced SEM lithography system that is already commercially successful. In recent years, SEM lithography has become an increasingly popular tool in university and government research labs, as well as at industrial R&D labs. The interest in SEM lithography comes from both its low cost and versatile nature when compared to the dedicated e-beam writing systems that are designed primarily for writing full wafers in industrial settings. The purpose of this project is to create an advanced proximity correction system that matches the inherent versatility of a well-designed SEM lithography system such as NPGS. To achieve this goal, this project will investigate the development of two advanced proximity correction techniques that are currently not commercially available. Specifically, the techniques are "grayscale" proximity corrections for manufacturing multi-level (grayscale) structures and binary proximity corrections for non-rectangular pattern elements. Potential commercial applications, if successful, will give researchers worldwide a much more advanced e-beam lithography capability than is presently available. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Nabity, Joseph Soo-Young Lee JC Nabity Lithography Systems MT Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99663 5371 1505 MANU 9150 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214637 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Safe, Effective Fungicides Against Fruit Pathogens. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop formulations of natural fatty and organic acids as alternatives to traditional fungicides for the control of diseases in fruits such as grapes, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. In the course of this project, the efficacy of these formulations as pre-harvest and post-harvest treatments for disease control in a number of fruits will be determined. Replicated trials will be conducted in the laboratory and on commercial and university farms. The follow on Phase II project will incorporate more extensive field testing to determine efficacy against a wider range of pathogens under various climatic conditions. The commercial application of this project is in the area of agriculture. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Coleman, Robert summerdale MI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 76450 5371 BIOT 9181 0201000 Agriculture 0214645 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Location and Depth Measurement of Undersea Fiberoptic Cables by Magnetic Susceptometry. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will fill a critical need for accurate location and depth measurement of undersea fiberoptic cables. This program will builds on prior expertise in ultra-sensitive magnetic susceptibility detection in the human body. The susceptometry technique provides the high signal-to-noise ratios, and then ability to suppress the background response of bottom sediments, that are needed for accurate depth measurements. At the same time, this program will require significant high-risk developments to maximize the accuracy of depth determination, localize fiberoptic cables 2 m or more below the sea floor, and adapt the measurement system to the deep ocean environment. This program has strong support from industry leaders. These experts emphasize that no existing cable location system provides adequate depth information, and that accurate cable depths are crucial to avoid damage that can cost millions of dollars per second. With more than 680,000 kilometers of fiberoptic cables in the ocean, and the cable inspection market growing at an estimated 30% per year, this new fiberoptic locator system has excellent commercial potential. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Avrin, William MENON AND ASSOCIATES, INC. CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99998 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214655 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Ink-Jet Printing of Lensed Fiber for Optical Interconnects. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a new method for fabricating lensed fibers used in optical interconnects. An inkjet printing technique will be used to print optical polymers onto the tips of optical fibers, directly or via collets, to form microlenses. The output beam characteristics of these monolithic devices will be collimated or focused, depending on the specific designs. The low material/part cost and the self-aligning feature will result in lower cost than current collimation/focusing methods that use ball lens and GRIN lens assemblies. The performance will be similar. Inkjet printing is precise, data-driven, and direct-write. This technique will be suitable for low cost/high volume production. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chen, Ting MicroFab Technologies Inc TX Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 9102 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214663 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Combinatorial Development of Chitosan-Based Drilling Fluid Additives. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop chitosan-derivatives through proprietary chemistries for use as additives in oil and gas drilling fluids. For this specific application, it is important to tailor the viscoelastic properties of the chitosan derivatives. Since little is known about how polymer structure affects polymer properties, a combinatorial approach will be used on this project to screen for the viscoelastic properties of the derivatives. Specifically, a high throughput mechanical screen will be adapted and examined, with the results from the screen correlated with more extensive viscoelastic measurements. The commercial application of this project will be in the additives market for oil and gas exploration. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Blanchard, Andre' The Venture Group (Venture Innovations, Inc.) LA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 9150 BIOT 9181 9150 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214668 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Improved Magneto-Optical Imaging Films Employing Surface Plasmon Resonance. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing surface plasma resonance phenomena to obtain significant improvements in magneto-optical imaging. Improved sensors and systems are needed for non-destructive, non-contact testing and evaluation (NDE) in many areas, including security, structural, medical, research and industrial manufacturing and quality control applications. Magnetic detectors and imagers play a major and growing role in these applications. In Phase I, the research objectives include improvements in spatial and magnetic field resolutions and imaging bandwidth over existing methods. Magneto-optical materials quality and sensor design will be improved. Prototype sensors measuring 1cm2 will be fabricated by combining surface plasma structures with materials exhibiting high Verdet constants. The compositional, magnetic and optical properties of the starting sensor materials will be measured, and the magnetic imaging capabilities of the prototype sensor structures will be evaluated in terms of magnetic field and spatial resolution. Imaging tests will be made on electrical current patterns, magnetic inks, magnetostrictive structural composites and magnetic medical cell-tagging particles, among others. Commercial applications include magnetic character reading, magnetic code reading for security, superconductor research, spin valve and magnetic RAM research and manufacturing, integrated circuit electrical current imaging, structural composite stress imaging using magnetic and magnetostrictive materials, flaw detection in metals, biomedical tagging and identification of cancer and other cells, and research and testing of MEMs actuators and devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lindemuth, Jeff Lake Shore Cryotronics, Inc OH Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 98595 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214695 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Optimized Microvia Generation Technology for Low-Cost Manufacturing of Electronic Modules. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the requirement of high-density microvias, which are critical in a variety of microelectronic modules, such as Flat-Panel Displays (FPDs), Multi-Chip Modules (MCMs), and Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). As these modules become ever faster, more compact, and more capable, their density of interconnects has been increasing dramatically and new packaging technologies such as Chip-Scale Packages (CSPs) and Ball-Grid Arrays (BGAs) have been developed to accommodate all the required input and output (I/Os) connections. Such dense interconnects are realized by the generation of hundreds of thousands of microvias in the substrate layers on which the electronic modules are built. These microvias are also both difficult and expensive to produce because of their small sizes and large numbers. Current technologies for microvia generation are not optimized for the varied cost considerations of different manufacturing requirements direct-write tools address low-volume needs, whereas mask projection systems are designed for very high via-density products. The system technology described in this proposal offers several desirable features, including: high-speed microvia generation for different via densities, full microvia pattern programmability, capability to drill high-threshold photo-ablation substrates, and full and efficient utilization of available high-power excimer lasers. A variety of microelectronic modules, such as flat panel displays, multi-chip modules, and printed circuit boards play an important role in numerous advanced technology applications in both commercial and military systems. Results from this project could result in substantial cost reductions in a wide range of electronic modules. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Klosner, Marc Anvik Corporation NY Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99995 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214696 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Trace Metal Ion Sensor Based on High Resolution Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) and Anodic Stripping Voltammetry. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the use of a highly sensitive technology to measure the amount of trace metal ions presented in water or other liquid samples and the eventual development of portable instrumentation. This novel approach to detection is effective, sensitive, selective, inexpensive, hazard-free, and truly portable. The system uses an innovative high-resolution bi-cell surface plasmon resonance (SPR) detector combined with anodic stripping voltammetry to achieve detection of ultra-low concentrations of trace metal ions in water. The device based on this technology can be used as a laboratory instrument as well as a portable device for field evaluation of water quality. Further, it could be used as a clinical diagnostic tool for detection of toxic metal ions in blood or saliva samples. This effort will provide an accurate determination of trace metal ions in water. This technology could have a significant impact for protection of the environment. The ability to determine what is hazardous in the environment is very important. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Shaopeng NOMADICS, INC OK Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99998 5371 MANU 9150 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214697 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I:Microsphere-coupled Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Probe. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop an efficient and reliable enhanced Raman spectroscopy probe by integrating a microspherical resonator with nanoparticles providing Surface Enhanced Raman scattering. This spectral information provides a chemical "fingerprint" and analyte identification. However, broader application of this technology is hindered by the powerful laser sources and sensitive optical detection equipment that the inherently weak Raman scattering requires. The proposed probe addresses these limitations by (1) locally increasing the light intensity at the probe head with an optical resonator to permit the use of lower power sources and (2) improving the Raman scattering efficiency with metallic nanoparticles to permit the use of less sensitive detection equipment. Raman spectroscopy has wide commercial application in chemical process monitoring, pharmaceutical analysis, and environmental site monitoring because it provides rich spectra arising from the chemical structure of the analyte. In addition to expanded use in the above-mentioned industries, reducing the cost and size of Raman spectroscopy equipment will enable point-of-care systems for medical diagnostics and field portable systems for rapid identification of chemical unknowns from accidental or intentional releases. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Strecker, Brian NOMADICS, INC OK Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 98938 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214715 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Integrated Electric and Magnetic Free-Space Sensor for Geosciences. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will integrate a new free-space low frequency electric field (E) sensor with a miniaturized magnetic induction (B) sensor to form a compact six channel sensor package. The proposed new E and B sensor offers a completely new instrumentation capability for geosciences, providing for the first time measurement of the full electromagnetic field vector in a compact package without contact to the ground or any other physical object. The Phase I objectives are to study the trade-offs involved in reducing the overall sensor volume to allow airborne operation, and the use of multiple baseline methods for cancellation of local noise. The application of the new sensor to a variety of geosciences applications ranging from the measurement of ULF atmospheric phenomena and lightning characterization, to magnetotellurics from a mobile platform will be studied. In Phase II a full prototype will be built and tested for the most promising applications. Commercial applications include general research instrumentation for low frequency electromagnetic fields, atmospheric electromagnetic phenomena, military sensors, and complete systems for potential new applications in lighting characterization and airborne magnetotellurics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hibbs, Andrew Quasar Federal Systems, Inc. CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99890 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214718 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Photonic Band Gap Optical Waveguide Structures in Electro-optic Substrates. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I proposal is directed at the fabrication of photonic band gap structures in lithium niobate optical waveguide substrate. Lithium niobate, with well-understood material properties, is currently the preferred material for electro-optic modulators and switches. The addition of photonic band gap structures in and around channel waveguides endows this material with further functionality. The enabling technology developed in this proposed development effort can be further extended to other electro-optic and ferroelectric materials. This proposal addresses the development of novel Photonic Band Gap technology that will benefit next generation photonic waveguide devices. Applying Photonic Band Gap technology to electro-optic materials such as lithium niobate crystals paves the way for a new class of innovative, compact, electro-optic devices with enhanced sensitivity, particularly for phase and intensity modulation, spatial and wavelength switching, second harmonic generation, frequency conversion and optical mixing. Electro-optic modulators using this design principle would be able to achieve switching voltage of less than 100 milliVolts. These passive optical devices could be used for the electrical to optical signal conversion from very sensitive Radio-Frequency antennas with a bandwidth of many gigahertz. In addition, Photonic Band Gap technology would allow for improved bandwidth in electro-optical devices. Photonic Band Gap technology would offer significant performance improvements in the next generation of photonic devices. Applications in the Ultra low switching voltage for intensity and phase modulators, compact and highly sensitive sensors, low noise figure optical front-end for antennas is targeted. Compact integrated optics; all optical switching and efficient generation of light sources are needed in billion-dollar telecom industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sriram, S SRICO INC OH Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99989 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214719 July 1, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase I: Model-Guided Development of Spin-Dependent-Tunnel Junctions for Magnetoelectronic Devices. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I Program will demonstrate the feasibility of model-guided approach for developing spin dependent tunnel junctions in magnetoelectronic devices. Spin dependent tunnel junctions are at the forefront of nanotechnology that is under intensive research and development worldwide. Spin dependent tunnel devices are expected to be commercialized in about two years in sensor, isolator, and memory. Due to the unique requirements of the tunnel barrier with a nominal thickness of ~1nm and its interfaces with two ferromagnetic layers, an experimental approach by itself is inefficient in developing new junctions. There is a critical need for guidance from a realistic modeling in the fabrication processing, and this project is specifically designed to fulfill this need. Realistic atomistic modeling will be established and experiments will be judicially chosen to demonstrate the feasibility of this integrated approach. Magneto-random access memories are used in reprogrammable logic, read heads, generic magnetic field sensors, and galvanic isolators and are important components for the electronic storage industry. They have the potential to be applied in other microelectronic devices where thin layers and interfaces are critical. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Dexin NVE CORPORATION MN Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 1505 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214720 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: New Convergent X-Ray Beam Based System for Protein Crystallography. 0214720 Huang This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project proposesto develop a new approach to protein x-ray crystallography using convergent beams. This new technology is based on the development of convergent beam x-ray optics and of protein diffraction theory with 2-dimensional convergent x-ray beams. Compared with conventional collimating optics, convergent beam optics can provide x-ray beams with orders of magnitude higher flux density, which is crucial for structure measurements with small protein crystals (less than 100 um) using low-power laboratory-based x-ray sources. In this Phase I project, simulation diffraction patterns for different protein crystals will be generated by a new software package CBMPRO to theoretically evaluate the feasibility for determination of protein crystal quality, unit cell, space group, and structure. The commercial application of this project is in the area of proteomics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Huang, Huapeng X-RAY OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC. NY Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99935 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214722 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: On-Line Optoelectronic Sensing of Molten Metal Chemistry. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will determine the feasibility of developing a highly innovative, low-cost, high-speed opto-electronic sensor capable of continuously monitoring molten metal alloy compositions during casting and melting operations. Development of this sensor is among the highest priority technology needs identified by both the metal casting industry and the aluminum industry in their industry roadmaps of the future. In order to effectively compete, U.S. metal industries must increase their use of low cost scrap and must also find ways to increase production efficiency. The proposed sensor will acquire critical compositional data thousands of times faster than current commercial methods and will operate on a real time basis without the need to place the sensor in contact with the molten metal. At these speeds, a melt shop could produce one extra metal production batch (i.e. heat) per day, amounting to a 15% increase in productivity. The $30 Billion aluminum smelting industry translates to a potential $4.5 Billion increase in production output for little or no additional capital investment other than the sensor system itself. Improved product quality, reduced emissions, energy savings, and increased product yield will result from the shorter melting times. Similar improvements would be possible for zinc, copper, brass, bronze, iron, ceramics and glass industries that also have need for a similar continuous sensor system to monitor composition and quality. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Spencer, David wTe Corporation MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214732 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Nanocomposite Barrier Coatings for Organic Electronics. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop novel flexible, transparent and photocurable nanocomposite barrier coatings to prevent the degradation of conducting polymers by oxygen and water vapor. Conducting polymer electronic devices can be made rapidly, low-cost, flexible, lightweight and mechanically more robust than inorganic electronics; the main limitation to their wide-scale commercialization is the problem with degradation. The solution to this problem is to use a barrier layer to prevent oxygen and water vapor from reaching the conducting polymer. Current barrier coatings do not block oxygen and water permeation well enough to make long lifetime conducting polymer devices possible, and the need is especially great for flexible products such as roll-up displays. Nanocomposites, polymeric materials that contain inorganic particles smaller than 100 nm, have exceptional barrier properties and are ideally suited for display applications because the small size of the nanoparticles allows the composite to be transparent. This project will utilize nanoparticles in a photocurable urethane-acrylate coating system to prevent oxygen and water vapor from reaching the underlying conducting polymer. Coatings are needed to extend the lifetime of conducting polymer electronic devices including: flexible OLED (organic light emitting diode) displays, thin film transistors, new rapid scan chips used as bar-code replacements, printed electronic circuits and lightweight electronics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Elliott, Brian TDA Research, Inc CO Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214745 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Very-Large-Area Lithography System for Flexible Displays and Fluidic-Self-Assembly-Based Electronics. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the manufacturing of very-large-area flexible displays. It is critical to develop a low-cost manufacturing process that enables very-large-area flexible displays to be manufactured for the military as well as the consumer. Recent technical innovations in the area of very-large-area lithography and fluidic self-assembly offer a unique process for low-cost high-volume flexible display manufacturing. Anvik Corporation has developed a breakthrough lithography technology that enables high-throughput, cost-effective production of very large displays (20 to 120 inches diagonal) on flexible substrates, which may be either loaded as discrete sheets or fed continuously in a roll-to-roll configuration. Anvil's very-large-area lithography technology represents a significant breakthrough in display manufacturing. In this proposal, we present a program for developing a production-worthy lithography system for high-throughput, low-cost fabrication of flexible, high-resolution displays of sizes up to 60-inch diagonal. This lithography process are that it is compatible with fluidic self-assembly manufacturing techniques will potentially result in higher performance and lower cost displays. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Klosner, Marc Anvik Corporation NY Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99995 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214746 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Srbi2TaO9 Thin Film Laser Annealing Tool for Ferreolectric Memory Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will prove that laser annealing can crystallize thin films of SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT) to a device ready quality, while keeping the substrate temperature at a level compatible with CMOS components. SBT films are strong candidates for use in non-volatile ferroelectric memory applications (FeRAM), due to their "fatigue-free" read/write performance and low voltage operation. However, SBT films typically require a post deposition-annealing step (> 700 C in oxygen) to crystallize the films and achieve optimum performance. This high temperature-annealing step is incompatible with current IC fabrication schemes, particularly designs that use tungsten for the first level contacts. This laser-annealing tool will prevent thermal damage to the underlying CMOS structures, and enable SBT film acceptance in FeRAM device applications. The project will show proof of concept by annealing films and demonstrating device performance. Ferroelectrics are poised to rapidly expand into the several billion-dollar non-volatile memory markets. This tool will accelerate this market penetration and thereby become a key component of a multiple hundreds of million dollars per year tool market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sbrockey, Nick STRUCTURED MATERIALS INDUSTRIES, INC. NJ Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214758 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Synthesis of Environmental Reference Standards. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop novel approaches for the synthesis of carcinogen-modified oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) and carcinogen deoxynucleoside monomer adducts that can be used in physical, chemical, conformational, and biological studies, and as reference standards in both academic and commercial work. These reagents are difficult to acquire and they are available to only a few large laboratories with sufficient resources to synthesize them. The proposed methodology will reduce the cost of synthesizing these types of materials substantially, resulting in the widespread availability of these important biological components on a cost-effective commercial scale. One of the attractive features of the proposed methodology is that it will be applicable not only to carcinogen-modified ODNs, but will also be employed for the construction of ODNs modified with other types of agents, such as, tethers and dyes. Tethered ODNs can be attached to arrays and used as targets for gene sequence analysis. The commercial applications of this project are straightforward and involve direct sales of the modified ODNs and carcinogen adduct monomers to the academic community for fundamental research investigations and to industrial firms for environmental monitoring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Meehan, Thomas GAIA GENOMICS, INC. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99948 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214760 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Resonant-Enhanced Crystallization (REC) Process. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a novel Resonant-Enhanced Crystallization (REC) Process. REC technology is similar to conventional impeller stirring crystallization but with enhanced mass and heat transfer, low shear or reduced crystal breakage, and improved crystal size distribution. Purification and separation by crystallization is a multicomponent mass transfer phenomenon of the crystallizing solute and impurity solutes. Mass and heat transfer in crystallization process are key factors affecting crystal growth rate, size distribution and habit. However, in conventional crystallizers, the mass transfer coefficient is maximized when crystals are in their terminal velocity and increased agitation results in significant crystal breakage. The proposed technology will further increase mass transfer even in cases where crystals are in suspended status. Due to the low shear associated with the acoustic agitation, crystal breakage will be minimal. The second nucleation will also be reduced and therefore, crystal size distribution will be improved. The objective of this proposed research is to incorporate low-frequency acoustic agitation to the crystallization process to greatly enhance mass and heat transfer. This is expected to improve crystal growth rate, size distribution and quality. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of pharmaceutical separation and purification. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yang, Fangxiao RESODYN CORPORATION MT Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9150 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0214761 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Accoustically Enhanced Airlift Bioreactor. 0214761 McGrath This Small Business Innovative Research Project proposes to combine a novel low-frequency acoustic energy technology with an airlift bioreactor. This is expected to provide a dramatic increase in bioreactor productivity by greatly increasing mass transport. The proposed technology will meet contemporary industry needs for a high productivity, low-shear bioreactor that can be used to economically produce a broad range of traditional and newly emerging biochemicals and bioproducts. The commercial applications of this project include the culturing of pharmaceuticals and other biochemicals from a broad range of organisms including plant cells, mammalian cells, fungi, bacteria and yeast. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG McAdams, Todd RESODYN CORPORATION MT Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 9150 BIOT 9181 9150 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0214766 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: A Simple and Practical Solid-State 157 nm Coherent Light Source for Applications in Lithography Development. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to study the feasibility of a simple and practical narrow-bandwidth vacuum ultraviolet (VUV)laser light source,tunable around 157 nm.This work will combine recent advances in laser technology and nonlinear- optical techniques with previously-studied frequency-conversion schemes.A doubly-resonant four-wave mixing in a guided-wave geometry will be used to convert UV light into the VUV. Extrapolation from previously observed conversion efficiencies shows that the overall conversion efficiency of this process may be increased by 100-1000x,from ~10 -4 to near-unity efficiency.The laser system that will be developed to drive this process will be small-scale and all solid-state. The commercial potential for such a device promises to radically-improve the practicality of VUV light sources over current laser systems,and will find immediate application as a tool for development of 157nm lithography for manufacturing of integrated circuits,and well as in a variety of other basic science and technological applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Backus, Sterling KAPTEYN-MURNANE LABS INC CO Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99583 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214769 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Plasticized Poly(lactic Acid) (PLA) Nanocomposites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will develop plasticized poly(lactic acid) (PLA) nanocomposites. PLA is a biopolymer derived from corn that is stiff at room temperature, but that can be made more flexible by adding significant amounts of plasticizers. Plasticizers are small, often volatile molecules that are incorporated, but not bound, into polymers to make them softer. These plasticizers can migrate out of PLA, forming a sticky layer on the surface and leaving the plastic hard and brittle. Technology that could both reduce the amount of plasticizer necessary to lower the glass transition temperature and to prevent the plasticizer from leaching out of the polymer would create large new market opportunities for PLA. This Phase I project proposes to increase the permanence of plasticizers by incorporating nanoparticle-anchored plasticizers into PLA. Anchored plasticizers would not be volatile, and extraction and migration should be significantly lower. The anchored plasticizer will still affect the glassy to rubbery transition of the host material, and yet the permanence of the plasticizer will be substantially increased. The commercial applications of this project will be in a number of consumer use markets that rely on petroleum as the starting material. They include flexible plastic films, bags, and toys. Flexible PLA also has the potential to replace commodity thermoplastics like polyolefins and PVC in specific applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Myers, Andrew TDA Research, Inc CO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214771 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Optical Based Chemical Sensing Using Luminescent Nanomaterials. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project involves the exploitation of nano-materials as optical based chemical sensors. This innovative approach to chemical sensing will take advantage of the material's quantum size effects, such as enhanced absorption and photoluminescence properties (sensitivity), high surface areas for analyze sensing (miniaturization), and ease of synthetic preparation (specificity). The use of optical based sensors provides additional advantages, such as no electrical noise, fast response, ease of miniaturization, safe near flammables, more durable than electronics, and applications to remote sensing. The characterization of the optical and electronic properties of the nanomaterials is critical to their development into the proposed optical sensor arrays. This research will also contribute to the increasing information database of nanomaterials as they pertain to advanced electronic materials. The research will lay the groundwork for fabricating multi-analyze optical sensors. The technology, once successfully developed, will be used the semiconductor manufacturing industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cordero, Steven INTELLIGENT OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99995 5371 MANU 9146 9102 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214776 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Power Generation from Ambient Vibration Energy Using Re-configurable Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) Generator. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on providing ambient power for wireless smart sensor units used for condition-based monitoring. Specifically, this project is to develop a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS)-based power-scavenging module. Current research in the area of ambient power has established a strong foundation from which future solutions in the area of condition-based maintenance will take shape. Research will also be performed on rare earth magnets to custom design thin permanent magnets that will produce a high-flux density in the compactly designed system. The proposed component will provide power through the conversion of ambient machine vibration using electromagnetic induction. Design objectives include the optimization of energy-scavenging efficiency in varying environmental conditions, operating conditions, and system types. The proposed system uses MEMS technology to realize small dimensions (one-inch square and less than 0.5 cm. thick) and energy storage capabilities. Commercial applications include industrial machinery, vehicles, air conditioners, and refrigerators. Additional options are large markets such as building controls and manufacturing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Das, Sudipta WILLIAMS-PYRO, INC. TX Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214782 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: An In Vivo Small Animal Optical Tomography Imaging System. 0214782 Chinn This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project proposes to develop an optical tomography imaging system for in vivo small animal imaging. This system will support both active exogenous imaging of oxy/deoxy-hemoglobin using near-infrared laser sources and endogenous light sources from bio-luminescent or fluorescent probes .With the goal of developing a state-of-the-art small animal scanner, this Phase I project will investigate source/detector configurations to determine the optimum geometry to maximize image resolution and to minimize cost. This will be followed by the development of novel image reconstruction algorithms and of innovative methods to achieve quantitative imaging for bioluminescent and fluorescent optical probes. The commercial application of this project is in the area of animal imaging. Animal imaging methods are important in the evaluation of new drugs and in basic biomedical research. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chinn, Garry Intellis Technologies, Inc. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99831 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0214787 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Software for Fast and Accurate Density Functional Calculations on Biomolecules. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a fast density functional (DFT) program for accurate electronic structure calculations on medium-sized molecules (30-200+ atoms). The proposed method will have the same accuracy as traditional integral-based DFT codes, but will be an order of magnitude faster, with the speed-up increasing with system size. The increased efficiency is particularly important for molecular dynamics applications. In the Phase I project, the accuracy and speed of the method for single-point DFT energies will be demonstrated. In a follow on Phase II project, a fully functioning program will be developed, including gradients (for geometry optimization and dynamics), second derivatives (for vibrational frequencies), NMR chemical shifts and other important molecular properties. The code will be parallelized, integrated into our PQS program and supplied with our QuantumStation, a combined hardware-software package for running parallel implementations of the most important methods of quantum chemistry. The commercial application of this project is in the area of software development for academic and business community involved in biological and biomedical research. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Baker, Jon PARALLEL QUANTUM SOLUTIONS AR Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99000 5371 BIOT 9181 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214789 July 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: Genetic Engineering of Maize for Increased Tolerance to Heat Stress. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase 1 Project proposes to develop transgenic maize (Zea mays L.) with increased tolerance to heat stress. It has recently discovered that a gene encoding the maize chloroplast protein synthesis elongation factor, EF-Tu, plays a role in the development of heat tolerance. EF-Tu protects other proteins from heat-induced inactivation and aggregation. The overall goal of this project is to genetically engineer maize that overproduces EF-Tu under high temperature conditions and to exploit the protective role that EF-Tu plays in heat tolerance. The key objectives of the Phase 1 research include (a) the creation of EF-Tu transgenic maize protoplasts, Arabidopsis and maize whole-plants and (b) the assessment of their heat tolerance in the laboratory. The results of the Phase 1 project will lay the groundwork for the follow-on Phase 2 and Phase 3 projects. They will include the testing the performance of EF-Tu transgenic maize in the field (Phase 2) and its commercialization (Phase 3). The commercial applications of this project will be in the area of agriculture. High-temperature is a major limiting factor to plant productivity, often causing significant economic losses to both domestic and international agricultural markets. The development and commercialization of transgenic maize with greater ability to tolerate heat stress is expected to have enormous economic benefits for the United States and the world. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Butler, Eugene Genetic Architecture Education Analysis (GAEA), Inc. SD Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99990 9150 BIOT 9181 9150 0201000 Agriculture 0214792 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Microalgal Vaccines for the Control of White Spot Syndrome Virus in Shrimp. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop oral vaccines for controlling white spot syndrome virus (WSSV)in marine shrimp using transgenic algae. In recent years shrimp production on Latin American shrimp farms has been reduced by up to 50 percent by WSSV outbreaks. Current technologies for controlling WSSV have had limited effectiveness. This Phase I Project will test the hypothesis that transgenic algae expressing WSSV capsid proteins can function as ideal vaccine delivery vectors for nearly all life-stages of shrimp. Larval shrimp feed on microalgae and adult shrimp consume dried microalgae in their diet. Recent work by the investigators has demonstrated that both live and freeze-dried microalgae expressing foreign antigens can induce an antigen-specific immune response in fish. It is therefore likely that microalgae can deliver functional antigens via oral delivery. The commercial application of this project is in the area of shrimp farming. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wagner, Richard Phycotransgenics, L.L.C. IN Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99955 5371 BIOT 9181 0521700 Marine Resources 0214798 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Innovative Recovery of Natural Beta-Carotene from the Marine Alga Dunaliella Salina. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 Project is to investigate the technical feasibility for harvesting natural carotenoids from the marine algae, "Dunaliella salina". Due to the high capital and operating costs associated with existing technologies, the current price of natural beta-carotene is about twice that of the synthetic variety. By enabling the commercial production of natural beta-carotene at a cost closer to that of the synthetic product, this research is expected to lead to a significant growth of the "natural beta-carotene" market. The specific objective of the Phase I research is to determine the feasibility of a low-cost method to harvest the above mentioned marine algae from the growth medium and to extract the beta-carotene from this algae. The technology to be developed in this project could also be used to harvest and to purify other carotenoids from the algae. The commercial application of this project will be in the beta-carotene market. Beta-carotene is currently used for a wide range of applications : as a nutritional supplement, as an agent for food fortification, as an animal feed, and as a food colorant. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Kanel, Jeffrey J. S. Kanel & Associates LLC WV Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 9150 BIOT 9181 9150 5371 0521700 Marine Resources 0214802 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Force Transducer Based on Phase-Modulated Optical Polarimetry. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project describes the development of a high sensitivity, large dynamic range force transducer capable of measuring transient force changes in tension and compression. The operating principal is based on the change in optical properties at the molecular level with loading of a pre-stressed polymer material. The polymer acts as a linkage to which a force would be applied either in compression or tension. The molecular deformation of the polymer linkage will be analyzed using miniature optical components arranged as a phase-modulated polarimeter capable of birefringence measurements on the order of 10^-9. Calibration of the measured birefringence with known loads will provide the necessary calibration parameters. Potential commercial instrument would be capable of directional force, pressure and acceleration measurements and would be extremely accurate for measuring low-level forces. Since the force transducer is based on optical techniques, it would be immune to electronic noise, and would allow measurement of rapidly changing loads. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mackey, Jeffrey MK OPTICS INC. OH Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99972 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214808 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Novel Microsphere Biomaterials for Genomics and Industry. 0214808 Pegg This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project proposes to develop novel biomaterial-based microparticles called Sphericules. These microparticles are self-contained micrometer-scale reactors capable of performing genetic analysis without expensive instruments. The new composite beads, with temperature stability, solvent resistance, controlled buoyancy and other properties, will find applications in many diverse markets. The Sphericule methodology combines layers of natural and synthetic polymers, metals, ceramics and other chemicals to produce new composite beads, fibers and coatings. In contrast, multifunctional latex beads using a surface coating of antibody on a micron sized fluorescent particle are labor intensive to produce. Particle batch processing results in aggregation, uneven surface treatment, and loss of signal molecules. This Phase I project proposes a novel method for synthesizing uniform particles using micro-scale systems in a continuous process. In this process, the chemistries of bead formation, optical reagent incorporation and surface modifications are expected to be straightforward, stoichiometric and predictable. The commercial applications of this project are in the areas of biomedicalresearch, diagnostics, electronics, and defense. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pegg, Randall NUCLEIC ASSAYS CORPORATION FL Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0214816 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Nanomaterials with High Strength for Fabrication of Microgears. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes a highly innovative technique for using nanomaterials of high strength in fabrication of microgears with end applications in medical instrumentation. The demand for precision instruments required for medical diagnosis and microsurgical tools are increasing continuously over the past decade to provide better service. Endoscopes and microsurgical instruments have decreased in size from 25 mm to 10 mm over the past six years. The decrease in size of these instruments has become possible due to the reduction in size of the drive systems employed. Electric motor drives currently in use have evolved from a size of 10 mm to 2 mm. The tiny gears used in these motors for torque transmission fail due to friction and wear. Thus, there is a need for increased performance of the microgear components in the micromotors. The mechanical properties of strength and hardness are increased by fabrication of these microscale components using nanocrystalline particles. This Phase I Project proposes a novel approach for fabrication of the microgears with nanocrystalline copper. The feasibility of the technique will be evaluated by fabrication of microgears (100 microns diameter) and by the characterization of their physical and mechanical properties. The commercial applications of this project will primarily be in the area of biomedical devices and instrumentation. Other applications would include disk drives, toxic-gas monitors, camera-lens drives and pagers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Raffi, Mohamed Materials Modification Inc. VA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0214817 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Lobster-Eye X-Ray Imaging Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will meet the need for advanced optical instrumentation to support scientific research in the area of X-ray radiation in the upper atmosphere. It is proposed to develop a Lobster-eye X-ray Imaging Sensor as a low-cost, all-plastic, X-ray focusing optical device for real-time, remote sensing of X-rays in auroras in the polar regions. Lobster-eye X-ray Imaging Sensor will be light enough to be carried by stratospheric balloons for use in remote observation and mapping of the precipitation of energetic electrons from solar eruptions. It is designed to collect spatial, temporal, and spectral information both by day and by night. Its low-cost, plastic, potentially disposable X-ray focusing/collimating optics, which are lobster-eye-like fiber elements with specially treated cladding to reflect X-rays, will be based on the company's advanced precision replication of plastic, single-fiber, optical components. Conditions in near space and the upper layers of the atmosphere affect telecommunications, weather monitoring, and sea transportation in the Polar Regions. Current state-of-the-art visible aurora studies are limited to the dark hemisphere, and X-ray mapping now uses single-detector sensors that are expensive, heavy, and complex. Commercial applications are in astronomy, meteorology, nuclear power stations, crystallography, and related areas. An even broader spectrum of applications exists for the LEXIS systems plastic, X-ray focusing optics, which can easily and completely replaces the capillary Kumakov optics and metal anti-scattering grids used in medical radiology, security, X-ray lithography, and many other X-ray applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Shnitser, Paul PHYSICAL OPTICS CORPORATION CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99996 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214819 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Synchrotron Mimic for Lithography. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a compact source for lithography. As a synchrotron equivalent, this proposal presents a single-stepper, XUV or soft-x-ray source, which offers high brightness, high collimation, modest operating vacuum, excellent spectrum and moderate cost. The x-rays are generated inside a compact betatron by the electrons passing through thin radiators made of thin metal foils, crystals or multi-layers producing a forward-directed beam of x-rays whose photon energies can be XUV, soft and hard x-ray depending upon choice of radiator. As a synchrotron mimic, the source can have many applications. For lithography the x-ray wavelength can be optimized for highest photo-resist sensitivity, e.g.1.4 nm. In a proof of principal experiments, tunable monochromatic x-rays from thin crystal and multi-layer radiators mounted inside a betatron have been observed. Pulse-height spectra were obtained and tuned by rocking the crystal or multi-layer relative to the electron-beam direction. We will use our existing experimental apparatus to demonstrate high x-ray flux at soft x-ray wavelengths. Potential commercial applications effort will demonstrate the capability of generating XUV and x-rays for lithography and crystallography. It can also function also as a medical source for imaging and as a laboratory source for scientific purposes now relegated exclusively to synchrotrons. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Piestrup, Melvin Adelphi Technology, Inc CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214822 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Pharmacogenomic Depression Treatment Prediction. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a software platform, GeneRx for depression. This platform will incorporate pharmacogenetics and nonlinear adaptive algorithms toward optimizing anti-depressant treatment on a patient-specific basis. In this Phase I project, a predictive algorithm will be developed using genetic and medical chart information from patients diagnosed with major depressive disorders who have taken the anti-depressant citalopram. Genetic data will be acquired by genotyping DNA from blood samples for selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes that have been directly affected by citalopram. Prediction of response to citalopram is important in order to avoid delays in receiving adequate treatment and to avoid exposure to unnecessary side effects. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of healthcare management and delivery. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Herold, Christopher PREDICTION SCIENCES, LLC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0116000 Human Subjects 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214847 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Fast Response Sensor for Airborne Biological Particles. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a novel, electro-optical sensor capable of capturing single airborne particles and analyzing their compositions on a time scale of a few minutes. The sensor concept is based on a previously developed innovative technology for single-particle electrodynamic capture and Raman spectroscopy. The electrodynamic trap is capable of capturing and suspending single airborne particles of sizes 1 to 100 m. Analysis of the trapped particle by Raman spectroscopy provides a fingerprint of the vibrational structures of the particle's chemical components, analogous to that obtained by infrared absorption spectroscopy, but with single-particle sensitivity. This in turn leads to identification of the particle as bacterial or otherwise, as well as to preliminary identification of the bacterial species. In this Phase I project, a compact sensor that can continually screen ambient habitat air and analyze each trapped particle on a time scale of minutes will be devised. The commercial application of this project is in defense and health-related industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hunter, Amy Physical Sciences Incorporated (PSI) MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99979 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214853 July 1, 2002 SBIR/Phase I: New Methods for Detecting Bioterrorism. 0214853 Drukier This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to examine Multi Photon Detection (MPD) of biological warfare agents using a panel of MPD enhanced immunoassays. MPD based techniques promise to deliver: (1) parallel detection of all biological warfare agents, (2) improved sensitivity of biotoxin detection, leading to fewer false positives and negatives, (3) more rapid results, (4) lower cost per assay, and (5) greater ease of use. This Phase I project has the following specific objectives : (1) production of recombinant fragments of biotoxins and development of antibodies, (2) development and characterization of antibodies for biotoxins, including botulism, tetanus and anthrax, (3) development of IA/MPD (MPD enhanced immunoassay) for these three biotoxins and comparison of sensitivity with the prior art, mainly ELISA, and (4) further assay optimization. The commercial application of this project is in the area of homeland security. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Drukier, Andrzej BioTraces Inc VA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99982 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214854 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Innovative Protein Microarrays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to apply Multi Photon Detection technique (MPD) to quantify proteins bound to a microarray of antibodies. The first arrays will target cytokines, the important secreted proteins that regulate the immune system. The goals of this project are to create an immunoassay based protein-chip for the concurrent measurment of all the cytokines down to the level of a few zeptomole/ sample, to implement improved P-chip designs using peptide nucleic acid linkers, and to study the levels of cytokines in cell cultures and human samples. By analyzing patterns of protein expression and their post-translational modifications, correlations of functions and/or of disease states with specific protein expression patterns are expected to be established. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of medical diagnostics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Drukier, Andrzej BioTraces Inc VA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99978 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214861 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Novel Method for In Situ Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a sensitive and rapid method for detecting rare cells infected with viruses. Although PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) has revolutionized nucleic acid detection, leakage of amplicons from cells during thermocycling, an inherent problem in conventional procedures, limits its use for in situ PCR applications. Furthermore, microscopic visualization after in situ PCR is tedious and not amenable to rare cell detection. Development of a rapid method to identify and quantify activation of genes involved in viral infection and tumorigenesis in single rare cells would significantly benefit both research as well as clinical applications such as diagnosis and therapeutic staging. The Phase I research will develop the assay using model cell lines infected with the human T-cell leukemia virus type I. The commercial applications of this project will be in the area of diagnostics linked to the managemement of genetically based diseases. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Trnovsky, Jan ONE CELL SYSTEMS, INC MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0214865 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Label-Free Biochip for Ultra-High Throughput Screening. 0214865 Thompson This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of developing a label-free biochip for applications in genomics, proteomics, life sciences, and pharmaceutical research. Biochips are intended to enable rapid, massively parallel analyses for such applications. However, the typical biochip relies on the use of labels to detect the binding event. Labels are expensive, especially for high-throughput screening (HTS), and can change the chemistry of the ligand. The binding of a low-molecular weight ligand is particularly difficult to detect by any current (or emerging) biochip technology. During the Phase I project, experiments are planned to show(1) that the proposed technology can be used to detect hormones, drugs, metabolites, carbohydrates, and signal transduction molecules in the 100-500 Da size range binding to enzymes, lectins, and DNA; (2) that this technology can differentiate among cross-reactive ligands that bind to a given biomolecule; (3) that the signal is specific to ligand binding and is not affected by artifacts that affect other biochips; (4) that protein denaturation caused by carrier solvents can be detected, and (5) that chip read-out will be exceptionally sensitive and rapid. The commercial applications of this project are likely to be in a number of different areas. They include the markets for medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, food and beverage safety, proteomics, drug discovery and development, biomolecule development, and ultra high-throughput screening. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Thompson, Peggy Biopraxis, Inc CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214866 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: High Density Resistor Arrays via Soft Lithography. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will research passive components in electronic circuits increases, new interconnect technologies, such as embedded passives, are under development to optimize utilization of board real estate. For embedded passives, dimensional accuracy translates into control over component values, and so there is a need for high-precision fabrication processes. TPL has developed soft lithography micro-contact printing, an additive process that can fabricate near-net-shape structures with features between 100 microns and the sub-micron scale. The innovation exploits the compositional flexibility of sol-gel chemistry to synthesize powder-free inks with a wide range of materials properties that can be patterned with high resolution using the novel micro-contact printing technology. Potential commercial applications effort will demonstrate the feasibility of micro-contact printing for application to high-density interconnects solutions, and could be an enabling technology for high-precision embedded passives. The PI has pioneered the use of micro-contact printing as a novel interconnect technology while TPL has extensive experience in developing packaging solutions for the electronics industry. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Lakeman, Charles D. TPL, Inc. NM Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99997 9150 MANU 9150 9146 5371 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214880 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: High-Throughput Specific Cell Loading by Optoinjection. 0214880 Sasaki This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I projectproposes to develop a novel technology for Laser-Enabled Analysis and Processing (LEAP ) of living cells. The ability to load cells with compounds is critical in many areas of research and medicine such as drug discovery and gene therapy. Current methods have limitations with respect to specificity, efficiency, toxicity, and/or throughput. Optoinjection is a novel and versatile procedure for cell loading that has been demonstrated in a few laboratories. Unfortunately, it is a slow and laborious procedure carried out on specialized microscopes. Oncosis is developing a LEAP platform for high-speed cell scanning and purification via lethal laser effects on unwanted cells. The LEAP platform could be used to implement optoinjection in a high-throughput, cell-specific manner that would enable the commercialization of this novel form of cell loading. In this Phase I Project, feasibility studies are proposed to modify a LEAP instrument, and then to evaluate conditions of optoinjection for different cells and compounds. Phase I Research will yield a model/database providing greater understanding of optoinjection, and will define the scope of feasibility. Phase II Research will optimize and implement optoinjection in biologically relevant experimental systems, resulting in data supporting this powerful new tool for the analysis and manipulation of living cells within a physiological environment. The commercial applications of this project will be in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sasaki, Glenn Cyntellect, Inc CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0214881 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: A New Solid State Surgical Imaging Probe. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a new intraoperative imaging probe based on a solid-state, compact readout sensor coupled to a high resolution, high light output converter. Nuclear Medicine imaging has been widely used to preoperatively image structures of interest for excisional biopsy. Radio-guided intraoperative procedures utilizing non-imaging gamma detector probes and radiotracers have facilitated a cost-effective, highly specific means to locate suspect tissue and access it for pathologic analysis. The result of radio-guided surgery is increased tissue specificity obtained for biopsy, minimally accessed incisions, and the reduction of inpatient hospital utilization with an improved patient recovery. The main drawback of non- imaging gamma guidance is the lack of ancillary information of the surveyed area, such as distinction between two neighboring radioactive regions, which can be overcome with an intraoperative imaging probe. Also, the highly penetrating gamma radiation from other parts of the body increases the background, and limits the practical use of current probes. This Phase i project seeks to address these limitations by designing a new-generation intraoperative probe intended to image the tumor bed with short-range beta rays. When developed, this detector will allow accurate delineation of the tumor, thus facilitating precise resection. The commercial application of this project is in the area of biomedical devices and instrumentation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Entine, Gerald Radiation Monitoring Devices Inc MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0214894 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Optical Detection and Sizing of Aerosol Nanoparticles (diameter detection limit below 2 nanometers). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project intends to fabricate, and test a condensation nucleus counter (CNC) of the turbulent-mixing type, with a detection limit below 2 nm particle diameter, and able to measure the size distribution of aerosol nanoparticles. A novelty of this apparatus is that its super-saturation level can be adjusted quickly and accurately along a wide range. This ability, along with the dependence between critical super-saturation and embryo diameter, will make it possible to measure in real time the size distribution of the nanometric fraction of the aerosol. It will be shown that the design of this CNC effectively delays the onset of homogeneous nucleation; uncharged particles smaller than 3 nm in diameter are readily activated; a detection limit below 2 nm for uncharged particles can be achieved by using the appropriate condensing vapor; and charged nanoparticles of arbitrary small size are detected. Note that this demonstrated detection limit is substantially smaller than that of the best CNC commercially available (TSI model 3025A, 3 nm detection limit). Three tasks have been identified to materialize the goals of this proposal: design and fabrication of a CNC prototype; experimental demonstration of the performance of the CNC; and execution of fundamental research on heterogeneous nucleation. The overall work will eventually lead to the commercialization of an improved CNC. The main fields of application include: bio-aerosol detection, air quality testing, environmental studies, particle emission testing, and materials, pharmaceutical and basic aerosol research. This turbulent-mixing CNC will enable the analysis of macromolecules via liquid chromatography with a very significant gain of sensitivity with respect to more common schemes. This analytical application has considerable commercial potential. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gamero, Manuel BUSEK CO, INC MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 97852 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214895 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Encapsulation Technology for Organic Light Emitting Displays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop encapsulation layers for organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays. Cost-effective thin film encapsulation is widely recognized as a crucial key technology needed to capitalize on the full potential of OLED technology. Transparent thin film encapsulation layers deposited at low temperatures and moisture-free ambient are needed for lightweight and low cost OLED displays and microdisplays. This project is focused on novel atomic layer deposition (ALD) techniques that are especially designed for cost-effective encapsulation of OLED devices at process temperatures below 100 C. Traditional ALD techniques are impractically slow at this temperature range and make inefficient usage of chemicals. These problems are circumvented by a combination of efficient ALD process and equipment. Objectives include evaluation of encapsulated OLED device performance and reliability, with corresponding cost analysis. A successful project can mark a breakthrough in the market of portable display devices since adequate thin film encapsulation technologies for OLED devices have not been developed successfully so far. The OLED market is projected to grow to over $1.6 billion in revenues annually, attributed mostly to microdisplay applications, within the next five years. It is expected that OLED will play a bigger role in the $50 billion Flat Panel Display (FPD) market in subsequent years. Currently the missing piece in OLED device processing equipment, vacuum-deposition encapsulation technology will provide a substantial competitive edge to process equipment vendors. It can thus signify an entry point for the U.S. to regain a substantial market share in the FPD market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sneh, Ofer Sundew Technologies, LLC CO Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99625 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214899 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Microemulsion-based Nanoencapsulates of the Anticancer Drugs. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop temperature-sensitive nanoparticles to protect drugs from degradation in a targeted drug delivery system. Several important pharmaceutical compounds have low solubility and short half-life in the aqueous phase. As a result, significant portions of the therapeutic agents hydrolyze during formulation or in the blood before reaching the required site. Nanotechnology and microemulsion technology provide a novel approach to overcome these limitations. In this project, a model therapeutic agent, an anticancer drug, has been chosen for the development of an effective formulation. Microemulsion will eliminate hydrolysis of the therapeutic agent and also provide thermodynamically stable nano-size encapsulates for further development of the temperature-sensitive release characteristics of the end product. These nanoencapsulates will circulate in the blood for the long time and therapeutic agent can be delivered at the site of interest (tumor cells) by increasing temperature of that site with the help of a laser. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of pharmaceutical drug delivery. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Singh, Chittaranjan NANO INTERFACE TECHNOLOGY VA Gregory T. Baxter Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0214911 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Enhanced Spectral Interferometry for Biological Imaging. 0214911 Kane This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project proposes to develop an enhanced spectral interferometry method for biological and biomedical applications. This method will provide rapid, high resolution optical imaging and can be easily coupled with fiber optics for in-vivo applications using endoscopes, catheters and similar devices. The Phase I Project will demontrate the utility of enhance spectral interferometry for cross-sectional imaging in biological tissues. In the follow on Phase II Project, a fiber optic imaging spectral interferometer capable of high speed will be developed. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of biomedical devices and instrumentation. This technology will be applied to a variety of biomedical research and clinical needs including monitoring of tissue response to drugs or radiation exposure, detection of cancerous and pre-cancerous tissues, and the imaging of venous and arterial structures and ocular pathologies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kane, Daniel Southwest Sciences Inc NM Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9150 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0214924 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Optical Switch Manufactured Using Direct Write Method. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop enabling technology for construction of a small, low cost fiber optic switch. The switch will be based upon vertical cavity surface emitting laser arrays and PIN photodiode arrays, both coupled directly to a silicon switching/interfacing integrated circuit. The switch design and fabrication processes will be enabled by new interconnect technologies using direct-write of both organic materials and liquid metals using ink jet printing technology. Collimating or focusing polymer microlenses will be printed directly onto the vertical cavity surface emitting laser arrays with photolithographic accuracy, coupling the output of the vertical cavity surface emitting lasers directly into arrays of multimode optical fibers. The same will be true for coupling into detector arrays. Solder-Jet technology will be used to electrically interconnect the active optical elements to the silicon integrated circuit with practically zero interconnect distance, drastically decreasing parasitic effects The optical and electrical interconnect methods developed in this project will have commercial applications far broader than the fiber optic switch. Some of the other applications include: fiber optic transceivers, imaging sensors, read/write heads, laser sources for printers, optical sensors for medical diagnostics, micro-assembly, micro-electromechanical machines packaging and 3D-packaging. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chen, Ting MicroFab Technologies Inc TX Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 9102 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214936 July 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: Chemically Selective Sensors Based On Conducting Polymers. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of employing novel conducting polymers (e.g. poly 3,4-diphenylpyrrole) to prepare solid state gas sensors. The proposed sensor will be low cost and selective to a specific class of chemical compounds, namely chlorinated hydrocarbons. The proposed sensor will also be capable of operating at room temperature, thus eliminating the need for significant power consumption and making the development of small, selective, low-cost, and portable detectors feasible. This project will demonstrate the feasibility of preparing solid-state gas sensors based upon this material. Variations in materials chemistry, including monomer composition and dopant ion, will be used to develop sensors that are highly stable, sensitive, and selective to chlorinated hydrocarbons. This sensor technology will complement Nanomaterials Research's existing product line by continuing the development of low cost sensor technologies that provide unique commercial advantages. The proposed sensor will be marketed to companies who manufacture instrumentation for health and safety, environmental monitoring and process control applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Deininger, Debra Nanomaterials Research LLC CO Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 1505 MANU 9148 9102 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214949 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Nanoengineered Epitaxial Surfaces for High Throughput Protein Crystallization. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a new type of nanoengineered surface to epitaxially nucleate protein crystals. These surfaces should greatly accelerate most high throughput Structural Genomics efforts. The basic concept for the epitaxial surfaces is to prepare a surface that possesses chemical modulations commensurate in size and periodicity to protein unit cells. It is speculated that exposure of the protein growth solution to certain compositional periodicities (5-100 nm) on the surface of the heterogeneous nucleants induces an ordered layer of sorbed protein molecules which form the incipient nucleus of the protein crystal. Since for a given unknown protein the unit cell is not known in advance, the heterogeneous nucleants are prepared as a combinatorial library in a chip based format, with a wide variety of modulations per unit chip area. In this Phase I proposal, methods and techniques will be developed to allow a more efficient survey of surfaces and proteins with the goal of better defining the role of the surfaces in inducing nucleation. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of biological research and in drug discovery and development. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Haushalter, Robert Parallel Synthesis Technologies, Inc CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99500 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214951 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Fast-Response Conductometric Oxygen Sensor for Combustion and Fire Environments. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of a miniaturized fast-response oxygen sensor. Fuel efficiency of automotive engines and power generating systems improve when operated under lean-burn conditions. Oxygen monitoring in industrial processes promise higher productivity while effective fire fighting requires information regarding local combustion conditions. These applications all require in-situ oxygen sensors that combine rapid response, sensitivity, selectivity, resistance to fouling, and thermal and chemical robustness. The firm proposes to develop an Oxygen Sensor by combining key innovations including (1) unique thin-film semiconducting metal-oxides (SMO) sensitive to oxygen concentration in the 0.001-21 percent range, with rapid (10-100 ms) response time, and temperature insensitivity in the 700-1000....C range, and (2) refractory SiC microhotplate gas sensor platform capable of operating to 1000....C, with only 20 mW power consumption. Commercial application of the proposed oxygen sensors includes automotive and aeronautic propulsion systems, power generation, incineration, food packaging technology, and fire fighting. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Doppalapudi, Dharanipal BOSTON MICROSYSTEMS INC MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214958 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Novel Droplet Multi-Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project is aimed towards the development of comprehensive engineering equipment capable of measuring droplet sizes, velocities and temperature simultaneously in a manufacturing environment. The innovation of the project is multifold, as the proposed equipment will be capable of measuring diameter sizes, velocities, and temperatures simultaneously using a novel concept referred as Laser Induced Fluorescence Thermometry (LIFT). Under LIFT molecules are excited in the electronic levels by a light source emitting a secondary emission (excited state) that is sensitive to temperature. The commercial application will initially be in the powder production industry and the ink-jet industry. These industries require the full characterization of in-flight droplets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Perez-Reisler, Rafael Caribbean Thermal Technologies PR Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 96780 5371 MANU 9150 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214959 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Flux-Gated Spin-Dependent-Tunneling Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project develops novel spin-dependent-tunneling (SDT) magnetic-field sensor devices based on innovative methods of flux modulation. The program identifies two modes of "flux gating" as a means of chopping or sweeping the magnetic field which is sensed by the SDT transducers. The flux gating methods are proposed as enhancements to the functionality of the already promising SDT magnetic sensor. The first method offers a low-power solution for increasing the SDT signal-to-noise ratio especially at low frequencies where 1/f noise is present. The second method enables the determination of absolute field magnitudes. Successful development of these novel ideas will lead to the advancement of small, solid-state, inexpensive, low-power, high resolution magnetic-field sensors. These sensors can be used discretely or in compact arrays for diverse applications including non-destructive evaluation of metallic structure flaws. The commercial applications of the research include non-destructive evaluation of flaws in metallic structures; detection, surveillance and tracking of magnetic or metallic objects; security systems; and magnetic media sensing-which includes currency evaluation and discrimination, and magnetic card readers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nordman, Catherine NVE CORPORATION MN Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99972 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214984 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Delta-Sigma All-Digital Magnetometer. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will explore a fundamentally different approach to digital magnetic sensors. The traditional approach combines a sensor having an analog output with an electronic analog-to-digital converter. In the proposed magnetic field sensor, the analog-to-digital conversion occurs in the physical mechanism of the sensor itself. With this approach only inexpensive digital electronic circuits are needed to complete the sensor system, resulting in a robust, and economically manufacturable design. Being based on standard integrated circuit processing techniques, the new digital magnetometer will be easily mass-produced. The new products will be smaller, cheaper and use less power than existing sensors in a range of applications including: digital compasses, geomaganetic surveying equipment, and vehicle sensors for traffic control and intrusion detection. The very small size of the sensor will also enable new applications using high-density sensor arrays for example in currency and document validation or portable biomedical assay devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Jander, Albrecht NVE CORPORATION MN Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99987 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0214985 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: DNA Binding Proteins as Biosensors. 0214985 Heyduk This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a new general platform for preparing biosensors for a large number of target molecules. The target molecules for these biosensors will be the compounds (ligands) which regulate DNA binding activity of sequence-specific DNA binding proteins. A large number of such highly-selective ligand-dependent DNA binding proteins has evolved in nature to regulate gene expression. Many of the ligands for these proteins are compounds of interest in environmental, forensic, toxicological and biomedical analysis. This project proposes a general strategy to prepare biosensors that can detect these ligands and that take advantage of the outstanding specificity of DNA binding proteins. The presence of the target molecule will be reported by a change of fluorescence intensity of the sensor. The overall objective of the Phase I project is to provide experimental verification of the biosensor design. The commercial applications of this project are expected to span a number of different markets requiring detection of many target molecules. The new biosensors to be developed in this project will find commercial use as detectors of environmental pollutants, of toxic compounds in food and of regulatory molecules in biological and biomedical research. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Heyduk, Ewa MEDIOMICS, LLC MO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99106 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0214993 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Induced Smectic-A Liquid Crystal Material for Advanced Flat-Panel Display and Electro-Optic Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an entire new class of LC materials consisting of unique mixtures of polar and nonpolar nematic LCs that form an induced smectic-A phase with bilayer or multilayer microstructures. The proposed Induced Smetic-A LCs (ISALCs) are intrinsically low in viscosity, and therefore their optical properties can be electrically switched at low voltages without power pulse heating. ISALC materials will significantly improve the performance of flat panel displays, electro-optic devices, and storage media with infinitely long-term intrinsic memory. In contrast, current monolayer smectic-A LCs are highly viscous, and thus require either very high voltage for electrical driving or complicated thermal addressing. Other LC materials such as ferroelectric smectic-C and cholesteric require careful treatment of substrate surfaces and precise thickness of LC layers, which has limited their widespread commercial use. The commercial applications of these materials include scientific and industrial instrumentation ranging from microelectronics manufacturing, telecommunications, computers, and training and simulation systems, and extending to security control systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chirkov, Valeriy PHYSICAL OPTICS CORPORATION CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99993 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215003 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Modification of Terpenoid Production in Mint. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to establish metabolic engineering approaches to increase the production of commercially relevant terpenoids in mint. This program will be directed toward high priority areas that will allow U.S. mint growers and processors to become more competitive in the production of existing products such as menthol, as well as the ability to produce novel high value compounds. The specific objectives include biochemical profiling of terpenoids in 150 different mint varieties, production of tissue-specific cDNA libraries and generation of 15,000 Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs), development of a mint DNA microarray and the use of this array to investigate gene expression patterns during trichome development, determination of protein function for one putative terpenoid biosynthetic enzyme, and improvement of mint transformation efficiency to the range of 50-100 percent. Completion of these objectives will provide a basis for the development of a robust system for metabolic engineering in mint that will allow the creation of improved lines that have enhanced production of commercially relevant terpenoids. This endeavor will create new products for U.S. mint producers and enhance their competitiveness in the world market. The commercial application of this project is in the area of high value, plant derived compounds. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Davis, Keith ICORIA INC NC Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0201000 Agriculture 0215008 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Homeland Security: Photocatalytic Destruction of Air-Borne Bacteria. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to establish the technical and economic feasibility of a novel photocatalytic technology to inactivate air-borne surrogate bacterial spores representative of Bacillus anthracis (anthrax bacteria). The technology is to be incorporated into circulating air ducts of buildings, providing protection against introduction of anthrax into central air systems by a terrorist act. The investigators have previously developed a new class of photocatalysts that are orders of magnitude more active for organic compound oxidation than the traditional titania. This new class of photocatalysts will be adapted for use in anthrax spore destruction. The program will utilize photocatalyst composition studies to tailor a superior photocatalyst for this application, to be followed by reactor studies of the bactericidal efficacy of the new photocatalysts, and a competitive cost analysis of the technology relative to other alternatives for maintenance of indoor air quality. The immediate commercial application of this project is in the area of homeland security. The proposed technology will protect against the threat of introduction of lethal anthrax spores into central air systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kittrell, James KSE Inc MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0313040 Water Pollution 0215013 July 1, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase I: A High Throughput Gene Discovery System in Arabidopsis using Geminivirus gene expression vectors. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I Project proposes to develop a geminivirus-derived gene expression system, based on cabbage leaf curl virus, to test the effect of agronomically important genes in a transient, high throughput model. While the genomics revolution is a major step toward understanding gene function, the foremost challenge is correlating bioinformatics data with actual functional responses. Paradigm Genetics, Inc., currently uses the plant model species, Arbidopsis thaliana in a pipeline developed specifically to address the bottleneck between sequence and functional data. Arabidopsis plants genetically engineered to over or underexpress single genes are analyzed in developmental, biochemical and molecular platforms. While this pipeline has been successful in many ways, two disadvantages remain : (1) the amount of time required to generate stable Arabidopsis transformants, and (2) the ability to test only one gene at a time. To address these issues, this proposal initiates the development of an additional platform using geminivirus vectors. First, a genetic screen of Arabidopsis ecotypes and a mutagenized population will be carried out. This screen is designed to isolate symptomless Arabidopsis lines supporting viral replication and spread. Second, based on the hypothesis that lower viral levels can decrease symptom development in the plant, the viral vector will be modified to replicate at lower levels. Results from this research will be used to start a high throughput assay to determine functions of agronomically important genes. Additionally, these results will lead to important agronomic understandings of virus/host interactions. The commercial applications of this project are in crop plant improvement. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Kjemtrup, Susanne ICORIA INC NC Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99962 5371 1505 BIOT 9181 9102 5371 1505 0201000 Agriculture 0215022 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Inexpensive Widely Tunable Source Laser for Telecommunications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will lead to the development of a new type of widely tunable external cavity diode laser for use in next generation optical networks. These networks, parts of which are being deployed now, will rely on a high degree of network flexibility, especially on the ability to dynamically provision wavelengths throughout the communication grid upon demand. Key to deployment of such networks will be the availability of widely tunable source lasers at price points that are competitive with present fixed-wavelength telecommunications lasers. The result of this multiphase R&D effort will be production and marketing of a widely tunable transmitter module for long-haul telecommunications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pilgrim, Jeffrey Southwest Sciences Inc NM Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215025 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Augmented Micro-manipulation System. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to develop and validate augmentation strategies for micrometer scale laboratory tasks by using a prototype Augmented Micro-manipulation System (AMS) based on a cooperative robot. The AMS is applicable to a vast range of micrometer scale laboratory tasks including biomedical research ranging from tissue manipulation, to cell injection and other engineering laboratory tasks such as MEMS assembly. The AMS uses the cooperative paradigm (where the robot shares the control of the tool with the user) to allow easy integration of human intelligence, superior analytical abilities of a computer, and the precision of the robot to achieve better accuracy, and success in performing the selected task. The AMS complements the basic compliant motion of the robot with appropriate sensor-based augmentation strategies for efficiently performing different portions of the selected task. The AMS is a compact, flexible, and cost-effective system for performing common micrometer scale laboratory tasks. The commercial application of this project is in the area of laboratory instrumentation linked to biomedical research. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kumar, Rajesh Foster-Miller Inc MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99957 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0215038 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Scanning Magnetic Microscropy for Real-time Electromigration Imaging. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of developing a magnetic microscopy technique for real-time imaging of electrical current densities with sub-micron resolution for the analysis of electromigration (EM) processes. EM failure remains one of the most challenging problems facing the semiconductor industry. The microscopy technique uses specially designed magnetic sensors called magnetic tunneling junctions. By non-invasively measuring and analyzing the magnetic fields generated by current-carrying elements, one can image EM processes in real-time, with high sensitivity and resolution under ambient conditions. The Phase I research will focus on two critical issues for the commercial viability of this technique: 1) the design and fabrication of sensors with low noise and high-temperature tolerance for real-time operation; 2) optimization of electronics and algorithms for application to multi-level and deep sub-micron ICs. EM-induced failure analysis remains one of the most active fields of study in the semiconductor industry. It is important to any chip manufacturer that it be able to characterize EM in real-time and on-site. The research results will have numerous potential applications in electronics-related fields including semi conductor integrated circuits and data storage. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schrag, Benaiah MICRO MAGNETICS INC MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 0000 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215044 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Automating Linkage and Association Based Gene Mapping Analyses through Knowledge Acquisition. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to investigate the application of an automatic inference engine called "Discovery Machine" to the domain of gene mapping. Discovery Machine is a set of knowledge acquisition tools that aid experts in solving problems over large amounts data. The proposed enhancements to the Discovery Machine will allow genetics experts to model their own strategies for interpreting the information needed to map genes. The development of bioinformatics tools is aimed at researchers who wish to better leverage computing power to solve problems across large sets of data but cannot easily write software to enable their efforts. The commercial application of this project is in the area of bioinformatics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Griffith, Todd Discovery Machine, Inc. PA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215045 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Optical Pulse Measurement for Telecommunication Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a pulse measurement device intended to fully characterize optical pulses used in fiber optic telecommunication systems. Next generation optical networks will use 40 Gbit/s rates requiring pulse widths of less than ~25 picoseconds. At this pulse width, dispersion compensation is required to obtain transmission distances of greater than 25 km. In addition, nonlinear optical effects will complicate system development by adding intensity-dependent dispersion. Optical network designers are anticipating these problems by developing active dispersion compensation. However, a requirement of active dispersion compensation is accurate measurements of pulse intensity and phase within an optical network. Then, corrections to the dispersion compensation can be determined exactly. A pulse characterization device is proposed that will be self-contained, have only one fiberized input, be rugged and easy to use. This technology has commercial potential as a diagnostic for telecommunications research and as a diagnostic for optical network design. As optical networks move beyond the OC-192 standard, active dispersion compensation will be required. This technology can used in research applications and can be part of a feedback mechanism to actively control dispersion in functioning optical networks. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kane, Daniel Southwest Sciences Inc NM Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9150 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215046 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Liquid Phase Epitaxy of Potassium Tantalum Niobate on Low Dielectric Constant Substrates. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop the Liquid Phase Epitaxy (LPE) of potassium tantalum niobate (KTN) on a cubic perovskite substrate. This film material will have much higher electrooptic coefficients than current generation lithium niobate waveguides. This project proposes to develop new, low dielectric constant substrate materials that will enable better matching of the effective microwave dielectric constant to the optical dielectric constant of the film material and lower bias fields. In Phase I, the researchers will identify congruently melting substrate materials with suitable lattice parameter match to KTN that can be grown by the Czochralski method. Various flux systems and growth conditions will be tested to find those most conducive to LPE growth of good quality films. Electrooptic devices are used in communications, analog and digital signal processing, information processing, optical computing and sensing. Devices include phase and amplitude modulators, multiplexers, switch arrays, couplers, polarization controllers, deflectors, correlators and sensors. The proposed work will enable electrooptic modulators and innovative new device applications with lower costs, smaller footprints and lower power budgets. All this contributes to improvements of the infrastructure of the Internet and more rapid, lower cost deployment, especially in the local loop. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fratello, Vincent INTEGRATED PHOTONICS, INC. AL Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215053 July 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: Low-Power VLSI Circuits for Large-Scale Neuronal Recording. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop the technology necessary to produce low-power, low-noise VLSI amplifiers for large-scale neural recording applications. Although there are many emerging multi-electrode arrays for neuroscience and neuroprosthetic recording applications, these arrays are practically limited by wiring densities and percutaneous connections. In order for chonic neural recording applications to achieve electrode densities in the 100 to 1000 electrode range, implantable amplifier, signal processing, and multiplexing circuitry will be required. The existing VLSI technology available for microelectrode recording is inadequate to create implantable amplifier systems with this number of channels. These types of implantable amplifier systems will also be necessary for emerging clinical neuroprosthetic applications that will require chronic recording from large numbers of neurons in the brain. In this Phase I project, novel CMOS techniques will be developed for producing the necessary high-density, low-power amplifier elements. In the follow on Phase II project, these techniques will be integrated and fully developed into implantable amplifier systems for neuroscience and neuroprosthetic research. The commercial application of this project is in the area of biomedical device and instrumentation. The implantable biopotential amplifier systems produced in this project will be directly marketed to neuroscience researchers for use with high-density microelectrode arrays. The technology will also be used in the development of clinical neuroprosthetic applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Guillory, Kenneth Reid Harrison Bionic Technologies, L.L.C. UT Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99964 5371 1505 BIOT 9181 5371 1505 0110000 Technology Transfer 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0215061 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Time of Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer for Atmospheric Aerosol Analysis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the accurate measurement of the composition and microphysics of atmospheric aerosols that have significant implications for global and regulatory environmental issues. This project would replace the quadrupole mass-spectrometer (QMS) with a compact time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS). This would enable the measurement of complete chemical composition on a particle by particle basis. Key to this is the electronic and data acquisition system, which will make semi-continuous TOFMS practical computationally. The Phase I project will lead to the construction of a prototype instrument that will have unique capabilities for real time monitoring of ambient aerosol chemistry and microphysics. Moreover, the coupling of high efficiency EI to the compact TOFMS will have many other potential mass spectrometric applications. The commercial market for the existing aerosol mass spectrometer includes government and educational research labs, and may expand to include regulatory monitoring efforts and process industrial laboratories. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Worsnop, Douglas Aerodyne Research Inc MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215065 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Surface Modification to Direct Cell Behavior. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a surface coating technology that will be used to create improved materials for regulating cell behavior for research, tissue engineering and cell therapy applications. For these applications, advanced materials are needed that display multiple types of active proteins, while preventing nonspecific protein adsorption. Current methods of protein immobilization do not meet these requirements. This project will use a previously developed technology, based on an end group activated Pluronic (EGAP), that tethers proteins to materials while preserving protein activity. In the proposed Phase I research, this technology will be further developed to facilitate coimmobilization of multiple proteins in predetermined proportions. The specific objectives of this project are (1) to develop a new form of EGAP that contains a versatile protein binding tag, (2) to evaluate the feasibility of using this new coating to coimmobilize multiple biomolecules on a substrate, in controlled ratios, and (3)to create materials that display two important regulators of cell growth and differentiation, namely fibronectin and epidermal growth factor. The commercial applications of this project are in a number of areas, including proteomics, drug development, toxicology, environmental testing, tissue engineered devices and medical implants. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Neff, Jennifer allvivo, Inc. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 97543 5371 BIOT 9181 9150 9102 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0215066 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Hybrid Chemical Vapor Deposition (HCVD) for Synthesis of Copper and Silver Interconnects. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will synthesize semiconductor interconnects by using a novel chemical vapor deposition technique for deposition of silver and copper films on high aspect ratio patterned substrates for sub 100 nm CMOS devices. This technique called hybrid chemical vapor deposition combines the advantages of conventional Chemical Vapor Deposition to achieve integrated circuit super filling, of trenches and vias under low temperature processing conditions. This technique utilizes precursors made with metallic nanoparticles (size of metallic particles: 35 nm) that can be uniformly dispersed inorganic solutions using appropriate surfactants. The liquid precursor can be transported to the patterned wafer surface in the form of mist and under appropriate low temperature thermal conditions can form a conformal film of metal on the surface, which further aggregates inside the pores to achieve super filling. Initial work conducted on copper films has shown very promising results. Application of the research is expected in microelectronics industry. The important are of reliable interconnects will help signal integrity. The successful development of hybrid chemical vapor deposition process has not yet been reported in the literature and would represent an important advancement in metal thin film deposition process. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Singh, Deepika SINMAT, INC. FL Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99949 5371 MANU 9146 9102 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215070 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Crystalline Ferroelectrics Combined with Transistor Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is directed towards making devices that take advantage of ferroelectric's properties and overcome the current roadblocks in the way of commercializing ferroelectric devices. MicroCoating Technologies (MCT) proposes a novel concept that would enable ferroelectric based capacitors to be integrated with transistor technology. Ferroelectric devices have potential for applications such as tunable capacitors, phase shifters, and others. If MCT succeeds in its product plan, it would enable a smaller, low-noise, high transmission rate microwave devices and components and successfully commercialize ferroelectric devices. The market for tunable microwave devices continues to grow as the world untethers itself from telephone lines, that is the increasing use of cell phones. An industry leader in wireless technology has expressed significant interest in ferroelectric materials, and has identified a number of areas in a cell phone that would benefit from variable capacitor, for example. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Stollberg, David NGIMAT CO. GA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215073 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Novel Particulate Fluidization Systems for Pulmonary Drug Delivery Applications. 0215073 Singh This Small Business Innovation Research project proposes to develop novel fluidization systems that are needed for synthesis of nano-encapsulated insulin particles for pulmonary drug delivery applications. By coating the insulin particle with very thin (10-50 nm) layer of biodegradable polymers such as polylactic acid (PLA), the sustained release characteristics of insulin can be significantly altered. The unique method has several advantages over conventional methods including low polymer loading, and impurity-free processing. The nano-encapsulation method involves using laser ablation thin film deposition technique to coat drug particles which are fluidized in the gas phase. This Phase I project will develop batch scale fluidization systems which are capable of fluidizing up to 1 kg of particles at a time. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of pharmaceutical drug delivery. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Singh, Deepika SINMAT, INC. FL Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99993 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0203000 Health 0215075 July 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: Novel Materials & Coatings for Efficient White Down-Converting Light Emitting Diodes. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project involves the development of photoluminescent phosphors and coating materials for ultraviolet light emitting diodes that will make possible a white light emitting diode having high color purity, efficiency and lifetime far exceeding those of current state of the art. The white light emitting diode light will be produced by down-converting the ultraviolet amplitude emission from light emitting diodes using an efficient mixture of several photo-luminescent phosphors. The materials will be optically coupled to light emitting diode dies using a newly developed selective deposition process (electrophoretic) that is currently being patented jointly by PhosphorTech and Agilent Technologies. Improved solid state & phosphor material technologies are expected to result in dramatic changes in the lighting industry over the next several years. This new white light source would change the way we live, and the way we consume energy. The worldwide amount of electricity consumed by lighting would decrease by more than 50%, and total worldwide consumption of electricity would decrease by more than 10%. The global savings would be more than 1,000TWh/yr of electricity at a value of about US$100B/year, along with the approximately 200 million tons of carbon emissions created during the generation of that electricity. Moreover, more than 125GW of electrical generating capacity would be freed for other uses or would not need to be created, a savings of over US$50B of construction cost. Finally, the impact on the environment will be dramatic, resulting in the elimination of one of the main sources of mercury pollution SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Menkara, Hisham PhosphorTech Corporation GA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99989 5371 1505 MANU 9146 5371 5370 1505 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215077 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Carbon Nanotubes for Field Emission Displays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims at developing a novel low-cost method for the preparation of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) for Field Emission Displays (FED) applications. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are characterized by high aspect ratio and small radius of curvature at their tips. This structural property, together with high electrical conduction, chemical inertness and mechanical strength makes them promising emitters for field emission flat panel displays. CNTs have been conventionally prepared by high-pressure, chemical-vapor-deposition processes, but these approaches have serious limitations owing to high cost of production. Recently suggested alternative methods of CNT preparation include plasma activation and catalytic growth, but they are limited by low yields or metal contaminations. In this Phase I effort, Materials Modification, Inc. proposes to synthesize carbon nanotubes from readily available raw materials by combining a pyrolysis and chemical process. The CNT thus produced will be chemically pure since no metal catalyst is used in the process and any side-products formed are in vapor state and will not contaminate it. Potential commercial applications include display aided flat bedded control panels, all types of touch screen facilities, flat panel monitors for both professional and entertainment displays, and naval and air surveillance systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sudarshan, T. Materials Modification Inc. VA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215081 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Nanosecond Pulsed Sensor System for Intrinsic Structural Health & Cure Monitoring. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel method of interrogating the structural condition and cure state of composite materials. It works by propagating a sub-nanosecond voltage pulse along an intrinsic microwave transmission-line fabricated directly in the laminate. The transmission-line is formed using graphite-reinforcing fibers as the conducting path. Changes in pulse propagation are used to monitor changes in cure state, and detect various structural failures such as microcracking, delamination, disbonding, marcelling, and moisture absorption. The fibers are native to the material and constitute zero structural defect, and negligible cost. Applications include graphite composites, glass composites, composite joints, and metal-adhesive joints.The commercial potential will be an inexpensive and spatially continuous structural-health and cure monitoring system with minimal invasiveness. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hager, Nathaniel Material Sensing & Instrumentation PA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99959 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215085 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Solid State Electrochemical Carbon Dioxide Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the development of a miniaturized and inexpensive solid-state electrochemical carbon dioxide gas sensor for environmental air quality control, based on a novel-sensing concept, utilizing solid polymer electrolytes and thick film device miniaturization techniques. Carbon dioxide emissions are a global issue. In addition, CO2 monitoring and control in offices, homes, indoor sport arenas, enclosed parking garages and schools are of growing importance. The method of infrared spectroscopy is predominantly used in commercially available carbon dioxide monitors. Although the infrared spectroscopic system offers acceptable precision, it is large and relatively expensive. To the best of our knowledge no solid state, room temperature electrochemical carbon dioxide sensor is commercially available for environmental air quality control applications. The proposed novel electrochemical sensor, which could be configured as a handheld or a panel mount room device or for surface mounting on air ducts, will be reliable, inexpensive and compact and will yield an enhanced response signal at room temperature, utilizing miniaturized thick film sensors for CO2 monitoring in environmental applications. The feasibility of the proposed novel concept will be demonstrated and the best catalyst material and thick film sensor design parameters will be identified. The potential commercial applications for the proposed solid state, room temperature electrochemical carbon dioxide sensor include: A) Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) control applications where demand control ventilation based on CO2 concentration of residential, commercial and industrial spaces occupied by people, could improve energy efficiency while simultaneously improving the indoor environment. B) Agricultural and bio-related process applications. The growth rate and development of plants can be improved by controlling the concentration of carbon dioxide. C) Food packaging industry. In the meat packaging industry, a high concentration of CO2 in the packaging inhibits bacterial growth and retains the natural color of the meat. D) Medical applications where an inexpensive electrochemical sensor could be used to measure the concentration of carbon dioxide in an exhaled breathe and could be incorporated in breathing systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Manoukian, Mourad GINER ELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS, LLC MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99964 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215088 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Colorimetric Sensor for Real-Time Detection of Nitroaromatic Explosives. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a cost-effective, fast-acting sensor for detecting the presence of nitroaromatic explosives. It involves a unique chemical detection technology in which colorimetric changes in an array of dyes constitute a signal much like that generated by the mammalian olfaction system; each dye is a cross-responsive sensor. This technology has been dubbed "Smell-Seeing". The program is designed to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility of the electronic nose when used to detect nitroaromatic explosives and to integrate the smell-seeing technology into an inexpensive, portable monitor for real-time detection of explosive substances. This work will result in a hand-held, battery-powered device for preventative surveillance and early detection of these compounds, thereby reducing risk to the general public, public servants and military personnel here and around the world. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kosal, Margaret CHEMSENSING, INC IL Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99693 5371 MANU 9146 9102 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215093 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I:Use of Inducible Antimicrobial Peptides for Rapid Diagnosis, Prevention, and Management of Disease in Finfish Aquaculture. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I Project proposes to develop novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for management of infectious pathogens in finfish such as the hybrid striped bass (HSB). HSB aquaculture has become the fourth largest form of U.S. fish production. Prior research by the investigators on the molecules involved in the innate, non specific immunity of HSB has led to the discovery, cloning, and characterization of a novel, cysteine-rich, antimicrobial peptide (AMP) that has been named bass-hepcidin. Hepcidin homologs are present in many finfish species. Bass-hepcidin is strongly expressed in the liver upon experimental challenge with the devastating aquaculture pathogen Streptococcus iniae. Phase I research objectives include: 1) synthesis and purification of the peptide, 2) development of a polyclonal antibody and ELISA assay), 3) testing of the minimum inhibitory concentration of the peptide against important aquaculture, agriculture, and human pathogens, and 4) measurement of gene expression in finfish tissues in experimental challenges with pathogenic bacteria using Northern blots/rtPCR. If successful, this project will allow development of cost-effective test kits for rapid diagnosis of bacterial and fungal infections in several species of cultured finfish. The commercial application of this project is in the area of aquaculture. On a worldwide basis, disease costs aquaculture producers more than $3 billion annually. The development of a cost-effective immunoassay will allow rapid diagnosis of bacterial and fungal infections in HSB and other commercially important cultured finfish. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Carlberg, James KENT SEATECH CORPORATION CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99548 5371 BIOT 9181 0521700 Marine Resources 0215098 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Optically Addressable High-Density Interconect. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I proposed innovation is an optically addressable, dynamically reconfigurable, bi-directional, high-density, optical interconnect micro-array based on the phenomenon of grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance). The proposed device addresses the need for dense, fast, low power dissipation interconnect technology created by highly parallel, next generation computationalsystems. These systems will require highly dense connection networks containing many long-distance connections. In such highly connected, highly parallel systems, the module-to-module and long distance chip-to-chip connections are responsible for the majority of the power dissipation, time delay and surface area. Thus, it has become critically important to minimize the area, power and time delay of the chip-to-chip and module-to-module interconnects while, at the same time, increasing density and bandwidth. Potential commercial applications effort will find applicability in a number of commercial markets. These include emerging interconnect devices in electronics, generalMEMs fabrication and in photolithography, where it would save time and eliminate expensive photomasking processes. Other potential markets include optical processing, certain applications in telecommunications and other miscellaneous applications for spatial light modulators. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fernandez, Salvador CIENCIA INC CT Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99995 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215109 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Reactive Mounting of Heat Sinks. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop a rapid, heat sink mounting technology that produces a metallic bond between the heat sink and the microelectronic device. The metallic bond is far superior to current mounting technologies in its thermal conduction and its mechanical strength. The proposed technology for mounting heat sinks onto substrates and chips is a reactive joining process that uses reactive multilayer foils as local heat sources for melting solders or brazes. The foils are a new class of nano-engineered materials, in which self- propagating exothermic reactions can be ignited at room temperature with a spark. By inserting a multilayer foil between two solder (or braze) layers and two components, heat generated by the reaction in the foil melts the solder and consequently bonds the components. This new method of soldering eliminates the need for a furnace and, with very localized heating, avoids thermal damage to the microelectronic device. The resulting metallic joints are stronger and far more thermally conductive than common, commercial mounting technologies (greases, pads and epoxies). The reactive bonding process is also far more rapid than most of these technologies, offering substantial savings in processing time and convenience. Phase I research will (1) demonstrate the feasibility of this mounting process, (2) characterize the thermal and mechanical properties of the resulting interfaces, and (3) develop a model that predicts thermal exposure of devices during the reactive mounting process. Successful development of this reactive mounting technology will advance the thermal management of microelectronic devices, and it will help accelerate future improvements in the performance of these devices. The world wide market for thermal management solutions is about $3.7 billion, with most of this market being outsourced. The trends in the computer industry are towards smaller devices with higher power dissipation, increasing the need for superior thermal management. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Weihs, Timothy REACTIVE NANOTECHNOLOGIES INC MD Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215114 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Feasibility assesment for Stachybotrys Chartarum and Aspergillus Fumigatus ELISA Kits. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project will investigate a biotechnological approach to rapidly detect two notorious toxin-producing fungi. Indoor fungal growth related to water leaks and floods can induce a variety of disease symptoms. The presence of some fungi, like Stachybotrys chartarum , can cause severe morbidity. Unfortunately, the detection of harmful fungi, like Stachybotrys, has been hampered by inadequate methods. The proposed research will determine the feasibility of developing a rapid detection method for toxigenic fungi that could be used at any test site. The primary objective of this research is to isolate a diffusible spore molecule from S. chartarum spores and one from A. fumigatus spores for the development of an antibody-based detection kit. The molecules will be extracted in saline solution to mimic diffusion into lung linings and used for polyclonal antibody development. If successful, the antigens will be used for monoclonal antibody development in a Phase II project. This will allow for the development of a rapid, on-site testing kit to detect potentially dangerous fungal organisms quickly and inexpensively. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of diagnostics linked to human health and animal health. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Piceno, Yvette MICROBIAL INSIGHTS INC TN Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 76009 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215118 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Multi-Channel Fluorescence Lifetime Measuring Instrument Using a Novel Low-Cost Digitizer. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project concerns the development of a multi-channel fluorescence lifetime measuring instrument using a novel low-cost digitizer. The key to bringing the well-known utility of fluorescence lifetime measurements "to the masses" is to have a low-cost instrument with excellent speed and accuracy. This work will pioneer a measuring technique that, by taking advantage of recent developments in lasers, goes a long way toward meeting the needs of such an instrument. However, there is one vital component, the digitizer that presently accounts for more than half of the cost. Commercially available digitizers do not match the needs of the application and are therefore too expensive or lack essential capabilities. However, This work has found a unique custom ASIC that appears to be a good match. This ASIC is a waveform digitizer developed at Berkeley National Laboratory for the AMANDA neutrino telescope. This work will prototype and characterizes a multi-channel fluorescence lifetime measuring instrument that uses this ASIC as the digitizer. If the phase I objectives are achieved, this work will be able to build exceptionally affordable instruments that can enable and greatly expand the use of fluorescence lifetime measurements in a vast range of applications. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Pavicic, Mark DAKOTA TECHNOLOGIES INC ND Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 9150 MANU 9150 9146 5371 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215119 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Rapid Reagent-Less Multi-Channel Biological Agent Detector. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of a miniaturized MEMS-based, reagent-less biological agent detector, capable of performing rapid assays for tens (or even hundreds) of analytes simultaneously, for detection of whole bacteria (or spores) with single bacteria/spore resolution. National defense against biological warfare agents and naturally occurring pathogens, such as drug resistant tuberculosis or food and water contaminates, requires low cost, robust, and easy to use technologies for rapid detection and identification of biological agents. Rapid detection is needed to provide early warning to minimize the numbers of exposed personnel, and to provide timely and effective medical treatment of those exposed. Current identification technologies depend on time-consuming amplification, which also adds appreciably to the cost, complexity, power requirements and size of the detector as it must perform multiple sample treatment steps and provide the necessary reagents. In this Phase I Project, Boston MicroSystems, with the assistance of the US Naval Research Laboratory, will quantify the performance of the proposed biological agent detector by fabricating prototype single channel detectors, immobilizing antibodies for bacillus globigii onto the detectors, expose them to samples of bacillus globigii, and quantify the response and detection limits. The prinicipal commercial application of this project is in homeland defense. However, the proposed biological agent detector may have significant additional applications in the areas of medical diagnostics, agribusiness, and environmental monitoring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mlcak, Richard BOSTON MICROSYSTEMS INC MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215130 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Engineering Broad-Spectrum Disease Resistance in Crop Plants. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to establish the feasibility of engineering broad-spectrum disease resistance in crops. Pathogens cause enormous world-wide annual losses in crop yield. Prior research has shown that constitutive activation of the transcription factor AtERF1 confers resistance to several fungal pathogens in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. This Phase I project has three major goals : (1) To test additional Arabidopsis lines constitutively expressing AtERF1 and correlate AtERF1 expression levels with resistance to fungal and bacterial pathogens ; (2) To determine if constitutive expression of AtERF1 is detrimental to Arabidopsis plants, and (3) to identify transcription factors that are functionally analogous to AtERF1 in a number of crop species, including canola, tomato, rice and maize. The results of Phase I research are expected to indicate the technical feasibility of using AtERF1 to engineer enhanced pathogen resistance without adversely affecting other important agronomic properties of plants. The commercial application of this project is in the field of agriculture. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Heard, Jacqueline Mendel Biotechnology Incorporated CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0201000 Agriculture 0215143 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: High-Temperature Gas Sensors with Enhanced Stability. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is focused on the development of highly stable and sensitive metal oxide semiconductor sensors for high-temperature applications. Currently available semiconductor sensors are typically restricted to the 200 C to 500 C range in order to have adequate response times and the necessary selectivity. In order to operate in the 600 C to 900 C range, stability of the porous sensing materials has to be enhanced in order to have a fast responding, sensitive sensor. In the project, the unique nanocomposite sensor materials will be developed first, followed by preparation of the substrate with high temperature electrodes, on to which the sensor film is deposited and then evaluated for sensitivity, response time and stability. The sensors to be developed will be applicable to high temperature engine control and monitoring, combustion system control for fossil-fueled power plants and incinerators, and monitoring of product gases from chemical process reactors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schulz, Douglas CeraMem Corporation MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215146 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: A Versatile Continuous Adsorption and Simulated Moving Bed (SMB) System for Multi-component Biochemical Purification. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to develop an integrated software package for the design and optimization of novel Simulated Moving Bed processes for multi-component separation and purification. Innovative design methods, simulation software and equipment have been developed and tested at the laboratory-scale for a number of biological separations, including amino acids, sugars, a peptide drug, an antibiotic, an anticancer drug and an antiviral drug. Laboratory data show that the new technology can produce high purity (>99%) chemicals at high yield (>99%). When compared to conventional batch chromatography, this technology can increase product yield by 5% to 15%, increase throughput per bed volume and reduce solvent consumption by an order of magnitude. During this Phase I Project, new tools for parameter estimation and cost optimization will be developed and integrated with existing design and simulation tools. This will result in a user-friendly interface for the integrated package. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of recovery and purification of pharmaceuticals and other biochemicals. The proposed technology is expected to impact purification costs in a major way, resulting in annual savings of several million dollars per product. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Nien-Hwa(Linda) Versachrom, LLC IN Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0215147 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Development of a High Precision, Autonomous Quantum Cascade Laser-Based Detector for Methane and Nitrous Oxide. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a compact and autonomous, high precision monitor for the potent greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide. This proposal is submitted under the Geoscience Instrumentation subtopic (subtopic E) of the Electronics topic. The target molecules are currently detected with cw lead salt diode lasers. These lasers require cryogenic cooling and, due to their lack of long term stability, a highly trained operator. Quantum cascade (QC) lasers are spectroscopically stable and can be operated near room temperature when they are pulsed. This allows the design of compact, rugged, inexpensive and autonomous molecular monitors. This system is further simplified by detecting both methane and nitrous with a single QC laser using nearly coincident transitions near 1300 mm . The Phase I research objectives will be to demonstrate that the required sensitivity and specificity can be obtained in this spectral region using a pulsed QC laser and non-cryogenic infrared detectors. The Phase I research will produce a preliminary design for an instrument to be constructed during Phase II. The resulting turn-key monitor will address the widespread need to monitor these important species in a sensitive and cost-effective manner. Potential commercial applications for this research include 1) the research market attempting to quantify the worldwide sources and sinks of greenhouse gases, 2) the market for trading credits for greenhouse gas emission reductions which requires quantitative documentation of these reductions, 3) the market for goods and services able to identify and locate leaks in natural gas distribution systems and 4) various research markets needing to quantify methane and/or nitrous oxide concentrations or emissions in both laboratory and field settings. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nelson, David Aerodyne Research Inc MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215148 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: New Biopolymers for Metal Recovery in Enhanced Diafiltration Process. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a new biopolymer for primary metal removal and a poly-g-glutamic acid (g-PGA)diafiltration system for recovery of metals from dilute solutions. Preliminary results obtained to date indicate that this process holds considerable promise in effectively removing metals from dilute aqueous streams to within EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) acceptable limits. The research planned in Phase I is expected to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed g-PGA-PEDF(polymer enhanced diafiltration) system. It is also expected to show that g-PGA will achieve satisfactory metal uptake, that it will reduce representative metal concentrations to EPA mandated levels, and that it is amenable to suitable regeneration cycles. Finally, it is expected that the proposed process will satisfactorily treat the representative industrial wastewaters. These results will set the stage for the development efforts in Phase II that will further consolidate the efficacy of the process, and address scale-up and commercialization issues. The commercial applications of this project are in the processing of industrial wastewaters within established EPA guidelines. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yalpani, Manssur CarboMer, Inc. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0313040 Water Pollution 0215150 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Vegetable Transplants. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop grafted tomato transplants for greenhouse and field applications in the USA. Genetic-based sources of resistance to soil-borne pathogens and pests are currently being used as the rootstocks for grafted tomatoes in Southern Europe, Asia and Australia. In these countries, vegetable production is being impacted by the elimination of methyl bromide. Biological control strategies, such as grafting, will have increasing value in the USA as disease profiles and chemical pesticide regulations change. This research will demonstrate the production of high quality greenhouse bench grafts using rootstocks with disease resistance. The commercial applications of this project are in the field of agriculture. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sluis, Carolyn Tissue Grown Corporation CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99982 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0201000 Agriculture 0215151 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Nematode Intestinal Proteins as Anthelmintic Targets. 0215151 Hresko This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to identify potential targets for the development of therapeutic agents to treat infections by parasitic nematodes. Nematode infections represent a serious heath concern for both humans and domesticated animals and, as such, represent a significant market for anthelmintic drugs. This project proposes to test a new approach to the discovery of anthelmintic agents. Divergence, LLC has identified a class of essential nematode-specific genes in Caenorhabditis elegans, representing a rich pool of potential targets for the control of human, animal and plant parsitic nematodes. Antibodies will be produced against a subset of proteins that are predicted to be gut-localized. The antibodies will be used to confirm localization of the protein and to challenge cultures of nematodes. Based on "hidden antigen" vaccine theory, it is anticipated that the antibodies against one or more of the gene-products proposed in this project may disrupt or impair the life cycle of the nematode. Completion of this Phase I project will allow a swift transition into the investigation of parasite genes. Expression of parasite genes introduced into C. elegans, which can be grown in large scale, will allow production of protein for the in vitro screening of peptide or small molecule libraries and for potential vaccine antigens. The commercial application of this project is in the area of therapeutics aimed at both human and animal health. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hresko, Michelle Divergence, Inc. MO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 93016 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0203000 Health 0510102 Role-Terrestrial Ecosystem 0215158 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Remote Radio Frequency Measurements for Pipeline Monitoring - FloWatch911. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop remote radio frequency (RF) measurements for critical monitoring of fuel pipelines for failures. This novel application of RF measurements uses the pipe as a RF transmission line, and antennas launch radar pulses that travel inside the pipe, without disturbing the transported fluid. Pulses reflect-off obstructions/breaches in the pipe and are measured by distributed low-cost GPS receivers to locate the fault. The outcome of this research will lead to a marketable product, which when implemented by pipeline corporations, can save millions of dollars annually in pipeline spills and advert potential loss of life and property. Further, the development of this technology supports the current US homeland security initiative to protect valuable assets against overt acts of vandalism and/or terrorism. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Auerbach, Mitchell Emergency Management Telecommunications FL Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99803 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215159 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Flexible Displays for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will demonstrate the feasibility of producing flexible displays that can be used to make radio frequency identification (RFID) electronic labels. These labels will be electronic analogs of paper labels. The innovation will be to combine known flexible RFID circuitry with flexible displays to create an electronic paper-like label that can be wirelessly updated. . The Phase I activities will involve active matrix backplane fabrication on polyimide substrates followed by display construction using a polymerized liquid crystal mixture. The commercial applications include retail electronic shelf labels, airline security luggage identification, and employee identification tags. The use of these tags for airline security luggage tags and employee identification represent applications that address issues in homeland security. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Forbes, Charles Visible Tech-knowledgy NJ Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99962 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215172 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Voltage Contrast Microscopy for Inspection of Integrated Circuit Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project was motivated by the need for rapid in-line inspection of quality of nanometer-scale devices in a production environment. An efficient diagnostics instrument, like the proposed product, is a rudimentary requirement for improved business operation in related industries minimizing possibilities for loss of revenue. The proposed innovative approach aims at developing an integrated technology using both electron and ion beams. Unique to this work is the idea of incorporating very special merits of high-brightness negative ion beams in a critical technology for device inspection. A novel system will be built to (i) deliver high yield in device inspection, (ii) achieve nm-level resolution and (iii) insure device integrity. This research will identify the characteristics of appropriate ion species from proof-of-principles experiments. Application of this work would be the design and development of an optimized ion beam column for the microelectronics industry. The end product would be an integrated product with improved optical characteristics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Guharay, Samar FM TECHNOLOGIES INC VA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215175 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Low Cost Visible Blind Ultra Violet Photodetectors on Glass and Polyimide. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop innovative visible blind UV detectors based on a novel metal-oxide system that is analogous to Gallium Aluminum Nitride (GaN). It is based on a wide band gap oxide system that is realized by alloying two primary oxide compounds, exhibiting a wider and tunable band gap, creating semiconductor materials which have energy gaps from 3.3 eV to 7.9 eV with high radiation hardness. The project investigator has already patented the concept of making and applying tailorable band gap oxide materials. The goal of this proposal is to study the feasibility of growing wide band gap metal-oxides and ultraviolet detectors on low cost substrates such as glass, polyimide, and silicon for commercialization of cost effective products. This technology can be extended to produce large format detector arrays and which can improve their reliability. Other areas where GaN detectors can be used are in telecommunications, chemical sensing, and homeland security. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Vispute, Ratnakar BLUE WAVE SEMICONDUCTORS, INC MD Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 95583 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215179 August 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Low-Cost Glass Fiber Composites Tailored Towards Concrete Reinforcement. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will refine the polymer matrix of glass fiber composites with ion exchangers in order to enhance their longevity in the alkaline environment of concrete. Glass fiber composites offer a desirable balance of performance and cost for replacement of corrosion-prone steel reinforcement in concrete; their rapid deterioration in the alkaline environment of concrete is, however, a major setback. Ion exchangers are insoluble solids carrying cations (or anions) which can be exchanged with ions of the same sign. Cation exchangers of hydrogen form replace alkali metal cations (e.g., K + in alkaline solutions diffusing into the polymer matrix) with H + . This exchange of cations neutralizes aggressive alkaline solutions by converting K + OH - (and Na + OH - , etc.) into H2O. Through laboratory investigations and industrial-scale pultrusion efforts, the Phase I research demonstrated that introduction of selected ion exchangers into the polymer matrix (or a surface layer of matrix) does not interfere with the pultrusion process, and yields significant gains in alkali resistance of glass fiber composites. The Phase I effort also established a theoretical context for selection of the dosage of cation exchanger in the polymer matrix of glass fiber composites, and verified the economic viability of our approach. The proposed Phase II project will: (1) develop refined theoretical principles and design procedures for formulation of polymer matrices with ion exchangers; (2) develop and experimentally verify optimum polymer matrix formulations incorporating ion exchangers; (3) optimize the pultrusion process of glass fiber composites with the refined polymer system, and fully characterize the end products; and (4) evaluate the structural performance and durability of concrete systems reinforced with refined glass fiber composite bars through comprehensive laboratory studies complemented with a field investigation involving design, construction and monitoring of a reinforced concrete bridge deck. The Phase II effort will receive critical support from major manufacturers of composite rebars (including Hughes Brothers, the world leader in this field), the leading supplier of ion exchangers (Dow Chemical), Michigan Department of Transportation, and Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Michigan State University (Composite Materials & Structures Center) will also take part in the proposed research effort. Close to one-third of reinforced concrete structures, including bridges, parking structures, buildings in coastal areas and offshore structures, are exposed to corrosive environments (deicer salt, seawater spray, etc.); domestic sales of steel for reinforcement of these concrete structures is about $2 billion/yr. Glass fiber composites embodying our technology are resistant to both corrosive effects and the alkaline environment of concrete; they offer a desirable balance of performance and cost to replace steel reinforcement in corrosive environments. Major savings in life-cycle cost can be realized at competitive initial cost through replacement of steel reinforcement with alkali-resistant glass fiber composites in concrete structures exposed to corrosive environments. Glass fiber composite jackets and sheets applied onto concrete surfaces for repair/rehabilitation purposes are also prone to attack by the alkaline pore solution of concrete, representing another market opportunity for our technology. We have filed a patent application, and have reached agreements with Dow Chemical (leading supplier of ion exchangers) and Hughes Brothers (world's leading manufacturer of composite bars for concrete reinforcement) towards transfer of the technology to marketplace. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Aouadi, Fadhel DPD INC MI Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 681995 5373 CVIS 9251 9178 7218 1635 1057 0109000 Structural Technology 0215181 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Engineering Platform for the Nanoformulations of Water Insoluble Drugs Using Supercritical Antisolvent Process with Enhanced Mass Transfer. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a flexible platform for nano-formulations of water insoluble drugs. As the practice of medicine progresses towards "complete cure for diseases", delivering new drugs to specific areas to target specific tissues becomes an important objective of overall pharmaceutical research. Unfortunately many new drugs have poor water solubility that reduces their bioavailability. Carefully formulated nanoparticles and nanospheres are reported to have therapeutic advantages such as bioavailability, ability to avoid reticuloendothelial system (RES) removal, and direct tumor targeting. This project will develop the Supercritical Anti-Solvent with Enhanced Mass Transfer (SAS-EM) Process for producing nanoparticles of water insoluble drugs and encapsulating them in biodegradable polymers as nanospheres. The three key steps in the Phase I study include : (1) Phase behavior studies to identify the suitable solvent and experimental conditions, (2) Particle formation studies where nanoparticles of said drugs are produced using supercritical antisolvent process with enhanced mass transfer, and (3) Characterization of the nanoparticles/nanospheres for particle size, size distribution, and crystallinity. Light scattering techniques will be used to measure the size distribution complemented with Scanning electron microscopic visualization. X-ray diffraction measurements will be used to describe the crystallinity. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of pharmaceutical drug delivery. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Muthukumaran, Poongunran Thar Technologies, Inc. PA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99901 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0215183 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Formulation of Non-Phospholipid Nanoparticles for Delivery of Drugs with Poor Aqueous Solubility. 0215183 Nguyen This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to improve delivery of clinically used drugs through formulation of a non-toxic, tissue-specific drug delivery vehicle. A number of drugs and drug delivery vehicles cause toxic side effects,thereby limiting the drug dose that can be administered. This Phase I Project proposes to solve these problems by using a proprietary mixture of non-phospholipid lipids for drug delivery. Suspensions of lipid-coated microbubbles (LCM), made with this lipid mixture, have been found to be highly tumor selective. Paclitaxel, delivered in LCM, has been shown to reduce tumors in rats more effectively when compared to paclitaxel delivered in the traditional vehicle, and produced less systemic toxicity. However, there are no methods currently available to generate LCM on a commercial scale. In the course of this Phase I Project, lipid nanoparticles from the proprietary lipid mixture will be developed using a high pressure homogenizer. This will be followed by the formulation of a number of clinically used drugs in lipid and trsting of these formulations in cultured tumor cells. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of pharmaceutical drug delivery. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nguyen, Hoanglan Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals NY Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99875 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0215186 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Large Area Platform Technology for Small Diameter Silicon Carbide. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is intended to demonstrate the fabrication of multiple, unconventionally small diameter, and foundry incompatible wafers on a single, large-area 8-inch substrate. The success of this effort will bring the benefits offered by devices made from such wafers to the global community at affordable cost. The superior thermo-mechanical properties of silicon carbide have made it a material of choice for use as sensors in harsh environments. However, the lack of profit incentive due to high substrate cost, small diameter (implying high production cost per unit volume), and high capital equipment cost have combined to inhibit industry interest in its global commercialization. A recently patented wafer platform technology offers four immediate crucial benefits: 1) It significantly reduces the high production cost by an order of magnitude to make silicon carbide based sensors economically viable and competitive; 2) It utilizes semiconductor-on-insulator technology to improve silicon carbide sensor functionality at 600oC over pn-junction based silicon carbide sensors, which suffer from leakage current as it approaches 500C; 3) A large-area (8-inch) platform technology will significantly increase industry confidence toward global commercialization; and 4) It opens a new technology growth path toward integrated micro-systems packaging. Potential commercial applications a wide variety of electronic and opto-electronic sensors. The domestic sensors and instrumentation market in 2000 was $49 billion at an annual growth rate of 13.5%, Worldwide Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMs) market was $14.2 billion, expected to reach $30.4 billion with at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21% in 2004, of which the Silicon Carbide MEMs; worldwide market is expected to reach $6 billion by 2005 (Sensors magazine, July 2001). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kareem, Lee ZIN TECHNOLOGIES, INC OH Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9146 9102 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215189 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Assistive Reading Device for Persons with Disabilities. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to further improve an assistive device for reading that is currently under development at the company. The device, an electromechanical page turner, allows people with upper extremity impairment to conveniently and easily turn pages of a book in either direction. With the touch of a button, the page turner can automatically grab the next page, turn it, and keep the book opened flat during the entire process. If necessary, an alternate activation method can be employed, such as a sip-and-puff switch, chin switch, or foot pedal. There are three key phases of the page turning process : page engagement, page restraint, and page transport. In its current form, the page turner prototype offers superior solutions to each of these phases and addresses the limitations of commercially available systems. Several key research problems must now be addressed in order to improve the reliability of the apparatus. The problems center on the unit's turnstile element which serves two principle functions: page restraint and page transport. The turnstile is necessary to hold the book open flat, as well as to move a page from one side of the book to the other. The turnstile-on-paper and paper-on-paper frictional properties are important considerations for successful operation of the page turner. The goal of the Phase I Project is to investigate optimal contact pressure between the turnstile and the book page, as well as to exxamine the bending stiffness, coefficient of friction, and the mechanical characteristics of paper. To achieve the stated goals, experiments are proposed to test a variety of paper materials and book sizes, and to develop computer models that will help in parametric studies of the design. The experimental and computational results will be validated with the standard test methods recommended by the U.S. Trade Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) and Japan Industrial Standards (JIS). The results of this investigation will allow the company to optimize the design and thereby improve the performance and reliability of the page turner. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of assistive home-care technology for the elderly and disabled. A page turner would be particularly beneficial to people with limited bilateral upper extremity function caused by neurological impairment, musculoskeletal problems, and generalized weakness. The proposed device would serve to enhance their quality of life by improving their independence in this activity of daily living. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schipper, Irene PAGEFLIP NY Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0215192 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Biosensor for Label-Free, Real-Time Monitoring of Environmental Pathogens. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I Project proposes to develop a microarray-based biosensor for on-site, real-time identification and enumeration of multiple environmental microorganisms from aqueous and/or aerosol samples with high sensitivity and specificity. The operation of the biosensor will be based on a recently developed novel technology involving grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance (GCSPR). The proposed biosensor system, with the capability for continuous on-line monitoring, would have numerous applications where rapid assessment of a contaminated environment would be needed. The specific objectives of the Phase I project are (a) to engineer the manner in which aerosol and aqueous samples will be delivered to the GC-SPR biosensor flow cell, and (b) to assess and optimize the performance of the biosensor in the detection of a prototype microbial target. In the follow-on Phase II project, specific target pathogens will be selected and specific chips will be constructed to detect these pathogens. The commercial applications of this project are expected to be in a large number of locations. They include (1) hospitals, where nosocomial infections may arise; (2) office buildings, where accidental contamination with mold spores, Legionella and other pathogens may create health hazards; (3) natural bodies of water or commercial water supplies, where Cryptosporidium, coliform bacteria and several other waterborne pathogens are of great concern ; and (4) the food industry, where there is a need for sensitive methods for on-line and real-time detection of pathogens. Finally, the proposed technology will provide for rapid, on-site detection of biological agents, such as spores of Bacillus anthracis, that may be intentionally introduced into the environment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fernandez, Salvador CIENCIA INC CT Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215196 July 1, 2002 STTR Phase I: Transgenic Plants for Metals Phytoremediation. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to study the feasibility of a phytoremediation process to remove lead, a model metal, from the soil. The approach is to increase the efficiency of chelate-assisted phytoremediation of environmental contaminants by using transgenic technology to provide plants with the ability to exude significant amounts of a specific chelating agent from their roots. Isolated from the DNA of the organism pseudomonas stutzeri, this chelating agent, pyridine-2,6-bis (thiocarboxylic acid) (ptdc), has the ability to degrade carbon tetrachloride and to attain high stability constants for most heavy metals, thereby assisting preferential plant uptake of these metals into harvestable leaves and stems. In this Phase I project, the pdtc transgene will be placed under the control of plant promoters to overexpress the gene in roots. ptdc excretion will be explored in two model plants, tobacco and canola. The commercial application of this project is in the area of environmental phytoremediation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Blaylock, Michael EDENSPACE SYSTEMS CORP VA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 1505 BIOT 9181 5371 1505 0313040 Water Pollution 0215197 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Polymer Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells with Frozen p-i-n Junctions. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is structured around the design, synthesis of new organic electroluminescent (OEL) materials, and their innovative applications in fabricating frozen-junction polymer light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) - an alternative to organic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) displays. Reveo has identified the OEL display as the most promising display technology of the future and the solution that best meets the new demands for bright, portable displays. These bright, thin displays will eventually replace expensive flat panel liquid crystal displays (LCDs), but they have not yet seen huge commercial success because of the poor OEL materials and non-optimized device fabrication techniques. The mission of this program is therefore to develop, optimize, and commercialize new OEL materials and devices that will make OEL displays the new market standard in the multi-billion dollar display market. LECs fabricated with these new materials are predicted to have high luminescence efficiency, high brightness, and longer lifetime compared with current OEL displays. The new materials thus have excellent commercial potential as the enabling technology behind the next generation of full-color, low-cost, flat panel OEL displays. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Shujun Reveo Incorporated NY Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99652 5371 MANU 9146 9102 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215206 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Hybrid Microelectromechanical (MEMS) Driven Tunable Optical Filter Technology. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I objective of this project is to develop an integrated wafer-scale, high-speed tunable filter technology for high-bit-rate fiber optic networks. Specifically, the feasibility of developing a wafer-scale array of innovative Fabry-Perot tunable filters for use in either the transmitter or the receiver of a communications system is explored. The operating voltage of the filters is designed to be in the range of 0 - 40 volts, the scanning times are less than 0.1 milliseconds and the filtering wavelength region between 2.5 and 5 m. In Phase I, the innovative tunable filter will first be prototyped in a small array (88 pixels), and in Phase II it will be scaled to a 3232 module that will be driven by an active matrix high voltage VLSI chip. In the Phase II work these filter arrays will be integrated directly onto the surface of VCSEL arrays and detector arrays (to be supplied by one of our corporate partners) to form a pre-aligned rugged and compact package. This novel MEMS-based tunable filter array will find applications in fiber-optic telecommunication systems, and in low-cost, high-performance remote sensing instruments and spectrometers SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wu, Xingtao Optron Systems Inc MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99998 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215207 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Cell-Based Microfluidic Platform for Drug Discovery. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to design and construct a novel cell-based microfluidic platform for the discovery and development of therapeutic drugs. Utilizing state-of-the-art microfabrication techniques, micro-sensor and controller design, fluid handling and cell culturing techniques, the project seeks to address the shortcomings and bottlenecks of current biopharmaceutical drug discovery and development processes. The specific project objectives include the design and fabrication of micro-scale bioreactors for microbial and mammalian systems as well as the design and construction of a microfluidic cell culture media and gas handling system. These components will be integrated into a highly parallel and completely automated platform of cell culturing devices. These devices have the potential to introduce a new paradigm that would streamline the development of new cellular products for therapeutic applications. The commercial applications of this project will be in the area of drug discovery and development. Automation and parallelization of the drug discovery process will allow for increased efficiency in drug time to market as well as offer the opportunity to extend research efforts to areas that had previously been limited by manpower constraints. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schreyer, Brett BioProcessors Corporation MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99938 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215211 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Ytterbium-Doped Stoichiometric Lithium Niobate for Self-Frequency Conversion Lasers. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the potential of new sources of laser radiation based on ytterbium (Yb) doped stoichiometric lithium niobate (SLN) crystals. The Yb-doped SLN crystal will serve as both the laser and nonlinear frequency converter to enable the production of a broad range of wavelengths in a simple, compact device. As an active lasing ion, Yb has the advantages of efficient diode pumping, low thermal loading, and minimal reabsorption of laser radiation. This laser radiation can be converted to various wavelengths of interest via nonlinear optical effects that are intrinsic to lithium niobate. Recent developments in quasi-phase matching techniques in lithium niobate have increased both the efficiency and range of wavelengths that can be generated by nonlinear optical frequency conversion. The use of stoichiometric lithium niobate over conventional congruent lithium niobate leads to greater ease in fabrication of quasi-phase matched structures via electric field poling, and higher power handling capabilities. The combined advantages of Yb lasing, quasi-phase matched frequency conversion, and fabrication and power handling of SLN in one single crystal will enable the realization of new sources of laser radiation at wavelengths not currently available. This will make possible new lasers characterized by lightweight, compact construction, efficient operation, and spectral versatility. Commercial applications include the development of eye safe lasers for non-laboratory environments such as range finders, laser surveying and mapping, and pollution monitoring. Significant medical applications also may exist. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wechsler, Barry NOVA PHASE INC NJ Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99954 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215214 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Integrated Optoelectronic Circuits. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes the development of integrated optoelectronic circuits through a novel integration process. These devices will be hybrid electronic/optical elements embedded in an integrated platform comparable in size to existing electronic integrated circuits, and will permit the monolithic integration of microelectronic and photonic elements. This project will fabricate a test 'chip' to demonstrate controllable phase modulation on the sub-micron scale while contemplating the integration of multiple devices onto a single platform to confirm dense integration densities. This approach to integrated optoelectronic circuits to act as an enabling technology for tomorrow's dense optical networks, significantly improve processing speed and computational precision for multiple applications including intra-computer and inter-computer communications, image processing, and increasingly more dense processing platforms. This potential suggests that integrated optoelectronic circuits will have applications in the telecomm industry, the medical imaging device market, and the computing equipment market including, but not limited to, Digital Signal Processors and CPUs for digital communications networks. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kim, Bryan PRESSURE PRODUCTS COMPANY INC WV Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99766 5371 MANU 9150 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215224 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I:Multimodal High-Conductivity Filler for Epoxy Molding Compounds. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will investigate the feasibility of incorporating diamond powder in epoxy molding compounds at high packing densities using optimized multi-modal distributions of diamond powder. The resulting thermalconductivities of these composite encapsulants are expected to be higher than 100 W/mK. Selection of semiconductor molding compounds that exhibit high thermal conductivity are crucial in dissipating heat generated by high-power electronic components, particularly as feature sizes of future chips decrease in size. Most epoxy molding compounds used to encapsulate semiconductors contain fused silica (55-70% by volume) to maintain a compatible thermal expansion coefficient and impart moisture resistance. However, the resulting thermal conductivities of the composite compounds are very low (<3 W/mK). By loading commercial molding epoxies with optimized diamond powder distributions, diamond volume fractions above 65% may be obtained in the epoxy molding liquid with a viscosity compatible with commercial molding processes. The diamond/epoxy molding compound will serve as a upper-limit benchmark material for thermal conductivity and will be used in high-performance microelectronic packaging applications where heat dissipation is critical. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sommer, Jared Sommer Materials Research, Inc. UT Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99987 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215226 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Wireless Infrastructure Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will evaluate a technology capable of meeting the demands of future mobile wireless information systems. The fundamental challenge facing designers of the physical layer of mobile networking solutions is to improve speed, precision, and power efficiency. Athena's proprietary arithmetic technology, which enables engineers to rapidly develop high performance semiconductors, can provide up to 10 times higher performance or up to 10 times less power compared to existing technologies. The Phase I study will evaluate opportunities to apply this arithmetic technology to mobile wireless systems by developing an infrastructure technology targeted for placement between the antenna and the back-end digital processor. The goal of the project is to demonstrate that this infrastructure technology can meet or exceed the industry performance standards in a 250mW, low-power package. The company will be able to rapidly develop high performance, high accuracy, low power solutions for the wireless communications market. Specific applications include use in automobiles where information, audio, navigation, and other services will be linked. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lewis, Michael THE ATHENA GROUP INC FL Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215231 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: New Beta-Glucurondise (GUS) Substrates for Cell Regulation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop commercial uses for conjugates capable of exploiting cloned gene expression in transformed plant cells to control their growth and physiology. The specific goal of this project is to synthesize a series of new beta-glucuronide conjugates of plant regulatory substances and to test these conjugates for their ability to modify the growth and protein expression of specific tissues and cells expressing the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) marker gene. Conjugates will be assayed in tissue culture and in whole plants for the ability to cause localized cell death in a promoter dependent manner. Such compounds will be of general use for plant research on the control of development and gene expression and have the potential to produce agriculturally important plant species in a reversible manner, through the use of selective application of substrate and choice of reporter gene and promoter elements. The commercial application of this project is in the area of agricultural biotechnology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Naleway, John MARKER GENE TECHNOLOGIES, INC OR Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99973 5371 BIOT 9181 0201000 Agriculture 0215236 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: High Sensitivity, Tunable GaN/AlGaN Multiple Quantum Well UV Photodetectors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is directed toward the development of highly sensitive, solid-state, solar-blind photodiodes based on the group III-nitride material system, aluminum gallium nitride. Ultraviolet detectors are used in water treatment plants, automated arc-welding systems, and the monitoring of atmospheric ozone depletion. The objective of the proposed project is to develop tunable, high efficiency, Gallium Arsenide Nitride/ aluminum gallium nitride multiple quantum well UV photodiodes utilizing sequential resonant tunneling to enhance carrier collection efficiency and detector response time. The multiple quantum well detectors will improve the characteristics of nitride detectors specifically in the solar blind wavelength region. Significant commercial interest has been expressed in this wavelength region for flame detection, ultraviolet photolithography, space and military applications include missile detection. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Dabiran, Amir SVT ASSOCIATES, INCORPORATED MN Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99979 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215237 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Millimeter Wave Transceivers on Large Metamorphic Wafers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will utilize an innovative high output ultraviolet (UV) lithography 0.25 mm T-gate fabrication process to develop high yield and high throughput manufacturing of millimeter-wave monolithic integrated circuit (MMIC) transceivers on 6" substrates. This effort will focus on (1) developing high quality 6" metamorphic wafers for high circuit yield; (2) demonstrate a metamorphic field-effect transistor (FET) using a 0.25 mm T-gate (non-E beam) process, (3) select the key MMIC to combine for high performance transceiver functionality. Successful completing of these objectives will serve as the basis for combining proven MMICs for the design and fabrication of Ka-band and E-Band transceivers. The MMIC technology market has shown great potential for applications in telecommunications (including radar-based systems). Single function MMIC designs require expensive machining and packaging. This effort should to a lower-cost transceiver for the $10 billion MMIC market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Childs, Timothy TLC Precision Wafer Technology MN Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99993 5371 MANU 9146 9102 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215240 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Production of Fullerene Radiopharmaceuticals Using Nuclear Recoil. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Projectproposes to develop methods for producing fullerene radioisotope carriers using the nuclear recoil implantation method. A persistent problem in the safe delivery of radioisotopes to cancer tissue is the premature leakage of the radioisotope and the damage it causes to healthy tissues such as bone marrow. Currently, when radioactive metals are used in the body for diagnostic or therapeutic applications, organic chelates must be employed as carriers for the metal atom. However, current chelates do not bind with 100% efficiency, and potentially toxic radioactive metal atoms can be lost in vivo. Because of their unique cage structure, fullerenes do not suffer this deficiency and offer a novel alternative method for entrapping radioisotopes and producing labeled compounds useful for medical imaging and therapy. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of cancer radioimmunotherapy. Given the recent advances in the design of monoclonal antibodies for targeting cancer and in the clinical successes of several new radioimmunotherapy treatments, the field of radioimmunotherapy is currently poised for rapid growth and commercialization. A superior radioisotope carrier would be a welcome addition to the current arsenal of radiopharmaceuticals. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Alford, John TDA Research, Inc CO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0215247 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: An Innovative Normal Stress Sensor System for Complete Characterization of Polymer Shear Flow Properties. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address the critical need for a commercial rheo-meter that can be used to measure all three shear flow properties of a molten thermoplastic. Currently available commercial rheo-meters can measure at best only two of the three independent shear flow properties, which are the viscosity, first normal stress difference (N1), and second normal stress difference (N2). The objective of the proposed project is to demonstrate proof-of-principle for a novel rheo-meter plate with monolithically integrated miniature pressure sensors fabricated using micro-electro-mechanical systems technology. It will be shown that this novel rheo-meter plate can be used to extend the capabilities of conventional rheo-meters, enabling measurement of all three shear flow properties with greater accuracy than previously possible. The innovative rheo-meter plate will allow smaller sample sizes to be used, with greater control over sample thickness during testing and should lead to better design and control of manufacturing processes with polymeric materials and spectrometers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Baek, Seong-Gi RheoSense, Inc. CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99627 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215253 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Highly Efficient, Long Lifetime, and Inexpensive Nanocrystal Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will explore high efficient, long lifetime and inexpensive light emitting diodes (LEDs) based on semiconductor nanocrystals. The fabrication technology of the semiconductor nanocrystal LEDs is very much similar to the one used for the fabrication of polymer LEDs for commercial purposes. As a result, the commercial potential of the nanocrystal LEDs relays mainly on the optical quality of the nanocrystals. This project design adopts two recent technologies, which yields semiconductor nanocrystals with extremely high emission efficiency and exceptional chemical and thermal stability. The dendron ligand technology provides nanocrystals with exceptional stability against the chemical processing and the thermal effect in the operation of the devices. The nanocrystals synthesized using the bright point concept produces unprecedented optical quality, about 80 percent photoluminescence quantum yield, 23-27 nm emission full peak width at half maximum, and tunable emission window from 450-700 nm. With those high optical quality and highly processable semiconductor nanocrystals, it is possible that a new generation of semiconductor nanocrystal LEDs, which have at least compatible performance to the polymer LEDs, but with low cost and continuous tunable and narrow emission profile. The commercial potential of the polymer LEDs and nanocrystal LEDs will highly depend on the lifetime and the cost of the devices. Nanocrystal LEDs possess nearly all of the advantages of polymer LEDs, but with significantly more tunable and narrow emission profile. At this stage, the commercial standard for the lifetime of the polymer LEDs is around several thousand hours. The commercial goal this project is to boost the performance of the nanocrystal LEDs to at least the level of that of polymer LEDs. The usage of those devices is on portable electronic devices, such as portable computer and cellular telephone. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Yongqiang NANOMATERIALS AND NANOFABRICATION LABORATORIES AR Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99972 5371 1505 MANU 9150 9146 5371 1505 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215254 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: A New Scale-Up Technology for Industrial Production of High Quality Semiconductor Nanocrystals. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project intends to develop a new technology for the industrial production of high quality semiconductor nanocrystals. Semiconductor nanocrystals are nanometer sized fragments of the corresponding bulk crystals, which have shown great potential for a variety of electronic and optoelectronic applications. At present, all of those commercial applications rely on the availability of high quality semiconductor nanocrystals on a large scale with an affordable price. The new design maximizes the power of the existing batch synthetic schemes developed in academic institutions, although it possesses a continuous production nature. In this way, the quality and the quantity of the resulting nanocrystals are both guaranteed and the optimization of the production is minimized. The proposed technology should be extendable to the industrial production of other types of colloidal nanocrystals as long as the related batch synthesis is available. The commercial value of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals in the field of electronic and optoelectronic applications lies on large area display, portable electronic devices, imprinting of integrated circuits, solar cells, etc. A multi-billion dollar market for the production of those electronic devices is in rapid development. For all of those devices, colloidal nanocrystals with an affordable price play a vital role, and will have a significant share of the market. It can be predicted that the success of any of those active commercial developments will open an economically significant market for the production of high quality semiconductor nanocrystals. It is also true that the existence of a commercial production technology with an affordable price will promote all of those commercial efforts on electronic and optoelectronic applications of nanocrystals. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Wang, Yongqiang NANOMATERIALS AND NANOFABRICATION LABORATORIES AR Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99746 9150 MANU 9150 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215258 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Vacuum Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Ellipsometer for Semiconductor Lithography. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will test a novel method for Vacuum Ultraviolet (VUV) spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) measurements for process control and monitoring in semiconductor lithography applications. It builds on the demonstrated success of employing planar grating diffraction to achieve SE measurements in the visible wavelengths. For SE measurements in the VUV, it is necessary to employ conical diffraction geometries which do not require sheet-type polarizing elements in the detection system. This permits the construction of a Conical Diffraction- Grating Division of Amplitude Photopolarimeter (CD-GDOAP) that is the analyzer/detection system in the VUV-SE. By intercepting four or more dispersed orders of the cone of diffraction, a CD-GDOAP can measure the polarization state of light over the full spectrum in the VUV with no moving parts. The VUV-SE will: (i) operate in the 140-280 nm spectral range, (ii) have no moving parts, and (iii) provide high temporal resolution. In Phase I, we propose to characterize the performance of a laboratory breadboard CD-GDOAP by investigating (i) conical diffraction geometries, (ii) robustness of polarization detection, and (iii) performance of optical components in the VUV. If successful, it will lead to a compact, high-speed VUV-SE for use in semiconductor processing. Potential Commercial Applications of the Research The proposed SE based on CD-GDOAP will permit real-time measurements for VUV lithography applications at 157, 193, and 248 nm in a single instrument. Presently there are no commercially available instruments (used in production facilities) that can access all of these wavelengths. Successful completion of this project will ensure rapid entry into the marketplace, through the business relationship that CRI is developing with major semiconductor metrology equipment companies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hampton, Daniel Containerless Research, Inc. IL Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215267 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Study, Evaluation and Prototype of a Continuous Flow Reactor and Size-Selection Chromagraphic Scheme for Use in High Throughput Manufacture of Silicon Nanoparticles. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop a high volume manufacturing technology for the production of InnovaLight's highly advanced silicon nanocrystal technology. InnovaLight has discovered a highly controlled way to make high quality, uniform, and stable silicon nanocrystals with novel properties based on original research at The University of Texas. This is a very important discovery, as the unique properties of these nanocrystals will enable a host of large commercial applications. However, in order to capture this value, a high-volume manufacturing scheme will need to be developed from the current low-volume, batch process. The ability to produce high volumes of crystals that are favorably characterized for use in electronic components will enable their cost-effective use in a host of electronics applications. Potential commercial markets include use as pixels for use in high-resolution, low-power flat panel displays on computers and electronic instrumentation panels. The crystals can also be made to emit a tightly confined, coherent stream of light. This opens them up to use as lasers for short reach optical communications, terahertz-speed optical chips, smart cards, etc. The crystals also have extremely unique charging behavior that enables their usage in advanced, multi-level memory chips. Such chips would have an order of magnitude increase in capacity over existing chips. Lastly, the non-toxic nature of silicon, coupled with the highly controlled surface chemistry of InnovaLight's process, opens these crystals up to many biotech uses such as in vivo cancer cell detection and oblation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wiacek, Robert INNOVALIGHT, INC MN Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99960 5371 MANU 9148 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215279 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Biocompatiblization of Charged Vesicles and Colloids. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will test the feasibility of new drug delivery applications arising from Advanced Encapsulation's patented method of lipid membrane encapsulation. This passive method has demonstrated the ability to encapsulate nearly any object of colloidal dimensions at relatively high yield under gentle conditions. Specifically, no other technique has been reported which encapsulates interior vesicles intact and having a composition distinct from the outer membrane. Cationic vesicles and iron oxide nanoparticles are all known to have poor compatibility with blood environments resulting in rapid aggregation and/or clearance. However, these materials have shown great promise in vitro for various biomedical applications including medical imaging, controlled release, and localized delivery via magnetic fields. This project will test the encapsulation and separation efficiency as well as the stability of these materials in bovine serum and/or plasma. Based on the successes of liposomes in intravenous drug delivery, and on the physics of macromolecular interactions, liposomal encapsulation should engender biocompatibility to both classes of materials in question. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of pharmaceutical drug delivery. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kisak, Edward Advanced Encapsulation, Inc CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0215288 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Development of Novel Enzymatic Antibiofilm Formulations. 0215288 Barton This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project proposes to develop alternative biofilm control products for preventing biofilm accumulation on a wide range of household, industrial, and medically relevant surfaces. Biofilm formation in industrial water systems leads to poor system performance, to accelerated biocorrosion, and to increased maintenance expense. Microbial colonization of food processing equipment and medical devices poses a serious health threat when biofilms harbor pathogenic organisms. Toxic biocides, even at high concentrations, often fail to control problematic biofilms. The efficacy of traditional antimicrobial agents would be greatly improved if used in conjunction with biofilm degrading enzymes. This Phase I project will identify promising biofilm matrix- hydrolyzing enzyme candidates. The follow on Phase II project will develop enzyme products that are stable in the presence of chemical biocides and a variety of adverse reaction conditions. These enzyme formulations will eventually be tested against mixed-species biofilms. The commercial applications of this project are in a number of areas, including water distribution systems, food processing equipment, industrial machinery and medical devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Barton, Nelson Diversa Corporation CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 98334 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215289 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Xenon 3D Detector for Gamma Ray Astronomy. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will seek to achieve a quantum leap in sensitivity of gamma ray astronomy in the 100 keV to 10 MeV region through development of a novel high pressure xenon (HPXe) detector element for imaging the region of interest. This development will incorporate (1) a cost-effective means of containing HPXe safely up to pressures of 3240 psig, (2) innovative means of measuring the spatial coordinates of gamma ray interactions within the HPXe detecting element for high quality spatial and angular measurements, and (3) novel methods of realizing the optimal spectroscopic properties of HPXe at a density of 0.55 g/cm3 to achieve an energy resolution approaching 0.45% at 1 MeV. A large array of such detecting elements could provide the ideal detector for a next generation HPXe Compton gamma ray telescope, having an angular resolution of a few tenths of a degree and providing a hundred-fold increase in sensitivity over that predicted for the upcoming Integral (SPI) satellite gamma observatory. A scaled down version of such a telescope could also be used for regional neutron activation analysis of the Martian surface, remote detection applications, or an excellent alternative to HPGe detectors currently used in laboratory settings. The anticipated outcome of this project is a new basic detector element, which can be used for a variety of space physics, field detection, and laboratory applications. The physical characteristics of such a detector combined with an order of magnitude improvement in energy resolution make it well suited for gamma detection in the 100 keV to 5 MeV band aboard satellite or balloon-borne instruments. Another very exciting application of this technology is a spectrometer for detection of radiation emitted as a result of neutron activation of the Martian surface. Such research could provide important data regarding planetary soil composition. In addition to astrophysics applications, a high energy resolution detector element based on high pressure xenon cylindrical detectors has significant commercial potential as a replacement for HPGe because the requirement of cryogenic cooling is eliminated, resulting in greater convenience and broader applicability. HPGe is currently employed in many laboratory settings, and the proposed technology could offer a cheaper and much more convenient alternative. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lacy, Jeffrey PROPORTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES INC TX Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215292 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Efficient Si-based Light Emitting Diodes and Lasers via Wafer-bonded Quantum Dot Arrays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will provide an inexpensive, highly-scaleable process technology to create high-brightness, short wavelength, silicon-based LEDs (light emitting diodes) and laser diodes. We will utilize a biological template technology, developed at the University of Colorado, combined with proprietary Astralux expertise to prepare an array of silicon nanoparticles (quantum dots) that will emit visible light. In Phase I, we will demonstrate the feasibility of creating the device structure . This device will have the advantage of being compatible with on-chip silicon processing. These devices can be used in optical storage (such as read/write compact disks), printing applications (laser printers), full-color displays (laptop computer screens) and indicators (traffic lights), medical applications, and white light emitting diodes for replacing incandescent light bulbs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Treece, Randolph ASTRALUX, INC. CO Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215296 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Self-Imaging Fibers for High Power Optical Beams. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will investigate self-imaging in fiber structures, and determine feasibility of developing two classes of novel device: highly efficient, near diffraction-limited rare earth ion-doped glass lasers and amplifiers, and high power/energy fibers for transport, routing and coupling of diffraction-limited beams. Conventional single mode fiber lasers can deliver similar performance at low power/ energy, but higher power systems require larger fiber apertures, leading to multi spatial mode propagation. Self-imaging accesses a new operating regime for guided wave devices, enabling diffraction-limited power scaling of lasers and beam-transport fibers. In comparison, bulk lasers are less efficient, and more susceptible to thermo-optic distortions. The self-imaging proof-of-concept has been demonstrated in a 16W planar waveguide laser fabricated from diffusion-bonded crystals. However, that approach is not well suited to fabricating 2-dimensional waveguides where 4 separate polishing/bonding steps are needed. Application of this work would be the design and development of optimized waveguides for the telecommunications industry. The end product would be an integrated product with improved optical characteristics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mckinnie, Iain COHERENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC CO Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99858 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215299 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Preventive, Corrective, and Emergency Control for Equipment Outages Producing Voltage Collapse and Blackout. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an autonomous method for curing voltage collapse and blackout in a power system that may occur when a loadflow has no solution. This method will identify over 100 different voltage collapse problems in a system when current methods may only detect two or three. It can find 1000 or more double equipment outages that have no loadflow solution that are unknown due to the overwhelming computation required to find them. For each such equipment outage that has no loadflow solution, the method will determine (a) if the lack of solution is due to loadflow algorithm convergence problems or not; (b) which of the over 100 voltage collapse problems is producing the blackout; (c) whether the lack of solution is due to insufficient sufficient reactive supply and the corrective or preventive control that would enable a loadflow solution to be found; (d) whether the lack of solution is due to network reactive losses that require reduction in load(emergency control) to enable a loadflow solution to be found; (e) the corrective and/or emergency controls that require very few control changes because it depends on the structure of the subsystem that initiates the blackout. the method would be used in design, scheduling, and in on-line control of power systems. Currently, it takes an average of 15 hours of engineering manpower/ computation time to obtain a solution and in many cases no solution can be found. The proposed method can be expected to obtain a preventive, corrective or emergency control solution for every equipment outage that has no solution in seconds and without human intervention. It accomplishes the task because it learns and acquires knowledge of the structure of the system that produces cascading instability that is voltage collapse and that produces blackout. This project has substantial commercial potential by reducing blackouts and the economic and societal costs associated with power interruption. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schlueter, Robert INTELLICON INC MI Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99900 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215304 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Automated 2D Protein Cell Mapping. 0215304 Syage This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project proposes to test a method for conducting high-throughput, automated analysis of the protein content of cell lines using a novel mass analyzed 2D liquid-phase separation technique. The conventional method of 2D PAGE (Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis) has several limitations. It is labor intensive, time consuming, difficult to automate and often not readily reproducible. In addition, quantitation, especially in differential expression experiments, is often difficult and limited in dynamic range. The proposed technology provides automated, faster, and more accurate 2D protein maps, and can be used to purify specific proteins and enact protein/peptide digest and sequencing information. These capabilities will prove valuable for studying drug-protein interactions for detecting early signs of cancer. Studies of cancer cell lines can reveal signatures of cancerous cells that can serve as markers for actual diagnosis. The proposed system is based on 2D liquid-phase protein separation using chromatofocusing (CF) in one dimension and non-porous silica, reverse-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography (NPS-RP HPLC) in the second dimension. The HPLC eluent is monitored in real-time by on-line electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS) to provide molecular weight and intensity information. The commercial application of this project is in the area of proteomics. This market is forecasted to grow from $0.7 billion to $5.8 billion over the next 5 years. There is a tremendous need to develop automated methods of protein analysis of cell lines to better understand whole system biological function for improved drug therapy and early detection of disease, such as cancer. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Syage, Jack SYAGEN TECHNOLOGY INC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99906 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0215305 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: A Planar Excimer Lamp for Electronic Device Manufacturing. This Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is directed to the development of a novel planar excimer lamp. This lamp design offers numerous potential advantages over conventional cylindrical coaxial lamps which includes high irradiance (>100 mW/cm2), uniform area illumination, compact size, improves cooling, longer life, and lower cost. This lamp will be designed to be easily integrated able in tools used in the manufacture of electronic devices. Excimer lamp applications include in-situ reticule cleaning, in-situ pre-deposition cleaning, photochemical vapor deposition, and UV curing. Conventional UV lamps are inadequate for these tasks. Excimer lasers, which can easily illuminate a large field size, are often inadequate at integrating into a production tool, and have a very high cost of ownership. Three goals has been established to guide this work in: 1) design and fabricate a planar excimer lamp with novel electrode structure and lamp cell design, 2) evaluate the area uniformity of the narrow band excimer emission, and 3) measure the UV spectra, radiant power output, and efficiency of the lamp filled with KrCl* (222 nm) or XeCl*(308 nm). The technology, once successfully developed, will be used the semiconductor manufacturing industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Boyers, David Phifer Smith Corporation CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215308 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Overexpression of Membrane Proteins from Hyperthermophilic Bacteria by a Novel Expression System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel membrane protein expression system using hyperthermophilic bacteria that are capable of synthesizing a vast amount of membrane proteins and supporting extensive internal membrane structures. Membrane proteins are of significant medicinal value. However, efforts to study membrane proteins are often hampered by their low level of biosynthesis. An efficient membrane protein overexpression system will facilitate the biochemical and biophysical characterization of such proteins. In this project, self-replicating expression vectors, genome integrative vectors and mini-viral genome vectors will be constructed and explored for the expression of hyperthermophilic membrane proteins. To establish the general applicability of the system, the expression of various membrane proteins of different size, structure, and function will be examined. The system, once properly developed, will allow the economical mass production of hyperthermophilic membrane proteins essential for large-scale structural genomics effort as well as for specific industrial applications. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of Structural Genomics Research. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nguyen, Hiep-Hoa TransMembrane Biosciences CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0215309 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: 3-D Photonic Band Gap Materials and Devices from Self-organized Anodic Alumina with Modulated Morphology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project seeks to develop and commercialize novel types of 3D microphotonic materials and devices for the visible spectrum. Despite the significant amount of research performed on photonic bandgap materials in the past decade, an approach to create full 3D photonic crystals in the visible region that could combine high performance with low cost manufacturability has remained a largely unobtainable goal. This breakthrough approach is enabled by an unique ability to precisely modulate the vertical pore structure in highly ordered nanoporous alumina, which can allow the confinement of light not just in-plane, but in 3 dimensions. The process will allow tuning of the photonic characteristics of the material, in particular the bandgap, to the desired levels. Several innovative techniques to deposit materials inside the nanoporous lattice will afford both lateral and vertical modification of the refractive index of the structure. This, combined with the ability to micromachine the resulting structures, will enable the creation of advanced microphotonic and optoelectronic devices and components for optical communications and computing. The techniques proposed could lead to the creation of dense monolithic photonic and optoelectronic components and circuits for very high speed optical computing and communication. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Routkevitch, Dmitri Nanomaterials Research LLC CO Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215322 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Electrowetting Micro Optical Switch Array. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is aimed at developing a micro optical switch array that implements the principle of electro-wetting-on-dielectric, a liquid micro-actuation mechanism based on the electrical control of surface tension on dielectric surfaces, for use in optical telecommunications and optical computing. While MOEMS devices move solid micro-mirrors, liquid actuation is attractive because of the compactness of the device and absence of the stiction problem inherent in solid-solid surface contact. Currently, a couple of companies use liquids for their optical devices. Compared with their liquid-based optical MEMS under development, which use thermal energy to move liquid, electrical control of surface tension (i.e., electro-wetting) is especially promising because of its unprecedented energy efficiency (estimated ~10 W during switching with < 30 V) and reliability. Unlike other electro-wetting principles the proposed electro-wetting-on-dielectric driving promises high speed and long-term reliability, which are critical for commercial success. The electro-wetting-on-dielectric micro optical switch arrays will find use within any system requiring optical signal routing such as optical computers, optical instrumentation, distributed sensors, and medical monitoring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG de Guzman, Peter-Patrick Core MicroSolutions, Inc. CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 99200 5371 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215327 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Innovative Materials for Thermal Management. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will enable a 2-fold increase in conductivity for products without sacrificing power or capability. Recently, a new high thermal conductivity material has been produced using CVD fluid bed coating process and low cost consolidation techniques. The realization of improved electronic substrates is dependent on the increases in thermal conductivity over standard materials. Though high conductivity materials have been identified, consolidating these materials in a cost effective and durable manner has remained illusive. The encapsulation of materials prior to consolidation has aided the durability and low cost processing. The innovation in this program is to improve the encapsulated materials being produced, and potentially develop even greater and distinctly different physical properties additional development of the encapsulated powder/consolidation process is necessary. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will enable a 2-fold increase in conductivity for products without sacrificing power or capability. Recently, a new high thermal conductivity material has been produced using CVD fluid bed coating process and low cost consolidation techniques. The realization of improved electronic substrates is dependent on the increases in thermal conductivity over standard materials. Though high conductivity materials have been identified, consolidating these materials in a cost effective and durable manner has remained illusive. The encapsulation of materials prior to consolidation has aided the durability and low cost processing. The innovation in this program is to improve the encapsulated materials being produced, and potentially develop even greater and distinctly different physical properties additional development of the encapsulated powder/consolidation process is necessary. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Baker, Dean POWDERMET INC OH Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 98144 5371 MANU 9146 9102 0110000 Technology Transfer 0215328 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase I: Cartilage Repair by Autologous Tissue Engineered Implant. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to define methodology to facilitate the growth of engineered cartilage tissue. Recent studies have demonstrated that the alginate recovered chondrocyte (ARC) method can be used to stimulate isolated adult articular chondrocytes in vitro to form viable cartilaginous tissue with good physicochemical properties. The innovation of this work is that it describes for the first time a method in which the cells from articular cartilage from skeletally mature animals can be used to form engineered tissues in vitro. The overall hypothesis of the proposed project is that tissue, engineered using the ARC method, can be used for long-term repair of full thickness cartilage defects. Initial experiments have shown promise in producing ARC tissue as both an allograft (from a donor) and an autograft (from self). The purpose of this proposal is to advance current ARC technology for use as an autograft procedure to repair full thickness cartilage defects in swine. At various times before and after transplantation, the biochemical composition, histological appearance and functional properties will be assessed and related to one another. The data will help determine the feasibility of using the ARC method for the repair of injured or diseased cartilage tissue. The commercial application of this project is in the area of articular cartilage repair The incidence of articular cartilage injury is estimated to be approximately 27,200 cases per year. The proposed research will lead to a commercial method for production of tissue for surgical implantation to repair articular cartilage defects. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pfister, Brian Articular Engineering, LLC IL Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0215552 August 15, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase II: Engineered Zeolite Catalyst for Paraffin Alkylation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project aims to develop a step-out technology for paraffin alkylation to produce high-octane clean gasoline. Conventional alkylation processes require large volumes of corrosive liquid acids, which can inflict serious injury via skin contact or inhalation. The new alkylation process will be fundamentally safer and cleaner, reducing the use and generation of toxic chemicals. It uses a first-of-a-kind engineered zeolite catalyst that is environmentally benign and eliminates the risks associated with liquid acids while producing alkylate of comparable quality. The new catalyst promises significantly improved yields and selectivities, minimizing waste by-products and disposal problems associated with liquid acids. The engineered zeolite catalysts can be used most effectively for liquid phase alkylations of paraffins and aromatics, such as the production of high-octane alkylate, and industrially important petrochemicals such as cumene and ethylbenzene. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Mukherjee, Mitrajit Exelus, Inc. NJ Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 512000 5373 AMPP 9251 9178 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215672 August 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Advanced Question Answering. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is developing an advanced questions answering (QA) system with the use of innovative natural language processing (NLP). The specific areas addressed by this project are: (1) a true open-domain, high precision QA system optimized for commercial deployment; (2) distributed processing that provides an unprecedented QU system response time; and (3) system management and reporting tools for real-time customer feedback. The final product will provide accurate and short answers to questions asked in plain English. The need for this capability is widespread in companies, government agencies, and among individuals. The users may be casual questioners who ask simple factual questions, consumers who look for specific product features and prices, research analysis that collect market, finance, or business information, or professional information analysts such as law enforcement officials searching for very specific information requiring considerable expertise. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Niles, Ian Language Computer Corporation TX Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 750000 5373 HPCC 9215 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0215792 August 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Novel Low Cost Technology for High-Performance Integrated Microcombustor/Evaporator. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is aimed at the continued development of novel microscale combustors/evaporators, which are intended for evaporation of fuel and water in fuel reformers as well as for personal portable heating and cooling systems. The general objective of the Phase II program is to optimize and scale up a technology for microchannel combustor/evaporators demonstrated in the Phase I and to develop a compact device, which could generate at least 25- 30 watts of thermal energy per square centimeter of heat transfer area and transfer that energy to fluid with efficiency greater than 85 percent. Innovative fabrication technology and a new microreactor concept were combined to create a highly efficient device, which uses hydrogen or hydrocarbon fuel combustion for heating and/or boiling working fluids. Conditions of heat transfer and combustion of hydrogen and methane in microchannel combustor/evaporators will be determined and optimal design of the microscale device will be established. Potential commercial applications include lightweight, safe and high performance microcombustors for microturbines, man-portable microheaters for cold climates, man portable cooling microsystems for hot climates, on-board fuel processors for hydrogen generation, distributed space conditioning of buildings, etc. Utilization of microchannel combustor/evaporators for these applications will result in increase of energy efficiency, reduction of air pollution and enhancement of life quality. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Tuchinskiy, Lev Materials and Electrochemical Research Corporation (MER) AZ Deepak G. Bhat Standard Grant 643000 5373 MANU 9147 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215797 August 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Nonintrusive Diode Laser Sensor for Bottled Drugs. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is designed to develop a nonintrusive diode laser sensor for detecting oxygen in the headspace of pharmaceutical vials. Many drugs are oxygen sensitive and must be bottled in an oxygen free environment. There are no nonintrusive methods available to measure residual oxygen levels in sealed product vials. A nonintrusive sensor would generate large cost savings for pharmaceutical manufacturers. During the Phase II project, a prototype off-line instrument will be constructed. This instrument will be tested at pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. In addition if time permits, on-line experimental measurements will be performed. In addition to being useful for the pharmaceutical industry, this technology will be extendable to a variety of packaged products in other industries. These industries include the food, alcoholic beverage, and medical instrument markets. This technology can also be used to detect other species in packaged products such as water vapor or carbon dioxide. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Paige, Mark Southwest Sciences Inc NM Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 500000 5373 MANU 9150 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215816 July 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: High Rate Synthesis of Highly Reactive Solvated Metal Atom Dispersion Nanoparticles. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project focuses on the development and implementation of a Solvated Metal Atom Dispersion (SMAD) technique to support high rate production and commercial application of metal nanoparticle materials. Synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticle colloids for commercial use in the health care industry will be pursued as part of the proposed effort; the SMAD synthesis method will be optimized for commercial-scale manufacturing of gold and silver colloids. This approach yields high purity colloids, free of unwanted byproducts and ready for further processing without the cumbersome purification steps characteristic of other synthesis methods. This innovation significantly simplifies the manufacturing process of colloidal products and reduces production cost. The proprietary digestive-ripening step will be scaled up and developed to achieve monodispersion and particle size control of the metal nanoparticles contained in the colloids. Methods for transferring solvent-based colloids into an aqueous environment will be developed. Synthesis steps involved in the manufacturing of colloidal gold and silver will be integrated in a semi-continuous or continuous process. The commercial potential of this project will be for immunological labeling and DNA detection using the colloidal gold solutions. The project offers an alternative-manufacturing route that significantly lowers the cost. Silver-based colloids have potential applications in burn wound treatment or as effective disinfectants and anti-inflammatory agents. The development of SMAD technology will enable high-volume manufacturing of many nanoparticle materials whose availability is currently limited by production inefficiencies. These nanomaterials will support future technologies in industry and find application in both commercial and academic research, as highly reactive catalytic materials, magnetic information storage media, ferrofluids, and magnetic tracers. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Winecki, Slawomir NANOSCALE MATERIALS INC KS Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 499959 9150 5373 AMPP 9163 9150 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215819 September 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Nanomaterial for Microchip Chemical Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project will develop a novel microchip chemical analyzer that incorporates a new nanomaterial that performs both separation and detection of small quantities of chemicals and biochemicals. Phase I demonstrated feasibility by incorporating a proprietary nanomaterial in 20- by 50-micron channels etched in a glass microchip and performing chemical separation and surface-enhanced Raman spectral analysis of several test chemicals. Phase II will complete development of the microchip chemical analyzer by designing reproducible plastic microchip cards that fit into an integrated micro-fluidics and Raman system. Development will include the following chemicals: p-aminobenzoic acid, phenyl acetylene, adenine, acetaminophen, secobarbitol, cocaine, and related metabolites. The microchip analyzer will have broad commercial value to the agricultural, biotech, chemical agents, environmental, medical and pharmaceutical industries. Specifically, the microchip is being designed to measure drugs and metabolites in body fluids to aid clinical trials of new drugs, assist dosage control of chemotherapeutic drugs, and diagnose drug overdose. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Farquharson, Stuart REAL-TIME ANALYZERS, INCORPORATED CT T. James Rudd Standard Grant 514925 5373 AMPP 9251 9178 9163 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215914 August 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Focused Beam Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis Using Doubly-Curved Crystals. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to meet the demand from the microelectronics industry for improved wafer contamination analysis. Wafer contamination control is critical for Ultra Large Scale Integrated (ULSI) technology and there is a strong demand for a non-destructive analytical tool with improved sensitivity and spatial resolution over the conventional total x-ray fluorescence (TXRF) method. A new technique, focused beam TXRF, can meet this important market need. Based on point-focusing toroidal crystal optics, focused beam TXRF will improve the spatial resolution by a factor of more than 100 and provide 30 times better detection sensitivity for local contaminants on Si as compared to the conventional TXRF method. This technique also has potential for low-level Al, Na and other low Z elements analysis on Si that cannot be addressed effectively by the conventional TXRF and other techniques. In this project, preliminary focused beam TXRF data will be collected using WL1 excitation provided by a toroidal Si (220) crystal to demonstrate the improvement of sensitivity and resolution for transition metal detection. Theoretical calculation will be also carried out to determine the feasibility for Al and Na detection for wafer contamination control at 10^ 9 to 10^10 atoms/cm^2 level. Focused beam TXRF analysis has commercial applications in the microelectronics industry for wafer contamination control including localized and homogeneous contaminants with high resolution. These contaminants include many important elements such as transition metals, Al, Na and other low Z elements. By being able to identify these contaminants, the quality of silicon wafers can be improved. This will be a tremendous cost savings to a multi-billion dollar industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Chen, Zewu X-RAY OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC. NY William Haines Standard Grant 999696 5373 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215930 August 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Nonintrusive Species Specific Velocimeter. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a passive, nonintrusive species-specific velocimeter (SSV) that simultaneously measures spatially resolved velocities of multiple species in a flame, sorting the information by species and spatial scale size. The SSV will be geared to spatially resolve the mixing and chemical dynamics occurring within flames, and to track these effects in real time. No instruments are available that can make such measurements passively and non-invasively in a com-pact geometry. The SSV will play a critical role in a novel deposition process, combustion chemical vapor deposition (CCVD). CCVD is a continuous open-air deposition process that is targeting a wide spectrum of thin-film-coating markets, including electronics, glass, anti-corrosives, superconductors, catalytics, polymers, and nanopowders. Phase 1 demonstrated feasibility by measuring spatially resolved, species-specific CCVD flame velocities on different spatial scales. Phase 2 will be a proof-of-principal program to (1) construct an engineering prototype, (2) demonstrate the correlation between SSV data and bottom-line CCVD film properties, and (3) design an SSV-based CCVD controller that can be fabricated economically and commercialized in a privately funded This technology will facilitate smart deposition that streamlines the reliability of CCVD. Incorporated into a CCVD system, the SSV will become the central element of a feedback control module that maintains the consistency of the flame and maximizes deposition efficiency. The commercial market for this technology generates about $50 million annually. This project addresses the interest in advanced control techniques for manufacturing. It supports the development of improved and more reliable coatings that will enhance technology and lower the cost of many common products, e.g. electronic memory devices in computers, appliances, and automobiles. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Flusberg, Allen Science Research Laboratory Inc MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 499158 5373 AMPP 9165 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215960 August 1, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase II: Integration of Electromagnetic Actuation Using VOST Design. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will produce an emission-free control valve to address an industry need for environmentally safe valves. The axially rotated Venturi Off-Set Technology valve will be equipped with a conical seat for internal sealing and a magnetic coupling for leak-proof actuation. The commercial potential of this project will provide the Petroleum industry with valves that are emission-free which will result in a cleaner environment. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Smith, Ronn Big Horn Valve, Inc. WY Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 616844 1505 MANU 9251 9178 9150 9147 5373 1632 0308000 Industrial Technology 0215988 October 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Thermostable Phage DNA Polymerases: Improved Tools for Genomics Research. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop novel DNA polymerase reagents for use in current and developing DNA diagnostic procedures. The approach is to develop thermophilic phage DNA replicases in place of the currently used DNA repair enzymes. The feasibility of this approach was demonstrated during Phase I research. This follow on Phase II project will extend the methods used in Phase I to isolate additional activities, characterize them and develop them as reagents for various amplification platforms. The commercial applications of this project will be in a number of markets that use molecular analysis of DNA. They include the areas of biomedical research, medical testing, genetic identity testing, public health and agriculture. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Schoenfeld, Thomas LUCIGEN CORPORATION WI Gregory T. Baxter Standard Grant 773373 5373 5371 1505 BIOT 9251 9231 9181 9178 9102 0203000 Health 0308000 Industrial Technology 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0216021 September 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Minimal Sensor Signal Processing for Turbine Engine Health Monitoring. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)Phase II project will develop full waveform models and minimal sensor algorithms for the General Dynamics - Advanced Technology Systems (GDATS) eddy current sensor (ECS). These algorithms will enable the practical real-time high performance health monitoring for turbine engines. Current processing techniques could require four or more sensors; however, these approaches do not make use of all the information made available by the ESC. Using the full ECS signature, it is possible, in theory, to estimate integral vibration frequency, phase and amplitude using only a single sensor. The reduction of the number of sensors required in each engine stage could potentially save millions of dollars over the life of the engine. There are no systems commercially available today for continuous health monitoring of gas turbine engines. Once in use, this system will allow pilots to react immediately to critical engine health problems thus avoiding potentially catastrophic engine failures and loss of lives. The minimal sensor algorithms for continuous health monitoring have a large market spanning the aviation industry, as well as the rapidly expanding power industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Teolis, Carole Techno-Sciences, Inc. MD Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 516000 5373 HPCC 9251 9215 9178 9102 7218 1359 0116000 Human Subjects 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0216035 October 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: New Elastomeric Microelectrodes for Improved Neuroprostheses. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is to develop electrically conductive polymer-silicone composite materials for improving the performance of implantable neural prostheses. Prior Phase I study has demonstrated the feasibility of synthesizing electrically conductive polymer nanocomposites with mechanical properties of silicone elastomers. Polymer-based prototype electrical devices were found to be stable toward simulated physiological conditions and cyclic current pulsing. The Phase II program will extend the benefits of these systems to the fabrication of more complex devices such as multi-poled cuff electrodes for chronic peripheral nerve stimulation and recording. An expanded test plan would include development of advanced device fabrication methods and extensive testing of the prototype neural prostheses for electrical response, tissue compatibility, and durability in chronic implantation applications. The optimized elastomeric electrodes will be characterized for biocompatibility, stability and electrical properties. Methodology will be developed for fabricating prosthetic electrodes for extensive in vitro pulsing studies and acute animal testing. Finally, test protocols for the new electrode products will be established in an effort to obtain FDA approval. The commercial applications of this project will be in the area of biomedical devices and systems that serve the needs of disabled individuals following stroke or spinal cord injury. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Keohan, Francis Cape Cod Research, Inc. MA George B. Vermont Standard Grant 522740 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0216042 September 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Innovative Blasting to Eliminate Nitrogen Dioxide Formation While Maximizing Energy Efficiency in Surface Mining. This Small Buisness Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the urgent need to improve control of the blast chemical reaction. These blasts are produced by drilling boreholes into the overburden and filling them with an ammonium nitrate/fuel oil (ANFO) mixture. These explosive charges are then ignited to push the overburden into a previously excavated trench. This Phase II project will complete the design, fabrication, and testing of a prototype detonation system to be deployed in surface mining boreholes to preferentially initiate detonation of the powder column, thus insuring a high efficiency blast without the unwanted release of toxic air pollutants. This project will lead to commercialization of a method of improving the efficiency and environmental quality of the cast blasting technique used by the surface mining. The market for this detonation system is any mining that involves cast blasting, primarily the surface coal mining industry. The United States is one of the two world leaders in coal production with nearly one billion tons of coal being produced in 2001. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Watson, Eugene Industrial Alchemy WY Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 611000 5373 1505 MANU EGCH 9251 9231 9198 9187 9178 9150 9146 9102 1417 1414 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216076 October 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Wireless Firefighter Lifeline. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will demonstrate a capability for locating imperiled firefighters in buildings using wireless technology based on long wavelength signals that penetrate buildings with lower perturbation than observed at higher frequencies. The system is being developed for firefighters (estimated 5 year market of over $150 million) but is useful for any application requiring geolocation in buildings where GPS cannot work. Such applications include tracking personnel and equipment in crisis situations, military combat, inventory management and police and military training. This concept has significant advantages over competing technologies; ultra-wideband solutions pose frequency licensing problems, and man-portable inertial units are bulky, costly and have significant time-dependent errors. The Wireless Firefighter Lifeline (WFL) system is completely mobile and supports multiple firefighters. It complies with Part 15 rules and will not require FCC licenses. Phase II will demonstrate the underlying technology over a wide range of conditions and will produce a prototype system that will serve as the baseline for future system development. It provides extensive commercial and societal benefit, offers performance superior to that of other potential technologies, and is well positioned to attract further funding. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Halsey, James INFORMATION SYSTEMS LABORATORIES INC CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 749977 5373 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0216100 September 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Surface Engineering of Metals with Plasma Polymers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will replace current environmentally damaging metal pretreatment processes with an environmentally benign process whereby the metal surface is etched then coated with a sub-micron film of plasma polymerized SiO2. Current metal pretreatment processes for painting and adhesive bonding perform well, but generate tremendous volumes of wastes, including hexavalent chromium and various inorganic acids. To obtain performance superior to the current state-of-the-art wet chemical surface treatments, the surface chemistry and morphology of the plasma polymerized films need to be tailored for specific interactions with the adhesive. Effects of variables including substrate chemistry, monomer chemistry, and ion kinetic energy on surface chemistry and morphology of plasma polymers will be determined. Then, the effect of the resulting structure on the strength and durability of adhesive joints will be determined. By combining in-situ analytical techniques with accelerated aging and mechanical testing of adhesive specimens, a superior, environmentally benign process based on plasma polymerization will be developed and commercialized. These primers will have well understood morphologies and surface compositions tailored to the adhesive chemistry through control of the deposition conditions and/or chemical derivitization of the plasma polymer surface. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Dillingham, Giles BRIGHTON TECHNOLOGIES GROUP, INC OH Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 519475 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216106 August 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Novel Use of Microspheres In Plasma Display Device. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project continue the development and commercialization of novel plasma display panels which utilize gas filled microspheres (Plasma-spheres) as the pixel elements. The project has six objectives: (a) improve process control of the Plasma-sphere production system, (b) produce Plasma-spheres with optimum properties and characteristics, (d) develop reliable microsphere-electrode configurations, (e) develop a semi-automated process for fabricating Plasma-sphere panels, (f) construct and evaluate prototype plasma-sphere panels, and (g) determine techniques for a fully automated production process. The Plasma-spheres will be produced with a prototype production system built in Phase I. The Plasma-sphere panels will be characterized for operating voltages, current and brightness. As part of the prototype panel construction a reliable method of applying the Plasma-spheres to substrates will be developed. The use of Plasma-spheres will dramatically increase manufacturing throughput, reduce materials cost by half, and eliminate many process steps and expensive specialized machinery which are part of the current plasma panel technology. These cost reductions along with new applications which will result from the availability of an open flexible substrate (e.g., large conformal and panoramic displays), will provide Plasma-sphere panels with a significant competitive edge SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Wedding, Carol IMAGING SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY INC OH T. James Rudd Standard Grant 748578 5373 MANU 9148 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216200 September 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Eddy Current Condition Monitoring of Metallic Flaws Under Surface Coatings Using Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop prototypes of fieldable eddy-current systems with GMR and SDT sensors that can detect defects in metals even with significant lift off from the material under inspection due to such things as thermal barrier coatings. Techniques for maintaining the a constant distance between the eddy-current probe and the conductive surface despite intervening coatings will also be developed in this project. Such a system can be used to lengthen the lifetime of mission critical components such as aircraft bearings, which at present have to be replaced on schedule using rather conservative lifetime estimates. The main commercial application of these systems would be military and commercial aircraft. A simple system capable of rapidly scanning an area would require eddy-current probes that can inspect a large surface in a single pass. Compact and low-power arrays of GMR and Spin Dependent Tunneling (SDT) sensors developed for this program can be used in this application as well as other applications such as nanotechnolgy read heads to read implanted magnetic noise that is extremely difficult to compromise. The implications for more secure forms of identification are clear for the post 9/11 world. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Smith, Carl NVE CORPORATION MN T. James Rudd Standard Grant 499995 5373 MANU 9147 9146 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216212 July 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Supply Chain Management via the World Wide Web. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will further develop a new Flow Path Management System (FPMS) representing an innovation in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) that is more effective than existing supply-chain management software paradigms, incorporates "lean manufacturing" principles, and is more available to smaller manufacturing companies than existing systems in that it can be delivered via the World Wide Web. The software has the potential to reduce inventory by 20% or more in companies with complicated manufacturing operations and/or supply chains. In addition, the software can recommend supply chain planning policies that increase throughput, decrease cycle times, and improve customer service. The commercialization strategy is to use distribution channels: (1) on-site Intranet installations at large companies (2) delivery as a web service via the Internet for smaller companies, and (3) licensing the algorithms to larger ERP/SCM vendors for incorporation in their software suites. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Knight, Thomas Invistics Corporation GA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 1036000 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9147 5514 0107000 Operations Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216213 July 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: A Machine Learning Approach to Approximate Record Matching. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will enhance the company's approximate record-matching software, the Maximum Entropy De-Duper, MEDD(TM) by: 1) Enhancing MEDD's performance using advanced standardization tools to convert data, such as names and addresses, into standard formats; 2) Expanding MEDD's market by matching business names not only person names; 3) Internationalizing MEDD to support Canadian French or Mexican Spanish; 4) Benchmarking MEDD against the competition and developing a methodology to objectively compare matching systems; 5) Reducing MEDD's reliance on training data to ease deployment; producing the best possible "untrained" models that will adapt and improve through client use; 6) Applying the latest advances in machine learning technology to the record-matching problem to increase competitive advantage; and 7) Speeding MEDD word blocking with a fast, innovative memory-resident data-store. MEDD's market includes all business and government entities that store mission-critical information in large databases. The project will yield societal benefits for public health, anti-terrorist efforts, epidemiological research, the U.S. Census, and the data quality of records relating to racial and ethnic minorities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Borthwick, Andrew ChoiceMaker Technologies, Inc. NY Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 880105 5373 HPCC 9215 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0216220 October 1, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase II: Automated Analyzer for Drug Delivery Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a new analytical tool for characterizing drug delivery aerosols and powders. This instrument will be based on a previously developed aerosal mass spectrometer that provides real-time size distribution and chemical composition measurements for aerosol particles. During Phase I research, a new inlet for the aerosol mass spectrometer, allowing detection of particles in the size range relevant to inhalable drug delivery aerosols and powders (2 to 10 mm in diameter), was successfully developed. The key objectives of the Phase II project are : (a) to further improve the collection efficiency for particles in the 2 to 10 mm diameter size range ; (b) to design and construct a sampling apparatus that conforms to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U. S. Pharmacopeia Convention (USP) guidelines for sampling drug delivery aerosols from metered dose inhalers (MDIs) and dry powder inhalers (PDIs); and (c)to develop and to validate an analytical method that meets FDA standards. The commercial applications of this project will be in the area of drug delivery. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Williams, Leah Aerodyne Research Inc MA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 594136 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 9102 7218 0203000 Health 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216231 September 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Scanning Automultiscopic 3-D Visualization System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a scanning automultiscopic 3-D visualization system. Current 3-D systems have very limited field-of-view or require intrusive headgear with head tracking to emulate look-around, and introduce inconsistencies between binocular convergence and eye accommodation. This project will develop a new class of 3-D displays based on proprietary liquid crystal scanner panels that time-sequentially project a large number of perspective images over a wide field-of-view into the view space in front of the display. The device will be a fully functioning full color, high resolution 3-D display system with large screen, large look-around field-of-view with many-perspective-image scanning at a flicker-free rate, using a high speed video projection system. The proposed 3-D system will be used for visualization of multidimensional scientific and medical data, for 3-D design and simulation, training and education of government and civilian personnel in a collaborative 3-D virtual environment, and for telepresence and teleoperation SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Aye, Tin PHYSICAL OPTICS CORPORATION CA Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 749988 5373 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0216240 October 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: A Programming Environment to Enable Engineers to Program Distributed Measurement and Control Networks. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a high level graphical programming environment for distributed measurement and control networks used in industry. Using this environment, an industrial control engineer will be able to describe the desired behavior of his/her system at a high level of abstraction (e.g. 'control motor speed', 'monitor bearing', 'monitor pump') and then "click a button" for the executable distributed application to be generated. In addition, the engineer will be able to monitor the behavior of the executing system at the graphical level to help identify problems. This system will automatically partition the graphical description into components targeted at specific processors on the network based upon the resources required by the algorithm. This functionality will greatly benefit the industrial control engineer, who will be able to focus on algorithm and application development rather than details of hardware and networking realizations. As the commercial potential of distributed approaches are becoming more prevalent in industrial applications, the potential of this software system will grow at a fast rate. For example, 15 network controllers instead of one now manage a Proctor & Gamble diaper manufacturing line. Currently the market for distributed measurement and control is fragmented, with over 60 proprietary process network standards in use. The advent of the IEEE 1451 smart transducer standard creates a huge market opportunity by providing a portable application model that enables development tools, such as those being developed in this project, to be used with the multitude of existing commercial process busses. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sharp, Thomas SHEET DYNAMICS LTD OH Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 479286 5373 HPCC 9251 9215 9178 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0216284 October 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: No Preparation, Flexible, Dry Physiological Recording Electrodes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is to complete the development of a low-cost, no preparation required, flexible dry physiological recording electrode. These electrodes have the potential to significantly improve quality of care and reduce total cost of biopotential signal analysis by reducing the time and preparation required to obtain a good signal and reducing the total cost of fabricating high quality electrodes. The Phase I results showed feasibility of fabricating dry electrode structures on rigid substrates onto low-cost flexible substrates. However, further work is necessary to optimize the fabrication processes and to ensure that the lowest cost and highest performing flexible dry electrode systems and fabrication processes are chosen to establish a solid foundation for future use. The key objectives of this Phase II project include parallel development of two particularly promising fabrication techniques, selection of a single fabrication technique for further development, and testing and evaluation of the capabilities of the dry electrodes in clinical environments. The commercial applications of this project will be in the area of physiological monitoring of patients in a clinical setting. Physiological measurements such as ECG (electrocardiogram), EMG (electromyogram), and EEG (electroencephalogram) are expected to benefit from the use of dry electrodes, in part due to the reduced time and preparation needed to apply the electrodes and in part, due to the elimination of abrasive skin prepping and electrolytic gels in the measurement procedure. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Lisy, Frederick ORBITAL RESEARCH INC OH George B. Vermont Standard Grant 506000 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 0116000 Human Subjects 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216288 July 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Laser Direct-Writing Technique to Produce Integrated Optical Amplifier/Splitter. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase II project will continue the successful work from the Phase I project and develop integrated amplifier/splitters through laser direct writing of wet-chemically derived, erbium-doped coatings. Precursor solutions will be mixed on the molecular level to produce pure and homogeneous materials. Waveguide structures will be written into the erbium-doped fluoride coatings with a laser, which raises its index of refraction to confine light. The erbium-doped channel waveguides will be pumped with a 980 nm source to amplify 1550 nm signals. Markets in which integrated optical devices, such as amplified splitters, can be used total several $100 million. This device will expedite bringing fiber the last mile because it will replace the current serial arrangement of discrete splitters and amplifiers, which is bulky and expensive due to the number of components and interconnects. The proposed integration techniques will also enable optical integrated circuits and next-generation computing. Prototypes will be fabricated during Phase II. TPL has extensive experience in wet-chemical processing and demonstrated ability to commercialize its technologies. The PI is a pioneering researcher of laser-fired, sol-gel derived films. LightPath Technologies will assist TPL with device and marketing development. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Taylor, Douglas TPL, Inc. NM Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 518998 5373 MANU HPCC 9251 9178 9150 9146 9139 9102 7218 0206000 Telecommunications 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216299 September 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Improved Electrodes for Capacitive Deionization. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project will develop improved monolithic carbon electrodes for capacitive deionization. Capacitive deionization technology (CDT) is a new method for purifying ocean and brackish well water. In this process, a constant voltage is applied between two porous carbon electrodes, and soluble salts are collected on their surface, thus purifying the water. The operating costs of CDT are roughly half those of reverse osmosis, the current system of choice. Obtaining a reliable and plentiful supply of clean water is becoming a worldwide problem. From this work, society (both in the U.S. and worldwide) will benefit from an inexpensive method of producing potable water from large existing reserves of brackish (saline) water. Inexpensive mesoporous carbon electrodes could also be used in capacitive deionization for industrial processes such as boiler feed, as well as in electrical energy storage, such as in capacitive energy storage. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Dietz, Steven TDA Research, Inc CO Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 500000 5373 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216309 October 1, 2002 SBIR/STTR Phase II: Microchip-Laser-Based Optical Alloy Analysis Instrument. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project concerns the development of an optical alloy composition sensor based on laser induced plasma spectroscopy. A key element of the sensor is the use of a microchip laser excitation source. The technology has the capability to detect industrially relevant compositions in steel alloys and possibly aluminum alloys. The Phase I results indicated the efficacy of the technique for the analysis of iron alloys. The Phase II project will focus on the development of a small, lightweight and mobile field prototype, which will be able to analyze various alloy samples. The key commercial application of this technology is aluminum and iron scrap metal analysis, substantial market niches which are not effectively covered by existing analysis technology. The major market is for steel and aluminum alloys that have significant components of light elements. These precision instrument currents have sales worldwide in excess of $10 million per year. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Wormhoudt, Joda Aerodyne Research Inc MA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 499957 5373 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216324 September 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Rare Earth-Aluminum Oxide Glass Photonic Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop photonic devices based on a new and proprietary family of rare earth oxide - aluminum oxide glasses, the real glasses, doped with Yb, Tm, and Er oxides. Phase I research showed exceptionally broad emission from Yb 3+, efficient energy transfer in co-doped glasses, and fluorescence lifetimes and spectra of Tm and Er that meet device requirements at high dopant concentrations. Feasibility of scaled-up production of the glasses was demonstrated. The Phase II activities include: collaboration with firms engaged in the glass and optical device business; scaled-up glass synthesis; optimization of dopant concentration and optical properties for devices; and construction and characterization of prototype laser devices. Markets for optical device products are extremely large, multinational, and growing though expanded applications and displaced technologies. The Phase II R&D is focused on lasers, amplifiers, and optical devices for communications, laser surgery, and emerging military applications. The patent position and the absence of complex proprietary interests in the technology place this work in a strong commercial position. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Weber, J.K. Richard Containerless Research, Inc. IL T. James Rudd Standard Grant 767997 5373 MANU HPCC 9251 9231 9178 9146 9139 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216373 September 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Novel Methodology for Purification and Separation of Platinum Group Metals. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is focused on designing a series of extremely efficient metal extraction products (MEPs) with tailor-made properties for specifically extracting and purifying platinum group metal (PGM) anions from acid solutions. Existing PGM recovery and separation methods are complex and expensive. The Phase II project will fully develop the separation and purification of PGMs, scale up the MEP synthesis and expand the scope of the work to launch the technology into PGM recycling market. These novel MEPs will have wide applications in the precious metal refining as well as recycling industries. It is estimated that the total value of precious metal catalysts in spent automobile catalytic reactors in the United States alone is $ 800 million a year. Additionally, these MEPs could also be used in the separation and purification of actinides, such as plutonium, and in the pre-concentration of trace amounts of anions (e.g. chromate, arsenate) to aid in environmental analysis. Modifications of the structure may also lead to the production of highly specific environmental sensors for the in-situ detection of contaminants in groundwater and other aqueous streams. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Singh, Waheguru Lynntech, Inc TX Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 481340 5373 AMPP 9163 1417 1414 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216379 August 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Ultrafast Block Retrieval for Optical Storage. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop and commercialize an ultra fast block data retrieval method for the company's patented chiral film-based optical data storage system. The technology will combine ultrahigh storage capacity with ultra fast retrieval speed. The current retrieval rates of CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and MO technology is inherently limited for applications such as image retrieval for medical diagnosis or target recognition. The company's block retrieval technique is a new method for solving the bottleneck of data retrieval. Using imaging and pattern recognition techniques, data is retrieved in 2D blocks. This retrieval method will result in orders-of-magnitude increases in throughput and increases in storage density. Since the need for high density, high-speed storage is continuing to escalate, there will be a ready market from storage system vendors who supply products to the myriad of industries whose business depends upon volumes of storage and quick retrieval. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Fan, Bunsen Reveo Incorporated NY Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 498950 5373 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0216382 September 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: A Novel, Non-Toxic, General Purpose Oxygen Activated Disinfectant. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop a novel method for on-site and on-demand generation of an extremely potent and safe disinfectant. Phase I research has established the basic feasibility of this unique method to generate the disinfectant, as needed, at appropriate concentrations. The overall objective of the Phase II project is to design, demonstrate, and challenge test a fully operational bench-scale device for on-site and on-demand generation of the disinfectant. Additional work will be done to improve the yield of the disinfectant, to examine various additives, and to conduct antimicrobial experiments in accordance with EPA test requirements. The commercial applications of this project will be in the areas of domestic/personal healthcare, food service and healthcare delivery. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Hitchens, G. Duncan Lynntech, Inc TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 490946 5373 BIOT 9231 9181 9178 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216413 October 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Parallel Processing of Time-Lapse Seismic Data Via the Internet. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project concerns the processing and analysis of time-lapse seismic data on parallel computers, using the Internet to control the processing flow and visualize the results. In recent years, there has been exponential growth in time-lapse seismic project activity. Time-lapse seismic analysis facilitates the management of oil and gas reservoirs by imaging fluid movement in the reservoir over time. The results are used to guide reservoir management decisions-such as where to place a new well or where to inject water, gas, or steam to stimulate hydrocarbon movement-and help maximize the life of both new and existing fields while minimizing recovery costs. The computer algorithms needed to process time-lapse seismic data are complex and require advanced computational hardware-typically multiprocessor Unix workstations or clusters of personal computers-that many potential customers do not have. The proposed innovation will allow customers to process their data on a centralized PC cluster, using the Internet to control the processing and to visualize the results remotely. The proposed innovation will improve the links between the components of the time-lapse seismic workflow, leading to greater understanding and more widespread commercial acceptance of the technology. Potential applications of the research proposed by Fourth Wave Imaging include petroleum industry mapping of by passed oil, monitoring of costly injected fluids, and imaging flow compartmentalization and the hydraulic properties of faults and fractures. Non-petroleum applications include monitoring groundwater reserves, subsurface monitoring of contaminant plumes and environmental clean-up projects. The web-based parallel software system developed for this project could be applied to other computer-intensive fields such as earthquake seismology and medical and satellite imaging. Tools from this web-based software platform such as those for modeling rock physics and seismic data may also be useful for educational purposes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Cole, Stephen Fourth Wave Imaging Corporation CA Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 608687 5373 HPCC CVIS 9251 9178 9139 1038 0109000 Structural Technology 0216422 September 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Nanoparticle Te Inks for Spray Deposition of Submicron Te Contact Layers in CdTe Solar Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is aimed at making Photovoltaic (PV) solar electric power more affordable to our nation and to the world. The technology in this program, represents a new process for the manufacturing of cadmium Telluride (CdTe) solar cells. In this process the contact layers of copper-doped tellurium nanoparticles are sprayed on rather than sputtered, which promises to be a more efficient method of manufacturing. The successful CdTe solar cell prototype will be designed with input from potential end-users as a means of increasing the likelihood for commercialization. It is anticipated that this process will result in solar cells with superior initial and long-term efficiencies. Such improvements in performance could result in reduced costs for solar cell manufacturing ($/W), higher power during operation (kW-h/yr), and an extension of the useful lifetime - three aspects that will allow solar energy to be more competitive with existing methods for electric power production. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Matulionis, Ilvydas CeraMem Corporation MA William Haines Standard Grant 485547 5373 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216489 July 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: A Novel Technique for Polymer Encapsulation of Nanopowders. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will focus on developing polymer coated superparamagnetic nanobeads for isolation of biomolecules; namely cells and nucleic acids. The superparamagnetic nature along with the "nano" size of the particles offers low remnant magnetism, magnetization at low fields, and larger active surface area per unit volume. A proprietary microwave plasma synthesis technique was adopted to reduce these nanospheres and the feasibility of the technique was established during Phase I. Process scale up and extensive cell/DNA isolation testing will be the main R&D objectives for the Phase II project. Industrial partners will evaluate beads produced to evaluate parameters, which are critical for transitioning the technology to an immediate useful product. The commercial potential of polymer coated nanospheres can be used in various separation modules. This technology could also be extended to isolation and detection of pathogens in water. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Sudarshan, T. Materials Modification Inc. VA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 724157 5373 1505 AMPP 9163 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216507 October 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Development of Integrated Fluid/Solid/Bio-Kinetic Simulation Software for the Characterization of Microsphere-based Bio-analytic Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop and customize advanced simulation software for the design and optimization of microsphere and cell-based assays. Current assay design by trial and error is slow, unreliable, expensive, and a bottleneck for multiplexed, high-throughput analysis. Prior Phase I research has successfully established a first-ever, truly integrated (buffer flow, resolved microsphere motion and surface biochemistry) assay design and analysis tool. The objective of the Phase II effort is to further develop the initial models demonstrated in the Phase I effort into a comprehensive, generalized design environment. A suite of bead-surface biochemistry models (enzyme kinetics, multi-step reactions) and including user specifiable surface reaction mechanisms will be developed and fully integrated. In seeking to expand the application to cell-based assays, models for the motion and capture of deformable cells will be created, and detailed flow visualization experiments tracking bead and cell motion as well as assay endpoints in microfluidic channels will be conducted to guide and validate these models. The value of the developed simulation tool will be demonstrated in the proof-of-concept design of a novel microfluidic, cell-based H-filter assay for red-blood cell based aminothiols. The commercial applications of this project will be in the biotechnology and bioassay design markets. Miniaturized, multiplexed, high-throughput, fast, efficient and sensitive assays are a pre-requisite to translating the wealth of data from the human genome and combinatorial libraries into effective therapeutics. The developed software product will enable rational, computer-based design of these bioassays. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sundaram, Shivshankar CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION AL Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 523948 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 9150 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216532 August 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Latent-Reactive Surface Modification Reagents for Biofilm Control. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project continues the development of new thermally activable reagents for bonding microbicidal polymers to inner surfaces of a variety of opaque tubing materials, initiated in Phase I under the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (AM) topic, Surface Engineering subtopic (F). Materials have been developed with bulk physical properties needed for transport of aqueous mixtures; however, the development of biofilm on the wet surfaces is a continuing serious problem in the dental, pharmaceutical, food processing, and marine transport industries. Surface modification of waterlines could decrease the formation of biofilm while retaining the desired bulk properties of the tubing. Photochemistry has been proven commercially successful in enhancing the surface properties of medical devices with radical-based surface modification initiated by RF plasma or ultraviolet light. However, these energy sources are not effective for modifying the inner surfaces of opaque tubes such as waterlines used with dental units and plumbing in pharmaceutical plants. This project is designed to develop latent-reactive radical generators activatible with thermal energy which penetrates these opaque devices. This innovative approach to scheduled activation of radical generators will provide a method to modify inert surfaces which cannot be activated with external light or plasma sources. Microbial colonization and biofilm formation remain a major cost and threat to human health and product quality for dental and pharmaceutical industries, health care and public lodging, and marine vessel utilization. Successful development of microbicidal and antifouling coating technology for the luminal surface of opaque transport and storage vessels for aqueous liquid ingestible products, constitute an incremental market size of tens of millions of dollars, not subject to current commercial coating technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Guire, Patrick SurModics, Inc. MN Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 496893 5373 MANU 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216574 October 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: A High Frequency Beam Steered Electromagnetic Impulse Radar to Locate Human Targets Through Opaque Media. This SBIR Phase II project will develop a through material imaging system that will locate human targets through opaque media. The technology will also provide wide area subsurface sensing for ground probing applications. The phase I results demonstrated that the system has the capability of detecting human targets on the opposite of building walls and through walls of granite over 10m thick. The thrust of the phase II research lies in software development to classify targets in the downrange profile, track targets, and count targets; and hardware development to eliminate the need for an external off the shelf receiver. The latter effort will also require software development to process data for the classification algorithms. The unique innovation of this project is that it can conduct full area investigations and locate stationary targets from a fixed location. There are two primary applications for this technology, situational awareness and subsurface investigation. The former, which is the most attractive for early market entry, comprises homeland security, police/fire/search and rescue, and military actions where the location of human subjects on the opposite side of walls, vegetation, snow, fire, or other opaque media is sought. The latter includes geophysical exploration, ore body investigation, utility detection and location, road-bed and bridge subsurface scans for cracks and voids, and unattended ground sensing from a fixed point to assess subsurface changes that can be used to predict earth or structural failure. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Thompson, Scott REALTRONICS CORPORATION SD Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 487361 5373 5371 1505 MANU 9251 9231 9178 9150 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216590 September 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: A Newton-Krylov Based Solver for Modeling Finite Rate Chemistry in Reacting Flows. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling technology that uses state-of-the-art techniques for modeling finite rate chemistry in chemically reacting turbulent flows with recently developed numerical methods for solving systems of non-linear equations. In Phase I an improved CFD solver was developed that used reduced chemical kinetic mechanisms to model finite rate chemistry effect and solved the resulting stiff system of partial differential equations with a matrix-free Newton-Krylov method. In Phase II two Newton-Krylov based CFD tools will be developed, one to model combustion from turbulent, diffusion flames and the second to model turbulent, pre-mixed flames. The commercial potential for this work is the electric power industry, designers and builders of commercial chemical plants, and designers of chemical process heaters and other industrial furnace applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Tang, Qing REACTION ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL UT Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 574250 5373 MANU HPCC 9251 9215 9178 9148 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0216620 October 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Three-Dimensional Atom Probe Imaging for Nano-Biotechnology. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop the Local Electrode Atom Probe (LEAP) to rapidly provide three-dimensional atomic-scale imaging and elemental identification of nano-biotechnology devices. Structural characterization of nano-biotechnology devices is currently problematic because available microscopy and analytical techniques have substantial limitations in quantitative imaging at the atomic-scale. Moreover, current microscopy techniques cannot adequately resolve three-dimensional biomacromolecules, which are intrinsic to nano-biotechnology devices. Until better analytical instrumentation is developed, researchers will "fly blind" as they develop more complex nano-biotechnology devices. The overall goal of this Phase II project is to rapidly analyze the three-dimensional atomic-scale structure and elemental composition of biological and organic molecules on nano-biotechnology devices. The focus will be on developing technologies to analyze commercial specimens using LEAP technology, and to initiate commercialization and marketing of this technology to academic and industrial researchers. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of bioanalytical instrumentation and nano-biotechnology devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kelly, Thomas Imago Scientific Instruments Corp WI Gregory T. Baxter Standard Grant 1001642 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 0203000 Health 0216628 July 15, 2002 STTR Phase II: Light Transparent, Electrically Conductive Coatings by Filtered Cathodic Arc Plasma Deposition. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will build upon and extend the encouraging results obtained in the Phase I program, which investigated the properties of thin, electrically conductive, UV transparent films and tri-layer metal coatings as possible diamond switch electrode structures for power electronics. Phase I benchmarked UV transmission, electrical conductivity and substrate adhesion for 14 to 44 nm Mo films, deposited using an energetic filtered cathodic arc deposition process. A companion program demonstrated a significant reduction in the diamond switch on-state resistance, and hence, improvement in switch efficiency, using these films as contact electrodes. The Phase II program will apply these results to a commercially relevant specification by demonstrating that the thin film deposition process can be scaled and the complex thin film mesa-shaped electrode topology can be realized. The anticipated mesa-shaped design will consist of a series of narrow tri-layer conduits, with the relatively large spaces in between coated with the thin UV transparent, electrically conductive film. This design maximizes the UV input into the diamond, which is used to activate the switch, while minimizing the electrical resistance. The properties of the electrode will be benchmarked against commercially relevant operating requirements. The project's commercial potential is considered significant since it both supports the entry of diamond switch technology into the $21 billion per year power electronic device market as well as advancing the energetic deposition process thin film knowledge base, which in turn provides an improved platform for launching additional commercial ventures. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG McFarland, Michael Alameda Applied Sciences Corporation CA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 499993 1505 MANU 9147 5371 1630 1505 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216656 September 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Connecting Science and Mathematics Through Data. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project creates new technology and materials that emphasize data analysis in science education. Data analysis makes scientific concepts and processes concrete and gives students another way - besides memorization or analytical understanding - to learn quantitative science, often bypassing the need for advanced symbolic mathematics. This project will emphasize physics classes in high school and beyond, where labs are often cookbook demonstrations of phenomena and the data analysis mere verification. The first phase of this research, with the help of new technology, provided evidence those students understanding and competence could be improved beyond their previous capabilities. This project enhances that technology-Fathom Dynamic Statistics Software (KCP Technologies 2000) - to make it more useful in the science classroom, and it develops curriculum materials that use this software. Specifically, the firm will produce complete manuscripts for two supplemental books in physics appropriate for the high-school, AP, or college introductory course: a lab manual and a book of problem sets. In addition, Epistemological Engineering will begin to explore and prototype additional materials in physics, materials for other sciences, and staff development offerings. The proposed research will lead to significant enhancements to Fathom software and open the door to creating curriculum materials in science education using tools previously available only to math educators. Epistemological Engineering proffers technology that will contribute to strengthening science education in this country by teaching students to thoughtfully approach the world with a zest for measurement and prediction. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Erickson, Timothy BigTime Science CA Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 516761 5373 1666 SMET 9177 7218 5373 1666 0101000 Curriculum Development 0108000 Software Development 0216665 November 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: ELEX - Innovative Low-Cost Manufacturing Technology for High Aspect Ratio Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase (SBIR) II project will further develop ELEX (Electro-Extrusion) which is a manufacturing process for prototyping and batch manufacturing high-aspect ratio microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and related microparts and microstructures. The goal is to replace (in many applications) the so-called LIGA process, which is an electrodeposition-based technique, requiring the use of a clean room and synchrotron. The commercialization potential of this project to the MEMS industry will provide a dramatic reduction in cost and time, which will greatly accelerate the commercialization of MEMS and other microscale devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Zhang, Gang Microfabrica, Inc. CA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 417779 5373 MANU 9146 1468 1052 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216671 September 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: A Fast Parallel Grid-Free Method for Simulating Turbulent Incompressible Flow In/Around Time-Varying Geometries. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project builds on algorithms developed for simulating turbulent incompressible flows in and around time-varying geometries. The Phase II project proposes to develop and commercialize a state-of-the-art computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package utilizing the algorithms developed. The computational engine is based upon an advanced parallel, adaptive fast multipole (FMM) implementation of a 3-D Lagrangian vortex-boundary element method. Turbulence is accounted for via Large Eddy Simulation (LES) using a dynamic Smagorinsky sub-grid scale model. The method is (1) grid-free in the fluid domain, (2) virtually free of numerical diffusion, (3) inherently solution-adaptive, and (4) capable of modeling inhomogeneous unsteady wall-bounded turbulent flow. During Phase II additional innovative algorithms will be developed for FMM to substantially increase it computational speed as well as accuracy. Additionally, an LES model for unsteady inhomogeneous flows will be implemented and tested rigorously using problems of potential interest to industry. The software is ideal for simulation and analysis of complex laminar-through-turbulent flow phenomena involving massive flow separation, unsteady vortex shedding, transient jets in cross-stream, and wake-body interaction. Examples of interest to industry are flow over bluff bodies such as ground vehicles or buildings, in data storage units with rotating and moving parts; in internal combustion engines; and in and around rotating machinery such as pumps and fans. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Gharakhani, Adrin Applied Scientific Research CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 589800 5373 HPCC 9251 9215 9178 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0216676 August 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Mechanism of the Layer Transfer Process for Silicon-on-Insulator. This Small Business Innovations Research (SBIR) Phase II project builds on demonstrated and patented new hydrogenation-based processes for producing silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. It has been demonstrated that this new techniques can be bonded for improved activation of the surfaces of silicon wafers. The innovation also serves to suppress layer transfer faults. The improvement in yield and the reduction in cost in the SOI production process have also been achieved. The process is expected to scale down to the formation of SOI surface films of thickness well below 0.1 micron. During Phase I, an RF plasma treatment was developed which optimizes the amount of adsorbed activating species on surfaces resulting in an improved layer transfer yield over previous wet chemical activation techniques. The process optimization was based on molecular dynamics simulation of the sub-monolayer hydroxylized surface. In Phase II the simulation-based process design continues with experimental characterization of the resulting probability of the layer transfer faults. The Phase II work plan includes more detailed process design and optimization leading to a characterization of best effort SOI wafers by the venture partners. The impact of the proposed commercialization activity on the existing $10B worldwide silicon starting-wafer industry is potentially huge. The increasing usage of SOI by the leading semiconductor manufacturers is optimistically projected to grow from 1% to 10% of the worldwide silicon market. If successful, a ramp up to commercialization SOI pilot production will begin immediately upon the completion of this Phase II contract. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Usenko, Alex Silicon Wafer Technologies, Inc. NJ T. James Rudd Standard Grant 477220 5373 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0216929 October 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: High Performance Nano-Fe/SiO2 Soft Magnetic Cores Based on Exchange Coupling. This Small Business Innovation Phase II project is directed toward optimizing and scaling up fabrication of exchange coupled Fe/ceramic nanocomposites for high performance soft magnetic applications. In Phase I, Inframat Corporation took pioneering steps to develop Fe/ceramic magnetic nanocomposites, which resulted in significant improvements over microsized ferrites including higher saturation magnetization and lower power loss. The design of the Fe/ceramic nanocomposite is based on an exchange coupling effect between neighboring nanoparticles, where Fe nanoparticles are uniformly distributed within an insulating ceramic matrix. Successful Phase I efforts have provided the scientific and technological groundwork for further magnetic nanocomposite technology advancement in Phase II. The proposed Phase II program scales-up the Fe/ceramic nanocomposite technology performed in Phase I. Emphasis is on rapid commercialization of nanocomposite cores. Key Phase II milestones include (1) scale-up of the demonstrated chemical synthesis into pilot-scale production, (2) demonstration of prototype cores having desirable magnetic properties through exchange coupling, and (3) demonstration of high performance prototype DC-to-DC converters using the exchange coupled magnetic nanocomposite cores. Phase II participants include Ceramic Magnetics, UConn, Villanova Univ., Georgia Tech, and a converter specialist, Colonel William McLyman. Ceramic Magnetics has pledged $75,000 cost share to the Phase II and will carry a $250,000 follow-on funding. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Zhang, Yide INFRAMAT CORP CT T. James Rudd Standard Grant 499997 5373 AMPP 9163 1771 0106000 Materials Research 0217364 June 1, 2002 Compact High Performance Cooling Technologies Research Center - An Operating Center Proposal for an NSF I/UCRC. The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Compact High Performance Cooling Technologies will address research and development needs of industries in the area of high-performance heat removal from compact spaces. All product sectors in the electronics industry (High-Performance, Cost/Performance, Telecommunications, Hand-held, Automotive, and Military/Avionics) face critical electronics cooling challenges, and the Center brings together faculty from the Schools of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering and Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University, and contribute complimentary competencies in heart transfer, microfluidics, microfabrication, refrigeration, computational techniques, mechatronics, controls, acoustics, sensing and actuation and diagnostics and measurements. IUCRC FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH CCLI-Phase 1 (Exploratory) INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS THERMAL TRANSPORT PROCESSES IIP ENG Garimella, Suresh Purdue University IN Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 622227 7609 7494 5761 1406 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 122E 116E 1166 1049 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0220512 May 15, 2002 Center for the Management of Information. The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for the Management of Information at the University of Arizona has been an I/UCRC for the past five years and will continues to follow the model of the I/UCRC program. The Center's goal is to create knowledge, methodologies, practices and software to support individuals, organizations and society in the collaborative use of information technology. Research in the area of collaborative computing is an integral part of the development of the office, school and government of the future. Current research centers within the Center include collaborative computing, knowledge management, and technology-supported learning. In the past five years, the Center has developed a synergistic partnership between university researchers and industry users through its industry relevant research and its structure. Research projects are developed and pursued with significant input from the industry partners. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Nunamaker, Jay University of Arizona AZ Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 620436 V656 V402 T233 T075 5761 OTHR 122e 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0220661 September 15, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Hypertension Treatment Responder Prediction. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a clinical predictive algorithm for hypertension medication response based upon patient genetic and medical information. The development of effective treatment for hypertension is critical to controlling costs of this disease which has the largest negative impact on the U.S. economy in loss of productive years. Anti-hypertensive drugs have a large window of therapeutic options, including significant variation in dosages, medications, and combinations of therapies used. The objective of the Phase II project is to continue development of the software platform, GeneRx, which incorporates pharmacogenetics and nonlinear adaptive algorithms toward optimizing anti-hypertension therapy on a patient specific basis. Genetic data for each patient will be acquired by genotyping DNA from the blood samples, and scored as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) present or absent in key hypertension-related genes. GeneRx will take a patient's individual genetic, demographic, and environmental variables and predict lickely efficacy of a hypertension medication. In Phase I, the basic feasibility of a predictive algorithm for predicting patient response for the ACE inhibitor class of hypertension drugs was established. The Phase II project will use patient information and blood samples from both archival and ongoing hypertension studies to predict the effectiveness of other classes of hypertension medications, including calcium channel blockers, dieuretics, and beta blockers. The commercial application of this project is in the area of hypertension therapy. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Man, Albert PREDICTION SCIENCES, LLC CA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 500000 5373 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0221736 March 1, 2002 Capitalizing on Science, Technology and Innovation: An Assessment of the Small Business Innovation Research Program. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Wessner, Charles National Academy of Sciences DC Joseph E. Hennessey Contract 1279107 5373 1505 OTHR 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0222052 June 1, 2002 Antimicrobial Packaging to Improve Safety and Quality of Fresh Strawberries - Center for Aseptic Processing and Packaging Studies. Spoilage and pathogenic bacteria affect the quality and safety of fresh produce such as strawberries and mushrooms. The surfaces of these products can be naturally contaminated with molds such as Botrytis cinera and bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7. For many years foods have been treated with antimicrobial agents however, packaging materials may also provide the same benefits using similar or different additives. A packaging system that allows for slow release of an antimicrobial agent into the produce could significantly increase the shelf life and improve the safety of fresh produce. The use of these packaging systems is not meant to be used as a substitute for good quality control standards. It can, however serve as an additional protective measure to help ensure safe and high quality foods. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Cooksey, Kay Clemson University SC Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 5761 OTHR 9232 0000 0222582 September 15, 2002 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Software Engineering Fellowship. An Industry/University Fellowship award will assist with the conduct of collaborative research at the Laboratory for Telecommunications Research in Telcordia Technologies. Telcordia is an industrial affiliate of the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Software Engineering Research (SERC). The PI is currently a professor at Purdue and a former site director of SERC. The general are of research deals with reliable operation of next generation systems. A next generation system is a collection of distributed components intended to work in harmony with the objective of providing services to authorized customers in an efficient, secure, safe, and reliable manner. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Mathur, Aditya Purdue Research Foundation IN Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 25000 5761 OTHR 0000 0223592 October 1, 2002 An Operating Center Proposal for Renewing an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Polymer and Composite Engineering. The polymer industry is one of the most dynamic and expanding industries of our time. It is one of the few industries in which the U.S. still holds a strong leadership in an extremely competitive global market. A focused collaboration between industry and academia has been underway for nearly five years through the activities of the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Polymer and Composite Engineering (CAPCE) at the Ohio State University. CAPCE offers comprehensive and well-organized collaboration between application-oriented researchers in industry and fundamental-oriented researchers in universities, enhancing commercialization of advanced polymer and composites materials. The Center will continue to emphasize the needs of the more traditional manufacturing sector of the polymer and composite industry, since these members dominate the industrial support base. In addition, their efforts will include: - Cooperating with industry members to translate basic research results from NSF supported research into commercial products and processes; - Incorporating environmentally-friendly technologies in product manufacturing by reducing energy consumption and toxic chemicals; reducing the amount of volatile solvents and manufacturing waste; and increasing sustainability; and - Enabling efficient, low-cost mass production of parts for bio-MEMS, sensors, and other applications, using micro and nanno-fabrication techniques. EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC PROGRAM INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS MATERIALS PROCESSING AND MANFG HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG Koelling, Kurt Ly James Lee David Tomasko Anthony Luscher Jose Castro Ohio State University Research Foundation OH Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 389652 5978 5761 1467 1360 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 5942 5251 0000 0224447 June 1, 2002 The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Virtual Proving Ground Simulation: Mechanical and Electromechanical Systems. The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Virtual Proving Ground Simulation will focus unique capabilities and facilities for vehicle system simulation at the University of Iowa and electromechanical system simulation and design at the University of Texas at Austin on the goal of creating fundamental new capabilities for virtual proving ground simulation of complex vehicle and equipment systems, including off-road equipment, hybrid-electric vehicles, and next-generation enhanced vehicle mobility and vehicle power systems. The I/UCRC will create and make available to its members an internationally unique virtual proving ground using (1) state-of-the-art networked computing facilities for high fidelity engineering simulation, (2) the National Advanced Driving Simulator at Iowa for driver-in-the-loop virtual proving ground simulation, and (3) unique capabilities at UT-Ausgtin, including access to facilities at the Center for Electromechanics. With these assets and significant extensions to be developed in the proposed research program, the I/UCRC will support its members with internationally unique modeling , analysis, and virtual prototyping capabilities for simulation of complex vehicle and equipment systems. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Chen, Lea University of Iowa IA Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 686280 W220 T686 T491 5761 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0224612 October 1, 2002 An Operating Center Proposal for Renewing an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Polymer and Composite Engineering. The polymer industry is one of the most dynamic and expanding industries of our time. It is one of the few industries in which the U.S. still holds a strong leadership in an extremely competitive global market. A focused collaboration between industry and academia has been underway for nearly five years through the activities of the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Polymer and Composite Engineering (CAPCE) at the Ohio State University. CAPCE offers comprehensive and well-organized collaboration between application-oriented researchers in industry and fundamental-oriented researchers in universities, enhancing commercialization of advanced polymer and composites materials. The Center will continue to emphasize the needs of the more traditional manufacturing sector of the polymer and composite industry, since these members dominate the industrial support base. In addition, their efforts will include: - Cooperating with industry members to translate basic research results from NSF supported research into commercial products and processes; - Incorporating environmentally-friendly technologies in product manufacturing by reducing energy consumption and toxic chemicals; reducing the amount of volatile solvents and manufacturing waste; and increasing sustainability; and - Enabling efficient, low-cost mass production of parts for bio-MEMS, sensors, and other applications, using micro and nanno-fabrication techniques. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS MATERIALS PROCESSING AND MANFG IIP ENG Wang, Hsu-Pin (Ben) Florida State University FL Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 1225475 W465 W341 W340 V948 V882 V738 V531 V530 V163 T769 T605 T541 T481 T083 I440 I178 H253 H205 5761 1467 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 5761 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0224718 June 1, 2002 The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Virtual Proving Ground Simulation: Mechanical and Electromechanical Systems. The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Virtual Proving Ground Simulation will focus unique capabilities and facilities for vehicle system simulation at the University of Iowa and electromechanical system simulation and design at the University of Texas at Austin on the goal of creating fundamental new capabilities for virtual proving ground simulation of complex vehicle and equipment systems, including off-road equipment, hybrid-electric vehicles, and next-generation enhanced vehicle mobility and vehicle power systems. The I/UCRC will create and make available to its members an internationally unique virtual proving ground using (1) state-of-the-art networked computing facilities for high fidelity engineering simulation, (2) the National Advanced Driving Simulator at Iowa for driver-in-the-loop virtual proving ground simulation, and (3) unique capabilities at UT-Ausgtin, including access to facilities at the Center for Electromechanics. With these assets and significant extensions to be developed in the proposed research program, the I/UCRC will support its members with internationally unique modeling , analysis, and virtual prototyping capabilities for simulation of complex vehicle and equipment systems. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Longoria, Raul University of Texas at Austin TX Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 150000 5761 OTHR 0000 0224889 August 1, 2002 Collaborative Research: Cooperative Research Center: Planning Grant for a Cyber Protection Center. Information security has become a critical concern of both government and industry, and numerous groups have independently called for more and better research and education efforts in computer security. During the first computer security education workshop (1997) attended by industry and government agencies, there was a clear call to action for universities to create programs in information security. In response to these demands, faculty members from several universities have been working to increase both education and research in the area of information assurance. This initiative proposes to build on the existing strengths of the faculty and universities involved by creating the Cyber Protection Center. The Center will be one of the first facilities dedicated to creating a simulated Internet for the purpose of researching, designing, and testing cyber defense mechanisms. The Laboratory will also be used to test key components of the critical infrastructure. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Vaughn, Rayford Mississippi State University MS Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0225055 July 15, 2002 Research Site of the I/UCRC entitled"Repair of Building and Bridges with Composites ". The Research Site of the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) entitled "Repair of Buildings and Bridges with Composites (RB2C)" at North Carolina State University is an extension to the currently active I/UCRC located at the University of Missouri-Rolla. The research site at North Carolina State will focus on addressing the needs of the construction industry in development of new and innovative structural components as well as strengthening/repair methods for existing structures using advanced composite materials. The primary research activities of the site will involve: use of the three-dimensional weaving technology, developed by the College of Textiles at North Carolina State University in cooperation with the textile industry and the fiber producer; Installation, understanding, manufacturing and use of more durable construction materials; Examination of the durability of the proposed advanced construction materials under severe environmental conditions using the unique environmental chamber installed at the Constructed Facilities Laboratory (CFL), North Carolina State University; Develop new construction materials for rehabilitation of steel structures using high strength and modulus composite materials; and Standardization and code approval of products and design control, education and transfer of technology to industry. IUCRC FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS HAZARD MIT & STRUCTURAL ENG HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG Rizkalla, Sami Mihail Sichitiu Rudra Dutta North Carolina State University NC Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 412000 7609 5761 1637 1360 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 125E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0225080 October 1, 2002 An Operating Center Proposal for Renewing an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Polymer and Composite Engineering. The polymer industry is one of the most dynamic and expanding industries of our time. It is one of the few industries in which the U.S. still holds a strong leadership in an extremely competitive global market. A focused collaboration between industry and academia has been underway for nearly five years through the activities of the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Polymer and Composite Engineering (CAPCE) at the Ohio State University. CAPCE offers comprehensive and well-organized collaboration between application-oriented researchers in industry and fundamental-oriented researchers in universities, enhancing commercialization of advanced polymer and composites materials. The Center will continue to emphasize the needs of the more traditional manufacturing sector of the polymer and composite industry, since these members dominate the industrial support base. In addition, their efforts will include: - Cooperating with industry members to translate basic research results from NSF supported research into commercial products and processes; - Incorporating environmentally-friendly technologies in product manufacturing by reducing energy consumption and toxic chemicals; reducing the amount of volatile solvents and manufacturing waste; and increasing sustainability; and - Enabling efficient, low-cost mass production of parts for bio-MEMS, sensors, and other applications, using micro and nanno-fabrication techniques. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS MATERIALS PROCESSING AND MANFG IIP ENG Osswald, Tim Lih-Sheng Turng University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 318445 T796 T450 5761 1467 OTHR 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0225093 September 1, 2002 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for the Built Environment. This proposal requests to continue support of the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center, the Center for the Built Environment (CBE). CBE was established at the university of California, Berkeley, in 1997 and is dedicated to the industries and professions that design and construct buildings, manufacture building components, and that operate and maintain buildings. Its objective is to improve the performance of buildings by enhancing their indoor environmental quality, and by improving the energy efficiency with which that quality is produced. There are great opportunities to improve the performance of buildings in the U.S. through applied research and development. Improved building design and technologies may reduce energy consumption, improve employee health and productivity, and improve economic competitiveness and domestic security by reducing US dependence on energy imports. CBE builds upon the accomplishments of an extensive group of faculty members that perform building science research at UCB. This group has an impressive record of achievements, both individually and in past joint projects, and maintains extensive and state-of-the-art research tools and facilities. Through collaboration with its industry partners, CBE's research focuses on providing tools and analysis to assist building industry firms and design professionals. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Arens, Edward Gail Brager University of California-Berkeley CA Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 418469 V602 V243 V029 T367 T208 H142 5761 OTHR 125E 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0225163 September 1, 2002 Center for the Study of Wireless Electromagnetic Compatibility. The Center for the Study of Wireless Electromagnetic Compatibility was established in the College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma in 1994. Its purpose is to link with the various industries affected by wireless technology and bring them together to develop common solutions. This is essential for the health growth of these industries. It is expected that the growth of the cellular phone industry will continue to accelerate and exceed that of the personal computer industry in the 1980's. The research focus of the Center has been carefully developed to support the needs of the wireless industry as defined through an original pilot study, the Charter of the Center, and the continual input from the Center's Industry Advisory Board. The Center's research focus encompasses the following: Electromagnetic compatibility between products in the wireless industry and the following electronics industries; Medical; Automotive; and Aviation. Research leading to the identification and resolution of interaction mechanisms between the radiating devices in the wireless industry and other electronic devices. Research concerning the development and growth of wireless technology as well as future bands of transmission. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Grant, Floyd University of Oklahoma Norman Campus OK Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 129000 5761 OTHR 0000 0225178 July 15, 2002 Establishing an I/UCRC Center Site for Microcontamination Control at Northeastern University. The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center research site at Northeastern University will work jointly with the industrial members and the existing Microcontamination Control center at the University of Arizona and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to develop solutions that will improve the industry's yield and contribute to their competitiveness. The industrial members at all three sites will share the research results of all the sites. The research focuses on the fundamentals of surface cleaning and preparation, particle adhesion and removal mechanisms, reduction of the use of chemicals through dilute chemistries, cryogenic aerosols and supercritical fluids (such as supercritical CO2) and reduction of water use through increased cleaning efficiency. Contamininants in gases will also be addressed through physical modeling of particle generation, transport, deposition resulting in contamination in thin film process. The center will also work toward the development of micro-sensors that can be used to detect impurities insitu in ultra pure gases used in semiconductor and other processes. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Busnaina, Ahmed George Adams Nathan Israeloff Jeffrey Hopwood Sinan Muftu Northeastern University MA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 270000 5761 OTHR 1049 0000 0225191 August 1, 2002 Cooperative Research Center: Planning Grant for a Cyber Protection Center. Information security has become a critical concern of both government and industry, and numerous groups have independently called for more and better research and education efforts in computer security. During the first computer security education workshop (1997) attended by industry and government agencies, there was a clear call to action for universities to create programs in information security. In response to these demands, faculty members from several universities have been working to increase both education and research in the area of information assurance. This initiative proposes to build on the existing strengths of the faculty and universities involved by creating the Cyber Protection Center. The Center will be one of the first facilities dedicated to creating a simulated Internet for the purpose of researching, designing, and testing cyber defense mechanisms. The Laboratory will also be used to test key components of the critical infrastructure. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Jacobson, Douglas James Davis Iowa State University IA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0225235 August 1, 2002 Collaborative Research: An Initiative for a Cyber Protection Center. Information security has become a critical concern of both government and industry, and numerous groups have independently called for more and better research and education efforts in computer security. During the first computer security education workshop (1997) attended by industry and government agencies, there was a clear call to action for universities to create programs in information security. In response to these demands, faculty members from several universities have been working to increase both education and research in the area of information assurance. This initiative proposes to build on the existing strengths of the faculty and universities involved by creating the Cyber Protection Center. The Center will be one of the first facilities dedicated to creating a simulated Internet for the purpose of researching, designing, and testing cyber defense mechanisms. The Laboratory will also be used to test key components of the critical infrastructure. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Saiedian, Hossein University of Kansas Center for Research Inc KS Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0225305 August 15, 2002 Collaborative Research: Multi-University Center for E-Design: IT Enabled Design and Realization of Engineered Products and Systems. The University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the University of Pittsburgh are jointly planning to establish an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for e-Design and Realization of Engineered Products and Systems. The Center's mission is to serve as a center of excellence in IT enabled design and realization of discrete manufactured products by envisioning where information is the lifeblood of an enterprise and collaboration is the hallmark that seamlessly integrates design, development, testing, manufacturing and servicing of products around the world. The proposed Center, a fusion of expertise and resources from the already successful Center for e-Product Design & Realization at the University of Pittsburgh and the Center for Manufacturing Productivity at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, is a joint effort to achieve synergy in the development of the enabling technologies to support the new project development paradigm. The proposed I/UCRC would leverage the existing talent faculty from complementary engineering disciplines, infrastructure and experience of each university. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Terpenny, Janis University of Massachusetts Amherst MA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0225331 August 15, 2002 Collaboration Reserach: Center for e-Design: IT-Enabled Design and Realization of Engineered Products and Systems. The University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the University of Pittsburgh are jointly planning to establish an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for e-Design and Realization of Engineered Products and Systems. The Center's mission is to serve as a center of excellence in IT enabled design and realization of discrete manufactured products by envisioning where information is the lifeblood of an enterprise and collaboration is the hallmark that seamlessly integrates design, development, testing, manufacturing and servicing of products around the world. The proposed Center, a fusion of expertise and resources from the already successful Center for e-Product Design & Realization at the University of Pittsburgh and the Center for Manufacturing Productivity at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, is a joint effort to achieve synergy in the development of the enabling technologies to support the new project development paradigm. The proposed I/UCRC would leverage the existing talent faculty from complementary engineering disciplines, infrastructure and experience of each university. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Nnaji, Bartholomew University of Pittsburgh PA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0226188 August 1, 2002 Analytical Ultracentrifugation as a Method for Identifying and Characterizing Src-Containing Multi-Protein Complexes in Cancer Cells. The goal of the research will be to involve science students from Saint Anselm College, an undergraduate teaching institution, in a meaningful research project incorporating state-of-the-art technology. All research will be conducted in the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Biomolecular Interaction Technologies (BITC) at the University of New Hampshire and will make extensive use of the fluorescence detection optical system on the BITC analytical ultracentrifuge. All data will be reported to BITC. The project will serve as a test of the new device, and it will help develop protocols for using analytical ultracentrifugation with whole-cell lysates. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Laue, Thomas University of New Hampshire NH Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 25000 5761 OTHR 0000 0226328 January 1, 2002 STTR Phase II: Nano-Layered Composites as High-Temperature Hard Coatings. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II Project aims to develop novel nano-layered coatings for high-temperature tribological applications, specifically cutting-tool coatings that perform well at elevated temperatures (up to 1000 degrees C). There is a high level of interest in these coatings because of the desire to cut at higher rates and due to increasing environmental concerns over the use of coolants during machining. Traditional coating materials do not perform well under these conditions, primarily because their hardnesses decrease rapidly as temperature rises. Research in Phase I developed a new class of coatings, combining many alternating nanometer-thick layers of metals and nitrides, which show substantial hardness enhancements. Hardnesses up to 44 gigapascals (GPa) were maintained after high temperature annealing, demonstrating the feasibility of these new materials as high-temperature stable coatings. Strong dislocation confinement in nano-layers is likely to yield higher high-temperature hardness than in monolithic coatings, providing improved wear resistance. In Phase II, nano-layered coatings will be developed that optimize key properties including hardness, thermal expansion match with the substrate, stability against dissolution into different workpieces, and oxidation resistance. Nano-layered coated cutting tools have the potential to make dry-cutting a practical alternative, and to improve wet-machining performance. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Kim, Ilwon Functional Coating Technology, LLC IL Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 375000 1505 MANU 9163 9147 0226364 April 1, 2003 Characterization of Conformal Plasma Polymer Particle Coatings. The performance of particle-polymer composite systems is critically dependent on the nature of the solid-matrix interface. Methods to integrate different surface chemistry and functionality on small particles will play a vital role in next generation composites. This work explores the utility of a novel FR-plasma conformal particle coating technique. The work will encompass both the effects of monomer sources and reactor conditions on coating composition, thickness and uniformity. These attributes will be investigated using FTIR (-ATR), TEM and XPS. Work will also explore the effects of coating composition on the dispersion and rheological behavior of highly filled A1N and BN/polymer systems. The preliminary work has been sponsored with seed funding from the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Micro-Engineered Materials at the University of New Mexico. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Weinkauf, Don Hyun Sik Jeon New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology NM Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 146236 9150 5761 OTHR 9232 9150 0000 0226846 July 15, 2002 Connection One - Communications Circuits and Systems Research Center. The establishment of a new Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) at the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Arizona State University focuses on Telecommunication Circuits and Systems for the advancement of the next generation of telecommunication systems. The objective of the Center is to establish a cooperative research center for Arizona State University researchers and industry partners to work together on the advancement of integrated circuits and systems for telecommunication by identifying new technologies that will enable "system-on-a-chip" communication devices. The I/UCRC will comprise three major initiatives: Research, Internship, and Curriculum development. Research initiatives will provide consortium partners a complete spectrum of expertise in Telecommunications, RF Design, Wireless and Wireline communications, optical electronics, and analog/digital integrated circuits. The research roadmap of the center will be conceived and executed by the Center industrial Partners and will be monitored and evaluated by the Industrial Advisory Board. INTEGRATIVE, HYBRD & COMPLX SY INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS CISE RESEARCH RESOURCES ELECT, PHOTONICS, & DEVICE TEC IIP ENG Kiaei, Sayfe Arizona State University AZ Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 701987 7564 5761 2890 1517 SMET OTHR HPCC 9251 9178 9139 9102 130E 129E 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0227693 November 1, 2002 Scanning Bodegas. 0227693 Williams This award is to the Polytechnic University of New York to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include the Polytechnic University of New York (Lead Institution), Bodega Association of United States Inc. New York, Datasym, All Long Island Cash Register, Symbol Technologies Inc., South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, Accion-New York, New York National Bank and Wagner Graduate School of Public Service-NYU. The goals for this program are: (1) create the necessary organizational conditions to foster the transformation of knowledge into the systems and services that will educate underrepresented minority retail owners on the value of implementing point of service scanning technology, (2) introduce a point of service scanning technology linked to cash registers in small grocery stores owned by underrepresented communities in New York City, and (3) conduct research to understand the resistance of immigrant and minority communities to using technology. The partnership of companies that make, install and service the scanners, city organizations responsible for economic development, and financial institutions to process loans to the store owners has been formed. The program develops training to overcome the knowledge, skill, and psychological barriers associated with getting underrepresented minorities to adopt technology and extends the use of scanned data to identify, record and order inventory. Bilingual minority students are involved in the research and implementation stages. There is a genuine resistance by this minority-dominated retail market sector to use of technology. The university has the confidence of the retailers association to manage the installation of the equipment and training of personnel in its use. The partnership includes financial institutions to make loans to the retailers to purchase the equipment. The minority-dominated retail sector will gain from use of this technology. The study of the factors that cause the resistance to technology and how they were overcome will serve as a model for technology insertion in other demographic sectors where there is resistance to it. Extensive involvement of bilingual underrepresented students in the effort has obvious societal benefits. In addition, the scanning equipment will lead to increased profit for an estimated 8000 small grocery stores in New York City by providing inventory control and reduced inventory costs. Retail scanners have been shown to reduce cashier errors and increase profitability nationally. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Williams, Blair George Bugliarello Michael Greenstein Polytechnic University of New York NY Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 597897 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0227729 January 1, 2003 Creating New Economic Opportunities in Downeast Coastal Maine by Enhancing Marine Education and Research Capacity: Developing the Infrastructure for Innovation. 0227729 Beal This award is to the University of Maine at Machias to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include the University of Maine at Machias (Lead Institution), Downeast Institute for Applied Marine Research & Education, Sunrise County Economic Council, Eastern Maine Development Corporation, Town of Bealls, Carver Shellfish Inc, Washington County Commissioners, Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, Cobscook Bay Resource Center, The Nature Conservatory, Maine Department of Marine Resources, Maine State Planning Office, and Maine Science & Technology Foundation. The goals of the program are to produce a significant increase in applied marine research and technology transfer leading to commercialization of products and processes, and to increase the numbers of people from eastern Maine enrolled in associate and baccalaureate degree programs at the University of Maine at Machias preparing them for the new workforce in marine technologies. To accomplish these goals new faculty positions will be created in the areas of marine ecology, marine biology, and natural resource economics. Research facilities for marine research will be installed. Positions for managers to enable technology transfer and commercialization are being established at the university. More than 40% of the households in the region have incomes less than $20,000 annually. The economy of the region relies very heavily on renewable marine resources. Marine aquaculture has a huge potential to revitalize the regional economy given increased research and education/training to provide the technological and business support as well as the trained workforce for start-up companies. The participation of underrepresented minority students in the program will be increased through several currently existing programs, such as Alliance for Minority Participation Program, McNair Scholars Program, Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program, and affiliate programs with the University of Puerto Rico. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Beal, Brian University of Maine at Machias ME Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 9150 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0227754 January 1, 2003 Biotechnology Resource Group: A Framework for Innovative Partnerships. 0227754 Cheatham This award is to the Middle Tennessee State University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include the Middle Tennessee State University (Lead Institution), Austin Peay State University, Tennessee State University, Tennessee Technological University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Oakland High School, Riverdale High School, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Department of Health, Communicable and Environmental; Disease Services, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, BioVentures Inc, Esoterx Center of Innovative Research, Orchid Cellmark, Tennessee Biotechnology Association. The program includes: establishment of training programs; provision of equipment and materials; development of laboratories for teachers to encourage the use of hands-on biotechnology exercises in science curricula; establishment of internships for teachers to work in the partner companies; establishment of a seminar course for students and company employees in biotechnology; and enhancement of biotechnological growth by developing and applying novel sensors in microarray technology. Currently there are more than 50 biotech companies in the region that have started with research done at the regional universities. This proposed effort will provide the workforce to make and keep these companies competitive in the biotech industry. It will also provide the workforce for additional jobs created by the regional university research enterprise. These jobs will have considerably higher salaries than the traditional jobs in the region. The academic institutions involved serve traditionally underrepresented groups. In addition minority students will be involved in this effort. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Cheatham, Thomas Stephen Wright Rebecca Seipelt Middle Tennessee State University TN Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 581059 1662 OTHR 0000 0227793 September 1, 2002 Montana Business Foundry: Tech Ventures for a Rural State. 0227793 Swearingen This award is to Montana State University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include Montana State University (Lead Institution), MSU Techlink Center, Center for Entrepreneurship for the New West, Montana Office for Economic Opportunity, Technology Venture Center. The program includes: (1) formation of a sustainable, long-term innovation partnership that will provide a major engine for the emerging technology sector in Montana, (2) formation of an enhanced infrastructure for creating new technology companies in the state, (3) recruitment of women and Native Americans for entrepreneurship training and new technology-business opportunities, (4) establishment of at least a dozen new technology companies in Montana State University's Advanced Technology Park and then elsewhere in Montana, and (5) development of a new model for technology-business creation in rural states. Montana currently ranks 50th in the United States in annual pay and 48th in the percentage of households at the poverty level. This program will increase the number of new sources of higher-paying jobs, mobilize the underrepresented populations in the state, and reduce the "brain drain" to other regions. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Swearingen, Will Nicholas Zelver Joan Wu-Singel Montana State University MT Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 600000 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0227801 August 15, 2003 Cincinnati Creates Companies. 0227801 Harrison This award is to University of Cincinnati College of Medicine to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). Partners The partners include University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (Lead Institution), Children's Hospital Medical Center, BIO/START, Emerging Concepts, Inc, Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, and the Hamilton County Business Center. Proposed Activities The proposed goals include the following: (1) recruitment of potential entrepreneurs from all socioeconomic and cultural groups represented in the region, (2) establishment of a nine month education program that includes product feasibility assessment, concept development, business plan development, implementation planning, financial strategies, management, marketing etc, (3) providing assistance in technology and business support, (4) connection with federal and state financial assistance and grants such as SBIR or STTR, and (5) referral to venture capital funds in the various technology sectors. The following innovations are proposed: (1) stimulating the transformation of knowledge created by the national research and education enterprise into successful businesses that create economic well-being, and (2) providing and enhancing the available infrastructure to foster and sustain innovation in the long term. Potential Economic Impact The goal is to increase the number of new sources of higher-paying jobs, and to mobilize the underrepresented populations in the region by providing training, technology and business support, and connecting entrepreneurs with sources of capital for their companies. Potential Societal Impact The creation of new jobs will have a significant impact on the region. Involvement of underrepresented groups in technology-businesses has obvious societal implications. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Air, Dorothy University of Cincinnati Main Campus OH Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 597473 1662 OTHR 0000 0227802 November 1, 2002 Innovations in Business Intelligence: Drexel University's Partnership Between Academia, Industry and the City of Philadelphia. 0227802 Arinze This award is to the Drexel University to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include the Drexel University (Lead Institution), University of Pennsylvania, SAP America, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Philadelphia area high schools, and The City of Philadelphia. The proposed goals are: (1) creating theoretical and methodological knowledge and innovation in the area of business intelligence, (2) spurring product innovation within the participating private sectors information technology forms, and (3) educational innovations by creating business intelligence related training and educational programs for students at the high school and college levels. The program focuses on basic research, methodology, knowledge creation and documentation. Business intelligence curriculum of 3-5 courses with input from the private sector partners is being developed. Methodologies and toolsets for business intelligence are being prepared and documented. The methodologies developed are being applied to specific projects in management in the City of Philadelphia government. The high school curriculum will be evaluated and assessed after the first year and will then be disseminated to other high schools. The development and application of business intelligence methodology to management of local government and private sector partners will make them more efficient. The methodology and software will be available for other government and private sectors once it has been shown to be efficacious. In addition, workforce training using the business intelligence methodology will prepare graduates for higher paying jobs in the information economy. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Arinze, O. Bay George Tsetsekos Murugan Anandarajan Susan Lippert Chittibabu Govindarajulu Drexel University PA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 599128 1662 OTHR 0000 0227806 October 1, 2002 Digital Pueblo Project. 0227806 Angel This award is to the University of New Mexico to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include the University of New Mexico (Lead Institution), Sandia National Laboratory, City of Albuquerque, Connect New Mexico, National Hispanic Culture Center, New Mexico Trains, Aquila Group, Bandelier EFX, Big Byte, ContiFilms, Drumfire, IBM, Intel, National Indian Telecommunications Institute, Pixar, Poeh Center, Pueblo of Zuni, Vizeon, and The Studio. The proposed goal is to create a Digital Arts and Technology Pueblo that will create an infrastructure in New Mexico for economic development and innovation in the digital arts and science industry. Three state-of-the-art centers with equipment and facilities for digital arts, which are similar to incubators to create and nurture innovations in the digital arts are being developed. Curricula in digital arts for training and education are being developed and implemented. Infrastructure to enable the innovation, technology commercialization and entrepreneural process is being established. New Mexico is rich in culture and art as well as science and technology. Much of the well-trained talent has been forced to leave the state owing to lack of job opportunities. The state's isolation is an obstacle to entrance into the information technology sector. This partnership establishes the infrastructure for innovation leading to economic well being in the digital arts and sciences industry. The effort brings expertise in digital science and technology with the expertise in graphic arts to create an infrastructure for digital graphics industry in New Mexico. The new companies and new jobs will bring economic well being to the region. A strong emphasis is placed on recruitment and involvement of Native Americans and Hispanics in the new industry in New Mexico. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Angel, Edward John McIver Ernest Herrera Zoe Falliers University of New Mexico NM Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 9150 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0227827 September 1, 2002 Sparking Innovation and Participation in High Throughput Screening. 0227827 Wicks This award is to the University of Southern Mississippi to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include the University of Southern Mississippi (Lead Institution), Mississippi Technology Alliance, Hattiesburg Area Development Partnership, the Society of Mississippi Inventors, and the Mississippi Polymer Institute. The proposed goals are to bolster competitiveness and innovation in Mississippi companies by establishing infrastructure for participating in high throughput screening techniques (HTS) and combinatorial methodologies (CM), and to establish a laboratory for HTS/CM experimentation and a support organization drawn from the University, companies and private/state economic development authorities. A high throughput laboratory for screening of formulations and providing an understanding of its impact on the development of new products to companies is being established. This laboratory provides new HTS methods and equipment for the technology companies and individual inventors in Mississippi. Currently there are 100 companies in Mississippi involved in producing polymeric formulations, representing approximately 6,000 employees. There are an additional 10,000 employees in other related polymer products manufacturing fields. The effort will make these companies more productive and shorten the development time to market for new products and polymer formulations. The University of Southern Mississippi has several active programs to recruit and retain minority students, e.g., Alliance for Graduate Education in Mississippi, the Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation, Increasing Minority Access to Graduate Education. Minority students will be involved in this effort. The creation of more jobs combined with the training of workforce for the polymer industry have obvious societal benefits. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Wicks, Douglas Robert Lochhead University of Southern Mississippi MS Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 599999 9150 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0227828 January 1, 2003 ToolingNET: A Partnership for Enhancing the Tooling Industry in Indiana through the use of Information Technology in the Advanced Manufacturing Sector. 0227828 Ramani This award is to Purdue University to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include Purdue University (Lead Institution), Alcoa, Caterpillar, Metal Technologies, GT Automation, Kirby Risk, Lear, Office of Technology Commercialization, Innovation Realization Lab, and WeToollT, 21st Century Research and Technology Fund, Cunningham Pattern & Engineering, American Foundry Association, National Tooling and Manufacturers Association, Indiana Manufacturers Association, Mid-America Plastics Partners, and Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. The goals of the program include the following: (1) comprehensively integrate industrial tooling marketplace interactions into a streamlined structure and help manage the network using information technology, (2) use an advanced three-dimensional communication tool that will use and link geometry communication to partner manufacturing firms, and (3) promotion and use of advanced tools for rapid manufacturing by partnering with state-wide use in the tool and die education programs to enhance the readiness of the workforce. The program provides an integrated and structured development of the tooling/manufacturing capability for the manufacturing firms in Indiana. The infrastructure provides a common platform for all types of information exchanges including 3D Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing that will streamline and improve efficiency in the design to manufacturing cycle. Faculty of community colleges will be trained in advanced manufacturing technology so they can train the new workforce. A product informatics system is being developed at Purdue and will be made available to the manufacturing firms in Indiana. Technical support in rapid tooling, manufacture, and design will be provided to small manufacturing firms in the state. The program combines information technology with manufacturing technology and education programs that simultaneously develop the manufacturing workforce. The aim is to increase the efficiency and productivity of the manufacturing sector in Indiana. This will make the manufacturing sector in Indiana more competitive and contribute to the economic well-being of the region. Workforce development will provide workers for the growing industry. Underrepresented groups in technology-businesses will have a greater access to training and jobs in the manufacturing sector. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI GRANT OPP FOR ACAD LIA W/INDUS IIP ENG Ramani, Karthik Christoph Hoffmann Linda Katehi Sunil Prabhakar Purdue University IN Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 1504 OTHR 0000 0227830 January 1, 2003 Great Lakes Wood Manufacturing Partnership. 0227830 Brashaw This award is to the University of Minnesota at Duluth to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include the University of Minnesota at Duluth (Lead Institution), Michigan Technological University, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Northern Economic Initiatives Corporation, Beaver Manufacturing, Shell Lake (WI), Besse Forest Products, Ladysmith (WI), Colonial Craft (Roseville, MN), Conner Sports Flooring (Amasa, MI), Crystal Cabinet Works (Princeton, MN), Fentech, Inc (Superior, WI), Ferche Millwork (Rice, MN), Glen Oak Lumber & Milling (Montello, WI), GFP Strandwood Corp Houghton, MI), Maple Flooring Manufacturing Association (Northbrook, IL), Northern Contours (Fergus Falls, MN), Northern Hardwoods (South Range, MI), Smurfit Stone (Ontonagon, MI), TrueRide, Inc (Duluth, MN), Wisconsin Business Innovation Corp (Spooner, WI). Kaizen techniques are being used to improve the manufacturing process by implementing lean manufacturing, resulting in reduced costs and improves profitability. These techniques are being used in development projects to address technical, material, and market issues for new products and to reduce the development time cycle. The partnership cooperatively provides assistance to private companies in adoption of best manufacturing practices, introduction of new technology, and development of new products. These activities promote and sustain innovation by training wood products specialists in lean manufacturing and group facilitation, strengthening their capabilities for contributing to economic growth and stability of the wood products industry. A model for promoting future ties between universities, state agencies, federal laboratories, economic development organizations and private wood products businesses in other regions of the United States will be developed. The program will also provide a well-trained workforce for the wood products industry. During the first phase of the project, 15 companies will participate in company-specific manufacturing process improvement and/or product and market development projects. In the second phase, an additional 12+ company partners will be identified for projects. Further outreach to the wood products companies in the Great Lakes Region will be completed through short courses and case studies. Improved manufacturing technologies will make these companies more profitable and new jobs will result. The creation of new jobs will have a significant impact on the region, which currently has a high unemployment. In addition, more efficient use of the natural wood supply will have ecological implications for the future. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Brashaw, Brian Michael Lalich University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 599550 1662 OTHR 0000 0227833 December 1, 2002 The Florida Innovation Partnership. 0227833 Soileau This award is to the University of Central Florida to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). Partners The partners include the University of Central Florida (Lead Institution), University of South Florida, Florida Institute of Technology, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, City of Orlando, City of Tampa, Florida High Technology Corridor Council, Mid Florida Economic Development Commission, Museum of Science and Industry, Orange County Government, Orlando Science Center, Tampa Bay Technology Partnership, Applied Photonics, Central Florida Innovation Corporation, Central Florida Technology Partnership, Florida/NASA Incubator, Florida Business Incubator Association, Florida Photonics Cluster, Laser Institute of America, Team of Professional Internet Entrepreneurs. The proposed goal is to develop the infrastructure in education, technology transfer, commercialization, and entrepreneurship in the technology sectors of photonics, space science, and simulation and software. The following activities are proposed: (1) develop education and training programs to increase the number and sophistication of technology entrepreneurs and high tech entrepreneural start-ups in Florida, (2) identify commercial applications of developed and developing technology and facilitate and foster technology transfer, (3) provide special program curriculum and mentors to underrepresented groups, and (4) provide infrastructure to enable the innovation, technology commercialization and entrepreneural process. The Central Florida economy is largely dependent on tourism, which provides low-paying service sector jobs with limited opportunity for advancement. Minorities constitute a large percentage of the workforce in this industry, but they are underrepresented in the technology and entrepreneurship sectors. The program has a strong effort to recruit, educate and train entrepreneurs from the regional minority academic institutions. The current program will create new start-up companies and train personnel to work in these companies. The new high-tech jobs will be considerably higher in pay scales for the employees. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Soileau, Marion Martin Wanielista Thomas O'Neal Thomas Keon University of Central Florida FL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0227837 October 1, 2002 Building the "Last Mile" of the Research Enterprise Infrastructure: An Innovative Model to Connect Advanced Agriculture/Bioscience Research to the Resources of the Local Community. 0227837 Kapfer This award is to Eastern Iowa Community College to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). Partners The partners include Eastern Iowa Community College (Lead Institution), Iowa State University, University of Iowa, City of Davenport, Kaizen Corporation, USDA-Peoria Research Lab, and DavenportOne. The program produces web-based publication of summaries of emerging research written in language for the business/investment audience, training curriculum to educate entrepreneurs in AG-based Biotech business, and a model for economic development of rural communities in the AG-based biotech sector. Continuing education/training for business developers will be conducted. In addition, they will create a system to capture and screen emerging Agriculture Technology-Bioscience ideas, technologies, and patents that have marketplace potential; communicate research information to potential entrepreneurs and the economic development community of eastern Iowa; educate potential entrepreneurs, business development consultants/trainers and economic development professionals on the process of creating a business based on emerging research; disseminate the results and practices to other regions; promote the development and effective use of Native American governments for economic development and management of their lands; and establish internship programs in industry and government for the workforce. The AG-based Biotech sector produced $1B in 1995, and is expected to reach $10B by 2005. The community college expertise in training coupled with the research universities is a powerful team to produce both the sources of technologies and the trained workforce to create new companies in this rapidly growing economic sector. The community colleges can also provide continued business tech support to small emerging companies to improve their probability of success in the early stages of development. Eastern Iowa is suited to be a large player in this emerging technology sector, resulting in economic well being and creation of new jobs. The model will also be helpful to other rural, agriculture-based regions. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Kapfer, Mark Eastern Iowa Community College IA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 599669 1662 OTHR 0000 0227838 November 1, 2002 Partnering for Innovative Commercialization of Technology: The University of Kentucky Natural Products Alliance. 0227838 Smith This award is to University of Kentucky to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include University of Kentucky (Lead Institution), Alltech, Apolmmune, Equine Biodiagnostics Inc, Limestone Capital Partners LLC, Martek, Neogen, Stoll, Keenon and Parks LLC, Venture Laboratories Inc, Coldstream Research Campus, KY State Office for the New Economy, KY Science and Technology Council, KY State Office on Agriculture Policy, KY Tobacco Research and Development Council, Lexington United, and The Innovation Group. The activities include launching at least 4 start-up companies based on intellectual property derived from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture research programs, involvement of 4-6 students (some recently graduated) in the start-up companies, and development of at least 2 new advanced training courses to provide new technical and business skills in the new natural products technology sector. The proposed goals include the following: (1) education of entrepreneurs in management of intellectual property, business planning, incorporation and other legal issues, financial management and accounting, human resources management, insurance, financial resource acquisition and planning, and technology assessment, (2) creation of a mentoring network to provide new businesses with access tot business and tech support, (3) provide financial resources to develop novel technologies and proof-of-concept research, (4) internships for students just completing their degrees (BS to PhD) to initiate or join new start-up companies, and (5) workforce development in the agricultural biotechnology sector. The effort will increase the number of new sources of higher-paying jobs, and mobilize the underrepresented populations in the region by providing training, technology and business support, and connecting entrepreneurs with sources of capital for their companies. The Commonwealth of Kentucky has traditionally been a rural economy that is stressed by the demise in demand for some of its cash crops. They have had recent success in attracting business and capitalizing on the intellectual property generated by the University of Kentucky. The proposal is based on their traditional strengths in agriculture and life sciences to create agricultural-based biotech start-up firms to create new jobs and economic output. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Smith, M. Scott Glenn Collins Nancy Cox Joseph Fink University of Kentucky Research Foundation KY Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 600000 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0227869 January 1, 2003 The Biomedical Engineering Partnership Program at FIU: Fostering Technology Entrepreneurship, Commercialization, and Clinical Implementation. 0227869 Prasad This award is to the Florida International University to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). Partners The partners include Florida International University (Lead Institution), Baptist Health Systems of South Florida, Beckman Coulter, Inc, Bioheart, Inc, Boston Scientific Corporation, Cardis (Johnson & Johnson), IDEXX Laboratories, Inc, Medtronic Peripheral Vascular, Miami Cardiac and Vascular Institute, Miami Children's Hospital, Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Scion Cardio Vascular, Scion International, Inc, Syntheon, LLC, and The beacon Council. The program establishes a permanent infrastructure for entrepreneurial and technology transfer activity at Florida International University with a focus on the biomedical industry. The infrastructure provides a venue for faculty and students to engage industry to transfer their developmental projects to commercialization. The region has a balanced mixture of large and small entrepreneurial corporations in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries that rank in the top 13 in the nation. In addition to commercialization of the research and development output of the university, an activity that will create economic wealth and new jobs, the activities supported by this award will educate students in biomedical engineering for the workforce for the regional industry. The biomedical industry is growing very rapidly with large investments of venture capital. South Florida has established this industry as a top priority for economic growth. The goal of this proposal is to provide the workforce to enable the industry to grow in the region. The creation of new jobs will have a significant impact on the region. Florida International University currently ranks in the top 20 in graduation of Hispanic and African American engineers in the nation. In addition, the population of the region is high in underrepresented groups. Hence, the award broadens the participation of underrepresented groups in the technological and economic enterprise of the region. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Prasad, Vishwanath Chin-Sheng Chen Richard Schoephoerster Florida International University FL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 599612 1662 OTHR 0000 0227879 January 1, 2003 Virtual Markets in the Wireless Communication & Computation Grid. 0227879 McKnight This award is to the Tufts University to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include the Tufts University (Lead Institution), Boston University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, ETH Zurich, Mystic Valley Development Commission, Btexact Technologies, Cisco Systems, Dialout.net, Fractal Antenna, NimbleMicro, The Telmarc Group LLC. The proposed goals are to create a collaborative pool of Massachusetts research universities in the wireless communication sector, to improve education and integrating wireless communication technology into the school system, to investigate the tremendous value that wireless grid networks offer to increase access to wireless communication, and to develop new economic sectors utilizing these ubiquitous networks to access grid networks. Wireless communication and computation multi-provider and multi service grid services for usability and network, power, spectrum, and economic efficiency are being designed. The critical characteristics and features of the service layers that may be required for both virtual and real organizations to do business across a wireless communications and computation grid will be identified. The virtual organizations model will be extended to include the concept of a virtual market across a wireless communications and computation grid. A wireless communication and computation grid services platform, designed for usability as well as network, power, spectrum, and economic efficiency, will increase access and engender productivity gains that crosses multiple market sectors. This model will transform the way that the national research enterprise innovates and help to create collaborative networks that strengthen local and regional economies. Communication and computation networks are a necessary part of the infrastructure for economic well-being and growth. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG McKnight, Lee Vincent Manno Peter Wong Amar Gupta Mark Gaynor Peter O'Reilly Tufts University MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 719477 1662 OTHR 0000 0227899 October 1, 2002 Northwest Ohio Partnership on Alternative Energy Systems. 0227899 Calzonetti This award is to the University of Toledo to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include the University of Toledo (Lead Institution), Bowling Green University, Owens Community College, IQ Systems, First Solar, Cooltech, Dana Corporation, General Motors Corporation, Owens-Corning, Pilkington, Center for Technology Commercialization, EISC, Inc, Regional Technology Alliance, NASA Glenn, Regional Growth Partnership, City of Toledo, COSI-Toledo, and Toledo Zoo. The activities of the program include the following: (1) improvements in the technical skills of the workforce by design of the technical programs at Owens Community College in the area of alternative energies, (2) participation of African American and Hispanic students from the Toledo EXCEL Program, (3) promotion of related industrial and business development through support provided by the Regional Growth Partnership and the Regional Technology Alliance, (4) increased public awareness of alternative energy systems, (5) development of statewide support through the Ohio Alternative Energy Development Council, (6) transfer of alternative energy research and technology from the University of Toledo and Bowling Green University to the partner companies. The program will increase academic research on alternative energy systems, develop the energy systems technologies, make innovations in manufacturing of these systems, develop the workforce for these companies, increase the participation of underrepresented populations in alternative energy systems technology, improve the environment from responsible manufacturing and less-polluting energy systems, and promote regional cluster development and increased investment in alternative energy technology. The region of northwest Ohio is in a state of economic depression. The proposed effort will provide new technologies, new companies, and new jobs. The creation of new jobs will have a significant impact on the region, which currently has a high unemployment. Involvement of underrepresented groups in alternative energy technology has obvious societal implications. In addition, lowered energy costs and environmental improvements from less-polluting energy will have societal benefits. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Calzonetti, Frank Thomas Stuart Alvin Compaan Maria Coleman Xunming Deng University of Toledo OH Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0227907 October 1, 2002 Enhancing the Emerging Biotechnology Cluster in Southeastern Ohio. 0227907 Wight This award is to Ohio University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include Ohio University (Lead Institution), Intherthyr Corporation, DiAthegen LLC, GeneBact Biotechnologies, Battelle Memorial Institute, Diagnostic Hybrids Inc, Sen Med Medical Ventures, Athenian Venture Partners, Adena Ventures, Appalachian Regional Commission, Edison BioTechnology Center, Governor's Office for Appalachia, Governor's Regional Economic Development Office. The goals of the program include accelerating and enhancing the growth of the biotechnology sector in southeast Ohio region, accelerating the growth of existing companies and increasing their probability of success, creating the technology pipeline and creating new companies, sustaining the regional cluster, and keeping the companies in the region. New start-up companies based on intellectual property derived from the Ohio University research programs will be launched and nurtured. Training of the workforce for the biotech industry is a top priority. Partnering with existing corporate and other private and public partners will form a strong nucleus to form and retain start-up companies in biotech in the region. The aim of the program is to increase the number of new sources of higher-paying jobs, and to mobilize the underrepresented populations in the region by providing education, research and technology and business support for new start-up biotech companies. The economy in southeastern Ohio is among the worst in Appalachia. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Wight, David John Blazyk John Bantle John Kopchick Douglas Goetz Ohio University OH Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0227919 October 1, 2002 NativeView: A Geospatial Curriculum for Native Nation Building. 0227919 Bordeaux This award is to Sinte Gleska University to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include Sinte Gleska University (Lead Institution), The Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Global Sciences and Technology Corporation, and Earth Satellite Corporation. The goals of the program include developing and implementing a curriculum in geospatial information technology that is focused on the natural and cultural resource information needs of tribal governments. The program creates an academic program that is focused on the cultural and land management information needs of Native American communities. This academic program provides training in geospatial technology, and increases the level and quality of science and math education in Native schools. A series of workshops for tribal elders will help ensure that the development of the proposed curriculum will be relevant to and will address real operational needs of the Tribes. In addition, the program is developing a business plan for a geospatial services enterprise that will serve indigenous communities, federal and state agencies, and will ultimately be able to compete successfully for geospatial services work for public and private sector clients worldwide. The aim of the program is to create a self-sustaining Native American business that provides the skills to manage land resources with the initial focus on Native American communities and government agencies. Remote sensing and geospatial services that provide real time agriculture weather and storm information will be made available to Indian Nations throughout North America. The model will be made available for other indigenous communities. Unemployment and underemployment are widespread, and self-sustaining enterprises are rare among the Native Americans in this region. The geospatial industry exports work in foreign countries, and this program is designed to provide trained workforce to keep these jobs in the U.S. The creation of new jobs, training for future employees plus providing a service to Native American communities to give them tools to help them manage their land will have a significant impact on the region. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Bordeaux, Leland Michael Kalb Jhon Goes In Center Gregory Koeln Sinte Gleska University SD Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 599055 9150 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0227925 January 1, 2003 Innovations in Aquaculture Feeds. 0227925 Korpchak This award is to the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). Partners The partners for the proposed scope of work are Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (Lead Institution), ADM Animal Health and Nutrition, Illinois Fish Farmers Cooperative, Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, City of Carbondale/Southern Illinois Research Park. ADM Animal Health and Nutrition is contributing its trademarked animal feed supplements to be used by the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Fisheries and Illinois Aquaculture Center in dietary /feeding experiments. The Illinois Fish Farmers Cooperative will contribute technical support in fish processing and storage, and coordinate participation of its members in field trials. Aquaculture is the most rapidly growing sector of U.S. agriculture. Illinois is the largest inland state consumer of seafood and the second leading consumer of farm-raised fish in the country. The state of Illinois has recently invested $12 million to build a state-of-the-art fish processing facility. This effort will build on this initiative by addressing the issues of feed for farm-raised fish, which is the most costly factor in aquaculture. The following innovations are included: (1) farm-raised fish with substantially higher levels of long-chain, omega-3 fatty acids in their edible fillets, (2) healthier fish in terms of growth and survival in winter, (3) higher survival percentage for the hatchlings. Potential economic benefits include, less expensive food for farm-raised fish, higher production yields for fish farms, reduction of over fishing of thee oceans, and increased new jobs in fish-processing plants. The creation of new jobs will have a significant impact on the region, which currently has a high unemployment. In addition, lowered food costs and environmental improvements from less over fishing of the oceans plus a fish supply from waters known to be free from industrial contaminants will have obvious benefits to society. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Koropchak, John Christopher Kohler Charlette Kohler Southern Illinois University at Carbondale IL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0227936 September 1, 2002 The Women's Entrepreneurial Life Science Initiative. 0227936 Villa-Komaroff This award is to Northwestern University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF 02060). The partners include Northwestern University (Lead Institution), Illinois Technology Enterprise Corporation and the Women's Business Development Center, Evanston Township High School, Truman Community College, Young Women's Leadership Charter School of Chicago, Abbott Laboratories, Accelerated Business Solutions, Biotron Group, Counseltech, cue BIOtech, Piper Rudnick LLC, Springboard Enterprises, Wellspring Communications, Women Advancing Bioscience, Association for Women in Science. The program will increase the participation of young women of all backgrounds in science and innovation and document the partnership's activities so that similar partnerships interested in women-focused life science economic development can benefit from the experiences and lessons learned. The program has the following goals: (1) increase the number of women-owned and managed life science start-ups in the Chicago region, (2) increase the number of women receiving SBIR and STTR awards, (3) increase the percentage of venture capital raised by women-owned businesses, (4) create wealth through additional high paying life sciences technology jobs, (5) broaden under-served young women's life science knowledge and participation, and (6) create a documentation study emphasizing the people, tools, and activities needed by similar partnerships interested in related activities. There will be an increase in the number of new sources of higher-paying jobs, especially among underrepresented populations in the region, by creating woman-owned and managed life science companies. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Moore, C. Bradley Nancy Sullivan Northwestern University IL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 675614 1662 OTHR 0000 0228483 September 1, 2002 Proposal from the University of Minnesota to Join the Purdue University/University of Connecticut/ University of Puerto Rico Center for Pharmaceutical Processing Research (CPPR). The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is joining the existing Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Pharmaceutical Processing Research established at Purdue University with affiliated sites at the University of Connecticut and the University of Puerto Rico. The University has established expertise and industrial connections in several areas of pharmaceutical processing. This application stresses the fundamental understanding, at the molecular level, of the effects of processing on critical quality attributes of pharmaceutical products and in minimizing validation requirements through improved process monitoring. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Suryanarayanan, Raj Theodore Labuza University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 75000 5761 OTHR 0000 0229003 August 1, 2002 International Collaborative Project on Informatics Platform for Prognostics and Maintenance Optimization. The NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center on Intelligent Maintenance Systems (IMS) has developed a joint collaborative project with the Condition Based maintenance Labs of University of Toronto in Canada to advance the prognostics tools to augment the research capabilities at the Intelligent Maintenance Systems Center. This international project will develop a Collaborative Informatics Platform for Prognostics and maintenance Optimization by integrating smart prognostics agent and hybrid Proportional Hazard Model and Time Depended Markov Chain to enhance the effectiveness of the predictive maintenance system. This integration will further enhance the prognostics capabilities to achieve the vision of near-zero-downtime performance of the IMS Center. The results of this joint project will be shared among the company members of both the Center on Intelligent Maintenance Systems and the Condition Based Maintenance Labs of the University of Toronto. AMERICAS PROGRAM INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Lee, Jay Muammer Koc University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee WI Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 100000 5977 5761 OTHR 0000 0229715 January 1, 2003 SBIR/Phase I: Native Accent Pitch. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 project will develop automatic pitch error detection (pinpointing) for non-native speakers and determine whether software using this detection method helps people improve their pronunciation. Over 50 million people worldwide spend over $50 billion per year learning to speak English. Carnegie Speech's NativeAccent teaches English sounds and rhythm, but not pitch since its detection was unreliable in the past. New detection methods, however, will enable the software to show differences between non-native and native speakers' utterances. Correct pitch makes speech understandable over more than one sentence as the listener is guided from one high-content word to the next. Recent cognitive science findings have produced successful techniques for training non-native speakers to contrast phone sounds. This project will adapt those techniques to pitch contrast, specifically, tones in Mandarin. Tonal training breaks the pitch problem down into one basic type variation, later building up to larger, more complex pitch contours and applying the techniques to English. Trainees will use a game with feedback piloted by NativeAccent pinpointing and intelligent tutoring techniques. Success in Phase 1 will be measured by whether people can be taught to produce tones more effectively with NativeAccent Pitch than with classical methods. If the major long term target application of this technology to enable effective English prosody instruction succeeds, the firm will have advanced the state-of-the-art in language teaching and will have provided an important capability to a number of people especially in business contexts for whom the ability to speak more than one language is becoming increasingly important The system could be used across diverse educational settings and could be further extended to other languages. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Eskenazi, Maxine Carnegie Speech Company PA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9102 0116000 Human Subjects 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0230108 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Star Polymer Micelles as Targeted Drug Delivery System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel nanostructured polymer micelle system for targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs. A star structural polymer will be synthesized for use as the drug delivery vehicle. The star polymer will form unimolecular micelles under aqueous conditions. Hydrophobic drugs can be encapsulated in the unimolecular micelles and delivered to the cancer tissue via an active targeting process. Functional groups at the micelles surface will act as targeting moieties and lead the drug carrier to the desired cancer cells. The specific aims in the proposed program are to synthesize and characterize a candidate star polymer, and to conduct in vitro endothelial cell adhesive assay to determine the affinity of the star polymer to v3 and v5 integrins. Commercially, with this proposed new drug delivery system, more selective delivery by active targeting is possible. This will reduce the drug dose and undesirable side effects and make chemotherapy for cancer treatment more efficient. New drug delivery systems have had an impact on nearly every branch of medicine. Annual sales in the United States of advanced drug delivery systems exceed $10 billion alone and are rising rapidly. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Fei EIC Laboratories Inc MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231107 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Carbon Nanofiber Reinforced Carbon Composite. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating carbon nanofiber reinforced carbon-carbon (C-C) composite by integrating catalytic nanofiber growth and carbon deposition into a single operation. The main advantage of this process is the ability to directly fabricate components on substrates at a high rate thus it avoids the conventionally used lengthy C-C fabrication approach with multiple steps. As a result, the manufacturing complexity, the process cycle time, and the cost will be greatly reduced. In addition, since high density carbon and high strength carbon nanofibers are engineered in an integrated form, the C-C composite is expected to have unprecedented mechanical properties compared with conventional C-C composite. Commercially this technology will increase the reliability and reduce manufacturing cost, thus making the American C-C composite products more competitive in the world market. One immediate application of this composite will be for aircraft brake components. The technology can also be applied to many other applications such as computer hard disc media substrates and the next generation medical implants. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chu, Steven Sunnyside Technologies MN Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99888 5371 AMPP 9163 1771 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231439 June 1, 2003 Center for Technology and Innovation Management Research. Northwestern University has established an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center as one of the centers of this type coming within the rubric of the NSF program of that name. The proposal is the final step in the NSF structure for establishing such a center, having passed through the initial concept paper and planning grant proposal stages. Both of these were approved during 2001. The new research center focuses on technology and innovation management. The general description of the center and its plans were detailed in the planning grant proposal and have not fundamentally changed in concept through the planning period. There are, however, changes in the descriptions of specific research projects, responding to the final list of the center member organizations and their particular research interests. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS GRANT OPP FOR ACAD LIA W/INDUS SPECIAL STUDIES AND ANALYSES IIP ENG Radnor, Michael Northwestern University IL Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 270000 5761 1504 1385 OTHR 7237 0000 0231492 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Speculative Compilation for Energy Efficency. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will outline a plan to commercialize the retargetable power-aware compilation technology that we have developed over the past several years. The central thesis of this proposal is that much speculative information about a program can be extracted at compile time that is currently not exploited. This information can then be exposed and used in making operational decisions (such as throttling various system sub- units) to reduce power consumption with minimal (or no) impact on performance. Our approach relies primarily on compiler-based energy reductions, rather than on circuit and architectural techniques. The key difference between our work and that of others is that we do not require all our compiler-derived information to be provably correct: all that we require is that predictions are correct often enough that they can be usefully exploited in making resource-control decisions. Relaxing the requirement to be provably correct in making predictions (of, for instance, the instruction-level parallelism of certain portions of a program) greatly reduces the complexity of otherwise highly sophisticated analysis techniques (e.g., flow-sensitive alias analysis) and expands their scope to large and complex applications. Extensive preliminary work has been carried out to validate this approach. We believe this approach is orthogonal to many other power-aware approaches currently being used, and that its effects can be additive to these traditional approaches. Further, the nature of our approach lends it to being retrofitted to current technology. Extensive analysis of the significant power-aware computing market indicates the high level of applicability of our techniques to a very wide range of applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Moritz, Csaba BlueRISC Labs MA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0108000 Software Development 0231503 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High-Resolution Imaging and Petrophysical Characterization of Oil Reservoirs. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a key technology designed to enhance the definition and characterization of oil reservoirs, by using state-of-the-art 3-D prestack depth imaging technology coupled with advanced rock physics principles to produce high-resolution petrophysical and structural information. Briefly stated, this technology will allow oil and gas companies to extract rock information from seismic data. Extensions to this technology are not limited to only 3-D or 4-D (time lapse) imaging, but can also be applied to medical imaging, EPA projects of identifying buried hazardous substances, remote imaging using ground penetrating radar, etc. The complete software package will be a state-of-the-art program offering features and utilities that are presently unavailable in the exploration industry. The commercial potential of the technology proposed is considerable because it allows 3-D and 4-D seismic data to be much more effectively used to characterize and delineate oil reservoirs and to monitor enhanced oil recovery processes. This area of seismic imaging and reservoir characterization is greatly influenced by technology developments and represents a fast commercial growth sector. This advanced technology directly impacts the discovery and recovery of hydrocarbons and could decrease dependence on imported oil. In existing oil fields, better seismic images of complicated subsurface geology directly coupled with petrophysical information, can reduce development costs and increase the amount of hydrocarbons recovered. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Popovici, Alexander 3DGEO DEVELOPMENT INC CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0231563 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Innovative Assessment of Induced Subsurface Stress in Single Crystal Materials Using Photon Induced Positron Annihilation (PIPA). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will perform research aimed at characterizing subsurface residual stresses induced through surface treatments in single crystal and complex polycrystalline materials. Photon Induced Positron Annihilation (PIPA) will be used to quantify subsurface residual stress in single crystal materials and operational components subjected to high stress/high temperature environments. PIPA as a nondestructive material characterization technology has the potential to provide quantifiable, empirical data on atomic level, lattice structure changes in advanced metallic/intermetallic alloys used for critical component applications that result in failure. Commercially, government and industry spend billions of dollars each year in the maintenance and repair of components and systems. Many of the maintenance procedures are based upon conservative engineering models instead of actual empirical data, leading to early replacement of components, accelerated maintenance cycles, and a reactive versus proactive approach to failure mechanisms. PIPA provides real-time, empirical information on material characterization, redefining conservative prediction models and supplying decision makers with the hard data to evaluate materials and components for extension or replacement considerations, based upon the actual assessment of material damage. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Urban-Klaehn, Jagoda Positron Systems, Inc. ID Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 98724 9150 AMPP 9163 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231606 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High-Temperature Fuel Cell Membranes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project addresses the development of a proton- exchange membrane for use in elevated temperature proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (ETPEMFC) (>100C) for automotive applications. In this work we propose to develop a membrane that can operate at temperatures approaching 150C. Specific program objectives include: (1) to demonstrate feasibility of fabricating a membrane for ETPEMFC use, (2) to evaluate select, important physical/chemical properties of the membrane, (3) to fabricate high performance Membrane-Electrode Assemblies (MEAs) for ETPEMFC use, and (4) to demonstrate performance of the MEA in single-cell ETPEMFC at temperatures up to 150C. The proposed research will consist of membrane synthesis, evaluation and fuel cell testing. The potential market for PEMFC, for transportation vehicles and utility applications (residential, power) is in the 100s of billions of dollars. The California (CA) legislature previously mandated that by 2004, 10% of large volume manufacturer's sales in CA must be Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEVs). Many other states, including Massachusetts, followed the lead taken by CA. The market value of residential fuel cells, by the year 2020, is expected to reach $40 billion according to estimates by the Small Scale Fuel Cell Commercialization Group, Oklahoma City. Retail prices for the residential systems (approx 7 kW) are expected to be $4,000 by the year 2003. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kosek, John GINER ELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS, LLC MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99992 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231609 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Reduced Emissions from Combustion Processes. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the reduction of NOx emissions from coal-fired power plants. The concept uses existing burner technology plus nitrogen enriched air (NEA) based on membrane technology to reduce NOx emissions. Modeling work projects 300-fold NOx emissions reductive using this approach. Preliminary estimates suggest that this approach will be less expensive than existing selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems. The program focuses on coal fired electrical power facilities since they are most demanding due to high flame temperature and high contamination level. Phase I will demonstrate process feasibility on small furnace system and will identify leading low cost NEA candidate (membrane or pipeline nitrogen). The results will be compared to existing SCR NOx cleanup technologies. If successful this technology offers major cost effective routes to reduction of NOx in coal-fired power plants and other facilities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Stookey, Donald COMPACT MEMBRANE SYSTEMS, INC DE Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1407 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231650 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: QTIPs - 24-Hour Technology Intelligence & Forecasting. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to devise software to provide quick (24- hour) and affordable analyses for competitive technological intelligence and innovation forecasting. It substantially enriches intelligence on external technology progress for decision-making. Search Technology proposes to work closely with our partner to develop "Quick Technology Information Products" (QTIPs) to address the needs of a spectrum of senior technology managers and professionals. Macros will be prepared to expedite information search in extensive R&D publication and patent databases, text analyses, and graphical representation of findings for intranet dissemination. Findings will address "who's doing what?" on technologies of interest, and go further to identify research and development patterns, map topical interrelationships, and forecast likely developmental progression using a series of innovation indicators. The project entails requirements analysis, evaluation of pilot analyses, and coding of macros to facilitate the priority information products. Potential commercial applications include enhanced analytical software for industry and fast-response information services on emerging technologies. Both aim to enhance technology management by improving R&D portfolio selection, intellectual property exploitation, new product development, and external collaboration in technology development. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Porter, Alan Search Technology Inc GA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99574 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0231670 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Performance Transparent AlON via Novel Powder Synthesis. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop a transparent AlON with superior mechanical and optical properties using a novel powder synthesis method. This innovative powder synthesis method can not only reduce the particle size but also enhance the uniformity of the reactants. Increasing the sinterability and reducing the diffusion path can reduce the sintering time and sintering temperature reduced significantly. The advantage of these sintering conditions is a lower processing cost and a microstructure with much smaller grain size compared with the conventional processed AlON. Mechanical and thermal shock capabilities of transparent polycrystalline ceramics are limited by their mechanical strength, which in turn is enhanced when the grain size is decreased. The optical properties can also be improved due to less milling process, which results much less impurities pick-up. This innovative synthesis method can convert the surface of the powder into oxide, which makes it possible to process the powder in aqueous solution. The processing cost can be reduced significantly by using the aqueous solution. The transparent AlON developed in this program can be used to replace translucent Al2O3 for the sodium and halogen lamp applications. It can also be used for IR missile domes, transparent armors, supermarket scanners, glass for Xerox copy machine and scanners, and optical lenses. This new material could revolutionize the optical industry by replacing glass and sapphire. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chen, Ching-Fong Materials and Electrochemical Research Corporation (MER) AZ Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231682 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Cost-Effective Manufacture of High-Power Li-Ion Batteries for NGV. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes a unique rolled-ribbon cell for a Lithium-ion battery that has inherent cost advantages for a NGV FreedomCar compact pulse-power application. It can meet the cost requirements and deliver thousands of pulses and recharges. The battery is formed by stacking large capacity (5-10Ah), sealed, 125mm diameter, button cells to optimize power capability. The battery design projects power at 2-4kW/kg and power density at 7.5kW/liter similar to a ultracapacitor, with 20 times greater specific energy at 70-90Wh/kg . Of particular importance to high-power battery, the rolled-ribbon design overcomes safety concerns by its unique internal heat dissipation. Perpendicularly oriented electrode foils remove heat from the electrode interface to the disc-cell hardware without crossing Celgard separator. The high temperature stability of Lithium ion will be enhanced with a flame retardant electrolyte additive. The NGV FreedomCar can anticipate a viable safe, high power Li-ion battery using the rolled-ribbon cell design, that is more compact and cost-effective than ultracapacitors or other high-power batteries. Improved performance and temperature stability for Li-ion battery can enhance prospects for the civilian hybrid vehicle market. Gasoline savings will reduce air pollution and oil imports. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kaun, Thomas INVENTEK CORP IL Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99928 5371 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231685 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Cubic Phase-Stabilized Zirconia Thermal Barrier Coatings Applied via a Novel Chemical Vapor Deposition Route. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of producing thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), along with sealcoats engineered to minimize oxygen ingress through the TBC to the bondcoat, by a novel chemical vapor deposition (CVD) route. Success will largely be determined through evaluation of test coupons in actual use conditions. The key innovation of the project is the development of a technique for the application of yttria- and ceria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ and CSZ respectively) using inexpensive metal halide precursors. Improved TBCs will have wide application to commercial and military propulsion and power generation systems, including turbine and reciprocating SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Babcock, Jason ULTRAMET, INC. CA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99997 5371 AMPP 9163 1406 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231688 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Low Sulfur Gasoline by a Novel Membrane Pervaporation Process. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the development of a unique, scalable membrane pervaporation process that can be used in a wide array of separations that are of national and economic importance. This research will demonstrate the technical viability of a novel pervaporation system, which generates its vacuum by passing a special working fluid through a Venturi nozzle. More specifically it will show that an intermediate cat naphtha stream having up to 2000 ppm sulfur can be selectively separated into (1) an aromatic-rich permeate fraction that contains almost all of the sulfur-bearing molecules and (2) a virtually sulfur-free saturate-rich retentate fraction that contains almost all of the olefins. A small scale laboratory system will be used to generate permeation rate and quality data on model feeds using membranes that have previously been shown to have high aromatic/aliphatic selectivities. One application of particular interest is the reduction of sulfur in gasoline. The National Petroleum Council has estimated that it will cost U.S. refiners $8 billion in 1998 dollars to meet the 30 ppm Tier 2 requirement for sulfur in gasoline, primarily because of the limitations of existing commercial hydrotreaters. If successfully demonstrated, this technology could be used in tandem with existing hydrotreaters worldwide to allow refiners to more cost effectively meet lowered sulfur specifications for gasoline. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schucker, Robert TRANS IONICS CORPORATION TX Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231691 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Accessible Scalable Vector Graphic Authoring and Editing Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop proof-of-principle software permitting any graphic to be converted easily into a universally usable file in the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) web language format. Any sighted person with rudimentary computer skills could use this software to convert a graphic to SVG and could add information that does not change the visual appearance of the graphic, but makes it usable by individuals who are blind or have other print reading disabilities. A blind computer user could then download the file from the web and view it by embossing a copy on the Tiger Tactile Graphics and Braille Embosser, placing the tactile copy on an inexpensive digitizing pad, and pressing objects in the graphic in order to hear them identified by the self-voicing Accessible SVG Viewer. ViewPlus Technologies expects Accessible SVG to be adopted rapidly by authors who need to display graphical information and who work in institutions required to provide accessible information. As SVG becomes more and more popular, a substantial fraction of web authors and webmasters are likely to purchase the SVG conversion software. Generally, most companies and institutions are discovering that it is good business to make their information accessible and are likely to do so if most authors can understand easily ho to accomplish that objective. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bulatov, Vladimir VIEW PLUS TECHNOLOGIES INC OR Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 SMET 9178 9177 1545 0522400 Information Systems 0231697 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Automatic Fabrication of Custom-Fit Hearing Instruments Using Rapid Proptotyping Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop and demonstrate a novel three dimensional (3D) ear camera technology that enables audiologists to acquire multiple 3D images of external ear (auricle) and ear canal, and to produce complete 3D digital ear model that serves as a "digital ear impression". The digital ear impression data will be sent instantly to manufacture's lab via the Internet, dramatically reducing the delivery time. The digital impressions enable the hearing aid manufacturers to take advantages of the latest breakthrough of CAD/CAM and rapid prototyping technologies. This technology will permit mass product customization of hearing aid devices within a one-day time frame. The commercial potential would be a process that would drastically reduce the time for custom-fit hearing-aid devices. Even including the quality insurance, electronics calibration, and shipping, the entire process would be shorted from weeks to a few days. More importantly, the digital impression technology will improve the quality of fit, thus enhance the hearing functionality for impaired people. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Feng, Yuanming GENEX TECHNOLOGIES INC MD Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 5371 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231699 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Three-Dimensional Ear Biometric Technique. This Small Business Innovation Phase I research project seeks to investigate the feasibilty of a novel 3D ear-shape recogniton system for enhancing the performance of video-based human identification (ID) systems in protecting highly secured facilities. Human ears are highly complex 3D structures that offer a rich set of features that can be used as effective biometric properties for video-based surveillance and identification of human subjects. Genex Technologies' proffered "3D Ear ID" technique would significantly advance the current identification and surveillance capability and greatly enhance the protection of U.S. forces/civilians and facilities, at home and abroad. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Qiao, Jinglu GENEX TECHNOLOGIES INC MD Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 5371 0510604 Analytic Tools 0231708 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: An Adaptive Remote-Data Access System For Wireless Handheld Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project designs and develops an adaptive remote-data access system for wireless handheld devices. The key innovations in the project include adaptive data compression and adaptive partitioning techniques to save network bandwidth and battery consumption. The central concept is the ability to adapt to the changing wireless network environment and to different types of data. The proposed techniques go beyond existing bandwidth-saving techniques such as nonadaptive compression and "diff"-based data synchronization. A research prototype will be built for extensive experimentation in order to measure the effectiveness of the proposed technique for the saving of network bandwidth and battery consumption. This prototype will integrate heterogeneous systems, runtime systems, and compiler techniques. Commercial Applications of Research: The success of this research will lead to a software product which provides users of wireless handheld devices with secure, convenient, and cost-effective access to the data (and associated applications) located on their stationary computer systems, such as desktop machines and servers. This product can be used by both business and individual users for various functionalities which require to access data stored on the main computer systems in the form of text, graphics, photographs, data images, speeches, sound, and so on. The adaptive features of the system fulfill the need of remote-centric workforce to access host-based data and applications from anywhere at any time over wireless connections in a highly cost-effective way. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Song, Xiaohui L. S. Technology IN Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99840 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0206000 Telecommunications 0231710 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Studies on Preparation and Reactivity of Surface Derivatized NanoActive Metal Oxides. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop new surface derivatized reactive nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are expected to be highly active adsorbents and should be important in a number of applications. In the project, attention will be focused on preparing nanoparticles containing Lewis acid or base centers. The chemical modification involves introducing Lewis acidic boron or Lewis basic alkoxy functionalities on the surface of the nanoparticles. It is expected that introduction of such sites should enhance the adsorptive capability and the destructive ability of the nanoparticles appreciably. In particular, boron, by virtue of its affinity for electronegative atoms (in nerve agents) and the thio group (in mustard agent and nerve agent VX) should bind and help pull these agents quickly through the nanoparticles. Lewis basic sites should enhance the chemical reactivity of the nanoparticles thereby promoting destruction of agents by reactions such as elimination and/or hydrolysis. Commercially, these materials will find application in both civilian and military markets; for example, in civilan markets as adsorbents in air filters for various industrial toxic agents, scrubbing agents for raw natural gas and as novel catalysts. Militarily, the new nanoparticles will provide faster and more efficient decontamination of chemical warfare agents and environmental toxins. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rajagopalan, Shyamala NANOSCALE MATERIALS INC KS T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231717 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Quantum Intelligence System for Production Systems of the Extended Enterprise. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes a Quantum Intelligence System (QIS), a cross-industry Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) platform that integrates business intelligence and optimization for real-time performance monitoring, automation, and optimization of complex business processes. The objectives are to demonstrate how to look through real-time data, report performance indicators, detect and diagnose problems, and visualize results. Its key innovation is to integrate a large amount of quantum information, automatically perform many what-if analyses and optimize a sequence of responses. The anticipated results include a preliminary prototype demonstrating the business values. QIS can be applied to supply chain management such as inventory management, production planning and logistics, resource/budget allocation, quality monitoring, and control and maintenance for reliability. QIS can also be applied to industries in the area of revenue, resource, and business activity monitoring. QIS is a cross-industry platform to provide real-time performance monitoring, problem detection and diagnosis, and improvement of overall business efficiency and performance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhao, Ying Quantum Intelligence, Inc. CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 98817 5371 HPCC 9178 9177 9139 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0231722 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Laser Crystallization of Amorphous Sputter-Deposited Quasicrystalline Coatings on Conventional Engineering Substrates. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a laser treatment to crystallize amorphous quasicrystalline (QC) coatings on thermally sensitive engineering substrates. Application of these materials has been limited by the high temperature-annealing requirement, which restricts their deposition of super alloys and ceramic materials only. In the program, it is proposed to develop laser treatment of amorphous sputter-deposited QC coatings to provide localized thermal energy to the coated region only. This will enable the amorphous-to-crystalline conversion, while not degrading the load-carrying capability of the underlying substrate materials (Aluminum, Titanium, and bearing steel allows). The spectral reflectance of a-QC sputtered coatings will be measured to select the appropriate laser (and wavelength) for processing, laser glazing trials will be conducted, and then the microstructure and mechanical/tribological properties of the crystallized QC films will be characterized. Results will be briefed to major diesel engine manufacturers. Quasicrystalline materials offer a unique combination of material properties; low friction, high hardness, and low thermal conductivity, which makes them ideal coatings for non-galling tools for aluminum forming, engine drive-train components, and aluminum engine block cylinder surfaces. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nicholas, Norman ENGINEERED COATINGS INC CO Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99992 5371 AMPP 9163 1633 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231744 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Liquid Lens for Laser Nanomachining. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project, will develop a liquid lens for nanomachining materials with pulsed laser beams. The project team will design and fabricate a liquid lens capable of producing laser beam spot sizes on the order of nanometers (20-100 nm) through its nonlinear effects, including self-focusing, self-trapping, and harmonic generation obtained through intense laser beam propagation in liquid. The end product will be a fiber optic cable assembly in which the nonlinear optical liquid will be filled in hollow glass waveguides with a core diameter of one millimeter and the end faces will be fastened with two standard SMA 905 connectors. Upon interfacing with a high energy, Q-switched Nd: YAG laser, this unique liquid lens will facilitate obtaining various nanometer spot sizes and wavelengths by simply changing the liquid medium. The project team will demonstrate the feasibility of a liquid lens for nanomachining of medical devices such as catheters in a vibration-isolation work environment. Commercially, the proposed liquid lens and nanomachining are intended to fill the miniaturization needs of high-technology industries. Possible commercial applications include medical devices (pacemakers, implants,stents,catheters), electronic and photonic devices, magnetic disks, instrumentation, telecommunication devices, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The liquid lens will offer new capabilities for modern laser systems, flexible processing with single wavelength laser, and ultra-precision machining. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ramanathan, Diwakar Photon Energy Technology IA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231746 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Automated Pattern Recognition in Images Produced by Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project initiates rigorous investigation of automated pattern recognition in images produced by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography. Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC) is an emerging technology for chemical separation that provides a multiplicative increase in separation capacity over traditional GC. With this greatly increased performance, GCxGC generates data in significantly larger quantity and with significantly greater complexity. The quantity and complexity of GCxGC data makes human analyses of GCxGC images difficult and time-consuming and motivates the need for automated processing. This Phase I project undertakes both experimental and theoretical investigations into automating the process of matching observed patterns of chemical separations against previously recorded patterns annotated by human experts. The goals are to determine promising statistical models for GCxGC pattern matching and to demonstrate the feasibility of automated recognition. In this Phase I work, important anticipated results include statistical characterization of pattern variations and warping in GCxGC images, a catalog of useful annotations of previously observed pattern templates, and development of a prototype algorithm for automated pattern recognition. Phase I results, characterizing GCxGC patterns, cataloging annotations, and demonstrating the feasibility of automated processing, will provide a foundation for Phase II research aimed at developing commercially sign cant GCxGC methods. This research has high potential impact for a variety of applications. Commercial applications of GC include analyses of petroleum, environmental samples, foods and beverages, fragrances, and toxins (e.g., chemical warfare agents). The availability of software for automated recognition of chemical components from GCxGC images will facilitate adoption of GCxGC technology in laboratories using traditional GC and will contribute to the development of new markets, which require superior separation performance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Reichenbach, Stephen GC Imaging NE Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9150 9139 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0231757 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Templated Pyrolyzed Metallomacrocycles as Electrocatalysts. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the synthesis of new electrocatalysts from metallomacrocycles by the catalyzed pyrolysis of the complexes in mesoporous materials. It is anticipated that the approach will give rise to novel nanoparticulate carbon supported metals, which will be initially implemented in the advanced anode electrocatalysis of direct methanol oxidation fuel cells (DMFC) and in cathode electrochemistry as oxygen reduction catalysts. Thermal decomposition of these compounds is expected to result in atomic or small cluster metal active sites supported by and bound to nitrogeneous nanotube materials. Work proposed will consist of synthesizing the subject electrocatalysts followed by their electrochemical performance evaluation under representative proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell conditions for oxygen electroreduction and direct methanol oxidation. Potential customers for these technology include automotive companies. In additon, application to stationary power sources is also possible. Consequently, electric power utilities would find interest in the proposed technology as well as power for commercial and industrial installations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG White, James Eltron Research, Inc. CO Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99998 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231783 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I:Privacy and Risk Mitigation Assessment Tool (PARMAT). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project investigates and develops techniques to determine the privacy risk to databases and data sets. The research results in the implementation of a suite of techniques, Privacy and Risk Mitigation Assessment Tool (PARMAT), to quantitatively assess data privacy and to mitigate risk. A prototype implementation is developed to test and demonstrate the feasibility of the techniques and methods. Privacy is a growing concern especially with the proliferation of personal information in electronic format, making it easier to access and gather individual-specific information. The tools and techniques developed during Phase I will be of interest to a wide variety of users that must protect the privacy of personal information stored electronically. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides a set of standards for protecting the privacy of Americans' personal health records. The new regulation requires the protection of personal health information maintained by health care providers, hospitals, health plans, health insurers, and health care clearinghouses. The US Department of Health and Human Services estimates the cost to industry associated with the privacy regulation implementation for HIPAA to be $17.6 billion. While the company only addresses one segment of healthcare information privacy, the market potential for the proffered technology is considerable. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Winburn, Michael 3-SIGMA RESEARCH, INC. FL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99671 5371 HPCC 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0231850 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Grain Boundary Doped Thin Film Mixed Conductor for Oxygen Separation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will focus on the production of grain boundary doped thin film mixed ionic - electronic conductors for optimized oxygen separation membranes. Ion transport properties of mixed conducting ceramics will be studied as a function of controlled grain boundary doping. Ceramics known to perform well for O2 separation will be doped with magnesium for increased performance. Doped thin films will be prepared, tested, and compared to un-doped films and films doped in the bulk rather than the grain boundary. Cost effective grain boundary doping will be accomplished through a tape casting procedure used to produce thin films which can be laminated onto porous supports for increased strength. O2 separation will be maximized while minimizing the amount of dopant used. Test structures will be mechanically characterized for strength and durability. A cost efficient method of separating O2 from air would be beneficial in a number of industries. Chemical industries would benefit from a cheap source of oxygen for the synthesis of value added chemicals; manufacturing industries such as steel, glass and paper, for example, would be able to heat furnaces more efficiently with an oxidant undiluted by nitrogen; and the energy industry would see improved performance in processes such as coal gasification and conversion of natural gas to syngas. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Evenson, Carl Eltron Research, Inc. CO Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99994 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0231961 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Relational Bayesian Modeling for Electronic Commerce. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project will advance Relational Bayesian Modeling (RBM) technology, with specific focus on Information-based Technology applications in electronic commerce, especially customer and application-system behavior modeling. Relational Bayesian modeling combines recent advances in graphical statistical modeling with modern relational and object-oriented data models. An RBM is compact, precise, and efficient. It is compact because structural information, represented graphically, identifies a minimal set of numeric information needed to complete the model. It is precise because any probabilistic model, of arbitrary complexity, can be represented. No global simplifying assumptions are made. Finally, the structural information can be exploited to support efficient computation with the model. Work under this SBIR will focus an open problem in RBMs: the representation and discovery of, and computation with, probabilistic dependencies in many-to-one relations. Preliminary research has shown that relational Bayesian models can effectively capture dynamic behavior, and can be applied to recognize behavioral profiles in real-time, of both users and systems. This will enable a new generation of adaptive web interfaces, improve the reliability and predictability of multi-tier system performance, and be an important element in realizing autonomic computing. The commercial application for this technology is electronic commerce which is in need of the improve reliability and predictability of multi-tier systems which this solution will provide. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG D'Ambrosio, Bruce ESHOPPERTOOLS.COM INC OR Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99763 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0231977 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Membrane Reformer for Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells: Novel Application of Deposition Processes for Low-Cost Hydrogen Separation Membranes. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will focus on the development of economical processes to produce a highly selective, long life, low-cost hydrogen separation membrane for the purification of a fuel stream from a steam reforming fuel processor. Recently developed processes for rapid direct-write deposition processes will be applied to produce thin (<10microns) palladium alloy membranes as a primary cost reduction step. Preliminary trials with these novel processes on porous metal show encouraging results in terms of deposition of a uniform membrane, homogeneous alloy compositions and stability to thermal cycling. Producing pure hydrogen from hydrocarbon based fuels on-site and on-demand is critical to enabling the burgeoning fuel cell industry. At present, distribution costs for hydrogen can represent more than 99 percent of the total cost of hydrogen. To meet and/or surpass cost projections for 2005 and beyond in the stationary, portable and automotive fuel cell markets, it will require innovative concepts for reducing both high volume manufacturing and material costs. Estimates project that costs for fuel processing systems must be reduced 3x - 6x by the year 2005 to meet cost targets of $1,500 per kilowatt and allow the fuel cell industry to become a viable energy alternative. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chellappa, Anand Mesofuel, Inc. NM Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99530 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232001 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A New Approach for Enhancing Capital Investment Decisions by Optimizing Returns and Risks of Project Portfolios. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project seeks to design an algorithmic approach and develop pilot software for optimizing the returns and associated risks of project portfolios to significantly improve the performance of capital finance and budgeting. This project is expected to achieve: an algorithmic approach for intelligently achieving near-optimal solutions for project portfolios in industries such as oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, bioengineering, heavy manufacturing, etc.; pilot software that incorporates this approach when integrated with simulation; key performance indicators to test the software; and a value proposition to assess the satisfaction of customer requirements. This new approach will provide a way to generate a model representation that is far more exploitable than those produced by past efforts. Coupled with other software, the outcome will provide a major advance in the ability to solve problems of project portfolio management effectively. The commercial applications anticipated for the ultimate software system are enhancement of the performance of capital budgeting and project portfolio management. While recognition of the limitations of current approaches is universal, none of the alternatives to these approaches has proved attractive enough to become widely embraced as a viable method of choice. Based on this observation and an estimate of the market size to be over $750M, a significant business opportunity exists. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Glover, Fred OptTek Systems, Inc. CO Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99962 5371 HPCC 9139 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232022 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Porphyrin and Porphyrin-TiO2 Nanoparticles: Method of Preparation and Application. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a method for preparation of porphyrin and porphyrin-titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles. Porphyrin and porphyrin-TiO2 nanoparticles are promising advanced materials for catalysis, artificial photosynthetic systems, nonlinear optical and electronic materials. In initial work, a broad range of porphyrin nanoparticles of 10-100nm diameter were prepared by mixing solvent techniques. The prepared porphyrin nanoparticles were characterized by DLS, AFM and UV-Vis. The prepared porphyrin nanoparticles are stable in air from weeks to months and have been successfully transferred to an alumina (Al2O3) surface. The porphyrin nanoparticles were found to have excellent catalytic activities in epoxidatin of olefins. The method has been scaled up to prepare 1g scale porphyrin nanoparticles. The elegance of the method lies in its simplicity and can be economically scaled up to industry scale, which is the subject of this project. The preliminary results also show that the agent used to prevent agglomeration can be covalently attached to the dye forming the particle or as part of the solvent system. The potential commercial application of porphyrin and porphyrin-TiO2 nanoparticles will include epoxidation of olefins, partial oxidation of saturated hydrocarbons, photosynthetic reaction centers, novel photonic materials and electronics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gong, Xianchang KAVA TECHNOLOGY INC CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99603 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232034 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: An Innovative Carbon-Polymer Matrix Material for Gas Separations. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an innovative carbon- polymer-matrix material for gas separation applications. Synthesized with a unique method, the material possesses unique chemical-physical properties, such as liquid expelling and catalytic reactivity. These unique properties, plus a suitable chemical modification, will render the material capable of removing sulfur dioxide and mercury vapor simultaneously from coal-fired power plant flue gases. During this Phase I program, the feasibility to synthesize the proposed material and to use the material for SO2/Hg removal will be established. The different synthesis methods will be tested to optimize the material's liquid expelling property; different chemical modification routes will be tried out to optimize the Hg capture capability; and the material's SO2 and Hg removal performance will be evaluated. The research will provide a path-breaking new technology for flue gas pollution abatement, which is simple, low cost, and environment friendly. The technology will greatly benefit coal-fired electrical generation industry, which currently generates more than 50% of the electricity in the United States. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lu, XiaoChun CM-TEC, INC DE Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99998 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232036 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Intelligent Learning Objects for Science Education. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to investigate the design of learning objects that are intelligent, activity-based, accessible and reusable. Intelligent tutoring systems have been shown to be instructionally effective in mathematics, science, and writing instruction. Intelligent tutoring systems, however, are often not practical due to the costs and resources required to design, develop, and evaluate them. The goal of this effort is to enhance the capability of instructional developers by creating intelligent learning objects that can be used in intelligent tutoring systems across domains in multiple science education learning environments. The plan is to analyze skill-based science instruction to determine functional requirements for reusable learning objects; to design and develop one intelligent, activity-based learning object; to demonstrate its application in two science domains; and to develop preliminary design and use guidelines. The long-term goal of the project is to improve science education by making instructionally effective, intelligent technologies more commercially feasible. Commercialization plans are to market an Internet-based tutoring system for biology/microbiology high school and community college science departments; reuse the intelligent learning objects in the development of other intelligent learning environments; and license the intelligent learning objects to other educational software developers. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Steuck, Kurt Command Technologies, Inc. TX Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99935 1666 SMET 9177 7256 0101000 Curriculum Development 0522400 Information Systems 0232043 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Next Generation Binary Decision Diagrams (BDD)-Based Logic Optimization System. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the need to synthesize very large silicon chips designs in very short time. Currently available commercial synthesis tools are based on the methodology, data structures, and algorithms that are predominantly algebraic (as opposed to more efficient Boolean methods), and are characterized by slow run time and inadequate design quality. This SBIR project is devoted to the development of efficient algorithms and techniques for logic synthesis based on modern BDD data structures. At the heart of the algorithms is a novel BDD decomposition theory, recently developed by company researchers. The resulting commercial product is a software solution for very fast, high-performance logic synthesis; as indicated by initial experiments it will be at least an order of magnitude faster than software tools available on the market today. The main version of the product is a core engine for logic synthesis used in several classes of applications: ASICs, microprocessors, and FPGAs. Another version of the tool will target formal verification, which also relies on fast logic optimization. The logic optimization engine can be plugged into any existing synthesis flow utilized by customers and offered by the existing EDA software vendors The SBIR Phase I project will stimulate research in design automation and inject much needed innovation in the EDA industry. This work will culminate in the development of a next generation, high-performance logic synthesis system that will have a significant commercial impact on the EDA tools market. This activity will also have important educational impact. It will educate a new generation of design engineers and students by exposing them to new design methodologies and innovations pioneered by this project. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhang, Qiushuang LogicMill Technology MA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0108000 Software Development 0232064 January 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Low-Cost Manufacturing of Fuel Cell MEAs with Highly Dispersed Catalyst. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project addresses the need for low-cost manufacturing of fuel cell components, by the development of a reel-to-reel electrodeposition process to maximize catalyst dispersion and utilization at loadings of 0.1 mg/cm2. In Phase I, 1) The feasibility of plating 0.1 mg Pt/cm2 loadings of highly dispersed catalyst (120 m2/g Pt) onto carbon electrodes will be demonstrated, 2) the catalyzed electrodes will be analyzed for loading, dispersion and performance in fuel cell stacks, and 3) a reel to- reel electrodeposition system will be designed. The ultimate customer for the proposed technology is the automotive consumer. It is expected that 2.4 million fuel cell powered vehicles, a 4.3% market share in global auto production, will be on the road by 2011. Further commercial applications include stationary and non-automotive mobile power sources. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Inman, Maria FARADAY TECHNOLOGY, INC OH Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 1505 AMPP 9163 5371 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232067 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Fiber Film Reactors for Organic Synthesis Processing. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project targets conversion of a technique perfected for washing hydrocarbons in the oil industry, fiber film reactor (FFR) technology, into a production organic synthesis technique. A FFR will be constructed in Phase I and two reactions studied- an epoxy polyol reaction and an epoxy synthesis. Feasibility will be proven by demonstrating producible conversion yields. FFR is an elegant, economical, and environmentally friendly approach to production-scale organic synthesis. Both PTC-based and conventional processing methods will benefit from FFR technology. The commercial market value of FFR processing is enormous - over 3 billion pounds annually of organic production could potentially benefit from FFR. The environmental advantages are compelling - a waste factor due to emulsion in DGEBA production of just 0.05% would add 250,000 pounds to our national waste streams- and the added costs to the manufacturer in materials and time are equally huge. These two factors will drive FFR demand. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bray, Alan Systems and Materials Research Consultancy TX Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99996 5371 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232068 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: The Atmospheric Information Remote (AIR) Project: A Commercial Software Application for Personal Computing Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I researches a commercial software application for personal computing devices. This commercial software application for personal computing devices is called the AIR (Atmospheric Information Remote). Its purpose is to provide consumers with an accurate, convenient and inexpensive way of measuring air pollution in their locality. AIR devices are used by people with atmospheric sensitivities. People with atmospheric sensitivities are children under 14 years old, people with asthma, heart disease or chronic respiratory disease, and the elderly. The AIR device protects the health of people with atmospheric sensitivities by letting them know when to go indoors or otherwise shelter themselves from the effects of nearby polluted air. The research objective of this SBIR Phase I project is to define the information infrastructure needed to support the commercial delivery of the AIR application. Defining the information infrastructure involves detailing the specifications of each component within the information infrastructure. Some of these components exist, such as personal computing devices. Some do not exist, such as project specific software. The results of the component specification detail is a design document. This design document determines the feasibility of further research and development based on marketability and profitability. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Priestley, Janice Priestley Consulting, L.L.C. ME Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99992 9150 HPCC 9215 9150 9102 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232073 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Efficient Software Implementation for New Peer-to-Peer (NPP) Communications Processor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project, Efficient Software Implementation of NPP Communications Processor, tests and analyses a prototype of a software implementation of a New Peer-to-Peer (NPP) asynchronous communication processor, which performs communications coordination in parallel with computations. Three areas of commercial applications for NPP are; Massively parallel High Performance Cluster Computing for real-time and non-real-time computations, Self-scheduling Parallel Programming with data distribution based on data availability, and Network-Oriented applications in finance, health, education, business and manufacturing. Efficient software implementation of NPP communications processor can dramatically decrease asynchronous communication latencies by several orders of magnitude, provide tools to dynamically debug and schedule portable parallel software systems, and provide infrastructure to produce robust software systems that can evolve dynamically. The size of this market opportunity is at least 1.2 trillion dollars over the next 10 years. NPP communications processor deployed through an API will dramatically impact this market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Srinivasan, Chitoor EDSS., Inc. FL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232124 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Evolving Object Neural Networks. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate the problem of generating intelligent behavior in complex settings. The need for generating such behavior is evidenced in many areas, including game playing, business operations, and military engagements. The objective of the research is to identify suitable means for a self-adaptive system to explore alternative possible allocations of resources and to learn how to respond to stimuli with only minimal human intervention. The research will focus on the combination of evolutionary computation and neural networks, and, in particular, will include object networks that examine subsections of a scene and are combined to render a decision regarding the appropriate course of action. The anticipated results include the identification of appropriate methods for evolving these complex object neural networks, as well as the suitability of the results for direct application in commercial markets, particularly in the area of software entertainment The possible commercial applications include strategic assessment of dynamic combat environments, optimization of business operations in supply-chain management and logistics, and the development of intelligent opponents in video games. Natural Selection, Inc plans to focus on video game products as the most direct method for bringing the research to a commercial application with significant impact. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fogel, David NATURAL SELECTION, INCORPORATED CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99888 5371 HPCC 9139 9102 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232127 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: HIVbase, Data Integration Software to Support the Study of Chronic Viruses. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will support the development of software, designated HIVbase, which will modernize the way that clinical researchers manage their data. For researchers that need to maximize the value of their collected information, we will offer a product that contains unique applications for integrating multiple sources of disparate data into an automated high-dimensional warehouse, applications that perform repetitious tasks common to genetic and clinical research projects, and applications that are easy to use. Investigators of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus have an unsurpassed amount of research information in user-hostile formats, error-filled spreadsheets, out-dated databases, directories containing thousands of individual files and even paper records. Never before has so much informational power been available to HIV scientists. We will exploit current technological advances and put together a program containing several novel applications: protein identification tools to eliminate repetitious sequence editing, the ability to create user-defined searches based on specific genetic attributes, and the ability to efficiently share information with outside collaborators. The outcome of this project will have broad implication in the health (HIV) and data mining areas. Health service providers will now have access to more complete data in a more expeditious way. Other fields will be able to use this application to make information available in an ordered and reliable fashion to its service providers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lamers, Susanna Gene Johnson, Inc. FL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9102 5371 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0232131 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High-Performance Oxygen Electroreduction Catalysts for Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to reduce the cost of fuel cell electrodes by preparing a novel class of oxygen reduction electrocatalysts featuring high activity, low cost, and greater longevity. The basis of this catalyst is a novel multimetallic catalyst. The result of this effort will be an electrocatalyst suitable for use in the fuel cells envisoned for next generation vehicles (NGVs), as well as fixed fuel cells for commercial power generation. This research will advance the understanding of electrocatalysis, extending the world of known catalytic materials, and providing further opportunities for research. This will also provide opportunities for teaching, training, and learning. Additionally, the technological fruits of the project will benefit society by reducing pollution from fossil fuel sources. Finally, society will benefit economically from the elimination of costly platinum from fuel cells. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Campbell, John Cape Cod Research, Inc. MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99291 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232134 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Hydro Optical Analysis System (HOPAS) for Environmental Monitoring of Water Quality. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project in Information-Based Technology will develop a user-friendly yet powerful software package that enables users to import marine or fresh water optical data in commonly used formats; process the data with a variety of ecological and radiative transfer inversion models to derive essential physical, chemical, and biological descriptions of the water column; and view/export the resulting information in convenient digital and graphical formats. This software will be the tool that connects commercial optical instrumentation and recently developed radiative transfer models with the large communities of oceanographers, ocean color remote sensing researchers, and water-quality and aquatic-resource managers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Atkinson, Charles SYSTEMS SCIENCE APPLICATION, INC. CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99994 5371 EGCH 9186 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232158 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Virtual Gorilla Construction Kit - Virtual Modeling for Learning. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project provides a plan to develop, deploy, and evaluate a virtual reality-based modeling kit that will enable students to build virtual models of gorilla motion and social interaction within a web-based inquiry framework. Using the Virtual Gorilla Construction Kit, students will build virtual models within the context of answering questions about gorilla behavior. The modeling possible with the virtual environment the investigator is proposing, which is quantitative/logical in its underlying operation, can help students move beyond the purely descriptive to an understanding of the relationships between relevant variables. Virtual reality is an environment that is uniquely suited for the dynamic nature of 3-D gorilla motion. Research has shown that students do not effectively blend lectures, 2-D static images, and textual descriptions of scientific phenomena. Building virtual reality models provides the right match for the content and builds deep understanding of the 3-D nature of science concepts and the inquiry skills of model-based science. Thus, the investigator will develop the Virtual Gorilla Construction Kit as representing an exciting learning environment, which uses the power of cyberspace to learn about gorilla space. The market for the project for this immediate version of the software will be other zoo educational programs, middle school life science, high school biology, and university freshman-level animal behavior survey courses. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Cohen, Charles CYBERNET SYSTEMS CORPORATION MI Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99714 1666 SMET 9177 7355 7256 0101000 Curriculum Development 0522400 Information Systems 0232169 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Power Aware Latency Minimized Source Routing (PALMS). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is focused on developing novel network routing techniques that provide power-conserving, latency-minimized, throughput-maximized data delivery in mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) environments. It is well known that existing shortest path algorithms used for optimal routing tend to yield routing topologies, where a small number of the available paths and the available network nodes are heavily used. This tendency induces both path contention (and associated increased latency and reduced throughput) and disproportionately heavy loads on a small number of critical nodes (which yields premature ad hoc network failure when the batteries on one of those critical nodes become drained). The approach introduces a retroactive accounting mechanism in the core dynamic programming-based shortest path algorithm to establish balanced, parallel pathways through a MANET in order to avoid these problems. Preliminary results using a pair of crossing flows have shown a factor of two improvements in throughput and latency, and a factor of three improvements in network lifetime. The key objectives for this effort are exploring the performance bounds of this approach on a larger scale, where the investigative team expects the differences between traditional techniques and the proposed approach to emerge as even greater than they are now. The commercial goal for this effort is developing a highly responsive, critically needed, enabling technology to provide situational awareness for the first responders and emergency management teams in large-scale emergencies and crisis situations. The proposed effort directly supports the ongoing thrust into this commercial area, which provides a natural conduit for technology transition. Standardization of this technology, as needed for interoperability, will also lead to licensing opportunities with other suppliers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zabele, Stephen Alphatech Inc MA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 5371 0522400 Information Systems 0232185 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Optical Diagnostics for Whole-Field Measurement of Dense Fuel Sprays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims at developing diagnostics for liquid fuel combustion systems. The proposed instrumentation will provide a noninvasive measurement of liquid volume, surface area and velocity within a cross-sectional plane of the dense spray. The technique is applicable to burning and non-burning sprays and is equally effective for spherical and non-spherical drops and particles. The proposed device is a novel combination of ensemble laser diffraction and image correlation velocimetry, both of which are well-developed technologies and many practical issues concerning their implementation have been already resolved. The goal of the project is to build a bench-top system and prove the underlying concepts. A number of issues concerning the effectiveness of the proposed diagnostics in the combustion environment will also be addressed. The broad impact of this work will be commercialization of a new diagnostics tool that may enable cleaner and more efficient liquid fuel combustion systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Naqwi, Amir POWERSCOPE INCORPORATED MN Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99849 5371 AMPP 9163 1407 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232188 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Temporal Extensions to a Commercial Geographic Information System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of developing temporal extensions to a commercial Geographic Information System (GIS). In many fields, temporal information is a key part of the domain models. For instance, a demographer studying population changes, an environmental biologist investigating migration patterns, or a public official looking for patterns of criminal activity all need a system that can work with data that have both spatial and temporal dimensions. Temporal extensions would leverage the strength of an existing GIS system and market demand for spatio-temporal support is growing, but response by GIS vendors has been minimal. The research will lead to the development of a marketable product in the form of extension software to be sold to current and future customers of existing GIS systems. The range of application includes natural resource management, meteorology, agriculture, health, archeology, crime detection and prevention, urban development, and other applications in government, military, and corporate environments. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Loomis, Jeremy ProLogic, Inc. WV Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99935 5371 CVIS 9150 1041 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232199 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Development of Process Technology for Novel Polymer Based Microcellular Nanocomposites. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is intended to establish the technology for the production of an innovative polymer-based microcellular nanocomposites (MCNC). The synergistic marriage of microcellular foaming with nanocomposite technology would create an end product with enormous market potential. This new composite would fill a critical need for the next generation of materials for the aerospace, automotive, medical and electronic industries. Nanocomposites offer enhanced mechanical and physical properties while the microcellular foaming process offers distinct processing advantages and weight savings. The project research entails three inter-related stages: application of mixing theory, computational simulation, and experimental investigation. This systematic study of the processing technology will permit for the efficient production and facilitate market penetration of MCNC materials. The project has the potential for numerous commercial applications. Current trends across various industries create the demand for materials that offer enhanced physical and mechanical properties, reduced weights, and improved processing times. These requirements lead to a significant impetus to develop a new class of materials derived from the marriage of nano-fillers and microcellular foaming technology. Some estimates put the worldwide market for nanocomposites by 2009 to be in excess of 1 billion lbs. MCNC materials have the potential to capture part of this market, while opening new ones due to the attractive properties that these materials possess. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gramann, Paul The Madison Group: Polymer Processing Research Corp. WI Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 5371 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232203 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Secure and Scalable QoS-aware Routing Algorithm for Ad Hoc Wireless Networks. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I will develop a novel, secure and scalable Quality of Service (QoS)-aware routing algorithm for ad hoc wireless networks. The algorithm utilizes several wireless routing optimization techniques and lightweight security mechanisms. This research will also extend the routing algorithm to support multicast in ad hoc wireless networks. The proposed routing algorithm will permit reduction in the cost of building communication infrastructures by facilitating and increasing the adpatation of ad hoc wireless networks for building reliable communication networks in locations where it is difficult to establish fixed infrastructure or centralized administration. Examples of such locations are conferences, lectures, crowd control theaters, search and rescue theaters, disaster and recovery theaters, and battlefields. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kaddoura, Maher ARCHITECTURE TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION MN Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99804 5371 HPCC 9216 0522400 Information Systems 0232204 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Purification of Metallic Nitride Nanomaterials by Chemical Separation. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop trimetallic-nitride-template metallofullerenes (trimetaspheres) for use as improved MRI contrast agents. The largest barrier to providing these trimetasphere materials in significant quantities is the lack of an economical, efficient means of separating these materials from undesirable empty-cage C60 and C70 fullerenes. To address this issue, the proposed effort offers innovative, ingenious solutions to the problem of large-scale synthesis and separation processes for these nanomaterials. The project tasks are 1) to increase generator throughput of trimetasphere-containing soot, 2) to advance vapor-phase deposition techniques as a prepurification step, and 3) to establish the feasibility of a chemical-separation process, which will enable large-scale nanomaterials production. The expectation is to totally remove HPLC from all stages of purification. Commercially, trimetaspheres are expected to find valuable applications in 1) improved medical care through novel imaging and diagnostic properties, 2) new pharmaceuticals, via high throughput screening, 3) faster and more productive internet use, through faster optical switches and components that provide higher bandwidth, 4) faster computers, through quantum computing devices built from nanomaterials, and 5) military devices including sensors, imaging devices, non-linear optical devices, new superconductors and variable capacitors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Stevenson, Steven Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99990 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232215 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Automatic Classification of Magnetocardiograms. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks development of novel machine learning capability for pattern recognition in magnetocardiography (MCG), which measures minute magnetic fields emitted by the electrophysiological activity of the heart. The company has developed a revolutionary measuring device for early identification/diagnosis of heart disease, inside regular, magnetically unshielded hospital rooms. However, interpretation of MCG recordings remains a challenge for cardiologists, since there are no databases from which precise rules could be deduced. Hence, there is an urgent need to automate and guide interpretation of MCG measurements, in order to minimize cardiologists' efforts to make meaningful diagnosis. The company will explore the application of automatic pattern recognition and classification schemes to MCG data. The goal is to develop a technique to accurately differentiate between abnormal and normal heart patterns and even to identify heart diseases. The differentiation will be performed using Support Vector Machines because they can handle high dimensional data and are especially suitable for a small number of samples. Since it is expected that different diseases will be located in separate clusters the investigative team plans to apply Self Organized Maps because they are suitable for multi-cluster formation. The proffered technology, which has the potential to deliver a diagnostic system for the detection of ischemia and coronary artery disease, could lead to the production of devices for detecting small disturbances in cardiac function and thus may warn doctors and patients of impending malfunction. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sternickel, Karsten CARDIOMAG IMAGING INC NY Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 90518 5371 HPCC 9139 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232216 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Design of New Polymeric Composites for Proton Exchange Membranes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will design and synthesis of a new family of polymer composites tailored for the fabrication of proton exchange membranes (PEMs) to be used in fuel cell applications. The novel PEMs, based on a new family of polymeric composites, are expected to surpass state-of-the-art Nafion.-type PEMs in general fuel cell applications, and to have all the properties needed to allow the development of the next generation of H2 and methanol fuel cells. The energy and transportation industry is quickly recognizing fuel cells as the leading technology in an upcoming revolution in energy production systems. The market accessible to fuel cell applications is simply gigantic, ranging from personal electronics and car design to portable and stationary power generators. Superior fuel cell systems are needed to penetrate deeply in those markets and superior fuel cell systems is exactly what the project will enable if successful. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rogers, Martin Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99994 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232219 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Application of Infinitesimal Perturbation Analysis over Continuous Flow Models to a High-Performance Content-based Routing Network. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate distributed traffic-management algorithms applied to overlay networks of Semantic Routers constituting a high-speed Semantic Web. Semandex Networks is pioneering new categories of information routers based on eXtensible Markup Language (XML). These routers automatically know where content is and to where to deliver it, dramatically reducing information breaks. A hierarchy of edge and core application-layer routers interconnect for scalable, accurate, and timely information delivery, in a manner that could not otherwise be economically or technically realized. Traffic management in this real-time heterogeneous system presents new challenges that cannot be solved by traditional link-based point-to-point approaches. Specifically, the bandwidths of the underlying links are shared with other layer-3 traffic of unknown characteristics, and outputs from individual virtual ports are aggregated over the outgoing link or links from an individual layer-7 router. Commercial application for this project is that flow and management issues needed to enhance next generations Internet structures will be tractable therefore reducing downtimes and increasing net performance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG French, Leslie SEMANDEX NETWORKS INC NJ Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 98991 5371 HPCC 9215 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232223 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Artificial Intelligence Software for Student Assessment in Chemistry Education. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project focuses on the development of meaningful interactive tutoring and assessment capabilities for chemistry tutorial software. Although there has been a clearly articulated user demand for advancement in this area, it has been repeatedly identified as one for which existing offerings are weak. Quantum Simulations a new and different approach, adapting and incorporating new concepts from artificial intelligence (AI). More than just assigning a grade, meaningful opportunities will be created for students to learn directly from the assessment itself. The proposed technology will benefit all students. The technology, however, is specifically targeted to help those who have the greatest need--such as students of average or marginal performance and students from historically underrepresented groups--by lowering barriers to accessing high-quality science instructional software. The firm has established a partnership with an NSF-funded systemic reform initiative to further these goals. The customers for the proffered technology include textbook publishers, software providers, hardware vendors and distance learning companies. Quantum has entered into a long-term contract with a prominent textbook publishe, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, to commercialize this technology. This arrangement will result in rapid dissemination to an established end user base. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Johnson, Benny Quantum Simulations Incorporated PA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 1666 SMET 9178 9177 0108000 Software Development 0232231 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Low-Cost Hydrogen for Next Generation Vehicles. This Phase I project will provide a low-cost process for producing high-pressure hydrogen (e.g., 7.500 psia, 510 atm) for use in vehicles. This process uses a proven, regenerable, low cost CO2 sorbent and a small-scale process that reforms natural gas, diesel, gasoline, or oil derived from biomass to hydrogen and compresses that H2 to high pressure for use in vehicles. Although the regeneration of the CO2 sorbent requires energy, the new sorbent/process effectively minimizes the efficiency impact. All of the necessary reforming reactions, water gas shift and carbon dioxide removal are performed in one reactor. This results in higher hydrogen purity, better energy integration (i.e., higher efficiency), reactions eliminate high temperature heat exchanges or valves, and greatly reduces steam requirements and minimizes the use of downstream process. The result is a lower cost, smaller system with improved efficiency. The key aspect of the system is the low cost reforming of the fuel. In the near term, the production of H2 would benefit merchant applications. The proposed system can generate on-site hydrogen at scales that are similar to the current on-site hydrogen generation plants at very high purity and low cost. In the long term the new system can provide hydrogen at low cost to distribution centers for use in vehicles and other fuel cell applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Copeland, Robert TDA Research, Inc CO Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232236 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Proxies for Shared Wireless Internet Access. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will research an advanced form of transparent network TCP proxies for both satellite and terrestrial broadband wireless communications to the Internet. Low cost shared wireless access links to the Internet often exhibit what we have called a traffic/cost anomaly. While almost 90% of the traffic in the network can flow from the Internet to the user, almost 90% of the cost of the access links can be attributed to the channel transmitting packets from the user to the Internet. Much of this cost can be directly attributed to the performance penalties imposed upon wireless access channels by the structure of conventional TCP protocols. The proxy to be developed will be designed to deal with these performance penalties with the objective of providing an improvement of 10x in the effective throughput of the multiple access channels. The broader impacts of the use of such proxies would be to make practical a cost effective broadband Internet access option for millions of users without such an option at this time. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Abramson, Norman Skyware, Inc. CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232238 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Cermet Heating Materials for Thermal Control and Energy Efficiency. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project will optimize a newly developed ceramic-metallic (cermet) resistive heating material and prove its feasibility for use in diesel particulate filters. Objectives include optimization of the cermet composition and laminates, characterization of physical properties, and development of multi-layer ceramic tape manufacturing methods for producing multichannel filter monoliths with integral cermet heating elements. The research will optimize the cermet composition based on analysis of life and temperature cycling, heat transfer capabilities, and thermal gradient control. The anticipated result of the project will be a small-scale particulate filter with an integral cermet heating element that provides continuous thermal oxidation of particulates. The new cermet heating material has immediate commercial potential as a heating element that can be integrated into diesel particulate filter structures for the continuous thermal oxidation of particulates (at approximately 600 C). With new emissions controls scheduled to take effect in 2007, there is presently a compelling need for a compact, simple-to-maintain, durable, and effective diesel particulate filter for both new and existing diesel-powered vehicles. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ferguson, Luke Harmonics, Inc. WA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 98829 5371 AMPP 9163 5371 1406 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232245 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Fiber Impregnation Using Molten Thermoplastic Polymer Spray. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a prepreg material that, while maintaining the advantages of a powder towpreg system, will eliminate the use of high price, finely ground powders. By generating fine particles in situ using aerosol formation from molten polymers two steps will be eliminated from the manufacturing process -- powder grinding and powder sintering, resulting in greatly reduced cost and complexity of the operation. Commercially, composite materials have an ever growing importance in the development of new technologies due to their inherent advantages over conventional materials. These include better strength-to-weight ratios than most metals, extreme corrosion resistance, and novel processing techniques, which will allow a variety of shapes not achievable by conventional means. However in many cases, the costs for fiber-reinforced composites is five to ten times higher than that of base metals like steel or aluminum. This project will make the composite material considerably more cost competitive. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wesson, Sheldon Adherent Technologies, Inc. NM Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1773 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232246 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Authentication of Mobile Video Recordings (MVRs) Based on Real-time Hybrid Digital Watermarking. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is aimed at developing an authentication technology that enables the deployment of a digital Mobile Video Recordings (MVR) system. MVR data are collected daily by a very large fleet of patrol vehicles operated by the law enforcement community across the country that record events involving contact with civilians. Due to staggering costs associated with operating current analog, non-indexing systems, there is an overwhelming need for a computerized digital MVR technology. Its deployment, however, is hindered by legal acceptance, because a digital medium can be easily altered. Authentication plays a critical enabling role by providing an effective means to safeguard the integrity of MVR content. The objective of this research project is to develop a prototype for real-time MVR authentication software, based on a novel, hybrid watermarking algorithm, that integrates seamlessly with existing digital infrastructure. This algorithm is specifically designed to meet stringent operational requirements set forth by next generation MVR system. It achieves progressively varying robustness in one single watermark by means of error-correcting signature coding and rate-distortion guided bit embedding. It combines fragile watermark's ability to localize content tampering and robust watermark's ability to characterize the severity of content alteration. The MVR authentication, envisioned in this SBIR project, provides an enabling technology for the deployment of a digital MVR system for law enforcement agencies across the country that is more effective and much less costly to operate than the current analog system. The company's technology is inspired by and modeled after a set of realistic and specific requirements of the MVR program of the New Jersey (NJ) State Police, and its software-only solution is designed to integrate easily and seamlessly with its digital infrastructure. It provides a secure and economical mechanism for safeguarding MVR content integrity that is minimally invasive to the daily routines of patrol officers and MVR administrators. This NJ State Police and similar agencies across the country can easily adapt this technology so as to realize enormous cost saving through the deployment of a digital MVR system. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wu, Zhenyu MY EZ Communications LLC NJ Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99768 5371 HPCC 9139 5371 0522400 Information Systems 0232252 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Extension of the VorCat Code to Two-Phase Particulate-Flow Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop innovative, grid-free, numerical models of two-phase, particulate, incompressible turbulent flows. The intent is to provide a high fidelity model for the simulation and analysis of numerous environmental and industrial flow applications wherein particulate motion is a critical feature. Among the potential benefits are more accurate and timely predictions of health hazards and abatement strategies for the late-time dynamics of toxic particulates or contaminant clouds arising from routine, accidental or purposeful chemical and biological releases. This work will be applicable to the dynamics of pollutants in the atmosphere, particulate flows in liquids, two-phase turbulent mixing and particulate dispersion, among others. This revolutionary technology will expand its potential computational fluid dynamics (CFD) market share by extending its capabilities to treat complex flows which are of great importance to including: aircraft manufacturing, automobile manufacturing and power generation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Krispin, Jacob Vorcat, Inc. MD Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232255 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Highly Accurate Reconstruction Module For Multidisciplinary Computation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a highly accurate reconstruction module for Godunov-type schemes to upgrade the capability of current multidisciplinary computational software packages for simulation of a class of engineering problems with small scales and high frequencies. The unique and innovative aspect of this work is to combine both Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory (WENO) concept and compact differencing into a single upwind algorithm. Instead of using multiple polynomial candidates, a hybrid power-exponential spline is used as the underlying interpolation for a WENO scheme with local smoothness measures as the perturbation parameters. In this way, the weight functions of a WENO scheme can be analytically determined from the underlying interpolation. Their Taylor series expansions around the smooth regions can be used for further accuracy improvement. The resulting piecewise quadratic reconstruction with compact difference computed slope and curvature can dramatically reduce numerical diffusion inherent in upwind schemes. By using this upwind scheme, the numerical simulation of vortex dominated flows, boundary layers, turbulence, acoustic waves, and electromagnetic waves, etc., can be significantly improved without loss of the shock-capturing feature. The highly accurate reconstruction module, which is independent of physics, can be easily integrated into the current production and research codes and has the potential of providing cost improvement of at least an order of magnitude over the current versions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tang, Lei ZONA TECHNOLOGY INC AZ Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 81636 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232259 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Gallium and Germanium Recovery from Acidic and Alkaline Ore Leaches with Selective Silica-Polyamine Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop advanced materials for the separation and concentration of germanium and gallium from both acidic and basic ore leaches. The primary objective of the project will be to develop synthetic routes for grafting polyamines to silica particles resulting in composite material that provide an excellent platform for immobilizing metal selective ligands on a matrix is resistant to acids and bases and elevated temperatures. This should permit germanium and gallium loadings and usable materials lifetimes that are superior to current technologies. The development of more efficient means of extracting these metals will result in the exploitation of germanium and gallium deposits in the United States that cannot be currently developed due to the limited availability of economically viable and environmentally benign ore processing protocols SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fischer, Robert Purity Systems, Inc. MT Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232266 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Simulation Tool for the Prediction of Performance of Liquid-Feed Direct Methanol Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on the development of commercial software, based on computational fluid dynamic (CFD) techniques, to predict performance of liquid-feed direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). While computational modeling of fuel cells has been widespread in the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and hydrogen-air proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) areas, it has been limited in the area of direct methanol fuel cell. This can be attributed, in part, to the fact that in DMFC, since the liquid fuel produces gaseous products, the modeling necessitates careful consideration of two-phase phenomena, which is numerically challenging. A comprehensive simulation tool for the prediction of performance of gas-feed PEMFC and SOFC have been developed and marketed. In order to capture the rapidly growing DMFC market, this project proposes to extend the simulation tool to address issues specific to liquid-feed DMFC modeling. The model will be validated against experimental data available from the literature. Liquid-feed Direct Methanol Fuel Cells have become the center of attention, especially for portable power applications where optimal space utilization is critical. The proposed research will produce a commercial-quality predictive tool, which could be utilized extensively for design and optimization of DMFCs, in addition to providing better understanding of the transport and electrochemistry that occur in such systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mazumder, Sandip CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION AL Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99949 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232270 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Sensing Materials Based on Carbon Nanotube-Polymer Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the effect of carbon nanotubes on the photoconductivity of electroactive polymer matrix composites and on their performance and sensing efficiency. Several formulations of additives/polymer(s), including functionalized carbon nanotube systems, have potential to interact selectively, sensitively, and reversibly with trace analytes in the electroactive matrix. Nanotube-polymer sensing probes based on conductivity changes or mechanical force fluctuations exerted by the surrounding media, will be developed and tested for their sensitivity, reversibility, fast response to different analytes, and chemical and environmental stability. Superior formulations will be tested and compared to existing commercial sensing materials. Commercially, conventional metal oxide and polymer based sensors are usually impractical at ambient temperature due to low sensitivity. The combination of advanced conformal coating processes and advanced formulations of nanotube/polymers has the potential to alleviate the sensitivity and response to inorganic, organic, and biological analytes. These low cost ultra-light weight nanotube-polymer composite films with improved structural, stability and electrical properties will be important for portable sensor applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Abdelkader, Mohammed Materials and Electrochemical Research Corporation (MER) AZ T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232274 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Breaking the Barriers to the Commercialization of Super-Resolution Video Enhancement Algorithms. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the two primary barriers to the commercialization of super-resolution video enhancement, namely, that (1) the motion compensation-based video enhancement algorithms are extremely computationally-intensive, and (2) the ability to extract additional visual information from digital video is highly dependent on image sequence content. Provided that people, objects, and entire scenes move in subpixel increments between video frames or fields, this motion can be exploited by temporally integrating neighboring pictures to increase spatial resolution and to actually see details where there were once blocky pixels. The proposed research focuses on determining the feasibility of significantly increasing the processing speed of the associated numerical algorithms on desktop and notebook personal computers running Microsoft Windows or Linux, as well as determining the feasibility of automatically detecting the video frames/fields which contribute additional information to a specific region-of-interest selected for enhancement. A number of commercial applications in forensic image analysis for law enforcement and security end-users can be developed around this technology. Super resolution video enhancement is of particular interest to government agencies, such as the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice for extracting additional details from reconnaissance and surveillance video, as well as to the private sector for forensic image analysis in law enforcement, surveillance, and security. By successfully tackling the proposed technical objectives, the capability will be developed to embed super-resolution enhancement video technology into commercial nonlinear video editing software packages such as Adobe Premiere. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Schultz, Richard Machine Visionaries ND Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 84023 9150 HPCC 9216 9150 0108000 Software Development 0232277 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Fluorescence-Amplified Nana-Assembly for Sensing Bio-Toxins. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a novel functional nanostructure for detection/identification of biological warfare agents (BWA). A new class of fluorescence-amplified nano-assembly (FLAN) is proposed for real-time, selective, and ultra- sensitive BWAs and toxins assays. The basic concept of this technology is to mimic the cell membrane under certain organisms and toxins initially attack. Living cells quickly recognize and selectively respond towards invasion. The FLAN using three key elements for target detection: 1) molecular recognition, 2) fluorescence transduction, and 3) fluorescence amplification, to provide simple and direct fluorescent assay. The molecular receptors recognize the BWA; the binding causes a change in the local ternary structure, and which leads to an amplified fluorescent structure that can be quantified optically. The synthetic nanostructures exhibit bioactivities and high stability. The BWA-FLAN receptor binding is a rapid one-step reaction; it does not require complicate separation and washing steps, labeled fluorophore, or visualization reagents. During the Phase I project, the investigator will design and synthesize functional nanostructures with BWA- specific receptors, develop FLAN molecular assembly, develop fluorescence sensing system, characterize, test, and evaluate its technical merits. Highly selective and sensitive molecular recognition is important throughout biology, biotechnology, and clinical diagnostics. COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS Homeland and civilian defense applications include medical diagnostic of pathogens and diseases as well as non-medical contamination avoidance sensors for biological terrorism agents. The proposed nanostructure-based assays could be easily adapted to targets of interest to the medical community, environmental and agricultural testing, and food industry and used in conjunction with the portable reader for diagnostics in clinical or hospital setting. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ho, Winston MAXWELL SENSORS INC. CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99912 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232296 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Data Squashing for Massive Data Analysis. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project focuses on massive datasets containing millions or even billions of data points. Statistical analyses of data on this scale present new computational challenges. Squashing algorithms compress massive datasets into much smaller ones so that outputs from statistical analyses carried out on the smaller (squashed) datasets reproduce outputs from the same statistical analyses carried out on the original datasets. Squashing represents an alternative to sampling as a way of dealing with massive data and aims to significantly outperform sampling in terms of predictive and inferential accuracy. Squashing affords several advantages: (1) Computationally intensive statistical procedures such as non-linear modeling or large-scale variable selection, infeasible when directly applied to the massive dataset, become feasible when applied to the squashed representation; (2) Since the squashed dataset may be several orders of magnitude smaller than the original massive dataset, electronic data dissemination becomes much simpler; (3) Because squashed datasets are synthetic (they contain no actual data points), they pose no disclosure risk. The objective of this research is to critically evaluate squashing, and, contingent on a satisfactory evaluation, develop a commercial data squashing software product. Such massive data sets can be encountered, for instance, in computational biology, medical surveillance systems, telecommunications, and astronomy. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lewis, David Ornarose, Inc. NJ Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99999 5371 HPCC 9216 9102 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232312 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Smart Engineered Composites for Thermal Management. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will synthesize and consolidate a smart composite material, copper-zirconium tungstate, with high thermal conductivity (>240 W/m.K) and low thermal expansion (< 5 x 10-6/K) for thermal management applications. As packaging densities and power requirements increase, more and more power is being generated per specific area, thereby generating more heat. The current chip performance limitation is related to packaging materials when considering the component size reduction. The recent findings of negative thermal expansion in zirconium tungstate (ZrW2O8) have attracted many interesting applications for this material particularly in composites where thermal expansion is a major concern. Copper (Cu) has good thermal conductivity but it is not currently in use as a thermal management material, because of its high thermal expansion mismatch with either silicon (Si) or gallium arsenide (GaAs). A composite such as Cu- ZrW2O8, consisting of a high-conductivity metallic matrix and ceramic phase with strongly negative coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) is ideally suitable for electronic thermal management applications. In the project synthesis of Cu-ZrW2O8 composite will be achieved using the microwave plasma and low temperature chemical coating methods. Consolidation of Cu-ZrW2O8 composite will be carried out using a rapid consolidation technique, plasma pressure consolidation (P2C). Commercially, the major applications of this material are in substrates for microelectronics, and heat sinks in electronic devices. It will also improve the performance of ceramics in electrical insulators and power transistor modules.The other potential uses of zirconium tungstate are in thermal expansion compensation in dental fillings. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sudarshan, T. Materials Modification Inc. VA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232318 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High-Rate Production of Nano-Architectured Hybrid Oxide Materials for Lithium Battery Cathodes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of a novel method, Reactive Vapor Deposition (RVD), which is capable of mass producing thin-film, meso-porous and nano-phased cathode materials for use in lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries. Theoretical calculations and a primitive bench-top set-up have given the initial indication that this highly versatile method could potentially produce various stable cathode materials at a high throughput rate and at low cost. The Phase-I research is aimed at designing and building a bench-top RVD apparatus to demonstrate the general technical feasibility and commercial viability of this method as applied to the fabrication of nano-phased hybrid oxides for re-chargeable battery cathodes. The commercial applications and other benefits will be lower-cost and more stable lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries. This could have a major impact on the markets of portable electronic, computer, and communications devices. The market demands for all types of rechargeable cells is expected to grow at a compound rate of 11% per year, reaching a total of 3 billion cells by 2005. The lithium ion cells are expected to capture a 20% market share with a total of $6 billion (based on a wholesale price of $10 per cell). An even greater market size will become possible when much lower-cost and stable lithium-ion batteries are widely used in electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wu, Leon Nanotek Instruments, Inc. OH T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232345 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Web-Based International Trade Knowledge Discovery System (TradingCube). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will focus on applied research. The goal is to create a commercial Web-Based International Trade Knowledge Discovery System based on the TurboRAD Inc. innovative copyrighted software also known as TradingCubeTM. TradingCube is a Web Based Large Scale Information Application requiring only a standard browser to be used. With TradingCube, a decision maker can easily navigate the dynamic analysis of world markets for a wide range of product groups as well as specific products. TradingCube enables the functionality of a novel combination of tools including data management technologies, web technologies, knowledge discovery, econometrics and statistics. It requires the creation, storage, retrieval, and display of large volumes of international trade information effectively and efficiently. TradingCubeTM provides an intuitive interface and rapid results expressed in textual and graphic ways that do not require specialized knowledge to be understood by the user. The potential market includes any commercial, private or public enterprise or entity with the need to evaluate international trade opportunities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sanchez, Carlos TradingCube Inc. PA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99963 5371 HPCC 9215 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232358 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Attachment Interface Design for an Advanced Composite Power Transmission Cable. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop and demonstrate an attachment interface for an advanced carbon composite transmission conductor for electrical power. The attachment will interface with existing power transmission hardware and techniques. In the project the tasks will involve reviewing existing techniques for composite cable connections, possibly from other industries; initial design and analysis of interface hardware; fabrication of hardware and structural testing; evaluation of test reults and recommendations for final design including field installation considerations. Commercially, the advantages of an advanced carbon composite transmission conductor are the lower weight and higher power capacity over conventional bare overhead conductors. The weight savings will allow for a higher packing density on existing transmission towers. This higher packing density will ease or eliminate the need for new power transmission right-of-ways, which are difficult to obtain. The higher power capacity will allow for higher peak power delivery during power crisis and avoiding power transmission bottlenecks over conventional conductors. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Smith, Jack Applied Thermal Sciences, Inc. ME Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99993 9150 AMPP 9163 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232361 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Rapid Generation of High-Resolution, Geographically Registered, 3D Terrain Models. The goal of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to improve the way in which Geographic Information System (GIS) databases are created, updated and utilized. Software systems will be built that enable users to rapidly and inexpensively generate, update, analyze and visualize high-resolution 3D digital terrain models from digital images collected by a wide range of aerial and satellite platforms. Using an integrated approach that takes into account all aspects of the terrain modeling process, software tools will be developed that transform raw data collected from new high-resolution digital imaging sensors and low-cost navigation instruments into high-resolution, geographically registered 3D terrain models. The low cost and short turnaround time for these products will enable government and commercial organizations to expand the scope of their GIS applications, especially in the areas of environmental monitoring, change detection, and urban planning. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schultz, Howard Aerial Vision Inc. MA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 98385 5371 CVIS 5371 1059 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232362 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Robotic Surface Finishing. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a new robot architecture targeting fine-fidelity, force dependent tasks. The project will use an innovative 2 degree-of-freedom manipulator with lightweight construction and smooth, low friction joints. The control system follows the biological model of sensing the environment by touch and performing work by applying force. The project will test the validity of a manipulator concept by constructing a simple unit and attempting a task commonly required of cast metal parts, such as grinding excess material left by the casting process to produce a smooth surface. Successful results can be applied to more sophisticated manipulators for automating the finishing of cast, forged, and molded parts. The concept can also be extended to other labor intensive industrial processes that are difficult and hazardous for people to perform. Further, its more natural mode of operation could permit it to safely work in close concert with people, including the physically impaired. The potential commercial applications include automated finishing of fabricated parts, including grinding, deburring, polishing, and blending. Automated assembly of closely fitting parts. Robots that can work in close proximity, and provide assistance to, human laborers as well as the physically impaired. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Somes, Steven Western Robotics Co OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 5371 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232365 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Joblet: A System For Creating Software Development Exchanges. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of a unique system, known as Joblet, which offers the potential to improve innovation and success in software engineering. Joblet utilizes economic principles to address areas of software development that have been chronically problematic. Failures in software development have been rampant in many technology industries. This problem has grown as the complexity of software, and the number of developers needed to create it, have grown. Open Source software has demonstrated the power of distributed collaborative development, and has shown that independent, creative individuals can join together to develop innovative products. Joblet combines this power of collaborative development with the concepts of economic markets to enable a software engineering environment that will foster innovation, productivity and project success. The aim of this research is to demonstrate the feasibility of a system that will support Joblet exchanges and study key mechanisms of Joblet that will lead to sustainability of markets for software development services and knowledge. Such a system will have broad application in all areas of software development and can enable the creation of active communities for product innovation. The commercial potential for the Joblet system includes application as a public website for hosted development services, as well as a product for application in private enterprises for internal and outsourced development efforts. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Touris, Todd Touris Todd C NY Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0108000 Software Development 0232369 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Multilayer Membrane-Based Permeation for Cost-Effective Olefin/Paraffin Separation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a gas permeation process and membrane to separate olefin/paraffin mixtures in which a multilayer multifunctional membrane configuration ensures high selectivity, high olefin productivity, good mechanical stability, excellent impurity tolerability, and long-term operational reliability. Hollow fiber membrane modules will be developed to enhance the olefin permeance 2~10-fold compared to those by conventional polymer facilitated transport membranes in addition to much enhanced olefin/paraffin selectivity. This membrane system has long-term stability and reliability to dry feed containing trace amounts of H2, C2H2, and/or H2S that cannot be treated by traditional membrane processes. Compared to the other membrane processes, this process is more promising and cost-effective. If successfully developed, it could be applied very widely to olefin/paraffin separations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Qin, Yingjie Chembrane Research and Engineering Inc NJ Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99988 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232377 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A WebTurbine for Lightweight, Ubiquitous Internet Publishing. This Small Business Innovation and Research Phase I project will design and develop an innovative technology that enables those at the edge of the Internet to easily and efficiently become Web publishers. The solution is a compatible enhancement to the existing Web that counters the notion that all Web content be published in a hub and spoke fashion from central servers. The primary distinction between Web server and client thus becomes one of chosen roles, not physical location in a fixed topology. The project addresses the special needs of lightweight Web publishing, including intermittent connections (dial-up and wireless), location independence (roaming, dynamic DNS/IP address), modest resources (handheld devices), and limited bandwidth. The solution builds upon Creare's RBNB DataTurbine middleware, which provides asynchronous access to cached sequential information, a proven technology for peer-to-peer data distribution at educational and government research facilities. The project adapts and applies RBNB as a Web solution (WebTurbine), and, in Phase I, will demonstrate it by establishing a wireless Web publisher and publishing live video images to the Internet (viewable by our NSF sponsors). Commercialization Prospects: Millions of new publishers, now inhibited by cost and technical hurdles, will publish to the Internet. The unique capabilities of RBNB will enable the scientific and educational community to collaborate in a manner far more time-sensitive and flexible than is now possible. Our solution creates new commercial opportunities for seamless streaming media, a new approach to virtual private networks, and a micro payment pay-per-transaction model. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Miller, Matthew CREARE INCORPORATED NH Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99356 5371 HPCC 9215 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232384 January 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Integrated Software and Systems for Large-Scale Nonlinear Optimization. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will address the problem of creating robust and efficient software for the solution of large-scale nonlinear optimization problems. Taking advantage of recent advances in algorithm design, the project will investigate novel versions of both interior-point and active-set methods for nonlinear optimization, and will examine an innovative integrated approach that takes advantage of both methods to achieve greater speed and reliability than are available from current single-method codes. Optimization software resulting from this research is expected to have commercial applications to difficult nonlinear problems in such areas as network planning, optimal power flow, computer-aided design, and aerospace engineering, as well as in applications for decision analysis in such areas as finance and revenue management. Broader impacts of the activity include enhanced understanding of optimization techniques that play a key role in engineering and commerce; an advance for NSF's educational goals by providing support to a postdoctoral researcher; and commercial software products whose further development can be supported by sales revenues. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Waltz, Richard Ziena Optimization Inc. IL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99994 1505 HPCC 9216 1505 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232387 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Removal Of Halogenated Compounds By Microwave-Induced Non-Thermal Plasma. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will assist in the development of an innovative method for effective and low cost destruction and removal of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), specifically Halogenated Volatile Organic Compounds (HVOCs), using non-thermal plasma generated in microwave discharges. In the non-thermal technique described in this proposal, the non-equilibrium properties of the plasma are fully exploited. These plasmas can produce energetic electrons (typical energies of 1-10 eV), which effectively lead to the creation of free radicals without the necessity of adding the enthalpy associated with very high gas temperatures. Therefore, from the chemical point of view, destruction reaction rates normally associated with temperatures of 10,000 to 100,000 K can be realized with the gas near ambient temperature. The proposed technique utilizes the dissociation and ionization of the background gases to produce radicals that, in turn, destroy and decompose the toxic and hazardous compounds. The input energy of the system is directed mostly to the production of the desired density of radicals which react preferentially with the HVOCs that are often present in very small concentrations in the exhaust gas. The proposed technology will meet a growing need in the semiconductor industry, and other HVOC sources for a simple and cost-effective method for the removal of hazardous compounds from the flue gas. The new method is likely to be successful due to its simplicity and the ease with which the gas-cleanup unit can be retrofitted to the existing combustion systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Golkowski, Czeslaw SUPER PULSE NY Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1407 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232389 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Sample Introduction Technique for ICP-MS/AES Using A NanomiserTM Device for Spray Formation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a method to lower the practical quantitation level of arsenic using a novel instrumental improvement to existing Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Atomic Emission Spectrometry (AES) techniques. by replacing the standard sample introduction nebulizer and spray chamber used in ICP-MS and ICP-AES with the Nanomiser. device and thus lower the detection limit of arsenic and other elements. The Nanomiser enables very fine atomization of solvent/analyte mixtures with exceptional control over size, while maintaining a narrow size distribution. Results to date show that this breakthrough technology leads to the generation of a monodisperse aerosol with a mean diameter in the sub-micron to micron-range. Furthermore, this technology provides high residence time (due to low and independently controlled carrier gas velocity), which is, together with the small particle size, one of the main requirements for adequate thermal evaporation and dissociation of aerosol particles. The independence of gas flow and atomization will help to significantly increase the ionization of elements with higher first ionization energies, such as arsenic, by allowing for longer residence time in the plasma. The development of a reliable sample introduction technology can significantly improve the detection limits of conventional systems for atomic spectroscopy. Furthermore, the small size and compact design of the Nanomiser device will allow this technology to be easily retrofitted into existing AES and MS systems in collaboration with major instrument manufacturers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Oljaca, Miodrag NGIMAT CO. GA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232393 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Develop a Cost-Effective Route to Recycle Post-Consumer Plastic Exterior Automotive parts. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will define technologies to successfully recover painted plastic automobile parts from end-of-life vehicles. 400 million pounds of plastic is consumed annually to produce automotive exterior parts. These parts are typically large and readily identifiable and could be recovered from automobile salvage yards yet they continue to be disposed of in landfills. This project will evaluate the quality of plastic from parts recovered from automobile salvage operations from various regions of the country and develop a process to remove paint and economically recycle the plastic back into many of the original automotive applications. The automotive industry uses approximately 425 million pounds of thermoplastic polyolefins annually on vehicles produced in North America. Success of this work will allow the U.S. automobile industry to enhance its competitiveness when faced with mandates for minimum recycle-content materials. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Merrington, Adrian American Commodities, Inc (ACI) MI Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232395 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Reactive Multilayer Joining of Metals and Ceramics. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new joining technology that will provide substantial technical and cost advantages for multiple industrial applications, including metal-to-metal and metal-to-ceramic joining. The technology for joining metallic and ceramic components is a reactive joining process that uses reactive multilayer foils as local heat sources for melting solders or brazes. The foils are a new class of nano-engineered materials, in which self-propagating exothermic reactions can be ignited at room temperature with a spark. By inserting a multilayer foil between two solder (or braze) layers and two components, heat generated by the reaction in the foil melts the solder and consequently bonds the components. This new method of soldering eliminates the need for a furnace and, with very localized heating, avoids thermal damage to the components. The commercial potential of this reactive bonding process is more rapid than most competing technologies, and results in strong and cost-effective joints. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Weihs, Timothy REACTIVE NANOTECHNOLOGIES INC MD Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232398 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Stabilization of Nanostructured Reactive Multilayers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I will develop a new class of nano-engineered multilayers for reactive joining of materials that enables one to control the stability and ignition energy of the corresponding reactive foils. Two general approaches will be explored in this project. The first approach is based on vapor depositing a periodic quad-layer structure, in which two nanoscale layers, alternating between elements with high heats of mixing (Al and Ni), are separated by thinner, barrier layers comprised of a relatively inert material (Cu) that interacts weakly with the other two. Control over foil stability, ignition requirements and reaction properties can then be achieved by varying the nanoscale thickness (0.5nm to 5.0nm) of the inert (Cu) barrier layers. The second approach is based on the development of composite structures, which combine nanolayered reactive foils (50-150 micron thick) with micron scale braze and solder layers. In this approach, one takes advantage of the thermal mass of the braze and solder layers in order to enhance the stability of the reactive foil. In the project, the team will (1) demonstrate the feasibility of this new class of nano-engineered multilayers, (2) characterize their stability and ignition requirements, and (3) develop and validate predictive computational models that complement experimental observations and amplify their scope. Commercially, successful development of these novel nanostructed materials will lead to significant improvement in reactive joining technology. Letters of support from potential customers and suppliers demonstrate interest in the development of stable reactive multilayer foils and their use in joining applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Weihs, Timothy REACTIVE NANOTECHNOLOGIES INC MD T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232399 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Lean Physics: Streamlining the Supply Chain Using Factory Physics. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of a new manufacturing improvement, planning and execution system that combines the data of a supply chain management system with the incentives of the lean manufacturing philosophy along with the author's own Factory Physics knowledge base in a systematic manner. The result will be a system containing implementation methods, training, and software that is repeatable, portable, and will always result in predictable, improved manufacturing logistical performance. Understanding manufacturing measures such as cycle time, throughput, capacity, work in process, inventory, and variability allows one to develop effective control procedures that are uniquely suited for any particular manufacturing environment. This project attempts to create a system that includes benchmarking (diagnostic) tools, analysis (planning) tools, and execution tools. What makes the proposed approach different is Factory Physics, Inc.'s systematic way of improving the manufacturing operation and addressing the planning and control needs. The broader impact of this research will be a well-defined methodology to improve the effectiveness of production systems that can be marketed to the manufacturing sector. In addition, using the system will result in better-educated manufacturing managers and engineers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Spearman, Mark Factory Physics, Inc. TX Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232401 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Integrated Fire Modeling Software. This SBIR project will develop an integrated fire modeling software package for use in building design and accident analysis. Modeling fires using a rigorous, scientific approach makes it possible to predict the course of an evolving fire and its impact on the building occupants, contents, and structure. The software will help designers implement new fire safety codes and standards that allow the use of Performance-Based design as an alternative to Rule-Based design. Performance-based design and post-accident analysis offer the potential to reduce injury, loss of life, property damage, and the overall cost of constructing and maintaining buildings through advanced technology. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) computer program. FDS is research-oriented software with text-based input that is difficult to use for large-scale commercial applications. This project will integrate the FDS computation engine with an interactive, graphical interface for model setup and visualization, making the power of FDS accessible to a broader fire safety community and facilitating responsible engineering solutions. Potential markets include investigators performing post-accident analyses, architects and fire protection engineers designing the next generation of buildings, and local, state, and national authorities having jurisdiction (fire safety regulators). Applications also exist for wind-driven fire analysis, including tank-farm incidents and wildland fires. In addition to software sales, there is also an opportunity to provide training in performance-based design and analysis. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Swenson, Daniel THUNDERHEAD ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS, INC KS Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99850 9150 CVIS 9150 1038 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232410 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Modular Online Simulations for Math and Science with Integrated Assessment of Complex, Standards-Aligned Learning Objectives. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will culminate in the design of a system that integrates assessment of complex, standards-based instructional objectives within interactive simulations and makes the resultant data available in a timely and efficient manner to teachers and administrators. Standards-based educational reform efforts are currently impoverished by a lack of assessment instruments that measure complex instructional objectives. Although complex objectives can be addressed through interactive simulations, these simulations neither explicitly assess students' competencies against these objectives nor make this information available to teachers. As a result, students' activity within simulations is largely invisible to teachers, relegating simulations either to an extremely limited role or to one that involves displacing the teacher. The proposed project will analyze the practices of master teachers using simulations while tutoring students and index these practices against hierarchies of instructional objectives derived from state standards. New simulations designed expressly for assessing complex instructional objectives will be designed, along with reporting mechanisms for communicating assessment results to teachers. This innovation will foster alignment with standards-based curricula, support teachers in integrating technology effectively and efficiently into their classrooms, and provide a new approach for measuring the impact of educational technology on student learning. The proffered innovation in assessment capability addresses an important nation problem, the "assessment gap." It can potentially be applied to any system involving interactive content that is used in the cont SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cholmsky, Paul ExploreLearning TX Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 SMET 9177 7256 0101000 Curriculum Development 0522400 Information Systems 0232416 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Feasibility of On-line Metalloid Recovery in Gasification Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of developing a technology to optimize accumulation and subsequent removal of a valuable element from integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) systems. IGCC is a highly efficient, low-emissions technology that uses coal and other feed stocks to produce electricity, process heat, and high-value fuels and chemicals. Deposits containing a valuable metalloid accumulate in an IGCC system, requiring significant downtime for cleaning and loss of revenue. The proposed technology will lead to recovery of a metalloid as part of routine operation of IGCC systems. Metalloid capture will be performed using bench-scale laboratory equipment with a simulated gasification environment. Bonding mechanisms will be characterized to determine if spalling of deposits through thermal cycling and soot blowing is a feasible method of recovering deposits on-line. This innovation would substantially increase revenue by providing a marketable product stream and would decrease operating and maintenance costs by improving the efficiency of the system. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Laumb, Margaret Microbeam Technologies Incorporated ND Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 88531 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 5371 1407 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232419 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: New Synthetic Strategies for Fluoropolymer Integrated Optics. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will focus on synthesis methods to bring the cost of perflurocyclobutyl (PFCB) containing polymers to commercially practical levels. PFCBs are exciting photonic materials due to their breakthrough optical performance and manufacturing characteristics of low optical transmission loss, high Tg, broad refractive index tailorability, and excellent melt and solution processability. Optical performance is tailored based on the fluorine content and backbone structure of the polymer, making synthesis innovation of this family of photonic materials critical to achieving unique performance and commercial availability. The photonic materials market is projected to grow significantly due to the step change in performance for electronic materials. Commercialization will be achieved through sale of the polymer into the optical device market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wagener, Earl TETRAMER TECHNOLOGIES, L.L.C. SC Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99930 5371 AMPP 9163 5371 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232436 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Chatter Control Strategy for Machine Tools. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop and implement a completely novel chatter control scheme. In many machine tools, fluid bearings (also known as hydrostatic and hydrodynamic bearings) are gaining popularity. The project will apply low-power piezo actuators to modulate the input flow rate of the fluid into the spindle housing. By carefully computing the actuator voltages, we can generate the correct amount of input flow rate so that the chatter effects will be minimized. There are several advantages associated with this new approach. First, since the fluid pressure is directly acting on the spindle unit, the response will be fast, direct, and effective. Second, since piezo is used to control the flow rate, not the whole-spindle housing, only very low power amplifiers are needed to regulate the flow. Third, the overall chatter control cost will be significantly reduced as commercial off-the-shelf, rather than custom designed, piezo actuators can be used. Fourth, no significant modification of the machine is needed because four small piezo actuators will be inserted near the inlets. Only a modest change in mechanical design needs to be done. The commercial application will provide a practical approach to chatter control. Chatter is the primary limiting factor in metal removal rate in machine tools. To a first order approximation, a machine tool with twice the metal removal rate is worth twice as much. This technology will be useful for other types of machine tools such as milling, lathe, and boring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kwan, ChiMan Intelligent Automation, Inc MD Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232438 January 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Production of Clean Fuels from Biomass: Aqueous-Phase Catalytic Reforming of Oxygenated Hydrocarbons. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop a catalytic process for the generation of hydrogen and/or hydrocarbon fuel gases from biomass. The project will generate fuel gases by reactions of oxygenated hydrocarbons derived from carbohydrates (biomass) with liquid water at low temperatures (~200 C). Current hydrogen production is based on fossil hydrocarbons. The problem with fossil hydrocarbon use is that it is non-renewable, increasingly imported and generates greenhouse gasses. This project represents a new route for renewable fuel gas generation. The overall project objective is to identify cost effective catalysts, catalytic structures and operating parameters to maximize the efficient production of hydrogen and/or hydrocarbons derived from US grown biomass for use in fuel cell and combustion engine applications. The commercial and broader impacts of this project will be improved energy security as well as clean and renewable fuel gases that may be used as fuel sources for fuel cells, internal combustion engines, and gas turbines. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Cortright, Randy Virent Energy Systems LLC WI Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99900 1505 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232449 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Animated Real-Time Road Traffic Visualization for Broadcast and The Internet. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will provide practical tools for visualizing real-time road traffic data and computer-generated traffic simulations using 2D and 3D animation for broadcast and the Internet. Except for weather forecasts, data-driven animations are rarely produced in real-time from live data. Traffic visualization contains more challenges than weather visualization. The objective of this project is to determine the feasibility of building practical, fully functional tools to access data in a timely fashion and produce a compelling animation within seconds. This tool must model traffic incidents and flow in a timely and accurate fashion. The anticipated result includes animation and video-production tools that will be converted to a commercial product during Phase II. Potential applications include TV broadcasts, traffic control centers, police dispatch centers, and visualization tools for transportation studies and planning. In addition, the animation principles derived from this project could be applicable to visualizing other real-time data in an animation. The first application is broadcast television, for morning traffic segments. Further applications include traffic control centers, dispatches, and tools for transportation planning. A third domain of application is information dissemination on small-screen displays (PDA, etc) when the bandwidth and market materialize. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gueziec, Andre Triangle Software CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99700 5371 CVIS 5371 1038 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232454 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Spider Explorer Data Visualization. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 project will initiate creation of a capability termed Spider Explorer Data Visualization. This project will explore new means for organizing, exploring, and visualizing large data sets by incorporating into a fundamental presentation format, the spider diagram, innovative hierarchical capabilities and a supporting data management tool set. The project team will research, develop, and integrate innovative data exploration and visualization capabilities with emphasis on hierarchical structures and data normalization. The foremost benefits will result from an unprecedented ability to explore and organize large data sets and thus achieve levels of comprehension not possible with current methods. The objective is to enable humans, with their finite cognitive resources, to effectively organize and absorb copious amounts of data. The impact of such a capability will be significant, and the potential benefits span many domains including scientific research, economic growth, productivity, and education. Commercial potential is broad ranging and has strong potential for domains including scientific research, manufacturing and production, financial analysis, and engineering. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Benton, Charles Technology Systems, Inc. ME Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9150 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0232462 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Lightweight, Low Cost Fuel Cell Membrane Electrode Assemblies. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to produce low-cost gas diffusion electrodes with integrated flow fields for PEM fuel cells used to power next-generation vehicles. The proposed gas diffusion electrodes will increase both the power per unit mass and volume, and reduce the overall cost of PEM fuel cells. The proposed research would eliminate the need for intricate bipolar plates, reducing the weight, complexity and overall cost of the PEM fuel cell whilst still maintaining the performance. Our proposed, low-cost, gas diffusion electrodes with integrated flow fields for PEM fuel cells will increase both the power per unit mass and volume, and reduce the overall cost of the fuel cell. Success of this project will accelerate commercialization of fuel cell technology. Well over $1 billion has been spent on the development of fuel cell technology for next generation vehicles (NGVs) alone. The stakes are high and the potential market for viable, cost effective fuel cells is immense. Initial applications include micropower generators and alternative power systems for NGVs and portable electronic equipment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gonzalez-Martin, Anuncia Lynntech, Inc TX Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99998 5371 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232465 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Computational Design of Nanostructured High-Performance Shape Memory Alloys. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project focuses on the computational design of a new class of shape memory alloys (SMAs ). In this project advanced computational design methodology will be used to incorporate precipitation strengthening and demonstrate the feasibility of computationally designing a nanostructured high performance nickel titanium (NiTi) SMA. The computational tools, based on thermodynamic and mechanistic modeling, will be extended to predict the nanoscale Heusler precipitation microstructure and strengthening within a NiTi matrix. Reversible thermoelastic transformation of the matrix will be modeled with multicomponent thermodynamic modeling and martensitic interfacial mobility theory. Integrating the extended models, the predictive design of novel high strength SMAs will be undertaken by assessing various design strategies and trade-offs. Commercially, the most common SMAs are monolithic NiTi, having a wide range of use in markets representing billions of dollars. However, along with copper-based SMAs, they have been empirically optimized to their limits and the true economic potential has yet to be realized. This approach promises to lead to the production of robust SMAs, with fundamentally designed characteristics, possessing longer cyclic lifetime and superior performance for both thin film and bulk applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tang, Weijia QUESTEK INNOVATIONS LLC IL Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99855 5371 AMPP 9163 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232474 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Bio-Based Design of Structural Ceramics. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will identify materials with desirable properties and performance standards. Rapid advances in communication technology, flight-based transportation, medical components and military strategy due to rapidly changing global alliances is pushing a need for materials that goes beyond current capabilities. This project will use advanced 3D fabrication techniques to produce innovative materials that mimic bio-based shell structures. The commercial and broader impacts of this technology could lead to a commercial product with unique properties. The project will expand the capabilities of digital and rapid manufacturing, two areas that this country must push forward in, if the country is to maintain any sort of dominance in worldwide manufacturing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Emory, Eugenie Javelin3D, LLC UT Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99247 5371 AMPP 9163 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232479 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Contagious Disease Modeling Toolkit- Virtual Model Building for Learning. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop, deploy, and evaluate a virtual reality-based modeling kit, called Contagious Disease Modeling (CDM) Toolkit, which will enable students to build virtual 3-D models of viruses and bacteria within a web-based inquiry framework. This system will enable students to explore fundamental questions of virus/bacteria trajectories, infection methodologies, public health strategies, and treatments. Built on a simulation of virtual people's activity in the home (similar to The Sims game, where one can set up a household, define the character traits of the residents, and control their interactions), students will create models related to infectious diseases: models of viruses and bacteria that will infect the virtual people, models of immune system and treatment interventions that will fight viruses and bacteria, and models of behavior that will enact public safety recommendations. Research has shown that students do not effectively blend lectures, 2-D static images, and textual descriptions of scientific phenomena. Building virtual reality models is the right match for the content and builds deep understanding of the 3-D nature of science concepts and the inquiry skills of model based science. This instructional approach and base technology, by Cybernet Systems, has the potential to open up an entirely new mode of instruction that will be extendable to many other mathematics, science, and technology domains. The market will be middle school life science, high school, undergraduate and graduate biology, graduate public and environmental health, and professional medical-related programs including medicine and nursing. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Cohen, Charles CYBERNET SYSTEMS CORPORATION MI Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99560 1666 SMET 9180 9178 9177 7256 0522400 Information Systems 0232481 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Solid State Proton Conductor as a Hydrogen Pump. This SBIR Phase I program involves the development of a solid-state proton conductor (SSPC) suitable for intermediate temperature applications, i.e., >100 to ~300C. We will develop an ultra-thin (<1 m) dense film (using a properly selected inorganic electrolyte), which is supported on our existing commercial ceramic membranes as a solid-state proton conductor (SSPC). Based upon the specific conductivity, the proposed ultra-thin proton conductor can potentially deliver a hydrogen permeance comparable to or better than existing polymeric (e.g., Nafion) and high temperature (e.g., perovskite) proton conductors and permit operation at the intermediate temperature ranges. This SSPC can be used as (i) a hydrogen pump for hydrogen recovery from waste/recycle streams, (ii) a 2nd stage hydrogen separator to conventional pressure-driven membranes for further hydrogen separations without an interstage compressor, and (iii) a membrane reactor (MR) to enhance the conversion/yield of industrial dehydrogenation reactions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Liu, Paul Media and Process Technology Inc. PA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 5371 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232482 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Elimination of Chromate from the Electrolytic Production of Sodium Chlorate. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will permit production of sodium chlorate without the addition of Na2Cr2O7 to the electrolyte during electrolysis and thereby eliminate all the treatment steps involved in removing chromate to achieve zero chrome in the crystal chlorate and in the plant effluent streams. We propose to investigate various non-chrome based, poorly conducting, porous films. Such films will be formed on the cathode before assembly of the cell. We propose to demonstrate the superior performance of such coatings for the production of chlorate in an environmentally acceptable manner. Potential customers for this innovation include producers of electrolytic sodium chlorate and the sodium chlorate technology suppliers. Currently, the world production capacity of NaClO3 is 2,800,000 metric tons/year, with the North American share being 1,950,000 metric tons. This industry is projected to grow at an annual rate of 2-3% through 2005. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bommaraju, Tilak Process Technology Optimization, Inc. NY Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99935 5371 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232487 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: ACIM Wafer Saver: A Novel CMP Slurry Monitor. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is targeted to save semiconductor wafers from being deeply scratched by unchecked large errant agglomerates in chemical mechanical planarizing or polishing (CMP) slurries. CMP has become the method of choice for restoring the surface trueness of wafers at all stages of integrated circuit manufacture. No method currently exists that can implement a CMP-safe slurry at the point of use. The proposed novel technology of Acoustic Coaxing Induced Microcavitation (ACIM) is a means to constructively control acoustic microcavitation and direct its high intensity energy implosions at specific particle sites. ACIM will achieve both the detection and destruction of the stray large particles and render the entire slurry CMP-safe at the point of use. A high-end wafer scratched at the final stages of manufacturer results in a large direct loss. Using ACIM to save post-CMP wafers is therefore a direct savings. The ACIM Wafer Saver, the slurry monitor-comminuter, would be the first fully in-line, real-time, point of use device for detecting stray large particles and agglomerates, and for reducing them to a nano-fine state. The rapidly growing CMP industry presents a well-developed market for this environmentally friendly ACIM tool. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Madanshetty, Sameer Uncopiers, Inc. KS Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232493 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Continuous Production of Nanofluids by Flame Aerosol Process. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the development of an innovative liquid combustion process for continuous production of nanofluids with suspended unagglomerated metallic and non-metallic nanopowders of uniform size and composition. It has been demonstrated that fluids containing solid metallic nanoparticles -nanofluids- display significantly enhanced thermal conductivities relative to conventional heat transfer fluids. A related goal of this effort is the development of a new large-eddy simulation (LES) model for nanoparticle formation and aggregation coupled to local Molecular Dynamics (MD) and Monte Carlo (MC) simulation models. This numerical tool will be applied to design process parameters to produce the desired particle size distribution. The use of nanofluids can impact many industrial sectors, including transportation, electronics, energy supply, textiles etc. Mostly all the sectors that have thermal-management systems will benefit from this project. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lal, Mihir NGIMAT CO. GA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1406 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232499 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Radially Constricted Consolidation (RCC) Technique for Rapidly Engineered Forging Dies. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a process to significantly lower (up to 74%) the cost of forging dies, improve die life, and at the same time lower the cost of forgings. The project method involves the use of a near-net-shape manufacturing process, called the RCC process. This process, once optimized for die applications, will be replacing several high energy, expensive steps in the existing methods. The process allows localized control of surface chemistry, which can lead to better metal flow and die cavity filling, improved resistance to wear and heat checking. The process combines the shape capability of investment casting with structural uniformity of full-density powder metallurgy, and strength of forgings. The process has been used successfully to manufacture several complex shaped superalloy, titanium alloy, and stainless steel prototype parts. The potential commercial application will be a new die making process. It is projected that an annual cost savings could be as much as $1.2 billion if successful. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ecer, Gunes Applied Metallurgy Corporation CA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99935 5371 MANU 9146 5371 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232507 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Next Generation Plastic Actuators and Transducers. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an optimized manufacturing process for new robust, high efficiency, polymer piezo actuators and transducers based on polyvinylidene di-fluoride (PVDF) - carbon nanotube nanocomposites. These new actuators and transducers have recently been demonstrated in the laboratory and have shown a remarkable 300-500 % performance improvement over current technology. It appears they can be made with the same or lower cost using existing extrusion manufacturing techniques. In the proposed project scale-up strategies for low cost manufacture and commercialization will be examined particularly in terms of how they impact the performance of the actuator or transducer. Comparisons will be made to commercially relevant standards to identify the optimal process. Commercially, these materials are used in a variety of applications, such as switches, computer graphics, infrared detectors, ultrasonic medical imaging, musical instrument pickup, hydrophones, and transducers for military and civilian sonar applications. The transducer composite and polymer film market equaled $222 million in 2000, and is expected to grow to $340 million by 2005. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wagener, Earl TETRAMER TECHNOLOGIES, L.L.C. SC T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99930 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232514 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: The Natural Tag (TNT). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is focused on automating the identification of individual fish while eliminating mutilation. The project, named TNT ("the natural tag"), is directed at developing a new fisheries management tool using the latest image processing/pattern recognition technology, and it is based on the knowledge that natural marks on animals, specifically fish, are unique and can be used to identify individuals over space and time. Proof-of-concept will demonstrate: 1) elimination of fish mutilation 2) larger number of fish 'tagged' per dollar spent, 3) more fish tagged per unit time, 4) a more comprehensive set of statistical data archived for each fish, 5) reduction or elimination of 'tag loss', and 6) elimination of tag reading errors. The first expected outcome substantially addresses the perennial issue of ethical standards and behavior with respect to mark-recapture science. The last five deal with advancing the state-of-the-art of fisheries science and represent immediate improvement of the cost/benefit ratio associated with fish tagging research and commercial aquaculture in local, state, federal and international programs. The TNT system will provide fisheries managers and scientists a higher level of biologically sound and statistically justifiable data. Nationally, expected customers of this technology include Department of Commerce's NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service and Department of Interior's U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management, the Departments of Fish & Game for each of the 50 states as well as many universities. Organizations in approximately 35 foreign countries are target customers also. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Skvorc, Paul DataFlow/Alaska, Inc. AK Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9150 9139 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232515 January 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Novel Nanocoated Ferromagnetic Materials. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will apply novel Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technology for the encapsulating of ultrafine particle surfaces used in certain advanced materials for aerospace applications and drug delivery. Ultrafine sized iron particles will be nanocoated with alumina providing film thicknesses of 50, 25, 12.5, 6.3, 3.2, 1.6, and 0.8 nanometers. The particle nanocoating will be carried out in a fluidized bed process developed at the University of Colorado. The produced particles will be characterized for film thickness, particle size distribution, surface area, and film coverage uniformity. They will be evaluated for coercivity, remanent magnetization, hysteresis loss, and oxidation resistance. Nanocoated iron particle filled epoxy composites will be fabricated and tested for electromagnetic transmission/reflection. Commercially, this powerful and versatile processing method can encapsulate ultrafine particles with ceramic nanolayers to offer unparalleled control of coating thickness ( 0.1 nm) relative to more conventional methods. Such ultrathin, chemically bonded, conformal coatings on individual primary particles provide for materials opportunities never before realized . Envisioned applications include novel ferromagnetic materials for artificial dielectrics for microwave lens antennas, radar crossection reduction materials, and drug delivery. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Buechler, Karen ALD NANOSOLUTIONS, INC. CO T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 1505 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232518 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Texturing of High Curie Temperatures (Tc) Piezoelectrics by Templated Grain Growth. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will lead to the fabrication process of Bismuth Scantanate-Lead Titanate(BiScO3-PbTiO3) ceramics with a textured microstructure to yield materials with very large piezoelectric properties over a broad temperature range. In the case of existing ceramics, the piezoelectric properties are too low for these applications while recently discovered single crystal materials suffer from low Curie temperature and high manufacturing costs. The objective of this research is to develop textured ceramics from the BiScO3-PbTiO3 system. These materials have been shown to possess a very high Curie temperature (Tc. >450 C) and high piezoelectric properties suitable for meeting the needs of emerging sensor, transducer, and actuator applications. The templated grain growth method will be used as a means of texturing microstructure to produce polycrystalline ceramics with properties close to those of single crystal. Commercially, piezoelectric ceramics and single crystals are tantalizingly close to enabling a broad range of advanced applications including vibration sensors with sensitivity at the theoretical limit, two-dimensional ultrasound phased arrays for three dimensional volumetric imaging, and high authority actuators for smart structures (vibration control and surface morphing). This program will lead to highly piezoelectrically active material produced at nearly the same cost as existing ceramic compositions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kwon, Seongtae TRS Ceramics, Inc. PA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99655 5371 AMPP 9163 1774 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232524 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Colorimetric Detection in Aqueous Solutions. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project possesses a unique chemical detection technology in which colorimetric changes in an array of dyes constitute a signal much like that generated by the mammalian olfaction system; each dye is a cross-responsive sensor. This technology has recently been expanded into the realm of the detection of aqueous analytes for use as an electronic tongue - dubbed TasteSeeing. Preliminary results indicate that near-instantaneous, vivid responses are obtained from small solution samples and that the majority of the array appears to be robust in water. This Phase I program is designed to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility of the technology as a methodology to characterize aqueous solutions. This technique, while attractive to a wide range of markets, will initially be focused on the detection and identification of potential terrorist chemical agents. The goal is to integrate the TasteSeeing technology into a portable and inexpensive device to detect rapidly low levels of dissolved chemicals in water and other fluids. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hulkower, Keren CHEMSENSING, INC IL Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99556 5371 AMPP 9163 5371 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232527 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Law Enforcement Analytical Tool for Visualizing Complex Relationships. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I will develop research of a commercial application that permits law enforcement or intelligence analysts to visualize complex relationships among objects in a consolidated database. This software will operate on large data stores that automatically refresh to maintain currency. Existing tools that perform this function display the results of user queries in textual or numeric formats. Certain inherent human cognitive processes interpose difficulties in converting the raw data to actionable information and knowledge. This visualization program will give analysts the ability to discover previously hidden linkages and relationships among criminals, organizations, locations, weapons, and vehicles that may not be readily apparent by simply examining raw data. The Phoenix and Tucson police departments have agreed to be development partners in this effort. Interviews and observations of investigators and analysts at work will form the basis for the research outcome. This will be a comprehensive software requirements statement. There is substantial demand for easy-to-use analytical software that removes technical and data entry burdens from analysts. Software of this type can assist law enforcement and homeland defense agencies in carrying out their tasks more effectively, at less expense and more quickly than is currently possible. The commercial application of such a software product is all law enforcement agencies at the federal, state and local level that engage in criminal investigations, and all intelligence gathering agencies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fund, Robert KNOWLEDGE COMPUTING CORP AZ Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 69360 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0232529 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Proton Conductive Membranes for Cost-Effective Fuel Cell Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will support the development and preliminary evaluation of low-cost, high-performance, environmentally-clean proton exchange membranes (PEMs). The project involves the manufacture of PEMs using a patented hot filament chemical vapor deposition process, depositing ultra-thin fluorinated sulfonic acid polymer films directly onto inexpensive membrane substrates. Structure-property-processing relationships will be established and compared with performance with commercially-available membranes, measuring electrical conductivity, relevant gas/liquid permeability and acid capacity, characterizing chemical composition and stability, and identifying the significance of polymerization parameters. The results will enable selection of suitable polymer chemistries for optimization, aggressive evaluation and testing of the PEMs in membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) in Phase II. Ultimately, rapid, integrated process for fabricating composite MEAs through the deposition of multiple functional layers will be developed, in a manner analogous to the manufacture of microchips. The market potential for fuel cells is massive, with PEMs and more broadly MEA components constituting a significant portion of the overall market share. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pryce-Lewis, Hilton GVD CORPORATION MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99668 5371 AMPP 9163 5371 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232536 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: SHOWME - Systematic Historical Overview of Water Management and Environmental Data. This research will develop a commercial version of the SHOWME (Systematic Historical Overview of Water Management and Environmental) database for a wide variety of waste sites, groundwater basins, and water resource projects. Each SHOWME plot will include a concise informative display of 40-60 chemicals with regulatory limits, well location map, sampling depth, geology, water levels, and well construction details. SHOWME voluminous displays of water quality, geologic, and hydrologic data are designed for expedited site characterization and environmental restoration. Site workers, regulators, stakeholders, and the concerned public spend hours to understand environmental data. The processed informative displays in SHOWME will help avoid the collection of trivial data and delay in environmental restoration. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gupta, Sumant CFEST INC CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9186 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232544 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Temperature-Adaptive Nano-Crystalline Combinatorial Self-Lubricating Coating. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a novel temperature-adaptive nano-crystalline combinatorial self-lubricating coating for cutting tools. Solid lubricant and hard phase combinatorial coated tools have significant potential application for machining applications. Currently available self-lubricating coatings have a soft lubricant phase deposited over a hard phase. The soft phase quickly wears out leaving the under layer of hard phase without lubrication. Also, todays lubricant coatings do not offer temperature adaptability. Both of these problems are addressed will be addressed in this project. The commercial potential of this project will be tools that have an extremely wear-resistant nano-composite coatings which will increase the life of a tool. This technology will have siginificant impact on the cutting tool and die industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Jiang, Wenping NANOMECH, LLC AR Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9150 9146 5371 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232551 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A New Class of Transparent Coatings with Multiple Functionalities. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) coating suitable for polymer substrates which are attractive alternatives to TCO coated glass, because of their low cost, reduced weight and enhanced toughness. Conventional techniques used for depositing TCOs require the substrate to be heated to elevated temperatures, since low temperature deposition leads to films with poor optical and electrical properties. However, polymeric substrates cannot be processed at elevated temperatures. Further, the surface of polymeric materials needs to possess adequate abrasion and scratch resistance. Accordingly, there is a need for a low cost coating technology that imparts multiple functionality to the surface, i.e. combined electrical, optical and mechanical properties. In this project it is proposed to develop coatings composed of a high volume fraction of homogeneously dispersed conducting nanoparticles in an organic-inorganic matrix. The project team will develop coating formulations, deposit films on polymer substrates, characterize the structure, and determine the electrical, mechanical and optical properties. The properties will then be benchmarked against currently used coatings. Commercially, the proposed technology can be used in applications, such as, electromagnetic shielding, low emissivity windows, automobile side windows and aircraft transparencies because of their superior mechanical, optical and electrical properties. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Jain, Mohit NEI CORPORATION NJ T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99998 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232558 January 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Feasibility of Generating Electricity Using Thermal Energy Extracted From Existing Underground Coal & Waste Bank Fires. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of generating electricity from existing fires in abandoned coal mines and waste banks. These can be high temperature fires (charted in excess of 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit) that have been burning for decades and will continue to burn long into the future. There are currently over 600 fires associated with past coal mining activity. Millions of dollars have been spent trying to extinguish these fires only to find that there is no practical and cost effective solution. We will drill into burning coal seams and install a thermal extraction system that would tap into these unutilized heat sources and in turn, convert these otherwise wasted energies into a useful product commercially viable electricity. This research may lead to the construction of commercial power plants at sites now regarded as unproductive liabilities. The generally shallow depths and high temperatures of these fires lead to the belief that commercially competitive power plants can be built and operated at these sites. These factors, as well as others, should lead to lower costs in construction and in higher efficiencies of the power plants as compared to already proven power plants in the geothermal industry. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Stebner, Lance Drakon Energy LLC WY Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 1505 AMPP 9163 1406 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232559 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Scanning Electron Microscope Micro-Force Testing System (SEM/MFTS). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a Micro-Force Test Apparatus inside a Scanning Electron Microscope to better learn the micromechanical properties of materials and MEMS devices. The project will explore mechanical properties of MEMS devices as well as individual phases in metals. The properties to be explored are compressive strength, shear strength, tensile strength, flex, and peel. In addition, microgrippers will be added to the end of the linear motion feed though. This addition will allow for assembly of other components using various attachment techniques including thermoset polymer adhesives, solders and brazes. The potential commercial application for the Microforce Testing System and fixtures will be to characterize materials such as metals and ceramics and MEMS-type devices. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Murty, Gollapudi TOUCHSTONE RESEARCH LABORATORY LTD WV Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99984 9150 MANU 9146 9102 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232565 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Study of Particulate Composites of Aluminum with Intermetallic Reinforcements. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop composites of aluminum with intermetallic reinforcements. These are important for products that demand higher strength and more ease in processing than is currently available in metal/ceramic discontinuously reinforced aluminum (DRA) matrix composites. The project will explore the mechanical properties of particulate composites of aluminum with intermetallic reinforcements from a fundamental viewpoint. Silicon carbide has been a common choice of the particulate phase in DRA composites. Because the fracture toughness and strength properties of DRA are influenced by the interfacial bond strength between the matrix and the reinforcing phase, there are advantages to a metal/intermetallic particulate composite approach rather than silicon carbide. This will be demonstrated in the project. From a commercial point of view, discontinuously reinforced aluminum matrix composites are attractive for various applications because of low cost, greater flexibility in processing and isotropy of properties. The resulting material may be used with greater strength for vehicle drive shafts, brake drums, engine pistons, jet engine fan exit guide vanes, satellites, aircraft ventral fins and fuel access covers, bicycle components, golf clubs and a wide variety of other commercial applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Murty, Gollapudi TOUCHSTONE RESEARCH LABORATORY LTD WV Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99990 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1774 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232574 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Membrane-Electrode Assembly for High-Temperaure PEM Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is directed at developing novel high-temperature membranes/MEA for PEM fuel cell system for next generation vehicle (NGV) application. The overall objective is to operate PEM fuel cell at 120-150C to achieve high cell performance, improve CO tolerance, mitigate water and thermal management challenges and reduce system cost. The technical approach is to develop high-performing MEA consisting of membranes of high water retention capability and cathode of low polarization at high temperatures. High-temperature PEMFC is attractive due to its unique characteristics of simple system design. Such a clean, high-efficiency and simple system is very attractive for NGV. The main commercial market will be NGV passenger car and bus. Other markets will include mobile/portable power, ship, and commercial/residential building applications.. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yuh, Chao-Yi FuelCell Energy, Inc. CT Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99999 5371 AMPP 9163 5371 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232593 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nanostructures for Controlled Fluid Transport. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel method of pumping and controlling fluid flow within microfluidic devices via surface nanostructures consisting of self-assembled monolayers containing covalently bound electrochemically active species. By controlling the surface energy (surface wettability) within the flow channels, fluid can be made to flow to the desired location within the device. Application of a low voltage (<2 volts) switches the surface between hydrophilic and hydrophobic states. At this low voltage, silicon can be used to make the microdevices, in contrast to electro-osmotic pumping which requires glass, quartz, or plastic devices. Silicon is highly advantageous because unique ultraprecise low cost manufacturing methods have been developed by the electronics industry for silicon, which will lead to cost-effective manufacturing of the microfluidic device. Commercially, the compact integrated sensor devices emerging from this work will have widespread commercial use in clinical medicine, drug discovery, genetic testing and research, environmental monitoring, and military and antiterrorism security (monitoring pathogens, toxins, and nerve agents). In particular, these enhanced microfluidics can be combined with the unique silicon microneedle devices developed for painless one step diabetic glucose self-testing, relevant to minority populations in which diabetes is very prevalent. Additionally, the ease of use of biodiagnostic products made possible by this new technology will benefit long-term diabetics handicapped by poor eyesight and limited hand-eye coordination, because performance of a test is completely automatic requiring no transfer of blood from a fingerstick or armstick to a test strip (required in all current products). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tsai, Jr-Hung KUMETRIX, INC CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232594 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Automated Personalized Rich Media Broadcast Generation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of creating a system that automatically generates personalized broadcasts from a library of audio / video (rich media) content. Such a system is needed because individuals are overloaded with rich media content and lack advanced tools for navigating this deluge of rich media. Building upon StreamSage's existing expertise in dealing with rich media information, StreamSage's research will alleviate this problem by creating a system capable of creating "personalized rich media broadcasts" that automatically characterize the gaps between disjointed segments of content and fill these gaps with bridging text that provides necessary background and structure to the segments from multiple rich media files. The effort in Phase I will expand the current-state-of-the-art by developing algorithms capable of automatically identifying the types of gaps between the rich media segments and by establishing methods by which the information necessary for coherently bridging these gaps can be automatically extracted from the rich media files. The personalized broadcast system created by this research would greatly improve end-user interactions with the rich media content by intelligently ordering and bridging the content pushed or pulled to the end-user. Additionally, an automated personalized broadcast system would enable the pushing of rich media content on a large scale, which has been impossible to date because of the tremendous manual intervention required to create a broadcast of usable quality. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rubinoff, Robert STREAMSAGE INC DC Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232597 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Growth of "BioCarbon" Nanotubes on Nanostructured Silicon Templates. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel material, Bio-Carbon Nano-Tube (BCNT), for a neural prosthetic application. The project involves a highly innovative approach, which uses a surface-engineered nanostructured silicon wafer as a template to grow the desired BCNT material. In this way, the carbon nanotubes nucleate will grow in a specific alignment due to the restrictions set by the size and shape of the nano-structured silicon matrix. Also, the project will investigate the feasibility of forming BCNT material on nanostructured porous silicon substrates and will conduct in-vitro studies on nerve cell function and fibrous scar tissue formation. Subsequent work will optimize the growth process for BCNT and conduct systematic studies aimed at demonstrating the medical, and possibly industrial, applications of the proposed functional nanostructured material. Commercially, the material is expected to perform many functions, in particular, as a neural prosthetic material to bridge damaged areas of the central and peripheral nervous systems in patients with neurological disorders. Preliminary studies conducted using existing nano-carbon tube technology, have had limited success due to the lack of control on growth of aligned nanotubes with desired size, shape, and electrical properties. The current approach will overcome these limitations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kalkhoran, Nader Spire Corporation MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232608 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Aspect-Ratio Boehmite Platelets. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a process for producing high-aspect ratio boehmite nanoscopic platelets. Boehmite is an inexpensive mineral produced in large volumes as a precursor to alumina catalyst supports. In the project simple and inexpensive methods for modifying the surface of boehmite to render it dispersible in and reactive with a wide variety of polymeric matrices will be developed. Subtly changing the boehmite synthesis conditions and adding morphology-directing compounds to the reaction mixture will achieve the formation of high aspect-ratio boehmite platelets. Particle size and shape will routinely be measured by a combination of x-ray diffraction and light scattering techniques which will, in turn, be verified by atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The high aspect ratio boehmite developed in this research project will result in dramatic improvements to the barrier properties of its composites, leading to inexpensive nanocomposite barrier films for packaging, paints and coatings. Mechanical properties of composites with high-aspect ratio boehmite platelets are also expected to improve. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Smith, Bryan TDA Research, Inc CO Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 5371 1773 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232614 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Inductive Analysis Environment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will research the technical feasibility and commercial viability of an innovative interactive environment that supports an inductive analysis approach to unifying heterogeneous, distributed information systems. This innovation, called the Inductive Analysis Environment, will allow end users to develop abstract models of target domains by manipulating existing data and creating new relationships and attributes. By enabling end-users to manipulate representations of data objects while itself taking care of housekeeping tasks (such as connecting to data sources and converting data), the environment will allow users to essentially develop applications on the fly, making many of the traditional application development cycles unnecessary. After creating these new application contexts, users may then save them and share them in a multi-user, collaborative space. This process will represent a new kind of problem-solving environment. The Inductive Analysis Environment thus will introduce a new methodology for developing certain classes of information systems. This innovation will also enable seamless, end-user controlled integration of heterogeneous systems without requiring the intermediate steps of software development or data warehousing. By making many steps of the traditional software development process unnecessary, the Inductive Analysis Environment will make the creation of software applications a much higher- quality, more reliable process. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Worthington, Jeffrey Technology Innovation Enterprise, LLC PA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99300 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0108000 Software Development 0232617 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Personalized Wireless Network. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will research high bandwidth individualized wireless network (IWN) which is personalized to maximize flexibility and capability for individual users and minimize interference, crosstalk and extraneous information. A wireless network will be established which uses a standard protocol like IEEE 802.11b wireless Ethernet standard or the Bluetooth standard. Talking Lights optical selection technology will allow users to select among transmitted signals, personalize the transmission for individual users, provide CART captions and permit assisted conversations. The system will be developed in connection with experts on education of deaf and hard of hearing students and will be evaluated and tested in schools specializing in education of the handicapped to maximize user friendliness and value. Anticipated Results and Commercial Applications: As a result of this project, a new technology for communication of information will be developed which enhances the capability of wireless networks. A single network will be able to carry a broad variety of information. Modified IWN ballast transformers will be commercial products sold to replace current ballast transformers and allow fluorescent lights to perform dual use as locators. IWN optical will be commercial products sold to users. The software used to enable optical control of the wireless network will be a commercial product. Once installed, the modulated light sys-tem can also be used for assistance to hearing impaired and visually impaired users, assisted audio, direction finding, description of exhibits and many other applications SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Avestruz, Al-Thaddeus TALKING LIGHTS LLC MA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0116000 Human Subjects 0206000 Telecommunications 0232626 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Development of Porous Lubricated Nozzles for Suppression of Nozzle Wear in Abrasive Water Jet Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop technology to prevent nozzle wear in abrasive water jets used for machining (e.g. automotive/aerospace components). Nozzle wear limits the life and accuracy of jet cutting and currently requires entrainment of abrasives downstream of the nozzle in a larger mixing tube. The new method consists of nozzles made of a porous material surrounded by reservoirs containing high viscosity lubricant, and exposed to the pressure that drives the slurry in the nozzle. This method extends the nozzle life and allows premixing of the particles prior to injection (abrasive suspension jets), enabling operation at lower pressures, cutting of harder materials and smaller jets (micro machining). The commercial potential of using this diverse technology by both small machine shops to automotive and aircraft industries is very appealing. Wear of the nozzle or mixing tube in present systems is a major problem affecting all the applications of jet cutting. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Anand, Umang Lubrijet, Inc MD Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99614 5371 MANU 9146 5371 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232632 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: DIAGNOSTICA: Clinician's Assistant for Diagnostics and Treatment Planning in Mental Health. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on computational aspects of Diagnostica, an application that provides advanced diagnostic decision support and outcome monitoring for individual mental health clinicians without significantly altering accepted clinical practices. A critical problem in mental health care is that while a definitive standard for making formal diagnoses exists (as encoded in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), its complexity prevents community clinicians from utilizing it effectively. This project will develop the computational machinery needed to model and process the temporal and severity aspects of DSM-IV. Diagnostica's reasoning capabilities will be implemented by combining techniques drawn from constraint processing, non-monotonic reasoning and logic programming. Diagnostica will use explicit temporal and severity measures, thereby enabling rigorous DSM-IV diagnostic work in the normal course of documenting a clinical encounter. With increasing pressure by third party payers for detailed DSM-IV based documentation and the need to minimize misdiagnosis, a majority of clinicians may be expected to use DSM-IV-based systems over the next decade. By enabling the improvement of the quality of mental health diagnosis, widespread use of Diagnostica will dramatically improve the quality of care, enable the aggregation of community data for public health improvement, and spur further development of the DSM rule base. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gartner, Joseph Medicine Rules Corporation NY Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99965 5371 HPCC 9139 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232633 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Low-cost, Closed-cell Ceramic Foams. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop engineered closed cell ceramic foams, suitable for low temperature processing, to replace lower performing metallic and open cell ceramic foams now in widespread use. Design specific requirements will be accommodated by ceramic selection, porosity control and reinforcement technique. A unique capability to be developed is self-healing of cracks to prevent damage to fiber reinforcements in hot gas environments. The project includes fluid flow and finite element modeling. Samples will be fabricated and mechanical and thermal measurements taken to explore material performance sensitivity to key design variables. It is anticipated that the research will result in a family of low cost, low density, self-healing ceramic foams, with widespread application. Commercially, closed cell ceramic foams will improve the performance of high temperature systems used in the power, chemical and transportation industries, resulting in three major benefits to society; lower process cost, reduced consumption of fossil fuel and lower pollution levels. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rimer, Melvyn Bethpage Technologies, Inc NY Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99972 5371 AMPP 9163 1774 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232638 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Direct Conversion of Heat to Electricity with Nanowire Antenna Arrays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of collecting and converting to DC power infrared radiation (IR) from heated sources using monolithically integrated, nanowire antenna/rectifying diode arrays (IR-AAID). Using scaleable, self-organizing, and inexpensive electrochemical processing on low cost substrates, the antenna/diode systems can be engineered to convert IR radiation from a particular heat source/emitter with specific characteristics by simply changing the antenna geometry. Unlike traditional semiconductor-based IR photovoltaic materials with their associated low efficiencies, high material costs, temperature sensitivity and matched high temperature emitter requirements, an IR-AAID system could potentially convert heat to electricity at over 40% efficiency. The best IR photovoltaic modules typically operate at less than 5% efficiency, require 1200 to 2000 Celsius emitter temperatures to match available band gaps, and require very expensive materials with chemically tailored compositions to match specific energy applications. The commercial and broader impacts of this technology will be low-cost nanowire arrays with high density and tunable diameter/length aspect ratios over a relatively large area for heat collection applications. These applications will vary from portable power packs that use low temperature heat, to the generation of electricity from high temperature nuclear and conventional heat sources where noise or other environmental concerns are an issue. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Simpson, Lin ITN ENERGY SYSTEMS, INC. CO T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99991 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232640 January 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Nanoscale Transport Processes Prediction/Design/Analysis Tool for NEMS Applications. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will produce a unique computational tool for predicting transport in nanoscale systems. The novel approach to be used here is based on Lattice Boltzmann Methods (LBM) which will enable virtual prototyping of nanodevices using grids of up to a hundred million computational cells thus opening the way for computer aided design and analysis of NEMS devices in the data storage industry. Existing LBM codes will be extended to handle the high Knudsen number range applicable for the head disk interface in computer disk drive system. This new analytical model will then be implemented in a commercial software package, PowerFLOW, which is now used for automotive applications worldwide and has early applications in the data storage industry. With this platform, the highest standards of numerical accuracy, parallel efficiency, and geometric flexibility (including full integration with commercial CAD tools), will be obtained. Upon benchmarking this algorithm against simplistic flow data, a nanoscale transport problem of industrial level complexity will be simulated, with the goal to resolve all the relevant geometric details of the slider and to obtain detailed pressure and shear (head) stress distributions. Commercially, this nanoscale transport prediction tool will open new simulation markets, especially at the engineering design level. Secondly, this new technology should open broad new markets for computer aided engineering (CAE), especially in NEMS and related industries, by enabling nanoscale transport prediction in devices of real world complexity which are now designed/optimized using either experimentation or semi-empirical rules. Market analysis shows that the existing CAE market of about $150 MM per year should increase 10- to 100-fold by introducing new prediction technologies at the engineering design level. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Staroselsky, Ilya Exa Corporation MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 1505 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232641 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Enhanced Location-Based Services Clients: Accessing Real-time Virtual Information Spatially Embedded in Mission-Critical Environments. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will test the feasibility of an innovative method for extending traditional Location-Based Services clients into a real-time, 3D spatially correct, interactive system that interacts with virtual information embedded into mission-critical environments. The demand for 'point-of-need' information delivery is most evident in mission-critical environments typical of first responders, homeland security and other themed-specific situations. However, current LBS's suffer from inadequate networks, clients, delivery mechanisms and imprecise spatial/contextual relationships between the physical environment and virtual media information. VRGIS Corporation proposes an innovative Enhanced Location-Based Services system that integrates Geographic Information Systems, Global Positioning Systems, wireless and augmented reality technologies to enhance in situ 'Just-In-Time' information and communication layers aware of both a user's physical environment and information requirements. By accessing this system through an augmented client (PDA, portable, wearable computing devices), users can maneuver through mission-critical environments interacting with 3D positioned, real-time, intelligent data points derived from online GIS databases, early warning systems, critical building information, sensors, hydrological data and communications through a multi-user network. The proffered technology has the potential to produce an Enhanced Location-Based 3D software client that can be utilized in homeland security and emergency services applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Refsland, Scot VRGIS CORPORATION WV Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9150 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0232646 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Performance Nano-Polarizer for OFC. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate polarization effects in mono-layers of evaporative deposited prolate metal nano-spheroids in order to fabricate low-cost, high performance polarizing optical coatings. Recent investigations of nano-spheroid arrays have resulted in a major technical innovation for achieving high performance polarization in the spectral region from 1300 nm to 1650 nm. Techniques for fabricating these polarizing nano-spheroid (PNS) layers will be investigated in order to demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating near-IR polarizing coatings. The research effort will consist of assembly of test equipment for precision characterization of the nano-spheroids, development of PNS mono-layers with high performance characteristics, encapsulation of the PNS layers in a dielectric matrix and demonstration of a multi-layer PNS polarizing coating. Commercially, a high performance PNS polarizing coating will provide a low-cost alternative to expensive glass polarizers now used in Optical Fiber Communications components including optical isolators, high-frequency modulators, and fiber tip coatings for Metro and Home optical fiber links. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Brown, Andy INTEGRATED PHOTONICS, INC. AL T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99965 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232661 January 1, 2003 SBIR/Phase I: The Accessible Semantic Web. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a proof-of-concept, multi-modal Universal Access Web Interface that provides the user with a choice between text, speech, and animated American Sign Language (ASL). A representative knowledgebase, encoded using Extensible Markup Language (XML) Schema, will be translated into differentiated representations in Vcom3D's Character Animation Markup Language (CAML). CAML, developed under a previous NSF SBIR grant, is currently being used in several educational products and on Websites (including www.signingavatar.com) to create grammatically correct ASL, as well as synthesized speech with correct prosody and coordinated gesture and expression. The effectiveness of the proof-of-concept Universal Access Web Interface in K-12 educational environments will be tested. Based on successful demonstrations of the proof-of-concept , the extensibility of the Interface to more general knowledgebase domains will be examined. In particular, the investigative team will evaluate the applicability of Resource Description Framework (RDF), Ontology Web Language (OWL), and other Semantic Web initiatives to the creation of a standards-based Accessible Semantic Web. The project has potential to produce in Software Tools that can be used to economically create e-Learning materials that are accessible to both deaf and blind persons. Longer-term development, in concert with the emergence of the Semantic Web, can result in products that provide general accessibility to Web-based information in multiple language modalities. RES IN DISABILITIES ED IIP ENG Sims, Edward VCOM3D, INC. FL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99870 1545 SMET 9180 9178 9177 9102 1545 0510604 Analytic Tools 0522400 Information Systems 0232669 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: C5: An Educational Simulation Architecture For Wireless Handhelds. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project uses wireless handheld devices that are interconnected to create an educational simulation architecture called C5, supporting simulations that are compact, connected, continuous, customizable, and collective. C5 tightly connects four information technologies: handheld devices to run individual and distributed simulations; a desktop computer with a wireless network hub acting as the simulation manager; the Web as a live data and information source; and. end-user customization entailing customization of simulations and the integration of real time Web information into simulations. Because next generation handheld devices are sophisticated regarding the following features: speed, networking, and display; they are capable, respectively, of running complex simulations, of running distributed simulations over fast wireless networks, and of displaying high resolution color. Thus, handheld devices promise tools well beyond electronic versions of paper and pencil applications. Individuals can run handheld versions of interactive simulations and collectively create advanced distributed simulations. The research objectives of this project are to explore cognitive (interface), pedagogical (classroom), technical (hardware and software) and commercial issues for handheld-based simulations. The proffered education simulation architecture portends the revolution to come; it has the potential to provide cost effective information technology enabling learning and scientific exploration in wide range of fields, such as life sciences, biology, health, political science, and economics. While the project initially focuses on K-12, it ultimately aims to generate the more general lifelong learning markets that include distance learning, secondary education, home schooling and corporate training. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Repenning, Alexander AGENTSHEETS INC CO Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 1666 SMET 9177 7256 0000912 Computer Science 0101000 Curriculum Development 0232672 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Cellulose Aerogel Thermal Insulation Material for New Construction. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project focuses on producing novel cellulosic aerogels insulation materials for new construction. This project will focus on producing ultra-lightweight cellulose aerogels with exceptional high thermal insulation and mechanical performance. In the project new cellulosic aerogels will be designed and fabricated. Samples will be characterized by scanning electron microscopy and surface area/ pore size measurements and then optimized for thermal insulation, mechanical performance and hydrophobicity. Commercially, ultra-lightweight and hard cellulose aerogel will be useful not only as thermal insulator material for building construction but also as a shock absorbent (military helmet, automobile, etc), in clothing and in space suit applications. Thermal insulation is a major industry serving a wide range of residential and industrial application needs. Development of a new super-insulation material will maximize fuel efficiency in process industries and reduce heating and utility bills in residential markets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Begag, Redouane ASPEN AEROGELS INC MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232675 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Process for Production of Carbon Nanotubes from Re-Usable Catalytic Substrate. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel process for manufacturing carbon nanotubes (CNTs). There is great demand for CNTs from composite materials manufacturers, but current technology cannot yet provide large quantities of CNTs at an affordable price. Multi-wall carbon nanotubes will be grown from a re-usable catalytic substrate by pyrolysis of a carbon feedstock gas. The reusable catalytic substrate will provide control over the diameter of the CNTs in the range from 5nm to 100nm. After the CNTs have been grown from the catalytic substrate they will be physically removed (harvested), and the catalytic substrate can be reused. The resulting CNTs will be free of catalyst metal contamination and largely monodisperse. This process can be fully automated and is scalable to high volumes at very low cost. This project will prove the feasibility of this approach by demonstrating repeatable synthesis of carbon nanotubes from the same catalytic substrates. Nanotubes of different diameter will be produced and their structure will be characterized. The experimental data will be used to create a detailed analysis of the manufacturing economics for the approach and its competitiveness will be evaluated. The commercial and broader impacts of this technology would offer a major breakthrough in the cost/quality relationship to produce and sell loose CNTs. End customers will use CNTs in composite materials with improved structural integrity, and unique electrical and thermal performance. Potential customers are also focused on the use of carbon nanotubes for energy storage. Spin-off applications could include electromagnetic radiation shielding and field emission cathodes for flat panel displays. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Carpenter, F. Nanomaterials Research LLC CO T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232688 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Multimodal Activated Network of Tactile Interfaces for Advanced Computing With Haptics (MANTIACH). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project, Multimode Activated Network of Tactile Interfaces for Advanced Computing with Haptics (MANTIACH), is an innovative approach to provide a virtual tactile stimulation display to a human operator in three-dimensional space. This device conveys both the haptic information about a virtual object such as position, placement, and orientation as well as the tactile information of force, compliance, and texture. MANTIACH provides a non-visual interface to enable visually impaired operators and to augment the ability of visually enabled operators to interact with 2D and 3D graphics environments. MANTIACH uses proven stimulation technology, finger and hand positioning, stimulation mapping, and a three-dimensional graphics interpreter. MANTIACH is designed to be integrated into standard computer systems with minimal effort and standard interfaces. Key to this device is its ability to completely free the operator from fixed mechanical arms or levers in the work area, while still providing the full haptic and tactile stimulation directly related to the virtual graphic of screen display. MANTIACH provides humankind with a new user interface to standard computers for full 2D and 3D display capability to enable blind and visually impaired people. Ultimately Orbital Technology Corporation projects a simple human interface that plugs into a standard computer that would provide the entire control and feedback interface with 2D and 3D simulated objects and screens. A primary application would be computer graphical displays and controls for the blind. Additional commercial applications include virtual reality training and entertainment systems, feedback for calibrated and remotely controlled tools and robots and feedback and control interfaces for hazardous chemical and weapon handling, laparoscopic and robotic surgical equipment and many other applications. Advanced user interfaces for the blind to decrease the gap between sighted and blind users of computer systems is possibly the most far reaching and general use for the system. Specific commercial areas to be investigated further include the following: (1) 2D and 3D graphical user interfaces for the blind, (2) software and entertainment interface equipment, (3) interfaces for current robotic and telerobotic equipment, (4) sound interpreters for the deaf, (5) prosthetic hand sensor augmentation, (6) augmented surgical and instrumented tools, and (7) force feedback systems for nano-manipulators. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Crabb, Thomas ORBITAL TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION WI Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 SMET 9180 5371 1545 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0232698 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Hydrothermally Stable H2 Selective SiC Membrane for Membrane Reactor Appliction. This NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program involves the use a hydrothermally stable SiC membrane as a membrane reactor for steam reforming. We have developed an innovative hydrogen selective SiC membrane. This membrane has demonstrated an excellent material stability required for performing methane steam reforming and dehydrogenation via a catalytic membrane reactor. Thus, we believe that the time is ripe to harvest the catalytic membrane reactor technology. We will be able to perform experimental and reaction engineering study to demonstrate a commercially viable catalytic membrane reactor process using an appropriate membrane under an ideal operating condition. We will conduct a bench-top experimental study using this selected membrane to demonstrate the benefits of reactive separations for an industrial significant reaction, hydrogen production via methane steam reforming. In addition, the hydrothermal and chemical stability of the SiC membrane under the proposed reaction condition will be experimentally verified. The use of hydrothermally stable SiC membranes froe reactive separations can overcome the key technical barriers preventing the implementation of membrane reactor technology in the steam reforming of methane, as well as in dehydrogenation applications. Both are industrially important reaction processes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Liu, Paul Media and Process Technology Inc. PA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232702 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: 3D Video Immersion Room. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop the technology for a "3D Video Immersion Room", based on the company's previous 3D video capture work. A user of this room will don a Head Mounted Display (HMD) with a camera attached. Entering the room, the user will experience immersive virtual scenarios containing arbitrary combinations of (1) realistic live 3D video from a Zaxel 3D Video Capture Studio, (2) prerecorded Zaxel 3D video, (3) virtual Computer Graphics (CG) content, and (4) the actual room, people, and objects around them. The proposed research will provide a new paradigm for interaction with live or recorded 3D content. The system will very accurately track the position and gaze of the viewer via the camera attached to the HMD. The investigative team will extend work on camera-based marker tracking so a large space can be instrumented with paper markers. The system will automatically determine the position and orientation of the camera relative to these markers at video frame rate. It will be quickly self-calibrating so it can be set up by simply attaching the paper markers to the walls and slowly sweeping the camera around the room. Thus, this technology will be much cheaper and more accurate than competing technologies. The "3D Video Immersion Room" is a new tool for education and training with numerous applications. Some examples are as follows: Live 3D Video Teleconferencing, which permits two participants to step into different geographically separated rooms, enabling them to see each other to communicate naturally; Sports Training, which permits an individual to review his or her own athletic performance (a golf or baseball swing, a basketball shot) with a trainer, including overlaying own previous performance or performance of professionals; Historical Reenactment, which uses live or recorded actors and enables students to go to a 3D reconstruction or recreation of a historic place with live actors and/or tour guides. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Williamson, Todd Zaxel Systems, Inc. CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99804 5371 HPCC 9139 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232703 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Ion-Beam Assisted Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition Process. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project involves developing an ion-assisted plasma-enhanced deposition process for producing solid-state proton-conducting hydrated metal oxygen cluster-based materials to serve as electrolytes in electrochromic (EC) devices. Recent developments in infrared and THz sensors, superconducting electronics and EC thermal control systems require rugged solid-state electrolytes for low temperature high speed operation. Hydrated metal oxygen clusters deposited from solutions can extend the performance of existing EC systems but are not compatible with solid state vapor phase deposition processes. Eclipse suggests developing a modified duoplasmatron system to deposit thin-films of metal clusters serving as ion conductors in EC devices. The objectives include fabrication of a microplasma cluster deposition system, selection of metal oxide precursors, deposition and characterization of thin film electrolytes, fabrication and performance evaluation of EC devices. The proposal innovation is the use of enhanced microplasma deposition to prepare ionic conductors with controlled microstructures for use in EC systems. This effort will result in improved control of the microstructure of intercalation materials afforded by the proposed plasma deposition technique leading to advances in batteries, catalysts and nano-structured materials for electronics, optics, and low temperature applications. Successful completion of the program will result in the development of EC devices having substantially lower operating temperature, improved contrast ratio, faster switching speed and greater mechanical stability for use in terrestrial and space-based thermal control systems, in visible and IR sensors, and in optical data storage systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Shannon, Kenneth Eclipse Energy Systems, Inc. FL Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99978 5371 AMPP 9163 1407 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232704 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Development of High Performance NbTi Superconductors Utilizing Nanometer-Scale Metal Oxide and Nickel Pinning Sites. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an innovative process for incorporation of nanometer-scale inclusions into superconducting Niobium Titanium (NbTi) alloy wires. These inclusions will serve as magnetic flux pinning sites, resulting in improved critical current density (Jc) performance as compared to that which can be obtained by conventional processing methods. The innovation will consist in the use of mixtures of nanometer-scale NbTi powder and nanometer-scale metal oxide powder or nickel powder. The use of nanometer-scale powders will greatly reduce the amount of wire deformation required for optimum inclusion (pin) size and spacing as compared with other powder metallurgical and rod-based processes. This will be beneficial for wire piece-length and processing costs. At the same time, the process will have the benefit that pin volume may be easily adjusted for maximum Jc performance. By contrast, the volume of pinning sites that may be realized by conventional thermomechanical processing techniques for NbTi conductors is limited by precipitation kinetics, resulting in an upper limit to Jc performance. Commercially, an improved NbTi conductor will find application in superconducting magnets used for high energy physics accelerators, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) devices. Increased critical current density performance will translate directly into cost savings and greater design flexibility for the MRI and NMR industries. This will be of particular interest to the MRI industry (an industry rapidly approaching $3 billion dollars in sales), where it is difficult to maintain an advantage in an increasingly competitive international market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rudziak, Mark Supercon Inc MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232706 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Innovative Cost-Effective Long-Fiber Thermoplastic Composites for Next-Generation Vehicles Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of developing an innovative manufacturing process to produce cost-effective, high-performance long-fiber thermoplastic composites for Next-Generation Vehicles applications. There is general concern in the U.S. over the growing usage of imported oil, and about 68 percent of the total U.S. consumption of petroleum are related to transportation. Materials technologies to enable production of safe and cost-effective lightweight vehicles have been identified as critical to reducing fuel consumption in future vehicles. This project will validate the concept of using compounding technique to produce well-mixed long-fiber thermoplastic composites with a fiber length exceeding its critical length. Additionally, the innovation would be versatile and inexpensive enough for widespread use. The commercial and broader impacts of this technology will be to supply the automotive and other industries with improved performance long-fiber thermoplastic composites at a significantly lower cost (by 30-50 percent) to meet their needs for lighter, stronger, recyclable and cost-effective materials for future generation vehicles applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chung, Jerry FRONTIER PERFORMANCE POLYMERS CORP NJ Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1773 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232709 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nanoporous Silica Slurry Technology for Enhanced Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) of Low "K" Dielectrics. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will synthesize novel slurries for chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of low dielectric constant (K) materials. Standard abrasives such as silica and alumina lead to significant scratching, indenting and delamination of the soft low K surface. In this project it is proposed to use nanoporous silica based slurries in which the hardness of the particle can be controlled. In the project, synthesis of nanoporous silica particles will first be carried out followed by charcterization; next will be development of the slurry formulation followed by charcterization and finally testing against the specific needs of the CMP application. Commercially, these slurries are expected to reduce surface defects and enhance slurry stability. It is expected that major electronic manufacturing companies will use this new type of slurry. Wafer level experiments are already planned on patterned wafers in collaboration with key industrial partners. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Singh, Deepika SINMAT, INC. FL T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99938 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232711 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Networked CIRF.B Basin Simulation Environment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will test the viability of a desktop computer-based basin simulator that is networked to distribute database management, simulation, and visualization. The basin simulator has been in development since the mid-1980's and presently exists as a research tool. The focus of this project is to bring recent developments in operating systems, programming languages, desktop computers, and client/server database management systems into the program to make it accessible to industry and academia. The software will be a computationally intensive, networked program. Off-the-shelf technology and hardware will allow the cost of the program development and maintenance to be competitive in the market. Success of this project will further advance geological sciences to include more fundamental physical and chemical concepts, and to promote multi-disciplinary industry and academic collaborations for developing even more advanced basin simulators. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Park, Anthony Geo-Chem Research Associates Inc IN Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 80865 5371 HPCC 9216 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232720 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nanocrystalline Diamond Coated Cutting Tools. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop the process necessary to bring nano-diamond coating technology to the cutting tool market. The technical objective of producing a commercial size lot of nano-diamond coated cutting tools will be accomplished through application of the hot-filament Chemical Vapor Deposition process, which is the only economical process that produces a uniform diamond coating over several hundred square inches in a single batch operation. The technical approach will consist of migrating the current microwave-plasma CVD process to the hot-filament CVD process. Commercially, the immediate application for diamond-coated tools is machining aluminum-based metals and composites for the automotive industry. The 2001 automotive cutting-tool market for machining these materials was $780M. The potential market for applying the diamond coating to these tools is $53M in 2002 with a forecasted market growth rate of 4percent so that it is an important development. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Thompson, Raymond VISTA ENGINEERING INC AL T. James Rudd Standard Grant 98854 9150 AMPP 9163 9150 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232725 January 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: A CBN/TiN Nanocomposite Coating for Cutting Tools. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop a novel class of coatings, initially for hard turning cutting tool application, using a new hybrid coating technology. Specifically, it is proposed to develop cubic boron nitride-titanium nitride (cBN-TiN) nano and micro particulate composite coatings using a combination of electrostatic spray coating (ESC) of cBN powder and chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) of TiN. The project will follow a concept where initial work indicates that a thick cBN/TiN composite coating can be deposited in a practical hybrid deposition process using the ESC/CVI combination, and that cutting tools coated using this method can provide significant improvement in machining performance. Commercially, cBN tools are excellent candidates for machining hardened ferrous alloys and superalloys tools. Development of a cBN coating process can circumvent limitations of existing tools and thereby provide a significant improvement in cutting tool selection, productivity and application range where cBN tools simply do not exist (e.g., chip-breaker inserts, round-shank tools such as end-mills, and drills). STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Jiang, Wenping NANOMECH, LLC AR Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 1505 AMPP 9163 1633 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232727 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Discharge Rate Rechargeable Lithium Batteries Based on Novel Cathode Materials. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on the development of novel lithium based cathode materials for high discharge rate applications. Significant attempts have been made in the past decade to commercialize lithium manganospinels but have met with limited success due to poor cycle life and low rate dischargeability. Proprietary synthesis technologies have been developed to stabilize defective lithium manganospinels, which in thin film form, exhibit high capacity (> 230 mAH/g), long cycle life(> 700 cycle) and high discharge rates (> 25C). These materials have been fabricated using a special Vapor Phase Activated Oxygen (VPAO) method. This project proposes to explore the feasibility of the VPAO method to synthesize bulk electrodes for high discharge rate applications. Two methods will be explored using the VPAO techniques: (i) direct scale-up of the thin film technology to thick films and (ii) synthesis of defective manganospinel powders by gas phase nucleation process. Li-based batteries are presently used in low power applications. Success of the proposed research will allow lithium batteries to capture the market for high-powered applications such as power tools and electric vehicles, as well as the portable batteries market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Singh, Deepika SINMAT, INC. FL Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99980 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232731 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Non-Expert Conceptual Annotation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project explores an approach to document indexing and search, which replaces conventional keywords with "concept terms" from a linguistically and semantically rich ontology. Its direct research objectives will be to determine whether the use of such a rich descriptive language can allow non-experts (i.e., non-archivists/librarians) to effectively annotate media resources (especially non-textual media) with "concept terms" which usefully improve both the precision and recall of subsequent searches. The research will prototype technologies and practices that enable semi-skilled workers (drawn from ethnically and economically diverse neighborhoods) to usefully and easily describe content using a conceptual language. The results of this process will be evaluated as to the accuracy of the annotations and their effectiveness in guiding browsing and search. Enabling non-experts (especially content producers) to improve the quality of searches, that is, to create rich and useful metadata, will make the publication and sharing of content more effective and useful. This could be a useful resource for the research community. In addition, the development of the proffered technology may also mean that language technologies can be deployed by enabling a new segment of the work force to perform the important task of concept annotation. Thus, supporting the creation of new semi-skilled entry-level positions in metadata production may broaden the impact of the new economy. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Haase, Kenneth beingmeta, inc MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232733 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Scalable Synthesis and Processing of Nanocrystalline Hydroxyapatite. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop processes and controls for producing commercial quantities of nanostructured hydroxyapatite (HAP) biomaterials suitable for load bearing orthopedic and dental applications. Though hydroxyapatite's osteoconductivity has generated interest in many clinical applications, conventionally processed hydroxyapatite materials have been limited by their poor sinterability and lack of mechanical strength attributed to poor phase purity and homogeneity. By controlling physical processes such as the method of mixing of reactants, particle recovery and synthesis conditions during the chemical precipitation of HAP, the crystallinity, stoichiometry and particle morphology of HAP will be optimized for mechanical strength. Hydroxyapatite optimized for mechanical strength will be nanocrystalline and possess increased chemical and thermal stability; these properties will lead to enhanced sinterability and minimal grain growth. As a result, fully dense, nanocrystalline HAP monoliths possessing superior chemical homogeneity, microstructural uniformity, ultrafine grain sizes and minimized flaw sizes will be achieved. In the final result, the nanocrystalline HAP monoliths produced will provide superior compressive (900 MPa) and bending (200 MPa) strengths as well as fracture toughness (1.3 MPam1/2). Commercially, these nanostructured materials can be formed into constructs and utilized in experimental models commonly employed to validate orthopedic implants. Nanostructured hydroxyapatites will contribute to better osteoblast attachment, proliferation and mineralization. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ahn, Edward Angstrom Medica, Incorporated MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232735 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Neutralizing Utility Mercury Control Sorbents for Fly Ash Use in Concrete. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop inexpensive methods to pretreat commercial powdered activated carbons (PAC) used for power plant mercury control so that they will not interfere with effective use of fly ash in concretes. The objective of this project is to screen and optimize such pretreatment methods. Major project tasks include producing pretreated samples; testing for effects on AEAs, resulting cements, and mercury removal performance; and developing a fundamental understanding of the chemical processes involved. Carbon materials researchers at Brown University and their Energy and Environmental Technologies Laboratory will assist in the effort. Commercially the substitution of fly ash wastes for cement in construction applications is one of America.s biggest recycling successes. Unfortunately, it was recently discovered that if even minimal PAC is injected into power plant flue gases for mercury emission control, the fly ash will be rendered unusable for concrete. The highly-adsorbent carbons severely interfere with the air-entraining admixtures (AEAs) added to concrete for air entrainment and stabilization. The economic implications for utilities may be huge. Thus the PAC pretreatments developed here which minimize adverse effects on AEA while enhancing, or at least not degrading, PAC mercury removal performance are of prime importance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhou, Qunhui SORBENT TECHNOLOGIES CORP OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232744 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Power Component Evaluation System (PCES). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will address the need to of power component performance as a function of system design to reduce the overall risk associated with integration. The project focus is the development of a Power Component Evaluation System (PCES) which improves on traditional methods of system evaluation. PCES couples actual power hardware to a virtual simulation of a system through a Simulation-Stimulation (Sim-Stim) interface which sources and sinks power to the Hardware Under Test (HUT) as well as measuring variables. Since PCES should replicate the HUT's performance just as if connected to a physical system, the Sim-Stim interface will be transparent to the overall operation. The objective is to develop a methodology to design Sim-Stim Interface parameters for a wide range of power system types, operating modes and phenomena so the HUT operates as if it were in a physical system within a prescribed level of accuracy. The anticipated result of the research is a metric to perform trade offs between implementation complexity and accuracy. PCES will enable the development of new all electric and/or hybrid-electric systems as well as quantifying the effect of new/prototype hardware components on such issues as power quality, vulnerability and power transients. The potential commercial benefits of the PCES system will be a faster, cheaper and more effective method for the design, development and commercialization of new electric power products and services. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fischl, Robert F&H Applied Science Associates, Inc. NJ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99820 5371 MANU 9146 5371 1786 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232749 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Polymer Workbench: Web Service Based Modeling Application Service and Integration for the Polymer Industry. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a prototype Polymer Workbench - for use by scientists/ engineers in the polymer industry - using the concept and tools developed around Web Services. Large investments in developing models for use in polymer manufacturing are not effectively utilized as the usage is currently limited to few specialists because the user needs to navigate through a multitude of models in a multiple and highly disjointed user environment, often requiring tedious manual transfer of data and modeling results from one environment to another. The Polymer Workbench will address this need through applying Web Services concept designed to allow the user to access a large number of various polymer models through a single software platform with common user interface, database, and communication protocol for all models. This work will develop the common communication protocol by developing an XML-based markup language specific for polymers, PolymerML, to achieve standardization of the data and information flow between the user and models. The proposed work will address this important need in a very large industry where annual sales in the U.S. for polymer materials alone are $250 billion and expenditure on modeling and simulation exceeds $ 100 million. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ko, Glen RES Group, Inc. MA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232759 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Reactive Distillation for Vinyl Ether Synthesis. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to establish the technical and economic feasibility of a novel technology to utilize reactive distillation to produce vinyl ethers, the production of which is otherwise plagued by equilibrium limitations and side reactions. The program will combine the catalysis expertise of KSE, Inc. with the reactive distillation strengths of the Department of Chemical Engineering of the University of Massachusetts, to develop the new technology. The resulting work product will not only advance the practice of the field of organic synthesis, but also will provide useful case study examples for academic teaching and research. The Phase I program requires completion of three tasks. First, research is needed to improve the catalyst compositions to promote vinyl ether synthesis, to match distillation requirements. Second, laboratory reactor tests, including reactive distillation, must be performed to guide catalyst improvement and to demonstrate success of the technology. Third, design and competitive economic analyses are required to complete the feasibility assessment. The proposed research will solve a major problem in vinyl ether synthesis, reducing byproducts and eliminating solvents. It will also provide valuable teaching and research tools for the practice of reactive distillation. Commercial applications of the reactive distillation technology will allow production of vinyl ethers as an important building block in organic synthesis, eliminating the energy intensive acetylene route based on World War II technology. It allows new synthesis methods to be used, by eliminating critical equilibrium and byproduct constraints. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kittrell, James KSE Inc MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232772 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Performance Identity. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project explores a new way to authenticate the identity of a remote computer user. While anonymity is often an attractive feature of online experience, it creates problems for both host and visitor. Anonymity impedes important functions: financial transactions, information access, secure decision-making, etc. Proof of identity enables such action. Existing technologies--passwords, signatures, electronic keys, digital certificates, physiological biometrics, etc.--all address this problem. Each is limited by constraints including hardware requirements, immobility, ease of forgery, ease of transfer, etc. The approach offers clear advantages. Like password protection, it requires no special hardware, it is readily deployed, and noninvasive. Passwords can be stolen, forgotten or compromised. Not so this technique. Like retinal scanning, it identifies individual humans, not secret keys. In this study, biometric data will be collected non-invasively from a broad population of computer users. Statistical analysis and signal processing techniques will be applied to isolate the metrics that reliably identify individuals. The applications of such technology are manifest. This will focuses on one significant application: online credit card authorization. It establishes milestones on the path to a system by which an authorized cardholder can easily make credit card purchases anywhere on the web, but nobody else can--even when having the actual card in hand. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Jacobson, Dov Big Fun Development Corporation GA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99999 5371 HPCC 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0232775 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Visualization of Large Multidimensional Datasets in a Lower Dimension. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims on creating a visualization technology for advanced analysis of large multivariate datasets. Such technology will be harnessed for finding hidden dependences in data, revealing its cluster structure, selection of features, and finding regions of extreme values of the functions defined on the data. Successful solutions of such problems require preserving the most important distances between data patterns in a lower dimension. Currently existing visualization methods only preserve distances for datasets of the size up to few thousands. Many applications in the process industries, bio-informatics, medicine, and defense include analysis of datasets containing large datasets with 10,000-1 million patterns. The hierarchical technique suggested in this project will expand the use of visualization for advanced data analysis to that range of datasets. The first applications are seen in process industries such as power generation. Broader use of this innovation is anticipated in medicine, bio-informatics, and defense for knowledge discovery through revealing the structure of data. This project will be used in education for teaching multivariate analysis. The Phase I activities are expected to create a foundation for further development in Phase II, leading to integration in a commercial software package. The first applications of this visualization technology will be for building models for use in coal-fired power plants advanc pollution control systems. The visualization tool will become part of a commercially available package and will be incorporated into a more comprehensive data analysis, modeling, optimization, and control systems. Medicine, bio-informatics, and defense are seen as additional potential beneficiaries of the visualization tool. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Igelnik, Boris Pegasus Technologies Inc OH Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 98683 5371 HPCC 9216 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0232777 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Quality-Based Knowledge Discovery for Information Retrieval in Large Organizations. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will determine the feasibility of a novel, powerful technique to determine the quality of documents and the reliability of human reviewers in a large community, such as a company, government agency (particularly intelligence organizations), or university. Many organizations have difficulty locating their own knowledge. They cannot determine the quality of their internal documents nor the ability of their employees to evaluate those documents. Important information may get buried in layers of bureaucracy. This research seeks to address these problems by measuring document quality and user reputation, based on human evaluation and automated processing of those evaluations. The research objectives are: study and refinement of information theoretic techniques underlying the current technology; discovery of practical designs for expanding its scope; and creation of proof-of-concept demonstrations. The research will produce technical papers describing such systems and prove them feasible through software. Potential applications include stand-alone knowledge management products focused on document quality and plug-ins to add this capability to existing KM systems. Members of communities using these products will find the information they need more quickly and with greater confidence, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in corporations, academic institutions, and government agencies. The research will lead to marketable knowledge management software products and/or services which offer quality-based knowledge discovery and are targeted to large organizations in any sector (business, public, academic, or not-for-profit). This technology is not another kind of search engine. It is an evaluation system that identifies the best sources of knowledge, and the most valuable knowledge items, based on the experience of the users in the community. Today there are many vendors providing a variety of knowledge management solutions to large organizations, but we know of none that offers a knowledge discovery solution based on quality. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Robinson, Gary Transpose, LLC ME Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99799 5371 HPCC 9216 9150 5371 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0232780 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: The Production of Silicon Esters With An Advanced Enzymatic Reactor Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of an innovative, environmentally benign, enzymatic catalyst process and an advanced reactor design for the production of silicon esters from various feedstocks. All current processes for making silicon esters are either using expensive rare earth metal as catalysts or using halogen elements containing compounds as starting materials and high temperature. Some of them involve using or generating HCl gas and the formation of complex mixtures, which cannot be readily separated. The Phase I objective is to demonstrate feasibility of using immobilized enzyme as a catalyst for silicon ester synthesis coupled with the sonic-enhanced packed bed reactor technology. The investigation will focus on esterification reactions between alkyl silanols and saturated or unsaturated carboxylic acids to produce silicon esters with designed degree of saturation. This enzymatic process will produce both saturated and unsaturated silicon esters that can be used for a broad range of applications, that include repellent coatings, contact lenses, electrical assemblies, perfumes, dyes, brake fluid, chromatography equipment, rubber products, products to reattach detached retinas and more. The unsaturated esters can also be used as monomers for silicon containing polymer production. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yang, Fangxiao RESODYN CORPORATION MT Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 5371 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232783 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Bulk Production of Passivated Metallo-Carbohederenes Utilizing Laser Assisted Molecular Beam Synthesis. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a process to generate bulk quantities of Metallo-Carbohederenes (met-cars). The project will use a particle and deposition technology, called Laser Assisted Molecular Beam Deposition, which is ideal for producing met-cars on the nanoparticle size scale. The unique structure of the met-cars makes them applicable for a variety of applications requiring activated metals. However, to date, in spite of several attempts, no one has been able to produce bulk quantities of this material for study and commercialization. The commercial and broader impacts of this technology will be the production capability for Met-cars nanopowders, which will have a market in the areas of activated metal and catalysis and promising applications in the field of nanofabrication. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG DeLeon, Robert AMBP Technology Corporation NJ T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232794 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Application of a Novel, Non-Thermal Plasma Technology for Surface Modification of Polymeric Objects. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop non-thermal, plasma technology to achieve uniform surface modification of plastic materials at atmospheric pressure in air, without need of significant amounts of a carrier gas. This uniform surface treatment can be achieved flexibly and economically on three-dimensional objects of practical size to a multitude of industries. In the program, well-characterized flat surfaces of polypropylene will be subjected to plasma treatment using a matrix of experimental conditions to determine surface modification and damage effects as a function of voltage/current characteristics, plasma source configuration and processing speed. Surface analytical tools such as Scanning Probe Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, XPS and FTIR will be employed to evaluate changes in surface morphology and surface chemistry. Changes in surface energy will be gaged by standard wetting tests. The program will then examine performance with three-dimensional objects of various size and shape and TPO blends of industrial significance. The proposed program is compelling because the technology offers a major leap forward in surface treatment across a spectrum of major markets. Typically the surface preparation for finishing involves chemical treatment with highly caustic or acidic agents or with organics, imposing concomitant safety and environmental problems. The plasma technology of this proposal can be applied in place of many of these processes. Markets include, for example, sterilization or biological activation in the biomedical field and fiber conditioning in optical and composite-fiber technologies. However, the greatest commercial impact will be to promote better adhesion, whether it be for inks used in labeling, for thin films in electronics or for paints or other coatings to provide color, texture and/or corrosion protection. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ricatto, Pascal PLASMASOL CORP. NJ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 5371 1633 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232800 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Computerized Tool for Baggage Screening. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is directed at homeland security and will determine the feasibility of developing a computerized tool for airport security checkpoint baggage screening that will assist baggage screeners in x-ray image inspection and which will provide networked electronic communications among security checkpoint personnel. Current baggage screening methods at airport security checkpoints are essentially manual systems that take little advantage of today's computerized technologies, electronic communications, and data networks. The proposed system introduces networked database capabilities to the airport enabling security personnel to analyze and correlate real time and/or historical data on passengers and their baggage throughout the airport and will significantly improve the airport's ability to run smoothly while enhancing safety. With post 9/11 diminishing of consumer confidence, our nation's airports are in search of ways to make the air travel experience as streamlined as possible, so that the day-to-day economics of travel are profitable, and, at the same time, to make the entire system safer thus protecting lives, their investments, and promoting a national grassroots level perception of safety that enhances our lives, our consumer confidence, our economy, and our willingness to travel. As a software product with a hardware platform that interfaces with existing and new hardware systems being utilized to meet security needs at airports, the proposed technology promises to offer a relatively low cost way to introduce significant improvements to the situation. This technology brings screeners a communications infrastructure to build on each other's knowledge and expertise, and with the addition of such an infrastructure platform to daily processes, to be constantly evaluated on their statistical accuracy. This will improve their performance while also speeding the process of luggage searchers, and thus improve security. The proposed computerized inspection system can be utilized in any of the nations' 429 commercial service airports either directly or through relationships with security consultants and hardware manufacturers. Similarly the technology can be used advantageously in international markets as well. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sommer, Edward NATIONAL RECOVERY TECHNOLOGIES INC TN Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 5371 0510604 Analytic Tools 0232804 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Automatic Information Awareness. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to design a generic framework for formalizing and automatically extracting domain-specific information from unstructured text for the purpose of automatic processing. The rate at which new information becomes available has increased to a point that it is impossible for people to identify the nature the information content as it is made accessible and even less feasible to absorb the actual information content. Current search technologies solve the problem of finding documents, but they do not address the fundamental problem of cognizance of the information contained in newly available documents. Being aware of the information content has now become the real challenge. Therefore it has become critical to automatically process information as it becomes available. The framework will handle domain specific areas where language variations are wide. The commercial applications of Teragram's proffered technology include alerts based on content, feature extraction for clustering and visualization of large information contents, and structuring data from documents into databases for numerous domains, including financial analysis, financial earnings releases, sport results, weather forecasts, terrorist events, election results, and product price comparisons. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schabes, Yves Teragram Corporation MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99221 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232806 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Polarization Insensitive Tunable Diffraction Grating. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will investigate the use of a fast switching ferroelectric liquid crystal structure, particularly in the inverse twisted smetic structure (ITSS) to make a polarization insensitive diffraction grating structure. This will be done using the high tilt ferroelectric liquid crystal material. In this program two different approaches will be explored to make a polarization insensitive beam deflector. In one approach, a fast switching ferroelectric liquid crystal in combination with doped cross-linking agents will be used to make a switchable grating without the use of holography. A second approach will make the polarization insensitive structures using patterned alignment layers. The optimal method will be identified for further development and implementation. Commercially these diffractive structures are expected to form the basis of optical attenuators as well as beam steering devices. Although several applications, such as optical light attenuators for the telecommunications industry can be expected, the ultimate application as always will depend on the performance of the device. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhuang, Zhizhong Optellios, Inc NJ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99508 5371 AMPP 9163 1771 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232816 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Electron Beam Curing of Polymer Interlayer in Silicon Carbide Joints. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project entitled " Electron Beam Curing of Polymer Interlayer in Silicon Carbide Joints" will develop the technology to enable economical commercialization of silicon carbide components. Current joining techniques are too time consuming to be economically viable for commercialization and mass production They tend to produce excessive polymer shrinkage and thus require excessive number of polymer infiltrations. The proposed pulsed electron beam curing technology will remove these obstacles by completing the polymer cross-linking in the microsecond time scale, which is comparable to the duration of the electron beam pulse. In this Phase I effort, the polymer shrinkage in the interlayer material will be studied first by subjecting it to electron beam irradiation. The resulting samples will be compared to those processed under conventional method, i.e., without undergoing electron beam processing. This will then be followed by the production of SiC joints. These joined test samples, produced with electron beam curing, will again be compared to a control joint sample. Computer simulation code will be used to guide the experiments. Success of this project will pave the way for commercializing SiC components in many different industrial and manufacturing markets, including petrochemical, semiconductor, heat-treating and heat-exchanger systems, aircraft and terrestrial gas turbines, and aircraft structural components. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Len, Lek FM TECHNOLOGIES INC VA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99999 5371 AMPP 9163 5371 1633 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232817 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Creating Accessible Science Museums for Blind and Visually Impaired Visitors with User-Activated Audio Beacons. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will include the design, implementation and evaluation of a new product intended to improve accessibility to science museums and other public exhibit spaces for visitors who are blind or visually impaired. The proposed system will rely on a network of user-activated audio beacons arrayed throughout an exhibit environment: visitors will control the system using cell phones. A limited but functional, version of the system will be installed at the New York Hall of Science in New York City, and user trials will be carried out to evaluate the system's effectiveness as a navigational tool and as a provider of exhibit-related information. Based on positive findings in Phase I, the next phase of the research will include outfitting the entire museum with a network of user-activated audio beacons, in anticipation of marketing the system, including device, software and installation/service, to other institutions wishing to expand their visitorship, to include members of this growing and often overlooked population. Long-term goals include extending the audience for telephone-based museum guides to mainstream audiences, and developing audio beacon networks for other types of public environments. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Landau, Steven Touch Graphics NY Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99492 5371 SMET 9180 1545 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232822 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Mesogenic Molding Process for Optical Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a process technology for composite ordered films based on liquid crystal (LC) materials that will have a significant impact on the performance of LC optical devices, both passive and active. These devices include ultrafast optical signal processing and high-density optical storage, just to name a few. The process technology is simple in concept. A blend of cross-linkable liquid crystals and non-reactive liquid crystals is formulated, and then prepared into a film using usual techniques. The non-reactive components are then removed from the film to create a nano-structured, mesogenic "mold" that retains some of the LC-like ordering. If desired, additional components can be added into the mold, creating a device with tailored mechanical, chemical, and optical properties. The technology can thus be used to overcome inherent shortcomings of LC materials and improve the performance, durability, and applicability of many LC optical devices. In the proposed program, the goal is to fabricate low-cost, high-efficiency, reflective broadband UV polarizing films. This technology makes it possible to realize such films even though all currently available LC materials exhibit substantial absorption over the UV spectral range. This process technology for composite ordered films will have immediate commercial applications in a wide range of optical devices, both active and passive, as it will dramatically improve performance. The improvements may include better temperature resistance, wider wavelength range, reduced chemical sensitivity, or any combinations of these. The first application to be produced with this process, UV polarizing films, has a wide range of uses: chiral drug development, optical components, liquid crystal displays, and even skin protection. Anticipated revenues for UV polarizing films could reach $4.5 million in its first year alone. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fan, Bunsen Reveo Incorporated NY T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99431 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232826 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Low-Cost Electrosynthesis of High Quality Cadmium Telluride Films. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes a molecular level electrochemical approach to fabricate semiconductor compounds. It targets a commercially important electro-optic application, the low temperature synthesis of cadmium telluride thin-film for solar cells and infrared devices. Present technology uses expensive vapor phase deposition methods that are unsuitable for large-scale or low-temperature fabrication. This project will develop a low-cost, electrochemical process to produce high quality thin-films. Phase I will identify process parameters, demonstrate the proof of concept and validate the approach for deposition of cadmium telluride films. Phase II will extend the method to the other device layers. Method implementation will raise the photovoltaic efficiencies and lower manufacturing costs of thin-film modules. Its success will accelerate the large-scale commercialization of this technology and provide a timely solution to the nation's escalating energy and environmental problems. Commercial applications of the Research Applications for the cadmium telluride thin film technology range from the solar cells to infrared detectors. Lower cost, higher efficiencies and simpler manufacturing will translate into a wider spectrum of commercial markets. The nanoscale electrosynthesis method has applications for fabricating a range of novel quantum well structures and devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Menezes, Shalini InterPhases Solar, Inc. CA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232828 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Statistical Text Categorization with Task-Specific Constraints. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase project will implement and test the feasibility of a new algorithm for statistical text categorization. This algorithm combines the ease and effectiveness of learning from examples, while incorporating task-specific constraints that currently require ad hoc rules. The project will evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of these algorithms. Alternative optimization algorithms and alternative approximations to intractable quantities will be benchmarked. Categorization accuracy will be evaluated on public text categorization data sets and on data from operational text categorization users. Ornarose, Inc. will develop and license software libraries including this algorithm to software vendors in a variety of industries. Vendors for whom text categorization is not a core competency increasingly wish to support categorization in software that works with text data. Market niches where text categorization under task-specific constraints is compelling include knowledge management, news alerting, email/web filtering, and data mining. Discounted licenses will be provided for academic institutions and scholarly publication of nonproprietary results on publicly available text categorization data sets is planned. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lewis, David Ornarose, Inc. NJ Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99423 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232829 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Manufacturing Method for Conformal, Embedded Electronics and Sensor Systems: Combining Thermal Spray with Laser Micromachining. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an approach that combines two new, unique, and complimentary technologies to fabricate mesoscopic electronics and sensors. For example, thermal spray as an additive process to deposit a wide variety of high-quality ceramic, metal, semiconductor, polymer, etc. materials, with the precision subtractive capabilities of High-Speed High-Resolution Ultraviolet Laser Micromachining to fashion mesoscale (~10-1000 microns) devices on a wide range of substrates. The technology is based on a direct-write process that requires no masks, photoresist, or wet chemistry. The benefits of such a combined technology are vast, and will allow a dramatic reduction in feature size to the ~10 um level and below, while being able to utilize an enormous variety of materials and perform design iterations in a matter of minutes or hours, compared to the traditional 1-4+ week turn-around time for typical photoresist mask alterations/fabrication. The potential commercial applications are unique and far-reaching. Examples include strain gauges, thermistors, thermocouples, thermopiles, magnetic and piezoelectric sensors, interdigitated capacitors for LCR circuits, antennas, microheaters for integration into chemical and biological sensors, and others. The devices can be integrated into existing components and embedded or overcoated for added reliability and survivability in harsh environments. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhang, Chengping Potomac Photonics Inc MD Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99987 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232833 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Highmarks Advanced Planning and Scheduling System for Schools. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop an innovative technology to radically change the organization of teaching and learning at schools; in particular, grade 7-12 public and private schools in the United States. The main problem to be solved concerns the current .assembly-line. nature of most schools, whereby semester and quarterly classes force students with greatly different needs to proceed at roughly the same pace through a curriculum. This largely inflexible pace, combined with a lack of transparency of student needs across semesters/quarters, leads to a greatly stratified typical class as each student accumulates his own unique gaps in meeting the learning objectives of the school. Based on teacher interviews, Highmarks found a typical classroom of students in a given semester/quarter class can be broken down into 3-6 subgroups of readiness to learn. Most teachers cannot effectively teach to these subgroups simultaneously, and they do not receive enough training from those teachers who, being masters in the art of teaching, can handle these classes. A primary objective of the prototype proffered is to ensure that every class consists of a group of students fully ready to learn the material being taught; that is who have no key gaps in knowledge so far as the current material is concerned. To enable this to happen, the proposed technology will overhaul how classes are assembled at a school, making the scheduling and organization of teaching and learning far more dynamic than it is today. With a similar technique, the proposed technology will also have an impact on the learning disabilities and bilingual sectors, by making it far easier to integrate special needs students into regular classes. The prototype will also overhaul teacher training at schools, because teachers will no longer be locked. into quarterly and semester classes; and in-house, hands-on training will become a much greater percentage of their daily schedules. So not only will the standard .readiness to learn of a class be vastly improved; the standard .readiness to teach. of an average teacher will also be greatly enhanced. The combination of enhanced readiness to learn and readiness to teach should build more effective and enjoyable schools, in a way that is measurable by all standard assessment regimens including standardized national, state or local tests. The prototype will be highly scalable, aligned with K-12 content standards and will feature the direct, heavy involvement of curriculum and teacher designers. The kind of radical change in school scheduling proposed could provide a critical step toward the goal of "leaving no child behind." SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Snyder, Jonathan Highmarks, Inc. MD Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 SMET 9177 7256 0522400 Information Systems 0232844 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Enterprise Economic Knowledge Modeling For Data-Driven Offer Design. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project applies Infolenz' proprietary model-reduction technology to the development of a data-driven economic framework for supporting a firm's offer design. The objectives of the project are: 1) development of a modeling methodology capable of handling the complexity of enterprise transaction data, 2) development of a robust integrated offer design methodology, 3) prototyping the methods in software, and 4) applying them to actual client data. The resulting commercial application emerges in a tool that automatically integrates the strategic decisions of business users with the economic information gleaned from transaction data to design optimal offers. The proprietary model-reduction technique of the proposer represents a missing link that can now support the development of a practical theory of robust modeling and control of these complex economic systems that is truly data-driven. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Shamma, Jeff Infolenz Corporation MA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232852 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nanostructured Optical Fiber Breathing Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop optical fiber sensors for the quantitative measurement of humidity and air flow for use in medical diagnostics for breathing. Initial research indicates that these physically small and mechanically robust sensors respond over a wide range of relative humidities, with a response time of microseconds, orders of magnitude faster than commercially available devices. In the project, a molecular-level electrostatic self-assembly (ESA) processing method will be used to form multilayered, interleaved metal nanocluster and polymer thin films on the distal ends of optical fibers to form the sensors. The project will involve work with a biomedical institute partner to develop the sensor thin film chemistries with improved response, and to design and fabricate the optical fiber sensor support instrumentation system. The Optical Science and Engineering Research Center at Virginia Tech will assist in thin film materials analysis and optical device testing. Commercially, these small, rugged, intrinsically safe, ultra-fast optical fiber-based humidity and air flow sensors offer an attractive and low-cost approach to breathing diagnostics for both clinical research and home health care. Additional large markets for similar sensors exist in the industrial gas flow, automotive and transportation areas. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mecham, Jeffrey Nanosonic Incorporated VA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232861 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: World Wide Student Laboratory. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will evaluate the merit and feasibility of the World Wide Student Laboratory (WWSL). WWSL is a scalable Internet-based education infrastructure that enables students, under the guidance of their educators, to have 24x7 remote access enabling them to carry out, advanced educational experiments in modern laboratories at leading universities and research centers worldwide, regardless of the students' location. This approach will improve the quality of the laboratory experience and substantially reduce the cost of the educational laboratory, which is the most difficult and expensive segment of science and engineering education to provide. Using WWSL, educational institutions will be able to afford better facilities for the education they provide, access to the best lab facilities in other institutions, and substantially broaden the number of lab study subjects in their curriculum. Individual instructors can customized the content and methods of lab for their students. WWSL will make available all materials necessary for fulfillment of the lab work The economic and societal benefits of the WWSL approach are based on the potential a dramatic increase in the efficiency of existing lab facilities in universities. WWSL can serve traditional universities, colleges and high schools, as well as distance education institutions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Arodzero, Anatoli Constellation Technology Corporation FL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99487 5371 SMET 9178 9177 5371 0522400 Information Systems 0232873 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Performance Lead-Free Piezoelectric Ceramics. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will focus on the formation of improved performance, lead-free, piezoelectric ceramics for various high performance sensor and transducer applications. The piezoelectric response of Barium Zirconium Titanate (BZT) ceramic compositions will be enhanced by altering the degree of grain orientation within the ceramic. Seeding with a small percentage of properly oriented anisometric, isostructural particles (template particles) within the bulk BZT ceramic will produce the texture during thermal densification. The piezoelectric response of the textured BZT ceramics would be comparable to current lead-based materials, which would allow for greater utility in the commercial sector due to environmental constraints. Commercially textured, piezoelectric BZT ceramics can be used for various electromechanical transducer and sensor applications, which include the aerospace, marine, biomedical, and ultrasonic industries. The BZT ceramics have the potential of replacing all applications currently using lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics, which are environmentally unacceptable because of the lead content. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sabolsky, Edward NEXTECH MATERIALS LTD OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1774 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232877 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A New Approach for Effective Detection of Cyber Attacks Based on Anomalous Program Behaviors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on the development of an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) based on recognizing anomalous system call patterns via finite state machines. Networked information systems play critical roles in essential infrastructures such as power generation and distribution, transportation, commerce, and national security. The continuing spate of security incidents from the CERT Coordination Center (the CERT/CC was originally the Computer Emergency Response Team) demonstrates that existing approaches for securing systems against cyber attacks are not effective. These approaches are focused almost exclusively on previously exploited vulnerabilities, and offer no protection against attacks that may exploit countless (as-yet-undiscovered) vulnerabilities that continue to exist on the target systems. Whereas current threats are largely attributed to unskilled hackers (script kiddies), the future holds the threat of rapid escalation of cyber-warfare, cyber-terrorism and cyber-crime. Attackers in these cases are highly skilled, organized and well funded, and can develop new kinds of attacks very quickly. Thus there is an urgent need for developing approaches that can protect against unknown attacks launched by highly skilled attackers. In previous research conducted at SUNY, Stony Brook, the key personnel have developed a new approach for securing systems against unknown attacks. Immunet Security's approach is based on a new algorithm for learning program behaviors using finite-state automata models and detecting attacks as deviations from this model. The approach has been show to be very effective in detecting known as well as unknown attacks and produces significantly fewer false alarms than previous approaches. This proposal seeks to develop the approach into a commercial intrusion detection system (IDS). The market for commercial Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) is large, running into billions of dollars, and is growing fast. Given the market for IDS and the heightened national interest in security, this technology offers the possibility of more sensitive detection than currently exists. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ganapathy, Umamaheswari Immunet Security Solutions, Incorporated NY Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99983 5371 HPCC 9139 9102 5371 0522400 Information Systems 0232882 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Generation of Metal Nanojets and Precise Monosize Nanospheres. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a novel process capable of high-volume production of monodisperse nanoparticles of arbitrary metallic composition. Such highly-controlled materials are desired as components for engineered nanostructures. The current standard precipitate or aerosol processes for metal nanoparticle formation are limited in available materials, the particle size distribution, or productivity. In this project an adaptation to jetting processes will be used to enable formation of metal nanojets and nanoparticles. Because this is entirely a physical process, it is expected to be able to be adapted to any metal alloy. second The specific tasks of the project will inolve survey of possible approaches, analyzing the proposed process, and preparing the preliminary design of the key parts of a prototype apparatus. The objective is a system capable of the precise formation of nanojets and monosize nanoparticles at rates greater than one gram per second. Commerically, there are many possible long-term applications for metal nanoparticles. Nanoelectronics and high-density data storage are two appealing examples. The established markets for the technology described with the most initial opportunity relevant to this proposal appear to be in the following fields: solid propellants, explosives, and catalysts. Monodisperse nanoparticles will allow mechanical packing into ordered array structures for filtration. The high surface area of nanoparticles enables their use as substrates for catalysis of chemical reactions. While supported by these initial markets, further innovation in many other markets and derivative technologies (such as oxide ceramic nanoparticles, and nano-patterning devices) will be developed from this new technology. This technology offers a means of producing significant quantities of monodisperse nano-spheres at commodity prices. It also enables further significant innovations in nanoscale fabrication, materials and processing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Dean, Jr., Robert SYNERGY INNOVATIONS INC NH T. James Rudd Standard Grant 111999 5371 AMPP 9251 9178 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232897 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Manufacturing of Encrypting Metallic Powders. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an anticounterfeiting technology, which is the magnetic analog of thermo-luminescence. This technology makes use of a series of ternary alloys that exhibit a unique first order transition and is based on the iron-rhodium classical antiferromagnetic (AF) to ferromagnetic (F) behavior. Additional alloying elements such as Rhenium, Platinum and Palladium by varying their concentration, enable this transition to be precisely varied in temperature. This material, will be synthesized in perfectly spherical particles ranging in size from 2-10 microns and will be suitable for use in an ink pigment. This capability enables standard ink jet printing to be used, to print a series of complex three dimensional bar codes, two spatial and one in temperature. The bar code will be non magnetic at ambient temperature. In the proposed program the ability of the processing technology to yield compositions and particle sizes which are uniform and small enough to flow in a ink jet printer, will be explored. From a commercial point of view, the cost to the US economy of counterfeiting is conservatively estimated at $200B/year. It is estimated that implementation of this technology would save between 1 to 10% of this figure or up to about $20B/year. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lashmore, David SYNERGY INNOVATIONS INC NH Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 111793 5371 AMPP 9251 9178 9163 1633 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232907 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: ACIM deBonder: Thin Film Integrity Testing Using Controlled Microcavitation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new method of measuring how strongly a thin film anchors to its substrate. To date no method exists that can truly measure thin film adhesion. The Acoustic Coaxing Induced Microcaviation (ACIM) deBonder uses controlled microcavitation to directly reveal a thin film's adhesion strength by subjecting it to controlled erosion. ACIM is a means of constructively controlling acoustic microcavitation. By directing ACIM's high intensity energy implosions at specific film sites one can quantitatively determine adhesion strength. The potential commercial benefits will be applicable to any type of film or coating that can erode in a controlled manner by cavitation. This technique is a nondestructive method that only uses small areas of films. No special sample preparation is needed and the method is capable of in situ inspection. Microelectronic manufacturing and the semiconductor industries will benefit from this technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Madanshetty, Sameer Uncopiers, Inc. KS Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9150 9146 5371 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232920 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Discovery Analyst: A Data Mining System for Image Databases. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project describes a powerful new approach to GIS data-mining for large image databases. The current inefficiencies in extracting information from these databases are primarily caused by the limited ability to extract baseline geographic information (such as road networks) from images. The proposed system addresses this need by combining feature extraction efficiencies with the ability to refine queries efficiently. The feature extraction system reduces the labor required for extracting information from imagery and the query refinement system incorporates user-driven and data-driven strategies to focus on interesting and relevant discoveries. The proposed system will also provide solutions for multi-media applications containing imagery, web-based applications, medical image repositories, and other applications. Geo-spatial information technology is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of scientific research, environmental modeling, local government planning, and federal government security programs. The proposed system also has commercial potential for other application domains such as medical imaging. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Blundell, Stuart VISUAL LEARNING SYSTEMS INC MT Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9150 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232923 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Piezo-Driven Inertial Stages for Ultra-High-Vacuum (UHV). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a piezoelectric motor-drive with Ultra-High-Vacuum (UHV) compatibility for high-speed driving of positioning platforms. The proposed piezoelectric motor-drive will provide an as-yet unrealized combination of several desirable characteristics: nanometer and sub-nanometer precision; speeds in excess of 500 mm/s; drive capacities in the range of 10's of kilograms; and, ranges of travel in excess of 500 mm. The commercial potential of this concept will provide a revolutionary means for rapid and accurate materials handling for fabrication, inspection, metrology, and packaging of microparts and microsystems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Paine, Jeffrey DYNAMIC STRUCTURES AND MATERIALS, LLC TN Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9146 5371 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232925 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Fluoropolymer Material. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel nanoparticle-fluoropolymer (NP-FP) material that fills an immediate commercial need and represents a prototype for a family of compositions that should spawn new products, businesses, and industries. Desirable optical properties of materials often come mixed with undesirable properties. An example is the yttrium iron garnet (YIG) which will be employed in an all-fiber optical circulator. While it provides strong Faraday rotation and optical transparency, these come with a high refractive index and an inconvenient crystalline structure that makes incorporation in coatings or molded components difficult. Deposition limitations have been overcome by incorporating YIG nanoparticles into a polymer matrix, but hydrocarbon polymer matrices also have moderately high refractive indices and strong optical absorption beyond 700 nm. The project will develop solvent-cast amorphous fluoropolymers films impregnated with YIG nanoparticles. The porosity, inertness, and low refractive index characteristics of amorphous fluoropolymer materials offer great hope that a variety of nanoparticle-impregnated materials will be developed based upon nanoparticle modification techniques. The commercial applications for this technology will be to the telecommunications, photonics, and sensor technologies. The networking market alone will benefit greatly from this technology. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Strecker, Brian NOMADICS, INC OK T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99173 9150 AMPP 9163 9150 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232943 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: QoS guaranteed VTC for telemedicine over broadband IP networks. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will research, develop, and deliver an unsurpassed high performance video teleconferencing (VTC) system in software, based on Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) protocols and the growing Quality of Service (QoS)- provisioning IP architecture. This VTC system will be specifically designed for premier telemedicine application over broadband IP networks in the USA and throughout the world, and will provide a great help for achieving ``Healthy People 2010'' by reducing the cost of health care for both the providers and patients, extending the high-quality services otherwise limited by location and time. Specifically, this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to (a) design and analyze improved transport mechanisms for real-time interactive telemedicine oriented VTC, as well as control and management mechanisms of IP networks with some measures of QoS guarantees; (b) design high-speed high performance, error resilient, and network-friendly layered video coding and transmission scheme; (c) analyze the interaction between the VTC transport mechanism and the IP network.s service provisioning mechanisms to find the best feasible combination, and explore, in particular, the relationship between the importance-based video layering and the network.s methods of differentiating the QoS grades. The commercial applications of the project are premier telemedicine services at low cost required by health care providers and patients, as well as high quality VTC services required by government organizations and corporations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhuang, Xinhua SPEEDATECH LLC MO Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232945 January 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: PDA-Based Bird Identification Program. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop and test a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)-based software that will facilitate bird identification in the field by combining geographic information with images, audio, and descriptive data. The proposed software will facilitate research and educational activities by allowing multiple users to collate their observations via the desktop version of this software. Rather than being locked into one platform, the application will be designed for efficient transfer across both Palm OS and Pocket PC platforms. The specific platform decision for Phase I will be made in the initial stages of design after re-evaluation of existing technology. In Phase I, South Dakota Health Technology Innovations, Inc. in collaboration with the University of South Dakota, proposes to develop and test a prototype system for 100 South Dakota birds. The research team will work with the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology to establish appropriate links between this software and their BirdSource website, and to coordinate with Citizen Science programs. The three main selling points of this application will be the mobility offered by the PDA, the access to multimedia and GIS data in the field, and the potential for building an interactive community of naturalists. The software will provide for the first time, mobile access to multimedia data on birds via the PDA. It is expected that this integration of data on the PDA will be purchased by and greatly benefit educators, communities of birdwatchers, and researchers. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Timms, Giles Paula Mabee SOUTH DAKOTA HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES INNOVATIONS INC SD Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99968 9150 HPCC 9216 9150 1505 0206000 Telecommunications 0232946 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Hybrid Neural Net Enterprise System Simulation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 project is designed to address the problem of managing and simulating extended enterprise systems as specified in The Extended Enterprise/C.2. As networks and enterprise systems have grown in complexity, it has become increasingly difficult to determine the most cost effective way to deploy hardware to maximize system availability and network performance. Poor resource planning decreases the effectiveness of information technology organizations, resulting in increased labor costs and decreased company wide productivity. New tools are required to increase productivity. This proposal is for research to produce a modeling and forecasting software system that use combination of neural net and rules based algorithms to simulate enterprise systems. Individual components of the enterprise system will be modeled with appropriate neural nets trained by constructive techniques. The enterprise system will be modeled by connecting these component neural nets with data pipe rule-based software. Such software would be able to forecast strains on the system and identify bottlenecks in the network. The completed modeling and forecasting software will become a cornerstone technology for a tool that will diagnose, troubleshoot and predict IT issues. The project will be developed in Linux with C, C++ or FORTRAN, as appropriate. This research could help in making the management of enterprise systems and networks more efficient therefore making them more affordable to teaching and service institutions. The result of this endeavor will assist enterprise systems and network managers to manage the tasks in faster and more economically manner. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tarte, Robert Pacific Code Works CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99840 5371 HPCC 9215 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232955 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Automated Discovery and Removal of Hidden Data in Digital Documents. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project will demonstrate the information security risks posed by sharing desktop publishing documents, which occurs frequently over the Internet, and the feasibility of mitigating those risks using rigorous software techniques. Microsoft's Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) and Component Object Model (COM) standards permit seamless integration of software applications to produce professional looking documents commonly described as Desktop Publishing. Unfortunately, these standards do not consider privacy or security, leading to significant vulnerabilities. These security problems are created during the routine use of an application, and the user is generally unaware that this information has been included in the file. SRS Technologies will demonstrate the risks caused by embedded objects, Meta data, and file fragmentation using the Microsoft Office XP suite to generate digital documents with known problems that the average user is likely to unwittingly create. Next, SRS Technologies will demonstrate why existing review techniques are inadequate for identifying and removing unintended data. Finally, SRS Technologies will develop and demonstrate software techniques to decompose OLE/COM documents and expose the hidden data for sanitization. Information sharing over the Internet is expanding exponentially. Any organization, Government or commercial, that has sensitive information to protect will benefit. Society will benefit from the availability of simple, reliable, easy-to-use tools for use by professionals (law, health, financial, etc.) with sensitive client information. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hackett, Ronald SRS Technologies CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99978 5371 HPCC 9139 0512004 Analytical Procedures 0232966 January 1, 2003 STTR PHASE I: Weather Information Network Enabled Mobile System. The goal of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to determine the feasibility of leveraging existing weather and communication systems to provide location-specific, detailed, automatic, and continuous weather information nationwide to the general public. The project will determine the feasibility of using an existing nationwide communication system in a novel manner to augment regional weather broadcasts. It will also determine the features and capabilities that must be included to make the commercial system user friendly and autonomous. The commercial implementation of this research is expected to provide the traveling public with weather information presented by portable units suitable for personal use in automobiles, aircraft, and pleasure boats. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Sale, Darryl Denet Labs LLC ND Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 98291 9150 CVIS 9150 1038 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0232976 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Industrial Scale Formation of the Stable and Processable Core/Shell Semiconductor Nanocrystals. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new technology for the industrial production of high quality core/shell semiconductor nanocrystals, which have shown great potential for a variety of electronic, biological and medical applications. At present, all of these commercial applications are constrained by the availability of stable, high quality core/shell semiconductor nanocrystals on a large scale with an affordable price. Different from the existing organometallic approach, this project is built up on the greener, inexpensive and high performance Solution Atomic Layer Epitaxial (SALE) synthetic strategies developed by the NNL and the University of Arkansas. The SALE makes possible the scale-up and the high quality of the core/shell semiconductor nanocrystals by growing cationic and anionic ion shell materials on the core nanocrystals surface in the solution layer by layer alternatively. This new synthesis scheme for producing the core/shell nanocrystals should be extendable to the continue batch (CB) method that maximizes the power of the existing synthetic schemes. The core/shell nanocrystals could be stabilized by dendron ligands and further crosslinking. In this way, both the quality and the quantity of the resulting core/shell nanocrystals are guaranteed. The commercial applications and other benefits of this technology is in the value of the core/shell colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals in the field of electronic and medical applications lies on the large area display, portable electronic devices, medical devices and medical diagnostics, etc. A multi-billion dollar market for the production of those electronic devices and medical diagnostics is in rapid development SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Yongqiang NANOMATERIALS AND NANOFABRICATION LABORATORIES AR T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99738 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232985 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Uncertainty Analysis of Manufacturing Process Models. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will create a software system for performing uncertainty analysis of manufacturing process models. When the models are large, or when there are many parameters, even the best Monte Carlo, or importance based sampling methods for uncertainty analysis can be prohibitively expensive. One consequence is that systematic uncertainty analyses are often never carried out. This project will implement a new method for uncertainty analysis, based on polynomial chaos expansions, that can determine the probability density functions of the response and can identify which of the parameters contribute most to uncertainties in outcomes. The commercial potential of this project has broad application to such fields as circuit design, risk management, allocation of experimental resources, chemical plant design and operation of production systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Meeks, Ellen REACTION DESIGN CA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99947 5371 MANU 9146 5371 1786 0308000 Industrial Technology 0232994 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Spray Forming Titanium Alloys Using the Cold Spray Process. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is focused on improving the material properties of spray formed titanium shapes using the Cold Spray process. Development of new, low-cost methods for direct fabrication of spray formed titanium shapes is critical for many industries and in particular, for manufacturing parts of expensive metals and alloys such as titanium. Direct fabrication technologies would have tremendous commercial potential for many industries such as the aerospace and automotive because these technologies hold out the potential to quickly manufacture, and provide fast prototyping of complicated parts and to fabricate them with minimal material waste. Current methods of spray forming typically involve melting and solidification, which can cause high residual stresses, undesirable phases, poor microstructures, rough surface finishes, warpage, and other problems. This proposal presents a new technology that is under development that appears promising for directly fabricating solid, near-full-density, free-form shapes of many metals, at or near room temperature without melting and solidification. The objective of this Phase I study is to develop a low cost technology for spray forming titanium and Ti- 6Al-4V alloy and to perform post-test processing on thick-sprayed billets to improve the bulk material properties to near that of the wrought material. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Papyrin, Anatolii KTECH CORPORATION NM Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99995 5371 AMPP 9163 1633 0308000 Industrial Technology 0233005 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Work-Centered Application Development through Patterns. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will address the skill gap that exists within the software development community in the production of work-centered software. To this end, Stottler Henke will develop a novel software development environment that reduces the complexity of interaction design &#8211; bridging the gap between the analysis of the work domain and the development of well-designed supporting software. The proposed WorkWell system will provide for an enhanced Contextual Design process with tools that enable software developers to draw on the aggregate experience of other work-centered application designers. This will be achieved through the application of proven design/interaction patterns that will, for instance, enable software developers to resolve the conflicts between the desire for automation and user&#8217;s need for a feeling of control. Further, WorkWell will support an incremental process for mapping the semantics of user goals to underlying software functionality and the user interface design. Phase I will result in a limited prototype that will demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach. The results of these efforts will have a great impact on society &#8211; furthering the understanding of work-centered design and enabling corporations to produce software that will enjoy higher user adoption rates and improve efficiency. There is a large market for tools that can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of software development efforts. The WorkWell system offers corporations the means to produce intuitive and effective software under the time and resource limitations that exist in the commercial world and thereby achieve much higher user adoption rates for their products. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Goan, Terrance Stottler Henke Associates CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0108000 Software Development 0233011 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Dense Hydrogen Separation Membrane Based on Nanocomposites. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop high-efficiency, high-quality dense hydrogen separation membranes based on nanocomposites of a stable proton conducting ceramic and a metal phase. The proposed effort would result in highly conductive, chemically stable and mechanical robust membranes for hydrogen separation in high temperature, high pressure, and corrosive environments. In Phase I, basic composition-processing-microstructure-property relations of the membranes will be established through characterization of the microstructure and the performance of the membranes. Ceramic hydrogen separation membranes have wide applications in integrated gasification combined cycle and in fuel reformer for PEM fuel cells. This technology will benefit the on going efforts in increasing hydrogen-to-carbon ratios in transportation fuels, decreasing pollute emissions, and use of alternative fuels. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hu, Hongxing AMSEN TECHNOLOGIES LLC AZ Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0233024 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Monodisperse Ceramic Membranes and Membrane-Reactors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop and commercialize novel monodisperse ceramic membranes and membrane-reactors. Our innovation is based on self-organized anodic alumina with precisely engineered porous structure and previously unattainable pore size (down to 1 nm or less), greatly enhanced chemical and thermal stability, and superb mechanical properties. Commercially available anodic alumina membranes have limited practical application due to their fragility, susceptibility to acid and base attack, as well as the lack of membranes with pore size smaller than 100 nm for symmetrical membranes. The proposed approach addresses these limitations by combining innovative synthesis of highly ordered nanoporous anodic alumina with symmetrical porosity, conversion of anodic alumina into polycrystalline ceramic while preserving its morphology, and conformal deposition of functional layers. The proposed technology will enable the fine-tuning of the pore diameter in the ranges from below 1 nm to 200 nm. Deposition of materials inside the nanopores will afford desired functionality. The membranes will target selected applications, such as fuel cell reformers sized for Next Generation Vehicles, integrated mesoscopic power sources for micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), as well as future portable energy sources. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Routkevitch, Dmitri Nanomaterials Research LLC CO Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99999 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0233028 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Mobility Agents for Persons with Cognitive Disabilities. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop Mobility Agents that help persons with cognitive disabilities use public transportation systems and help caregivers customize these agents to serve the specific needs of the travelers. Increasingly, public transportation systems are equipped with GPS (Global Positioning System) systems connected to control centers through dedicated wireless networks. Controllers currently use this infrastructure to efficiently schedule and optimize operations and avoid organizational problems such as bunching. Agentsheets, Inc.'s investigative team will use this existing infrastructure to compute highly personalized information and deliver it on PDAs or cell phones to persons with cognitive disabilities. The research will explore user interface issues of agent-based real-time interfaces on handheld devices and build a prototype to be tested in a real-world setting using the Boulder Colorado bus system as a public transportation system test bed The proffered technology will develop public transportation management tools to provide services for persons with cognitive disabilities and for the elderly. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Repenning, Alexander AGENTSHEETS INC CO Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 1545 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0207000 Transportation 0233033 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Personal-Knowledge-Management eLearning System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will aid, support, and encourage eLearning students and instructors to find the best matches for their purposes in each other's skills, and to find the best knowledge and program resources to suit their immediate, particular needs. The software automatically extracts taxonomies from textual materials, which then allows those materials to be cross-referenced automatically. Taxonomize thus will provide extensible and low-cost eLearning support software, which is based on knowledge management (KM) capabilities, rather than attaching KM as an added feature. For example, an advanced auto-categorization engine will provide content management to help students find the best resources of tutors and workgroups to match their immediate needs. Current customers are colleges seeking economical ways to meet increasing demands for a popular international tutoring program. The research program, "PerK," will enable this expansion at costs far below current market. Ultimately the goal is to disseminate PerK capabilities into the full eLearning market, with target functionality and at lower cost than other current eLearning providers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG London, Robert TAXONOMIZE CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 98800 5371 SMET 9180 9178 0522400 Information Systems 0233042 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: SoftPDA, a Wireless Software Platform for Enterprise Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will assess the technical and commercial feasibility of SoftPDA, a wireless software platform for enterprise applications. The platform is focused on modeling business processes and automating business critical tasks for wireless device users. As a result of this approach, the platform addresses some of the well-known deficiencies of wireless devices. Such deficiencies have made wireless devices clumsy or inappropriate for compute-intensive tasks. The result of this research will be detailed design of that platform along with the algorithms necessary to enable it. The results of have applicability to a wide base of mobile professionals utilizing wireless devices to conduct business, including sales personnel, executives, consultant, attorneys, and finanical personnel engaged in any business enterprise. The results are also relevant to mobile workers in vertical markets such as field service and medicine. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lusher, Elaine LightCloud Software CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0206000 Telecommunications 0233043 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Object-Oriented Groundwater Data Repository Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is Object-Oriented Groundwater Data Repository Technology. Subsurface groundwater systems require large-scale models. Credible groundwater modeling needs the assemblage of all available information. Currently, the interpreted groundwater data and calibrated parameters are stored as input files of a code. All new modeling efforts are generally attempted from scratch. This object-oriented data repository will systematically store basin data, and will be independent of any groundwater code. It will have integrated tools to import, edit, view, and export information. It will have capabilities to convert any model data into a selected repository format. Integrated tools will provide options to screen water level and chemical data for generating good quality datasets for inverse parameter estimators. Groundwater is the primary water source for millions of people, agriculture, and industries. Groundwater modeling is a key requirement for (1) groundwater management; (2) permit applications; and (3) each waste site EA, RI/FS, risk assessment, and record of decisions (ROD) negotiations. Anyone using these data will potentially benefit from the use of this data repository. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gupta, Sumant CFEST INC CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9186 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0233047 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Separation of Light Hydrocarbon Mixtures by Pervaporation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on the separation of light hydrocarbon mixtures by pervaporation. Chemically and mechanically robust composite membranes have been made; these membranes showed good selectivities and fluxes when tested with propylene/propane mixtures. In the proposed project a range of related membranes will be evaluated with three target light hydrocarbon mixtures: propylene/propane, n-butane/isobutane and toluene/n-octane. These close-boiling mixtures are produced on a very large scale in petrochemical plants and refineries and are expensive to separate by distillation. Based on the Phase I membrane performance results, a preliminary economic and technical analysis will be prepared. The most promising membrane and application will be targeted for the focus of the Phase II project and for commercialization activities. Potential Commercial Applications of the research separation of close-boiling light hydrocarbon mixtures, such as propylene from propane, is performed on a massive scale in the petrochemical and refining industries. Lower-cost, more energy-efficient membrane-based separation technology would be widely adopted. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Da Costa, Andre MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH, INC. CA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0233050 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Cross-language Information Retrieval Using Deep Syntax Parsing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the construction of a cross-lingual retrieval system based on deep linguistic analysis intended to deliver efficiencies and cost savings and reduce communication barriers worldwide. By 2003, 70 percent of the estimated 1.3 billion users of the Internet will be non-English speaking. Thus the need to enable automated, reliable accessibility to information in more than one language is clear. Most existing information retrieval systems are either monolingual or cross-language with limited success and no translation capabilities. The investigator's Cross-Language Information Retrieval System (CLIR) will produce significant performance increases in the recall and precision of a cross-language sear. The investigative team will encapsulate cutting edge natural language processing (NLP) technology developed on a consistent theoretical foundation into a modular and scalable application-programming interface. The system will incorporate an extraction component for the matching of relevant lexemes based on their syntactic context, and a probabilistic module, which will disambiguate multiple interpretation based on expectation. The firm has secured an exclusive license from Russian Academy of Sciences for the use of complex NLP algorithms that will be integrated into the CLIR technology, creating a state-of-the-art linguistic kernel. Universal Dialog proffered technology will provide any person, business, organization or government, as well as any software that integrates their Cross-Language Information Retrieval, a faster, less costly solution for the retrieval of multilingual information, with a higher degree of precision, recall and scalability that CLIR methods currently available. The firm plans to integrate the technology to be developed in this project into its Cross-Language Communication Platform (CLCP). CLCP will enable users to retrieve, summarize, and fully translate retrieved data. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bogatyrev, Konstantin Universal Dialog, Inc. CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99973 5371 HPCC 9216 9102 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0233051 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nanofluidic Reference Electrode with an Invariant Liquid Junction Potential. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the technical feasibility of a nanofluidic flowing liquid junction (NFLJ) reference electrode. These electrodes, because of their low flow and stable potential, can operate for years without human attention. The objective is to develop a reference electrode with an invariant potential, a flow rate of <100 nanoliters per hour, and a reservoir of 5 ml sufficient for 5 years of continuous operation. I. This nanofluidic device will operate at two orders of magnitude lower flow rate than the microfluidic liquid junction reference electrodes currently under development. The reduced size, and extraordinary long lifetimes due to exceedingly small electrolyte consumption, will make possible handheld pH and potentiometric sensors with a combined shelf life and operating life of up to five years without recalibration or refilling. These miniature reference electrodes are being developed for use with existing portable, handheld, commercial instruments. They will find application in laboratory research, environmental monitoring, and detection of chemical and biological agents. Commercially, a pH sensor with an NFLJ reference electrode offers significantly greater measurement precision over a longer time than any other pH sensor on the market. The precision pH sensor market is involved in measurements for regulatory compliance and for matters of process validation. This market segment pays a premium to obtain the most precise pH sensors available for applications that must withstand the scrutiny of Federal, State, and local regulatory agencies. The annual market for precision pH sensors is 200,000 units and $45 million in sales. This market segment will readily respond to any new sensor technology that results in more precise measurements over longer periods. The NFLJ pH sensor has the potential to become the new standard for such precision pH measurement applications. In addition, the new sensor will require less calibration and maintenance, which will significantly lower the cost of ownership and operation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Broadley, Scott Broadley-James Corporation CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 98896 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0233068 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Adaptive Personalization and Context Management for Location-Based Mobile Devices (AdaptTribe). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to dramatically improve the usability of location-aware devices such as mobile phones. Mobile internet devices herald a revolution in personal computing, but small screen sizes, awkward input capabilities, and poorly designed application environments can limit their potential. BigTribe addresses these problems with a Location Application Platform that incorporates adaptive location-based personalization, chaining context management and context-based applications. The personalization system tracks a user.s behavior and, using a new, distributed algorithm, predicts preferences and adjusts menu selections. Chaining context management helps users rapidly select venues, such as a theater, select activities to perform there, such as purchasing tickets, and then .chain. to other nearby activities, such as reserving a table at a nearby restaurant. Context-based applications present a natural user interface to find and operate on venues, friends or events. These innovations reduce the .clicks. users must perform to accomplish tasks. They will improve personal efficiency for a broad, price sensitive consumer market (including underrepresented populations not reached by Internet advancements), save people time, improve social interaction, make planning for meetings more efficient, and reduce fuel consumption. This work advances knowledge in personalization algorithms, location-based services, context-awareness, and ubiquitous computing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Greening, Daniel BIGTRIBE CORPORATION CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0206000 Telecommunications 0233095 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Interactive Earth: Tools for Earth Systems Science. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project will conduct research and develop prototypes of an Earth Systems science-learning program for secondary schools. The product will consist of a DVD-ROM that combines a library of high-resolution visualizations with an inquiry-based curriculum and the ability to update with new content from web sites on the Internet. Building on WorldLink Media's previously published CD product, Interactive Earth, the investigative team will research and prototype an advanced tool set for data analysis and image interpretation that will enable students to inquire, hypothesize, analyze, discover, and communicate with peers, replicating the work of real scientists. Using NASA's Earth Observatory and Visible Earth web sites as a test case, the Phase I research will define Web protocols that let users seamlessly upload data and imagery into the DVD-ROM interface. TERC, a research and education organization will evaluate teacher needs and develop a curriculum framework that aligns with the National Science Education Standards. This project recognizes the vital interplay between a curriculum developer (TERC), a data provider (NASA) and a tool-builder (WorldLink) in creating exemplary materials. Principal commercial applications include a DVD-ROM and curriculum package for schools, a DVD program for homes and libraries, and an interactive multimedia resource for museums and science centers. The proffered technology will not only contribute to earth science learning but also to solving information management problems: dealing with large amounts of data effectively in a classroom setting. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bergstrom, Kirk WorldLink Media, Inc. CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 SMET 9178 9177 7256 0101000 Curriculum Development 0108000 Software Development 0233137 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Knowledge-Based Adaptive Software Development Methodologies. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project builds on a research program investigating the design of process-based software development tools and methodologies. The project will develop a next generation of this software that supports the creation, refinement, and adaptation of software development methodologies in a principled manner while preserving the need for rapid innovation. The BORE (Building an Organizational Repository of Experiences) software development approach uniquely provides two levels of process adaptation based on project experiences. The system allows individual development efforts to create an instance of a defined process and tailor it to meet project needs. This is accomplished through a rule-based system that formally captures project decisions in a manner that can easily be used to assess project experiences for potential process improvements. These experiences are used in a feedback-based framework that refines the defined process to meet the emerging needs of the organization. The objectives of this Phase I research project are to refine the concepts and implement them in a stable version of the BORE system that can be used in evaluative studies. These studies will be used to assess the feasibility of the overall approach for potential commercialization. The innovative approach investigated in this project has the right mix of flexibility and discipline not found in current methodologies or tools, which have had minimal impact on the industry thus far. Success of this project also has the potential for impact beyond software development organizations. It has already been used in educational settings and is general enough to be applied to a number of industries that face dynamic production and design processes in today's fast-based, customer driven, business milieu SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Henninger, Scott ADAPTIVE PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES NE Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9150 0108000 Software Development 0233409 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Simulation-Based Design Tool for Machining. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate the viability of a design-focused approach to modeling and simulation that will create a unique machining software model applicable to machine shops and manufacturing facilities of all sizes. No such tool currently exists or is pending. U.S. shops are continually losing business to foreign sources because of price. They need a dynamic software tool to help them rapidly and confidently determine lowest cost machining conditions. This project will focus on one cutter/material system and for extending the science to other cutters, materials, and machining systems. The software will predict cutting tool wear for each particular cutter/material pair based upon the iterative interactions of over eight different wear phenomena including temperature, force, rigidity and friction. It will account for differing part designs, run quickly on a personal computer, and will accurately compute the highly non-linear wear characteristics of a cutting tool during its wear history from a new tool with a sharp edge to a tool that has reached its wear limit The potential commercial benefits will be the ability to predict cutting tool wear and relating it to cost and quality for difficult-to-machine alloys. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Shrader, Donald TechniRep, Inc. OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99501 5371 MANU 9146 5371 1786 0308000 Industrial Technology 0233846 June 30, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Enhanced Phase Sensitive Spectroscopy Using Matched Gratings. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a trace-gas detection system based on a novel laser spectroscopic technique called Phase Sensitive Spectroscopy. This new spectroscopy technique may increase sensitivity by an order of magnitude compared to existing capabilities, and it is expected have lower capital and operating costs as well. The proposed technique relies on measurements of phase shifts of an amplitude modulated laser beam that occur when the laser is tune through a molecular resonance. Unlike current technologies, the measured quantity is insensitive to variations in the amplitude of the frequency components within the modulated laser beam. This fundamental difference promises to eliminate the need for calibrations that are currently required. Phase II will develop the fundamental understanding and lay the groundwork for commercialization. A prototype instrument will be fabricated by utilizing the 'backbone' of an existing commercially successful laser based trace-gas detector. The detection limit, stability, and cost of the prototype instrument will be characterized. Potential commercial applications are expected in monitoring gases in aluminum production and in other industries as environmental regulation and work place safety may require. Point source monitoring SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Swanson, Rand RESONON INC. MT Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 59909 5373 EGCH 9188 9150 9145 0236569 January 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Analytic Simulation Method for Oil/Gas Field Management and Optimization. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase II project provides the foundational R&D for new oil and gas reservoir management tools to optimize hydrocarbon recovery. It proposes extension of state-of-the-art analytic solution methods for potential flow in porous media from 2-D to 3-D. It incorporates 3-D analytic fluid flow simulation technology into large-scale optimization routines where reservoir recovery performance is required, such as in the optimum placement of new wells or the optimum operation of existing wells. Unlike previous analytic solution methods, complex heterogeneous reservoir architecture can be managed without a loss of accuracy. This project will provide a new class of reservoir management tools capable of rapidly and accurately screening what-if scenarios for field development. Phase II will: i) generalize analytic solution boundary element methodology to three dimensions, ii) build a prototype, 3-D, well optimization tool, iii) develop analytic stream-function technology for optimization of improved recovery operations, and iv) extend algorithms to additional geometric shapes for enhanced flexibility. Powerful analytic solution technology has been developed that allows robust solution of fluid flow problems with complex, heterogeneous rock properties. This general analytic solution methodology is an industry first, providing the ability to generate a brand new line of desktop hydrocarbon reservoir management tools. In particular, the results of this project will provide software and services to optimally locate new wells within existing hydrocarbon reservoirs. While reservoir simulation and well planning software both exist in the marketplace, no current commercial product offers the ability to rigorously compute well productivity within a feedback loop of a powerful gradient search optimization method to automatically select the best drilling location for new wells. This technology also addresses the optimum performance of existing wells in improved recovery operations. Using analytic stream-function optimization, well configurations in mature fields can be optimized for maximum productivity and ultimate recovery, thus minimizing unrecoverable natural resources. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Hazlett, Randy POTENTIAL RESEARCH SOLUTIONS TX Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 512000 5373 HPCC 9251 9215 9186 9178 9139 1266 0306000 Energy Research & Resources 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0510604 Analytic Tools 0237472 March 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Ultraviolet (UV) Water Remediation with Surface Discharge UV Lamps. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to develop an Ultra-Violet (UV) water remediation process using a novel Surface Discharge Pulsed UV lamp (SD lamp) to treat organic contaminants. The objective of the Phase II research is to extend Phase I accomplishments and to develop a prototype Surface Discharge UV water treatment system for subsequent commercialization. For UV water treatment, the SD lamp offers advantages in terms of inherent UV efficiency, spectrum, high intensity and the absence of concerns linked to the use of mercury. Prior Phase I studies have shown that the effectiveness of SD lamps is greater than that of commercial mercury lamps by more than what would be expected based on UV efficiency alone. The proposed NSF Phase II Project will examine the reasons for this high effectiveness and to use this information in order to develop a Phase II prototype SD UV water remediation system. This Phase II work will be carried out in conjunction with a major UV water treatment company. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of water treatment. The Surface Discharge UV lamp is expected to replace mercury lamps currently used in most UV water treatment systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Schaefer, Raymond PHOENIX SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, INC. MA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 493339 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 0313040 Water Pollution 0237474 March 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Low-Cost, High-Efficiency Power Amplifiers for Magnetic-Resonance Imaging. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II will develop and test a prototype low-cost, high-efficiency transmitter for magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) systems. Existing MRI transmitters use conventional power amplifiers (PAs), which makes them inefficient and consequently large, heavy, and expensive. Phase I has demonstrated the feasibility of using developed high-efficiency amplification techniques to produce significantly more power from a given transistor, thus lowering the cost. Also demonstrated was the feasibility of using these amplifiers to produce the pulsed-RF signals used by MRI. Phase II will develop a prototype transmitter that combines high-efficiency power amplification with digital signal processing to provide both low cost and superior signal quality. This in turn will produce superior image quality, resulting in improved diagnostics. The transmitter will be organized into broadband RF-power modules that can be combined in building-block fashion to produce transmitters for different MRI applications. The prototype transmitter will be configured into a manufacture able form to facilitate transition to Phase-III commercialization. Finally, the prototype transmitter will be tested in an MRI system and images obtained will be compared to those obtained with a conventional transmitter. The primary commercial application for the new transmitter is medical imaging. Every MRI system includes a high-power RF transmitter. The manufacturers of MRI systems purchase transmitters from smaller manufacturers. The RF transmitter is the most expensive subsystem, and keeping the cost down is of great interest. The building-block approach allows all market segments to be addressed, beginning with the lower-power "1-T" systems for specialized applications and moving subsequently to higher-power "3-T" systems for high-resolution whole body scans. The combination of lower cost and superior signal quality is expected to make the proposed transmitter very attractive to systems manufacturers. Secondary applications include security systems such as suitcase scanners and communication radios for both civilian and military applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Raab, Frederick GREEN MOUNTAIN RADIO RESEARCH CO VT Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 500000 5373 HPCC 9139 5373 0206000 Telecommunications 0237958 February 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Residual Stress and Part Distortion Prediction in Machined Workpiece Surfaces. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop and validate the predictive capability industry needs to dramatically improve machined workpiece quality by controlling machining induced stresses while simultaneously reducing distortion in aerospace and automotive parts. The objective for Phase II will be to continue the development and verification of analysis tools for predicting residual stress and part distortion. The goal is to supply industry with a validated analytical tool to easily and economically predict and prevent part distortion-reducing costs due to testing trials, part scrap, and time-to-market, increasing product quality and competitiveness. The commercial and broader impacts of this technology will be provide industry with the ability to predict and prevent part distortion due to machining induced residual stress. Current techniques, which rely upon testing, and experience are not sufficient technically nor are they cost effective. Aerospace parts (large, monolithic, thin-walled, and expensive) and critical automotive powertrain applications, which demand flat surfaces to maintain fuel efficiency, component life, and lower emissions, are typical examples. A significant impact will be to manufacturing costs, lower scrap material, higher productivity, lower time-to-market, and increased product quality and performance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Marusich, Troy THIRD WAVE SYSTEMS, INC. MN Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 1035965 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0238545 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Novel Ultrasensitive Gas Chromatography (GC) Detector with Highly Specific Response to Aromatic Hydrocarbons. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance commercialization of an aromatic-specific laser ionization detector (ArSLID). The photoionization detectors (PIDs) that are widely used as gas chromatography (GC) detectors and hand-held organic vapor analyzers form a natural basis of comparison for the ArSLID concept. The ArSLID uses a high repetition rate pulsed laser instead of a vacuum ultraviolet lamp to create molecular ions. The prototype ArSLID built and tested in Phase I is approximately 10-times more sensitive, has ten-times shorter response time, and is several orders of magnitude more selective toward aromatic hydrocarbons than any commercially available PID. The linear dynamic range is at least 5 orders-of-magnitude. The ArSLID is also immune from interferences by water vapor or oxygen. Technical improvements planned for Phase II include improving the resolution by 4 bits and correction for variations in the laser pulse repetition frequency. Features will be added to facilitate easy integration of the ArSLID with existing GCs. Another focus of Phase II will be applications development to show the versatility and value of ArSLID. The Phase I work, which emphasized GC detection, will be expanded to HPLC detection, which opens up tremendous opportunities in the Life Sciences. The aromatic-specific detector will find a wide range of applications as the detector for gas chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), general vapor monitoring, and specialized environmental techniques. Of these, the HPLC detector has the greatest commercial potential as a highly sensitive, low cost alternative the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Jarski, Paul DAKOTA TECHNOLOGIES INC ND Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 646078 5373 EGCH 9188 9150 0313010 Air Pollution 0238610 February 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Protective Metal Foam Hybrid Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a low-cost manufacturing processes for multifunctional composite materials that have specific air and ground transportation applications. Existing materials designed to protect against explosions or impacts tend to be heavy and to be appendages on structural systems. The new materials, which consist of an aluminum foam surrounded by facing plies of resin-infused glass, carbon, or aramid, will be light weight and designed to integrate affordability and functionality. Innovative manufacturing methods, using out-of-autoclave processes that are derivatives of liquid molding approaches, will be developed to incorporate automation to improve quality and decrease processing time. A number of fiber-ply/foam combinations will be fabricated with a focus on manufacturing a container for explosives transport and on a hardened aircraft door. Prototypes will be fabricated for customer testing. The improved processing and unique properties are expected to lead to a variety of other applications. These applications of aluminium foam core composites for making protective structures will meet the national need for materials that provide increased protection and security. The market for protective materials is expected to grow, and is already a sizeable $150 - $200 million per year. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Grow, Dana SIOUX MANUFACTURING CORPORATION ND Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 495783 5373 AMPP 9251 9178 9163 9150 0106000 Materials Research 0522100 High Technology Materials 0238667 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Novel Method for Class Switching IgM Secretors to IgG. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to develop a rapid IgSwitch Assay for inducing and isolating IgG class switch variants from IgM hybridomas using in-vitro culture conditions, microencapsulation technology and fluorescence activated cell sorting. The IgSwitch Assay is expected to be a significant improvement over conventional methods used to isolate class switch variants, and will be useful in cell line development and monoclonal antibody production. Prior Phase I research has already demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed method using a model IgM hybridoma. This Phase II project will develop in-vitro culture conditions that promote switching to different IgG subclasses. The Phase II research will also validate reagents for a family of isotype specific IgSwitch Assays. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of monoclonal antibodies. Use of the targeted IgSwitch Assay in monoclonal antibody production will help to generate new IgG specific antibodies from a largely untapped source of IgM hybridomas, for potential use as research, therapeutic, diagnostic, and imaging reagents. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Akselband, Yevgenya ONE CELL SYSTEMS, INC MA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 641950 5373 BIOT 9251 9231 9181 9178 9148 9102 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 0238674 January 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Green Solvent Mixtures as Alternatives to Environmentally Damaging and Toxic Solvents. This SBIR Phase II Project will develop software to aid formulation chemists in the replacement of environmentally damaging and toxic solvents such as those listed as hazardous air pollutants (HAP) in Section 112(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act. Phase I provided successful proof of concept for MCT's approach to use mixtures of "green" solvents that are tunable to obtain a wide range of solvent characteristics. This approach allows for the replacement of a broad spectrum of harmful solvents by using a small number of benign solvents. The system is flexible, allowing end users to control factors such as the organic functional groups present to fit their application. MCT will incorporate this method into software to guide non-specialists through the selection of solvents and optimization the mixture. MCT will collaborate with the research groups of Professors Charles Eckert and Charles Liotta at the Georgia Institute of Technology to develop a predictive model for the solubility of metal-organic compounds in organic solvents. We will perform quantitative solubility measurements on the systems initially studied in Phase I and use the resulting data to verify and improve the solubility model. The resulting solubility model will be incorporated in the solvent selection software. The recent trend towards environmentally friendly products has caused an increase in the use of green solvents in product formulations and industrial processes. Regulations governing the use of solvents classified as Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP) or as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) are forcing companies to look for alternatives to solvents presently in use. Therefore, there is an opportunity for the introduction of products that are designed to assist companies that need to reformulate products or processes that use organic solvents. The niche market for reformulation tools is estimated to fall into the $30 million range. MCT's goal is to release a software product that meets these needs within 3 years, and to gain the majority of the market share, producing revenues of $10 million over a period of 6 years. MCT will license software developed under Phase II to companies that manufacture chemicals and allied products. Solvent replacement tools can be applied to find alternative solvents almost anywhere solvents are in use, including coatings, pharmaceuticals, printing inks, toiletries, cosmetics, adhesives, household and car care, rubber and polymer manufacturing, industrial cleaning and degreasing, agrochemicals, oil seed and food extraction and dry cleaning. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Flanagan, John NGIMAT CO. GA Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 1047994 5373 1505 EGCH AMPP 9251 9231 9187 9178 9163 1417 1414 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0238696 January 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Integrated Circuit Design for Biological Data Transmission. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project proposes to develop, test, market and produce low-power wireless headstage systems for the neural prosthetic market. The wireless neural headstage devices will be able to transmit and to receive sixteen electrodes sourced from a patient. The analog signals will be encoded and transmitted wirelessly to a remote receiver where they will appear on a 16-channel connector. The wireless headstage technology will replace the tethered connections and create a more natural and productive laboratory environment for patient data acquisition. Ultimately, wireless technology will improve the quality of life for anyone using a commercial neural prosthetic device by offering extended freedom of motion, improved product safety and reliability, and less visual distractions. The primary commercial application of this project is in the wireless neural prosthetic market. Additional applications are expected in the biomonitoring business markets, such as for electrophysiological patient testing and monitoring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Morizio, James Triangle Biosystems, Inc. NC F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 999924 5373 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0238697 February 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: An Aspect-Oriented Solution for Unit Test Generation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project aims to make it much easier to create unit-level regression tests for Java programs. Their benefits are clear, but existing techniques for creating them are flawed because they are difficult to apply to existing code, and tool support requires modification of the target code. The innovation is to instrument a gold-standard version of the module of interest so that when a client application executes, all events that cross the boundary to the module are intercepted and logged to a file. Later, after the unit has been modified or extended, and without any further need for the client application, the events can be reconstructed and fed to the unit. The results are checked for consistency with the log, and discrepancies flagged as faults. This makes it much easier for a user to create a test suite for a module. The approach is made feasible by using Aspect-Oriented Programming, and object mocking. The research challenges are: how to devise techniques for tolerating permitted changes in the target module, and how to reduce the chances of a single failure triggering a profusion of cascading failures. The use of advanced static analysis techniques, including dependence analysis, is the key to solving these problems. If successful, this system will help software development organizations reduce the cost of development and maintenance of their software assets while at the same time increasing its quality. It will help increase assurance of safety-critical software, such as in medical equipment, or flight-control systems, thus reducing the risk of damage to property and loss of life. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Anderson, Paul GRAMMATECH, INC. NY Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 496406 5373 HPCC 9216 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0238857 February 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: A Parallax Barrier Technique for Autostereoscopic Displays. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is designed to leverage the success in polarized strip development. It will also advance two configurations for 2D and 3D capable auto stereoscopic display products, and initiate customer evaluation of these products. Specific objectives of the project include: completion of the technical developments necessary to produce 2D/3D products using the proprietary Strip Polarizer Parallax Barrier (SPPB) technique for flat panel displays; collaboration with a target customer to design and develop a market specific product; initiation of a pilot-manufacturing run to produce prototypes for initial market feedback; qualification of the initial prototypes in terms of performance, quality, manufacturability and acceptance; and continuation of research efforts needed to produce full resolution 2D/3D products. A successful Phase II program will advance the technology to prototype and initiate market feedback in target applications. Phase II prototypes will embody the majority of the technology needed to produce the full resolution products and will serve to firm up manufacturing processes while establishing initial market demand in those segments where natural upgrades to full resolution will increase market penetration. The direct commercial potential of the projects lies in autostereoscopic products that will be manufactured using the proposed technology. Such display products will find widespread use in scientific and medical visualization applications, CAD, industrial inspection, and remote vision applications. Consumer based applications may include electronic commerce and computer gaming. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Eichenlaub, Jesse DIMENSION TECHNOLOGIES INC NY Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 500000 5373 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0238863 January 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Xtractica - A System for Extracting Coherent Data from Documents. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will implement a software system that allows domain experts to specify programs that transform unstructured or partially structured data from a variety of document sources, such as World Wide Web sites, PDF files, and text into structured, coherent, and readily usable information. The system will consist of a set of tightly integrated syntactic and semantics-driven data extraction technologies that are managed from a graphical user interface. The goal will be to retrieve information that was created for human understandability, and work with it to create knowledge that can support automated decision-making and transactions. The system will empower users, who are knowledgeable about their application domains but are not necessarily trained as computing technologists, to rapidly structure data into knowledge. The Phase II implementation effort will build upon the results from the Phase I feasibility study to produce a fully functional system. Phase III will make the system commercially available to clients with diverse business interests including content aggregation, e-procurement, ERP, and supply chain management vendors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Vidrevich, Tatyana XSB, INC. NY Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 736731 5373 HPCC 9251 9216 9178 9102 5373 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0238882 February 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Software Tools for Authoring American Sign Language. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a fully functioning prototype software tool that will allow educators, interpreters, and linguists skilled in American Sign Language (ASL), but not in computer 3-D animation, to create fully grammatical synthesized ASL. This technology will provide language access for Deaf individuals to Internet web pages and CD-ROM based media. This project builds upon the P.I.'s commercial Sign Smith products, which were developed, in part, under an earlier NSF SBIR grant. The current technology allows users to generate unique sentences composed of signs that are in citation, or non-inflected form and to add facial expressions. The resulting sign and sentence structure approximates English grammar and therefore represents a transliteration, also known as Signed English. Although Signed English does provide some access to digital media, the absence of many elements of ASL grammar limits the use of the technology by the larger segment of the Deaf population who require grammatical ASL for access. These tools will enable the user to dynamically compose and inflect ASL signs from parameterized components using several spatial frames of reference. These sign types include pronouns, indicating and locative verbs, and classifier predicates. The final commercial product will be a new integrated tool within the P.I.'s commercial Sign Smith Studio Authoring Tool. This tool will allow educators and multimedia developers to create engaging, grammatically correct, ASL animations for language access to digital information on Web Pages and in CD-ROM titles. The software interface not only allows authors to spatially inflect signs, but also it can be used to create signs as well. This capability opens opportunities for quickly building libraries of technical and scientific terms to be used in educational and scientific curricula. It also affords the potential to create libraries of foreign sign languages, therefore making it possible for the product to enter international markets. Content can be viewed using a proprietary licensed software Player. This product will increase access of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and adults to digitally based information and promote inclusive education and employment approaches which accords with the language and intent of the New Freedom Initiative, recent amendments to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act. Not only does this technology have a viable commercial market, it also has broad societal benefits for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals in America and beyond. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sims, Edward VCOM3D, INC. FL Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 684203 5373 SMET 9251 9231 9178 9177 9102 7218 1545 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0108000 Software Development 0116000 Human Subjects 0238947 March 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: ECR (Electron Cyclotron Resonance) Plasma Treatment of Polymer Tubing Such As Catheters. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop new techniques to treat both internal and external surfaces of polymer tubing such as catheters. The treatments will modify the surfaces to facilitate attachment of bioactive coatings, clean, sterilize, or reduce friction; similar processes can also deposit organic or inorganic coatings. Plasmas driven by electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) will treat the lumen and external surfaces more uniformly, and over a greater range of parameters, than conventional plasmas and can be spatially localized to provide different effects on each. The ECR plasma process should be expandable to large-scale, low-cost commercial production coating and surface modification of catheters. Surface treatments to facilitate attachment of bioactive coatings to hemodialysis and other catheter types would have societal benefits by extending the period between catheter replacements clear therapeutic and economic. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Du, Ying Jun Spire Corporation MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 474739 5373 AMPP 9251 9231 9178 9163 1407 0308000 Industrial Technology 0238964 March 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Visualizing Arbitrary Basis Functions for Advanced Engineering Analysis and Simulation. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase II project will create general-purpose software tools for visualizing the results of advanced numerical simulation. Simulation techniques, which make up a large part of the multi-billion dollar CAD/CAM/CAE market, are widely used to design and build the majority of products manufactured today. Visualization plays an important role in this process by transforming simulation results into images which designers, engineers, and scientists can use to understand and communicate about their products. Recent advances in numerical simulation provide an opportunity for methods based on higher-order basis functions. These functions better model curved geometry and are more accurate than conventional techniques employing linear approximation functions. The use of this technology is limited by a lack of general-purpose visualization software tools for higher-order methods. Providing these tools will accelerate the adoption of this technology into the marketplace resulting in software that will produce superior product designs, in shorter time, and at lower cost. An adaptive tessellation process that converts higher-order basis into linear graphics primitives and preserves the visual accuracy of the solution, while maintaining interactive graphics performance, is proposed. This technology will be licensed and add-on adaptors will be offered that will enable vendors to easily and efficiently interface their systems to this technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Schroeder, William KITWARE INC NY Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 551467 5373 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0238965 March 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Enabling Sharable Infrastructure for the Human/Computer Interface. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project addresses the challenge of seamless interoperability among computer systems and user interface components such as displays and keyboards. Such components today are tightly coupled with the computer, which restricts the utility of both especially in mobile systems, where users invariably have to choose between usable displays and reasonable portability. The system being separates I/O devices from computing devices enabling a different mode of use of computers where a user can carry around much smaller computing devices and use shared larger I/O devices as available.. The design and implementation of these enhancements will be guided by feedback from users of prototypes deployed in the field. In the long run, the widespread adoption of this approach has the potential to revolutionize the way humans interact with computers, by allowing computing devices to shrink out of sight, while freeing interfaces from the constraints of portability. The technology has immediate commercial applications in health care and mobile computing as well, these markets will be explored through future strategic partnerships. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Calvert, Kenneth Lumenware LLC KY Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 522000 5373 MANU HPCC 9251 9231 9215 9178 9150 9146 7218 0108000 Software Development 0239008 January 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Nanocrystalline Fe-Co For Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Suppression. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project focuses on developing nanocrystalline soft ferromagnetic materials for various end use applications such as Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) suppression, magnetic bearings and inductors. Phase I clearly established the feasibility of producing these materials via a patented microwave plasma technique. In addition, these nanomaterials were consolidated to near theoretical densities using a patented plasma pressure compaction technique and the compacts exhibited high magnetic strength and low coercivity. During Phase II, the process will be to develop these materials for specific applications. Our Industrial partners will evaluate the produced materials to evaluate parameters, which are critical for transitioning the technology to an immediate useful product. In addition, an IP protection and various avenues to commercialize the technology will be sought. There are numerous applications for nanocrystalline soft magnetic materials with superior magnetic and mechanical properties and low core loss. This includes EMI prevention components, generators, transformers, data communication interface component, magnetic bearings (commercial high-performance applications in the domain of rotating machinery), magnetic recording heads, motors, sensors, and reactors. MMI plans to focus on three market segments including (1) EMI suppression (2) Magnetic Bearings and (3) Inductors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sudarshan, T. Materials Modification Inc. VA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 500000 5373 MANU 9146 5373 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239030 February 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Optimal Replenishment Algorithms for Service Parts Logistics Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II Project will develop prototype software to provide optimal real time purchase and repair replenishment, and allocation of service spare parts used to provide after-sales support to mission-critical products. It will design, develop and test advanced optimization algorithms to ensure that the right part is ordered from the right source in the right quantity at the right time and then allocated to the right location. In Phase III these engines will be incorporated in MCA Solutions planned commercial enterprise software product Replenishment and Allocation Optimizer (RAO) and complement MCA Solutions current product Service Parts Optimizer (SPO). The use of this tool will result in higher availability of service parts, increase products uptime and lower expense in service parts inventory. The target industries for this solution will be Defense, Aerospace, and manufacturers of Automotive, Computer, Telecommunications and Hi-Tech equipment. RAO will be the first commercial software product to support near real time optimization of inventory management in service supply chains. The requirement allocation optimizer software market is underdeveloped. The size of this opportunity is significant. Over 1,100 companies in the United States generate sales higher than $250 M/year in the original equipment manufacturer segment. Combined sales in this sector are $3.3 trillion with total inventory investment in service parts of about $250 Billion. Service parts inventory accounts for about 5 to 10% of product sales for an OEM. The technology has the potential to reduce these investments by 20% to 40 which in turn may pass some of the reductions to the customers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Agrawal, Vipul MCA SOLUTIONS INC PA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 498419 5373 HPCC 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0239034 February 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Group Coding for Reliable High Performance Network-Centric Storage. This SBIR Phase II project takes advantage of a powerful new coding technique called Group Coding (GC) pioneered in Phase I by Data Reliability Inc. (DRI), and an innovative storage system architecture called NetSTOR, to build a prototype for a highly available, reliable, high performance, application-friendly, and scalable network-based storage engine. The engine is multi-platform software that cost-effectively aggregates distributed islands of independent storage resources into a single virtual shared pool of storage. GC typically offers 6 to 27 times enhancement for encoding and 3.5 to 6.5 times enhancement for decoding. The NetSTOR approach is superior to commonly used data replication because it offers optimal redundancy leading to better resource (storage and bandwidth) utilization. NetSTOR is capable of aggregating the capabilities of multiple parallel storage nodes to get improved response times in both WAN and LAN environments. NetSTOR dramatically enhances the overall system throughput and exhibits perfect linear throughput scalability. The NetSTOR engine serves as an enabling core storage technology. Applications can build on and benefit from the unique feature of this core. Many applications will exploit the competitive advantages of NetSTOR including storage virtualization, electronic software distribution, multimedia network-based services, modeling and simulation applications, data grids, document storage and delivery, distributed information retrieval, medical imaging, video on demand and terrain visualization. The GC technique pioneered by this project provides a new way of looking at and understanding existing array codes. This understanding will lead to the discovery of new codes and could result in significant scientific advances in coding theory. The impact of Phase II is not limited to the technological and commercial merits. For this project, DRI is partnering with Jackson State University (JSU); therefore, the project will offer JSU students a tremendous educational experience. Since Jackson State University is an HBCU (Historically Black College and University), the project will set a precedent for continuous collaboration and will increase the participation of underrepresented and minority groups in science and technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Malluhi, Qutaibah Data Reliability Inc. MS Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 505011 5373 HPCC 9231 9215 9178 9150 9102 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0239038 February 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Surface Modification of Textiles for Protective Clothing. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project involves the modification of the surface of textiles through graft polymerization of an oxidizing polymer resulting in a fabric which has the ability to eradicate/neutralize pathogenic microorganisms, pesticides, and chemical/biological weapons. The fabric could be used to produce medical textiles in order to reduce the transmission of infectious pathogens in hospitals, protect agricultural workers from contact with pesticides, and protect military personnel and first responders from contact with chemical/biological weapons in the event of terrorism or war. The Phase I research showed that the grafted fabric was highly effective against both microbial and chemical agents. The modified fabric was also found to be non-irritating to both intact and abraded (compromised) skin. In this Phase II project the research will consist of optimizing the graft polymerization process, extensive testing of the optimized fabric against microbial and chemical challenges, durability testing through repeated laundering, mechanical property evaluation, extensive cytotoxicity and irritation testing, capacity and regenerability assessment, stability assessment in storage, pilot plant production runs, and custom production/testing of fabric for a strategic partner. The fabric technology to be developed in this project has a vast amount of potential in a variety of niche applications in the medical, agricultural, and military arenas. In addition to the huge markets that exist for these products, there are obvious societal benefits that are inherent with the technology. Infection control is a huge problem in medical facilities resulting in prolonged hospital stays and leads to higher medical costs. The modified fabric could be constructed into medical textiles for use as surgical drapes, scrubs, lab coats, bed sheets, privacy drapes, gowns, etc. Farm workers could protect themselves from exposure to the pesticides they use in the field. The fabric could be employed in the production of protective clothing for first responders and military personnel who find themselves in an environment where there is a potential risk of exposure to chemical/biological weapons. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Singh, Waheguru Lynntech, Inc TX Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 487598 5373 MANU 9148 9147 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239055 January 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: A New Technology for Rapid Identification of Aluminum Metals. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a new technology for rapid identification and sorting of aluminum and its alloys from a mixture of non-magnetic metals and will provide a new high quality source of these valuable materials for industrial manufacturing processes. This project plans to complete development of an innovative new optoelectronic sensing method integral to the new technology and then design, construct, and test a near commercial scale prototype metals processing system based upon the new technology. The prototype system will be integrated into an existing pilot plant test facility located on-site at the commercial partner's metals recycling facility and will be tested on metal feed streams derived from an automobile shredder processing line located at the recycling facility. A primary objective is to develop an environmentally friendly computerized dry process which can be situated locally and which can rapidly and cleanly sort aluminum scrap from mixtures of nonmagnetic metals at low cost to replace large, costly, and environmentally burdensome heavy media processes and smelting processes for mixed metals. The commercial and broader impacts of this technology will be to reduce the amount of scrap aluminum alloys that are discarded each year in landfills because recycling of these materials are neither technically nor economically practical. Existing methods of sortation use visual examination and hand sortation, or hand-held/bench-top analyzers that are cumbersome and slow in speed. Heavy media separators and smelting facilities for mixed metals are polluting and expensive to build and operate. Using advanced optoelectronic detection techniques, including computer analysis, the proposed technology will sort aluminum alloys from mixed nonferrous metals automatically at speeds never before attainable. If the approach is successful, the impact to increased scrap utilization, increased scrap value and reduced environmental pollution is enormous. The potential worldwide market exceeds $2 Billion annually. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sommer, Edward NATIONAL RECOVERY TECHNOLOGIES INC TN Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 1036000 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9163 9146 1468 1467 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239060 February 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Information Theoretic Learning and Application to Fetal ECG. This Small Business Innovation Phase II Project will develop information theoretic methods to separate fetal electrocardiogram (FECG) signals from the noisy electrical environment of the maternal abdomen based on statistical properties of the mixtures (blind source separation). The separation is done using a recently introduced algorithm (Mermaid) that is computationally and data efficient. Phase I research showed that Mermaid is a marked improvement over prior methods of FECG separation. The project will develop the technology for a comprehensive fetal and maternal monitor including fetal heart rate, FECG, and maternal Electrohysterogram (EHG, which measures contraction information) in a very compact device. The project includes clinical studies designed to provide the information necessary to create and validate NeuroDimension's system and also to illustrate its effectiveness. Potential markets include hospital-based fetal monitoring, home/physician's office fetal monitoring and stress tests, and use as a research tool. The monitor not only will be less expensive than current monitors, but also will provide additional information that can dramatically improve patient care and reduce costs by avoiding unnecessary procedures. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Euliano, Neil Convergent Engineering, Inc FL Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 595578 5373 HPCC 9231 9216 9178 9102 0116000 Human Subjects 0510604 Analytic Tools 0239065 March 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Applying Transgenic Technology to Improve the Pearl Production Process. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop the technology to produce faster growing oysters that yield bigger and higher quality pearls than those currently available. Prior Phase I work has already shown the production of the first-ever verifiable transgenic pearl oysters, and the successful isolation of the first nacre gene from Pinctada margaritifera. The proposed work in this Phase II project will demonstrate commercial viability by isolating other potentially-important genes from Pinctada, refining proven transfection methods, and evaluating nacre quality and deposition rates in transgenic phenotypes. Biosecure land-based grow-out of transgenic oysters, as mantle-tissue donors only, will increase application efficiency and overcome environmental concerns. The commercial application of this project will be in the black pearl market that is estimated to be of the order of $ 5 billion worldwide. A U.S.-led expansion of this lucrative industry could provide economic benefits to Hawaii and to U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands, increasing investment, employment opportunities and self-sufficiency in these remote islands, and reducing the economic burden on the U.S. Government. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sarver, Dale Black Pearls Inc HI F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 499979 5373 BIOT 9181 9150 0308000 Industrial Technology 0521700 Marine Resources 0239071 May 15, 2003 STTR Phase II: A Rapid-deployment, Three-dimensional (3-D), Seismic Reflection System. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project aims to build a prototype of a rapid-deployment, three-dimensional (3-D), seismic reflection system for near-surface exploration. Although the 3-D seismic reflection method enjoys tremendous commercial success in marine applications, 3-D seismic systems for land-based geophysical exploration have been limited because cost-effective and environmentally friendly deployment systems have not been developed. Such a system would be useful to build models of ground water flow, track pollutants, identify mineral-laden zones, and aid the sitting of large construction projects. The next generation seismic system based on the land streamers concept using gimbal-mounted vertical geophones will be assembled. An industrial, low-impact All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) is a critical part of the system both to pull the land streamers and minimize environmental impact. The primary advantage of such a system is that fewer field personnel would be needed compared to conventional surveys and data can be collected more efficiently. The customer base for this seismic reflection system includes civil and environmental engineers and geophysical contractors. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Miller, Patrick Marvin Speece PFM MANUFACTURING INC MT Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 494296 1505 MANU 9150 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239119 March 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Characterization of Three Dimensional Discontinuity Properties from Digital Images of Rock Masses. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will further the investigation of two innovative technologies for characterizing fractures in rock masses. The first technology involves image-processing algorithms for the extraction of 3D fracture properties from fracture traces in digital images. The second technology involves the use of laser-scanners to extract the 3D properties of exposed fracture surfaces. The two technologies complement each other well and there are situations where the characterization of fracturing is best analyzed with one or the other or both technologies. The first objective of the Phase II research is to continue to improve the two technologies, and to integrate all the various algorithms into a single user-friendly software tool. The second objective is to thoroughly evaluate sources of error in both technologies through synthetic and field studies, and to develop a set of recommended field procedures and equipment for various applications to optimize the techniques and minimize errors. The third objective is to develop relationships with potential customers for the software and also groups interested in collaborating on software development and validation. Once a beta version of the software is developed, this software will be provided to some customers for validation and assessment. Within the broad scope of the rock engineering market, four distinct market segments have been identified for this innovation. Each market segment has a separate end-use application: mining, geotechnical, petroleum, and environment. Market research and letters of support from various market participants have demonstrated that a market need exists for automation of tasks currently performed manually by rock engineering professionals. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Handy, Jeffrey SPLIT ENGINEERING LLC AZ Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 501897 5373 CVIS 9251 9231 9178 9102 1038 0108000 Software Development 0109000 Structural Technology 0239151 February 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Harsh Environment Fluid Viscosity-Density Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is aimed at developing MEMS-based miniaturized fluid viscosity and density sensors that can operate within small confines provide electronic readout, and that are capable of surviving harsh environments (high temperature, high pressure, corrosive, abrasive) typical of many fluid sensor applications. The Harsh Environment Fluid Viscosity-Density Sensor consists of a packaged flexural plate wave (FPW) resonator instrumented with low cost, compact electronics for sensor read-out. In Phase I, the technical objectives were successfully accomplished by fabricating resonant FPW fluid sensors from harsh environment compatible single crystal SiC and epitaxial piezoelectric AlN materials, and demonstrated their ability to independently measure fluid viscosity and density. In Phase II, fully functional, packaged and electronically instrumented Harsh Environment Fluid Viscosity-Density Sensor prototypes will be developed and optimized for specific customer applications. The fluid sensors will be field tested in our customer's systems to demonstrate precise and accurate fluid viscosity and density measurements and stable operation in the customer's fluids and environmental conditions. After successful completion of Phase II, the Harsh Environment Fluid Viscosity-Density Sensor will be ready for scale-up manufacturing and commercialization in Phase III. The Harsh Environment Fluid Viscosity-Density Sensor has commercial applications in 1) Condition-Based Maintenance of oils and other fluids in engines and industrial process equipment, 2) Process and Quality Control in manufacturing, chemical processing and water/waste treatment industries, and 3) down-hole sensors for Petrochemical Exploration and Extraction SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Mlcak, Richard BOSTON MICROSYSTEMS INC MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 1015034 5373 HPCC 9251 9197 9178 9139 5373 0206000 Telecommunications 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239174 January 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Segmented Proton Exchange Membranes with Edge Seals for Compact Fuel Cell Electrode Structures. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase II project will demonstrate practical and cost-effective designs for a high energy density Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell. The approach taken will utilize the treatment of membranes with Interpenetrating Polymer Networks (IPN), as demonstrated in Phase I, to create regions with enhanced strength and the desired ionic, reactant and water transport properties for a viable Segmented Fuel capable of operating with ambient diffused oxygen for portable applications. A systematic modeling procedure will be developed to generate optimal, thermally and hydraulically stable segmented fuel cell designs, with specific electrode arrays, given voltage, and power requirements. Size/weight trade-offs will be considered. The work supports the effort to develop fuel cells for portable consumer and industrial power which is safe, durable and energy efficient. PEM based fuel cells are a mature technology which takes advantage of very simple chemistry and the introduction of the GES IPN-improved membranes will permit designers greater flexibility in producing fuel cells which meet the needs for portable computers, tools, communication, medical and industrial equipment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG McDonald, Robert GINER ELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS, LLC MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 499926 5373 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239176 February 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Hybrid Lattice Boltzmann Technique for Heat Transfer Prediction. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will produce a unique computational tool for heat transport prediction in industrial devices by hybridizing our Digital Physics technology based on Lattice Boltzmann Methods (LBM) for hydrodynamics with efficient partial differential equation (PDE) solution for heat transfer. The project will start with the development and implementation of a wide range of physical features including variable thermodynamic and kinetic molecular properties as well as flow dependent turbulent/transitional Prandtl number, followed by introducing algorithms that ensure stable, accurate, and noiseless performance of the full-physics LBM/PDE algorithm. Upon algorithm optimization and benchmarking, we will focus on full thermal studies of industrial devices provided by our commercial customers. These beta tests will be followed by Phase III commercialization. The hybrid thermal transport prediction tool for development in this Phase II SBIR project will open major new commercial markets for our current PowerFLOW product, especially at the engineering design level, as well as open important new markets for novel technologies in various industrial problems ranging from classical macroscopic flows to microscopic flows like those in MEMS devices. This new technology should also establish new markets for computer aided engineering (CAE), especially in manufacturing industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Staroselsky, Ilya Exa Corporation MA Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 1000000 5373 MANU 9146 1406 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239180 March 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Education on Demand for Technique Training. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop and evaluate a delivery platform for interactive rich media and effective simulation-based e-learning. The platform will interface with learning content authoring and management systems that are scaleable to commercial operation without further development. Interoperability is achieved through verified compliance with the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiatives Shareable Content Object Reference Model, and the ability of the platform to directly admit and reuse e-learning assets in all pervasive formats. Rich media is represented in an object-oriented fashion that retains the identity of each media asset in order to: (1) facilitate courseware maintenance and reuse; (2) allow refined server bandwidth and storage utilization, and system scalability; (3) enable data rights management of individual assets and diverse revenue models; (4) render content as an interactive multimedia engagement that promotes attention retention and the refinement of learner skills without the need for special hardware; (5) tailor content to diverse client platforms, distribution channel configurations, and the individual demographics, curriculum certification, and physical handicap of the learner; and (6) enable client-side rendering of high-definition content not possible to deliver pre-rendered over conventional Internet access. The proposed system enables learners to receive courseware of higher audiovisual quality, greater interactivity, more refined personalization, and with greater learner retention than that possible with current streaming technologies. Interoperability with existing learning content management systems, and scalability to large and diverse audiences strengthen commercialization potential. Enabling technologies that rely on rich-media delivery, such as collaborative visualization and distributed interactive simulation, are also supported by the proposed object-oriented rich media representation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Bandera, Cesar Creneaux NJ Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 640300 5373 1666 SMET 9180 9178 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000912 Computer Science 0102000 Data Banks 0104000 Information Systems 0239183 February 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: The Use of Gestural Interface and Robotics Technology to Facilitate Language Development. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to enhance functionality and clinically evaluate an interactive robotic system to facilitate receptive and expressive language development of children with disabilities. Developed by Anthrotronix, Inc., a rehabilitation engineering, consulting, and product development company, this child-friendly robot is controlled by various interfaces adapted to individual needs, regardless of physical limitations. The child controls the robot via gestures and voice activation. Gestures may include reaching for a button, operating a joystick, or activating wearable sensors through body movement. The child can play and record sound and movement commands and interact with the robot in the context of programmed games. The robot allows the child to interact with its environment. The controlling software can be updated so that the robot continues to hold the child's interest and imagination over time. This robotic technology is designed to provide reinforcements and motivation for learning and therapy. Objectives are to (1) finalize the design and manufacture of the robotic systems hardware and software and (2) evaluate the systems ability to provide interventional activities, motivation, and positive reinforcement in speech/language therapy. Over 10% of all children have one or more disabilities. The number of children with speech and language impairments is higher than that for any other disability. A total of 1,050,975 students between the ages of 6 and 17 have a primary speech and language impairment and another 441,410 students have a secondary diagnosis of speech and language impairment. Anthrotronix is addressing the market need for therapists to have effective tools that support an approach that integrates speech/language development with children's educational development and social development, such as communication and interpersonal skills. There is a clear opportunity for products that enable therapists to provide increased motivation and education of children with disabilities while performing therapeutic functions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Lathan, Corinna ANTHROTRONIX, INC. MD Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 1107315 5373 OTHR HPCC 9261 9251 9231 9218 9178 9177 9139 9102 7218 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0108000 Software Development 0116000 Human Subjects 0239197 February 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Electrochemical Disinfectant Generator for Multiple In-Situ Applications. This Small Business Research (SBIR) Phase II project is concerned with the development and commercialization of electrochemically operated devices that will revolutionize the disinfectant industry by providing on-site, on-demand generation of extremely potent dual disinfectants. Peroxyacids are well known disinfectants that remove even resistant microorganisms (i.e. spores) by attacking S-S and S-H bonds on cell walls. The conventional method of manufacturing peroxy acids involves mixing concentrated hydrogen peroxide, an organic acid, and a catalyst (usually concentrated sulfuric acid), and involves the transportation and storage of hazardous chemicals. During the Phase I, the feasibility of a novel approach for the generation of the dual disinfectant was amply demonstrated. In this process, reactants for converting organic acids to dual disinfectants are generated within the device, avoiding problems associated with storage. All the criteria of success specified have been successfully accomplished and a well-known industrial partner has shown a keen interest in commercializing the novel devices. In Phase II, further optimization of the electrochemical devices will be followed by fabrication of prototypes of three devices for demonstrating their efficacy for a variety of disinfection applications. There is a considerable need for devices that produce potent disinfectants that are biocidal against a broad spectrum of microbes including spores and viruses. These devices that produce potent disinfectants on-demand have commercial potential in domestic health care and food service establishments as well as in infection control applications in hospitals and nursing homes. It is estimated that revenues of the entire cleaning/sanitizing industry will be $31 billion in 2007. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Tennakoon, Charles Lynntech, Inc TX Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 484703 5373 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239206 February 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Comprehensive Database Resource on Protein Localization. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project proposes to develop the database and associated software to enable analysis of protein trafficking and localization. The system will be designed to enable drug discovery researchers to identify, elucidate, eliminate and design leads and targets, while facilitating the general training of researchers. During the Phase I work, proteins involved in trafficking and diseases related to mislocalization were identified, and a relational database to house information on protein trafficking was constructed. Curation interface applications were created to allow remote data entry, and graphical user interfaces designed to maximize the utility of the information. The objective of this Phase II Project is to exhaustively populate the database from the primary journal literature. Selection of proteins involved in protein trafficking will be guided by relevant human diseases and corresponding drug discovery efforts. The commercial application of this project is in the area of biological informatics. The potential users of the biological database to be developed in this project would include pharmaceutical and drug discovery companies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Rubin, David Cognia Corporation NY F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 1009959 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 0308000 Industrial Technology 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0239238 February 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Exploring Complex Biological Concepts in an Interactive 3-D Learning Environment over the Internet. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will create a 3D, interactive learning system to communicate complex scientific concepts from biological and medical science, which are difficult to grasp via long narrative scripts. The detailed technical specifications formulated in Phase I will be developed into a software solution distinctive from what is available today. This learning tool allows the user to inquire about objects in a visualization context, where specific aspects of these objects can be manipulated. Syandus has adapted sophisticated real-time 3D rendering technology common to video games as follows: 1) by creating the ability to interact with time driven, 3D process models of complex scientific phenomena; and 2) by associating textual information with these visualized objects and processes. At a user's mouse click, objects intelligently reveal what they are about in deeply layered text, illustrations and linked files. This interface can aggregate all kinds of information, such as all of a pharmaceutical company's technical information on a disease. Finally, Syandus is building the software to be delivered across the Internet through a standard browser interface or launched from a CDROM and automatically updated via a narrowband Internet connection. The differentiation among pharmaceutical products is ever increasingly grounded in rapidly evolving complex science, thus making essential a mechanism for aggregating and communicating scientific information that relates how drugs work to disease states. Focusing on the pharmaceutical industry as the firm's first target market, Syandus proposes to create a tool to help physicians understand the breakthrough medicines to treat complex disease states that adversely impact people's lives. The firm's custom projects will result in enduring resources for medical students, professionals and healthcare consumers. As the technology matures, the firm will pursue higher education markets. Through Internet connectivity, the product can reach wide audiences across the globe. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Seifert, Douglas Syandus, Inc. PA Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 831000 5373 SMET 9251 9180 9178 9177 7355 7256 0108000 Software Development 0116000 Human Subjects 0239240 February 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Rubbed Protein Substrates for Low Cost Biochips Based on Liquid Crystals. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to develop an entirely new class of biochips, with a particular focus on biochips designed to track the expression, activation and post-translational modification of proteins involved in cell signaling processes. The technology is based on the use of liquid crystals to image biomolecular interactions at structured surfaces. The goal of this Phase II Project is to demonstrate the substrates for liquid crystal-based biochips that detect activated states of proteins and that can be prepared from mechanically rubbed films of protein (that are) covalently attached to glass substrates. Important issues of non-specific binding, binding of activated states of specific target proteins, sample delivery, sensitivity and quantitation will be addressed. These results, when combined with the results of the Phase I research, will make possible the determination of the extent to which cell signaling proteins are activated within biological samples (eg. in cell lysates). The commercial applications of this project will be in the areas of proteomics and in vitro diagnostics. The development of the proposed technology will allow for rapid, inexpensive, multi-target, high-throughput analysis of proteins and their modification states. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Israel, Barbara PLATYPUS TECHNOLOGIES L L C WI F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 500000 5373 BIOT 9181 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239285 February 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Fluorescent Polymeric Nanoparticles. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a new generation of fluorescence amplifying reagents based on poly (phenylene ethynylene (PPE)) nanoparticles. Because of the role of the amplifying polymer in the enhanced sensitivity of these compounds, these compounds are called Amplimer reagents. The project will develop and launch two types of Amplimer reagents: microarray and quantitative PCR reagents. The Amplimer reagents will improve the sensitivity and performance of fluorescence-based assays by providing brighter, more stable fluorescence signals and by improving sensitivity through fluorescence amplification effects. The commercial and broader impacts of this technology are consumable fluorescent reagents that improve the sensitivity and reliability of two rapidly growing diagnostic platforms for genetic sequence analysis: microarray-based assays and quantitative PCR assays. Diagnostics based on genetic sequence information currently account for $1 billion of the $24 billion dollar diagnostics market. This figure is expected to grow significantly as the follow-on of the human genome project filters through drug discovery and medical science. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Hancock, Lawrence NOMADICS, INC OK T. James Rudd Standard Grant 998241 5373 MANU 9150 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239290 February 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: NUMBERS: Bringing Statistical Machine Translation into the Real World. The goal of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to bring radically new technology to the machine translation marketplace. While current systems are rule-based and difficult to extend, this company employs a statistical system that learns to translate by automatically analyzing large collections of previously translated material. This technology already outperforms rule-based systems, and it easily adapts to specific domains of interest, such as technical documentation generated by multinational corporations. The company has licensed (and co-developed) key software engines from the founders' research team at USC/ISI, a world leader in machine translation. In this project, they will extend their statistical engine in three ways, driven by customer needs -- they propose to build (1) a parallel, cluster-based training system for handling large text volumes (2) new capabilities for translating numbers, dates, personal names, locations, etc. ("named entities"), and (3) rapid customization tools that will assist with customized translation engines for specific customer domain requirements. There has been substantial client/funding interest from intelligence agencies, corporate users, and angel and venture investment groups. Over the next year, the plan is to capitalize on this interest by developing several clients and shipping the first products. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Wong, William WEAVER LANGUAGE INC CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 1000000 5373 HPCC 9216 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0239326 January 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Volumetric Microbatteries Using Soft Lithography. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop novel microbatteries. As microsystems emerge from the lab into applications such as implantable medical devices, smart surgical tools, and discrete, autonomous sensors, there is a critical need for power systems of a similar physical size (a few cubic mm or smaller) to the new miniaturized systems themselves. The microbattery developed under the Phase I effort exploits a volumetric approach to deliver power with a minimum volume and a minimum footprint. Compared with thin film batteries, which are surface area devices requiring a large footprint to achieve useful capacities. These novel devices meet the need for a small self-contained source of electrical power. The objective of the project will be to reduce the critical dimensions of the device to the order of 1mm, fully characterize their performance, and develop production and assembly procedures to manufacture integrated devices. The commercial and broader impacts of this technology will be to emerging new devices based on microsystems technology (devices containing microelectronics and MicroElectroMechanical Systems, (MEMS)) such as implantable medical devices, microsensors for broad area surveillance, and microsatellites. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Lakeman, Charles D. TPL, Inc. NM Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 483257 5373 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239330 March 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Parallel Hardware Implementation of the Split and Merge Discrete Wavelet Transform for Wireless Communication. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to develop the Intellectual Property (IP) core of a novel image compression / signal decomposition algorithm based on the discrete wavelet transform (DWT). This is a fully parallel, scalable, multi-resolution, and low power implementation of the JPEG2000 DWT engine and is particularly well suited for use in both consumer applications at one end of the spectrum (as in reduced bit-rate web browsing over wireless communications channels as found in the next generation of web enabled cell phones) as well as in high-end commercial applications at the other end of the spectrum (as in non-linear video editing accelerators for the movie industry). This particular implementation is a highly efficient implementation of the DWT transform and makes use of a novel Overlap-State wavelet decomposition algorithm which minimizes memory, I/O and computational requirements. Over the next decade, spiraling consumer demand for fast mobile communication of voice and IP over increasingly integrated terrestrial and satellite based systems plagued by a limited electro-magnetic spectrum allocation necessitates the pursuit and development of better compression algorithms that a visually pleasing at low bit rates. As a consequence of extensive research, transform coding techniques now dominate every single image and video coding scheme proposed to-date. Consequently, efficient software and hardware based transform coding system designs and implementations have become a high priority objective. In fact, it is widely accepted that JPEG2000 will become the universally accepted format for digital images and high quality video - whether on the web, cable, over wireless systems, in digital cameras, printers, faxes or remote sensors. With its wavelet based image-coding technology, it offers features previously impossible in JPEG. Compared with the old baseline JPEG, the new JPEG2000 spec poses formidable technology challenges for the myriad of developers and OEM's planning on using it. The new standard uses coding algorithms based on the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) which is fundamentally different from the discrete cosine transform (DCT) JPEG spec. In JPEG2000, the importance of computational and especially memory bottlenecks has clearly increased several fold over the old specification. In fact, various implementations of computationally efficientCE wavelet transforms have been reported in recent years. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Moopenn, Alexander Mosaix, LLC CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 494150 5373 MANU HPCC 9146 9139 7218 5373 0104000 Information Systems 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239331 February 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Environmentally Benign, High-Pressure Plasma Cleaning Tool for Photoresists. This SBIR Phase II project focuses on the development of a cleaning tool for the removal of tenacious organic residues from 200 mm wafers. These residues arise from ion bombardment of the photoresist films during processing. Organic residue removal encompasses approximately half of the cleaning operations in a semiconductor manufacturing plant. Surfx Technologies has developed a novel high-pressure plasma cleaning process that uses environmentally benign reagents and generates minimal waste. Results from Phase I indicate that ion-implanted resists may be stripped away in 5 min at 125 C, without any film popping and particle contamination as is normally observed during dry processing. The Phase II project will thoroughly research and optimize the process chemistry. In addition, a prototype cleaning system will be developed that meets all the technical criteria established by the semiconductor industry for organic cleaning operations. This SBIR Phase II project has broad commercial and societal impact. Semiconductor equipment devoted to organic residue cleaning represents a mult-ibillion dollar market. If our environmentally benign, high-pressure plasma cleaning tool can achieve all the technical objectives outlined in the proposal than it stands a good chance of garnering a significant share of this market. Moreover, it will replace current water-wasteful and hazardous wet cleans with an innovative process that uses non-toxic reagents and generates minimal waste. This will substantially benefit our society by mitigating the environmental, health and safety impacts of semiconductor manufacturing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Babayan, Steven Surfx Technologies LLC CA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 511999 5373 AMPP 9251 9178 9163 1407 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239336 January 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Photo-Curable Silicon Oxycarbide Fiber for Diesel Engine Particulate Filters. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will scale-up a manufacturing process for curable preceramic polymers in the fabrication of high yield and low cost Silicon Oxycarbide (SOC) fibers and bonded fiber mats for diesel engine particulate filters. In the Phase I effort, SOC fibers and fiber mats were successfully fabricated and the critical materials properties required for the diesel particulate filter application were attained. This development represents the first Silicon Oxycarbide glass-ceramic fibers to be fabricated from curable poly(dimethyl)siloxanes. In addition, the photo-curable and chemically-curable polysiloxane preceramic polymers demonstrated also have potential as a binder or matrix phases for other structural composites. This Phase II effort seeks to optimize fiber mat production techniques through collaboration with Cummins Engine Company's subsidiary Fleetguard/Nelson (FGN), the world's largest manufacturer of filters for the automobile and truck market. In the project, critical factors related to automated manufacturing, process scale-up, fiber mat performance characteristics, and performance testing will be addressed to ensure a smooth transition to a commercial product. The diesel particulate filter (DPF) market will grow dramatically due to EPA requirements that all diesel vehicles be equipped with diesel particulate filters by 2007, thereby significantly improving the nation's air quality. The diesel manufacturing industry in North America now exceeds $85 billion in gross output annually. Total U. S. "on road" vehicles requiring DPF's will exceed 3 million units annually, resulting in a potential on road market size of in excess of $6 billion per year. The DPF product to be scaled up in this project has comparable performance to the current extruded ceramic honeycomb filter but with a projected unit cost of about one-tenth. This will have a dramatic impact on diesel filtration system costs with substantial environmental, energy, and trade deficit benefits. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Pope, Edward EDWARD POPE DR CA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 500000 5373 AMPP 9163 5373 0522100 High Technology Materials 0239344 February 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Numerical Techniques for Human Oriented Interaction. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is focused on research and development of whole hand interaction with computer aided design (CAD) models. This project incorporates advanced numerical constraint optimization techniques, tessellated and algebraic collision detection algorithms, and CyberGlove-based input devices to interactively manipulate the kinematics of large commercial CAD models. Immersion will develop techniques for enforcing graphical non-penetration of virtual avatars with CAD models. Grasping and manipulation-state machines will permit users to naturally grasp and manipulate CAD parts. Force feedback will be calculated and displayed to users with CyberForce hardware devices. A client-server infrastructure for offloading the computationally intense algorithms from desktop workstations will be developed. All CAD related development would occur in CATIA V5 from Dassault Systeme SA. The technology has potential for a broad impact on virtual prototyping of consumer products and processes. Enabling real-time interaction with a virtual design will facilitate higher quality products with reduced development costs. Virtual prototyping of manufacturing processes will reduce laborer stress and injury by allowing detailed analysis of human factors before a factory work-cell is developed. Immersion will realize commercial returns from this project through a combination of increased hardware sales, product revenue, intellectual property licensing, and contract opportunities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Ullrich, Christopher IMMERSION CORPORATION CA Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 989863 5373 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0239356 January 15, 2003 STTR Phase II: IntelliStitch AI: Intelligent Computerized Embroidery Design Automation for the Textile Industry. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will develop an automated means for embroidery design specification for use in the textile industry. This technology will provide simplified mechanisms for converting scanned artwork into high quality embroidery design data. This data will then be utilized by commercial sewing equipment to produce embroidered artwork that has become quite common on all types of garments and woven goods. Embroidered artwork is often quite expensive to produce and in many cases may substantially exceed the costs of the actual garments being imprinted. These costs arise from a variety of factors including an embroidered design's size and complexity. Well-designed embroidered artwork permits efficient production with high yields (i.e. minimal defects produced). Automating design creation provides additional benefits by eliminating the time consuming manual process that must otherwise be undertaken by a human expert. The commercial and broader impacts of this technology facilitate lower manufacturing costs while allowing consistent production of high-quality goods. Additionally, this research may have broader applications within other fields such as document processing, image recognition, or other areas where image understanding and interpretation are important. STTR PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Goldman, David Soft Sight, Inc. NY Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 682029 1591 1505 MANU 9251 9178 9147 9102 7218 5514 0107000 Operations Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239587 February 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Development of a Novel Sensing Material for Waterborne Pathogens. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project proposes to develop a method to detect Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst in water using a novel sensing coating deposited on filters. C. parvum has been responsible for a number of outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis, including the outbreak in Milwaukee in 1993 that affected 400,000 people. Crytosporidiosis is characterized by abdominal pain and severe diarrhea, and can be fatal to immune-compromised individuals. Currently, there is no easy and reliable test allowing the routine monitoring of drinking water supplies for C. parvum. The approved EPA method for this purpose is slow, expensive, and requires interpretation by highly trained personnel. The innovation inherent in the proposed pathogen detection platform resides in a unique "smart" polymer filter coating that permits pathogen concentration, detection, and signal generation in a single step. The signal is generated from interactions between the target and specific antibodies, resulting in a fluorescent signal. Prior Phase I work has already demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach. The proposed Phase II effort will focus on the optimization of the filter coating and the development of the accompanying hardware and testing protocol needed for commercialization and EPA approval of a complete water-testing product. The commercial application of this project is in the market for detection of pathogens in drinking water supplies. The testing market for C. parvum, the specific pathogen targeted in this Phase II project, is estimated to be $75 million in the U.S. and $ 100 million worldwide. It is expected that further adaptations of the pathogen detection technology proposed in this project will have added applications in the markets for the testing of foods and beverages, and in medical diagnostics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Reppy, Mary ANALYTICAL BIOLOGICAL SERVICES INC. DE George B. Vermont Standard Grant 466762 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 0308000 Industrial Technology 0239859 January 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Bioremediation of Chlorinated Solvents in Saturated, Low Permeability Soils. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project proposes to develop an innovative solution to the the problem of chlorinated solvent contamination in variably saturated, low permeability soils. Prior Phase I work has demonstrated that: 1) chitin is an effective electron donor for stimulating biodegradation of chlorinated solvents, 2) that chitin enhances bioavailability of the solvents, 3) that chitin can be incorporated into a proprietary hydraulic fracturing process for low permeability soils, and 4) that the delivery method for chitin is effective in the field on a small scale. The objectives of the Phase II Project are to evaluate biodegradation efficiency and longevity of chitin on a large scale. Current approaches for low permeability soils are very capital-intensive and are seldom totally effective. The proposed approach, in contrast, is low-cost and passive, and applicable "in situ". The method is particularly attractive since chitin is available in abundance as a byproduct from the shellfish industry. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of soil bioremediation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Starr, Robert North Wind Environmental, Inc. ID George B. Vermont Standard Grant 499996 5373 BIOT 9181 9150 0201000 Agriculture 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0245375 April 1, 2003 A Multi-Campus I/UCRC for Supply Chain Research. This proposal is to plan for a new partner to join an existing mutli-university I/UCRC that aims to promote a research program of interest to both industry and universities on supply chain management. This existing multi-university center will be able to have an even broader impact on the industry through having its existing resources enhanced by the addition of this partner and the other two partners that are also being recommended to receive a planning grant. Three partners, of which this is one are the University of Florida, Lehigh University and the University of Minnesota. The proposed Center's goal is to focus on tackling the sophisticated challenges and interdependencies of logistic and distribution, simplifying and advancing communications systems by identifying new circuits and new circuit-design techniques as well as new methods in systems design and information technology. The new partners will bring to the existing center, a focus on: - Demonstrating the value of operations research in business operations - Enabling industry partners to harness available technologies, and - Creating new practice-based research and education models for engineering curricula. The proposal deals with an area of significant need and by assembling these three additional institutions into an already strong team, their added breadth and depth enhances the prospects for success. The existing institutions in this Center, together with the three new ones will be a national resource on this topic. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Geunes, Joseph University of Florida FL Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0245495 January 1, 2003 Collaborative Research: Planning Grant for I/UCRC on Experimetnal, Theoretical, and Computational Analysis of Multiphase Phenomena. This proposal is one of three proposals to each plan participation in a new multi-university I/UCRC that aims to promote a research program of interest to both industry and universities on the analysis of multiphase phenomena. This new multi-university center will be able to have a broad impact on the industry through having each member's resources being enhanced by those of its partners which are also being recommended to receive a planning grant. The three partners, of which this is one are the Michigan State University, University of Tulsa, and University of Akron. The proposed Center's goal is to focus on tackling the sophisticated challenges of computational multiphase transport phenomena which are of importance in the automotive, biochemical, chemical, food, mining, petrochemical an pharmaceutical industries. The new center will focus on challenging problems in: - Multiphase turbulent flows - Multiphase materials processing, - Multiphase mixing - Next generation filtration based on nanoscale fibers, and multiphase separations. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Chase, George University of Akron OH Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0245516 April 1, 2003 A Multi-Campus I/UCRC for Supply Chain Research. This proposal is to plan for a new partner to join an existing mutli-university I/UCRC that aims to promote a research program of interest to both industry and universities on supply chain management. This existing multi-university center will be able to have an even broader impact on the industry through having its existing resources enhanced by the addition of this partner and the other two partners that are also being recommended to receive a planning grant. Three partners, of which this is one are the University of Florida, Lehigh University and the University of Minnesota. The proposed Center's goal is to focus on tackling the sophisticated challenges and interdependencies of logistic and distribution, simplifying and advancing communications systems by identifying new circuits and new circuit-design techniques as well as new methods in systems design and information technology. The new partners will bring to the existing center, a focus on: - Demonstrating the value of operations research in business operations - Enabling industry partners to harness available technologies, and - Creating new practice-based research and education models for engineering curricula. The proposal deals with an area of significant need and by assembling these three additional institutions into an already strong team, their added breadth and depth enhances the prospects for success. The existing institutions in this Center, together with the three new ones will be a national resource on this topic. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Wu, S. David Susan Sherer Lehigh University PA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0245644 January 1, 2003 Collaborative Research: Planning Grant for I/UCRC on Experimental, Theoretical, and Computational Analysis of Multiphase Phenomena. This proposal is one of three proposals to each plan participation in a new multi-university I/UCRC that aims to promote a research program of interest to both industry and universities on the analysis of multiphase phenomena. This new multi-university center will be able to have a broad impact on the industry through having each member's resources being enhanced by those of its partners which are also being recommended to receive a planning grant. The three partners, of which this is one are the Michigan State University, University of Tulsa, and University of Akron. The proposed Center's goal is to focus on tackling the sophisticated challenges of computational multiphase transport phenomena which are of importance in the automotive, biochemical, chemical, food, mining, petrochemical an pharmaceutical industries. The new center will focus on challenging problems in: - Multiphase turbulent flows - Multiphase materials processing, - Multiphase mixing - Next generation filtration based on nanoscale fibers, and multiphase separations. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Petty, Charles Tom I-P Shih Andre Benard Michigan State University MI Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0245669 January 1, 2003 Collaborative Research: Planning Grant for I/UCRC on Experimental, Theoretical, and Computational Analysis of Multiphase Phenomena. This proposal is one of three proposals to each plan participation in a new multi-university I/UCRC that aims to promote a research program of interest to both industry and universities on the analysis of multiphase phenomena. This new multi-university center will be able to have a broad impact on the industry through having each member's resources being enhanced by those of its partners which are also being recommended to receive a planning grant. The three partners, of which this is one are the Michigan State University, University of Tulsa, and University of Akron. The proposed Center's goal is to focus on tackling the sophisticated challenges of computational multiphase transport phenomena which are of importance in the automotive, biochemical, chemical, food, mining, petrochemical an pharmaceutical industries. The new center will focus on challenging problems in: - Multiphase turbulent flows -Multiphase materials processing, - Multiphase mixing - Next generation filtration based on nanoscale fibers, and multiphase separations. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Mohan, Ram University of Tulsa OK Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0245705 April 1, 2003 A Multi-Campus I/UCRC for Supply Chain Research. This proposal is to plan for a new partner to join an existing mutli-university I/UCRC that aims to promote a research program of interest to both industry and universities on supply chain management. This existing multi-university center will be able to have an even broader impact on the industry through having its existing resources enhanced by the addition of this partner and the other two partners that are also being recommended to receive a planning grant. Three partners, of which this is one are the University of Florida, Lehigh University and the University of Minnesota. The proposed Center's goal is to focus on tackling the sophisticated challenges and interdependencies of logistic and distribution, simplifying and advancing communications systems by identifying new circuits and new circuit-design techniques as well as new methods in systems design and information technology. The new partners will bring to the existing center, a focus on: - Demonstrating the value of operations research in business operations - Enabling industry partners to harness available technologies, and - Creating new practice-based research and education models for engineering curricula. The proposal deals with an area of significant need and by assembling these three additional institutions into an already strong team, their added breadth and depth enhances the prospects for success. The existing institutions in this Center, together with the three new ones will be a national resource on this topic. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Benjaafar, Saif University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0245729 February 1, 2003 I/UCRC Planning Grant for Connection One: Telecommunication Circuits and Systems. This proposal is to plan for an I/UCRC that aims to promote a research program of interest to both industry and universities on telecommunications circuits and systems, by joining with the currently established I/UCRC at Arizona State University. This proposed multi-university center will be able to have a broad impact on the telecommunications industry by using the joint resources of the multiuniversity faculties. The proposed Center's goal is to focus on simplifying and advancing communications systems by identifying new circuits and new circuit-design techniques as well as new methods in systems design and information technology. All research would be carried out within the multiuniversity center with its own resoueres aas well as those of the existing I/UCRC at Arizona State Universaity. The overall aim of this collaborator as well as the existing Center is to build partnerships between industry and academe through conducting appropriate research while transferring technology both ways to the benefit of both parties. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Rodriguez, Jeffrey University of Arizona AZ Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0296066 March 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Design of a New and Improved Print Reading Machine for the Blind. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Tretiakoff, Oleg C. A. Technology, Inc. FL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 80000 5373 SMET 9178 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0296116 November 1, 2001 SBIR Phase II: High Sensitivity Raman Spectrometer. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Farquharson, Stuart REAL-TIME ANALYZERS, INCORPORATED CT Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 386997 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9146 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0296135 January 1, 2002 SBIR Phase II: Clinical-Scale Suspension Bioreactor for Primary Hematopoietic Culture. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG McAdams, Todd RESODYN CORPORATION MT Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 244000 5373 BIOT 9251 9231 9181 9178 1491 0308000 Industrial Technology 0296216 December 19, 2001 SBIR Phase II: Handwriting Based Interface for Mathematical Notation. IIP ENG Garst, Peter MathSoft Engineering & Education, Inc. MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 159484 0000912 Computer Science 0303596 April 1, 2003 Collaborative Research: Wireless Internet Center for Advanced Technology. This proposal is to plan for a new multi-university I/UCRC that aims to promote a research program of interest to both industry and universities on technologies for wireless internet. This new multi-university center will be able to have a broad impact on the industry through having its existing resources enhanced by the addition of the partner that is also being recommended to receive a planning grant. The two partners are this University and Polytechnic University of New York. The proposed Center's goal is to work on two overlapping categories: - Information delivery focussing on software development, addressing security and robustness, and - Data transmission related to management of radio resources and the management of competition and cooperation between different technologies The proposal deals with an area of significant need and by assembling the two institutions into one research team, the breadth and depth is enhanced INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Campbell, Andrew Columbia University NY Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0303678 April 1, 2003 Collaborative Proposal: Wireless Internet Center for Advanced Technology. This proposal is to plan for a new multi-university I/UCRC that aims to promote a research program of interest to both industry and universities on technologies for wireless internet. This new multi-university center will be able to have a broad impact on the industry through having its existing resources enhanced by the addition of the partner that is also being recommended to receive a planning grant. The two partners are this University and Columbia University. The proposed Center's goal is to work on two overlapping categories: - Information delivery focussing on software development, addressing security and robustness, and - Data transmission related to management of radio resources and the management of competition and cooperation between different technologies The proposal deals with an area of significant need and by assembling the two institutions into one research team, the breadth and depth is enhanced INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Goodman, David Shivendra Panwar Phyllis Gail Frankl Polytechnic University of New York NY Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0308883 May 15, 2003 Renewal Request for Existing Center for Silicon Wafer Engineering and Defect Science (SiWEDS). The SiWEDS Center works closely with the industry member scientists and engineers, carries out a unique multi-university program of research in silicon materials. They provide critical materials physics and chemistry solutions that increase the yield, performance, and reliability of silicon materials and devices used for Giga Scale Integrated Circuits. The SiWEDS targets areas with great potential for true long-term breakthrough on the one hand, coupled with near term payoffs on the other. This multi-university I/UCRC is led by North Carolina State University and involves the University of California-Berkeley, Arizona State University, University of Arizona, University of South Florida, University of Washington, MIT, and Stanford University. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Duscher, Gerd North Carolina State University NC Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 589000 5761 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 116E 1049 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 0312173 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Bioinformatics System for GCxGC-MS (Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromography). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a bioinformatics system for analyzing data from comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GCxGC-MS). Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC) is an emerging technology that provides a multiplicative increase in separation capacity over traditional GC. Mass spectrometry (MS) is a promising tool for computer- assisted and automated analyses of the incredibly complex GCxGC separations, but there is no bioinformatics software designed for working with the data generated by GCxGC-MS. The Phase I project will undertake both experimental and theoretical investigations of graphical user-interfaces for GCxGC-MS data; methods for on-line handling of large GCxGC-MS data-sets ; a language for manipulating GCxGC-MS data ; and schemes for structuring GCxGC-MS data and metadata. A prototype system will demonstrate the significance of GCxGC-MS data analyses for identifying toxic chemicals in complex environmental and health-care assays. The commercial application of this project is in the area of scientific software for GC x GC-MS. Commercial applications of GC include analyses of petroleum and chemical processing, environmental samples, foods and beverages, fragrances, health-related tests, pharmaceuticals, and toxins (including chemical warfare agents). The availability of software for computer-assisted and automated recognition of chemical components from GCxGC-MS data will facilitate adoption of GCxGC technology in laboratories using traditional GC and will contribute to the development of new markets which require superior separation performance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Reichenbach, Stephen GC Imaging NE Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9150 0308000 Industrial Technology 0313540 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Industrial Process Tomography for Turbulent Pipe Flows. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 project proposes to evaluate the feasibility of obtaining statistics (mean, RMS and spatial correlation) of mixing of particulates in turbulent pipe flows. The two key issues that will be addressed during the proposed work are: (1) the feasibility of obtaining local statistics of particles in a turbulent smoke jet using the deconvolution algorithm, and (2) the feasibility of obtaining laser extinction measurement in smoke laden turbulent flow confined within a pipe. Two tasks are planned to address the feasibility of obtaining statistics of particulates in a turbulent pipe flow. The first is to evaluate the deconvolution algorithm in a turbulent smoke jet. The second is to utilize the algorithm in a smoke laden turbulent pipe flow with a variable size opening on the pipe. The statistics of particulates confined in the pipe will be determined asymptotically by varying the opening size. There are two major commercial applications for the on-line monitoring of particulates in confined turbulent flows. The first involves online monitoring of particulate emission from engines and smoke stacks. Power plants, waste-to-energy plants and chemical industries that apply high cost particulate controls would be interested in identifying the efficiency of their control devices at various process conditions. The second application involves assuring quality control in process industries. Solids and powder processing, power, chemical and pharmaceutical industries would benefit the most from the quality improvements that are enabled with on-line particulate monitoring in pipes. The additional commercial application of the particulate monitor will be to help two-phase flow scientists in universities and research laboratories to obtain data for model validation SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sivathanu, Yudaya EN'URGA INC IN Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 CVIS 1059 0106000 Materials Research 0314258 September 1, 2003 Power Systems Engineering Research Center. Washington State University continues to be a research site for the multi-university Power Systems Engineering Research Center (PSERC) headquartered at Cornell University. PSERC is now a consortium of 13 universities and about 40 companies and is a unique and premier resource for the country in electric power engineering research. The intellectual merit of the activity is the development of novel technologies to increase the reliability and efficiency of the electric power grid of the country. The broader impact of this research is on the economy of the nation for which a reliable, economic and secure electric power supply is an absolute necessity. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Bose, Anjan Washington State University WA Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 472251 V915 V638 V105 T313 T479 H371 H108 5761 OTHR 127E 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0314300 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Ge-Free Strained Silicon Via dTCE Bonding (Differential Thermal Coefficient of Expansion Bonding). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I propose to combine the technologies of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) manufacture with strain-inducing wafer bonding to produce Strained-Si On Insulator (SSOI) wafers. Silicon-based devices with silicon/germanium (Si/Ge) heterostructures have been extensively researched and this has lead to the discovery that tensile strained silicon exhibits superior electronic properties. Bi axially strained-silicon devices are currently strained via expensive which is a highly technical heterostructure fabrication process. Tensile strain can be introduced by growing silicon pseudomorphically on to a lattice of larger unit cell, usually an alloy of Ge/Si. In this work, it is hoped that by optimizing Strained-Silicon-on-Insulator will increase carrier mobilities by more than 3 times The anticipated benefits of this technology would yield ultra-fast, mainstream silicon-based electronics, which would effectively be new host materials with speed, and performance would surpass Gallium Arsenate (GaAs). The multi-billion dollar chips industry would benefit would benefit by reducing the costs for a new plant to design technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Belford, Rona BELFORD RESEARCH, INC SC Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99880 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 9102 1467 1403 0106000 Materials Research 0315163 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Power-Aware Statically Speculative Microprocessors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I presents a feasibility study to commercialize a microprocessor technology that will address the challenge of delivering power-constrained technology while still fulfilling the increased performance needs in modern systems. Aggressive performance optimizations enabled by reduction in feature sizes have contributed to increase of power/energy consumption with every chip generation. The approach is based on a tightly integrated compiler-architecture framework and provides a coherent strategy for chip-wide energy reduction with no (or minimal) performance impact. The focus of this is on the microarchitectural components. A key idea is to complement traditional mechanisms in microprocessors with low energy, statically managed access paths enabled by static information extracted at compile time. A central thesis is that much speculative static information can be extracted that is currently not exploited, and that this information can be leveraged in novel statically speculative microarchitectural mechanisms to significantly reduce energy consumption. The company plans to license its patented technology in form of synthesizable and hard cores to leading equipment, semiconductor and OEM partners worldwide who focus on applications, design, and manufacturing. Immediate vertical markets targeted include: handhelds such as smart phones and PDAs, wireless portable applications, and battery driven military applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Moritz, Csaba BlueRISC Labs MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 9107 0106000 Materials Research 0315588 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Soft Magnetic Nanocomposites for High Frequency Electronic and Electrical Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research project will develop soft magnetic nanocomposite materials for applications in electronic and electrical devices operating at high frequency. AC electronic and electrical devices operating at high frequencies require soft magnetic core materials that possess high saturation magnetization, high initial permeability, and low loss. Various metals and alloys e.g. Fe, Fe-Si, Fe-Ni Permalloys, Fe-Co are used in applications. These materials have high saturation magnetization, low coercivity and high permeability but because of low resistivity of these materials, the loss is very high at high frequencies. Ferrites on the other hand have low loss because of its high resistivity but have lower saturation magnetization compared to the soft magnetic metals and alloys. This project aims to synthesize a new kind of nanocomposites consisting of some ferromagnetic and ferrite materials. These novel nanocomposites will be manufactured utilizing an inexpensive and easily scalable process. These nanocomposite powders will be compacted to near theoretical densities to produce bulk materials with different shapes and sizes. The synthesis, structure and frequency dependent magnetic properties of these materials will be evaluated in the Phase I research effort. Commercially the principal applications of these nanocomposites are in alternating current machines operating at high frequency e.g. transformers, generators, motors, inductor cores, magnetic amplifiers, power converters and motor drivers for military and commercial satellites, aircrafts and spacecrafts, tunable filters for cellular handset, loading coils for impedance loading in audio industry, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Giri, Anit Nanomat, Inc. PA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1775 1676 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0315851 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Composite Structural Damage Self-Sensing via Electrical Resistance Measurement. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project is an in-situ and real-time composite self-sensing and structural health monitoring (SHM) system/technique development with application of the multifunctional properties of composite structural carbon (graphite) fibers. Composite structural damage sensing and SHM are accomplished by measuring electrical resistance (conductivity) changes in the carbon fiber structural composites the way they are designed and manufactured. Unlike embedded sensor applications such as piezo-ceramic (PZT), fiber-optic (FO) and micro-electro mechanical system (MEMS), this self-sensing composite SHM system/technique is applicable to fielded (currently in service) composite structures as well as new composite structures to be manufactured. The embedded sensor application presents sensor installation difficulties (applicable only to new composite structures to be manufactured), material (fatigue) property degradation due to foreign object material embedment in laminae, sensor repair-ability and reliability problems. Surface mounting sensor application also presents its own unique problems. Commercial applications include structural health monitoring/tracking technology for diagnosis and prognosis of the conditions of the mission/function critical composite structures in order to prevent catastrophic failures and to extend the lives of the critical composite structures. The technology will save substantial time and effort in maintaining the composite structures used in space station structures, spacecraft, aircraft and rotorcraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), rocket boosters, submarine composite structural components, pressure vessels, and civil composite infrastructures. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chung, Jaycee GLOBAL CONTOUR LTD TX Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99827 5371 CVIS 9163 1775 1059 0308000 Industrial Technology 0317285 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Density Optical Data Storage Based on Photonic Band Gap Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 project addresses the market need for advances in commercial optical data storage technology. The demand for increased data capacity, higher performance, and the commercial success of products such as digital versatile disks (DVDs) is ever increasing. Despite improvements in recording media, laser sources, and electro-mechanical design, ultimately the data density is limited by the minimum spot size that can be produced for recording and reading. Recently, it has been demonstrated that near-field optical systems, which produce optical features below the diffraction limit, have the potential to significantly increase data storage capacity. Researchers have investigated a variety of near-field methods including tapered fibers, solid immersion lenses, and mode index waveguide lenses. Based on advances in semiconductor processing techniques, a new class of optical devices based on submicron periodic structures has emerged and is referred to photonic band gap (PBG) devices. Preliminary research indicates that these devices will be capable of performing a wide variety of optical functions including switching, modulation, and filtering. PBGs can be integrated into small packages making them desirable for applications such as optical interconnects and wavelength division multiplexing, sensors, and engineered coatings. Our preliminary studies indicate that waveguides based on PBG structures may be useful in near-field optical data storage systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Behrmann, Gregory EM PHOTONICS INC DE Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99814 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0317782 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Multi-coil Surface NMR Instrumentation and Software for 3-D Groundwater Imaging. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a multi-coil surface NMR imaging for 3-D groundwater imaging and characterization. Surface NMR techniques are generating interest in the groundwater exploration community because of their unique ability to directly detect groundwater, and to distinguish between bound and unbound groundwater. Present surface NMR techniques can produce, at best, an estimate of the 1-dimensional groundwater density profile directly beneath the coil. These 1-D profile estimates are subject to a variety of errors stemming from the use of a single surface coil, and inaccurate 1- D models of the coil fields and water density profiles. The goal of this project is to develop a 3-D surface NMR groundwater imaging system based on coherent multi- coil array processing. The commercial impact of this technology will be an inexpensive, low-energy and non-invasive groundwater exploration method. This technology could have significant positive impacts on both world health and natural resource management. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Walsh, David VISTA CLARA INC WA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 1518 0116000 Human Subjects 0206000 Telecommunications 0318006 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: The Interfractor - A New Optical Dispersive Component. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an Interfractor which is a new type of robust optical dispersion element that combines a relief grating with appropriately optimized dielectric films to achieve both high dispersion and high efficiency (in excess of 90%) into one diffraction order, independent of polarization. Grating efficiency is critical for wavelength-management in modern fiber-optic telecommunication systems that employ dense wave-division-multiplexing (DWDM) transmission. Dynamic gain equalizers, reconfigurable channel blockers, programmable optical add-drop modules, and wavelength-selective switches all require spatial separation of the wavelengths from an input fiber, typically with a diffraction grating, which is also typically the largest source of insertion loss. Because the polarization of the optical signal of any particular wavelength within a fiber may change over time, the net power loss through the device must be independent of polarization. It is very difficult to achieve high grating efficiency in both polarizations. The Interfractor achieves this goal with a novel and proprietary combination of diffractive and thin-film interference effects, and can be fabricated to be robust over the wide temperature range required of DWDM components. The most immediate commercial use of the Interfractor will be to improve the insertion loss in free-space optical wavelength-management products, such as dynamic gain equalizers, reconfigurable channel blockers, programmable add-drop modules, and wavelength selective switches now being implemented in modern fiber-optic telecommunication systems that employ dense wave-division-multiplexing (DWDM) transmission. This technology will be implemented in products as soon as Interfractors can be manufactured. The Interfractor will also be a stand-alone product for use in optical analytical instruments, such as spectrometers, that require a combination of high dispersion and high efficiency. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Senturia, Stephen Polychromix, Inc. MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9163 9139 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0318008 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Heterogeneous Catalytic Peroxidation of Environmental Contaminants. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a continuous heterogeneous catalytic peroxidation process for destruction of aqueous organic and inorganic heterogeneous contaminants. Fenton peroxidation with Fe (II) as a homogeneous catalyst is used extensively for the oxidative treatment of organic and inorganic contaminants in industrial wastewater. This requires acidification, flocculation, iron recovery by precipitation, and is generally limited to "batch operations." Homogeneous peroxidation often achieves only partial oxidation of organic contaminants, yielding organic acids. This project will develop a highly effective heterogeneous peroxidation catalyst and reactor design for oxidation of organics using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant, which will facilitate deeper oxidation of organic contaminants, simplify process design, reduce power usage, and increase oxidation rates, especially for more refractory organic contaminants such as carboxylic acids. Environmental contaminants that will be studied include phenol, methyl-t-butyl ether (MTBE), cyanide and toluene. The commercial application of this project will be in pollution control and remediation. The project will be run in collaboration with a major hydrogen peroxide producer and a leading supplier to the pollution control market. The project will benefit society by providing more effective processes for control of pollution and cleanup of environmental contaminants. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Akse, James Umpqua Research Company OR Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0318517 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Electro-Optic Sensor for Real-Time Defect Detection During Integrated Circuits (IC) and Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Wafer Growth. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a novel methodology for real time (in-situ) non-destructive detection of defects and damage at micron and sub-micron length scales. The objectives of this research are (a) to demonstrate detection of defects in semi-conductor thin-films and micro-structured materials by generating and detecting high-frequency elastic waves, and analyzing the acoustic response; and (b) to design a damage detection technique for real time inspection of integrated circuits (IC) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) during wafer growth. The method utilizes a high-speed polymeric electro-optic (EO) integrated sensor to analyze the acoustic response due to a pulsed laser induced elastic waves. The sensor is an interferometer that has an EO element built in, which is used to down convert gigahertz range (GHz) acoustic response signals to lower-frequency (kHz to MHz) detectable signal by heterodyning. The commercial application of this work is real time (in-situ) defect detection during IC and MEMS wafer growth. Current wafer technology utilizes high-resolution lithography and expensive, time-consuming processing steps. Early stage detection of defects using the proposed method will result in high-yield and low-cost wafer manufacturing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yacoubian, Araz Ler Technologies CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99996 5371 CVIS 1059 0106000 Materials Research 0318520 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Low Cost, High Definition Display Element for Projection Display Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I proposes using micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology to make low cost, high definition display elements in the application of digital projector display. In the proposal, the display uses electrostatically-actuated light modulators in which a beam of light is directed towards a light valve target, e.g., an array of micromirrors. The micromirrors response to a video addressing signal, imparts a modulation onto the light beam in proportion to the amplitude of the deflection of the individual reflective micromirrors. The amplitude or phase modulated beam is then passed through projection optics to form the image. The digital projector display market, including business projectors, televisions, and portable Displays, has been growing continuously, and reached the size of ~$4 billion in 2002. The key Performance criteria for displays are brightness, contrast ratio, resolution, uniformity, and optical Efficiency. The market for low cost, high brightness projection display is expected to grow at a rate of 120% until 2005. In 2005, the estimated market size is ~6 million units for home projectors only, about 60 times of the market size in 2001 (98,000 units). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Liu, Yin LW MICROSYSTEMS CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 1517 0522400 Information Systems 0318642 September 1, 2003 Microsensor and Actuator I/UCRC. MEMS is an important research field with promise of significant applications in a variety of areas, including healthcare, security, safety, and power conservation. Commercial applications range from micro-accelerometers, to micro-pumps, to million mirror projection displays, to self-discovering networks of wireless sensors, to optical micro-scanners. NSF participation in this important area of nanotechnology will further stimulate research and development of micro and nano devices and have a significant impact on improving the design, manufacture, accuracy, and utilization of these and other devices. Such investments by NSF will ultimately have a significant and beneficial effect on the economic health and global competitiveness of the United States. This award is the second 5-year phase of the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Micro-sensors and Actuators. In 1998, the I/UCRC Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC) was extended from on-going research in this area to research in new areas with a multi-university component at UC-Davis. IUCRC FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS ELECT, PHOTONICS, & DEVICE TEC IIP ENG Muller, Richard University of California-Berkeley CA Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 947417 7609 7298 5761 1517 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 7234 5980 5936 1591 130e 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0318662 August 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: An Innovative Normal Stress Sensor System for Complete Characterization of Polymer Shear Flow Properties. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will address several technical improvements needed for successful commercialization of a novel MEMS sensor plate containing monolithic miniature capacitive pressure sensors. As shown in Phase I, the sensor plate can be used to accurately measure the first (N1) and second (N2) normal stress differences, which are important nonlinear elastic flow properties of various classes of viscoelastic liquids. In Phase II, sensor packaging and lead transfer to the sensors will be made suitable for high volume, high quality manufacturing of sensor plates. One version will be optimized for measurements at lower pressures and another version optimized for measurements on molten commercial thermoplastics at higher temperatures and pressures. The latter version of the sensor plate will be smaller in diameter to make possible measurements on smaller samples at higher shear rates, and will contain miniature temperature sensors that will enable accurate compensation for changes in sensor calibration constant with temperature. Improvements will be tested with a wide variety of commercial polymer systems and other important classes of viscoelastic liquids. This novel sensor plate will meet the critical market need for an inexpensive instrument for fully characterizing shear flow properties of molten thermoplastics. The competing alternative technology, the force rebalance transducer (FRT) is expensive and works best with large samples. It is simpler/less expensive to adapt a sensor plate rather than a transducer to existing rheometers. Hence the sensor plate has significant commercial potential to satisfy pent-up demand for an inexpensive way to upgrade rheometers to allow flow elasticity measurements. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Baek, Seong-Gi RheoSense, Inc. CA William Haines Standard Grant 1011289 5373 MANU 9251 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0318677 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Room Temperature, Mid-infrared Thin Disk Laser. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project involves the development of material that is suitable for the fabrication of a tunable, room temperature, mid-infrared thin disk laser. Novel, tunable room temperature solid-state laser material using transition metal doped Cd1-xMnxTe has recently been developed. Lasing up to 3.01 microns with a tuning range of 2.1 to 3.1 microns, the widest ever reported was demonstrated; and quasi-cw lasing in Cd0.55Mn0.45Te:Cr was demonstrated. Calculations of the gain profile indicate that the material is capable of operation up to 3.4 micron. However, problems related to the inhomogeneity of the dopant concentration and the low thermal conductivity of the material have hindered the development of a laser device. In this work, problems related to the thermal conductivity will be alleviated by thinning the CdMnTe crystal to approximately 250 micron prior to doping, the homogeneity of the chromium will be improved through a systematic study of the doping process aided by theoretical and computational modeling. Applications of this technology include infrared countermeasures, mid-IR spectroscopy, active/ hyperspectral imaging, mid-IR room temperature power limiting, atmospheric measurements, optical communications, remote sensing, medicine, and environmental studies. Numerous civilian industries such as the aviation, communications, meteorological and the chemical/petroleum industries are potential customers for this technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kutcher, Susan BRIMROSE CORPORATION OF AMERICA MD Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9139 1517 0522100 High Technology Materials 0318700 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: All-Optical Method to Detect and Diagnose Optical Faults in Advanced Optical Networks. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate a breakthrough, enabling technology for monitoring of optical signal transmission. Optical networks must be continuously supervised to ensure reliable data delivery. Advanced networks are evolving towards denser wavelength spacing and optical nodes. This trend obsoletes current optical signal quality monitoring techniques. An integrated all-optical method that not only monitors but also performs on-line diagnosis of optical faults in advanced networks will be demonstrated. Phase I will show the feasibility of a new measurement principle for monitoring optical noise components at the same wavelength as the optical signal itself. This capability is designed or a real network environment which includes the presence of polarization mode dispersion (PMD), a phenomena which has frustrated other approaches to in-channel noise detection. The project will include development of mathematical models of optical noise and PMD behavior, assembly of a network testbed, and experimental data. Results will meet commercially accepted standards of sensitivity and repeatability. This monitoring technology enables network equipment to develop and deploy advanced networks. Advanced dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems, which employ higher channel density and optical routing, are becoming available. These systems are very attractive to carriers because they offer cost savings of greater than 50% on both initial capital expenditure and on-going operating expense. This represents an enormous cost savings for telecommunications carriers and ultimately all data communications consumers SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Melman, Paul Newton Photonics, Inc. MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99720 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0104000 Information Systems 0318701 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Efficiency, Water-Vapor-Fueled Plasma Propulsion Thruster for Low-Power Satellite Attitude Control and Station-Keeping. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a compact, efficient, all-solid-state Gas-Fed Pulsed Plasma Thruster (GF-PPT) that can perform critical orbit phase changes or plane (inclination) changes for near- and intermediate earth orbit satellites. The GF-PPT technology provides fuel-mass utilization efficiency close to 100%, based on solid-state power modulators that allows high repetition rate (10 kHz) pulsing of the thruster plasma discharge. This is achieved by delivering multiple micropulses to the thruster during the entire operating cycle of the gas delivery system. In the project the tasks will consist of designing and fabricating the GF-PPT thruster, integrating the power supply with the GF-PPT thruster and then characterizing and optimizing the electrical performance of the thruster hardware. A detailed plan will be developed with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to test the proposed high efficiency GF-PPT in an appropriate space chamber. Commercially, the GF- PPT developed in this program will have applications to a broad range of space missions in both the government and private sectors. Significant fuel savings will result from reduced propellant mass, which can be lowered by a factor of three or more using an electric thruster, as compared with chemical thrusters. Furthermore, the GF-PPT can operate with a wide range of propellants, including water-vapor and hydrazine, and the solid-state electronics capability of GF-PPTs can extend the useful life in station-keeping satellites 1-3 years, thereby prolonging mission lifetime. The successful development of the proposed GF-PPT can result in substantial (>10-20%) reductions in launch costs and orbit maneuvering costs. This can save the Federal Government hundreds of millions of dollars per year, when one considers that the current NASA budget for space transportation is over $2 billion/year, and the DoD invests approximately $4 billion per year launching satellites. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Petr, Rodney Science Research Laboratory Inc MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99976 5371 MANU 9147 0106000 Materials Research 0318781 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Glycerin Product for Burgeoning Biodiesel Industry. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop biomass-processing technology for converting crude natural glycerin to antifreeze. The rapidly expanding U.S. biodiesel industry collects millions of gallons of crude glycerin per year as a by-product and much of this glycerin is disposed of as waste. The proposed research will allow the conversion of this crude glycerin to a product that can be produced and marketed by these very same biodiesel facilities. The Phase I work is expected to result in an improved understanding of the hydrogenation of glycerin to a propylene-glycol-based antifreeze, and to commercialization of a non-toxic bio-based antifreeze. The commercial application of this project is in the area of biomass processing for production of a valuable consumer product from waste materials. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Sutterlin, William Renewable Alternatives, LLC AL Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 1505 BIOT 9181 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0318802 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Effect of Human Population on Land Use and Species Viability: Methodology and Software. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop methods and software that can be used to evaluate or explore the impact of human population and land-use changes on species viability. Changes in human population and land use affect the viability of native species through habitat loss to agriculture, urban sprawl, and industrial development; habitat fragmentation; decreased habitat quality; and increased direct harvest of species. Existing RAMAS software for modeling the effect of changes in the quality and amount of habitat on the viability of species will be modified to allow the incorporation of the human element into this methodology. It will lead to software that will be used to forecast the changes in the human population, and the effect of these changes on the land-use and resource-use patterns. These results will be used to predict the changes in the habitat of native species, and to assess species viability and persistence. The commercial application of this project will be a specialized software product, the market for which would include federal, state and local planning agencies, international development organizations, academic institutions and non-profit research organizations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Akcakaya, H Applied Biomathematics Inc NY Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99992 5371 BIOT 9104 0313040 Water Pollution 0318809 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: All Optical Switch Based On The Photorefractive Nonlinear Rugate Effect. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to put forth a highly innovative all-optical solid-state photonic switch based on an optically controlled nonlinear photo-refractive rugate structure. This innovation provides for a new and effective switching solution for advanced optical network routing and wavelength division multiplexing systems where switching time requirements are 10 to 15 msecs, i.e., circuit switching and routing. A rugate structure is defined by its continuous, often periodic, variation of the refractive index and can be used to produce diffracting optical devices. These devices can be grown using thin film deposition techniques and can provide efficient diffraction for use in wavelength dependent optical systems. However, once grown, such a structure has a fixed performance, diffracting at certain wavelengths for a certain incident angle, similar to standard off-the-shelf optical gratings. The proposed optically controlled rugate configuration provides a unique optical switch and simultaneous wavelength select-ability, while also providing an enormous potential for monolithic designs with no moving parts. The Phase I effort will include a comprehensive investigation and analysis of all potentially usable nonlinear materials, all potentially usable laser sources for optical control, optical and mechanical designs, and an experimental demonstration of the proposed optically controlled switching technique. The proposed all-optical switch technology will develop and market a new type of optical switching product for circuit switching and routing in metro-area networks (MANs). The product also has the potential for wide applications in the long haul fiber optic communications arena. Additionally, the all-optical wavelength tuning capacity can be utilized for a host of widely used wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) applications. The market for optical switching will remain strong; the goal is to develop an optical switch that will directly compete within a sector currently served by the telecom sector. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chalfant, Charles Space Photonics Inc. AR Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99999 5371 HPCC 9150 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0318827 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Self-Sensing Piezoelectric Actuator. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a self-sensing piezoelectric actuator. The piezoelectric actuator will act at the same time as the sensor that will provide information to the actuators and as its own actuator. No separate sensor is needed. The self-sensing piezoelectric actuator uses an unconventional impedance approach for both dynamic (AC) and static (DC) force measurements By using piezoelectric materials, the load sensor will have a much wider dynamic range than those of conventional strain gage sensor. The simplicity in structure and electronic circuitry have made this design inexpensive, when compared to crystal resonator pressure sensors, and feasible for a wide range of applications in both sensing and control industries. During Phase I, a pre-prototype self-sensing and actuating unit will be developed for the proof of concept. A variety of targeted tests will be carried out in this phase to test and examine the accuracy and limitations of the innovation. Commercial applications include machine components; intelligent structures, intelligent self-acting machine components including bearings and seals, high-precision positioning devices, advanced electronic consumers goods, toys. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Lei B & C ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES OH Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1648 0308000 Industrial Technology 0318828 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Pipeline Integrity in Natural Gas Distribution and Transmission Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop intelligent acoustic sensors to detect and pinpoint leaks on gas pipelines. Applied to transmission lines the technology has the potential to provide early alerts of failed pipeline integrity. In distribution systems the technology will be able to pinpoint gas pipeline leaks accurately and non-intrusively. Almost 2 million miles of hazardous pipeline in the US carry flammable materials under high pressure through rural, residential, and downtown areas. Mandatory Pipeline Integrity Management plans are limited by existing technology. The limited detection capability and delay might easily allow on the order of 10,000 liters or more of hazardous material to contaminate the environment. There is a compelling need for new technology to reduce the cost, effort, and risk associated with ensuring pipeline integrity. The technology to be developed under this research project has the potential to detect losses of 0.02% of flow or less on a loss-dependent time scale. Therefore, total losses could be reduced by one or two orders of magnitude; the source of emissions could be pinpointed without taking the pipeline out of service; and a timely integrity alert (with supporting data) could be transmitted to a person or office from remote pipeline locations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lander, Paul Flow Metrix, Incorporated MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99920 5371 EGCH 9197 9139 1179 0316000 Trace Contaminants 0522400 Information Systems 0318840 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Regulated Expression of Therapeutic Proteins in Transgenic Brassica Plants. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to evaluate the use of Brassica juncea as a low cost source of human therapeutic proteins. The proposed research would utilize a newly developed floral transformation method to introduce the gene encoding human alpha-interferon, together with a regulated plant promoter and an optimized translation initiation sequence for high level expression in Brassica juncea. Floral transformation produces large numbers (25%) of transgenic Brassica seedlings within 3 weeks. Transformed plants will be selected by herbicide resistance and expression of interferon after induction of the promoter measured by immunoblotting. The anticipated outcome of this project will be a well regulated, high level expression system for a rapidly growing, inexpensive, hydroponically cultivated crop plant as a source of therapeutically valuable proteins. The commercial application of this project will be the low cost manufacture of human therapeutics using plant biotechnology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ensley, Burt NuCycle Therapy, Inc. NJ Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 95846 5371 BIOT 9109 0201000 Agriculture 0318842 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Dendrimer-Immobilized Antibody Kits for the Detection of Bioterror Pathogens. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop rapid detection protocols for bioterror-related pathogens. At the current time, there are no simple and inexpensive recognition systems that are well suited to the simultaneous detection of multiple pathogenic agents. This is particularly true for first responders at the point of attack, such as police, paramedics, and firefighters. Since exposure to Class A bioterror pathogens causes flu-like symptoms in their victims during the first few days after exposure, it is critical that the pathogen be identified as quickly as possible (that is, in one to four hours) in order to minimize fatalities. In this project, a unique biorecognition system based on immobilized antibodies to a variety of protein toxins will be developed. Fluorophores will be attached to multi-branched dendrimers that are also derivatized for immobilization of antibodies against bioterror pathogens. The detection ensemble will be in a kit form, with easy to follow instructions for the identification of specific pathogens by antibody-antigen binding, using chromatographic separation and fluorescence detection of the complex. It is anticipated that a typical protocol starting from samples obtained at the point of attack will be able to identify a wide variety of bioterror agents in 1 to 4 hours. The main commercial application of this project will be for first responders involved in Homeland Defense. Additional applications are expected in the food and beverage industry, biomedical research laboratories, water treatment facilities and medical diagnostics companies. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Spangler, Brenda SENSOPATH TECHNOLOGIES, INC. MT Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99957 9150 BIOT 9150 9107 9102 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 0318843 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Highly Sensitive Surface Plasmon Resonance Instrumentation for Detecting Biomolecular Interactions. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop affordable, highly sensitive instrumentation for detection of biomolecular interactions without the need for labeling. Although many methods are available for detecting biomolecular interactions, most require that one of the molecules involved be labeled. Such labeling may inadvertantly alter the natural binding properties of the molecules. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) instruments detect molecular binding in the absence of fluorescent or other labels. However, some applications of SPR are limited by the method's sensitivity or its throughput: SPR imaging instruments use light of one wavelength to analyze multiple molecular interaction sites on a biochip simultaneously, thereby improving throughput; Fourier-Transform Infrared SPR (FT-SPR) instruments measure SPR of a single molecular interaction at multiple wavelengths, thereby increasing sensitivity of detection. Combining the multiple-site detection capabilities of SPR imagers with the wavelength scanning capabilities of FT-SPR instruments should improve both sensitivity and throughput in a single instrument. This project aims to design, assemble and test a prototype irFT-SPR imaging instrument. The commercial application of this project will be broadly useful in markets such as the detection of bioterrorism agents, drug discovery, forensics, and crop improvement. The instrument would reduce costs compared with competing detection techniques while bringing the label-free benefits of SPR to these commercial applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Burland, Timothy GWC Technologies, Inc. WI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99724 5371 BIOT 9181 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 0318849 July 1, 2003 SBIlR Phase I: Coherent Blue-Light Converters. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on the implementation of a blue-light converter based on a novel structure of KTiOPO4 (KTP) crystal. It proposes to integrate quasi-phase-matched (QPM) second-harmonic generation (SHG) with 90 degrees phase-matched sum-frequency generation (SFG) in the exclusive partly-periodically-poled KTP crystal. This structure will be used to achieve blue laser through effective third-harmonic generation (THG) from the latest technologies in 1.319 micron Nd:YAG, Nd:YVO4 and other Nd-doped lasers. The proposed blue devices naturally follow our recent demonstrations. They rely on the advantages of a KTP crystal including large second-order nonlinear coefficients and large angular and temperature tolerance. Most importantly, only a KTP crystal can be used in these devices since it can reach 90 degrees -phase-matched SFG from 1.319 micron and 659.5 nm to 439.7 nm. Therefore, the proposed blue devices are simple, highly efficient, highly reliable and low cost. Since the blue-light converter is built from one crystal, it is suitable for intracavity THG similar to intracavity SHG in Verdi and Millennia. Blue-Light Converters can be used in a number of important applications. Some areas of inclusion are health care, photodynamic therapy, spectroscopy with short-temporal and narrow-spectral resolutions, naval communications, nondestructive evaluations, and entertainment. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Zotova, Ioulia DING, YUJIE J. PA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 9150 OTHR HPCC 9139 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0318851 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Coherence-gated Backscatter Particle Sizing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will show proof of principle for an innovative optical technique using backscattered laser light to perform particle sizing measurements. Limitations of existing systems include the need to measure transmitted instead of reflected light, the inability to make accurate measurements in dense particles fields, and the inability to characterize particle shape. Phase I research will lead to the realization of a unique diagnostic system capable of fast, non-invasive measurements in media of high turbidity; use of backscattered, not transmitted, light; solid-state fiber optic construction; cost effective gain-guided laser diodes for light sources; and assembly from commercial-off-the-shelf components. Particle sizing techniques are critical for process characterization and control in diverse areas of manufacturing and research. The worldwide market for particle sizing instruments has been estimated at $300 million. Industries using particle sizing include agrochemical, cement, ceramics, cosmetics, personal care, soil testing, wastewater processing, paints, inks and other surface coatings. The proposed system will introduce a patentable new technology to the field of particle sizing by the novel extension of a proven commercial technique. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lysogorski, Charles North Dancer Labs, Inc. VT Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99596 5371 MANU 9150 9146 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0318853 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: The Use of Halophytic Plants for the Bioremediation of Coal Bed Methane Discharge Waters. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 project plans to use halophytic plants for the bioremediation of coal bed methane (CBM) discharge water. CBM discharge is widely viewed as an environmental liability. Indiscriminant surface discharge causes salination of soils. The drilling companies are therefore in urgent need for an acceptable discharge process. The hypothesis for the proposed work is that halophytic plants will consume enough sodium to enable surface irrigation of CBM discharge. These bioremediation efforts will be further enhanced by intensive fish production in CBM waters prior to discharge. Successful experimental results will provide complementary, alternative, sustainable tools to manage CBM discharge. The commercial application of this project is in the area of bioremediation. CBM discharge would be more environmentally acceptable when utilizing water that has significantly reduced sodium absorption ratio (SAR). This could open up huge areas of land for responsible CBM exploration and recovery. Forage animals could derive significant nutrition from select halophytes irrigated with CBM discharge. Noxious weeds encroaching on discharge areas would be displaced by organized agriculture of halophytic plants. Surface soils would ultimately contain less salts. Nutrient input from fish manures could result in significantly greater growth of desirable plants. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Woiwode, John AquaMatrix International, Inc. WY F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 100000 9150 BIOT 9104 0313040 Water Pollution 0318856 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) Biosensor for Rapid Bioterrorism Related Agent Diagnosis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a self-contained enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) biochip, for rapid and confirmatory diagnosis of bioterrorist related pathogens. The ELISA chip utilizes microfluidic technology to automate and simplify the assay process on a small chip platform. The plastic chip (reagent pre-loaded) is affordable and ready for use, but eliminates the need for a network of tubing connected to bulky external reservoirs and pump systems used in current large clinical laboratory systems and microfluidic systems. The Phase I research will focus on developing the ELISA sensor platform, constructing a pressure driven micro-mechanism for automation, integrating the reader system, performing assays and evaluating the system's technical merits. The commercial application of this project will be in detecting biological warfare agents (BWA) and in managing BWA suspected patients. The ELISA based biochip has the potential to be used as a rapid testing standard to quickly yield preliminary data in advance of microbiology tests. The system, with its extreme sensitivity and specificity, also offers a great deal of commercial opportunities in the field of clinical diagnostics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ho, Winston MAXWELL SENSORS INC. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99776 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0318857 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Modification of High Surface Area Tantalum Powder for Capacitor Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop methods for preventing oxidation of air or moisture sensitive metallic or ceramic nanoparticles used for electronic devices. The specific problem this proposal addresses is the need to process nanometer sized tantalum particles such that they do not spontaneously oxidize on contact with air or moisture and that the particles may be integrated into the manufacture of capacitors. This project will examine the use of organic molecules to derivitize tantalum nanoparticles as produced by the Sodium Flame Encapsulation (SFE) process. It is anticipated that derivatization should provide an oxidation resistant coating allowing for the production of low oxygen materials for electronic applications. Commercially, the research will contribute to the commercialization of products derived from SFE process, initially limited to tantalum, but ultimately applicable to a wide range of nano-scale metals and ceramics. This research has the broader implication of bringing the SFE process for nanoparticles manufacture to commercial realization and it enables further discovery in the areas of materials processing of these important new particles. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gershenson, Harvey AP Materials, Inc. MO T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99998 5371 MANU 9147 1676 0308000 Industrial Technology 0318864 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Design and Development of a Unified Object Oriented Software Platform for Biomolecular Computations. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will perform the research needed to design and construct an object-oriented software development platform (SDP) in Java for sequence manipulations, storage in relational databases, molecular mechanics computations, three dimensional structure visualizations of proteins and DNAs. It will capture established methodologies and techniques contained in legacy packages such as AMBER and Insight II into a modern framework of object hierarchy and provide an Application Programming Interface (API) that is easy to use by computational biologists for advancing proteomics and bioinformatics research and development. Java is commonly used in bioinformatics due to hardware independence and web availability. It is designed for rapid software development. Although it suffers from poor performance for computational applications, it also provides a means of rectifying this problem through Java Native Interface (JNI). The computer-intensive portions of biomolecular manipulations will be written as native Java methods in C to regain the performance of legacy programs. The commercial application of this project is in the area of bioinformatics and computational biotechnology. Academic research groups and researchers in pharmaceutical industry are the likely customers, who could use the proposed software development platform to prototype new ideas rapidly and to explore new computational algorithms and methodologies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kottalam, Jeyapandian Kuyilan BioSoft Corp. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0318865 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Ferrite Circulators/Isolators of Reduced Size. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project addresses the topic of size reduction of a ferrite junction at low frequencies. Circulators are needed to separate the signal paths in a T/R module to protect the receiver amplifier circuit. Also, isolators are required by a microwave system to reduce internal reflection of the signal. However, at UHF and L-band, the size of a conventional circulator/isolator junction turns out to be too big to be practically inserted in a space-limited environment. Although lump-element circuits using ferrite inductors and multiplexer circuits using semiconductor junctions may be employed instead, however, they are extremely narrow-band devices subject to low power ratings. Devices that are five times smaller in linear dimensions than the conventional junctions have been fabricated. By incorporating high dielectric materials with the junction ferrite even smaller junction sizes are expected, giving rise to miniaturized UHF/L-Band circulators and isolators. This research project directly applies to UHF/L-band power amplifiers deployed in space-limited environments in ground vehicles, ships, airline jets, satellites, and spacecrafts. Applications also include microwave radars operational over a long distance and future broadband cellular systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG How, Hoton HOTECH INC MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1648 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0522100 High Technology Materials 0318870 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Low Volume Reloadable Printhead for Microarray Production. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will design and build a reloadable printhead for ink-jet deposition of biological fluids into microarrays. Production of mid range microarrays (hundreds of different fluids) is not best addressed by the existing tools. Photolithography is expensive and with long turnaround time and existing single jet devices have large volumes. The reloadable printhead will fill this market segment. The first step in this project will be to optimize the geometrical dimensions of the printhead using numerical simulations and models for a low loading volume and for best operation. Special printheads will be built for evaluation and simulation verification. The second step would consist of the actual fabrication of the devices. Functionality of the fabricated printheads will be verified using a set of oligonucleotide probes designed to detect polymorphism in the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) genes. Current research indicates a correlation between the class II HLA polymorphism and the occurrence of cervical cancer. Microarrays produced with a reduced set of probes will be fabricated and hybridized with prefabricated target DNA. A design of a full probe set will be made considering the use of the reloadable printhead to fabricate microarrays for investigating genetic susceptibility of cervical cancer. The commercial application of this project is in the area of microarrays. On completion of the work through Phase I and Phase II, revenues are expected to be obtained through sales of the printhead and printing systems for microarray production, and through actual production . SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Antohe, Bogdan MicroFab Technologies Inc TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0318879 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Super Broadband Gain Medium for Next-Generation Optical Communications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a super broadband, 1.27~1.61 micron, Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) light source for spectral test instrumentation. This innovation has significant market potential. Spectral measurement is necessary for all components used in the Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) optical communication systems, in particular, for next-generation WDM networking systems using the newest optical fiber: zero-water-peak fiber, which eliminated the water absorption peak at 1.4 micron and extended the low-loss transmission window to 1.27~1.61 micron continuously for the first time. This innovation would offer a solution for the need of a super broadband gain medium that traditional gain media such as fiber lasers and diode lasers cannot offer. This innovation has significant intellectual merit. A disruptive technology would be used in this project. The device module would be composed of a specialty crystal fiber with designed single-mode confinement structure, directly pumped by diode laser. The overall package would be compact with its output power coupled into a standard single-mode fiber at a target of 100 mW. The novel transition and linkage between conventional bulk-crystal optics and contemporary fiber optics would inspire many publications and patents. This project would strengthen the U. S. technology leadership in WDM and would have a multiplier effect to the overall optical-telecommunications industry. Moreover, this innovation would establish a technology platform for a series of super broadband amplification products, which would be among the key components enabling the next-generation optical communications using super broadband zero-water-peak fiber. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yeh, Ping-hui Optospace CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99556 5371 HPCC 9139 9102 0206000 Telecommunications 0318884 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Residual Gas Analyzer Development. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a fundamentally new type of residual gas analyzer based on a novel ion source concept. The new instrument will have a combination of performance, cost and size parameters that greatly exceeds those of commercially available instruments. The technical objectives of Phase I are to: (1) design and construct a proof-of-principle experiment for the instrument concept; (2) conduct tests to characterize the basic performance of the new instrument; and (3) develop the preliminary design for a Phase II prototype instrument. If the Phase I project is successful in demonstrating high sensitivity over a wide mass range, it will provide a firm foundation for further development in Phase II. The research will provide the basis for the development of a new residual gas analyzer with substantial advantages in terms of cost, size and performance over existing systems. The new instrument will reduce capital and manufacturing costs in industries such as semiconductor manufacturing, vacuum coating, electro-optics, and chemical processing. It will also have widespread uses at research and educational institutions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Greaves, Rod First Point Scientific, Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 CVIS 1059 0106000 Materials Research 0318901 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: III-V Nitride Structure for Far Infrared Detection. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I will explore new structure designs for low light level far infrared detection. The aim is to develop multi-quantum wells made of III-V nitride semiconductors to achieve operational and cost advantages over existing technologies. During Phase I, the proposed sensor will be designed and fabricated. Far infrared absorption will be demonstrated at low temperatures. In Phase II, sensor design and fabrication conditions will be optimized. The responsivity, uniformity, and dynamic range of detectors will be measured, and prototype far infrared sensors and focal plane arrays will be produced for governmental and commercial evaluations. Successful completion of the project will provide lower-cost sensitive detectors for the far infrared operating at higher temperatures than prior art. Far infrared sensing and imaging market is over $1 Billion in size, and current technologies rely on cooling and are expensive. The applications of the technology include but are not limited to infrared imaging space surveillance, public safety and security, and search and rescue operations. Multiquantum-well and superlattice infrared detectors are very promising for space surveillance and imaging applications because of their adjustable band gaps and device structures. They have the potential to detect targets at long ranges in cluttered environments. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Qiu, Chang-Hua FORUN Technologies, Inc. NJ Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99998 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0318902 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Real-Time Micro-Array Imaging for Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) Detection. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to establish the feasibility of a novel micro-array technology based on measurements of kinetics of hybridization of biopolymer molecules. By measuring kinetics of hybridization in real time, the perfectly and non-perfectly homologous DNA can be distinguished with much higher accuracy than by using conventional micro-arrays. An important innovative component of this technology is the labeling of target DNA by colloidal gold particles that are of the order of hundreds of nanometers in diameter. This labeling technique significantly increases the detection sensitivity and can be implemented using a very inexpensive detection system. Prior work has shown that the use of gold particles can increase the speed of hybridization to allow complete analysis in minutes, whereas conventional micro-array protocols require many hours. The proposed system is advantageous for many micro-array applications, including screening of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), when high hybridization specificity is required, and performing express micro-array analysis during time-critical medical procedures such as surgery. The commercial applications of this project include drug screening, nucleic acid identification and sequencing, single base mutation screening, and gene expression analysis. The increasing applications of micro-arrays in medical research will create additional opportunities for introducing the proposed technology into routine clinical practice. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Golovlev, Val Sci-Tec, Inc. TN Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99675 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0318904 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Screen for Drug Discovery. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a novel screen for drug discovery using gel microdrop (GMD) encapsulation technology, phage display technology and fluorescence activated cell sorting. In the last decade, phage display has evolved into a powerful tool for identifying "leads" for drug discovery. High affinity binders with sub-nanomolar dissociation constant have the greatest potential therapeutic value, however, they are difficult to isolate by biopanning. Currently, biopanning is effective at screening ~10 8 libraries in which the phage of interest is present at ~10 4 copies. Screening of highly diverse libraries (>10 9 ) in which phage of interest are typically present at 10-100 copies is difficult using such a method. Improvements have been made to increase the sensitivity of biopanning, but these improvements are limited to certain phage. Using a ~10 8 human growth hormone random library as a model library, Phase I research will develop a novel approach for screening phage libraries. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of drug discovery. The proposed technology will provide a controlled means of producing peptide and protein libraries that can be used to manufacture and refine molecules for use as therapeutics, and diagnostic and imaging reagents for diseases. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Akselband, Yevgenya ONE CELL SYSTEMS, INC MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0318909 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nanocomposite Solar Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an innovative solar cell design that combines nanotechnology with conducting polymer photovoltaics to achieve low weight, flexible solar cells of almost any size and shape that far surpass current solar cell efficiencies. This project demonstrates the potential of this design for increased efficiency and low cost by prototyping single-layer solar cells with spectral responses tuned to the solar spectrum. The research develops approaches to explore the four main technical areas that are currently limiting nanocomposite photovoltaic cell performance: illumination intensity saturation, conduction efficiency, charge-separation efficiency and dispersal control of nanomaterials in a host matrix of high concentration. In Phase I, these technical areas are explored to determine the magnitude of potential performance improvements that can be achieved by optimizing these parameters in Phase II; and compare these projections to the maximum performance predicted by theory. In Phase II, the information gathered in Phase I will be used to produce a prototype of an optimized, lightweight, low-cost, flexible solar cell with efficiency greater than 10%; amenable to large-scale, low-temperature manufacturing. Commercial applications exist for high performance, low-cost solar cells that can provide an alternative power generation source. Specific examples of use include on-grid building integrated electricity generation systems; on-grid wholesale power generation; remote off-grid power generation; and portable power generation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Scher, Erik NANOSYS INC CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99653 5371 AMPP 9163 1467 1463 0106000 Materials Research 0522100 High Technology Materials 0318910 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Compact, High-Power, Terahertz (THz) Radiation Source. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a high-power Terahertz (THz) source concept and an overall THz system definition for fabrication and testing under a subsequent Phase II program. THz electromagnetic radiation, in the frequency range from 0.1 to 10 THz, is the next frontier in imaging science and technology. THz radiation promises to find broad application in areas that embrace medical imaging, counter terrorism and homeland security, and land mine detection. New initiatives and advanced technology developments in the THz band have, to date, been very limited because, while potentially rich, the source technology, at least for high-power applications such as imaging, has not been developed. A unique and extremely high power THz source that is orders of magnitude brighter in average power than previous source technologies, thereby enabling rapid, wide field-of-view (FOV) THz imaging for the first time will be developed. The resultant source coupled with a detector system can in principle be used for rapid, nondestructive, stand-off detection of hidden weapons, contraband materials such as plastic explosives, and chemical and biological agents. By developing and demonstrating a novel, compact, high-power THz source, this research seeks to capitalize on an emerging capability to utilize THz radiation for non-destructive evaluation. Potential applications include but are not limited to: walkthrough portals for personnel screening, through-wall imaging for emergency personnel, stand-off explosive and contraband detection, land mine detection for humanitarian relief, crowd and material screening. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bluem, Hans ADVANCED ENERGY SYSTEMS, INC. NY Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 96056 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 0318911 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Innovative Ultraviolet Sparker Technology for Water Remediation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a new UV sparker remediation process that is low cost, has no envelope to clean, and offers the potential to eliminate the need for chemical additives. Most UV commercial water remediation processes utilize mercury lamps, which have safety concerns associated with mercury and are significant cost components, due both to their cost and to the need for periodic cleaning of the lamp envelope. Also, chemical additives such as peroxide are a significant cost and have safety concerns. The proposed sparker UV remediation system employs pulsed high power electric discharge in water that produces UV light and OH radicals in the water, which combine to provide enhanced remediation of organic contaminants. The research objective is to demonstrate the commercial viability of UV sparker water remediation through the optimization of a sparker with high UV efficiency and remediation testing of key organic contaminants. The commercial application of this project will be in the treatment of municipal water streams and plant waste effluents to remove organic contaminants SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schaefer, Raymond PHOENIX SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, INC. MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99960 5371 BIOT 9104 0313040 Water Pollution 0318916 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Miniature NOx Sensor for Small Airborne Platforms. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is intended to develop a new type of NOx sensor for use on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and other small aerial platforms. Many of these vehicles are quite small, and therefore have very limited space and weight allowances for instrument payloads - in fact, most traditional instruments used for real-time measurement of trace gas species of interest are simply too large and consume too much power to be used on UAVs. This project is to develop a new instrument for the measurement of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) based on a novel technique that lends itself to miniaturization. The instrument will be very small and light to allow it to be used in very small UAVs as well as on sounding balloons. Phase I research will demonstrate operation of a proof-of-concept instrument. A variety of medical applications are foreseen, particularly in relation to asthma diagnosis and treatment. The instrument will also find extensive use in satellite calibration and validation. Ultimately, the NOx instrument will lead to two public benefits: improved air quality (and resulting health benefits), and improved treatment methods and diagnostic measures for asthma. An important direct medical application will be in the diagnosis and treatment of people suffering from asthma. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bognar, John Anasphere, Inc. MT Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99721 5371 EGCH 1636 1303 0202000 Atmospheric Science-ICAS 0318935 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Clamp-On Self-Powered Flowmeter. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate a low-rate fluid flow measurement technique for nuclear power plants that incorporates several novel features that permit its use as a clamp-on measurement device having minimal installation costs and complications. By utilizing waste heat on piping lines and wireless data links, the flow sensor system avoids the requirement for an extended wiring system that interconnects and powers the instrumentation within the containment vessel. The proposed flow sensor should significantly enhance nuclear power plant system safety by providing a robust, self-contained, zero-maintenance, zero-power instrument for monitoring in-plant piping systems. Accurate and reliable measurement of critical flow systems will ensure piping thermal stresses remain below design limits, for safe continued generation of electric power. The commercial impact of this technology would be a new class of non-intrusive, self-powered flow and temperature sensors, that could form the basis of the next-generation health monitoring systems for nuclear power plants. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG McKillip, Jr., Robert Continuum Dynamics, Inc. NJ Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99975 5371 EGCH 9197 9139 0104000 Information Systems 0318936 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: On-Line Cross-Belt Mineral Analysis Using Neutrons. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses increased quality control in the cement industry. Quality control is vital in conserving natural resources And energy. If, for example, cement is not mixed with desired specifications, the mixture must be wasted. When one considers the energy expended in the various kilns and mills, the wastage is not only of materiel but tremendous energy as well. Once the mixture has been incorrectly produced, it may not in most cases, be economically feasible to correct the defects. This project will develop an on-line cross-belt mineral analysis system to ensure quality control. The system will couple two new technologies: a new long-lived electronic neutron generator and a new method of data analysis. It is hoped that the resulting system will have increased sensitivity over current systems. The commercial benefit of this technology aims to improve the quality of products produced by the cement industry. With on-line analysis, incorrectly mixed products can be corrected before the milling and drying processes. Thus, resources and energy can be conserved. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Womble, Phillip Advanced Nuclear Technology, Inc KY Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 97429 9150 CVIS 1059 0106000 Materials Research 0318938 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Membrane Protein Microarrays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop chemical strategies for the fabrication of membrane protein microarrays. Membrane proteins are important to many aspects of biomedical research because a major percentage of drug targets are membrane bound. Thus, the ability to fabricate membrane protein arrays will greatly aid the drug discovery process. In principle, the success of a membrane protein array requires two critical ingredients: (1) the membrane must be immobilized on a solid surface with sufficient robustness to survive repeated contacts with liquid environment under physiological conditions ; and (2) protein molecules must be present in the membrane environment with sufficient membrane mobility to ensure their activity. The fine balance between these two factors requires the understanding and development of necessary surface chemistry. This Phase I project will demonstrate that such a balance could be achieved by controlling the electrostatic interaction between the supported membrane and the solid surface. The research is centered around this hypothesis and includes two specific aims: (1) to develop robust lipid membrane bilayers supported on a solid surface based on electrostatic interactions , and (2) to immobilize membrane proteins and demonstrate their functions in protein-ligand interactions using a model system: opioid receptors. The commercial application of this project is in the area of membrane protein microarray technology. The technology is expected to accelerate efforts aimed at drug discovery and development. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Guo, Athena MICROSURFACES INC MN Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0318946 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Ultra Low k Silicon Dioxide Film for Inter-Metal Dielectrics (IMDs) Application. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will fabricate low dielectric constant materials by using stepwise coupling polymerization process. Low dielectric constant materials play a key role in the future semiconductor manufacture of low-k dielectric materials as inter-metal dielectrics (IMDs). IMDs will increase chip speed by reducing RC time delays. Currently, organic polymers (e.g. polyamides) and silica have been investigated and the feasibility to be used as IMDs has been demonstrated. The approach will to make nano-porous silicon dioxide by preparing reactive ladder-like polysilsesquioxane (LPS) and introducing nanometer size pores before converting it into silicon dioxide with low thermal expansion, low density, high thermal stability and good mechanical property. The objective will be to make an ultra low dielectric material with a constant k, 1.8~2.0. The broader impacts of this work will be to the semiconductor industry's roadmap. There is a need to develop materials with dielectric constants lower than that of silicon dioxide for inter-metal applications: lower dielectric constants mean lower capacitance and therefore shorter RCA delays, faster device speeds, less cross-talk and less power dissipation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wei, Qiang (Ethan) CHEMAT TECHNOLOGY INC CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1775 0522100 High Technology Materials 0318954 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Photolithographic Patterning of Reactive Nano-scale Multilayer Materials for Hermetic Wafer Scale Packaging. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project involves a feasibility study of lithographically patterning reactive nanoscale multilayer foils for use in hermetic waferscale packages for MEMS and other electronic devices. A patterned reactive foil sandwiched between two wafers can be ignited and will self-propagate, providing the heat needed for wafer bonding. Because the reaction is very rapid, heat is localized to the vicinity of the foil. Therefore high temperature hermetic bonds confined to the lithographic pattern are obtainable, while temperature sensitive components inside of the sealed package remain unaffected. These foils can also be used to join dissimilar materials with dramatically different thermal expansion coefficients without creating large residual stresses. A typical MEMS device produced today, 80% of the manufacturing cost goes into packaging. Waferscale packaging will dramatically reduce this cost because it leverages knowledge, equipment, and cost models from the semiconductor industry. Features include hermeticity, miniaturization, massively parallel assembly, automated equipment with increased repeatability and yields, and substantial integration of electronic, optical, and mechanical features. Patterning of reactive foils as covered in this proposal will enable wafer bonding that can be generically used for low cost miniaturized packaging of sensing, optical, medical, RF and other MEMS devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Snyder, Tanya MicroHouse Technologies MN Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 9102 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0318958 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Scale Discovery in Data-Driven Ecological Modeling. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a relational Bayesian modeling framework for automated discovery of tamporal and spatial scale in ecological modeling. Scale resolution and cross-scale articulation are key problems in scientific model development, especially for complex ecosystem-scale and mixed human-natural systems modeling. Modeler's facilities for automatic generation of aggregators and for clustering based on hidden variables provide a natural and tractable basis for scale resolution and cross-scale articulation for ecological modeling. The objective of this Phase I project is to develop both fully automated and mixed-initiative scale discovery methods. A mixed-initiative approach, in which intelligent computing is used to assist humans to harness the vast amount of data at their disposal, will permit investigator-driven development and exploration of the multiple, simultaneous hypotheses necessary to describe complex ecosystem behaviors. The immediate commercial application of this project is in the area of ecological modeling. However, the core technology may find additional uses in biomedical research, epidemiology and commerce. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Jorgensen, Jane ESHOPPERTOOLS.COM INC OR Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99626 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0318964 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Drug Delivery Elution Kinetics of Antibiotics From Hollow Calcium Phosphate Microcarriers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to evaluate hollow CaP microspheres for the delivery of antibiotics in orthopedic and dental infections. The key objectives of the Phase I project include : (1) Development of optimal microsphere properties for the delivery of antibiotics to site-specific infections, (2) Evaluation of alternative methods for antibiotic loading within the CaP hollow microspheres, (3) Determination of antibiotic elution profiles, and (4) Development of cost models for producing these microcarriers. The commercial applications of this project will be in the orthopedic, dental, and allied soft tissue markets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Starling, L. Brian CaP Biotechnology, Inc. CO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9148 0203000 Health 0319014 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Low-Cost Harsh Environment Vibration Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will test feasibility of using inexpensive wireless chipsets as a means of directly measuring mechanical vibration. Microwaves are a reliable means of sensing in the harshest of industrial and laboratory environments. The radar signals can be transmitted to the object of interest from a remote location via waveguide or through microwave transparent materials. However, the current state of the technology uses high-end radar devices with extremely high component costs that prohibit its use in most applications. The proposed research will develop a prototype non-contact sensor based on the latest electronic components used for wireless applications. Through specialized assembly of chipsets developed for Bluetooth and IEEE 802.11 wireless applications, it may be possible to assemble ultra low-cost radars for measuring vibration. Vibration and position sensing are critical measurements in many industrial and laboratory processes. Applications for the sensor are many of those within the $800 million accelerometer market and include factory automation (especially in the chemical and biological industries), electric motor (of all sizes) monitoring for condition-based-maintenance, semiconductor/thin film manufacturing and quality control, and automotive applications, particularly engine monitoring and terrain sensing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Geisheimer, Jonathan RADATEC INC GA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99861 5371 AMPP 9163 9153 1463 0106000 Materials Research 0319026 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Ultra High Thermal Conductivity Substrate for High Power Optoelectronics. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a high thermal conductivity, low coefficient of thermal expansion, and low weight substrate material for optoelectronics packaging. The metal matrix composite (MMC) system uses a high thermal conductivity metallic alloy as the continuous metal matrix and ultra high thermal conductivity particulates as the discrete reinforcement phase. Heat sinks produced using this process are near net shape as fired, requiring minimum machining to meet specifications. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the material can be made to match that of the die that will be placed on top. A good match to silicon and to gallium arsenide is obtained by adjusting the composition for the composite. The composite has better properties than other existing MMC substrates systems in the market. It is lighter than Cu/W or Cu/Mo; has better thermal conductivity than Cu/W or Al/SiC; and exhibits a better thermal expansion match to the die than any of them. The uniqueness of this ultra high thermal conductivity metal matrix composite is that the carrier substrates can be better designed to match the thermal expansion characteristics of the chip or other heat-generating components attached to the carrier substrate while also providing improved heat transfer. Commercially, high thermal conductivity heat sink materials are in high demand in fiber optic components intended for underwater and long haul related applications including amplifiers, receivers, transmitters, tunable lasers, modulators; also for voice and high speed data transmissions and medical and research lasers. Other areas of application include RF power package components that are used in wireless telecommunication infrastructure for cellular phones, base stations, high definition television (HDTV), and satellite communications. The materials also have important applications in advanced automotive or ignition systems intended for aerospace applications, military radar, and guidance systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sepulveda, Juan INTERTEC ADVANCED MATERIALS, INC. AZ T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99985 5371 MANU 9147 0106000 Materials Research 0319053 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Miniaturized Lightweight Broadband True-time Delay Phased-array Antennas. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investiate a new miniaturized, highly efficient, and reconfigurable optical feed transmit/receive architecture for airborne and space-borne phased-array antennas. The system will provide multiple simultaneous beams for a large-scale phased-array antenna operating in broad frequency bands. The true-time delay module, employing Erbium-amplified polymer waveguide (EAPW), has great advantages in providing high efficiency, lightweight, and small size features when used in space-based radar applications. The most innovative feature is obtained by the utilization of EAPW that allows optical gain along the true-time delay lines. Optical switch technique provides large delay selections enabling the module to operate in ultra-broad radar bands. The scalable architecture due to the integration of wavelength division multiplexing devices further makes the approach power efficient and suitable for very large arrays. To demonstrate the feasibility of this project, the simulation and experimental demonstration of Erbium-amplified polymer waveguides and optical switches will be performed during Phase I. Success of these tasks will lay a solid foundation for the phase II and phase III continuation. The market for the high performance phased-array antenna transmit/receive architectures is a rapidly growing area for commercial applications, as well as for remote sensing. Design of a transmitter/receiver for commercial applications suffers very similar challenges as in military applications. Therefore, the solutions developed for remote sensing will be immediately applied to such communication systems as satellite-to-satellite communications and ground-based wireless communications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chen, Yihong Omega Optics, Inc. TX Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99969 5371 HPCC 9139 1596 1463 0206000 Telecommunications 0319086 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Continuously Operating Sensor for Detection of Nerve Agent Contamination in Aqueous Solutions. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to demonstrate the utility of a continuously operating sensor for detection of nerve agent contamination in aqueous solutions. Single-use surface-sensing technology will be adapted to an on-line, real-time sensor format for detection of trace amounts of nerve agent contamination. The unit will be small, self-contained, inexpensive, and compatible with other sensor constructs. The sensing mechanism will be based on using two enzyme reactions in dynamic equilibrium with each other. The equilibrium is disrupted when one of the enzymes (cholinesterase) is inhibited, resulting in a dramatic pH change. This pH change can be measured electronically or visualized by color indicators. The sensor is expected to outperform any conventional technology for nerve agent detection in its simplicity of use, interference resistance, broad-based compatibility with surfaces, liquids, and gases, and low cost. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of homeland defense. Early warning and continuous monitoring devices are of urgent need in the event of a chemical warfare attack. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Erbeldinger, Markus AGENTASE LLC PA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99990 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319092 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Sex Pheromone-Based System to Suppress Populations of Soybean Aphids. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to demonstrate the feasibility of using a sex-pheromone based mass trapping and mating disruption system for soybean aphids. The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, is a newly invasive aphid pest, and the only aphid pest on soybeans. This species causes major economic losses either as direct pests or as vectors of plant viruses. This Phase I project will identify and optimize the sex pheromone blend of Aphis glycines, and develop effective controlled release dispensers to be used for disrupting the mating of females, either by classical pheromone mating disruption or by mass trapping. Novel ways of inexpensively procuring large amounts of the pheromone components will also be initiated. The research builds on preliminary studies showing that the soybean aphids can be cultured in the laboratory under controlled conditions to produce sexually active adults. Preliminary experiments have also indicated the production in A. glycines of two compounds known to serve as pheromone components in other aphid species. These compounds evoke upwind flight by males in the wind tunnel, and are attractive to both males and gynoparous female soybean aphids in the field. The commercial application of this project is in the area of pest management for soybean crops. It is expected that the technology developed against the aphid species in soybean may also be applicable against other aphid pests in other economically important crops. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhu, Junwei MSTRS Technologies Inc. IA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99912 5371 BIOT 9109 0201000 Agriculture 0319105 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: ChromArray, Chrosome Analysis Wafer. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes a new technique for rapid Karyotyping based on a "ChromArray" device, which would allow the collection of a large number of chromosome spreads in a precise array. By collecting the inherent spectrum of chromosomes, the addition of dye is not necessary. Each physical coordinate within the karyotype would contain a third axis (spectra), adding further criteria for automated karyotpying of large number of chromosome spreads simultaneously. This project will investigate a technique of karyotyping that permits rapid identification of chromosomal alterations, thereby identifying chromosomal abnormalities of a large array of chromosome samples simultaneously. Therefore a large number of cells from the human body (of which there are 200 cell types) can be studied, to screen for genetic disorders. The commercial application of this project is in the area of human healthcare. The use of chromarray technology and near field optical microscopy would impact a variety of clinical disease assays when completely implemented. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG O'Connell, Daniel OCEANIT LABORATORIES INC HI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99920 5371 BIOT 9150 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319113 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Wireless, Embedded Sensors for Long-term Monitoring in Concrete Structures. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project focuses on the development of a new non-destructive testing and evaluation (NDT/E) sensor for in situ monitoring of temperature, stress, and corrosive chemical compounds from within the core of concrete blocks. The sensor, made of a magnetostrictive ferromagnetic ribbon embedded inside concrete structures, is remotely detected via the magnetic higher-order signature. Multiple sensors of different properties can be arrayed for simultaneously monitoring various parameters. The harmonic sensor is powered by the magnetic query field used to interrogate the sensor, thus eliminating the need of battery replacement or physical wire connections to the sensors. The sensor effectively has an unlimited lifetime, certainly comparable to that of the buildings and structures it could be used to monitor. Since each harmonic sensor costs less than a fraction of penny, the application of this sensor technology for highway and building-health monitoring can significantly reduce the maintenance cost of these structures and, perhaps more importantly, inform as to whether the building is still structurally stable after an earthquake, explosion, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ong, Keat SenTech Corporation PA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 97682 5371 CVIS 9139 1596 1059 0106000 Materials Research 0206000 Telecommunications 0319117 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Highly Nonlinear Total Internal Reflection (HINTIR) Fiber for All-Optical Wavelength Conversion. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to produce a highly nonlinear hgh-index-contrast total internal reflection fiber (HINTIR Fiber) for all-optical signal processing. The projected nonlinear response of this fiber is five orders of magnitude greater than that of a typical silica fiber. Because of this extraordinary enhancement of non-linearity, these HINTIR Fibers will be superior for most nonlinear applications at 1.55 micron. The main engineering challenge in manufacturing HINTIR Fibers is finding highly nonlinear materials with highly dissimilar optical properties (i.e. very different indices of refraction) and very similar thermo-mechanical properties, which are necessary for co-drawing these materials in a single fiber. HINTIR Fibers could be an enabling technology for a large class of all-optical devices, including wavelength conversion, all-optical logic, all-optical pulse reshaping and regeneration, etc. This project will focus on the application of these fibers for wavelength conversion. The optical networking equipment was a $12B market in 2002. Line cards account for roughly 50% of this market. They perform wavelength conversion by converting the signal from the optical to the electrical domain and back at a different wavelength (OEO conversion) and signal regeneration by processing the signal in the electrical domain. This requires expensive high-speed electronic and opto-electronic devices operating at the line rate of the network. If deployed in the context of an all-optical network, the proposed technology could dramatically reduce the need for OEO conversions, thus opening up a $6B market. While the adoption of all-optical networks has not happened yet, it is expected to take place in a few years by both the equipment vendors and the network operators, when current network capacity is used up. This transition will open up a large market SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fuflyigin, Vladimir OmniGuide Communications, Inc. MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0104000 Information Systems 0522100 High Technology Materials 0319148 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Hybrid Inorganic/Organic Ion Exchange Material for the 227Ac/223Ra Generator. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a generator to produce pure radium-223 for use in cancer therapy. The alpha-emitter Ra-223 has a longer half-life than the other alpha-emitting radioisotopes (213 Bi, 212Bi and 211At) currently evaluated for use in radioimmunotherapy (RIT) and has been shown to have higher bone uptake than the commercially available beta-active bone seekers. This makes it very attractive for further development for radiopharmaceutical applications and for use as a pain palliation agent. However, the research and clinical application of this isotope are hindered by the limited availability of pure Ra-223. A simple technique to produce the isotope is a generator where a suitable parent, in this case Ac-227, is immobilized on an ion exchanger column and Ra-223 is eluted when required. Current separation methods frequently use organic resins, which tend to degrade under ionizing radiation and thus the product may contain impurities. This Phase I project will develop new hybrid inorganic/organic ion exchange materials with a high affinity for actinium, but low affinity for radium and good resistance against radiation, allowing the construction of an efficient Ra-223 generator. The commercial application of this projectin the area of human healthcare. It is expected that the developed generator will be used at medical research centers, radiopharmacies and hospitals to produce pure 223Ra to treat patients with bone metastases and other small solid tumors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Moller, Teresia Lynntech, Inc TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0203000 Health 0319151 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Sensor Technology Enabling Large Array Based Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will advance innovative sensing technology to overcome the limitations of a broad range of undeclared airborne toxic industrial chemicals (TIMs) by incorporating a large number of arrays of sensing elements numbering in the 100's or 1000's into a package smaller than a conventional pager, including all data analysis, display, and batteries. In addition, this innovative technology can be applied to metal oxide semiconductors, polymer based sensors or any other sensing material. Large arrays allow much greater breadth as well as sensitivity of electronic nose devices, making them a viable option for low cost, accurate detector or analysis tool for personal air quality monitoring as well as for many industrial applications. The commercial applications for a low cost, small, rugged, simple and accurate sensor, capable of detecting a wide variety of chemicals, range from personal air quality monitoring to the food and beverage industry; from the medical field to military units; from permanent sensor installations (similar to smoke detectors) in hazardous areas to installation in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV's). The instrument can be used to analyze a patient's breath to diagnose diseases or on a battle field to detect chemical warfare agents and can be used in the rapid development and analysis of new sensing elements. Because the technology is very similar to current standard manufacturing techniques, the units can be produced in mass for small per unit price, and sold in a variety of markets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Andrews, Craig Lynntech, Inc TX Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 CVIS 1059 0106000 Materials Research 0319153 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Five-Dimensional Fluorescence Microscopy. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project proposes to develop an innovative approach to fluorescence microscopy that will provide high spatial resolution and improved contrast. As demonstrated from previous work, the proposed fluorescence microscope is unique because it provides simultaneous measurement of lifetime decay profiles at multiple wavelengths. The addition of simultaneous spectral and temporal resolution to the fluorescence microscope will enhance their utility and allow the design of more sophisticated fluorescence experiments for structural and functional imaging of cellular and sub-cellular systems. The commercial application of the product to be developed in this project will be as an instrumentation useful to researchers across many areas of biological and medical sciences. Additional medical applications such as endoscopic probes for the identification of tissue types and abnormal tissue based on differences in fluorescence spectral and lifetime properties are also envisioned. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Peterson, Kristen Southwest Sciences Inc NM Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9150 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319158 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Bottom Anti-Reflective Coatings - BARCs - for Production of Advanced Semiconductor Devices by 157 nm Lithography. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop bottom anti-reflective coatings (BARCs) for production of advanced semiconductor devices by 157 nm lithography . The NSF Phase I technical objectives are to demonstrate the feasibility of potential technical approaches to workable 157nm BARCs. The prototype 157 nm BARCs will be produced and characterized for critical industry requirements such as low reflectivity, fast plasma etching rate, and lithographic performance. At least one prototype will be selected and optimized for use with 157-nm photoresists so that the commercialization will be projected in the Phase II. The 157-nm BARCs developed from the NSF Phase I study will result in a significant step forward for 157-nm lithography technology and contribute to the future of advanced semiconductor devices (integrated circuits) fabrication. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG He, Liu Brewer Science Incorporated MO Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9147 1467 0106000 Materials Research 0319163 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Monolithic Ka to W Band Voltage Controlled Oscillators Using on Chip Varactor Integration. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop novel, highly integrated, high performance series of high frequency (Ka to W-band) GaAs Monolithic Voltage Controlled Oscillators (VCO) by efficient integration of hyperabrupt varactor diode with the Pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistor (PHEMT) oscillator. This Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) will integrate the two exclusive doping profiles needed for the hyperabrupt varactor diode and the PHEMT process. This level of integration will simplify and improve the overall system performance and meet the cost compatibility for reliable commercial production. To date, there is no product in the world market, which is a fully integrated high frequency VCO. Moreover, the MMIC VCOs available so far have very low tuning range (120 MHz) and mediocre phase noise, which does not meet the demands of present day communication systems (tuning range of >500 GHz). This technology will integrate a patented varactor diode with a millimeter wave VCO MMIC design to develop and deliver a family of single chip VCOs with over 1GHz bandwidth, low phase noise of -90dBc/Hz at 100 KHz with > 16dBm output power for frequencies from 20 to 94 GHz. A stable, wide tuning range, low phase noise, high power, light weight, low cost VCO MMIC is an essential component of any commercial and military wireless communication system. This project plan is to develop MMIC VCO at millimeter wave frequencies to enable low cost, small size commercial communication systems with high performance. The project will address the needs of high frequency commercial wireless communication systems world wide, ranging from Local Multi Point Distribution Systems (LMDS) at Ka-band to Automotive collusion avoidance communication systems at W-band. In addition, resulting product will contribute to Homeland security systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Childs, Timothy TLC Precision Wafer Technology MN Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99952 5371 HPCC 9139 1596 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0319169 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Coded High Density Optical Disk Data Storage. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project studies a new coding and implementation techniques for high-speed high-density optical disk data storage. It is well known that conventional optical disk storage is based on recording and readout binary data pits in an optical disk such as compact disk and DVD. The data storage density is thus limited by the size of these pits that can be recorded and readout optically due to diffraction limitation. This proposed research explores a new coding concept and uses an extended depth of focus diffractive optical element to facilitate recording and readout many bits of data in a single storage pit. The data storage density can thus be significantly increased. The novel approach can potentially reach 50 Gbits/in storage density using the same optical and motion scanning system as DVD and using a commercially available data recording material. Thus, the technology development can reach its near-term maturity. Phase I research will demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed novel disk storage concept. Compatibility with existing data storage technology will also be demonstrated. The research will develop a simple proof-of-concept high-density optical disk storage prototype based on a new coding concept. Implementation of such coding concept can significantly increase the disk storage density for commercial and military applications such as computer data storage, on-line storage, library archival applications, image storage and processing for medical applications, and military target identification and fast access to large intelligent database. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yang, Jianwen NEW SPAN OPTOTECHINOLOGY INC FL Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99997 5371 HPCC 9139 1631 0104000 Information Systems 0319170 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Non-Contact/Zero-Stress Surface Polishing Process for Copper/Low Dielectric Constant Semiconductors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel, non-contact/stress-free polishing method for planarization of copper (Cu)/low-k (dielectric constant) interconnects required for the fabrication of nanochip integrated circuits (IC). A currently used process step, chemical-mechanical-polishing (CMP), is adequate for copper/silicon dioxide interconnects. However, the reduced mechanical strength of the low-k dielectric materials required for nanochips (100nm and smaller interconnects) renders CMP incompatible with future IC interconnects. The proposed method utilizes pulsed electrolysis to effect complete electrochemical removal of copper overplate beginning from the center of the wafer and moving outward where electrical contact is provided. The Phase I research issues include: 1) complete removal of copper overplate, i.e. no copper islands remaining, and 2) no damage to the interconnect, i.e. filled and not eroded or dished. Real-time video feed observation and post process FIB-SEM analysis will be conducted to validate process feasibility. Analytical work will be conducted to establish a theoretical basis for the proposed electrochemical process. Commercially, the non-contact/stress-free polishing method will find application to Cu/low-k interconnects required for integrated circuits down to the 35nm mode. Additional applications of the process include micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and nano-electro-mechanical systems (NEMS). The industry addressed semiconductor is an important aspect of the US commercial economy. The result of the research will lead to a marketable manufacturing process/manufacturing tool in the form of an electrochemical module incorporating the non-contact/zero stress polishing process. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Taylor, E. Jennings FARADAY TECHNOLOGY, INC OH T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99991 5371 MANU 9147 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319173 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Application of Membrane Transporters to Increasing Bioaccumulation of Nutraceutical Compounds in Plants. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project will increase accumulation of nutritional compounds in plants through overexpression of membrane transporters. Plants are the source of a wide range of natural metabolites important to human nutrition including vitamins, antioxidants, and fatty acids. However these compounds are often produced at exceedingly low concentrations, making cost-efficient extraction extremely difficult. Specialized proteins called ABC (ATP-binding cassette) transporters mediate movement of these metabolites across membranes for accumulation in storage organelles, such as the plant vacuole. Prior research has shown that overexpression of membrane transporters in crop species can dramatically increase accumulation of specific metabolites. In this Phase I project, ABC protein transport function will be further characterized and applied to improving the efficiency and yield of plant-based nutraceutical production. The commercial application of this project is in the area of agricultural biotechnology. The use of ABC transporter technology is expected to lead to production of transgenic crop varieties with increased levels of specific carotenoids, unsaturated fatty acids and plant sterols. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ciardi, Joseph PlantGenix, Inc. PA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 98682 5371 BIOT 9109 0201000 Agriculture 0319181 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: MMW Polarimeter for Ice Detection. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes the development of a universal single-channel polarimetric receiver. A novel polarization measurement technique based on a spinning phase plate makes it possible to measure all four Stokes parameters of the incoming radiation with the use of one receiving channel only, while the conventional technique requires at least three channels for the same purpose. The major application of the proposed device is the in-flight detection of clouds that pose icing hazard. Measurement of the Stokes parameters of the radiation emitted by (radiometry) or reflected from (radar) these clouds proved to be useful for the determination of their potential danger. The device can operate as both a stand-alone radiometer and as the receiver of a radar system. The proposed polarimetric receiver is compact, capable of detecting icing conditions with excellent sensitivity and resolution, and manufacturable within existing infrastructure. There is an urgent need for such a low-cost and high-performance product for detecting potentially hazardous clouds along the flight paths, especially for helicopters, commercial commuter aircraft, and light, private, unpressurized aircraft. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Manasson, Vladimir WAVEBAND CORPORATION CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99980 5371 AMPP 9163 9148 1463 0106000 Materials Research 0319184 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Microscale Interferometric Sensor for High Speed MEMS Metrology. This SBIR Phase I project investigate the scientific and technical feasibility of an innovative micromachined optical interferometer as a quality control tool for MEMS production. One of the barriers to the growth of MEMS both as an enabling technology and as a new market is quality control. Quality control not only provides quality assurance but also it provides feedback to optimize the design, fabrication and assembly processes involved. The proposed microscale position sensing grating interferometer (uPSGI) with electrostatically actuated grating is itself microfabricated and integrated with optoelectronics. It measures the displacement of MEMS with high resolution (sub-nm) and bandwidth (> MHz). In this project, a uPSGI with movable grating will be fabricated and integrated into a microscope objective. The performance of the interferometric will be tested on dynamic MEMS devices and the feasibility of parallel array operation will be evaluated. The proposed technology converts the large-scale interferometric metrology system to a miniature sensor using a patented technology. It can be tailored for specific needs of MEMS manufacturers to reduce manufacturing costs, lead-time and waste of material and to increase product reliability. Potential customers include all the MEMS manufacturing companies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kurfess, Thomas MEMScan, Incorporated GA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 87282 5371 MANU 9146 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319202 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Mid-Infrared Diode Laser Sensor for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project addresses an immediate need for a real-time means of endpoint monitoring solvent drying processes in pharmaceutical manufacturing. The specific innovation is the combination of a novel, broadly tunable, mid-infrared diode laser source with ultra-sensitive absorption techniques, to provide a non-contact means for sensing trace organic solvent vapor concentrations in fluidized bed dryers and spray coaters. The probe laser source utilizes Difference Frequency Generation (DFG) to convert visible and near-infrared laser light to the mid-infrared. Its ability to continuously tune over 200 cm-1 enables the measurement of organic vapors having broad, infrared absorption bands near 3.5 microns. The Phase I objectives are to use the DFG source to measure organic solvent vapors, determine analyzer detection limits, and create a preliminary design for an industrial sensor. The Phase I program will verify the technical and commercial feasibility of the mid-infrared solvent monitor. The proposed solvent drying endpoint monitors will provide the pharmaceutical industry with real-time data enabling improved drug manufacturing process efficiency and quality. The sensors may eliminate the need for off-line residual solvent analysis that often halts processing and holds completed product for release. There are numerous applications for the technology, including environmental monitoring of organic pollutants, industrial HVAC controls, breath analysis, hospital air and gas quality control and sensors to screen for alcohol and other toxics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kessler, William Physical Sciences Incorporated (PSI) MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99996 5371 MANU 9153 9147 9139 1059 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319204 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Detection and Identification Instrument for Single Molecule Analysis. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a novel, low cost laboratory instrument for genetic analysis and single molecule studies. The technology is suitable for the detection and identification of DNA and RNA through fluorescent hybridization probes without the need for Polymerase Chain Reaction amplification, or for proteins and small molecules through fluorescence immunoassays. The general scheme is based on single molecule detection (SMD) and utilizes the two-color cross-correlation spectroscopy (TC-FCCS) technique with coincident detection analysis scheme to simultaneously probe ten focal regions of a microfluidic assay. High efficiency single photon detectivity Geiger mode microavalanche photodiode (uAPD) arrays will function as detection elements. The commercial applications of the instrument will be in research, medical applications, and for drug development. Applications range from the study of conformational dynamics and interactions of macromolecules to biochemical kinetics of single molecules. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Karger, Arieh Radiation Monitoring Devices Inc MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319205 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) Wavefront Correction Device for Ophthalmic Adaptive Optics. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to design and deliver a low cost, MEMS- based wavefront correction device for use in ophthalmic adaptive optics systems. The use of adaptive optics in ophthalmics shows great promise, but the lack of suitable cost-effective solutions has hindered the advance of research and the development of associated commercial markets. MEMX will leverage the most sophisticated surface micromachining technology available today to design and deliver, for the first time, a MEMS wavefront correction chip that addresses all of the requirements specified by the vision science community. In this project, a number of design concepts will be created and fully analyzed, after which a baseline design will be fabricated and tested against ophthalmic requirements. The main commercial application of this project is in the area of ophthalmic devices and instrumentation. Additional applications would include optical coherence tomography, confocal microscopy, portable military imaging systems, free space optical communication systems, and semiconductor lithography. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rodgers, Steven MEMX, Inc. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 97059 5371 BIOT 9181 9150 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319217 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: The Synthesis of Xyloglucan Conjugates for Textile Manufacturing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will develop methods to prepare xyloglucan conjugates for use as molecular anchors for the attachment of functional chemicals to cellulose and/or cellulose textiles. The functional chemicals that can be attached to cellulose by this method include dyes, fabric softeners, antimicrobial agents, and lubricants. The water-soluble xyloglucan conjugates will bind irreversibly to cellulose, providing an economical and efficient alternative to the currently available textile industrial technology. The objectives of this project are to develop and optimize chemo-enzymatic methods for the preparation of novel xyloglucan conjugates and the testing of the conjugates in various textile manufacturing processes. This Phase I project will result in the laboratory scale production of these xyloglucan conjugates and to the analysis of these molecules as industrial materials. The commercial application of this project is in the area of consumer products. The development of environmentally benign methods for the production of finished textiles and the reduction of need for re-application of textile finishes (e.g. fabric softeners) will provide significant economic and health advantages over existing technologies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Heiss, Christian MURO Corporation GA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319219 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Sensitivity Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging Bioarrays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project proposes to develop, fabricate and test a sensitive array chip sensor for monitoring biointeractions using the technique of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging. There are many methods to detect biomolecular interactions, but most require that one of the molecules be distinctly labeled using fluorescence or other approaches. Such labeling may inadvertently alter binding properties of the molecules. SPR based technologies have the distinct advantage of being label-free. However, despite continued improvement of SPR based instruments, the detection limit remains insufficient for applications that require the binding of small molecules. The vast majority of SPR instruments are also limited to a very small throughput of 4 channels or less. This project will address both of these limitations by employing a novel sensor array design based on the concept of long range surface plasmons. Numerous model binding experiments involving the attachment of small analytes to larger proteins immobilized on the sensor surface will be performed to assess the improved chip performance. The commercial applications of this project are very broad, ranging from detection of biological warfare agents and environmental monitoring to drug design and discovery. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wark, Alastair GWC Technologies, Inc. WI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99800 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319221 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Electronic DNA Biosensor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to focus on the development of a biosensor for the rapid and reliable field detection of pathogenic organisms. This biosensor will couple the sensitivity and specificity of DNA hybridization with direct electronic detection. The biosensor consists of a microchip with oligonucleotide probes attached to paired electrodes. Preliminary research has shown that DNA will specifically hybridize to the probes forming DNA bridges, which link the electrodes. The focus of this proposal is to assess palladium-catalyzed nickel chemistry as a method of making these DNA bridges conductive so that they can be detected electronically. This biosensor is fundamentally different from all other technologies currently available and will provide significant improvements in sensitivity, speed, portability, ease-of-use, and cost. The initial commercial applications of this project will be in the areas of public safety and bio-defense (i.e. for detection of biowarfare pathogens such as anthrax). Later versions of the device will be targeted towards applications in clinical diagnostics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chafin, David INTEGRATED NANO-TECHNOLOGIES LLC NY Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319236 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Co-Encapsulation of Efficacy Enhancers to Improve a Mycoherbicide. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to use innovative co-encapsulation processes to enhance infectivity and efficacy of the biocontrol agent, Colletotrichum capsici, for control of the noxious weed "pitted morning glory". The enhancing components to be examined in this project include germination stimulants, conidia protectants, moisture retainers and nutrient supplements that are encapsulated with conidia of C. capsici inside a sprayable and biodegradable microcapsule. This co-encapsulation technology will lead to commercial development of mycoherbicides and other biocontrol agents that are expected to be economical, practical and biocompatible. The commercial application of this project is in the area of weed control agents for use in agriculture. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cartwright, D Agricultural Research Initiatives Inc AR Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 96505 5371 BIOT 9109 0201000 Agriculture 0319247 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Bioinformatic Data Mining for AIDS Resistance Genes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop data mining software for identification of genes and genetic mechanisms that contribute to the resistance of primates to development of full blown AIDS. It is hoped that that the genes so identified and the corresponding gene products will lead to development of new therapies for HIV infected humans. The commercial application of this project is in the area of biological informatics for use in human healthcare. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Messier, Walter Evolutionary Genomics, LLC CO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99960 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319253 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Characterization of the Metabolic Competency of Centrifugal Bioreactors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to examine the biochemical and metabolic characteristics of a novel Centrifugal Bioreactor (CBR) used to culture suspension mammalian cells. The CBR achieves suspension of animal cells at densities greater than 10 8 cells/mL in a fluidized bed where nutrient liquid flow forces counteract centrifugal forces. The phase I overall goal is to provide a solid scientific understanding of the CBR culture process. The specific technical objectives include measuring the growth rate of a representative cell line in the CBR , establishing steady-state operation of the CBR in terms of nutrient consumption and metabolite production by the cells and manipulating the steady state by changing the dissolved oxygen concentration at the CBR inlet. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of animal cell culture bioreactors. The principal impact of the proposed technology will be to reduce the scale and capital costs of commercial animal cell culture equipment and to potentially improve the quality and consistency of secreted protein product. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Herman, Heath Kinetic Biosystems, Inc. NC Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99719 5371 BIOT 9181 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319265 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Large Aperture, Periodically Poled, Hydrothermal Potassium Titanyl Phosphate for Highly Efficient Frequency Conversion of High-Power Solid-State and Fiber Lasers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to investigate the feasibility of fabricating large-aperture, periodic ferroelectric domain gratings for quasi-phase matched laser frequency conversion. The key innovation in this effort is the use of low temperature hydrothermally grown potassium titanyl phosphate (LTH-KTP) as the nonlinear optical substrate material. Using LTH-KTP will enable a simplified poling process, resulting in increased fabrication yields, lower component costs as well as allow the fabrication of high-quality, large aperture (>2mm) periodically poled wafers. The ability to periodically pole thick wafers of hydrothermally grown KTP, combined with its high resistance to optical damage (>500MW/cm2) will enable highly efficient, wavelength conversion of high-power laser sources for use in Lidar-based remote sensing applications including the increasingly important Homeland Security area of standoff detection of chemical and biological agents. The anticipated results of the Phase I effort include a demonstration of periodic poling in LTH-KTP using the micro-electrode technology and a preliminary assessment of the effect different poling configurations have on the quality of the domain grating. In the Phase II effort, the poling technology will be refined and grating structures suitable commercial applications will be fabricated. The ability to periodically pole thick wafers of hydrothermally grown KTP, combined with its high resistance to optical damage will enable highly efficient, nonlinear optical frequency conversion of high-power ytterbium fiber and diode pumped solid state Nd: YAG lasers sources. Laser sources with increased pulse energies, wavelength flexibility, and excellent beam quality, will find use in both civilian and military applications. Specific applications include laser-based material processing (cutting, welding and marking), remote sensing for standoff detection of chemical and biological agents, environmental monitoring, forest management as well as Lidar-based missile identification, tracking, and targeting. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Roberts, Tony ADVR, INC MT Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99543 9150 HPCC 9150 9139 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319274 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Miniature Mass Spectrometer for Expired Breath Analysis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to explore novel medical diagnostic methods based on the detection of volatile compounds in expired breath. Non-invasive medical diagnostics are clearly preferable to invasive testing whenever possible. Breakthroughs in biotechnology and instrumentation hold the key to a major expansion in non-invasive methods. Detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in breath is a non-invasive testing method that has the potential to allow diagnosis of a broad range of human and animal health-related issues quickly and inexpensively. Current state-of-the-art techniques for detecting VOCs in breath are slow, expensive, laboratory-based, and require extensive operator expertise to collect and analyze the data. The goal of this project is to demonstrate the feasibility of employing previously developed proprietary technology to develop a portable, easy-to- operate, miniature mass spectrometer (MMS) that will provide a real-time, automated, highly sensitive, low cost, and reliable method for detecting a broad range of breath VOCs in point-of-care or field settings. The commercial applications of this project cover a broad range of markets. The proposed instrument could be used in biochemical and medical research labs, in clinical labs and hospitals, in workplaces, at contaminated environmental sites, and at military installations and battlefields. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wells, James Griffin Analytical Technologies, Inc. IN Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99588 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 0319279 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Rapid Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I proposes to develop a new method for antibiotic susceptibility testing having unparalleled speed and simplicity. The technical approach is based on a novel implementation of impedance sensing to monitor cellular growth with unprecedented sensitivity and stability. This enables results to be obtained directly from bacterial suspensions in less than one hour with a simple, inexpensive, and easy to use device ideally suited for mass production. This method avoids the need for growing cultures reducing the time from sample collection to complete diagnosis by weeks compared to currently used methods. In this Phase I project, the feasibility of the proposed diagnostic tool with antimicrobial drug resistant strains of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis will be demonstrated. The commercial application of the proposed product will be as an in-office medical diagnostic. A low-cost and easy-to-use rapid and specific monitor of biological samples has broad application throughout the microbiological testing industry. Specific large markets include rapid techniques for urinary tract infections, testing of mycobacteria, and testing of biological threat agents. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rieder, Ronald BioSense Technologies Inc. MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319282 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Advanced Sodium Beacon Laser. This Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR)Phase I project will design an all-fiber optic 589nm guidestar laser. The use of guidestar lasers in conjunction with adaptive optics can provide for near diffraction-limited performance of large aperture telescopes. A compact and efficient fiber laser based device that emits a nearly diffraction limited, 10W beam at 589nm for sodium guide star applications will be demonstrated. This laser can be mounted directly behind the secondary of any major telescope eliminating issues with complex coupling optics and attendant stability requirements. Telescope resolution is limited by atmospheric distortion to that of a 23 cm telescope 1. Using adaptive optics schemes, atmospheric distortions can be removed allowing for up to a 4 m diffraction limited telescope. The key component to this system is the guide star laser. The next generation 589 nm Sodium laser proposed in Phase I would have significant applications to the astronomy community. Currently, argon-ion pumped dye lasers or sum frequency generation lasers are used. The 589 nm laser presented in this proposal is a cost-effective, turnkey solution that has a long lifetime. There are approximately 10 observatories throughout the world that could benefit from the proposed device. For optimal compensation five 10 W laser systems are required. A secondary market is for the laser trapping and cooling of sodium for atomic clocks. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Brasseur, Jason Russell Teehan Directed Energy Solutions CO Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99964 1505 EGCH 9197 9153 0106000 Materials Research 0319283 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Fabrication of Organic Photovoltaic Solar Panel Using Ink Jet Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop low cost / high volume manufacturing methods for plastic organic solar cells. Ink jet printing will be utilized because it is an additive technology with low pollution, that is non-contact and digitally controlled (flexible). Recent promising developments in the field of organic photovoltaic cells cannot be taken directly to production because there is no manufacturing technology suitable for making them in volume at lowest cost. This project will use the unique microscale printing ability of ink jet technology to precisely deposit the active materials by printing on plastic substrates to form photovoltaic solar cells arrays. The current organic bulk heterojunction material systems are most suited to ink jet printing and show improved performance over their predecessors. This project will use single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT), and poly (3-octylthiophene) (P3OT). These materials represent some of the newest work in the field. The commercial potential of this technology will be low cost, plastic film-based solar cells. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wallace, David MicroFab Technologies Inc TX T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9147 0106000 Materials Research 0319284 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Photonic Crystal Coherent Thermal Emission for Sensors. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project proposes to model, fabricate and test 2-D photon crystals for far-field coherent emission. Very recently published research showed that thermal emissions from 1-D photon crystals (PC) had near-field coherent components. Interference between photons and surface structure effective turned the PC into an infrared antenna emitting radiation in narrow bands. Ion Optics will fabricate thermally heated PC emitters based upon patterned silicon (dielectric-air PC) covered with very thin patterned metal films. Computer models will first study potential structures. Optimal structures will then be fabricated and tested. Emission will be measured as a function of angle and wavelength, and we will look at diffraction effects to test coherence. The project will lead to production of inexpensive, highly efficient, narrow line-width, low dispersion infrared MOEMS sources well suited to spectroscopic applications. Phase I results will be used to model spectroscopic vapor detection to determine potential for improved sensitivity. Significant advances over available MEMS components would show feasibility for Phase II. Such light sources would enable detection of vapor species at very low concentrations (parts per billion or parts per trillion) for applications to atmospheric research, environmental research, detection of chemical warfare agents, explosives, etc. Potential sales could exceed $20 million per year. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Greenwald, Anton ION OPTICS INC MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99670 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0319295 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Low Cost, Needleless Drug Injection System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of producing a novel, needleless drug injection system for widespread vaccination applications. The key element in the technology will be a novel high pressure pumping device. This device will enable high pressure flows to be precisely and easily controlled by the user in order to control injection drug amount. This is a capability currently lacking in existing low cost needleless injector technology. The Phase I project will show that the high pressure pumping device actually works. The follow on Phase II effort will focus on building a prototype system that will integrate the pump with the control electronics and injection nozzle for subsequent testing. The commercial application of this project is in the area of drug delivery. The proposed needleless injection device is expected to be reused thousands of times with a single low voltage battery source and will be invaluable for widespread vaccination use in the field for domestic as well as foreign markets. The unique ability to precisely meter injection volume will enable the device to be easily adjusted in the field to deliver a dosage appropriate for the associated weight, age, or physical condition of the patient. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Scherer, James NOVAWAVE TECHNOLOGIES CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0319301 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Enhanced Biomolecular Analysis Using Advanced Direct Detection Methods. This Small Business Innovation Research project will investigate enhanced measurements that can be made using a system that simultaneously reports mass capture during a biomolecular interaction along with changes in the structure of the capturing molecule. Current direct detection instruments are based on optical techniques that respond to changes in refractive index. To date, this response has been attributed strictly to mass capture as molecules are bound to the sensor surface. Using an optical fiber based grating technique, this project will show that conformational changes in derivatized proteins can create a transduction signal upon binding. Separating out these two effects will provide a more accurate picture of the molecular interaction, a better understanding of immobilization chemistries and the effect on protein response, and the potential for instruments with increased measurement sensitivity. The main commercial application of this project will be in the area of drug discovery research. Companies involved in drug discovery require an instrument able to detect and characterize protein interactions. Current direct detection biosensor instruments are limited to measuring bound mass. The proposed development effort will enable the characterization of conformational changes simultaneously with the measurement of bound mass and will be implemented in a high-throughput format. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pennington, Charles Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99980 5371 BIOT 9181 9139 0203000 Health 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319303 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: An Unique, Low-Cost, Real-Time Mold Detector. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I research proposal will demonstrate a novel, inexpensive, nano-crystalline based metal oxide semiconductor sensor array that will provide a new technology platform for the real-time early detection of the presence of molds found in commercial office buildings, schools, hospitals and homes, before their presence can cause problems. The aim is to develop a new low-cost detector for mold that operates in real-time with exceptionally high sensitivity and selectivity to discriminate the marker Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds (MVOCs) specific to harmful strains of mold. This novel approach uses a highly active nano-crystalline metal oxide semiconductor material to achieve the necessary sensitivity and to establish high selectivity to MVOCs through the use of temperature of operation, introduction of catalysts and dopants into the semiconductor oxide film, and by control of the material's morphology. MVOCs are associated with mold growth in problem building environments. The proposed research will lead to the development of an inexpensive sensor array that is capable of real-time detection of the presence of mold. This unique detector would be a new and innovative product for the Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) industry and for building control manufacturers. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Smilanich, Nicholas Chung-Chiun Liu SENSOR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OH Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99998 1505 EGCH 9197 1179 0316000 Trace Contaminants 0319320 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: n-Type Conducting Polymers for All-Plastic Electronic Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a new class of n-type conducting polymers and evaluate their electronic and optical properties when they are doped with various reducing agents and used under different environmental conditions. These n-doped conducting polymers will be used as a cathode material to fabricate a prototype of an allplastic organic light emitting diode (OLED). The cathodes of today's OLEDs are made of reactive metals such as calcium or magnesium. These low work function metals are, so far, unmatched in their ability to inject electrons into the device. Unfortunately, these metals quickly degrade upon exposure to oxygen or moisture. Cathode oxidation and delamination are largely responsible for the growth of non-emissive spots on the emitting device area, even when the devices are sealed against the elements. Reactive metal cathodes have been long recognized as one of the major barriers to the commercialization of OLEDs. Thus, replacing reactive metal cathodes with more stable materials is critical to the commercialization of these devices. The objective of this research is to develop new polymeric materials with suitably low work functions and good electrical conductivity that can replace the reactive metals in cathodes for OLEDs. n-Type conducting polymers have many interesting potential applications; their use has been evaluated for the development of all-plastic energy-storage devices, as anode materials for nonaqueous batteries, for the fabrication of all-plastic n-p junctions and field-effect transistors, and as a cathode-replacement for OLEDs. Other applications may include photochromic devices, photovoltaic cells, electrochemical sensors, and catalytic reducing agents. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Luebben, Silvia TDA Research, Inc CO T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1517 0106000 Materials Research 0522100 High Technology Materials 0319323 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Non-Disruptive Radiometric Calibration of Array Sensors. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to establish the feasibility of merging a novel radiometrically-accurate nonuniformity correction (NUC) algorithm with the wireless infrared-sensor technology. As the low cost of uncooled amorphous-Si technology is accompanied with substantiated fixed-pattern noise (FPN), the proposed NUC capability is an enabling technology sought to elevate the performance of the affordable uncooled sensors to a level competitive with that of the costly cooled sensors. In addition to its impressive computational efficiency, the proposed NUC algorithm has the unique feature that it maintains radiometric accuracy without compromising the continuous operation capability of the sensor. In this project, a comprehensive study will be launched to optimize the proposed NUC algorithm for both on-sensor and near-sensor modes of operation in microbolometer sensors described above. Prototype digital and hardware will be developed to implement the algorithm. With the ability to remove the calibration dead time and the FPN, the system reliability will be increased dramatically. The diversification of the market for the detectors is currently limited because of the FPN in the detector. If, by some means, the FPN can be eliminated, the uncooled cost-effective microbolometer detector can be applied to markets where cooled high performance detectors dominate, such as predictive and preventative maintenance and surveillance applications. In addition, the existence of a cost-effective uncooled detector can be integrated into smaller packages such as flashlights and can be provided to mobile security forces, government special agents and law enforcement officials. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Agi, Kamil K&A Wireless, LLC NM Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99980 9150 HPCC 9150 9139 1631 1517 0104000 Information Systems 0319325 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nanoceramic Coated Artificial Knees for Improved Wear Resistance. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to investigate a new coating for artificial knee replacements, using nano-ceramic materials. The proposed nanoceramic artificial joints, with the wear surfaces containing ceramic coating against ceramic coating, are expected to be superior in wear resistance to a CoCrMo alloy against ultra high molecular weight polyethylene ("UHMWPE") pair. Also, the metallic substrate will provide considerably higher strength and toughness compared to UHMWPE - ceramic combination, thereby avoiding brittle fractures. This project will select a suitable nanocoating composition using a plasma spraying technique for follow on in-vitro evaluation and physical property characterization. The commercial application of this project is in the area of prosthetic devices. This project will allow for the development of artificial prostheses for the knee, hip, elbow, shoulder and other joints, as well as for treatment of osteoporosis and sports related joint damage. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhang, Zongtao INFRAMAT CORP CT Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319327 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Novel OptoCeramic Materials for High Efficiency Ceramic Lasers. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop next-generation ceramic materials for high-energy laser applications. The significance of this innovation include (1) high concentration doping capability; (2) a comprehensive doping material and concentration screening which can be easily and timely accomplished; (3) an innovative material system capable of multifunction performance; (4) a unique ceramic material which is very low-cost. Success in the ceramic laser material development will lead to an exciting new family of luminescent ceramics capable of delivering high efficiency lasers at many different wavelengths. In the project the tasks will involve predetermining the dopant materials, sintering the PLZT powders including optimization, combinatorial screening of the materials coupled with characterization to identify the optimum composition. Commercially, the technology developed in this program will greatly benefit many technology sectors. High efficiency laser materials developed from this project would lead to high power and low cost solid-state laser systems that would have tremendous strategic and commercial values to military and civilian applications. These include remote sensing, target recognition and detection, missile guidance illumination, measurements from air- and space-borne platforms, multiple wavelengths next-generation measurement systems, and industrial laser machining. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Li, Kewen Boston Applied Technologies, Incorporated MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99986 1505 MANU 9147 0106000 Materials Research 0110000 Technology Transfer 0319328 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Average Power Solid State Laser. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a laser that can be used in a variety of applications requiring high average power such as to drive a nonlinear crystal for efficient frequency conversion to generate radiation at the desired wavelengths. A novel cooling approach will be used to remove heat from the laser crystal. Preliminary heat transfer analysis show that a rod cooled with the new technique can be pumped at a rate that is a factor of ten higher than the rate used to pump a rod using conventional cooling techniques. A demonstration device will be assembled in Phase I so that the volumetric efficiency and system performance can be measured. The same cooling technique can be used in cooling the crystals used in non-linear frequency conversion. It is anticipated that a compact, efficient, high power, inexpensive IR laser can be developed using this cooling approach. Commercial applications of moderate to high average power lasers can be found in the remote measurement of atmospheric aerosols, clouds, molecular species, meteorological parameters, surface topography, vegetation and subsurface ocean layers. They can also be used in long-range wind shear measurements, laser ranging, and atmospheric back scatter. A variety of laser wavelengths are necessary for these measurements to be successfully performed. Variable wavelengths can be used in monitors and video displays. The manufacturing of high average power lasers will have a broad impact on commerce and society if these lasers can be used to make color computer displays. This application could generate new jobs in the manufacturing segment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tekula, Milan Maine Research and Technology Co. Inc MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 1518 0206000 Telecommunications 0319333 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Nanosized Magnets for Highly Sensitive Multiplexing Bio-Molecular Detection. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is aimed at significantly increasing the signal level or the sensitivity (i.e. by 100~1,000 times) of existing magnetic resonance methods in biomolecule detection and medical imaging, by developing and applying novel contrasting agents or sensor materials based on unique ferromagnetic nanoparticles. Compared to the conventional paramagnetic sensors or contrasting agents used in current magnetic resonance detection methods, the proposed magnetic nanoparticle sensor has a coherent magnetic moment about 1,000 times larger. The nanoparticle sensor is comparable in size to most proteins to minimize the steric hindrance for the binding between cell surface membrane and ligand-attached particles in tagging processes. The unique nanoparticles can be readily prepared in multiplexing forms with distinctively different magnetic resonance signatures for complex bio-molecule tagging and diagnosis applications. Their surfaces can be chemically modified for in-vivo detection of various bio-molecular targets in a cell with high biological specificity. The main commercial application of the this project will be in human healthcare. Products developed from this project will find use as advanced contrasting agents in hospitals for medical diagnosis with MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and EPRI (Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Imaging). In addition, these products will also find applications in medical research institutes and academic labs for various advanced molecular detection and imaging experiments using NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) and EPR (Electron Paramagnetic Resonance). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sun, Ted LS TECHNOLOGIES CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9107 0203000 Health 0319342 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: An Electrowetting Microfluidic Device for Bioassays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of an innovative approach to fabricating microfluidic devices for bioassays within a Micro Total Analytical System (`TAS) format. The device will be based on electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) technology, and will offer potential lower fabrication costs for numerous applications. The EWOD approach for microfluidics is to transport droplets, as opposed to continuous liquids, along an electronically programmable path on a large array of driving micropads, rather than through fixed microchannels. The EWOD mechanism is inherently effective for droplets, and appears well suited for open two dimensional microfluidic array applications, and use with physiological fluids. An EWOD microfluidic device will be capable of manipulating droplets of physiological fluids. Feasibility will be demonstrated by implementing a heterogeneous chemiluminescent immunoassay for ferritin in blood serum on an EWOD device. The main commercial application of this project will be in the area of medical diagnostics. Additional applications would include bioassays for homeland security and environmental monitoring and for sampling systems to support DNA and protein microarray assays. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bastiaans, Glenn INTELLIGENT OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99996 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319346 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Performance Electro-Optic Switches. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a high performance optical switch. The optical communication is a fastest growing technology in modern communication industry meeting the ever-increase in market demand for bandwidth. Fiberoptic communication is inherently immune to detection/interception and jam, which is particularly important to missile defense missions, such as laser radar and other military communication. Optical switches are the most critical component in optical communication but yet the weakest part to date. Optical switch technology needs a breakthrough with technology that proposes an innovative solution to overcome the current bottleneck and achieve the state-of-the-art optical switch at the lowest cost. Based on the recent breakthrough of electro-optic material an extremely simple but innovative device architecture, the proposed optical switch will outperform any existing solutions and have a great impact to fiber-optic applications as well as commercial communication and optical computing. The low cost and high performance optical switch will have wide application in defense systems such as laser radar, fiber-optic sensor system, and local area networks. It will also have great application in commercial communication market where optical switches play a critical role. The market potential for such device is huge and is projected to reach $3 billion by year 2006. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Jiang, Hua Boston Applied Technologies, Incorporated MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99979 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0319349 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Gallium Antimonide (GaSb) for High Speed Infrared Photodetectors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to create a new, high performance photodetector operating in the near/mid-infrared spectrum. Gallium antimonide (GaSb) will be used to create avalanche photodiodes (APDs) sensitive to wavelengths < 1.7 micron. The GaSb material is a semiconductor with a direct energy bandgap and higher mobility than Silicon. Thus, GaSb has greater photonic absorption and can operate at a higher speed than Silicon. Previously issues regarding high levels of parasitic p-type doping have prevented GaSb from being applied to APD structures. This Phase I program aims to create GaSb layers that no longer have a high native doping level, making APD fabrication possible. The growth techniques demonstrated in this project will be applicable to other similar material systems, allowing practical development of novel devices. Scientific understanding of the electrical characteristics of actualized III-V compound semiconductors will also be improved. Upon successful completion of the program as a whole, photodetectors operating in the near/mid-IR spectrum (< 2 microns) will be developed that have higher speeds and greater sensitivity than current Silicon APD solutions. High-speed photodetectors will be readily applicable to atmospheric measurement systems, medical diagnostics, astronomical imaging and optical communications. Moreover, modifications to the GaSb material, such as the addition of Indium and Arsenic, can extend the operating spectrum out to longer wavelengths. Based on the knowledge gained in this program, APDs using InGaAsSb could be created which are sensitive photons out to 12 microns. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Moy, Aaron SVT ASSOCIATES, INCORPORATED MN Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 98857 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0319384 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Aerosolized Biological Agents Detection. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a fast, reliable and sensitive technology that can identify the nature and the content of the particles in aerosol samples, and provide an early warning of the presence of bio-warfare agents. Current biological agent detection systems rely on point detectors that cannot sample actual aerosol condition in real-time. Additionally, standoff detectors are large, expensive and not suitable for use in urban terrain. With a unique combination of bio-identification and ultra-sensitivity particle counting, the proposed project will develop an extremely sensitive, yet reliable detection and monitoring system that can satisfy most current and potential needs for bio-agents detection. This Phase I project has two specific aims: (1) to determine the optimal conditions for the detection of bacterial spores (eg. Bacillus subtilis) with highest sensitivity using antibodies; and (2) to demonstrate that the retained bacterial spores can be detected by a particle counter operated in solution at a sensitivity sufficient to detect few hundred particles. A testing device will be designed and produced based on these results at the end of the project. The commercial application of this project is in the area of homeland security. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sheng, Sitong Allomics, Inc. VA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99998 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319386 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Liquid-Crystal Waveguides for Optical Integrated Circuits. This small business innovative research Phase I project proposes a new method for electro-optic control of light on planar waveguides. Currently, electro-optic control of light on silica-on-silicon planar optical waveguides is by the thermo-optic effect, which is slow, consumes high power and exhibits a small effect. The new method provides unprecedented levels of optical phase delay, requires low power and moderate voltages, and exhibits response times under 10 microseconds. The method can be used to steer beams, tune waveguide gratings and control coupling between channels, thus enabling a new class of integrated electro-optic devices on silicon substrates. The Phase I project will demonstrate a large electro-optic modulation index and demonstrate a waveguide beamsteer with 10 degrees of steering capability within the waveguide. It will also explore methods of manufacturing integrated optical circuits using this technology. Phase II will design and build an integrated optic such as a waveguide Fourier transform spectrometer, barcode scanner, or CD/DVD pickup with dynamic tracking and focusing. Commercial applications of this technology include waveguide spectrometers for chemical sensing, identification of solvents and plastics, and mobile emissions monitoring. Other commercial applications include barcode scanners, CD/DVD optical pickups, free-space optical communications, beamsteering for angle-multiplex holographic data storage, and optical interconnects for computer backplanes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Anderson, Mike VESCENT PHOTONICS INCORPORATED CO Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9197 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319398 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Terahertz Detector. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop ultra-high speed detector for terahertz applications. The ever-increasing volume of the information to be Transmitted and processed demands fast communication systems that will have to fulfill a throughput of 1 Tb/s or even 10 Tb/s. This requires more than 100 times improvement of performance over today's fiber optic communication systems, and calls for the development of terahertz or femtosecond technologies. The success of this program will lead to drastic improvement of device performance in response speed, gain, responsivity and detectivity. Phase I of this program is to demonstrate the proof-of-concept. The recent surveys suggest that the communication systems will have to fulfill, a throughput of at least 1 Tb/s or even 10 Tb/s by 2010. This puts a demand for more than 100 times improvement of performance in today's fiber-optic communication systems, and calls for the development of terahertz or femtosecond technologies. The potential applications include, detector of ultra-fast laser pulse, generator and detector of ultra-fast electrical transients, broadband detectors, samplers, demultiplexers, and mixer in multi-gigahertz range, high speed optical switches, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yang, Liu Applied Quantum Systems, Inc CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0319402 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Ultra-fast Broadband Imaging Spectroscopy for Geosciences Applications. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to fabricate ultra-fast imaging spectroscope for applications in geosciences. One of the key components in a hyperspectral imaging system is the tunable filter. Existing mechanical tunable filter are usually heavy, bulky, slow and unreliable, while those liquid crystal based are slow and limited in terms of useful spectral range. The company proposes to develop an ultra-fast broadband tunable filter based on the recently invented electro-optic ceramics. These electro-optic effect based tunable filters are intrinsically fast (micro-second response), with superior transparency for wide spectral range (from visible to mid-IR) and ceramics rugged for airborne application. The proposed unique multiple-tuning design greatly enlarges the free spectrum range and reduces the driving voltage. Imaging spectroscopic instruments can find applications in earth resources monitoring, precision agriculture, mineral exploration, medical imaging, military targeting, manufacturing and much more. The proposed fast broadband spectral imager has particular applications for air- or space-borne earth remote sensing. The success of this project will have great impacts not only to many current NSF sponsored R&D and commercial programs such as biological imaging and microscopic research programs, but also to defense applications such as target detection and recognition, as well as remote sensing that will directly relate to the country's security and economy. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chen, Qiushui Boston Applied Technologies, Incorporated MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99968 5371 HPCC 9216 1518 0116000 Human Subjects 0206000 Telecommunications 0319404 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Infrasonic Avalanche Identification. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop avalanche-warning systems to improve the safety of those who travel and live in mountainous areas. Avalanches produce low frequency infrasound (1-5 Hz), which can propagate miles from their origin, and thus provide a means for remote, automated detection and warning systems. Single sensor monitoring systems are capable of detecting avalanche infrasound, but associated detection algorithms suffer from false alarms under high noise conditions. Sensor array based systems provide spatial signal information, which can be used both for noise suppression, and source location, potentially greatly improving detection capabilities. However, the use and limitations of array-based signal processing techniques and associated theoretical assumptions, as applied to the large scales and field demands of avalanche infrasound, needs to be investigated and understood. A monitoring system will be operated during planned avalanche control activities to gain experimental data to determine the feasibility of sensor arrays for avalanche detection. Commercial applications of this technology exist for monitoring, warning, and controlling routes of travel and commerce, for backcountry travelers, recreation areas, search and rescue operations, and for monitoring and warning of avalanches where people reside. It is estimated that there is a large international market for this technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Scott, Ernest INTER-MOUNTAIN LABORATORIES, INC WY Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 CVIS 9150 1059 0106000 Materials Research 0319407 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Fast, Inexpensive Microrarray Printing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a new approach to building a microarray (biochip) printing system. The result is expected to be a proven design capable of spotting sub-picoliter droplets of biofluids onto substrates at a tenfold to hundredfold speed improvement over existing systems. A second design will be a very low cost (under $4,000) and reliable printer suitable for the tens of thousands of biotechnology labs worldwide. The research objectives are to use modeling and systematic testing to optimize an electrohydrodynamic droplet ejection mechanism based on Taylor instability and adapt it for microarray printing. Although the droplet emission phenomenon has been observed in a few research papers, it has not been adequately characterized and adapted to the requirements of a high capacity microarray printing system used in a production environment. The Phase I research would involve a study of the droplet ejection mechanism, including voltage patterns, nozzle shape, grounding grids, dielectric constants of materials, and substrate separation from nozzle. These results will be incorporated into proprietary designs for the microarray printers. The commercial application of this project is in the area of microarrays. Clinical genomic applications (disease diagnosis, drug sensitivity testing, and forensics) will require production of standard and custom microarrays (biochips) by the millions. Although ongoing genetic and proteomic research is making these applications possible, an important missing link is a technology for a large improvement in the speed, cost, and reliability of the mass production of microarrays. This project expects to address this market niche. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Forker, John Femtodrop Corporation CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99240 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319414 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Hybrid Photonic-Encoders/Electronic-Decoders for Optical Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the design and performance analysis of a novel photonic/electronic hybrid concept for optical code division multiple access (CDMA). The small business has developed families of matrices and hardware designs whereby these can be implemented as wavelength/time (W/T) matrix codes for high performance optical CDMA networks. Optical CDMA is usually based on photonic encoding and decoding. There are three functions which may be better executed by an integrated electronic decoder/receiver that complements a photonic encoder: (1) electronic rather than photonic correlation to optimize the signal-to-noise-ratio; (2) programmable compensation for fiber impairments; and (3) signal processing for multi-user interference suppression. This project will design a system concept based on photonic encoding and electronic decoding; carry out design analyses and network simulations; and generate design specifications and R&D recommendations for Phase II. A technology applicable to local-area-network (LANs), and metro-area-networks (MANs) and access networks has been developed. Optical CDMA has traditionally been developed for local area networks to support multiple concurrent, asynchronous, bursty users; since the late 1990s it has been considered as a viable contender for the emerging applications of metropolitan and access networks. The proposer has developed a technology applicable to either application. This permits supporting a large number of subscribers with relatively simple transmitters and receivers. The proposer is targeting metropolitan, access, and extended private networks. Another potential application is steganography for Homeland Security. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mendez, Antonio MENDEZ R&D ASSOCIATES CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99989 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0319425 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Sensitive Integrated Multi-Speckle Laser Interferometer for Industrial Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project describes an innovative approach for development of a high sensitivity laser ultrasonic receiver for applications in industrial environments. Combining the high sensitivity of classic reference beam interferometer with the ability to efficiently overcome the limitation caused by the speckle light generated from the reflection from rough surface will make this interferometer well suited for demanding industrial applications where a low cost, sensitive and rugged receiver is needed. Because the proposed interferometer takes advantage of the high integration level of current state-of-the-art in electronic packaging, the system can be made very compact. The robustness, high sensitivity and lower cost of this ultrasonic receiver will enable laser based ultrasonic inspection to become a cost effective solution. The commercial market for this measurement system is the very broad NDT market. More specifically, this laser ultrasonic receiver is targeting process control and in-service inspection applications where there is a very high need for reliable and low cost inspection systems capable of withstanding the demanding environment of factories. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pouet, Bruno BOSSA NOVA TECHNOLOGIES LLC CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 94848 5371 EGCH 9197 1179 0308000 Industrial Technology 0316000 Trace Contaminants 0319426 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Zinc Oxide Based Displays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will synthesize and coat doped Zinc Oxide (ZnO) as a transparent and conducting thin film on a polymer substrate for flexible flat panel display applications. The objective is to find a low-cost alternative to widely use Indium tin oxide. Thin films of doped nanocrystalline ZnO will be coated on flexible polymer substrates using a proprietary plasma coating technique. The target temperatures will be less than 100 degree C. During the Phase I, these low cost coatings will be developed and their performance parameters will be studied, which will be followed by extensive field-testing and scale up studies in the Phase II effort. Commercially, important applications of ZnO as a TCO (transparent conducting oxide) include: Flat-screen-high definition television (HDTVs), high-resolution screens for portable computers, electrochromic mirrors, defrosting mirrors, touch panel controls, and electromagnetic shielding. The market potential for such products is increasing exponentially owing to the microelectronics revolution and has become a part of everyday life. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Raffi, Mohamed Materials Modification Inc. VA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9147 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319428 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Linearizer for Wireless Integrated Circuits. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop methods for wireless integrated circuits. The linearization method can be summarized as a "bad amplifier" is added to a "good amplifier" to form a "much better amplifier." This new technology enables complete implementation on a single integrated circuit, leading to cellular radio and wireless systems with lower cost, smaller size, and smaller batteries. Competing technologies are not applicable to radio receiver designs and not suitable for integrated circuit implementation. The target market is primarily cellular phones, at 300 million units per year. Commercialization feasibility and strategies will also be evaluated for target markets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Weldon, Thomas MIXSIG LABS INC NC Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99337 5371 HPCC 9139 1596 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0319429 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Miniature Waveguide Rowland-Circle Spectrograph. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to perform research to design, fabricate, and test a new type, compact, high resolution, fiber optic spectrograph combining the Rowland geometry with a single mode optical channel waveguides and slab waveguide and with a curved, blazed echelle grating. Original Rowland design needs no intermediate collimating or focusing optics, has very high resolution, but suffers severe astigmatism in the third dimension, rendering it inapplicable for fiber optics. New design overcomes this deficiency by confining the light in the third dimension with a single mode optical waveguide. Two new blazed echelle gratings will be formed on the waveguide layer with reactive ion etching. Four fabricated spectrographs will be critically tested. Preliminary analysis indicates high resolution, high wavelength density, cost competitive with any current WDM devices. This technology's portability and fiber optic capability should permit many other applications besides WDM, including surveillance of trace explosives, and other molecules in vehicles, planes, and ships. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Asawa, Charles MJC Optics CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99988 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0319432 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Integrated Magneto-Optic Current Sensor for Power Electronics Modules. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project proposes to develop magneto-optical current and temperature sensors capable of direct integration into power electronic modules, with the design goal of improving reliability and survivability of the power conversion and control circuitry. Existing power electronics designs generally use one of three components to sense current in power devices or in the control subsystem: Hall effect transducers, resistive shunts, and current transformers. Each of these components and their associated interface circuitry, while functional, are becoming obsolete as switching frequencies of power conditioning equipment surpass 100 kHz (10e5 Hz), and as the power contained in these circuits exceeds 1 MW (10e6 watt). Additionally, miniaturization of these components has become increasingly difficult and has not kept the same pace as with the miniaturization of power electronic modules. The Phase I program will develop a hybrid electro-optic power electronics module (HE-OPEM) capable of measuring local current and temperature on the module using optical methodologies. When coupled with on-board intelligence, expensive and high-power density power electronic modules will be able to sense potential fault conditions in nanoseconds, resulting in their ability to self-regulate their operation and protect themselves from catastrophic failure. This is not possible with today's technology. The technology developed under this program could be used in all high-power, power electronic semiconductors to self-monitor self-regulate their operation, leading to systems that have higher reliability and lower corrective maintenance costs. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Duncan, Paul AIRAK, INC VA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 1505 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0319433 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Bioaerosol Concentrator/Sampler for Enhanced Biosensor Performance. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will determine the feasibility of integrating two established particle separation technologies with a continuous particle transfer mechanism to produce a bioaerosol concentrator/sampler that offers significant improvements over conventional sampling devices. Rapid biosensing/detection requires a concentrator/sampler that can (a) efficiently collect and concentrate respirable particles (1-10 mm) from large air volumes, (b) efficiently transfer collected particles (dry or wet) for sampling, (c) maintain high viability of sampled bioagents, and (d) be scaled up/down for various applications. The research plan consists of designing, fabricating and testing a novel prototype concentrator/sampler, evaluating particle collection/concentration performance, and evaluating sampling efficiency and microorganism efficacy using inert particles and biological simulates (e.g. spores). The prototype will integrate a dry cyclone prefilter, a proprietary concentrator/sampler module, a novel containment housing and particle extraction/sampling mechanisms. Target performance for the prototype includes: collection/concentration efficiency of >85%, dry/wet sampling efficiencies of >80%, and microorganism viability of >75%. The primary commercial application of this product will be for military use and homeland defense. This novel aerosol particle collector/sampler would also have commercial uses in the monitoring of hazardous bioaerosols in a variety of civilian/industrial environments. Some application areas include monitoring: (1) hazardous particulate emissions near EPA Super Fund sites, (2) airborne asbestos or lead paint particles during and after removal and remediation operations, (3) PM-2.5 particles (i.e., replacing older PM-10 samplers) when collecting EPA compliance data on outdoor air quality, (4) the spread of herbicides and pesticides during agricultural spraying operations, and (5) the spread of infectious diseases in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wright, Steve INNOVATECH INC NC Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9104 0313040 Water Pollution 0319442 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Photonic Crystal-Based Optical Fiber Temperature Sensors for Process Control. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop novel photonic crystal-based optical fiber sensors for the rapid measurement of temperature for real-time process control and civil structure monitoring applications. A patented molecular-level electrostatic self-assembly (ESA) processing method will be used to form multi-layered dielectric stacks with periodically interleaved high and low refractive indices on the distal ends of optical fibers to achieve one-dimensional photonic crystal sensor structures. Such dimensionally-resonant optical structures can be used in several configurations to measure temperature change by detecting thermally-induced resonance mode frequency shifts. Both the temperature measurement range and resolution of such physically small and mechanically robust sensors can be controlled by varying packaging material constitutive properties. Similar devices suggests a typical dynamic range of 80C, resolution of 0.2C and response time of microseconds, orders of magnitude faster than conventional contact-based thermal probes. During Phase I a major research university would assist through thin film materials analysis and optical device testing. There is an immediate need for such fast response time temperature sensors in a commercialized and field-deployed instrumentation system for the oil and gas industry. Fast response time temperature sensors have specific applications in closed-loop feedback control systems. Similar photonic crystal-based sensors may be applied to measurements of strain, pressure and chemical and biological targets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Davis, Bradley Nanosonic Incorporated VA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99999 5371 CVIS 1059 0522100 High Technology Materials 0319444 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Biocompatible Magnetic Drug Delivery Systems that Allow for Greatly Diminished Doses. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop noble metal and polymer stabilized magnetic nanoparticles and biodegradable microspheres as nanovehicles for use in magnetically guided drug delivery. Site-specific release of therapeutic agents results in greatly reduced whole body dosages to minimize toxicity. Controlled, ultra thin coatings for magnetic nanoparticles would yield biocompatible systems with significantly improved magnetic susceptibility required for effective magnetic guidance through the arterial system. Analgesics and stable magnetic nanoparticles would be contained in and subsequently released from biodegradable polymeric microspheres. The commercial applications of these highly magnetic nano-vehicles would be as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) imaging contrast agents, magnetically guided drug delivery systems, and for cell separation techniques. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lalli, Dr. Jennifer Nanosonic Incorporated VA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99999 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0319448 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Rapid, Nondestructive Residual Stress Characterization of Semiconductor Materials. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project proposes to produce an infrared photo-elastic stress analysis system utilizing cutting edge technology analogous to visible light photo-elasticity and applied for the first time to optically opaque, yet infrared transparent, materials. The device will allow nondestructive, full-field stress characterization of silicon, compound semi-conductors, photonic materials, thin films, interfaces, and buried layers at a speed applicable to on-line inspection. Currently, residual stresses are not routinely measured because there are no efficient commercially available techniques. The result of Phase I will be an industrially driven design criteria for an instrument that can measure these residual stresses in a manner that is rapid, affordable, easy to master, and easy to justify. A prototype stress imager will find applications in nearly every portion of the micro-electronics industry including; wafer manufacture, device manufacture, microelectronics packaging, and MEMS devices. The proposed instrument will be relatively inexpensive, affordable enough for small universities, fabs, and engineering mechanics laboratories. Finally, commercial applications outside the electronics industry have been identified, including; inspecting thermal barrier coatings, measuring sintering stresses in ceramics as well as curing stresses in polymers and polymer composites. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Lesniak, Jon Stress Photonics Inc WI Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 95393 1505 AMPP 9163 1775 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319463 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Advanced InAlGaAs Oxidation for Photonic Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop new manufacturing methods to fabricate photonic devices using the native oxide of InAlGaAs. The Phase I objective is to develop water-vapor thermal oxidation of InAlGaAs for the fabrication of photonic devices. A study of the oxidation properties InAlGaAs will be performed to establish the necessary control of oxidized structures for both vertical and lateral oxide applications. A process model for InAlGaAs oxidation will be developed for the oxidation rate as a function of temperature, gas flow, and Al composition. Both lateral and vertical oxidation rates and oxide quality will be investigated for variations with material thickness, molar composition, and heterointerface effects. Prototype oxide-based photonic structures will be fabricated and delivered in Phase I. In Phase II the technology will be extended to investigate the effects of mixed carrier gas using water vapor and oxygen oxidation. In addition, oxidation variation with n- and p-type doping concentration will be studied and fundamental material analysis will be performed. Commercially, photonic components with increased levels of optical integration are needed for fiber optic communications. Currently, devices are produced using etch and/or epitaxial regrowth technologies that are difficult to manufacture or increase the surface area of devices near p-n junctions. The significance of the innovation in this proposal is to study and develop InAlGaAs oxidation as a practical technique for manufacturing planar photonic integrated components. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sugg, Alan VEGA WAVE SYSTEMS, INC. IL T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9147 1775 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319466 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Modular, Low-cost Instrumentation System. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will study the development of a modular system that will significantly lower the cost of collecting data on oceanographic phenomena. This system consists of individual modules designed to measure beam attenuation, beam absorption, and backscattering at single wavelengths, fluorescence for single excitation/detection wavelength pairs, and turbidity in the visible spectrum. The modular system will allow for the incorporation of other low-cost devices, such as off-the-shelf temperature or CTD sensors. In addition, a low-cost communications module will be designed, which will facilitate communications via cell phone technology or radio transceivers for terrestrial, estuary, and coastal applications. This system will target institutions participating in ocean color validation programs, specifically observing and understanding the role of the oceans in global climate change. It will also target projects with in-situ observations at organizations such as; NSF's Global Change Research Programs, NOAA, NASA, and the National Weather Service. The lowest cost measurement scheme for most researches is to use freely available or low cost satellite data. However, this satellite data is useless without ground truth data and validation of modeled data from satellite measurements. This set of modular instruments will allow a researcher on a limited budget to accurately and independently verify data obtained from "inversion analyses" of satellite data to obtain inherent optical properties and turbidity. By lowering the cost of remote sensing, this activity has the potential to open up hand-on remote sensing to educators, and broaden the participation of all groups, including underrepresented groups. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Godin, Michael Hydro-Optics, Biology, & Instrumentation Laboratories, Inc. AZ Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99988 5371 EGCH 9197 0106000 Materials Research 0319470 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Engineering of Non-leaching Antibacterial Surfaces and Textiles. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I proposes to develop antibacterial surfaces and textiles for commercial applications. A series of novel potent dendrimer biocides has been identified, which can be used alone to kill microorganisms, or bound to polymer substrates to produce non-leaching biocidal polymers. The aim of this program is to chemically graft these potent microbiological agents to a polymer backbone and optimize these polymer systems using electrospinning techniques to fabricate inherently antimicrobial microfiber webs. Electrospinning can be performed on a small scale, to produce webs with a high surface area to volume ratio. This optimizes the exposure of the grafted biocide at the surface, where it can exert its microbiological effects. Physical and biological characterization of the resulting webs will be performed. The commercial applications of this project are to develop materials for use where bacterial contamination and infection controls are required, including but not limited to food and beverage handling, water treatment, medical devices, textile manufacture and antimicrobial filters. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Lamba, Nina CCL BIOMEDICAL, INC MD Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99977 1505 BIOT 9181 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319477 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Miniature Mass Spectrometer for Liquids Analysis. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will explore liquid-phase analysis systems utilizing novel sample introduction methods coupled with an innovative portable mass spectrometer. Much valuable time and chemical information can be conserved through in-situ analysis at the actual point of sample collection. In light of developing needs in industry as well as current environmental and terrorism threats, the need for rapid, definitive, on-site liquid-phase analysis has become an important analytical challenge. Breakthroughs in instrument design and capabilities are key to providing analytical information in a more timely and efficient manner. Current state of the art techniques for analyzing liquids are slow, expensive, laboratory-based, and require extensive operator expertise to collect and interpret the data. The goal of this project is to demonstrate the feasibility of the company's proprietary technology to develop a portable, easy to use, miniature mass spectrometer that will provide a real-time, automated, sensitive, affordable, and reliable method for detecting a wide range of species in liquid-phase samples. The instrument will be deployed in chemical process applications, teaching and academic research laboratories, contaminated environmental sites, and military installations and battlefields, and has the potential to impact society broadly by providing improved monitoring of developing environmental and homeland security threats. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Grossenbacher, John Griffin Analytical Technologies, Inc. IN Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99330 5371 EGCH 9197 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319478 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: An Automated Water Pathogen Monitoring System. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a continuous, rapid- detection water-monitoring device to identify potential pathogens in water. This device will incorporate immunoassay coupled with electrochemical detection. The advantages are the speed of detection and the ability to automate the procedure. This Phase I project will determine the feasibility of creating a proof-of-concept system to monitor water for the parasite Cryptosporidium parvum. Cryptosporidium parvum does not respond to common antibiotics and resists water purification treatments. The objective of the Phase I project is to show detection time of less than 4 hrs for pathogen concentrations of the order of 100 organisms per liter without the need for manual sample concentration steps. The initial commercial application of this project will be in the monitoring of drinking water supplies for pathogens. Additional applications would include testing of water in distribution networks, and at bottling and packaging facilities. The device could eventually be adapted for emergency field use, for home use by safety conscious consumers, and for medical, industrial, recreational and combat purposes. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Aguilar, Zoraida VEGRANDIS, LLC AR Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 9150 BIOT 9197 9107 0118000 Pollution Control 0313040 Water Pollution 0319483 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A New High Efficiency, Low Cost Scintillator Screen for Digital Radiography. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a new x-ray imaging screen that offers superior properties for digital radiography compared to current materials. Specifically, this new screen will address many of the limitations of digital x-ray imaging by allowing fabrication of systems that provide high spatial resolution, high signal to noise ratios, low noise performance, and substantially better detective quantum efficiency. This new scintillator will find wide spread use in areas of medical diagnostics, homeland security, and many other applications of x-ray imaging. The objectives of the project include optimizing the method of synthesizing the scintillator in powder form with appropriate stoichiometry, particle size, and shape for enhanced scintillation efficiency and packing density. A newly developed, cost-effective coating method will be used to produce large-area, rugged and long-lived scintillator screens. Superiority of the approach for digital imaging will be demonstrated by integrating screens into existing digital readouts and conducting detailed x-ray imaging studies. The proposed scintillator screens are specifically advantageous for homeland security applications that are currently focused on efficient detection of illegal or threatening materials. Additionally, x-ray detectors based on the proposed screen will find applications in the areas of biotechnology, medical diagnostics, and non-destructive testing systems such as baggage scanning and building damage assessment systems. Collective market for digital x-ray imaging is in billions of dollars; a significant fraction of this market represents areas where the proposed technology is well suited. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nagarkar, Vivek Radiation Monitoring Devices Inc MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1775 1517 0512205 Xray & Electron Beam Lith 0319484 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Lithium Based Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Radiation Source for Next Generation Lithography. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will build and test a lithium cell that will be integrated with an all-solid-state modulator to produce an efficient, 13.5 nm, EUV source, for next generation, sub-70 nm, lithography. To date, a reliable, long-lived, lithium-based discharge cell has not been developed, despite the considerable advantages such a development would engender. These advantages are: (1) lithium will be four times as efficient as xenon; (2) increased efficiency will greatly alleviate waste heat removal; (3) a thin coating of liquid lithium will protect discharge electrodes and result in longer-lived electrodes and; (4) lithium heat pipes which can very effectively remove heat from the electrodes can be easily incorporated into the design. This project aims to complete a design of a lithium cell that will be fabricated and tested in Phase II. EUV sources have a significant market in the semiconductor industry for next generation lithography with annual sales of $200 million, starting in CY 2006. The estimate is based on the market for excimer lasers used in current generation DUV lithography. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bykanov, Alexander Science Research Laboratory Inc MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99981 5371 AMPP 9163 1467 0522100 High Technology Materials 0319486 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Utility of Thin Film Deposition Sensors in High Temperature Environments. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to address the market need for a real-time in-situ thin film thickness monitor for use in chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and related high temperature processing of solid-state electronic and optical devices. Current practices, which rely on post process measurements, often result in large amounts of waste and high numbers of failed devices. Furthermore, effects of process conditions on device performance can only be inferred when testing is done post fabrication. By adapting existing quartz crystal microbalance technology, it will be possible to create a sensing and monitoring system capable of operation in excess of 900 degree centigrade. The goal of this Phase I project is to produce a complete high temperature thin film process monitoring system for use in solid state electronic and optical device manufacture. System elements are: 1) a replaceable crystalline film thickness sensor, 2) a reusable high temperature sensor head, and 3) a microprocessor controlled thin film thickness monitor based upon commercially available technology. Industry usage examples of this technology would include the following: 1) Real-time furnace monitoring of nitride and oxide layers on silicon wafers used in integrated circuits 2) Process control of organic thin film depositions used for the production of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), 3) Deposition sensors for the manufacture of LEDs such as Gallium Nitride and 4) Thin film monitoring of multi-layer dielectric optical coatings. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Grimshaw, Scott Cold Springs R&D, Inc. NY T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 0206000 Telecommunications 0319490 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Biomimetic Coating for Metallic Implants for Enhanced Osteoblast Response. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to evaluate the applicability of a novel surface modification of metallic implant materials, by coating them with polymeric film consisting of active biomolecules as the repeat units so as to biomimetically induce deposition of biological apatite and other osteogenic activities. The polymerizable monomer biomolecules will be synthesized, characterized and tested for apatite deposition from incubation in simulated body fluid, and for their effects on osteoblast differentiation, metabolism and growth. The commercial application of this project will be in bone implants and prosthetic devices where metal to tissue interfaces must be integrated. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Satsangi, Rajiv Rann Research Corporation TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99983 5371 BIOT 9181 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319494 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Low-Pressure Microplasma Gas Analyzer. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of a gas analyzer based on microplasma emission. Current technologies capable of identifying and quantifying gas partial pressures are not well suited to operation in the 1 mTorr to 1 Torr pressure regime typically used in semiconductor and other vacuum processing. The gas analyzer proposed here would vastly improve the quality of process diagnostics and control, and allow for cost effective real time control in a variety of industries. This project will investigate scaling of microplasma sources to low pressures and small dimensions as well as optical diagnostics of these novel plasma. A gas analysis system capable of operation at <10mTorr, <ppm detection limit, power consumption <5 W, and occupying a volume of <2000 cm3 will be demonstrated. The gas analyzer will immediately be applied in semiconductor manufacturing where it will be used for wafer qualification, system fingerprinting, process diagnostics and control, and as a monitor of system emissions. Spin-offs into other industries which utilize vacuum processing (data storage, industrial coating, etc) as well as into scientific apparatus can be expected. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Doughty, Chris Verionix MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 CVIS 1059 0106000 Materials Research 0319497 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Determining the best modulation scheme and data rate improvement for ship's hull based acoustic modems. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase-I project is aimed at increasing the data rate for modems that uses ultrasonic acoustic energy through metal structures as the means of communication. Wireless networking based on Radio Frequencies (RF) is not very effective within enclosed metal structures such as the hulls of ships. This technique can be used to overcome such limitations and can establish a local wireless network for data transfer among sensors located in various parts of the vessels. The through the hull communications technology is at a nascent but proven state. A better understanding of the medium and the associated issues is needed before extending such technology to a broader context such as ballast water monitoring. The goal of this research is to establish the target data rate, determine the best modulation scheme to achieve it and then verify it on a real shipboard environment This technology will be best used in the area of compliance and verification of ballast water exchange or treatments in a cost effective way. Laws dictating such treatments are already in effect in some parts of the US and other foreign countries to prevent invasion by the various micro-organisms into the native coastal eco-systems. An automated system of compliance that will collect information from various ballast tanks on a ship and create a report will reduce the burden on ship operators and law enforcement agencies. Developing an effective technology for monitoring the ballast water has a broader impact on the society. It has the potential to save economies depending on coastal resources and ensure the preservation of the local eco-systems for the future generations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Talukdar, Kushal Harris Acoustic Products Corporation MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99940 5371 HPCC 9139 1631 1518 0104000 Information Systems 0319508 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Magnetic Flow Sorter Channels for Rare Cancer Cell Enrichment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop the technology for the magnetic isolation of rare cancer cells from human blood. Various problems have been encountered in attempts to collect and identify cancer cells. Success will require processing large volumes of cell suspensions, capturing cancer cells with high efficiency, and avoiding morphological and physiological damage during separation. The company's collaborators at Ohio State University and Cleveland Clinic Foundation have established that quadrupole magnetic flow sorting fulfills most of the requirements for successful cancer cell selection. The methods include positive selection of immunomagnetically labeled cancer cells and / or negative selection by removal of undesired cell types. This project will test the latter, higher-yield method and compare it to the former. The Phase I project objectives are (1) to transfer existing magnetic flow channel technology from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, (2) to determine, through research, the optimum manufacturing processes for high-precision column manufacture using processes eligible for cGMP qualification, and (3) to test, through partners at Ohio State University, the efficacy of such columns. The commercial application of this project is in the area of clinincal research. The proposed project will advance knowledge and understanding within the fields of oncology, cancer biology, metastasis, pathology, hematology and stem cell research by putting a powerful, high-capacity and user-friendly cell separation tool in the hands of investigators and clinicians. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Todd, Paul Space Hardware Optimization Technology, Inc. IN Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99976 5371 BIOT 9181 0116000 Human Subjects 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319509 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: GOLDFINGER -- A Highly Integrated Technology for the Fabrication of Radio Frequency Micro Electro Mechanical Systems Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 Project will develop a highly integrated Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology that will combine SUMMiT V, the world's most advanced surface micromachining technology, with innovative thick metal films to produce Radio Frequency (RF) devices of unmatched performance, cost and reliability. Advanced polysilicon MEMS technologies like the SUMMiT V technology have the mechanical sophistication to achieve wide tuning range at low operating voltage, but the series resistance of polysilicon precludes creation of devices with suitable quality factor, or Q. The selective thick film metallization of SUMMiT V structures will be employed to design RF MEMS devices with both very low series resistance and high quality factors. This integrated technology, named GOLDFINGER, will be demonstrated in the design and manufacture of a high performance tunable capacitor with low actuation voltage (<6 volts), wide tuning range (greater than 1.5:1), and high quality factor (>200). Tunable capacitors with such performance do not exist today, and the successful realization of this device will enable reductions in size, cost, and power consumption in the next generation of mobile phone handsets. The GOLDFINGER technology will enable the building of tunable capacitors with unmatched performance. The tunable capacitor market is estimated to be approximately $120M in size: 400M handsets annually, with 2 tunable capacitors per handset at approximately $0.15 each. The GOLDFINGER technology will also enable the development of other RF MEMS devices as well. For example, the GOLDFINGER technology can be used to make next generation inductors and resonators. The total RF MEMS market is predicted to reach >$1.0 billion by 2007, with RF MEMS being utilized in a wide range of applications. Satellite communication, auto electronics, RFID tags, adjustable antennas, LANs, base stations, radar systems, and other wireless products are just some of the market segments that would benefit from high performance RF MEMS devices SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sniegowski, Jeffry MEMX, Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 98934 5371 HPCC 9163 9139 1596 0206000 Telecommunications 0319525 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Catheters with Anticoagulation and Fibrinolytic Properties. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will explore an antithrombotic coating on catheters through a newly developed surface treatment technique, electron cyclotron resonance (ECR). Such catheters would display improved device functionality by extending the period between catheter replacements and decreasing morbidity and mortality. ECR plasma can be spatially localized to treat the lumen and external surfaces separately and uniformly. Albumin and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) can be coated onto polymeric surfaces successfully. In the proposed project, a new approach, enhancing both anticoagulation through albumin (Alb)-heparin (H) complex and fibrinolysis through tPA concurrently, will be investigated. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of medical products that contact blood, e.g., catheters. The project could lead to a low-cost commercial surface modification method for end stage renal disease (ESRD) catheters. Catheters that possess mechanisms to fight thrombosis complications would greatly extend the period between catheter replacements and therefore benefit patients. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Du, Ying Jun Spire Corporation MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99967 5371 BIOT 9181 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319541 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Power Density Disk Laser Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research will develop an advanced laser photonic device that exploits important technical and market factors including: (i) the large demand for small, efficient, high power lasers for materials processing and surgical applications, (ii) recent development of very high power disk lasers using ~ 0.2 x 10 mm disks (the disk design provides a nearly ideal configuration for small, high power density devices), and (iii) laser host materials which provide a robust gain medium that can dissolve large (>10%) amounts of dopant and exhibit extremely strong pump absorption at almost exactly 980 nm. The Phase I research will establish the feasibility of constructing very high power density solid state laser devices using heavily doped Glass disks containing Er: Yb and Yb as the gain media. A test laser will be built and pumped with 40 Watts of optical power and characterized. The proposed devices meet an important need in materials manufacturing where infrared power lasers operating at a wavelength ~ 1030 nm used for metal cutting, welding, and shaping, and in laser surgical applications which exploit Er-based laser devices that produce laser radiation at ~2900 nm where tissue absorbs strongly. Markets for power lasers are on the order of 1B$/year in the materials processing sector and several hundred million $/year in lasers for surgical/dental applications. Currently the materials processing market mainly uses Nd: YAG lasers. The new technology will compete with Nd: YAG which has low efficiency, large size and little potential for technical advance compared to the proposed new laser designs. Key marketing targets for the Phase I activities include the companies who already supply near infrared lasers SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Weber, J.K. Richard Containerless Research, Inc. IL Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1467 0206000 Telecommunications 0319542 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Ordered Arrays of Surfactant-Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles for RF and Spintronic Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop ordered arrays of surfactant-coated magnetic nanoparticles for application in Radio Frequency (RF) and spintronic devices. The advent of tools to fabricate 2-D arrays of nanoparticles has led to concerted efforts in the development of different methods to produce size and shape-controlled magnetic nanostructures. The incorporation of these nanostructures in functional devices however, requires a thorough understanding of the relationship between nanostructural parameters and electromagnetic performance. The lack of control over crucial parameters like particle size and separation drastically compromises reproducibility. The nascent class of ordered nanostructured materials circumvents this problem by offering control over nanoscale morphological parameters. The potential application in RF and spintronic devices has recently been identified. Monodisperse coated single domain magnetic nanoparticles will be synthesized, with precise control over size and coating thickness. Subsequent fabrication of ordered closepacked monolayer films will be via the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. A study of the spindependent tunneling and RF absorption and tuning characteristics will help understand the role of particle size in RFand spintronic device performance. Arrays of surfactant-coated nanoparticles can be developed into spintronic devices for high-resolution magnetic sensing, vital to the high-density recording industry. When deposited on ferroelectric substrates, these arrays will provide dual tuning (magnetic and electrical) in devices like micro-patch antennas, phase-shifters, resonators etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Suggs, Allison Materials Modification Inc. VA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1517 0106000 Materials Research 0319567 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: MatchBox Display Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to design, fabricate and test a novel Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS) color display system that includes improved integrated pixel driver backplane integrated into a low cost, projection TV light engine. This LCOS display system will have excellent picture quality, high manufacturing yield potential and exceed all quality benchmarks of business projection displays from size, weight, manufacturing cost and brightness and will reduce the need for high speed CMOS technology thus reducing IC manufacturing costs. The LCOS development includes design of a full custom, mixed signal integrated circuit (IC), LED sourced light engine and mechanical sub-assembly. The IC will contain novel pixel circuits that remove charge sharing noise and expand charge storage memory increasing display brightness and contrast ratio. This Phase I objective is to prototype and demonstrate LCOS display technology positioning STI to penetrate 10% of current $5.2B business display market with an OEM display parts kit during the Phase II grant period. This display market includes business multimedia projectors and HDTV project displays, which is expected to grow to $20 billion by 2007. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Morizio, James Southeast TechInventures NC Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99617 5371 HPCC 9216 9102 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0319568 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Large Area GaN Wafers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of producing large area stress-free GaN substrates. This research will focus on the development of defect free GaN wafers by growing thick GaN films using the high growth- rate HVPE method on to novel micromachined sacrificial (111) silicon substrates. The low-cost Si(111) substrates are made compliant by a proprietary photoelectochemical micromachining method. Availability of such high quality GaN substrates will make commercialization of GaN- based devices for various applications feasible. Furthermore, it will be demonstrated that large area (up to 12.) GaN wafers can be produced by this method, which will reduce the device cost dramatically, by economy of scales. Commercial applications of the proposed large area GaN wafers include general lighting, full color displays, traffic signal lighting, information storage, full color copying, RF communications, high temperature and power electronics and chemical/ biological sensors SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Doppalapudi, Dharanipal BOSTON MICROSYSTEMS INC MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 0206000 Telecommunications 0319577 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Fabrication of Large-Area, High-Density Microdischarge Arrays on Flexible Substrates. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project proposes to develop a technique for the fabrication of large-area, high-density microdischarge arrays on flexible substrates. Microdischarge devices are a type of photonic emitter and detector in which a weakly ionized plasma is confined to spatial dimensions typically less than 200 microns. Microdischarge devices and arrays have the ability to operate continuously at atmospheric pressures with specific power loadings of the plasma of several tens of kW per cubic centimeter. In the proposed project, in order to evaluate the full potential of microdicharge devices for these applications they will be fabricated in higher densities on large, flexible substrates (as compared to the small arrays that have been previously demonstrated in the laboratory). Large-area processing techniques for deposition, patterning, gas filling, and lamination will be developed. In addition roll-to-roll processing techniques for the above mentioned steps, which is especially attractive for volume applications will be explored. Commercially, the development of a new technology to enable the fabrication of large-area, highdensity microdischarge arrays would enable the construction of a wide variety of devices, including flexible sheet light sources for numerous commercial applications including chemical sensors, microdisplays, and large area emission sources. Further, if the microdischarge pixels are made to be individually addressable, it will be possible to develop a flexible plasma display panel (PDP). Finally, through the use of roll-to-roll processing, such devices could be manufactured economically in high volumes. Such devices would be ideal for lighting applications where portability, conformability, ruggedness, and low cost are required. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Zemel, Marc Anvik Corporation NY T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99999 1505 MANU 9147 0110000 Technology Transfer 0319602 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Gene Targeting System for Plants. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop a homologous recombination or gene targeting system for plants. Gene targeting offers great promise for harnessing the biosynthetic capacity of plants to produce compounds of commercial value. A major limitation in implementing this technology is the low frequency of homologous recombination. This project plans to overcome this limitation through the use of a proprietary method to introduce chromosome breaks at specific target loci. Chromosome breaks greatly enhance localized homologous recombination, and experiments are designed to modify a plant gene to confer herbicide resistance. Success of these experiments will provide the foundation for developing an efficient system of gene targeting for use in a variety of important crop species. This technology will be a powerful tool for studying gene function, modifying genomes, and engineering biosynthetic pathways. The commercial application of this project will be in the development of new crop varieties, that better withstand pests, have enhanced food value, and produce compounds of industrial importance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wright, David Phytodyne, Inc. IA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99531 5371 BIOT 9109 0201000 Agriculture 0319613 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Milisecond Microwave Annealing for Next Generation Ultra-Shallow Junction Formation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop the next generation of rapid thermal processing (RTP) equipment for advanced CMOS technology. This research will investigate the commercial feasibility of millisecond microwave anneal system for 300 mm silicon wafers. The anticipated goals of this research are (1) to demonstrate the maximum power/heating capabilities of millisecond microwave RTP, (2) to demonstrate that millisecond microwave RTP will satisfy the CMOS technology nodes for the years 2005-2015, and (3) to illustrate the commercial feasibility of millisecond microwave RTP. The development of a novel rapid heating technology directly satisfies a CMOS requirement and introduces a new field of rapid heating technology for novel materials processing. The establishment of this technique as a viable anneal technology should attract significant funding from the semiconductor industry. Finally, millisecond heating has materials processing applications beyond the scope of silicon processing technology. Once established in silicon, this technology may expand into related fields, most notably ultra-rapid ceramics sintering. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Thompson, Keith Calabazas Creek Research, Inc. CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99525 5371 MANU 9148 0206000 Telecommunications 0319623 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: In Line Thin Film Battery (Cathode) Plasma Enhanced-Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (PE-MOCVD) Production Tool. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate proof of concepts of a next generation plasma-enhanced low temperature in-line linear PE-MOCVD (Web coating) system for thin film batteries. The requisite thin film battery technology exists and prototyping of the same on a polymer substrate has begun. Presently, the major limitation is the ability to effectively manufacture the solid-state cathode. Present efforts have shown a low temperature PE-CVD approach to be the best; however, no such tool meeting all the needs exists today. In defined steps, a prototype of the needed tool will be made, which will be sold commercially. Thin-film rechargeable batteries have numerous possible applications as active or standby power sources for microelectronics. Examples of active power sources include MEMS devices, smart cards, remote sensors, miniature transmitters, and implantable medical devices. Standby power applications include PCMCIA cards and other types of CMOS-SRAM memory devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rice, Catherine STRUCTURED MATERIALS INDUSTRIES, INC. NJ Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 9102 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 0319630 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Detectors for X-ray Diagnosis. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project will investigate a novel low capacitance design of high purity silicon detectors that offer high-energy resolution, high efficiency, high count-rate operation and straightforward fabrication. By maintaining a low capacitance, the new detectors can reach greater volumes than previously achievable with standard Si (Li) detectors. The research plan requires a combination of device modeling, prototype fabrication and extensive testing, with a goal of producing the largest high purity silicon detectors to date. Collaboration with a manufacturer on this project will bring great expediency to the work plan and provide an immediate pathway to commercialization. The detectors will find great use in a multitude of settings - industrial and academic research labs, portable instrumentation, and large-scale scientific research. Given the many diverse areas that employ x-ray characterization, the detectors will be found in fields such as materials analysis, astronomy, medicine, structural biology, nuclear physics and environmental monitoring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Squillante, Michael Radiation Monitoring Devices Inc MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0512205 Xray & Electron Beam Lith 0319634 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Secondary Electron Emission from Nanowire Arrays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will optimize the secondary electron emission (SEE) properties of arrays of metallic anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) nanowires coated with a thin magnesium oxide (MgO) film. Arrays of gold, iron and nickel nanowires will be produced using a template technique. The technique exploits the self-organizational pore structures that develop when aluminum is anodized under the proper conditions for use as a template to form the nanowires. After the nanostructured materials are processed the SEE coeficient will be measured and the optimum structure identified. The coupling of the nanowire SEE structures with photocathode technology to produce a new class of miniature optical detectors that are fast, efficient and low-cost will be explored. These devices could outperform PIN and avalanche photodiodes. Further, these devices can be directly integrated with silicon based control electronics. The commercial potential that can be derived from studying the SEE from MgO coated metallic nanowire arrays lies in using the projected enhancement in the SEE to engineer electron multiplier devices that surpass existing technologies to rapidly amplify a small number of electrons into a significant signal for data acquisition and analysis. These devices would find a market in the commercial and scientific communities as optical sensors for experimentation, optical communications, and the detection of hazardous bio-chemical agents. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Habib, Youssef ILLUMINEX CORP PA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9147 1676 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319635 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Integrated Optical Monitor for Hybrid Opto-Electronic Transmitter. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project describes a hybrid integrated circuit that consists of a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) fabricated on a III-V semiconductor wafer that is flip-chip bonded to a Silicon chip that contains a CMOS circuit used for driving the VCSEL and a Silicon detector that is used for monitoring the output power of the laser. Semiconductor lasers are typically supplied with discrete, external detectors that are used for power monitoring. We propose an integrated detector structure that would provide a simpler, more efficient, and cheaper solution. In this proposal, monitor detectors are designed into the Silicon CMOS laser driver circuits and are flip-chip bonded to the VCSELs creating a compact, three-dimensional circuit structure. This technology provides an optoelectronic-VLSI integrated circuit solution that can be accomplished in large arrays to achieve low cost. The result is wafer-level integration, packaging, and testing of photonic-on-VLSI leading to tremendous manufacturing efficiencies for transceiver modules. The commercial benefit of the proposed work is very straightforward. Monitoring functionality is critical for telecommunications and storage-area-network applications, but is currently not available with arrayed VCSEL transceivers that were originally produced for intra-system links for data-com applications. There is a strong market-pull for incorporating this functionality into parallel optical links. The invention would also enable more quantitative research into VCSEL degradation and lifetime measurements because of built-in real-time monitors on every VCSEL. Thus far this type of studies have relied on intermittent measurements on small sample populations. The invention would allow, for the first time, continuous, real-time reliability data to be gathered on VCSELs from deployed systems in the field. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cunningham, John Sina Investments NJ Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0104000 Information Systems 0206000 Telecommunications 0319647 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Metal Nanoclusters Embedded Composite Thin Films for Photonic Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel approach to synthesizing nanocluster embedded dielectric thin films for photonics applications. Nanosized particles embedded dielectric matrices have shown unique physical, chemical, optical, electronic, catalytic, and magnetic properties. For nonlinear optical (NLO) applications, the intrinsic properties of the nanoclusters such as particle size, size distribution, and volume fraction are of great importance, and for the matrix materials it is their dielectric constant and refractive index. A modified Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD) technique will be utilized to produce the nanocomposite NLO materials with controlled nanocluster size and distribution, which will exhibit high third-order optical nonlinearity and fast response. The unique CCVD technique will produce well-dispersed metal nanoclusters embedded dielectric thin films. In Phase I, the project team will deposit the nanocomposite films, characterize their NLO properties, and establish process-structure-property relationship. Primary efforts will be made on improving nanoclusters' physical properties such as size, shape, composition, crystallinity, structure, as well as their size distribution and volume fraction. Today, no third-order NLO material applications are practical because the nonlinearities observed to date are two to four orders of magnitude short of what will be required for commercial devices that use lasers of moderate power. The embedded nanocluster approach developed here will lead to the necessary orders of magnitude increase in performance. Commercially, NLO effects have important applications in optical communications where optical switching and optical signal processing devices are essential elements. The use of optics is advantageous over that of electronics because of the higher carrier frequency used, which gives a potentially higher bandwidth. Practical applications of the NLO effects are in optical switching, amplification, beam steering and clean-up, and image processing for optical communications, computing, and integrated optics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhao, Zhiyong NGIMAT CO. GA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9147 0106000 Materials Research 0319653 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A MEMS Fiber Optic Sensor with High Sensitivity. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase (SBIR) I project proposes to develop a sensor system that will overcome many of the current limitations of the public works infrastructure. The design will be based on optimally partitioning the desired system functionality into the various components such that overall the system can achieve the system-level goals of adequate performance and low life-cycle costs. The various system functions, such as power distribution, signal communications will be included as elements of the design rather than focusing solely on sensor sensitivity or some other single variable. The primary objective of the project is to develop a sensor for application of large numbers of sensors in a very compact and portable manner in civil structures. The commercial potential is a fiber optic sensor based on a high finesse Fabry-Perot that has the potential to meet the needs for structural health monitoring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Little, Michael Agoura Technologies CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99996 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0522100 High Technology Materials 0319656 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Development and Manufacture of High-Density Plate Washer. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a high-density plate washer for very high-density microplates (1536 or more wells per plate). Currently, there are automated plate washers for 96 or 384 well plates that are heavily used for ELISA assays or most other biochemical or cell-based assays. However, there are none for plates with ultra-high density. This is because currently available washer technology cannot be made reliable enough so that dispense and aspirate nozzles consistently reach within each of the many, very small wells, and so that the many thin nozzles needed do not clog. This project will incorporate a wholly innovative design to get around these problems. The proposed technology will allow scientists to wash the 1536 well plates. The implications are that fluoroscent chemical compounds can now be used for screening because they are removed before the measurement of the samples. This will mean cost savings and efficiency in the screening process for both academic and commercial scientists. The commercial application of this project will be a new product that can be used by the research community involved in screening programs for drug discovery. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kris, Richard NeoGen, LLC AZ Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319657 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: New Heat Flow Sensor Development for High Throughput Microcalorimeters. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will yield a new heat flow or differential temperature sensing technology that will fundamentally improve micro-calorimeters and other instruments that depend on temperature measurement or control. The activity will complete the detailed design and fabrication of a new type of heat flow sensor having 10 to 100 times greater sensitivity than currently available thermopile and Peltier devices. The new "Micro Fabricated Silicon Thermopile Sensor" employing patented technology will be optimized for use in a Differential Scanning Calorimeter designed specifically for the study of biopolymers in dilute solution. A DSC test platform will be constructed for the evaluation of prototype MFST sensors and the performance of the MFST-DSC will be compared to existing Bio-DSC instruments. High-throughput screening approaches are ubiquitous in the pharmaceutical industry as part of the drug discovery process. The new MFST sensor will be critical to the development of high throughput bio-calorimeters with sufficient sensitivity to address applications in drug discovery, diagnostics, cell screening, and other practical health care applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lewis, Edwin Energetic Genomics Corporation UT Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 5514 1179 0203000 Health 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319658 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Electrophotographic Patterning of Flexible Backplanes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to develop a novel process for manufacturing flexible active matrix backplanes on plastic substrates. The backplane consists of individual amorphous silicon thin-film transistors (TFTs) in a matrix grid pattern fabricated on a thin sheet of plastic. The proposed process will use electrographic printing methods (laser printing) to replace conventional photolithography. The backplanes will be fabricated using techniques such as plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition and electrophotograhic patterning. The significance of this innovation is that it will reduce the number of processing steps compared to photolithography, lower manufacturing costs, and be compatible with future roll-to-roll manufacturing. The final goal will be to fabricate a working display based on these technologies using a polymer dispersed liquid-crystal medium. Commercially the backplanes are used to control both electrophoretic and liquid- crystal displays as part of a radio frequency identification (RFID) label. The commercial applications for the backplane/RFID label include retail electronic shelf labels, airline security luggage tags, and dynamic camouflaging. The total market size is estimated at $33 billion annually, with $13 billion in the United States and $20 billion internationally. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Forbes, Charles Visible Tech-knowledgy NJ T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99950 5371 MANU 9147 0106000 Materials Research 0522100 High Technology Materials 0319663 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Wheat Straw to Purified Cellulose Fiber Utilizing Novel Reactive Fractionation Process. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of producing biofibers from wheat straw using a novel biomass fractionation technology. This fractionation process separates lignin and hemicellulose from biomass, leaving a relatively pure cellulose fiber fraction that is easily hydrolyzed enzymatically to sugar. The sugar can then be converted to fuel ethanol and a variety of other chemicals, but there may also be markets for the cellulose fiber itself. The patented process for fractionation of lignocellulose employs a counter-flow alkaline wash with progressive wet oxidation (reactive fractionation). The process emphasizes cellulose purity as a key feature of pretreating lignocellulosic materials. This Phase I project will employ the reactive fractionation process to extract the fibers from wheat straw, to evaluate them for fiber material applications such as paper, fiberboard, or dissolving pulp, and to assess the process economics of fiber production. The commercial application of this project is in the area of biomass processing to produce valuable products (eg. biofibers). These biofibers could find use in paper, non-paper, and engineered materials markets. The benefits of using wheat straw as a source of fiber includes potential economic benefits to farmers, the environmental benefits of recovering agricultural residues, and reduction of energy and resources required to produce, harvest and transport virgin fibers from conventional sources. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wingerson, Richard PureVision Technology, Inc. CO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99633 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319666 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Rapid Detection of Bacterial Contaminants Using Micro-fluidic Biochips. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop micro-fluidic biochips for the rapid viability detection of bacterial microorganisms from water, specifically for the pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing applications. There are over 500 million bacterial tests performed in the industrial microbiological control market (pharmaceutical, food and environment) every year and over 200 million of those are for pharmaceutical applications where sterility of water, buffer media, and any injectable fluids is a necessity. Over 70 percent of these tests performed are for the detection of total viable microorganisms using traditional colony culture count (2-7 days). Once any viable microorganisms are detected, more detailed genetic analysis or immunoassays are performed for identification (another 5-10 days). This Phase I project will build on technology licensed from Purdue University to develop part of its first product which will incorporate a micro-fluidic lab-on-a-chip. This chip will use dielectrophoresis to concentrate cells in an aqueous buffer, and micro-scale impedance measurements to electronically detect the viability of microorganisms from water samples in less than 3 hours. The follow-on Phase II project will develop the complete prototype system that could be beta-site tested at biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. The initial commercial application of this project will be in the bio-pharmaceutical industry. Additional applications in the areas of food processing, environmental monitoring and homeland security are also envisioned in the future. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Razouk, Laila Biovitesse, Inc. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9107 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319668 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: X-ray Microscope for In-vivo Biological Imaging. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop an x-ray microscope capable of providing real-time, in-vivo images of specimens ranging from from mice to bacteria. The proposed technology combines visible and x-ray optics concepts to develop a completely new radiological imaging system capable of record x-ray-imaging resolutions. This microscope will be built using commercially available characteristic line x-ray tubes and high-resolution imaging detectors along with the company's previously developed x-ray lenses and optical system, making it an inexpensive, table-top tool. The Phase I work will provide a design for a commercial prototype to be built in the follow on Phase II project, and will answer critical technical questions including what narrowband x-ray flux can be delivered to the specimen and what image quality can be expected for a variety of biological samples. In addition, experimental work will demonstrate imaging using an x-ray tube source, both as a proof-of-principle and to confirm the accuracy of design calculations. The commercial application of this project is in biological and medical research. The proposed x-ray microscope will be a valuable research tool for scientists, biotechnology and medical research companies and institutions. By allowing high resolution, in-vivo imaging of organisms and structures as small as 10 nm, the microscope is expected to be a valuable tool for molecular and cellular research. At larger resolutions, the microscope would allow imaging in small animals, particularly mice, allowing the tracking of biological processes, such as angiogenesis, without harming the mouse. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gary, Charles Adelphi Technology, Inc CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9148 0116000 Human Subjects 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319676 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Portable Electrochemical Based Pathogen Biosensor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I aims to develop an electrochemical DNA biosensor to simultaneously detect and identify multiple nucleic acid determinants of a variety of biological pathogens using a combination of dynamic hybridization, microfluidics, and electrochemical detection. The sensitivity of the detection method is high enough that polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification could be eliminated. The detection system would consist of a sampling device, sample lysis and hybridization chamber fluidically connected to an electrochemical cell for detection. With this method, specific target nucleic acid species captured by oligonucleotide probes on magnetic particles are released into neighboring working electrode where the nucleic acid targets are directly detected by electrochemical oxidation. This provides a method of rapid, highly sensitive, and specific DNA detection without the need for complicated sample purification procedures, exogenous labels, labile reagents, or expensive, heavy, power-hungry instrumentation. The commercial use of this product will be in military applications and homeland defense for prompt detection of potential bioterrorist attacks. Development of such devices for DNA and RNA detection without the need for amplification steps would also find wide application in the detection of pathogens in medical diagnostics, point-of-care clinical testing, environmental monitoring, agriculture, food production, and various industrial settings. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wong, Season Lynntech, Inc TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9107 1491 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319685 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Rapid Response Portable Detection System for Trace Levels Of Foodborne Pathogens and Toxins. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop an easily used sensing technology capable of the multiplex detection of trace levels of foodborne pathogens (e.g., Salmonella, E. coli 0157:H7, hepatitis A), viruses (Hepatitis, Norwalk group), and toxins (e.g., botulinum toxins, shellfish toxins) with a simple direct detection assay format (no labels or wash steps required). The detection sensitivity of the proposed technology will rival that of more complicated amplification and labeled detection methods with projected sensitivities in the femtomolar concentration range for toxins, proteins, and other small bioactive molecules, and less than 100 organisms/ml for bacterial and viral pathogens. The commercial application of this project is in the area sensors for use in clinical diagnostics, point-of-care health applications, water quality monitoring, process control, and environmental air quality monitoring. The proposed technology is also expected to fulfill the needs for a sensitive, easily used biowarfare agent monitoring system for military and homeland defense programs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schneider, Bernard NGIMAT CO. GA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319687 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Automated Monitoring and Alarming for Elder Care. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop an automated monitoring system for the elderly staying alone at home or under nursing care. This system would enable the caregivers to remotely attend to any event or behavior trends requiring intervention. Specifically, the project seeks to develop a laboratory prototype and automated image analysis for generating behavior reports and alerts. With the elderly representing an increasing percentage of the United States population and rapid inflation in nursing home costs, it is very important to have such technologies that extend one's ability to live independently. The proposed solution is based on the use of computer vision techniques that also help in mitigating privacy concerns by not requiring videos to be transmitted to the caregiver like competing solutions. The proposed project will contribute to the research and development of new techniques for alarm generation and activity reporting using video cameras and could have a broad impact on the healthcare industry, especially for elder care. The home monitoring solution will appeal to several constituencies, including the elderly, their families, and the nursing home industry. Factors impacting adoption include the growing population of seniors, high health care expenditures, and the cost and service challenges facing the nursing home industry. The automated monitoring and alarming can potentially offer several advantages over existing monitoring products and services, such as, where subscribers press a worn or wall-mounted call button when in trouble or where they wear an accelerometer that triggers an alarm when the accelerometer notices certain patterns. The activity recognition capability developed as a result of this SBIR project will lead to quicker alerts and will mitigate privacy concerns. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sharma, Rajeev VideoMining Corporation PA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 5345 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319705 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Precision Refractometry for Chemical Detection. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project describes a compact and low-cost optical based system for the rapid detection of chemicals. The detector system relies on precision measurements of refractive index changes from analytes absorbed within a thin film polymer coating. Significant advantages in sensitivity and stability are obtained from the long coherence length of a laser compared to existing methods. Feasibility will be demonstrated during the Phase I effort with a proof of principle experiment designed to monitor trace amounts of water vapor; Phase II will result in a fully designed and characterized prototype system. A compact, high sensitivity monitor of specific chemicals in both vapor and liquid having modest cost of material would find wide spread application in the areas of environmental and industrial detection. Large commercial markets have been identified for air and water quality monitoring, the monitoring of volatile organic compounds, and trace moisture SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rieder, Ronald BioSense Technologies Inc. MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 CVIS 9197 1059 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319706 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Multimodal Interfaces for Interventional Cardiology and Radiology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a Speech Gesture Interface for Interventional Procedures (SGIIP). The sterile environment found in interventional radiology and cardiology suites presents unique challenges for motion control. Spoken words and hand gestures potentially provide a very intuitive way to control devices in this environment. The proposed work will leverage the team's past experience in speech/gesture interfaces and medical devices. In the Phase I project, Domain experts in radiology and cardiology will aid in the design of an experimental test-bed for interventional cardiology. In the follow on Phase II project, this test-bed will be refined and integrated with commercial interventional systems. The commercial application of this project is in the area of biomedical devices and instrumentation. The proposed SGIIP system, when commercially deployed, will significantly impact the way radiologists and cardiologists interact with the interventional devices, leading to improvements in safety and efficiency. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sharma, Rajeev VideoMining Corporation PA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9139 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319710 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Three-Dimensional (3D) Laparoscope. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to build a three-dimensional (3D) depth extracting laparoscope that will provide real-time 3D imagery to assist the surgeon. Laparoscopic surgery is performed about 1.8 million times per year. It benefits the patient with reduced trauma and hospital stays and has lower procedure costs due to quicker recovery. However, laparoscopic procedures take an additional 20 percent longer when compared to standard open procedures. This is primarily due to the difficulty in visualizing the operational area. This project will provide the surgeons with a 3D visualization tool that will allow them to visualize and immerse themselves similarly to traditional open cut surgery. The commercial application of this project is in the area of biomedical devices and instrumentation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Keller, Kurtis Inneroptic Technology Incorporated NC Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 98538 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319722 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Targeting Low Abundance Proteomics: Selective Enrichment in Combined Displacement Chromatography and Isotachophoresis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop and demonstrate a multidimensional protein/peptide separation/concentration platform, capable of reducing the range of relative protein abundances by "balancing" or "leveling" the concentrations of the protein complement. Such selective enhancement toward low abundance proteins can drastically reduce the range of relative protein abundances in complex samples and significantly enhance the dynamic range and sensitivity of conventional mass spectrometry toward global proteomic studies using small cell populations or limited tissue samples. The commercial application of this project is in the area of proteomics. The development of the proposed bioanalytical methodologies are expected to be valuable in screening / drug discovery efforts by bio-pharmaceutical companies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gao, Jun CALIBRANT BIOSYSTEMS INC MD Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319725 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nanometer-Scale Magnetic-Tunnel-Junction Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating nanometer-scale magnetic-tunnel-junction (MTJ) sensors that are highly sensitive, operate at room temperature, and surpass the performance of existing magnetic sensors. Nanoscale MTJ sensors, currently unavailable in the marketplace, are urgently needed for sensing weak magnetic fields with nanometer-scale resolution. One application is a scanning magnetic microscope that can non-invasively measure the electrical current distribution of semiconductor chips down to the smallest spatial feature. Other applications include magnetic imaging arrays, biomagnetic sensors, and read/write heads for data storage devices. The project is to develop a process for fabricating sensors with unprecedented miniaturization. The feasibility study will address three key issues: 1) the large increase in junction resistance that accompanies the reduction of junction area will be minimized; 2) the nonlinear response caused by discrete domain-wall motions in small sensor elements will be overcome; and 3) the thermal fluctuations that become problematic as the anisotropy energy of the sensor is reduced will be stabilized. If successful, this will deliver versatile magnetic sensors with the potential to broadly impact the semiconductor, data storage, and biotechnology markets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ritchie, Lance MICRO MAGNETICS INC MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1517 0106000 Materials Research 0319726 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Compact Micro X-Ray Absorption Spectrometer System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will determine the feasibility of a polycapillary optics-based micro-x-ray absorption spectrometer (XAS) system with a low-power microfocus x-ray source by building a laboratory prototype. The system overcomes limitations of current state-of-the-art systems in that (a) the x-ray source and sample are stationary; (b) a low power x-ray source will be implemented; (c) both XANES and EXAFS analysis are possible using the same instrument; (d) small spot microanalysis with a 15 micrometer x-ray beam is possible with advances in poly-capillary x-ray optics; and (e) the probing energy may be varied by simply choosing the appropriate off-the-shelf mono-chromator. Custom poly-capillary optics will be developed, a new x-ray source characterized, and a laboratory system will be built and the performance of the system will be analyzed to determine spot size, energy resolution, intensity, detection limits, and ease of use. A successful micro-XAS system would be used to determine chemical state information of materials as a tool in manufacturing process control systems, or as for routine screening of field samples. It overcomes the shortcomings of synchrotron based micro-XAS systems (size, availability, cost, maintenance, etc.) and makes it possible to perform chemical state analysis for monitoring manufacturing processes and routine evaluation of field samples. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gao, Ning X-RAY OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC. NY Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99995 5371 CVIS 1059 0106000 Materials Research 0319741 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Two-Stage Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Bioconversion of Pretreated Biomass for Production of Fuel Ethanol and Industrial Chemicals. This Small Business Innovation Research project is to develop a novel two-stage hydrolysis and fermentation process for conversion of purified cellulose to ethanol. The process would be part of a larger biomass refining system in which lignocellulosic biomass would first be fractionated into a hemicellulose / lignin stream and a purified cellulose stream. The specific objectives of this project are to identify optimal conditions for simultanous saccharification and fermentation of partially hydrolyzed cellulose to ethanol and to evaluate the economics of the overall process. The commercial application of this project is in the area of biomass processing. The successful completion of the tasks in Phase I and the follow on Phase II project is expected to lead to economically viable production of fuel ethanol and industrial chemicals from biomass. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wingerson, Richard PureVision Technology, Inc. CO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99598 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319742 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Enhanced Dense Nonaqueous Phase Liquid (DNAPL) Degradation by Thermophilic Bioaugmentation of Electrical Resistance Heating. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of isolating a consortia of thermophilic microorganisms that can degrade chlorinated hydrocarbons to benign products in situ with the use of a novel technology involving electrical resistance heating (ERH). The commercial application of this project falls more broadly in the area of environmental biotechnology, and more specifically in the area of hazardous waste cleanup through high temperature bioremediation. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Matheson, Leah MSE Technology Applications, Inc. MT Gregory T. Baxter Standard Grant 99969 9150 BIOT 9150 9104 9102 0116000 Human Subjects 0313040 Water Pollution 0319743 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Carbon Nanofiber Based Supercapacitor. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop activated carbon nano-fiber based ultra-capacitor with ability to store large energy and power density. Super-capacitors are increasingly becoming attractive because of their potential to provide highly reliable peak power but are not notable for energy storage. Achieving this step improvement in energy storage may be judged by a maturing advancement but if successful it would have a major impact on many more business sectors. Under this proposed study, polymer precursor nano-fibers will be produced using an electro-spinning process from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymer. PAN nanofibers will be converted to activated carbon nano-fiber with surface area in excess of 3 to 5 times more than the conventional electrode material used in super-capacitors. The nanofiber architecture will be tailored to achieve the desired power and energy performance by varying various process and product properties. This material will be used to build single cell electrode based super-capacitor. Capacitor's capacitance (i.e., energy) is a direct function of available surface area. Carbon nano-fibrous membranes are expected to produce a thin, low-density electrode having low resistivity combined with high surface offering a unique electrode material and super-capacitor. The development of high power ultra-capacitors has been an important change in the electronics component world. This technology gives equipment designers new capability to manage and more effectively use energy in their products. Any improvement in double-layer capacitor performance will bring more attention to the industry's ultra-capcitor potential. Super-capacitors are candidates for many applications including electric vehicles, consumer and industrial electronics and power tools, power management, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Doshi, Jayesh ESPIN TECHNOLOGIES INC TN T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99999 5371 AMPP 9163 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 0319744 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High-Sensitive, Multiplexed, Digital Readout for Transition-Edge Sensor Arrays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a sensitive digital read-out system with on-focal-plane digitization, multiplexing and data transfer from large arrays of cryogenic transition-edge calorimeters to room-temperature electronics employing rapid single flux quantum digital technology. A set of over-sampling digitizers converts the output sensor signals to digital data that are processed by control units, which multiplex several digitized data streams into a single output line. Phase I will involve the design and simulation of system components and a complete single pixel readout circuit, and the lay out, fabrication and comparison of the experimental results of an integrated prototype to simulations. In Phase II, a complete digital readout system for 3232 transition-edge calorimeter arrays will be fabricated. Commercial applications include magnetic relaxation/remanence immunoassay systems for drug research or for read-out of multiple SQUID-based qubits in a quantum computing system. This readout architecture can be easily tailored to meet the application requirements for speed and sensitivity for scientific (astronomy) and industrial (semiconductor microanalysis) high- resolution x-ray spectrometry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kirichenko, Dmitri HYPRES, Inc. NY Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99798 5371 EGCH 9197 0106000 Materials Research 0522100 High Technology Materials 0319748 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Temperature Pressure Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating SiC based pressure sensors that function accurately and reliably in harsh environments and at high temperatures (20-800 C). There are a number of uses for such devices, particularly in energy conversion and Conservation applications. These innovations will enable formation of diaphragms with precisely controlled thickness, integrated with strain gauge sensing elements and temperature compensation sensing elements. Phase I will also include demonstration of an innovative SiC packaging concept for high temperature and harsh environment use, which will include materials validation, computational analysis and testing. It is anticipated that the successful demonstration of the pressure sensor chip fabrication Processes, the chip module packaging concepts, and the housing assembly design will enable Subsequent prototype development and then commercialization of pressure sensors for high Temperature and harsh environment applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Odekirk, Bruce Zeus Semiconductor, Inc. WA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 97138 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319759 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Beamforming Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) for Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) and Medical Ultrasound. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an advanced ultrasonic beamforming Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chip. The beamformer ASIC will enable three-dimensional imaging to be employed in intra-cardiac catheter imaging, surgical guidance of instruments, and tumor ablation. The level of integration, frequency of operation, and scalability proposed in this project have never been attempted. The purpose of the Phase I effort is determine the feasibility of this ASIC. To accomplish this task: (1) a finite element substrate noise model will be developed and used to evaluate the effect of noise on signal integrity; (2) the signal path will be modeled using a MATLAB-based architectural simulator embodying the exact numerical and sampling rate representations of the ASIC; and (3) a partial circuit design of the chip will be obtained in preparation for later stages of development in Phase II. Diagnostic ultrasound is used to non-invasively and non-destructively investigate both living and inanimate objects, spanning applications from diagnostic obstetrics to defect detection in aerospace structures. The fundamental function shared by all imaging ultrasound machines is beamforming. The beamforming ASIC proposed in this Phase I SBIR effort will be developed with the explicit purpose of exceeding the technical requirements of most applications in both medical and non-destructive evaluation. The significant performance advantages featured by the ASIC will make it an attractive choice to instrument makers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lupien, Vincent ACOUSTIC IDEAS, INC. MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 0203000 Health 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319766 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nuclease-Shielded DNA Aptamer Antibiotics that Couple with Complement. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to design DNA-aptamers that will be covalently linked to C1qrs and will subsequently induce an immune response to the target organism. Specifically, this Phase I work has the following key objectives: 1) recreating the aptamers against isolated surface antigens for better specificity with 2'-fluorine or other chemical modifications to make the aptamers nuclease-resistant, 2) cloning and sequencing the successful aptamers, 3) devising new aptamer-C1qrs conjugation chemistry that would be more amenable to future in vivo applications, and 4) verifying the mechanism by transmission electron microscopy and other techniques. The commercial application of this project is in the area of infectious diseases. The proposed technology could have a very far-reaching, positive impact on combating otherwise antibiotic-resistant bacteria and parasitic diseases that are difficult to treat. New families of aptamers could be made over time and coupled to the complement system in vivo to combat emerging diseases and patient relapses due to organism mutations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bruno, John Operational Technologies Corporation TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99933 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319769 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Hybrid Optic for Proximity X-Ray Lithography. This SBIR Phase I project will determine the feasibility of a hybrid reflector/polycapillary collimating optic to produce an intense and uniform x-ray beam at least 50x50 mm2 in cross a sectional area from a high-intensity laser plasma x-ray source. An all polycapillary collimator has been shown to be able to produce an intense, uniform beam up to 30x30 mm2 field size but is impractical for larger beams. Proximity x-ray lithography (PRXL) is a strong candidate for the next generation lithography (NGL) systems needed for continued progress on the semiconductor device roadmap for sub 100 nm feature sizes necessary for ultra high-density, high-speed (>100 GHz) applications. To overcome the physical constraints of a polycapillary collimating optic for large field sizes, a novel hybrid collimator is proposed in which a single bounce reflective (SR) optic serves as a virtual source for a follow-on polycapillary optic thereby increasing its effective capture angle while retaining its proven high gain and beam quality. The critical physical and design parameters for such a hybrid will be examined through measurements and modeling in Phase I. Development of a high-gain, high-field size hybrid collimator optic to enable a compact PXRL collimated plasma lithography (CPL) system capable of meeting the throughput and resolution requirements for next generation (NG) 300 mm wafer Si-based microelectronics production could have far-reaching and even nationally important consequences. It would provide an attractive, lower cost alternative to advanced and as yet unproven extreme ultra-violet (EUV) and electron projection lithography (EPL) systems. Such a system would take advantage of more than ten years of experience and hundreds of high-density, high-speed circuits that have been made using expensive synchrotron research facilities and would give the US a possible counter to SR based PXRL commercial developments in Japan. In the short term, such CPL systems could seamlessly fit into existing fabrication lines and provide medium throughput sub 100 nm production facilities for specialized ultra high-speed, or high density applications which include a broad range of sophisticated, high-performance commercial and military communications products and systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Huang, Huapeng X-RAY OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC. NY Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99971 5371 MANU 9148 1468 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319776 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Microbial Enhancement of Soybeans for Salmonid Diets. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop microbially enhanced plant protein to replace fishmeal in aquaculture feeds. Environmental issues and commercial constraints make substituting plant protein for fishmeal a long standing goal of the aquaculture industry. Non-nutritive carbohydrates in soybeans represent a particularly difficult technical challenge in using microbial treatment to enhance soy protein. To address this challenge, this project proposes to combine innovations in rapid, multi-criteria strain isolation and screening, solid substrate culture technology and salmonid diet formulation. The principle tasks of this Phase I project are to demonstrate technical feasibility of selecting microbes to meet multiple criteria, to develop solid substrate culture processes, and to incorporate enhanced soy into trout diets. The commercial application of this project is in the area of aquaculture. A plant protein meeting requirements of the domestic trout industry and government hatcheries could find immediate commercial application in displacing approximately 25,000 tons of fishmeal. Worldwide aquaculture is forecast to consume about 2.8 million tons of fishmeal in the year 2010 with commercial value in excess of $1.5 billion. An enhanced plant protein could capture a significant share of this market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bradley, Clifford Montana Microbial Products MT Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99970 5371 BIOT 9117 0521700 Marine Resources 0319777 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Flip-Chip - Ink Jet Printed Under Bump Metal (UBM) and Lead Free Solder. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an environmentally friendly, low cost, fine pitch and high reliability flip chip interconnect for the electronic industry. The ultimate goal of this technology is to develop a process that begins with a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) with either aluminum (Al) or copper (Cu) bond pads and results in an IC ready for flip-chip bonding using lead-free solder. The Phase I project will demonstrate printing the under bump metal (UBM) on Cu pads using a combination of nanomaterials and thermally converting the deposit into a solder wetable, layered metal film, and printing the lead free solder bumps on the UBM using a high temperature solder-jet printing technology. The commercial applications of this technology could lead to reduced cost and cycle time for the electronic industry. Flip chip performance and size advantages would be available to low volume applications at minimum entry costs. No photolithography, vacuum processes, plating processes or lead are needed. This not only reduces the manufacturing and facilities cost but also replaces historically hazardous processes (photolithography and plating) with an environmental friendly additive process. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hayes, Donald MicroFab Technologies Inc TX T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9153 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319786 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Monitoring Fire Hazards in Head Space of a Liquid Fuel Tank. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop an oxygen sensor for monitoring explosive mixtures in the head space (ullage) of an aircraft fuel tank. This sensor integrates technological advancements in micro-electronics such as digital signal processors, new vertical cavity surface emitting lasers, high sensitivity absorption spectroscopy, and the development of innovative shields to prevent liquid interferences of optical surfaces. The sensor is expected to detect oxygen concentrations between 5 to 21 percent at a rate of one sample per second, and to perform in conditions where the temperature range is -70 to 120 F and the pressure range is 100 to 760 Torr. The proposed sensor system will be initially compatible for aircraft fuel tanks and later modified for oil tankers and other potential applications. The successful completion of this program will lead to a rugged and miniaturized oxygen sensor system that is compatible with aircraft fuel tanks. Commercial and military aircraft will greatly benefit from this sensor since it increases their survivability. In addition, the sensor can monitor fuel tanks in oil tankers to prevent oil spillage due to explosions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chen, Shin-Juh Southwest Sciences Inc NM Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99999 5371 HPCC 9139 1179 0206000 Telecommunications 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319787 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: The Development of Self-Organizing Maps for Drug Discovery. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will test the feasibility of using Self-Organizing Maps (SOMs), a non-linear, topology-preserving pattern recognition technique, in the design of small molecules with biological activity. Due to a serious unmet need for computer-based tools that can accurately predict early development issues such as potency, safety, and efficacy of drug candidates, the pharmaceutical industry currently relies almost exclusively upon expensive prototyping to evaluate candidates. Many drug candidates fail only after costly pharmaceutics development and/or clinical trials, limiting the ability of drug companies to address anything beyond the most profitable markets. The early stage technology proposed in this Phase I project will significantly advance the state-of-the-art of drug design by addressing one of the major problems with which current computer-aided drug design has long struggled: how to model the non-linear feature-target relationships with dependent features commonly associated with biological systems. The commercial application of this project is in the area of drug discovery and development. The innovative software to be developed through this project will allow the drug companies to computationally evaluate a vast number of drug candidates, resulting in more candidates being investigated and more effective drugs discovered. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schmitt, Jeffrey Targacept, Inc. NC Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99959 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319789 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Systematic Study of the Synthesis of Polythiophenes by GRIgnard Metathesis (GRIM) for Use As Base Materials for Conductive Block Copolymers.. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the chemistry and reaction conditions necessary to synthesize the conducting polymer polythiophene with a high degree of end-group control and in a cost-effective manner. An understanding of this chemistry is vital for the commercialization of novel single-molecule integrated conductive plastics with useful mechanical properties. The project is designed to investigate the synthesis of these materials, determine the reaction equilibrium between two regioisomers of the thiophene monomer which directly affect the ability of the resulting polymer to conduct electricity, determine the end-group capping of the polythiophenes by other reagents in the system, and determine the typical end-group composition of polymers synthesized by the method under investigation. The results of the project will lead directly toward a phase II project which will be focused on using the knowledge gained in this study to engineer novel block copolymers of polythiophene with other types of plastics. These new materials will revolutionize the conductive plastics industry by providing low-cost conductive materials in large quantities for electronic, conductive, anti-static/ESD and anti-corrosive applications. In primary and secondary market research, demand is seen for this type of material for broad technological applications such as coatings, thermoplastics, rubbers, and fibers in a variety of industries, such as electronics, automotive, shipping, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Laird, Darin PLEXTRONICS INC PA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99585 5371 AMPP 9163 1517 0106000 Materials Research 0522100 High Technology Materials 0319790 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Structural Tailoring of Carbon Nanotube Composites for Field Emission. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to tailor the low cost single-walled carbon nanotube/silica composite, produced a unique cobalt-molybdenum catalyst system (CoMoCATtm) method, for use as uniform, reliable, and cost-effective nanotube emitters. Preliminary results have shown that composites prepared from purified single-walled carbon nanotubes and dielectric nanoparticles lead to better emission characteristics than plain nanotubes. Recent collaborative studies demonstrated that the CoMoCATtm material has the potential of being used in its "as-prepared" form, which is already a composite of nanotubes/SiO2 (dielectric) particles. To further improve the field emission characteristics of the CoMoCATtm composite, the structure of the catalyst support and carbon concentration will be optimized by synthesizing mesoporous silica materials of specific pore dimensions. At the same time, the effect of changing the average diameter of the carbon nanotubes will be investigated, capitalizing the flexibility of the CoMoCATtm process for tailoring single-walled carbon nanotubes. Commercially, an important first use of single-walled carbon nanotubes will likely be in field emission devices (FEDs). The nanotube emitters that will be developed in this project are important for many sub-applications in this broad FED field, but the main focus will be in large diagonal TVs due to the considerable market size. The target market for large area FEDs is the existing and predicted market for CPTs (color picture tubes) and color PDPs (plasma display panels). Even a small penetration into this market will yield a considerable opportunity, with a projected market of $1B in the next 5 years. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Balzano, Leandro SOUTHWEST NANOTECHNOLOGIES OK T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1788 1775 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 0319794 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Development of High Performance, Environmentally Benign Lapping Fluids for Hard Disk Drive Manufacturing Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project involves the development of aqueous, environmentally benign computer read - write head lapping fluids based upon polyaspartic copolymer dispersants. In order to accomplish this, a whole new class of polyaspartic acid copolymers will be synthesized and their lapping performance will be characterized. The overall results from this study will have a significant impact upon the computer hard disk manufacturing industry since it will enable the production of read write heads having better surface quality / planarization needed for next generation, higher storage density computer systems. Results from this work will be beneficial to the domestic hard disk drive industry; enabling it to maintain its prominence despite its increased overseas competition SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lombardi, John VENTANA RESEARCH COMPANY AZ T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99920 5371 MANU 9146 1467 0106000 Materials Research 0319810 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A New Biotherapeutic Approach to Combating Unwanted Bacteria. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a new method for killing unwanted and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is becoming a crisis of epic proportions. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics is seen as a major cause of this problem. In June 2001, the American Medical Association went on record opposing the use of antibiotics in agriculture for "non- therapeutic" use in animals. A Public Health Action Plan, written by a federal task force, recommends that entirely new approaches are needed to go beyond the use of traditional antibiotics to employ novel anti-microbial agents that kill pathogens while minimizing the ability of the target bacteria to develop horizontally transferable resistance. The goal of this project is to develop just such a technology. The proposed technology does not incorporate traditional chemical antibiotics, but utilizes well-understood biological processes in a novel and proprietary fashion. It involves engineering harmless bacteria to kill unwanted bacteria by redundant mechanisms that will minimize the development of resistance. The commercial applications of this project are expected to be primarily in the areas of agriculture and veterinary medicine. Initial project efforts will be aimed at combatting Fire Blight (Erwinia amylovora) in fruit crops and reducing Salmonella contamination in poultry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Suzuki, Hideki CONJUGON WI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99657 5371 BIOT 9109 0201000 Agriculture 0319826 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I:Polarization Sensing of Stress Levels in Vegetation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to apply the polarization properties of light reflected from vegetation to examine environmental stress and species-specific identifiers by remote sensing. The research will impact science by creating a body of experimental data on the diffuse reflectance spectra of plant species. The proposed methods could be used to optimize fertilizer use and to detect invasive species that can cause huge crop losses. The primary commercial application for these sensors will be in agriculture, especially in large-scale precision farming. The relatively low cost of these sensors and large markets in which they could be used, should promote prompt commercialization of the technology following successful demonstration. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Finkelman, Steven Containerless Research, Inc. IL Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319828 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Diode-Pumped, High-Power, Cr:LiSAF-Based Ultrafast Laser and THz Source. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to conduct key experiments directed toward the development of an innovative, ultrafast-pulse laser source. While Ti: sapphire-based femtosecond sources are widely deployed in scientific laboratories throughout the world, they have a level of complexity and cost that is a barrier to wider use of femtosecond systems. Based on a directly diode-pumped Cr:LiSAF laser and following a multi-pass slab design that has proven successful with similar materials, the source to be developed in this project will be less complex, smaller and less expensive than present ultrafast laser systems. One application that will be emphasized in the project is terahertz generation, which in turn has a variety of significant uses. In the Phase I program, Cr:LiSAF lasers will be built and characterize, with two possible diode-pumping geometries. In addition, a Q-switched laser based on one of the Cr:LiSAF designs will be built and characterized to provide data on the potential performance of a regenerative amplifier based on the proposed technology. Finally a preliminary design will be conducted of a high-power, diode-pumped, Cr:LiSAF-based THz-radiation system. If the overall effort is successful, the outcome will be ultrafast- and terahertz-generation products suited for scientific and industrial customers. The initial market for the ultrafast laser would be the scientific research community, but it is anticipated that industrial applications such as process-control spectroscopy, ultra-precise micro-machining, biological imaging and high-speed electronics circuit testing, would also accept this technology. The development of the associated THz source would provide the option of supplying devices to address the emerging applications of THz systems. These applications include, but are not limited to, communications, atmospheric sensing, collision avoidance, medical imaging, non-destructive inspection and security scanning. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Slobodtchikov, Evgueni Q-PEAK, INC. MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99996 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0319845 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Minature Radio Frequency/Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems Absolute Pressure Transducer. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes the development of an entirely new MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems) pressure sensor architecture that is capable of providing a combination of sensitivity and dynamic range much beyond the state-of-the-art. The sensor structure is made small and light enough to be able to move under the influence of the pressure bombardment in a manner that can be recorded by phase sensitive electronics. The differential pressure is eliminated so that there is no net average force on the transducer membrane and hence no DC term in the output. A purely electrical measurement technique that exploits the change in the structure's capacitance as the membrane moves will be used. The proposed detection approach is a phase measurement technique; promising very high sensitivity and noise immunity. The worldwide market for compact pressure sensors is in excess of $2.5B and extends from low-cost consumer products to high-end scientific and military systems. For all applications, low-cost, small-size, and especially low power dissipation are essential. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Knopp, Kevin Ahura Corporation, Inc. MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99753 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 1179 0206000 Telecommunications 0319851 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Speed Optoelectronic Recognition of Al, Si, and Mg Alloys. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will develop a novel optoelectronic sensing system for the high-speed identification and sorting of metals, in particular aluminum alloys containing silicon and magnesium alloying elements. The goal of the program is to develop a commercial system that will be capable of sorting wrought alloys from cast alloys. This new sensor driven technology, called the Spectramet Technology, will ultimately provide a revolutionary remote sensing intelligent-machine system (actually a platform of sensors and systems) that will accurately and unambiguously analyze and sort recycled metals at currently unachievable high accuracy and high speeds into compositions of metals and alloys custom mixed to smelter or mill specifications. If successful, the result would be a commercially viable sorting system. Worldwide generation of aluminum scrap amounts to 8 million metric tons per year, of which half is generated here in the U.S. If successful, applying a projected scrap value of $1500 per metric ton, this technology would create a paradigm shift in a $10 billion market for sorting and recycling scrap aluminum. The new technology would be important in helping U.S. industry compete with low cost, labor-intensive overseas operations. It would replace the need for new primary production allowing substitution of existing U.S. aluminum scrap resources into high-grade specification applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Spencer, David wTe Corporation MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 1517 0522400 Information Systems 0319855 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: DNA-Based Chemosensors for Direct Detection of Volatile Compounds. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel portable sensor array device, based directly on biological principles, for rapidly detecting, identifying, and quantifying volatile compounds in the environment. Lab and field tests show that this platform is sensitive enough to detect and discriminate the vapor signature of buried TNT-filled landmines. This SBIR Phase I project focuses on incorporating into the device a novel sensing technology that uses dye-labeled DNA to directly detect volatile chemicals with the use of state-of-the-art microarray equipment. The commercial application of the product will be as a lightweight, low-cost, hand-held volatile chemical detection system for use in security screening for the rapid detection of explosives, chemical warfare agents, and other hazardous materials. Other potential uses include medical diagnostics and environmental monitoring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG White, Joel CogniScent, Inc. MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319860 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Robotic Scrub Technician. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop the initial component of a cognitive structure for a robotic scrub technician in the operating room. The scrub technician will maintain a tray of instruments, handing an instrument to the surgeon when requested and retrieving the instrument when the surgeon is finished with it. The opportunity is to reduce hospital personnel costs and alleviate a critical nursing shortage problem. The problem is to provide the robot with situational awareness comparable to an experienced human scrub technician, particularly in the ability to anticipate the surgeon's next request. The objective of the project is to determine the feasibility of using artificial intelligence and statistical techniques to provide this ability. The research method will compare selected techniques for time series prediction and classification, using data sets from actual surgeries. The candidate techniques will include first to third order Markov methods, N-sequence matching, neural networks and fuzzy set based inference. The end product is expected to be a prediction engine that will enable the clinical version of the robot to perform as well or better than an experienced human scrub technician. The commercial application of this project is in the area of biomedical devices and instrumentation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Treat, Michael ROBOTIC SURGICAL TECH, INC. NY Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 94875 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319868 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Proof of Concept of a Digital Magnetic Biosensor. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project seeks to develop the detector portion of a novel Digital Magnetic Biosensor ("DIBS"). The primary goal is to establish the feasibility of detecting and counting individual protein molecules using magnetic reagents and digital detector technology adapted from existing magnetic data-storage devices. A prototype microfluidic device will be built and used to investigate detection limits. Products are envisioned that use multiple DIBS in a wide range of disposable diagnostic "cards" that are driven by a hand-held analyzer based on a popular PDA platform. The device will be capable of single molecule detection/resolution, simultaneous analysis of multiple analytes in a single pinprick-sized sample, giving results within minutes. An initial conservative target of 1000 molecules per sample is a first objective. The commercial application of this product will primarily be in diagnostic medicine. Applications in remote environmental testing and homeland defenses monitoring are also possible. The initial targeted customers for these products are distributed healthcare providers who wish to provide rapid and cost-effective quantitative immunoassay-based diagnostic tests on site. These include primary healthcare physician practices, specialist healthcare centers, and hospital emergency rooms. A large potential secondary market for home testing is also anticipated. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Gregory, Malcolm Digimmune Corporation PA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99999 1505 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319870 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel AlGaN-Based Structures for High-Efficiency and High-Power, Deep Ultraviolet Emitters. `This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is directed toward the development of a nitride-based semiconductor laser operating at 280 nm or shorter. In Phase I, high-efficiency and high power ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV LED), incorporating novel AlGaN quantum-well (QW) structures, will be demonstrated as the proof of concept. The LED structure will overcome most of the current challenges in AlGaN-based UV emitters. These challenges include enhanced p-type doping of the cladding layer and reduction of the non-radiative recombination in the QW layer. The LED structure has unique advantage of transporting carriers through miniband of a short-period high-Al-fraction alloy superlattice. In this structure, the desired UV wavelength can be obtained by adjusting QW parameters such as well thickness and Al mole fraction. The research will be carried out by a joint effort consisting of the III-N molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) group and the semiconductor group. Semiconductor ultraviolet (UV) optical sources have a wide variety of applications in polymer curing, water purification, white light generation, projection displays, high-recording-density compact disk data storage, photolithography, biological agent detection, and non-line-of-sight covert communications SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Dabiran, Amir SVT ASSOCIATES, INCORPORATED MN Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99989 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 0319874 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy for Subcellular Imaging. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of a nuclear magnetic resonance force microscope (NMRFM) that will make it possible for the first time ever to routinely image intracellular diffusion properties, relaxation times, and hydrogen densities of live cells with sub-optical spatial resolution, down to a volume resolution of 0.1 micron on a side. The hypothesis is that an NMRFM technique can be used for NMR-based imaging of living eucaryotic and procaryotic cells with sub-optical resolution, thereby allowing measurement of diffusion properties, relaxation times, and hydrogen (proton-spin) densities of the cell itself and its larger internal structures (e.g. nucleus, cytoplasm, plasma membrane, and mitochondria). The commercial applications of this project will be in the research instrumentation market. Prospective customers include biologists, medical researchers, clinical practitioners, and others interested in functional and structural imaging of living cells and acellular tissue samples. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mancevski, Vladimir XIDEX CORPORATION TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319879 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Signal Processing Techniques for Neural Discovery and Communications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop custom signal processing algorithms and embedded software for arrays of tiny neural probes that are currently being manufactured for simultaneously recording the activity of multiple neurons. Most of the effort expended to date on neural probes has focused on the formidable challenges of manufacturing the hardware elements of the probes. One crucial element for making neural communications via probes technically and commercially viable has received little attention. Advanced signal processing technologies needed to condition, recover and transmit the signals from neurons, and to deliver transmitted neural stimulus to muscle tissue has received little attention. This project aims to develop algorithms and embedded software that will render neural probes more reliable and practical. Neural probes so equipped can reliably capture, condition, filter, transmit and receive neural signals, and restore the needed high degree of repeatability and consistency to their operation. This, in turn, will accelerate the deployment of the probes, greatly enhancing the value of the substantial investment in neural probes to date. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Erten, Gail IC TECH, INC. MI Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99999 5371 HPCC 9139 9102 1631 0104000 Information Systems 0319902 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Optics Design Feasibility for a Massively Parallel Oligonucleotide Synthesizer. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to develop the instrumentation and processes to fabricate ex-novo large numbers of user-specified oligonucleotides in hours, using a proprietary tabletop production system. Oligomers will be synthesized in parallel on a glass slide using light-directed phosphoramidite chemistry with computer-controlled imaging, and then selectively eluted using a novel photosensitive release process. Maskless exposure will make possible the rapid synthesis of any number (up to > 700,000) of different sequences of 10-40 base pairs oligomers, with a user-defined tradeoff between the quantity and variety produced. Scaling up from a proof-of-principle instrument to a Massively Parallel Oligomer Synthesizer (MPOS) tool requires larger product throughput (picomoles of oligomers) which will be facilitated through the combination of an optical research study to increase the exposure area and intensity, and the evaluation of various engineered surfaces to increase the density among the oligomers. The commercial application of this project is in the area of oligonucleotide synthesis. Successful genome sequencing programs have led to an urgent need for massive sets of different DNA oligonucleotides to be used as affinity reagents in various types of genetic tests. The current generation of DNA synthesizers are designed to produce large quantities of only a few oligonucleotides. This project proposes to develop a system capable of producing thousands of oligonucleotides on a scale compatible with high throughput genetic assays. It is expected that practically every laboratory performing molecular biology or genetic research will benefit tremendously from this project, since the use of oligonucleotide primers is basic to such fundamental and routine laboratory protocols as PCR, DNA sequencing, and site-directed mutagenesis. Specific groups in the commercial sector that will directly benefit from this project include biotechnology companies that manufacture products for genetic screening and clinical laboratories performing genetic analysis. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Kaysen, James Franco Cerrina GENETIC ASSEMBLIES INC WI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99997 5371 1505 BIOT 9181 1505 0110000 Technology Transfer 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319909 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Conductivity Photoprintable Conducting Polymers for Polymeric Electronics. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop printable conducting polymers that can be used to produce polymeric electronic devices. The printable conducting polymers envisioned are initially soluble and become insoluble and spatially fixed after exposure to ultraviolet light, thus a positive resist of the conducting polymer material can be produced with standard printing processes. This Phase I project will build on the soluble conducting polymer technology, and add the ability to form positive resists for polymeric electronics. Conducting polymers with a conductivity of 10 to 300 S/cm that can be printed into electronic components for flat panel displays and organic electronics will be developed. This proposal addressed the need to fabricate large area devices, such as displays, by a room temperature printing process. Commercial applications include conducting components of polymeric displays including flexible display electrodes and addressing lines, hole injection layers, and printed wiring boards, other flexible or non-flexible polymeric electronic chips, EMI shielding and antistatic coatings. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Elliott, Brian TDA Research, Inc CO Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1676 1517 0106000 Materials Research 0319918 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Mesoscale Optical Element Fabrication Development by Laser Microchemical Etching. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 Project will use a commercial laser system for laser chemical etching to develop processes to fabricate Micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems (MOEMS) components such as micro-lenses, channels, and electrical contacts by directly writing with a laser. MEMS/MOEMS devices are often difficult to make and the architectures are often limited by the need to use conventional lithographic tools borrowed from the integrated circuit industry. The main issue that arises in the fabrication of MOEMS devices is simply that of creating controlled non-flat surfaces with high precision, or fabricating something on a non-flat surface, and high quality surface finish. In this proposal the feasibility of creating the general structures in close proximity, for creating by direct laser etching and writing, a MOEMS test structure incorporating optical, microfluidic, and electrical elements will be developed. Micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems (MOEMS) are making inroads in the Optoelectronics, medical equipment, sensors, communications, aerospace and automotive industries. This market is ever expanding and will be a multi-billion dollar market by 2005. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Burns, Michael LMC Instrument Corp. A.B.A. Revise, Inc. MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 0 5371 HPCC 9163 9139 1517 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0319935 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Low-Cost Laser Ultrasonic Receiver for Industrial Inspection Based on Pseudo Phase Conjugation. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of using a passive, interferometric receiver using pseudo phase conjugation as part of a low-cost laser ultrasonic inspection system for industrial inspection and process control. In many industrial applications, conventional nondestructive inspection techniques cannot be applied for real-time process control, because parts are hot, vibrating or translating rapidly. Laser ultrasonics is a remote, non-contact inspection technique that overcomes these limitations and can function in the most demanding industrialenvironments. The new receiver will demonstrate high detection sensitivity and bandwidth, as well as static and dynamic compensation for speckles from rough surfaces. The design is adapted from classical concepts but requires no path-length stabilization and uses no photo-refractive crystal. The receiver can operate at an eye-safe wavelength using fiber optic components developed for telecomm applications. Laser ultrasonics can be used for in-line wall thickness measurement of seamless steel tubes and glass containers, for in-line inspection of laser welds, and scanning inspection of large composite panels used in the aerospace industry. Substantial cost savings have been documented in each case. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wilde, Jeffrey LASSON TECHNOLOGIES, INC. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 96667 5371 CVIS 1059 0106000 Materials Research 0522100 High Technology Materials 0319936 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Manufacturing and Testing of Nanocrystalline Hydroxyapatite Orthopedic Implants. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project proposes to develop forming and sintering processes suitable for the manufacture of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite orthopedic implants. Though hydroxyapatite's osteoconductivity has generated interest in many clinical applications, conventionally processed hydroxyapatite materials have been limited by their poor sinterability and lack of mechanical strength attributed to poor phase purity and homogeneity. Angstrom Medica, Inc. has optimized its nanostructure hydroxyapatite powders for sinterability, mechanical strength and nanocrystallinity. The nanocrystalline HAP monoliths appear to provide superior compressive and bending strengths as well as fracture toughness, and contribute to better osteoblast attachment, proliferation and mineralization. This project will conduct the early process and product development of a marketable nanocrystalline HAP orthopedic pin for small bone fixation and the testing of this pin in a cadaver bone model. In the follow on Phase II project, these nanostructured materials will be formed into more geometrically complex implants constructs and utilized in in vivo animal models commonly employed to validate orthopedic implants for FDA approval. The commercial application of this project is in the area of orthopedic implants. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ahn, Edward Angstrom Medica, Incorporated MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319959 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: An Innovative and Cost Effective Biotechnology for In-situ Treatment of Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop and demonstrate unique features of a novel biotechnology process for in-situ bioremediation of Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) in groundwater. Major problems with in-situ bioremediation of MTBE include the inability to establish high densities of bacteria, the inability to maintain contact between the degrading bacteria and MTBE, and the upsets and losses of bacteria. The primary objective of this Phase I project is to evaluate degradation performance of the biological permeable barrier [BPB] using Bio-beads as the reactive material. It is anticipated that MTBE will be effectively biodegraded to non-detectable levels. The commercial application of this project is in the area of bioremediation. Success of the work is expected to have major impact on the various environmental problems linked to contaminated sites both in the public and private sectors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Shirazi, Fatemeh STRATUM ENGINEERING INC MO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99942 5371 BIOT 9104 9100 0313040 Water Pollution 0319962 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Nanoshell-Based Cancer Therapy. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I will develop a novel, nanotechnology-based cancer therapy. This therapy, nanoshell-based thermal ablation (NBTA), holds the promise as a significant new therapeutic tool for the treatment of otherwise inoperable cancers or neoplasms where surgery is accompanied by a high probability of morbidity or mortality. The therapy will utilize proprietary nanoshells to convert externally applied near-infrared (nIR) light into localized heat to destroy targeted cancer cells, minimizing damage to surrounding tissue and avoiding the long-term effects of radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Specific goals of this STTR project include (i) understanding biodistribution and clearance of nanoshells, (ii) understanding tumor uptake of nanoshells, and (iii) assessment of the survival time of animals with cancers that have been treated with nanoshells. The commercial application of this project will be in cancer therapy. NBTA will lead to an FDA regulated device comprised of nanoshells and a light delivery system (laser). The company will partner with a laser manufacturer, and with a marketing and sales partner, for distribution of the product. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG O'Neal, Dennis NANOSPECTRA BIOSCIENCES, INC. TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99994 1505 BIOT 9181 0110000 Technology Transfer 0203000 Health 0319965 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Nanoparticle-Assisted Laser Tissue Welding. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project on nanoparticle-assisted laser tissue welding will develop a novel approach for targeting heat generation to a wound site allowing deeper, more uniform welds and a reduction in the extent of tissue damage. Laser tissue welding, the joining of tissues by heat produced from light absorption, has emerged as a commercially and clinically attractive strategy. However, the success of laser tissue welding has been somewhat limited because of (1) generation of superficial welds with poor mechanical integrity due to low optical penetration; and (2) excessive damage to adjacent tissues. In a preliminary study, nanoshells were applied to tissue surfaces and stable welds were formed at laser wavelengths and powers where no significant heating would occur in untreated tissue. Nanoshells are a new class of engineered nanoparticles that can be designed to strongly absorb light in regions where absorption by tissue is minimal and optical penetration is maximal, namely wavelengths in the range of 800-1200 nm. At these wavelengths, light can deeply penetrate tissue with minimal heating and be preferentially absorbed at the nanoshells on the wound surface allowing highly targeted application of the heat required to close the wound. The commercial applications of this project will be in surgical practice for wound closure such as vascular anastamosis, gynecological surgery, thoracic surgery, ocular repair, cartilage repair and liver repair. The core technology may have additional commercial applications in emergency medicine SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG O'Neal, Dennis NANOSPECTRA BIOSCIENCES, INC. TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99957 5371 1505 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0319968 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Wired Fiber: Direct Fiber Connection to Silicon Based on Anodic Bonding for Epoxy-less Fiber Pigtailing of Optoelectronic Components. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses development of an epoxy-less fiber pigtailing technology using anodic fiber bonding appropriate for use with telecommunications transmitters or receivers, or for integration of sensors directly with fibers. The subgoals include: development of the anodic bonding technology for parallel fiber; modeling of the stress distribution in the fiber due to this bonding; characterization of the strength of the fiber-to-Si bond; and, fabrication of a prototype Si bench with a V-groove suitable for passive alignment of fiber to an active device and measurement of the thermal stability of the coupling efficiency. This is based on a solid body of preliminary work, including demonstration of facet-to-Si anodic bonding, and development of telecommunications modules using epoxied fiber-in-a-V-groove to telecommunication laser characterization The research will result in unprecedented levels of cost effectiveness, device performance, miniaturization, and ruggedness of a variety of photonic devices. This will substantially increase U.S. competitiveness in international microelectronics production, new fabrication and assembly technologies. Applications may be found in detection, telecommunications, information processing, micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems (MOEMS), and X-ray device technologies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Abeysinghe, Don Taitech, Inc. OH Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 98119 5371 OTHR MANU 9147 1517 0106000 Materials Research 0319970 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: An Integrated Software Tool for Modeling and Model-Based Control of Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of the development of a novel software tool for integrated model-based control design for Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) systems. The use of advanced model-based feedback control has become essential to meeting the increasingly stringent specifications for semiconductor processing. Phase I activity will be a feasibility study consisting of development of techniques for model order reduction and for speeding up Monte Carlo ray tracing calculations, specification of the software architecture, and closed-loop simulation of a generic RTP chamber using the proposed framework. In Phase II, the software prototype will be fully implemented. The final result of this focused effort will be a software package that will be used by semiconductor process engineers and design engineers at semiconductor equipment companies that manufacture RTP systems. Subsequently, the RTP the capabilities of this tool will be extended to encompass other processes for the semiconductor and advanced materials industry such as CVD, etch, CMP, etc. The total market size exceeds $10 billion. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ebert, Jon SC SOLUTIONS INC CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99996 5371 HPCC 9139 1467 0104000 Information Systems 0319972 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Development of an Optical Sensor for Instantaneous Detection of Bioaerosols. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will study the feasibility of an instrument capable of detecting biological agents instantaneously by measuring droplet sizes and the intrinsic fluorescence of biological material. The instrument will provide instantaneous measurements indoors and outdoors of the biological aerosols present in the environment with the use of long-range fluorescence excitation, which produces a multiphoton optical signal. It has been demonstrated in laboratory settings that a multiphoton florescence emission along with particle size could be a clear fingerprint for airborne biological material. A long range laser in the order of 800 nm will detect the micron size aerosol as it pass the sampling volume providing instantaneous measurements of intrinsic fluorescence and particle size. The particle size of the aerosol will be detected by measuring the intensity of eth elastic scattering of the laser. A compact micro-control system will drive all system components. Software will be developed to drive the micro-controller and quantify all the fluorescence measurements. The system will be configured so that it is compact, easy to use and reliable. The first generation of the product will target the stand-alone semi-portable system market. This Phase I project will provide design specifications for the indoor-outdoor air quality conditions, and biological terrorist attacks alarm system applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Perez-Reisler, Rafael Caribbean Thermal Technologies PR Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9197 9188 9150 9139 9102 1596 0104000 Information Systems 0118000 Pollution Control 0313010 Air Pollution 0319974 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Sensitivity Micro Strain Sensor Using Magnetostrictive Spin Dependent Tunneling Materials. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to demonstrate a test strain sensor in microchip form using magnetostrictive spin dependent tunneling materials. Silicon piezoresistive materials have high sensitivity but operate at low temperatures, whereas metallic films have much better temperature capability but much lower sensitivity. The limitations in sensitivity/temperature, susceptibility to ESD, cost, and others have precluded the technology to be used in several key commercial and military applications. An approach based on the high sensitivity, wide temperature range, low power, small size and low cost of similar devices is proposed. Although as a magnetic device, the sensor will be insensitive to external magnetic fields of practical magnitude, using a proprietary approach. The feasibility will be demonstrated by fabricating test devices; constructing a miniature strain tester; and achieving high strain sensitivity. It is expected that these sensors will find rapid initial acceptance in application areas of industrial control, civil engineering projects, and robotics, and then expand to other applications. This sensor will function under very adverse conditions of temperature, ESD and radiation. Unlike other magnetic sensors the device will have no response to magnetic fields, either natural or created by the equipment it is trying to control. Because the sensor is manufactured by microelectronics techniques it will be low cost and the packaging requirements will not have to include many of the techniques employed today to "safeguard" the existing sensor. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Dexin NVE CORPORATION MN Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1676 1517 0106000 Materials Research 0319980 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Out-of-Season Spawning Technologies to Double Yellow Perch Fingerling Production. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a reliable method to spawn yellow perch out-of-season, thereby allowing for the production of two crops of fingerlings per year. Photothermal and hormonal methodologies will be used to induce out-of-season spawning. It is anticipated that the technology developed during this project will lead to the doubling of annual fingerling production from existing farms. The greater availability of fingerlings should markedly reduce their cost, and translate into greater profits for growout producers. The commercial application of this project is in the area of aquaculture. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Genson, Steve Coolwater Aquaculture, LLC WI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9117 0521700 Marine Resources 0319981 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Integrated High Speed Intelligent Utility Tie Unit for Disbursed/Renewable Generation Facilities. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes a novel approach that can significantly improve the operational reliability and quality for disbursed/renewable generation facilities. Due to price hikes and rotating blackouts in California, the power industry has reached a consensus that disbursed or distributed generation via renewable generation facilities seems to be one of the best alternatives for future utility industry. There is a serious coordination mismatch between the local renewable power facility and the utility supply. If external faults occur, the local user will be out of power, will need to manually disconnect tiebreaker, manually connect the local generation facility to provide power, etc. This will not only cause serious problems in operation reliability and quality of service, but also significant inconvenience to the individual users. The innovation proposed is to develop an intelligent utility tie monitoring, control, and protection system that can guarantee a smooth delivery of power to the user irrespective of internal and external faults. The commercial impact of this technology would be a significant cost savings. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhang, Frank Intelligent Automation, Inc MD Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0104000 Information Systems 0319991 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nanoelectronic Capnography Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop and commercialize a new generation of low-cost, disposable carbon dioxide gas sensors based on carbon nanotube sensor elements. The sensors will combine cutting-edge nanoelectronics with recognition chemistry coatings to make nanosensors that can measure carbon dioxide in breath (capnography). The sensors will be small enough to fit into the respiratory tube or nasal cannulae of patients requiring respiratory monitoring. This innovation will lower the cost of many surgical procedures and facilitate capnography monitoring in mobile and temporary settings by decoupling capnography from expensive, fixed monitoring equipment. The net benefits will include improved patient care and lower costs for healthcare providers. The project will take advantage of recent developments in fabricating hybrid nanotube-silicon transducers. This project will help move nanotechnology out of research laboratories into the commercial realm, thereby encouraging additional investment and overall R&D spending. Perhaps most important of all, the technology has the potential to make a small but important move toward lowered healthcare costs with improved patient care. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Star, Alexander Nanomix, Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 96886 5371 HPCC 9139 1179 0104000 Information Systems 0203000 Health 0320014 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Personal Microarray Reader. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a magnetic microarray reader that, as part of a magnetics-based bioassay technology, addresses mass consumer applications for microarrays. Magnetic labels as reporters in DNA and immunoassays have already shown excellent sensitivity. Previous versions of magnetic DNA arrays perform DNA and immunoassays directly on the magnetic detector chip surface. A major hurdle for this approach is the intertwining of bioassay surface chemistry and details of magnetic sensor array fabrication. This personal assay reader would permit more rapid breakthroughs in bioassay development by removing this hurdle. This will be accomplished by physically separating the assay chip and the magnetic microarray reader chip. The microarray biochemistry will be performed on a glass slide or whatever surface is best for a given assay. The magnetic microarray reader will be a separate chip with an array of magnetic sensors that physically interlocks with the microarray slide during the assay readout. The commercial application of this project is in the area of microarrays for use in a wide variety of biological and biomedical assays. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tondra, Mark NVE CORPORATION MN Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99911 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320016 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Create a Building Energy Conservation Optimization Network (BECON). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will create a Building Energy Conservation Optimization Network (BECON). BECON will reduce energy consumed by lighting, HVAC and other systems in buildings. BECON enables the optimal control and scheduling of environmental factors in a building, including lighting, heating, cooling and ventilation among others. BECON involves: (1) An illumination-based audit and control system to monitor accurately, on a frequent, timely and inexpensive basis, the energy requirements and usage in a building, enhancing the capability of a building energy management system; and (2) Electronic lighting ballasts which can control and reduce energy usage based on lighting requirements. The broader impacts of BECON include substantial energy conservation and efficiency within buildings plus the inexpensive availability of monitoring systems customized for individual buildings without extensive sensor installations. Since BECON is based on the dual use of lights for illumination and for data transmission, BECON transmitters can be designed also to provide assistive information to blind, deaf and other disabled users, enabling inexpensive enhanced compliance with the Americans with Disabilities ACT. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hinman, Roderick TALKING LIGHTS LLC MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0104000 Information Systems 0320020 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Adaptive Phased Arrays for Broadband Wireless Access. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of using electronically steerable phased array antennas in conjunction with commercially available low cost wireless transceivers. The proposed research will demonstrate a low cost phased array that can be used with a commercial wireless networking card. In the past, phased arrays were big and expensive, but two critical developments have brought this technology into economic reach today. The company have conceived a novel technique for implementing ultra-low-cost phase shifters using PIN diodes and have also devised a method of controlling the phased array antenna that does not require radios specifically designed for this purpose. A prototype proof-of-concept system (including phase shifters) will be fabricated and methods for steering the antenna will be verified. The potential impact of the combination of low cost radios with economical phased arrays is enormous, in that it could facilitate wireless broadband access in geographic areas where DSL and cable modem service are impractical. Deployment of broadband wireless access has been slow largely due to the cost of sending a truck with skilled personnel to set up and steer high gain antennas. Wireless Internet Service Providers (ISPs) report that the cost of installation often exceeds the cost of the equipment itself. By simplifying the installation, the cost of deployment is lowered dramatically. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Carey, Joseph FIDELITY COMTECH INC CO Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99967 5371 MANU 9148 1596 0206000 Telecommunications 0320023 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Single Photon Detector for Visible Wavelengths. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel, solid state, avalanche photodiode operated in Geiger mode as single photon sensitive avalanche detector (SPAD). Phase I will experimentally confirm the theory and quantitatively prove the suitability of a device structure and materials choice. Phase II will optimize and implement a high performance SPAD. The novel SPAD will have better single photon sensitivity, quantum efficiency, and response speed than the best vacuum photomultiplier tube (PMT) or silicon SPAD. The photodetector will be fabricated using novel large band gap compound semiconductor materials, which exhibit exceptionally low dark count rates and high materials quality. The novel materials promise a thermal generation rate 50 million times lower than that of the silicon commonly used for SPADs, and has higher carrier velocities and a direct band gap. Together, these promise quantum efficiencies above 50 percent, sub-nsec rise times, nsec reset times, and psec jitter. The project will obsolesce the PMT and silicon SPAD for photon-starved applications using them in biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, and remote sensing. The project helps both research and instrumentation. The ability to detect single photons with high detection efficiency, low dark count rate, high sensitivity, high timing resolution, and high duty cycle is a key requirement for many scientific instruments and sensing/detecting applications. The development of a robust, solid state, single photon avalanche detector (SPAD) will transform such components from expensive laboratory curiosities requiring liquid nitrogen or high voltage glass tubes into commonplace parts. New applications with small markets today, such as single photon quantum communications and lab-on-a-chip, could also benefit greatly. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Harmon, Eric LIGHTSPIN TECHNOLOGIES, INC MD Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 98908 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0320024 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Watt Level, Narrow Linewidth, Single Frequency Fiber Laser at 1550 nm. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is aimed at the demonstration of a compact, Watt-level, single frequency fiber laser operating around 1550 nm. The laser will take advantage of proprietary, highly Yb: Er co-doped fiber allowing the total length of the fiber-laser cavity to less than 5 cm - a task impossible with conventional fiber approaches. Such a short cavity length is uniquely suited for extremely stable and mode hop free single frequency operation. High doping levels and a large optical mode field diameter will be used in order to reduce the influence of fiber non-linearities and allow for a short and compact linear cavity. The high power and near ideal spectral (spatial output) at an eye-safe wavelength, where Er-doped fiber amplifiers and other fiber-optic components would be readily available. This would make such a laser very attractive for many commercial applications including coherent LADAR, distributed temperature and pressure sensing and frequency conversion. The project should ultimately result in a marketable product that will be used in a variety of civil and military applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Spiegelberg, Christine NP PHOTONICS INC AZ Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99987 5371 HPCC 9139 9102 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0320029 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Semiconductor Device for Direct and Efficient Conversion of Radioisotope Energy. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will establish the feasibility of constructing a semiconductor device that directly and efficiently converts the energy released from radioactive decay directly into electric current. The semiconductor material will be utilized in a unique manner that will result in an innovative electrical technology. Prior efforts using semiconductor materials to accomplish direct radioisotope energy conversion have concentrated on planar geometries as in, for example, solar and photovoltaic cells. The goal of this research is to distribute the radioisotope throughout the specified active volume of a semiconductor in such a manner as to remain nearly proximate to the energy conversion mechanism. The key to achieving high efficiency is to situate the maximum number of radioactive nuclei so that a minimal amount of decay energy is lost before conversion to electric current occurs. Commercially, this research will lead to the development of a practical nuclear battery. It is anticipated that this direct energy conversion device would be able to replace chemical batteries in a number of applications. Especially attractive is that candidate radioisotope power sources have half-lives measured in decades so that electric current can be delivered continuously in remote or inaccessible locations. Potentially, acceptance and success in the industrial marketplace will lead to a number of consumer applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gadeken, Larry BetaBatt, Inc. TX T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9186 0306000 Energy Research & Resources 0522100 High Technology Materials 0320032 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Improving The Bioavailability of the Natural Antioxidant Astaxanthin from Haematococcus Pluvialis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to improve the bioavailability of astaxanthin from the green algae, Haematococcus pluvialis, through molecular genetic manipulation of the organism. Natural astaxanthin is a potent bioactive antioxidant and offers tremendous potential for use in nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, aquaculture, and poultry industries. The green alga, Haematococcus pluvialis, is the richest known natural source of astaxanthin. One major constraint in the Haematococcus production system, however, is that astaxanthin-rich cells (cysts) possess thick cell walls that hinder astaxanthin extraction and subsequent bioavailability for humans and cultured animals. Chemical and physical cell disruption processes account for a major cost of the production, yet introduce the risk of oxidation of astaxanthin. In this Phase I project, certain features of Haematococcus will be genetically altered so as to facilitate fast and efficient extraction and digestion of cell-bound astaxanthin. The immediate commercial application of this project will be in the nutraceutical and aquaculture markets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lu, Fan Algaen Corporation NC F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 99938 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320037 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Direct Measurement of Wafer Temperature in White/UV LED Manufacture. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop an improved method for measuring temperature during manufacture of visible and ultra-violet light emitting diodes (LED's). Unfortunately, LED substrates such as sapphire do not allow one to use currently available instruments because at wavelengths where the substrate is opaque process gases absorb radiation affecting temperature measurements. In this project it is planned to develop a method to correct for process gas absorption of radiation for use with substrates such as sapphire and silicon carbide. This will allow improved real time in-situ temperature measurement, giving improved manufacturing yields, better data for development work, and lower costs for these materials. The instrument will be initially developed for use with gallium nitride (GaN) processes used for LED manufacture. Improved process temperature measurement will lead to faster development through a better understanding of the process and higher manufacturing yields due to improved temperature control. Commercially, the project could enhance manufacturing productivity and improve national competitiveness in wide bandgap materials manufacturing by providing better process control data. The reduced development and manufacturing costs will improve US competitiveness in this critical technology area. Also, reduced costs of LED components will speed widespread adoption of LED lighting lowering US energy costs and bringing economic and environmental benefits. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Bodycomb, Jeffrey Bellwether Instruments, LLC. SC T. James Rudd Standard Grant 98536 9150 MANU 9148 0206000 Telecommunications 0320041 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: State-of-the-Art pH Monitoring in Bioreactors. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will demonstrate a feasible approach to manufacturing metal oxide based pH sensors for use in long-term cell culture and tissue-engineering experiments. Current electrochemical pH sensors do not meet the demonstrable need for accurate, stable, reliable and robust sensors in biological applications. The sensors are expected to replace current optical pH measurement techniques that are cumbersome and unsuitable for long-term, unattended experiments. Extensive research has shown that the precise control of environmental parameters such as culture medium pH have a profound impact on productivity. The sensors will have the advantages of small size, ability to sterilize, resistance to the biological environment, and lack of toxicity. This Phase I project will focus on designing a prototype sensor by evaluating materials that enable the sensor to survive the biological environment without adversely effecting tissue growth. The commercial application of this project is in the area of sensors for use with cell cultures in bioreactors. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Robechek, John SensIrOx, Inc. OH F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 100000 1505 BIOT 9181 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320047 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Neural Plasticity of Bone Marrow Derived Progenitor Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a novel cell therapy using adult stem cells to treat diseases of the central nervous system. A specific stem cell (CD34 "Lin") within adult bone marrow has been isolated that can be induced to express a neuronal phenotype and specifically home to the brain. This project hypothesizes that the multipotential nature of these cells will enable cell replacement and drug delivery therapies to treat diseases or injury of the nervous system, including Parkinson's and stroke. The Phase I project will address isolation and characterization, in vitro differentiation, and in vivo differentiation of CD34 "Lin" cells. The commercial application of this project is in human healthcare. The technology could lead to potential therapeutic treatments for devastating diseases such as Parkinson's disease, stroke and Alzheimer's disease. Each of these diseases represents a substantial number of patients and therefore, a substantial market opportunity. Furthermore, particularly for diseases such as stroke, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, there are few, if any alternative strategies currently available. Other cell therapies are being developed, but most of these are derived from fetal tissue or xenogeneic sources, which introduce safety or ethical concerns. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pykett, Mark CYTOMATRIX LLC MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 98669 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0320048 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Recombinant Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis (IHN ) Virus G Protein Vaccine. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop a vaccine for the control of infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN) disease of salmon and trout. An efficacious, safe and reasonably priced IHN virus vaccine would improve the productivity of the finfish aquaculture industry in the Pacific Northwest, ensure the productivity of commercial and recreational fisheries, and reduce environmental concerns related to IHN virus transmission between wild and farmed fish. The aquaculture industry has created jobs in remote and rural areas of North America. These jobs are threatened by recurrent IHN outbreaks. Additionally, this project will investigate how the glycoprotein of IHN virus elicits a non-specific, cross-protective immune response in trout and salmon. Such information will be helpful in developing new viral vaccines and adjuvants. The commercial application of this project is in the area of aquaculture. The IHN virus vaccine will provide a significant benefit to the North American aquaculture industry. The product will be marketed to non-commercial and commercial salmon and trout farming enterprises in western Canada and the United States. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Anderson, Eric Maine BioTek, Inc. ME Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 94376 5371 BIOT 9150 9117 0521700 Marine Resources 0320050 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Silicon-On-Insulator Wafer Polishing Using Magnetorheological Finishing (MRF). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will evaluate the potential of applying Magnetorheological Finishing (MRF) to the manufacturing of SOI wafers in order to obtain thinner absolute silicon layer thickness and increased thickness uniformity, while achieving realistic cycle times. MRF, featuring advanced polishing algorithms, exceptional system stability, high removal rate and a shear mode of material removal has already been successfully implemented for polishing high-precision photolithographic lenses. However, SOI manufacturing leads to new challenges for MRF: the amount of material removal is extremely small (5-50 nm), the absolute amount is critical, and there are strict cycle time requirements necessary to achieve a commercially viable process. If this research leads to a successful MRF solution for SOI wafers, other applications in the semiconductor industry (other thin films, bulk silicon wafers), as well as other industries (telecom) could be significantly impacted by similar solutions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Dumas, Paul QED Technologies, Inc. NY T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99928 5371 MANU 9148 0206000 Telecommunications 0320051 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Short-Wave Infrared Focal Plane Array With In Pixel Phase Sensitive Detection. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project will develop and deliver an indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) active pixel focal plane array (FPA) capable of phase sensitive detection. The FPA will be sensitive to the short-wave infrared (0.9 `m to 1.7 `m) making it suitable for use with eye safe lasers. Each pixel of the FPA will act as a lock-in amplifier allowing the imager to detect low power modulated signals in the presence of high background illumination. This functionality will be useful in search and rescue operations by enabling detection and location of a low power signal beacon. In tracking applications it will dramatically reduce the power of the eye-safe laser required for operation in a sunlit background. Important commercial applications include near infrared spectroscopy. The phase sensitive imaging technology that will emerge from this program will represent a substantial advance and will be applicable to all spectral bands. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bush, Michael Sensors Unlimited, Inc NJ Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9197 0106000 Materials Research 0320053 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Transmission, Collection and Reporting of Vital Sign Data Over Cable Television Networks-A New Approach to Home Telemonitoring in the Medical Management of Patients. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the need for low-cost home medical monitoring for management of large numbers of patients with chronic diseases. The research objectives are to demonstrate a new approach to real-time monitoring of vital signs that connects low-cost medical devices to a remote database using existing Cable Networks, a process for accessing and reporting that information, and a system for generating automated alerts based on data values. The research will focus on creation of a system architecture that will: (1) support vital sign data transmission by wireless monitoring devices over Cable Networks; (2) collect data in a back-end computer; (3) produce and report alarms for out-of-range and abnormal results; and (4) allow end-users and medical professionals to examine vital sign data from a computer via the Internet. This project may result in a simple hardware/software prototype that provides continuous monitoring of vital sign inputs and creates automatic alerts for out-of-normal values. It will demonstrate whether Cable is a viable means of collecting real-time medical information. The research will help develop a technology platform that can be applied in other areas such as home energy management, home security, and videoconferencing over cable. This approach to home telemonitoring has significant commercial potential. Potential end users number in the millions. Changing revenue structure and demographics provide significant incentives for home health care companies to utilize home telemonitoring. The relatively low cost of the devices and the use of cable as an information transmission modality allows for creation of a mass market. The primary customers, cable multimedia service organizations, perceive home telemonitoring as a value-added product that can spur revenue growth. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mathur, Michael BL Software Systems, Inc. MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99945 5371 BIOT 9181 5345 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0320056 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Geiger Mode Avalanche Photodiodes for Photon Counting from 0.9 Micrometers to 2.0 Micrometers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop and deliver an avalanche photodiode sensitive from 0.9 to 2.0 microns, enabling solid-state photon counting applications in this wavelength band. The avalanche photodiode will operate in Geiger mode, wherein the device is cooled to minimize the dark current rate, and biased slightly above breakdown. During Phase I, our commercial avalanche photodiodes will be evaluated for use in Geiger mode. These detectors are sensitive from 0.9 to 1.7 microns. The experimental setup for gated photon counting measurements will be established, and optimum-operating temperatures determined. In Phase II, the cutoff wavelength will be extended to achieve a cutoff wavelength of 2.0 microns at the optimum operating temperature. The cutoff wavelength will be extended using one a technique for decreasing the effective band gap of InGaAs. The first method uses graded layers of InAsP of varying composition to develop a lattice-matched substrate to high In content InGaAs. The second method uses strain-compensation expitaxial growth techniques to grow high In content InGaAs without incorporating misfit dislocations, which act as dark current generation sites. The Phase II deliverable will be a Dewar based photon-counting system for 2.0-micron wavelengths. Applications of this technology would immensely benefit spectral analysis in the range from a 1.0 micron to 2.0 micron solid-state photon counting detector. Geiger mode long wavelength APDs can be used in embedded spectrometers for remote sensing, gas detection, or in applications where weak fluorescence signals must be detected. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Dries, John Sensors Unlimited, Inc NJ Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0320061 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Pervasive Computing Hardware Nodes for Remote Sensing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I proposal considers new innovations in wireless communication and local positioning capabilities for pervasive computing hardware nodes. There are no suitable off-the-shelf hardware that can be used to deploy a pervasive application for use in real time remote sensing. The Phase I effort will focus on two specific innovations that would alleviate some of those limitations: Multi-modal wireless communications, including the simultaneous use of multiple radio frequency (RF) and non-RF techniques, to enable redundant transmissions and error recovery while closely guarding the system's power consumption and overall cost. Local positioning and tracking, so that when numerous sensors are placed in close proximity in a remote location (for example, within a few inches to yards of each other), their precise locations are automatically determined and broadcast. Tracking is an issue if any of the nodes are mobile. There are vast markets for pervasive computing hardware technology. In most cases, desired or necessary applications don't exist because deployment is either too expensive or not possible using existing off-the-shelf hardware and software. Some examples of such markets are inventory tracking and asset management, human physiological monitoring, machine health and diagnostics, battle theatre intelligence, telecommunications, and environmental monitoring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Stewart, David EMBEDDED RESEARCH SOLUTIONS, INC MD Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99998 5371 CVIS 1059 0106000 Materials Research 0206000 Telecommunications 0320062 November 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: An Optical Sensor for Semiconductor Back-End Processes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to develop innovative miniature con-focal laser scanning sensors for semiconductor packaging processes by using diode laser detector array chips. There are no moving parts in this sensor for scanning, unlike other con-focal devices. This sensor with a fast imaging rate will be integrated with chip IC placement robot machines, to inspect solder bump co-planarity of Flip Chip Bonding (FCB) and the ball of Ball Grid Arrays (BGA) before packaging. BGA and FCB are used in mission critical devices in airplanes and medical devices. To ensure quality of the packaging, semiconductor-packaging companies demand lower cost, smaller, fast imaging optical sensors in the automatic optical co-planarity inspection instruments to ensure the reliability and quality of package assembly. The electronics industry's demands for increasing circuit density, higher levels of integration and improved cost/performance capabilities have led to the proliferation of the use of BGA and FCB. This will reduce chip failures and system failures. These high reliability devices may eventually save lives and improve the quality of life. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Hang, Jim New Dimension Research MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 500000 5373 HPCC 9139 9107 1185 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320072 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Microfluidic-Based Biosensor for Food Pathogen Detection. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a portable, low-cost, multi-pathogen rapid detection instrument for food products. This instrument is expected to be fully integrated and will include a microfluidics-based bioseparator / bioreactor for pathogen capture and dual transducers for pathogen detection. The Phase I work will focus on the development of a proof of concept for the microfluidics-based bioseparator / bioreactor system. The commercial application of this project is in the area of food processing and food distribution. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Su, Xiao-Li BIODETECTION INSTRUMENTS LLC AR Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9150 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320074 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Developing Crop Plants with Wide-Spectrum Disease Resistance. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop genetically engineered, broad-spectrum disease resistance in plants. Farmers spend a significant amount of money on fungicides every year to combat plant pathogens, yet enormous yield losses due to disease still occur. In addition, toxic chemicals as well as pathogen-produced toxins present human health and environmental concerns. Mendel Biotechnology has identified an Arabidopsis transcription factor, TDR1, that causes resistance to three pathogens when overexpressed in transgenic plants. TDR1 and three closely related genes will be tested in combination with several tissue specific or inducible promoters to identify combinations that confer a high degree of resistance without negative side effects. Expression patterns correlated with TDR1-based resistance will be detected using microarrray experiments to determine how this method will complement other strategies for genetically encoded resistance. Also, TDR1 orthologs will be identified in crop species to demonstrate conserved pathways and the likelihood of cross-species utility of this technology. Results from the proposed experiments will establish the feasibility of using a TDR1-based technology to produce disease resistance in crop plants. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of agriculture. The project aims to confer broad spectrum disease resistance in economically valuable crop plants such as maize, soybean, and sugar beets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Century, Karen Mendel Biotechnology Incorporated CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99999 5371 BIOT 9109 0201000 Agriculture 0320079 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nano-Aluminum Production for Lithium Ion Battery Electrodes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop low-oxygen, nanometer-sized aluminum powders with a narrow particle size distribution to be employed in the anodes of lithium ion batteries. Specifically, this research addresses the need to process nanometer sized aluminum particles such that they do not spontaneously oxidize on contact with air or moisture so the particles may be handled in air. This project will examine ability of the Sodium Flame Encapsulation (SFE) process to produce a high-quality nanoscale aluminum powder. In addition the project will investigate a chemical processing strategy to deposit a thin protective oxide layer in order to protect the powder particle from catastrophic oxidation. Once the powder is manufactured, batteries will be fabricated and tested for performance. Commercially, the research will contribute to the development of products derived from the SFE process, initially limited to aluminum, but ultimately applicable to a wide range of nano-scale metals and ceramics. This research has the broader implication of bringing the SFE process for nanoparticles manufacture to commercial realization and it enables further discovery in the areas of materials processing for these new particles. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gershenson, Harvey AP Materials, Inc. MO T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9163 9147 1676 0106000 Materials Research 0320081 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Next Generation Fast Fourier Transform-Based Instrumentation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project offers a solution to the fundamental challenge facing the designers of the physical layer of diagnostic systems and scientific instruments. Many of these instruments currently monitor and analyze signals and systems in the frequency domain, and are used in virtually every technical endeavor. Currently these systems are compute-bound, either in speed or area/power. The Phase I aims to develop an innovative instrumentation technology, called GAUSS, that will achieve a new standard in speed/power performance and, in the process, enable the development of new and powerful test and measurement products. Using the proposed technology, engineers can rapidly enable system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for the test and measurement market. Marketed as a semiconductor IP technology, the GAUSS technology can be used to develop both high-end and embedded SoC solutions. This powerful design paradigm will become available to design engineers responsible for developing the physical layer of future diagnostic and instrument products requiring ever increasing performance, lower cost margins, and time-to-market advantages. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lewis, Michael THE ATHENA GROUP INC FL Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1648 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320082 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Biosensor Signal Amplification by ElectroWetting On Dielectric (EWOD) Droplet Transport and Distillation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to apply electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) microdroplet transport technology and natural evaporation effects to increase biosensor sample concentration levels via droplet distillation. EWOD technology can generate droplets from an on-chip reservoir and achieve pad-by-pad transport of droplets over an electrode array. EWOD capabilities can digitize a fluidic volume into droplets for serial transport and distillation over a sensing site and provide high-speed droplet transport to "wash" a sensor free of unhybridized markers to reduce false positives. This proposed research will apply image recognition software and conductive sensing to evaluate the buildup of fluorescent microspheres and salinity over a sensing site achieved by droplet distillation. It is anticipated that EWOD capabilities will improve commercial biosensor performance by concentrating target molecules and reducing false positives with high-speed washing. The commercial applications of this project will be in the broad field of biosensing. The product will be utilized wherever low concentration measurements and multiple sampling are needed. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Liu, Wayne Core MicroSolutions, Inc. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99960 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320083 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Innovative Aerosol Collector for On-Line Analysis of Organics. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to adressss the critical need for improved measurements of individual organic compounds in aerosol particles. Aerosols are crucially important due to their effects in global climate and human health, as well to industrial applications such as pharmaceutical drug delivery. This project seeks to develop a new Aerosol Collector Module (ACM) that will allow the accumulation of sufficient aerosol mass in an artifact-free manner for analysis of aerosol composition in near real-time with high- time resolution (< 30 min.) by a variety of analytical instruments. The ACM will use the techniques implemented by Aerodyne in its highly successful Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) to separate the aerosols from the gas phase. The ACM will consist of: 1) A new cryocollector 2) An interface module to thermally desorb the collected aerosol 3) A flow control. The commercial market for the ACM will include government, academic, and industrial research laboratories and may expand to include regulatory monitoring efforts and process industrial laboratories. The ACM will allow for the first time near real- time analysis of individual organic species present on aerosols and will be marketed at a significantly lower cost than existing analytical methods. The ability to measure aerosol size-resolved organic composition is needed for understanding and mitigating the climate impacts and health effects of particulate matter, and for the characterization and improvement of industrial aerosol technologies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Worsnop, Douglas Aerodyne Research Inc MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 1518 0116000 Human Subjects 0206000 Telecommunications 0320087 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Tissue Engineered Cartilage for Drug Discovery. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to define methodology to facilitate the growth of engineered cartilage tissue for use in a multi-well culture system for drug discovery. Culture systems, which are currently available to study the affect of potential therapeutic factors in degenerative joint disease, are less than ideal for shedding light upon the anabolic and catabolic processes which are taking place. The purpose of this proposal is 1) to define culture conditions for the de novo formation of engineered cartilage tissue, 2) to adapt the methodology for the preparation in vitro of cartilage tissue with defined properties for use in a multi-well culture system, and 3) to develop a system of standard operating procedures and quality control measures for tissue production. Engineered cartilage tissue will offer an alternative to expensive animal studies and provide the option of utilizing human tissue. The studies outlined here will test the influence of factors on the anabolic and catabolic aspects of cartilage matrix turnover and cartilage matrix maturation. This work will ideally lead to an inexpensive commercially available semi-automated cartilage culture system promoting efficient drug discovery and efficacy and toxicology testing. The commercial application of this project will be for use by researchers in the field of joint and bone therapies. Major pharmaceutical companies and research institutes (e.g. NIH) could use the cartilage culture system to identify and test new drugs for cartilage repair and growth. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pfister, Brian Articular Engineering, LLC IL Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0320092 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Combining Time Compressed Synthetic Pulses and Frequency Scalable Antennae to Optimize UWB Sensor Dynamic Range. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to capitalize on evolving concepts for sensor optimization that will facilitate the detection of human targets through caves, hillsides, buildings, foliage, fog, and other opaque materials. This technology will have broad application in homeland security, airport security, hostile police action, high school and other hostage events, and for search and rescue. The phase I effort will include a feasibility study of simulated and real data to determine if novel pulse and antennae geometries will simultaneously enhance the dynamic range and resolution of evolving ultra-wideband sensing. The hypothesis of this proposal suggests that these improvements will facilitate unattended remote sensing of human and other targets through a wider range of materials without sacrificing extended range, resolution, and clutter suppression. This effort will include field measurements to assess the initial potential of select pulse shapes, antenna geometries, and loading schemes to detect humans through a variety of low-loss and high-loss opaque materials. There are two primary applications for this technology, situational awareness and subsurface investigation. The former, which is the most attractive for early market entry, comprises homeland security, police/fire/search and rescue, and military actions where the location of human subjects and the detection of possible weapons on the opposite side of walls, vegetation, snow, fire, fog, darkness, smoke, or other opaque media is sought. The latter includes geophysical exploration, ore body investigation, utility detection and location, road-bed and bridge subsurface scans for cracks and voids, and unattended ground sensing from a fixed point to assess subsurface changes that can be used to predict earth or structural failure. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Askildsen, Bernt REALTRONICS CORPORATION SD Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99999 5371 CVIS 9148 1059 0106000 Materials Research 0320100 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Packaging of Structural Health Monitoring Micro-Components. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)Phase I project will develop manufacturing, packaging and interface concepts for critical Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) components. The intention is to be able to cheaply manufacture robust actuator/sensors wafers, and isolate them from harsh operating environments including natural, mechanical, or electrical extremes. Currently the issues related to SHM system durability have remained unaddressed. In this project, microfabrication techniques will be developed to fabricate, assemble, wire and package the SHM system components for robust operation. In particular, in Phase I of this project, the piezoelectric actuators and sensor used for damage detection will be packaged, and then tested in hot and wet conditions. Research continued through a Phase II program would aim to package the other supporting components such as the battery and wireless chip, as well as integrating all of these components together for operation. Commercially, SHM technologies have the potential for many economic benefits in a broad range of commercial and defense markets. These systems can be utilized by structures from military or civil aircraft, to cars, ships or spacecraft. The first major benefit is that health monitoring eliminates the need for scheduled inspections. A second major economic benefit is that a continuously monitoring system would allow for the use of the much more efficient condition based maintenance (CBM) design methodology of a structure, otherwise known as need-based repair. A third benefit would be from increased service time of the structure. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Kessler, Seth Simon Spearing Metis Design Corporation MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99999 5371 1505 OTHR MANU 9146 5514 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0203000 Health 0320102 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Toober-Based Molecular Modeling Kit: A New Tool for Teaching Molecular Literacy. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a Molecular Modeling Kit that will be used by educators to introduce their students to concepts of molecular structure and function. This Modeling Kit will be based on the use of toobers, foam tubes with moldable wire that allows the tubes to hold their shape. One technical objective of this project is to further develop the foam fabrication technology to allow the production of a thin toober that will be suitable for this modeling kit. In addition, a minimal set of ancillary components of the modeling kit will be designed and prototyped. These components include (i) both an alpha helix and a beta sheet bending jig, (ii) a connector that will allow different colored toobers to be joined together, and (iii) cross-linking elements that will allow the final model to be stabilized. As the final objective of this project, curricular modules based on the use of this modeling kit will be developed and field-tested with teachers and students at the high school and undergraduate levels. The commercial application of this project will be in the education market. The modeling kit developed in this project will be marketed to educators at both the secondary and post-secondary levels. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Patrick, Michael 3D Molecular Designs, LLC WI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99738 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320112 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Low Cost Infrared Sensor for Trace Gas Detection. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will study the feasibility of the development of a low cost infrared sensor for the monitoring and detection of ethylene oxide (ETO). ETO is widely used in the chemical industry as a feedstock chemical, and is most commonly used as a sterilant gas in hospitals and related facilities. ETO is very toxic to humans (the OSHA TWA-TLV is 1 ppm), and is also a suspected carcinogen. Currently, the two most frequently used methods for monitoring ETO in the workplace are electrochemical gas sensors and gas chromatography (GC), both of which have several drawbacks and neither adequately meet the current federal regulations. In this research, a low cost monitoring and detection sensor based on infrared spectroscopy will be developed. The investigators fully expect the commercial version of the sensor will not only benefit the medical industry, but will also have potential benefits in the safety, industrial, and chemical industries where gas detection and monitoring are critical for worker safety. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Warburton, P. Richard Praesidium Technologies, Inc. PA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99587 5371 CVIS 1636 1402 1179 1059 0203000 Health 0320113 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Homogeneous, High-Efficiency TiO2 and YVO4 Birefringent Crystals. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project will prove that homogeneous, low-loss TiO2 and YVO4 crystals can be produced via commercially viable hydro-thermal crystal growth processes. Recently, a program to grow homogeneous YVO4 and TiO2 birefringent crystals using hydro-thermal growth methods had preliminary results that indicate that these crystals can be grown in hydro-thermal solutions at ~ 500 degrees C. The crystals appear to have superior optical properties. In particular, hydro-thermal TiO2 and YVO4 should display greatly improved birefringence homogeneity and lower optical loss. These improvements will allow more compact, higher performance, higher efficiency components used in optics, photonics, telecom, and laser devices, equipment, and systems. The broader impact of this technology would be as optical switching, optical, and networking. The demand for crystals used in optical components is expected to skyrocket. Over 10 million optical components (isolators, circulators, beam splitters, etc.) were sold in 2001, and that demand is expected to increase significantly in the next few years. The number of crystals used in optical components is expected to be three orders of magnitude higher than the volume used in solid state lasers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Giesber, Henry ADVANCED PHOTONIC CRYSTALS, LLC SC T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99955 5371 HPCC 9215 9150 9146 1775 0110000 Technology Transfer 0116000 Human Subjects 0320115 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Hydrothermal Growth of Ultra-High Performance Nd:YVO4 Laser Crystals. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will work to develop the concept that ultra-high performance Nd: YVO4 laser crystals can be grown via a commercially viable hydrothermal processes. Recently, Nd: YVO4 crystal growth program using proprietary hydrothermal growth methods has been developed. Preliminary results indicate that low defect Nd: YVO4 can be grown in aqueous base at ~ 500 microC. These crystals appear to have greatly superior optical properties. Hydrothermal Nd: YVO4 crystals will enable the development of new, higher efficiency, higher performance, lower cost diode pumped solid state lasers that emit at 1064, 532, 355, 266, and 190nm. In this Phase I program, two novel hydrothermal synthetic pathways to the production of single crystal, Nd: YVO4, will be developed and optimized at a scaleable and commercially viable hydrothermal growth process for the production of mm-scale crystals. The optical properties of these crystals will be characterized and a comparison will be made against similar commercially available optical materials. The market for Nd: YVO4 in 2002 was estimated to range from $6-$10 MM. It is almost ideal for DPSS lasers, and Nd: YVO4 is rapidly becoming the material of choice for DPSS laser manufacturers. The growth of this material is projected to be $16-$21 MM by 2005, and thereafter at 25% annually. Hydrothermal Nd: YVO4 crystals will be used to make higher efficiency, higher performance, lower cost diode pumped solid state lasers; these lasers will emit at 1064, 532, and 355, 266, and 190 nm. Because of the advantages and benefits of hydrothermal Nd: YVO4 crystals, the material will rapidly displace existing Nd: YVO4 crystals in most, if not all, diode pumped solid-state laser applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Giesber, Henry ADVANCED PHOTONIC CRYSTALS, LLC SC Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99955 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 0320128 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Yb:KGW for High Power and Ultrafast Lasers. This Small Business Research (SBIR) Phase I project will determine the feasibility of scaling Yb:KGW based lasers to high powers and high beam quality through well controlled crystal growth of high quality crystals, accurate measurement of critical materials properties, and extrapolation of performance and manufacturability. Ytterbium (Yb) doped lasers are appealing for high power applications due to efficient diode pumping by commercially available diode lasers in the 900-980 nm spectral range. Yb:KGW is interesting in that high Yb doping concentrations are achievable. More significant are the unique properties of efficient self-cooling through anti-Stokes fluorescence and beam cleanup through stimulated Raman scattering. Another application exploits the wide emission bandwidth for mode-locked femtosecond pulses of high peak power leading to new sources for nonlinear spectroscopy and commercial high power pulsed sources. Critical data required to extrapolate the effectiveness of power scaling Yb:KGW lasers have been obtained from crystals of variable quality and from a limited subset of possible crystal compositions. The broader impacts of this technology would be for commercial solid state laser systems. Significant advances in the fields of industrial, medical, and research laser applications can be anticipated. Power scaling and reduced thermal management requirements lead to more efficient and lower cost high power 1m industrial lasers used in materials processing (cutting, welding, marking). Medical laser applications include therapeutic and surgical lasers, and picosecond pulse hard tissue dental lasers. Direct diode pumping allows for simple mode-locked ultrafast systems with reduced complexity and cost over conventional argon ion or frequency doubled Nd:YAG-pumped Ti:sapphire systems. In addition, the 1m mode-locked operation extends beyond the 900 nm limit of Ti:Sapphire creating new possibilities for optical parametric oscillator pump sources. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wechsler, Barry NOVA PHASE INC NJ T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99993 5371 OTHR 1775 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320135 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Low Voltage Ultrafast Traveling Wave Modulator. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will demonstrate a low-voltage waveguide modulator device, capable of operation at speeds up to 40 Gb/s. Ultimately, this device will be capable of operating at speeds up to 100 Gb/s, with drive voltages as low as 4 volts. The enabling technology for these devices is a process for deposition and patterning of single crystal LiNbO3 thin films. The full potential of LiNbO3 electro-optical devices has not been realized, due to the limitations of producing them by diffusion processes in bulk crystals. This new approach to developing this technology will open the way for a new class of electro-optical devices. This work will transition the epitaxial LiNbO3 film technology to commercial viability. A commercial supplier of electro-optical components will collaborate to provide technical guidance during this effort. Fiber optic networks are being implemented in industry, defense and domestic and international telecommunications. The proposed technology will enable new products that will add increased speed, capacity and flexibility to growing optical communications networks. It is anticipated that products developed from this effort will achieve a significant market share by the year 2005. This technology will be applied to devices for all-optical computing systems, which also require single crystal films of non-linear materials such as LiNbO SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Sbrockey, Nick Leon McCaughan STRUCTURED MATERIALS INDUSTRIES, INC. NJ T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 1505 HPCC 9139 1517 0104000 Information Systems 0320143 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Portable Bioluminescence Regenerative Cycle (BRC) Detector for Nucleic Acid Detection. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will result in the design, development, and prototype of a portable device for nucleic acid detection and quantification for research and medical diagnostics applications. Currently, most of the conventional molecular detection platforms are complex, delicate and bulky devices. Additionally, the associated biochemical procedures are expensive, highly labor intensive, require skilled personnel, and often take days or weeks to complete. There is a need for the development of inexpensive techniques and portable biosensors for environmental, basic research and biomedical diagnostics. It is proposed to develop a prototype device consisting of a compact photo-detector, sensor array, and temperature controlled reaction chamber. An ultra-sensitive novel nucleic acid detection assay, Bioluminescence Regenerative Cycle (BRC), will be integrated into the proposed prototype instrument to overcome the drawbacks of current biological assays. This work will ultimately result in a handheld device that is simple and easy to use for non-expert operators, even outside of the laboratory, for applications such as analysis of patient samples in a doctor's office or student research projects in a classroom setting. This device can also be adapted for consumer and industry-based environmental monitoring for applications requiring fast and sensitive detection and identification of biological agents. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nock, Steffen Xagros Technologies CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99970 5371 HPCC 9197 9139 9107 0104000 Information Systems 0320149 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Speed MS^n (Molecular Sequencing) Sequencing and Structure Analysis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to test the feasibility of a new method for achieving high-speed sequencing and structure analysis of drug and biological molecules. The proposed work is expected to demonstrate about 10x faster analysis speeds using quadrupole ion trap, time-of-flight (QitTOF) mass spectrometer (MS). The main test will be new MSn sequencing routines that will benefit conventional ion trap MS as well as QitTOF MS. The goal is to achieve sequencing and structure information for fast chromatographic methods such as capillary liquid chromatography (LC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE). In this work we will demonstrate these capabilities for protein digest mixtures of peptides using a CE / QitTOF MS. Furthermore, the TOF analyzer has the potential to measure accurate masses for elemental composition. This capability will be tested for fragment loss accurate mass analysis. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of proteomics. There is a tremendous need to develop automated methods of protein analysis and peptide analysis of cell lines to better understand global biological function for improved drug therapy and early detection of disease, such as cancer. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Syage, Jack SYAGEN TECHNOLOGY INC CA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 99892 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0320157 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Research to Develop a MEMS Based Multiobject Spectrometer. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to do the background research work needed to enable the fabrication of a micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) based multi-object specrometer (MOS). Such an instrument would allow the spectral signatures of many hundreds of targets in the field of view of the fore optics of the MOS to be acquired simultaneously. The key component of the systems is a MEMS array of micro mirrors that allow light to be directed at either an imaging camera or into a true imaging spectrometer. Measurement and understand of the scattering from such micromirror arrays need to be understood so that an end-to-end design can be developed for such a system. This design has mechanical, optical and electronic parts that need to be seamlessly integrated. Multi-object spectrometers of various types are already in use, however, they tend to be either extremely large or expensive, or very limited in capability. Astronomers at some of the largest facility use either fibers or masks to provide the field selection ahead of the spectrometers. Unfortunately, these instruments to be very large and not suitable for use on smaller optical systems. Specific markets would be observatories of the many universities and colleges, in remote sensing for example in monitoring plumes emanating from smoke stacks or the trails of rockets and missiles, coupled to optical microscopes to allow sequences of spectra to be obtained of cells as they move and interact in the field of view. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kearney, Kevin Pixel Physics, Inc. FL Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99934 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0320162 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Nonlinear Optical Films For Ultrafast Photonics. This Small Business Innovation Research program is to develop a novel technology for fabricating organic nonlinear optical (NLO) composite films that are ideal for photonics. The unprecedented performance for light modulation, switching, frequency conversion and other optical signal processing can be achieved: smaller device sizes, lower driving voltages, to name a few. This breakthrough technology has immense commercial potential in sectors of optical communications and information processing. The proposed film technology takes advantage of organic NLO crystals, which are known to have the highest NLO properties. The technology utilizes the alignment of NLO guest molecules in a host of self-ordered liquid crystal matrix. Field poling is used, if necessary, to remove the centro-symmetry. Advanced processing further enhances NLO properties of the films. Due to coherent interactions, the NLO properties of these films can approach those of bulk organic crystals. Moreover, temporal and thermal stability of the NLO properties is enhanced due to naturally ordered host. The proposed NLO material technology can also used to fabricate low-cost, ultrahigh-performance photonics, such as modulators, switches, phase shifters, beam steering devices that have immediate commercial use. For example, these devices are the enabling components to realize broadband, high-speed, all-optical communication, which has a multi-billion market SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fan, Bunsen Reveo Incorporated NY Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99728 5371 AMPP 9163 9139 1517 0522100 High Technology Materials 0320167 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Bio-molecular Sequence Recovery Using Statistical Signal Processing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop signal processing methods that allow for real-time sequence recovery of bio-molecules such as DNA. The idea is to use a single simple experiment and to shift the burden of analysis and identification to signal processing. The methodology allows for the use of simple instrumentation (platforms, detectors, sensors, etc.) and compensates for them by using advanced signal processing techniques, thereby making it ideally suited for many biotechnology applications. Although the problem encountered is mathematically one of blind de-convolution, what distinguishes the problem in its molecular biology applications is the sheer number of signature signals involved that form the aggregate signal. In this project, a novel solution based on statistical signal processing will be developed. The technique will explicitly exploit the large number of signals involved and will use a combination of the law of large numbers and Wiener filtering theory. The commercial application of this project is in the area of Genomics. The methodology will allow for inexpensive real-time DNA sequencing. Since the required instrumentation is relatively simple and the burden is shifted to signal processing and computation (which can be implemented directly in standard digital-signal-processing (DSP) chips), the detection method could be readily integrated into a hand-held device. Such a Point-of-Care (POC) device could be used for industrial and laboratory molecular diagnostics applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pourmand, Nader Xagros Technologies CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 66237 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320186 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Anthocyanin Signaling of Heavy Metal Contamination. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to develop an innovative, cost-effective, real time biosensor system that uses plants to monitor water and soil quality. Monitoring heavy metal contaminants in the environment, particularly in large or remote areas, is often cost-prohibitive due to the expense of the extensive sampling required to adequately assess heterogeneous distribution of the contaminants. The development of plant biosensors that indicate the presence of heavy metals could offer high spatial resolution, standoff reporting, ready scaling to large treatment areas, and continuous operation of an in-situ monitoring approach. The system could be used to detect and monitor metal concentrations in contaminated soil, water, or landfill leachate, before, during and after remedial activities, and used for risk assessment by monitoring the levels of bioavailable metals in the environment. This Phase I project seeks to take advantage of recent discoveries of a metal responsive promoter in Brassica juncea and link it to overexpression of anthocyanin production. The production of anthocyanins in response to metal uptake by the plant will create a visible (i.e., purple coloration) indicator of metal accumulation. By transforming plants with the anthocyanin regulatory gene, B, which activates anthocyanin production under the control of a metal responsive promoter (MRP) element, this project will develop plants that express high levels of anthocyanins only in the presence of certain metal ions. Such plants could then be used to monitor the concentration of pollutant metal ions. The development would also provide a valuable research tool for studying heavy metal accumulation in plants. The commercial application of this project is in the area of detection of heavy metal contaminants in soil. Improving the ability to accurately monitor and assess heavy metal contamination will improve awareness of contaminated areas and provide a low cost assessment of private sites by homeowners, farmers, and industry. Of particular usefulness would be the ability of farmers to detect the potential bioavailability of heavy metals to food crops. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Blaylock, Michael EDENSPACE SYSTEMS CORP VA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 1505 BIOT 9104 0110000 Technology Transfer 0313040 Water Pollution 0320195 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Closed Loop Drug Delivery System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a device to deliver therapeutic drugs in a controlled and monitored manner. This device will be used to control delivery of therapeutic doses of drugs, and to monitor blood levels of such drugs continuously, with on-demand administration, in order to minimize the dosage fluctuation that occurs through oral and injection administration. As an example, many patients with biphasic psychological disorders benefit from the use of lithium, including those that suffer from acute manic and hypomanic episodes in bipolar disorder, and for maintenance therapy to help diminish the intensity and frequency of subsequent manic episodes. The therapeutic window of effectiveness of lithium carbonate is very narrow. Due to the potential toxicity of lithium at blood levels close to therapeutic concentrations, monitoring lithium levels is absolutely essential. This Phase I project will develop a needleless lithium carbonate delivery/monitoring system (LDMS) capable of injecting sufficient quantities of this therapeutic agent, non-invasively through transdermal delivery mechanisms, to maintain optimal blood levels of lithium carbonate over extended periods of time. The initial commercial application of this project will be in the delivery of lithium carbonate medication to patients with bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder affects approximately 2.3 million American every year. The most recognized treatment for this disease involves the delivery of psychotropic medications to affected individuals. Many of these and other drugs have very narrow therapeutic windows that are often at or near toxic levels. A closed loop drug delivery system can efficiently deliver and monitor these medications in a controlled manner. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cantor, Hal Advanced Sensor Technologies, Inc. MI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99993 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0320196 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Disposable, High-Purity, Plastic Bag Bioreactor with Levitated Impeller. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to design, fabricate and test a single-use, affordable bioreactor based on a stirred plastic mixing bag. The central challenge in developing a practical single-use bioreactor is to provide efficient mixing in sterile, hermetically sealed plastic bags, ranging in capacities from 10 liters through 1000 liters. This project will address this problem by using a superconducting stator that will stably levitate a single-use mixing impeller within the bag, thus eliminating physical contact with its walls. In this way, the usual impeller drive, shaft, bearings and associated seals will be eliminated. The design will combine the superior mixing properties of traditional metal tanks with the disposability of plastic bags, and will incorporate low-cost, disposable remote pH sensors, oxygen sensors and gas spargers. In the Phase I project, the feasibility of producing novel terpenes by genetically engineered yeast will be demonstrated using such a bioreactor. The commercial application of this project is in the area of bioprocessing. The bioreactor is expected to be useful for both mammalian cell cultures and microbial fermentations. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Terentiev, Alex LevTech, Inc KY Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99700 9150 BIOT 9181 9150 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320197 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Use of Phase-Transition Biopolymers as Novel Enzyme Carriers for Biocatalysis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes develop unique biopolymers as carriers for enzymes used for biocatalysis. Elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) are a new class of biopolymers, which undergo a reversible, inverse phase transition. When coupled to enzymes as a fusion partner, the ELP can act as a soluble carrier for performing biocatalysis (below the transition temperature) and an insoluble carrier for isolation and recovery of the enzyme (above the transition temperature). The research objectives of the Phase I project include : (1) Design and synthesis of a series of ELP enzyme carriers, each with different properties ; (2) Expression and characterization of ELP enzyme carriers in terms of transition temperature and salt susceptibility ; (3) Optimization of expression and purification of recombinant glycosylation enzyme-ELP carrier fusion proteins in terms of soluble protein, and (4) Quantitation and optimization of glycosylation enzyme activity for the fusion protein relative to native enzyme and extent of recovery of enzyme post-phase transition. The commercial application of this project is in the area of enzymes as relevant to the markets for food manufacturing and fine chemicals. Examples include production of sweeteners and antibiotics. Additional applications are expected in the area of protein therapeutics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rose, Don Phase Bioscience NC Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320211 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Biological Aerosol Detector. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to investigate a novel technology concept, time-resolved, integrated laser-induced fluorescence, for the detection of airborne microbes. Some present detectors function poorly in the presence of diesel fumes or other pollutants, limiting their utility in urban areas. This novel detection device will not be susceptible to pollutant interference and would be simpler and less expensive than present detectors. Proof of concept requires measurement of fluorescence parameters for urban pollutants that are presently unknown so that the chosen parameters for biological aerosols can be shown to be distinctive. The commercial applications of this project include detection of pathogens in homes, hotels, offices, and in the food distribution system. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Barney, William TIAX LLC MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99945 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320214 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: New Biological/Inorganic Nanomaterials for Photovoltaic Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project will develop a unique combination of biological and inorganic materials for fabrication of nanostructured photovoltaic (PV) or solar cells. Photovoltaic cells offer an attractive low cost and renewable source of energy, which is becoming increasingly competitive to conventional sources as the materials used in their construction become more efficient in converting the solar energy to electricity. Current commercial PV cells use inorganic materials, e.g., silicon, amorphous-silicon, or thin layers of gallium arsenide, indium phosphide and cadmium telluride, the semiconductor materials with bandgap energies very near to optimal values for energy conversion in PV solar cells. Unfortunately their fabrication is complex and they cannot compete with the cost of conventional energy sources. For instance, even thin layers of GaAs and InP used in the solar cells are very expensive and some of them, e.g., CdTe may be environmentally unacceptable because of their toxicity. Recent developments in nanotechnology offer material design control at the nano- and molecular scale allowing the properties of the materials to be orderly controlled, taking advantages of the high surface area of nanostructured materials. The broader impacts from this technology would be a new type of nanostructured photovoltaic panel which would capture solar energy in a more efficient way and that could make this source more cost effective. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fu, Tsu-Ju Inventis, Inc. CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1775 1676 0106000 Materials Research 0522100 High Technology Materials 0320215 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Multipass Second Harmonic Generation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop innovative blue and green lasers based on multi-pass second harmonic generation (SHG). It utilizes a simple Galilean telescope to solve many of the problems associated with this promising technical approach. The goal of the Phase I feasibility study is to develop a multi-pass SHG laser with 20 milliwatts of output power and excellent beam quality. The proposed lasers are expected to be 2 to 5 times more reliable than argon ion and frequency-doubled Nd:YAG lasers (20,000 hours mean time to first failure vs. 4,000 to 10,000 hours). In quantity, the parts for the proposed lasers would cost about $625 (vs. several thousand dollars for a frequency-doubled YAG laser). The commercial applications of this project are in bio-instrumentation (light-induced fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, capillary electrophoresis, DNA sequencing, and confocal microscopy), semiconductor inspection (photomask inspection, wafer alignment, confocal microscopy, and wafer process monitoring), and reprographics (high-speed laser printers, video CD storage, and medical imaging and diagnostics). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sanders, Steve PICARRO INC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 0320224 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Development of High Strength Polymers for Utilization as Biodegradable Fracture Fixation Devices in Bone Repair. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop high strength biodegradable polymers with mechanical properties sufficient to function as fracture fixation devices in high load bearing applications. The majority of fractures today are fixed with metallic devices but to prevent bone atrophy, these may require a second surgery to remove the device after bone healing has occurred. By using resorbing biodegradable devices, the need for the second surgical procedure is eliminated. At this time, commercially available biodegradable devices do not have sufficient mechanical strength for high load bearing applications. Prior work has shown that a new class of synthetic, degradable polymers derived from tyrosine, may be useful in bone repair. The objective of this Phase I project is to structurally modify these biomaterials and demonstrate that the modified structures posses an optimal combination of mechanical properties and degradation rate. The commercial application of this project is in the area of orthopedics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schwartz, Arthur Advanced Materials Design, LLC NJ Gregory T. Baxter Standard Grant 96352 5371 BIOT 9181 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0320238 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: MIDI Messenger: Providing Accessibility to the Musical Instrument Digital Interface.. This Small Business and Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to provide accessibility to the blind and visually impaired American consumers that are severely limited as to what features they can take advantage of on Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) devices, such as electronic musical keyboards, because most, if not all, MIDI devices have inaccessible user interfaces. These interfaces are inaccessible primarily because their displays are purely visual. Membrane-type buttons can also hamper accessibility. Sound selection, creation and manipulation are just some of the basic MIDI device functions that musicians need to be able access but cannot do so at present. Music students also need access to this functionality so that they can learn and understand sound synthesis. This project will investigate the feasibility of making MIDI devices accessible to visually impaired musicians. This project will try to solve these accessibility problems with two separate approaches. The first approach will provide access to the display information of some MIDI devices. The second approach will provide control over other MIDI devices. The success of each approach will be used to determine how much effort should be applied to each approach in the next phase of the project, which will concentrate on adding support for more devices and more features for these devices. The proposed activity will lead to a product that will provide blind musicians unprecedented access to musical devices. MIDI Messenger software will be marketed to visually impaired musicians who want to have more access to their MIDI devices and also to some sighted musicians who wish to control their MIDI devices in a live setting with a PDA, for example. If the product becomes popular in the accessibility market, household appliance and ATM machine manufacturers may be more likely to implement the interface. It is notable that this technology has the potential for making other non-musical appliances accessible in a manner that does not involve electronic hardware devices that are unique to each model, as has been the case heretofore. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Milani, Albert Dancing Dots Braille Music Technology PA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 5345 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0320239 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High Temperature High Resolution Cesium-Antimony Semiconductor Gamma Spectroscopy Detectors for Borehole Radiochemical. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project aims to construct a novel elevated temperature gamma ray spectroscopy detector for borehole nuclear geochemistry. Cesium-Antimony (Cs3Sb) is a semiconductor widely used commercially for thin film vacuum photocathodes. In single crystal form, it has many properties superior to Ge for gamma radiation detection: (1) a lower electron-hole pair energy (2 eV vs 3 eV) for better intrinsic energy resolution; (2) a higher bandgap (1.6 vs 0.7 eV) for low thermal noise, even lower than CdTe and operation at room or elevated temperatures; and (3) a higher Z (55 & 51, vs 32) for a stopping power 4-5 times greater ~ MeV gamma rays. In Phase I, the aim is to grow sufficiently large crystals of Cs3Sb, and fabricate them into environmentally (oxygen, water vapor) protected room temperature radiation detectors, to demonstrate that they may become the future of gamma ray detectors. These detectors could replace NaI(Tl) and other scintillator detectors, and SiLi and HPGe gamma ray spectroscopy detectors in industrial and medical analytical instrumentation. This development will enable new scientific instrumentation used in research and education in chemistry, physics, planetary science, astrophysics, biology, medicine and other places where x- and gamma- rays are used. The results will be widely disseminated and published. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Beetz, Charles NANOSCIENCES CORP CT T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 1518 0104000 Information Systems 0206000 Telecommunications 0320242 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Library Design Algorithms for Active Learning in Drug Discovery. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a software platform for intelligent library design in small molecule drug discovery. High throughput chemistry and screening technologies combined with a growing list of drug targets from genomics are flooding the drug discovery process with data. Data mining methods are routinely applied to attempt to extract valuable knowledge from these large data sets and build predictive models. However, to maximize the perceptive power of these methods, the size of a data set is secondary to its information content. This project will conduct research towards the development of new algorithms for information-driven library design that enable successful data mining and the rapid construction of robust predictive models for activity. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of drug discovery. Efficient library design and subset selection are expected to maximize the potential of high throughput methods for identifying promising drug candidates in the pharmaceutical industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Penzotti, Julie Rational Discovery, LLC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99189 5371 BIOT 9181 9139 9102 0203000 Health 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320253 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Hybrid Fabrication of Very High Efficiency Gratings. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to address the need for large highly efficient gratings as essential components of astronomical, spectroscopic, and optical telecommunications equipment. The goal of the proposed research program is to develop a hybrid manufacturing process combining holography and preferential chemical etching to produce large area diffraction gratings on both planar and curved surfaces that exhibit higher efficiency than gratings manufactured with current techniques. These gratings can be used as dispersing elements and optical filters in astronomical instruments, as extremely narrow band pass filters in pump lasers for optical telecommunications, and as multiplexers and de-multiplexers for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) equipment. Of particular significance will be the ability to produce large area efficient gratings on concave surfaces. This will allow dispersion and focusing functions to combine within the same optical element on space-based telescopes. Diffraction gratings produced using current generation techniques such as ruling engines, holography, and E-beam mask writers can be improved upon greatly in terms of efficiency, cost, and material performance (such as thermal and chemical stability). Highly efficient, large area, planar or curved, diffractive structures made of non out-gassing materials are of great interest to institutions and companies in the fields of astronomy, spectroscopy, laser manufacture, and optical telecommunications. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Kogut, Robert Diffraction Ltd VT Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 9150 EGCH 9197 0106000 Materials Research 0320262 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Supply Tracking for Smart Anesthesia Workstation using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop proof of concept for the passive inventory control component of a Smart Anesthesia Workstation. The current standard is a non-automated lock-and-key Bluebell cart that requires frequent manual inventory counting and restocking. Newer solutions, with multiple log-in functions, restrict immediate access to critical supplies, a danger to patients during emergencies. This Phase I project will use RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology in the Smart Workstation to provide transparent inventory control, passively tracking and recording all supply transactions. The Smart Workstation will require no changes in current practice, yet could improve patient care through enhanced safety, reliable stocking, and robust inventory control. This research will chart current anesthesia processes, design a system capable of recognizing multiple RFID tags simultaneously, design the optimal workstation architecture, and determine tag specifications. The commercial application of this project will be in human healthcare in a hospital setting. This Phase I project is expected to result in the development of a Smart Workstation proven to track transactions accurately and transparently. Ultimately, this system will identify and track the clinician, the supply or drug being administered and the patient. It will serve as a passive patient safety system, a billing system and a materials management system for hospitals. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sriharto, Timur Mobile Aspects Inc. PA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99424 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0320274 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Isolating, Locating and Tracking Target Anomalies in Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Sensor Data. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will capitalize on evolving concepts for sensor optimization that will facilitate homeland security by detecting and tracking human targets through foliage, building walls, fog, and other opaque materials. This work will explore repeatable methods to extract target anomalies from ground sensor data and employ statistical methods to mitigate false alarms and track these anomalies. This work capitalizes on target-induced amplitude and phase distortions in the reflected signal to generate an observation set comprised of isolated and potentially classifiable anomalies. The combined approach facilitates extraction of challenging targets such as dismounted terrorist forces in the presence of clutter and neighboring targets. Statistical methods to track these targets also facilitate data fusion from numerous sensors, which simultaneously increases target discrimination and sensor coverage. This technology will have broad application in airport security, hostile police action, high school and other hostage events, and for search and rescue. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Askildsen, Bernt REALTRONICS CORPORATION SD Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99999 5371 HPCC 9150 9139 1059 1038 0206000 Telecommunications 0320281 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Integration of Radio Front End Using Radio Frequency Micro-electro-Mechanical Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project will investigate breakthrough improvements in radio frequency (RF) electronics for wireless portable devices, including cellular telephones and wireless local area network (LAN) elements. The focus is on the radio transceiver, or "front-end," circuitry: that portion of the wireless device that first receives signals from the antenna, or finally sends them to the antenna for transmission. This project is important because the rate of improvement in the performance and usefulness of wireless devices is hindered by difficulty in miniaturizing and combining certain components (like inductors, capacitors, and filters) with other microelectronics. The project goal will be achieved by combining micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) devices with RF circuitry in synergistic ways. The novelty lies in monolithically building ultra low-loss RF MEMS switches with microcoils, to yield electronically reconfigurable, high Q inductors, and thereby enable frequency-agile devices. Additionally, the project will include design of more complex MEMSplus RF-device combinations, the latter including variable capacitors and active circuit elements, to explore greater implementation possibilities. Significant innovation in microfabrication technology and device design will be required, covering both MEMS and non-MEMS elements. This technology will be used by high volume component manufacturing partners and cell phone producers. This will make the solutions emerging from this project broadly available commercially, at low cost. A successful implementation will have a broad, important impact on reducing cost, increasing functionality, and increasingly the data handling capacity of next generation wireless handheld devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Miracky, Robert Teravicta Technologies, Inc. TX Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99931 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0522400 Information Systems 0320299 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Online Chiral Detector for Industrial Bioprocessing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an online chiral detector for industrial bioprocessing. Manufacturers in the fine chemicals and food additives market are constantly searching for ways to improve quality control in their manufacturing process lines. Online instrumentation is preferred to batch sampling, especially in continuous processes, to maintain more consistent product quality and to enable a quick response to process aberrations that may result in an off specification product. The objective of this project is to build a robust generalizable online detector specific for chiral molecules that is inexpensive, robust enough for manufacturing lines, and has the sensitivity required for quality control. The commercial application of this project will be in the pharmaceutical and specialty chemical processing markets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gibbs, Phillip Stheno LLC GA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 94103 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320302 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Novel Instrumentation for Methane Flux Measurements in Ambient Air. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to support the development of a compact, rugged instrument for field measurements of methane flux. The instrument is based on a new technology called Off-Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy (Off-Axis ICOS) combined with established eddy covariance techniques. This novel instrument will measure methane flux with high sensitivity, accuracy and specificity in real time. The instrument combines inexpensive, robust telecommunications-grade near-infrared diode lasers with Off-Axis ICOS, a patented innovative technology that provides extremely long optical paths (several kilometers typical) to yield an instrument capable of continuously recording data in the field with state-of-the-art precision (better than 0.2% uncertainty at a 10-Hz rate). By significantly increasing the accuracy of methane flux measurements in the field, the instrument will significantly enhance studies of global warming and facilitate multi-year studies and comparisons between geographically distant sites. These studies (which could involve using the instruments aboard airplanes to enable wide coverage and to correlate with satellite images) will help quantify the global carbon cycle on small and large spatial scales, and enable scientists to generate more reliable models of climate change and to determine environmental impact. The proposed instrument is hoped to exceed current performance levels in accuracy, sensitivity, speed and reliability and thus compete favorably against existing technology (gas chromatographs, flame ionization detectors). As a result, the proposed novel instrument has several commercial applications including industrial process control, vehicle engine testing, and atmospheric and environmental monitoring. For industrial process control, the instrument may be applied to real-time measurements of multiple pollutants in petrochemical and chemical production plants and in vehicle test facilities, and for on-site mud gas analyses in oil and gas exploration, where existing technology is too slow, expensive or insensitive. In engine testing, for example, the proposed instrument should provide measurements with a faster response and a sensitivity that is three orders of magnitude better than current techniques. In addition, the low cost, portability, and reliability of the instrument should enable researchers in atmospheric chemistry, geology, biology and ecology to more accurately monitor, and determine the sources and sinks of, greenhouse gases and pollutants in the field and on board aircraft. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Baer, Douglas LOS GATOS RESEARCH INC CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99999 5371 HPCC 9216 1518 0206000 Telecommunications 0320308 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Controlled Energy Storage and Release in an Intelligent Prosthetic Foot. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to develop an intelligent prosthetic foot that reduces the energy consumption of walking in amputees. Commercial prostheses use passive mechanisms to provide articulation, cushioning against heel impact, and elastic energy return; yet the energetic cost of amputee walking is high. Currently the most sophisticated prostheses are intelligent knees, which improve gait by actively controlling braking of the knee. Based on recent laboratory results, Intelligent Prosthetics proposes that controlled energy storage and release could significantly improve the efficiency of a prosthetic foot. Such a foot would store elastic energy after the foot strikes the ground, as in current products. Instead of returning energy spontaneously, however, active control would capture that energy with a latch mechanism and release it later in the gait cycle, coinciding with the push-off phase of able-bodied walking. The mechanism will be microprocessor-controlled and will require battery power mainly to actuate a latch. Phase I of this project will develop a prototype prosthesis, and experimentally test the conceptual feasibility of intelligently controlled energy release. The project intends to develop this concept into a commercial prosthesis with greater energy return and comfort than conventional designs, in a compact and lightweight package. The technology of controlled energy release is intended primarily for the prosthetic foot market. However, the scientific findings could also apply to orthoses or rehabilitation technology for other disabled individuals, such as stroke and cerebral palsy patients. Similar technology could be applied to energy harvesting from locomotion, such as to power wearable electronic devices or more long-term applications such as powered exoskeletons for amplifying human performance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Collins, Steven Arthur Kuo Intelligent Prosthetic Systems MI Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 1505 BIOT 9181 5345 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0320321 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Transgenic Strategy for Nematode Control. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop transgenic crop plants exhibiting increased resistance to nematode infection and damage. Present strategies for dealing with nematode infections involve chemicals that are both toxic and environmentally hazardous. A transgenic solution has the potential to provide economic benefit to producers through improved yields as well as social and environmental benefits resulting from the reduction in the use of hazardous and polluting materials. The specific goal of this Phase I research is to genetically modify plants to express the genes necessary for the biosynthesis of specific naturally occurring fatty acids and to determine whether the accumulation of the fatty acids of interest in the roots results in concomitant increase in resistance to plant-pathogenic nematodes. Positive results in this phase of research could lead directly to the application of this transgenic technology to economically relevant crops. The commercial application of this project is in the area of nematode control products for use in agriculture and horticulture. It is estimated that parasitic nematodes cost the agriculture and horticulture industries in excess of $8 billion annually in the United States and $78 billion annually worldwide. In specialty crop markets, nematode damage is highest in strawberries, bananas, and other high-value vegetables and fruits. Among high acreage row crops, nematode damage is greatest in soybeans and cotton. Many of the currently available products for nematode control are highly toxic, expensive and cumbersome to apply, and also represent significant risks to the environment. Most of the chemical nematicides will become unavailable in the near future, mainly for environmental reasons. For instance, methyl bromide is a significant contributor to ozone depletion and will be banned in the U.S. in 2005. Transgenics for nematode control in soy, corn and cotton would likely have favorable market acceptance, since a large proportion of these U.S. crops are already genetically modified for herbicide resistance and insect control. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zentella, Rodolfo Divergence, Inc. MO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9109 0201000 Agriculture 0320322 July 1, 2003 SBIR PHASE I: A Spin-Processing Module for High Speed Ozone-Water Based Resist and Residue Removal. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is directed to the development of a single-wafer spin processing module for high-speed ozone-water-based resist and residue removal in semiconductor device manufacturing. A new ozone-water process which is unique in promising practical throughputs in single-wafer processing configurations has been developed. Experimental and analytical work has shown there is an opportunity to significantly increase the etch rate and etch uniformity of this process with improvements in the design of the spin processing module. Four goals are established for this Phase I: (1) Measure the radial dependence of the etch rate as a function of key process parameters using a standard commercial spin processing module; (2) Develop a computational fluid dynamic model of the module; (3) Validate the model by comparing the measured etch rate to that predicted by the model; and, (4) Use the model to make a preliminary evaluation of promising new spin processor designs. Single-substrate wet processing has applications in wafer processing, magnetic disc manufacturing, optical disc manufacturing, and flat panel display manufacturing. The market for wafer wet processing equipment alone is projected to reach 3.1 billion dollars by 2005. The single-wafer wet processing segment is growing and is expected to be between 300 million to 450 million dollars by 2005. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Boyers, David Phifer Smith Corporation CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99997 5371 MANU 9146 9139 1468 1467 0106000 Materials Research 0320324 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Use of Histone-Like Protein to Assess the Health of Rainbow Trout. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to explore the novel use of an immune protein for measuring stress in rainbow trout. No convenient tests are currently available to measure stress, a condition that often leads to disease. Accurate stress measurements will dramatically reduce disease losses, the major cause of economic losses in salmonid aquaculture. HLP-1 is a potent antibiotic immune protein that is naturally present in many tissues of rainbow trout. This protein is expected to play a critical role in protecting trout against disease. Stress has been noted to cause a dramatic decrease in HLP-1 levels. This Phase I Project will explore the feasibility of measuring HLP-1 in gill tissue using a simple, antibody-based methodology (ELISA). This assay should have sufficient sensitivity and specificity to be used for commercial development of a low- cost, field-deployable, immunoassay prototype test. The commercial application of this project is in the field of aquaculture. The proposed technology will find use in aquacultured food fish, as well as for health monitoring in pet fish, laboratory animals and wild fish populations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Borron, Paul Norcarex Bio Corporation NC Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 96223 5371 BIOT 9117 0521700 Marine Resources 0320326 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Selective Wafer Bonding for Wafer-Level Packaging of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and Related Microsystems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses selective laser-assisted bonding for wafer-level and chip-scale vacuum packaging of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and related Microsystems. This novel method is especially suitable for vacuum bonding wafers containing devices with low temperature budgets and for managing stress distribution. Furthermore, sealed, encapsulated and released wafers can be diced at the wafer scale without damaging the MEMs devices, thus offering tremendous economies of scale useful toward commercialization. Low temperature solder, such as Pb37/Sn63, will be used to bond silicon chips and wafers using a continuous wave carbon dioxide (CO2) laser. Optimum values of pertinent process parameters and the capability to produce high quality bonds at representative scales will be determined. The study will include both lead-tin solders and lead-free solders. The bonding process will be performed in a vacuum chamber at a pressure of less than ten milliTorr to achieve fluxless soldering and vacuum encapsulation of silicon dies. While the bonding temperature at the sealing ring will be close to the reflow temperature of the eutectic lead-tin solder (183 degrees), the global average temperature will be considerably lower due to the localization of the laser heating. This factor will be critical for many MEMS devices, such as those containing stress sensitive radio-frequency (RF) MEMS, optical devices and low temperature biomaterials. Today, 60 percent of the cost of MEMs products is due to special packaging requirements and lack of standardization. MEMs packaging is far more challenging than traditional packaging, and presents technical and cost barriers. This work will develop MEMs packaging to meet the needs of this important segment of the rapidly growing $20B packaging industry. The goal is to have several new wafer level packaging platforms demonstrated and ready to insert into high-volume manufacturing lines when the market starts to regain strength. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG O'Neal, Chad Sysconn Corporation AR Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99999 5371 HPCC 9150 9139 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320332 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Polar On Line Acquisition Relay and Transmission System (POLARATS). This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project focuses on the feasibility of deploying closely coupled monitors with global positioning systems (GPS), central processing units (CPU), and satellite communication devices to ultimately provide real-time access to a wide variety of data (chemical, biological, radiological, physical) remotely obtained in harsh Arctic climates. Phase I focuses on developing a radiation detection prototype for concept feasibility purposes. The initial prototype module includes beta/gamma detectors, GPS, thermometer, CPU, and a radio-transmission device. Cold weather performance of both individual components and the integrated module will be determined along with corrective methods for hardening the components to achieve reliable detection and reporting at Arctic temperatures. The performance of a hardened integrated prototype will be evaluated over a range of simulated Arctic conditions. Commercial applications include acquiring, transmitting, and managing chemical, biological, radiological, and physical data from remote Arctic environments and installations in real-time. Potential customers include Arctic researchers; oil and mining companies; schools and universities; and municipal, state, and federal agencies with regulation, oversight, and security missions related to Arctic areas. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Yuracko, Katherine YAHSGS LLC WA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99997 1505 CVIS 9102 1059 0106000 Materials Research 0110000 Technology Transfer 0320338 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Electrochemical BioDetection Platform Utilizing Disposable Microfluidic Cartridges. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a handheld automated biosensor for specific and sensitive detection and quantification of proteins and/or pathogenic cells in liquid samples. The biosensor will integrate highly-specific immunodiagnostics with ultra-sensitive electrochemical sensors in a microfluidic format, and will have the following features: (1) Quantitative detection of pathogenic bacteria and protein markers in any liquid sample, (2) Low detection limit (i.e. less than 100 cfu/ml for pathogens and less than 0.1 ng/ml for proteins), (3) Short assay times (i.e. less than 25 minutes for bacterial cells and less than 10 minutes for proteins), (4) Single-button, fully-automated operation requiring minimal user interaction, and (5) Handheld, battery powered operation allowing its use in remote locations. In this Phase I project, the utility of the system will be demonstrated by detecting Escherichia coli (a representative pathogen) and Immunoglobulin G (a representative protein/immuno marker). The commercial applications of the proposed product would include health clinics and mobile laboratories, emergency response to a possible biological warfare threat, microbiology laboratories and environmental monitoring. The handheld biological detection system will be capable of rapidly quantifying the presence of extremely low concentrations of any biological agent in a short amount of time. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Abdel-Hamid, Ihab MESOSYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY, INC. WA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99581 9150 BIOT 9107 1596 1178 0104000 Information Systems 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320341 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Device for Measuring Electric Field Strength from Dropsondes and Radiosondes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project evaluates the feasibility of fabricating a module to measure electric field strength that can be dropped from an aircraft through thunderstorms and hurricanes. Electric field strength is a significant factor in the development of lightning and microphysical particle development in thunderstorms, and recent research suggests that it may even play a role influencing the intensity of precipitation. Research aircraft measurements of electric field strength are difficult and potentially dangerous because of the hazardous conditions associated with thunderstorms, such as lightning, hail and turbulence. Droppable devices, such as dropsondes released from aircraft flying over thunderstorms, and devices carried aloft by balloons, such as common weather radiosondes, can be used to probe thunderstorms safely and cost-effectively. There is currently no commercial device available for measuring electric field strength from radiosondes or dropsondes. This research in Phases I presents significant commercial potential and opportunities for Broader Impacts through employment of students in work study programs. There are significant potential societal benefits from improved understanding of damaging thunderstorms and hurricanes, and a better understanding of lightning discharges that threaten commercial aircrafts. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lawson, R. Paul SPEC, Inc. CO Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99797 5371 HPCC 9216 1518 0206000 Telecommunications 0320345 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Native-Oxide Defined AlGaAs Heterostructure Bipolar Transistors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a native oxide confined heterostructure bipolar transistor. Oxidation of AlGaAs has been successfully applied to a number of photonic and electronic devices since its discovery in 1990. In particular, it is a critical technology for current confinement in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. This program will design and develop native oxidation for application to AlGaAs heterostructure bipolar transistors in order to increase the breakdown voltage-frequency product, improve the reliability and efficiency of these devices. A study of the oxidation properties of AlGaAs as it applies to heterostructure bipolar transistors will be performed. Prototype AlGaAs heterostructure bipolar transistors will be fabricated and delivered in Phase I. In Phase II the technology will be extended to more complex device designs, including double heterostructure bipolar transistors. Commercially the project will address the need for improved performance in AlGaAs heterostructure bipolar transistors for power amplifier applications. AlGaAs heterostructure bipolar transistors with increased breakdown-voltage-frequency products would benefit current markets for wireless communications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sugg, Alan VEGA WAVE SYSTEMS, INC. IL T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9147 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320348 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Microwave-Based Interconnect Technique for System-on-a-Package Wafer Level Packaging. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will adapt localized microwave heating techniques to emerging System on a Package (SOP) interconnect designs. One critical bottleneck in the realization of the next-generation, micro-electronic industry migration to SOP is the need for an interconnect technology that can handle 20 to 100 micron pitch line widths. The objective of this project is to develop bonding recipes around existing tool sets that will allow realization of interconnect designs. The long-term goal of this project is to develop tools that will facilitate rapid prototype development of a next generation SOP designs. The broader impacts of this technology will be tools that will facilitate rapid prototype development of a next generation SOP designs that will be cheaper and much smaller than existing chips. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Budraa, Nasser Microwave Bonding Instruments, Inc. CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99813 5371 MANU 9146 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0320360 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Highly Specific Nanoparticle Gas Sensors: HCN and SO2. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I proposes to explore the feasibility of creating a low-cost gas sensor highly specific to trace levels of HCN and SO2. The project consists of two parallel efforts; one to create a nanostructured substrate that selectively binds HCN and SO2, and another to create a low-cost, species-specific Raman spectrometer. Together, both technologies form a complete, quantitative, near real-time sensor for monitoring HCN and SO2. Such a sensor would have broad applicability to homeland security monitoring, environmental emissions monitoring, and to fire rescue applications (smoke inhalation of HCN). The project advances the practice of Raman spectroscopy in several significant ways. First it seeks to apply Au nanostructure technology to solid-gas interfaces. Secondly, it proposes a Raman monitor that is compact and low-cost. The technology used to make the Raman monitor is both novel and highly practical for the development of commercial Raman monitors. This sensor should have broad applications for users of cyanide or sulfur dioxide products. Hydrogen cyanide is particularly toxic and used in large quantities in the production of plastics and mining of precious metals. Perfunctory analysis of the market indicates several large chemical firms that are interested in the proposed device. The device is also needed to provide rapid detection of hydrogen cyanide or sulfur dioxide. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Watson, Mark DeltaNu, LLC WY Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 9150 MANU 9153 9150 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320371 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Frequency Agile Laser for Configurable Optical Networks (FALCON). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project will address the needs of future intelligent optical networks. The simultaneous satisfaction of both enhanced technical performance and price parity as compared to fixed wavelength devices will allow the proposed laser technology to proliferate. This project, entitled, Frequency Agile Laser for Configurable Optical Networks. (FALCON), will develop a rapidly tunable laser operating around 1550-nm. This laser is based upon an innovative configuration of intra-cavity electro-optic components that provide rapid tunability from a narrow-linewidth (<5 kHz) source. Truly innovative is the specific design to allow for sloppy, passive alignment tolerances, thereby enabling low-cost devices to be realized. This approach to low-cost manufacturing will also allow for this technology to compete with current fixed wavelength lasers. It is anticipated that this laser, will result in a self-fiber-coupled high-power (>50 milliwatts), widely tunable (> 40-nm) laser, capable of random access wavelength switching to any point in the sub-100 nanosecond regime. Due to the demand for voice, data, and video services, advances in optical networks, together with the laser technologies required to support those networks, continues to be a major focus. Development of advanced, more intelligent optical networks is generally accepted as the path to being able to provide these services at economically viable price points. One major step in this direction will be the commercial availability of rapidly tunable lasers for prices that are competitive (equal to or less than) with today's fixed wavelength devices. The proposed technology offers to meet this demand, with its innovative approach towards manufacturing of tunable laser sources. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Takeuchi, Eric Photera Technologies, Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 66656 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0320373 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Integrated Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) 3D Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MOEMS) Optical Switch for Dynamically Reconfigurable Networks. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to investigate the integration of Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) with optical switching based on Micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems (MOEMS) to make important network elements needed for reconfigurable, high capacity fiber optic networks. Optical networks in place today consist predominantly of DWDM fiber optic links connected by electrical switches with optical interfaces (OEO Switch). The goal of next generation transparent networks is to keep the transmitted optical signals optical. In this way, the switch is as transparent as the fiber itself. A problem is that these switches are surrounded by DWDM multiplexing modules that have significant loss (6 dB each) and are relatively expensive. The goal of this proposal is to design an integrated module containing MOEMS switches with DWDM multiplexers and demultiplexers resulting in a significant size, cost and loss reduction. The MOEMS elements will use the technology developed. Two alternatives will be considered for the DWDM elements. One utilizes Arrayed-Waveguide-Grating (AWG) chips and one design uses bulk gratings. At the conclusion of this Phase I study, one design will be proposed for fabrication under Phase II. The integrated DWDM PXC is needed for emerging reconfigurable DWDM networks, and will find application in commercial and government networks. The capacity is huge: 256 ports carrying 10 Terabit/s of data results in 2.5 Petabit/s switching capacity. The significant risk lies in the integration of the DWDM elements with the optical switch elements, and many tradeoffs need to be investigated. The development of the Internet has resulted in tremendous benefit to society as more people have access to more information, regardless of their background. Continued expansion requires larger switch capacities and reductions in cost. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Helkey, Roger Calient Networks CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99511 5371 HPCC 9215 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0320375 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: P-Type CdSe for Thin-Film Top Cells Enabling High-Efficiency Monolithic Tandem Photovoltaics. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop a wide-bandgap, thin-film semiconductor to enable a high-efficiency light-absorber layer for the top cell in monolithic tandem or multi-junction thin-film photovoltaics. Because of relatively high device packaging costs, tandem junction thin-film photovoltaic devices can offer higher watt per square meter and lower cost per watt than their single junction counterparts. In order to overcome the current low thin-film device efficiencies for materials with bandgaps greater than 1.6 eV, it is proposed to use CdSe, with a bandgap of 1.72 eV, which is an optimum bandgap for a top cell of a tandem junction device when sharing the solar spectrum with an existing high-efficiency thin-film bottom cell. However CdSe likes to be an n-type semiconductor, which does not allow for its use as a top cell with the correct polarity on the high-efficiency p-type bottom cell for monolithically integrated (two-terminal) tandem devices. In this project an innovative approach to overcome this problem is proposed which involves using existing low-cost deposition techniques with added doping capability to fabricate p-type thin-films of CdSe. The retention of this conductivity type after high-temperature device processing will also be confirmed so as to enable high-efficiency devices as needed for application in the monolithic tandem device. Commercially, two of the most important near-term markets for high-efficiency flexible lightweight tandem-junction photovoltaics are space and high-altitude airships (HAA). In addition it is possible to leverage the monolithic tandem PV space/HAA product technology for the implementation of a low-cost monolithic tandem PV terrestrial product. The terrestrial product is anticipated to have a significant impact toward reducing the cost of alternative energy (solar electric). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Woods, Lawrence ITN ENERGY SYSTEMS, INC. CO T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99932 5371 1505 AMPP 9163 9147 0110000 Technology Transfer 0522100 High Technology Materials 0320409 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A Biochip for Biological Pathogen Detection. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop a biosensor that measures the inherent electron transport properties of DNA on a semiconductor chip. This biochip is expected to improve data quality, decrease cost and minimize sample processing. The ability of DNA to transport electrons is dependent on the bases being perfectly matched. Thus, only the correct target DNA would give a signal in the proposed system. Furthermore, since the signal is electronic, the instrumentation required to make the measurements will be far less expensive than currently used fluorescent systems. Finally, since the ability to transport electrons is intrinsic to DNA, no modifications and very little sample processing will be required. This project will address two fundamental barriers to a reliable, mass-manufacturable biosensor based on electron transport through DNA. First, the project will investigate decreasing the voltage biases required to initiate electron transport by decreasing the overall resistance of the DNA/electrode assembly. Second, the project will investigate methods to decrease the contact resistance between the electrode and the DNA. Overcoming these two obstacles will greatly facilitate the manufacture of an inexpensive, accurate biochip that will detect DNA without amplification. The commercial application of this project will be in four select markets : biological agent detection for homeland defense, life science research, drug development and medical diagnostics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Scaboo, Kristian GENORX INC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 0320410 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Efficient Thermal Packaging for High Density Electronics. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the need for compact, low cost thermal packaging to cool high power and high-density electronics. This project will develop an automated freeform fabrication process based on stereolithography to fabricate the high performance thermal packages. The research objectives include demonstrating that the fabrication approach can produce the thermal substrates with dimensional tolerances comparable to current substrates and much higher heat flux capacity. Prototype packages will be fabricated and laboratory tested to measure heat flux. The anticipated results will show heat flux capacity of several hundred W/cm2, with the ultimate goal of 1,000 W/cm2 achieved through development of improved materials and package designs. Target applications of this low cost and reliable thermal packaging approach are high heat load electronics devices including high density microelectronics and power electronics such as T/R modules, power conditioning components for electric vehicles, high density CPUs for compact computers and high power laser diodes. The broader impacts from this technology will be a thermal packaging approach which would offer a low cost and compact solution for thermal management of high heat load electronics including radar T/R modules, high power laser diodes, power conditioning electronics for electric vehicles and shipboard electric propulsion, high density CPUs for compact computers, and space-based electronics where compact heat rejection designs are critical. The solution is particularly attractive for devices based on the advanced capabilities of wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors such as SiC and GaN. These devices offer much higher maximum temperature capabilities and can handle higher current loads and faster switching speeds. All of these attributes result in a 10x. 100x higher thermal load on the packaging making conventional packaging approaches that utilize heat spreaders and heat sinks obsolete. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zimbeck, Walter Technology Assessment & Transfer, Inc. MD Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99928 5371 AMPP 9163 1775 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0522100 High Technology Materials 0320413 July 1, 2003 SBIR PhaseI: Photo-reconfigurable Alignment Surfaces for Liquid Crystals. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project aims to investigate the development of photo-reconfigureable surfaces that will enable control of ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) alignment and switching properties in ways not previously possible. The central problem is that the FLC-surface interaction forces needed to produce good optical uniformity of the FLC (alignment) are different from the forces needed for good analog electro-optic performance. If successful, our solution to this problem has the potential to enable sought-after fast analog electro-optic modulation modes (< 100 us) sought for beam steering, adaptive and active optics, tunable optical filters, optical information processing, displays, and telecommunications. The Phase I objective is to develop prototypes of the proposed surface materials and to evaluate them by building liquid crystal test cells. The crucial test will be to determine whether or not the surfaces can be configured first to promote good FLC alignment during cell fabrication, and then be photo-reconfigured into a state providing optimal surface forces for analog electro-optic modulation. The analog electro-optic modulation that would be enabled by the proposed innovation is the foundation for a class of advanced optical devices. A leading example is laser beam steering and optical wave front correction that find application in free-space optical communications, in MxN all-optical switches for telecommunications, and in beam steering and beam shaping for laser radar in aviation. It would also be useful in megabit write heads for the emerging holographic data storage industry, in tunable filters used in optical telecommunications, in spatial light modulators for optical information processing, and in microdisplays for consumer electronics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wand, Michael Displaytech Incorporated CO Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99971 5371 MANU 9146 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320418 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Microfluidic Device for Rapid Analysis, Sorting, and Collection of Biological Particles using Photonic Forces. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project propses to demonstrate that moving optical gradient forces, Optophoresis, provide selective and sensitive analysis and sorting of cells important to optimizing bioreactor production processes. Isolation of stable cell populations, as related to functional phenotype, and maximizing viable cell density are critical to the efficient and economic production of protein-based therapeutic agents. The ability to remove pro-apoptotic cells will significantly improve bioprocess technology. This Phase I effort will demonstrate the analysis, sorting, and recovery of non-apoptotic cells for further manipulations, and the isolation of cells with certain biological characteristics, for example secretion levels. In a microsorter device, cells will be simultaneously analyzed and sorted by the optical gradient force based on the native cell characteristics (such as size, morphology, dielectric properties etc.). The objectives of the Phase I project are : 1) to build an optical and microfluidics workstation; 2) to fabricate microfluidic devices for aseptic loading and recovery of cells, 3) to identify and characterize apoptotic and secretor cell models, 4) to demonstrate that Optophoresis can discriminate between different cell subpopulations, and 5) to collect sorted populations for further manipulations. In the follow on Phase II project, the microsorter instrument will be further developed for both research and continuous on-line monitoring needs. The commercial applications of this project include bioprocess engineering, clinical diagnostics, cancer testing, environmental monitoring, tissue engineering, and drug discovery. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Diver, Jonathan GENOPTIX INC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99771 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320427 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Analysis of Comprehensive Two Dimensional Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry for High-Throughput Metabolomics. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will investigate a new method for analyzing metabolites using novel instrumentation and software. Currently, metabolomics offers critical new information to pharmaceutical and other biological research. However, few researchers can exploit metabolomics, because appropriate methods have not been developed. Recently, gas chromatography has been successfully applied to metabolomics, although peak capacities have been insufficient. This project will combine a leading multidimensional gas chromatography research facility with a seasoned team of software experts, to bring the power of multidimensional GC to metabolomics. Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry detection (GC x GC xTOF-MS) will be combined with pattern recognition to analyze the reaction of metabolites of methylotrophic bacteria to perturbations. The collaborative effort between the Synovec Laboratory at the University of Washington and the Company will produce a software platform for analysis of GC x GC x TOF-MS data. This platform will use data management and analysis technologies that have not previously been commercially available for GC x GC x TOF-MS, and enable GC x GC x TOF-MS for high throughput metabolite analysis. The result will be an enabling technology for the elucidation of biological function. The commercial applications of this project include metabolomics and proteomics. The current market for proteomics is over $1 billion per year worldwide and growing at the rate of 34% per year. The market for metabolomics is $38 million, and growing at the rate of 46% per year. This project will address the current unmet need for multidimensional separations software in both metabolomics and proteomics. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Nilsson, Erik Robert Synovec INSILICOS, LLC WA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 1505 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320431 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: Novel Cavity Ringdown Detector for High Performance Liquid Chromatography. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop detector based on cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The goal of this Phase I feasibility study is to demonstrate a CRDS detector with a baseline noise of 3 x 10 -7 AU, one order of magnitude better than the best commercially available detector. The commercial application for the HPLC systems to be developed in this project is fairly broad - based, and will span across many industries, including the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, chemical, petrochemical, and environmental analysis industries, as well as forensic and academic laboratories. A CRDS detector with a baseline noise of 3 x 10-7 absorption units (AU) would allow engineers and scientists in these industries to analyze smaller quantities of material without the loss of sensitivity. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Crosson, Eric PICARRO INC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99273 1505 BIOT 9181 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320446 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase I: A Fast Scanning Aerosol Thermal Measurement to Classify Volatile Compounds. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will design and construct a basic fast response scanning thermo system. Laboratory and ambient air measurements will demonstrate the advantage of the fast response thermo system to classify volatile compounds on single aerosol particles. The innovative design will provide for scans from 50 to 800 degrees centigrade in less than 30 seconds. The capabilities of any instrument that measures particle properties, nephelometers, optical particle counters, aerosol mass spectrometers or differential mobility analyzers will be significantly enhanced with this method of characterizing aerosol populations with thermograms of their volatility. Very simple experiments can be performed with this thermographic technique that will yield useful data on classes of volatile compounds found in aerosols. The capability of providing detailed thermographic analysis of aerosol volatility rapidly will have widespread, scientific and commercial benefits in areas of environmental monitoring, studies of the health impact of aerosols, combustion research and emissions inspections. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Kok, Gregory Jose Jimenez Droplet Measurement Technologies CO Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99849 5371 1505 EGCH 1636 1303 0202000 Atmospheric Science-ICAS 0320449 August 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Genomic Mapping of DNA by Means of GeneEngine(TM) Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project aims to build a technology for long-range, high-resolution DNA mapping based on the proprietary GeneEngine(TM) platform. This technology will be a unique tool for genomics because of the combination of features: single- molecule sensitivity, ability to analyze very long DNA molecules, high throughput, and potential for automation. The basic feasibility of this technology was shown in Phase I. The Phase II project is aimed at creating efficient procedures for sample preparation and measurement, as well as for developing analysis algorithms and combining them into an automated software package. These procedures and software will be united to form a toolkit for DNA mapping. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of Genomics. The product resulting from this project will comprise of instruments and consumables (e.g. reagents) for mapping of whole microbial genomes based on long-range, single-molecule DNA mapping. The ability to scan microbial genomic DNA for genetic information at a fraction of the cost and time of that needed currently will be valuable in a number of commercial applications in life science research and the healthcare industry, including the elucidation of complex genetic pathways, identification of target genes for development of novel anti-infective drugs, correlation of genomic information with unique functions and with drug response, as well as for DNA-based molecular diagnostics and prognostics. The principal market for these applications would be the bio-pharmaceutical companies and academic research laboratories, with additional longer-term markets expected in the area of clinical diagnostics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Gilmanshin, Rudolf U.S. GENOMICS INC MA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 999998 5373 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0320455 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Orthogonal Frequency/Amplitude Modulation of a Laser Oscillator. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes the development of a laser source which can accommodate frequency and amplitude modulation and which combines a high degree of linearity and efficiency with AM/FM orthogonality, i.e., which exhibits little or no coupling (cross-talk) between the two modes of modulation. Together with low phase noise, the requirement for amplitude/frequency modulation orthogonality is paramount in applications that require the generation of arbitrary independent amplitude and phase waveforms. The heart of our proposed diode-pumped solid-state laser source is a compact fiber-coupled optical resonator that contains a unique intracavity electro-optic birefringent filter. Use of this novel filter technology permits us to control independently the optical carrier wavelength, the frequency and/or modulation depth of an impressed FM signal, and the modulation amplitude of the output coupled laser intensity. During the Phase I program, we intend to demonstrate basic Design principles by characterizing the FM and AM response of a prototypical laser. This will validate all high-risk elements of the concept and will provide the data necessary for completing and implementing the composite design, which is envisioned for the Phase II program. The proposed effort will lead to the development of a family of application-specific lasers that are based on the same core technology. Products we see emerging in the near future from these efforts include rapidly wavelength-settable lasers with narrow linewidth, and fast, broad tuning lasers with multifunctional modulation capability. These lasers are based upon a similar, low-cost, fiber-coupled solid-state design, which employs self-aligning resonator concepts together with precision electro-optic manufacturing and packaging techniques. In the special case of lasers, which operate at 1550 nm, the technology is directly applicable to optical networks, wireless communications, telecommunications, phased array radar, precision metrology, LIDAR, and optical fiber sensors for acoustic and seismic sensing. We expect that the main customers for our technology will initially be those involved in niche areas (sensors, phased array radar, research, etc.), and, as the product matures, eventually shift to those involved in more commercially attractive markets, such as optical communications in metro and cable networks. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pessot, Maurice Photera Technologies, Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 66630 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0320456 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: A New Class of Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals for High Performance Optical Phase Modulation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will explore the development of a new class of ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) materials and a novel FLC operating mode to produce fast, analog, electro-optical phase modulation. The innovation exploits two new developments in the science and technology of FLCs: bent-core FLCs and electrostatically controlled analog modulation of high polarization FLCs. The Phase I objectives are to formulate enhanced materials of the new-type FLCs and use them to test the feasibility of the proposed electro-optic modulation mode. Anticipated results include an assessment of the innovation's feasibility, an improved understanding of the physical, chemical, and optical properties of these new materials, and the identification of further FLC material and cell advances that need to be achieved in Phase II for subsequent commercialization. The new phase modulators will be much faster than existing modulators made with nematic LCs and will operate at lower drive voltage. They will also achieve a full 360 degrees range of pure analog phase modulation with no optic axis rotation, a goal that has been impossible to reach using conventional FLCs. Phase modulation is the foundation for electro-optical beam steering and optical wave front correction, which find application in free-space optical communications, in M x N all-optical switches for telecommunications, in beam steering and beam shaping for laser radar in aviation, and in active optics. The new FLCs will also enable higher performance megabit write-heads for the emerging holographic data storage industry, and will be useful for optical information processing. They also enable fast tunable filters useful for WDM optical telecommunications systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wand, Michael Displaytech Incorporated CO Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99931 5371 HPCC 9139 1775 1517 0104000 Information Systems 0320459 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nanostructured Carriers for Delivery of Ciprofloxacin. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project proposes to test the feasibility of extended delivery of ciprofloxacin from a novel lipid drug delivery vehicle : the vesosome. Ciprofloxacin is a valuable antibiotic whose therapeutic index would be enhanced with an extended release vehicle. Ciprofloxacin remains stably encapsulated in conventional unilamellar liposomes during storage in buffer. However, ciprofloxacin is known to leak rapidly from conventional liposomes in vivo, even with optimized compositions, which limits the therapeutic benefits. This difference is believed to be due to membrane degradation by macromolecular serum components. Hence, fundamental stability advantages are expected in vivo with a multi-membrane vesosome. In this Phase I project, ciprofloxacin will be loaded into vesosomes by standard chemical gradient techniques and the formulation efficiency, stability during storage, and release rates (in serum) will be measured. If performance is found to be superior to optimized unilamellar liposomes, clinical development of vesosomal ciprofloxacin would follow. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of drug delivery, particularly for delivery of ciprofloxacin. Therapeutic indications would include critical blood-borne infections, lung infections, and localized infections. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Coldren, Bret Advanced Encapsulation, Inc CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99858 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0320470 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Carbon Isotope Ratiometer. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project involves the development of a robust, field-portable gas analyzer capable of determining the carbon isotope ratio of carbon dioxide emitting from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. These vents provide access to water that has been trapped under the ocean in a unique, anaerobic environment that is devoid of photosynthesis and emulates the conditions believed to exist under the ice crusts of Europa and Callisto, beneath the surface of Mars, and on primordial Earth. Preliminary carbon isotope studies suggest that biological activity takes place in such an environment and novel instrumentation is sought to provide further evidence. The Phase II analyzer, based upon our proprietary Off-Axis ICOS technology, will determine the isotope ratio in-situ to within 1 angstrom, which is sufficient to discriminate between biogenic and geological carbon sources, and may provide evidence for a Subsurface Lithotrophic Microbiological Ecosystem (SLiME). The proposed instrument, which will interface with the Medusa seafloor sampling system developed by NASA Ames, will operate autonomously and be able to withstand the harsh underwater conditions found near deep-sea vents. The Phase II work will involve scientific development to enhance the prototype's specificity, deep-sea packaging to permit underwater deployment, and testing to demonstrate the analyzer's capabilities. One of the most promising markets for our novel Off-Axis ICOS technology is in industrial process control (IPC). The Phase II instrument can be directly converted to an IPC analyzer due to its ability to autonomously operate in harsh environments, integration of compact control system, and use of sophisticated chemometric algorithms. Within the $1.67B IPC market, the targeted markets will be those in which current technology is either too expensive or insufficient, such as the niche in the fast analysis of acetylene contamination in ethylene. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Gupta, Manish LOS GATOS RESEARCH INC CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 666834 5373 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320471 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Commercialization of Membrane Microarray Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a commercially feasible technology for the fabrication of membrane microarrays. Recent studies have extended the microarray concept to include patterns of substrate-supported lipid bilayers and cell membranes (MembraneChipsTM) which retain biological functionality, and enable researchers to perform novel studies of receptor-ligand and cell-cell interactions. These experiments are performed using manual and often laborious chip fabrication and assay techniques. This project will assess the technical feasibility of automating MembraneChipTM production, and manufacturing membrane microarrays in a format compatible with existing liquid-handling robotics and microplate readers. The specific objectives of the project will be (i) demonstration of a scaleable membrane arraying process using nanoscale fluid-dispensing technology, (ii) optimization of the process with respect to substrate design and dispense parameters using a statistical design of experiments approach, (iii) evaluation of process consistency and yields, and (iv) evaluation of membrane array mechanical stability, shelf-life, and sensitivity to assay reagents. This information will be used to fabricate a prototype device in the 96-well microplate format. Incorporation into the 96- well format will enable automation of novel biological assays for basic research and drug discovery, while taking advantage of the instrumentation infrastructure already installed in academic and industrial research labs. The commercial application of this project is in the areas of biological research and pharmaceutical drug development. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sundberg, Steven Proteomic Systems, Inc. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99990 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320476 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nanotube-Based Electronic Pressure Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is aimed at developing carbon nanotube electromechanical pressure sensors. The characteristics of nanotube pressure sensors will include superior sensitivity, higher thermal stability and wider sensing ranges than conventional silicon-based pressure sensors. The project could lead to the first nanotechnology-based physical sensor products and enable a new generation of nano- electromechanical systems (NEMS) that convert mechanical effects into electrical signals. The research will combine chemistry for synthesis of materials and microfabrication. The main task of this Phase I research is to demonstrate the feasibility of nanotube pressure sensor by determining the device's gauge factor, linearity, and the temperature dependence of nanotubes. Phase II will focus on device stability, repeatability, reproducibility and scalability. The development of a new generation of sensing devices with wide industrial applications will provide benefit in many areas. Products with improved performance characteristics and the spread of emerging nanotechnology into other industrial applications and improved pressure sensors at a lower price will directly provide increased public and industrial (automotive, healthcare, etc.) safety. The success of the program will benefit the nanotechnology area in general, making nanotechnology one-step closer to important real-world applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhang, Lian Molecular Nanosystems, Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99978 5371 MANU 9146 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320480 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Comprehensive RNAi Technologies: Vector-Based Expression and Chemical Synthesis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to develop a broad-based technology platform for RNA interference (RNAi) gene silencing in mammalian cells. Sequence-specific RNAi is achieved by introducing homologous, short interfering RNA duplexes (siRNAs) into cells. siRNAs are generated by several methods of which the most popular are (1) chemically synthesized siRNA duplexes, and (2) short hairpin RNAs (shRNA) expressed from vectors. This project will attempt to bridge these silencing platforms. The follow on Phase II project will build on the integrated technologies to develop a genome-wide platform of siRNAs, shRNA vectors and stable cell lines. The combination of these powerful tools will have broad impacts for general biology, medical and pharmaceutical research and development. The commercial application of this project will be to meet the needs of researchers involved in biological and medical research. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Khvorova, Anastasia DHARMACON INC CO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0320485 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Development of Agents to Promote Cellular Ga-67 (Gallium-67) Uptake. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is proposes to develop new pharmaceutical agents to selectively enhance tumor imaging using gallium (Ga-67). Ga-67 has been widely used in tumor imaging and clinical medicine due to significant advantages in terms of low cost, ease of use and long life. However, the use of Ga -67 is currently limited, mainly due to varying tumor avidity and high dose requirements needed to achieve high signal-to-background ratios in non-gallium avid tumors. Increasing the selective uptake of gallium by tumor cells will dramatically improve gallium imaging, resulting in the development of an innovative, sensitive, and low-cost tumor detection tool. This Phase I program will focus on designing, preparing and evaluating novel nitrosipine derivatives with the potential to drastically increase the uptake of Ga-67 by tumor cells. The commercial application of this project is in the area of tumor imaging and oncology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tsukamoto, Takuji Chemica Technologies Inc OR Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99999 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0320488 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Controlled-Impedance Transfemoral Knee/Ankle Prosthesis. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop a microprocessor controlled transfemoral knee/ankle prosthesis. This system will include: (1) adaptive swing phase impedance (resistance); (2) control of compliant flexion during stance phase; (3) myoelectric control of knee/foot impedances; and, (4) coordination of knee and foot motion. This transfemoral knee/ankle prosthesis would allow prosthesis users to walk and run more smoothly, stably, and with less effort. Two important developments are necessary for the realization of this objective. The first is the refinement of experimental knee and foot mechanisms, which have previously been developed and the second is the development of an adaptive control system, which will command these mechanisms to exhibit appropriate impedances. There are over 80,000 transfemoral prosthesis users in the United States and there is an estimated a market for 20,000 transfemoral prostheses each year. Considering all industrial nations, the worldwide market is several times that figure. U.S. government sponsored workshops have cited .the following as high priority goals for improved knee systems: stance phase stability, varying walking cadences, and energy conservation. Other manufacturers have shown the feasibility of using electronic control of hydraulic knee resistance, and the C-leg (by Otto Bock, of Germany) controls flexion impedance during stance phase. However all the available knees lack compliant stance and coordinated knee/ankle motion, which this project will develop. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sears, Harold MOTION CONTROL, INC. UT Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 5345 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0320492 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Rapid Sensitive Diagnostic Technology Based On Novel Physical Principles. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a fluidic wave guide biosensor that employs unique physical and structural features to measure biological pathogens. Preliminary research indicates that this diagnostic technology promises to achieve a combination of speed, simplicity, sensitivity and selectivity significantly superior to that attained by current pathogen detection technologies. The versatility of fluidic waveguides makes it possible for these systems to employ a wide range of detection strategies, including probes based on DNA/RNA, antibodies, aptamers, and immobilized enzymes. The initial commercial applications of this project will be in research and development laboratories, and in the food and agricultural industries. Additional applications are expected in the markets for medical diagnostics and for homeland defense. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fagan, John Genetic ID NA IA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320494 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Waveguide Optical Gyroscope. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to use advanced materials and microfabrication techniques to produce a micro-opticalelectrical system (MOEMs) gyroscope. The innovation uses both self-assembled silicon quantum dot nano-composites and a unique poled plasma polymer to produce micro-photonic structures suitable for construction of a solid-state equivalent of a fiber optic gyroscope (FOG). Typically, in a MEMs or micro-optical-electrical-mechanical system (MOEMs), a reduction in size is often accompanied by a reduction in precision. The proposed technology provides the high levels of FOG precision in the compact, low cost MOEMs format. We propose to construct the photonic portion of an optical gyroscope using linear self assembled quantum confined silicon nanocomposites and non linear, stable poled polymers including spiral waveguide arrays to produce significant optical path lengths in a compact form. The compact spiral waveguide structures, which possess long optical path length, can be used for replacement of the optical fiber coil in a FOG and other applications such as biophotonics. The nano-composite materials permit deposition of thin films with varying in plane index of refraction (VIPIR) that achieve performance levels of conventional fiber optic gyros to be constructed in miniature, on chip waveguide optical gyros. Microfabricated gyroscopes for measuring rate or angle of rotation can be used either as a low-cost miniature companion with micromachined accelerometers to provide heading information for inertial navigation purposes or in other areas, including automotive applications for ride stabilization and rollover detection; consumer electronic applications, such as video-camera stabilization, robotics applications; and a wide range of military applications. Current market for fiber gyroscopes is estimated to be $200 million and growing by 7% a year. Other gyroscope type represents a current market of well over $1 billion per year and is one of the fastest growing of the MEMs sensor categories. We believe the proposed technology can bring fiber gyroscope precision to the broader commercial gyroscope market and significantly increase both market sizes. We believe it is possible to attain a minimum of 10% market share with the proposed technology in the five to ten year time frame. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kubacki, Ronald IONIC SYSTEMS INC CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99875 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0320498 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Quantitative Detection of Bacterial Pathogens in Seeds by Use of a Novel Enrichment Technique Coupled with Automated Real-Time PCR. This Small Business Innovation Research project is to develop an innovation called Amplidisks that would assist in the detection of bacterial plant pathogens in seeds. Healthy seeds are very important to agriculture in the United States and throughout the world. Just a few infected seeds (0.01%) in a seed lot can result in a disease epidemic and significant crop loss. Since the frequency of infected seeds in a seed lot is generally very low, highly sensitive seed testing methods are needed. Currently available assays use small aliquots (0.01-0.1%) of a liquid seed extract, and can lead to false negative results. This assay would enable sampling of several hundred times larger aliquots of seed extract by using a novel enrichment technique, where the number of target organisms are increased in an Ampli-disk and detected and confirmed by real-time PCR. The objective of the Phase I work is to show the feasibility of this technique for detection of Clavibacter michiganensis pv michiganensis in tomato seeds. The follow on Phase II project will validate the procedure and develop commercial kits containing Ampli-disks and dry beads with all PCR ingredients. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of agriculture. The development and marketing of test kits based on the the proposed technique is expected to result in the elimination of diseased seed lots and food materials. Healthier seeds would likely lead to increased crop yields and to improved food safety for the consumer. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Randhawa, Parm California Seed and Plant Lab., Inc. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9109 0201000 Agriculture 0320509 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Software-Based Clock Recovery for Dense Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (DWDM) Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of a novel software-based clock and data recovery (SCDR) solution based on a programmable implementation of all critical components in a phase-lock loop (PLL) based clock and data recovery (CDR). This software-based implementation will allow CDR operation for programmable data rates and data formats. The proposed CDR implementation will be able to process new data formats through software upgrade allowing complete adaptability and upgrade-ability. State-of-the-art high-performance dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) optical data transmission systems typically use hybrid clock and data recovery assemblies based on passive filter (usually dielectric resonator based) clock recovery techniques to achieve superior system margins. This technology does not allow the CDR circuit to be adaptable to different data formats (NRZ, RZ, duo-binary, etc.), data rates (9.953Gb/s and forward error correction rates), or jitter transfer/tolerance requirements. Competing CDR implementations using phase-locked loop (PLL) techniques often suffer from insufficient jitter transfer and jitter tolerance performance and usually deliver inferior performance in high-end transmission systems. The purely digital SCDR implementation is compatible with today's fine-line CMOS technologies and will lead to programmable CMOS-based precision CDR technology for LH and ULH DWDM applications. In-service eye and Q-factor monitoring capability is available with minimum overhead. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bussmann, Matthias ELTECH PRECISION INC. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9215 1518 0106000 Materials Research 0206000 Telecommunications 0320510 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: High-Throughput Functional Proteomics by Automated Chromophore-Assisted Laser Inactivation (CALI). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel approach to functional proteomics utilizing a prototype high-throughput platform for laser-enabled analysis and processing (LEAP) of cells. Since most genes function through action of a protein, many academic and commercial research efforts are now shifting from genomics to proteomics to determine the level and function of various proteins in cells. Chromophore-assisted laser inactivation (CALI) uses labeled probes and light irradiation to elucidate specific protein functions. CALI provides direct and immediate protein inactivation and can be targeted within a cell compartment. However, implementation of CALI to date has been low-throughput, and intracellular proteins are difficult to target since the labeled probe must first be introduced into living cells (e.g., by microinjection). To overcome current limitations of CALI, high-throughput viable cell loading and laser irradiation of cells are required. Through SBIR and other funding, the company has been developing LEAP for high-throughput cell imaging and laser-irradiation to achieve cell purification and optoinjection. It is hypothesized that LEAP can be modified to implement CALI in a high-throughput manner, and further provide optoinjection to enable intracellular CALI. Phase I studies will evaluate different chromophores and probes against various protein targets and define conditions for optoinjection, thereby demonstrating feasibility of high-throughput CALI on LEAP. The commercial application of this project is in the area of instrumentation relevant to drug discovery and development. Successful completion of the project will lead to commercialization of the novel LEAP instrument platform for high-throughput cell imaging and laser-based manipulations. Applications of this platform will include high-throughput high-content cell-based assays, cell purification, cell transfection (optoinjection), and CALI. Within each application, LEAP will have significant advantages over existing techniques. The market for equipment for cell analysis/processing, screening, and proteomics are forecasted to grow by the billions. The opportunity for LEAP is therefore significant, as is the potential to carry out experimentation that has previously not been possible. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Koller, Manfred Cyntellect, Inc CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0320512 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Carbon Nanotube Probe Tips for Atomic Force Microscopy. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a wafer-scale process for the reliable fabrication of Carbon NanoTube (CNT) based probe tips for Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). This project will make use of a novel technique for controlling the placement, number and dimensions of vertical carbon nanotubes, growing them directly onto silicon cantilevers for use as AFM probe tips. The process is based on catalyst deposition and lift-off, followed by use of electric field enhanced chemical vapor deposition growth chamber. Challenges to be overcome in this project include integration of the deposition and growth processes with the harsh environment necessary for cantilever micro-fabrication, and achieving uniformity of CNT dimensions and characteristics at wafer scale. Successful development of this process would enable the batch fabrication of carbon nanotube probe tips (up to 192/wafer) with controlled length, diameter, vertical orientation and crystalline morphology. CNTs make nearly ideal tips for many AFM applications, given their durability, high aspect ratio, and resolution achieved. The initial commercial application developed will be a CNT-based AFM probe for tapping mode microscopes. This process can also be extended to specific demanding applications such as high-aspect ratio/deep trench metrology, and thermal, conductive and magnetic imaging. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ye, Qi Integrated Nanosystems, Inc. CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99205 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1676 1179 0106000 Materials Research 0320515 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Mobility Based Label Free Detection. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a novel mobility based label free detection of receptor / ligand binding in lipid bilayer membranes. This label - free detection will be incorporated into the MembraneChip technology for array sensors to replace costly fluorescent labeling methods. The cell membrane is the richest source of targets with high therapeutic values. Recent advances in automated membrane deposition techniques, combined with the discovery of membrane-compatible surfaces and membrane diffusion barrier materials, allow for the creation of discrete, spatially-addressable membrane array elements which retain their biological functionality and natural fluid character. These characteristics make this technology an attractive format for displaying native or reconstituted membrane targets in an industrialized drug discovery assay platform. In order to fully exploit this platform's potential, a lipid mobility based detection scheme which is effectively label free in that it does not require any label on the ligand or the target, has been discovered. Small quantities of fluorescent lipid doped into the membrane bilayer exhibit changes in lateral diffusion coefficient upon binding without being directly involved in the interaction. This project will explore the feasibility of extending this label free detection discovery to study universal membrane receptor-ligand binding interactions by characterizing the technique with respect to detection sensitivity, quantitation and binding interactions. The commercial application of this project is in drug discovery research. Fluid membrane microarray technology is applicable to both native and reconstituted membrane proteins, and should therefore provide a well-controlled and systematic drug discovery platform for membrane-mediated cell signaling events. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yamazaki, Victoria Proteomic Systems, Inc. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99973 5371 BIOT 9107 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320525 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Development and Commercialization of a Real-Time Visualization Tool for the Energy Industry. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop a new software tool for viewing real-time electrical data for the energy industry. The purpose of this project is to allow an advanced visualization environment to be used with real-time power system data as input. Existing product will be decoupled from off-line power flow cases and generalize the visualization links so that any real-time database can be linked to the visualization objects. The end result will be a software product that will allow any user with secure access to view real-time power system data from any Windows PC with a TCP/IP connection to the Internet. The market for this product will be all electrical utilities, independent system operators, and regional transmission organizations in the world since they all must have an energy management system (EMS) installed in their control center. EMS systems have the ability to display real-time power system data obtained from meters installed throughout the electrical grid and sent in real-time to the control center. However this data has been essentially trapped in the control center with no way for company employees in other locations to visualize in real time what is happening on the system. Typically a report on real-time system information necessitates a telephone call to an EMS operator. When implemented this system should generate savings for the power companies which in turn will be passed on to the consumer. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE II IIP ENG Laufenberg, Mark POWERWORLD CORPORATION IL Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 512000 5373 1591 HPCC 9251 9178 9139 0104000 Information Systems 0320529 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: STAR: Surveyor Telescope for Atmospheric Research. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is intended to demonstrate Surveyor Telescope for Atmospheric Research (STAR) as a viable real-time nighttime ozone monitor. STAR is reaching fruition as an atmospheric extinction monitor in support of other optical instrumentation. STAR can also be used for direct data collection by using the extinction properties of absorption lines and bands. To demonstrate this data, which include information from the Chappuis bands of ozone, are analyzed, interpreted and validated against published sources. The anticipated result is to incorporate data analysis algorithms in the data collection routines so real-time data reporting will be demonstrated. STAR is also poised to measure atmospheric water vapor and upon further study has multiple applications for atmospheric research. Such an instrument will aid the understanding of global atmospheric changes by allowing detailed, regular, worldwide nighttime measurements of relevant quantities. Having divulged its potential as an ozone monitor, and through a preliminary survey of the atmospheric studies community, interest in STAR has already been established, and its market potential has developed well beyond initial expectations. Keywords: atmospheric extinction, ozone monitor, computer imaging telescope, nighttime SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wilkinson, Debi-Lee Cygnus Innovations & Scientific Research AK Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9102 1636 1303 0202000 Atmospheric Science-ICAS 0320531 November 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Ultra-Sensitive Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) Technology: A Photon Counting Camera. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will result in an innovative, technologically advanced, imaging system--with the potential of capturing and counting individual photons. The imaging system will be a compact avalanche-gain, charge-coupled device digital camera. The technology generated from this research effort will profoundly benefit many detection and discrimination applications. The innovation will offer high-photoresponse from the deep ultraviolet to the near infrared in very Low-Light-Level, as well as photopic light conditions. In addition, the camera system will have solid-state reliability without typical intensifier imaging tube limitations, such as, image burn-in and blooming. In short, the innovation will have significant cost savings over current conventional multi-spectrum imaging systems and will offer enhanced imaging performance. A possible research, military, law enforcement, or homeland security application for the camera will be black-on-black detection--that is, when faint objects are difficult to discriminate from the background. This far-reaching technology will also be beneficial for many non-military applications: such as, Low-Light-Level physical, deep space and forensic sciences, as well as, photopic (daylight) medical and life sciences. In summary, the imaging system will have the most impact where real-time and lowest possible noise is required. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Meisner, Mark Titan Optics & Engineering NH Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 496174 5373 HPCC 9251 9178 9139 7218 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0320535 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: Nanobiotechnology for Identification of Membrane Proteins. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an innovative, rapid and low - cost nanotechnology that is ideally suited for industrial-scale identification of membrane protein structure. The main emphasis of this program is to develop a rapid and low-cost approach for fabrication of large membrane protein crystals, suitable for high-resolution structural analysis. The feasibility of the approach will be established using members from three different families of membrane proteins as prototypes for the crystallization process. Electron diffraction and microbeam x-ray crystallography using a synchrotron source will be employed for structure determination. In the follow on Phase II project, the technology will be further optimized to enhance resolution and increase throughput, suitable for industrial-scale applications. The commercial application of this project is in the area of drug design and development. Structural genomics, related to identification of a large number of protein structures in a high throughput mode, has become an integral component of research in structure-guided drug design. Membrane proteins are central mediators for numerous diseases including cancer and infections caused by pathogenic bacteria. These proteins have presented a challenge to NMR and crystallography because of problems with their expression, solubility and crystallization. The new approach proposed in this program is expected to circumvent this bottleneck and to further stimulate new developments, for detecting, diagnosing, and intervening in disease at the earliest stages of development. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mojtabai, Fatemeh Novatarg Pharmaceuticals NJ George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0320594 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase I: The Molecular Comb: A Novel Tool for Protein Analysis on a Chip. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a novel microscale technology to aid researchers in understanding the function of proteins in disease. The Molecular Comb technology, invented at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and exclusively licensed by the company, utilizes semiconductor photoelectrochemistry to transport charged biomolecules inside a channel - less microfluidic chip. The key innovation of the proposed work is to demonstrate the feasibility of using a chemically modified hydrophobic surface gradient in concert with the Molecular Comb biomolecular transport technology to reproducibly separate proteins on the microscale. While many of the tools for protein analysis have been in place for decades, current techniques such as two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, lack the integration, automation, and speed of analysis required by research scientists. If successfully developed, the Molecular Comb technology has the potential to fulfill this unmet market need by providing substantial performance advantages over competing protein analysis techniques, including automation, improved data quality, and direct integration with a mass spectrometer. The commercial application of this project is in the area of protein separation and analysis. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sega, Gary QGENICS Biosciences, Inc. TN Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9216 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0320618 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Advanced Light Weight Thermal and Electrical Insulation Using Fullerenes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a technology to produce an advanced high efficiency multi-layer thermal and electrical insulation using fullerenes. The recently completed Phase I project has demonstrated absolute technical and economical feasibility of producing and utilizing such insulation systems resulting from the unique thermal properties of fullerenes. Fabricated samples of fullerene-based insulation were shown to possess R-values of 36 to 40 per inch of thickness, which considerably exceeds those of commonly available insulation materials (for example, polyurethane (R6.7), expanded polystyrene (R3.8), and even vacuum insulated panels (R9~24)). In addition, proposed fullerene-based insulation is very compact, lightweight and cost-effective. During the course of this Phase II project, the team will optimize fabrication technology, structure and properties of the proposed fullerene-based insulation as well as perform an extended prototype study by producing and fully characterizing various insulation systems. At the completion of this effort, an optimized fabrication technology for producing advanced thermal and electrical insulation systems will be demonstrated, commercial application identified and extensive testing at a potential customer site initiated in order to start the product certification process. Commercially, the proposed high efficiency thermal and electrical insulation system will have numerous applications, especially in the area of cryogenic temperatures. Based on high performance, ultimate compactness, flexibility and lightweight, the premier field of application will include miniature cryogenic storage and shipping containers utilized in pharmaceutical industry, neuro- and bio-storage, assisted reproduction, oncology research, immunology, gene therapy, tissue banking, food industry, micro-refrigerators and mechanical freezers, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Wexler, Eugene Materials and Electrochemical Research Corporation (MER) AZ William Haines Standard Grant 500000 5373 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321272 February 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Development of a Dynamic, High-Resolution Volumetric Dilatometer. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop innovations pertaining to optrodes (optical sensors) and electro-optical instrumentation for advanced material characterization. Specifically, this project will develop the first commercially available high-resolution volumetric dilatometer. In addition, the innovations will allow for: (1) a linear dilatometer that possesses a resolution that is 2-3 orders of magnitude better than its conventional linear counterparts; (2) an optical control system for micro-translation stages; (3) an optrode for thin film characterization that possesses a linear resolution exceeding 1 nanometer; and (4) an ultra-fast, high-resolution spectrometer that will enable commercialization of three optical sensors (pressure, temperature, and load) suitable for harsh environments. Potential commercial applications are expected in electronics and microelectronics manufacturing for dilatometry, thin films analysis, micro-translation stages, ultra-fast spectroscopy, and various optical sensors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Christian, Sean StellarNet, Inc. FL Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 275000 5373 AMPP 9163 9102 0321298 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Detection Systems for High-Speed Optoelectronic Sortation of Low Z Metal Alloys. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a novel prototype optoelectronic sensing system for the high-speed identification and sorting of metals, particularly aluminum alloys. The goal is to develop the capability to sort aluminum into its exact alloy designations. The technology is expected to sort materials in less than 50-milliseconds per item automatically without operator intervention while the scrap is in motion on a high-speed conveyor belt. The scrap recycling industry reports that more than 30 billion pounds of nonferrous metals are produced each year in the U.S. alone. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) reports that more than 10 billion pounds of these nonferrous metals are discarded each year in landfills, because recycling is either technically or economically impractical. Existing methods of sortation that employ visual examination and hand sortation, or alternatively employ heavy media separation, cannot sort aluminum by alloy type. Refining is accomplished in smelting facilities that are expensive to build and often polluting. Using advanced spectrographic detection techniques, including computer analysis; the proposed technology will improve alloy identification accuracy and automatically sort aluminum metal alloys at speeds never before attainable. The commercial impact of this project will be increased scrap utilization, increased scrap value, reduced pressure on non-renewable resources, and reduced environmental pollution. The potential worldwide market exceeds $2 billion annually. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE II IIP ENG Peritz, Leigh wTe Corporation MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 1011954 5373 1591 MANU 9251 9231 9178 9146 5373 1468 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321305 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: On-Line Optoelectronic Sensing of Molten Metal Chemistry. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a highly innovative, high-speed optoelectronic sensor system capable of continuously monitoring molten metal alloy compositions during casting and melting operations. The goal is to design and construct a commercially-viable sensor system capable of performing highly-accurate quantitative measurement of molten aluminum alloy compositions in an aggressive industrial setting. Development of this sensor is among the highest priority technology needs identified by both the metal casting industry and the aluminum industry in their industry roadmaps of the future. In order to effectively compete, U.S. metal industries must increase their use of low cost scrap and must also find ways to increase production efficiency. The proposed sensor will acquire critical compositional data thousands of times faster than current commercial methods and will operate on a real-time basis without the need to place the sensor in contact with the molten metal. At these speeds, a melt shop could produce one extra metal production batch ('heat') per day, resulting in a 15% increase in productivity. The incorporation of this innovative optoelectronic sensor system will result in a tremendous increase in production efficiency, providing for a 15% gain in productivity. Thus, the $30 billion aluminum smelting industry could realize a $4.5 billion increase in production output with little or no additional capital investment other than the cost of the sensor system. In fact, the most immediate broader impact of the proposed activity will be to enhance U.S. competitiveness of aluminum casters and smelters because of this productivity improvement. In addition, the proposed technology will have a significant positive effect on process control and quality assurance, thereby providing further competitive advantages. Broader impact to our society will also be brought about through reduced emissions and energy savings resulting from shorter melting cycles. Similar improvements would be possible for zinc, copper, brass, bronze, iron, ceramic and glass industries that also have need for a similar continuous sensor system to monitor and control composition and quality on a real-time basis. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Peritz, Leigh wTe Corporation MA Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 773980 5373 HPCC 9251 9231 9178 9139 9102 1185 0104000 Information Systems 0321408 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Polymer Imaging Guide For Endoscopic Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop high quality, inexpensive polymer-based (plastic) optical fiber imaging guides and other new and unique endoscopic devices through the use of innovative polymer processing techniques. Polymer imaging guides have several distinct advantages over their glass counterparts, including reduced cost, smaller bend radius, and increased ruggedness. Additional benefits include the ability to dope the polymer matrix with molecules that can be used as environmental probes, scintillating material, or indicators ; the ability to tailor the guide for highly specific applications, and the ability to impart diverse functionality into a single imaging guide. The Phase II project is expected to result in a truly disposable endoscope. The commercial application of this project is in the area of biomedical devices and instrumentation. It is expected that the polymer imaging guide developed in this project will be used as a direct replacement for glass guides in all types of fiber optic endoscopes currently manufactured. The resulting benefits would be lower costs, less patient discomfort, higher reliability, earlier detection of abnormal conditions, and an increase in the number of procedures that could be performed with endoscopes in an outpatient setting. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Welker, Dave PARADIGM OPTICS INCORPORATED WA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 511692 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0321420 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: A Toolbox for Optimal Design. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project combines large-scale simulation of wave propagation phenomena with optimization. Simulation in itself is seldom a final objective. Rather, simulation is usually a step in an iterative process to solve the real problem, that could be the determination of material properties from indirect measurements, imaging, parameter estimation or optimal design, to name a few. All these problems share the need to couple a large simulation package with an optimization one. This project will formalize this concept and proceed to create a set of tools to facilitate this coupling in the area of transient wave propagation phenomena, with special applications to piezoelectric transducer design, oil exploration and production, and optimal and protective structural design. These applications are chosen to exemplify the usage of the toolbox and emphasize its generality. It will couple a wave propagation finite element system and a system for 3D forward and inverse geological modeling, with a number of optimization programs. The target market for the proposed solution is small to medium sized companies in need of a set of affordable design tools that will cover a number of different classes of application areas which have been previously available only to large firms. The results of this project will have a broad impact on a large number of small and medium size industries that rely on Computer Aided Design and Engineering to develop their products, accelerating and making more efficient the process between product conception, production and market introduction, key in a highly competitive world. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Pereyra, Victor Weidlinger Associates Incorporated, NYC NY Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 749999 5373 HPCC 9216 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321447 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Advanced Optical Instruments for Monitoring Asthma. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a laser based breathmeter for detecting and monitoring asthma in children and adults. The Phase I work proved the feasibility of constructing a machine, based on infrared laser absorption spectroscopy, that is capable of measuring exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) and exhaled carbon dioxide (eCO2) levels to evaluate airway inflammation for indications of asthma and to monitor treatment compliance. In the Phase II project, a dedicated hardware design for electronics and data processing plus user-friendly custom written software will be integrated into a compact system that is cost effective, highly sensitive, real-time, and reliable for monitoring airway inflammation. The commercial application of this project is in the area of biomedical devices and instrumentation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Namjou, Khosrow EKIPS TECHNOLOGIES INC OK Gregory T. Baxter Standard Grant 1000000 5373 BIOT 9181 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321465 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Low Cost Visible Blind Ultra Violet Photodetectors on Glass and Polyimide. This Small Business Innovation Research project proposes commercialization of innovative oxide based visible and solar blind ultra-violet light detectors successfully fabricated and tested. The studies clearly indicate the possibility of growing good quality wide band gap tunable oxide thin films on low cost substrates such as glass, quartz, silicon, and polyimide for photoconductive and Schottky UV photodiodes. The detectors fabricated on these substrates show comparable performance to those of AlGaN on sapphire, and SiC with a high responsivity and UV to visible rejection ratio of more than three orders of magnitude. The feasibility of tuning the detector performance at selective UV regions is also successful which is achieved through innovation of the composition control in the wide band gap oxide layer. The company will extend this technology to commercialize the low cost UV detectors and large format detector arrays for UV radiation monitoring systems for personal safety and consumable products, and exploit additional capabilities beyond the scope of the existing Si, GaAs, and AlGaN technologies. CENTERS FOR RSCH EXCELL IN S&T SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Vispute, Ratnakar BLUE WAVE SEMICONDUCTORS, INC MD Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 649999 9131 5373 SMET HPCC 9179 9139 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0321474 September 1, 2003 Continuation of UConn Research Site of I/UCRC for Pharmaceutical Processing. The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Pharmaceutical Processing was established at Purdue University to partner with pharmaceutical companies to gain understanding at the molecular level, to the effects of processing on critical qualities of pharmaceutical products and to improve process monitoring with the goal of minimizing validation requirements. The I/UCRC has become a multi-university Center now encompassing University of Connecticut, University of Puerto Rico and the University of Minnesota. The University of Connecticut researchers will enhance the Center's expertise in: - Stability behavior and characterization of proteins in both solution and solid state, - The science and technology freeze drying, - Materials science of amorphous pharmaceuticals, - Tablet coating science and technology, - Dissolution behavior, and - The study of disperse systems with a focus on emulsions, interfacial characterization, and micro-encapsulation INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Pikal, Michael Robin Bogner Diane Burgess Devendra Kalonia University of Connecticut CT Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 60000 5761 OTHR 0000 0321499 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: The ResonantSonic Enhanced Mixer and Coalescer (RSEMC) as an Advanced Solvent Extraction Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II (SBIR) project will develop and demonstrate a novel prototype solvent extraction (SX) device, which, by virtue of its highly uniform shear and mixing intensity, has the potential to supplant existing SX units in terms of extraction and phase separation rates. The technical approach of the Phase II project is as follows: 1.) Develop performance and scale-up principles for the SX device, optimize the hardware configuration and process conditions; 2.) Apply the results to the design of a reliable prototype SX system that demonstrates improved mass transfer and phase separation, and decreased entrainment at power consumption levels equivalent to existing equipment. The Phase I copper extraction work showed a 3-5 fold improvement in extraction and phase separation rates over existing mixer-settlers that are used in the minerals industry for the recovery of copper. The commercial benefits of the ResonantSonic solvent extraction device to the minerals industry are reduced equipment size and footprint, reduced solvent loss, and improved electrowinning efficiency. Reducing the solvent loss to the environment has great societal benefit as losses can exceed 100,000 gallons per year per mine site. Other potential applications are metals separation, and the recovery of vitamins, antibiotics, and other pharmaceuticals SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Yang, Fangxiao RESODYN CORPORATION MT Cynthia A. Znati Standard Grant 524000 5373 1505 AMPP 9251 9178 9163 9150 5373 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321500 October 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Reactive Mounting of Heat Sinks. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project introduces a new reactive joining process for mounting heat sinks onto chips, chip packages and substrates. The process uses reactive multi-layer foils as local heat sources for melting solder layers, and consequently bonding the components. The foils are a new class of nano-engineered materials, in which self-propagating exothermic reactions can be ignited at room temperature with a spark. The work will focus on reactive mounting of heat sinks onto server chips, an application that is in critical need of performance improvements. Two alternatives will be considered - the reactive mounting of a copper heat sink onto a metallized heat spreader that surrounds the chip, and reactive mounting of the heat sink directly onto a metallized chip. Significant improvements in heat conduction in microelectronic devices are needed as existing approaches such as adhesives, greases and epoxies suffer a number of limitations such as poor thermal conductivity, low mechanical strength and/or susceptibility to degradation. With the decrease in the size and the increase in speed of microelectronic devices, poor heat dissipation has started to limit device performance and applications and thus has become a critical issue. The worldwide market for thermal management in microelectronic devices is about $3.7 billion/year and high-end heat-sink mounting constitutes approximately 10% of this market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Van Heerden, David REACTIVE NANOTECHNOLOGIES INC MD William Haines Standard Grant 999319 5373 AMPP 9163 1467 1403 0106000 Materials Research 0321504 December 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Urea Sensing Biocatalytic Polymers. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project proposes to develop prototype urine-detecting products based on enzyme-polymerization and chemical sensing technologies for use in nursing homes, daycare establishments and healthcare facilities. These products will include hand-held sensors, sponge wipes, and bedding fabric pads that change color upon exposure to urine. The strict specificity of the enzymes used in sensor formulation will provide the sensing devices with rapid response times and great precision, thus limiting false positive and negative signals. Having shown the proof of concept in Phase I , the sensor optimization work in this Phase II project will focus on signal enhancement, the development of multi-component sensors for quantitative analysis, and improvements in the usability and the operational shelf life of the proposed sensing products. The commercial application of this project will be for a broad range of public facilities, including hospitals, nursing homes, daycare centers and food / hospitality establishments. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Erbeldinger, Markus AGENTASE LLC PA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 511952 5373 MANU BIOT 9251 9181 9178 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321506 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Cell-Based Microfluidic Platform for Drug Discovery. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will complete the development of the microscale bioreactor platform as a useful tool for cell culture studies in drug discovery research and development. The Phase II work has three key objectives : (1) to expand the capabilities of the microscale bioreactor to allow for the measurement of pH, dissolved oxygen, and protein titer ; (2) to construct a fully automated bioprocessing cluster tool ; and (3) to demonstrate the cost and speed advantages of the high-throughput approach to bioreactor production of recombinant protein. The commercial application of this project is in the area of cell culture bioreactors for drug discovery and development. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Schreyer, Brett BioProcessors Corporation MA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 1010620 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 0203000 Health 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321520 December 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: DNA Binding Proteins as Biosensors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will complete the development of biosensors for detection of heavy metals and acyl-CoA using sequence-specific DNA binding proteins. The presence of the target molecule will be reported by the biosensor as a change in fluorescence signal that could be read using a hand-held battery-operated reader. The commercial application of this project is in the area of biosensors for markets that include basic and applied research, clinical diagnosis, environmental monitoring, drug screening, and process control in manufacturing operations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Heyduk, Ewa MEDIOMICS, LLC MO F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 498375 5373 BIOT 9107 1185 0104000 Information Systems 0321529 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Scalable, Parallel Automatic Mesh Generation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project proposes to develop technologies to automatically generate large meshes appropriate for finite element and similar analyses directly from CAD model representations. This will be done using scalable, parallel algorithms that will enable the generation of meshes on distributed parallel computers including workstation clusters. The result of this project will be software that is capable of generating meshes with hundreds of millions of elements in an efficient manner. The generated meshes will already be partitioned to be compatible with the needs of parallel analysis codes. The commercial applications of this research are in those industries that need to perform large-scale simulations of complex problems over general domains. The procedures to be developed will allow simulation based design technologies to be applied to applications that demand massive simulations. By enabling these large-scale simulations for industrial problems, this technology will enable the more widespread and effective use of numerical simulation in the design of manufactured products in all industries (automotive and aerospace being two major industries with an immediate need for this technology). The software developed in this project will be available for licensing to all CAD/CAE software developers to enhance the capabilities of their products. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Beall, Mark Simmetrix, Inc. NY Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 496549 5373 HPCC 9215 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321551 June 1, 2003 SBIR PHASE II: Novel Ambient Temperature Emissions Control Catalyst. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is to complete the R&D to commercialize a novel catalytic technology for pollution control at ambient temperature. The novel technology will destroy VOCs using low temperature oxidation with a highly active class of novel Heteropoly Oxometalate (HPOM) catalysts. This new class of catalysts is dramatically more active than traditional platinum oxidation catalysts. The Phase II catalyst will provide new avenues for scientific research and education, by studying catalysis at mild conditions needed for advanced instrumentation at diverse geographic locations, and by expanding the applications to other societal needs in fuel cells, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, etc. Commercial applications will provide efficient, low cost industrial emissions control and enhanced indoor air quality. The firm's research facilities and prior SBIR licensing success will facilitate rapid deployment. The program should protect the nation's environment and improve economic competitiveness. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kittrell, James KSE Inc MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 500000 5373 AMPP 9197 9188 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321554 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Flux-Gated Spin-Dependent-Tunneling Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project seeks to fabricate a novel nanotechnology spin-dependent tunneling (SDT) magnetic field sensor device with increased signal-to-noise performance at low frequencies. The increased resolution at low frequencies is greatly desired in a large number of application markets. The proposed device is based on innovative methods of modulating the permeability of, and/or the flux through, integrated flux concentrators. These methods of "flux gating" (chopping or sweeping the magnetic field which is sensed by the SDT transducers) are employed using on-chip, microfabricated coil structures. The project explores the nature of frequency-dependent (or 1/f) noise that is intrinsic to SDT devices, and offers an integrated low-power method of noise reduction. SDT technology is at the leading edge of magnetoresistive transducer development due, in part, to the fact that its magnetoresistance can be more than 3 times that of the best giant magnetoresistive devices, and more than 15 times that of the anisotropic magnetoresistive sensors on the market today. The devices for this Phase II is based on novel and proprietary concepts for the advancement of small, solid-state, low-cost, low-power magnetic field sensors. The primary need is for high-resolution magnetic field sensors that are more fieldable and cost effective. SDT technology offers this high-resolution potential as well as the low-cost advantages of silicon fabrication methods used for SDT micro-sensors. Applications for these sensors include non-destructive testing, security and surveillance, and magnetic media validation. Each of these very diverse applications share a common need for the small, highly sensitive, low power magnetic field sensing devices being proposed. The new devices will enable each of these areas to expand into small portable applications and into areas where cost effective low-field sensing has not been possible. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Nordman, Catherine NVE CORPORATION MN T. James Rudd Standard Grant 499973 5373 MANU 9146 9102 0110000 Technology Transfer 0321573 August 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Multi-Channel Fluorescence Lifetime Measuring Instrument Using a Novel Low-Cost Digitizer. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will deliver a low-cost, multi-channel digitizer that can revolutionize applications of fluorescence sensing with its ability to accurately capture over 10,000 complete fluorescence decay curves (waveforms) per second per channel. This novel low-cost digitizer exploits a unique 'flash capture' approach to analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion to achieve an exceptional combination of speed (>1GS/s), resolution (10 bits), and low power. Fluorescence sensing measurement underlies an immense array of cutting-edge applications because it provides a sensitive and versatile probe into nano-scale behavior and properties. The project will develop a full-featured instrument-grade engineering prototype of the digitizer and integrate it into a portable demonstration instrument to showcase capabilities such as distinguishing biological or chemical agents by their spectral and temporal signatures. This custom digitizer will match the capabilities of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) to deliver accurate, cost effective, and complete data collection. The digitizer will be the first low-cost compact digitizer suitable for the specific front-end LIF analysis of biological agents. Among the weapons of mass destruction that threaten people around the world, biological agents are perceived to be the main hazard facing us today. The system's ability to capture more information, faster and more accurately will reduce the high occurrence of false alarms suffered by today's systems, resulting in a more reliable system with the potential to save lives. When integrated with biomedical instrumentation, the digitizer will have scientific and educational benefits through the use at academic institutions for research and discovery. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Pavicic, Mark DAKOTA TECHNOLOGIES INC ND Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 506000 5373 HPCC 9251 9218 9178 9150 1491 0104000 Information Systems 0203000 Health 0321576 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Micromachined Ultrasonic-on-a-Chip for Medical High-Resolution Imaging. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will optimize and finalize the design and the simulation of the ultrasound-on-a-chip (UOC) probe, and itegrate it into a portable ultrasound medical imager with high spatial resolution and enhanced picture definition for noninvasive clinical diagnosis of the internal lumens. The UOC probe architecture is based on patented ultraprecision micromachining technology. The objective is to fabricate and test the UOC probe and integrate it into a portable cost-effective medical imaging prototype system for noninvasive real-time high-definition volumetric medical imaging. The realization of the merits of the ultrasound-on-a-chip based portable medical imager will open a wide window of commercialization opportunities for medical and nonmedical applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Wiener-Avnear, Eli Leeoat Company CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 511993 5373 HPCC 9251 9178 9146 9139 0203000 Health 0321581 December 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: New Convergent X-Ray Beam Based System for Protein Crystallography. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a new convergent x-ray beam based crystallography system for measurement of the quality and the structure of protein crystals in an effort to support crystal growth development efforts and as a prescreening tool for very small protein crystals prior to refined, high-resolution structure determination at dedicated synchrotron-based macromolecular structure facilities. Measurements of a broad range of crystal types, sizes, and degrees of perfection will be carried out in an active protein crystal growth and characterization laboratory at the Wadsworth Center of the New York State Health Department. Parallel measurements using the same crystals will be made in this laboratory with a conventional state-of-the-art protein diffraction system in order to examine the potential benefits and limitations of the convergent beam method (CBM). Measurements will also be made in an industrial laboratory to evaluate the potential of CBM as a commercial, compact, high-intensity, low-power, low-cost, protein screening instrumentation. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of structural proteomics. Development of a compact, high-efficiency, high-sensitivity system for measurement of the quality and preliminary structure of small protein crystals is crucial to implementation of the huge opportunities offered by recent advances in human and non-human genomics, with far-reaching consequences in the areas of disease therapy and drug discovery. Furthermore, such a system could find broad applications in academic, scientific and industrial programs for high- resolution microscopy of structure, texture, and strain in metallurgical, geological, environmental and biological or other materials. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Huang, Huapeng X-RAY OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC. NY F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 749730 5373 BIOT 9181 0104000 Information Systems 0321598 August 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Digital Starlab. This SBIR Phase II project will develop a planetarium system based on a new computerized digital projector. Learning Technologies Inc. will make use of recent developments in new micro mirror devices and simulation software. The proposed planetarium system will be capable of projecting an accurate, simulated night sky with the capacity for a multitude of motions and displays and dynamically changing information displays of the earth, including plate tectonics, weather patterns, and biological distributions. The small size of the projector with supporting laptop computer and inflatable dome will allow the units to be shared within school systems and loaned out by museums and educational cooperatives. Standardization will encourage adept teachers and planetarium educators to distribute their programs and activities. Integrated help screens and tutorials will aid in supporting teachers who wish to learn how to master this equipment. The new system will build on the firm's portable planetarium systems, which are now used by an estimated 5% of the school age children in the U.S. A small digital-projection planetarium system will expand the market for small planetariums to teachers interested in earth science and multidisciplinary topics, geology, volcanism, meteorology, oceanography, and biological population studies. In addition, the connections between science and the humanities can be illustrated by coupling the historical age of exploration with the science of celestial navigation. For schools with limited resources, the system's portability will facilitate shared use. Such a system will have a broad impact on the teaching of astronomy and earth science. It will use the latest astronomical and Geographic Information System (GIS) data, and it will aid in teaching the content of the national standards, especially earth science at the elementary and middle school level. Professionally produced interactive shows can be a new venue for astronomers and earth scientists to inform large numbers of students of their results and of the nature of the scientific enterprise. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sadler, Jane LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES, INC MA Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 530289 5373 SMET 9180 9177 9102 7355 7256 0101000 Curriculum Development 0108000 Software Development 0321601 August 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Microfabricated Silicon Devices for Low Cost Microarray. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to develop a new, commercially viable micromachined silicon technology platform for the printing of DNA microarrays that offer significant advantages over current steel pin technology in cost and in quality. The Phase I effort demonstrated very clearly that a silicon pin reliably imbibed DNA printing solution and deposited spots with a size variance better than that of commercial steel printing pins. Phase II work will focus on the development of a new micromachining protocol based on a combination of wet and dry etching that will allow sculpting of the print tip in all three dimensions. This, in turn, will permit the size, shape and fluid delivery characteristics of the tip to be finely tuned. Printing tip sizes (range : 125 microns x 125 microns to 25 microns x 25 microns) and uptake volumes (range : 0 to 100nL) will allow the pins to precisely take up and deliver any volume or spot size/shape desired. Combined with a much denser packing of pins into a newly designed, all-silicon holder, these attributes will allow DNA microarrays to be fabricated at a cost, speed and quality previously unobtainable. The commercial application of this project is in the area of DNA microarrays. Due to the weaknesses in the current manually machined steel pins used for printing DNA microarrays (such as extremely high manufacturing costs and low yield, poor pin-to- pin uniformity, the limited range of spot sizes deposited, waste of valuable DNA in uptake and delivery dead volumes, and deposit variability with time due to rapid tip wear), there is an urgent need for an improved printing technology. The new micromachined silicon printing product to be developed in this project will largely eliminate these drawbacks, and therefore will be well positioned for market entry as a replacement for existing products by virtue of its lower cost, superior accuracy and speed. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Haushalter, Robert Parallel Synthesis Technologies, Inc CA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 672239 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 9151 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321608 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Liquid Phase Epitaxy of Potassium Tantalum Niobate on Low Dielectric Constant Substrates. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to develop the Liquid Phase Epitaxy (LPE) of potassium tantalum niobate (KTN) on a cubic perovskite substrate. In this manner both components of the film/substrate composite may be optimized for device performance. KTN has almost two orders of magnitude higher electrooptic coefficients than current generation lithium niobate waveguides, which would permit shorter path lengths, lower bias voltages or some combination of the two. The new, low dielectric constant substrate material developed in Phase I will enable better matching of the effective microwave dielectric constant to the optical dielectric constant of the film material and achieve lower bias fields. In Phase II, the researchers will develop the new substrate material to commercial quality and size. LPE of KTN will be developed from a new innovative flux system that allows excellent control of growth and superior film properties. Both film and substrate will be fully characterized and optimized as a composite. The process and product will be scaled up to full commercial size. IPI will interact with strategic partner device manufacturers to optimize the material and realize device applications. Electrooptic devices are used in any photonics application where an electrical signal can be used to change the state of a beam of light. While the best-known applications for electrooptic devices are in telecommunications, customers can be found wherever light is used to move information including optical computing, analog and digital signal processing, information processing and sensing. Devices include phase and amplitude modulators, Q-switches, multiplexers, switch arrays, couplers, polarization controllers, deflectors, correlators, sensors, potential transformers and optical parametric oscillators. Potential customers are noticeably found in both the electric power industry and the military. Initial applications in sensors will have an immediate potential for impact in reliability of electric power distribution through failure anticipation and prevention and conservation of electric power through monitoring and control. The proposed work will enable electrooptic modulators, switches and innovative new photonic device applications with lower costs, smaller footprints and lower power budgets. All this contributes to improvements of the infrastructure of the Internet and more rapid, lower cost deployment, especially in the local loop. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Fratello, Vincent INTEGRATED PHOTONICS, INC. AL T. James Rudd Standard Grant 500000 5373 HPCC 9139 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0321611 August 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: A New Scale-Up Technology for Industrial Production of High Quality Semiconductor Nanocrystals. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to develop the so-called Continuous Batch (CB) technology for the massive production of high quality semiconductor nanocrystals inexpensively. The CB technology has the following advantages over the most closely competitive technology, continuous flow production (CFP: It uses much less toxic and less expensive chemicals as reactants). To date, production of high quality semiconductor nanocrystals can only be performed in well-equipped labs and in very small (dozens of milligram) quantities. The CB's potential for cost savings, improved qualities (i.e. size distribution, optical absorption, and photoluminescence emission)and the high productivity (thousand kilograms/year) makes it superior in comparison to the existing CFP technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Wang, Yongqiang NANOMATERIALS AND NANOFABRICATION LABORATORIES AR T. James Rudd Standard Grant 498433 5373 AMPP 9163 9150 1794 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321616 July 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Large Area Platform Technology for Small Diameter Silicon Carbide. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will optimize the key technologies for deployment of high-temperature pressure sensors from proven silicon carbide (SiC) sensor dies for harsh environment applications within aerospace and automotive markets. These include wafer bonding and planarization, electrical characterization, selection of integrated electronics manufacturing methods, and temperature compensation algorithms. The Discrete Wafer Array Process (DWAP) technique will be further developed to demonstrate fabrication of SiC pressure sensors. Prototype platforms for demonstration of low-cost and high volume manufacturability of single crystal SiC devices in conventional foundries will be provided and the semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) technology provided by the DWAP concept will be leveraged to demonstrate superior device performance. This work will focus on developing and optimizing the necessary technical foundation of SiC sensor dies through electrical characterization and interface electronic development, and fabrication of SiC pressure sensor dies on 4-inch platform for testing by GE and Ford. The increasing demand for miniaturization presents unique growth opportunities in the MEMS Market, which is estimated at $7Billion. Combined skills in MEMS manufacturing processes, electronics system design, algorithm development, and market access are required for success. The harsh environment market segment, estimated at $4.5Billion by 2005 is poised to be a major beneficiary of the technical and cost saving superiority of Silicon Carbide (SiC) over Silicon (Si) as the primary semi-conducting material. The pressure sensor sector of the market segment will grow from $3.5Billion by 2005 to $9.06Billion, with a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.5%. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Izadnegahdar, Alain ZIN TECHNOLOGIES, INC OH William Haines Standard Grant 781906 5373 AMPP 9251 9178 9163 7218 1467 1403 0106000 Materials Research 0321625 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Real-Time Image Processing Based Motion Detection for Science and Mathematics Learning. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will create a software-based, real-time, single camera, direct-to-computer, two-dimensional motion analysis system for education using image-processing technology. Image processing has not previously been used in educational motion detection. Compared to the commonly used methods--real-time one-dimensional graphing and frame-by-frame analysis of stored video--this innovation has many advantages, such as the simultaneous real-time display of video and graphs, multidimensional operation, ability to operate over any distance scale, display of the shape and orientation of objects, and the automatic generation of stroboscope-like images. This innovation creates the opportunity to surpass in learning effectiveness and ease-of-use the technologies now used widely in high school and college physics for the study of motion. In addition it will potentially reach a much larger group--mathematics classrooms from middle school through college. The system will operate with ordinary classroom computers and ordinary digital video cameras. Used in conjunction with inquiry-based curricula, Alberti's' Windows' system will be primarily used in physics and mathematics education classes. Improving the teaching of physics and mathematics is basic to science literacy and is essential to creating a technologically capable workforce. Ultimately, the following potential markets can also be explored: CAD/CAM, physiological/medical testing, sports, industrial monitoring and control, videogames, and security. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Antonucci, Paul Alberti's Window, LLC MA Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 551427 5373 SMET HPCC 9251 9215 9178 9177 7218 5373 0116000 Human Subjects 0206000 Telecommunications 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0321628 September 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Synthesis of High Capacity Sn/MOx Nano Composite Anode Materials for Lithium Rechargeable Batteries. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a metal-oxide tin-alloy nano-composite for use as an anode material in a new ultra-low cost lithium-ion battery. This new battery system could impact many applications and offer an environmentally benign alternative to lead acid batteries with significant performance enhancements. With the advent of ultra-low cost cathode materials, for example lithiated metal phosphates, the development of a complementary anode material is now the gating item for low-cost lithium-ion batteries. In Phase I, mixtures of transition metal oxides and tin alloy were successfully produced. The electrochemical and physical characteristics were evaluated and these materials showed excellent electrochemical performance but exhibited a high first cycle loss. Internal work on tin alloys mixed with transition metal carbides and nitrides suggests the first cycle loss could be improved through simple chemical modification of the oxide component. The Phase II work will involve development of these modified oxides to reduce first cycle loss. In addition low cost production methods will be developed for preparing the precursors and materials. Optimized electrodes for use in ultra-low cost battery prototypes will be produced and targeted for outside evaluation. Commercially, this anode material will be combined with metal phosphate cathodes to make a new class of lithium-ion batteries that are cost competitive with lead-acid batteries and maintenance free. This higher energy lead acid replacement opens up opportunities in the growing UPS and HEV markets. There are also non-commercial impacts. Any reduced use of lead acid batteries, which creates toxic waste, is beneficial to the environment. This new class of batteries would lead to the reduction of the 50,000 tons of toxic lead released due to incomplete recycling of lead-acid batteries. The development of materials that enable lithium-ion batteries to be cost competitive with lead acid batteries could give US battery manufacturers a chance to compete against the Asian dominated rechargeable battery market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Mani, Suresh T/J Technologies, Inc MI William Haines Standard Grant 736103 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321629 August 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Carbon Fiber/Boron Nitride Matrix Composites: A Unique Low Wear Friction Material. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to develop a testing application for intermediate and full scale boron nitride (BN) composites for a wide variety of wear applications with a focus on aircraft brakes. Viability of this material was demonstrated in Phase I where 3-dimensional needled carbon fiber/C-BN hybrid matrix composites displayed an order of magnitude decrease in wear as compared to current carbon fiber/carbon matrix composites (C/C). The plan is to fabricate stable boron nitride composites from a unique pre-ceramic polymer (borazine) through a commercially viable technique, namely resin transfer molding process. The commercial and broader impacts of this technology of a composite using BN as a matrix appears to provide the best opportunity of addressing the desired cost-performance characteristics (both a decrease in raw material components and in maintenance due to fewer brake overhauls). In addition, the improved properties of these materials over current aircraft brakes have the potential to increase passenger safety in emergency braking situations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Mangun, Christian EKOS Materials Corporation IL Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 492069 5373 AMPP 9163 5373 0106000 Materials Research 0321630 August 1, 2003 STTR PHASE II: Nuclear-Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Properties of Carbon Nanomaterials for Medical Applications. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project aims to develop advanced contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging diagnostics. In Phase I dramatically improved contrast agents based on carbon nanospheres were demonstrated. The researchers discovered this new class of molecules called Trimetaspheres, which involve three Gadolinium metal ions encapsulated in a fullerene molecule. They are more than 50 times better in terms of relaxivity than the currently available contrast agents and safer, because the metal ions cannot escape the carbon cage. In the Phase II project full-scale production of the Gadolinium Trimetaspheres will be accomplished at the kilogram level to satisfy the market demand. These Trimetaspheres will be developed into future high field contrast agents and functionalization will be pursued to make the Trimetaspheres more soluble and biocompatible for various medical applications including cell targeting. Following this, the Trimetaspheres will be characterized and evaluated for R1 MRI contrast agents for both high and low magnetic fields. Subsequently Trimetaspheres will be developed for R2 MRI agents for high magnetic field applications. Commercially, Trimetaspheres have proven potential in the $1.5 billion market of MRI contrast agents. Trimetaspheres dramatically improve patient care and lower medical costs by improving existing MRI diagnostics and providing new contrast agents that allow diagnoses in cases where there is no current method. The technology developed in this project has immediate applications in current MRI measurements and satisfies requirements for future high field strength MRI instruments. Improved contrast agents increase the likelihood of accurate diagnosis, and ultimately reduce the treatment cost. There are many instances where a MRI scan is not prescribed because no contrast agent exists. For example within the brain, Trimetaspheres can pass the blood-brain barrier and are small enough to fit inside the smaller regions of blood vessels. In addition, Trimetaspheres will lead to applications in other diagnostic equipment (x-ray, PET), and have advantages as a therapeutic delivering radiation upon targeted biodistribution. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Pennington, Charles Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 715855 1505 AMPP 9163 7202 1788 0203000 Health 0512205 Xray & Electron Beam Lith 0522100 High Technology Materials 0321635 August 1, 2003 STTR Phase II: Automation of the Crosscut Operation in a Wood Processing Mill. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project is to design and develop a fully automated system for crosscutting planks of lumber into parts with specific length and surface characteristic requirements. This system consists of a scanning device with four heads to scan the four surfaces of each incoming plank, a mathematical programming model and a software system to determine an optimal cutting pattern for each plank, and all necessary mechanisms to interface with (and to coordinate the operation of) various components of the manufacturing line. These components include the transport devices such as conveyor belts, the positioning devices, the saw mechanism, and the subsequent cut-piece sorter. Installation of an automated system would result in both higher speed and higher yields. The project will also extend the scope of this mathematical model, in combination with the models for the gang-rip saw operation, to create a combined system for ripping and crosscutting. The software system developed under this research grant will have an impact on the efficiency of the crosscut operation, by increasing both its speed and its yield. This in turn could lead to substantial reductions in the manufacturing cost as well as to significant savings in the overall consumption of wood, which is a scarce national resource. This project supports the educational development of one graduate student at NC State University. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE II STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Mullin, Alexander Barr-Mullin Inc. NC Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 1000000 5373 1591 1505 MANU 9148 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321643 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Advanced Fullerene Production. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop electron transfer methods for the recovery of the giant, insoluble fullerenes that comprise about half of the fullerenes made by the hydrocarbon combustion route. Of the fullerenes produced by the combustion process developed at TDA, and practiced at the tons/year scale, ca. 20 % of the raw soot weight is recovered as fullerenes (C60, C70, etc.). It was shown in this project that another ca. 15 - 20% of the soot could be recovered as giant fullerenes using electron transfer methods. This Phase II project will further research the chemistry of the insoluble fullerenes and develop the recovery technique using xylene-extracted soot as a feedstock. We will also implement the process at 100 times the scale performed during the Phase I project, to 100g insoluble fullerenes recovered per shift, to better identify and address issues in the chemistry and engineering of the process. Following the Phase II project, the process will be installed at a plant producing ~32 tons/year of insoluble fullerenes. The process being developed in this project will be commercialized by fullerene soot producers, giving them the ability to effectively double the yield of the synthesis process. The recovered fullerenes will be useful for applications demanding a more robust, but still fullerenic material or coating, such as carbon coatings for artificial biomaterials, optical limiters, or as scaffolds for nanotechnological devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Diener, Michael TDA Research, Inc CO Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 980014 5373 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321646 November 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Biosensor for Label-Free, Real-Time Monitoring of Environmental Pathogens. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a portable system for real-time, simultaneous detection and identification of multiple environmental microbes and toxins from aqueous or aerosol samples, on site, with high sensitivity and specificity and with minimal false positives or negative events. The system consists of a disposable biosensor chip and an optical reader device. The detection is based on a proprietary optical transduction technology known as grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance imaging (GCSPRI). Prior Phase I work has demonstrated the feasibility of the GCSPR microarray technology for multiplexed detection with high sensitivity. The goal of the Phase II project is to develop a laboratory prototype of a detection/identification sensor and a prototype chip for multiplexed detection of a model set of three analytes including a bacterium, a virus and a toxin. Non-pathogenic organisms will be used as model systems. Multi-epitope detection methods will be explored for reducing the probability of false alarms. The end result of the Phase II effort will be a demonstration with the laboratory prototype using manual sample introduction. This will provide the logical and critical milestone to transition into commercial development of a portable detection system interfaced to an aerosol collector for field testing and evaluation. The commercial application of this project is in the detection of biological agents for Homeland Defense. The capability for near real-time, multiplexed measurements with a low false alarm rate will be valuable whenever rapid assessment of a contaminated environment is needed. The potential applications would include hospitals, where nosocomial infections may arise; large buildings, where accidental contamination with mold spores, Legionella and other pathogens may create health hazards; recreational water and drinking water supplies, where waterborne pathogens are a great concern; and the food industry, where there is a need for sensitive methods for on-line and real-time detection of pathogens. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Fernandez, Salvador CIENCIA INC CT F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 510295 5373 BIOT 9231 9181 9178 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321647 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Delta-Sigma All-Digital Magnetometer. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop and prototype a single-chip magnetometer based on an innovative approach to digital magnetic sensors. The traditional approach combines a physical sensor having an analog output with an electronic analog-to-digital converter. In this sensor, the analog-to-digital conversion occurs in the physical mechanism of the sensor itself. With this approach only inexpensive digital electronic circuits are needed to complete the sensor system, resulting in a robust design that can easily be manufactured. The unique properties of sub-micron sized magneto-resistive sensor elements are used. The small size of these elements allows only two magnetic states, i.e. the magnetic state represents a binary digit that is a function of the external magnetic fields. Using concepts borrowed from over-sampling delta-sigma analog-to-digital converters, it is possible to measure the analog magnitude of a magnetic field by repeatedly interrogating the magnetic state of the bit. Using the principles of delta-sigma converters, including noise shaping feedback and high over-sampling ratios, high resolution and an inherently linear response can be achieved. This single-chip digital magnetometer would be a revolutionary advance in sensor technology since it is based on standard wafer-level integrated circuit processing techniques. It will thus be much smaller and cheaper to fabricate than existing equivalent magnetic sensor systems. The highly integrated nature of this product, low power consumption and the digital output will make it extremely attractive for remote and/or bussed sensor applications. Applications include digital compasses, geomagnetic surveying equipment, vehicle sensors for traffic control, intrusion detection, currency/document validation and portable biomedical assay devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Deak, James NVE CORPORATION MN Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 499991 5373 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0321657 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Combinatorial Development of Chitosan-Based Drilling Fluid Additives. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to use simple chemistries to develop biopolymer derivatives based on chitosan with controlled macromolecular architectures for oil and gas drilling applications. This Phase II project will focus on the following objectives : (1) Show how chemistries common in food processing can be extended for the simple and safe modification of polymers ; (2) Use data on rheological characterization to better understand the structure-property relations of polymers; (3) Use the proposed high throughput screening to demonstrate how combinatorial screening can be adapted to materials development ; and (4) develop an entirely new class of high performance and environmentally-friendly products for oil and gas drilling. The commercial application of this project is in the area of industrial bioproducts. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Blanchard, Andre' The Venture Group (Venture Innovations, Inc.) LA Gregory T. Baxter Standard Grant 500000 5373 BIOT 9181 9150 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321674 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Lobster-Eye X-Ray Imaging Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop an innovative Lobster Eye X-ray Imaging Sensor (LEXIS) for the observation of x-ray precipitation during long-term high-altitude balloon flights. The pinhole x-ray cameras currently used in such flights have very limited spatial resolution, and need significantly improved sensitivity. The proposed sensor will have a large-field-of-view x-ray lens fabricated of long metal microchannels. With this lens, the LEXIS will have significantly higher angular resolution and higher sensitivity than pinhole cameras. Phase II efforts will culminate in fabrication and testing of a full-scale LEXIS prototype capable of focusing on both soft and hard x-rays. LEXIS will bring unprecedented resolution to the investigation of boreal sources of x-rays. The proposed research will yield a new kind of x-ray optics that overcomes the limitations and shortcomings of current instruments. The lobster eye optics will dramatically improve the resolution of security screening x-ray equipment. It will enhance the penetration capability of screening equipment, more reliably detecting hazardous or illegal materials within thick metal containers. The technology to be developed for fabricating lobster eye optics will be applied to the fabrication of antiscatter grids for medical x-ray detector arrays. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Shnitser, Paul PHYSICAL OPTICS CORPORATION CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 499994 5373 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0321679 June 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Development of a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Simulator for Use in Education. This SBIR Phase II project will result in a low cost PC based interactive scanning electron microscope (iSEM) simulator incorporated into modules to enhance existing science curricula. Although the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) is an essential scientific tool and has major impact on our nation's industrial competitiveness, its utilization in education has been modest. Only a handful of high schools in the U.S. have access to instrumentation of this nature, and availability at colleges and universities at the undergraduate level is limited. The premise of this project is that the essence of microscopy instruments can be captured in a software-based simulator running on a personal computer such that entire classrooms can become virtual laboratories, with each student exploring a lesson using microscope-simulator software coupled with appropriate imagery and lesson material. The researchers will use the FERA (Focus, Explore, Reflect, Apply) Learning Cycle model to develop iSEM enhancement modules and supporting materials to extend current curricula such as the National Science Resources Center's Science and Technology for Children (STC) and the Lawrence Hall of Science series of Full Option Science System (FOSS) and will include a component of professional development. The iSEM will not only enable schools to perform more sophisticated scientific experiments and help schools meet the standards mandate, it will also help prepare students for joining tomorrow's workforce in this evolving age of nanotechnology. The educational component of the project that will be developed is inquiry-based, encourages explorations and is inexpensive enough that schools and students can afford to purchase it. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Casuccio, Gary RJ LEE GROUP, INC PA Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 781808 5373 1666 SMET 9251 9216 9180 9178 9177 7218 0108000 Software Development 0522400 Information Systems 0321686 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Assistive Reading Device for Persons with Disabilities. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop an assistive reading device for persons with disabilities. The device, an electromechanical page turner, will serve to automate the mechanical tasks associated with page turning, an important ancillary process of reading. With the touch of a button/pedal, the page turner will automatically grab the next page of a book, turn it, and keep the book opened flat during the entire process. In the prior Phase I work, a novel turnstile design was introduced, and data was collected on bending stiffness, static and dynamic coefficients of friction, and the mechanical characteristics of paper. The Phase II project will integrate the Phase I results into an engineering effort to optimize the design and improve the performance and reliability of the page turner. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of assistive technologies for people with disabilities, the elderly, musicians, and avid readers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Schipper, Irene PAGEFLIP NY F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 695114 5373 BIOT 9181 9102 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0321688 August 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Continuous Flow Reactor and Size-Selection Chromagraphic Scheme for Use in High Throughput Manufacture of Silicon Nanoparticles. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to continue the scale up of luminescent Si nanocrystal production using the continuous flow reactor developed during the Phase I period where the main objective of the Phase I proposal of converting a cumbersome batch process into an efficient continuous one was accomplished. This new continuous flow reactor will serve as an enabling technology because the system will be applicable to the high temperature synthesis of numerous nanoscale colloidal materials. This technology could raise the average efficiency of conventional lighting from under 15% to more than 50%, potentially reducing the electricity consumed for illumination by a factor of 3X. The process can create particles that have many favorable attributes that lend themselves to other applications as well, many of which will be pursued for licensing. These include multi-level floating gate memory, optical interconnects, optical integrated circuits, electro-chemical products, fuel cells, bio-molecular recognition, battery electrodes, and displays. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Jurbergs, David INNOVALIGHT, INC MN William Haines Standard Grant 1023872 5373 AMPP 9251 9178 9163 1794 1467 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321692 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Innovative And Cost-Effective Process for Net-Shape Microfabrication of Ceramic Components. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a ceramic hydrogen fuel appliance (CHFA) using ceramic microreactor modules (CMMs) using a low-cost, net-shape manufacturing process, and a new material, that was developed in the Phase I project. The new material developed was demonstrated to have excellent capability for cost-effective microfabrication of ceramic components with sub-micrometer precision. Further, it has good materials properties, including very high component surface area and thermochemical stability to temperatures as high as 1000 degrees C, that make it an ideal material for fabrication of CMMs. The commercial and broader impacts of this technology will be as hydrocarbon fuel reformers that supply hydrogen to fuel cells used as auxiliary power units (APUs) on board automobiles/trucks. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Nair, Balakrishnan CERAMATEC, INC. UT Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 491471 5373 EGCH 9251 9231 9178 9169 9102 7218 5373 0106000 Materials Research 0510102 Role-Terrestrial Ecosystem 0510301 Structure & Function 0321695 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Incorporation of Carbon Nanotubes into Nylon Filaments. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will continue developing a method for incorporating Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNT) into nylon to act as reinforcement. Their incorporation will be achieved by wrapping the SWNTs with a functionalized polymer that interacts with the SWNTs mechanically, but is not chemically bound to them. The polymer will be chemically bound to the nylon and in this way will act as a load transferring conduit between the nylon matrix and nanotubes in the final composite. How well the polymer transfers the extraordinary strength and durability of the carbon nanotubes to the nylon composite will depend on how well this new interface, between the SWNT and the nylon matrix, functions. For nylon fibers, the degree to which it is possible to align the SWNTs along the major axis of the fiber filaments will play a role in the fiber's thermal and electrical conductivity as well as strength. The primary focus of this work is to optimize the SWNT/nylon matrix interaction in order to obtain the best load transfer properties. Methods to align the SWNTs along the long axis of the nylon filaments in order to maximize fiber strength will also be investigated. Commercially, this high strength nylon composite will have significant applications in the aerospace industry for use in fabricating lightweight, retrievable, satellite launch vehicles, reusable space craft etc. The military will also be interested in this technology because of the combination of exceptionally high strength, lightweight and stealth capability. The successful development of this technology will result in new lightweight thermoplastic composites that have extraordinarily high flexural, tensile and impact strengths and can be easily molded into any shape desired. This new technology will eventually be applicable to many other materials. Additionally, since these composites are thermoplastics and not a thermosets, they will be more easily recycled. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Bley, Richard Eltron Research, Inc. CO T. James Rudd Standard Grant 499995 5373 MANU 9146 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321699 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase II: Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser Based on Nanostructured Active Material. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will develop a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) that operates at 1.3 micron wavelength based on incorporating a quantum dot active region of GaAs-based InAs and GaAsSb. It is based on recent research developments within the university laboratory in developing novel 1.3 micron laser and VCSEL sources, and the commercial epitaxial growth capability of the company. In the project the tasks involved include growing GaAsSb quantum dots and quantum well structures, fabricating VCSELs using the InGaAs and GaAsSb based quantum dot and GaAsSb quantum well active regions, and development, demonstration and evaluation of manufacturable, high Q cavity suitable for commercial 1.3 micron VCSELs. Commercially the project will lead to important new products for an emerging fiber optic market. The low cost 1.3 micron wavelength VCSEL is viewed by industry analysts as a key enabling device for high volume production of fiber optic transceivers for the metro and metro access markets. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Pan, Noren Dennis Deppe MICROLINK DEVICES INC IL T. James Rudd Standard Grant 500000 1505 MANU 9163 9146 9139 1788 0206000 Telecommunications 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321712 July 1, 2003 STTR Phase II: Solid Freeform Fabrication Based Dental Reconstruction. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase II project will develop and optimize the Rapid Freeze Prototyping (RFP) technology, producing ice patterns used in investment casting to fabricate dental castings for crowns, bridges, implant-retailed restorations and other prostheses, as well as to integrate the developed RFP technology with commercial digital imaging and computer-aided design technologies into an Internet CAD/CAM dental restoration system. The commercial and broader impacts of this project will be to provide a significant time and cost savings using the patented RFP technology compared with the hand-crafted process of pattern making currently used by the vast majority of dental laboratories. Hundreds of thousands of dental castings are made each year by hand. The high labor cost of making these castings makes the dental market ideal for the application of the proposed RFP technology and other allied CAD/CAM technologies. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Schmitt, Stephen Sivasubramanya Balakrishnan Tel Med Technologies MI Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 521012 1505 MANU 9251 9178 9146 7218 1505 1468 1052 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321715 December 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Vacuum Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Ellipsometer for Semiconductor Lithography. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will provide a novel, patented sensor of the polarization properties of light for operation in the vacuum ultraviolet spectral range, from ~ 120 to 200 nm. The instrument is a complete polarimeter that measures all four of the Stokes parameters of polarized light. It enables new semiconductor metrology applications and measurements with high precision and accuracy that are not achievable by rotating analyzer ellipsometry. The $30B semiconductor equipment market is continuously challenged to meet changing requirements with decreasing dimensions and thickness of structures on chips. The G-DOAP instrument meets key requirements of the industry for vacuum ultraviolet metrology tools. It also brings new capabilities to surface science investigations in many fields through the product for this market that we will offer. This technology can accelerate progress along the International Roadmap for Semiconductors, which cites VUV tools as a key need. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Hampton, Daniel Containerless Research, Inc. IL T. James Rudd Standard Grant 500000 5373 HPCC 9139 1185 0104000 Information Systems 0321728 November 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Millimeter Wave Transceivers on Large Metamorphic Wafers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop an innovative low-cost W-band (70-80 GHz) single chip transceiver using the metamorphic wafer technology developed in Phase I, and efficiently integrating the various MMIC components. The low cost non-electronic beam FET processes, MM HEMTs, and initial chip designs developed in Phase I will be used for the development of the fully integrated transceiver in Phase II. The resulting new technology will enable the MMW industry to be cost effective to expand the commercial market to achieve the low cost and high performance required in the industry. This project will enable enhanced performance and low cost consumer compatible volume production of automotive collusion avoidance radar systems, MMW tracking systems, and security radar and detection systems. CENTERS FOR RSCH EXCELL IN S&T SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Childs, Timothy TLC Precision Wafer Technology MN William Haines Standard Grant 1209126 9131 5373 AMPP 9251 9231 9178 9163 9102 1468 1467 1403 1185 0106000 Materials Research 0206000 Telecommunications 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321736 August 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Electrochemical Method to Fabricate Flexible Solar Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is developing an innovative flexible photovoltaic technology based on n-copper indium diselenide (n-CIS). Phase I research devised a new approach to synthesize large-grained films, and a new device configuration with only 3 layers on a metal foil. The research also devised a simple 4-step fabrication method for the n-CIS photovoltaic cell. This process uses high throughput, high yield roll-to-roll electrodeposition on a continuous metal foil. The n-CIS photovoltaic technology will evolve into a stable and efficient flexible prototype device in Phase II, with pilot line production in Phase III. The research will lead to an affordable, non-polluting, renewable n-CIS PV technology to meet the growing demand in the global energy market. Its applications include: remote industrial and recreational power, off-grid and grid-tied residential and commercial power, generation systems, central power plants, spacecraft and satellites. Technology commercialization will make a tangible contribution to the nation's energy supply, the environment and the welfare of the society. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Menezes, Shalini InterPhases Solar, Inc. CA Cynthia A. Znati Standard Grant 1126000 5761 5373 AMPP 9261 9251 9178 9163 9102 5761 1403 0306000 Energy Research & Resources 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321740 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: High-Throughput Specific Cell Loading by Optoinjection. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to develop a novel technology for laser-enabled analysis and processing (LEAP) of living cells. The ability to load cells with compounds is critical in many areas of research and medicine such as drug discovery and gene therapy. Current methods have limitations with respect to specificity, efficiency, toxicity, and/or throughput. Optoinjection is a novel and versatile procedure for cell loading that has been demonstrated in a few laboratories. Unfortunately, this is a slow, laborious procedure carried out on specialized microscopes. Oncosis has developed the LEAP platform for high-speed cell imaging and purification via lethal laser effects on unwanted cells. Phase I results demonstrated feasibility for using the LEAP platform to implement optoinjection in a high-throughput, cell-specific manner that would enable the commercialization of this novel form of cell loading. Phase II studies are proposed to optimize and implement optoinjection in biologically relevant experimental systems, resulting in data supporting this powerful new tool for the analysis and manipulation of living cells within a physiological environment. The instrument design will then be configured for successful commercial manufacturing, and further improvements in capabilities will be pursued in order to maintain market leadership and to expand into other markets. The commercial application of this project is in the areas of cell-based life science research and drug discovery. Over $ 2.6 billion was spent during 2001 on research instrumentation in academic life science research and commercial drug discovery, and growth to $ 5.3 billion by 2005 has been forecasted. For the specific application of optoinjection, LEAP provides many advantages over current techniques including simplicity, robustness, efficiency, speed, high viability, and specificity. The commercial opportunity for this platform is therefore significant, as is the scientific enablement of experimentation that is not currently possible. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sasaki, Glenn Cyntellect, Inc CA Ali Andalibi Standard Grant 1024000 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0321747 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Time-Lapse P- and S-Wave Monitoring of Fluid Flow. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project concerns the use of time-lapse seismic P-wave and S-wave data simultaneously to obtain seismic monitoring images of fluid-flow saturation and pore pressure in subsurface reservoirs. Time-lapse seismic using P-waves alone may not always produce reliable discrimination between fluid-flow saturation changes and pore pressure changes since this information is contained in the large-reflection- angle portion of the P-wave seismic data, which can easily be contaminated by noise and can be subject to data acquisition aperture limitations. Using S-waves in addition to P-waves in the time-lapse analysis can provide more accurate inversion results, thereby improving the reliability and robustness of fluid-flow saturation and pressure estimates. The critical commercialization research and development issues in this project are: (1) mode-equalization image processing and pre-conditioning of the P-wave and S-wave data sets to make them suitable for simultaneous quantitative inversion and analysis; ( 2) computation of optimal seismic attributes and robust pressure-saturation inversion of these attributes; (3) testing and bulletproofing these techniques on a real field data set to overcome the inevitable practical data issues; and (4) developing the tools in an interactive GUI-based software package to provide a workflow that facilitates integrated numerical computation and human interpretation. Commercial applications of proposed research will include accurate mapping of bypassed oil, monitoring of costly injected fluids in hydrocarbon reservoirs and global-warming CO2 sequestration projects. It will have applications in the monitoring of ground water reserves, contaminant plumes and environmental clean-up activities. Medical imaging is another potential market target use of elastic waves as they could yield superior results over acoustic waves alone. Commercial and societal benefits include extending the life of existing oil and gas fields, thus reducing the need for exploration in environmentally sensitive areas and improving the nation's energy security. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Lumley, David Fourth Wave Imaging Corporation CA Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 750000 5373 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0321763 November 15, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Automated 2D Protein Cell Mapping. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a method for conducting high-throughput, automated analysis of the protein content of cell lines using a novel mass analyzed two-dimensional liquid-phase separation method. The conventional method of two-dimensional poly-acrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D PAGE) has several limitations ; it is labor intensive, time consuming, difficult to automate and often not readily reproducible. In addition, quantitation, especially in differential expression experiments, is often difficult and limited in dynamic range. The proposed technology provides automated, faster, and more accurate 2D protein maps, and can be used to purify specific proteins and enact protein/peptide digest and sequencing information. These capabilities will prove valuable for studying drug-protein interactions for detecting early signs of cancer. Studies of cancer cell lines can reveal signatures of cancerous cells that can serve as markers for actual diagnosis. The proposed system is based on 2D liquid-phase protein separation using chromatofocusing (CF) in one dimension and non-porous silica, reverse-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography (NPS-RP HPLC) in the second dimension. The HPLC eluent is monitored in real-time by on-line electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS) to provide molecular weight and intensity information. The commercial application of this project is in the area of proteomics. The proteomics market is forecasted to grow from $ 0.7 billion to $ 5.8 billion over the next 5 years. There is a tremendous need to develop automated methods of protein analysis and peptide analysis of cell lines to better understand global biological function for improved drug therapy and early detection of disease, such as cancer. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Syage, Jack SYAGEN TECHNOLOGY INC CA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 413037 5373 BIOT 9181 9104 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0321765 July 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: High-Throughput Purification of Combinatorial Libraries. This SBIR Phase II project aims to develop a prototype of a highly-parallel, mass-selected purification system for large pharmaceutical drug libraries. High-throughput purification is driven by the industry recognition that combinatorial chemistry samples must still be purified even after chemical screening. This project will examine monolithic parallel preparative liquid chromatography configurations. The key enabling technology is low-pressure photoionization mass spectrometry (LPPI MS), which permits accurate molecular detection in mixtures of compounds without the problems of competition-for-charge and ion suppressions that plague conventional ionization methods. A practical purification rate of >1 sample/min (12 parallel purifications in <12 min column cycle time) corresponding to a potential 16-hr daily rate of >960 sample purifications/day is expected. This work will transition into a Phase II prototype involving strategic partners to commercialize the technology. The proposed high throughput purification system for combinatorial libraries has the potential to dominate an important niche market for molecular analysis and screening for drug discovery. This rapidly growing market will fuel applications in many other directions of drug development. The proposed activity will have a broad and profound impact on society as a whole by providing valuable information that can lead to improved drug therapy and early detection of disease. The practical outcome is to improve health care and reduce costs. This project also has the potential for explosive commercial growth, which will stimulate economic development. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Syage, Jack SYAGEN TECHNOLOGY INC CA Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 425756 5373 HPCC 9163 9139 5373 1788 0104000 Information Systems 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321768 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Development of Novel Enzymatic Antibiofilm Formulations. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a powerful enzyme / biocide formulation for industrial water treatment. The research concept targets enzyme-facilitated diffusion of biocide for maximum biofilm control efficacy and provides a resultant low cost product with lowered environmental load. Proprietary gene evolution technologies will be used to enhance enzyme efficacy and to optimize process stability to provide robust enzyme candidates for formulation with conventional biocides. Optimized enzyme / biocide formulations will be tested against multispecies biofilms grown under simulated industrial process conditions. The commercial application of this project is in the area of industrial bioproducts. Microbial fouling is a common problem in a variety of industrial, household, personal hygiene, and medical settings. To this end, a critical need exists for improved microbial control methods that are effective, economically beneficial, non-toxic and environmentally friendly. The anti-biofilm enzyme products, such as those targeted in this project, are expected to meet these needs for a market that represents an opportunity value of $995 million. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Barton, Nelson Diversa Corporation CA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 499914 5373 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0322092 November 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Remote Radio Frequency Measurements for Pipeline Monitoring - FloWatch911. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase-II project will develop and test remote radio frequency measurements for integrity monitoring of gas fuel-pipelines. This novel application of RF measurements uses the pipe as a transmission line. Antennas launch pulses that travel inside the pipe, without disturbing the transported fluid. Pulses reflect-off obstructions/breaches in the pipe and are measured by distributed low-cost receivers to locate the fault. Phase-I research demonstrated the proof of concept for this automated monitoring system and defined interfaces with an emergency management telecommunications system that provides notification to the pipeline response team and warning to affected residents/businesses - all within minutes of the event. The objectives for Phase-II are to develop an engineering model FloWatch system, to install this system in an operating gas pipeline, and to perform end-to-end testing of the sensors and emergency notification system. The outcome of this research will lead to a marketable product, which when implemented by pipeline operators, can save millions of dollars annually in pipeline spills and avert potential loss of life and property. Further benefits will result through improved pipeline operations that will result in lower-cost and reliable delivery of energy needs for businesses, industry and the general public. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Auerbach, Mitchell Emergency Management Telecommunications FL Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 493680 5373 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0324063 June 1, 2003 Synthesis of NanoTabular Particulates for IR Obscuration. Through an Interagency Agreement with the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Particulate Materials will research and develop infrared obscurants for use in military and homeland security applications. The project addresses an experimental validation of an important theoretical prediction of efficient obscuration of infrared radiation with particulates in the 2 to 12 micron range. The major focus of the work is on the production of these nano-tabular particles. IIP ENG Adair, James Jogender Singh Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Continuing grant 765400 V891 V545 V059 OTHR 0000 0324260 June 1, 2003 I/UCRC for Fuel Cell Research - Operation Grant. Fuel cells have the ability to provide environmentally friendly power with at $10 billion U.S. economic potential. Our nations' leaders have recently announced that fuel cell development is now a major thrust of the government with a primary goal of large scale commercialization. A research center addressing this goal is important in that the center will provide benefits to the industrial community by providing an avenue for leveraging risks in a cooperative environment and by developing the technology to keep the U.S. as a leader in fuel cell development. A planning grant (EEC-0200471) has established the feasibility and viability of establishing an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Fuel Cell Research at the University of South Carolina-Columbia. The research projects for the proposed center will address such issues as hydrogen storage, catalyst development, computational fluid dynamics of fuel cell processes, mathematical model development for fuel cell design, laboratory testing of fuel cells, and fuel cell characterization EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INT'L RES & EDU IN ENGINEERING IUCRC FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Van Zee, John University South Carolina Research Foundation SC Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 722200 9150 7641 7609 7298 5761 OTHR 9150 5980 5936 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0328200 August 1, 2003 Failure Probabilities for Risk-Based Maintenance and Parameter Estimation of Synchronous Machines. Electric power generation depends largely on the operation of large synchronous machines. These generators represent a costly investment for electric utilities, thus it is of utmost importance that any anomaly in their operation is promptly corrected. On-line estimation of generator parameters is a desirable feature that could aid in better monitoring of the machine behavior. It could have a significant impact in establishing an adequate maintenance schedule for the generator that ensures proper operation while taking into consideration cost and risk. The study will augment the research agenda of the multi-university Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Power Systems Engineering. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Irizarry, Agustin Miguel Velez-Reyes Efrain O'Neill-Carrillo University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez PR Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 99444 9150 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0328348 June 1, 2003 Thermal Management of Heat Generating Devices in Close Proximity on Printed Circuit Boards. The thermal management of electrical devices in close proximity, particularly with dissimilar operating temperatures presents a unique challenge to the thermal designer. The reliability of the components depends to a substantial degree on the maintenance of a desired operating temperature. The challenge is to minimize the neighbor effects, thus maintaining the different operating temperatures on the same board without allowing the hotter electronic devices to influence the operating temperature of the lower temperature components. This project will be performed by a woman researcher at the University and will augment the research agenda of the Purdue University Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Electronic-Microcooling. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Fleischer, Amy Villanova University PA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 5761 OTHR 0000 0328614 June 1, 2003 Renewal Proposal for Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Studies in Novel Surfactants. Surfactants and polymers are used today in every major industry including household and personal care, imaging, printing, advanced mineral and ceramics, petroleum and fuel, micro-electronics, pharmaceuticals, food processing, paints and coating, and environmental control. The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Studies in Novel Surfactants (IUCS) at Columbia University was established in 1998 to elucidate the behavior of different surface active molecules and their mixtures and to develop new processing schemes that depend critically on the structure and function of conventional and novel surfactants. The major aim of the center is to develop a knowledge base on the relationship between the structure of different surfactants and their performance in various industrial processes, characterize their solution and interfacial behavior and identify suitable industrial applications. It is also an aim to develop novel specialty surfactants that are "environmentally benign" for specific applications in the chemical industry. IUCRC FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS INTERFAC PROCESSES & THERMODYN IIP ENG Somasundaran, Ponisseril Columbia University NY Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 614918 7609 5761 1414 OTHR 122E 0000 0329816 July 15, 2003 Proposal to Renew the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center at the Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations (CRITO). The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations is focused on the economic, organizational and societal implications of information technology. With nationally prominent faculty from disciplines such as computer science, economics, and political science, the Center is uniquely positioned to conduct research relevant to the business community, policy makers and consumers. The research agenda will address new or extended thrusts in the following areas: Management of IT, the IT Enabled Enterprise, IT and Society, and User Environments and Technology Enabled Collaboration. DIGITAL SOCIETY&TECHNOLOGIES INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Gurbaxani, Vijay University of California-Irvine CA Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 299097 V954 V492 6850 5761 OTHR 1049 0000 0330719 September 1, 2003 I/UCRC Planning Grant: Tree Genetics Research Multi-Institutional Center. This purpose of this award is to plan for the Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center at Purdue University to become a part of a multi-university Industry/University Cooperative Research Center with the Tree Genetic Engineering Research Center at the Oregon State University. Under the planning grant, the members of both centers will be consulted both in writing and in person, about specific research projects. A joint planning workshop will be held at Purdue University to finalize the research projects and organization and management of the two multi-university Centers. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Michler, Charles Purdue University IN Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0330843 July 15, 2003 Web-based Computer Aided Interpretation of Analytical Sedimentation Data. Sednterp is a computer program designed to enhance the interpretation of analytical ultracentrifugaton data. The program was first developed as a collaboration between the University of New Hampshire and Amgen researchers over ten years ago. Currently, Sednterp exists as a VisualBasic program and it has enjoyed wide use by the analytical ultracentrifuge community. Now in use for more than eight years, Sednterp has proven to be a popular and useful tool. It is, however, becoming dated in its functions, and there have been numerous requests for additional functionality. A new Web-based version of Sednterp could enable users around the world to share information, and would provide a good opportunity to incorporate many of the additional features requested by users. The research and programming work will be conducted for the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Bimolecular Interaction Technology at the University of New Hampshire. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Laue, Thomas University of New Hampshire NH Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 49998 5761 OTHR 9232 0000 0331436 August 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: Investigation of Charge Trapping in Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) Dielectrics Using Electrostatically Actuated Mechanical Resonators. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to develop high quality dielectric films and structures for a family of ultrasonic transducers for medical imaging applications. The technology and methods developed in Phase I to characterize charge-trapping behavior of dielectrics are the critical innovations required to take micro-fabricated ultrasonic transducers from their current state to a commercially viable state. Charge trapping created by the high electric fields in the device is detrimental to transducer performance. Charge trapping is dependent on field polarity and causes shifts in electromechanical conversion efficiency in time. Variations in charge trapping within a transducer array are even more disruptive. A process that removes the polarity dependence of charge trapping and thereby enables a new type of bipolar ultrasound imaging array that improves image quality will be developed. Since performance and reliability are critical to successful commercialization of these ultrasound probes, the issues of how dielectric charging causes time-dependent loss in performance and material degradation that could limit lifetime will be researched. The development and commercialization of micro-fabricated ultrasound transducers (MUT) is targeted at the medical applications market. This work will also enable the development of ultrasound probes that can non-invasively provide more accurate diagnostic information for doctors, such as improved ability to distinguish between cancerous and benign tissue. The image quality to price ratio drives market share in the global $3Billion diagnostic ultrasound market. These novel ultrasonic transducers will significantly improve the image quality/price ratio, and thus realistically create market share swings of 5% upon product release. Specifically, in the $1Billion mid-to-premium segment of the radiology market most relevant to the proposed research, $50M of annual system sales would be generated by the introduction of MUT probes, of which approximately one third are direct probe sales. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Ladabaum, Igal Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. CA William Haines Standard Grant 999882 5373 AMPP 9163 5373 1467 1403 0106000 Materials Research 0331535 September 1, 2003 I/UCRC Planning Grant: University of Hawaii Partnership with the NSF I/UCRC for Telecommunication Circuits and Systems at Arizona State University. This award supports a planning grant to establish a University of Hawaii partnership with the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Telecommunications Circuits and Systems at Arizona State University. The Hawaii Center for Communications will provide the capabilities, expertise, and research facilities for doing the research and will also be the contracting arm for the University of Hawaii. The vision for the next generation wireless communication technology calls for fully integrated, low cost, and expanded broadband services, with seamless hand-off between heterogeneous networks, full mobility, and minimum latency. These are clearly challenging requirements that can only be met through technological breakthroughs and innovative contributions in multidisciplinary research efforts that may span across the entire communication network layers. The assembled team of researchers from the collaborating groups represents broad background, breadth, and significant research expertise that will help the joint center effectively participate in advancing the telecommunications technology. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Iskander, Magdy Anthony Kuh Wayne Shiroma Anders Host-Madsen Olga Boric-Lubecke University of Hawaii HI Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0331629 September 1, 2003 Collaborative Research: Predictive Infotronics Agent for Integrated Product Life Cycle Support. This collaborative project brings together the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Intelligent Maintenance Systems (IMS) involving the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Michigan with the Technical University Berlin to study "Predictive Infotronics Agent for Integrated Product Life Cycle Support". The I/UCRC is developing condition-based maintenance, which senses and assesses the current state of the equipment in order to predict performance and avoid possible downtime. The Technical University Berlin is developing a life cycle unit, which used life cycle data to design a life cycle board, which integrates sensors and data processing to actuate remedial actions to prevent failure. The condition based maintenance approach requires both power and significant computing capability. The life cycle unit approach is more equipment specific and the computing is encapsulated along with the sensor generally requiring only low power. The project goal is for the universities to work together to merge the beneficial aspects of both approaches into a single more versatile system. WESTERN EUROPE PROGRAM INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Ni, Jun University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 192200 5980 5761 OTHR 5936 0000 0331651 September 1, 2003 Collaborative Research - Predictive Infotronics Agent for Integrated Product Life Cycle Support. This collaborative project brings together the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Intelligent Maintenance Systems (IMS) involving the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Michigan with the Technical University Berlin to study "Predictive Infotronics Agent for Integrated Product Life Cycle Support". The I/UCRC is developing condition-based maintenance, which senses and assesses the current state of the equipment in order to predict performance and avoid possible downtime. The Technical University Berlin is developing a life cycle unit, which used life cycle data to design a life cycle board, which integrates sensors and data processing to actuate remedial actions to prevent failure. The condition based maintenance approach requires both power and significant computing capability. The life cycle unit approach is more equipment specific and the computing is encapsulated along with the sensor generally requiring only low power. The project goal is for the universities to work together to merge the beneficial aspects of both approaches into a single more versatile system. WESTERN EUROPE PROGRAM INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Lee, Jay University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee WI Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 107800 5980 5761 OTHR 5936 0000 0331845 October 1, 2003 Collaborative Research Proposal for a Friction Stir Processing Industry/University Cooperative Research Center. This award is for a planning grant for the establishment of a new multi-institutional Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Friction Stir Processing. Nationally and internationally recognized leaders in the research and development of this novel metals joining and processing technology are located at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Brigham Young University, the University of Missouri-Rolla and the University of South Carolina, bringing together these institutions to establish the Friction Stir Processing I/UCRC. The proposed Friction Stir Processing I/UCRC will focus on furthering developments in the following fields of study for Friction Stir Processing/Friction Stir Joining of ferrous, non-ferrous, and metal matrix composite alloys: Friction Stir Joining; Friction Stir Microstructural Modification; Friction Stir Post-Processing; Friction Stir Structural Designs and Applications; Friction Stir Intelligent Controllers and Efficient Tooling; Friction Stir Cost Benefit Analysis. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Reynolds, Anthony University South Carolina Research Foundation SC Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0331908 August 15, 2003 Application of Different Methodologies to Identify Sources of Fecal Pollution in The Rio Grande River. The U.S.-Mexico Border region has unique problems related to water resources. The Rio Grande/Rio Bravo is the major watershed of the bi-national region. The river serves as an important natural resource for industry, agriculture, domestic water supply, recreation, and wildlife habitat fro both countries. Unfortunately, the Rio Grande is also a conduit for infectious microorganisms and toxic pollutants. A variety of activities contributing to the chemical and microbial contamination of source water have been identified and include improperly installed and maintained septic systems, landfill, injection wells, land application of waste, irrigation, runoff, and animal feed lots. This project is a collaborative effort between El Paso County Community College and the Water Quality Center at Arizona State University. The objective of this project is to conduct a comprehensive and comparative study to determine the source of fecal contamination at four sites of the Rio Grande river using 1) Antibiotic Resistance Analysis of fecal streptococci, 2) Antibiotic Resistance Analysis of E coli, 3) Ribotyping of selected E. coli isolates, and 4) Genotyping of E. coli and F-RNA bacteriophages. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Alvarez, Maria Morteza Abbaszadegan El Paso County Community College TX Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 5761 OTHR 0000 0331946 October 1, 2003 Collaborative Research Proposal for a Friction Stir Processing Industry/University Cooperative Research Center. This award is for a planning grant for the establishment of a new multi-institutional Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Friction Stir Processing. Nationally and internationally recognized leaders in the research and development of this novel metals joining and processing technology are located at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Brigham Young University, the University of Missouri-Rolla and the University of South Carolina, bringing together these institutions to establish the Friction Stir Processing I/UCRC. The proposed Friction Stir Processing I/UCRC will focus on furthering developments in the following fields of study for Friction Stir Processing/Friction Stir Joining of ferrous, non-ferrous, and metal matrix composite alloys: Friction Stir Joining; Friction Stir Microstructural Modification; Friction Stir Post-Processing; Friction Stir Structural Designs and Applications; Friction Stir Intelligent Controllers and Efficient Tooling; Friction Stir Cost Benefit Analysis. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Arbegast, William Anil Patnaik South Dakota School of Mines and Technology SD Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0331950 August 1, 2003 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Precision Metrology. The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Precision Metrology (CPM) supports the necessary cohesion between university researchers and supporting affilates from the tight-tolerance manufacturing community for the development of the next generation of manufacturing engineers, measurement techniques, metrology instrumentation, efficient processes, and enabling products that will facilitate advances in precision manufacturing where state-of-the-art dimensional tolerances on the order of ten parts per million are common. The above-mentioned broad objective will be realized through the examination of real world precision related manufacturing problems presented by industrial affiliate members in conjunction with university faculty and student researchers. The problems addressed will have sufficient generic interest for industrial affiliate members to approve by vote at semiannual meetings. Addressing real problems will provide the students with an applied education pertinent to current tight-toleranced manufacturing challenges and result in highly-trained employees that can solve similar problems in a real-world environment. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Hocken, Robert Robert Wilhelm Edward Morse Angela Davies University of North Carolina at Charlotte NC Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 265000 5761 OTHR 129E 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0331977 December 15, 2003 Collaborative Research: Operating Proposal for I/UCRC on Multiphase Transport Phenomena. A group of faculty at Michigan State University and the University of Tulsa has organized a pre-competitive, multi-university, multi-disciplinary NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) in the area of Multiphase Transport Phenomena. Center research will focus on the further development, evaluation, and deployment of next generation multiphase models for turbulent and non-turbulent flows as well as computational methods for rapid design and analysis of process and equipment for a wide range of applications encountered in, but not limited to, the automotive, chemical, and petrochemical industries. Funds will be used to promote long-term synergistic partnerships among industrial members and academic research groups at the two universities. Specific problem-oriented research projects will be identified in collaboration with industrial members of the Center. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Petty, Charles Krishnamu Jayaraman Andre Benard Farhad Jaberi Michigan State University MI Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 250000 5761 OTHR 0000 0331982 October 1, 2003 Collaborative Research Proposal for a Friction Stir Processing Industry /University Cooperative Research Center. This award is for a planning grant for the establishment of a new multi-institutional Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Friction Stir Processing. Nationally and internationally recognized leaders in the research and development of this novel metals joining and processing technology are located at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Brigham Young University, the University of Missouri-Rolla and the University of South Carolina, bringing together these institutions to establish the Friction Stir Processing I/UCRC. The proposed Friction Stir Processing I/UCRC will focus on furthering developments in the following fields of study for Friction Stir Processing/Friction Stir Joining of ferrous, non-ferrous, and metal matrix composite alloys: Friction Stir Joining; Friction Stir Microstructural Modification; Friction Stir Post-Processing; Friction Stir Structural Designs and Applications; Friction Stir Intelligent Controllers and Efficient Tooling; Friction Stir Cost Benefit Analysis. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Mishra, Rajiv Missouri University of Science and Technology MO Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 22000 5761 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 0000 0331994 August 1, 2003 Planning Grant: Lasers and Plasmas for Advanced Manufacturing. The proposed center plans to create a new technology for materials processing whereby design, analysis and synthesis of materials are integrated to produce material, devices and systems of desired performance. The mission of the center is to develop a fundamental understanding of laser aided intelligent manufacturing to reduce lead-time for "concept to product" manufacturing for U.S. industries by; establishing the science base for laser materials processing; producing materials and devices with novel properties using economical processing methods; transferring this technology to industry by providing a test bed where optimal manufacturing processes and applications can be developed without heavy initial investment by industry; educating university students and industrial personnel in both the basic and cross-disciplinary science and latest technology. The technical approach of the center will be to develop and deploy atomistic level scientific understanding of laser materials processing for industrial applications. The broader impact of the center is to improve the competitiveness of U.S. industries and by reaching out to the underrepresented minorities; the manpower base of the nation will be significantly enhanced. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Mazumder, Jyotirmoy University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0332020 December 15, 2003 Collaborative Research: Operational Proposal for I/UCRC on Multiphase Transport Phenomena. A group of faculty at Michigan State University and the University of Tulsa has organized a pre-competitive, multi-university, multi-disciplinary NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) in the area of Multiphase Transport Phenomena. Center research will focus on the further development, evaluation, and deployment of next generation multiphase models for turbulent and non-turbulent flows as well as computational methods for rapid design and analysis of process and equipment for a wide range of applications encountered in, but not limited to, the automotive, chemical, and petrochemical industries. Funds will be used to promote long-term synergistic partnerships among industrial members and academic research groups at the two universities. Specific problem-oriented research projects will be identified in collaboration with industrial members of the Center. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Mohan, Ram University of Tulsa OK Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 200000 5761 OTHR 9150 0000 0332029 October 1, 2003 I/UCRC Center for Safety, Security and Rescue Robotics (C-SSRR). This award supports the planning a multi-university, multi-disciplinary Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Safety, Security and Rescue Robots (C-SSRR). C-SSRR will bring together industry, academe, and public sector users together to provide integrative robotics and artificial intelligence solutions for activities conducted by the police, FBI, FEMA, firefighters, transportation safety officials, and emergency responders to mass casualty-related activities. The need for SSRR has accelerated in the aftermath of 9/11 and a new research community is forming, as witnessed by the first IEEE Workshop on Safety, Security and Rescue Robotics in February 2003. The Center will be built upon the knowledge and expertise of multi-disciplinary researchers in computer science, engineering, industrial organization, psychology, public health, and marine sciences at the University of South Florida and the University of Minnesota. Together, the two institutions support a research program in control of vehicles, human-robot interaction, and sensors and sensor fusion combined with rapid prototyping capabilities and access to users and high-fidelity testing sites throughout the country. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Murphy, Robin University of South Florida FL Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0332037 August 15, 2003 Addition of DCPT as a Reearch Site of I/U CRC for Pharmaceutical Processing. This award to Dusquene University Center for Pharmaceutical Technology (DCPT) is to plan to join the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Pharmaceutical Processing Research (CPPR), a multi-university center that includes Purdue University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Puerto Rico, and the University of Minnesota. The purposes of the Center are to explore and develop new technology for pharmaceutical processing, to foster collaborative research projects between academic and industrial scientists, and to promote an interdisciplinary approach to training students in pharmaceutical processing research and development. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Anderson, Carl Lawrence Block Moji Adeyeye James Drennen Wilson Meng Duquesne University PA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0332043 August 15, 2003 Collaborative Research: Center for Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics. This award supports the planning a multi-university, multi-disciplinary Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Safety, Security and Rescue Robots (C-SSRR). C-SSRR will bring together industry, academe, and public sector users together to provide integrative robotics and artificial intelligence solutions for activities conducted by the police, FBI, FEMA, firefighters, transportation safety officials, and emergency responders to mass casualty-related activities. The need for SSRR has accelerated in the aftermath of 9/11 and a new research community is forming, as witnessed by the first IEEE Workshop on Safety, Security and Rescue Robotics in February 2003. The Center will be built upon the knowledge and expertise of multi-disciplinary researchers in computer science, engineering, industrial organization, psychology, public health, and marine sciences at the University of South Florida and the University of Minnesota. Together, the two institutions support a research program in control of vehicles, human-robot interaction, and sensors and sensor fusion combined with rapid prototyping capabilities and access to users and high-fidelity testing sites throughout the country. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Voyles, Richard Maria Gini Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos Stergios Roumeliotis University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0332051 September 1, 2003 Collaborative Structure and the Diffusion of Knowledge: Computer-Mediated Communication in Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers. This project suggests that research collaborations, as a result of Computer -mediated communication (CMC), may operate more smoothly, may diffuse more quickly, and may have a greater impact on the field and industry. The project argues that those research collaborations that are both diverse and aided by CMC have the greatest impact. This project examines the range of technologies utilized in collaborations of faculty members and industry partners in Industry/University-Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC). The resources of the I/UCRCs may offer CMC beyond the email or instant messaging capabilities more typically available for faculty collaborations. Video conferencing, for example, may be a richer medium to sustain collaborations. Thus the project has multiple goals: to demonstrate how computer-mediated communication aids research and industry collaborations; to demonstrate how diverse, multi-university research collaborations improve the quality and diffusion of knowledge to both academic and industry audiences; to examine the interaction between computer-mediated communication and diverse research collaborations, where diverse, multi university collaborations should benefit more from CMC and diffuse more broadly. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Beckman, Christine University of California-Irvine CA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 79012 5761 OTHR 0000 0332054 October 1, 2003 Collaborative Reserach Proposal for a Friction Stir Processing Industry/University Cooperative Reseach Center. This award is for a planning grant for the establishment of a new multi-institutional Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Friction Stir Processing. Nationally and internationally recognized leaders in the research and development of this novel metals joining and processing technology are located at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Brigham Young University, the University of Missouri-Rolla and the University of South Carolina, bringing together these institutions to establish the Friction Stir Processing I/UCRC. The proposed Friction Stir Processing I/UCRC will focus on furthering developments in the following fields of study for Friction Stir Processing/Friction Stir Joining of ferrous, non-ferrous, and metal matrix composite alloys: Friction Stir Joining; Friction Stir Microstructural Modification; Friction Stir Post-Processing; Friction Stir Structural Designs and Applications; Friction Stir Intelligent Controllers and Efficient Tooling; Friction Stir Cost Benefit Analysis. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Nelson, Tracy Brigham Young University UT Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0332055 September 1, 2003 Establishing an Industrial/University Cooperative Research Center for Micro and Nanoscale Contaminant Control at the University of Arizona. The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Microcontaminiaiton Control will expand and change its focus by transferring the lead university role to Northeastern University with the University of Arizona becoming an affiliate site. The Center's goal is to develop state of the art techniques primarily for micro and nanoscale contaminant control, removal and characterization in semiconductor manufacturing and fabrication processes. However, the broader impact of the Center focus will contribute to the competitiveness of the semiconductor, information technology, pharmaceutical, imaging, aerospace and other industries affected by particulate and ionic contamination. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Parks, Harold University of Arizona AZ Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 90000 5761 OTHR 0000 0332271 August 15, 2003 NCSU TIE: Wireless Sensor Networks for Structural Health Monitoring of Buildings and Bridges. Bridges and concrete structures are subject to ageing and obsolescence and may be considered as the most vulnerable elements of the infrastructure as their condition of out-of-service causes great losses in terms of costs, both for the users and for road owners and operators. Special attention is therefore focused on maintaining them in a serviceable condition. This research is directed toward bettering the state-of-the-art in structural health monitoring of bridges and other similar structure. The research is broad in two parts. The first part addresses sensing/data interpretation, the second part addresses the transfer of data from sensors to the location where interpretation occurs. This project ties together the expertise in the first part provided by the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for the Repair of Buildings Bridges and Composites and the networking expertise provided by the I/UCRC for Advanced Computing and Communication. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Kekas, Dennis Mihail Sichitiu Rudra Dutta North Carolina State University NC Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 5761 OTHR 0000 0332277 August 15, 2003 NCSU TIE :Wireless Sensor Networks for Structural Health Monitering of Bridges. Bridges and concrete structures are subject to ageing and obsolescence and may be considered as the most vulnerable elements of the infrastructure as their condition of out-of-service causes great losses in terms of costs, both for the users and for road owners and operators. Special attention is therefore focused on maintaining them in a serviceable condition. This research is directed toward bettering the state-of-the-art in structural health monitoring of bridges and other similar structure. The research is broad in two parts. The first part addresses sensing/data interpretation, the second part addresses the transfer of data from sensors to the location where interpretation occurs. This project ties together the expertise in the first part provided by the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for the Repair of Buildings Bridges and Composites and the networking expertise provided by the I/UCRC for Advanced Computing and Communication. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Rizkalla, Sami North Carolina State University NC Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 5761 OTHR 0000 0332330 July 15, 2003 Collaborative Project Between MCEC and CPACT: Experimental Batch Control and Optimization. East Carolina University is establishing an international collaboration with the Center for Process Analytics and Control Technology (CPACT) on a currently funded Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Measurement and Control Engineering. This project, "Experimental Batch Optimization", research software being developed at Oklahoma State University will be implemented at East Carolina University where it will receive in-situ spectroscopic measurement and process measurements from up to four micro-scale (50 mL) laboratory batch reactor. Funds will be used to support one undergraduate student to spend an extended stay of 2 months per year at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland. WESTERN EUROPE PROGRAM IIP ENG Gemperline, Paul East Carolina University NC Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 31900 5980 OTHR 5946 0000 0332378 September 1, 2003 The Development of an Innovation Information Infrastructure. 0332378 Nichols This award is to University of Missouri Kansas City to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include University of Missouri Kansas City (Lead Institution), University of Missouri Outreach and Extension, University of Missouri Rolla, Washington University, Missouri Department of Agriculture, Missouri Department of Economic Development, U.S. Small Business Administration, Missouri Small Business Development Centers, Boeing Company, Prolog Ventures, Wilkinson Evans Consulting; Missouri Biotechnology Association, Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute, Ewing Marion Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. The University of Missouri and its partners provide a solid critique of the conventional, linear model of technological innovation and suggest an alternative social network model for study. The hypothesis states that within the social network theory, innovation is an outcome of interaction between financial, human, social, and physical capital. Within this framework, the effort examines the role of social capital in the process of technological innovation. The investigators will create an electronic 'innovation information infrastructure' that will provide access to technology and business resources, and to then monitor interactions and conduct surveys of participants to measure the relationship between types and levels of interaction and innovation. A tool for predicting innovative behavior and the inputs to maximize innovation will be a major outcome. This model will also create the means for development of educational materials, databases and training focused on the innovation process. This program provides a linkage between creativity and new sources of economic growth. Findings will be used in real time to improve access to innovation resources and to generate new knowledge concerning the role of social capital in innovation. Potential Economic Impact The database and predictive model will improve the ability of universities to interact with industry and small businesses to increase innovation in the region. The resulting new business will provide long-term economic well-being for the region. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in developing a model for prediction of successful innovative behavior by all of the partners, i.e., universities, small businesses, venture capital funds, incubators, and regional and state government agencies. Economically distressed communities do not fully benefit from the activities of the national research enterprise and they often do not have the expertise to know how to promote innovation. This model and analytical tool can be adopted by other regions in the nation to promote innovation. The broader impacts of the activity include the development of research-based educational materials and databases for K-16 digital libraries, partnerships among researchers and students for education and training and use of information technology and connectivity to enhance the factors responsible for innovation. Identifying the individuals critical to the region's innovation will allow the engagement of underserved individuals, groups and communities in science and engineering. The model will demonstrate the linkage between discovery and the societal benefits of creation of new wealth. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Nichols, Michael Stephen Lehmkuhle Arlan DeKock Michael Song University of Missouri-Kansas City MO Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0332461 November 1, 2003 Innovative Ventures for Emerging Technologies in Rural North Louisiana. 0332461 Guice This award is to the Louisiana Tech University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include the Louisiana Tech (Lead Institution), A.M. Pappas and Associates, Louisiana Board of Regents, Louisiana Department of Economic Development, Louisiana Partnerships for Technology and Innovation, Microtec Associates, VCE Capital Partners, LLC. This project fosters innovation as a catalyst for innovations in emerging technologies, such as microsystems and bionanosystems, to be deployed in new business ventures in North Louisiana. The project exploits technologies produced from the research programs of the university's Institute for Micromanufacturing and other science and engineering research centers. Coordination is provided by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Information Technology, which is a state-funded partnership between the College of Engineering and Science and the College of Administration and Business. One of the major activities is to develop and commercialize the intellectual property in the region to create economic and societal well-being. Potential Economic Impact The region is primarily rural with a focus on agriculture, forest products, chemical processing, manufacturing, and transportation. The number of technology-based companies is small. The cultivation of entrepreneurship among the faculty, students, and business communities will create new companies and provide a technologically literate workforce based on commercialization of intellectual property from the university's research and on workforce education and training programs. The effort will be self-sustaining. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in the creation, transfer and application of emerging technologies and novel education and training of the technologically literate workforce through collaboration of the College of Engineering and Science and the College of Management and Business with the regional companies and the state and regional governments. The broader impacts of the activity include integrating high school students with undergraduate and graduate college students, creating a model for technological innovation for rural regions, and integrating engineering and science with business and management for education of the workforce. Underrepresented groups are involved in the research and workforce development programs. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Guice, Leslie Kody Varahramyan Michael McShane Marc Chopin Donald Noble Louisiana Tech University LA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 599937 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0332508 August 1, 2003 Collaborative Research: Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for e-Design: IT Enabled Design and Realization of Engineered Products and Systems. The University of Pittsburgh and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have joined to establish an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for e-Design and Realization of Engineered Products and Systems. The Center will serve as a center of excellence in IT enabled design and realization of discrete manufactured products by envisioning that information is the lifeblood of an enterprise and collaboration is the hallmark that seamlessly integrated design, development, testing, manufacturing, and servicing of products around the world. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS ENGINEERING DESIGN AND INNOVAT IIP ENG Krishnamurty, Sundar Ian Grosse University of Massachusetts Amherst MA Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 412000 5761 1464 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 122E 114E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0332522 August 1, 2003 Collaborative Research: Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for e-Design: IT Enabled Design and Realization of Engineered Products and Systems. The University of Pittsburgh and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have joined to establish an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for e-Design and Realization of Engineered Products and Systems. The Center will serve as a center of excellence in IT enabled design and realization of discrete manufactured products by envisioning that information is the lifeblood of an enterprise and collaboration is the hallmark that seamlessly integrated design, development, testing, manufacturing, and servicing of products around the world. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Lovell, Michael University of Pittsburgh PA Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 465680 V106 5761 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 122E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0332528 October 1, 2003 Maryland Technology Partnership for Innovation. 0332528 DeLoatch This award is to Morgan State University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include Morgan State University (Lead Institution), Emerging Technology Center, Maryland Technology Development Corporation, Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation, Chesapeake Bay Region Technical Center of Excellence, Geo-Centers Incorporated, University of Baltimore Center for Technology Commercialization, University of Maryland, Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. Meridian Management Group, New Market Growth Fund, Toucan Capital Corporation. The primary objective of this partnership is to apply the techniques honed by Maryland's industry-university technology transfer infrastructure to the challenge of transferring knowledge created by the State's federal laboratories into innovations that create new wealth and build strong local economies. The primary social impact of this effort is to broaden the participation of underrepresented institutions and groups in the nation's economy. The Maryland Technology Partnership for Innovation consists of a consortium (led by Morgan State University) that focuses on small companies in three economically distressed regions of the State of Maryland: the City of Baltimore (distressed urban area), Prince George's County (inner suburb with high minority population), and the Eastern Shore (depressed rural region). More than 20 companies will be provided with intensive, customized technical and managerial assistance to implement commercialization strategies that create new products from federal technologies, attract private capital, and create jobs in economically distressed communities. Potential Economic Impact Maryland has more federal R&D laboratories than any other state (more than $6 billion annually in intramural research), yet Maryland has many economically distressed regions. The activities of this award focus on providing the infrastructure to commercialize new technologies from the federal R&D in these laboratories to improve the economic well being of three model regions hat are economically distressed: city, suburban, and rural. University involvement provides technical and business/management expertise to make the new companies competitive. The economic development activities of the private sector and state/regional governments provide a more favorable business climate as well as technical and managerial expertise. New jobs in regions with high population of underrepresented groups will result. The management plan is sufficient to give the infrastructure a very high probability of being sustained after the award has terminated. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in developing a model for commercialization of technology developed in federal laboratories via partnership with universities, small businesses, venture capital funds, incubators, and regional and state government agencies. Economically distressed communities do not fully benefit from the activities of the national research enterprise. States typically do not deploy their technology development programs in economically distressed communities. Thus this is a fairly novel approach. The broader impacts of the activity concentrate on involving underrepresented groups in the innovation enterprise. This grant is led by Morgan State University (a Historically Black University) and involves an urban and a suburban region with high percentages of underrepresented minorities, as well as a rural region that is economically distressed and underrepresented in the technology innovation enterprise. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG DeLoatch, Eugene LeeRoy Bronner Lawrence Herron, Jr. Phillip Singerman Morgan State University MD Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0332532 September 1, 2003 Eastern Virginia Biotechnology Training Partnership. 0332532 Wasilenko This award is to the Eastern Virginia Medical School to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include the Eastern Virginia Medical School (Lead Institution), Hampton University, Bode Technology Group, Hampton Roads Research Partnership, InCell, Incogen, Inc., NuOncology Labs, Inc., Opportunity, Inc., The Virginia Biotechnology Association, and The Center for Innovative Technologies, This project meets the need nationwide for a workforce in biotechnology with expertise in genomics, proteomics, microarrays, and bioinformatics. The overall goal of the effort is to foster innovation in biotechnology through creation of a workforce highly trained in state-of-the-art technologies that support research and development in the biotechnology sector. The program combines didactic and hands-on biotechnology training designed to qualify graduates for employment in a wide variety of fields including biotechnology/pharmaceuticals and forensics. Potential Economic Impact The new jobs and workers to fill those jobs will make a major impact on the economy of the region in Eastern Virginia. The effort will be self-sustaining. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in teaching students in the latest state-of-the-art in biotechnology to prepare them for a career in this field that is rapidly advancing to keep pace with the enormous amount of research and development in this field. This effort is based on the complete integration of research and education. The broader impacts of the activity include development of the human capital that will foster the growing needs of the biotechnology sector. The program provides the infrastructure to integrate research and education to ensure that the workforce is up to date with the latest knowledge, experimental techniques and tools in this rapidly evolving field. Involvement with SBIR companies provides new jobs for the workforce. The program will serve as a model for other regions seeking to promote innovation in biotechnology. Underrepresented groups are involved in the research and workforce development programs. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Wasilenko, William Timothy Bos Evan Farmer Eastern Virginia Medical School VA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0332583 October 1, 2003 Partnership for Innovation: Economic Excellence in Photonic Materials. 0332583 Ballato This award is to Clemson University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include Clemson University (Lead Institution), University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Western Carolina University, Greenville Technical College, TriCounty Technical College, Alcoa-Fujikura, Bell South, Cisco Systems, Kigre, Pirelli Communications Cables and Systems North America, Tetramer Technologies, Carolina Crescent Coalition, Greenville Chamber of Commerce, Optical Society of America, Upstate Alliance, Upstate Council on Economic Development, and Ottawa Photonics Cluster. The goal of this project is to develop and grow the photonics industry in South Carolina by: (1) developing an expert workforce, (2) improving transfer of academic innovation to industry, and (3) providing enhanced entrepreneurial resources to support the industry. The project is designed to promote transfer of new technology from university to the photonics industry, to develop a workforce to meet the needs of the emerging industry, to promote inclusion of underrepresented populations in the high tech industry, and to have a sustained impact on the local economy. Potential Economic Impact The economic fortunes of South Carolina have been tied to agriculture and textiles for many years. Automation in agriculture and globalization of the textiles industry have depressed employment opportunities and suppressed economic growth for the citizens of the state. The award fosters development of a skilled workforce in photonics and provides transfer of new knowledge based on research at the universities to companies to create jobs for the workforce. The subsequent economic well being will be a major outcome of the activities of the award. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in its focus on establishing an extended regional partnership including researchers, educators, industrial partners, economic development groups, and entrepreneurs that can help South Carolina create the innovation infrastructure needed to realize economic benefits from the photonics research already being performed at Clemson University and the other partner institutions. The broader impacts of the activity include increasing the content of science, engineering, and business in the education of students at all levels from K-12, 2-year, 4-year, and post-graduate schools in the region, as well as raising the wages in the region by creating higher paying high tech jobs in the emerging photonics sector. Underrepresented groups will participate in all levels of the program. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Ballato, John Christian Przirembel Caron St. John Clemson University SC Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 599733 9150 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0332594 August 1, 2003 Initiating and Sustaining Industrial Renaissance through Innovative Partnerships (ISIRP). 0332594 Benefield This award is to Auburn University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include Auburn University (Lead Institution), Wayne State University, NASA, Alabama Power Company, Alabama Development Office, City of Auburn, Bessemer Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery Chamber of Commerce, Renascens Company, Resource Innovations, United States Steel Corporation, Golden Flake Snack Food Company, Southern Sales & Marketing Group, BOWATER Company, Capitol Vial, GTI, McPherson Oil Products, Southern Ductile, American Cast Iron Pipe Company, Barber's Dairies, Citation Foam Casting Company, Foundry Coatings, Haldex Friction, Jenkins Brick, Mason Corporation, Neptune Technology Group, Riverside Refractories, Sloss Industries, SMC South, Southern Foundry Products, Southern Foundry Resins, Specialty Wood Products, Teksid Aluminum Components, U.S. Pipe, Vulcan Materials, and Wayne Industries. The primary objective of this partnership is to facilitate the transformation of knowledge into innovations that will create new wealth and strengthen the regional economy in the area. A Knowledge Sharing System based on the latest information technology will be developed to expedite technology transfer. Students, faculty, and county technology outreach agents will use this new system to transfer knowledge from academic and federal research laboratories to regional industry in a systematic and efficacious manner. A diverse technologically literate workforce will be trained in modern manufacturing technologies and processes. Educational outreach in the form of short courses will be available to keep industrial partners at the state-of-the-art in manufacturing. Potential Economic Impact Alabama has lost over 48,000 jobs from over 273 plant layoffs and closings since 1998. The state has a very poor record of technology transfer and commercialization, especially for manufacturing companies. The state sees diversified manufacturing as being very significant in their economic future. The proposed effort of knowledge transfer, workforce education and training, and establishment of a strong enabling infrastructure for sustainable innovation will provide jobs and a workforce to perform those jobs. This will result in economic and societal well being in the state. The effort will improve the competitiveness of the existing manufacturing sector and bring new manufacturing companies into the state. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in advances in knowledge through fundamental research in engineering in general and manufacturing in particular and in establishing a model for technology transfer and industrial outreach. The broader impacts of the activity include educational diversity, educational outreach to industry, and regional economic development to ensure long-term sustainability of economic and societal well-being. Underrepresented groups will be represented in the activities of the award. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Benefield, Larry P. Raju Evelyn Crayton Auburn University AL Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0332608 September 15, 2003 Bridging the Technology Gap: A Culture-Based Model for Economic Development in Rural Alaska. 0332608 Dinero This award is to Philadelphia University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include Philadelphia University (Lead Institution), University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Anchorage, (Yukon Flats School District, Yukon Koyukuk) School District, Arctic Village Local Council, Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments, Nulato City Council, Doyon Ltd, First Alaska Management and Marketing, GCI.net, and The Numi Group. The primary objective of this award is to transfer technology training within existing cultural frameworks of two rural regions of Alaska Yukon Flats and Yukon Koyukuk by creating a computer skills, small business, and e-commerce learning model. This model will broaden participation of existing educational institutions and businesses by incorporating grade 9-16 competences and workplace skills in a sequential educational path from secondary to post-secondary leading to workforce credentials. The project will catalyze local, regional, and statewide native infrastructures to develop e-commerce ventures to stimulate village cash economy, codify traditional culture to support regional business ventures, and provide venues to apply and increase technology skills. This model will demonstrate how information technologies can be incorporated into indigenous environments to enhance and strengthen traditional social and economic structures rather than supplant them. Activities include: developing intergenerational culturally-based computer training modules, training villagers to replicate modules in other sites, creating state- of- the art computer centers, and introducing small e- commerce businesses for native economic growth. Potential Economic Impact Alaska is a unique state. It is vast in size, 586,000 square miles; and its population of less that 700,000 is diverse and dispersed, nearly a fifth of its population is Native and 33 percent of the state's population live in rural areas that are off the road. The Information Technology revolution provides an ideal opportunity for former nomads to participate effectively in the global economy. Neither agrarianism nor industrialization suited the mobile life style of many indigenous peoples in the U.S. and around the world. But Information Technology systems, like nomads, have virtually no geographic or temporal boundaries. This partnership project proposes to forge connections between the new knowledge available in academe and the expertise of the private sector to enable rural Alaska Natives to participate regionally, nationally and internationally in an economic development enterprise. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in developing a model for technology education that is consistent with native cultural and spiritual traditions. Traditional approaches have been based on western modes of teaching and learning. The broader impacts of the activity concentrate on involving underrepresented groups in the innovation enterprise by providing educational modules and technology tools that are totally consistent with the spiritual and cultural traditions of the Native Alaskans, and provide e-commerce economic opportunities for this indigenous society. The model will be replicable for other indigenous societies. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Dinero, Steven Judith McKee Philadelphia University PA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 595512 1662 OTHR 0000 0332613 August 1, 2003 InfinitEnergy: A Coastal Georgia Partnership for Innovation. 0332613 Chameau This award is to Georgia Tech Research Corporation to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include Georgia Institute of Technology (Lead Institution), Georgia Tech Economic Development Institute, Savannah State University, Savannah Technical College, Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools, Advanced Control Systems, Advanced Technology Development Center, AGL Resources, Coastal Business and Education Technology Alliance, Energy and Environmental Enterprises, Georgia Department of Industry Trade and Tourism. This award establishes a full scale applied demonstration and evaluation laboratory or Beta site for Alternative Energy Technologies. The laboratory is located in the coastal Georgia region, which provides the resources necessary to demonstrate and evaluate a number of alternative energies. The activity provides a mechanism for technology transfer from academia to society. It spreads knowledge from one leading research institution (Georgia Tech) to other academic institutions (Savannah State University, Savannah Technical College, and the public school system). It partners with industry to apply the technology in real world environment. Industry partners will ensure that successful projects in this effort will achieve national and international attention and transition to society rapidly. The partnership ensures a broader dissemination of knowledge, and the connections in Africa and South America provide further outreach into the economically deprived regions of the world. Information on alternative energy technology will be disseminated through job training, coursework, and public outreach. Research and development activities will be integrated with education and training. Curricula will be available nationally. Minorities will be targeted for education and training. A regional alternative energy center is likely to spur job creation, and the educational component will provide a technologically literate workforce for those jobs. Development of clean, renewable energy will benefit society at large. Potential Economic Impact Current energy production and usage are emitting high levels of harmful pollutants. World oil reserves are typically found in regions that are threatened by political considerations. World oil supplies are projected to peak by 2020. U.S. oil production is projected to decline while U.S. consumption is projected to increase considerably. The proponents for alternative energy sources predict a large market in manufacturing alternative energies technology. In addition alternative energies will create new job opportunities. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in its focus on much needed advancements in applied alternative energy technology systems. Research efforts have led to considerable reductions in costs of various alternative energy forms. Cost reductions alone are not sufficient to result in widespread adoption of the technologies. An integrated and combined approach is being taken to provide systems that maximize energy utilization that is acceptable to a wide spectrum of the U.S. economy and society. The approach requires innovation at every level of the alternative energy value chain, including public awareness and workforce education and training. The broader impacts of the activity include improving technical workforce skills, improving public awareness and acceptance through community programs and demonstration programs, development of knowledge-based curricula for university through secondary school levels, economic development, and knowledge and technology transfer for commercialization. Underrepresented groups will be involved in all of the activities of the grant. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Frost, J. David Carlton Brown David Parekh Carlise Rathburn GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 641085 1662 OTHR 0000 0332614 July 15, 2003 North Louisiana Partnership for Innovation: Creating Infrastructure for Technology Growth. 0332614 Scheffler This award is to Northwestern State University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include Northwestern State University (Lead Institution), Consortium for Education, Research, and Technology of North Louisiana (Bossier Parish Community College, Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana, Centenary College of Louisiana, Grambling State University, Louisiana Delta Community College, Louisiana State University Health Sciences in Shreveport, Louisiana State University in Shreveport, Louisiana Tech University, Louisiana Technical College, Northwest State University, Southern University in Shreveport, University of Louisiana at Monroe), Louisiana Board of Regents, Louisiana Department of Economic Development, Enterprise Computing Systems, Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, InterTech Science Park, Natchitoches Economic Development Commission, Praeses Corporation, Softdisc, SeriFx The primary objective of this partnership is to facilitate the transformation of knowledge into innovations that will create new wealth and strengthen the regional economy in the area. University partners provide the research and development and the technologically literate workforce, and the company partners provide the manufacturing and commercialization. The academic partners actively identify needs of the industrial partners in both technology and workforce and match research and educational programs at the eleven academic institutions in a coordinated manner to these needs. Potential Economic Impact Louisiana ranks very low nationally in technology-based innovation. The state has recognized this and is mounting a concerted effort to change this as stated in the Louisiana Vision 2020. The university consortium is poised to provide knowledge through the combined research of its members to the regional private sector to promote technology-based innovation. In addition the academic consortium covers the entire spectrum of education and training for a technologically literate workforce. The proposed effort of knowledge transfer, workforce education and training, and establishment of a strong enabling infrastructure for sustainable innovation will provide jobs and a workforce to perform those jobs will result in economic and societal well being in the state. The partners have committed a very large sum to this effort. The management plan is sufficient to give the infrastructure a very high probability of being sustained after the award has terminated. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in creating the web-based informational infrastructure and organizational skills to coordinate the needs of the industry in the region with the research and education of the combined academic institutions in the consortium. The resources of the state government and the regional Chambers of Commerce are all pledged to promote the activities with funds and agency skills and labor. The broader impacts of the activity include educational diversity, educational outreach to industry, and regional economic development to ensure long-term sustainability of economic and societal well being. Underrepresented groups will participate in the activities of the award. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Sisson, Paul Leslie Guice Steven Conrad Joseph Orban Northwestern State University Louisiana LA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 599474 9150 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0332690 August 15, 2003 TALPA: Technology Applications and Learning for Professional Achievement. 0332690 Schroeder This award is to University of Alaska Anchorage to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include University of Alaska Anchorage (Lead Institution), University of Hawaii Manoa, University of Washington, Alaska Technical Center, Halau Ku Mana High School, Kotzebue High School, Mt. Edgecumbe High School, Northwest Arctic Borough School District, Wellpinit High School, White Swan High School, Confederated Bands and Tribes of the Yakama Nation, Hewlett-Packard, NANA/Colt Engineering, NANA/Dowl Engineering, Siemens Building Technologies, and Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. This project seeks to connect remote regions of Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington to college curriculum in mathematics and science via modern state-of-the-art computer laboratories and distance learning and to maintain a program at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, University of Washington, and University of Hawaii to foster and retain the students in science and engineering curricula. The team of educators, Native organizations, engineering firms, contractors and research laboratories is working to provide opportunities for Indigenous Americans to put young people on career paths to leadership in industry and academia. The program is a pipeline for students from rural communities to universities and industry partners ready to hire them upon graduation. The program will engage 325 students in five years. The partners have committed approximately $5 million through 2006 to support the activity. This program can be replicated for other regions and indigenous societies in America. Potential Economic Impact The intellectual merit of the activity lies in establishment of state-of-the-art computer laboratories in very remote locations, working with local indigenous high school systems to establish the science and mathematics curriculum to prepare the students for college, training the local teachers to use the computer systems and tutor the students, and collaborating with industrial partners who provide equipment, scholarships and job opportunities for the students when they graduate from college. The program brings computer technology to remote communities, provides high school students with a vision of a career in science and engineering, connects students with professionals in industry and academia, provides industrial partners with a technologically trained workforce, and develops the enabling infrastructure necessary to sustain the effort long term. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Schroeder, Herb Robert Lang University of Alaska Anchorage Campus AK Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0332696 July 15, 2003 Innovation Networks for Collaborative Product Development in the Wisconsin Plastics Industry Cluster. 0332696 Veeramani This award is to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Lead Institution), University of Wisconsin- Stout, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Phillips Plastics, Serigraph, Flambeau Corporation, Teel Plastics, Bemis Manufacturing, Georgia Pacific, Kelch Corporation, Engineering Industries, Kaysun Corporation, Simtec-USDA Forest Products Laboratory, University of Wisconsin- Extension Small Business Development Centers, Eau Claire/Chippewa Falls Economic Development Association, Office of the Governor of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Wisconsin Technology Council, and Forward Wisconsin. This project fosters innovation-driven sustainable economic growth in Wisconsin's plastics cluster by (1) catalyzing innovation through knowledge creation, technology transfer, application of emerging and novel methods and tools for polymer engineering and polymer processing, and commercialization by the industry partners, (2) building human capital through workforce education and training to provide expertise in innovative polymer materials, engineering, and processing to industry, and (3) enhancing enabling infrastructure for networking, collaboration, and entrepreneurship to catalyze innovation. Potential Economic Impact The plastics industry is one of the few industries in which the United States still holds a strong leadership in the global market. However, the threats of global competition are very real as companies are increasingly outsourcing to foreign companies where manufacturing is far cheaper owing to lower labor and materials costs as well as fewer regulatory constraints. Manufacturing accounts for 23% of the jobs in Wisconsin. The only means to improve and maintain the United States' competitive position is through innovation. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in the creation, transfer and application of emerging materials, tools and technologies that lead to the development of new plastics and processes having superior characteristics and economic potential for commercialization. The broader impacts of the activity include a scientifically and technologically literate and diverse workforce prepared to capitalize on this new knowledge to drive innovation and productivity growth, plus an infrastructure that enables innovation through networking, collaboration and entrepreneurship in Wisconsin's plastics industry. Underrepresented groups are involved in the research and workforce development programs. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Veeramani, Dharmaraj Tim Osswald Paul Peercy Lih-Sheng Turng Lawrence Casper University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600001 1662 OTHR 0000 0332714 August 15, 2003 Peoria NEXT: Creating and Sustaining Research, Innovation, and Commercialization in Central Illinois. 0332714 Liberty This award is to Bradley University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include Bradley University (Lead Institution), This project stresses leveraging the intellectual capital of the region to create and nurture interdisciplinary and inter-institutional research and development leading to commercialization, education and training for the underemployed and under-trained workforce in the region, and development of models to manage intellectual property. Potential Economic Impact Historically the economy of the region has been based on agriculture and manufacturing of heavy equipment, which are waning. The growth of the economy has lagged the rest of the state of Illinois and the nation. The region possesses potential to exploit the research at the regional academic institutions and to create a well-educated, technologically-literate workforce. These activities will transform the economy, create new jobs and provide people to fill the job opportunities. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in development of a multi-county R&D partnership for a knowledge-based economy to provide greater innovation and commercialization development projects in central Illinois. This effort strengthens the focus on knowledge-based employment and moves away from the region's traditional employment sectors of agriculture and mechanical based economies. The activity includes development of complex models for intellectual property management. The effort will lead to a knowledge-based economy in support of innovation, science and engineering-based commercialization and development of small businesses. Inclusion of a large urban school district and regional government agencies will involve groups traditionally underrepresented in science and technology. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Bolla, Robert Kelly McConnaughay Richard Lister Bradley University IL Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0332723 August 15, 2003 A Center for Product and Process Development and Commercialization for Small U.S. Manufacturers. 0332723 Hoberock This award is to Oklahoma State University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include Oklahoma State University (Lead Institution), Oklahoma Alliance for Manufacturing Excellence, Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center, Langston University, Southwest Oklahoma State University, Meridian Technology Center, Klutts Equipment Corporation, Unibridge Corporation, and Bermuda King. The primary objective of this partnership is to facilitate the transformation of knowledge into innovations that will create new wealth and strengthen the regional economy in the area. University partners provide the research and development and the technologically literate workforce and the company partners provide the manufacturing and commercialization. Collaborative product development by the partners is one of the major focuses for the award. The Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center is the location where faculty, students and industry partners go from product conception to prototype development to manufacturing engineering to manufacturing and commercialization. Potential Economic Impact Oklahoma has a very large number of small rural manufacturing firms that cannot afford the research and development, state-of-the-art rapid prototyping, and manufacturing engineering needed to remain competitive in the global marketplace. The university collaboration provides this capability and a technologically literate workforce that has learned to work with small manufacturers. Oklahoma sees its economic future tied to manufacturing in the rural areas. The proposed effort of knowledge transfer, workforce education and training, and establishment of a strong enabling infrastructure for sustainable innovation will provide jobs and a workforce to perform those jobs will result in economic and societal well being in the state. The effort will improve the competitiveness of the existing manufacturing sector and bring new manufacturing companies into the state. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in advances in knowledge through fundamental research in engineering in general and manufacturing in particular and in providing a more industrially-relevant educational experience for the students through working with the small manufacturers from product conception through design and prototyping to manufacturing engineering. The broader impacts of the activity include educational diversity, educational outreach to industry, and regional economic development to ensure long-term sustainability of economic and societal well being. Underrepresented groups will participate in the activities of the award. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Hoberock, Lawrence Karl Reid Robert Whitson Daniel Tilley Oklahoma State University OK Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 9150 1662 OTHR 9150 0000 0332749 August 1, 2003 Partnerships for Innovative Bioscience Entrepreneurs. 0332749 Scanlon This award is to Keck Graduate Institute to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include Keck Graduate Institute (Lead Institution), Sprout Group, Axiom Venture Partners, Sears Capital Management, Business Technology Center of the Los Angeles County Community Development Commission, and Southern California Biomedical Council. The primary objective of this award is to form a unique industry/academic/government partnership to incubate innovative bioscience ideas from entrepreneurs with the venture capital community to create new products/business enterprises. Innovative ideas are solicited from the Keck Graduate Institute, other local universities, and entrepreneurs from the business community. Business/management expertise is provided by Keck's school of management. The venture capitalists collaborate with entrepreneurs to validate their ideas and provide funds and expertise to grow the businesses. Thee local and regional government agencies help disseminate the ideas/technologies to the biomedical and pharmaceutical business communities. In addition, workforce education and training programs at the lead institution will provide the workforce to support the new and emerging companies. Long-term sustainability is a key component of the program. Potential Economic Impact The long-term goal is to enable these new companies grow over a long period by providing financial, technical and managerial support to create economic well being and new jobs in the region. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in providing a source of new knowledge in the biotechnology area and partner it with managerial/business knowledge and venture funding to create new biotechnology, biomedicine, and pharmaceutical companies. The broader impacts of the activity concentrate on creating a new student generation from the underrepresented population with Masters in Bioscience degree and stimulating new economic growth by transforming bioscience ideas into products and services that are beneficial for the economy and the public. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Finegold, David T. Dewey Keck Graduate Institute CA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0333046 July 1, 2003 Connection One: Telecommunication Circuits & Systems (I/UCRC). The University of Arizona joins Arizona State University in the multi-university Industry/University Cooperative Research Center named Connection One: Telecommunication Circuits and Systems. This center has the potential to have a significant impact on the broader telecommunication industry, which has become an essential element of the national economy. Because of the increasingly multidisciplinary nature of telecommunication research projects, an integrated research effort that brings together researchers from a number of technical areas is essential for achieving significant technological advances. Connection One provides a collaborative environment that will facilitate this research effort. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Krunz, Marwan University of Arizona AZ Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 250000 5761 OTHR 0000 0334891 October 1, 2003 I/UCRC: Center for NDE Renewal. The Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) at Iowa State University was originally formed with the objectives of pursuing research in NDE problems of interest to industrial sponsors; increasing the base of students with expertise in NDE engineering; and establishing a focal point for NDE technology transfer. In response to the changing needs of society, these have been significantly extended to address new issues of system integration and other societal measurement needs. The new goals include enabling the integration of NDE with manufacturing and life-cycle planning of modern structural systems, leading the international development of advanced NDE capabilities, and applying core measurement expertise to nonstructural material applications. IUCRC FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Thompson, R. Bruce Iowa State University IA Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 565760 7609 5761 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 122E 116E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0335622 October 1, 2003 Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Experimental Research in Computer Systems (I/UCRC ERCS). An Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) will be established at the Georgia Institute of Technology, called the I/UCRC for Experimental Research in Computer Systems (ERCS). The I/UCRC is committed to fostering interdisciplinary research and establishing a culture of experimental research reaching out to local and national industry, to encourage participation and contribute to the regional and national economics through the availability of intellectual talent and emerging technologies. Operationally ERCS will create, develop, and evaluate hardware/software systems, in the context of realistic end user applications, for platforms ranging from embedded/real-time devices, to parallel/cluster systems, to the Internet and facilitate the construction and management of such systems by creating new principles, algorithms and techniques, software tools and mechanisms. UNDISTRIBUTED PANEL/IPA FUNDS COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS TRUSTED COMPUTING GRANT OPP FOR ACAD LIA W/INDUS IIP ENG Schwan, Karsten Douglas Blough Calton Pu Sudhakar Yalamanchili GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 605782 9199 7298 5761 2802 1504 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 5977 5913 122E 116E 114E 1049 0000 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0342240 September 1, 2003 I/UCRC Proposal from Rutgers University to Join the Purdue/UConn/Minnesota/Puerto Rico Center for Pharmaceutical Processing. This planning grant is for Rutgers University to become a research site for the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Pharmaceutical Processing Research. Rutgers will add significant intellectual content to the existing center. The projects focus on understanding granular constitutive behavior for flow and segregation, and on developing a technology platform for pharmaceutical manufacturing, based on continuous manufacturing, that is both more controllable and more flexible than current batch approaches used in the industry. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Muzzio, Fernando Benjamin Glasser Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 10000 5761 OTHR 0000 0349673 December 1, 2003 SBIR Phase II: High Performance Lead-Free Piezoelectric Ceramics. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project proposes to focus on the formation of grain-oriented (textured) lead-free piezoelectric and dielectric ceramics for various electroceramic and transducer applications. The overall objective of this project will be to produce lead-free ceramics with high piezoelectric performance, and demonstrate that these materials can be used in existing actuator/transducer designs, especially for applications currently using lead-based ceramics. The broader impacts will be the elimination of lead-based compositions, such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT), there are no commercially available lead-free compositions that possess comparable properties to PZT. Beyond the commercial effect, lead is known to be toxic, so commercial products containing lead present serious health and environmental hazards at both a local and global level. Therefore, there is a substantial need for a high performance, lead-free piezoelectric ceramic with properties comparable to lead-based compositions in order to sustain the growth of piezoelectric transducers and sensor market, while meeting the many environmental and health needs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sabolsky, Edward NEXTECH MATERIALS LTD OH Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 500000 5373 AMPP 9163 1774 0308000 Industrial Technology 9614913 September 1, 2000 SBIR Conference Support Contractor. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION PROG ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTERS ENGINEERING EDUCATION IIP ENG DelaBarre, D. DelaBarre & Associates, Inc. WA Kesh S. Narayanan Contract 1841030 Z408 Y813 Y350 9150 5370 1480 1340 OTHR 9150 5370 1340 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 99 Other Sciences NEC 9960011 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Fabrication of Photonic Band Gap Structures Embedded in Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic for Millimeter Wave Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses development of a new material for microwave electronics. As microwave applications, including portable wireless devices, expand, and as digital integrated circuit speeds and clock rates increase to the millimeter wave (MMW) range, the need arises for a low-loss dimensionally stable dielectric with properties uniform over a broad range of frequencies and environmental conditions. The main challenge is to find a way of guiding MMW radiation through a dielectric substrate with minimal scattering losses, and of creating low-loss resonant cavities. Waveband Corporation proposes to develop a new technique to embed Photonic Band Gap Structures (PBSs) in ceramic substrates at an early stage of fabrication. The PBSs will reduce radiative losses in devices fabricated using the Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic On Metal technique, by preventing radiation leakage and by minimizing undesired scattering. The PBSs will be embedded in the ceramic using well-developed fabrication methods. The result will be improved performance, without an increase in the manufacturing costs. Moreover, a PBS will lead to totally new applications: frequency-band controlled filters, perfect channel-drop filters, point-defect resonant cavities, linear-defect 90 degree waveguide bends, waveguide intersections with low crosstalk, and other. The new material will be employed in high-volume production items for applications such as automotive electronics, medical electronics, as well as in a variety of portable wireless communication devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Eliyahu, Danny WAVEBAND CORPORATION CA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99986 5371 MANU 9165 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960017 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Growth of High Quality Optically Uniform CdGeAs2 Single Crystals by Horizontal Zone Melting. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop a novel technique for the growth of CdGeAs2 single crystals based on Horizontal Zone Melting (HZM). CdGeAs2 has outstanding optical nonlinear properties, making it the best material for laser harmonic generation and tunable sources in the infrared. However, CdGeAs2 crystals grown by Horizontal Gradient Freeze have substantial optically non-uniform areas, which limits their use. The smaller volume of the melt and the axial symmetry of the thermal field of the HZM technique are expected to produce crystals of improved compositional uniformity. This project proposes to develop a growth technique based on HZM and apply it to the growth of CdGeAs2. CdGeAs2 single crystals will be grown and their optical transmission will be improved by irradiation with fast electrons. The crystal uniformity will be characterized using x-ray, electrical and optical measurements. Finally, HZM grown CdGeAs2 crystals of uniform composition and quality will be evaluated in an optical parametric oscillator to demonstrate tunable infrared radiation from 4 to 11 um. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zwieback, Ilya INRAD, Inc. NJ Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99755 5371 MANU 9146 0522100 High Technology Materials 9960021 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Cryopreservation of Clam Larvae. Cryopreservation permits the storage of larvae of the clam Mercenaria mercenaria for extended periods with negligible losses. The objectives of this Phase I research are: (1) To determine the efficacy of selected cryoprotectants in preserving trochophore and veliger larvae, and (2) to assess effective freezing and thawing rates of cryopreserved clam larvae. Techniques previously employed in cryopreservation of oyster spermatozoa, larvae of marine mussels, nematodes, and sea urchins will be screened. Selected cryoprotectants and procedures will be applied to test survival and development competency of clam larvae. Effective cryopreservation methods will be further tested for applicability in commercial scale culture facilities. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Cheng, Thomas Atlantic LittleNeck ClamFarms SC Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 94760 9150 BIOT 9150 9117 1167 0521700 Marine Resources 9960024 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: ScenarioNet: Customizable Deep Information Extraction. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from Naftware, Inc. addresses the need for better information search methods. Recent advances in computational linguistics (event semantics) present opportunities for major productivity enhancements for American knowledge workers by enabling the development of ScenarioNet, which automatically learns to extract deep event information from text. A major deficiency in current information extraction (IE) systems is that training examples must be painstakingly annotated by human experts. In ScenarioNet, examples are automatically extracted, ranked, and kept or discarded in rapid user-feedback cycles, dramatically streamlining training the system for new or revised domains. To enable a 'deeper' level of event information extraction, ScenarioNet incorporates a statistical full parser, event models, event builder (with sub-event merging), relationship models (extracting multiple relationships from a single phrase or sentence), scenario models, and scenario builder (with event merging algorithms). For deep IE, events themselves must be placed in context of related events: ScenarioNet's hierarchical event and scenario models include representations of causal, temporal, and structural relationships. Event merging algorithms utilize coreference resolution techniques, including discourse-level and cross-document coreference, to recognize multiple elements of events and how events combine into scenarios. ScenarioNet eases cross-domain portability and enables deep event, relationship, and scenario information extraction. A robust, easily customizable event, relationship, and scenario information extraction system has strong commercial potential in such industries as defense, intelligence, insurance (review of applications and claims), healthcare, financial services, legal services, business intelligence gathering, all levels of government (review of applications and reports) and engineering (to keep up with new developments). Naftware's proffered technology, ScenarioNet, removes the barriers to wide commercialization of IE by cutting the customization effort (cross-domain portability) and by incorporating deeper semantics into its object-oriented extraction models and templates. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Palmer, Milton Naftware Inc. MD Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99994 5371 HPCC 9263 9216 1311 0000912 Computer Science 0522400 Information Systems 9960026 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A Compact High-Current Industrial Continuous Wave Electron Linear Accelerator (LINAC). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to design a new type of industrial continuous wave electron linear accelerator for electron-based irradiation in industrial, environmental, and medical applications. Our modular, cost effective, high-power accelerator is modular and can be made to produce an electron beam with energy between 0.6-6.0 MeV in 600 keV increments each with currents variable from 0 to 50 mA. In Phase I we will design, construct, and test our second section which will allow us to make 1.2 MeV/50 mA/60 kW output electron beams. The product of this work will be an optimized design that will be summarized in engineering drawings from which we can construct a prototype 4.8 MeV/50 mA/240 kW industrial CW electron LINAC in a Phase II follow-on grant for the cold pasteurization of red meat. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Alimov, Andrey World Physics Technologies, Inc. VA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 0206000 Telecommunications 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960029 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Phase Locking of High Power Fiber Laser Arrays. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I proposal introduces an innovative idea to generate a very high brightness laser beam from a clad-pumped multicore fiber laser array embedded in a common low loss cladding with a unique 'isometric' structure. In a very low-loss cladding region, very strong evanescent-wave coupling among the fiber cores can provide the highest modal gain for the fundamental supermode. A technique has been introduced to reliably manufacture the isometric multicore fiber arrays. A computer model has been developed to calculate the far-field radiation patterns emitting from multicore fiber laser arrays arranged in isometric rings. Results indicate that a high brightness, diffraction limited laser beam in the far-field with an amplitude 40dB greater than the side lobes, can be obtained from isometric multicore phase locked fiber laser array in uni-phase with a V-value of <2 and a core separation of 1.5 times the core diameter. However, the remaining issues that need to be addressed in Phase I, are the conditions under which a stable oscillation can be maintained in uni-phase. Under the Phase I-SBIR, four tasks have been identified for the purpose of determining quantitatively all laser parameters and operating conditions for the establishment of a stable laser oscillation at the fundamental supermode from a hase-locked, clad-pumped fiber laser array. The results of this Phase I are crucial for the Phase II follow-on to construct and demonstrate a phase-locked fiber laser array with a high degree of confidence. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cheo, Peter P C PHOTONICS CORPORATION CT Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99685 5371 AMPP 9165 0522100 High Technology Materials 9960030 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Dissolution of Full-Length Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a cost-effective technology to prepare full-length single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-l-SWNTs). These SWNTs will be soluble in common organic solvents by the exfoliation and noncovalent functionalization of SWNT ropes. We expect to develop a dissolution process that can be scaled up at low cost, thereby enabling commercial production of soluble full-length single-walled carbon nanotubes. All of the currently known full-length SWNTs are insoluble in organic solvents. While single-walled carbon nanotubes are recognized as the ultimate carbon fiber, the development of soluble full-length single-walled carbon nanotubes can provide the necessary processability for the preparation of homogeneous nanotube-based copolymers and polymer composites in the form of monoliths, fibers, films and coatings. The development of these nanostructured materials is expected to enable applications in high temperature, high strength and light-weight structural materials for aircraft and space vehicles; electromagnetic radiation shielding coatings for military aircraft and ships; antistatic coatings for automobile; organic thin film devices for micro-electronics and -optoelectronics; thin film lithium batteries for space. Soluble individual single-walled carbon nanotubes are versatile building blocks for functional nanostructures which may find important application in molecular electronics. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Itkis, Mikhail CARBON SOLUTIONS INC CA Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 99910 9150 MANU 9150 9148 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960040 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A Throughput Enhancer. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project derives, designs, evaluates, tests, and produces forward error correcting codec chip sets. By introducing a modified BCH code into the Internet TCP structure without changing the TCP/IP format, it is feasible to achieve simultaneously: 95% throughput enhancement, 4-order bit error rate improvement, 80% effective delay reduction, transmission speed up to 10 Gbps, and channel utilization approaches unity Erlang. Two decoding algorithms are to be investigated for large quantity production in terms of speed, correcting capability beyond theoretical limit, and complexity. Computer programs will be generated and simulations will be performed. Next, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) device will be selected, designed, evaluated, 'burned', and tested before VLSI implementation. The result meets the international standards for Asynchronous Transfer Mode, Internet, and satellite communications. The proposed product is simple, low cost, and in need. The applications range from ATM, Internet, and satellite communications. The market share of ATMco for Internet alone is estimated at $750 Million over more than 5 years for a device to be priced at $25 per unit. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wu, William Advanced Technology Mechanization, Company MD Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99820 5371 HPCC 9139 0104000 Information Systems 9960048 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Chiropticenes: Molecular Chiroptical Dipole Switches. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is based on the development and commercialization of Chiropticenes, a novel class of single-molecule chiroptical dipole switches. Chiropticene molecular switches are triggered by a combination of light and electric field, which cause both the chirality and dipole direction to be reversed. Information stored in the Chiropticenes is read nondestructively with circularly polarized light, which ensures erase-read-write capability. The Chiropticene molecular switch is the fundamental component in CALMEC's nanotechnology-based optical data storage technology. The objective of the Phase I research is to demonstrate the feasibility of the unique Chiropticene switch. Various organic Chiropticenes will be synthesized, characterized and then 'switched' using a combination of electric field and light. The completion of Phase I will verify the switch mechanism and lead directly into Phase II, which is the fabrication of a two-dimensional optical data storage device. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Parakka, James California Molecular Electronics Corporation CA Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 1415 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960051 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Preservation of Engineered Human Tissues. The mission of BioLife Technologies (BLT) is to develop improved hypothermic (Cold storage at 4 - 10 degree C) and cryopreservation (-196 degree C) solutions designed to maintain human cells, tissues and organs in a near state of suspended animation. Data presented herein demonstrate that BLT's solutions, the HypoThermosol (HTS) series, are better at protecting kidney, heart and skin cells than is ViaSpan- a product produced by DuPont. BLT has launched an aggressive program to determine the molecular basis of cell death during extended cryopreservation and hypothermic storage so that knowledge of these events can lead to a new generation of cryopreservation solutions. The Specific Aims of this Phase I project are designed to determine (1) which apoptotic inhibitors are best at protecting the engineered human epidermis, EpiDerm, during cryopreservation and hypothermic storage, (2) if upregulation of the cell death inhibiting protein bcl-2 can protect cells from cryopreservation and hypothermia-induced cell death, and (3) if cytochrome c, an apoptosis trigger, is released from mitochondria in human skin cells that have been preserved. A higher risk Specific Aim is proposed to make cold-tolerant mutants from an E67-tranfected human keratinocyte cell line that can withstand hypothermia and/or cryopreservation regimes better than parental progenitors. Completion of the studies will allow BLT to establish itself as the leader in the preservation of engineered human cells and tissues. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Van Buskirk, Robert BioLife Solutions Inc. NY Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960065 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Subgrade Repair and Stabilization. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will explore a novel subgrade stabilization process that injects readily available materials into the vitrification zone, eliminating subsidence concerns as the soils densify during vitrification. The problem of in-situ soil stabilization of poor to marginal foundation and slope materials is endemic throughout the transportation system. Localized subgrade failures in highway fill and around ancillary structures, like bridges and culverts, constitute a major maintenance problem in every highway and road system. Phase I will establish process feasibility by developing a robust and versatile technology that produces subgrade synthetic rock from soils. The vitrified material will have suitable strength for soil stabilization and for structural reinforcement purposes. Experiments will demonstrate a method to modify the parent soil-rock properties by the use of additives during processing. A series of parametric tests will develop a fundamental understanding of process operational variables upon geotechnic properties of the synthetic rock that is formed. The commercial market for the technology includes highway departments (state and federal), airport authorities, municipalities, federal properties and national infrastructure agenciesm, and various industries. Application of the technology is expexted in both maintenance of subgrade and new construction where 'local' subgrade instability issues are important. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Farrar, Lawrence RESODYN CORPORATION MT Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1448 0522100 High Technology Materials 9960071 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Multimode Optical Fiber Resonators. This SBIR Phase I project will research and develop multimode step-profile fiber resonators for internal reflectance spectrometric applications, both for absorption and luminescence. Attenuated total reflection spectroscopy is used to measure the constitutive optical constants of a dielectric, or metal, analyte cladding layer replacing lengths of the primary optical cladding. In conventional applications, optical fiber excitation is single-pass, coupled in one end and propagated out the other fiber endface. Alternatively, with the proposed development, forms of fiber-optic resonators would store optical power increasing the spectral sensitivity for small absorption indices by enhancing the analyte cladding interaction. One particular resonator type is a continuous fiber ring, i.e., no endfaces. The practicable purpose of the proposed SBIR Phase I is to develop the fabrication techniques for the fiber optical coupler component appropriate for such a resonator. A unique fiber coupler is described. This type optical coupler will, by design, couple modal power into the resonator selectively, predominately either TE/TM or EH/HE with low or high orders depending on the optimal modal distribution associated with the fiber sensor application. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hanson, Gary Unified Analysis WA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 68600 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960077 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Inversion of Geophysical Measurements for Fracture Geometry. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an innovative method for detecting and quantifying natural fracture systems in rock. The geometry of fracture systems controls the permeability of many oil and gas reservoir rocks. Many of the same aspects of geometry which control the fluid permeability also control the geophysical response. This project is to develop methods to invert geophysical measurements in fractured rock for the underlying fracture geometry, thus allowing prediction of permeability. Several forward models have been developed relating fracture geometry to various anisotropic, stress- dependent properties including permeability, electrical conductivity, and seismic velocity. These forward models will be used as the basis for developing an inverse method for obtaining the fracture geometry from diverse geophysical measurements. This inversion scheme will be modeled after an existing successful method for inversion of rock pore structure from constraining laboratory measurements. An inversion method for fracture properties will be implemented by inserting forward models specific to the fracture problem into the same inversion code previously developed for rock pore structure. This initial method will be tested for robustness and internal consistency using photographic image data from natural fracture networks. Software developed under Phases I and II of this project will provide the needed inputs for dual-porosity fractured reservoir simulators from diverse constraining geophysical data. This software will be invaluable for exploration and production activities in the oil and gas industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Brown, Stephen New England Research, Inc. VT G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 99588 5371 CVIS 1266 1038 0510703 Rock Fracture Mechanics 9960078 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Data Driven Microjet Printing of Electrostatically Self-Assembled Multilayer Electronic Materials and Devices. 9960078 Cooper, Kristie Nanosonic Incorporated This SBIR Phase I program will demonstrate the feasibility of prototyping and fabricating multilayer electronic components by the data driven microjet spray printing of multifunctional electrostatically self-assembled thin films. The electrostatic self-assembly (ESA) process, licensed from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, involves the consecutive formation of alternating, oppositely charged monolayers of metal and metal oxide nanoclusters, polymers and other molecules, at room temperature and pressure. The electronic, optical, magnetic and mechanical properties of the multilayer films are determined by the nature of the molecules in each monolayer and the long-range order of the monolayers. In this prototyping system, the operator inputs computer code and chemicals, and retrieves completed test articles for analysis. During the Phase I program this work will be extended to demonstrate the feasibility of forming similar multilayer, multifunctional components by microjet spraying, and would analyze the molecular-level and macroscopic properties of the fabricated microcomponents. Data driven microjet spray ESA processing would allow the rapid design, synthesis and analysis of prototype electronic devices for communication, display, instrumentation and other electronics applications. Microjet ESA-formed electronic devices with many-micron resolution would allow the low-cost, rapidly reconfigurable fabrication of electronic interconnects, circuit components, simple displays and sensors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cooper, Kristie Nanosonic Incorporated VA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960084 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Ultra-Compact Driver Technology for Extending the Lifetime of High Power Laser Diode Arrays. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop compact, all-solid-state drivers for powering laser diode arrays and thereby increase their lifetime. New ultra-high-current semiconductor switch technology will be coupled with new proprietary diode protection circuits to extend diode laser lifetime tenfold. This leads directly to a tenfold reduction in annual laser operating cost. Recent breakthroughs in high power semiconductor technology, namely the GCT (Gate Commutated Thyristor) switch, also offer a tenfold improvement in speed and power over existing commercial devices. SRL (Science Research Laboratory ) proposes to develop an advanced, compact pulsed power module based on these technologies that has the power, speed and protection circuitry needed to reliably drive high power laser diode arrays. This GCT-based power conditioning technology offers the improvements in system compactness, reliability and lifetime that are essential to the economic viability of laser diode arrays for many new commercial applications. GCT technology coupled with proprietary SRL fast protection circuitry offers a tenfold decrease in diode laser array size and weight and a tenfold increase in diode lifetime. This new technology is also essential to developing the pulsed power required for critical medical applications including new and improved methods of detecting metastatic cancer and new cancer therapies now under development at SRL and at other laboratories. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Petr, Rodney Science Research Laboratory Inc MA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99969 5371 HPCC 9139 0104000 Information Systems 0206000 Telecommunications 9960094 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Nanotube Reinforced Polymeric Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will experimentally and theoretically investigate the development of a new class of electrically conductive and structural engineered polymeric matrix composites (PMC). This will be preformed using single and/or multi-wall nanotubes as the reinforcing phase to provide or significantly augment their properties. In addition to homogeneous PMC, the program will investigate nanotubes as a selective structural reinforcement in critical areas of a component. Because of their dimensions, metallic character and electron emission properties, they could be effective at reflecting electromagnetic radiation particularly at high frequencies and high energy. The program will investigate the effect of concentration and processing variables on the ability of these small structures to function in the dielectric polymeric matrix. Because of their high elastic modulus, nanotubes could provide superior mechanical reinforcement at lower concentrations. Discontinuous reinforcements (nanotubes and, where useful, synergistic reinforcements such as chopped carbon fibers) will first be homogeneously dispersed and then rigidized in this configuration. The preform can be fully characterized before the polymer matrix is introduced allowing for superior quality control and assurance that design properties are achieved before the matrix is added. The preform will then be filled with a polymeric matrix using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding. Both military and commercial regulations require EMI shielding of every electronic component. However, in comparison to metallic packaging, there is more part to part variability in PMC components made conductive by inclusion of conductive fillers,particularly at the low concentrations anticipated for nanotubes. Automated manufacture and testing of fibrous preforms prior to introduction of the matrix will significantly reduce the potential for variability and thus hasten the acceptance of lightweight PMC components. Inexpensive, reliable conductive plastic components can also be used in major electrically dissipative applications as electrostatic charge dissipation, electrostatic painting and conductive flooring. In addition, lightweight homogeneous and selectively reinforced lightweight PMC's will find use in a wide variety of military and industrial applications. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Meiler, Keith Fiber Materials, Inc. ME Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 97459 9150 AMPP 9165 9150 9146 5371 1415 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960106 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Development of an Optical Glass Colorant Utilizing Holographic Elements. 9960106 Marosz This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will assess the feasibility of producing glass colored by holographic elements. There are very few colors currently used in construction glass because there is no method to color glass without distorting the color of the view through it. A new method for producing aesthetically pleasing colors of glass is expected to foster a multi-million dollar industry. To reach this end, a new holographic method to make images of a uniform field of color will be developed. This property will differentiate the holographic product from most other current applications. The color-producing holograms will be fragmented into small pieces, which can be mixed into liquid laminating resins. Resin will be used to laminate sheets of glass. The color of the hologram will be visible when looking at the glass, however when looking through the glass, the view will not be colored. Using standard holographic techniques, Phase I will optimize the appearance of the color and produce a small piece of laminated glass colored using this method. The product will be a glass colorant with commercial applications in the construction/glazing industry, decorative trades, and automotive glass manufacture. It also has potential applications in surface coatings for safety signs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Marosz, Thomas Botanical Enclosures CA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 94160 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960108 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: High Sensitivity Raman Spectrometer. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will design and test a hybrid Raman spectrometer suitable for 'on-demand' or continuous process monitoring. This will be accomplished by employing an innovative design that overcomes the limitations traditionally associated with Raman spectroscopy: (1) long-term instrument stability, (2) fluorescence interference, (3) wavelength reproducibility, and (4) sensitivity. A unique combination of components and internal diagnostics will allow greater than 1000 hours of unattended operation. The instrument will be rugged, compact, low-maintenance, require minimum power, and as such, suitable for numerous industrial applications. Phase I will demonstrate the ability of the proposed instrument to overcome all of the listed limitations. The Phase I results will be used to build a prototype during Phase II suitable for customer testing in Phase III. Raman spectroscopy is a very general technique and fiber optic probes will allow integration into a broad range of applications. The long-term stability of the proposed Raman system would make it ideal for process monitoring and control in the following industries: chemical, petrochemical, polymer, composites, pharmaceutical, food processing, environmental and semiconductor industries. It would also be ideal for health monitoring and fieldwork. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Farquharson, Stuart Advanced Fuel Research, Inc. CT Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99550 5371 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 9960113 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: An Intelligent World-Wide Web Agent that Learns User Profiles to Find Relevant Information. This SBIR Phase I project from Unconventional Wisdom aims to build a recommendation system for the World Wide Web (WWW). Finding relevant information on the WWW is becoming increasingly difficult. Most current search engines produce too much irrelevant information because they search syntactically. This proposal shows how to produce more accurate and personally-relevant search recommendations through three key innovations: a method to learn and combine user information (e.g. demographics and ratings) with WWW source information (e.g. web page features); a method to leverage the power of human-categorized information sources on the WWW; and a method to learn mega-features, that is, large sets of homogeneous features through running a machine-learning algorithm over the sets. In Unconventional Wisdom's framework, people implicitly assign semantics to web pages by their pattern of usage and machines act as the transporters of those semantics to other users so that retrieval can be based on semantics implicit in the user's interests. This makes it possible to retrieve complex multimedia information based on the user's interests. Unconventional Wisdom proffers a technology addressing a significant opportunity in e-commerce. Since a web site can contain information such as text, audio, video or catalog items, the system envisioned by Unconventional Wisdom is flexible in its application to both the WWW and military or corporate Intranets. The area of research and development that this project treats has important implications for knowledge management in general, such as in developing packaged inference mechanisms to address information selection of many types and in systems to generate and support relationships among persons with related information requirements and values. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Prieditis, Armand Unconventional Wisdom CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 6855 0104000 Information Systems 9960114 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Processing Techniques to Produce Biodegradable Nanoparticles. Biogel Technology has been active in developing methods to modify the surface of biodegradable microparticles and nanoparticles since 1993. These nanoparticles, based on poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLAGA) can be used to target drug delivery to specific cell types in vivo. While many techniques have been developed for larger scale production on PLAGA microparticles, the preparation of submicron PLAGA particles containing an active agent poses serious challenges that are not necessarily present when preparing larger diameter microparticles. No commercial-scale processes currently exist for preparation of biodegradable nanoparticles. The scientific literature contains references to a number of preparation techniques, but almost all are on a very small laboratory scale. This Phase I NSF SBIR Proposal describes our research plan for scaling up nanoparticle preparation techniques. We plan to expand our current processing techniques, which yield approximately 100 mg per batch, to a process that will yield 100 g of nanoparticles per batch. These targeted delivery formulations are being studied for treatment of various types of cancers, as well as, acute blood clots. Potential Commercial Applications of the Research If successful, this technology will form the basis for commercial production of biodegradable nanoparticles. No such techniques currently exist and are necessary before products using targeted nanoparticles may be produced. The results of this project will form the scientific and commercial basis to further develop a wide range of products, including those to treat cancer and acute blood clots. Key Words to Identify Research or Technology (8 maximum) biodegradable, nanoparticles, processing, scale-up SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Brannon-Peppas, Lisa Biogel Technology IN Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 9102 1415 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960117 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Integral Resistors for High Peformance Applications. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) project will develop integral resistors for high performance applications. Arkansas Microelectronics Development Corporation (AMDC) and the University of Arkansas . A novel fabrication technique involving amorphous silicon deposition followed by aluminum assisted crystallization and doping at low temperature will be used in order to achieve resistances ranging from 1 - 10 ohm-cm, an important range in high performance applications. Since this poly-microsilicon deposition process was developed at the University of Arkansas'Photovoltaics Center, the University of Arkansas (U of A) will act as the research institution. This patent pending deposition process will allow AMDC and the U of A to design and fabricate 0.1- 0.5 MW integral resistors which will, in turn, result in smaller, more reliable electronic packaging operating with greater overall substrate efficiency. Electrical substrates with integral passive components will not only provide a reduction in size, weight, power, and cost, but they will also improve electrical performance. Phase II will incorporate integral resistors with AMDC's proven integral capacitors. Space Electronics Inc (SEi), of San Diego, CA, will participate as a subcontractor in order to provide product demonstrations applicable to the current market. Matching funds from the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority (ASTA) will also be pursued. Potential commercial applications are in the wireless industries (pagers and cell phones) where product miniaturization and weight reduction are essential. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Nelms, David Integral Wave Technologies, Inc. AR Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 100000 9150 MANU 9150 9146 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960124 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Nanocomposite Films by Cylindrical Magnetron Sputtering. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will develop nano-composite thin film materials and deposition methods for wear resistant coating applications. Nano-composites have been reported with hardnesses exceeding that of diamond and are expected to be easier to produce than superlattices and other recent generations of tribological coatings. The hardness and thermal stability of systems such as molybdenum/titanium nitride will be modeled. We will use reactive co-sputtering to synthesize these composites and their physical properties will be compared to calculated values. Cylindrical magnetron sputtering has been chosen for this work because of the ease of assembling targets with various material compositions and because of the advantages cylindrical magnetron sputtering offers for depositing onto the complex shapes that often require wear resistand coatings. Wear resistant coatings are widely used on cutting and forming tools as well as in biomedical, aerospace, automotive and other applications. The value of coatings on cutting tools presently exceeds $1billion annually and other uses are expected to reach $3 billion to $5 billion annually within a few years. Customers have readily adopted several new generations of materials and that trend suggests that nano-composites could capture a significant share of the market quickly. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Glocker, David ISOFLUX, INC NY Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99736 1505 MANU AMPP 9165 9146 1467 1444 0106000 Materials Research 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960139 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Nano-Engineered Biosensors for Detection of Organophosphorus Compounds. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop nano-engineered biosensors for detection of organophosphorus (OP) compounds. The growing public concern about chemical warfare agents and the widespread use of the acutely toxic compounds in modern agriculture has required analytical tools for in-field and on-line monitoring of OP compounds. The existing sensor technologies have inherent limitations that are unsuitable for such applications. This program seeks to develop high performance biosensors with an innovation that focuses on nano-engineering of the sensor structure that combines the advantages of nano-ring electrode transducers and enzyme micro- reactors. The proposed sensors are expected to have fast response, high selectivity, high sensitivity, and low detection limits. The research objectives of the phase I will include synthesis, processing, and characterization of nano-ring electrode ensembles; fabricating nano-engineered electrochemical biosensors; and testing the sensor performance. During Phase I, AMSEN Technologies will demonstrate the proof-of-concept of such a sensor. Phase II will build on Phase I success, optimize, build prototypes and field test the technology. Phase III will commercialize the technology and anticipated spin-off. This program will result in miniaturized biosensor devices for in-field and on-line detection of OP compounds that is of importance to the nation for both civil and military applications. The general principles of the sensors would also have widespread applications in environmental programs, control and detoxification of pesticides and insecticides, and chemical manufacturing facilities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Xu, Chuanjing AMSEN TECHNOLOGIES LLC AZ Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9184 1108 0203000 Health 9960144 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Electrochemically Recyclable Ion Exchange Resin. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the development of electrochemically regenerable ion-exchange resins. Electrochemical regeneration offers significant advantages in reduction of the volume of secondary waste generated during target ion recovery. The technology targets the recovery of bichromate from industrial process waste and hazardous waste sites. The proposed technology will dramatically decrease disposal costs for chromium waste in the targeted industries. In this phase, synthesis and characterization of the proposed ion-exchange materials will be carried out utilizing established techniques. Preliminary evaluation of the proposed materials in the removal of bichromate will be performed for a variety of waste simulate compositions to establish selectivity, efficiency, and stability. Electrochemical activation and regeneration of the proposed material will also be demonstrated prior to Phase II scale up and optimization. The proposed ion-exchange resin will reduce raw materials and disposal costs for a number of industries currently using bichromate. These industries include leather tanning, pigment production, wood preservatives production and metal treatment. The proposed technology is aimed toward waste reduction, resource recovery and toxic waste cleanup with a potential market of $60 million. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gaspar, Daniel Eltron Research, Inc. CO Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 99998 5371 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 9960152 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Revenue Management in a dynamic and stochastic network environment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the inventory allocation of revenue management (RM) systems. As a new way of approaching the supply/demand concept, RM can be best understood as the set of actions leading to revenue maximization by efficiently utilizing the available perishable resources. Phase I will: (i) devise a highly optimized dynamic inventory allocation algorithm that can be easily integrated in a more general RM framework; and (ii) build a prototype of decision making software implementing the algorithm. The experimental policy will be based on a general RM model that encompasses the dynamic, stochastic, and network characteristics of the problem. Phase I will use state-of-the-art mathematical (approximate dynamic programming and stochastic mathematical programming) and database tools. Potential commercial applications of the work are expected in a diverse set of industries, ranging from the transportation and hospitality industries to telecommunications, health care, legal services, entertainment, and government organizations. The new approach is expected to lead to 2%-3% improvements over state-of-the-art RM systems, and this will translate to considerable increases in revenue especially in highly competitive and highly constrained arenas. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mourtzinou, Georgia DYNAMIC IDEAS, LLC MA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 98786 5371 MANU 9148 1465 1464 1463 0107000 Operations Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960154 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Single Cell Reporter Gene Assay for Hormone Receptors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a sensitive, high throughput reporter gene assay by combining gel microdrop encapsulation technology and fluorescence activated cell sorting with a secreted enzyme capture and detection format. Reporter gene assays are used to study eukaryotic gene expression essential for the development of higher organisms. Although there have been significant developments in reporter gene assays, an assay which provides high sensitivity, high throughput and single cell resolution is still needed. Frequently, gene products may be difficult to detect due to low abundance or instability. In addition, many potential therapeutic molecules that modulate transcription, exhibit weak target binding affinities, resulting in low reporter gene expression. The proposed assay will permit detection of a wide range of signal intensities from single, transfected cells which can be isolated for subsequent cloning. Phase I studies will use a model system to identify agonists to nuclear hormone receptors, which are regulatory switches that control diverse cellular processes in higher eukaryotes. The proposed assay will facilitate drug discovery by permitting rapid screening of combinatorial chemistry or natural product libraries against nuclear hormone receptors. The proposed assay will provide a rapid, high throughput method for screening large libraries of compounds for potential therapeutic molecules. Therapeutics is estimated to be a $100 billion market worldwide. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Trnovsky, Jan ONE CELL SYSTEMS, INC MA Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 0 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960158 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Unique Catalytic System for Maleic Anhydride Production. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a revolutionary catalytic system for the production of Maleic Anhydride using shaped reticulated ceramic substrates. Butane oxidation to Maleic Anhydride is a fast, exothermic reaction. Conventional extrudate catalysts suffer from severe diffusional limitations and poor bed heat-transfer leading to low product yields. The major objective of Phase I research is to demonstrate the benefits of oxidation catalyst synthesized using this new substrate over conventional extrudate catalyst. Other objectives of the Phase I research include quantifying the transport properties of the new substrate over packed-beds. Catalysts for both conventional and novel systems will be synthesized and performance data obtained for a range of operating conditions. A combination of ultra-low pressure drop, high inter-phase transport rates and an extremely high effectiveness factor will allow this novel catalytic system to enhance catalyst activity and product selectivity over traditional packed-bed catalysts. This will lead to lower operating temperature and reduction in CO and CO2 formation. Potential Commercial Applications: It is expected that this new class of catalyst substrate will also enhance performance of other gas-phase selective oxidation reactions to produce important intermediates such as Ethylene Oxide, Phthalic Anhydride and Acrylonitrile. Key Words: Selective Oxidation, Reticulated Ceramic, Maleic Anhydride, Diffusional Limitations SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mukherjee, Mitrajit Exelus, Inc. NJ Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 1401 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960164 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Restoring Ecological Control of Swine Waste Storage Lagoons by Selective Ozonation of the Facultative Zone. This Small Technology Transfer Research Phase I project is based on the observation that ozonation of the facultative zone in organically overloaded hog waste lagoons renders the top waters nearly odor free. This technique has lead to two further technical surprises: (1) The low dose of ozone used is much less than the chemical demand and (2) Decreases in the depth of the accumulated sludge are observed. Ozone is suspected to be interacting synergistically with the lagoon microorganisms, especially the non-sulfur purple bacteria, to restore balance to the system ecology. Waste volume reduction, fertilizer value, and pathogen control have environmental and health implications far beyond odor control. This STTR will confirm the observations concerning ecological changes in ozonated lagoons, slurry stabilization, and pathogen control. The U.S. production of hogs in the first quarter of 1999 was 25.3 million head with an inventory of 59.9 million head. The annual rate of hog manure generated 117 million dry tons. There are approximately 70,000 hog farms and many of these farms use lagoons for waste storage. The ability to provide a simple, effective, inexpensive means of improving the stabilization potential of swine waste lagoons is a primary focus of the 17 major hog producing States. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Tai, Paul Oxyzone Systems, Inc. MI George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 1505 EGCH 9198 9145 1302 0110000 Technology Transfer 0313000 Regional & Environmental 9960173 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Design of a True 3-D Information Display System. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes the design of a computer monitor that provides true three-dimensional (T3D) views of a scene. T3D presents information over a volumetric space. Such a system does not suffer from the loss of depth information, because of the projection of 3-D information onto a 2-D screen. Since such a system is not available commercially, people often use stereo image-based pseudo 3-D display systems to satisfy the demand for visualizing information with increased realism. The research objective for Phase I is to provide T3D views by distributing the contents of a 3-D scene over several planes-of-views, and optically projecting these planes-of-views onto a movable projection screen. A novel scheme is used to synchronize the movement of the projection screen with plane-by-plane information generated on the CRT screen so that T3D views can be generated without flickers. The use of these innovative concepts is anticipated to contribute effectively in designing a commercial quality T3D display system at a reasonable cost. Thus, the proposed system is expected to find applications in the fields ranging from scientific visualization to entertainment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chakrabarti, Soma BioComp Systems KS Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 88117 5371 HPCC 9215 9150 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960174 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: An Innovative Deposition Process for Low Cost Films and Coatings. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will provide the necessary precursor chemical kinetic and morphology optimization to produce thin films of yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ) via an innovative, low-cost process called Pulsed-MOCVD. The Pulsed-MOCVD system utilizes liquid injection of metalorganic precursor into a low pressure chemical vapor deposition reactor. The problem is that deposition methods currently available to produce YSZ coatings with the required microstructure and properties are extremely expensive, highly polluting and energy intensive. The objective of the research is to determine the best precursor and optimal deposition conditions to produce the desired YSZ film on the target substrates with via Pulsed-MOCVD. The research will utilize an existing experimental system to measure the growth rate and efficiency over the entire deposition range for three promising types of precursors. The microstructure and crystallography of films grown under high-efficiency deposition conditions will be analyzed. The experimental data together with kinetic modeling and analysis of the morphology will result in the design criteria for a commercial application of the innovative technology. Potential applications of the results include the manufacture of corrosion resistant coatings, catalytic surfaces, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Krumdieck, Susan Boulder Material Systems CO Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9165 9146 9102 1467 1444 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960175 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Microwave-Induced Non-Thermal Plasma for Volatile Organic Compound Emission Control. Emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAP's), specifically volatile organic compounds (VOC's), are an increasing concern because they are major contributors to the predominant environmental problems facing us today such as: global warming, ozone depletion, and photochemical smog.1-3 With the passage of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA), which require increased levels of control for specific organic compounds, the understanding and significant development of technologies for controlling these waste streams have been mandated. Responding to the need to decrease VOC emission from different technological processes, we propose the development of an innovative method for an effective, low cost destruction and removal of VOC's. Unlike other conventional methods which burn VOC by raising the temperature of the contaminated gases, the proposed method uses properties of non-thermal plasma to generate free radicals to oxidize the VOC directly in the exhaust gas. The potential of the approach for VOC oxidation presented here stems from the fact that free radicals react with VOC molecules in a way normally associated with a very high temperature. The free radicals will be generated in the contaminated gas. The proposed device will cause a minimal, if any, pressure drop in the exhaust stream; moreover, its only energy requirement is the relatively low average power supply to its magnetron. It is expected that this device will operate in a wide range of temperatures, and will be maintenance free. The proposed project is expected to result in the development of a new technology for removing undesirable VOC's from exhaust gases. The proposed method can be conveniently combined with virtually any other pollution-control measure. Due to the 'end-of-pipe' approach, only minor, if any, modifications in the operation of the existing exhaust system and in the system itself will be required to accommodate the new technique. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Golkowski, Czeslaw SUPER PULSE NY Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9197 1179 0118000 Pollution Control 9960177 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Holographic Disk Data Storage on a New Photochromic Glass. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from New Span Opto-Technology Incorporated studies holographic data storage in a new ion-exchanged photochromic glass disk. It is well known that holographic data storage can significantly increase data storage capacity and reduce access time. However, the technology maturity of holographic data storage is believed to be impeded by the lack of good holographic material that can be erased and recorded optically with almost unlimited rewriting cycles, with large index modulation for large capacity multiplexed data recording, and with long lifetime and immunity to destructive readout for archival applications. The new ion-exchanged photochromic glass in this proposed study can potentially satisfy all of the above requirements. UV and blue laser illumination on the glass can make the exchanged layer blue while red laser illumination can convert the blue layer to violet-red due to de-ionization and ionization in the ion-exchanged layer. The associated refractive index change is the basis for the holographic data storage. The recording media is room environment stable, erasable, re-writable, and does not require any follow-up processing. Phase I will demonstrate the feasibility of holographic recording on the new ion-exchanged glass. Phase II will optimize holographic recording process and demonstrate a high-capacity holographic storage prototype using the glass. This research will demonstrate the feasibility of erasable, rewritable, high-capacity holographic data storage on a new ion-exchanged photochromic glass disk. The holographic recording does not require hologram fixing process and is suitable for on-line application. New Span Opto-Technology proffers technology that is expected to significantly improve the holographic data storage technology for commercial and military applications such as computer data storage, on-line storage, library archival applications, image storage for medical applications and for military fast access to its large intelligent database. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG DeMasi, Ralph NEW SPAN OPTOTECHINOLOGY INC FL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99986 5371 HPCC 9139 9102 6855 0104000 Information Systems 9960178 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Intelligent WWW Access for the Visually Impaired. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from AT Sciences will develop algorithms and software that allows screen reading software to be used by the visually disabled to access computers to respond to changes in task context while the user is browsing the World WideWeb (WWW). Some screen readers can adapt their behavior to the current context of the active application through application-specific scripts--sophisticated macros that determine the behavior of the screen reader in response to the current state of the application. Most screen readers do not provide this capability, however, and no screen reading software allows users to associate scripts with individual web pages or sites (linked collections of pages). Software will be developed that will allow screen readers to generate page- and site-specific scripts automatically, based on (1) the Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML) code defining the pages comprising a WWW site and (2) an analysis of the user's actions within that site. Page- and site-specific scripts will allow screen readers to adapt to the current task context while the user is browsing the WWW, which will increase efficiency and facilitate the performance of complex tasks that may span multiple web pages within a site. The vast majority of blind and severely visually impaired computer users require screen readers to access computers. The algorithms to be produced during this project will be applicable to many screen readers and will be useful for automatically generating scripts for standard applications as well. AT Sciences proffers technology that can be licensed by other developers to improve the performance of new and existing screen readers. Thus, in light of the growing importance of the WWW, which will place a premium on efficient web access, the adaptation mechanisms to be developed during this research could serve several screen-reading products. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Simpson, Richard AT Sciences TX Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99745 5371 SMET 9180 5371 1545 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9960183 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: High Resolution In-Situ Energy Dispersive X-Ray Diffraction. This SBIR Phase I proposal focuses on the development and characterization of in-situ energy dispersive x-ray diffraction (EDXRD) by using polycapillary x-ray optics and a newly developed superconducting microcalorimeter detector. EDXRD is the method of choice if access to the sample is restricted or the diffraction data needs to be acquired quickly. This applies to in-situ applications, since the sample is surrounded by processing equipment and data has to be acquired quickly to observe different intermediate states of the sample. However, EDXRD is rarely used, since the energy resolution of available detectors is limited. In addition, intense continuous parallel beams require high power x-ray sources. The research team will use a superconducting microcalorimeter detector. The energy resolution of this detector approaches the natural line width of characteristic x-rays and removes the energy resolution as a limitation. The intense 'white' x-ray beam will be provided by a polycapillary x-ray optic. It will collect and collimate x-rays from a low power source. A second optic will concentrate the diffracted beam onto the detector. With this system it will be possible to perform EDXRD at a resolution that has only been possible in wavelength dispersive systems. The proposing team, the material scientists from X-Ray Optical Systems, will ensure that the research effort is focused on important thin film processing applications and the system will become rapidly commercialized once successfully demonstrated. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gao, Ning X-RAY OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC. NY Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99289 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960184 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Randomly Textured Nanoscale Surfaces for Silicon Solar Cells. This Phase I Small Business Innovation Research project is designed to improve the efficiency of low-cost multi-crystalline Silicon solar cells by enhancing their light absorption and improving their efficiency. Conventional geometrical texturing schemes are not applicable to multi-crystalline Silicon. We propose a maskless random nanoscale texturing technique using reactive ion etching techniques. This technique has been demonstrated to reduce absolute spectral reflection to less than one percent from the 350-1000 nm spectral region over ~ 130 cm2 areas. The nanoscale texture consists of 20-50-nm linewidth features, and enhanced absorption is based on a physical optics mechanism. The proposed research is aimed at optimization of nanoscale texture and surface passivation for optimized solar cell performance. Solar cells from these surfaces are expected to improve multi-crystalline Silicon efficiency. Potential applications also include Light Emitting Devices and field emission devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zaidi, Saleem Gratings, Incorporated NM Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 0000 0110000 Technology Transfer 9960188 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Far UV Metrology of Semiconductors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will extend the photon energy range over which one performs ellipsometry to 9 eV, well beyond the current 'deep UV' systems which are limited to roughly 6.5 eV. Specifically, an instrument operating over the entire 3 eV to 9 eV photon energy range using conventional laboratory light sources is envisioned. This instrument would be used for material studies, at these higher energies, upon the wide band gap materials SiC and GaN, as well as some alternative dielectrics currently being developed. In both cases, many of the critical points characterizing the band structure are inaccessible to conventional equipment. We shall also emphasize studies of organic electronic materials, including issues such as void fraction, substrate dielectric dependence, and layer-dependent energy levels. Furthermore, this project provides a potential instrumental solution to critical issues facing the semiconductor device industry. It clearly meets the requirements identified in the National Technology Roadmap for gate dielectric metrology as being necessary but having no known solution. It is also required by 157 nm excimer laser lithography programs, one of the candidate technologies for Next Generation Lithography. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Freeouf, John Interface Studies Inc. OR Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 98951 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960199 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Automatic Setup and Control of a 10 GHz Bandwidth Transient Digitizer for Beam Diagnostics Using VXI-Standard Electronics. This Phase I Small Business Innovation Research project aims to develop the automatic setup and control procedures necessary to commercialize its ultra-wide bandwidth transient digitizer product. The innovative use of superconductive properties, together with a novel error-correcting circuit architecture, results in the potential for the highest performance of any digitizer based on analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). The HYPRES transient digitizer already provides bandwidth performance unsurpassed by any other ADC-based digitizer. However, perhaps the most important component for commercialization still needs to be implemented: the setup and control electronics that transform the digitizer from a laboratory tool to a commercial instrument. During Phase I, HYPRES will fabricate and measure digitizer chips. The necessary procedures and algorithms for setting up and optimizing chip performance will be determined and codified. A control unit will be designed, to be implemented in Phase II using VXI-standard electronics and a LabViewTM interface. The transient digitizer is useful for measuring the bunch profile of accelerator beams such as the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). This instrument is also useful for both laser and target diagnostic work at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kaplan, Steven HYPRES, Inc. NY Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 9960200 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Digital Machine Shop: An Immersive Two-Handed Precision 3D Modeling Environment. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a new interface paradigm, Digital Jigs, that makes 3D precision modeling in an immersive environment practical. While immersive modeling has proven effective for freeform surface design, precision design has remained elusive to date. In the proposed Digital Machine Shop, freeform tools such as cutting blades will be snapped to Digital Jigs to constrain their paths much as a carpenter's jigs guide physical tools. This paradigm supports familiar construction strategies rooted in the real world, thus encouraging traditionally non-technical experts to take advantage of digital methods. To measure the practicality of this approach, test users will be asked to perform a series of precision tasks such as duplicating a variety of precision objects. Results will be evaluated and the system will be enhanced to make it more effective and complete at which time the software will be re-tested. The results of this research will be a fully integrated freeform and precision modeling environment that is quick to learn and productive in its use. Target application areas are Industrial Design and Automotive Design. Potential commercial Applications of the Research include Industrial Design, Automotive Design, Visual Design for Entertainment and the Fine Arts Key Words to Identify Research or Technology: Immersion, Modeling, Precision, Interaction, Real-time, Human-Computer Interface, Industrial Design, Automotive Design SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mlyniec, Paul Digital ArtForms CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99954 5371 HPCC 9139 4080 0108000 Software Development 9960221 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Improved Dye-Attached Polymers for 193nm Anti-Reflective Coatings. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop improved dyes and dye-attached polymers for use in 193nm anti-reflective coatings (ARCs). The recently revised National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors calls for the introduction of 193nm optical lithography as early as 2000-2001, with the initial goal being 0.15-micron resolution. Due to high substrate reflectivity at this wavelength, there will be a definite need for an ARC underneath the 193nm resist. Present generation 193nm ARCs exhibit poor plasma etch selectivity to photoresists leading to etch bias problems during fabrication. The etch rate problems result from the high aromatic carbocyclic ring content and low heteroatom content of the dye-attached polymer component of the ARC. In Phase I, prototype 193nm ARCs will be prepared from new dye-attached polymers that are enriched with electronegative heteroatoms, e.g., oxygen and nitrogen, to enhance etch selectivity. The resulting ARCs will be carefully characterized, including cured film optical density, plasma etch rate, and lithographic performance. The objective of this NSF program (Phases I and II) is to develop at least one outstanding 193nm ARC meeting all industry requirements. The ARC products to be developed in Phase II will fulfill a critical manufacturing need by enabling high yield production of integrated circuits operating at sub-0.15 micron design rules by optical lithography. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Meador, Jim Brewer Science Incorporated MO Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960247 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Multilayered Ceramic Impedance Sensors for Detection of Nitrogen Oxides. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop multilayered ceramic impedance sensors for NOx monitoring in chemical and environmental applications. Competitive sensors have several performance gaps that the proposed sensors may help overcome, namely - high costs, poor response times, poor stability, poor selectivity, poor reversibility, poor sensitivity, and fragility. During Phase I, Nanomaterials Research Corporation will establish the proof-of-concept that commercially desired, nano-engineered impedance sensors can be prepared and that the sensors offer significant performance advantages. Phase II will optimize and produce packaged prototypes, while Phase III will commercialize the technology. This effort may also help launch a whole family of sensors for low-cost chemical composition monitoring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Williams, Stephen Nanomaterials Research LLC CO Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9197 0110000 Technology Transfer 9960250 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Ferroelectric Scaffolds for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is designed to utilize the ferroelectric (FE) properties of alpha helical polypeptides for development of materials for use in tissue repair, especially nerve fiber outgrowths in vitro and in vivo. Esters of poly-L-glutamic acids (PRLG's) are known to display piezoelectric (PE) properties when aligned in magnetic or electric fields. The molecular conformation of the aligned dipoles suggested that the direction of the dipole vector in aligned films may be reversed by application of an electric field, thus giving rise to FE properties. Given our discovery of the FE behavior of poly-methyl-L-glutamic acid, this Phase I project will focus on establishing the feasibility of this biocompatible material to enhance tissue repair in vivo for potential clinical application to peripheral nerve regeneration. Ferroelectrics find a number of applications: pyroelectric detectors, ultrasonic and electroacoustic transducers, and ultrasonic light modulators. The ease with which PRLG can be ordered in an externally applied electric field to create a film with strong dipole alignment suggests that it and other self-organizing and alignable biopolymers may also be suitable materials for development of FE materials for tissue regeneration. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Trantolo, Debra Cambridge Scientific Inc MA Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960258 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Combinatorial Synthesis of Electrocatalysts for Ozone Production. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project deals with the development of a combinatorial method for the discovery of novel electrocatalysts for ozone generation. Electrochemical ozone generators based on lead dioxide as anodic electrocatalyst have a major drawback in that the current efficiency for ozone production is only 10-15%. There is, therefore, clearly a need for new, novel anodic electrocatalysts that will lead to the development of a new generation of electrochemical ozone generators with ozone current efficiencies of up to 50%, and more preferably, up to 90%. However, synthesis and evaluation of potential anodic electrocatalyst materials by a conventional project, a combinatorial thin film libraries of various metal alloys will be generated on microporous titanium substrates by vacuum deposition techniques using physical shadow masks. The resulting libraries will be screened for ozone production electrochemically. Our innovative combinatorial screening process for ozone production will involve simple dye bleaching/formation process. Commercial potential of a new generation of electrochemical ozone generators one-compound-at-a-time approach is a lengthy process. In this Phase I with high current efficiencies is enormous. Commercial applications of these new generation ozone generators will be for water treatment, food processing, waste treatment, medical sterilization, biofouling control, and paper and pulp bleaching. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Eylem, Cahit Lynntech, Inc TX Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9165 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960266 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Fire Retardant Nanocomposite Flexible Foam. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the issue of fire as a major cause of injury, death and property loss estimated in the billions of dollars. More than 85% of injuries are caused by smoke inhalation and mobility impairment caused by poor visibility Many fire retardant (FR) additives reduce flammability, but do little to affect smoke generation. Water releasing inorganic fillers can reduce smoke, but they must constitute 40% or more of the material to be effective. This high inorganic content may be used in some plastics and rubbers, but it is unacceptably high for flexible foams, where the thin cellular structure cannot support or maintain such a high loading. Unfortunately, flexible foams make up a major component of our household and office furnishings, and they are among the first items to ignite and propagate a fire. TDA Research has developed a low-cost hybrid organic/inorganic nanocomposite FR agent for polyurethane foam; the hybrid additive provides fire resistance, and more importantly, reduces smoke generated during a fire. Potential Commercial Applications of the Research Applications for the hybrid FR agent include flexible foams for furniture cushions, beds, carpet backing, wall acoustic insulation and disposable packaging. Other uses include sporting goods, automotive padding and safety products. Key Words hybrid, nanocomposite, fire-resistant, smoke-suppressant, flexible foam. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Luebben, Silvia TDA Research, Inc CO Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 9102 1415 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960275 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Imaging Subsurface Fluid Flow with Time-Lapse Seismic Data. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project concerns the development and implementation of geophysical inverse techniques and computer algorithms to image subsurface fluid-flow properties from time-lapse seismic data. In recent years, there has been exponential growth in time-lapse seismology project activity. These projects have produced seismic difference anomalies that arise from monitoring time-variant changes in the earth's subsurface. However, these anomalies, even when determined to be real signal, have so far been only indirectly useful and often ambiguous - what causes the anomalies, and what do they mean? The proposed innovation will estimate the 3D distribution of subsurface fluid pressure, multi-phase fluid saturation, or temperature change that causes the seismic anomalies, by using wave-equation seismic imaging techniques coupled with rock physics analysis. The research consists of three parts: amplitude preserved seismic imaging and impedance estimation, robust rock physics inversion, and optimized software and computational design. Uncertainty estimates will be quantified in each step of the process and propagated to the final pressure, saturation and temperature change estimates. This software will be valuable to help oil companies target new wells and optimize reservoir management decisions in the 50+ field areas world-wide that are current active seismic monitoring projects. Potential applications of this project include petroleum industry mapping of bypassed oil, monitoring of costly injected fluids, and imaging flow compartmentalization and the hydraulic properties of faults and fractures. Non-petroleum applications include monitoring groundwater reserves, subsurface monitoring of contaminant plumes and environmental clean-up projects, and applications in geothermal and hydroelectric energy. Academic applications include improvements to earthquake prediction, and the monitoring of methane hydrate deposits to determine their role in global climate change. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lumley, David Fourth Wave Imaging Corporation CA G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 99848 5371 EGCH 9189 1266 0313040 Water Pollution 9960284 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Processing, Properties and Potentials of Precursor Derived Silicon Nitride Nanoceramics. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project involves a systematic investigation of processing techniques to obtain high performance silicon nitride/silicon carbide nanocomposites ceramics. It is expected that the innovative method of polymer precursor pyrolosis will allow lower consolidation temperatures and will consume less energy than conventional processes. Additional benefits are expected to dramatically increase the performance of the nanocomposites produced. Expected process system benefits include broader commercial engineering applications due to lower processing costs and higher component reliabilities. If processing costs can be reduced and high temperature performance can be enhanced potential commercial applications should be widespread. At present, the following applications are envisioned: high temperature gas turbine components, continuous casting nozzle parts, cutting tools, high temperature welding and cutting tools, and high temperature nuclear fusion reactor parts. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Ivers, Lewis Chenega Management, LLC AK Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 9150 AMPP 9165 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960285 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Positron Annihilation Mass Spectrometer. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will establish the feasibility of developing a greatly improved mass spectrometer based on the annihilation of positrons. The project is based on the latest developments in techniques to accumulate positrons from a radioactive source in Penning traps using a buffer gas. The Advanced Positron Mass Spectrometer will use positrons to control precisely the ionization and fragmentation of complex molecules. The technical objectives of Phase I are to: (1) assemble an experiment to investigate positron ionization mass spectrometry of biomolecules; (2) perform experiments to compare the performance of positron ionization of these molecules with currently used ion sources for mass spectrometry; and (3) carry out the conceptual design of a laboratory prototype system for Phase II. The Phase I feasibility experiments will be performed on the positron trap at the University of California, San Diego. If successful, this project will provide the basis for demonstration of a laboratory prototype of the mass spectrometer in Phase II. Phase I and II will provide the foundation for commercializing the new technology in Phase III. This project addresses a 1999 critical technology of national importance, biotechnology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Greaves, Rod First Point Scientific, Inc. CA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9186 0306000 Energy Research & Resources 9960292 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Magnetic-Tunneling-Junction Sensors for Sensitive Magnetic Microscopes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) sensors, specially designed and optimized for a sensitive magnetic microscope. These miniaturized sensors, by exhibiting giant magnetoresistance (GMR) and working at ambient conditions, will enable construction of a magnetic microscope for imaging, characterizing, and investigating samples that generate minute magnetic fields at microscopic levels. The microscope will "see" local field images resulting from the electrical current distribution of a Pentium chip, revealing any operational abnormality. It will map magnetic domain structures of submicron particles. Researchers can also use the microscope to investigate basic material properties such as superconductor flux-line structures and dynamics, biomagnetism, etc. MTJ sensors are expected to have properties superior to spin-valves and Hall sensors. Phase I will tackle issues critical to the microscopes development: 1) magnetic noise; 2) magnetic couplings; and 3) micromagnetics. Phase II of this project will build a prototype of a new generation of magnetic microscope. MTJ sensors have applications in magnetic microscopy for non-invasive characterization of semiconductor chips and magnetic films and media. They can also be applied to read/write heads in data storage, remote-sensing, automotive control, electronic navigation and compassing, and non-destuctive evaluation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Crisman, Everett MICRO MAGNETICS INC MA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1771 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 9960294 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Pathway-Based Detection of Minimal Deletion Sets in Metabolic Networks. This is a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project. Innovative approaches are now needed to utilize the information generated from genome research in an integrated fashion to analyze, interpret, and predict the function of biological systems to assist in the development of novel therapeutics and the advancement of biotechnology on the whole. This proposal addresses these needs with novel engineering approaches for studying the systemic capabilities of metabolism in completely sequenced bacterial genomes to address the emerging healthcare threat of antibacterial resistance. The overall objective of the proposed research is the in silico identification of the minimal gene deletion sets that are capable of rendering cellular metabolic networks inoperable. This involves the construction of genome specific stoichiometric models of cellular metabolism from genomic information and the subsequent application of convex analysis to determine the set of extreme pathways that can be used to assess the complete production capabilities and functions of the metabolic network. From the set of extreme pathways algorithms can be constructed to identify sets of reactions and their associated genes whose loss to the network is critical or lethal under various combinations of environmental and genetic conditions. The identification of these sensitive or critical steps in metabolism based on their concerted effects represents a new paradigm in the search for antimicrobial chemotherapeutics and the rational metabolic engineering of industrial bacteria. These research efforts will lead to the validation of in silico simulations used to identify minimal deletion sets to be used as molecular targets in the development of antibacterial chemotherapy. Therefore the direct commercial application is in the identification of targets for drug development. Additional applications for the identification of these condition specific sensitive steps in metabolism include the metabolic engineering of bacteria for bioprocesses, and bioremediation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schilling, Christophe GENOMATICA INC CA Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 99121 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960299 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: On-Line Production of Pyrogen-Free Water in Hemodialysis Units. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project describes the development of an efficient, fast, and cost-effective photoreactor to supply pyrogen-free water on-line in hemodialysis systems. Several risks and hazards identified for hemodialysis are associated with water quality, including pyrogenic contamination. Current practices in hemodialysis systems do not guaranty pyrogen-free water. Furthermore, several drawbacks exist in current techniques: addition of chemicals, which have to be monitored and destroyed before water contacts the dialysis membrane; formation of toxic by-products; no on-line supply of pyrogen-free water, and cost. In the proposed system, the disinfecting agents are produced in situ, consumed inside the photoreactor, and capable of complete mineralization of organic matter. Short treatment times will be achieved by incorporating an effective photocatalyst (inorganic, non-toxic, and chemically and biologically inert material) in an efficient reactor design. The aim of this Phase I is to evaluate the technical feasibility of the novel photoreactor for on-line production of pyrogen-free water based on the construction and evaluation of a laboratory scale system. During the Phase II, an automatic system will be developed and integrated in a hemodialysis system. The proposed system will find immediate application in many sectors of the industry. Pyrogen-free water is required in all hemodialysis systems. In addition, large quantities of pyrogen-free water are used by the medical industry such as in intravenous infusion fluids, fluids for infection and for irrigation in operating rooms. Also, sterile water is needed in the hydroponics industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gonzalez-Martin, Anuncia Lynntech, Inc TX Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 0 5371 OTHR 9102 5345 0000 0203000 Health 9960303 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Compact, Robust Integral Three-Axis Motion Detector. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project, if completed through Phase II, will result in a single integral motion sensor that will simultaneously measure velocities (or accelerations) along three orthogonal axes. These sensors will be a ground-breaking application of the proven molecular electronic technology (MET) employing a novel geometry, improved response properties, and a unique feedback system based charge and mass transfer phenomena. They will be low in power consumption, com-pact and extremely robust, have no moving parts, and, as a result of their total symmetry, will operate in any orientation. These sensors should find immediate applications in: seismology, especially ocean bottom and borehole seismology; earthquake engineering; inertial navigation; industrial processing; and any application requiring measurement of velocity or acceleration. Their small size, robustness, and insensitivity to orientation make them especially attractive for field use. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Abramovich, Igor PMD SCIENTIFIC, INC. CT Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 CVIS 1038 0104000 Information Systems 0109000 Structural Technology 9960319 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: ILEAD: An Intelligent Interactive Learning Environment for Abstract Data Types and Algorithms. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from Stotler-Henke Associates, Inc. seeks to improve Computer Science education by developing an innovative Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) to teach computer data structures and algorithms. Increasing class sizes and decreasing funding have led to a decline in the amount of personalized instruction available to undergraduate students. Lack of confidence among students, especially women and minorities, deprives students of the opportunity to seek individual attention in a classroom setting. This project seeks to address this problem by developing ILEAD, an intelligent interactive learning environment for abstract data types and algorithms, an ITS to provide students with individualized instruction in a risk-free environment. The Phase I research objective is to design an ITS for teaching abstract data types and algorithms, and demonstrate its feasibility and effectiveness. Phase I research will develop innovative techniques for representing knowledge about data structures and algorithms, for student modeling, for diagnosing a student's knowledge deficiencies, for customizing instruction based on this information, and for automatically generating remedial material. Stotler-Henke will evaluate the effectiveness of the ITS by conducting controlled experiments with students a freshman-level course on Abstract Data Types and Algorithms. Dr. Nell Dale, a renowned Computer Science educator, who has published a number of computer science textbooks, will serve as a consultant on the proposed effort. The Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) proffered by Stotler-Henke has substantial commercial potential. Colleges, high schools, and the students enrolled in introductory Computer Science classes at these institutions form a substantial market. The system can also be used by distance learning programs and by individuals for self-education. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ramachandran, Sowmya Stottler Henke Associates CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99999 5371 SMET 9178 9102 7410 7256 0000912 Computer Science 9960325 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Combinatorial Approach to the Discovery of Improved Transparent Conducting Oxides. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is designed to discover improved transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) utilizing the combinatorial approach, and to develop an instrument capable of rapidly characterizing the TCO libraries. TCO thin films simultaneously display the properties of high optical transparency (>90%) and near metallic conductivity that are important to many opto-electronic applications from photovoltaics to flat panel displays. Our three-phase plan is to use the combinatorial approach to identify the most promising combination of metal oxides, to determine the optimal oxygen doping of this compound, and then to develop a commercial-scale deposition process that can be used to manufacture millions of square feet of TCOs per month. The research described in this proposal will have a significant impact on the productivity and efficiency of TCO manufacturers by providing materials of superior performance and an instrument capable of screening large libraries of opto-electronic materials and devices that will be commercialized for the testing of wafers, films, and devices on the production-scale. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Treece, Randolph ITN ENERGY SYSTEMS, INC. CO Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 9960329 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: GaAsNSb - New Low-bandgap Material Lattice-matched to GaAs. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop growth of a new material, GaAsNSb, that is lattice-matched to GaAs and has a bandgap as low as 1 eV or smaller. After establishment of growth by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, we will focus on using this material as the base layer in a heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT). This low-bandgap base will permit low-voltage operation, while the lattice-match will allow strain-free operation for high reliability and ease of monolithic integration. Another important use of low-bandgap GaAsNSb will be for long-wavelength (1300 nm) laser diodes. GaAsNSb, with 3% nitrogen, 8% antimony, is exactly lattice-matched to GaAs and should have a bandgap of 1 eV; for an HBT. The high-bandgap emitter can then be GaAs, thus eliminating the problems often associated with AlGaAs or GaInP, which are typical emitter materials on GaAs HBTs. Phase I will concentrate on growing, doping, and characterizing GaAsNSb, including forming and testing GaAs-GaAsNSb diodes that simulate the base-emitter junction of an HBT. Growth and fabrication of complete HBT structures is beyond the scope of a Phase I for this previously unexplored material. Since this process is GaAs-based, it is totally compatible with our existing HBT technology. Phase II will include optimizing GaAsNSb growth and doping control, growth of GaAs-GaAsNSb heterojunctions, optimizing HBT design, and growing, fabricating, and testing HBT devices. Use of GaAsNSb in optoelectronic applications may also be explored. The research will result in a new low-voltage heterojunction bipolar transistor for use in cellular telephones. Such HBTs will have improved reliability and efficiency over existing GaAs-based devices. The low-bandgap, lattice-matched material to be developed here also will have applicability to long-wavelength lasers and other optical devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Vernon, Stanley Spire Corporation MA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99909 5371 MANU 9146 0522100 High Technology Materials 9960333 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Computational Tool for Plasma Equipment Design Using a Non-Statistical Boltzmann Solver. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a CAD tool for plasma equipment/ processes using a non-statistical Boltzmann solver for the analysis of charged particle kinetics. Currently used hydrodynamic models lack the necessary physics while the statistical (Monte Carlo) methods are too expensive for practical use. The proposed Boltzmann solver will enable precise yet affordable description of low-pressure plasma reactors for semiconductor manufacturing. The innovative aspects of the research include, (i) development of an elliptic representation of the velocity distribution function (VDF) valid for arbitrary anisotropy of the VDF, (ii) incorporation of the recently discovered hot plasma effects, and (iii) integration of the Boltzmann solver with a commercial software, CFD-ACE+, to enable simulations of industrial plasma systems. The elliptic representation reduces the Boltzmann equation to a set of two coupled equations in a four-dimensional space which can be solved by well-established techniques. In Phase I, the feasibility of the approach will be demonstrated on selected systems with small anisotropy of the VDF. The Phase II work will focus on extending the model to problems with arbitrary VDF anisotropy and on validation against experimental data and Monte Carlo simulations of industrial plasma reactors. The CFD-ACE+ software, with the addition of the Boltzmann solver, will be capable of kinetic modeling of low pressure plasma processing reactors. The use of this software will significantly reduce design cycle times/costs for developing new equipment/processes for IC fabrication. Additionally, this tool will be used to analyze and optimize charge transport in deep sub-micron semiconductor devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kolobov, Vladimir CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION AL G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 99984 5371 OTHR 1266 0000 0512004 Analytical Procedures 9960335 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Polyoxometalate Fabric Catalysts to Improve Indoor Air Quality. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop catalysts to improve indoor air quality by the room temperature catalytic oxidation of pollutants. Initial focus will concentrate on the oxidation of formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is classified as a probable human carcinogen and studies have shown it is present in many homes and businesses at levels exceeding recommendation levels. Formaldehyde sources include many materials used in construction and furnishings, environmental tobacco smoke, and both indoor and outdoor combustion sources. The ideal solution to indoor formaldehyde would be catalytic, room temperature aerobic oxidation to carbon dioxide and water. TDA Research, Inc., in collaboration with the research group of Prof. Craig Hill at Emory University, proposes to develop polyoxometalate (POM) catalysts for formaldehyde oxidation. The catalysts will be supported on fabrics, and could be included in draperies, upholstered furniture, and panels used in office cubicles. Previous work has shown that fabric-supported POMs can catalyze the oxidation of several related compounds by O2 at ambient temperature. The Phase I research to evaluate these catalysts will be aided by use of a high-throughput test apparatus, previously developed at TDA, which will allow us to test a large number of catalyst systems. Because polyoxometalates are inexpensive and because room temperature catalysis requires no energy input, a successful project will lead to an simple system to improve indoor air quality. This system should find ready acceptance by manufacturers of many products used in both homes and businesses. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bell, William TDA Research, Inc CO Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9188 1401 0118000 Pollution Control 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960343 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Time-Resolved High Resolution Infrared Microscope. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I Project will develop a time-resolved high resolution scanning infrared microscope for applications in cellular biochemistry. The microscope will be able to obtain images at sub-micrometer resolution in the mid-infrared with sub-picosecond time resolution and will offer capabilities not currently available from existing optical imaging techniques. Red blood cells will be used as a model system to demonstrate the ability of the new instrument to obtain infrared images at a resolution 200 nanometers at a wavelength of 5 micrometers over a variety of timescales. The ability to study chemical and physical events in cells, with sub-cellular resolution, is important in understanding the molecular aspects of diseases and to the development of biomedical diagnostics and treatments. This instrument also has applications in semiconductor and polymer materials science. Applications for advanced optical imaging techniques are growing in the biological and material sciences. Examples of commercial applications of this technique are imaging of chemical and structural events in cells and organs that are of interest to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, time-resolved imaging of carrier dynamics in semiconductors and photoconductive polymers, and imaging of chemically active nanostructures for advanced material design. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Peterson, Kristen Southwest Sciences Inc NM George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 1505 BIOT 9107 5345 0110000 Technology Transfer 0203000 Health 9960346 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: High Performance Laser Ultrasonic Receiver for Non-destructive Testing. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is intended to demonstrate the practical feasibility of photorefractive polymers for use in laser ultrasonic receivers. Laser ultrasound can be used for remote measurements of parts in hostile environments where traditional transducer-based ultrasound techniques cannot be used. The primary component of most laser-based ultrasound receivers is some type of interferometer. One promising type of interferometric receiver uses real-time holography in photorefractive material. The photorefractive material functions as an adaptive beamsplitter, coherently combining a plane-wave reference beam and a probe beam which has been distorted while interrogating the test surface. Due to limitations in the photorefractive materials, none of the current interferometric receivers has performed near their theoretical capability. The goal of this program is to implement a robust and highly sensitive laser ultrasonic receiver by combining heterodyne detection scheme with a photorefractive polymer as the real-time adaptive beamsplitter. We also seek to tailor the photorefractive polymer properties in order to reach the theoretical capability of the designed laser-based ultrasound receiver. Laser-based ultrasound has applications in wide range of industrial markets. It offers the capability to improve the inspection rate of conventional scanning systems and it will enable the inspection of many parts that cannot be tested with other techniques. It is particularly promising as an in-process diagnostic for components that are at high temperature and/or are moving at high velocities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Klein, Marvin LASSON TECHNOLOGIES, INC. CA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99353 5371 CVIS 1038 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960349 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Three Dimensional (3D) Woven Composites for Injury Prevention. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project applies novel 3D weaving and cellular matrix technologies to develop a thin, lightweight composite structure for impact absorption and body protection in sports. The first application will be to design and fabricate a soccer shin guard which significantly decreases the risk of bone fracture due to impact. The primary strategy for constructing superstrong fabric preforms will employ a patented 3D weaving technology in which fibers are interlaced in three axes without the crimping or bending that occurs with traditional weaves or braids. The second strategy is to significantly increase the strength and stiffness properties of the material per unit weight by intentionally creating defined air voids throughout the composite structure using a patented cellular matrix technology. In Aim 1, we will optimize the stiffness and weight of different composite materials by varying the fiber, resin, total void fraction, and fabric thickness. In Aim 2, we will use these novel, lightweight composite materials to fabricate a variety of prototype soccer shin guards for maximization of player safety and comfort. In Aim 3, the protective abilities of the newly designed shin guards will be quantified and optimized via biomechanical impact testing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Leung, Jeffrey 3TEX, Inc. NC Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 0 5371 AMPP 9163 1444 0522100 High Technology Materials 9960350 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: X-ray Microscope. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is directed toward the development of a table-top x-ray microscope capable of 1 micron resolution at an x-ray energy of 30 keV. This resolution is approximately a factor of ten better than presently available devices using microfocus x-ray sources with magnification radiography. The proposed system is based on a novel x-ray detector capable of better resolution and higher Detector Quantum Efficiency than previously tried scintillators, such as particulate screens, dendritic Cesium Iodide, and fiber-optic-scintillator plates. If successful, the new device will be useful as a general purpose tool for nondestructive testing of materials, as well as biological and medical research SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Smith, Steven Spectrum San Diego, Inc. CA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99982 5371 CVIS 1038 0512205 Xray & Electron Beam Lith 9960353 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: In Situ Chemical Analysis Of Reacting Thin Films During Thermal Processing. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a new in-situ thin-film probe for monitoring the chemistry of reacting films in real-time. This probe will provide valuable information on many of the new chemistry-intensive materials that are being developed to replace the current generation of materials used in mainstream IC manufacturing. It will employ a breakthrough in infrared-reflectometry that greatly expands the scope of application to modern IC materials. The probe's improved spectral data will be analyzed with physical and chemometric models to extract the complex optical constants of materials from the reflectance, and to relate the optical constants to the composition and transport properties of the layers. The sensor will be prototyped in Phase I to study 1) the curing process of advanced spin-on low-k dielectric thin films, where preliminary low-k and resist studies have shown the ability to monitor the reactions of various chemical functional groups during cure processes 2) the kinetics of advanced silicide formation during rapid thermal processing, where a preliminary study showed the ability to monitor a two step formation of titanium silicide In Phase II, the sensor will be integrated onto a production fabrication tool for advanced spin-on dielectric formation. This technology will fill needs both for better chemical monitoring of complex thin film materials and for better integrated in-line metrology, for process development and control. With better metrology for R&D, new low-k dielectrics, photoresists, silicides and other complex advanced electronic materials can be developed and integrated more rapidly and at lower cost into mainstream IC manufacturing. With better production process monitoring and control, the cost of production of devices will be significantly reduced. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Xu, Jiazhan On-Line Technologies Incorporated CT Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99983 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960358 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A Spectroscopic Imaging Sensor for Measuring and Controlling the Particle Conditions in Thermal Sprays. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop particle measurement and control technologies for the thermal spray industry. Thermal spray is a rapidly growing element of the metals processing industry, which needs process control. Currently, there are no direct particle condition controls for lack of a sensor to provide real-time measurement of particle temperature and velocity. A short-exposure imaging spectrometer will be developed for measuring and controlling the particle temperature and velocity in thermal sprays. The innovation combines the technologies of imaging and spectroscopy to capture particle data, critical to the coating quality. The imaging field of view provides spatially resolved measurements in the direction across the particle stream. With the development of the sensor, the system to control the particle stream conditions in a thermal spray will then be developed. When particles are sprayed at optimized conditions over long production cycles, the coatings will be of the highest quality and exhibit excellent bond integrity, strength and density. Critical elements of the sensor will be modeled in a design study. Prototype hardware and software will be constructed and an experiment to examine feasibility of the particle measurement and control will be performed in an industrial thermal spray facility. Commercial Application The technology for measurement and control of particle conditions in thermal sprays has direct application to a wide range of manufacturing industries, autos, aerospace, energy and heavy equipment. Its use in the long production cycles, typical of these industries, will provide significant improvements in their productivity and competitiveness. Key Words Thermal spray, imaging spectrometer, measurement, control, particles SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Craig, James Stratonics Inc CA Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 99877 5371 MANU AMPP 9146 1467 1444 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960363 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Band-gap Sensor for Wafer Temperature Mapping During Epitaxial Growth. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an imaging instrument to measure the temperature distribution in epitaxial wafers grown on Galium Arsenide, GaAs, or Indium Phosphide, InP, substrates during Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) processing. Many world class companies are involved in GaAs manufacturing to target the wireless satellite and fiber optic communication market. As fabrication facilities incorporate larger (6') and multiple wafer processing technology, the importance of temperature uniformity control becomes an increasingly critical issue. High temperature uniformity is required to achieve electrical and optical quality of the epilayer and substrate temperature is one of the key process parameters during epitaxial growth. Models will be developed of the instrument and its application to GaAs temperature monitoring. A prototype will be designed and constructed. The response of the instrument will be examined in a furnace. Additional requirements related to the detailed design of MBE chambers will be identified to establish a preliminary assessment of the feasibility of system integration as a monitor for real-time process control. This technology will provide MBE and Metal-Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (MOVPE) process developers with a tool to determine the temperature uniformity produced in new process chambers. Over the past three decades, compound semiconductors have evolved from research laboratories and niche military applications to high volume commercial applications in wireless, satellite and fiber optic communications. As a result of the rapid increase in demand in the 90's, the wafer size has increased from 2' to 4', and currently 6' wafer fabrication lines are being introduced in a number of facilities across the world. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Craig, James Stratonics Inc CA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99894 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960368 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: High Toughness Cermet Tool and Die Materials. This Small Business Innovation Research Phae I project will create tough, very high strength cermets from alumina, silicon carbide, and titanium carbide ceramics in cobalt and/or nicket matrices, using a new nanoengineered particle manufacturing technique. Ceramic materials such as diamond, titanium carbide, silicon carbide, alumina, and others have superior hardness and wear resistance compared to tool steel and cemented carbide tool and die materials. However, due to poor toughness and relatively poor thermal shock resistance and strenght, the use of these materials on metal cutting and forming applications is limited. Through controlled chemistry and thickness, Phase I will apply interfacial coatings to the ceramic particles to provide superior bonding and load transfer to the particles in the resultant tool material. This is expected to make cermet tools with mechanical properties approaching those of cemented carbides and tool steels, but with wear resistance approaching that of ceramics. Cermet/ceramic tools with higher strength, toughness, and impact resistance will enable the application of high wear resistance ceramics to operations such as milling, roughing, forming, and other fabrication functions requiring impact toughness and strength. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Smith, Gregory POWDERMET INC OH Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99967 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960369 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Auto-Tracking Using Trailing Templates and Skeletal Guides. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project from the Mostert Group proposes to develop a method to track animals and humans in motion, particularly in athletic events, where movement can be characterized by repetitive motions over a relatively short period of time. An efficient algorithm for tracking of biological motion through cluttered backgrounds and significant self-occlusion that does not require the placement of visual targets, is proposed. While the proposed algorithms will have application in many other domains, the Mostert Group initially focuses on real-time tracking of running subjects over a fixed distance in actual athletic events. Repetitive motions will be exploited by developing mechanisms to learn subsequent search regions for constrained template matching. A small database of tracked positions and velocities (derived from previous motion sequences) will allow the algorithm to generalize to new subjects moving over the same course. The Principal Investigator, Paul Mostert, has created a trailing template method that will be combined with the method of deformable templates of Zhong, Jain, and Dubuisson-Jolly, and used in conjunction with skeletal models that will guide the deformation of the ZJDJ templates through potentially confusing relationships (e.g., the crossover motion of the legs). The primary objectives of Phase I research will be a preliminary development of a graphical user interface followed by that of two key tracking technologies; (1) a predictive algorithm to efficiently guide the search for the next position of the object features within video frames, and (2) a model-based approach to deformation of image templates using skeletal guides to improve tracking robustness of biological motion. Applications for this software proffered by the Mostert Group have a ready market demand. Present commercial tracking technology of biological motion requires the placement of intrusive control targets at critical positions on the subject. The commercial need for tracking and characterizing general biological motion will be exploited, including tools for animal behavior analysis, and predicting and improving motion efficiency in athletes. An initial vertical market for obtaining statistical measures known to be significant to the future performance of a racehorse has considerable potential. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mostert, Paul Mostert Group KY Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99940 5371 HPCC 9139 6840 0104000 Information Systems 9960372 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Statistical Methods to Enhance Site-Specific Tornado Hazard Analysis. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will explore the feasibility of developing innovative spatial/temporal statistical techniques to enhance site-specific tornado hazard analysis for any location in the conterminous United States. The approach involves use of a multivariate Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and application of Monte Carlo techniques that can be applied to the SPC Tornado Database for the purpose of regionalizing areas of similar tornado occurrence at the county level. These regionalizations provide an optimal basis for determining areas that are represented by 'homogeneous tornado statistics' (similar tornado climatology) - an important assumption implicitly made during the application of any tornado hazard model, and one that has not been suitably addressed in the past. This will allow quantification of hazard estimates to be associated with confidence estimates based on the characteristics of the data surrounding the point of interest. In addition, a new, statistically-based method will be developed for identifying and removing spatial and temporal bias in the tornado database due to variations in population. The statistical methods will utilize the 'homogeneous' regionalization. Defining 'homogeneous' regions and removing the population bias will enable the SPC Tornado Database to be used to produce a more accurate assessment of the 'true' tornado hazard for a specific site. With the science developed fully integrated into a 'site-specific tornado hazard analysis system,' any group with an interest in tornado climatology, hazard analysis, or risk assessment will have an interest in the technology. These groups include companies and organizations that have responsibility (or vested interest) in mitigating loss of life and costs of tornado-related disasters. Potential users include insurance companies, government agencies (DOE, NRC, civil emergency management), engineers, the media, chambers of commerce, and basic researchers. These end users represent a significant commercial market for the technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nixon, Kenneth Computational Geosciences, Inc. OK G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 100000 5371 CVIS 1473 1038 0109000 Structural Technology 9960374 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Flexible and Transparent Coating Polymers for Flat Panel Displays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new material that combines good electronic and optical properties with excellent flexibility and elongation as an alternative to indium-tin oxide (ITO). Current flat panel displays contain an optically transparent electrode usually made from ITO, which has acceptable conductivity and good transparency in the visible region, but has poor flexibility and durability and can not be processed in large films. The new material contains both an elastomeric and a conducting component. The conducting component is based on an intrinsically conducting transparent polymer. Phase I will synthesize and characterize the new material, and then optimize its structure and formulation. Phase I will also spin cast this polymeric material from water dispersion and characterize the properties of the resulting thin film. Phase II is expected to cover the synthesis, development, and application of the new transparent conducting flexible material, which could replace ITO in displays and other electronic devices. Transparent conducting materials with good mechanical properties could also be used as antistatic packaging materials for electronic components, and as electrostatic charge dissipation coatings for clean rooms. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Luebben, Silvia TDA Research, Inc CO Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU AMPP 9163 9146 9102 1773 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 9960378 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Luciferase Directed Substrates for Cell Regulation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop commercial uses for conjugates capable of exploiting firefly luciferase expression in transformed plant cells to control their growth and physiology. The synthesis of a series of D-luciferin conjugates of plant regulatory substances is researched. In Phase I, we will test these conjugates for the ability to ablate specific tissues and cells expressing luciferase (luc) activity. Conjugates will be assayed in tissue culture and in whole plants for the ability to cause localized cell death in a promoter dependent manner. Such compounds will be of general use for plant research on the control of development and gene expression and have the potential to produce agriculturally important sterile plant species in a reversible manner, through the use of selective application of substrate and choice of luc-fusion promoter. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Naleway, John MARKER GENE TECHNOLOGIES, INC OR George B. Vermont Standard Grant 99485 5371 BIOT 9109 1167 0201000 Agriculture 9960392 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Intelligent Human Power Amplifier Module for Pneumatic Material Handling Equipment. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project poses an engineering solution to reduce workers compensation claims related to lifting. Back injuries account for approximately 20 percent of almost 2 million industrial injuries and illnesses each year, and 76 percent of injured workers have had no mechanical assistance in performing the damaging lift. Even when mechanical assistance devices are provided, workers are reluctant to use them because they are awkward, provide no feedback to the operator and reduce human dexterity and speed (i.e. commercially available lift devices slow the workers down). This project develops a human power amplifier module; an integrated system of pneumatic valves, an end-effector, and an embedded electronic adaptive controller, which can be fitted to a variety of commercially available pneumatic material handling devices. This intelligent module senses the worker's motions, while following the human motion exactly, it will amplify the human force for lifting objects without intermediary devices. This module preserves human hand-eye coordination while exerting high forces to maneuver heavy objects. If successful, it is expected that material handling devices equipped with the proposed module, when used by workers to maneuver loads, will greatly reduce the risk of injuries and the associated health care expenditures. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Taylor, Michael Gorbel Incorporated NY G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 99880 5371 MANU 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960394 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Web-Based Urn Sampler and Statistical Authoring Environment. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from Cytel Software will develop a web-based 'Urn Sampler' that allows students to solve problems via the familiar probability mechanisms of drawing balls from an urn, throwing dice, drawing numbers from a list, and shuffling a deck of cards. The Urn Sampler will present a low learning hurdle by using familiar symbols and standard tools: icons for sampling operations and a spreadsheet interface for data entry and calculations. It will be embedded in and serve as the key component of a web-based authoring environment in which statistics teachers create, share and deliver lab exercises based on the Urn Sampler, as well as hyperlinked text, short video clips, self-assessment exams and frequently asked questions (FAQ's). The intent is to create a statistics curriculum development 'community' in much the same way that the open availability of the Linux operating system has created a community that contributes to further development of that system. The Urn Sampler will address a diverse audience, including undergraduate and graduate students taking a required course in quantitative reasoning or statistics, students taking an undergraduate major or minor in statistics, graduate students studying statistics, and continuing education students. Introductory statistics education has always been a problem area: many students learn little from their required course and take a disliking to the subject. By the same token, it is a commercial opportunity for a better product to target the market of statistics students-there are estimated 1,000,000 undergraduate statistics students per year with per student expenditures of $50 to $100 for books, software and other materials and thus a total market of over $50 million annually. Cytel Software's resampling/simulation approach embodied in the Urn Sampler has a successful track record as a teaching strategy, and the web-based authoring and learning environment will allow sharing of the best and most innovative curricular materials. IIP ENG Bruce, Peter CYTEL SOFTWARE CORP INC MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 7256 SMET 9178 7400 7256 5371 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9960397 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Combustible Gas Microsensor from Self-Organized Nanoporous Ceramic. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop and commercialize new type of combustible gas microsensors with high sensitivity and low power consumption. The innovation is based on self-organized nanostructured ceramic with high thermal, mechanical, and chemical stability. Deposition of the catalytic material inside the network of high surface area nanoscale pores has a potential to enable high precision, better accuracy, and longer lifetime. Nanostructured sensor element will be integrated with a low power microheater by proprietary micromachining technology. The novel combination of nanoscale morphology and micromachining will be utilized to develop sensor arrays that can monitor concentration profiles of multiple combustible gases. The technology is compatible with mainstream microfabrication, and could be easily scaled up. The program will benefit from the infrastructure for the nano- and micro-scale engineering of materials for devices and sensors that is already operational at the Nanomaterials Research Corporation (NRC) and from day-to-day participation of a team that has extensive multidisciplinary experience including sensor product development and commercialization. Proposed research could enable new types of low cost low power robust gas microsensors and sensor arrays with high sensitivity, selectivity, fast response, and possibility of regeneration. Potential applications of the technology include any area where portable gas sensors are used: mines, combustion and exhaust monitoring, air quality control, fire alarms, industrial processes monitoring, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Routkevitch, Dmitri Nanomaterials Research LLC CO Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 0000 0110000 Technology Transfer 9960400 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: In Vivo Studies of a Glucose Sensor in the Nude Rat Model. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project involves the development of a diabetic small animal model for in vivo testing of a minimally invasive glucose sensor. Diabetes is an increasingly common lifelong disease and is associated with many complications. It is responsible for an estimated 10-15% of all health care expenditures. Effective treatment has been shown to prevent or delay many of the associated complications. The most common current treatments include diet, exercise, and self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG). An improvement to the current SMBG method would enable and encourage patients to monitor their glucose levels more closely and thus improve the the general health and quality of life of the diabetic population. This technology is based on a small optical sensor implant that is fluorescent and detectable through the skin. In order to bring this novel glucose sensor closer to clinical trials, animal efficacy trials must be performed. The diabetic, immune reconstituted nude rat model will be developed to test the in vivo performance of the glucose sensor. Data will be collected to demonstrate that the sensor measures glucose changes in insulin and glucose tolerance tests. The life-time and biocompatibility of the sensor will also be studied. An improvement to the current method of measuring glucose levels would enable and encourage diabetic patients to measure glucose levels more frequently at home. An advance in glucose measurement technology would greatly impact the diabetes market. A large commercial market currently exists for innovative improvements to the current fingerstick method, such as the minimally invasive glucose sensor described in this proposal. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ellis-Busby, Diane Sensor Technologies Inc. MA Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 99970 5371 BIOT 9184 9102 1108 0203000 Health 9960403 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Monochromatic Micro X-ray Fluorescence Analysis Using Toroidal Crystal Optics. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an improved micro x-ray fluorescence instrument for thin film measurements. A new technique, monochromatic micro x-ray fluorescence (MMXRF) analysis using doubly curved crystal optics, can meet this significant market need. A toroidal crystal can focus characteristic x-rays from a microfocus x-ray source based upon diffraction. The focused beam is monochromatic and the beam size is expected to be significantly smaller than that of current MXRF systems. In this Phase I project, toroidal crystals for focusing Cu Ka1 and Mo Ka1 photons will be designed and fabricated using silicon and mica crystals. The reflection and focusing properties of the optics will be investigated and the feasibility of the MMXRF technique for critical semiconductor applications will be evaluated. This technique will provide high sensitivity and enhance excitation of low Z elements with the selection of beam energy. In addition, this technique will significantly increase the speed of high energy x-ray measurements. An MMXRF instrument is expected to provide process control in the metallization process of silicon wafers and chip packaging. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chen, Zewu X-RAY OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC. NY Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 97505 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960406 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Ultraviolet-Polarizing Chiral Film. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will establish the feasibility to manufacture ultralarge thin sheets of ultraviolet (UV) polarizer films possessing excellent resistance to high operating temperatures and high-intensity UV radiation. Although polarization of high-intensity UV light is a key component of several important industrial processes, currently available polarizing systems do not meet industrial requirements. Reveo's inorganic films will be manufactured in large thin sheets at low cost. These films will operate at wavelengths as short as 110 nm, far shorter than standard polarizer films, and with adjustable bandwidth. The technology may even enable polarization in the currently inaccessible far UV (85 - 125 nm) and extreme UV (50 - 90 nm) spectral ranges. The films are based on Reveo's newly invented polarizer fabrication technology that involves stacking of nano-structured layers obtained by oblique vacuum deposition. Previous research performed at Reveo has already demonstrated the viability of a similar technology in the visible region. The superior material properties, achieved through understanding and control of the film nanostructure, will ensure that the proposed UV polarizers find immediate and wide applications in material processing, chemical and pharmaceutical synthesis, and microlithography. As the first low-cost large-sheet polarizers with high efficiency, high damage threshold and high operating temperature, Reveo's inorganic UV polarizer films will be absolutely unique and find wide commercial application. The major markets for UV sheet polarizers are currently the liquid crystal display and optical components industries, but in future Reveo's UV polarizers could be the key enabling technology for low-cost chiral drug development, a huge and rapidly expanding market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fan, Bunsen Reveo Incorporated NY Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 99536 5371 OTHR 1415 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960407 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Novel Physico/Chemico Particle Separation Method. This SBIR Phase I program will test a novel physico/chemico method for preparing quality carbon products from unconventional resources. The method consists of a preparation step in which particles are simultaneously treated to enhance separation which is carried out in the second step of the process. A bench scale test reactor will be built for separation experiments and testing ultra-fine particles. The products will be characterized for major and minor metals and trace elements. The objective of this phase is to prepare feedstocks with impurity contents less than 1%. The objective of Phase II will be to combine the two steps of the process into one and will prepare sufficient amounts of the material to test its potential as a substitute for petroleum coke and coal tar pitch in manufacture of carbon electrodes for use in electric furnaces. The technology has the potential to prepare cost-effective alternative feedstocks for manufacture of carbon anodes and cathodes in electric furnace applications. The technology can also be applied other areas including production of refined titanium dioxide and graphite. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Oder, Robin EXPORTech Company Inc PA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 96202 5371 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960408 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Variable-Focal-Length Liquid Crystal Objective Lens. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from Reveo, Inc. involves developing the enabling technology for achieving the nearly unbounded digital storage capacity demands of the 21st Century--a problem that will plague all computer users from individuals to businesses to the government. Rewritable optical storage media have many advantages over magnetic media. Despite the advantages, such as greater density, capacity, and stability, rewritable optical storage media have not have not caught on because of high cost and slow, bulky read/write technologies. A paradigm shift to three-dimensional (3D) optical storage media would allow for phenomenal storage density. Reveo, Inc. has invented a variable-focal-length liquid crystal microlens array that could function as the enabling technology for a fast, simple, inexpensive read/write device for 3D optical media. Coupled with active-matrix LCD technology, Reveo's microlens array could revolutionize digital storage, supplanting magnetic media with ultra-high-density 3D optical media. This Phase I project is a feasibility study in which Reveo firm will compare three designs of LC microlenses and fabricate a prototype microlens of the optimal structure. In Phase II, the firm will fabricate the full array and develop a read/write device for 3D optical media, paving the way for full commercialization in Phase III. In order to set the magnitude of the problem in perspective, consider that over 90 million computers were sold worldwide in 1998 alone, and that figure is increasing rapidly. Reveo proffers a variable microlens technology that will enable a commercially and technically viable 3D optical storage device It is difficult to overestimate how keenly computer users will demand prodgious storage capacity in the future. The commercial potential of a 3D optical storage device that holds almost 1 Tbyte/cm3 is vast in that it offers a viable long-term solution to multitudinous computers users. . SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG He, Zhan Reveo Incorporated NY Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99964 5371 HPCC 9139 6855 0104000 Information Systems 9960410 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Development of Polymer-Based Hydroxide Conducting Membranes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will establish the feasibility of a unique class of hydroxide-conducting, polymer solid electrolyte compositions. These materials are referred to as Hydroxide Exchange Membranes (HEM), which exhibit high OH- conductivity (> 10-2 S/cm) while retaining good film forming properties and mechanical strength. This material would be the first known hydroxide-conducting solid electrolyte. In a preliminary study, Reveo has identified two possible means of synthesizing HEMs. The focus of this study will be on evaluating these HEMs for their hydroxide conductivity, mechanical strength, and film-forming ability, as well as, optimizing the relationships between these parameters. Cost-effective fabrication methods will be identified, and the effect of temperature on performance will be demonstarted. Preliminary results indicate that these HEMs have great potential to fill a tremendous market need in the alkaline battery industry. Since a competing hydroxide-conducting membrane technology does not currently exist, this material will have immediate applications in the alkaline battery industry. It will further have applications and uses in the Reveo zinc-air Fuel Cell Battery and a hybrid class of hydrogen fuel cells. This will remove the need for protection against corrosion or leakage of the liquid electrolyte and increasing the battery energy and power densities. In particular, this material could dramatically reduce alkaline battery material and manufacturing costs while imparting environmentally-safe disposability. Keywords: membrane, hydroxide, fuel cell, battery, solid electrolyte, alkaline, polymer Electrolyte SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yao, Wenbin Reveo Incorporated NY Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 99885 5371 OTHR 1403 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960414 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Development of Flexible Magnets with Induced Anisotropy by Thermal Spray. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project aims to develop flexible, magnetic polymer composite coatings and free-standing forms having induced magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy using thermal spray technology. There exists a need for a cost-effective method for efficiently making anisotropic magnetic structures less than 1mm in thickness as well as complex, geometric shapes, which cannot be achieved by an extrusion process. Furthermore, there is a need to deposit flexible magnetic coatings onto a surface without the use of adhesives for sensor applications. Poly Therm proposes to develop magnetic polymer powders using a mechanofusion process. The powders will be injected through a combustion flame whereby the binder melts and the composite impacts a substrate to produce coatings or a release surface to produce free-standing forms. The magnetic phase will also be dispersed in solution and injected externally into the flame during deposition for maximum magnetic phase content. A magnetic field will orient the magnetic particles during deposition to create oriented magnetic structures. The development of flexible magnetic thin films and complex 3D structures will open new markets for flexible magnets. Coatings will be used for magnetic sensors and proprietary fasteners. Automotive components, aerospace components, electromechanical devices, motors, actuators, magnetic fasteners, and magnetic recording devices will benefit from the development of such magnetic materials. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Brogan, Jeffrey PolyTherm Corp. NY Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 1505 MANU AMPP 9146 1467 1444 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960415 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: New Optoceramics for Advanced Electro-Optic Devices. This Phase I SBIR proposal seeks to develop a new class of electro-optic (EO) materials that will have better properties and achieve higher transmission rates. Many optical devices that use EO materials in their designs, e.g. tunable optical filters, spatial light modulators (SLMs), EO shutters, and beam deflectors, have recently received tremendous attentions due to their potential applications in telecommunication, laser countermeasure, and integrated optics. However, these applications have been limited by the availability of materials with high EO coefficient. The high EO coefficient is required to ensure: (1) the large index change needed to lower the operation voltage; (2) the polarization-insensitive light interaction required for coupling with optical fibers; and ( 3) the high mechanical performance needed for high frequency and heavy load operations. Optoceramics are some of the better EO materials due to their large quadratic EO effect, optical isotropy, and cost effective fabrication process. Studies on using lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) are well known. They are the only optoceramics commercially available, in device applications. There are known difficulties with these materials. They include insufficient EO effect, poor temperature stability, and low mechanical toughness. NZ Applied Technologies proposes to search for new material systems in the relaxor ferroelectric PMN-PT and PZN-PT families. These new systems have shown engineerable ferroelectric behavior and very large room-temperature dielectric constants, which are theoretically predicted to have much better EO performance, and improved mechanical strengths. Success in the Phase I effort will identify the possible new electro-optic optoceramics systems. The military and civilian applications are diverse, and include light modulators, beam deflectors, and optical switches. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lu, Yalin Corning Applied Technologies Corporation MA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99875 5371 MANU 9165 9146 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960419 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Novel Low Temperature Partial Oxidation Reactor. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project involves the development of a novel process for the low-temperature partial oxidation of hydrocarbons. The selectivity in a hydrocarbon partial oxidation reaction is determined by the balance between partial oxidation to the desired product, and complete oxidation to carbon dioxide and water. The selectivity also decreases due to secondary oxidation of the partial oxidation product. In this proposal, a novel process is described which simultaneously addresses these two issues. During this Phase I program, ethylene epoxidation to ethylene oxide will be studied to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the proposed process. Silver catalysts will be prepared, characterized and tested for ethylene epoxidation in both fixed bed and novel bench-scale reactors. The main objective will be to demonstrate equivalent or better activity and selectivity for ethylene oxide formation in the novel reactor, relative to that of the fixed bed reactor. The primary commercial application of the novel process to be developed is low temperature, hydrocarbon partial oxidation, where even incremental improvements in selectivity can translate into significant economic credits. It is anticipated that the process will be widely applicable within the specialty and diversified chemical industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bradford, Michael CeraMem Corporation MA Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9165 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960421 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Ferroelectric and Ferrite Films on GaAs Substrates - A Solution for True Monolithic-Microwave-Integrated Circuits. This Phase I SBIR proposal addresses a novel deposition process for the manufacture of multilayer films for monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs). MMICs are essential for both commercial and military communication applications, such as satellite, GPS, and wireless phones. Each new generation of MMICs are characterized by their increased density, speed, and functionality, which, in turn, are the basis for lower cost and higher performance devices. Ferroelectric and ferrite film technology is a key to development of a MMIC system-on-a-chip. One substantial advantage of an MMIC chip would be the electric post-processing tuning of circuits in order to bring them within specification. However, such MMICs are not available now, because the high growth temperature of ferroelectric and ferrite films are not compatible to GaAs substrates. In this proposal, NZ Applied Technologies proposes to use a novel metalorganic chemical liquid deposition to fabricate high quality low-loss multilayer films on commercial GaAs substrates. This low-cost technique has the potential to reduce the film growth temperature significantly and to meet all the manufacturing requirements. If the proposed process is successful, miniaturization of true MMICs based on lumped-element designs could also become possible. The commercialization potential for this effort includes a new generation of monolithic microwave integrated circuits, such as on-chip VCOs (voltage controlled oscillators), high speed tunable IC (inductor-capacitor) filters, and tunable delay lines for phase arrays. These advanced systems will have application in the space, military, industrial, and consumer sectors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Jiang, Hua Corning Applied Technologies Corporation MA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99949 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960429 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Information Extraction from Synthetic Procedures. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from is directed at demonstrating the feasibility of using Information Extraction, a computer technology based on Natural Language Processing, to selectively extract key information from the running text of synthetic procedures. Synthetic procedures are batch recipes used in the creation and discovery of new chemical entities for drug discovery. The ultimate aim of the project is to automate information extraction and place the information in a computer- understandable data structure that fully captures the content and semantics of the synthetic procedure. Such data structures dramatically increase the value of synthetic procedures since they allow development and deployment of software applications that automate many common time-and labor-intensive tasks in chemical synthesis. The objectives of this Phase I research project are to design and prototype critical software elements of Information Extraction. Feasibility of the approach will be demonstrated by using the developed elements to automatically perform some common tasks that currently require manual intervention by a chemistry expert. Demonstration tasks will include the following: automated creation of synthetic procedure domain ontology; creation of list of materials; and automated text extraction rule induction. There are recipes for more than 19 million unique chemical compounds reported in the public literature. There are a comparable number in the archives of pharmaceutical companies. Overwhelmingly, these procedures are maintained as unstructured running text. IntelliChem's proffered extraction of synthetic procedure information into computer-understandable data structures enhances the value of a procedure, promotes information reuse, and provides a basis for automating many time- and labor-intensive tasks in chemical synthesis. The proposed system will also provide insights into the automated linguistic analysis of semistructured text in other domains that are sufficiently narrow and well organized, and thus it would be generalizable for many other potential applications and uses. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG van Eikeren, Paul IntelliChem Inc. OR Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99751 5371 HPCC 9216 6856 0104000 Information Systems 9960435 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Gallium Nitride Photodiode Array for Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) Lithography Dose and Beam Uniformity Measurements. This Phase I SBIR proposal addresses the development of a standards quality, solid state detector technology for measurement of deep ultraviolet (DUV) irradiance. There is a particular need among manufacturers of DUV photolithography equipment for an accurate and stable detector technology to measure excimer laser (248, 193, 157nm) pulse energy and total ultraviolet (UV) exposure for wafer plane dose uniformity. The current industry standard is the KrF 248 nm excimer laser. Systems utilizing the 193 nm ArF laser are ready now and 157 nm F2 laser systems will soon become the industry standard. The requirements for DUV detection products are high durability under intense UV exposure, uniformity of response over large areas, low noise, linear response, and a high power saturation point. The ultraviolet degradation of existing UV detection technologies, i.e. silicon or GaAsP, restricts the utilization of these materials for the new generation (F2 excimer laser) of DUV lithography tools. A single detection/power measurement technology that can be used for all UV wavelengths would minimize the new engineering work necessary for each new generation of photolithography systems. The wide band gap semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) is proposed as the ideal material system to meet the current and future needs for DUV photolithography. P-I-N and Schottky barrier photodiode detectors made from GaN, and its ternary compounds with aluminum (AlGaN), have high quantum efficiency responsivity for wavelengths shorter than 365 nm. They have low noise, linear response over several decades of incident power, and high bandwidth. Most importantly for DUV irradiance measurements, the material system has the potential to resist degradation under prolonged exposure to high intensity UV radiation. In this proposal, plans are presented to evaluate the robustness and long term stability of GaN and AlGaN UV detectors under intense, prolonged DUV exposure, and also to develop one of the most important, and currently unavailable, detection products for this industry, a large area, multi-element photodiode array for power and dose uniformity measurements at the wafer plane. In addition to DUV lithography, there are many other industrial and scientific applications for group III-nitride technology including UV curing and drying, printed circuit board fabrication, sterilization control, phototherapy, combustion monitoring, and solar irradiance measurement. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Klaassen, Jody SVT ASSOCIATES, INCORPORATED MN Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99990 5371 AMPP 9165 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960446 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Germanium Tetrafluoride as a Fluorinating Agent. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I program will investigate the use of germanium tetrafluoride (GeF4) as an agent to fluorinate organic molecules. Preliminary experiments show that GeF4 possesses unique fluorinating properties as a direct fluorinating agent or in indirect use as a component of a catalyst system. The fluorinating ability of GeF4 can be employed, for example, in the manufacture of specialty chemicals, fluorocarbons from chlorinated intermediates, and fluorinated coatings for a variety of surfaces. When the full potential of GeF4 as a fluorinating agent is realized industries will gain significant economic benefits and an environmentally more benign fluorination process. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Stephens, Matthew Starmet Corporation MA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 89516 5371 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 9960448 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Meshless Computational Tool for Multi-dimensional Analyses of Fluid Flows and Heat Transfer in Complex Geometries. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a novel computational tool that totally avoids the generation of a discretization mesh in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations. CFD is currently in use by a large number of industries to study fluid flow and heat transfer issues of a diverse number of process equipment. As computers keep becoming cheaper and powerful, the general trend in design will increasingly be towards simulation and away from experiments. The most time consuming step in the use of computational fluid dynamics for complex geometries is the generation of the grid on which the governing equations are to be discretized and solved. The grid generation step requires considerable human time in order to produce grids of acceptable quality from the viewpoint of solution accuracy and convergence. This effort, will develop a novel computational tool that totally avoids the generation of a discretization mesh. Instead, the governing equations are satisfied at a large number of scattered points whose positions are generated either by a random number generator or adaptively as the flow field evolves during the computation. The scattered points are not connected to each other as in the finite-element and finite-volume methods, but are organized as "clouds." If successful, the approach and software will considerably reduce the grid generation effort required for computation of industrial fluid flows. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Carroll, George American Computing Inc AL G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 99437 5371 OTHR 1266 0000 0512004 Analytical Procedures 9960452 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Polymer Surface Engineering for Improved Adhesion and Durability of Biocompatible Hard Coatings. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will investigate the use of polymer surface engineering to enhance the adhesion and durability of hard coatings, such as TiN. Hard coatings have the potential to improve a bulk polymer's biocompatibility as well as its wear and durability characteristics. However, the severe requirements of the interface between the hard coating and the polymer caused by the dissimilar nature of the coating and the substrate promote coating delamination and flaking, especially when coupled with exposure to aggressive external conditions. The generally poor adhesion at the polymer/hard coating interface limits the long-term use of such structures and components in a number of applications, including biomedical implants. Accordingly, DACCO SCI, INC., and The Johns Hopkins University propose to engineer the surface of the polymer and the deposited coating using several proce-dures (Ar+ plasma / sputter deposition, NH3+/N2+ plasma/sputter deposition, and Ti evaporation / N2+ ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD)). By characterizing the surface/interface and measuring adhesion before and after accelerated durability tests, the mechanisms of adhesion can be established and the process improved to enhance adhesion and durability, tailored for specific applications. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Davis, Guy DACCO SCI, INC MD Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 1505 MANU AMPP 9165 9146 1467 1444 0106000 Materials Research 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960454 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Programmable, Scalable Wireless Information Infrastructure. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from Vanu, Inc. provides a plan for the research and development of a programmable, scalable wireless information infrastructure based on software radio technology. The system will support all of the signal processing for many digital wireless communications systems entirely in application level software on a cluster of commercial off-the-shelf PCs. This approach enables significant flexibility, through software upgrades, that can overcome many of the limitations of current wireless communications systems. For example, the cellular telephony infrastructure utilizes hardware-based signal processing in base stations. Adding new services or migrating to new standards requires time consuming and costly hardware upgrades. With a software radio infrastructure, these changes can be executed by simply downloading software. This capability will accelerate the pace of innovation in the wireless marketplace, reduce the risk associated with deployment of new services and reduce the barrier to entry for firms with innovative services, such as wireless broadband internet access and cable television services. The research objectives are as follows: design of a robust, scalable, distributed software radio infrastructure for real-time signal processing; design of a load balancing algorithm; evaluation of the computational requirements for advanced digital communications systems; and the determination of feasibility of this approach in a commercial context. Vanu, Inc.'s proffered technology with be the basis for a commercial software radio product that will permit the deployment of any wireless stand or service as a software upgrade. The firm also intends to benefit the academic community by creating a platform to support university research in wireless communication and networking. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bose, Vanu Vanu, Inc. MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99727 5371 HPCC 9218 9102 4096 0206000 Telecommunications 9960457 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Innovation of Real-Time, Integrative Computer Vision System for Accurate, Full-Field Characterization of Complex Component Response. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop the theoretical and practical bases for constructing a real-time, multiple camera, vision-based measurement system capable of providing accurate, three-dimensional measurements: (a) for verification of advanced modeling and simulation tools; and, (b) for remote, in-situ, non-destructive evaluation of both large and small structural components. The proposed research will focus on construction of a virtual test bed (VTB) for the vision-based measurement system. The VTB will include the processes of digital imaging, system calibration, image analysis for object measurement, and data synthesis for feature identification. We anticipate that results from the VTB development will identify promising concepts in each of these areas, which will be the focus of a Phase II program. Potential applications of the proposed measurement system technology include: (a) remote non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of civilian infrastructure; and, (b) validation of advanced computational models for a wide range of complex systems (i.e., full-scale bridge systems, tank cars, aerospace vehicles) under quasi-static and impact loading. In addition, the measurement technology is readily integrated with other measurement devices (i.e., temperature, pressure, ultrasound, acoustic) for development of a multi-level evaluation system. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Echerer, Scott Alpha Manufacutring, Inc. SC Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 9150 HPCC 9150 9139 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9960458 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Monitoring and Characterization of Fine Particulates from Combustion Sources. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project examines the potential for in situ characterization of fine particulate matter of combustion products using an innovative elliptically polarized light scattering method. Particle size, size distribution, and morphology are key factors that control the inhalation of air borne particulates. Synergetic Technologies, Inc. can determine these parameters via a unique approach based on customization of polarization settings for fine particulates. Unlike current on-line particle measuring techniques, structures of fibers and irregular shaped particles (such as particle agglomerates) can be determined with reasonable accuracy. The ability to discern such shapes will have a great impact on reliability of source and ambient monitoring efforts. This investigation will assess the feasibility of using the system to monitor particulate exhaust from small engines. Fundamental research is proposed to closely examine the accuracy of the instrument (comparing results with electron micrographs) for a range of engine test conditions. Phase I will focus on evaluating system capability and accuracy. In Phase II, a prototype system will be designed and constructed for measuring motor vehicle exhaust at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation laboratories. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Saltiel, Craig Synergetic Technologies, Inc. NY Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99955 5371 EGCH 9188 0313010 Air Pollution 9960459 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Low Band Gap Semiconducting Polymers for Photovoltaic and Photosensing Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project outlines a strategy to develop a family of photosensing polymers with low energy band gaps. Such polymers will find application in the area of polymer image sensors and polymer photovoltaic cells. Products that will utilize these polymers include large area flexible sensors for scanning. The use of these sensors for office automation, industrial production controls and home electronics are a vast, untapped commercial market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Hailiang UNIAX Corporation CA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99859 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960480 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Alignment of Low Cost, High Modulus, High Strength Carbon Nanofibers in Composites. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop methods for generating alignment of short but highly graphitic and inexpensive nanofibers in polymer matrix composites. These efforts, carried out by Applied Sciences, in collaboration with its subcontractor, Ohio University, are expected to result in excellent mechanical reinforcement of the matrix, and effectively achieve the elusive goal of simultaneously attaining high modulus, high strength, and low cost from a carbon fiber reinforcement. Carbon nanofibers will be made to align in thin, extruded strands of thermoplastic polymer that can then be laid up and molded into composites by conventional textile handling techniques. The formation and lamination of papers from the short fibers will also be explored. Composites will be tested for mechanical properties and evaluated for the degree of fiber alignment actually obtained. A wide variety of military and commercial applications would benefit from carbon fiber reinforced composites. Any application that currently uses chopped glass fiber reinforcement could be replaced by a carbon fiber reinforced component with improved mechanical properties. Application that can benefit from added electrical conductivity in composites panels, such as low observable materials for aircraft, EMI control enclosures, and automotive panels that need electrostatic painting techniques. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Jacobsen, Ronald APPLIED SCIENCES, INC. OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 1505 MANU 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960485 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Workflows to Enable Agile Virtual Enterprises (WEAVE). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will study the feasibility of building WEAVE (Workflows to Enable Agile Virtual Enterprises), an on-line service that allows any business to create and manage virtual enterprises using only an XML-enabled Web browser. WEAVE provides automated support to locate participating entities, negotiate for their services, plug them into an enterprise workflow using a graphical tool, and analyze the workflow for possible flaws. WEAVE manages these virtual enterprise workflows by dynamically choosing appropriate task schedules and supporting data interchange using XML document formats. Thus, WEAVE enables businesses to easily set up virtual enterprises with little infrastructure and minimal start-up and maintenance costs. This Phase 1 project will determine the operational specifications of WEAVE and ascertain its feasibility by prototyping its critical components. Phase 2 will then produce a fully functional WEAVE system based on results from Phase 1. Finally, Phase 3 will make WEAVE commercially available to enterprises --- large and small --- thereby significantly lowering the barrier for participation in virtual enterprises. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pokorny, Robert XSB, INC. NY G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 99954 5371 HPCC 9139 6850 0108000 Software Development 9960490 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Low-Cost Monolithic Semiconductor Structures for Photovoltaic/Photoelectrolysis Splitting of Water for Hydrogen Generation. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I Project will explore, demonstrate, and develop cost-effective designs and production technologies for semiconductor monolithic photovoltaic/photoelectrochemical (PV-PEC) devices for hydrogen production. This work is motivated by the recent report of a 12.5% efficient laboratory device made by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on a single-crystal GaAs substrate. It is estimated that an order of magnitude cost reduction is necessary to make this technology economic. This approach is based on selective epitaxial growth of III-V compound semiconductors by simple closed-spaced vapor transport and solution growth processes on a large-grain polycrystalline silicon sheet material. Cells based on heteroepitaxy of GaAs, InP, InGaP and GaN on polycrystalline silicon will be evaluated. The simple structure of PV-PEC cells relative to other semiconductor devices such as transistors, photodiodes, lasers, and LEDs, makes the proposed selective epitaxy process especially advantageous in achieving high material quality at low cost with high-throughput processing. This approach will yield the needed cost reductions without significantly sacrificing performance. This is a moderate- to high-risk payoff project that seeks an economically viable, clean, renewable process for hydrogen generation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mauk, Michael AstroPower, Incorporated DE Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 94538 5371 AMPP 9165 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960496 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A 2GHz Bandwidth Cross-Correlator Chip for Interferometry. This Phase I Small Business Innovation Research project aims to research, develop, and demonstrate experimentally a novel cross-correlator chip and a high-speed multi-chip module package, the basic building blocks of an expandable cross-correlator system, with a frequency bandwidths of 2 GHz and priced at one tenth of the cost of existing cross-correlator systems with the same bandwidth. To achieve the stated goal, no single conventional technical approach could provide a cross-correlator chip operating at such high frequency bandwidth and at such a low cost -- only by synergistically combining innovative parallel architecture, bit-systolic arrays, novel digital circuit techniques, and deep sub-micron CMOS fabrication technologies can this unprecedented level of performance-to-cost ratio be obtained. The correlator chip and the high-speed multi-chip module to be developed in this project, if successfully realized, will have the advantage of enabling the implementation of expandable cross-correlator systems that cost 10 to 20 times less than comparable systems envisioned for large interferometer arrays operating at millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelengths. The family of state of the art cross-correlator chips and multi-chip modules produced in this project will have applications in radio astronomy, earth science, geodesy and surveillance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Timoc, Constantin Spaceborne Inc CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 0000 0110000 Technology Transfer 9960502 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Carbon Monoxide-Tolerant Anode Catalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells via Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the development of low loading/watt CO-tolerant precious metal catalysts for application in fuel cells operating on hydrogen from reformed hydrocarbons. Recent research indicates that Pt:Ru, Pt:Mo and even some ternary and quartenary Pt-containing systems can achieve the power output and CO tolerance required for next generation vehicle (NGV's). However, most catalyst layer fabrication methods are far too expensive for mass-market applications. Furthermore, existing technologies cannot provide the short development duty cycle and amenability to combinatorial methods that optimization of a composite anode catalyst layer requires. The Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD) does provide such a technology and has been demonstrated to provide a low-cost solution for catalytic coatings onto both proton exchange membranes(PEM) and carbon electrodes. CCVD's primary advantage is the ability to deposit high quality thin films in the open atmosphere in a production friendly manner. The process uses simple, low-cost equipment and relatively inexpensive precursors. Development of low loading/watt, high performance CO tolerant catalysts is necessary to reduce the cost of manufacturing and enable the large volume production of fuel cell membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs), a fuel cell stack component identified as critical to the successful development of NGV's. The Government/automotive industry Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) has identified proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology to be extremely promising for electric vehicle applications. Adoption of PEMFC power technology for automotive drive trains will enable achievement of industry goals for better automotive fuel economy and reduced emission of air pollutants in comparison with conventional internal combustion engines. This goal will be realized only if costs of PEMFC technology can be reduced further to competitive levels. Achievement of these goals will increase air quality and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil supplies. Successful technical results arising from the proposed program of R&D will have straightforward commercialization avenue from MCT to a variety of automotive manufacturers and fuel cell producers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Faguy, Peter NGIMAT CO. GA Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9165 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960509 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: On-Line, Non-Destructive, Rapid Characterization of Nanopowders and Agglomerates. 9960509 Manickavasagam This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project tests the feasibility of using polarized light scattering for characterization of nano-sized powder size and shape. Nanostructures are a novel family of materials that allow customized structural, electrochemical, electrical, electronic, optical, magnetic, and chemical properties. The development of nanomaterials into useful devices and products depends in large part on the ability to characterize these materials during synthesis, processing, and device production. Current characterization techniques are off-line, slow, expensive, and unreliable. Synergetic Technologies, Inc. (STI) will develop an innovative on-line, reliable, information-rich and real-time device. A precursor of the proposed system has been successfully used to characterize agglomerates of nano-sized soot monomers from combustion processes. Tasks include accuracy assessment and characterizing a variety of individual nanopowders and their agglomerates. STI has consulted with two leading commercial innovators in the nanomaterials area: Triton Systems and Nanomaterials Research Corporation. These companies have great interest in STI's technology and are eager to assist them in developing a system for on-line commercial use. Phase I efforts will focus on proof-of-concept, with special emphasis directed at characterizing the structure of nano-powder agglomerates. Phase II will involve building and integrating a prototype unit for on-line testing at a production facility. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Manickavasagam, Sivakumar Synergetic Technologies, Inc. NY Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 99959 5371 OTHR 1415 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960511 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A Tool for Local Stress Measurement of Patterned Microstructures. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop specific innovations, relating to numerical etching procedure (NEP) and nonlinear sequential analysis (NSA), to analyze the local stress field of a patterned microstructure. By step-by-step irreversible numerical etching, and closely coupled with experimental procedures, the proposed technology can directly correlate the stress state of a patterned microstructure to that of a blanket film. Experimental results have proven that these innovative techniques can also solve highly geometric nonlinear problems, such as membranes. The applications can include bond pads, interconnect lines, sensors, and mask distortion analysis in the IC and micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) industries. Such technical innovations can act as a single package, or work as a module for current Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) bundles to support the reliability and performance analysis of patterned microstructures. The impacts of the proposed innovations will make the following contributions: (1) Applications. Perform mechanical reliability analysis of patterned microstructures; (2) Performance. Solve complex geometric nonlinear problems; (3) Efficiencies. Advise on the correct experimental direction and reduce exploration time; (4) Cost. Revise in-house design concepts instead of finding new material to fit an old design code, which can be costly. The numerical etching procedure (NEP) will be an indispensable tool for the semiconductor industry. It will serve to predict the intrinsic stresses of patterned microstructures. If the proposed research meets its goals, the resulting product can be integrated into Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) tools and software, which will have many applications in mechanical reliability and performance analysis in the fields of packaging bond pads, interconnect lines, MEMS devices, membranes, mask distortion analysis, and other future micro devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Shyu, Kuokai Manifold Engineering CA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99967 5371 MANU 9146 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960515 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Nanostructured Ceramic Composites: Method of Production and Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will merge two recent breakthroughs in nanomaterials research to develop composites with an extraordinarily fine scale and unsurpassed homogeneity. By combining the two technologies of melt forming of metastable nanoceramic solid solutions and Transformation Assisted Consolidation (TAC) of the resulting powders, we will be able to produce a new generation of nanocomposite materials. These materials will be bulk samples that are fully dense and still retain the nanoscale grain size. More importantly, the composite will consist of a homogeneous network of two ceramic phases, each of which retards the grain coarsening of the other and provides mechanical reinforcement. The result will be a material that combines the advantages of composite structures with those of nanomaterials. Materials developed in this project will be used for cutting and wear resistant applications such as tools and bearing components. Many other applications exist such as engine components, seals, sensors, mirrors and situations requiring toughness and wear resistance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mayo, William Nanopac Technologies, Inc. NJ Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9165 9148 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960520 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Infrared Video Camera. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a novel, low-cost, infrared video camera. Infrared imaging is a rapidly growing market valued at roughly $500 Million. The proposed infrared camera is capable of meeting the requirements of commercial, military, and the R&D markets. It has the potential to make infrared imaging as affordable as imaging in the visible. Successful completion of this SBIR project is expected to lead to a $5,000 IR camera whereas the present cost of a similar system is close to $70,000. The proposer's IR camera boasts ruggedness, high pixel count, and good temperature sensitivity. The goal is to demonstrate an 'uncooled', 1024 X 1024 pixel camera with a temperature sensitivity of 0.2 K in a hand-held format. The proposed IR camera will find applications in the areas of process control, agriculture, machine vision, quality control, military, and R&D. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Deliwala, Shrenik Science Research Laboratory Inc MA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99921 5371 AMPP 9165 0522100 High Technology Materials 9960522 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Modeling of Thermal Transport and its Interaction with Crystal Formation in Optical Fiber Drawing on Distributed Memory Machines. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop and demonstrate a computational tool for detailed simulation of thermal transport in a optical fiber drawing process on distributed memory machines. The ZBLAN optical fibers may replace the existing silica optical fibers in the next century because they have broader spectrum and lower loss coefficient. However, the ZBLAN glass tends to crystallize during the drawing of optical fiber. The suppression of crystallization requires a clear understanding of thermal transport involving radiative heat transfer and two-phase flow with a curved free surface. In Phase I, the finite volume method (FVM) will be modified to simulate radiative heat transfer in the gas enclosure as well as inside the glass. The gas-glass interface is treated as an optically directional and reflecting surface. The full elliptic governing equations will be solved for both glass and external gas, which are coupled by the conjugate boundary conditions at the interface. The discretization of the physical domain will be carried out by the multizone adaptive grid generation (MAGG) technique. An efficient parallel algorithm will be developed and implemented in the solution procedure with message passing by the Message Passing Interface (MPI) library. A parallel algebraic multi-grid (AMG) solver will be developed to solve the discretized equations. The Phase I will demonstrate the high accuracy and efficiency of the proposed simulation tool for thermal transport process. In Phase II, the crystal formation model will be developed, and the coupling between thermal transport and crystal formation will be completed in the tool. The simulation tool to be developed will significantly benefit the optical fiber industry that requires a detailed understanding of multimode and highly coupled transport phenomena and their interactions with thermal induced defects. The potential applications include the design, optimization, and control of optical fiber drawing process and many other manufacturing and materials processing systems. Key Words: Optical Fiber Drawing, Radiative Heat Transfer, Parallel Computing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Liu, Jiwen ENGINEERING SCIENCES, INC. AL G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 1266 0000 0510302 Energetics & Thermodynamc 9960528 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: High Temperature (400°C) Instrumentation Amplifier. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project addresses the need for an instrumentation amplifier operating at high temperature for control applications. We propose to demonstrate an amplifier operating at temperatures above 400 degrees C by using transistors fabricated from a new wide bandgap semiconductor composed of Aluminum Gallium Nitride (AlGaN). SVT Associates has already demonstrated operation of transistors in this material system at 425 degrees C. The Phase I effort seeks to demonstrate the key components of the integrated amplifier, namely the transistor, the resistor, and the capacitor. These components would be characterized as a function of temperature and used to fabricate a hybrid version of the first stage of the amplifier (a differential pair amplifier). The Phase II effort will involve the design, fabrication and testing of an instrumentation amplifier operating at 400 degrees C. The proposed amplifier could be combined with sensors operating in harsh, high temperature locations such as geothermal/oil wells, turbine engine control, avionics, industrial process control, nuclear reactor control, boiler combustion control systems, automotive underhood electronics and space based power systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Van Hove, James SVT ASSOCIATES, INCORPORATED MN Darryl G. Gorman Standard Grant 99998 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960534 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Catalyst for Near-Zero NOx Emissions from Natural Gas Fired Power Plants. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project involves the development of a catalyst to control NOx emissions from combined cycle power plants using natural gas fired turbines (natural gas fired power plants). Guild Associates has developed an environmental catalyst for the control of nitrogen-containing compound emissions. The catalyst is unique in that it is able to destroy this class of compounds, which includes NH3, without generating NOx. The catalyst was recently investigated for its ability to reduce NOx in the presence of NH3 in humid air. Operating in the presence of excess NH3, the catalyst was able to completely reduce NOx without NH3 slip. NH3 slip is prevented because the catalyst is able to directly reduce the excess NH3 to N2 and H2O. The objective of this Phase I SBIR proposal is to evaluate this catalyst under conditions consistent with the natural gas fired power plant application and to modify the catalyst to address possible shortcomings. Successful completion of this effort will lead to a simple, low cost technology for control of NOx emissions from natural gas fired power plants without NH3 slip. Current technologies are not capable of reducing NOx emissions to greater than 90% without significant levels of NH3 slip. Should the novel catalyst developed under this effort prove successful, power plants will be provided with low cost, simple technology to meet increasingly tighter NOx emissions levels. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rossin, Joseph GUILD ASSOCIATES INC OH Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 99220 5371 EGCH 9197 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960535 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Development of a Compact Cloud Spectrometer and Impactor. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project aims to prove the feasibility of developing a new in-situ instrument for measurement of the droplet size distribution and condensed water mass. This Cloud Spectrometer and Impactor (CSI) would be based on two existing technologies: the light-scattering spectrometer and the counterflow virtual impactor. Features of both instruments would be combined in a lightweight, compact, commercial instrument for measurement of cloud microphysical characteristics on an aircraft platform. Specifically, in Phase I the proposer would design two shrouded inlets for the CSI: one that impacts and evaporates droplets for a measurement of condensed water mass, and one that optically measures the droplet size distribution. A plan for incorporating all the necessary measurement and electronic components within the internal framework of a standard housing used on research aircraft would be developed. Methods for providing sufficient dry carrier gas, even at high-altitude, and would be assessed. Candidate techniques for measuring water vapor after droplets and ice crystals are impacted and evaporated within the CSI inlet would be evaluated. This instrument development focuses on an airborne instrument, but the feasibility of ground-based applications would be explored. Research organizations and industrial companies needing accurate measurements of the size and mass of condensed water will use this instrument. For research organizations, measurements of droplet size distribution and condensed water mass are important for weather forecasting and understanding global climate change. In industry, the application of agricultural chemicals and many coating processes rely on liquid water sprays. The accurate determination of the droplet size and total water content is important for correct application of the material. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Kok, Gregory Droplet Measurement Technologies CO Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 98605 1505 EGCH 1325 0110000 Technology Transfer 9960536 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Semi-Automatically Constructing Wrappers to Access Internet-Based Information Sources. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from Dynamic Domain will enable computer users to create wrappers so that web sites can be queried as if they were databases. The key innovation of this proposal is a method for semi-automatically generating wrappers from examples. The approach combines supervised and unsupervised learning methods to minimize the amount of information required from users to generate wrappers. As a result, unsophisticated users can rapidly create their own wrappers. The research has the potential to make it vastly easier to access and integrate data to create large scale, virtual databases because it makes it possible for information users to create virtual databases, rather than relying on information providers to carry out this task. Dynamic Domain proffers technology with the potential to transform the economics of information integration by giving ordinary users the power to integrate and query information sources. While existing, commercially viable applications of this technology include tools for developing shopping agents and specialized search engines, new possibilities abound for Internet automations. For example, consider a manufacturer who wants to integrate his production schedules with his business partners in a very fluid market where his partners frequently change. Rather than requiring his partners to employ the same enterprise resource planning software that he uses or asking them to develop specialized interfaces, he can easily import data they make available via the web in whatever format they choose. INFORMATION & KNOWLEDGE MANAGE SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Minton, Steven FETCH TECHNOLOGIES CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99450 6855 5371 HPCC 9216 6855 5371 0104000 Information Systems 9960540 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Electrochemical Chlorine Purification. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a novel electrochemical method of purification of "tail" gas, also known as vent or sniff gas. About half of the chlorine produced in the chlor-alkali industry is liquefied, stored, and shipped. The tail gas from the liquefaction process contains chlorine (Cl2) with oxygen (O2), nitrogen (N2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and hyrogen (H2) as impurities. Phase I involves reduction of Cl2 from the impure chlorine stream at a gas diffusion or porous flow-through type cathode. The product HCl is anodically oxidized to generate chemically pure Cl2. The other impurities in the impure Cl2 gas stream, e.g., N2, CO2, are either not reducible at the cathode or their reduction is too low to be significant. The objective of Phase I is high current density.operation, delineating the effects of impurities in the chlorine on cathode performance, and minimizing the contribution of parasitic reactions at the anode. Commercially relevant benefits include: material conservation (Cl2 is not wasted), reduction in energy consumption relative to other technologies, elimination of waste gas streams, and generation of pure Cl2. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sarangapani, Srinivasan ICET, INC MA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9197 1414 0118000 Pollution Control 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960557 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Novel Electric Field Probe for High-Speed Integrated Circuits and Semiconductor Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a novel electro-optic method for noninvasively probing electric fields, and hence waveforms, in integrated circuits without external probes. The technique will work on any semiconductor regardless of its crystal structure, and can be used for both imaging and single point detection without degradation of temporal resolution. Because the technique is optically based, no parasitic capacitance is added to the device being measured. A femtosecond laser probes the device to be measured; thus the technique's temporal resolution is several orders of magnitude faster than the time resolution required to probe present devices. Since silicon MOSFET technology is the dominant technology used in logic and memory devices, it is important to develop noninvasive techniques that work on silicon-based devices. This method for measuring the electric fields present in semiconductor devices will be effective on silicon as well as any other semiconductor. The benefit to industry, government, and academia will be enormous, allowing integrated circuits to be probed and p-n junctions to be studied and imaged. Commercial applications of the proposed research include the development of techniques for studying semiconductor devices, and the development of instrumentation to measure electronic waveforms in integrated circuits noninvasively. Such instrumentation could be used to diagnose problems in integrated circuits during development, on production lines, and in circuit boards. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kane, Daniel Southwest Sciences Inc NM Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 9960564 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Investigation of a Novel Ceramic-Based Composite for Ferrous Metal Cutting Applications. Despite significant advances in materials in the past 30 years, breakthroughs in cutting tool materials for ferrous metals have been limited since the introduction of tuingsten-carbide cobalt (WC-Co) materials early in this century. WC-Co is a compositional compromise between the hardness of the carbide phase, and the ductility of the (Co) Cobalt. This compromise becomes a burden as industry continues to seek improved efficiencies, push the bounds on alloy properties, and develop new manufacturing practices. In particular, the Co phase limits the usefulness of the tool due to loss of hardness at high temperatures. Ceramic composites should technically provide the appropriate properties for improved cutting tools, and in fact, are used already in specific applications. However, the available materials are either unreliable due to poor damage tolerance, or limited due to reactivity of with ferrous alloys. A new ceramic material has been identified that exhibits significantly improved damage and corrosion tolerance. We propose that a composite of this material with a hard carbide phase represents a revolutionary new concept for an essentially all-ceramic cutting tool. The Phase I program will support composite preparation, characterization, and comparative machining evaluation alongside commercial WC-Co materials. Phase II will support composite refinement, properties evaluation, and application development. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mroz, Thomas Advanced Refractory Technologies, Inc. NY William Haines Standard Grant 99999 5371 MANU 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960571 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: On Demand Cocktail Creation System. This Small Business Innovation Research NSF Phase I project will demonstrate the potential of an 'On Demand Cocktail Creation System' that will significantly improve the MOCVD of complex thin film oxides, such as BaSrXTi1-XO3 (BST), PbZr XTi1-XO3 (PZT), SrBa2Ti2O9 (SBT), and Yba2Cu3O7-X (YBCO). These films represent a rapidly maturing material technology for memory, sensor, electronic, and other important state of the art commercial and military product applications. They are applied in the form of dielectrics, ferroelectrics, GMRs, pyroelectrics, piezoelectric, and superconductors, among others. Presently, sputtering is used to manufacture such films; however, it is well accepted that MOCVD is the needed deposition technology for thin, conformal defect/damage free films. MOCVD for complex oxides is limited by source chemistry and generally requires flash evaporation of chemical solutions (cocktails). COVA is presently leading the development of flash evaporation technologies with patented and developing designs. We have found that the greatest limitation to application of cocktail chemistry for manufacturers is that of stable, repeatable 'cocktails'. The individual chemicals are generally more stable than the created cocktails. We propose to make an 'On Demand Cocktail Creation System' operating in a controlled environment that will solve these and other problems. We will do this in an oxide-CVD lab of a commercial systems vendor. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Huebner, Gregory COVA Technologies, Inc. CO Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99000 5371 MANU 9146 0522100 High Technology Materials 9960572 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Understanding 'Construction/Deconstruction' and the Role of Resistance in Accelerated Learning. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from Workplace Technologies Research Inc. (WTRI) will explore the basic principles of learning revealed by one of the firm's more highly successful technology implementations in which user knowledge and performance with the system were found to be critical. The data involved were collected on 3500 shopfloor personnel who were given an activity-based training exercise on a complex computer technology. WTRI's training was based on research showing that experienced adults learn complex concepts in the context of solving problems at work. The trainees' acceptance and rapid development as 'expert' users suggest that a particular set of principles used to design the training may be a key element in learning complex technologies. Further, the later high performance of highly 'resistant' workers may indicate an important role of resistance in innovation. The project seeks to identify the important mechanisms of learning and to find ways to broaden their application. In particular, the project seeks to provide the foundation for designing methods of accelerating learning that can be part of the context of the actual work activity and that will not require the considerable expense and lost productivity incurred with off-line training. At the same time, the model also has significant potential for enhancing our understanding of 'construction/deconstruction' and the role of resistance in accelerated learning. WRTI has conceived of a model, Iterative Technology Implementation Model (ITIM(TM)), to increase technology deployment success rates as measured by time to adoption by the workers and long term retention. The model has great potential for generalizing the facilitation of the process of technology adoption/ replacement, if the principles that have made the approach to training for change and technology adoption so successful can be distilled from the large, rich data set at hand. This distillation can in turn facilitate appropriate training selection and design and faster implementation of change, thus making needed assistance more affordable to a broader spectrum of companies. DIGITAL SOCIETY&TECHNOLOGIES SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG DiBello, Lia Workplace Technologies Research Inc. NY Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99998 6850 5371 SMET 9179 9102 7256 7178 6850 5371 0105000 Manpower & Training 9960573 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Novel Catalyzed Nanotubular Structures for Advanced Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will utilize a novel carbon nanotube material to develop an innovative electrode structure for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The innovation in this work targets both performance and cost issues of PEM fuel cells by investigating novel catalyst support structures. This effort capitalizes on the technical expertise of research groups at Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) and the Martin Group at University of Florida (UF). The Martin Group, in the role of a subcontractor, will be responsible for nanotube synthesis. Catalyzing the nanotubes is a task that will be shared by both groups; each bringing unique expertise to this project. The catalyzed membranes will then be integrated into a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) by PSI and tested for single cell performance. The development of these support structures will also pave the way to a new single component MEA system, eliminating the expensive solid polymer electrolyte currently employed. Successful development of the technology will substantially improve the performance and cost effectiveness of PEM fuel cells for vehicular applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Jayne, Karen Physical Sciences Incorporated (PSI) MA Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 99979 5371 AMPP 9165 9102 1401 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960578 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Low-Cost Formation of Ultrahard Diamond-Like Coatings. Ultrahard materials (UHM) possess many superior properties, making them highly desirable as industrial materials. Unfortunately, these materials, particularly the hardest of all, diamond-like materials, cannot be used in many high-volume applications due to their low oxidation resistance, low thermal stability, and high cost. For this reason, new, low-cost UHMs with comparable or even superior properties are required. Calculations based on known thermodynamic and structural data predict that cubic carbon nitride, alpha-C3N4, will be significantly harder and much more thermally oxidation-resistant than diamond. Despite significant progress made by researchers over the last decade, the formation of pure phases of this material, as well as others like it, has not as yet been accomplished. In the project, Ultramet will generate novel UHMs such as alpha-C3N4, cubic carbonazenide (cubic C(HN)), and composite ternary nitrides consisting of metal nitride nanocrystals and an amorphous silicon nitride (Si3N4) phase using a novel chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-based process. This new process, which is kinetically driven, allows the formation of a large variety of ceramic materials at or near room temperature. Applications: The proposed novel CVD processes will yield new UHMs such as alpha-C3N4, cubic C(HN), and composite ternary nitride/Si3N4 phases with hardness and oxidation stability equal to or exceeding those of cubic boron nitride and diamond. The new processes will allow these new UHMs to be produced at lower cost and used in a much wider range of applications than current UHMs. Keywords: ultrahard materials, cubic carbon nitride, cubic carbonazenide, ternary metal nitrides, chemical vapor deposition, thin films, superabrasives SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fortini, Arthur ULTRAMET, INC. CA William Haines Standard Grant 99416 5371 AMPP 9165 9148 9146 1467 1444 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960582 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Algorithms and Protocols to Enhance Data Service Quality in Third Generation Wireless Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from 3GCOM proposes specific algorithms suitable for application in Third Generation Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Networks, which couple the technique of re-transmission RAKE with power control in order to achieve high performance gains. The R-RAKE protocol (which gets its name from the fact that it rakes-in energy from previous failed packet transmissions in decoding the current one) provides an increased received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). 3GCOM proposes specific methods for simulation, in order to optimize the algorithm's design and show the benefits of the proposed approach. In addition, specific protocols are proposed to be studied, in order to provide a tradeoff analysis on the algorithm's implementation in the protocol layer of Third Generation systems, allowing for fast software product development during Phase II. The firm will offer products that allow for optimized 3rd generation operation. The products pertain to implementing algorithms in software to achieve this optimized system operation. In the next so-called Third Generation of wireless cellular communications, high-speed, high-quality data services are dominant, but these services place very strong demands on the required power, and the network resources (capacity). Therefore, protocols and algorithms to allow for more efficient high-speed data are necessary. 3GCOM proffers a technology with important potential to enhance data service quality in the US-based wireless industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I COMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH ADVANCED NET INFRA & RSCH IIP ENG Ketseoglou, Thomas 3GCOM CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 94660 5371 4096 4090 HPCC 9218 9217 5371 4090 0206000 Telecommunications 9960584 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: High Accuracy Trace Gas Sensor for Remote Sites. This Phase I Small Business Innovation Research Phase I aims to develop a near-infrared, laser-based spectroscopy instrument for detecting carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and methane in the Arctic as indicators of pollution transport. This instrument will be the first low-cost, remotely operated, high-sensitivity, high-accuracy sensor capable of continuously obtaining, storing, and transmitting data without the need for on-site calibration. It will achieve a significant advance in the accuracy of CO measurements, thereby enhancing studies of pollution transport into the Arctic by allowing multi-year studies and comparisons between distant field sites. It will enable the atmospheric chemistry and Arctic climate scientific communities to generate accurate and reliable models of global pollution generation, chemistry, and transport. This instrument can be used as a medical diagnostic for pulmonary distress detection. It will also enable power plants and other industrial operations to improve the efficiency of their stacks, thereby decreasing emissions and increasing productivity. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Paldus, Barbara PICARRO INC CA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99961 5371 EGCH 9187 9102 0118000 Pollution Control 9960586 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Ultra High Definition Color Projection Display. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of a beam steering system that will enable each pixel on a light valve to become four color pixels thus doubling the light valve's resolution in both directions and adding color without banding effects. The goal of any display device is the creation of a compelling illusion that the user is observing a real object. This is particularly true in simulation applications where realism is paramount or where faithful and accurate reproduction of a physical object is required, as in medical imaging. These applications require ultra high definition. DTI has conceived an optical technique that can use a state-of-the-art light valve with 1.3 million pixels and double its resolution in both directions to produce a display with 5.2 million pixel resolution. Research to date indicates that to be technically viable, an effective mechanism is needed to direct spot illumination to multiple well focused spots with the precision to optically increase the resolution of the light valve. This innovation will enable display products to achieve resolutions not possible though conventional means to meet the most demanding digital display requirements including those for digital mammography, simulators, HDTV and digital cinema. Ultra high definition product monitors resulting from this research can be commercialized in a number of markets demanding high quality images with fine details and improved realism. These include digital cinema, multi-media presentation, dome simulators, digital mammography and radiology and HDTV. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Eichenlaub, Jesse DIMENSION TECHNOLOGIES INC NY Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 9960598 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Earth Data Multimedia Instrument. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from Planet Earth Science (PES), Inc., the Earth Data Multimedia Instrument (EDMI), will be a software-based, client-side, data-visualization instrument that will bring to the K-12 science classroom much the same data visualization capabilities of advanced research laboratories: the ability to acquire real-time data from the internet and to manipulate these data locally and display geographically-based information. The EDMI will build upon Internet data access capabilities currently under development at Planet Earth Science, Inc. The EDMI is an innovation in educational courseware authoring capabilities, an innovation that responds to the need for interactive courseware to enable secondary-school science students to discover and understand actual Earth-science data sets. Embedded as a plug-in ('Xtra') to the run-time software products made with Macromedia Director and Authorware, the EDMI acquires the advanced interactive multimedia capabilities of these authoring platforms. The EDMI adds the capability to visualize and manipulate the most up-to-date Earth data. As such, the EDMI fully complements and extends the usefulness of the NSF sponsored WorldWatcher program and other data visualization programs available on the marketplace. The initial user population will be America's middle-school Earth science classrooms, although the Instrument can also find application in a wide range of formal and informal instructional settings. As the enabling technology for data discovery software in middle schools, the EDMI will pioneer a new level of pedagogy, where the ability to access and visualize large data sets becomes routine even for pre-teen students. Whether included in the next series of Planet Earth Science's award-winning courseware, or sold as a Director/Authorware plug-in to other software developers, the EDMI realizes the potential of the Internet as a data-delivery network. IIP ENG Caron, Bruce Planet Earth Science, Inc. CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 98157 7256 SMET 9177 7355 7256 5371 0108000 Software Development 9960600 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Integrated Reactor Scale and Topography Feature Scale Simulator for Plasma Enhanced Semiconductor Processes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a statistical (Monte Carlo) software model and software simulation tool for the pre-sheath and sheath regions of low pressure plasmas used in IC fabrication. The objective is to bridge the time/length scales between reactor scale phenomena and feature scale phenomena. The sheath models will be integrated with an existing reactor scale software model (CFD-ACE+) and feature scale software simulators (SPEEDIE and CATS). The work will fill a void currently faced by designers of plasma equipment and processes. It will evaluate the influence of macroscopic reactor conditions on feature scale profile evolution. Stanford University Center for Integrated Circuits will be a sub-contractor on this project. The Phase I effort will focus on an intermediate-scale model based on kinetic treatment of charged particle transport near the wafer surface. This model will be an interface between a hydrodynamic model in CFD-ACE+ and collisionless gas phase models in SPEEDIE and CATS for interstructure particle transport. The plasma-presheath model will provide spatially resolved distributions of ion flux, energy and angular distributions to SPEEDIE and CATS. Both SPEEDIE and CATS require die level models to resolve the impact of circuit layout/topography on species generation/loss, charged particle collection and currents paths to the substrate. In Phase II, the models will be refined and validated (against experiments conducted at Stanford) for silicon etch processes in Cl2 and SF6 systems. CATS will be expanded to include the wafer charging circuit and will be merged with SPEEDIE. The commercial availability of the capability will allow process engineers to design better processes and identify equipment/process deficiencies before physical prototyping. The use of the model will enable the reduction of potential yield losses due to unsatisfactory gap/step coverage, film noncomformality and undesirable etch profiles. According to industry observers, even a 2% improvement in the fabrication yield will provide significant savings to the industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Stout, Phillip CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION AL Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99947 5371 MANU 9146 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960601 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Spinning Performance of Melt-Spun Fibers Containing Microencapsulated Phase Change Material. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project will investigate the spinning performance of melt spun fibers containing microencapsulated phase change materials (microPCMs). MicroPCMs have been successfully incorporated into solution-spun acrylic fibers, significantly increasing their thermal energy storage capability. However, of the billions of pounds of non-cellulosic fibers produced worldwide, melt-spun fiber production far exceeds the amount produced of acrylics. With demand for acrylics expected to continue to decline over the long term, the opportunity for technological innovation in synthetic fibers clearly lies with melt-spun fibers. The overall objective of Phase I is to acquire a fundamental understanding of the relationship between the spinning process, the polymer matrix containing microPCM, and the resulting product. To achieve this the limits of spinnability of microPCM filled polyester and/or polypropylene will be determined. This includes determining the maximum concentration of microPCMs for spinning continuity at 2000 m/min. and higher. Anticipated benefits to the nation include (1) the commercial potential of melt-spun fibers and resulting fabrics with enhanced thermal energy storage capabilities, and (2) an enhancement to national security offered by the use of this technology to extend the endurance and survivability of members of the military services who operate in extreme environments. Commercial potential The commercial potential of melt-spun fibers and fabrics with enhanced thermal energy storage capabilities is enormous for the apparel (e.g., socks, gloves, jackets) and industrial insulation markets, where hot or cold thermal control is required. Key words Phase change material, microPCM, melt-spun fiber, fiber spinning SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bryant, Yvonne Triangle Research and Development Corporation NC Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 9102 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960623 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Novel Thin Film Electric Field Tunable Microwave Devices. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I program will expand the types of thin film ferroelectric materials for electrically tunable microwave device applications including resonators, filters, and phase shifters. Phase shifters play an essential role in phased array antennas, for example. As opposed to the conventional ferrite-based devices, which rely on magnetic fields to vary the magnetic permeability of the material, ferroelectric devices possess an electric permittivity or, correspondingly the dielectric constant, that is varied by an applied electric field. Electrical rather than magnetic tunability allows more compact and power-efficient devices. Thin film ferroelectrics have further advantages over bulk ferroelectrics in that they operate at lower voltages. In this Phase I STTR project, F&S/Luna innovations and their university research partners will develop a new class of materials for electrically tunable microwave device applications that are based on organic polymers rather than ceramic ferroelectric materials. The advantages of polymers include low cost, easy processability, low dielectric constant and loss tangent, and the versatility of a wide range of potential materials that can be optimized for a given device through organic synthesis. This technology would revolutionize the fabrication of microwave switching and phase shifting components by reducing size, cost and power requirements while improving performance compared to existing component technologies. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Miller, Michael Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99981 1505 MANU AMPP 9163 9146 1773 1467 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 9960625 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: An Advanced Model for Aerated-Liquid Jets in Subsonic Crossflows. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will study the spray atomization and mixing performance of effervescent (or aerated-liquid, or barbotage) atomizer in a subsonic crossflow environment, both experimentally and numerically. The investigation of phenomena associated with the atomization of aerated-liquid jets injected into a subsonic crossflow poses significant challenges due to the complexity involved among liquid, barbotage gas, and cross-stream air. The research objectives are: 1) to identify the near-field spray breakup mechanisms, 2) to characterize the far-field spray structures, and 3) to explore the flow control capability of aerated-liquid injectors. Extensive experimentation will be accomplished, allowing for complete characterization of atomization processes, including pulsed shadowgraph (for the global spray structure visualization and penetration height measurements), holography (for the near-field column structure studies), and PDPA (for the far-field spray structure measurements). Flow control capability of the aerated-liquid injectors in subsonic crossflows will be investigated in terms of the discharge coefficients. Numerical simulations will be performed using the KIVA computer code to predict the far-field spray structures. The application of aerated-liquid atomizers in subsonic crossflows is anticipated to offer enhanced atomization and superior fuel-air mixing in a wide array of engines, such as gas turbine engines, rocket engines, and high-speed air-breathing engines. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lin, Kuo-Cheng Taitech, Inc. OH Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 99508 5371 MANU 9149 1443 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960634 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: One-Step Silicon Wafer Manufacturing from Low-Grade Polysilicon for Photovoltaic Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes an innovative method for one-step silicon wafer production for the photovoltaic (PV) industry. Starting directly from metallurgical grade silicon (MGSi), it is proposed to use molten metal as the purification media. MGSi with its impurities will be dissolved in the molten metal, which will separate the impurities from MGSi through the impurity partitioning effect. By manipulating the temperature, and taking advantage of the density difference, silicon can be separated from the molten bath. Once the impurities are separated, silicon wafers will be drawn out from the molten bath. This one-step method eliminates the use of chlorosilanes (normally used to produce polysilicon). In addition, eliminates the steps of crystal growth and wafer slicing for the photovoltaic industry. This process will meet the demands of PV industry to produce inexpensive solar wafers. Phase I of the project will concentrate on the experimental and theoretical research for purification and characterization aspects of MGSi. This will lead to a preliminary design of a one-step wafer manufacturing system. During Phase II detailed research will demonstrate how this single step process can be reduced to practice, leading to commercialization in Phase III. This project will lead to a new US-based technology for the photovoltaic (PV) industry. The proposed technology can substantially reduce the cost of silicon wafers that the PV industry uses. It is expected that with this technique, it will be possible to decrease the cost/watt of solar power into the range in which solar power can become competitive with standard utility power. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chandra, Mohan GT EQUIPMENT TECHNOLOGIES NH Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960640 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Electrochromic Devices Fabricated from Self-Assembled Polyelectrolytes for Flat Panel Displays. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I program will encompass the revolutionary ionically self-assembled monolayer (ISAM) methods of creating multifunctional thin-films monolayer by monolayer to yield self-assembled, electronically and photonically-active polymeric thin films. F&S/Luna Innovations and research partners have demonstrated that the ISAM technique can be used to fabricate both polymer light emitting diodes and inherently noncentrosymmetric electro-optic polymer films. Because the self-assembly technique relies inherently on polyelectrolytes, electrochromic devices become another important area of opportunity for the combination of ISAM with conducting polymers. Such devices change their color and/or opacity when a voltage is applied. The ISAM process allows molecular level control over the assembly of the layered structures of an electrochromic device with exceptional homogeneity and ease of processing. ISAM electrochromic thin film devices offer the potential for enhanced electrochromic contrast and increased switching speed as well as major advantages of excellent homogeneity, high thermal and chemical stability, simplicity and low-cost. Importantly, the films can be conformally fabricated over large areas on flexible substrates. F&S/Luna Innovations will work with optoelectronic and polymer synthesis university researchers to rapidly transition recent laboratory results to prototype device products. ISAM electrochromic devices have immediate application in military and commercial areas for inexpensive, large area, flexible optical displays, smart windows, and automotive rear view mirrors and sunroofs. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Miller, Michael Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99962 1505 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960650 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Transcription Profiling for Environmental Toxicity. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to validate the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a whole animal model for developmental compound toxicity testing using a molecular genetic approach. Many toxic substances produced by the chemical, pharmaceutical and agronomic industries are not properly characterized by comprehensive hazard/risk assessment tests, primarily because of the high cost and experiment time of classical animal-base toxicity testing and the lack of relevance of results to humans. New vertebrate animal models for hazard/environmental toxicity, which are reproducible, rapid and highly predictive of human toxicity, are needed. Inherent advantages of the zebrafish model include the low cost to generate and maintain embryos, rapid embryogenesis, and a morphological and molecular basis for tissue and organ development similar to humans. Phase I research will use in situ hybridization and Northern Blot analysis to study the patterns and levels of expression of zebrafish genes which are highly homologous to mammalian genes involved in toxicity response. Following treatment of zebrafish embryos with chemicals, changes in gene expression will be analyzed and compared with other vertebrate models. The zebrafish model will serve as an inexpensive animal model for toxicity testing for the pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural and cosmetic industries. The zebrafish model will serve as an inexpensive animal model that can be used to rapidly generate comprehensive information about the function of genes in response to exposure to chemicals, including environmental toxins and drugs. It will be useful to the pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural and cosmetic industries in areas such as toxicity testing, pharmacogenomics, drug discovery and screening, and bioinformatics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Willett, Catherine PHYLONIX PHARMACEUTICAL INC MA George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9198 9145 0116000 Human Subjects 0313000 Regional & Environmental 9960653 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Integrated Planar Positioner with a Two-Dimensional Concentrated-Field Magnet Matrix for Flexible Manufacturing and Automation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project presents a unique integrated planar positioner for flexible manufacturing and automation. Next-generation intrabay and interbay automation in microelectronics manufacturing requires a compact, lightweight, and rigid structure for material handling and processing. The proposed planar positioning technology is a significant advance and simplification of existing positioners that employ a two-dimensional concentrated-field magnet matrix. In this positioner, only a single integrated motor is required for extended planar motion generation. The other degrees of freedom can be controlled by feedback or made open-loop stable. There is no mechanical contact between the single moving part and the machine frame, and no particulate contamination, which makes this technology suitable for clean-room operations. In Phase I, we will design, fabricate, and demonstrate a prototype two-dimensional positioner in order to prove feasibility. The semiconductor market is recovering from a recent recession. The long-term outlook for growth of the industry is extremely good. As the complexity of the overall process and the size of the wafer grow, automatic material handling becomes ever more important in semiconductor fabrication. Reliable low cost planar positioning for manufacturing processes for clean room, extreme-temperature, or vacuum environments will be a priority in microelectronics manufacturing, packaging, machine tool, and high-precision inspection stage industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kim, Won-jong SATCON TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION MA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99865 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960660 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Silicon Chip Antenna for Radio Frequency Identification Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to building a very small form factor radio frequency antenna for radio frequency identification (RFID) applications in smart tags. HiPoint has invented and patented a high performance, low cost, small size silicon chip antenna using wafer batch processing that will be combined with a standard, passive (batteryless) RFID chip to form a low cost, high performance RFID tag with small dimensions. The antenna and the RFID chip are stacked directly on top of each other. Passive RFID systems are used in applications such as object tagging, asset management, hazardous materials tracking and tracking of important documents. The existing RFID technology is limited by the need for large transponder antennas (~ 1' x 2' minimum) and costly multi- component assembly. In Phase I proof-of-principle will be demonstrated by building an antenna chip and connecting and characterizing it with a standard RFID chip. Success in Phase I will lead to a Phase II effort where HiPoint will integrate the antenna and the RFID chip using a wafer stacking technology accessible to the company. The product will be commercialized in Phase III in collaboration with manufacturing and marketing partners. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gnadinger, Fred HiPoint Technology Inc. CO Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 93174 5371 HPCC 9139 0104000 Information Systems 0206000 Telecommunications 9960665 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Reference Electrode with an Invariant Liquid Junction Potential. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will provide a powerful tool for monitoring chemical, biological and environmental processes. A major cost component and obstacle of using potentiometric sensors in these applications is the need for frequent calibration and maintenance of the sensor. The foremost cause of periodic calibration and maintenance is due to a variation in the liquid junction, the interface between the reference electrode and the sample. The liquid junction is unavoidable in potentiometric sensors, and is the major limiting factor in the accuracy and operational life of pH sensors and other ion-selective electrodes. Recent developments in microfluidics and nanotechnology provide the means to develop long-lived, invariant, and reproducible liquid junctions that significantly reduce the need for sensor recalibration and maintenance. Reference electrodes using this new liquid junction will find application in all potentiometric sensors. The feasibility of developing an invariant and constant liquid junction will be demonstrated. Improved process control and significant savings in operational costs will make this reference technology the new sensor design requirement. The potential is also great for using this new technology as a basic building block in microfluidic sensor devices that utilize potentiometric microsensors. Such microfluidic devices are estimated by many sources to be a multi-billion dollar industry in the next decade. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Broadley, Scott Broadley-James Corporation CA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 9960669 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Low Emissions Diesel Engines. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project will establish a novel diesel engine concept in combination with catalyst technology. This will dramatically reduce diesel engine emissions while maintaining the enhanced fuel efficiency. In this program we will demonstrate that the best features of spark engines (low emissions) and diesel engines (enhanced fuel efficiency) can be combined to produce a high fuel efficiency, low emissions diesel engine consistent with the 80 mpg goals of the Partnership For Next Generation Vehicle Program (PNGV). The key to this program is the use of modest levels of oxygen enriched air (22-25% oxygen) to a diesel engine in combination with other after treatment procedures. In Phase I we will demonstrate the needed enhancements from oxygen enriched air (OEA) and simulate overall system performance based on our after treatment model. These results should demonstrate the engines ability to meet the PNGV mileage and emissions objective for passenger cars (hybrid vehicle) and/or meet the 2002 diesel engine emissions goal. In Phase II we will integrate both OEA and after treatment systems into overall engine package for full scale demonstration. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nemser, Stuart COMPACT MEMBRANE SYSTEMS, INC DE Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9188 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960671 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Enhanced Desulfurization of Gasoline. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project will facilitate the development of gasoline and diesel fuel biodesulfurization (BDS). Recent domestic and international targets have been set to reduce the leads in fuel to less than 100 ppm (present regulations are over 300 ppm). Conventional hydrodesulfurization (HDS) is costly and works poorly at these low concentrations of sulfur. In this program we will develop stable non-wetting membrane contactors to provide bubbleless oxygen delivery to grow bacteria for BDS of gasoline and other fuels. Providing non-flammable oxygen delivery is major obstacle to commercial development of gasoline based BDS. Present oxygen delivery technologies introduce oxygen bubbles to fuel, but our membrane is hypothesized to dissolve oxygen directly into liquid. Also, unlike conventional microporous membranes, our membranes should not wet out over time. This new technology, if successful, should help make BDS viable commercial alternative to HDS allowing gasoline producers to further reduce sulfur levels with low cost high quality process. In Phase I, we will demonstrate process using dibenzothiophene as surrogate fuel. We will measure rate of oxygen transfer and sulfur conversion. Economic analysis and durability testing will verify potential of process. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nemser, Stuart COMPACT MEMBRANE SYSTEMS, INC DE George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9198 9197 1179 0118000 Pollution Control 9960675 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Concentration of Thermally Labile Solutes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will address the concentration of aqueous process streams that is common in the food and pharmaceutical industry. When the product activity is sensitive to temperatures above room temperature, process such as freeze-drying are employed. Osmotic Distillation (OD) is a candidate for a lower cost method for concentration of a higher quality product, but has not been developed for the application partly because of potential failure due to penetration of the microporous membrane structure by the solution to be concentrated. The suitability of a new porous/nonporous membrane will be demonstrated for use of OD in fruit juice concentration. The nonporous nature will avoid the failure mode described above. The membrane is based on novel high water permeability polymers. The high chemical and thermal resistance of this polymer will allow common sterilization methods to be used. This study will produce suitable modules of nonporous and porous membranes, investigate the relative efficiency of each in concentrating a model solution, and demonstrate their relative tendencies to 'wet out', or fail due to fouling of the membrane by process streams. This lower cost process, if successful, can have an immediate impact in the preparation of fruit juice concentrate and pharmaceutical products without activity loss. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bowser, John COMPACT MEMBRANE SYSTEMS, INC DE Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 9960676 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Continuous On-line Monitor to Detect and Quantify Organic Contaminants in Water. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project significantly broadens the monitoring capability of the Brims Ness continuous on-line monitor to include harmful, water-borne organic contaminants. It combines a new technology, molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) which are selective for individual organic molecules, with the monitor's quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor device. This will expand contamination detection capacity to include dioxins, PCBs, furans and other toxic organic contaminants which dominate the Super Fund priorities list. This advance builds upon the success of another recently completed Phase I project which validated the performance of a low-cost, continuous on-line monitor to detect the presence of heavy metals in an aqueous flow. That project combined two existing, mature technologies, ion exchange resins to select individual heavy metal and other selected ions, and the QCM sensor device to measure the ion selection. The technology will allow full automation of monitoring functions at sites which must now use periodic sampling to detect contaminants. The project will lead to a broad range of commercial applications including (1) municipal water utilities, (2) wastewater treatment plants, (3) process industries, (4) food processors, and (5) entities reliant on groundwater wells. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Schauer, H. Wallace BRIMS NESS CORPORATION ME Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 99280 9150 EGCH 9197 9150 5371 1179 0118000 Pollution Control 9960680 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: A New Device for Quantitative Determination of Trace Gas Species. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project is addresses the feasibility of an ultrasensitive device for quantitative determination of trace gas species. It is based on fundamen-tal new design for cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS). Notably, present-day CRDS devices have limited spectral coverage; their mirror reflectivity is high for only a few percent of the design wavelength. The proposed device differs from conventional CRDS in that it is a broadband in-strument and useful throughout the UV to IR spectral region for multi-species detection. In addi-tion, the CRDS sensor offers fast response times, requires no calibration, and is compatible with corrosive gases. We will design and build the new CRDS device, and test its sensitivity and capa-bility over a wide range of wavelengths. If feasibility is proven, a very sensitive, broadband, trace gas analyzer will be developed. The principal applications for CRDS include spectroscopy, environmental monitoring, chemical analysis, and advanced process control. CRDS sensors can serve as on-line process monitors that reduce waste and increase product quality and yield. They can be used as a laboratory instru-ments, as well as for moisture and other trace gas detection in corrosive gases. By the same to-ken, CRDS sensors work in hostile environments such as combustion and discharge processes. Other potential applications include medical diagnostics, like neo-natal or asthmatic breath analy-sis, and antiterrorism devices (both explosives and nerve gases). STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Yan, Wen-Bin MEECO INC PA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 1505 OTHR 0000 0110000 Technology Transfer 9960693 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Sensor for On-line Non-destructive Residual Strain Measurement during Composite Manufacturing using Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance. This SBIR Phase I project investigates the feasibility of a novel strain gauge sensing residual strains in composites formed during the manufacturing process. Many factors lead to these residual strains such as poor mold designs, inappropriate temperature and pressure settings, unbalanced ply lay-up, uneven shrinkage of matrix and/or expansion of the fibers and differences in coefficient of thermal expansion between tooling and composite. Residual strains hamper the quality of composites products; the measurement of these strains will yield improved process and quality control. Quantum Magnetics is proposing a novel nondestructive strain sensor based on the principle of Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance (NQR). 1-5 wt% of crystalline additives is blended into the resin during fabrication of the composite structure. Composites will be manufactured with low and high residual strains via changes in manufacturing parameters and raw material variations. For measuring residual strains, the composite is irradiated with radio frequencies to evoke an NQR response from the embedded crystals, which is a function of strain. The Phase I objectives are: (1) determine relevant NQR characteristics of additive in composite, (2) investigate shift of the NQR frequency as a function of residual strain and (3) develop a preliminary design for a Phase II prototype. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Vierkotter, Stephanie Quantum Magnetics, Inc. CA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960694 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Improving Pearl Quality and Yield Using Biotechnology: Plugs, Patches, Therapeutants and Delivery Systems. This SBIR Phase I project applies biomedical principles and practices to the lucrative, but poorly understood process of pearl culture. Despite the value of the world pearl industry (around US$3 billion per annum), it is still based on turn-of-the-century technology. The Pearl Development Group addresses this immense opportunity by bringing together a unique consortium of pearl seeding technicians, farmers, biologists, entrepreneurs and biomedical scientists. Their collective efforts are focussed on using rigorous scientific methods with state-of-the-art biotechnology to improve pearl production. Preliminary trials by PDG reveal two areas of particular promise with the pearl seeding operation. Firstly, improved sterility from use of antibiotics or sealants to reduce the risk of post-operative infection; and secondly, cellular adhesion protein coatings on the nucleus to improve pearl sac formation. Both could result in more pearls, of better quality. These improvements could have a compounding effect, as better yields result in more oysters being subsequently reseeded. Sealants may also allow technicians to insert larger nuclei, resulting in geometrical increases in value of successive pearls. These innovations will be tested on a large scale on our farm, and evaluated by comparing post-seed rejection rates and early assays of pearl sac growth and pearl formation. If successful, these technologies could be marketable to other pearl farms worldwide, through established farm suppliers, as well as leading to increased profitability for our subsidiary and partner farms. Slight improvements in the pearl seeding operation can dramatically improve farm profitability. For our Majuro farm model, production improvements of, say, 35% yield revenue increases of $1.1 million for minimal added costs. The price margin on these products might then be $10 per seeding operation. Extrapolated to the Tahitian pearl industry alone, this is a value-added of over $42 million p.a. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sims, Neil Black Pearls Inc HI George B. Vermont Standard Grant 99844 5371 BIOT 9117 1167 0521700 Marine Resources 9960701 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Differential Long-Path Spectrophotometer for On-line Measurements of Controlled Halogenated Organic Compounds in Potable Water. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is concerned with the development of a Differential Long-path Spectrophotometer (DLS) for on-line measurements of halogenated organic species that are formed when potable water is disinfected (disinfection by-products, or DBPs). The instrument to be developed will eliminate major difficulties that water utilities currently face in their efforts to monitor and control DBPs. Specifically, whereas at present the analyses of interest are extremely costly and time-consuming, the new instrument will provide inexpensive and virtually instantaneous data, allowing utilities to monitor DBP formation in real time and to respond rapidly if DBP concentrations exceed acceptable bounds. The key technical feature of the DLS will be its ability to measure, with high precision, the relatively small changes in light absorbance by natural organic matter (NOM) caused by addition of chlorine to potable water (the differential absorbance). These changes will be correlated with the concentration of individual DBPs formed and of a composite parameter characterizing the total chlorinated DBP concentration in solution, the total organic halogen (TOX). The key concept behind DLS is the extremely strong correlation, first identified by sub-contractors of this proposal, between the differential absorbance and the concentration of the target compounds. The DLS measurements needed to quantify the formation of DBPs are fast and inexpensive. They do not involve the use of any toxic chemicals or organic solvents. Thus, the DLS instrument will address social, engineering and analytical needs and will fill an existing niche in the market of analytical instrumentation. The Phase I project will include the design and assembly of one or two working DLS prototypes and initial testing of the prototype(s) under laboratory and field conditions. Phase II will involve full development and tests of the prototypes and extensive evaluation of the performance parameters (e.g., sensitivity, dynamic range, stability), and will result in a tested and calibrated prototype device. Sequoia intends to carry out the transition to market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Agrawal, Yogesh Sequoia Scientific, Inc. WA Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 99020 5371 EGCH 9197 1179 0118000 Pollution Control 9960710 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Development of a Solar Air Conditioner for Small Cooling Loads. The need for the development of new technologies having minimum operational impact on the environment has increased consistently during the last few years. Due to the high cost of energy production, a need for these new technologies has become more critical for regions without conventional fuel sources. In Puerto Rico, for example, the combination of scarcity of conventional energy resources and a rapid economic development present major challenges to manage energy production. In response to these challenges the Government of Puerto Rico in their Public Energy Policy recommended the promotion and use of renewable energy technologies as a large component in the future energy infrastructure of Puerto Rico. This recommendation was based upon government commitments to develop a sustainable energy infrastructure and due to the Island's large current dependence of more than 98 percent on foreign oil for electric power generation. Furthermore, solar-assisted air conditioning systems are proven technologies which represent a true alternative for hot and humid climates such as that prevailing in the Caribbean. Estimates indicate that more than 25 percent of the energy use in Puerto Rico goes for cooling and dehumidification in the industrial and commercial sectors, and a larger component in the residential sectors is expected in the years ahead. A team consisting of two small businesses and a research university and sponsored by the local and federal governments was formed in 1997 to address the commercialization of solar air conditioning technologies in the Caribbean targeting a niche market requiring 10-50 cooling tons. This effort is well underway and a final product is expected by the end of the year 1999. However, in fast growing economic areas such as the Caribbean, the residential and light commercial sectors represent the largest market potential in the air conditioning industry. The small usinesses are now focusing on the development of compact solar air conditioning system based on the heat driven absorption cycle. This is the main objective of this proposal. The capacity of the proposed system is targeted within the range of 3-5 cooling tons which is typical of multi-residential and light commercial areas in the Caribbean. The main system's components will be a medium size thermal energy storage tank, an air-cooled compact absorption chiller that uses Lithium-Bromide as the working fluid pair, and a compact array of high performance collectors. Building integration issues will be addressed to minimize energy and space consumption and maximize aesthetics of the product. This system will definitely represent the next generation of absorption machines. The research will draw from the more than four years of experience gained by the proponents in the development of commercial scale solar air conditioning systems in the Caribbean. The target payback period for the proposed product will be five years or less or at least twice the market price of conventional vapor compression systems. The system will be reliable and of simple operation using state-of-the-art optimal control strategies. This project will specifically conduct a technical proof-of-concept effort based on: design specifications; mathematical simulations of the thermal and control processes; and availability of materials and manufacturing techniques. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Sanchez, Hector A/C & Mechanical Services Corp. PR George B. Vermont Standard Grant 110000 9150 1505 EGCH 9231 9197 9178 9150 9102 1179 0118000 Pollution Control 9960716 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Smart Instrument Controls with Feel Display. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop instrument control interfaces such as knobs and sliders with force feedback to create input-output devices capable of displaying feel to human operators. Flat-screen displays have significantly advanced the visual display of information in aircraft, automobile, and equipment interfaces. Similar advances for the sense of touch have not occurred - interfaces still use the same inflexible types of instrument controls (knobs, sliders, buttons, etc.) available decades ago. Exploration by the company suggests the potential for human factors benefits from advancing the state of the art in instrument controls by giving them programmable feels. Performance will benefit through the provision of meaningful, intuitive information to the underutilized sense of touch. These systems also could simplify interfaces by reducing the number of separate controls. One control could operate two or more carefully chosen functions, each function having a distinctly separate 'feel'. Instrument controls with programmable feels have the potential to revolutionize operator interfaces for all types of equipment and vehicles. The proposed work will leverage technologies proven in the company's other touch display products. Further development will create cost-effective, manufacturable instrument controls with feel display. A huge potential market exists for vehicle interfaces, professional equipment, and consumer electronics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hasser, Christopher IMMERSION CORPORATION CA G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 99998 5371 MANU 9146 1455 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960722 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Direct Fluorescence Analysis by Low Temperature Time-Resolved Excitation Emission Matrices. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will lead to fast, sensitive, and compound-specific analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in air, water, soil, and sediment. Risk assessment demands chemically-specific analysis because the carcinogenic or mutagenic potential varies widely for PAHs with nearly identical chemical structures. The traditional chromatographic methods (GC or HPLC, often with mass detection) are slow and expensive. Fluorescence is amply sensitive, direct reading, and the data are inherently multi-dimensional. Prior research has shown that cooling Shpol'skii matrix samples to cryogenic temperature, exciting the fluorescence with narrow band tunable laser light, and time-resolved spectroscopy each enhance specificity. However, technical challenges have prevented the routine utilization of these strategies individually, let alone in combination. This project will demonstrate that benzo[a]pyrene can be quickly analyzed in real-world samples by time-resolved excitation emission matrices acquired for Shpol'skii matrices at 77 K. Technical innovations central to the project are an extremely compact tunable ultraviolet laser, simplification of fluorescence lifetime methodology, and delivering the excitation light directly to the sample by a fiber optic frozen into the matrix. The new procedures and instrumentation will see applications in environmental site characterization and remediation, health research, and fundamental laboratory studies. The initial commercial market is expected to be environmental testing and analytical laboratories. Once the feasibility of the TREEM direct fluorescence analysis is established, expansion to other markets, particularly in the pharmaceutical, agricultural and food industries is expected. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Gillispie, Greg DAKOTA TECHNOLOGIES INC ND Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 9150 EGCH 9197 9150 5371 0110000 Technology Transfer 0118000 Pollution Control 9960725 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Noncorroding Steel Reinforced Concrete. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop processes and products that effectively prevent corrosion of steel-reinforced concrete, and enhance the interface and mechanical properties between the reinforcing steel and the concrete. A tough and easily applied reinforcement coating would be relatively insensitive to damage during transit and placement. Also, the improved mechanical interface with the cement matrix would reduce the ability of moisture to migrate along the reinforcement, which would increase the life cycle of the reinforced structures. This technology is expected to be robust and inexpensive and have potential commercial applications throughout the construction industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Morton, James Concrete Sciences Corporation ID Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99460 5371 AMPP 9163 1448 0522100 High Technology Materials 9960728 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A Novel High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) Detector: Generating On-the-Fly Fluorescence Lifetimes Concurrently at Multiple Emission Wavelengths. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project involves construction and optimization of a novel high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) detector that can resolve the chemically complex analyte mixtures encountered in environmental and pharmaceutical laboratories. Standard HPLC analysis of such complex mixtures is severely hampered by peak overlap. Even under optimal separation conditions, which necessitate long elution times and drive up analysis costs, the species of interest are often only partially resolved. Dakota Technologies, Inc. has patented a novel detection scheme that concurrently records fluorescence decay curves at four or more emission wavelengths and is ideally suited to HPLC fluorescence detection. The scheme uses fiber optic delay lines to control the arrival of different wavelength fluorescence components at the single photomultiplier tube (PMT) detector. The two dimensional detector (fluorescence wavelength and decay time) is simple, robust, and significantly less expensive than competitive detectors, which are limited to just the wavelength or decay time domain. Proof of principle has been established but further technical developments are needed to optimize the approach for analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). In this Phase I SBIR project DTI will implement a flow cell that that employs total internal reflectance to deliver the excitation light, resulting in higher light fluxes at the PMT. A new-to-the market 9-bit digital phosphor oscilloscope (DPO) will be incorporated to increase the accuracy and speed of data acquisition. The optimal emission wavelength sets for individual PAHs will be found by experiment and chemometric algorithms will be tested. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Dvorak, Michael DAKOTA TECHNOLOGIES INC ND Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 1317 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960731 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Novel Microphase Separated Solid Polymer Electrolytes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project concerns with the development of novel nano-structured polymer electrolytes (NSPE) for solid state Li-ion batteries, low cost, 'dye sensitized' solar cells and electrochromic devices. The electrolytes feature high ionic conductivity and excellent mechanical strength, resulting from an ordered structure on the manometer scale consisting of an epoxy scaffold and a polymer electrolyte network. The unique structure is obtained by self-assembly during curing of the epoxy in the presence of an immiscible block copolymer containing the ion-conducting phase. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Peramunage, Dharmasena EIC Laboratories Inc MA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU AMPP 9163 9146 1773 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 9960737 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Ultrasonic Fluid Probe for Vibration Monitoring of Advanced Machine Tools. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an innovative approach for measuring vibration during characterization of advanced machine tools as well as during the machining process. The approach uses a fluid jet as a probe that will make an accurate, robust, and low cost sensor. The growing demand for high-speed milling, as well as increasing use of small size tools and difficult-to-machine advanced materials, call for improved characterization of machine tools and for controlling vibration and chatter during the machining process. To do this, advanced machine systems must rely on accurate sensors to measure and to control vibrations. Sensor requirements are: (1) accurate vibration measurements; (2) impervious to the machining environment; (3) dual use for characterization prior to operation and for monitoring during the milling process; and (4) small size and low cost. To date, commercially available sensors do not meet these requirements, whereas the Phase I sensor is expected to satisfy much of the need. The fluid probe, as part of a machine control system, has the potential to reduce machine tool vibrations, thereby improving surface finish and increasing throughput. The same sensor will be used both for characterization of the machine tools and for monitoring during machining. The principal commercial market for the fluid probe is the machine tool industry. Machining performance is critical in many industrial sectors, including automotive, aerospace, and rapid prototyping. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pouet, Bruno LASSON TECHNOLOGIES, INC. CA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99658 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960744 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Hydrocarbon Sensor for Oil Exploration. This Phase I Small Business Innovation Research project will apply CVD (chemical vapor deposition) diamond chemical sensor technology to petroleum exploration. This project will be performed by Physitron, in conjunction with Vanderbilt University, Microsensor Systems Inc. (MSI), and New Paradigm Exploration, Inc. (NPE), NPE is currently using an MSI developed hydrocarbon sensor to detect single and multi-ring aromatics in soil samples from 30 inches below the surface to locate oil reservoirs. It has been demonstrated that these hydrocarbons are also present immediately above the surface in somewhat reduced concentrations. Physitron and Vanderbilt have previously developed solid state chemical sensors, which detect minute quantities of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon monoxide. With modifications these detectors can be tailored to detect aromatic hydrocarbons and used as the detecting element in the MSI system. The resulting system will be much more sensitive and faster to respond and recover than the current system. During Phase I, Physitron and Vanderbilt will fabricate test structures, perform experiments, and conduct analyses to demonstrate the sensitivity and responsivity of our technology. Meanwhile, NPE will be completing the verification of the correlation between subsurface measurements and surface measurements. Near the end of Phase I, MSI will place a hydrocarbon sensor into a gas chromatograph to demonstrate the applicability and operability of the detector. The most obvious application of this technology is the identification of oil reservoirs by making surface measurements of the aromatic hydrocarbon density. This would be done by driving a vehicle across the surface while taking measurements. The major oil companies expend more than $3 Billion annually to locate oil reservoirs using 3D seismic techniques. Other applications of this technology include detection of explosives, detection and mapping of chemical warfare agents, mapping of chemical contamination, measurement of spraying density for fertilizer, weed killer, and insecticide and monitoring indoor and outdoor air quality. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Price, Melvin PHYSITRON, INC. AL Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 9150 CVIS 9150 5371 1059 0110000 Technology Transfer 9960752 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Smart Fiber Composite System Capable of Early Detection of Material Failure. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a fiber sensor system to be embedded in Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC) during their fabrication. During use of the CMC component, a fiber failure could be unambiguously detected. The status of all CMC components could then be examined in real time by a system control hierarchy so that the applied load to the component can be reduced, or if that is not possible, the component could be replaced. Phase I will utilize electrically conductive elements of the load bearing fibers and sense the electrical continuity of these conductive elements to establish the mechanical integrity of the fiber. The sensing technology provides a clear, digital, on/off signal regarding the integrity of each and every fiber or strand. Because the concept is simple and direct, the method is expected to be highly reliable and sensitive. Specific military and commercial use will potentially be found in: commercial engines for air and space, land-based radiant burners and heat exchangers, power generation and industrial gas turbine systems, hot gas filters for environmental applications, and high temperature industrial processing equipment and fixtures. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Newton, Kirk Technology Partners Inc. PA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1446 0522100 High Technology Materials 9960759 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Intelligent Control of Internal Combustion Engines using Nonlinear Model Predictive Control and Neural Networks. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a five-level hierarchical architecture for intelligent control of internal combustion (IC) engines. IC engine control problems are highly challenging due to nonlinear, time-varying and stochastic nature of the processes and widely varying operating conditions. Current IC engine control systems have evolved gradually from fully mechanical to computerized electronic systems, but a comprehensive unified control architecture is lacking. Basic objectives of the system to be developed are emissions reduction, improvements in fuel efficiency, driveability, reliability and safety. A Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (MPC) approach based on both physical and Neural Network (NN) models will be employed. During Phase I, a complete five-level control architecture will be developed using the a state-of-the-art survey. The problem of air-fuel ratio control using predictive models and feedback from oxygen sensors will be solved using the MPC approach. University of California, Berkeley (Professor Karl Hedrick) will participate as a sub-contractor, and provide use of experimental facilities. General Motors Research and Development Center (Warren, MI) will provide evaluation and guidance for development and commercialization efforts. The market for IC engine power includes the global automobile industry. Significant improvements in emission control, fuel savings, driveability, and reliability are anticipated through use of this intelligent control approach. Direct commercial benefits could be enormous, given the size and importance of the IC engine in the global transportation market. Indirect benefits include improved air quality and conservation of resources used in the production and operation of IC-powered vehicles. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Seereeram, Sanjeev SCIENTIFIC SYSTEMS COMPANY INC MA G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 1266 0000 0512004 Analytical Procedures 9960776 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Nanostructured High Energy Li+ Battery Cathode Materials. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project describes the technical strategy of Blue Sky Batteries, Inc. for the development of unique nanocomposite cathodes for rechargeable lithium batteries. These cathodes will enable commercialization of lithium ion cells which weigh forty times less than conventional lead acid and nickel-metal hydride cells, and three times less than the best lithium-ion cells now on the market. Additionally, these cells will possess theoretical energy densities of 1500 Wh/kg and capacities of 500 Ah/kg. This significant weight reduction and increased storage capacity will result in more compact energy supplies that will compliment, rather than burden, the current trends in electronics miniaturization. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Pope, John Blue Sky Batteries Incorporated WY Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 9150 AMPP 9165 9150 5371 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960777 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Microflow and Nanoflow Characterization System (MINCS) for Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) Devices. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project concerns the development of a unique characterization system for the enhancement of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) that rely on microflows or nanoflows. The proposed Microflow and Nanoflow Characterization System (MINCS) incorporates a suite of laser-based microfluidcharacterization techniques that will be demonstrated during the Phase I program. Important quantities such as velocity and species concentration will be determined simultaneously by acquiring two-dimensional images using multiphoton confocal microscopy. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code including chemical reactions will be incorporated into the instrument. The fusion of the instrumentation and CFD code into the MINCS package will improve the characterization of MEMS devices based on either technique alone. Upon validation using the MINCS instruments, the CFD code will be more applicable to the prediction of microflow characteristics, thereby enhancing the design of future MEMS devices. This Phase I program has important secondary benefits; MEMS-based devices will benefit from improved designs as a result of improved instrumental and computational characterization. This secondary benefit will have a larger economic impact through enhanced manufacturing of MEMS devices. For this reason, the research partners are a consortium possessing MEMS manufacturing facilities and design facilities for MEMS instruments for analytical-chemistry applications. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Fiechtner, Gregory Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc. OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99901 1505 AMPP 9165 1443 0308000 Industrial Technology 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9960803 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Low-Voltage Multi-Output Converters with Unity Power Factor for a New Generation of Computer Systems. This Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer project aims to design advanced power conversion circuit schemes to meet the increasingly stringent power requirements for future computers. This includes development of optimized power system configurations, efficient power stage topologies and high performance control techniques. The design schemes will meet the industry requirements in terms of total harmonic distortion and power factor as well as EMI requirements. In Phase II, advanced packaging techniques and components and device optimization will be carried out. Using high-speed computers has become mandatory in all fields of application. The increasing desire for quick response, fast processing capability and for the multi-functioned features of computer systems drives the computer hardware design engineer to develop high-speed microprocessors. Meeting present and future power requirements for high-speed computers poses a real challenge to the technical community. Today's microprocessor technology enables the new generation processors operate as high as 500MHz. Designs for 800MHz and 1GHz are under way. The new generation integrated circuits are developed based on low-voltage (typically 2.6V to 3.3V) operation. Also the semiconductor companies are targeting chips running at 1.5V to 2V to operate at the GHz. speeds. The technical difficulties facing design engineers are numerous. As the voltage supply decreases, higher currents are needed to meet the required power rating, resulting in high power losses and thermal management problems. Due to the high load current requirements and wide current changes, technical challenges in designing fast dynamic response, low voltage ripple tolerance and short circuit current protection need to be addressed. Potential users of the new designs are computer manufacturers and low voltage IC manufacturers that are used in communication equipment, consumer electronics, etc. The new power supply conversion technique will impact the entire computer industry. The next generation of computer speeds will be in the MHz range with voltage power supplies as low as 1.5volts at 100A. Even in today's computers at 200-400Mhz speeds, power losses are significant and suffer from slow dynamic response. As a result, computer power supplies are inefficient, bulky and expensive. Unlike the existing power conversion methods that based on the conventional scheme that uses voltage regulator modules from a 5V out put to the desired low output voltage, the proposed conversion scheme will be based on new topologies that will directly step down the voltage from line to the desired levels. We believe the new system configuration and topology selection will lead to a low-cost and improved power quality power supplies. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Vaidya, Jay ELECTRODYNAMICS ASSOCIATES INC FL Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 1505 HPCC 9215 0110000 Technology Transfer 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9960806 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Computer-Directed High Throughput Screening for Improved Enzymatic Activity. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an enabling technology for computer-directed high throughput screening of proteins for improved properties. By combining a fast computer screen with experimental methods, the capabilities of random library screening can be greatly extended. This technology will be tested on Bacillus circulans xylanase with the goal of improving its activity at high temperature and pH. Starting from the enzyme crystal structure, Xencor's proprietary protein design automation (PDA) technology will be used to computationally prescreen the possible sequences resulting from varying selected residue positions, thereby eliminating unfavorable sequences and thus enormously reducing the number to be screened experimentally. The result of the computer screen is an amino acid probability distribution for the selected residue positions. A method will be developed to transform these probabilities into a DNA library that will be synthesized and experimentally screened for improved enzymatic activity. The computational prescreening will allow screening of ~10^80 sequences compared to 10^10 to 10^15 with conventional in vitro evolution techniques. The proposed research will result in a generally applicable procedure that allows optimization of far more residue positions and results in the more efficient development of improved proteins by coupling rational and random methods. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bentzien, Joerg Xencor CA Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 99980 5371 BIOT 9184 1108 0203000 Health 9960809 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Inductive Thermal Plasmas for Ultrahigh Throughput Soft Etch in Integrated Circuit (IC) Manufacturing. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to demonstrate a novel method of very-high-throughput isotropic etching for semiconductor manufacturing. Many steps in semiconductor manufacturing, especially the removal of photoresist, employ isotropic etching, often implemented with low-pressure plasma. We have demonstrated that inductive thermal plasmas can be used for isotropic etching at atmospheric pressure, achieving very high local etch rates while simplifying equipment requirements. We propose to develop a novel extended 'linear' plasma source, which will enable tool throughputs of 200-500 wafers/hour, much higher than conventional methods can achieve. Commercialization of the technology will be pursued through licensing arrangements with existing manufacturers of semiconductor capital equipment, who will in their turn be able to achieve compelling cost-of-ownership advantages in resist strip, backside etch, wafer thinning, and other isotropic etch steps. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Selitser, Simon TimeDomain CVD Incorporated CA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99442 5371 MANU 9146 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960811 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: High Information Density Displays Made with Semiconductor Polymers. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is aimed at developing a key technology-high conductivity, transparent anode electrode for high information density, large size, emissive polymer displays. Flat-panel, liquid crystal displays are currently used for portable displays such as laptop computers, Personal Digital Assistants or Navigation Guiding Systems. There are several drawbacks and limitations with LCDs (including limited view angle, limited contrast and relatively slow response speed). Backlight is needed for LCDs to be used under weak light conditions. Polymer emissive displays have emerged as promising technology for next generation displays with many novel features. Their processing advantages also allow them to be used for fabricating large area, light weight, emissive displays on flat, non-flat, or even flexible substrates. This technology is currently limited for finite size and the limited number of pixels due to low surface conductivity of Indium Tin Oxide anode. Success in developing a high conductivity, high effective transparency anode will allow the polymer Light Emitting Diodes to be used for large size, high information density displays. Single pixel and model display devices will also be fabricated and characterized during Phase I. Large area (3'-4'), high information density (1/4 VGA or higher), graphic displays will be developed in the Phase II based on the demands from market feedback. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yu, Gang UNIAX Corporation CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99975 5371 OTHR 0000 0110000 Technology Transfer 9960817 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Programmable Tunable Single Frequency Ytterbium Laser. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I Project will produce a narrow linewidth, single frequency, tunable Yb laser having a TEMoo mode. Such a laser would be an extremely useful tool for a number of important applications, such as a pump source for optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) and fiber amplifiers. Our preliminary analysis indicates that the best way to meet the requirements for this laser is through a novel technique based on the spatial structure of the intra-cavity electromagnetic fields. This method allows for scalability and versatility, while still achieving excellent performance in a relatively simple and stable configuration. The proposed system should produce hundreds of mW of power in a single longitudinal mode, with a wide tuning range and excellent frequency stability in a narrow bandwidth. The developed system will radically improve the characteristics of tunable lasers and will be an ideal source for high data transfer rate communication system between moving 'parties' for spectroscopy, parametric oscillators, clocks and others. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Markov, Vladimir MetroLaser, Inc. CA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99923 5371 HPCC 9139 0104000 Information Systems 0206000 Telecommunications 9960820 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Alternatives to Roasting: A Two-Stage Biohydrometallurgy Process of High Selectivity for Biooxidizing Molybdenum-Rhenium and Copper Sulfides. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 project is designed to develop a biooxidation process module for low grade rhenium-bearing molybdenum ores and concentrates. Molybdenite (MoS2) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) are sulfides of molybdenum and copper, respectively. Rhenium (Re) is a rare metal that can substitute for molybdenum in the molybdenite crystal lattice and for which molybdenite is the only significant mineral source. These minerals frequently coexist in a given porphyry copper ore-body. Currently, rhenium, of high value and with current and potential industrial applications, cannot be recovered unless the molybdenite is roasted. This process in itself is extremely capital intensive and results in SO2 production and other environmental impacts. Here, a novel process is proposed which is highly selective for sequential metal release. We describe a process module for biooxidizing copper sulfide contaminated molybdenite concentrates and selectively mobilizing copper or molybdenum and rhenium. This process is designed to be integrated into a pre-existing chalcopyrite leach circuit or as an independent biooxidation facility and will utilize molybdenite originating from porphyry copper deposits. Variability in the grade of feed stocks should not be problematic. The total annual domestic market is estimated at $60-200 million. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Clark, Thomas LITTLE BEAR LABORATORIES INC CO Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 99880 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960830 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Enterprise Visualization. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project investigates techniques and supporting mechanisms for visualizing enterprises. Understanding how enterprises operate is no simple endeavor. Many people who operate small businesses do so without the benefit of a formal education in information systems, organizational or process design. Similarly, people often lack the know-how needed to identify, diagnose and rectify problems in workflow, resource allocation, or business-to-business relationships. A survey, conducted by the firm, of related research indicates that little attention has been directed at understanding how to best visualize or visually represent organizational operations, structures, or processes. Thus, the basic problem for this research effort is, what constitutes an effective approach to visually represent the operations, structures and processes within an enterprise, or between interacting enterprises. The project will investigate, prototype and demonstrate a new approach and supporting mechanisms for visualizing enterprises, starting with a computer game environment, through a two phase research effort. This is to be followed by a third phase of full-scale product development and commercialization. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Neighbors, James Bayfront Technologies, Inc. CA G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 97116 5371 HPCC 9139 6850 0108000 Software Development 9960841 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Problem Solving Environment for Reduced Kinetic Mechanisms. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will combine state-of-the-art techniques for automating the reduction of chemical kinetic mechanisms with advanced software tools for the creation of problem solving environments (PSE). The result will be a user-friendly graphical interface for the automated development and testing of reduced chemical kinetic mechanisms. The PSE will be demonstrated on the problem of development of reduced chemistry, and subsequently applied to computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations, of selective noncatalytic reduction (SNCR), used in the control of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in coal-fired utility boilers. This research will use the Computer Assisted Reduction Method (CARM) software, an automated tool for generating reduced kinetic mechanisms based on steady state assumptions, and a newly developed scientific programming environment, named SCIRun, that allows the interactive construction, debugging and steering of scientific computations. This new problem solving environment will equip the novice engineer with an extremely efficient tool for generating, testing, and validating reduced chemical mechanisms over a specified range of conditions. The tool will have immediate use in any application requiring a reduced description of detailed chemical kinetics and provide important scientific insights into factors affecting the validity of reduce kinetic mechanisms under a variety of conditions. Reduced chemical kinetic mechanisms are needed in a wide variety of combustion applications such as utility boilers and industrial process heaters, reciprocating and gas turbine engines, and fire, soot, explosive, and solid propellant modeling. Many potential non-combustion applications exist also, e.g. chemical processing and surface and condensed phase reactions. The target area in this phase I program is the examination of chemistry associated with the formation and destruction of nitrogen oxides in industrial boilers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Montgomery, Christopher REACTION ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL UT Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9960847 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: StructuresWorld: An Integrated Modeling/ Multimedia Environment for Engineering Education. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from Dr. Software, LLC, will prototype a next- generation structural simulation environment, providing an advance in the way that concepts are taught and learned in undergraduate and graduate-level structural engineering and architectural education. Real-time analysis and visualization will be seamlessly integrated with multimedia content to provide a rich environment for presenting and exploring concepts of structural behavior. In terms of existing technologies, this project will bridge the gap between advanced analysis tools, which are designed to provide numerical/ visual results but limited educational content and context, and multimedia environments, which typically are designed to provide rich context but generally offer limited analysis capabilities. The research will build on an existing simulation environment in which users can manipulate and modify models and simultaneously visualize behavior in real-time. One portion of the proposed research will produce an appealing 3D simulation environment. Based on Dr. Software's experience with developing and using multimedia-based instructional tools, a second aspect of the research will implement capabilities for scripting model manipulations in conjunction with embedded text, images, and time-based media to provide context for the modeling. The total result will be an environment in which structural concepts can be presented in a 'live' context, allowing a rich combination of open-ended exploration and guided study and presentation. Dr. Software proffers technology that will be useful beyond the targeted audience. The user interface and embedded multimedia content can be modified to target other, larger audiences, including professional engineers (civil, aerospace, and mechanical) and architects. Indeed, it is also an appropriate vehicle for introducing engineering concepts to the general public. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rucki, Michael Dr. Software LLC WA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99200 5371 SMET 9178 7410 7256 0105000 Manpower & Training 9960851 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Anonymous Communication Protocol for Internet Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from IDZAP, LLC seeks to investigate technologies for anonymous bi-directional communication, and explore the feasibility of using such technology in Internet applications. A major problem in using the Internet resides in the protection of privacy of individuals. Just about every activity that people perform (such as web browsing, news posting and email) is logged. Commercial organizations frequently analyze the log to extract information to build profiles of users. Often this information is sold to third party marketers. IDZAP is in the business of providing anonymous web services to protect privacy. Anonymous web browsing and email services exist today. However, there is still no practical way to provide bi-directional anonymous Internet services. For example, one who sends an anonymous email to the consultant of a medical web site will want to hear back from that consultant. The problem is that the user may not want the consultant to know his/her identity. There are many similar problems that require solutions that are not available today. The proposed research on bi-directional anonymous communication will provide a basis for the solution to this type of problems. Based on the importance of internet privacy as reported in the mainstream media as well as on the feedback that IDZAP receives in the course of providing anonymous and secure web access services (i.e., anonymous one-directional communication) through its web browsing service, there is significant overall commercial potential for anonymous query and response communications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wong, Ping IDZAP LLC CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9218 4090 0206000 Telecommunications 9960856 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A Universal Protein Interaction Biosensor. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to extend a proof of concept result to a more generalized technology for the electronic detection of proteins and protein-protein interactions. The proposers will develop an electronic biosensor of high sensitivity and specificity that is based on electron tunneling and transition metal cross-talk effects that occur at electrodes derivatized with self-assembled monolayers. Preliminary results show that the sensing technology is unaffected by common sample contaminants like whole blood and serum, suggesting that proteins could be detected from samples with little pre-processing. In a model system, sub-zeptomolar concentrations of streptavidin were detected. The system is made up of stable modular components that can be inexpensively produced and are easily customized by an end-user for a variety of applications. Because the sensing technology is totally electronic, it could be readily multiplexed on microelectrode arrays to create a low-cost, high-throughput MEMS (microelectronic and mechanical system) device. Pharmaceutical companies would use this technology to identify families of proteins that are implicated in disease and construct data bases that define networks of interacting proteins to determine points of intervention and potential drug targets. This technology advances a major technology trend toward automated nanotechnology and multiplexing. End-users will prefer to use the proposed technology because it is more cost effective, sensitive, faster, and flexible enough to be adapted to many user applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bamdad, Cynthia ROSENTIEL MEL SCOTT 029 MA Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9184 9102 1108 0203000 Health 9960858 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Low-Cost Microcomposite Polymer Electrolyte Membranes for High Performance Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a new ion-conducting polymer (ICP) for use in microcomposite polymer electrolyte membranes (PEM). The project will build on previous work in which the viability of the composite approach to PEM for high temperature H2/O2 fuel cells was demonstrated. In conjunction with Virginia Polytechnic Institute, new ICPs, with enhanced chemical stability will be developed. These novel ICPs will be combined with poly (p-phenylene bisbenoxazole) (PBO) substrates to produce PEMs that out perform the current state of the art fuel cell membranes, while retaining significant cost savings. A well-known fuel cell developer, will evaluate the microcomposite membranes for key mechanical / physical properties to demonstrate feasibility of this technology. The low-cost, high temperature, microporous PEM will address the serious problems (excessive cost, limited power / energy density, and water management issues) which are limiting the use of current PEM fuel cells in all electric based vehicles. The primary objective of the proposed effort is to demonstrate feasibility of a composite PEM with chemical/mechanical stability to survive fuel cell operating conditions for 5,000 hours or more. The development of high performance, solid polymer electrolyte fuel cells is essential for the success of next generation vehicles, providing power free of emissions (SOx and NOx). Other applications include stationary power generation as well as low power (1 to 50w), mobile fuel cells for battery replacements. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Osenar, Paul Foster-Miller Inc MA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99948 5371 OTHR 1403 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960870 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Reconfigurable and Scalable Fiber-Optic Ultra-High-Speed Multi-Media Networks. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from Intelligent Fiber Optic Systems (IFOS) addresses the next generation data networks which will require terabit information handling capability. Future networks must be reconfigurable, highly secure and easily upgradable in both bit rate and number of nodes. IFOS proposes to apply its extensive fiber optic expertise and its proprietary wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) technology to the development of a reconfigurable high-speed fiber-optic backbone structure that supports the transmission of multiple data protocols between multiple network stations. The approach is based on IFOS's all-fiber static and dynamic WDM network access designs, which offer high efficiency, compactness and low cost. The strong multidisciplinary team for this project includes leading experts in fiber-optic devices, optoelectronic systems, and terabit networking. In Phase I, the investigative team will construct a three-node, two-wavelength system with static access modules to demonstrate the feasibility of simultaneously transmitting different protocols such as ATM and Ethernet. Phase I will form a basis for Phase II where dynamic access modules will be employed and the network will be expanded to more than 10 nodes and over 6 wavelengths to demonstrate network reconfigurability and scalability. The ultra-fast IFOS approach will enhance efficiency in secure, ultra-high-capacity networking systems including Next Generation Internet (NGI) operation with gigabit and terabit bandwidths. The market for fiber-optic networks is growing about 19% per year and will be reaching $18 billion in 2001. Multi-protocol fiber backbones have applications in commercial platforms, such as enterprise networks, ships, airliners, automobiles and integrated manufacturing equipment. Each optical fiber can replace hundreds of wires resulting in substantial drop in costs and increase in performance. The IFOS project will mesh well with the Internet-II and SuperNet (Tbps data rates) programs for the government-wide Next Generation Internet (NGI). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Moslehi, Behzad INTELLIGENT FIBER OPTICS SYSTEMS CORP. CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 104800 5371 HPCC 9251 9231 9218 9178 4090 0206000 Telecommunications 9960886 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: In Situ Remediation of Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) Using Bioaugmentation. The gasoline additive methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is the second most prevalent contaminant in groundwater in the United States, and there are currently no economical technologies for its removal from the water supply. Envirogen scientists have recently isolated a novel bacterium (ENV 735) that utilizes MTBE as a growth substrate. This is only the second report of a pure culture that is capable of growing on MTBE. The objective of this Phase I Proposal is to evaluate the potential application of strain ENV 735 for in situ bioremediation of MTBE. Aquifer microcosms will be used to measure the kinetics of MTBE degradation by ENV 735 under different microbiological and geochemical conditions. In addition, the pathway of MTBE degradation by ENV 735 will be studied, and experiments will be conducted to determine whether the metabolic capacity to degrade MTBE is shared among other bacteria of the same class as ENV 735. The data from this study will be used to assess the feasibility of using ENV 735 and similar microorganisms for in situ remediation of MTBE in contaminated aquifers. The commercial potential for a remediation technology that allows rapid, efficient, and cost effective destruction of MTBE in groundwater is tremendous. This potential derives from the following factors: (1) MTBE is the second most prevalent groundwater contaminant in the United States (e.g., 79 % of wells in urban Denver were recently found to be contaminated); (2) traditional technologies are ineffective at removing this contaminant from groundwater, and (3) MTBE has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals, thus regulatory concern is high. Based on these factors, ENVIROGEN analysts expect MTBE to be one of the most active remediation markets over the next decade. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hatzinger, Paul Envirogen, Inc. NJ Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 99985 5371 EGCH 9198 9145 0313000 Regional & Environmental 9960901 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Production of Enantiomerically-Pure Monomers. The goal of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to identify, isolate or develop new biocatalysts for producing stereo-specific monomers that can be used to synthesize chiral plastics with unique optical and mechanical properties. Current technologies for resolving racemic mixtures of organic monomers rely on the use of a biocatalyst to selectively react with either a desired or undesired enantiomer. The desired enantiomer can then be purified and used in the targeted process. During this project, new biocatalysts will be identified and used to resolve enantiomers that can be used to synthesize plastics. The resulting plastics will initially be tested and used to construct devices for controlling optical signals on fiber optic cables, and other uses for the plastics will become apparent after the thermal, mechanical, and optical properties of the materials are evaluated and understood. Without such development work, the properties and utility of the plastics can not be predicted, and relatively large quantities of improved biocatalysts are needed to produce sufficient quantities of polymers for testing and evaluation. The new catalysts will overcome existing limitations such as poor reaction kinetics, enzyme instability, insufficient selectivity, and high costs which have hindered widespread acceptance of biocatalysts in organic synthesis. Enantiomerically pure chemicals are becoming increasingly important as products, and as intermediates for synthesizing pharmaceutical and other end products. This work will lead to the production of enzymes that can be utilized to synthesize chiral monomers that can subsequently be used for creating optical devises for the fiber optic industry. Likewise, the enzymes will likely find utility in synthesizing enantiopure intermediates for a wide range of chemical syntheses. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Steffan, Robert Envirogen, Inc. NJ Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 99915 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960903 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: An Improved Computational Formulation of Density Functional Theory. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a fundamental computational improvement in Density Functional Theory that significantly extends the range of applicability of this method by removing the current computational bottleneck. There is a significant opportunity for considerable advancement beyond current technology in the evaluation of density functional integrals. Development of an improved technique for the treatment of the exchange-correlation terms, that significantly improves the computation time for molecules of all sizes, is the subject of this project. The innovation is in creating a new formulation of density functional theory with auxiliary basis sets that is on a rigorous theoretical foundation, reducing the exchange-correlation cost by considerably more than an order of magnitude while also overcoming the drawbacks from which other treatments suffer. These are attributes that no approach has been able to achieve simultaneously. The potential applications of this new technology are broad-based. QSI's primary intention is to incorporate this improved method into its educational software product, as an engine for a virtual chemistry laboratory. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Johnson, Benny Quantum Simulations Incorporated PA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 9960921 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Combinatorial Approach to Combustion Catalyst Development. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project focuses on the development of a novel combinatorial technique for the discovery of natural gas combustion catalysts. The technique enables rapid parallel screening of multiple catalyst formulations in a realistic combustion environment, thereby greatly accelerating the speed and accuracy with which catalysts can be evaluated. Many existing combinatorial techniques are not suitable for combustion catalyst development because the catalyst screening element does not adequately mimic a combustion environment. The technique discussed in this proposal addresses this issue by using a catalytic reactor design that closely represents designs that are used in the practice of catalytic combustion in gas turbine engine applications. The aim of the proposed work is to demonstrate this technique and apply it to developing more durable, better performing natural gas combustion catalysts. If successful, this combinatorial approach could be used to aid in the discovery of catalysts for other high temperature applications. Successful development of this technique could greatly accelerate the development of durable catalysts for high temperature catalytic combustion of natural gas. This would result in greater acceptance and application of this technology in areas such as gas turbines for ground based power generation. Catalytic combustion offers the promise for reduction of greenhouse gas and toxic gas (e.g. NOx) emissions. Other spinout applications would include application of this combinatorial technique to other areas of high temperature catalyst development. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Castaldi, Marco Precision Combustion, Inc. CT Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 9960925 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Low Cost Rapid Prototyping Using Computer Printers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new low-cost rapid prototyping method, based on inexpensive computer printing technology. A variety of rapid prototyping technologies have been developed with equipment costing in the range of $30,000 to $200,000. Costs like this and machine complexity have limited production to a few thousands of machines. The printing technology, by lowering entry costs to the simple purchase of specialty paper and toner, could lead to a new manufacturing paradigm favoring small, just-in-time manufacturing. Phase I will make sheets from simple hand sheet equipment and provide proof of concept. The business potential is estimated to extend to an initial 2,000 users of rapid prototyping equipments. Applications are expected across a broad spectrum of engineering and manufacturing operations in industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kellett, Bruce KQTech CT Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99600 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960932 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Nanocrystalline Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) for Resonance Isolators. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project describes the synthesis and consolidation of nanocrystalline yttrium iron garnet (YIG). YIG is an important material for many high-technology devices. YIG has been used extensively in the polycrystalline, single crystal, and thin film forms. Its crystal structure is that of the garnet mineral Mn3Al2Si3O12. Si and Mn are substituted by Y and Fe to obtain Y3Fe5O13. YIG has the lowest resonance linewidth ever observed, and this property makes it commercially significant. The presence of pores, nonmagnetic impurities and microstructural inhomogeneities broaden the resonance linewidth and deteriorate the properties. Nanoparticles have high coercive force and high saturation magnetization. They also offer the ability to be consolidated into higher densities than micron sized powders. Materials Modification, Inc. (MMI) proposes to synthesize nanosized powders of YIG and rapidly consolidate them using a Plasma Pressure Consolidation (P2C) technique into fully dense shapes. YIG is applicable to high frequency microwave applications such as filters, oscillators, multipliers, detectors, resonance isolators and gyrators. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Radhakrishnan, R Materials Modification Inc. VA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9165 9146 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960937 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A New Functional Object Oriented Stochastic Modeling Language. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop a new framework for writing and executing stochastic programs. The work expands and generalizes the stochastic functional language originally proposed by Koller, McAllister, and Pfeffer at Stanford University. The goal is to implement a functional object oriented stochastic language for expressing probabilistic relationships over variables and objects. The output includes both joint and conditional probability distributions. The language provides a compact representation of Bayesian Belief Networks as well as a larger class of stochastic models. It enhances the power of Bayesian Belief Networks in several respects. It is more expressive, providing mechanisms for representing abstract relationships as well as functions for expressing model composition and model transformation. The language also supports an inference algorithm that is more efficient than standard Bayesian Belief Network algorithms. It achieves efficiency through lazy evaluation, context-sensitive inference, and compact factorization of conditional probability tables. This new language is an evolutionary step forward from Bayesian Belief Network formalisms in both expressive power and inference and will support stochastic modeling in entirely new domains of science and engineering. Stochastic modeling and stochastic inference are useful in design, simulation and diagnosis, as well as in multiple aspects of decision support. If successful, this new generation of stochastic programming tools will have potential applications in: advanced engineering design; clinical data interpretation and diagnostic systems in medicine; diagnosis and predictive monitoring in industrial control systems; Market trend analysis and prediction for financial institutions; decision support for business, government and other organizations; scientific modeling of stochastic systems, and; genealogical analysis. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Stern, Carl SandiaView Software, Inc. NM Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99981 5371 OTHR 1269 0000 0206000 Telecommunications 9960952 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A Front-End-of-Line Photoresist Stripping Process for Electronic Device Manufacturing. This Small Business Innovation Research Project will be directed toward assessing the performance of a new a front-end-of-line (FEOL) photoresist stripping process for electronic device manufacturing. A Sulfuric acid and oxidant mixture (SOM) continues to be used for stripping photoresist from semiconductor wafers. Recently, several groups of researchers have investigated the use of ozone dissolved in DI water (DIO) for photoresist stripping. The use of ozone dissolved in water in lieu of SOM offers a number of advantages including: 1) decreased chemical disposal cost, 2) decreased rinse DI water consumption, 3) increased user safety, 4) decreased chemical cost. Phifer Smith Corporation has developed a new process which has achieved an etch rate that is two to four times faster than the fastest DIO process. We have defined four goals for phase I: 1) modify our existing wet processing test apparatus, 2) measure the etch rate for positive and negative I-line and DUV photoresist, 3) measure the etch rate for positive I-line and positive DUV photoresist ion implanted at dose levels of 1E13, 1E14, and 1E15, 4) develop a preliminary design for a (FEOL) wafer cleaning process for evaluation in phase II. This process can be applied to high-speed photoresist stripping and post ash residue removal. It may also find application in post-etch residue removal for front-end-of-line semiconductor manufacturing processes. Finally, it may also find application in other industries as a residue free, environmentally benign, cleaning process. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Boyers, David Phifer Smith Corporation CA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99976 5371 MANU 9146 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960955 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Suction Retention Smart Variable Geometry Sockets (SVGS) for Transtibial Prostheses. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate major improvement in suction retention for transtibial (TT) prostheses. True TT suction retention (i.e., intrasocket pressure below ambient) is rare because of sealing difficulty. Fitting is arduous and expensive; stump volume changes diurnally, during illness and menstruation. A TT socket that holds suction on donning, may lose it during the day. The advent of Synergy's Smart Variable Geometry Socket (SVGS), now makes possible maintaining, automatically, a suction seal on the TT stump. SVGS is simple, robust and relatively inexpensive; it enhances blood circulation and automatically prevents ischemia, protecting a stump with dysfunctional nerves from necrosis. Project outcomes include greatly improved comfort, stability, sense of security and tissue health. This project is necessary because TT body weight support is different from TF support, and a proximal, circumferential socket seal is needed. Dynamic intrasocket pressures, ambulation work, endurance, speed and stability, and the amputee's sense of security will be measured. Phase II will include broad clinical trials. There are approximately 165,000 U.S. transtibial (TT) amputees, with 45,000 TT amputations annually. Suction retention of TT prostheses should become popular with success of this project. We project $10s millions/year worldwide sales of SVGS/TT socket-liners kits. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Dean, Jr., Robert SYNERGY INNOVATIONS INC NH Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 99975 5371 OTHR 5342 0000 0116000 Human Subjects 0203000 Health 9960957 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Novel Thin Films Based High Efficiency Ferroelectric Cathode. This SBIR Phase I Project develop a low-voltage ferroelectric cathode technology based on ferroelectric films for application to cold cathodes for accelerators, high frequency devices, mass spectrometers and other instruments based on cold cathodes. Ferroelectric materials emit pulses of electrons from their surface during rapid polarization reversal. High current density (up to 100 A/cm2) has been obtained using cathodes with thick ferroelectric layers, requiring excitation voltages in the 3-5 kV range. However, it is desirable to develop ferroelectric cathodes which require operating voltages in the hundred's of volts range, to make them more energy efficient and less susceptible to high voltage-induced breakdown. The primary objective of the proposed research program will be the development of low-voltage, high-current, reliable, film-based ferroelectric cathodes. This will be accomplished by advancing the current understanding of the material requirements and electrode configuration to maximize the electron emission current. It is expected that the proposed technology will provide high current, low voltage ferroelectric cathodes for a variety of applications requiring lower power consumption. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bensaoula, Abdelhakim IONWERKS, INC TX Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99858 5371 AMPP 9165 0106000 Materials Research 9960978 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Active Control of Gas Turbine Engines Using Eddy Current Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will address the development of algorithms for active control of blade vibration and engine stability (stall and surge) using the General Dynamics Advanced Technology Systems (GDATS) eddy current sensor (ECS) array. The increased demand for aircraft maneuverability and efficiency drive the engine designers to produce lighter engines that will have to operate in the presence of increased levels of steady-state and dynamic engine-face distortion. Such engines demand active control systems for safe operation. Working closely with GDATS, the proposer has been actively involved in the development of signal analysis and diagnostic tools for the detection of engine faults. We shall leverage this ongoing development of diagnostics tools for the ECS in the development of active control algorithms. Current ECS diagnostic tools are already able to provide tip clearance profiles, as well as vibration and stall indicators. We propose to extend the functionality of the ECS system beyond diagnostics to active and automatic real-time control of gas turbine engines. From this project we expect to develop algorithms for active control of gas turbine engine blade vibration and stability that make use of the GDATS ECS array. The GDATS ECS array is currently the favored sensor system for installation on the Joint Strike Fighter. A software system upgrade capable of using ECS data to compute the necessary indicators and estimate the disturbances needed for active vibration and engine stability control will be highly desirable. If this can be accomplished it will reduce the number of new sensors needed for active control, thus potentially saving millions of dollars. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Teolis, Carole Techno-Sciences Incorporated MD Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0104000 Information Systems 9960981 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Disease Block: Genetically Engineered Plants with Disease Resistance. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to perfect a method using peptide aptamers expressed in plants that appears to work to control certain bacterial plant pathogens in the genus Xanthomonas. The aptamers block function of critical pathogenicity (Pth) proteins that are literally injected by the pathogens into plant cells. The objectives are to 1) select better aptamers for capacity to block disease development by screening for binding to predicted critical regions on the Pth protein and 2) create transgenic citrus plants that express the aptamers for later testing for resistance to citrus canker disease. Phase II funding will be sought to produce and test transgenic rice and common bean plants genetically engineered to produce the aptamers. Three diseases of economic importance to the U.S. are likely to be controlled by this novel genetic mechanism: citrus canker, common bean blight and rice blight. There are no cures, no stable genetic resistance, nor even satisfactory controls for these diseases. The citrus industry and state regulators consider canker control methods to be a top priority. Localized losses of citrus, bean and rice due to these three diseases can be up to 50%, 20% and 100%, respectively. Applications to other diseases are likely by this new gene engineering technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ramadugu, Chandrika Integrated Plant Genetics Inc. FL George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9109 1167 0201000 Agriculture 9960985 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Rapid, Low-Cost Processing of Continuous Fiber-Reinforced Ceramic Composites. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will demonstrate feasibility a rapid, low-cost method of manufacturing continuous fiber-reinforced ceramic composites (CFCCs). CFCCs are a class of material whose tremendous market potential has been thwarted by their excessive cost, resulting from the current, inefficient manufacturing methods. Thor Technologies, Incorporated will team with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to integrate three technologies into a single efficient manufacturing process: (1) preceramic polymers; (2) high frequency microwave (HFMW) radiation; and (3) polymer infiltration/pyrolysis (PIP) processing. The HFMW-PIP process will produce CFCCs in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of current methods. Preliminary studies have mitigated the technical risk, and the potential for greatly enhanced productivity over current methods mitigates commercialization risk. The proposed effort will characterize the effects of HFMW radiation on the materials, will demonstrate process feasibility by manufacturing and testing coupons and simple shapes (tubes), and will assess the productivity and economic potential of the process. The Proposed PI has substantial experience with preceramic polymers and the PIP process, while our collaborators at LANL have extensive experience with HFMW heating. Thor Technologies has the managerial and financial resources to develop the process to full-scale production. A wide variety of industries, ranging from aerospace to the petroleum and chemical processing industry, would benefit from the availability of low cost materials that are stable under hot, oxidizing conditions, do not corrode, and weigh less than metals yet are strong and tough. Although their price has relegated CFCCs to small, niche market to-date, reducing their cost to the point at which they compete with metals, such as intermetallics and superalloys, will open substantial new markets. Applications in transportation and energy will result in increased productivity and a cleaner environment for the nation. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Schwab, Stuart Thor Technologies, Inc. NM Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 99998 1505 MANU 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960990 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Investigate and Quantify in Real Time (INQUIRE)- A Framework for Simulation Based on Real Data. Young students in the U.S. who are learning qualitative descriptions of natural phenomena exhibit high levels of achievement in mathematics and science, but as the curriculum become more abstract and quantitative, achievement steadily decreases in older students relative to that in other countries as reported in various studies. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from Yaros Communications, Inc. addresses these recent trends in science and mathematics performance of U.S. students with a web based educational simulation with which students can INvestigate and QUuantify In REal-time (INQUIRE). INQUIRE will use complex data of natural phenomena as inputs to a simulation that gives students visualizations related to concrete experiences. The prototype system will use real time weather data as input to a balloon simulation. In this way, students can connect the concrete image of a balloon moving through the air to the abstract concepts associated with atmospheric physics. The INQUIRE system provides a framework for developing other simulations based on any real time data available on the Internet. The INQUIRE system also contains provisions for students to collaborate or to compete over the Internet. The Phase I research will develop (1) educational objectives, technical specifications and evaluation content; (2) a prototype object (balloon) simulator; (3) a prototype system to be evaluated by educators; and (4) objectives for additional scenarios and specifications for the final system.\ The primary commercial application for the INQUIRE system will be as an addition to the existing product line of Yaros Communications, including its nationwide Weatherschool project now licensed by more than 70 commercial television stations with more than 800,000 classrooms enrolled. As a company providing no cost educational materials to classrooms through its partnerships with local television stations and corporate sponsors, the development of this unique real-time INQUIRE science 'engine' for middle schools offers an opportunity for efficient distribution and widespread use. IIP ENG Golladay, William Yaros Communications, Inc. WI Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 7256 SMET 9177 7355 7256 0202000 Atmospheric Science-ICAS 9960992 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Manufacturing Technology for Fiber Lasers Using MicroOpto Electro Mechanical Systems (MOEMS). This is a Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I Project that addresses new materials and manufacturing techniques for fiber lasers. Fiber lasers have emerged as the most energy efficient, diode-pumped, solid-state lasers demonstrated to date. There have been concomitant advances in fiber laser spectral coherence and power scaling. However, less effort has been directed towards developing an integrated manufacturing process for wavelength tuning and spectral coherence control, both of which are crucial to applications such as laser spectroscopy, rugged industrial optical sensors and optical communications. Coherent Technologies, Inc. and Cornell University propose to jointly develop innovative Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MOEMS) devices to provide these capabilities in fiber lasers. When compared to competing optical technologies, these devices achieve unprecedented wide-band tuning, variable outcoupling, longitudinal mode selection and optical phase control with servo bandwidths >100 kKhz. Stringent wavelength requirements inhibit large scale manufacturing with conventional technology. The MOEMS tuners relieve the issues of process yield. The Phase I theory and proof-of-principle demonstrator will establish technical viability for the Phase II program. The Phase II goal is to build a first-of-kind frequency-agile phase-locked fiber laser oscillator/amplifier that is suitable for commercialization. The devices developed with this technology will operate in hostile environments, as might be encountered in industrial process plants and telecommunications, in programmable wavelength division multiplexing and in reconfigurable optical drop/add switches. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Smith, Duane COHERENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC CO Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99964 1505 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960994 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Bimetallic Oxygen Reduction Catalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells. The Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project focuses on development of platinum-transition metal binary catalysts supported on high area carbon for oxygen cathodes in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. In order to reduce the bulk amount of platinum in the catalyst without losing activity and improve durability under fuel cell operating conditions, different combinations of platinum-iron/platinum-cobalt supported on nitrogen enriched carbon black will be prepared, characterized, and evaluated at T/J Technologies, Inc. Performance evaluation of these materials as the oxygen reduction catalyst for fuel cells will be undertaken in parallel with thorough spectroscopic characterization to obtain structural and compositional parameters. Correlation between activity and structural properties of the binary composite catalysts obtained in this research will be used for combining high catalytic activity with good stability in Phase II efforts. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bae, In Tae T/J Technologies, Inc MI Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 0308000 Industrial Technology 9960996 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Talking Tactile Computer. This SBIR Phase I research project will test the feasibility of a stand-alone computer device for use by students and others who are blind or visually impaired. This device will incorporate a 'single board computer' that consists of a Pentium-class microprocessor, audio system and connectors for all standard computer peripherals, an internal hard disk drive and a rechargeable battery. The operating system will be Windows 98. Instead of a video display and a mouse, this Talking Tactile Computer will rely on a built in touch-sensitive surface to which a variety of vacuum-thermoformed raised-line and textured tactile graphic overlays will be mounted. All of this apparatus will be housed in a single compact and portable enclosure. No additional equipment or external wiring will be required. It is expected that the device will be competitively priced as compared with standard notebook computers, because it does not include a video display. A blind or visually impaired student will use the device, accompanying tactile materials and associated programs to run interactive, multimedia computer applications. The system is being developed in tandem with a proposed research project to create a semester-long curriculum for College Calculus by Drs. Albert Blank and Michael Kress of the College of Staten Island. For the purpose of the Phase I SBIR test-of-concept, Touch Graphics will adapt a series of tactile plates, from a unit on coordinate geometry already created by Dr. Blank, to the new device described above. The device and accompanying tactile graphic materials and CD ROM-based programs will be marketed to schools, libraries, community and residential centers, businesses with visually impaired employees, and to individuals. This single product is intended to be adaptable, through the publication of additional software titles by Touch Graphics, to a broad range of user groups, including students; technical, professional and office workers; senior citizens with declining visual acuity; and others. With minor modifications, the device could be adapted for fixed-position kiosk applications in public places, like shopping malls and transit hubs. RES IN DISABILITIES ED IIP ENG Landau, Steven Touch Graphics NY Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99676 1545 SMET 9180 9178 5371 1545 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9960998 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Novel Joining Method for Self-Assembly of Reliable Three Dimensional Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems. This project will explore a unique and ingenious use of solder to 'self-assemble' two-dimensional surface micromachined Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) structures into useful three-dimensional structures. With this combined joining and assembly approach, surface tension forces in molten solder serve to assemble 3D MEMS structures. A number of promising commercial applications have been identified. Most promising of these applications involves MEMS corner cube reflectors for communication and identification. Current work on MEMS solder self-assembly has yet to provide the level of understanding needed to fully define the capabilities and limitations of the process. Further studies of the fundamental issues are needed to understand these capabilities and limitations so that the process can be made commercially viable. Key research personnel from industry and education and state-of-the-art equipment are in place. This project will develop the solder self-assembly process and contribute to engineering knowledge by answering the following questions: What are the performance limits of MEMS solder self-assembly? What are the commercial applications within these limits? SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schaible, Brian SPORIAN MICROSYSTEMS, INC. CO Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 99093 5371 AMPP 9165 9146 1467 1444 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961003 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A Fast and Efficient Wave Field Modeling System with Digital Signal Processors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of significantly increasing the speed and accuracy of acoustic and elastic wave field simulations in 3-D heterogeneous materials by using arrays of digital signal processors (DSPs ) in conjunction with a new wave field modeling algorithm. The DSPs will perform the floating point operations of the algorithm by functioning as the processing elements in a parallel computing environment. A multi-processor system based on this concept could achieve supercomputer performance at a small fraction of the cost. The resulting system would, for the first time, make wave field simulation a practical and cost-effective tool for industrial applications to subterranean imaging and earthquake hazards analysis. The most appropriate existing DSP board for the application will be identified. A workstation computer will be configured with DSP modeling software and with the wave field simulation software. The system will be tested, and performance will be optimized. The system's performance potential will be compared to the software's performance on a supercomputer and on a network of workstations. The proposed system could be of immediate use as a practical tool for improving subterranean and medical imaging techniques and for earthquake hazards studies. Potential commercial applications of the research include 1) improving subterranean imaging for oil and gas exploration, 2) providing synthetic data sets for the development and testing of medical imaging systems, 3) ground motion maps for scenario earthquakes in complicated Earth structures, 4) non-destructive testing and failure analysis of solid materials, and 5) industrial and educational applications of high performance computing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Orrey, Jeffrey Ojo Solutions CO G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 98657 5371 CVIS 1448 1038 0109000 Structural Technology 9961006 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Copper Selective Silica-Polyamine Extraction Materials for Processing Copper Ore Leach Liquors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a silica-polyamine composite material to be used in an efficient, environmentally benign system to selectively extract copper from copper ore leach liquors. In this process the copper is extracted from the acidic leach solution into an organic solvent, typically kerosene, where it is concentrated and then released back into an aqueous solution for final processing. While this process is superior to smelting with regards to environmental impact and efficiency it still possesses environmental liabilities, chiefly toxic, flammable organic solvents and unfavorable economic factors namely solvent and solvent modifier loss. In this Phase I project, a material with a long useful lifetime, that will separate copper from low copper concentration acidic leach liquors containing ferric iron efficiently and effectively at high processing rates without using organic solvents, will be produced. Presently thousands of tons of copper are produced in the United States and abroad using a solvent extraction process. The process using these new materials will produce highly concentrated copper solutions ready for final copper recovery. The cost of these materials is predicted to be significantly less than the resin based materials currently being tested for this application. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fischer, Robert Purity Systems, Inc. MT Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 82048 5371 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 9961012 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Formal Techniques for Dependable Reactive Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project involves the introduction of advanced, automated modeling and verification techniques into the design cycle of reactive systems. The state of the art mandates the extensive use of testing in order to ensure that such systems, which typically function in safety- and business-critical settings, behave correctly. The key insight underlying the innovation is that many errors, and much of the cost of testing and other design, development and maintenance activities, can be eliminated through the judicious use of rigorous modeling notations based on process algebra, and through model checking to examine the properties of such models. The project will yield cost-effective techniques for producing reactive systems that are more dependable, cheaper to design, more thoroughly understood, better documented, and easier to maintain than those constructed using current practice. The ubiquity of reactive systems, and the nation's increasing reliance on them point to the dramatic benefits the innovation will have on society's safety, security and economic well being. This technology, if successful can be used in the of dependable reactive systems such as the embedded software found in automotive, medical, aeronautical, consumer-electronic and telecommunications applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sims, Steven REACTIVE SYSTEMS INC VA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99726 5371 HPCC 9216 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9961022 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Microsphere-Based Optical Spectrum Analyzer. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project focuses on the innovative use of microspheres to provide substantially long pathlengths for spectrum analysis. Microspheres are spheres of optical material 100 um or less in diameter. They have the ability to propagate light around their equatorial diameter. Light can be coupled in and out of the microsphere. In this way, a microsphere can serve as the light chamber for spectral analysis, offering a meters-long path length in a very small volume. This will allow the construction of accurate optical spectrum analyzers in a small, robust package. Typical spectrum analyzers are delicate laboratory instruments that do not support field use. Furthermore, the ultra-narrow channel spacing being planned for optical networks will exceed the currently available range capabilities of optical spectrum analyzers. The proposed device will be relatively inexpensive, easy to integrate into new and existing fiber networks, and rugged enough to survive field deployments. Telecommunications service providers need field monitoring equipment to prevent system shutdowns, and the best tool for that job is an optical spectrum analyzer. The proposed device would provide that capability with better accuracy, at a lower cost, and in a package capable of continuous use in the field. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Roark, Joel NOMADICS, INC OK Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99980 5371 AMPP 9165 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961027 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Manufacturing and Interconnection of Carbon Nanotube Transistors. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I Project will develop a novel integrated process for manufacturing and interconnecting a 3-D array of transistors made of carbon nanotubes, suitable for large-scale manufacturing. This large-scale, low-cost approach will provide extremely fast, low-power, ultra-high-density logic and memory devices, which operate at room temperature. The fundamental enabling innovation of the proposed process involves introducing controlled discontinuities in the structure of the carbon nanotube. We estimate that our fabrication technology will enable device densities of 10^12 per cm^2, limited only by lateral interconnect technology. A novel interconnect technology will also be investigated to provide device densities to 10^14 per cm^2. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Mancevski, Vladimir XIDEX CORPORATION TX Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 1505 MANU 9148 1415 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961034 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Expression Pattern Screening for Agriculture Genomics. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop a high throughput multiple mRNA assay for screening large numbers of compounds to discover potential compounds that affect patterns of gene expression in plant tissue. The expression for a group of genes of interest and control genes can be tested all at once within each well of a 96-well plate. Investigators can evaluate how 96 different compounds affect the expression pattern for these genes in each plate. This technology will address an unmet need of the agricultural industry - to make efficient use of novel genomics information. This will allow testing of more gene targets including newly identified genes, and will provide information about selectivity and specificity. Proprietary methods allow DNA array technology to be used for the high throughput multiple mRNA assay. Preliminary results demonstrate the feasibility of these methods using mammalian cells. DNA arrays can be applied within each well and retain hybridization specificity. The method is sensitive enough to detect genes expressed at one mRNA molecule per cell from cells grown within one well of a 96-well plate. The researchers propose to apply the approach to cultured plant cells, in order to form a reliable and sensitive screening technology for discovering new compounds that modulate gene expression in crops. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kris, Richard NeoGen, LLC AZ Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9109 1167 0201000 Agriculture 9961036 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: High Power Density Ultracapacitor by Using Transition Metal Carbide/Nitride Fibers as Electrodes. Electrical performance of ultracapacitors based on consolidated powders such as carbon powders is often limited by interparticle electrical resistance. As a consequence, this requires the addition of conductivity enhancing additives or specialized processing steps. Transition metal carbide/nitride are known for their intrinsic high electronic conductance. To reduce the interparticle resistance, in this Phase I program, we are going to make transition metal carbide/nitride fiber electrodes using sol-gel technology. The microstructure of fibers will be tailored to obtain a uniform pore size distribution and high accessible surface area. The resulting power density of an ultracapacitor made of this material is expected to be notably impoved due to a much lower eqivalent series resistance (ESR). Anticipated Benefits/Potential Commercial Applications of the Research or Developement Load leveling for electric vehicle or as power source for automotive sub-systems such as starter, regenerative braking and air bag. In addition, portable electronic devices such as notebook computers, cellular phones will also be able to use it as primary or secondary power sources. Keywords: Transition metal carbide/nitride, Sol-gel process, fiber, high power density, high accessible surface area, low ESR SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wei, Qiang (Ethan) CHEMAT TECHNOLOGY INC CA Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 1403 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961054 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Electro-Mechanical Micro-Vibratory Transducers for Boundary Layer Flow Control. 9961054 Smith This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel electro-mechanical, micro-vibratory transducer that can be used to detect and control boundary layer flow separation in a wide class of aerodynamic flows. This transducer is composed of a very thin, light-weight composite sheet that contains the combination sensors and vibratory transducers that are used to detect boundary layer flow conditions and to excite the viscous sub-layer of the boundary layer to control flow separation. The power consumption of the transducer is expected to be about three orders of magnitude lower than the best competing technologies. The device will be easily applied to or integrated into stationary and high-speed rotating machinery and components such as aircraft wings and control surfaces, aircraft propellers, helicopter rotors, axial compressor blades, diffusers, and nozzles. Phase I will address wide needs for flow control in high-Reynolds Number flows. The performance enhancement and increased efficiency of such an advanced boundary layer control device can provide a competitive edge in many industries. This technology can potentially be applied to a broad range of aviation needs including drag reduction, lift augmentation, and boosting of flight controls in airplanes and similar applications in helicopters. Applications of the technology in the automotive field and in the process industry will also be pursued. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Smith, Michael Global Aircraft Corporation MS Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961056 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Development of NZP-Based Advanced Thermal Barrier Coatings. This Small Business Innovation Research project will develop highly engineered, oxidation resistant and durable NZP-based TBCs for components in advanced aerospace and gas turbine engine systems. Next generation aerospace propulsion and power generation systems have to meet requirements of higher efficiencies, greater fuel economy, and longer lifetimes. Higher firing temperatures and better insulation are required to improve engine efficiency and lifetimes of components in such systems. State-of-the art thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) based on yttria partially-stabilized zirconia (YPSZ) are inadequate to meet these temperature and lifetime requirements because of:(1) oxidation problems, (2) low thermo-chemical stability, (3) in-service microstructural changes, and (4) low strain tolerance. At least, two compositions viz. Ba1.25Zr4P5.5Si0.5O24 (BS-25) and Ca0.5Sr0.5Zr4P6O24 (CS-50,) belonging to the NZP ceramics family, are ideally suited for advanced TBCs. Attractive properties of these compositions include high melting temperature (> 1800C), high thermal cycling stability, very low thermal conductivity (~1.0 W/mK), excellent thermal shock resistance, and low oxygen ion conductivity. In addition, their thermal expansion coefficients are very low. Functionally Graded (FG) design approach will be used to minimize thermal expansion mismatches and introduce beneficial surface compressive stresses. When successfully developed, this technology will also be beneficial to automotive and metallurgical industries. Specific commercial applications that could be immediately realized for NZP ceramics-based TBCs are: for turbine blades, combustor liners, stator vanes, etc., in jet and gas turbine engines; and pistons, valve heads, exhaust port, and cylinders in diesel engines. Other commercial applications are in: (1) Heat Exchangers, (2) Burner Nozzles, (3) Hot Gas Fans and Filters, and (4) Pump and Valve Linings in Corrosive Environments. NZP-Based TBCs, Thermal Spray, Functionally Gradient, Advanced Gas Turbines, Low Thermal Conductivity, Oxidation Resistance SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nageswaran, Ramachandran COI Ceramics, Inc. UT Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9165 1467 1444 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961062 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Improved, Lightweight, Bipolar Plates for Fuel Cell Using Nanotube-Filled Polybutylene Terephthalate Composite. A new conductive composite material is proposed for use in fuel cells as a bipolar plate between adjoining cells in series. The new composite material is lightweight and promises to reduce manufacturing time and costs associated with incorporating complex field flow channels into the plate surface. The conductive material consists of polybutylene terephthalate thermoplastic embedded with carbon nanotubes, which are 10x100 Angstroms in size. The material will be processed to reduce pellets to a powder for compression molding, extrusion and injection molding trials. Processing and manufacturing methods for the composite will be optimized to produce thin plates for testing. The effects of incorporating plasticizers and coupling agents on the material processing will be investigated. Physical and mechanical properties of the molded composite will be determined including gas permeability, tensile and flexural strength, thermal expansion coefficient, resistivity and contact resistance against other cell components. The plates will be tested in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and the electrochemical performance compared with cells containing plates made of graphite and other composites. The effects of service use at 80oC will be assessed by re-establishing the physical and mechanical characteristics after continuous cell operation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG McDonald, Robert GINER, INC. MA Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 99818 5371 OTHR 1403 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961065 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: 'Sensorless' Characterization of Coatings in the Deposited State. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop an instrumentation system capable of characterizing the surface area and surface pore size distribution of coatings without the need for removing the coating from its substrate or using specific deposition substrates. Current state of the art instrumentation is incapable of accurately characterizing the surface and pore size distributions of deposited coatings. The proposed instrument would provide enabling technology for the characterization of coatings and surfaces. The proposed surface characterization instrument represents a breakthrough capability for manufacturers and users of advanced coatings and membranes. Instead of relying on time-consuming empirical trials of large volumes of prototype material, rapid determination of surface area and pore size distribution will be possible with cost-effective small samples. The coatings and membrane industries represent markets exceeding $4 billion in the next decade. Instrumentation that would enable industry to accurately, quickly and inexpensively characterize the vital surface features of coatings and membranes will be widely applicable for quality control of devices. This instrument system is applicable, but not limited, to semiconductor processing, membrane development, optical coatings and pharmaceutical and medical products. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tiernan, Timothy TPL, Inc. NM Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99998 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961092 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Reclamation of Tungsten Carbide from Scrap Tools. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new technology to reclaim tungsten carbide (WC) directly from WC-cobalt (Co) scrap, generated each year by the cutting tool industry in an amount worth 2 billion dollars. Since segregation by grade is nearly impossible in that it must be collected from end users and since mixing grades is highly likely, a recovery process that focuses on WC is needed. Current methods for recovery are tedious, time consuming, and expensive due to use of highly corrosive chemicals and high energy consumption. The proposed electrochemical process will eliminate the hydrogen reduction step and the recarburization step. Recovered WC can be re-coated and remanufactured into WC-Co tools for applications in machining, ore drilling, in forming tools and dies, and nozzles for oil and natural gas burners, inkjets and abrasive waterjet cutting. Other applications for recovered WC include materials used in electronics, composite coatings for wear resistance, and counterweights for gyroscopes. The electrochemical approach is expected to result in significant cost savings in the recovery process by reducing the amount of chemicals used, lower the equipment infrastructure use of chemicals, and reduce energy costs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sudarshan, T. Materials Modification Inc. VA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9197 1414 0118000 Pollution Control 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961100 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Hybrid Imaging Avalanche Photodiode. This Phase I Small Business Innovation Research project aims to develop a low cost single optical photon imaging detector. This detector will support diagnostic systems needing rapidly acquired images obtained from ultra-low levels of light. Examples include: assays for bacterial and yeast contamination in fluids in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries; and clinical diagnostics for gene-specific activity screens. Phase I of this project will demonstrate the device concept. Phase II will develop a manufacturing process to support mass production and will initiate the custom design of one or more instruments for specific assays. Offering a suitable detector for a fraction of the cost of current technologies will facilitate the widespread adoption and development of assays that are faster and more accurate than current common practices. Industries in the U.S. will benefit from increased quality and productivity in processes that depend on these assays, and companies that produce the assays will enjoy growth in the demand for their products. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Karplus, Eric Science Wares MA Darryl G. Gorman Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9107 0104000 Information Systems 9961111 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Development of an Autonomous Equilibrating pCO2 Sensor. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project is directed towards developing a compact, unattended sensing module for shipboard or moored use, to measure the carbon dioxide concentration (pCO2) of the surface ocean. There remains large scientific uncertainty in the quantitative evaluation of the ocean as a sink for anthropogenically produced (excess) carbon dioxide emissions, a leading greenhouse gas (U.S. GCRP, 1999). At present, despite significant large scale programs such as the NSF and DOE supported JGOFS and WOCE studies of the past decade, the observational oceanographic database is limited in space and time. Current research ship based measurements obtained by discrete water sampling techniques are expensive, require highly skilled scientific personnel and are necessarily limited in their spatiotemporal resolution. The sensor system proposed here is needed to allow largely unattended deployment on a range of at-sea platforms, to greatly extend the global monitoring effort. Potential Commercial Applications of the Research. While the measurement of oceanic carbonate systems parameters has been regarded as a governmental agency or academic research concern, societal and socio-economic factors (e.g. the recent Kyoto Protocol) place great current value on their understanding by an increasing range of environmental agencies and oceanographic researchers both nationally and internationally. Demonstration of an accurate, compact pCO2 sensor will broaden the commercial market for this critical environmental measurement. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Cook, Regis Frank Millero GENERAL OCEANICS, INC. FL Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99828 1505 EGCH 9197 0110000 Technology Transfer 0313000 Regional & Environmental 9961113 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Scientific Data Management System (SDM). The Scientific Data Management (SDM) project from Psychology Software (PST) Tools Inc. addresses the critical need for safe and secure scientific data retention and management with current distributed computing technology. Experimental behavioral testing of the user interface drives the design of the proposed system. PST will investigate SDM in behavioral, economic, biological, and social sciences. Currently, there are few options to meet government requirements for the retention and use of scientific data. Existing options are expensive, complex, and difficult to use, and designed for other organizational environments. As a result, most academic scientists are not meeting government retention and scientific ethics guidelines. The proposed technology uses a scalable distributed computing architecture, suitable for a single laboratory or many investigators spread across an institution. PSI proposes to study how scientists, data entry, and data administrators manage data, as well as develop a user interface that makes the system a scientific data management 'appliance'. Java technology will be used to create clients for use in WWW browsers and servers for retrieval and report generation. The system provides long life expectancies for data, beyond the useful life of the applications that create them. Data submitted to the system are timestamped and catalogued, providing important information for assuring data quality. Psychology Software Tools proffers a user-centered design of an entire suite of data management tools that are customized to meet the particular needs of research scientists. The technology is of potential value to the National Science Foundation in its concern for the accessibility, transparency, and reproducibility of research results as well as to the scientific community. Significant progress in the area of data management along with progress in processing and storage power and in expressive power are important to advancing Information Technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zuccolotto, Anthony PSYCHOLOGY SOFTWARE TOOLS INC PA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99558 5371 OTHR 1321 0000 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0522400 Information Systems 9961132 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Active Textiles for Life Support Ensembles and Medical Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project involves improvements in current pilot life support equipment and emergency medical compression clothing that can be achieved through the incorporation of the shape memory alloy (SMA) Nitinol as part of an active system to replace traditional air bladder concepts. Used to reduce the risk of pilot blackout during high-G maneuvers and for pneumatic tourniquets in emergency situations, clothing components with air bladders may be dramatically improved by using SMAs to reduce size and power requirements. The developed system will be the application of active cinching straps for leg compression and emergency tourniquets, and for mask sealing during high-G maneuvers. These actively controlled straps will be less cumbersome and more reliable than air bladders used to seal masks, and compress limbs. For pilots, the proposed systems will incorporate sensors to activate the uniform components during critical times and reduce pilot error. Shape memory alloys can form very high stroke, high force solid state actuators for use in textile structures. They offer a high degree of flexibility and are easily incorporated into fabric designs. Using amplified designs and leverage mechanisms, DSM proposes to develop the integrated fabric components that will perform the desired functionality. Potential commercial Applications for the Nitinol and smart material reinforced uniform components have a great potential in the medical and physical therapy industry. Pressurized suits or selectively stiffened or reinforced suits can be used to stop significant blood loss, aid in supporting damaged legs, arms or necks, and help patients achieve therapeutic advances in motion by providing some support during rehabilitation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Paine, Jeffrey DYNAMIC STRUCTURES AND MATERIALS, LLC TN Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 5345 0000 0203000 Health 9961136 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Neuromorphic Color Sensor for Object and Place Recognition. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from Iguana Robotics, Inc. proposes the construction of a single chip, color aVLSI/dVLSI Neuromorphic sensor (camera) with onboard segmentation and object and place recognition capability. For each pixel, this chip will compute the transformation to hue and saturation values in the focal plane, perform class assignment based on color, and perform histogramming based on the class assignment. This chip will be part of a symbiotic system. In addition to the chip, Iguana Robotics will design special target color and texture coded patterns. By designing the targets to be easy to recognize, the investigators will achieve a very high recognition rate. The utility of this device is that it will (1) be capable of associating symbolic tags with objects in natural environment; (2) estimate the position of objects; (3) track and find human face and hands in an image as a pre-processing step in HCI applications; and (4) provide a technique for place recognition for personal robots. In addition, this chip that will be (1) very low power (<1mw); (2) very low cost; and (3) very small and compact. These features will facilitate the wide spread use of this object in cost and power sensitive applications. Iguana Robotics proffers low-cost, compact neuromorphic color sensor for object and place recognition that can provide real-time object and place recognition for diverse areas of application such as entertainment, education, industry, interfaces, and banking. The research project has the potential to make a significant impact on the discovery and understanding of automation in gesture recognition and to advance the state-of-the-art in on-chip computer vision hardware. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lewis, M Iguana Robotics, Inc. IL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 96199 5371 HPCC 9139 6840 0104000 Information Systems 9961156 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Rare Earth Doped Polymer Optical Fiber Amplifiers. The goal of Phase I Small Business Innovation Research project is to demonstrate optical amplification in a single-mode polymer optical fiber. The technical objectives required to meet this goal include the following: 1) incorporate rare-earth chelates into polymers that we use to make fiber; 2) demonstrate amplification in the material; 3) make a polymer fiber with a rare-earth core; and 4) demonstrate amplification in the fiber. Because the principle investigator has the expertise to make single mode polymer optical fiber waveguides with a mode profile that matches the mode in standard silica glass fiber, the amplifier fiber is compatible with existing fiber-optic components. Besides applications for Phased Array Radar, Sentel's amplified single mode polymer fiber (APOF) will have impact on the long-haul fiber amplifier business, but it will have the largest impact in WAN and MAN applications, particularly for fiber-to-the-neighborhood (FTTN) and fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC). As the length-bandwidth products decrease (for smaller networks, e.g., WANs or MANs with fewer channels per fiber but perhaps more fibers), the revenue carried by lit fiber decreases and component costs become more important to the system designer. Thus, it should be clear that this technology could have significant impact on the amplifier market for WANs and MANs, and will also provide cost-effective amplifier solutions for (single-mode) LANs for the first time. This technology is also expected to provide cost-effective solutions for hybrid fiber-coax CATV systems for the same reasons. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Welker, David Sentel Technologies L.L.C. WA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99984 5371 OTHR 0000 0110000 Technology Transfer 9961157 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: High Speed 2x2 Polymer Optical Fiber Switch. The goal of Phase I Small Business Innovation Research project is to make a high-speed 2x2 optical switch using an electro-optic polymer fiber and off-the-shelf fiber components. The technical objectives that will be met on route to this goal include: 1) making single-mode electro-optic polymer optical fiber with connectors, 2) demonstrating coupling between this polymer fiber and standard glass fiber, 3) making a 2x2 optical switch with the researcher's polymer optical fiber and off-the shelf components, and 4) determining the properties of the switch to assess whether or not it meets specifications. Because the Prinicipal Investigator has the expertise to make single mode polymer optical fiber waveguides with a mode profile that matches the mode in glass fiber, the active electro-optic fiber and standard fiber components will make meeting specs possible. The immediate commercial device application of the project's research is a high speed EO switch and modulator. These include bypass and access switches for single-mode LANs, backup and restoration switches for CATV head-ends, network restoration switches for subscriber-side WANs, optical crossconnects for long-haul telecommunication POP (points of presence) centers, and for phased-array antennas. Additional applications are foreseen for niche markets, including instrumentation, network test, component test and evaluation, and potentially computer interconnect network configuration. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Welker, David Sentel Technologies L.L.C. WA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99907 5371 OTHR 0000 0110000 Technology Transfer 9961163 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Bioassay Chip for Massively Parallel Detection of Superparamagnetic Nanospheres using Spin Dependent Tunneling. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of integrating vast numbers of microfluidic channels with Spin Dependent Tunneling (SDT) sensors on a chip. These sensors will detect flow of nanoscopic superparamagnetic particles of the type typically used for separations and as labels in bioassays. The immediate goal is to demonstrate and evaluate particle detection in single channels. Ultimately, the proposed work could lead to a biochip with 1000 parallel microchannels, each able to detect the passing of single superparamagnetic particles at the rate of 1000 / second: a total detection rate of 1,000,000 particles / second! The SDT sensors enable this high capacity because they can be fabricated in sub-micron sized elements, integrated with standard silicon integrated circuits, and combined with typical MEMS and microfluidic structures. They are the latest and most sensitive sensors in the class of ferromagnetic thin film materials including Anisotropic Magnetoresistance (AMR) and Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR). This new biochip tool may have significant utility for detection of cells, proteins, biological pathogens, pollutants in fluids, and performing DNA analyses. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tondra, Mark Nonvolatile Electronics Inc MN Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 99837 5371 BIOT 9184 1108 0203000 Health 9961165 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Sub-Nanosecond Spin Dependent Tunneling Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop subnanosecond switching spin dependent tunneling (SDT) devices by combining high speed magnetic thin films and low-capacitance SDT structures. SDT devices have high signal, low switching field, and high resistance, which lead to high sensitivity, low power consumption, and small size and weight, when compared with giant magnetoresistive (GMR) materials. While the switching speed of SDT devices is limited to longer than severalnanoseconds, the speed of fast electronics has gone into the deep sub-nanosecond regime in the past several years. In order to make fast SDT devices, the magnetic material used in the devices has to be significantly reduced, and existing attractive static properties have to be maintained. Phase I will address both film switching and SDT structure/design issues. By incorporating high-speed magnetic films into the new SDT structures with fast electrical characteristics, the result is expected to be integrated SDT devices with state-of-the-art static properties, but with switching speeds of much less than 1 nanosecond. There are several commercial applications for this technology in high-speed magnetic field and current sensing devices, high-speed/low-power isolaters, fast magnetic random access memories (MRAM), next generation read heads, as well as gigahertz inductor/transformer applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wang, Dexin Nonvolatile Electronics Inc MN Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99998 5371 AMPP 9163 1771 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 9961166 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Ultra Low Hysteresis Giant-Magnetoresistive (GMR) Bridge Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of building giant-magnetoresistive (GMR) bridge sensors that exhibit tenfold and greater improvement in hysteresis over existing bridge sensors. Unique processing enables edge pinning in GMR sandwich resistor elements that leads to increased stability and significant reduction in hysteresis. Technical objectives required to develop the low hysteresis bridge sensors are: (1) determine the edge hardening mechanism; (2) develop a single-step edge hardening process protocol; (3) develop a two-step edge hardening process protocol; (4) design sensor prototypes utilizing low hysteresis; and (5) build and characterize hard-edge bridge sensors. The research will focus on first gaining an understanding and control of the hard edge treatment. This effort will produce a basic low hysteresis bridge sensor. That knowledge will then be applied to processing variable degrees of hard edge profiles within a given device. The result of this effort will be a self-biased full-output bride sensor and a fully symmetric bridge sensor. In addition to addressing the need for low hysteresis in magnetic bridge sensors, the processes developed can be applied to integrated linear and digital output sensors and signal isolation devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Anderson, John Nonvolatile Electronics Inc MN Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99934 5371 CVIS 1038 0106000 Materials Research 0109000 Structural Technology 9961188 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Robotic Systems for Network Interrogation of Smart Civil Structures. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is aimed at developing an autonomous robotic structural inspection system capable of remote powering and data collection from a network of embedded sensing nodes, and providing remote data access via the internet. The system will utilize existing microminiature, multichannel , wireless, programmable Addressable Sensing Modules (ASM's) to sample data from a variety of sensors. These inductively powered nodes do not require batteries or interconnecting lead wires, which greatly enhances their overall reliability and reduces their installation cost. Networks of sensing nodes can be embedded, interrogated, and remotely accessed in applications where visual inspection by people is not practical due to: physical space constraints, remote geographic locations, high inspection costs, and high risks involved for those performing the inspections. The sensors can indicate the need for repair, replacement, or reinforcement, which will reduce the risks of catastrophic failures and would be useful after natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. The availability of critical structural health data on the internet would greatly assist highway engineers and scientists, to improve their working database on these structures, which will improve our understanding of the safety of civil structures and their requisite maintenance. If successful, market potential could be significant, as various task-specific robots can be employed with the systems for remote inspection and internet data delivery from a broad spectrum of structures, such as: bridges, bridge footings, dams, offshore oil rigs, buildings, hazardous waste sites, and nuclear power plants. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Arms, Steven MICROSTRAIN INC VT G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 99974 9150 CVIS 9150 5371 1473 1038 0109000 Structural Technology 9961191 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Laser-Wave Explorer for the Physics Classroom. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from LASERMIND proposes to design and build an innovative scientific teaching tool that will improve high school physics students' understanding of the principles of light and energy. The need for better understanding and knowledge of physics in secondary education in this country is paramount. Physics teachers need a simple, safe, durable, and hands-on approach to teach students the principles of light. The proposed learning system, Laser-Wave Explorer, will meet the needs of teachers and students. The unique feature of this Laser-Wave Explorer system is the all-in-one design requiring no mechanical assembly. The advanced design interlinks seven combinations of optical components together into one system. Through inquiry-based hands-on learning, physics students can perform over 30 different laser and optical experiments with the Laser-Wave Explorer system. LASERMIND plans to develop a teacher's guide and student workbook and to conduct field tests to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the prototype. During the 1996-2006 period, science and engineering jobs are expected to increase by 44 percent. Advances in laser technology will continue to generate a demand for skilled workers. There exists a widening workforce gap between the number of skilled scientists and engineers that will be needed and those that are available. The Laser Wave Explorer will decrease the workforce gap by preparing physics students for future science and technology IIP ENG Payne, Patricia LASERMIND CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 98506 7256 SMET 9177 9102 7355 7256 5371 0101000 Curriculum Development 9961203 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Biosensor Microprobes for Physiological Measurements. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will combine recent advances in electrochemical biosensor technology achieved in many laboratories with unique silicon microprobe technology developed in our laboratory, to produce low cost disposable biosensor microprobes for painless physiological measurements. The analyte in this work will be glucose because glucose biosensors are the most advanced, and diabetic glucose self-testing is the largest existing biosensor market opportunity. Integration of biosensors with silicon microprobes comparable in cross-section to a human hair to provide a practical technique for painless blood testing is not restricted to glucose but is an enabling technology applicable to many other analytes. Impressive biosensor R&D progress has not yet resulted in commercial devices for painless in vivo applications because workers in needle biosensors have used conventional configurations and fabrication methods. The high cost and size (hypodermic needle diameters, requiring painful surgical implantation) of conventional biosensors requires that they last a long time. The principal approach taken by others to make them practical is to extend their lifetimes toward six months of operation, but this effort has produced only slow incremental progress. The strength of the proposed approach lies in the combination of biosensors and silicon microprobes. By rendering insertion and removal completely painless and sharply reducing the cost, disposable integrated biosensor microprobes employing electrochemical sensor technology at its present state of development become commercially practical. The largest commercial application for biosensor microprobes is diabetic blood glucose self-testing, which is currently a three billion dollar per year market. Other markets include quality control in the food industries, emergency medicine, control of blood levels of therapeutic drugs, and physiological monitoring of many analytes for clinical and research purposes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Smart, Wilson KUMETRIX, INC CA Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9184 1108 0203000 Health 9961204 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Microfabrication through Cross-Sectional Lithography. 9961204 Bukkosy This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will explore the feasibility of a low-cost, microfabrication system known as micro cross-sectional lithography. The system would be capable of creating high aspect ratio, three dimensional micromechanical devices for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) applications with a one-micron resolution from photopolymer resins, typically using UV energy. Phase I will include fabrication of a demonstration unit with 5-micron resolution, design of a one-micron resolution lens for feasibility analysis, and materials evaluation for microscale properties. The experimental design suggests increased resolution, increased flexibility in manufacturing, reduced cost, and reduced fabrication times compared to current lithographic means. Use of such a device enhances the capability of designers and researchers by allowing cost-effective prototypes to be built at the microscale level. This innovative process will greatly enhance the ability to package microsensors and improve on parts designs through the prototyping process. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bukkosy, Laura EOM Technologies, L.L.C. MA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99500 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961205 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: StickMouse: An Assistive Device to Enable Full Access to Computer Applications for Physically Disabled Users. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I from Reata Computing Services, Inc. project will develop a computer interface product, StickMouse, that will represent a significant advance in surmounting the limitations of current assistive devices. There are millions of disabled people in the United States who do not have normal use of their hands or arms due to paralysis or disease. These individuals cannot utilize a computer fully because they cannot manipulate both the mouse and keyboard with an integrated device. The educational and economic impact of these disabilities becomes more and more severe as technology-enabled, Internet-based products, services, and education become more prevalent. This situation not only has an impact on each individual's economic and personal well being, but also it has implications for our national productivity as well. StickMouse will enable keyboard entry as well as simulate mouse manipulation within constraints of ease of use; comfort; cost effectiveness; material suitability; and reliability, durability, and maintainability. Because StickMouse is a general user interface device, it will be enabling for any type of computer use, including education, creation of job opportunities, and enhancing personal life and independence. StickMouse will facilitate the use of the computer so that physically disabled individuals will have much greater access to and interaction with computer applications, including web interface and programming skills. The technology proffered by Reata Computing Services will increase employment opportunities and enhance educational development, financial independence and quality of life for disabled individuals through their access to software requiring the mouse. RES IN DISABILITIES ED IIP ENG Sterle, Mark Reata Computing Services, Inc. TX Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 96086 1545 SMET 9180 9102 5371 1545 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9961206 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Catalysts with Tethered Ligand-Metal Complexes. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I program will develop advanced heterogeneous catalyst support materials that will reduce costs and enhance productivity in the chemical process industries. Existing heterogeneous catalysts are limited by slow diffusion of reactants and products in the interfacial boundary region where chemical reactions occur. The objective of this work is to develop heterogeneous catalysts that have the combined benefits of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. Solid support materials with long tether molecules terminated with metal-ligand complexes will be prepared. The tether removes the reactive complex from the surface of the support and 'dangles' it into the solution phase, where rapid chemical transformations occur. These non-diffusion-limited catalysts constitute a fundamental physical chemistry change in the nature of solid-liquid interfaces and are an enabling technology innovation for both improved products and processes. Tethered phosphine-palladium catalysts will be prepared and tested for their performance in the olefination reaction of an aromatic halide. The catalysts will be tested for their reaction kinetics, turnover number, and durability for regeneration and reuse. The results of this project will provide technology for a new generation of enhanced efficiency catalysts for the chemical process industry that are significantly more cost effective that those based on diffusion-limited technologies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hammen, Richard ChelaTech, Inc. MT Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9165 9146 0106000 Materials Research 9961209 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Battery Design by Using an Electronic Interface (ENTERFACE). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will assess the feasibility of a user-directed software system for designing electrochemical power sources (batteries). The software couples performance and process models with an optimization routine. Battery users direct the design of batteries by providing objective functions; battery developers insure the designs are feasible by providing parameters for the process model. This software allows battery users and developers to collaborate without disclosure of proprietary information, and incorporates the best work of university professors. The research proposed here will identify optimal designs for batteries used in portable electronics, and viable strategies for coupling product and performance models. Leading manufacturers of portable computers and cellular phones will participate. This innovation would create a new route for rapid development of battery materials and components, batteries, and devices that use batteries. The innovation would be timely, as new polymer battery technology is emerging that is amenable to customized mass production. This system would give the US an edge in the incredibly competitive and rapidly growing portable electronics industry, help US battery companies and their suppliers compete, be a useful tool for government and educational institutions, and serve as a model for other industries. This research could lead to an Internet-based software system for battery design and evaluation, accessible for a fixed fee. This software would help companies sell products by providing access to battery makers and users, and allowing the benefits of products to be demonstrated through simulation. This system would also help users access and select products, by evaluating them through simulation. By 2003, the business of updating and maintaining this software for battery design and evaluation, could reach $3 million and employ six people. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Spotnitz, Robert Battery Design Co. CA Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9165 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961210 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Highly Aligned Carbon Nanotube/Polymer Composite Fibers for Enhanced Electrical Conductivity and Structural Strength. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a novel procedure for controlling the nanostructure and orientation of carbon nanotubes within a composite fiber matrix. This technology lends itself well to high volume production of a versatile and usable fiber form for fabricating and molding large composites with enhanced strength to weight ratios, optical and electronic properties. Specifically, this SBIR Phase I project will investigate the ability to achieve alignment of nanotubes in polymer fibers and their contribution to the overall fiber strength. A variety of polymers, including electrically conducting, can be used in this procedure. This combination of achieving small composite fiber diameters (down to 1 micron), as well as the highly aligned nature of the nanotubes within the micro-fiber, has an added benefit allowing greater characterization of the average optical, electronic, thermal, and mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes. Despite the significant potential for using carbon nanotubes, successful strategies for utilizing them in composites have yet to be achieved. This SBIR Phase I project represents an important step towards the production and commercial utilization of carbon nanotubes in composite materials and their ensuing applications. POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS OF THE RESEARCH This proposal lays the foundation for fabricating carbon nanotube composite fibers that can easily be used in forming structures with significant physical and electronic properties. These ultra strong, lightweight composite fibers can be used to revolutionize aircraft and other structures and in the process provide the U.S. with significant military and economic advantages. KEY WORDS carbon nanotube polymer fibers composites, versatile nanostructure SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Newman, Gerard NEWMAN TECHNOLOGIES OK Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9150 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961226 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Instrument for Tumor Cell Purging. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project states that the use of autologous hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation is increasing for treatment of many cancers. However, tumor cell contamination within harvested HSC products continues to be of major concern. Contaminating tumor cells are known to contribute to cancer relapse, based on studies using genetically-marked transplanted cells. Several purging methods have been developed, but all leave detectable tumor cells in the transplant. Furthermore, existing methods reduce HSC numbers, compromising the therapeutic value of purging. Therefore, technology that reliably eliminates detectable tumor cells from a transplant, while leaving HSCs undamaged, is needed. This proposal describes a patented innovative approach integrating fluorescence scanning cytometry, real-time image analysis, and laser ablation. Phase I studies are proposed to evaluate feasibility of an approach that would accelerate the process to the speed required for clinical-scale operation. A breadboard optical system will be assembled and tested for rapid scanning and identification of fluorescent targets. Successful Phase I results will lead to Phase II studies to fully develop the prototype instrument and initiate clinical trials. This will lead to commercialization of a method to eliminate tumor cells from an HSC transplant within a several hour automated procedure. Over 30,000 autologous HSC transplants were performed in 1997, and the number is increasing 20-25% per year. The resulting instrumentation is applicable to any process that requires a highly defined cell product. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Koller, Manfred Cyntellect, Inc CA Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 99901 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961227 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Reactive Nanoparticles as Destructive Adsorbents. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will determine how certain critical steps in the synthesis of reactive nanoparticles (RNP) can be transformed from batchwise to a continuous process. This research is critically needed in order to develop a commercially viable process for manufacturing RNP materials for applications in both the civilian and military marketplaces. RNP materials and related technologies hold great promise for meeting a number of critical and high-value needs. Military applications include personnel protection, demilitarization, and decontamination. Nantek's proprietary RNPs are capable of destroying both chemical and biological warfare agents. Applications include destroying chemical weapon stockpiles; developing topical skin protectants against chemical agents; and materials for decontaminating equipment and personnel. Civilian uses include kits for counter-terrorism and safety response for the chemical industry. RNPs are effective against a wide range of toxic compounds, including PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and dioxins, and can remove acid gases from industrial emissions. With the number of important commercial applications growing, it is critical that the synthesis of these nanostructured materials be simplified into a commercially viable process. RNPs are truly a dual-use enabling technology capable of meeting a wide range of critical and high-value needs in both the military and civilian marketplaces. In the military area Nantek is developing RNPs to destroy chemical and biological warfare (CBW) agents for (1) personnel protection, (2) demilitarization, and (3) decontamination. In the civilian marketplace, potential products include materials and devices for counter-terrorism, and emergency response kits for accidental spills and releases in the chemical and biochemical industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Klabunde, Kenneth NANOSCALE MATERIALS INC KS Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 99756 5371 AMPP 9165 1415 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961229 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Closed Loop Solvent Evaporation Ovens. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop closed-loop solvent evaporation ovens. Currently, industrial processes pass large.volumes of heated air through the evaporation oven, producing an air stream effluent contaminated by volatile organic carbon (VOC) compounds. These present environmental problems and no opportunity for recovery of the solvent. The proposed process is an enclosed, closed-loop system using nitrogen as the recirculating gas and a membrane to recover the evaporated solvent vapors and remove oxygen and water vapor derived from air that leaks into the gas. The amount of make-up nitrogen required will be small. Operating costs would be justified by the avoided costs of treating the dilute VOC-contaminated air stream and by the value of the recovered solvent. The main Phase I experimental task involves a selection of an oxygen-permeable, solvent vapor/nitrogen-impermeable membrane for the oxygen removal step. The membrane must retain these properties at high solvent vapor pressures and high feed gas temperatures. A prototype of the system will also be designed and the construction costs estimated. Phase II will build a complete system and operate it in the laboratory and at cooperating host sites to evaluate process benefits and costs. Replacement of direct-air-vented solvent evaporation ovens with affordable closed-loop nitrogen recirculation systems would become feasible for use in tablet coating and printing operations, preparation of tapes and adhesive films, and surface coating, varnishing, and painting operations common in industry. The new oven systems will allow solvent recovery and reuse, eliminate troublesome vapor emissiona, and offer many processing advantages. Affordable systems based on this technology are expected to be widely used. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Baker, Richard MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH, INC. CA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 9197 1414 0118000 Pollution Control 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961230 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: High Data Rate Transmission using TPCs and FM Subcarrier Mod.. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project from Efficient Channel Coding (ECC) will investigate a combination of techniques to enable the transmission of CD-quality digital audio using subcarriers in the commercial FM band. Unlike other proposed services, this approach promises to allow the present analog FM channels to co-exist with new digital services with minimal interference and without requiring vacant FM channels. Specifically, in Phase I, Efficient Channel Coding will determine the feasibility of the reliable transmission of Motion Pictures Experts Group Advanced Audio Coding (MPEG-AAC) digital audio data at the maximum rate of 96 kbps through the existing subcarrier allocation 54-98 kHz above and below the host analog FM-channel. This effort will lead to a prototype implementation and on-air characterization under Phase II. The techniques to be employed included a powerful error correction technique called Turbo Product Codes (TPCs), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), and a variety of interference rejection techniques. Within the feasibility study, only algorithms that have a clear path to implementation will be considered. Turbo Product Codes-Application Specific Integrated Circuit (TPC-ASIC) and software devices already developed by ECC will greatly accelerate the practical implementation of the system. The ability to successfully deploy CD-quality digital audio in the U.S. is of obvious merit. The ability to achieve this result without a new frequency band and without impacting the current FM infrastructure is the key to making this happen. The difficulties being encountered with the current IBOC/IBAC systems provide the opportunity for new technology to make an impact. The result of technology and work performed in this project will be a design specification that can be taken forward to the broadcast community (primarily the National Association of Broadcasters) for comment and review. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Vanderaar, Mark Efficient Channel Coding OH Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99853 1505 HPCC 9218 4096 0206000 Telecommunications 9961240 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Cottonseed Trait Development Using Chimeraplasty. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 project will study the use of chimeraplasty in plants. Chimeraplasty is the use of a novel technology currently being explored in prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems which utilizes chimeric, self-complimentary oligonucleotides comprised of DNA and modified RNA to target and mutate genes in vivo. Phase 1 of this project will use the model system of Arabidopsis thaliana to assess the applicability of this new technology to modify a complex biosynthetic pathway. Follow-on Phase 2 funding will be used to apply the strategies learned in Phase 1 to a commercial oilseed crop. Lipid synthesis in plants has many potential trait development opportunities in many oilseed crops. The major objective of this phase 1 project is to modify a well-characterized gene in A. thaliana with this new exciting in vivo genome modification technology. Completion of this objective will lead to the translation of this technology into a specific trait and product development program. When complete this program will have produced a unique and stable non-transgenic modified-oil product, never before seen in the market place. The development of a novel cottonseed oil product. This product will be a stable genome modification that is non-transgenic and therefore has the potential to quickly reach the market. The product will also have completely new oilseed characteristics never before seen in the vegetable oils market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Beetham, Peter Kimeragen, Inc. PA Bruce K. Hamilton Standard Grant 99449 5371 BIOT 9109 1167 0201000 Agriculture 9961245 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: High Temperature Pressure Transducers from Shape Memory Alloys. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will design, fabricate, and test novel, high-temperature pressure-sensing elements composed of shape memory alloys. Ever-increasing demands on material systems under conditions of high temperatures and harsh environments create needs for high performance, low cost, reliable pressure transducers. The sensing element will be suitable for a wide range of environments along with an ability to provide greater sensitivity than silicon carbide sensors. Phase I will evaluate several candidate shape memory alloy materials and design a packaging scheme to maximize the sensitivity of this novel transducer. Emphasis will be placed on exploiting property changes during phase transformations. A high temperature pressure transducer is expected to have large impact in the automotive industry as an in-cylinder pressure sensor. Furthermore, other industries such as geothermal drilling, industrial applications, and aircraft turbine engines will benefit from in-situ, high sensitivity pressure measurements. The high-temperature pressure transducer would provide more than a three-fold increase in the maximum operating temperature and an order-of- magnitude increase in sensitivity over traditional pressure transducers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lisy, Frederick ORBITAL RESEARCH INC OH Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961253 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Synthesis and Consolidation of Ultrafine Titanium Carbide. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop a low cost process to synthesize ultrafine titanium carbide (TiC) powder from its chloride precursor and to consolidate this powder, along with metal powders, to produce fine grained composites. Major impediments to the wide spread use of TiC-based composite materials for high temperature structural and cutting tool applications are their low fracture toughness and high cost of production. Increase in toughness and reduction in cost may be achieved simultaneously by producing composites using nanocrystalline carbide powder synthesized by a low cost, ambient temperature mechanochemical process. Phase I will focus on optimizing the parameters which control (i) the reaction rate during the mechanochemical process, (ii) the particle size of metal matrix powders during milling with hard TiC to produce composite powder, and (iii) grain growth during consolidation. The research objective is production of cost-effective composites with a nanoscale grain size. This process technology has potential as a commercial technique for synthesis of ultrafine metal carbide powders used in products like metal matrix composites and titanium carbide cutting tools. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Eranezhuth, Baburaj Institute for Physics and Technology, Inc. OH Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 9150 MANU AMPP 9163 9150 9146 1774 1505 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 9961256 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Micro-Discharge Based Micro-Lasers for Sensing. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project aims to apply novel micro-discharge structures and techniques for exciting micro-lasers. The proposer will target wavelength regions not accessed by other compact lasers, emphasizing output wavelengths in spectral regions where diode pumped solid state laser approaches are considerably more complex than the proposed technology. The Phase I objectives include the development of the alignment and construction methods needed to make a stack of micro-discharges appropriate for laser action. The proposer will show laser action in the touchstone systems of the Mid-IR Xenon atom laser and the KrF laser in the ultraviolet. An analytical effort using state of the art, multi-dimensional discharge models will support experiments and guide the Phase II prototype design. The proposer will also define the needed risk reduction tests to produce a useful sensor system in Phase II. These very compact sources will be used in sensors for trace species detection, process control, and medical and food industry applications. The small size and low voltage operation will lead to inexpensive hand held uses and very compact automated industrial systems. The semi-conductor based fabrication techniques are inexpensive and systems based on this technology can significantly enhance the market potential. Specific commercial applications include: trace gas sensors for short ranges, screening solid surfaces and foods for pathogens, process controls, and fiber coupled probes for medicine. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Ewing, J. EWING TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATES WA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 1505 MANU 9148 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961260 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: High Resolution Position Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new magnetic position sensing technology that utilizes a novel graded magnetic field and giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor. The graded magnetic field is produced in a composite film comprising samarium cobalt (SmCo5) nanorods imbedded in an alumina matrix. High coercivity, high magnetization SmCo5 is desirable so that the sensor may be employed in extreme environments. The composite is produced using well-known electrochemical techniques. A GMR read head is used to sense the strength of the magnetic field as a function of the position of the sensor over the graded field. This arrangement is superior to conventional position sensing devices in that the proposed device may be integrated into a single package along with control and signal processing electronics. Phase I will investigate the fabrication of the graded magnetic field composite and determine the best conditions under which to produce high coercivity SmCo5 nanorods. Phase II will continue the development of a monolithic position sensor for automatic test equipment. These high-resolution sensors, that can be readily integrated with silicon based electronics, will be useful in robotics, automated test equipment, and in interactive electronic devices. Successful implementation of the proposed technology will enable disk drives to be built with data densities exceeding 100 gigabytes per square inch allowing smaller, faster storage systems for portable systems, digital video recording, and digital TV. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Steinbeck, John NANOSCIENCES CORP CT Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1771 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 9961268 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Long Gage Grating Sensors for Seismic Damage Identification. This Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer project aims to demonstrate the feasibility, through physical experimentation at small scale, of using newly developed and very promising long-gage fiber-optic sensors, fiber Bragg grating sensors, for monitoring directly the 'macroscopic' internal deformation response of structures to strong ground motions and for non-destructive post-earthquake evaluation of structures. These sensors can be demodulated at high speeds (kHz to MHz) to accurately monitor dynamic events and to provide oversampling capabilities. Determination of the actual nonlinear inelastic response mechanisms developed by civil structures such as buildings and bridges during strong earthquakes and post-earthquake damage assessment of these structures represent very difficult challenges for earthquake structural engineers. Indeed, the ultimate objective of the whole research effort in modeling and analysis of structural response to earthquake ground motions is to predict the actual seismic response of structures with all its key features. Applications include earthquake damage assessment of buildings and civil structures. Capability to correct current unbalance between the analytical capabilities for predicting nonlinear structural response and damage parameters and the incompleteness of the information on the actual seismic response of structures measured in the laboratory and in the field. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Schulz, Whitten BLUE ROAD RESEARCH, INC OR Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99979 1505 CVIS 1038 0110000 Technology Transfer 9961270 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Interactive Tools for Active Learning (ITAL). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project from PhRAM Inc. ITAL will produce a working and testable prototype of a comprehensive educational tool and it will obtain initial evidence of how the proposed software works with students and how it is accepted by teachers. ITAL's software is designed to create educational modules and tools that will help teachers assemble a single computer-based learning environment from heterogeneous educational resources and the WWW. The proposed open-ended package will include an Active Shell, Modeling Activities, Problem Solving Tutor, Interactive Lessons and a tool to design them, Tools for Assessing student progress, and more. Virtually everything in the software can be controlled from a script. The proposed software package employs a 'learning situation-focused' approach. The Simulation module is based upon a 'real-life situation'. It enables learners to actively participate in modeling and virtual experimentation and observe the physical processes from macroscopic to microscopic levels. The software allows students to assemble various functioning systems from intelligent components and link science content and technology education with real life technical problems and thus to cross a gulf between applied knowledge and fundamental science. The software may be used in classrooms equipped with stand-alone computers or local networks or it may be used over the Internet for distance learning. PhRAM's software is designed to address high, technical and vocational school and college students and teachers as well as people engaged in any kind of distance learning, including those with disabilities. The product can be used by companies for training technicians. It will also target the marketplace of computer-based design and engineering, and it will be useful for presenting household hardware to the customers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cherner, Yakov PhRAM Inc MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99988 7256 5371 SMET 9177 7355 7256 5371 0108000 Software Development 9961275 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Innovative Research Into Understanding and Control of Rolling Mill Chatter. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new understanding of rolling mill chatter. Rolling mill chatter is a vibration problem limiting the throughput of nearly all metal rolling operations. In addition, associated sensitivities of the system to external vibration forces necessitate costly maintenance programs to minimize these forces. The root cause of the problem is a destabilizing feedback mechanism, which renders the system extremely sensitive to any excitation. In the limit, the rolling process is unstable and self excited. The extension/tension relationship of the interstand steel sheet is a critical component of the feedback path. Phase I will explore previously overlooked aspects of sheet behavior to modify the feedback control path such that the feedback is a stabilizing rather than destabilizing effect. This technology has wide potential application to hot and cold rolling processes in the steel industry, aluminum industry, tin mills, finishing mills, and plastics processing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sharp, Thomas SHEET DYNAMICS LTD OH Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 99317 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961280 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Material Processing for Optimizing the Performance of an Embedded Bragg Grating. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I program will determine the feasibility of actively controlling the spectral properties of Bragg gratings embedded in nonlinear optical waveguide devices. The key innovation in this work is the application of an external field to control the embedded Bragg grating. Preliminary calculations indicate that tuning ranges of 1 nm should be possible with rates as high as 10GHz. To fully realize the potential of the electro-optically controlled Bragg grating, an investigation of the effect that different processing conditions have on the spectral properties of the grating will be made. The ability to incorporate an electro-optically tunable Bragg grating with a particular set of spectral characteristics into a standard nonlinear optical material such as ion-modified potassium titanyl phosphate will greatly expand the functionality of the material and enable a broad range of new applications. An electro-optically tunable Bragg grating will open the door to a broad range of applications, including direct high speed frequency modulation of diode lasers for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), spectroscopy, and remote s EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Battle, Philip ADVR, INC MT Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 99390 9150 MANU 9150 9146 5371 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961282 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Dynamic, High-Resolution Volumetric Dilatometer. This Phase I Small Business Innovation Research project aims to develop an instrument to accurately characterize the thermal (T) and/or temporal (t) response of a material's specific volume (Vsp). Presently, no commercially available device exists for the characterization of Vsp (T, t) at ambient pressures. The proposer's involvement in the design, development and validation of a stage I prototype device is what has led to the identification of gaps within the existing technology. The proposed development of this next generation instrumentation was made possible through the implementation of a fiber-optic displacement sensor system developed by the proposer. This is due in part, to a constant influx of new engineering materials to the market place (i.e. thermoplastics, thermosets, metal alloys, polymorphs of existing materials, etc.) and the emergence and/or growth of new and exciting fields (i.e. microelectronics, composite manufacturing, etc.). Ultimately, this need is driven by the fact that there are a variety of physical phenomena which result in dimensional change (i.e. crystallization, curing, melting, glass formation, secondary transitions and physical aging). Specific applications for the fully developed and commercialized instrumentation include atmospheric pressure high-resolution volumetric dilatometry; and non-contact, nano-displacement metrology; as well as, linear dilatometry, non-contact, micro-displacement metrology and thin-film metrology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Christian, Sean AIRAK, INC VA Darryl G. Gorman Standard Grant 100000 5371 OTHR 9102 0000 0110000 Technology Transfer 9961283 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Omniscope - An Novel Concept of Endoscope with Ultra-Wide Field of View. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project involves conventional endoscopes that have limited field-of-view (FOV). They observe objects through a relatively small solid angle subtended in front of the distal end of the scope. Although various prisms can be used in the optical design to change the viewing direction, a wide FOV observation can not be achieved without adjusting the optical system, employing moving parts, or turning the endoscope itself. Furthermore, the panoramic view can not be acquired simultaneously. For many medical diagnosis instrument (gastroscope, cystoscope, colonscope,etc.) and industrial inspections (pipe inspection, turbine engine diagnosis, surveillance, autonomous navigation, security, robotics, video conferencing, etc), simultaneously acquired image in all directions around the sensor system can provide invaluable visual information and a leapfrog advance in the performance of these systems. The primary objective of the SBIR effort proposed herein is to investigate the feasibility of a novel endoscope design, dubbed as the 'Omniscope', based on the omnidirectional imaging technique recently developed by Genex Technologies, Inc. The proposed design allows an ultra wide viewing angle (360 degree) and simultaneous observing capability, therefore can greatly increase the efficiency, accuracy, and patient's comfort in diagnosis and treatment. The Omniscope technique will also provide a unique tool for documentation, surgery planning, and training. Due to its simple structural and optical design, the Omniscope can be fabricated inexpensively and will be reliable in practical field usage environment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhuang, Ping GENEX TECHNOLOGIES INC MD George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9107 5345 0203000 Health 9961284 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: An Intelligent '3D Mosaic' Tool for Multiple 3D Images Integration. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project has as its primary objective to develop a fully automatic and intelligent software tool that is able to mosaic (i.e., align and merge) multiple 3D images of the same object taken from different viewpoints, without a priori knowledge of camera positions. Three-dimensional (3D) modeling of physical objects and environment is an essential part of the challenges for many multimedia tasks. However, most physical objects self occlude, and no single view 3D image suffices to describe the entire surface of a 3D object. Multiple 3D images of the same object or scene from various viewpoints have to be taken and integrated in order to obtain a complete 3D model of the 3D object or scene. We call this process the '3D mosaic'. The main innovations of this proposed effort are threefold: 1. an intelligent alignment method that is able to register multiple uncalibrated 3D images without needing a priori knowledge of camera location and orientation; 2. a seamless merge method to 'stitch' together the aligned 3D images using the fuzzy logic principle; and 3. an intelligent 3D image compression algorithm that preserves 3D image geometric features while achieving high compression ratio. The 3D Mosaic technique to be developed has enormous commercial applications, including industrial design and prototyping, reverse engineering, manufacturing part inspection, part replacement and repair, animation, entertainment, 3D modeling for WWW documents, archiving, virtual reality environment, education, virtual museum, commercial on-line catalogues, etc. If successful, 1t could become an important part of future 3D TV technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhuang, Ping GENEX TECHNOLOGIES INC MD G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 4080 0108000 Software Development 9961286 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Computerized Design System for Custom-Made and Custom-Fit Apparel. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of a high-performance, low-cost, computer-aided garment design and pattern flattening (GDPF) system. Using a new three-dimensional (3D) camera technology, the GDPF system would enable the custom fit of apparel. Since the human body is inherently a 3D object with complex shapes and dimensions, the design and production of garments, shoes, hats, and other apparel products must fit. That is, the 3D shape of the apparel piece must match the body shape, style, and fashion selection of individual customers. Since no two human bodies are exactly the same in their 3D dimensions, the first critical step in the custom fit apparel design is to obtain 3D body shape measurements for individual customer. Today, almost all existing garment computer-aided design (CAD) systems only use 2D manual measurements as their input and 2D representation in their designs. Phase I will examine the use of the new 3D imaging technology in providing 3D specifications for CAD software. Potential commercial applications are anticipated in the garment and fashion industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Qiao, Jinglu GENEX TECHNOLOGIES INC MD Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 1465 1464 1463 0107000 Operations Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961295 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Eyesafe Laser Transmitter for Clear Air Turbulence Warning Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of a novel eyesafe laser transmitter for integration into a clear air turbulence (CAT) warning system for commercial airliners. The CAT warning system is a coherent laser radar that measures wind speed in the forward flight path and alerts the pilot to turbulent wind conditions. The proposed high-power eyesafe diode-pumped solid-state laser transmitter utilizes a novel design that does not require liquid coolants, in contrast with existing high-power eyesafe transmitters. As a result the proposed transmitter requires significantly less volume, weight, and prime power than existing eyesafe transmitters, making it suitable for airborne applications such as CAT warning. The proposed transmitter delivers Q-switched output with pulse energies, pulse repetition frequencies, and pulse durations which are ideal for coherent laser radar wind sensing. In Phase I, key laboratory demonstrations will be performed, and a high-power transmitter design will be developed, to show feasibility of the proposed transmitter for integration into a coherent laser radar transceiver. A complete coherent laser radar transceiver would be demonstrated with Phase II funding. The proposed eyesafe laser transmitter will be useful for applications in which prime power, weight, and volume are restricted, in particular for airborne and spaceborne remote sensing. The transmitter will be of use in commercial aviation for clear air turbulence monitoring, and for wake vortex avoidance and traffic monitoring, both airborne and in the terminal environment. The transmitter will also be useful for measuring global winds from space for weather forecasting and modeling. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Stoneman, Robert COHERENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC CO Darryl G. Gorman Standard Grant 99976 5371 HPCC 9215 0206000 Telecommunications 9961300 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: 'Live from Space Station' Virtual Space Science School. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes an interactive education program with the International Space Station under the management of Durham Research, Inc. The Telescience Resource Kit (TReK), a software and hardware package developed at NASA Marshall with the help of AZ Technology, has the potential to be a bridge between research and education. This technology was originally developed to allow researchers to access payloads on-board the International Space Station from their laboratories and offices. A web-based add-on component called TOPS was developed and the idea of using the system as an educational tool was born. TOPS (Teleoperations System) is a Sun Java Studio-based visual program that was designed to be easily learned and manipulated by individuals with little or no computer skills. A pilot program at Crofton Middle School in Maryland is being developed and research at the University of Alabama-Birmingham is being built into the eighth grade curriculum to meet Maryland State guidelines. Expansion of the program to interested schools will follow upon completion of the pilot program. Durham Research proffers technology that will allow students to access payloads on the Space Station in real-time over the Internet and to perform actual research alongside professional researchers from around the world. This kind of connection between student work in the classroom and on-going space station research has the potential to have a strong positive effect on student interest in, enthusiasm for, and understanding of science. As the students conduct their own experiments, they will be reinforced by news from the space station. The results of this work can provide a model for other efforts to connect the world of students with those of scientists. IIP ENG Durham, Alyson Durham Research, Inc. MD Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99408 7256 SMET 9177 9102 7355 7256 5371 0101000 Curriculum Development 9961308 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Compact High Resolution Mass Spectrometer. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project will develop the basis for miniaturization of Ion Cyclotron Resonance Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry (ICR-FT-MS)instruments. This basis will be deployed in Phase II and Phase III to build and qualify such an instrument for industrial and commercial applications. The proposed research concerns the characterization of an existing small and light superconducting solenoid and the numerical simulation of the relation between ion cyclotron resonance frequency and ion mass-to-charge ratio which undergoes distortion due to a number of effects that are included in the numerical simulation. Such distortion becomes large when the magnitude of the magnetic field and the size of the ICR-FT-MS cell become small. A performance equivalent to a magnetic field of 1 T and a mass resolution in excess of 10,000 at a mass-to-charge-ratio of 100 g/mol is anticipated. Although the performance of such small and light instruments will be much lower than that of large and heavy instruments, it will combine some of the performance of currently deployed non-ICR-FT-MS instruments into a versatile instrument that bridges the price and performance gap between non-ICR-FT-MS and ICR-FT-MS. This is expected to result in a market potential of $5,000,000 per year. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tekula, Milan Maine Research and Technology Inc MA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 100000 5371 CVIS 1059 0109000 Structural Technology 9961311 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: Investigation of Throttled Flow Performance in Venturi Off-Set Technology VOSTtm Valves. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will explore, using numerical modeling and prototype testing, the feasibility of using axially actuated valves for flow control of various viscosity and two-phase fluids. Preliminary research with the innovative Venturi Off-Set Technology (VOSTtm) valves indicates that these valves exhibit a linear flow response as a function of valve actuation position. Because these valves require short (1/2 turn) and therefore rapid actuation motion, they have great potential for use as flow control devices in a variety of industries. However, before throttling valves can be designed and produced, problems with seals and wear within the valve must be addressed solved. Solution of these problems requires understanding the flow within the valve. The purpose of this Phase I research is to investigate the feasibility of using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools to model flow within the unique VOSTtm valve flow passage when used as a throttling or control valve. Two significant challenges are presented by this problem. First, the need to determine flow through the valve at a variety of opening positions imposes unique demands on the computational grids that model the geometry. Second, it may be difficult for the flow solver to capture details of the flow field in this complicated internal passage. Once CFD modeling feasibility is demonstrated in Phase I, CFD design tools and techniques will be developed in Phase II for use in developing VOSTtm valves for a variety of difficult flow control applications involving high viscosity or multiple-phase fluids. Utilizing University of Wyoming modeling and measurement capabilities and Big Horn Valve Inc. flow testing facilities, investigators will: (1) develop CFD tools to simulate flow characteristics within the flow passage; (2) fabricate a throttling valve body to verify computer results; and (3) conduct parametric studies of flow behavior for high viscosity or multiple phase conditions. Successful research in this arena will strengthen the understanding of valve throttling and performance characteristics, while also investigating new ways to perform numerical flow modeling of changing geometry. Transfer of CFD analytical tools and techniques into the industrial environment will permit designers to develop low loss linear flow control valves for a variety of industries. Initial applications to be studied will be for slurry transport of solids (Trona industry) and for use in the petrochemical industry. Petrochemical process valves alone constitute a $1.4B US industry. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Burgess, Robert Big Horn Valve, Inc. WY Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 100000 9150 MANU 9150 9148 1505 1443 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961316 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Electroplating of Tribocoatings Containing Nanophase WC/Co Particles. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of developing a unique, cost-effective and low-friction/low-wear tribological coating. This will be accomplished using an electrolytic codeposition process employing a colloidal solution of nanophase WC/Co in a standard nickel or cobalt sulphamate bath. This has not been demonstrated previously. The current effort is directed toward metallic seals and pneumatic ducting components for aerospace and power generation gas turbine engines, and high performance automobile cylinders and piston rings to reduce life-cycle costs. The coating is expected to contain an extremely fine dispersion of metallurgically bonded nanophase WC particles in a nickel or cobalt matrix, which will offer a unique combination of low friction/low wear. Unlike hard chrome, this coating process is environmentally friendly and easily integrated within current operations, thereby facilitating its commercialization. The process will also generate near-net shape coatings with superior surface finish and thickness uniformity. These coatings will require little or no mechanical polishing, therefore, resulting in reducing the overall component cost. The selection flexibility of colloidal nanophase particles and electrolytic bathes will offer the possibility of a new surface engineering tool. This has the potential of filling the gap between thermal spray and vapor deposited coatings and have broader applications of national interest. Commercial potential of the proposed technology includes: aerospace and power generation metallic seals, pneumatic ducting, high performance automotive cylinder linings and piston rings, bearings, and other tribological surfaces. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Xiao, T. Danny INFRAMAT CORP CT Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9165 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522100 High Technology Materials 9961318 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Broadband Fish Tracker. As the number of fish in rivers and streams diminishes and become threatened, endangered, or extinct, we see a growing concern from the local communities that is being met with increased funding and political attention. There is a need for better fish monitoring tools for the riverine environment. Leaders in the riverine sonar community have identified several deficiencies in current systems. Scientific Fishery Systems, Inc. proposes to develop a broadband sonar fish tracking system for use in shallow water environments. The proposed system will address many of the current deficiencies, resulting in a broadband fish tracking system with 10 times better range resolution and at least 6 dB improvement in the signal to noise ratio for targets. EPA estimates that there are 68,000 dams. The National Park Service estimates that thereare 75,000 dams. The Wall Street Journal estimates that there are 80,000 dams. The problems of tracking fish in three dimensions near dams to determine fish behavior is a major issue for many of these dams, especially those in the Columbia River Basin where the threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead have recently received the attention of the Office of the President. Assuming only 5% of these dams require fish monitoring, and that SciFish is able to capture only 10% of that market, this conservatively represents a $34 M market. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Simpson, Patrick Scientific Fishery Systems, Inc AK George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 9150 BIOT 9104 1148 0521700 Marine Resources 9961394 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Magnesium by Carbothermic Reduction in a Plasma Quench Reactor. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project addresses the carbothermic reduction of MgO using natural gas as the carbon source to form magnesium metal powder. The reduction of MgO with natural gas has been used in the past. However, the inability to quench the reaction products sufficiently rapidly reduced the yield to less than an economically acceptable level. Recently MIT, utilizing natural gas, showed yields as high as 90% in a small system. Although more heat is required when using CH4 for reduction, the byproducts CO and H2 have great value. The Plasma Quench process has quench rates of over a billion degrees C per second, and as a result, ITT believes that the yield could be close to 100% in a rapid plasma quench reactor system. The key technical objective is to determine whether the fundamental quench approach will in fact completely prevent back reaction between the magnesium vapor and the carbon monoxide by-product. The secondary objective is to determine the residence time that would be necessary for complete reaction. Most of the required equipment exists to test the concept. This includes a plasma torch reactor system, a feed system, and a collection system for fine powder. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Donaldson, Alan Idaho Titanium Technologies Inc ID Cynthia J. Ekstein Standard Grant 99000 9150 MANU 9150 9146 5371 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961397 January 1, 2000 STTR Phase I: An Advanced Microstructural Process for SiC Structures and Devices. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will develop a silicon carbide (SiC) process technology that will permit control of both the microstructure and macrostructure during the SiC deposition process. This will be done by combining a rapid chemical vapor deposition technique using organosilicon sources combined with a transfer mold technique. Patterned and etched silicon substrates will be used as templates. This approach will enable the growth of three-dimensional SiC structures for advanced microelectromechanical structures (MEMS) and vacuum microelectronic (VME) devices with greater functionality and durability. This microstructural engineering process, if successful, will be applied to the development of SiC components such as gyroscopes, heat engines, nozzles, and sensors for MEMS applications and flat panel displays and RF microwave amplifiers for harsh environments. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Robinson, McDonald Lawrence Semiconductor Research Laboratory, Inc. AZ Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 27276 1505 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961400 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Internet Based Remote Seismic Depth Imaging. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate that a fully functional internet seismic processing system (INSP) can be developed and smoothly operated. The use of large-scale parallel computers for seismic processing has achieved such technical and economical success that the oil and gas industry is the largest commercial market for scientific high-performance computing; however, the vast majority of exploration organizations have no direct access to high-end seismic imaging technologies because they lack the resources to acquire and maintain the necessary hardware and software. The objective of this project is to take advantage of high-speed networks and recent advances in architecture-independent programming languages to provide a seamless internet/intranet seismic computing solution. The research will attempt to build the software infrastructure that will enable geologists to have direct control of depth-imaging projects and to have access to remote large-scale parallel computers, as effortlessly and effectively as if they were employing a workstation linked to their local-area network. This will overcome the economical and operational obstacles that today prevent the vast majority of exploration projects in difficult areas to fully benefit from the rapid progress in high-performance computing. The commercial potential of the technology is significant because it makes seismic depth imaging and other compute-intensive technologies accessible to a large heretofore untapped client base, while providing an efficient resource distribution and allocation to all potential clients requiring access to high performance computing facilities and state-of-the-art software. The resulting product will allow greatly increased interaction between the client and contractor, thereby increasing the quality of the final seismic image and in turn reducing exploration risk and offsetting the high costs of exploratory drilling and failed reservoir management projects. KEYWORDS Internet, intranet, Java programming language, high performance computing, super computing, seismic imaging, oil and gas exploration SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bevc, Dimitri 3DGEO DEVELOPMENT INC CA G. Patrick Johnson Standard Grant 100000 5371 CVIS 1448 1038 0109000 Structural Technology 9961412 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: All-Metal Giant Magnetoresistive Memory. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop all-metal support electronics that are based on giant magnetoresistance (GMR) for a nanoscale, nonvolatile, solid-state random-access memory. Silicon technology, alone or in combination with GMR memory elements, cannot match either the density or low cost of all-metal memory because of inherent limits on scaling of semiconductors and because of the fewer masking steps required for all-metal technology. Only all-metal solid-state storage (the combination of GMR memory and GMR circuitry) can realize the full potential of magnetoelectronic chips. At the heart of the proposal's general-purpose electronics is a novel multifunctional GMR device called a transpinnor (TM). The research objectives are to develop and demonstrate transpinnor-based circuitry on the all-metal chip. The research will design the GMR elements, model and simulate their coupling on the circuit, fabricate and test GMR based selection and sense circuitry, and design a complete 1 Kbit all-metal magnetic memory chip. The results are anticipated to demonstrate functionality of GMR circuitry on an integrated chip. The addressable markets for all-metal solid-state chips include not only semiconductor memories such as SRAM, DRAM and Flash, but mechanical storage and general-purpose electronics as well. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Spitzer, Richard INTEGRATED MAGNETOELECTRONICS INC CA Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 9961414 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Novel Facilitated Transport Membranes for Olefin Separations. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project focuses on the separation of olefins from saturated hydrocarbons. The separation of olefins from paraffins is currently carried out by distillation, which is an extremely energy-intensive process due to the very low relative volatilities of the components. The selectivities and gas fluxes of polymer membranes are inadequate for olefin separation from paraffins. Facilitated transport membranes have higher selectivities and gas fluxes than polymeric membranes for olefin/paraffin separation but their application have limited by membrane selectivity, low gas fluxes, and the requirement of a water-saturated feed. To overcome these problems a new type of solid-polymer-electrolyte facilitated transport membrane with high gas fluxes and high selectivities will be developed for the separation of olefins from paraffins. The membranes consist of rubbery, polyether-based polymers that form polymer electrolyte solutions with the ionic salts used as gas-complexing agents. To provide high gas fluxes, the resulting polymer is formed into thin-film composite membranes. Preliminary studies indicated that these novel membranes show dramatically improved performance over conventional facilitated transport membranes for olefin/paraffin separation and can be used with a dry feed. The membranes are stable in ethylene/ethane separation experiments for up to 40 days. If successfully developed, polymer electrolyte composite membranes will significantly reduce energy consumption in olefin/paraffin separation in the petroleum refining industry. The anticipated improvements in gas separation performance over state-of-the-art facilitated transport membranes will make membrane systems competitive over conventional distillation technology for this or similar applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Morisato, Atsushi MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH, INC. CA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 0106000 Materials Research 9961417 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Research on Software for a Multisensor/Actuator Parallel Processor Network. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to research and develop modular software for generic multisensor/actuator intelligent nodes containing commercial embedded microcontrollers and/or digital signal processors (iPod). The software provides an autonomous multiprocessor network with operational computational data processing and actuation capabilities which can 'enable more efficient, safer and more satisfying products and services to improve quality of life in both work and home environments and to augment human capabilities'. It would consist of an instrument development environment (IDE), an ActiveX-like object (iBroker), and an embedded virtual machine (EVM). The IDE generates run-time commands (applets) for the PC and the iPods. The iBroker, as intermediary, links the iPods embedded microcontrollers to a PC and/or a larger network through a master. The EVM residing on each iPod utilizes downloaded applets and communicates through a master to the iBroker and beyond. While some software components have been tested in programs both here and elsewhere, a research effort is needed on a modular, over-arching program for a sensor based multiprocessor systems that can fully utilize their networking capabilities while providing real time multiprocessing of sensor/actuator information. In Phase I, this software will be tested on Scitefair's recent flow measuring nodal network. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lopez-Reyna, Carlos Scitefair International PA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 101812 5371 HPCC 9231 9216 9178 9102 5371 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9961427 January 1, 2000 SBIR Phase I: Miniaturized Air Turbulence Compensating Interferometer Sensor. This SBIR Phase I project is to develop an optical sensor for high performance interferometric measurements which directly compensates for air turbulence and humidity effects on optical path length measurements. It also permits the rapid measurement of refractive index changes at multiple wavelengths for a wide range of materials. This miniaturizable device will provide high sensitivity, and stability, allowing for sub-nanometer precision distance measurements. This sensor will provide greatly enhanced performance and stability over typical nonlinear crystals and allow multiple nonlinear processes to be performed in the same crystal, while being of lower cost and much smaller size. it can even be assembled into two-dimensional arrays for monitoring the performance of high power optical systems, and optical fabrication measuremerts. The Phase I objective is to theoretically and experimentally investigate potential of this device concept for high precision (5ub-nanometer) interferometric measurements. High precision measurements in an air environment are of critical importance in the manufacture of advanced integrated circuits, large optics of high precision such as for the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), and high precision machining. If coupled with a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) it can enable extremely precise distance measurements over long paths in air. An alternative application is in high power laser diagnostics, where real-time monitoring of pulsed laser optics can provide important information for enhancing stability and performance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lis, Steven LightLine Technologies MA Michael F. Crowley Standard Grant 99997 5371 MANU 9148 0308000 Industrial Technology 9981852 May 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) Implementations of Neuromorphic Virtual Sensors for Intelligent Diagnostics and Control. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a novel, compact, low-cost adaptive neuroprocessor chip for advanced diagnostics and control in the next generation of low emission "environmentally friendly" vehicles. This digital CMOS VLSI electronic neural network device combines on-chip integration of a fully reconfigurable feed-forward/time-lagged recurrent neuroprocessor module with backpropagation-through-time (BPTT) weight training module. Specifically, the technical objectives are to develop a neuroprocessor chip suitable for direct insertion into an automobile's electronic engine computer (EEC). This stand-alone electronic neural network will function as a co-processor to the EEC's central processing unit (CPU), off-loading it of computationally intensive neural based tasks and enabling event rate automotive diagnostics and control. The neuroprocesor is programmable, allowing it to execute multiple neural network applications on-the-fly; is capable of event rate computational throughput (<<50 microseconds) per appli-cation; is a system-on-a-chip (SOAC) design (stand-alone neuroprocessor with on-chip weight training); and cost effective (<$5/chip). On-chip adaptation will not only enable adaptive control, but will address the problem of fixed weight networks - namely that of enabling on-board self-calibration of electronic and mechanical systems for optimal performance. Applications areas of the proposed neural network formalism cover the following industry sectors: (1) ad-vanced diagnostic and control strategies for low emision vehicles & hybrid electric vehicles in the automotive industry; (2) prognostics and diagnostics of jet engines for the aerospace industry; (3) and adaptive equaliza-tion of cell phones for superior noise rejection in the communication industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Moopenn, Alexander Mosaix, LLC CA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 600000 5373 CVIS 1059 0207000 Transportation 0306000 Energy Research & Resources 9982958 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Interface Functionalization of Commercial Substrates to Promote Adhesion of Solventless Inks. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will address in-line treatment for functionalization of commercial substrate surfaces. The proposed treatment will consist of an appropriate combination of vacuum plasma treatment, atmospheric plasma treatment, and/or acrylate coating. It is expected to functionalize the surface of commercial substrates such as packaging films, labeling sheet, paper webs, and Teflon(tm) sheet to readily accept and bond with solventless printing inks, thus reducing the need for solvent-based inks. The EPA Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) for 1995 shows that 1.224 billion pounds of organic solvents were released into the atmosphere over this country in 1995. The number 3 chemical (146 million pounds) contributing to TRI air emissions for 1995 was toluene, a major constituent of printing ink formulations. Regulatory and community pressure to reduce the use of solvent-based inks as a pollution prevention measure is already a significant driving force and will only intensify in the future. Proof-of-concept has been achieved in Phase I. Sigma Technologies has indeed been able to alter the surface functionality of a variety of commercial substrates to the extent that water-based ink formulations will adhere well to the functionalized surfaces without sacrifice of ink deposit quality. Several major players in the packaging film and related industries are very interested in our progress in the area of interface functionalization. They are under pressure from the USEPA to reduce their use of solvent-based inks and are operating in a highly competitive, often narrow margin, business venue. They are watching us closely and at least two of these clients will participate in the proposed Phase II effort by providing in-kind matching funds expenditures to provide inking runs on treated substrates and to help us evaluate ink deposit quality. If we are able to maintain this high level of interest through the Phase II effort we are confident that firm orders for equipment and process development for Sigma Technologies will result. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Ellwanger, Richard SIGMA TECHNOLOGIES INTL., INC. AZ Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 400000 5373 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983163 August 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Biological Process to Utilize Gases from Livestock Confinement Facilities in Biomass Production. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will build and test a 1/30 scale prototype photo bioreactor system, which converts waste gas emissions from confinement swine facilities into algae (biomass). Large confinement production facilities account for a majority of livestock production and represent a significant source of odor and greenhouse gases as well as large quantities of solid and liquid waste. Phase I research demonstrated the ability to capture waste gases from a confinement swine facility and use it to produce micro-algae using a photo bioreactor. The research demonstrated that the algae in the photo bioreactor removed more than 90 percent of the waste gases and odors. During Phase II a 1/30-scale prototype photo bioreactor system will be built and attached to an existing swine confinement facility. The system will be tested using a variety of media and algae or photo organism species during the Phase II research. If successful a full scale demonstration unit will be built and tested in Phase III with sales of the system following. The system will address a serious environmental problem while reducing operating costs for swine producers by providing a feed supplement, algae biomass, and creating the potential to extract valuable co-products from the micro-algae. The initial market for the bioair photobioreactor will be large swine operations. Pro Edge, a large swine producer, has agree to purchase the first demonstration unit and plans to purchase an additional 100 to 300 systems if they work as anticipated. While sales of the system will generate revenue, the ultimate goal is to extract high value components from the algae for use in pharmaceuticals, pigments, carbohydrates, and other chemical products. The market for these products is estimated to be approximately $6 billion in 2000. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Schroder, Bruce Dairilean Inc SD Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 400000 5373 EGCH 9197 9188 1440 0118000 Pollution Control 0313040 Water Pollution 0316000 Trace Contaminants 9983175 May 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Electrostatic Self-Assembly Processes for Fabrication of MEMS Materials and Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop sensor, actuator, and micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) products based on electrostatically self-assembled piezoelectric and electrostrictive polymer thin films. Phase I found that an electrostatic self-assembly (ESA) process may be used to synthesize piezoelectric and electrostrictive materials with large transduction coefficients from a variety of dipolar molecular materials. This indicates an ability to replace poled polymer and conventional ceramic transducer materials in numerous sensor and actuator devices and produce benefits in simplified processing, cost savings and improved performance. In addition, the ability to select patterns and release portions of ESA-processed multilayer films allows the formation of MEMS structures, and thereby a new approach to surface micromachining. Phase II will optimize the ESA synthesis process in manufacture of sensors, actuators, and MEMS products and demonstrate ESA thin-film based devices, including polymer MEMS. New ESA-processed piezoelectric and electrostrictive thin film materials will have widespread potential commercial applications in sensor and actuator devices used for instrumentation and controls. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Zeng, Tingying Nanosonic Incorporated VA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 461800 5373 MANU CVIS 9231 9178 9146 1057 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983184 June 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Novel High-Temperature Molybdenum Alumino-Silicide Heating Elements for Advanced Manufacturing Processes. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop 2000 degree Centigrade (C) molybdenum alumino-silicide (Mo(Si,Al)2) heating elements for advanced manufacturing processes such as sintering, brazing, annealing, semiconductor processing, ceramic processing, and pyrolysis of solid waste. Current technology in heating elements permits temperatures only as high as 1850-1900 degree C. The main technical barriers are (1) spalling of the silica protective layer at 1850-1900 degree C, which exposes the bare MoSi2 to catastrophic oxidation, and (2) extensive weakening by rapid grain growth. Phase II will (1) use alloying elements to form oxidation-resistant ternary phase Mo(Si,Al)2, which leads to the formation of a stable (up to 2080 degree C) adherent alumina layer, and (2) add nano-scale alumina or zirconia (~ 40 nanometers) to stabilize grain growth. Two compositions in the molybdenum-alumino-silicon ternary alloy phase field were identified, synthesized, and tested in Phase I. A rapid heat-up 2000 degree C element would be a quantum leap in heating element technology and lead advances in high temperature manufacturing. Rapid commercialization is expected because energy advantages and productivity (time wise) gains will accrue to the ceramic manufacturing, metal processing, compound semiconductor processing, glass processing, and joining industries. Total savings of nearly $40 million per year are anticipated in lower power consumption in the manufacturing industries that use this heating element technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Penumella, Srinivas MICROPYRETICS HEATERS INTL INC OH Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 750000 5373 MANU 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983275 July 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Two-Wavelength Thermal Imaging Solutions to Materials Process Control Needs. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a prototype two-wavelength imaging pyrometer. To monitor high-temperature materials processes, it uses an indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs)-based camera. Two-wavelength imaging uses intensity ratios to provide accurate temperature measurement of objects with emissivity variation. Single wavelength imaging sensors mistake absolute intensity changes, caused by emissivity variation, for temperature changes. Temperature is a central parameter in many high-temperature materials processese. Long production runs require temperature control for consistent product quality. This thermal imaging sensor is expected to meet industry needs for accuracy, low temperature operation, and low cost. Phase II will develop a 'research grade' imaging pyrometer for use in specialized laboratory experiments and a 'ruggedized grade' imaging pyrometer for testing in industrial facilities. Potential commercial applications of the thermal imaging sensor (with its 1-2 mm sensitivity) are expected in industrial process control sensors for high temperature materials processing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Craig, James Stratonics Inc CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 513288 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983279 April 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Multispecies Ecological Valuation and Landscape Management. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will refine, validate, and extend new methods developed in Phase I to compute the community-level risk of extinction or demographic threat for individual sites or landscapes and assign a multispecies conservation value. The objective of such methods is to provide a statistically valid approach to ecological valuation and landscape management. This research will provide an independent measure of the value of a particular site based on its ecological components, i.e., species, and the threats facing it. The new methods will estimate a multispecies conservation value as a spatially explicit weighting of species-specific habitat suitability maps by their respective species-specific extinction risks. This research will also develop a multivariate generalization of recently described exact methods for computing risk of extinction for species of which little is known. Two potential areas of commercial applications of this project include software sales and case studies. The final product of the proposed research will be part of RAMAS Library of Ecological Software, and will be made available to potential users in overnmental agencies and industrial companies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Root, Karen Applied Biomathematics Inc NY Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 400000 5373 EGCH 9198 9145 9102 0313000 Regional & Environmental 9983287 April 15, 2000 Phase II: Knowledge Modeling and Computational Intelligence. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project proposes to design, implement and flight test an adaptive critic based flight control system using both the nonlinear and linear quadratic adaptive critic algorithms developed in Phase I; implement a hardware-in-loop test system for the adaptive critic flight control system; and flight test the adaptive critic flight conotrol system in Accurate Automation's LoFLYTE neurocontrol testbed aircraft. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Saeks, Richard Accurate Automation Corporation TN Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 815888 5373 MANU HPCC 9251 9231 9178 9146 9139 9102 7218 5373 1359 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9983306 March 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) Mounted Sensor for Benthic Studies. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II Project will result in development of a novel oceanographic chlorophyll fluorescence sensor for the study of benthic microalgae. This sensor will be the first to incorporate fluorescence lifetime measurement capability, and the first to implement such capability for stand-off measurements from an ROV. This is of major significance, because it will permit, for the first time, direct in situ measurements of fluorescence quantum yield, and hence of photochemical efficiency, a feat that is not possible with simple amplitude-based fluorimeters. Continental shelf benthic ecosystems are of critical importance to marine biology and the viability of these ecosystems can be objectively assessed from the physiological status of the resident microalgae. The most important component of this status is the level of their photosynthetic performance, determined by the rates and efficiency of primary stages of light-driven photochemistry. Yet, knowledge about these processes, which control the health, long-term viability, productivity and dynamics of benthic microalgae is minimal because of the lack of suitable research tools for their study. Potential commercial applications include oceanographic sensors, precision farming, photosynthesis analyzers for the laboratory research market, non-invasive brain oxymetry, product authentication, High Throughput Screening, clinical in vitro diagnostics and on-line process analysis. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Fernandez, Salvador CIENCIA INC CT Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 400000 5373 EGCH 9198 1680 0204000 Oceanography 9983307 May 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Disposable Infrared Water Vapor Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a prototype instrument ready for field-testing. Phase I research demonstrated the feasibility of a radically simpler infrared gas sensor based on MEMS photonic bandgap structures. This instrument will sensitive enough to compete with water vapor measurements made by much larger, more complex equipment, but cheap enough to be treated as a 'throw-away' device. Unlike current infrared instruments, assembled from many discrete components, it features a highly integrated 'sensor-on-a-chip' employing advanced surface modification technology and semiconductor fabrication methods. This new, integrated approach replaces discrete-component instruments in much the same way integrated circuits have superseded distributed elements in electronic systems. In addition to the potential for atmospheric research applications, the proposed device is a stepping-stone to next-generation gas sensors for environmental and industrial monitoring. The phase I project showed proof-of-concept while establishing sensitivity and signal-to-noise performance and developed drive circuits and other components to achieve necessary stability. Most important, this project achieved a breakthrough by demonstrating tunable, narrow-band, emission from a photonic bandgap surface structure. The proposed device is a simple, low-cost, lightweight alternative to conventional infrared absorption instruments. By reducing weight, complexity, and cost, it opens applications beyond the reach of current infrared instruments. It is the first step towards next-generation gas sensors for indoor air quality, environmental research, and industrial controls. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Johnson, Edward ION OPTICS INC MA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 749890 5373 EGCH 9188 9145 0313010 Air Pollution 9983308 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Robust, Intelligent and Practical Face Recognition Based on Optical Joint Transform Correlation and Neural Networks. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will enable Physical Optics Corporation (POC) to build a highly robust and adaptive face recognition system called the Opto-electronic Intelligent Face Recognition System (OIFRS). This system will uniquely combine an artificial neural network and an optical joint transform correlator (JTC) to increase invariance to distortion, shift, scale, and facial expression. In Phase I, we conducted a concept feasibility study and demonstration, developing an optical face recognition system. In Phase II, POC will implement a parallel optical JTC to increase processing speed, accommodate a large number of training patterns, and enhance scalability. POC will design, develop, and implement an innovative, adaptive, nonlinear, self-aligned pseudo-phase-conjugate joint Fourier-Fresnel transform correlator, which will make recognition highly invariant to longitudinal translation and tilt of the input face, and to head position. The proposed innovative OIFRS technology will lead not only to a new robust face recognition system but also to a variety of other security systems with high dual use application potential. OIFRS versatility will benefit not only the national security concerns of DOE, DoD, and other agencies that require highly secure access control, but also commercial access control, and credit card verification. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kostrzewski, Andrew PHYSICAL OPTICS CORPORATION CA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 399967 5373 HPCC 9139 1518 0206000 Telecommunications 9983309 July 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Modeling and Model-Based Control for Chemical Mechanical Planarization. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop physical modeling and model-based sensing and control techniques for chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) systems. CMP is rapidly emerging as a global planarization technology for microelectronics fabrication. Phase I found feasible modeling and real-time control techniques using actual experimental data from a commercial CMP system. Three-dimensional (3D) results of contact mechanical models correlate closely with experimental results for removal rate distribution across a wafer. Reduced input-output models relating the within wafer nonuniformity (WIWNU) to the pressure ratio and pad conditioning, obtained from detailed 3D models, were used as a basis for real-time and run-to-run control. Phase II will extend these models and control methods and develop a model-based embedded controller for within-wafer and within-die uniformity control. Phase II will culminate in tests of advanced process modeling and control software and an embedded controller for CMP systems. Commercial applications in the semiconductor industry are expected to result in improved and repeatable performance, increased throughput, and improved yields. An embedded controller product promises significant improvements in uniformity and throughput by allowing real-time control of uniformity for various CMP applications. Process modeling software and control software have potential for significant improvements in the 'trial and error' approach currently employed in CMP. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Emami-Naeini, Abbas SC SOLUTIONS INC CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 750000 5373 MANU 9147 0106000 Materials Research 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9983311 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Increased Freezing Tolerance in Plants. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will establish the feasibility of improving the freezing tolerance of canola and wheat plants. Phase I research has demonstrated that Arabidopsis plants show dramatic improvements in freezing tolerance when expressing the CBF gene. However, constitutive expression of the CBF gene was found to be detrimental to plant growth. This Phase II research will determine whether inducible promoters provide freezing tolerance with normal plant growth. Our Phase I and other published work has indicated this approach is very promising. The project goal is to produce enhanced freezing tolerant canola plants, with commercially efficacious growth levels, and provide the molecular biology tools to similarly engineer wheat plants. Canola with improved winter hardiness would be a new high value crop for the US with a value of at least $300 M, as this amount of canola oil is imported annually, and provide a new winter crop rotation system. The project results will also lead to improved winter hardiness in wheat that would improve wheat yields by $940 M. Applications in additional crops such as corn (1995 frost losses of more than $1 Billion), barley, soy, strawberries, and eucalyptus will likely follow once demonstrated in canola. Mendel has targeted canola and winter wheat for the initial applications of the WeatherGard TM enhanced freezing tolerance technology. Spring canola with increased winter hardiness will be a new winter crop suitable for the southern US. Existing spring canola varieties don' t survive the winters well enough. WeatherGard TM winter canola will have increased winter hardiness that will allow it to be grown in the midwest. Existing winter canola varieties don' t survive midwestern winters very well. One estimate of the value of the trait is that up to 50% of the winter wheat acres or 24 M acres would switch to canola due to its higher profitability and the advantages of crop rotation. Currently wheat is the only widely grown winter crop, so farmers would rotate it with winter canola. The higher oil and protein content of canola creates a higher per bushel value than wheat, translating to a $30/acre increase in value when growing canola. On 24 M acres this higher value crop would create $720 M of new value for farmers. Additional value will be derived from the increased productivity from better crop rotations and the double cropping potential of canola harvested in May. These latter values are hard to estimate in advance but clearly are very large. At a minimum valuation, the US imports $300 M of canola oil annually, so the US canola crop should create at least that much value. Additionally canola is an important crop worldwide (rapeseed) so export opportunities exist as well. The expected economic benefits of winter wheat are to be in excess of $940 M dollars of extra yield for the US farm economy annually. This assumes that the northern portion of the midwest, particularly North Dakota and South Dakota, that currently can only grow spring wheat, could grow the new variety as a winter wheat with an known 25% yield advantage which represents $500 M dollars of added value. The remaining 80% of the US wheat market should also benefit from increased winter hardiness as sudden frosts after warm spells, very cold freezing temperatures and winter desiccation (essentially drought) are all common problems experienced to various amounts every winter. Improved winter hardiness is estimated to improve winter wheat yields by 10% for an increase in value of $440 M. Thus the combined canola and wheat projects could add over $1.2 to $1.6 billion annually to the US farm economy. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Zhang, James Mendel Biotechnology Incorporated CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 752000 5373 BIOT 9251 9178 9109 1145 0201000 Agriculture 9983313 April 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Fiber Optics Confocal Module for Biomedical Application. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is to develop a highly versatile fiber optics-based confocal system for biomedical applications. The proposed confocal fiber optics systems utilizes optical fiber technology to offer extreme compactness, multiple wavelength light excitation/detection (N X N coupling) minimal adjustment, and very low cost. One of the unique advantages of using optical fiber for confocal microscopy is that both the entrance and exit pinholes are, in fact, the endface of the core of an optical fiber, which guarantees that the system will always remain in alignment. During Phase I of the project, we designed and developed two laboratory optical configurations: one for retrofitting regular upright microscopes, and one for high density microarray scanners, we then successfully demonstrated the feasibility of these optical fiber confocal systems. In Phase II, we will expand the fiber and wavelength multiplexity, maximize photon efficiency, optimize the confocal fiber optical module, develop a biochip-based confocal fiber probe array, and characterize and test the systems by performing bioassays. IOS's fiber optics-based will provide confocal microscopes with a capability that will significantly reduce the cost of the system, increase the versatility of the wavelength selection, and increase the popularity of using the confocal effect for many different important applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Saxena, Indu INTELLIGENT OPTICAL SYSTEMS, INC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 399996 5373 BIOT 9184 1108 0203000 Health 9983317 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Continuous SiC Matrix Composite Fabrication Using UV Curable Precursors. This Small Business Innovative Research Program (SBIR) Phase II project utilizes a unique photo-curable, high weight-yield preceramic polymer in a continuous fabrication process to produce a low-cost beta-silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic composite. Phase I succeeded in both photo curing and cold-initiation rapid curing (5 minutes) of a new polymer with higher ceramic yield, easier processability, and greater scalability than anticipated. Phase II will optimize the new polymer for both 'cure on demand' and viscoelastic volumetric compression in order to increase ceramic matrix density and to eliminate polymer springback between fabric layers. Use of pre-preg technology will enable large sheets and rolls of fabric to be impregnated and cured into a rubbery, coated fabric-polymer body that can be easily stored, cut to pattern, and applied in a ply-by-ply process. Process machinery will be scaled up to produce component sizes of commercial interest with fast curing and automated part fabrication. Potential commercial application are anticipated in gas recirculating fans, heat exchangers, radiant burner screens and tubes, gas turbine engine combustion liners and tip shrouds, hot liquid filtration, containment shells, gas-fired melting immersion burner tubes, and furnace pipe hangers. Ultimately, large composite structures may be constructed for vehicles such as hypersonic aircraft. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kratsch, Kenneth EDWARD POPE DR CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 399999 5373 MANU 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983318 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Innovative Snap Joining of Composite Structures. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop snaplock design concepts for composite materials, which is a novel and patentable joining and assembly technology. Two snaplock connections were built in Phase I for testing, whereby application to a snaplocked and lightweight, tapered transmission pole was found feasible in both technical and economic terms. Phase II will design, build, and test a prototype 75-foot transmission pole, using pultrusion of two building-block profiles. A tapered beam (or tube) of any desired length is obtained by performing secondary cutting, machining, and assembly, which are operations that can be automated. Potential commercial applications are seen chiefly in the $5 billion international market for electric power transmission poles. Additional applications are expected in highway sign bridges, intermodal shipping containers, housing, and tiltrotor aircraft. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Goldsworthy, W. Brandt W. Brandt Goldsworthy & Associates Inc CA Ritchie B. Coryell Standard Grant 374173 5373 CVIS 1057 0109000 Structural Technology 9983337 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Advanced Micro-Pixelized Scintillator for Structural Biology. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is aimed at developing a novel digital x-ray detector for macromolecular crystallography. This detector is based on a new generation micro-pixelized scintillator optically coupled to a large area digital readout array. The micro-pixelized scintillator will provide a unique combination of very high sensitivity, spatial resolution, and signal to noise ratios resulting in excellent point spread function (PSF), thus improving the quality of the measured Bragg peak data. When integrated with a large area digital optical detector it will allow a wide dynamic range and substantially enhanced throughput at relatively low costs. In addition to the structural biology application, the proposed detector would find widespread use in instrumentation wherever high-resolution x-ray imaging is used. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Nagarkar, Vivek Radiation Monitoring Devices Inc MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 550000 5373 BIOT 9184 1108 0512205 Xray & Electron Beam Lith 9983341 April 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Innovative Software Definable Radio and Network Architecture for Low-Cost Commercial Application. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project follows a successful Phase I technology demonstration and will establish the feasibility of a multimode (IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth) data communications system using a single-chip radio modem and a single-chip baseband processor, both software configurable. The program objectives are, (1) Quantify key system design parameters, (2) Determine the best suited radio and baseband processor architectures, (3) Identify critical system features and interfaces needed to assure system applicability to existing and anticipated commercial applications.systems, (4) Specify a radio and baseband system to be simulated with the Ameranth 21st Century Restaurant(TM) commercial design software, (5) Design a prototype radio, (6) Construct a prototype transceiver module using selected Ameranth terminals, (7)Demonstrate the operation of the system using the Ameranth terminals/system application(s), and (8) Prepare for initial production and commercialization. The technology is a Bluetooth chipset implementation using silicon-on-insulator wafer structure and BiCMOS transistor structure. The market for wireless computing devices is enormous. Ameranth products have applicationacross a wide range of industries, including the hospitality, retail, transportation, law enforcement, health care, finance, telecommunications and defense industries. Ameranth has more than 2,300 customers that have expressed interest in these products. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Bergfeld, Richard Ameranth Wireless, Inc. CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 749587 5373 HPCC 9218 9216 4097 0206000 Telecommunications 9983345 April 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: A Self-Triggered Pulse Acquisition System with Greater than 10 GHz Bandwidth. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will result in a demonstration of a self-triggered transient digitizer chip containing a flash analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and advanced triggering circuits. The self-triggering circuit designed during Phase I will be improved such that an arbitrary delay can be imposed. This will enable parts of single-shot signals occurring before the triggering point to be captured. The advanced comparator work begun in Phase I will be completed in Phase II to result in an error-correcting comparator with sub-picosecond accuracy. The resulting self-triggering transient digitizer chip will be able to trigger either by the signal itself, or an externally supplied trigger pulse. This generalization of our previous transient digitizer chip, together with the advanced architecture developed under other programs, will operate with greater than 10 GHz input bandwidth, and at a sampling rate of up to 20 GSa/s. The Tektronix SCD-5000 transient digitizer provided the highest bandwidth and performance of any digitizer based on an analog-to-digital converter. The removal of this product from the market provides a significant business opportunity. Potential customers from the National Ignition Facility and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Accelerator at Brookhaven National Laboratory have expressed interest in our potential product. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kaplan, Steven HYPRES, Inc. NY Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 400000 5373 OTHR HPCC 9139 0206000 Telecommunications 9983349 July 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: A Trace Contaminant Sensor for Semiconductor Process Gases. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will test a novel sensor for real-time detection of trace impurities important in micoelectronics manufacturing. Gas feedstock quality is an important measurement for any process control strategy because contamination at the part-per-billion (ppb) level may limit product yield. This project's technique, called wavelength modulated photo-acoustic spectroscopy, has the potential to achieve these detection levels at a significantly lower cost than is possible with current technology. This technology is compatible with both corrosive and non-corrosive gases. The Phase II will construct and field test a prototype trace moisture sensor that is expected to achieve 10-ppb detection limits in corrosive gases such as hydrogen chloride and ammonia. Potential commercial applications are expected in on-line removal of trace impurities important in micoelectronics manufacturing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Bomse, David Southwest Sciences Inc NM Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 400000 5373 MANU 9147 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9983361 April 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Integration and Distribution of Low-Jitter On-Chip Clock for High-Speed Analog-to-Digital Converters. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project aims to integrate two superconducting technologies (rapid-single-flux-quantum (RSFQ) and long-Josephson junction (LJJ)) to build a wide-bandwidth digitizer with on-chip clocking. The performance of a Flash analog-to-digital converter (ADC) can be enhanced by replacing the external high-frequency clock generator with an on-chip clock with very low timing jitter. In Phase I, we demonstrated an on-chip 10-50 GHz RSFQ clock source using an LJJ resonator with a quality factor of 106. We also built a clock selector circuit that allows the user to select different clock frequencies. We also implemented ballistic transport of SFQ pulses on impedance-matched striplines. In Phase II, we will integrate the high-quality LJJ oscillator along with associated circuitry with a Flash ADC through a hybrid stripline/JTL (Josephson transmission line) clock distribution network. A phase-locked loop (PLL) will be built to synchronize the LJJ oscillator with an external stable low-frequency reference to ensure long-term stability. The LJJ oscillator together with the PLL will constitute a self contained clock module capable of generating 10-100 GHz SFQ clock with femtosecond time jitter. This universal clock module can be used in almost all future superconducting electronic circuits and systems. A transient digitizer instrument capable of sampling rates above 10 GSamples/s is not commercially available today, in spite of a growing demand in fields such as inertial confinement fusion and high-energy physics. HYPRES is developing such an instrument focusing on the $630M/year market for digitizer instruments. Elimination of expensive multi-GHz external clock generators will simplify the digitizer design, lower power consumption, simplify packaging and reduce its cost. Other applications of a wideband ADC include communication signal processors and microscan receivers. A by-product of the Phase II work will be a self-contained multi-GHz clock module that can be used as on-chip clock for a variety of superconducting circuits, including processors for a petaflops-scale supercomputer currently being developed. The LJJ oscillator coupled with the fluxon sender circuit, developed in Phase I, can be used for building instantaneous clock recovery and data re-timing circuits for handling burst-mode data in data communication networks. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Gupta, Deepnarayan HYPRES, Inc. NY Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 645271 5373 MANU HPCC 9251 9218 9178 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9983366 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Thin Film Deposition & Dynamic Characterizations Using Sub-Psec Eximer Laser Sources. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project continues the Pulsed Laser Deposition project using a femto-second or sub pico-second pulsed laser. The sub pico-second regime is a recent (just a few years old)development in the laser industry. As technology progresses these lasers are becoming more common to both the end user and the commercial manufacturer. There are now solid state femto-second lasers available in the product line of some well known laser companies. The recent advances made in the production and sales of the new sub pico-second laser and the results achievable by these lasers have opened up new opportunities in tribological coatings. The Phase I results demonstrated superior hardness using the sub pico-second laser as compared to the traditional nano-second lasers. The coatings were also much smoother when observed under a scanning electron microscope. These initial findings suggest a need to continue the study for applications in the tool and space industries as well as the military. Coatings with such improved performance would be considered a significant contribution to both the scientific and industrial communities. Current coatings are short lived and therefore expensive to maintain. A longer life coating, even if it was more expensive, would provide significant savings do to the life of the tool, device or machine. Some devices are not even practical to make do to poor performing coatings. Coatings produced using a sub pico-second laser source will change that. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Church, Kenneth SCIPERIO, INC. FL Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 399586 9150 5373 AMPP 9163 9150 1775 0106000 Materials Research 9983370 July 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Continuous On-Line Monitor to Detect and Quantify Inorganic Contaminants in Water. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance the resin/quartz crystal microbalance sensor technology demonstrated in Phase I. The device revolutionizes current water monitoring methods by allowing continuous monitoring where only periodic sampling can now be performed. In the Phase II project, ultra-pure water (UPW) monitors will be fabricated and analyzed at a university test facility as well as at a nuclear power plant and semiconductor facility. The monitor will be calibrated and a computerized model characterizing the device's performance in a UPW environment will be developed. The technology consists of applying ion exchange resins to a quartz crystal microbalance sensor device. Once manufacturing repeatability is achieved, the suite of detected contaminants will be broadened to include a wide range of toxic substances of interest to the federal government. Ultimately we expect to increase the monitor's capability to include all heavy metals set forth in the Clean Water and the Safe Drinking Water Acts. Applications include the development of industrial process control monitors for ultra pure water applications such as semiconductor manufacturing, fail-safe devices to insure the continued effectiveness of drinking water filters, and continuous monitors to detect contaminants in EPA-regulated monitoring sites such as municipal water utilities and wastewater treatment plants. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Harper, Rex BRIMS NESS CORPORATION ME Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 356400 5373 EGCH 9197 1325 1179 0118000 Pollution Control 9983371 May 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Affordable Handwriting Capture Device for Augmenting Communications Within Groups. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project provides an affordable means of electronically enhancing the nation's installed chalk, white, and drawing board base of 2.5 million units. By adapting conventional writing surfaces rather than replacing them with expensive electronic white boards or graphics tablets, academic institutions, corporations, and governments could save approximately $10 billion in new equipment and installation costs. CyberScan Technologies proposes to develop a retrofittable, low cost, area adaptive product that can optically capture notes, drawings or sketches to a computer or to the Internet. CyberScan will refine the feasibility of digitizing hand strokes in real time that it demonstrated in Phase I using a small optical sensor and an optically transmitting pen or chalk holder. CyberScan's objective is to convert written information on standard school chalk board surfaces of nine feet by four feet into electronic data suitable for display on a PC SVGA display screen and posting on Internet Web pages. Potential commercial applications of the research include: CAD/CAM digitizers, low cost and portable electronic white board alternatives, video conferencing input devices, medical patient charting, and academic, corporate, military, and government interactive presentation devices. Because of the serious interest of three potential marketing partners in the electronic white board field, rapid commercialization of products beyond Phase II is extremely likely. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Goszyk, Kurt CyberScan Technologies PA Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 396006 5373 HPCC 9139 6840 0000912 Computer Science 9983385 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Ceramic Cutting Tool for Titanium-Alloy Machining. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a new ceramic material, yttrium-aluminum garnet (YAG), for cutting tools used in the machining of titanium (Ti) alloys. Phase I found it feasible to base a cutting tool on YAG, reinforced with silicon carbide (SiC) whiskers and TiC. Phase II will further explore the use of YAG-based composites as a cutting tool for Ti alloys through: 1) optimization of compositions and fabrication parameters to obtain a fully dense composite with uniformly dispersed reinforcement phases; 2) evaluate the optimized composite relative to state-of-the-art materials in machining Ti alloys; and 3) identify wear and failure mechanisms by detailed microstructural characterization of YAG-based composite cutting tools, before and after machining tests. Potential commercial applications are expected in titanium-alloy machining operations in the aircraft and aerospace industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Mah, Tai-Il UES, Inc. OH Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 399512 5373 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983390 April 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: High Performance Vertical Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (HBT) on SiC Using Novel III-Nitride Technology. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase II Project is aimed to develop a novel vertical geometry Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (HBT) based on III-nitride heterostructures grown on SiC (silicon carbide). There is a strong need for high power HBTs for highly linear, high power microwave amplifiers. The innovation of this proposal is to demonstrate WBG (wide band gap) HBTs on SiC that will take advantage of the vertical geometry, and high thermal conductivity of SiC through the use of highly conductive novel nitride buffer and base structure to enhance p-type lateral conductivity with improved vertical transport properties through the base. The proposed vertical WBG HBT device is a critical component for a new generation of satellite and base stations for wireless communication networks. Another application area is DC switch components for high power electronics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Norris, Peter Corning Applied Technologies Corporation MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 399737 5373 AMPP 9163 1775 0106000 Materials Research 9983395 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Large Eddy Simulations (LES) of Gas-Particle Flows. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will further develop, validate and demonstrate Large Eddy Simulations (LES) for the prediction of gas-particle flow phenomena. The Phase I study has clearly demonstrated the feasibility of using a commercial CFD code to perform Gas-Particle Large Eddy Simulations in flows with simple geometry. Good predictions of particulate dispersion, deposition and agglomeration in isotropic and channel turbulent flows have been obtained. The Phase II study will refine the models and techniques developed in Phase I and extend them to simulate more complex flows, in practical geometries. The Phase II work will be focused on the following main areas: unstructured and mixed element (adaptive cartesian) grids (driven by the need for fast and accurate simulations; adaptation and implementation of advanced sub-grid scale models and particle transport in these alternative grid topologies; implementation of enhanced particle sub-grid scale models for (a) fluid sub-grid scale (SGS) velocity (b) deposition and (c) agglomeration; extensive and systematic validation in channel, free shear and mixing layer flows; technology demonstration using a practical contaminant transport simulation. A team of experienced investigators and strongly interested end-users of this capability (Aerodyne Research, PLG, Dura Pharmaceuticals) has been assembled. The end-product of the Phase II effort will be an Integrated Large Eddy Simulation System for gas-particle flows (featuring advanced gridding, solver and visualization software). Gas-particle processes cannot usually be well-understood without a detailed consideration of the complex and usually highly nonlinear interaction between the flow and the motion of the particles. The developed Integrated Large Eddy Simulation System will foster a better fundamental understanding of dilute particulate turbulent flows in complex geometries. It will enable improved engineering design in a variety of fields such as air pollution control and chemical/bio-terrorism programs to chemical/pharmaceutical/semiconductor processing. The product developed at the end of Phase II will put a sophisticated physics simulator heretofor only avaialbe with academicians and that too in simple flow situations, in the hands of a trained industrial engineer enabling him to better understand and improve the processes of concern. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sundaram, Shivshankar CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION AL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 499904 5373 MANU HPCC AMPP 9216 9163 9148 9147 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983399 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: In-Situ, Real-Time Process Control for Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a multiple-applications, low-cost, real-time process monitoring and control tool for micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) deep-etch fabrication. Deep-etch processes are used to manufacture high aspect ratio structures up to several hundred microns thick, and promise to deliver new devices with increased performance and functionality at lower cost. A major difficulty in deep-etch technology is the control of the etch depth, which is currently measured post-etch using ex-situ destructive scanning electron microscopy. This is extremely inefficient, and is a major hurdle to be surmounted before extensive production takes place. During Phase I, an FTIR-based sensor was designed, constructed and installed on top of an etcher chamber. Etch depth and photoresist thickness measurements were obtained, for the first time ever, in-situ and in real-time on several MEMS structures. An excellent correlation between the FTIR measurements and SEM measurements was found. During Phase II, analysis models will be developed and implemented to measure the widest possible range of MEMS structures. These models will extract multiple parameters on any type of patterns, and will allow the use of the sensor for various applications, including deep trenches in silicon or SOI (silicon on insulator) wafers, membranes, thick photoresist, and mainstream silicon applications such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) trenches. Hardware will be optimized for spot size, measurement spot range, compactness and, very importantly for the cost-sensitive MEMS industry, for cost. The result of this project will be the development of a metrology tool with capabilities currently unavailable, and which are in high and increasing need. The specific anticipated results of the use of the proposed metrology are: (1) to reduce cost through the reduction of destructive measurements and the improvement in process control,(2) to increase the reproducibility of the MEMS structures through better process control (run to run accuracy is currently ~3 % and is expected to be lowered by the use of the sensor to <0.5 %), (3) to provide useful feed-back for process development, thus reducing development time. These results will have a great impact on the deep-etch MEMS market, as they willhelp future MEMS applications to mature and come to market at a faster pace through cheaper characterization and improved process control. In addition, this first-of-a-kind real-time wafer-state monitoring and control technology will lead to applications within mainstream semiconductor processing such as DRAM. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Charpenay, Sylvie On-Line Technologies Incorporated CT Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 399983 5373 HPCC 9218 9102 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9983405 August 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Characterization of Ceramic Particles Based on Elliptically Polarized Light. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is aimed at developing and demonstrating an innovative information-rich and real-time system for particle characterization. Encouraged by results from Phase I which established the feasibility of using polarized light scattering for characterization of micron, sub-micron and nano-sized ceramic particles, Synergetic Technologies proposes to develop an accurate and reliable on-line instrument. Phase I illustrated the high accuracy achievable, the ability to detect and quantify nano-size particles, and the capability of determining the size distribution of high aspect ratio whiskers and irregularly shaped particles. Project tasks include: system design, construction, calibration and testing; software development for more accurate shape determination and automized system use; study of different lasers; and testing and demonstration at three potential customer sites (a major ceramic research university, a large industrial research laboratory, and a small company at the leading edge of nanomaterials production). The University of Kentucky staff and students will assist in this project. The ability to measure fine particle sizes and shapes on-line is necessary for controlling the quality of many high technology products, such as advanced ceramics and pharmaceuticals. In addition, monitoring and controlling particle size is fundamental to the manufacture of many consumer products, medical products, food processing and environmental monitoring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Manickavasagam, Sivakumar Synergetic Technologies, Incorporated KY Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 761977 5373 MANU HPCC AMPP 9251 9216 9178 9163 9148 9147 9146 1415 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983412 July 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Fish Freshness Quality Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will further the design, development, construction, and evaluation of a prototype fish freshness sensor based on the successful Phase I feasibility demonstration of using an array of semiconducting metal oxide chemiresistive sensors for quantitative fish freshness quality determination. The advantages of this approach to fish freshness monitoring is that the array data will provide information about the complex gases emitted by fish during degradation and will provide a basis for signal processing techniques to quantify the fish freshness. The Phase II research is directed towards extending the Phase I demonstration of determining the freshness of Atlantic salmon to other species of fish and to a wider variety of fish handling procedures. The fish freshness sensor data will be compared with results from a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer and a sensory evaluation panel of trained individuals. A field-deployable prototype will be tested on location at fish processing plants to non-destructively determine the degree of degradation of fresh marine fin fish. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Smith, Dean SENSOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ME Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 393796 5373 HPCC 9150 9139 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9983413 June 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: MPI-2: A Systematic Study, Design, and Commercialization of the Extended Message Passing Interface for NOWs and Parallel Computers. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project builds on MPI Software Technology, Inc.'s (MSTI's) extensive MPI-1 implementation experience with our MPI-2 design developed in Phase I in order to continue research and advanced prototyping of a quality implementation of the MPI-2 standard for clusters of workstations . In Phase II, we build upon prototypes created in Phase I, while continuing our investigations into scalable dynamic process startup, advanced and poly-algorithmic approaches to one-sided communications, collective operations, and parallel I/O. Our research and development outcomes will enable the high-performance computing community to unlock the potential of the latest workstation and networking technology, providing access to architectural enhancements of systems and software, and more complex computational environments. Rationale for undertaking this effort is that the scientific community needs enhancements to its most important parallel processing environment, MPI, and that workstation cluster targets comprise the fastest growing component of parallel processing environments. Inventing MPI-2 capability for HPC represents widely enabling technology for scientists and engineers to produce new science, while incorporating computer-science challenges of its own, both of a research and advanced development nature. Significant software, protocol, and algorithmic challenges must be tackled in order to create a useful MPI-2 environment. MPI-2's dynamic process management would support several classes of new scientific applications, and computation strategies. These include computational servers, growing/shrinking parallel applications, and multi-disciplinary codes. Support for the one-sided model would enable classes of applications that need fine grain communication support, including certain sparse matrix algorithms, as well as quantum chemistry codes that utilize global array-type algorithms (e.g., Focker-Planck computations) . Support for effective intercommunicator collective operations would simplify and enable applications that work with dataflow models, including composite parallel simulation and visualization techniques. Support for MPI-2's I/O techniques would support myriad out-of-core and database-type applications, including growing interest in financial modeling with MPI, but also the traditional scientific problems in areas of climate and weather modeling, and others with large, out-of-core datasets needed in conjunction with parallel computing. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Dimitrov, Rossen MPI Software Technology, Inc. AL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 516645 9150 5373 HPCC 9216 9150 0108000 Software Development 9983415 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: An Advanced Computational Simulation Tool for Metalorganic Vapor Phase Epitaxy of Compound III-V Layers in Industrial Reactors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will produce a commercial simulation tool to design and optimize Metalorganic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (MOVPE) systems for the fabrication of III-V materials. The Phase I study has demonstrated the proof-of-concept of using advanced models to optimize MOVPE equipment and processes. Specifically the effects of radiative heat transfer, gas flow field, gas phase/surface chemistry and electromagnetic induction heating on the deposition rate/uniformity were quantified using the models. Following preliminary validation, the models were tested for both two and three-dimensional commercial reactor geometries. The proposed Phase II project will focus on the necessary model refinements and development identified during the Phase I study. Specifically, improvements are sought in the areas of modeling chemistry of ternary and quaternary III-V materials, establishing the relationship between strain and growth rate, and development of mechanisms, which can model deposition accurately both in the kinetic as well as the mass-transport regime. Comprehensive databases for optical, thermodynamic/transport properties, and reaction mechanisms will be implemented to ensure the commercial success of the proposed simulation tool. Model developments will be followed by extensive validation studies on commercial MOCVD reactors, to be conducted in collaboration with Aixtron AG, one of the leading MOVPE equipment manufacturers. Validations will also be performed on reactor geometries and cases available from the open literature as well as research groups currently working in collaboration with CFDRC. Phase III work will focus on commercialization aspects such as improvements in software frontends, improved data handling and development of virtual reactor prototypes for commercial use. The availability of the proposed simulation tool will facilitate the design, optimization and scale-up (to large wafer sizes) of reactors/processes for MOVPE. This will result in lower equipment and fabrication costs and improved uniformity/quality of the grown materials. Thus, the simulation tool will be an enabling technology in eliminating a major road block in the commercialization of III-V MOVPE technology. This will also have a positive impact on the growth of the optoelectronic device and telecommunication industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Lowry, Samuel CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION AL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 522495 5373 MANU HPCC AMPP 9251 9231 9216 9178 9163 9148 9147 1443 1260 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983420 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: The Study of Superior Quality Thin Films Derived from Liquid Combustion in a Thermal Plasma. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project for clean and efficient combustion of liquid fuels is of importance in many technologies including internal combustion engines, gas turbines, waste-incineration and, more recently, advanced materials processing. The efficiency of the thermal combustion of a fuel controls the efficiency and emissions of a process. Two governing factors in the combustion of a liquid fuel are atomization and vaporization of the liquid prior to its ignition. Two advanced thin film coating deposition techniques utilize the combustion of a liquid fuel containing a dissolved metal complex to deposit films of desired materials on to substrates. The first, flame spray pyrolysis, is a rapid deposition process yielding thick films, however, the films are generally of poor quality due to inefficient atomization. This leads to rough films of low density and purity. In contrast, combustion chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) utilizes an efficient atomization and vaporization process that makes it a true vapor deposition method. The CCVD process incorporates a patented atomization method for liquid fuels, trademarked as the Nanomiser. The Phase I effort studied the flame physics and chemistry of the deposition of high quality barium strontium titanate (BSTO) thin films by CCVD. BSTO is a high performance ferroelectric. This Phase II project will build upon the results of Phase I by expanding the levels of analysis and modeling of the CCVD process to develop a thorough, predictive model and thereby improve the CCVD process. The data and models developed in Phase II will be of extreme importance to spray combustion processes in general. MCT is targeting development of high quality thin film materials for use in electronics, corrosion protection, optical coatings, nanopowders, superconductors, fuel cells as well as other applications yielding a potential multibillion dollar market. Results from this research will be used to increase combustion efficiency and satisfy key requirements for performance of thin film ferroelectrics. This will enable commercialization of the CCVD process applications through a combination of R&D services, advanced license agreements and pilot production services. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Oljaca, Miodrag NGIMAT CO. GA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 739723 5373 OTHR AMPP 9251 9231 9178 9163 9146 0000 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983421 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Membrane Hydrogen Dissolution for Bioremediation of High Strength Nitrate Waste. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will expand the Phase I study, examine the effect of high nitrate loading and demonstrate the technology at a drinking water treatment site, by treating the brine regenerant stream from an ion exchange water treatment system. This would broaden utilization base of the technology and allow increased market penetration since the technology will supplement the existing technology base and reduce the operating costs of the currently practiced technologies for NO3 removal. This will lead to both high probability of commercial success plus a large sales base to allow for lower pricing in remediation markets. Across the United States there are a number of drinking water facilities that are wrestling with the problem of high concentrations of dissolved nitrates in their influent water streams. The present methods of removal resort to concentrating the NO3 into a small volume by means of reverse osmosis or ion exchange and then disposing off this concentrated stream, appropriately. The recovered NO3 in such a waste stream can be destroyed biologically using dissolved hydrogen gas as the electron donor. Hydrogen offers several economic and operational advantages over other organic electron donors in denitrification. The factor limiting hydrogen use is its low solubility, i.e. existing commercial gas-dissolution technologies cannot dissolve sufficient hydrogen in a safe, cost effective manner. Membrane-based gas-dissolution technologies can potentially supply the hydrogen required for these processes safely, but commercially available membrane suitable for bubble-free gas-dissolution have poor performance, biological fouling, or both. Compact Membrane Systems, Inc., has developed a highly gas permeable perfluoropolymer coating for microporous membranes. The smooth, non-porous nature of the perfluoropolymer coating is highly resistant to biological fouling, especially compared to microporous hydrophobic membranes. This coating could remove the performance, fouling, and cost barriers that preclude the use of membrane-based gas dissolution technologies in continuous biological processes. The Phase I study established concept feasibility and demonstrated that nitrates could effectively remediate without the formation of nitrites in a continuous mode. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Nemser, Stuart COMPACT MEMBRANE SYSTEMS, INC DE Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 411500 5373 BIOT 9251 9178 9104 1166 0201000 Agriculture 9983422 May 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Surface Enhanced Dry Magnetic Separation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will apply the ElectriMag (tm) concept to separation of unburned carbon from coal combustion fly ash. A proprietary add-on reactor will be tested for separation of ammonia from fly ash particles at plants using catalytic nitrogen oxide separators. The ElectriMag (tm) separator (patent pending) combines triboelectric forces with magnetic forces to allow the separation of particles which have similar magnetic properties but differing surface electrical charging characteristics, or vice versa. An alpha prototype built and tested in Phase I showed the feasibility of the concept. A beta prototype will be designed, built, and tested on fly ash from coal fired power plants in Phase II; this model will incorporate changes suggested by the work of Phase I. A conceptual level engineering evaluation will be done and a conceptual design of a 2000 Lb/Hr pilot unit will be made. Potential commercial applications include separation of unburned carbon from fly ash, recovery of activated carbon from municipal incinerator fly ash, and dry coal cleaning. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Oder, Robin EXPORTech Company Inc PA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 399995 5373 MANU 9146 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983433 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Dynamic, Variable Area, Rechargeable Zinc-Air Fuel Cells as Small Power Sources for Cold Regions. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a zinc-air fuel cell for replacement of internal combustion engines in polar and other cold climates. Phase I examined the electrochemistry of the zinc-air fuel cell's anode, cathode, electrolyte, and system designs to identify and optimize critical low-temperature performance characteristics. This power source has inherently high energy- and power-density as well as exceptional reliability at start-up temperatures as low as -40 degrees Centigrade. Phase II will develop 500-watt prototypes, capable of internal and external recharging, for low-temperature, low-maintenance remote use. Potential commercial applications include portable rechargeable power supplies, materials handling equipment, personal mobility vehicles, and cellular telephones operated in polar and other cold regions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Tsai, Tsepin Reveo Incorporated NY Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 391325 5373 EGCH 9198 1079 0313000 Regional & Environmental 9983435 June 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Enhanced Organic Electroluminescent Display. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project continues Reveo's successful development of unprecedented high-brightness, polarized-light-emitting electroluminescent devices (ELD's) for the immediate applications of energy-efficient liquid crystal display (LCD) and dashboard backlights, as well as the longer-term applications of glare-free general room lighting and automobile headlights. Polarized light is essential to reduce distracting glare from indoor lights for LCD backlights. However, all current methods of producing polarized light rely on a bulky polarizing panel placed in front of an unpolarized light source. Some have the serious disadvantage of wasting half the energy by absorbing one polarization state, but even reflective panels that polarize the light without waste suffer from the intrinsic disadvantages of high cost, complicated manufacturing, and inconvenient packaging. Reveo's ELD promises to be the first commercially viable polarized light source, bypassing all the disadvantages of present reflective polarizing panels while offering dramatic energy savings of a factor of two in LCD and dashboard backlights by eliminating the need for a polarizer altogether. In Phase II, we will construct prototype demonstration backlights to attract funding commitments from strategic partners, placing this revolutionary technology firmly on the path to fruition for the benefit of the environment and humanity. The polarization properties of light are used ubiquitously in modern technology, as both enabling concepts for other technologies and as direct, important improvements in people's lives. Reveo's polarized-light-emitting electroluminescent device has immediate applications as an LCD backlight, allowing energy savings of a factor of two without being significantly more expensive than current backlights. With further development, this technology offers the potential of functioning as a polarized "light bulb" for room light, reducing eyestrain and other health consequences of glare for millions of office workers. The advent of a low-cost, high-brightness polarized light source has far-reaching positive impact on the environment, the economy, and indeed American health. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Wang, Shujun Reveo Incorporated NY Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 392272 5373 HPCC 9139 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9983448 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: High Rate, High Capacity Anodes for Rechargeable Lithium Batteries. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop higher energy storage electrode materials for rechargeable lithium ion batteries. Tin-based oxide materials have attractive reversible charge storage capacities but high first-cycle losses. In Phase I, new tin-based materials were demonstrated with superior capacity and significantly reduced first-cycle loss. The volumetric charge storage capacity was three times better than commercially established carbon-based anode materials. These proprietary materials are based on nanoscale tin domains highly dispersed and stabilized within a conductive ceramic matrix. In Phase II, two ceramic hosts will be investigated. Precursor chemistries, tin atomic fraction, and reactive conditions will be optimized with respect to capacity and cyclability. The composition and microstructure of these materials will be determined and correlated with rate and cycle life. Test cells will be prepared and evaluated to determine their capacity and cyclability. Producibility issues such as precursor cost, process scale-up, and compatibility with established cell components (e.g. electrolyte, separator, binder, current collector) will be addressed. The ultimate goal is to demonstrate that the capacities demonstrated in phase I can be realized while simultaneously meeting the cost and cycle life requirements for rechargeable batteries used in consumer electronics. This project will develop advanced electrode materials that will increase the run tim or reduce the size and weight of rechargeable lithium ion batteries. There is a rapidly growing market for lithium ion batteries for consumer electronics (wireless communications, laptop PC's, camcorders), as well as for electric vehicle propulsion. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Miller, John T/J Technologies, Inc MI Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 749997 5373 MANU 9146 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983456 May 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Investigation of Novel, Low-Cost Materials and Manufacturing Methods for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will continue the development of inherently low cost, mass-producable conductive composite materials and novel manufacturing processes for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM, also called Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cells. Current PEM fuel cell bipolar plates often achieve good overall technical performance, but have some combination of high materials, manufacturing and assembly cost. This high cost is a barrier to market penetration of fuel cells. In order to develop a fuel cellbipolar plate which has acceptable technical performance, as well as, low cost, novel composite materials amenable to low cost manufacture will be developed. Three novel manufacturing processes identified during Phase I will be used to fabricate small and large format bipolar plates from composite materials identified in Phase I. These bipolar plates will be tested for electrical conductivity and will be operated in both short-term, performance-oriented testing and longer-term, lifetime testing. Additionally, the materials development work of Phase I will be continued in order to further optimize the novel composite materials for performance and cost. Successful completion of the project will lead to low cost, mass-manufacturable fuel cell stacks, thereby enhancing U.S. competitiveness in the emerging markets for fuel cells. This will further lead to a greatly accelerated market penetration of fuel cells especially in low cost applications such as light duty vehicles. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Grammer, Holly DIRECTED TECHNOLOGIES INC VA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 399924 5373 EGCH 9197 1972 1417 0207000 Transportation 9983471 May 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Development of a Compact, Lightweight Millimeter-Wave Source. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will involve the experimental study of a novel millimeter-wave source (MWS) that will provide short-wavelength radiation for numerous civilian and military applications. The MWS is based on novel synchronous interactions between a pencil electron beam and rotating wave fields. Our Phase I studies confirm that the MWS will offer order of magnitude improvements in the overall size and weight when compared to conventional millimeter-wave sources which will make these new devices less complex, more affordable, and readily available for a diversity of applications. Some of the applications for these devices include high-resolution radar, satellite telecommunications systems, power beaming, and electron cyclotron resonance heating of fusion plasmas. Also, due to the fact that the MWS does not require a focusing magnetic field, it should be suitable for airborne and mobile applications, as well as other commercial applications where size, weight, and efficiency are critical. Detailed experimental analysis of this concept is proposed during Phase II in order to evaluate key issues such as beam transport, maximum output power, efficiency and gain. Once successfully developed, the MWS will be the basis for a new generation of millimeter-wave sources capable of producing high-power ultrahigh frequency radiation with high efficiency in a very compact and lightweight package. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Velazco, Jose Microwave Technologies Inc VA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 400000 5373 HPCC 9139 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9983472 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Web-Based Touch Display for Accessible Science Education. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project from Immersion Corporation takes advantage of an opportunity to turn an emerging mainstream computer technology into a universal accessibility tool. During Phase I, researchers at Immersion Corporation and at Oregon State developed enabling software technologies for Web-based force feedback and put them to use by designing a physics computer laboratory module. The module allowed students to actually FEEL forces while holding a simulated charged particle in an electric field, take data points, and then feel a plotted curve using prototypes of a force feedback mouse. Such mice have received excellent reviews from mainstream users who enjoy the ease-of-use and excitement of feeling GUI objects and computer feel effects and have met with enthusiasm from blind users, who require the best touch interfaces at the lowest cost. Phase II will expand the enabling technology, curriculum, and evaluation work begun in Phase I, and it will add interaction with accessibility software developers. Enormous potential exists for accessibility research to push the cutting edge of force feedback technology and for accessibility applications to take advantage of mass market economies of scale, creating a true universal accessibility success story. Over 110 million computer mice are sold each year. Web-based applications will substantially drive the adoption of force-feedback mice. The proposed Internet force feedback innovations will accelerate market penetration. Development of educational applications will boost the market for accessible science education. The technology could also give a competitive advantage to screen reader companies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II RES IN DISABILITIES ED IIP ENG Anastas, George IMMERSION CORPORATION CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 500623 5373 1545 SMET 9260 9180 9102 1545 0000912 Computer Science 9983474 July 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Neural Inverse Control for Ventilators. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project from NeuroDimension Incorporated will develop new, biologically inspired solutions to the problem of ventilator control of human subjects. The problem is difficult because the patient is analogous to a time-varying, nonlinear plant. Adaptive inverse control is powerful enough to adapt to changing conditions while maintaining system stability. In Phase I, NeuroDimension developed a control architecture and development environment for neural inverse control and applied it to controlling a ventilator. This solution outperformed the state-of-art commercial ventilator. The goal is to develop a system that will optimize most of the major settings currently set by clinicians on present-day ICU ventilators. The complexity of these ventilators subject their operators to speculative and empirical interpretation of many ventilatory parameters, leading to potentially hazardous misuse. NeuroDimension proposed system will model and extract relevant physiologic conditions in the patient and use this information to either control the ventilator automatically or to advise the clinician on how to change the settings. The primary technical approach utilizes neural fuzzy hybrid systems, Kohonen self-organizing maps (SOMs)-a SOM clusters the input space and assigns a different model to each cluster--and switching multiple inverse controllers. The firm has assembled a unique team of experts in the fields of neural control and ventilation to accomplish this task. NeuroDimension proffers technology that has application to a number of possible products including, inverse neural control application software; an ultra-intelligent respiratory monitor; and an easy to use and optimal closed-loop ventilator controller. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Euliano, Neil Convergent Engineering, Inc FL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 761987 5373 SMET HPCC 9251 9178 9139 0116000 Human Subjects 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9983485 May 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Acoustic Microcavitation Assisted Fine Cleaning of Post-Chemical Mechanical Planarizing (CMP) Wafers. This SBIR Phase II project is to continue the investigation in the removal of particulates from silicon wafers. It is a problem which can only become more important as the evolving circuit complexity demands greater miniaturization and multi-storied 'architectural' chip designs. Miniaturization poses a increasing challenge because any particulate which is one-third to one-half the size of the smallest chip circuit feature (i.e. the line width) is deemed a killer defect. As the line width gets thinner, the particle-intolerance because correspondingly greater. Up to 40% of all silicon wafer rejections are due to unremoved particulates. The challenge of maintaining ultra-clean wafer surfaces is further exacerbated by the more complex, multi-storied chip designs. Each new 'floor' of circuitry requires that a high degree of wafer flatness and smoothness be restored using the chemical mechanical planarizing or polishing (CMP) process. Each CMP procedure involves a fine, fumed silica slurry and therefore introduces new particulates. Several CMP operations are typically necessary in wafer processing and each wafer must be perfectly cleaned after each operation. This project is to develop a precision cleaning unit to rapidly clean post-CMP silicon wafers using only 'Silent Sound and Clean Water'. Based on Acoustic Coaxing Induced Microcavitation (ACIM), the process requires no chemicals--only silent sound and clean water. The Silent Sound and Clean Water (SSCW) wafer cleaner to be developed through this SBIR Phase-II grant will face none of the conventional limitations with regard to particle size and it will be wholly environmentally friendly. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG McKenna, Mark RITEC Inc RI Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 750000 5373 MANU 9147 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983499 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Rapid Fabrication of Titanium Boride (TiB2) Anodes for Electrolysis of Aluminum. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop non-consumable and wettable titanium diboride (TiB2)-based cathodes with near-theoretical densities and purity. Phase I demonstrated that titanium and boron powders could be reactively consolidated to produce near-theoretical density TiB2 parts using plasma pressure compaction. A 4-inch diameter by 3/8-inch thickness near-net shape cathode will be fabricated for evaluation in Phase II, and a novel water jet nozzle and abrasive jet mixer tube will be developed based on TiB2. Phase II will also develop zirconium dioxide (ZrO2)- and titanium (Ti)-toughened titanium diboride composites for evaluation as cutting tools. TiB2 electrodes are expected to provide better performance, cost-effectiveness, a hazard-free workplace, and environmentally benign processing in aluminum production; and it is now thought that rapidly consolidated, near net-shape TiB2 parts can also be used in cutting tools for hard metal machining, in mixing tubes for abrasive jets, and in nozzles for water jets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Radhakrishnan, R Materials Modification Inc. VA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 650000 5373 MANU 9146 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983502 April 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Development of High-Tc Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) Magnetometers for Unshielded Operation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is aimed at developing an ultra-sensitive magnetic sensor technology that is capable of operation in an unshielded environment. These compact sensors will be based on superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) that are fabricated from high temperature (high-Tc ) superconducting materials. A collaborative effort between MagneSensors and U.C. Berkeley will employ novel design and materials processing solutions to produce high-Tc SQUIDs operating in ambient fields with an unprecedented level of sensitivity. The program will test the developed sensors on real-world applications at both low and high frequencies to demonstrate operation in the presence of large background magnetic field interference. This new enabling technology seeks to overcome the limitations in sensitivity, bandwidth, size, and spatial resolution, which restrict the more widespread application of present conventional magnetic field sensors. The eventual goal is the development of a low-cost, portable system with much greater sensitivity than is available with any other instrumentation. This technology will enable the development of an entirely new generation of instrumentation that will find use in a wide variety of applications. Such applications include non-destructive evaluation of cracks and corrosion in aircraft, inspection of integrated circuits, homogeneous immunoassays and DNA probes using magnetic labels, geophysical surveying, environmental monitoring, detection of unexploded ordnance, diagnosis of intestinal ischemia, and screening for cardiac arrhythmias The potential market size for some of the applications reaches over $1 billion. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG DiIorio, Mark MAGNESENSORS, INC. CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 399974 5373 HPCC 9139 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9983511 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Micromachined Vacuum Microelectronic Devices Using Nanoscale Self-Assembly. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a novel low-cost microfabrication technology for vacuum microelectronics. Affordable and reliable microfabrication of refractory materials is needed, since these materials are able to withstand high temperature and severe electromagnetic radiation. Although several materials have been identified as candidates, they have both high cost and difficulties with high aspect ratio, high resolution bulk micromachining. An approach based on self-organized nanoporous anodic alumina with unique anisotropy morphology will allow high aspect ratio, high resolution micromachining. Phase I demonstrated that a vacuum microtriode with promising performance could be fabricated from micromachined alumina ceramic. This may be the only technology for making ceramic micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) for vacuum microelectronics and other applications, that are stable in harsh environments, have mechanical durability, are compatible with mainstream microfabrication, cost less, and scale up suitably. Phase II will optimize the technology and design, fabricate prototypes of vacuum integrated circuits (logic and amplifier), and scale-up the processes of device batch production for evaluation. Potential commercial applications include vacuum microelectronics and MEMS for the harsh environments of space, satelliate communicaitons, radars, deep drilling, nuclear reactors, as well as less strenuous environments that attend such uses as cellular phone networks, flat panel displays, and various sensors SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Routkevitch, Dmitri Nanomaterials Research LLC CO Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 400000 5373 HPCC 9218 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9983523 August 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Optical Diffusion Tomography in Frequency Domain by the Elliptic Systems Method. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project builds upon the concepts developed in the Phase I grant to develop a clinical prototype of an optical mammography device that could be used for breast cancer screening or diagnosis. The major technical obstacles to the development of an optical mammography device have been the need for imaging algorithms that are fast and accurate in the presence of scattered light, and for developing measurement techniques that can collect enough photons in a safe and timely way to develop an accurate image. Phase I demonstrated the technical feasibility of a new approach to the algorithms and hardware. The software objectives of this project involve testing an approach to compute inclusion absorption coefficients, modifying the software to directly locate inclusions without transformation and developing a 3-D and GUI interface. Hardware objectives include developing a clinical prototype that would be safe and appropriate for imaging human subjects and calibrating and testing the hardware/software device on experimental data. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Benson, Jonathon Medical Optical Imaging Inc NC Jean C. Bonney Standard Grant 750000 5373 HPCC 9139 0116000 Human Subjects 0203000 Health 9983559 April 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Advanced Thermal Treatment Process For Sewage Sludge. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of the Slurry Carbonization process in generating an improved fuel product from low grade Municipal Sewage Sludge (MSS). Approximately 7.8 million dry tons of MSS are generated each year in the U.S. as a byproduct of municipal waste water treatment. MSS management is a growing concern due to the increase in generated volumes of sludge, demand for lower pollutant discharges, and rise in disposal costs. Slurry Carbonization is a moderate temperature and pressure treatment, which removes oxygen functional groups from the MSS and produces a homogeneous, carbon-hydrogen enriched char product for co-combustion or reburning in suspension-fired coal boilers. The overall objective of Phase II research is to develop the scientific and engineering data necessary to design, build and operate a demonstration facility in Phase III scale-up. Phase II research will focus on bench-scale optimization using EnerTech's 2.2 gal/hr PDU and pilot-scale engineering studies using HTI's 510 lb/hr PDU. Pilot-scale combustion and reburning experiments then will be conducted in EER's 1.0 MM Btu/hr BSF. It is anticipated that Phase II research will establish Slurry Carbonization as an economically and environmentally desirable method of MSS utilization. In addition to treatment of MSS, other applications of EnerTech's Slurry Carbonization process technology include clean coal combustion and the production of homogeneous slurry fuels from industrial sludge, pulp and paper mill wastes, Kraft mill black liquor, MSW, RDF, wood wastes and other sources of renewable biomass. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Klosky, Michael EnerTech Environmental Incorporated GA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 400000 5373 MANU 9146 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 9983700 March 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: High Speed Chemical Analysis of Combinatorial Libraries. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop a high through-put drug screening technology based on the successful Phase I feasibility demonstration. High throughput methods in parallel and combinatorial organic synthesis are revolutionizing the field of drug discovery and biological screening. However, progress is seriously impeded by lack of reliable methods for conducting high throughput chemical analysis (HTCA) for composition and purity assessment. Current approaches rely on liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). With a cycle time of about 5 min, an LC/MS instrument can analyze about 300 samples in a 24 hr period. We propose an innovative MS concept that reduces cycle time to about 10 sec, raising the potential analysis rate to >5,000 samples/day. The innovation is based on a novel ionization source that achieves (1) near-universal and efficient ionization of drug compounds, (2) minimal fragmentation molecular ion spectra for accurate analysis, (3) minimal interference from air constituents and commonly used solvents, and (4) suppression of competition-for-charge and ion suppression effects experienced by conventional methods. The proposed technology advances analytical and research capabilities to improve fundamental understanding of drug molecules and to build a knowledge base for implementing more rational approaches to lead drug optimization. Market research indicates the potential for exponential growth on the basis of quick penetration of the chemical analysis niche of the rapidly growing field of combinatorial and parallel synthesis methods for drug discovery. The proposed high throughput chemical analysis system has the potential to dominate the market for combinatorial library analysis, which is a rapidly growing field of drug discovery. Our real-time, complex mixture analyzers will also be marketed for applications in drug testing, environmental monitoring, and on-line process monitoring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Syage, Jack SYAGEN TECHNOLOGY INC CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 748739 5373 BIOT 9184 1974 0308000 Industrial Technology 9984235 March 15, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Wireless Acoustic Emission Technology (AET) Sensor System for Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation and In Situ Testing of Prestressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II Project will further develop the passive acoustic system to non-destructively pressure test concrete water pipelines. It will locate points of structural weakness in these water pipes to permit reinforcement, and in so doing it will avoid the costs and consequences of catastrophic ruptures. The established goals of the project include: (1) Autonomous Hydrophone System Enhancement - The AH-3 acoustic test system developed and demonstrated during Phase I will be enhanced to incorporate those improvements that will make the system commercially viable; (2) Pipeline Distress Research - The characteristics of concrete pressure water pipe deterioration will be replicated under field conditions in cooperation with one of the major pipe manufacturers. This will provide greater insight into the process of pipe deterioration as well as providing a proving ground for the field testing of the acoustic system; (3) Commercial Feasibility - The research has the potential to greatly prolong the useful life and reliability of the $40 billion U.S. water pipeline infrastructure. PTI has seen significant growth in revenue fueled in part by commercial acceptance of its early technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Worthington, Will Pipeline Technologies, Inc. AZ Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 398328 5373 CVIS 1038 0109000 Structural Technology 9986107 August 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Development of Self-Sensing Active Control Foil Bearing. This Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a 'Self-Sensing Active Control Foil Bearing' (SSACFB). Through the use of a stack of piezoelectric ceramic elements attached at the lower side of foil elements, the load on the foil element can be determined from the voltage generated by the piezoelectric elements. At the same time, the piezoelectric stack also acts as an actuator to push/pull the foil element from the shaft to increase the loading capacity of the bearing and/or to ensure lift-off at low shaft rotational speeds. The novelty of the concept is in elimination of the sensing system, the integration of sensing and control in a single unit, and the active control of the bearing to provide long-life, lower power loss, and larger loading capacity. In addition, elastic bed and diamond-like coatings on the foil element will be addressed in this proposal. Phase I found the self-sensing and controllability in this bearing to be feasible. Construction and testing of a fully instrumented, prototype self-sensing controllable foil bearing will be performed in Phase II. Potential commercial applications are planned in the $1.5 billion bearing market, which is growing presently at about 11% annually with moderate growth forecasted in the future. The SSACFB technology is aimed at commercial needs for oilless high-speed controllable bearings. Successful development of SSACFB will impact high speed bearing applications, especially in the aerospace/aeronautic and other high speed precision manufacturing industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Wang, Lei B & C ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES OH Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 385466 5373 MANU 9146 1444 0308000 Industrial Technology 9986118 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Photonic Networking of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems Arrays for Smart Structures. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop novel photonic ModeRouting networks containing many nodes for monitoring and controlling the structural health and function of complex systems. Each node is, in general, a microsystem that combines sensing, computing, and actuating functions. The microsystems may contain many Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) with aggregate data rates approaching gigabits-per-second. This research addresses the enormous challenge for interrogating, activating, and controlling all microdevices through a high-capacity interconnection system. Wire-based and wireless approaches cannot handle such data rates. Further problems include operation in electrically noisy and potentially explosive environments. The innovative IFOS solution offers high-efficiency, ultra-high capacity, electromagnetic-interference-immunity, electrical-passivity, and expendability. Phase II will optimize, fabricate, and test several MEMS array nodes, MEMS fiber interfacing, and PhotoPowering, as well as design and build an expandable, ModeRouting network of MEMS nodes. Commercial applications of the IFOS photonically-interconnected MEMS array networks include civil, mechanical, aerospace, chemical, and marine engineering, particularly monitoring and control of programmable structures by microsensors and microactuators for mechanical systems, electrical power plants, automobiles, materials processing, and medicine. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Moslehi, Behzad INTELLIGENT FIBER OPTICS SYSTEMS CORP. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 797292 5373 MANU 9251 9231 9178 9148 9146 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 9986120 June 1, 2000 SBIR Phase II: Fiber-Optic Magnetic-Field Sensor System Employing Highly-Efficient Photonic Signal Processing. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project expands the magnetic-field sensor system developed in Phase I into an optimized system containing an array of multiplexed two-dimensional sensors using mode-routing architecture for industrial process control systems, including physical-vapor-deposition (PVD) reactors containing magnetic orientation devices which are used in the manufacture of magnetic storage disks and recording heads. The uniformity and orientation of these magnetic fields need to be measured and controlled with high accuracy. In Phase I, IFOS demonstrated devices that virtually eliminate power losses that are characteristic of other known fiber-optic magnetic sensor arrays. IFOS has fabricated novel photonic mode-routing components, built a feasibility system prototype with new sensing materials and ultra-high-resolution demultiplexing, and conducted preliminary tests. IFOS, in collaboration with a federal laboratory, identified another appllication involving cryogenic systems to avoid thermal-leakage problems of electronic sensors. The IFOS solution enables achievement of the necessary accuracy and cost goals. The Phase II objective is to design and construct an optimized 5-point vectorial magnetic-field-sensor system for PVD reactor installation, as well as a 2-sensor system for cryogenic applications. IFOS' strategic partners will provide Phase-II and Phase-III-kind and cash contributions. Commercial applications include measurement of magnetic orientation and confinement fields for PVD systems, cryogenic systems, electric power utilities, hydrogen fusion chambers and linear acccelerators. Improving PVD industrial process control, will yield higher sensitivity and reliability. It will enable storage densities exceeding 60 Gbit/inch2 on rigid media. This is a significant market opportunity identified by IFOS and its strategic partner, the market leader for data-storage PVD systems. Other applications exist in the measurement of leakage current and line sag in high-voltage transmission towers, and complex stresses in automotive, aerospace, and civil structures. The technology will have an impact in a wide variety of optical fiber sensor systems and optical components and subsystems, such as magnetically-actuated tunable optical filters and switches, add-drop multiplexers as well as mode-routing components. IFOS magnetic sensor systems are immune to electromagnetic interference, elecrically and chemically passive, compact, light weight and suitable for use in explosive environments SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Moslehi, Behzad INTELLIGENT FIBER OPTICS SYSTEMS CORP. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 771893 5373 MANU HPCC 9251 9231 9178 9148 9146 9139 5373 0308000 Industrial Technology 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 9986639 March 1, 2000 A Proposal from the University of Minnesota to Join the Purdue University/University of Connecticut Center for Pharmaceutical Processing, an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Res. This is an application for a planning grant of $10,000 to join and existing NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Pharmaceutical Processing, established at Purdue University with an affiliated site at the University of Connecticut. This application is from four faculty members in three departments, Pharmaceutics, Food Science and Nutrition, and Chemistry, at the University of Minnesota. This application stresses the fundamental understanding, at the molecular level, the effects of processing on critical quality attributes of pharmaceutical products and in minimizing validation requirements through improved process monitoring. The plan is to recruit six additional industrial companies to become members of the Center, to prepare a descriptive brochure, and to participate fully in the Center's activities. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Grant, David Theodore Labuza Eric Munson Raj Suryanarayanan University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Cheryl A. Cathey Standard Grant 10000 5761 MANU 9146 0237475 April 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Ultrasonic Inspection of Internal Bond Strength in Paper Products. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project focuses on the development of an ultrasound technology that measures internal bond strength (IBS) in paper and paperboard materials. IBS is a very important quality control parameter because it provides an assessment of bond strength between wood pulp fibers and between plies in multi-ply grades. Two standardized test methods are widely used throughout the paper industry to evaluate IBS: Z-direction tensile (ZDT) and Scott Plybond. However, these methods are problematic in many ways: they require destructive testing, are technically deficient, are labor and time intensive, and cannot be integrated into automated paper testing equipment in quality control laboratories. Since the propagation of ultrasonic waves in paper is sensitive to bonding between fibers, an ultrasonic IBS method has the potential to address all shortcomings of existing methods. Preliminary results gathered during Phase I confirmed correlations between ultrasonic IBS, ZDT and Scott Plybond. Phase II involves additional work on the ultrasound technology to improve its accuracy, reliability, and universality. Also, it includes the development of an engineering prototype instrument for paper mill quality control testing, a comprehensive statistical study comparing ultrasonic IBS, ZDT, and Scott Plybond, and the drafting of a standardized test method. The worldwide market of ZDT and Scotty Plybond Instruments is estimated at 400 units, largely in QC labs. Expected sales are $11M. Commercialization of a few hundred units would be considered as a tremendous success in the paper industry. The successful deployment of ultrasonic IBS in the QC lab could support the future development of real-time IBS monitoring during production. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Wood, Gary SoniSys, LLC GA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 511948 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9146 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0321651 February 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Meshless Petrov-Galerkin Geo-Environ Technology For Wide Scale Field Uses. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II proposes to develop a Meshless Petrov-Galerkin Geo-Environ Technology For Wide Scale Field Uses. Groundwater supplies are increasingly threatened by organic, inorganic, and radioactive contaminants that are introduced to the environment by improper disposal or accidental releases. Estimates of remediation costs at U.S. government sites alone totals into the billions of dollars. Computational mechanics and aerospace advances in meshless Petrov-Galerkin provide easy means for stable accurate simulations of large groundwater reservoirs without grid generation. The proposed software package Meshless Groundwater Model-Petrov Galerkin (MGM-PG) will be designed for advanced hydrologists as well as for groundwater basin managers, purveyors, and field hydrologists. Current software advancements will be interfaced for easy conceptual model development for various applications. MGM-PG potential market includes: (i) groundwater reservoir quantity and quality management; (ii) cleanup of contaminated sites; (iii) storage of wet year surplus surface water underground and its uses for extended draught periods (ASR projects); (iv) safe disposal of treated effluents by rapid infiltration and extraction projects (RIX projects); (v) conjunctive uses of surface and subsurface water; (vi) landfill sites; and (vii) cleanup of large contaminated Federal Facilities. Proposed technology has applicability to thousands of EPA National Priority List for expedited clean up of contaminated sites and also for groundwater management projects that are implemented at a cost of billions of dollars by federal agencies, State, counties, petroleum facilities, and chemical industries. Worldwide only 4-5 geo-environ codes have been developed for wide variety of societal needs. MGM-PG will be a new technological advancement and will promote training of new graduate students in meshless advances rather than old methods. CENTERS FOR RSCH EXCELL IN S&T INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Gupta, Sumant CFEST INC CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 1223038 9131 5761 5373 HPCC 9251 9215 9178 9102 7218 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0332490 May 1, 2004 Partnership for Broadband Wireless Innovations, Development and Commercialization. 0332490 Johnson This award is to Villanova University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include Villanova University (Lead Institution), Widener University, Ben Franklin Fund, Air Force Research Laboratory, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Bucks County Community College, Montgomery County Community College, North Penn High School, Ablaze Systems, BAE Systems, Boeing Company, InterDigital Communications Corporation, Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Rajant Corporation, and VerdaSee Solutions. The primary objective of this partnership is to facilitate the transformation of knowledge into innovations that will create new wealth and strengthen the regional economy in the area of broadband wireless technology. The activities of the partners include research and development in wireless science and technology, educational diversification (including university, community college, high school, and outreach in engineering to industrial partners), and commercialization of the technologies developed. The partnership creates new knowledge in the area of broadband wireless communications via research, transfers knowledge to industrial partners, educates the technologically-literate workforce, and establishes the entrepreneurial infrastructure to sustain innovations. Potential Economic Impact The effort will increase the competitiveness of the partners in broadband wireless technology resulting in new jobs and will produce a technologically literate workforce to fill those jobs. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in advances in knowledge through fundamental research on smart antennas, low-profile antennas, and thermal management for broadband wireless technology and in development of a model for innovation in this industry. The broader impacts of the activity include educational diversity, educational outreach to industry, and regional economic development to ensure long-term sustainability of economic and societal well-being. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Amin, Moeness Gary Gabriele Amy Fleischer James Woods Richard Thompson Villanova University PA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0332554 October 15, 2004 Center for Innovative Biomaterial Education and Research. 0332554 Ragauskas This award is to the Institute of Paper Science and Technology to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include the Institute of Paper Science and Technology (Lead Institution), Chalmers University of Technology, Dacula Middle School, Freeman's Mill Elementary School, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, North Carolina State University, University of British Columbia, University of Georgia, Royal Institute of Technology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, VTT Biotechnology and Food Research, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, USDA Forest Service, Appletonideas, Georgia Pacific, Iogen Corporation, Kemira Chemicals Inc., Kimberly Clark Corporation, Novozyme Inc., and Shell Global Solutions International. The activity creates a Center for Innovation for Biomaterials Education and Research that will train students both in classroom settings and using electronic technology to develop scientific and technological advances in the conversion of biomass into novel materials. The Center will serve as a clearinghouse of information to the general public and will serve as a means to create a collaborative team of national and international scientists who are focusing on the same problems in wood technology. The proposal addresses a challenge that is important to the economy and the environment of the US and the rest of the world, i.e., how to shift to renewable, environmentally benign materials stemming from the agro/forestry sector. The move from hydrocarbon to carbohydrate technologies can have a wide variety of ancillary benefits, including enhancing rural employment and improving the environment. The proposed activity is critical to advancing our knowledge and understanding in the area of converting abundant biomass into biomaterials. Two deliverables are proposed: (2) development of new scientific and technological advances in conversion of biomass into novel materials, and (2) development of knowledge-rich workforce skilled in these technologies. The program will train students in innovative methods of converting biomass to novel biomaterials; develop a public outreach program describing the benefits of this technology; and discover new scientific processes for the efficient and practical conversion of renewable wood polymers into novel biomaterials including polyesters, nylon-4 polymers and polycarbonate nano-cellulose derivatives. Potential Economic Impact The activities will create job opportunities in rural areas of the US where, during the past decade, more than 50 pulp and paper manufacturing plants have been closed jobs are declining due changes in international markets. The partnership will enable the development of new innovative forest products technologies that will be developed with scientifically and technologically empowered workforce. These results will improve the economic, technical and environmental well-being of the nation. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in the creation of the science basis for conversion of the plastics industry from hydrocarbon-based technologies to carbohydrate-based technologies. This will dramatically improve rural employment opportunities, enhance national security by decreasing dependence on imported oil, and improve the environment by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. This proposal is excellent in terms of Broader Impacts. The project will educate professionals and the general public on the opportunities and science of converting biomass into innovative bio-materials, and develop new technologies that will provide valuable and practical materials for packaging, transportation, and health-care industries. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Ragauskas, Arthur David Orloff Sheldon May Joseph Bozell Institute of Paper Science and Technology GA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 277516 1662 OTHR 0000 0332555 September 1, 2004 An Integrative Workforce Training and Retraining Program for the Computer and Semiconductor Industry in the Rocky Mountain Region. 0332555 Chen This award is to the Colorado State University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include the Colorado State University (Lead Institution), Hewlett-Packard, Poudre School District, Fort Collins High School, and Front Range Community College. The proposed program attempts to push computer and semiconductor engineering education into the high schools to increase positive awareness of the computer and semiconductor engineering industry and to provide the opportunity for people who are interested and who may otherwise select a totally different career. The program will provide a large, diverse, and highly trained workforce pool to meet the demand for professionals in these fields. The program seeks to provide a workforce from technicians to PhDs. No single institution can provide such a range of education and training seamlessly, making this integrated approach unique. The goals of the program are: 1. Create a pre-engineering curriculum in computer and semiconductor science and engineering. 2. Create an integrated curriculum that is more responsive to the needs of industry by working closely with the partners during the curriculum development stage. 3. Provide internship/co-op programs through local industry to give students real work experience as part of the education/training. 4. Provide training for high school teachers and community college faculty to maintain long-term training that is relevant to industry. 5. Provide summer camps to attract and train students at the high school level for careers in these two fields. 6. Recruit adults in mid-career who wish to make career changes to enter these fields. Potential Economic Impact The information technology area is pervasive in the U.S. economy. There are not enough workers to fill all of the job opportunities that exist today, and the shortage will grow in the future. The pipeline for educating and training workers is long and we must begin now to keep up with the demands to keep the U.S. economy at the forefront in this global economy. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in the creation of the novel integrated education and training of the technologically literate workforce through collaboration of the university, community college and local secondary school districts with the regional computer-related companies. This proposal is excellent in terms of Broader Impacts. The project, because it is so well integrated with local industrial needs, could have a very positive impact on economic development in the region. The model for workforce education and training could be exported to other regions of the nation. Underrepresented groups will participate in the activities of the grant and will benefit from the outcomes. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Chen, Thomas Steven Abt Glenn Good John Wuu Dennis Baker Colorado State University CO Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 599688 1662 0000 OTHR 0332573 May 15, 2004 Greater Philadelphia Bioinformatics Alliance. 0332573 Tozeren This award is to Drexel University to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include Drexel University (Lead Institution), Pennsylvania State University-Great Valley, Temple University, Thomas Jefferson University, University of Pennsylvania, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Fox Chase Cancer Research Center, Wistar Institute, and BioAdvance-The Biotechnology Greenhouse Corporation (an alliance of the biopharmaceutical industry in the Philadelphia region). The primary objective of this award is to "transform knowledge into innovation in computational biotechnology in SE Pennsylvania. This is accomplished through developing training and education programs in bioinformatics, creating a virtual network of universities, industry, government agencies, and venture capitalists; promoting interdisciplinary teamwork; and supporting innovative business plans for commercially viable knowledge-based biotechnology ventures. The alliance activities have four main objectives that are interrelated and complementary: developing and maintaining a skilled workforce; creating a robust bioinformatics network; a "computational orchestra" that will catalyze and capture innovation in bioinformatics and biomedicine; and help create an infrastructure for commercialization of innovation. The activities also include development of multi-level, comprehensive and results-oriented educational and training programs to create and maintain a skilled bioinformatics workforce, from graduate level to continuing education. Potential Economic Impact The Greater Philadelphia region is home to approximately 80 percent of the pharmaceutical employment in the U.S. and is rich in medical institutions, medical colleges, and biotechnology startup businesses. The grant will transform the wealth of biology and computational science resources in the regional universities and research institutions into innovation to accelerate the growth of the life sciences industry in the region. The activities will create new companies and jobs, and provide the workforce for those jobs. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in providing an integrated effort from fundamental research in biological and computational sciences, creating a multilevel education and training program in bioinformatics, and support innovation in the region. The broader impacts of the activity concentrate on creating a new education program that seamlessly integrates curricula at the vocational and high school level to the community college level to undergraduate and graduate degrees at on of several regional universities. Underrepresented groups will be involved in all of the activities of the grant. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Tozeren, Aydin Susan Davidson Kenneth Blank Gary Kurtzman Drexel University PA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0332596 May 1, 2004 Software Partnerships in NYC: Identifying and Developing New Ideas. 0332596 Brown This award is to the City University of New York to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include the City University of New York (Lead Institution), and the New York Software Industry Association (NYSIA). The NYSIA has a large number of small companies in the information technology industry. The mission of this proposal is to spur the development and commercialization of advanced software technologies and software engineering methods in the NYC economic region. The focus will be on three aspects of the software industry: 1) security, 2) imaging and visualization and 3) software development and system design. To accomplish this, the City University of New York (CUNY) faculty will be paired with software industry professionals from the New York Software Industry Association (NYSIA) to develop and promote the research and development of new technologies, provide specialized development courses, create job opportunities and build upon CUNY's reputation. The group is a university wide consortium and thus can reach all the colleges and the 200 faculty members specializing in computer science. The expectation is that the industry groups will convey to the university the commercial needs and uses for software while the university will convey the technologies available and innovative approaches to design through appropriate pairing of participants. Technical assistance will be provided for small companies through joint university / industrial partnership teams involving experts in business development and marketing people. The expected outcome is to work with at least 50 companies, to get to know 30 well, and to work intensively with 15 of them. Potential Economic Impact The proposal provides a unique outreach approach with an industry association, a more standardized approach with seminars and workshops around industry needs, and an approach of developing joint projects with industry. The project will help to provide industry access to software expertise at CUNY campuses, a potential for students to learn how to work with software companies, and allows important work with smaller software companies. The development of the software industry by providing software help in research and development for small companies that cannot afford to fund research at the universities or to hire people as skilled as students and faculty for development are the major benefits to NY and NYSIA. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in the creation, transfer and application of information technologies and novel education and training of the technologically literate workforce through collaboration of the City University of New York with the regional companies. The project will help to provide industry access to software expertise at CUNY campuses, a potential for students to learn how to work with software companies, especially with smaller software companies. The development of the software industry by providing software help in research and development for small companies that cannot afford to fund research at the universities or to hire people as skilled as students and faculty for development will have a significant economic impact in New York. This proposal is excellent in terms of Broader Impacts. This project is expected to have significant impact on expanding participation to underserved populations and among campuses that could then develop stronger industry relations. There was a good balance between broad involvement and focused implementation on selected high-success probability participants. The City University of New York has a long history of providing educational opportunities to minorities, poorer City young people who cannot afford private school educations. Of the nearly 20 colleges and universities within the system, fourteen the colleges are officially considered minority institutions PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Brown, Theodore Gillian Small CUNY City University of New York NY Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 598980 1662 OTHR 0000 0332597 May 1, 2004 An Industry-State-University Partnership for Southeast Massachusetts Economic Development Through Innovation in Technologies. 0332597 Azadivar This award is to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (Lead Institution), Massachusetts Office of Environmental Affairs Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, plus 27 regional companies. At least 10 of these companies have agreed to commit $50,000 each to the project. More are being recruited. The objectives for the project include: 1. Create a business-like environment where products, processes, and systems are developed by university faculty, students, and professional staff for individual private sector partners to commercialize. 2. Make the university-developed technology available and affordable to a broader sector of the regional economy, especial small to medium sized companies. 3. Enhance the economic development of the region by serving the industry by providing technology and a workforce to exploit it. 4. Provide a learning environment for students to supplement their classroom education with experiences in the business world. 5. Integrate research, education and innovation to provide economic development and service to the community via the partnership. 6. Disseminate the model and the experience to other institutions of higher learning. Potential Economic Impact This region of Massachusetts has been left behind in technology-based economic growth. Southeast Massachusetts was once one of the most prosperous regions in the nation due to whaling and textile industries. The region has been suffering economic hardship as both industries have left the area. Today, the economic strength of the region lags behind the rest of the United States, and the employment in high technology industry. The region has begun to change that situation. Electronics, environment, biomedicine, telecommunications, intelligent materials, and fibers are being inserted into the industrial base in the region. This proposed effort provides a university-lead partnership with government and industry to facilitate technology transfer, technology support, and a technologically literate workforce. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in a significant number of innovative technologies developed and commercialized into products, processes, systems and services, and the workforce needed to enable these innovations. This proposal is excellent in terms of Broader Impacts. The project will educate professionals and provide employment opportunities for a diverse group of underrepresented groups in the region. The technology-based economic well-being that will result in the region will serve as a model for other regions that have experienced similar economic downturn from departing industries. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Azadivar, Farhad Thomas Curry University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth MA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0332605 May 15, 2004 Consortium for Security and Medical Sensor Systems. 0332605 Luryi This award is to SUNY Stony Brook to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include SUNY Stony Brook (Lead Institution), Hofstra University, Farmingdale State University, Suffolk County Community College, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Northrop Grumman, Symbol, CardioMag Imaging, Transonics, Tracer Detection Technology Corporation, Technology Next Corporation, BioPhotonics Corporation, IEEE, LISTnet, WEDLI, Long Island Regional Incubator Council, Empire State Development, Suffolk County, and New York State Sensor CAT Center. This project seeks to promote and increase awareness of and expansion of entrepreneurship and technology transfer on Long Island with emphasis on national security and medical sensor systems. The collaboration includes research and technology partners from the private sector and non-profit organizations and governmental agencies. The project has three clear components: a) to introduce entrepreneurial skills to the engineering and technology curriculum across Long Island, b) to provide outreach and dissemination through outreach partners, c) to provide an infrastructure to promote research and technology transfer in security and medical sensor systems. The goal of the Research and Technology Transfer component would be to promote research and technology transfer in security and medical sensor systems. The goal of the Outreach and Dissemination component would be to promote the Sensor Consortium's achievements through the project's Outreach Partners. Potential Economic Impact The activities will result in more patentable inventions, more startup technology companies, and more research and development in national security and medical sensor systems in the region. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in creation of involvement of undergraduate students in entrepreneurial training and planning to transfer technology from the research at the Sensor CAT Center at SUNY Stony brook to form startup companies. The proposed consortium broadens the participation of several different types of educational institutions and an even more diverse population of students in the innovation enterprise. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Luryi, Serge Yacov Shamash K. Wendy Tang Gerrit Wolf Galina Botchkina SUNY at Stony Brook NY Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 599785 1662 OTHR 0000 0332648 May 1, 2004 Bridging the Gap between New Materials , Fuel Cell Devices and Products: An Alliance of Virginia Universities, Battelle , VA Center for Innovative Tech, Industry Partners and LANL. 0332648 McGrath This award is to Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Lead Institution), Virginia Commonwealth University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Battelle, Virginia Center for Innovative Technology, General Motors, Motorola, Hydrosize Technologies, and TeleEnergy Systems, .In addition, student recruitment and faculty exchanges with Grambling State University, Hampton University, Morgan State University, and University of South Carolina Spartanburg will broaden the participation of underrepresented minorities. The primary objective of this award is to integrate recently demonstrated proton exchange membrane fuel cells, processes and related technologies in a partnership with key universities, key industrial organizations, and national laboratories. New membrane materials are being developed. The industrial partners are performing the fuel cell system engineering analysis. The national laboratory partner is Characterization of the molecular structure of the new materials and relating that to the fuel cell performance. The universities and the industrial partners are developing new processing and manufacturing methods. The Virginia Center for Innovative Technology is promoting the outcomes of the work and recruiting/developing new start-up companies. Students involved in the project will become a significant part of the workforce necessary to support the emerging fuel cell business. Long-term sustainability is a key component of the program. Potential Economic Impact Thee fuel cell business is predicted to be in excess of $11 billion by 2011. Fuel cells provide clean, reliable energy in stationary, portable, and automotive applications. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in providing an integrated effort from fundamental research on new materials, development of novel materials processing, fuel cell system performance analysis, and fuel cell manufacturing scale-up. The broader impacts of the activity concentrate on creating a new student generation for the fuel cell industry with an emphasis on recruitment and involvement of underrepresented minorities. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG McGrath, James Mark McNamee Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University VA Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0332650 May 1, 2004 UNCP Biotechnology Business and Industrial Training Center. 0332650 Brown This award is to University of North Carolina at Pembroke to support the activity described below for 24 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include University of North Carolina at Pembroke (Lead Institution), Central Carolina Community College, Fayetteville Tech Community College, Richmond Community College, Robeson Community College, Southeastern Community College, Carolina Commerce and Technology Center, Embrex Incorporated, Kelly Scientific Resources, New Brunswick Scientific Company, Wyeth Vaccines, Lumber River Council of Governments/Workforce Development Board, Robeson Office of Economic Development, and Scotland County Government. This award supports regional efforts to foster the establishment and growth of a biotechnology cluster in southeastern North Carolina. It has a broad goal to stimulate economic growth and increase the economic well being of the region. The University of North Carolina Pembroke Regional Center for Economic, Community and Professional Development will coordinate the establishment of a University of North Carolina Pembroke Biotechnology Business and Industrial Training Center. The center will house a bench-to-pilot-scale fermentation and biotechnology facility and will provide the resources, curriculum, and programs for biotechnology-related training, as well as academic activities. The goals for the activity are to increase the number of regional higher paying jobs by accelerating the growth of biotechnology companies, increase the trained workforce in the biotechnology sector, mobilize the underrepresented populations in the region by providing training, and offer entrepreneurs technological and business support, including connections to sources of capital. Potential Economic Impact Southeastern North Carolina is economically distressed. The effort will provide education and training for underrepresented groups to make them employable by an emerging biotechnology cluster sector. The availability of a workforce will help attract other biotechnology companies creating more jobs. The effort is part of North Carolina's Biotechnology Initiative. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in its focus on providing state-of-the-art knowledge and skills in biotechnology to academic and industrial participants. It will serve as a model for academic-led economic development that can be transferred to other economically distressed rural regions. The broader impacts of the activity include improving technical workforce skills and training K-16 teachers in biotechnology, increasing participation of underrepresented group in the innovation enterprise, and increasing the economic well being of a distressed region. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Harrington, Charles Leonard Holmes Sylvia Pate University of North Carolina at Pembroke NC Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0332687 June 1, 2004 Montgomery Bioscience Park. 0332687 Pinkney This award is to Montgomery College Rockville to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-03521). Partners The partners include Montgomery College Rockville (Lead Institution), University of Maryland College Park, Montgomery County Public Schools, Montgomery County Department of Economic Development, MedImmune, Celera, RRD International, GenVec, Bio Reliance, Toucan Capital, and Emerging Technology Partners. This project seeks to ensure constant generation of well-educated and highly trained scientists, technicians, entrepreneurs for a scientifically and technologically literate workforce capable of enabling the growth and competitiveness of the regional biotechnology industry. The effort seeks to develop a world-class biotechnology education and training program that will serve all levels of the education continuum, maximize the synergy between academia and the businesses in the biotech sector in the region, integrate the education programs with the biosciences business park and incubator, increase the participation of underrepresented groups in the biotech workforce in the region, and track the participation and success rates of students and industry. Potential Economic Impact The biotechnology industry in the United States has doubled in size in the last decade. The global public companies generated revenues of $35 billion, spent $16 billion I research and development, and employed more that 175,000 people in 2001. More that 70% of the revenues were generated in the United States. Most of these companies are clustered geographically where there are academic institutions, a technologically literate workforce and (sometimes) federal government research laboratories. The Maryland region surrounding Montgomery College has a biotechnology cluster that will continue to need a well-educated workforce to remain competitive. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in creation of an integrated education partnership to provide a workforce from K-12 through advanced degrees, which will provide a workforce that remains at the stat-of-the-art in this rapidly evolving biotechnology sector. The proposed consortium broadens the participation of different types of educational and research institutions and an even more diverse population of students in the biotechnology workforce. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Pinkney, Hercules Katherine Michaelian Andrea Edelstein Montgomery College Rockville MD Sara B. Nerlove Continuing grant 600000 1662 OTHR 0000 0337525 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Dye Co-Sensitizer Combinations for Increasing the Efficiency of Dye-Sensitized Titania Nanoparticles in Solar Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a critical understanding of the underlying mechanism affecting the efficiency of dye-sensitized titania solar cells (DSSC). This understanding is pivotal to the advancement of the technology and could help move the solar industry forward by overcoming cost and weight barriers. DSSC technology in general has experienced low efficiencies due in part to the back transfer of electrons from the titania to an oxidized dye species on the surface of the titania before the electron can reach the electrode, producing current. In this proposal a simple means of alleviating this energy wasting pathway by anchoring aromatic amines, known as co-sensitizers or donors, at low concentration along with the sensitizing dye to the surface of the titania nanoparticles will be investigated. A significant increase in the cell efficiency due to an increase in current when these species are present on the surface in combination with the dyes has been observed. Since these results contradict other work on aromatic amines used as either co-adsorbed species on titania, or as adducts to the sensitizing dye molecule itself, a study of the effects of structurally modified co-sensitizers on redox potential, photon to electron conversion efficiency, and kinetics of the electron transfer is needed to understand the photophysics of the mechanism. The commercial applications of this project will be in solar cells. DSSC technology holds the greatest potential for low cost photovoltaics due to the inexpensive materials used and the ability to manufacture in volume using roll-to-roll processes. The DSSC technology will be lightweight and flexible as well, two attributes that literally open up new applications including molded plastics that conform to the exterior of consumer electronic devices and flexible fibers that can be woven into fabrics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gaudiana, Russell KONARKA TECHNOLOGIES, INC. MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99636 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 1676 0308000 Industrial Technology 0337834 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Automated Foam Index Test Instrumentation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project acquires information for and then designs the first commercial Automated Foam Index Test (AFIT) instrument. AFIT automatically and quantitatively determines the stability or instability of foams and emulsifiers. It innovates foaming and foam stability measurements in industrial production systems. Currently, foam and emulsifier stabilities are measured using visual or mechanical observations. The research uses basic physical and chemical behaviors of foams and emulsifiers to identify bubble stability and breakup activity. Computer-controlled experimental methods are used to acquire and statistically assess data, and then correlations are made with data obtained using currently accepted, manual methods. Although this Phase I research focuses on an instrument for determining the foam indices of cements and pozzolans, AFIT is a generic name for a suite of instruments that would impact food and consumer product specialists and manufacturers, wastewater treatment facilities, minerals industries, petroleum/oil industries, fire retardant manufacturers and beverage manufacturers. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Stencel, John Tribo Flow Separations, LLC KY T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 9150 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0338374 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Unified Oceanographic Data Logger. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will provide the foundation for the technical development of a commercially viable, universal, data logging system for ultra-long duration, unattended, oceanographic measurements. The project will demonstrate a new electronic architecture for oceanographic data loggers. This advanced data logger will unify a highly fragmented commercial marketplace by offering best-of-class performance in nearly all oceanographic applications. The proposed technology employs a modular approach in which individual recording units utilize low-voltage, embedded, digital processors which are optimized specifically for their power performance. The complete recording system promises to have a power consumption that is an order of magnitude lower than existing systems, over a wide range of data rates. The logger will provide large volume mass storage and a non-volatile real-time clock. The system will implement both advanced power conversion and a high-speed communications interface, which will provide compatibility with both stand-alone and cabled applications in future seafloor observatories. Among the activities in Phase I, the project will develop and demonstrate the design for a critical component in the overall system, a 24 bit, ultra-low-power digitizer for seismic recording. A complete data logger built around this module will require less than 5 mW/channel. The commercial application of this logger will be in oceanographic research and exploration. The endemic model in oceanography is to customize off-the-shelf hardware for each specific application. This is a costly process. Many types of highly custom systems are developed and produced in small numbers, at great cost. This approach also presents a major schedule risk for the scientists involved. Not surprisingly, the operational performance of the resulting systems is suboptimal. Often, the diversion of resources for the development of instrumentation affects the scope and quality of the field research. By addressing a wide range of applications using a single, unified system, production volumes would be made large enough to reduce hardware costs significantly. Fundamental improvements to the logger's software will reduce the operational costs typically associated with customization of the system for each experiment. Reduction of both the equipment and operating costs will provide lower cost solutions for unattended oceanographic data acquisition. Reduction of the total cost of instrumentation is a critical step toward enhancing research efforts in many of the world's oceans. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG VanZandt, Thomas GEOSense, LLC CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99765 5371 EGCH 1636 1307 0308000 Industrial Technology 0338398 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Low Cost Sensitive Magnetometer for Remote Sensing. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop a new type of low cost, low power, fast and small magnetometer that could attain a sensitivity of approximately 1 femto Tesla (10-15 T) per root hertz. Magnetometers with such sensitivity could easily be used for remote sensing by measuring and locating the source of magnetic fields. These fields are typically one billion times smaller than the earth's magnetic field. This new magnetometer could be in a small (SO8, ~5x4x2mm3), low power instrument package operating at ambient temperature. Such sensitivity currently requires costly superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) that needs expensive and cumbersome cryogenics to operate. In Phase I, MST hopes to quantify the performance gains possible from this new magnetometer and its measurement of magnetic field and noise in operational contexts for remote sensing. The development of low cost, high performance, modular, miniature magnetometer delivery systems will expand the commercial markets for home and industrial security systems, industrial process monitoring systems, and environmental monitoring systems. The magnetometer would also augment the capability to detect submarines by using an array seeded around narrow traffic lanes. It could find use in detecting land and naval mines, and in making sensitive proximity fuses. Commercial uses include prospecting for mineral deposits, nondestructive testing, and research in geomagnetic and biomagnetic studies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ghamaty, Saeid MS TECHNOLOGY CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0338502 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Non Destructive Evaluation of Hard Alpha Inclusions in Titanium Alloys and Damage Effects Due to Fatigue Using Photon Induced Positron Annihilation (PIPA). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will perform research aimed at improved detection levels and characterization of inclusions in critical titanium alloy components. Labeled as either low-density or high-density inclusions, these titanium defects can significantly impact fracture-critical airframe structures and jet engine components, resulting in catastrophic failures. The non-destructive detection of hard alpha inclusions in titanium alloys is currently limited to relatively large inclusions that are on or near the component surface, resulting in high potential for missed defects. Photon Induced Positron Annihilation (PIPA) analysis will be developed to detect these inclusions early in the manufacturing process at any location in the casting, and evaluated as a field use NDI technology that can be used to assess damage buildup in operational aircraft components. Research and development in the area of hard alpha inclusion detection using Photon Induced Positron Annihilation has broad impacts in the aerospace industry, in addition to other industries where titanium is used. Development of this technology has primary implications relative to improved aircraft safety and in the maintenance, surveillance, and replacement of highly expensive aerospace components. With improved knowledge of titanium inclusion damage effects, many current costs in the areas of inspection and component replacement can be substantially reduced. With the increasing usage of titanium in many multi-billion dollar industries, PIPA detection of inclusion damage will become increasingly important to the overall titanium and related industries. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Urban-Klaehn, Jagoda Positron Systems, Inc. ID Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99295 9150 HPCC 9150 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0338537 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Unified Coordinates Approach to Gridless Computation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project will develop an innovative unified coordinates approach to gridless computation. Instead of using the spatially fixed Eulerian coordinate system as in most Computional Fluid Dynamics (CFD) computation, the proposed unified coordinates approach is based on a generalized coordinate system which moves with velocity hq with q as the velocity of fluid particles and h as a free function. It includes the Eulerian coordinates approach as a special case when h=0 and the Lagrangian when h=1. Choosing h to preserve grid orthogonality can result in a coordinate system which avoids not only excessive numerical diffusion across slip lines as in the Eulerian coordinates but also severe grid deformation as in the Lagrangian coordinates. Unlike Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) approach, no remapping from the distorted Lagrangian grid onto the spatially fixed Eulerian grid is required. All computations are done entirely in the transformed space without a staggered grid. More importantly, using the unified coordinates, the computational grid is generated simultaneously by the flow (more precisely by the movement of the pseudo particles) while computing the flow field. Therefore, the computational grid is no longer a required input for CFD computation and gridless CFD computation becomes feasible. The traditional CFD methods are based on the spatially fixed Eulerian coordinates approach, in which body-fitted computational grids are needed a priori to accurately implement surface boundary conditions. The generation of body-fitted grids around complicated geometries in real applications is a very tedious process, which requires substantial human intervention and hence experience and specialized training, making CFD as somewhat of an art. The proposed SBIR effort will resolve this problem and significantly facilitate the use of CFD in manufacturing industry as a design tool. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tang, Lei ZONA TECHNOLOGY INC AZ Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99792 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0338652 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Thick Film Planar Magnetooptic Garnet Faraday Rotators. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the device and market opportunity for thick magnetooptic garnet Faraday rotator films with planar anisotropy to be operated in the near infrared. Such films would be an innovative solution to device problems that require high speed continuously varying Faraday rotation with applied field. The scientific understanding to make thick-film planar Faraday rotators do not currently exist. This project will develop a method to establish the necessary criteria for the growth of materials of this type including melt composition, crystal composition, magnetic properties and growth conditions. The magnetic properties of these films will be optimized for sensors, where the film is required to have a sensitive response at low fields, and photonic devices, where a linear response to applied fields is critical. The commercial impact of this project would be a less expensive magnetic and electromagnetic sensor. Such sensors have a potential for immediate impact in reliability of electric power distribution through failure anticipation and prevention and conservation of electric power through monitoring and control. These sensors could be developed at a variety of near-infrared wavelengths including the 800 nm, 1310 nm and 1550 nm bands. Applications for areas such as wheel and turbine rotation, electric power distribution, monitoring, metering and control and battlefield proximity sensors will be addressed in this project. The electric power application in particular has potential to revolutionize catastrophic failure prevention in the power grid and reduce power costs at a variety of levels. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fratello, Vincent INTEGRATED PHOTONICS, INC. AL Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 7234 1631 0308000 Industrial Technology 0338656 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Digital Correlator Imaging Spectrometer For Submillimeter Astronomy. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a novel broadband digital spectrometer for radio-frequency receivers, with particular application to an imaging spectrometer for sub-millimeter-wave astronomy. For optimum performance, such a receiver will make use of a cryogenic mixer to generate an intermediate-frequency output ~1 GHz. A spectrometer that can accept this type of mixer output and then generate the signal power spectrum with frequency resolution ~1 MHz is proposed. The core of this spectrometer will be a fast, sensitive analog-to-digital converter and a digital auto-correlator based on rapid-single-flux-quantum (RSFQ) digital logic, designed to operate with a commercial cryo-cooler at a temperature of 4 K. Other components of this receiver, such as multiplexers to combine pixel outputs, have already been developed. These components will be integrated monolithically on the same niobium integrated circuit The auto-correlator has extensive applications in RF communications and image-processing systems currently limited by the speed of digital processing. Some of these applications include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) communications, advanced instrumentation for ground-based and space-based spectroscopy and signal analysis are further enabled by the combination of the proposed auto-correlator with recent advances in the manufacturing of affordable cryo-coolers. The digital-RF base station target, where the auto-correlator would be used for load management, and its close relative, the cross-correlator could be used for reducing multi-path distortion. The digital-RF base station with software radio architecture represents a multi-billion dollar market, from which even a small market share will be worthwhile pursuing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kaplan, Steven HYPRES, Inc. NY Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99985 5371 EGCH 1636 1307 0206000 Telecommunications 0338658 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Dynamic 2D Depth Oriented Y-Z (X-Z) Opto-electronic Position Detector Using Photo Sensitive Semiconductor and Laser Light. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to verify the concept of the innovation and clarify the systems and critical component requirements for building a single instrument to detect the position of an object in motion in a depth oriented 2D space. The instrument will have output signals that identify the position of the object in the different directions from a base location. The instrument will use a laser light to illuminate the object with and photosensitive semiconductor to translate the reflected image into a signal. Measuring the distance with a laser beam and digitizing images are examples of two uses of similar technologies. However, they are limited to flat digital pictures or flat x-y coordinate systems. Detecting the position of an object in a depth oriented two-dimensional Y-Z field of view requires multiple instruments and complex and expensive systems. The application of this research is primarily in the area of automated manufacturing process control but may also apply to architecture for digitizing art and other stationary objects. The technology available to detect and locate objects in a two-dimensional depth oriented Y-Z (or X-Z) field of view is still in its infancy. This research aims to improve the understanding of the methods with which to detect and monitor the 2D depth oriented position of objects that are of non-metallic materials such as plastic, paper, rubber, fabrics, as well as rocks. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Strandbygaard, Svend Sensordyne LLC ME Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 9150 HPCC 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0338663 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Development of 802.11 Asset Tag. Project Summary: This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will result in the development and testing of an 802.11 asset tag, which is a new concept in asset management and tracking. The innovation is to create a wireless asset tracking tag that will communicate in any wireless network and in particular will work in 802.11 wireless LANs. Tracking assets such as PCs and other office equipment, warehoused inventory pallets and containers, strategic assets, and manufacturing materials can be accomplished by affixing the tag to the pallet/container/object in any facility that has a WLAN. This concept overcomes the power and cost barriers inherent in designing a small battery-powered long-range wireless tag compatible with conventional WLAN access points. The research will demonstrate overcoming the power management challenge as well as the positioning technique. It will use a MEMS accelerometer to both manage the power as well as provide a novel positioning approach based upon motion and signal strength detection. A breadboard asset tag system will be built using a conventional 802.11 chip set, a motion sensor, and a power management module. Software for the tracking function will be built and tested in a typical office, manufacturing and warehouse setting. Positional accuracy versus tag characteristics, calibration effort, and site map detail will be determined. An estimate of the installed cost versus positional accuracy will be made. The results are expected to define a new asset tracking technology. Broader Impact: The results of this project will be important, as they should yield an approach that will produce an order of magnitude reduction in cost and complexity over existing RF tracking systems currently used in tracking pallets in warehouses, equipment in hospitals/offices/schools and material in manufacturing processes. By eliminating the complexity and cost of current RF asset tracking systems and creating a tag and server software technology that will work within minutes of being affixed to an object in any WLAN, the proposed technology will move asset tracking/security from a few highly specialized applications to an affordable WLAN appliance in offices, hospitals, warehouses, etc. More broadly, it will demonstrate that motion-sensing technology can enhance the effectiveness of asset management, tracking and positioning opening new approaches for monitoring the location of objects and people. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lee, David Caveo Technology LLC MA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 98260 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0338664 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Highly Efficient Solar Cells Based on the Liquid Crystal-Inorganic Nanocomposite. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to study and develop novel, highly efficient photovoltaic cells based on composite material from nanostructured semiconductors and liquid crystals. The proposed approach has a number of advantages over existing technologies in the rapidly developing area of organic/plastic photovoltaics including easy processing using cost-effective techniques enabling the fabrication of large area solar cells onto flexible substrates, and a very fast charge transport due to the quasi-1D structure of the liquid crystal and continuous (bulk) medium of the semiconductor. The characteristic size of nanostructures filled with organics is comparable with the exciton diffusion length. Such a design provides 100% light harvesting without exciton loss due to remote interface area. The bicontinous network between the nanopatterned semiconductor and the organic component provides an enormous interface surface, thereby significantly increasing the charge separation. Nanocomposites can easily be integrated with other optoelectronic devices. Composite fabrication offers a large variety in the selection of organic components and does not require the lattice matching that strongly reduces material choice for semiconductor heterostructures. Such nanocomposite material should demonstrate superior photovoltaic properties providing a good chance to obtain 10% of energy conversion, still unachieved with organic solar cells. The commercial application of this project is in solar cells. Cost-effective processing, light weight, flexibility and robustness of the composite solar cells make them extremely attractive for various applications used by industry, the military and in research, e.g., security systems, offshore platforms, emergency power systems, and space applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Levitsky, Igor Emitech, Inc. MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99816 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 1676 0308000 Industrial Technology 0338706 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Gamma Ray Detector for Geophysical Exploration. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to investigate a new, high performance scintillation detector for eventual use in nuclear borehole logging. Nuclear borehole logging is an important technique for both geophysical research and commercial oil exploration. Well logging can be used to perform remote characterization of subsurface geological properties such as formation density, shale identification, and chemical composition. Well logging is performed by inserting a tool incorporating a gamma ray detector into a borehole drilled through the formation. Important requirements for the x-ray detectors used in well logging application include high detection efficiency, good energy resolution, high count-rate capability, and ruggedness. In addition, the detector must be capable of operation at high temperatures encountered in the borehole. This SBIR Phase I project is unique because it will provide better tools for geophysical research and lead to better understanding of a promising scintillator that can be applied to numerous fields beyond well logging. Teaching, training and learning can be gained by using this scintillator in various settings such as physics experimentation and from the materials science issues that are required to optimize its performance. Agreements with numerous educational institutions will be utilized to facilitate a teaching, and training. These sensors should offer high performance at low cost, which could enable research activities at educational institutions. Useful insights can be gained in particle physics, radiochemistry, and elemental analysis experiments. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Entine, Gerald Radiation Monitoring Devices Inc MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 EGCH 1636 1307 0308000 Industrial Technology 0338855 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Efficient Light Out Coupling from AlGaN Light Emitting Diodes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project propose to develop new device concepts and manufacturing techniques to greatly increase light extraction efficiency. Current solid state devices suffer from poor light extraction efficiencies (<10%) as the result of the mismatch in the index of refraction between the light emitting diode (LED) material and epoxy/air interface. The new concept maximizes output coupling through detailed control of the optical properties (refractive index, scattering, absorption, etc.) of the materials surrounding the LED die. This will be accomplished through the use of a nanotechnology based material deposition technique suitable for high volume production of LEDs and LED arrays. The commercial application of this project is in energy efficient replacements for incandescent and fluorescent lighting. These techniques have applicability to all LED light sources. Thus, any current application, such as lighting in portable electronics, automobiles, traffic signaling, etc., will immediately benefit from the increased efficiency. Increased efficiency will also open new markets where traditional light sources currently dominate and will lead to significantly reduced energy requirements, lower levels of pollution, reduced toxic waste (e.g., Hg from fluorescent lamps) and a reduced dependence on foreign oil suppliers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Menkara, Hisham PhosphorTech Corporation GA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99958 5371 AMPP 9163 1794 0308000 Industrial Technology 0338857 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Foundation for Emergency Egress Simulation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)project proposes to develop new capability to model emergency egress from buildings. The primary focus of the proposal is evacuation due to fires, but the software will be designed such that exposure and response to biological and chemical agents can also be simulated. The project will couple egress analysis to time varying fire conditions (e.g. smoke density and heat) calculated using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) fire simulator. This will enable simulation of emergency situations in which, for example, some exit paths become blocked. In addition to incorporating current human response models, the software will allow researchers to specify more complex individual behavior based on the results of recent studies of observed human behavior during emergencies. Egress analysis is a critical component - with fire simulation - in the implementation of "performance-based building design". This new approach, as compared to traditional rule-based (prescriptive) design, is being adopted in the United States to save building cost and reduce injury. This proposal will lead to a product that will facilitate the introduction of a new technology (coupling egress analysis with CFD fire modeling) into the present fire safety design and regulation process. The integration of fire simulation with egress analysis provides new capability to more accurately simulate emergency building evacuation. The engineering time required for the analyses will be reduced by the common user interface and will enable the broader application of this technology throughout the fire safety industry. This technology will increase public safety, advancement in fire research, and reduced building costs. The software will enable researchers to add their own models of human behavior to the analysis. The software will potentially facilitate peer reviews, an essential component to robust fire protection design in the performance design arena. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Swenson, Daniel THUNDERHEAD ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS, INC KS Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99250 9150 HPCC 9216 9215 9150 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0338896 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Software for Three-Dimensional Simulation of Polymer Coextrusion. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project involves development of software for accurate simulation of polymer coextrusion. Even though use of coextrusion software is critical for optimizing the process, die designers in the plastic industry rarely use commercial coextrusion software because these packages cannot simulate complex coextrusion systems, and they also fail to capture various complexities of polymer rheology. The proposed coextrusion software will use a unique proprietary constitutive theory, which can accurately capture the complex rheological behavior of polymers. The three-dimensional mesh of tetrahedral finite elements in the coextrusion system will remain unaltered during the coextrusion simulation. Instead of requiring the interface between different polymers to match with finite element boundaries, the interface will be allowed to cut through the finite elements. These innovative features in the new software will allow simulation of complex coextrusion systems. The new software will eliminate the trial-and-error approach currently being used to design coextrusion systems, and it will cut the time to market of coextruded products by over 50 percent. Even though complex phenomena, such as encapsulation of high viscosity polymer by less viscous polymer, and instabilities at polymer interface, have been observed in coextrusion experiments, the mechanisms behind these phenomena are still not understood completely. The software, which will be developed in this project, will enhance the scientific understanding of the root cause behind various complexities encountered in polymer coextrusion. It will provide design engineers as well as engineering students a useful tool to perform numerical experiments for optimization of coextrusion systems. Many different types of companies, including plastic material suppliers, plastic part manufacturers and extrusion equipment manufacturers, will be able to cut cost and increase revenues using this software. Planned experimental verification of coextrusion simulation at Michigan Technological University and University of Massachusetts will benefit engineering education. The scientific knowledge developed in this project will be included in a senior-level course at Michigan Tech. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gupta, Mahesh Plastic Flow, LLC MI Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99996 5371 HPCC 9139 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0338906 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Efficient Multi-Spectral Holographic Filters. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to develop the fabrication technology for an astronomical holographic multi-spectral filter that increases the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of ground-based observations at near-infrared wavelengths by suppressing the narrow lines emitted from atmospheric OH radicals. Many astronomers have recognized that large gains in SNR can be obtained if the OH background could be suppressed. SNR is proportional to the diameter of the telescope. The potential threefold gain in SNR achieved by adding the proposed filter to the Keck 10 meter telescope would thus be equivalent to increasing its diameter to 30 meters, which is estimated to cost five hundred million dollars. In contrast, the cost of the proposed efficient multi-spectral filters is three orders of magnitude less. This project should have a direct impact on applications requiring fine multi-spectral information for accurate substance identification in remote sensing and life sciences. In remote sensing, the design and fabrication of arbitrary narrow multi-band filter profile are powerful tools for global measurements of atmospheric gases of Earth and other planets as well as remote sensing of toxic gases for Homeland Security. The spectral response of the holographic filter can be tailored to match precisely the absorption spectrum of given gases with high sensitivity. With multiple absorption or emission peaks detected simultaneously, the detection sensitivity will be increased greatly compared with traditional methods, and the required data volumes will decrease by several orders of magnitude, which makes it very attractive for remote sensing applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Moser, Christophe ONDAX INC CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99476 5371 EGCH 1636 1307 0308000 Industrial Technology 0338922 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Pneumatic Scour Measurement System. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the problem of measuring scour depth around bridge foundations under flood conditions. Flood-borne debris collecting around bridge piers forms bird's nests that aggravate scour by creating excess turbulence and preventing conventional scour detection techniques. The Pneumatic Scour Detection System (PSDS)addresses both problems of measuring scour through a bird's nest of debris and withstanding the ravages of flood-borne debris. This technique is based on the differential resistance to airflow through a vertical array of porous filters made of sintered brass. The array of filters are sealed into the wall of a probe used as a probe and battered through the bird's nest into the river bottom adjacent to the pier like a large nail. Shallow filters are exposed to water, and deeper filters are exposed to competent soil. The 2002 National Bridge Inventory lists 22, 414 scour-critical bridges, many with bird's nests of debris. Flood-borne debris masks the river bottom surrounding the pier, making ineffective all currently available scour detection instrumentation, such as sonar depth sounders, ground-penetrating radar, and precludes visual inspection, limiting the bridge engineers ability to determine the safety of the bridge during flood events. The PSDS probe is permanently installed adjacent to scour-critical piers with the multiple pneumatic hoses bundled at the top of the probe for easy connection to an off-site portable pressure measurement instrument when flood events are in progress or anticipated. Once installed, the bridge engineers have available real-time information of the scour conditions at the pier, enabling them to close the bridge to traffic when dangerous conditions develop. Additionally, yearly monitoring of the scour conditions provides the bridge engineer the knowledge of depth of scour and is then able to schedule remediation before pier movement occurs, keeping maintenance costs to a minimum. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mercado, Edward North American Geotechnical Co TX Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0338925 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Novel Radial Magnetic Field Actuator for Fully Flexible Electromechanical Valve. This Small Business Innovation (SBIR)Phase I research project will develop a novel radial magnetic field actuator for fully flexible electromagnetic automotive engine valves. Dramatic improvement in engine performance and reduction in environmental impact is possible with this technology. The imminent international adoption of a 42V automotive power system enhances the approach. A fully electronically-controlled inlet/exhaust valve actuating system eliminates camshafts completely, thus (1) eliminating the packaging restrictions placed upon an engine by conventional camshaft profiling, and (2) allowing optimization of the gas exchange process across the whole engine speed and load range. Commercial applications of the proposed concept include: automotive engine valve actuators, general linear actuators, automotive active suspension, and unmanned aerial vehicle flight actuators. A major benefit to society of electromechanical valve technology will be better fuel economy. Improving fuel economy is a worthy national goal: it will reduce America's dependence on imported oil, cut the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming, and reduce vehicle operating cost. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cope, David ENGINEERING MATTERS INC MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99955 5371 HPCC 9139 7234 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0338926 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: An Ultra-High-Speed Cleaning Process for Electronic Device Manufacturing. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop a new "green" ultra-high-speed single-wafer ozone-water-based resist and heavy organic residue removal process for electronic device manufacturing. The drive to smaller feature sizes and larger wafer sizes in next generation device manufacturing has led to the growth in the use of single-wafer wet processing in lieu of batch processing. Initial measurements show that this process can achieve photoresist etch rates (removal rates) in excess of 20,000 Angstroms/ minute. Very high etch rate is critical to the achievement of practical throughputs using single-wafer processing. Initial data and analytical modeling indicates the potential of this process to increase etch rates to even higher levels. Five goals of this project are: 1) measure resist etch rate as a function of temperature; 2) measure the resist etch rate as a function of process chemistry flow rate; 3) evaluate the influence of process chemistry on resist removal; 4) demonstrate process performance using patterned test wafers; and 5) prepare a preliminary design for a process for further evaluation in Phase II. The commercial application of this project will be in the manufacture of high density semiconductor devices. The successful completion of this research program will culminate in the development of the next generation of high density semiconductor devices which will not only increase performance and decrease costs, but will also provide significant environmental benefits through the use of environmentally benign chemicals in lieu of acids and solvents. The market for wafer wet processing equipment alone is projected to reach $3.1 billion by 2005. The ozone-water based process developed in the course of this research can not only be used in semiconductor wafer manufacturing, but also for magnetic disc manufacturing, optical disc manufacturing and flat panel manufacturing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Boyers, David Phifer Smith Corporation CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99999 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 1676 0308000 Industrial Technology 0338928 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Ultrafast Optoelectronic Devices Based on Field Emission. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to determine the feasibility of using photomixing (optical heterodyning) in resonant laser-assisted field emission as a new means for generating terahertz (THz) radiation. The many applications of THz radiation include imaging (package inspection, structural examination, cancer detection), spectroscopy (catalysis, reaction kinetics, environmental studies), astronomy (local oscillators, imaging arrays), and high-bandwidth communications. However, researchers describe "hurdles" caused by present THz sources, including limited bandwidth and power. A resonance of optical radiation with tunneling electrons, discovered in quantum simulations, was used to gate field emission current with a laser. Because the tip is much smaller than the laser wavelength, electron emission varies at the optical frequency, and field emission is highly nonlinear, so signals from DC to 100 THz could be generated by photomixing. The commercial applications of this project would be tunable sources with greater bandwidth. These devices are now used as local oscillators in radio astronomy.There is some evidence that the new technology may have a flat frequency response at THz frequencies. Possible applications of resonant laser-assisted field emission would also include areas where the resistance of field emission to ionizing radiation and wide ranges of ambient temperature are required. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hagmann, Mark Deseret Electronics Research Corporation UT Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 68065 5371 HPCC 9145 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0338951 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: 3D Modeling Facial Aging Effect for Enhancing Facial Recognition Performance. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I research project will develop a novel three-dimensional facial modeling approach to simulate the facial aging effect of human subjects for enhancing facial recognition performance. Despite many advances made in facial recognition technologies, existing system performance is still very sensitive to certain changes between the enrollment image and probe images. These factors include pose, lighting, and expression. The recent Facial Recognition Vendor Tests (FRVT) 2002 performed by 16 US Government agencies quantitatively document another important factor: It shows a 5% drop of performance per year due to the facial changes between the time when a subject's image is taken and the time when the system captures a new image and performs recognition. The SBIR proposal will develop a unique 3D face modeling and computerized age progression/regression technique to solve this problem. This unique technology, when fully developed, is able to eliminate performance deterioration due to aged images in the database and enable robust, field deployments of facial recognition systems in real-world applications. The proposed product could have a big impact with Homeland Security as well other security related applications. Local, federal and international law enforcement groups will benefit from being able to identify people they have not "seen" in a long period of time. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gao, Pan GENEX TECHNOLOGIES INC MD Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0116000 Human Subjects 0522400 Information Systems 0338986 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Passive Sensor for Lifetime Monitoring of Concrete. This Small Business innovation Research Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of using a passive sensor, embedded within concrete, to measure moisture, temperature, and concentrations of chlorides. It will provide critical data for evaluating concrete performance starting with the initial quality control period of freshly mixed or freshly cast concrete, through its useful service life, to the period of deterioration and repair. Data obtained from these sensors should result in longer service life, lower infrastructure costs and the development of more effective means of remediation. The device will be powered and interrogated using radio frequency energy from a distance of over one meter, returning a unique identification number so that data can be correlated with sensor location. Data will be read by frequency analysis of one or more RLC antennas in the device, whose resonance frequencies will be altered by changes in the surrounding material. The initial strength and the service life of concrete used in roadways and its moisture content from the time that it is placed onwards significantly affects bridges. Such a multi-functional sensor can be so pervasively useful because moisture and temperature are the primary drivers for the hydration of portland cement, and are essential factors in the most prevalent deteriorative processes such as damage due to freezing and thawing, alkali-aggregate reaction, sulfate attack or delayed Ettringite formation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Deyhim, Alexander Advanced Design Consulting, Inc. NY Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 95632 5371 EGCH 9139 1639 1517 1307 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339004 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Tactile Graphic Array. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will draw on the research team's experience with electronic Braille Displays to extend their benefits to Tactile Graphic Displays seeking to considerably increase their portability and decrease their cost. C.A.Technology has performed extensive experiments on Shape Memory actuators and intends to test the feasibility of low profile Tactile Arrays based on this technology. In the first part of the research program, the feasibility of a single dot tactile module as described in our US Patent Application will be tested. In the second part, the feasibility of an Array comprising a plurality of single dot modules plugged into a base motherboard will be tested. These Tactile Arrays could be easily implemented into a wide range of electronic data acquisition and processing devices, particularly portable devices: notebook or pocket computers, digital cameras, cell phones. By removing the cost and size factors which have limited the market penetration of current electronic Tactile Displays, this new technology will be accessible to many more blind and deaf-blind individuals and significantly improve their employment opportunities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tretiakoff, Oleg C. A. Technology, Inc. FL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 SMET 9180 9179 9178 9177 1545 0104000 Information Systems 0108000 Software Development 0339009 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: High Performance Laser Deflector Using Stoichiometric Electro-Optic Materials. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will use the electro-optic (EO) effect, in which an electric field changes the index of refraction of a nonlinear material, in a novel manner to create a beam deflector with very favorable properties for laser beam scanning and steering. Large angle deflections have been achieved through new multi-stage designs, and 10-GHz scan rates have recently been demonstrated. These designs can now be executed in a commercial product using recent advances in fabrication to improved nonlinear materials. In addition to making commercial manufacturing possible, these new stoichiometric materials should impart favorable properties to a laser deflector, including improved power handling and increased infrared and UV transparency. This work is expected to advance the state-of-the-art with an electro-optic device that has so far not been commercially available. Electro-optic deflectors are predicted to compete quite successfully in the laser scanner market, offering superior performance in scan rate, deflection range, deflection efficiency, and power handling in a very small device. The fast scan rates and high power handling of the proposed EO deflector will be useful in for beam scanning in remote sensing applications. The deflector should be used to overcome existing limitations in free space communications and variable optical attenuators. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Roberts, Tony ADVR, INC MT Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99959 5371 HPCC 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0339012 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Athermal Multiplexers Based on Reflective Arrayed Waveguide Grating Devices. DMI-0339012 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to design and demonstrate an athermal multiplexer based on an already existing arrayed waveguide-grating (AWG) device. AWGs are key components in wavelength division multiplexed optical networks. Temperature induced changes in the refractive index of conventional AWGs based on silica-on-silicon technology result in large shifts in the peak wavelength transmission. This necessitates the use of thermoelectric coolers and temperature sensing and compensating circuitry. A specially designed external mirror combined with a reflective AWG (R-AWG), will be used to compensate the temperature-induced index change. Differential thermal expansion of the mirror assembly rotates its reflecting surface at a constant rate with temperature. The reflective AWG-external mirror combination also allows for wavelength trimming that centers the channel wavelength at the ITU grid. The detailed rotation rate and design of the mirror will be determined by simulation and experiments. The goal of this project is to fabricate a high-performance 40-channel, 100 GHz, passive AWG device insensitive of temperature in the 0-85 degree C range. The work hopes to significantly improve the performance of DWDM-based telecommunication systems. These features hope to make the athermal reflective-AWGs proposed here attractive and commercially competitive when compared to conventional AWGs. The new approach should eliminate complex packaging and processing steps, the need for electric power and external temperature control, resulting in a more robust, easier to use, and considerably less expensive packaged device. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Grave de Peralta, Luis MULTIPASS CORPORATION TX Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9145 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0339022 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Microdisplays Based on III-Nitride Wide Band Gap Semiconductors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project's goal is to optimize III-nitride wide bandgap semiconductor materials, layer structures, device design for micro-displays, and to develop concepts for III-nitride full color micro-displays for wearable and head-up display applications. Semiconductor micro-displays, which require the integration of a dense array of micro-size light emitting diodes (LEDs) on a single semiconductor chip, have yet to be developed. Also, color conversion for full color displays cannot be achieved in conventional III-V or Si semiconductors, which makes semiconductor micro-displays based on conventional semiconductors unviable. However, due to the unique properties of III-nitrides, III-nitride micro-displays can potentially provide performance superior to those based on liquid crystal and organic LED displays including: self-luminescent, high brightness/resolution/contrast, high temperature/high power operation, high shock resistance, wide field-of-view, full color spectrum capability, long life, high speed, and low power consumption. By inserting them into any existing visual system, III-nitride micro-displays would provide weight reduction, space and power saving and allow viewing from any angle without color shift and degradation in contrast and resolution. The research here is built on the recent successful fabrication of III-nitride micro-size blue LED arrays and micro-displays. Micro-displays are small displays that are of such high resolution that they are only practically viewed or projected with lenses or mirrors. Micro-displays are typically magnified by optics to enlarge the image viewed by the user. When viewed through a lens, a high-resolution 1-inch diagonal micro-display could provide images comparable to viewing a 21-inch diagonal TV/computer screen. Micro-displays can be used in a variety of devices such as head-wearing displays, camcorders, viewfinders, etc and have many military and commercial applications. Micro-size LED arrays developed here are not only useful as wearable and head-up displays, but also useful as full color mini-displays, emitters for remote free space functions, short distance optical communication, optical interconnects and chip-scale biomedical sensors for early diagnosis of disease. III-nitride blue micro-size LED arrays are very attractive for inexpensive high resolution and high-speed optical links. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fan, Zhaoyang III-N TECHNOLOGY, INC TX Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9145 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0339024 January 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Advanced Virtual Manufacturing Lab for Research, Training, and Education. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to create an Advanced Virtual Manufacturing Lab (AVML). The AVML will be driven by an object-oriented scene-graph virtual reality toolkit. The key elements of the AVML are as follows: (1) textured photo-realistic geometric solid models of the machines and lab; (2) digital model of the machine which includes the machines controls and moving parts; (3) physics-based model of the machining operation; and (4) natural-language human-like intelligent agents which can be used as tutors. Applications of AVML include the following: allowing students and researchers to view and interact with a physically accurate simulation of the manufacturing machine, training students to operate the manufacturing machines in a sage environment, optimization of the manufacturing process plan by testing various plans on the virtual machine before machining on the physical machine, and remote viewing and control of the physical manufacturing machines. The AVML will enhance the quality, accessibility, and productivity of manufacturing education and training and will advance scientific discovery and engineering analysis of next generation manufacturing processes. Also, the AVML will enhance experimentation and learning, increase student creativity and problem-solving capability, enhance collaboration among students, teachers, and industry experts, and promote participation and equal access of underrepresented groups to manufacturing technology training. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Wasfy, Tamer ADVANCED SCIENCE AND AUTOMATION CORP IN Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 1666 MANU 9149 0108000 Software Development 0522400 Information Systems 0339042 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Customizable Question Answering System for Homeland Security and Commercial Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes a novel Question Answering (QA) technology. The intellectual merits of the proposed activity are three fold: (1) it provides automatic decomposition of high level questions into logical, informative sets of fact-seeking questions, such that very complex questions can be automatically answered. This novel QA approach advances the state-of-the-art technology, which is currently limited to simple factual questions, enabling the answering of complex questions that model scenarios observed in actual customer environments. (2) It radically improves the accuracy of current state-of-the-art QA by using a logic prover to extract and justify answers. Language Computer Corporation (LLC) plans to develop an inference mechanism for question answering that is capable of extracting answers based on semantic inference chains, rather than on superficial keyword-based metrics. (3) It introduces a novel approach that adapts open-domain QA technology to domain-specific information using automatically acquired ontologies, seamlessly integrated with the system's open-domain knowledge base. This capability provides a rapid and efficient customization method for various domains of interests, such as weapons of mass destruction. The broader impact of the proffered technology is as follows: (1) the proposed approach allows QA technology to expand its capability, now restricted to synthetic evaluations based on simple, factual questions, to actual commercial applications with complex questions and scenarios. This places LLC in a position to target both government and commercial markets, where the accuracy, coverage, reliability and usability of the retrieved information are crucial. Ideal applications for this QA technology include homeland defense, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), education, medical, and legal. (2) The proposed model uses a logic proving mechanism that associates every extracted answer with a logical, easily understandable explanation of the answer correctness. Furthermore, LLC proposes the introduction of an automatic procedure to quickly adapt an open-domain QA system to domain-specific scenarios. This set of features makes this QA system an ideal tool for the intelligence business, where the quality of the information extracted is paramount, and where switching between completely different domains of interest is frequent. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Niles, Ian Language Computer Corporation TX Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 1654 0522400 Information Systems 0339049 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Innovative and Cost-Effective Packaging Technology for Nanoblock IC-Based Microelectronic Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of using Optomec's Maskless Mesoscale Materials Deposition (M3DTM) technology for packaging NanoBlockTM IC-based microelectronic devices. The assembly of microelectronic systems based on NanoBlockTM ICs presents a number of unique challenges. Unlike the traditional packaging technology in which the electronic components are assembled to a board with pre-printed circuitry, the NanoBlockTM IC-based assembly involves the creation of patterned interconnect structures, not before but, after the ICs are assembled. These interconnects are currently produced by using complex and costly thin film and lithography methods, which are environmentally unfriendly, inflexible, require a highly skilled workforce, and significant capital investment. The objective of this Phase I project is to demonstrate the feasibility of using the M3DTM process for packaging NanoBlockTM IC-based microelectronic devices. M3DTM is an additive process, which deposits a wide variety of materials onto low-temperature substrates without masks or other thin-film equipment. The material is deposited and patterned by an aerosol micro-jet and then laser sintered to achieve properties near that of the bulk material. The research will involve formulation of the deposited materials, optimization of process parameters, and characterization of the electrical properties and geometrical features of deposited materials. The successful implementation of the M3DTM technology for packaging NanoBlockTM -based microelectronic systems would greatly expand the applications for NanoBlockTM IC-based microelectronic devices due to the substantial cost reductions that would be realized. The benefits of such a technology are vast and will allow a dramatic reduction in production cost and time, while being able to perform design iterations in a matter of minutes or hours, compared to the traditional several weeks turn-around time for the conventional photoresist/mask process. The electronics industry and defense sectors would benefit in several applications areas including Radio Frequency Identity Devices (RFID), micro-sensor systems, prototype development, and flexible displays. The significant potential commercial impact of the project results from the fact that the global shipments of RFID systems alone reached approximately $965 million in 2002. The RFID market experienced roughly 8% compounded annual growth since 2000. The top-ranked consumer products companies will need more than 550 billion smart tags per year for tracking merchandise. The military applications for the NanoBlockTM -based devices, especially micro-sensors, are also extensive. Another important consideration is the environmental impact. The proposed technology provides significant environmental benefits by eliminating the energy and water waste and hazardous chemicals associated with traditional manufacturing methods. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Renn, Michael Optomec Design Company NM Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99818 5371 HPCC 9150 9139 1519 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339068 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Assessing Status and Trends of Threatened Species from Uncertain Monitoring Data: Methodology and Software. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop and implement as software methods for entering, processing, and analyzing monitoring data, which is one of the most basic forms of biological information that comes from surveys, censuses, and other routine assessments. These methods will use basic monitoring data to (1) assess the status and trends of the monitored species at the population-level, and (2) estimate the input parameters for the more advanced quantitative models, thereby increasing the use of these models, which include population viability analysis models, habitat models and other GIS-based methods, and quantitative risk criteria, such those used by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the NatureServe. One of the major innovations of the software will be its treatment of uncertainty. Ecological data are often scarce and uncertain, including spatial and temporal variation, measurement and sampling errors, and demographic variance. The methods to be implemented in the software will account for this uncertainty and incorporate it into the assessment of status and other outputs produced. Broader impacts of the project will include standardization of the monitoring process for a broad spectrum of species, significantly reduced the cost of processing and analyzing monitoring data, and increased use of advanced quantitative models and assessment methods in relation to environmental issues. This will, in turn, increase the use of scientific information in environmental decision-making and policy formulation. The methods developed in this project will also allow incorporating data uncertainties in an objective, transparent, and credible way, thereby providing scientifically credible and sound summary of the status and trends of the species monitored. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Akcakaya, H Applied Biomathematics Inc NY Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99974 5371 HPCC 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339106 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Development of High Performance Ultraviolet Single Photon Detectors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop and commercialize very high gain and low noise UV single photon detectors for numerous low signal intensity UV sensing over a very wide range of UV spectrum. The novel design for low voltage and high efficiency and advanced processing technologies combined with the unique material property used for the single photon detectors are expected to lead to orders of magnitude improvements to the performance of the UV single photon detectors. The single photon detectors are expected to be capable of high speed, high gain, high efficiency, low noise and high radiation tolerance. The single photon detectors overcome the major problems of their counterparts based on other wide bandgap semiconductors in terms of the excess noise, gain, and reliability. The project will develop a process for designing the single photon detectors, and demonstrating the feasibility by fabricating the proposed UV single photon detectors. The fabricated single photon detectors will be characterized and their potential and suitability for very low intensity light and single molecule detection will be investigated. The broader impacts of this project will result in UV single photon detectors with very high gain and very low excess noise thus enabling numerous applications including biosensing, biological warfare agent detection, single molecule detection, future photolithographic systems, cryptography, astronomy, missile detection, lidar and radar as well as basic quantum mechanics investigation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Alexandrov, Petre United Silicon Carbide, Inc NJ Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9145 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0339202 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Mass Flux Sensor for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses an immediate need for a real-time means for measuring vapor phase water mass flux in pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing. The specific innovation is the combination of low-pressure vapor phase water concentration and gas velocity measurements to provide a determination of vapor phase mass flux rates. During the Phase I effort critical sensor hardware will be designed, fabricated and tested on commercially available manufacturing equipment. The sensor development targets a new initiative by the Food and Drug Administration and the pharmaceutical industry to use process analytical technology for on-line process control to improve drug manufacturing quality, drug availability, industry competitiveness, and prescription drug costs. The Phase I program will verify the technical and commercial feasibility of the mass flux monitor. The commercial application of this project is to improve quality control in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. The vapor phase mass flux monitor will provide the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries with a sensor for real-time mass flux measurements, enabling improved drug manufacturing process efficiency and quality. The project advances research and education via collaborations with pharmaceutical scientists at the University of Connecticut and Purdue University. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kessler, William Physical Sciences Incorporated (PSI) MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99936 5371 AMPP 9163 7234 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339221 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Decision Support System for the Railroad Blocking Problem. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project concerns developing a decision support system for the railroad-blocking problem, one of the most important optimization problems arising in the shipment of cars over the railroad network. It will develop a series of software products using state-of-the-art optimization techniques, advanced data structures, and information technology tools to automate their decision-making process, thereby improving their operational efficiency and reducing costs. A decision support system for the railroad-blocking problem is the first step towards this goal. Railroads have not benefited from the advances taking place in the field of optimization and they rely on manual decision-making process for most of their planning and scheduling needs. The railroad-blocking problem is a very large-scale optimization problem and cannot be solved to optimality using the state-of-the-art algorithmic ideas. The proposed work will use a heuristic algorithm developed by the PI to solve this problem using an emerging technique, known as the Very Large-Scale Neighborhood (VLSN) Search The proposed Phase I research consists of incorporating several additional features to this algorithm and performing a thorough computational testing of the software. The success of this project will lead to greater acceptance of the optimization models and optimization based software in the railroad industry and will pave the way for new software products for several other equally important problems including the block-to-train assignment, train scheduling, locomotive scheduling, and crew scheduling. In the long run, this will lead to more efficient US railroads with improved profitability. It is anticipated that the use of this software will result in an annual savings in tens of millions of dollars for any major US railroad. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ahuja, Ravindra Innovative Scheduling Systems, Inc. FL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339231 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Algorithms and Hardware for Real-time H.264 Encoder. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop novel algorithms and hardware accelerators for a real-time, high-resolution, H.264-based network video appliance. It is also designed for transmission over packet-based networks while achieving significantly superior compression efficiency compared to previous standards and proprietary solutions. It will improve encoder performance by at least one order of magnitude compared to current implementations. A real-time, network appliance with the compression efficiency of H.264 will have broad applications, particularly in the areas of distance learning, remote training, security and surveillance. The innovations resulting from this research will enable implementers to significantly improve the real-time performance of H.264. A real-time, high-resolution network appliance with the compression efficiency of H.264 will bring digital video in the mainstream by delivering high quality video to the endpoints of the network. This will drive business and consumer uses by making communication crucial to making distance learning and remote training economically feasible. This superior visual communication capability will foster greater scientific collaboration between geographically dispersed researchers and engineers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pejhan, Sassan VBRICK SYSTEMS, INC CT Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0116000 Human Subjects 0522400 Information Systems 0339236 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: SUMMiT VII -- A Seven Level Surface MEMS Technology. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to enhance the surface micromachining technology (the SUMMiT V technology) -- with an additional structural and interconnect level. The resultant technology, SUMMiT VII, should enable the monolithic fabrication of devices to address the most difficult Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) product requirements. The primary technical challenge associated with the additional polysilicon and oxide levels is the management and mitigation of stress in the films deposited on the wafer. Left unchecked, this stress would lead to excessive wafer bow that could affect the accuracy of subsequent lithography processes or make the wafers impossible to handle with automated equipment. The goal of this research program is to better understand and characterize the stress in the additional SUMMiT levels during the fabrication process. A variety of techniques to mitigate this stress will be analyzed to ensure SUMMiT VII devices can be built reliably and uniquely positioned to complete this research program. Emerging MEMS device requirements in fields like adaptive optics and advanced tunable radio-frequency (RF) devices are starting to exceed the capabilities of even the most sophisticated surface micromachining technologies. The proposed transition to SUMMiT VII mirrors the progression of integrated circuits and printed circuit boards, where the availability of additional vertical levels permitted the design of smaller, cheaper devices with even better performance and functionality. The incremental mechanical sophistication of the new structural level in SUMMiT VII permits design enhancements like flatter mirror surfaces, integrated particle and electrostatic shields, and increased device robustness and reliability. The additional interconnect level permits larger, denser arrays and removes many of the routing constraints inherent in any single level interconnect scheme. SUMMiT VII should permit the enhancement of existing MEMS application areas, but could also enable solutions for product applications where current MEMS technologies simply fall short. SUMMiT VII should enable a world-class solution in ophthalmic adaptive optics, a MEMS market estimated at $20M per year. The annual market for high performance tunable capacitors is estimated at $120M, part of a total RF MEMS opportunity, which exceeds $1 billion annually. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sniegowski, Jeffry MEMX, Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 96901 5371 MANU 9148 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339249 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Nonlinear Modeling in the Presence of Disturbances Using Support Vector Machines. 0339249 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate novel algorithms for developing nonlinear models based upon time series data that is affected by disturbances. The Box-Jenkins algorithm has been the standard approach over the past few decades for developing models for time-series systems that are affected by disturbances. In recent years, Support Vector Machines (SVMs) have been used to create accurate nonlinear models based upon empirical data. The proposed SBIR research will investigate combining SVM modeling approaches with Box-Jenkins type disturbance rejection techniques. Such an approach would be significantly more computationally efficient, thus, allowing commercialization of the algorithms. Because modeling of nonlinear time-series based systems that are affected by disturbances is commonly encountered across a wide variety of fields including economics, the process industries, engineering, psychology and defense, the proposed research has wide applicability. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Piche, Stephen Pegasus Technologies Inc OH Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 0 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339256 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Rapid Access to Valid Clinical Knowledge. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I research project will address problems health care professionals face when attempting to rapidly answer clinical questions with current evidence. Most rapid clinical references are neither updated frequently nor derived from the most valid research evidence, while systems for identifying new research leave clinicians struggling with multiple search result lists and no knowledge synthesis. The proposed product uses an innovative design for rapid browsing and updates knowledge syntheses daily from research surveillance. The technical objectives are to determine (1) how clinicians seek information, (2) if the product provides answers to clinical questions more efficiently than current sources, and (3) if the product provides the most valid answers. Results of interviews and direct observations will be used to improve organization of information for optimal browsing by clinicians. Primary care physicians attempting to answer clinical questions during practice will be randomized to use the proposed product or their usual sources, report whether answers were found, and their speed will be recorded. Physicians trained in research methodology will compare validity of answers from this and other sources The societal benefits will be improved health and health care utilization, as decision-makers gain ready access to coherent medical knowledge. The product will be especially useful in information-deprived areas (e.g. rural practices); will advance understanding of how clinicians seek information in practice; and how to facilitate the process. The lessons learned can be applied to any field of knowledge requiring both the functions of quickly finding comprehensive information (synthesis of new and old data) and continuously evaluating the results of knowledge discovery. Failure to integrate these activities contributes to a societal disconnect between what we know and what we do. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Alper, Brian Dynamic Medical Information Systems LLC MO Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339263 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Chart Explainer: Automatically Generating Natural Language Descriptions of Charts and Tables. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the problem of information accessibility by creating an innovative Chart Explainer, a generic natural language generation program which automatically composes fluent textual summaries and annotations of graphical and tabular information. The introduction of this new tool will enhance access to information for both specialized and general audiences. Self-sufficient textual summaries of charts and tables will make the information displayed in them Web-accessible to visually impaired people via existing text-to-speech tools. For sighted audiences, textual annotations will be slightly different, and serve more to complement what is easily viewed in charts and tables, summarizing and highlighting salient facts and trends. In addition, automatic production of summary text will make graphical and tabular information accessible to all audiences by phone CoGenTex envisions Chart Explainer to have a profound and beneficial impact in the information accessibility area, making graphical and tabular information Web-accessible to visually impaired people. Chapter 508 of the Federal Disability Act mandates that all the graphical and tabular information on the government Web sites be accessible to visually impaired people. Currently, Web accessibility to tables for the visually impaired is implemented by XML tagging of table cells, which are then read by the page reader devices. Web accessibility to charts is implemented using a list of data points on the chart. In both cases, the information is delivered in a very inconvenient, fragmentary way, which makes its integration and understanding difficult. In contrast, Chart Explainer will deliver graphical and tabular information in a much more natural way, conveniently summarizing it and highlighting its salient characteristics. For a general audience, the substantial impact will be in enabling phone accessibility to such information, as well as in enhancing understandability of charts and tables by providing annotations to them, which highlight salient facts and summarize the rest. Both these features will have a substantial impact on the applications in the business intelligence area, in particular, on corporate scorecarding, which commonly uses graphical displays of various kinds. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Caldwell, Ted CoGenTex, Inc. NY Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99955 5371 HPCC 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339270 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Patient Monitoring System with Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Cardio Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a wireless and batteryless RFID heart monitoring system based on phonocardiograph MEMS technology. The system uses a disposable MEMS sensor in the form of adhesive tags that receive power remotely through a remote radio frequency source. In this proposed system, heart sound is obtained through wireless communication with a personal computer (PC) node. With the PC, heart sound is presented graphically, recorded or analyzed for further use. The PC node can be part of a remote patient monitoring (RPM) system. The wireless phonocardiograph offers some other advantages over other cardiograph systems: no wire connections and no electrical contact point between the human body and the sensor as compared with a multi-wire ECG, multi-channel monitoring of the cardiovascular system. The commercialized product with disposable tag-based sensors can replace the jungle of wiring and/or battery powered heart monitoring devices currently in use by the millions worldwide. This system with low cost and a highly versatile system platform will be qualified first with non-clinical setting and later for extensive use within the hospital itself. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Salesky, Ronald NEW JERSEY MICROSYSTEMS INC NJ Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 7234 1517 0104000 Information Systems 0203000 Health 0339279 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Mobile-Transit Transaction Device. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project proposes to investigate the feasibility of designing and developing a low-cost mobile phone that can also be used as transit token, leveraging the wireless capabilities of the mobile phone to add token value to a transit card. Transit System Operators throughout the world are replacing their paper ticket and metal token transit with contactless smart card technologies. Financial Institutions and Transit Operators are also utilizing "dual-interface" or "combi-cards" which are smart cards that have both contact and contactless interfaces and typically contain a transit application (such as Mifare) and a payment applications (such as Credit or Debit). A wireless phone that is equipped with transit smart card and antenna creates a unique personal transaction terminal. In the US, smart card transit systems are now in process in Washington DC, Boston, Las Vegas, San Francisco representing millions of commuters, and with mobile phone penetration in the US currently over 45%, there is a significant market opportunity for mobile phones that can be used as transit tokes or used to recharge transit smart cards. If successful this product add more capability to what could be the communication appliance of choice, the mobile phone. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Petrov, Andrew WAY Systems, Inc. MA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99616 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339298 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Software Visualization of Parallel Programs with Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will establish the feasibility of a software visualization tool that extracts and transforms data about the structure and behavior of parallel programs into Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) files. These files will provide a virtual world that a programmer can browse and interact with to better understand the parallel program's performance. The VRML representation provides a standard and portable way of displaying an interactive three-dimensional environment that can include large amounts of performance and program structure information in an intuitive way. The research will investigate methods of using this powerful representation method to best advantage for software performance analysis of large complex parallel software systems. This tool will provide users with a new perspective on parallel programs and their behavior. The broader impact of this proposed activity will be the availability of a tool that will be very useful to programmers of high-performance systems. Anyone who is trying to understand and improve the performance of his or her large parallel programs will benefit from this project. The tool will be of direct commercial interest to all users of parallel systems. In addition, the effective use of a virtual world data exploration paradigm for abstract data such as parallel computer performance information may lead to other commercial applications to help understand large database performance and web usage statistics, for example. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Brode, Brian Crescent Bay Software Corporation CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99146 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339300 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Software Protection Shield (SoftShield). This Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project proposes to develop the skeletal structure and estimate the technical feasibility of a reverse engineering protective shield software package, a novel advanced integrated secure software processing system comprising a working environment that utilizes the most promising tools and techniques to eliminate or drastically reduce the vulnerability of high-value software binaries from being reverse-engineered. This project explores creative and original concepts of secure wrapper-based capability that utilizes the most promising tools and techniques for processing software binaries. The effort will examine various reverse engineering techniques and identify the strengths and weaknesses of each technique. Based on that, innovative tools and techniques will be identified to counter those reverse engineering techniques through the capabilities of detecting hostile reverse engineering applications including debuggers and disassemblers; detecting falsified operating environments; memory and file protection; and obfuscation, as applied to executables. This set of tools and techniques will be recommended for incorporation into a package to provide the foundation for developing a prototype environment for demonstration in Phase II. The proposed project is important to advancing knowledge and understanding within the software security field since it reduces the vulnerability of high-value legacy software against reverse engineering. The project will advance discovery and understanding of software security while promoting teaching, training, and learning of protection of high performance computing (HPC). It will benefit the society through protection of US Government assets and future investments on HPC. Any computer application where software binary vulnerabilities are a concern would benefit from this technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Husseiny, Abdo Technology International Incorporated of Virginia LA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9150 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339310 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Ultrasensitive, Real-Time Explosives Sensor. 0339310 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop an ultrasensitive, real-time, laser-based explosives sensor. The novel, all solid state, laser-based system can be configured in numerous embodiments for use in walk-through, baggage, and cargo screening portals and can potentially be manufactured in man-portable versions for mine sweeping applications. The proposed sensor will combine a new laser technology with a new detection method to exceed the detection limits of presently employed ion mobility mass spectrometry based systems by orders of magnitude. The proposed sensor will be capable of rapidly detecting and discriminating among ultratrace levels of different explosives in real time with unparalleled sensitivity. The sensor will be capable of detecting common explosives such as TNT, RDX, and PETN at parts-per-trillion concentration level with high chemical specificity in less than 10 seconds. The commercial markets for such a sensor system are enormous and the need immediate. The proposed instrument will enable explosives to be detected in real-time with unparalelled sensitivity and selectivity. The same instrument can also be used for the trace detection of chemical warfare and potentially biological warfare agents. In addition to security applications, the same sensor can be used for applications in industrial process control, environmental monitoring, and natural gas sensing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Scherer, James NOVAWAVE TECHNOLOGIES CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339336 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Vertical EML Source for High-Speed Interconnects. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to demonstrate technical feasibility of a high-speed Vertical Electro-absorptive Modulated Laser (V-EML) for high-speed interconnects. This novel technology is built on the VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) concept and has all of its nominal advantages such as low-power consumption, on-wafer testability, and possibility of two-dimensional arrays. This technology should eliminate the complications associated with direct modulation of the VCSEL at high speeds. Modulation will be done externally by an electro-absorptive modulator that is integrated with the VCSEL either in a hybrid fashion or monolithically. This approach allows clean modulation without overshoot at speeds higher than 10 Gbps and easily reaching 40 Gbps. Furthermore, by decoupling the modulation issues from VCSEL emission, it provides additional design freedom for achieving extra stability, lower noise and higher reliability. This concept is expected to strongly impact the chip to chip and board to board interconnect industry by virtually removing modulation speed limit and minimizing signal distortion of the optical transmitter. Vertical laser sources in general have cost and size advantages over horizontal emitters in low to medium-power single-device applications. They also lend themselves more easily to two-dimensional array fabrication. The V-EML concept further removes the limitations of direct modulation from these devices. With external modulation, the V-EML can be driven by simpler electronics and at higher speeds. The application that this work is intended for is high-speed interconnects. This can either be in the form of backplane connections, distributed board-to-board connections or chip-to-chip optical interconnects (C2OI). VCSEL arrays known as "smart pixels" have been proposed and tested for such applications. A major impact of this technology is that it will help to remove the chip and board boundaries as significant obstacles to data transport, and will make possible truly distributed and scalable systems of the future. The high-speed interconnects optical communications market size is estimated to be more than $9 billion in 2010. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Riaziat, Majid OEPIC SEMICONDUCTORS, INC CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99367 5371 HPCC 9145 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0339338 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Nano-Porous Silicon Gas Diffusion Electrode for Miniaturized Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses fabrication of micro- and nano-machined silicon gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) for miniaturized Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Novel micro- and nano-machining techniques will enable application of thin-film inorganic membranes with resultant miniaturization and elimination of methanol crossover. The typical PEM fuel cell is designed around a Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) in which the membrane is a self-supporting mechanical member. Current state-of-the-Art PEM fuel cells apply relatively thick membranes of NAFION or other organic materials, with GDEs pressed onto each side at high temperatures and pressures to form the MEA. Shifting the requirement for mechanical support from the membrane to one of the GDEs allows the membrane to be made up to two orders of magnitude thinner. This approach opens up broad possibilities for new membrane materials and miniaturization of fuel cells to meet application needs. Thin-film materials have not previously been applied as electrolytic membranes because the integration problems of applying thin films over porous GDEs have not been solved. This project will demonstrate that a GDE with thin-film membrane can be constructed from micro- and nano-machined silicon, with the silicon GDE providing the required mechanical support. Commercially, PEM fuel cells are used in applications ranging from transportation to personal electronics. Current applications of fuel cells to portable electronic devices such as cell phones, laptops or PDAs are limited largely by the difficulty in achieving the necessary miniaturization. The proposed technology will ultimately enable integration of fuel cells with any arbitrary integrated circuit. This creates entirely new possibilities for miniaturized autonomous systems. Additional applications for nanoporous silicon technology are electrochemical sensors, SOFC fuel cells, thermal management, light emission, absorption and detection devices. In this work, silicon is an ideal choice of material with excellent electrical and mechanical properties, allowing application of equipment, facilities and processes developed for the semiconductor electronics industry to fabrication of miniaturized fuel cells. Due to the discipline of standardization practiced by semiconductor fabricators, it is likely that developed processes will be adopted and widely disseminated. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Foster, Ron Moducell Incorportated AR T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1794 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339343 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Hardware Support for 10 Gbps Intrusion Detection. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase Iresearch project addresses the need of business and government organizations to monitor and protect their high-speed electronic networks. Current network intrusion detection technologies are based on software or network processors, both of which are essentially serial in nature, and cannot meet the speed requirements of 10 Gbps networks. The proposed research intends to demonstrate the feasibility of using a novel, massively parallel architecture specifically designed for high-speed intrusion detection. The objective of this project is to take an existing intrusion detection acceleration design implemented for 1 Gbps network, and extend it to meet 10 Gbps requirements. Specifically, this research outlines a path to (1) determine the proper architecture extension needed to achieve 10 Gbps throughput, (2) create the actual logic design, and (3) perform simulation to prove that the design can indeed handle 10 Gbps. It is anticipated that the research will show that an extension of the architecture can indeed handle 10 Gbps. An eventual application is to deploy the hardware detection engine in a complete intrusion detection solution and enabling the solution to operate in a live 10 Gbps network. Today's networks are still vulnerable to hackers, cyber criminals, and cyber terrorists. An architecture which can scale with both (1) the increase in the number and complexity of signatures and (2) the increase in network speeds, is needed not only to meet today's security needs, but also to lay out the groundwork for future intrusion detection and other network surveillance systems. Network managers will be able to upgrade the security of their networks in a shorter period of time and at a lower cost. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ricciulli, Livio Metanetworks, inc, CA CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 149308 V625 5371 HPCC 9139 0308000 Industrial Technology 0522400 Information Systems 0339345 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: The Visual Database: Portable, XML-Based Middleware For Media Representation, Interaction and Exchange. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I research project will create a portable representational and interaction metaphor for digital media embedded in a 3D viewing environment. Currently it is difficult to organize heterogeneous digital media such as photographs, video, sound, and 3D graphics content into a form that is readily understood, intuitive to work with, and easy to exchange via e-mail or other standard data transmission protocols. The work described here will define a representational schema based on data context, data access portals, and ordered space-time paths that can be efficiently represented using the portable exchange language XML. This metaphor-known as the visual database or VDB-is generally applicable to information that is best understood in an interactive 3D visual environment such as electronic medical records and anatomical training material, maps, digital tours of 3D environments, and archival of engineering analysis. The project will also create a prototype viewer and content creation system for the VDB. If successful, this project will establish a pervasive new standard for representing, interacting with, and exchanging digital media. Such a standard could improve the productivity of individuals and firms that create and communicate with 3D content. This project defines a novel metaphor for working with information that extends previous organizational metaphors such as books and web pages to support visual, 3D information. The representational schema is simple enough to be supported by small portable devices such as PDA's, and sophisticated enough to support complex human/computer interaction in a 3D visualization environment. The technology lends itself to a commercialization plan based on open XML standard and associated content viewers in conjunction with commercial content creation applications and licensing relationships. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schroeder, William KITWARE INC NY Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339355 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Multi-Scale Modeling for Fluid-Particle Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I research project will develop numerical methods and corresponding computational tools for modeling the fluid-particle flows in gas fluidization of multi-sized particles. This work involves the combination of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to describe the continuum flow of the fluid and the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to describe the discrete flow of the solid particles. The aims of this project are: 1) to develop and validate at the particle level computer models that can satisfactorily describe fluid-particle flows under different conditions; 2) to quantify fluid-particle and particle-particle interactions and their effects on the fluid-particle flow via detailed micro-dynamic analysis; 3) to apply the fundamental findings to support the continuum modeling through typical case studies; and 4) to produce high-performance, state-of-the-art software packages capable of simulating the dynamics of the fluid-particle systems. Such simulations will be extremely computationally intensive and it is therefore imperative to use the presently most advanced computational technique, i.e. parallel computation. The parallel computing algorithm with options of Serial, PVM or MPI to accommodate any types of machines will be implemented in the fluid-particle solver to exploit the unlimited power of parallel computers. The potential outcomes of this project will be to provide a CFD model that can reliably simulate the fluid-particle systems that occur often in chemical, pharmaceutical and mineral industries, and to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of fluid-particle flows that can lead to improvement of the fluidization technology. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Chen, Yen-Sen ENGINEERING SCIENCES, INC. AL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 9150 HPCC 9215 9150 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339360 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I:Feasibility Study for Cheminformatics Teaching Tools. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the feasibility of designing and building virtual classroom software tools for cheminformatics training in both academic and business settings. Mesa Analytics & Computing, LLC has developed a commercial, integrated suite of the leading edge cheminformatics software tools in the cheminformatics areas mentioned above. However, these tools, containing new and original research by Mesa, are for use in large scale research and industrial applications, where the users already have experience in cheminformatics software. The research goals of this project are to show that virtual classroom software tools will be effective, comprehensive, and low cost products for training in both academic and industry settings. This project will assess the portability and scalability of software tools for interactive distance learning in chemical information topics, such as finding structural commonalities in diverse compound sets, generation and use of structural compound descriptors, similarity searching and clustering, and compound diversity analysis for compound acquisition. The project will produce a report outlining the design of the training software tools, including the graphical user interface and virtual classroom integration, from the underlying research and commercial tools. At present there are no specific software tools for chemical information training in the U.S., though there are several nascent chemometrics and chemical information university departments and curricula. A number of commercial software products used in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry are either too expensive or of limited utility for training in either academic or business settings. Converting Mesa's tools into training tools for concept learning will serve the dual purpose in providing cheminformatics training tools for both academia and industry. By employing distance learning through a web delivery system, the training software will provide an effective, low cost solution for academic institutions, whether they are offering a single course to rural students in a remote setting, or an entire program in cheminformatics and a major urban university. In addition, such training tools will be very useful in industry settings with local area networks, where in a multidiscipline setting individuals need to receive training on the concepts employed by industrial chemoinformatics software--an integral part of the drug discovery process for pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Key words: cheminformatics, chemometrics, clustering, compound diversity analysis for compound acquisition, distance learning, similarity searching, structural commonalities in diverse compound sets, structural compound descriptors, virtual classroom. Subtopic: B. Teaching and Learning PROPOSAL NO.: 0339360 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: MacCuish, Norah INSTITUTION NAME: Mesa Analytics & Computing, LLC TITLE: SBIR Phase I:Feasibility Study for Cheminformatics Teaching Tools NSF RECEIVED DATE: 06/11/2003 EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG MacCuish, Norah Mesa Analytics & Computing, LLC NM Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99786 9150 SMET 9179 9178 9150 9102 7256 0108000 Software Development 0522400 Information Systems 0339366 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Ultra Violet (UV) Light Source for High-Precision, High-Resolution Photomask Metrology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is for the construction of an ultra-high-resolution, high-precision phase-shift measurement tool suitable for metrology of advanced phase-shifting photomasks. A number of semiconductor manufacturers now expect to progress from the 90 nm through the 45 nm nodes using an exposure wavelength of 193 nm. Advanced photolithographic techniques are necessary to print these sub-wavelength features. Phase-shift photomasks, i.e., those in which the optical thickness, as well as the opacity is controlled, are a key reticle enhancement technology. Fast and accurate metrology of critical-layer phase-shift masks is becoming necessary, both for process control and repair validation, but the enabling tools do not yet exist. The goal of this SBIR Phase I project is to develop a new, solid-state, high-repetition-rate actinic 193.4 nm laser with high spatial coherence and stability. This illumination source will be integrated into an existing prototype microscope tool to demonstrate high-speed, highly precise phase metrology suitable for use in the 90, 65, and 45 nm node device generations. The project involves the design and construction of a novel optical-parametric-oscillator and a number of associated nonlinear frequency conversion elements. The commercial application of this project will be in the semiconductor lithography industry. The semiconductor industry roadmap for the 90 nm mode and beyond requires measurements of photomask optical path difference with sub-0.4 degrees precision. This metrology must be performed at resolution scales consistent with feature sizes of the respective technology nodes, and for both isolated and densely packed structures. No commercial devices yet exist which satisfy these demands. The high-repetition-rate actinic laser source described in this proposal is a key enabling technology for a new high-precision metrology tool. Further, as a high-power stand-alone source, the ultra-violet (UV) laser will meet the associated optical demands of advanced photolithography, including imaging, bulk material and coating analyses, and damage tests. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Merriam, Andrew ACTINIX CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 1676 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339377 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Geology Explorer Uses in Earth Science. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I research project will develop an innovative role-based software for science education. Using a schema called "scenario-based assessment" the company has gathered evidence in controlled studies that this software is effective in helping students to learn and solve science problems. This project will study the feasibility of using enhanced versions of this software to improve K-12 science education by: a) freely disseminating the software to a range of public and private schools in North Dakota; b) creating and providing an array of support documentation to accompany the software: user manual, teacher guide and suggested lesson plans; c) providing online "help desk" technical support for the period of the grant; d) coordinating assessment studies and lesson narratives conducted on the company's behalf by teachers at the schools. This research will address two questions: 1) what is the level and type of support necessary to enhance adoption rates; and 2) what are the measurable effects on K-12 student learning that arise from using this software in school. The commercial application of this research will be a self-sustaining educational media company that takes intellectual property created by the NDSU research team and develops and expands it to produce commercially viable role-based educational simulation environments. This research is aimed at developing and distributing new models of science education, and providing science teachers with new methods and materials for the classroom, thus promoting teaching and learning. Its questions in Phase I will inform the handling of the feedback loop from teachers to developers, thus enhancing the infrastructure for research and education partnerships. These approaches have the potential to change the way science is taught in the schools. As the goal of science instruction is to help foster a scientifically literate public, the goal of this project is to help foster better science education. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Opgrande, John WOWIWE INSTRUCTION CO. ND Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 9150 SMET 9177 9150 0108000 Software Development 0339394 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Electro-Optic Photonic Bandgap Materials and Devices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop the next generation of photonic devices through innovative tunable electro-optic (EO) photonic bandgap materials. The resulting EO photonic bandgap materials will be useful in applications such as high-speed modulators, filters, and switches. These devices promise to enable photonic integrated circuits and eventually a system-on-a-chip. A one-dimensional tunable EO photonic bandgap modulator/filter will be designed and demonstrated in Phase I. The feasibility of an EO two-dimensional photonic bandgap structure will be studied in Phase I and implemented in Phase II. The commercial application of this project is in the optical communications industry. The resulting EO materials will be useful in applications such as high-speed modulators, filters, and switches. These devices will enable photonic integrated circuits. The materials are expected to have the highest EO coefficient among the known solid materials: about 100 times that of LiNbO3. Electro-optic films are also inherently fast in response. An EO photonic bandgap material modulator with miniature size and lower driving voltage is possible. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zou, Yingyin Boston Applied Technologies, Incorporated MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99996 5371 AMPP 9163 1794 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339399 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: HW-Accelerated Verification with TestBench Caching and Reduced Design Compilation. 0339399 This SBIR Phase I project addresses issues related to verication and debugging of application specic integrated circuits (ASICs) and systems on chip (SOCs) and proposes a novel solution to drastically improve efficiency and performance of design verication. The design verication already dominates the overall design development time and negatively impacts the designer pro- ductivity and product's time to market. The proposed method is based on a novel technology, called testbench caching, which reduces by the several orders of magnitude the HW/SW communication overhead. It is combined with the technique that also reduces the need for frequent and time intensive design compilation, and increased signal visibility, essential for fast hardware debugging. Over 100 times improvement is expected w.r.to traditional simulation, and 10-20 times w.r.to traditional simulation acceleration. This project will result in the development of a prototype system to validate the above claims. By accelerating the verication and providing efficient debugging facility the proposed solution will substantially shorten time to market for ASIC and SOC designs. Designers productivity will increase, lowering product development and labor costs. The proposed system methodology will have a signicant, positive commercial impact and will contribute to the growth of the verication systems market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ciesielski, Maciej LogicMill Technology MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339410 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: 2D Transducer Array for 3D High-Resolution Ultrasound Imaging. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes the development of a Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) based, 2D ultrasonic transducer array for 3D imaging in real time, featuring near-photographic image quality with sub-millimeter resolution at 20cm depth. Current 2D ultrasound systems employ a 1D array of transducers to accumulate images. A 2D array is universally acknowledged as the ideal approach for 3D image acquisition; however, multiple challenges must be overcome to make this practical, including: limitations in existing piezoelectric transducer technology, connecting an array with many elements (e.g., > 16,000) to front-end electronics, and processing large amounts of image data in real-time. The highly collaborative Phase I effort will focus on the design and simulation of key building blocks of the array, including a specialized transducer design; fully-populated array architecture with over 16,000 elements; and integrated multiplexing scheme to reduce interconnect lead count. The developed technology will bring many new capabilities to medical imaging, including volumetric flow, and real-time 3D imaging for tumor evaluation, image-guided surgery, and fetal echo-cardiography. Ultrasound provides real-time medical imaging, is safer than radiation-based modalities, and is less expensive to buy and maintain than magneto-resonance imaging (MRI) system. 2D ultrasound imaging is currently used for abdominal, breast, cardiovascular, OB/GYN, pediatrics, and a host of other diagnostic modalities. The developed 2D transducer array technology, once incorporated into a commercially viable, practical, easy-to-use, high quality 3D/4D ultrasound system has potentially immense societal impact. Such a system would: SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rich, Collin SONETICS ULTRASOUND, INC MI Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99800 5371 HPCC 9145 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0339412 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Development of Applique Propagation Measurement Circuits for Enhanced Non-Line-of-Sight Broadband Wireless. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to lead to development of embedded propagation measurement circuits that will be used as an applique in conjunction with broadband wireless networks. It is predicated on the principle that it is better to learn about signal strength, path distortion, etc., of non-line-of-sight transmission channels ahead of time rather than placing queries into data packets. Current systems over-compensates for this lack of foreknowledge through redundant transmissions, repeat requests, oversizing transmit power, or by placing limitations on useful range of operations. Research will emphasize performance of trade studies and analyses to optimize algorithms so that they work to the highest possible levels of channel stress including, but not limited to lowest signal-to-noise ratio, highest rates of Doppler, worst multipath, longest range, and highest number of redundancy antennas. Wireless non-line-of-sight techniques such as multiple input multiple output (MIMO), smart antennas, turbo coding, and diversity combining, will benefit equipment suppliers because now they will be able to reuse most of their internal modem designs and still take advantage of the applique nature of this product. This technology will benefit the following groups of users: 1) rural communities, 2) first response groups such as Fire and Rescue, Police, Ambulance services, and Airport Security, 3) people working in groups that require mobility, outdoor work, and 4) close cooperative communications over large distances such as Agriculture, Maritime Trades, Forestry, Oil Drilling, Utilities Operations, Construction and Military personnel. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Arnstein, Donald Saraband Wireless, Inc. VA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0116000 Human Subjects 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339417 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Compact, Tunable, GaN Diode Lasers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to develop a novel, monolithic external-cavity to tune near-UV laser diodes now commercially available between 375 and 440 nm. The external cavity will provide electro-optic control over both the lasing wavelength and the cavity optical path enabling single-mode, mode-hop-free tuning over 5-10 nm sections. The entire optical package will be centimeter sized, environmentally robust, and deliver 2-10 mW of optical power. Tuning speeds are proposed to be in millisecond time scales. Tunable blue and visible laser diodes with these tuning characteristics would be useful for spectroscopy-based sensors of many light molecules, elements, and biogenic materials. Tunable diode lasers from the violet to the IR would have broader impacts to scientific education, the research community, and to the economy. Educators should welcome low-cost alternatives to dye lasers allowing sophisticated atomic and molecular spectroscopy experiments to be performed with modest budgets. Researchers should be able to use a wider variety of wavelengths in their experiments. Tunable blue and visible laser diodes would find early commercial success in the scientific research markets where they would replace troublesome dye-laser systems and expensive frequency-doubled Ti-Sapphire lasers. The robust and compact form factor of our laser, combined with decisive control over the output wavelength should enable a wide variety of in-situ spectroscopy-based sensors for hand-held devices, engine exhaust sensors, and combustion monitoring, SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Anderson, Mike VESCENT PHOTONICS INCORPORATED CO Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9145 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0339430 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I:A New High-Strain Material for Medical Ultrasound Transducers. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is aimed at engineering a high-strain piezoelectric material for use in medical ultrasound transducers. The proposed work entails investigations of the relaxor ferroelectric Pb(Yb0.5Nb0.5)O3-PbTiO3 (PYbN-PT). A major increase in the d31 and d33 piezoelectric coefficients can be realized by growing rhombohedral PYbN-PT crystals along the pseudocubic <001> orientation. The objective is to attain the benefits of <001> oriented single crystals, but to do so via the sol-gel thin film method. Our initial research in the area of relaxor ferroelectrics shows that PYbN-PT has significantly higher strain than lead zirconate titanate (PZT), the mainstay material of high performance transducers. In addition, the new film has many other desirable features of PZT. In Phase I, PYnB-PT will be developed and fully characterized for use in medical ultrasound. To be useful for medical ultrasound purposes, a PYbN-PT film thickness of at least 3-4 microns must be achieved. The proposed Phase I optimization study should be able to increase ultrasound system selectivity by more than one order of magnitude. The commercial application of this project is in the field of medical ultrasound imaging. The PYbN-PT film will be used to enhance the sensitivity of medical ultrasound images with cellular resolution. To achieve the necessary spatial resolution, the transducer must emit a high-frequency, broadband pulse. As the ultrasonic frequency increases, the attenuation of the diagnostic wave increases in human tissue and there is a need for more measurement sensitivity. The proposed investigation is particularly relevant to the development of low-cost imaging devices for ophthalmology, dermatology, and otolaryngology as well as for the intravascular assessment of coronary pathologies. For these applications, transducer sensitivity plays an important role in the differential diagnosis of disease.. Ultrasound is one of the most cost-effective imaging diagnostics, and its continued development in other medical disciplines satisfies an important social need. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Djuth, Frank Geospace Research Inc CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1794 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339431 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: MEMS Heat Dissipation Foundation for High Performance Microelectronic Cooling. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project involves the design, fabrication and preliminary testing of a micro-machined, horizontal and vertical heat pipe array to create a sealed, recirculating, "heat dissipation fountain" (HDF) for low cost, high performance microelectronic cooling. Based on this technique, localized, substrate bonding technology, a single-crystal (SC) silicon end plates with micro-machined channels that will sandwich multiple layers of interconnected, porous silicon substrates. The three technical innovations are proposed for this project are (1) the development of a method to assemble a 3-D meso-structure by bonding several substrates together (e.g. SC silicon to porous silicon); (2) a meso-scale heat dissipation device from an appropriately scaled, stacked substrate structure; and (3) in-situ, hermetic sealing of a working fluid within the porous structure. These technical innovations are driven by basic research into techniques to decrease the surface temperature necessary for fluid superheat to initiate nucleate boiling and to raise the critical heat flux value for the system. From an engineering aspect, this will lead to an understanding of design parameters and tradeoffs associated with micro-scale two-phase heat transfer mechanisms. Commercial IC-grade SC silicon can cost less than $10 per wafer than commercial supplier of porous silicon. The commercial motivation behind the development of this technology are (1) there is an immediate need for low cost, lightweight, efficient, cooling of microelectronic devices; (2) two-phased cooling allows for cooling of next generation microprocessors with heat fluxes exceeding 100 W/cm2; and (3) stacked bonding allows for scaling of the heat exchanger with changes in microprocessor heat flux SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mai, John Microwave Bonding Instruments, Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99908 5371 HPCC 9145 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0339455 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Variable Dynamic Range Detector System For Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) Measurements. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a new Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) detector system, which will measure signals over seven orders of magnitude with a digitization resolution of better than 1 percent (from a single laser pulse). The detector system hopes to bridge the gap between analog to digital converters and photon counting systems. The intellectual merit of the system is in the way it combines state of the art logarithmic amplifiers, variable gain on the detectors and traditional photon counting (for very low signals). A microprocessor will be used to process the data and provide a high-speed Internet connection. The final detector system should be relatively inexpensive and will improve LIDAR scanning and miniaturization possibilities. The same design could also be applied to multi-channel detectors allowing scanning LIDAR remote sensing spectral studies (fluorescence, Raman, Differential absorption). EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Porter, John 3SRM HI Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 90334 9150 HPCC 9150 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339457 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Reversible, Colorimetric Hydrogen Safety Sensor Using Tailored Xerogels. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to demonstrate the feasibility of an all-optical hydrogen sensor system. Safety remains a top priority since leakage of hydrogen in air during production, storage, transfer, or distribution creates an explosive atmosphere over a broad concentration range. The hydrogen economy infrastructure is new and rapidly growing; public acceptance of hydrogen fuel will require the integration of reliable hydrogen safety sensors. Feasibility of the sensing approach will be demonstrated by developing a sol-gel-titania-based sensor. Tasks have been designed to characterize dynamic range, response time, reversibility, accuracy, resolution and lack of interference from humidity. Four criteria have been established to define Phase I success. They are : (1) sensitivity to 0.05% hydrogen; (2) return of the signal to the same baseline upon cycling between 0% and 10% hydrogen 20 tomes; (3) the recovery time staying within 10% of the response time; and (4) the sensor performance remaining unchanged in the presence of 100% relative humidity. The commercial application of the hydrogen sensor developed in this project is as a safety device in the hydrogen fuel industry. The hydrogen-related energy business is expected to exceed $15 billion by 2010. This rapid growth includes fuel cells and liquid fuel tanks for rockets. Hydrogen sensor sales are predicted to accelerate for automotive applications. Other applications include power generation, aerospace, food production, and industrial process control where hydrogen is used as a feedstock. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Goswami, Kisholoy InnoSense LLC CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339459 January 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Integrated Self Monitoring Sensor Networks within Composite Materials. 0339459 This STTR Phase I research project proposes to develop a new class of self-sensing composites. Self-sensing, self-monitoring composites will be engineered materials with embedded networks of miniaturized transducing and sensing elements, judiciously integrated within reinforcement morphology of a composite, that will acquire, process, and even respond to information crucial for determining the state of structural health. The goal of Phase I is to fabricate a proof-of-concept self-sensing composite without significantly diminishing its overall structural integrity. This will be addressed by developing techniques for integrating sensors, electronics and connecting elements within the braids of a typical fiber-based composite. All electronic components must be able to withstand typical processing techniques, including the moderately high temperatures and pressures. A composite with an embedded sensor network, interconnects, data acquisition and local processing will be fabricated. Its structural properties will be compared with conventional composite of the same composition. We anticipate that this work will result in development of self-monitoring composite materials. These composites will be capable of acquiring and processing information related to its structural health and responding to this information by self-correcting its behavior if needed. Self-monitoring capabilities will result in more efficient higher performance, tighter and more precise specifications for composite structures and greater flexibility in composite design. Adding self-sensing functionality to existing composites offers a unique means of improving structural performance without additional demands on mechanical properties. It will also enable wider use of composites in the remote, inaccessible and hazardous environments where conventional NDE is difficult or impossible to perform in real time. The real time monitoring capabilities will improve safety in the mission-critical composite application areas. The proposed research is expected to have a significant impact on structural and environmental engineering. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Starr, Anthony SensorMetrix CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99996 1505 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339464 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Tools for Protecting Against Online Password Guessing Attacks. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the need to protect networked computer systems from sophisticated password guessing or dictionary attacks. Such attacks result in the adversary learning the password or causing a denial of service due to account locking. In many cases account locking is not practically feasible due to the increased costs of supporting customers. Recent countermeasures require human-in- the-loop or Reverse Turing Tests (RTT) as part of the authentication protocol. This project will demonstrate that many RTT protocols are vulnerable to relay attacks. In one instance, RTT challenges are relayed to unsuspecting parties, who generate responses that are then relayed back to the challenger. This project explores this threat of attack, propose mechanisms to address it, and explore specific enhancements to an RTT-based login protocol. A major feature of our approach is increased security, usability, flexibility, and configurability. The protocol will be tailored to match particular environment, classes of users, and applications. These features are necessary for any practical adoption RTT-based solutions. The success of this project will lead to more secure networks that are more user-friendly, flexible and configurable. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Stubblebine, Stuart Stubblebine Research Labs, LLC NJ Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99999 5371 HPCC 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339471 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Network Anomaly Detection Using a Self-Similar Traffic Model. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project targets the development of a new network anomaly detection method. The proposed method uses the deviations in the self-similarity characteristics of the network traffic to detect network attacks such as denial of service (DoS) and distributed denial of service (DDoS). DoS, and DDoS attacks are extremely popular in the Internet, and cause significant financial damage to the U.S. economy every year. The proposed innovation can be used as a standalone IDS or as a module in an IDS framework. The potential advantages of the proposed concept are its speed, efficiency, and its ability to detect new and unknown attacks. The relationship between the existence of a network anomaly, and a change in the self-similarity characteristics of the network traffic will be studied. Existing methods for the real-time estimation of the self-similarity parameter H (Hurst parameter) will be evaluated, and new approaches will be investigated. Possible improvements for accurate anomaly detection with minimum false-alarm rates will be discussed, once the desired relations between attacks and the changes in the H parameter have been established. The results of this project will provide valuable information about the feasibility of real-time, automated network anomaly detectors. The development of these mechanisms is critical for the success of the next generation of intrusion detection systems, and more importantly, intrusion prevention systems (IPSs). The concept of intrusion prevention has great commercial potential, because it allows networks to detect and stop attacks before any considerable damage occurs. An IPS requires not only fast but also accurate anomaly detectors for successful deployment in real networks. The proposed innovation will be a promising step towards the realization of the next-generation of robust network security devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Garcia, Raymond Shadowband Systems, Inc. GA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99998 5371 HPCC 9139 9102 5225 0522400 Information Systems 0339489 January 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Visualization API Enablers for a High-End Fine-Grained Parallel Processor. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase 1 project seeks to advance a major application domain for a recent patented technology, Explicit-Multi-Threading (XMT), for building and using computers. Numerous algorithm researchers have developed a computational model, the Parallel Random Access Model (PRAM), during the 1980s and 1990s. From that starting point, a highly parallel XMT processor architecture whose performance objective is reducing single task completion time has been conceived and developed. Using fast driving as a metaphor for fast single task computing, and a flat tire for cache miss, XMT seeks not only to build cars that can be driven very fast; the cars will also allow safely changing a flat tire while the fast driving continues. The XMT technology will give programmers the freedom and power to think and code in parallel. The simplicity of the parallel programming model enables high productivity for the application programmer. Orders of magnitude faster general purpose single task completion time for a given amount of hardware are expected. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Vishkin, Uzi XMTT, Inc. MD Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 1505 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339510 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Ensuring Food Safety - A Predictive Modeling Tool for Process Design and Validation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project project proposes to determine the feasibility of a software-modeling tool for the food industry to ensure safety of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. Contamination of RTE foods has caused severe illnesses and major product recalls in recent years. Current methods used by equipment manufacturers and food producers to set parameters for thermal processing rely heavily on testing, which is expensive, time-consuming, and often results in conservative processes that sacrifice product quality and yield. The objective of this project is to demonstrate that an innovative software tool, combining mathematical models of heat and mass transfer to and from the product with pathogen kinetics, can be used to design food production processes and validate their effectiveness in pathogen reduction. The models will be based on extensive studies that have established important parameters affecting product properties and temperatures and thus the rate of pathogen destruction. The proposed research and commercialization of the software tool will provide significant societal benefit by helping to reduce food-borne illness and product recalls among ready-to-eat foods. Also, it is well recognized in the industry that there is enormous potential to improve economics of food production through design of optimized processes that improve yield while maintaining safety. The proposed software tool promises to help producers realize this goal. Finally, there will be significant benefit in terms of the interaction between industry and Government and compliance with new regulations intended to improve food safety. The research will contribute valuable knowledge of thermal and biokinetic processes involved in RTE food production and advance the state of the art in modeling of thermal and biokinetic processes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Driscoll, Keith Biokinetic Controls, LLC AR Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 9102 0116000 Human Subjects 0522400 Information Systems 0339525 January 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: A Software Simulator For Magnetohydrodynamic-Based Microfluidic Networks. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project proposes to develop a design tool for magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) based microfluidic devices. SFC Fluidics' exclusive MHD microfluidic technology has the potential to play an important role in the emerging microfluidic applications market, but this requires the availability of an application development design tool for MHD microfluidic devices. No such design tool presently exists. In Phase I, a software program that will be able to predict the flow characteristics of an MHD microfluidic system given user defined design parameters will be developed. MHD microfluidic networks can potentially provide an elegant, inexpensive, flexible, customizable fluidic platform that will allow one to move fluids along programmable paths, stir liquids, and facilitate chemical and biological interaction and thermal cycling. While no single approach to microfluidic control works well for all applications, the proposed approach has several unique advantages that make it very promising for many applications. Much of the current laboratory equipment and instrumentation existing today can potentially be implemented in a laboratory-on-a-chip configuration using microfluidics. This potential transformation has been compared by some to the transformation in electronics that occurred upon the transition from vacuum tubes to integrated circuits. The anticipated advantages include increased speed and performance, reduced materials usage, reduced size and power requirements, improved reliability and robustness, and reduced opportunity for contamination. As an enabling technology, MHD-based microfluidics could improve microfluidic technology for a wide variety of devices, leading to smaller, less expensive, more portable and more sensitive devices for industrial, medical, and defense purposes. MHD-based microfluidics can move samples through fluidic channels at pl/min to ml/min flow rates without moving parts, and without bulky power supplies, making the technology especially well suited for handheld devices. Successful development of MHD-based microfluidics will further knowledge about microfluidic systems, and will lead to more advanced microfluidic devices. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Arumugam, Prabhu SFC FLUIDICS, LLC AR Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 1505 HPCC 9150 9139 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0339532 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Long Endurance Autonomous Aerial Vehicles for Geoscience Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop and demonstrate capable and reliable autonomous aerial platforms for geoscience missions. This will allow relevant scientific data to be gathered via remote, autonomous means, providing timely atmospheric and environmental data on a global scale, using a reliable, costeffective, easy-to-use tool. Such data has been shown to have significant bearing on the global weather patterns, thereby affecting the lives of people in all parts of the planet, both in the short term and in the long term. There are two major challenges: efficient aerodynamic, efficient engines and robust airframes to withstand turbulence. This proposal tackles these challenges, and presents innovative airframe and engine concepts that will enable long range (3500+ miles), long endurance (50+ hour) missions to be flown routinely. The aircraft will be able to make transoceanic or transcontinental flights, gathering relevant atmospheric data. Due to their improved aerodynamics and engines, such aircraft will also be able to fly in adverse weather conditions, which is currently not possible with existing UAV designs. The company is currently working with several university groups on such scientific missions, along with the US Department of Defense, Department of Transportation, NASA, and the Department of Homeland Security, thus giving us a clear path to commercialization. The vehicle developed in this effort can be sold or leased to end-users for scientific, civilian or military missions including atmospheric and environmental monitoring, wildlife monitoring/tracking, aerial photography, border patrol, law enforcement surveillance, communication nodes, target designation and tracking. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Sherwood, Tom KalScott Engineering Inc. KS Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99956 9150 EGCH 1636 1307 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339536 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Digital Microscopy with Collaborative Learning. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project plans to use digital microscopy to allow students seamless integration between digital image collection, storage, analysis, and sharing over the Internet, combining features of digital microscopy with the power of collaborative learning. Digital Blue will foster development of students' virtual learning communities with shared digital tools, uniformed microscopic techniques, and common goals to explore the invisible world around them. Such explorations will be integrated with AAAS, NRC and state education standards for Earth Science and Biology. By developing four instructional units on the study of: (1) water, soil and minerals; (2) microorganisms; (3) plant growth; and (4) invisible animal features, the project will foster implementation of affordable, yet accurate digital microscopy into science exploration in both formal classrooms and home settings. The project will build an infrastructure allowing individual student and classroom participation. The cornerstone of the infrastructure will be a web site with tools to support the virtual learning community. The web site design includes collaborative workspaces allowing a class to propose and launch an investigation. Each project will be supported by the Tapestry database, allowing easy uploading of an inlay of stored digital images supplemented with student commentaries. The database allows the recognition of unique unusual observations that pose a challenge questioning, motivating further investigations and analysis, mimicking the investigative nature of real science. In additional to the broader educational benefits widely recognized to accrue to collaborative learning, this project has the potential to initiate a new realm of innovation in educational technology; namely, web-enhanced devices. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV IIP ENG Hall, Timothy Digital Blue Incorporated GA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99650 7180 SMET 9177 7256 0101000 Curriculum Development 0522400 Information Systems 0339561 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: New Encoding System for Detection of Pathogens. 0339561 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project entails development of a novel on-chip electronic encoding bead-array detection system for simultaneous multiplexed detection of pathogenic agents. This technology will offer a quick and highly sensitive identification method for pathogens or toxins. Most current systems for the fast detection of pathogens are based on fluorescent dye labeling and optical detection of the signal, which are prone to photobleaching and are likely to fall short when multiplex detection is required. This new electronic encoding and chip-based system is highly flexible and can be used for direct detection and identification of whole pathogens, toxins or DNA/RNA. The method will have a broad impact on a number of bioanalytical fields because it will be capable of rapid, highly sensitive and multiplexed identification of pathogens or their toxins. The proposed research will have broad impact and applications in molecular diagnostics, and detection of infectious disease and biological agents. The applications will range from the detection of pathogens and biological warfare agents in environmental, agricultural and medical samples to infectious disease in clinical, molecular diagnostic and forensic applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fu, Tsu-Ju Inventis, Inc. CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339563 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Reconfigurable Collaborative Services Framework. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is for an architectural framework for reconfigurable collaborative services as a customizable and efficient solution to computer-supported cooperative activities. The key technical areas in which this project intends to develop innovative solutions are: customizable collaboration software, robustness, and heterogeneity sup-port. Based upon the principle of a flexible backplane that supports core facilities, the project is for an idea of collaboration modules that may be plugged-in as appropriate to a given cooperative endeavor. This research addresses the current dichotomy in collaboration software, and aims to devise new methodologies and systems to bridge the gap between general-purpose and custom-made tools. The objective of this research is to design such architecture and develop prototype software to establish its viability. A framework and a usable system will result from this work. In the conduct of this work, new techniques for multiway collaboration across heterogeneous platforms will be explored, and will likely contribute new and useful scientific findings to the field. Owing to its strong pragmatic bias, the project will have broad impact, both through the framework and via the software produced, on network based platforms for cooperative work in a large number of domain specific situations. This project will fill the large void between simplistic general purpose collaboration systems and expensive, custom built tools thereby bringing appropriate and efficient collaboration technology to numerous cooperative endeavors. Key design concepts in the proposed framework make it effective and usable without substantial infrastructure in terms of devices, networks, and administrative support thereby encouraging adoption in all sorts of communities. In particular, collaborative systems such as this research have substantial potential for broadening the participation of underrepresented groups via remote access to advanced educational, research, and technological facilities using simple, low end client systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sunderam, Vaidy Azomai Systems, Inc. GA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 98815 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339574 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Oxygen Sensor for Aircraft Fuel Tanks. 0339574 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of a new luminescent oxygen sensor that can be deployed within aircraft fuel tanks. This sensor takes advantage of recent advances in polymeric materials and microchip lasers to produce an oxygen sensing system that is not degraded by fuels or most other organic chemicals. This is not simply an overcoat for existing luminescent probes, but rather a unique new formulation. This sensor will be the first that can be deployed within the tank to make real-time measurements of the oxygen concentration while the airplane is in operation. This sensor will be capable of measuring oxygen concentrations in chemically harsh environments such as those encountered in fuel tanks. A direct impact of this on society will be safer air travel by eliminating, or significantly reducing the danger of a deadly fuel tank explosion. The key to being able to measure in these chemically harsh environments is the use of Teflon AF as the matrix material; like other Teflon materials, Teflon AF is virtually immune to chemical degradation. This opens the door for development of a whole host of luminescent sensors that can be deployed in chemically harsh environments including the measurement of water in fuels and alcohols, and the measurement of carbon dioxide in chemical processors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Martin, Travis DAKOTA TECHNOLOGIES INC ND Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339604 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Bulk Acoustic Wave Oil Quality Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of developing a novel acoustic wave sensor for use as an oil quality monitor for motor vehicles and industrial machinery. Normally oil quality is not monitored in situ. The most common method of ensuring oil quality is to change the oil after a specified amount of time or miles. The research objectives will be to determine the ideal excitation geometry for the sensor, fully characterize the sensor to mechanical and electrical perturbations of the contacting liquid, and demonstrate that the sensor can reliably monitor engine oil quality. Phase I work will demonstrate that the sensor is a vast improvement over both standard quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs) and QCMs with modified electrode geometries. The result will be acoustic wave sensors that are highly stable and optimized for oil quality monitoring. The development of an oil quality sensor will demonstrate that cutting edge sensor research can be brought to commercialization and at the same time promote teaching, training and learning for high school (HS), undergraduate (UG), and graduate (G) students. This project, in concert with an existing NSF Grades Kindergarten-12 (GK-12) program and a previously funded NSF science education grant integrating sensors into the UG and G engineering programs, will offer research, educational and job opportunities for HS, UG and G students to participate in the proposed project. The successful demonstration of an oil quality sensor will motivate the development of similar sensors for applications in health, agricultural, automotive, environmental and military areas. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG French, Lester Mainely Sensors, LLC ME Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99998 9150 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339647 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Lead-free Solder Process. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the need for an environmentally benign industrial process for the electronics sector, by the development of a lead-free solder process, capable of meeting the technical needs of the electronics industry, while eliminating the environmental hazard caused by the use of lead. This innovative process will allow electrodeposition of pure tin alloys, using a plating bath which does not contain organic additives, which will allow control of the grain size in the desired range of 1-8 microns, while minimizing or eliminating internal stresses, and producing a deposit with a matte finish. The objective of the Phase I project and subsequent Phase II, if awarded, is to develop a pure tin-plating process suitable for insertion into facilities producing printed circuit boards and other facilities currently using tin-lead plating for electronic applications. Specifically, in the Phase I project, the team will demonstrate that lead-free solder can be deposited onto printed circuit board test panels using an electrically mediated process. Commercially, the printed circuit board industry is searching for a replacement for tin-lead plating that has been the deposit of choice for almost all applications. This technology would have the potential to be applied across all sectors of the electronics industry and be a good candidate to replace lead-based solders thereby reducing the environmental risks. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sun, Jenny FARADAY TECHNOLOGY, INC OH T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99963 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1794 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339650 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Planning and Scheduling Tools for Extended Enterprise Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I research project is intended to develop a high quality, flexible, and adaptive planning and scheduling software prototype for extended enterprise manufacturing environments. Planning and scheduling are some of the most important functions within many production systems. In a competitive environment, effective planning and scheduling have become a necessary condition for survival in the marketplace. Failure to do so would not only mean a reduction in production effectiveness and higher costs, but also a serious erosion of the competitiveness of the entire supply chain. With recent advances in information technologies and the rapid evolution of supply chain management techniques, the need has arisen for more advanced planning and scheduling tools. These tools must be able to communicate, collaborate, and integrate their planning and scheduling functionalities to obtain optimal results throughout the enterprise. This research project will bring state-of-the-art decision and optimization methodologies to bear in meeting this need. This research development is expected to produce a significant practical impact in the area of Supply Chain Management. If successful, it will bring new planning and scheduling tools to the e-commerce business environment. Moreover, the development of the proposed prototype will be critical to the development and commercialization of an advanced planning and scheduling software tool that can be used for many industry sectors. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Li, Guining LS OPTIMAL, INC. WI Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0116000 Human Subjects 0522400 Information Systems 0339651 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Low Noise Scanning Thermal Microscopy for Defect Detection and Characterization of Semiconductor Materials. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project addresses a scanning thermal microscope (SThM) system, which can be used for measuring thermal parameters such as temperature, thermal conductance, and heat capacity in nanotechnology, semiconductor, and biological applications. The SThM system consists of a micromachined scanning probe, an interface circuit, a scanning stage, and instrumentation to synchronize and control the individual components. This proposal addresses critical issues regarding its feasibility as a commercial product by evaluating the manufacturability, robustness, accuracy, repeatability, and ease of use of the SThM system as a whole and by extending the potential applications. The tool is intended for use not only by researchers, but also for pre-college education in nanotechnology and microelectronics. It is also intended for use in process monitoring for yield and reliability in manufacturing applications. Since the technology being evaluated for commercialization originated in an educational institution and will be licensed from it, this effort will indirectly serve to support higher education if successful. This effort will also provide an avenue for undergraduate student involvement in a variety of areas ranging from microfabrication to circuit design to testing the scanning thermal systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gaitas, Angelo PICOCAL, Inc. MI Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99925 5371 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339652 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Dynamic Tactile Display for Visually Impaired Computer Users. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop an innovative technology to revolutionize computer access for blind and visually impaired individuals. The device provides a touchable display with which the user can feel the windows, panels, buttons, menu items, etc., with much the same rapidity and random access available to the sighted Windows user. The new approach uses an effective but very low cost technique for interacting with the touch receptors of the fingers, avoiding the high cost and complexity associated with mechanical actuator arrays previously used to depict similar tactile images. Thus, it promises to provide the benefits of global, random access computer interface technology at dramatically reduced cost. In Phase I, a prototype Dynamic Tactile Display device will be constructed and interfaced with Windows-based accessibility software on the PC. Several alternatives for tactile display characteristics will be explored, in collaboration with the Arizona Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ACBVI). Volunteer blind participants at ACBVI will be trained on the use of the device. Objective performance criteria on their use of the device will be measured, and quantitative and qualitative user feedback will be gathered to determine overall user feasibility. The primary societal benefit of the proposed activity is to provide more universal access to computer and Internet technology to the visually impaired community, often underrepresented in professional and social groups using computers. In addition to the use of this low-cost tactile interface as an assistive device, it may have many applications in control, virtual reality, and communications. The technology may enable inroads for haptic interfaces for a much wider range of applications than are currently addressed. As advances in human/computer interactions, haptic interface methodology, and user interface design occur, major opportunities for additional spin-off products and research can be expected. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I RES IN DISABILITIES ED IIP ENG Schaefer, Philip Vortant Technologies NC Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99280 5371 1545 SMET 9180 9179 9178 9177 1545 0116000 Human Subjects 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0339653 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I:Acoustic Emission and Stress Sensor for Civil Structures. 0339653 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project concerns the development of a new Bragg grating-based technology consisting of optical fibers and integrated optical polymer waveguides. The proposed sensor system can be used for acoustic emission monitoring and inspection of large civil structures made of steel and concrete such as bridges, dams, towers, freeways, and buildings. The hybrid Bragg grating sensor system is expected to demonstrate high sensitivity to stress waves in a wide frequency range, from DC to 2MHz. The proposed technology can be extended to include the growing market involved in acoustic emission, ultrasonic testing, medicalultrasonic imaging, and other NDT equipment testing technology. A secondary market sector that can utilize the integrated optical waveguide technology is optical cross connect and fiber optic instrumentation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nguyen, An-Dien LOS GATOS RESEARCH INC CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339668 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Functionalized Nanowire Chem/Bio SERS Optical Detectors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop a novel biological and chemical agent detection system that utilizes optical resonances in nanowires to probe pathogenic species on the molecular and submolecular levels. The project will study the detection of pesticides using functionalized gold nanowire substrates for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) analysis. Arrays of high-aspect ratio nanowires will be engineered and functionalized to detect a target molecule. The project will combine the techniques of immunoassay, Raman spectroscopy, and nanoengineering, with the goal of developing a detector with unprecedented sensitivity. SERS is well a known and extremely accurate detection method that can be employed to identify single molecules, antigens, nucleic acid sequences and protein structure. The goal of the project is to develop enhanced nanowire SERS substrates for integration into a multiple channel fiber-optic nanowire heterostructure optical detector with diode pumped lasers and a charge coupled device sensor to make a rugged, compact, portable, highly accurate, and field -ready biological or chemical agent sensor. The commercial application of this project will be in the detection of low-level quantities of pathogenic chemical or biological agents in the environment. It will be used environmental monitoring, medical testing, and monitoring for release of biological weapons. The device is being designed to identify virtually any molecular or cellular species by its unique Raman signature. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Habib, Youssef ILLUMINEX CORP PA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU AMPP 9163 9146 1788 1676 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339679 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Ultra-Fine Solder Powder For Electronic Soldering. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of limiting surface oxidation of ultra-fine (1-10 micron) solder powder for electronic solder paste. Today, the use of ultra-fine powder for increased resolution of paste printing on printed wiring boards (PWBs) is impeded by the excessive oxide burden on the powder's huge surface area. If this impediment could be removed, and ultra-fine powders were supplied commercially, not only could PWB component population density increase by 10 times or more, but new forms of solder-paste printing, such as Drop-on-Demand, could be innovated. In this project, oxide control will be demonstrated with two approaches: 1) oxygen-barrier coatings applied in the powder-production apparatus and 2) addition of trace amounts of alloying metals which can protect the powder surface. Assay methods that can profile, in nanometer steps, the oxide layer on the solder spheres, will be employed. The ultra-fine powder will be produced by an existing process developed under an NSF/SBIR Phase II award. The commercial application of this project is in the manufacture of printed wiring boards. The world sales of solder paste for surface-mounted components on PWBs is more than $500million/year. Most of the paste is applied by stencil/squeegee printing. That process wastes about 30% of the paste or about $150 million per year. One objective of this project is to reduce waste by higher resolution printing. However, that cannot be achieved unless ultra-fine solder powder is available at a competitive price (about $0.05/g). As components become smaller (e.g., flip chips), the population is controlled by paste-printing resolution, not by component size. Financial implications of these outcomes should be sizeable. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Dean, Jr., Robert SYNERGY INNOVATIONS INC NH T. James Rudd Standard Grant 111979 5371 HPCC 9150 9139 1519 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339684 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Low Cost Adaptive Electrically Tunable Lasers with Ultra-Wide Tuning Range. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a feasibility study on electrically tunable lasers made from novel liquid crystal based tunable photonic crystals (TPC). As predicted by a theoretical model and experiment results, the tuning of the laser wavelength is realized via tuning the TPC stop band. When doped with lasing dye(s) and pumped by a pumping laser, electrically tunable lasing is expected over a wide spectral range of 200 nm. The lasers are also expected to have greater than 20% light-to-light efficiency in a robust, lightweight, compact, and low cost package. The Phase I effort is devoted to developing tunable lasers followed by performance improvement by researching the lasing action and the sources affecting the lasing performance. In addition, the feasibility of using other pumping sources will be explored. Due to the adaptive nature and low cost feature, the new tunable laser technology promises a powerful tool that instantly turns fixed wavelength laser or other incoherent light source into an electrically tunable laser source for various commercial/space/law/military applications. A single laser can replace multiple lasers for a certain spectral coverage to reduce the system cost. Next, a new display product will be created for viewfinder, small display panels for cameras and camcorder. In military and law enforcement side, active light modules and tunable laser sources are crucial components in Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR), targeting, measuring, imaging, remote sensing, and display devices. In telecom, the use of tunable laser will save components inventory cost. In forensic, the advent of the tunable laser technology enables a miniaturization laser eavesdropping system to monitor conversations. In astronomy, tunable lasers are important for a sodium guide star laser. They are also power tools for scene simulation that is widely applied in military unit for cost reduction SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Li, Le Kent Optronics, Inc. NY Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99934 5371 HPCC 9139 1631 1517 0104000 Information Systems 0339703 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Sketchpad for Young Learners of Mathematics: Dynamic Visualization Software in Grades 3-8. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project aims to identify and overcome barriers to the effective integration of The Geometer's Sketchpad software in elementary and middle school math classes. This research-based educational software is already well known at the secondary level for its ability to foster dynamic mathematics visualization and exploration and to enhance student learning. This project responds to clear calls for the software's application and adaptation to younger grades coming from teachers, curriculum development and research communities, and from standards bodies such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The proposed research, led by the team that created and maintains Sketchpad, will identify aspects of the present software and its model of curriculum integration that act as obstacles to effective use in grades 3-8, and investigate, test, and evaluate a series of software design modifications, implementations, and activity scenarios to overcome these obstacles. KCP Technologies will additionally research the potential for deep connection to the most widely-adopted National Science Foundation middle school reform curriculum, the Connected Mathematics Project, to determine how the modified Sketchpad for Young Learners that emerges from this work can best enhance student learning and support effective curricula in today's real-world classrooms. The broader impact of this project reaching its objectives (and pursuing them through Phase II/III) will be the creation and eventual wide availability, in primary and middle grades, of age-appropriate Dynamic Geometry mathematics education technologies (and supporting curriculum) similar to those which define Sketchpad at the secondary level, where the software is considered the most valuable software for students (Becker, 1999) by mathematics teachers across the country. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Jackiw, Nicholas KCP Technologies CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99783 1666 SMET 9177 0101000 Curriculum Development 0108000 Software Development 0116000 Human Subjects 0339708 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Collaborative Product Definition Management. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I research project will explore the possibilities for an affordable and fully accessible network that provides clear specification interpretation tools and the means to document key design characteristics. The effort has the potential to provide advancements that will completely transform century-old practices. This will, in turn, transform the Extended Enterprise-and specifically Production Systems-because the root of successful attainment of quality, product reliability and integrity, production planning, and scheduling is the assurance that all components fully meet the design intent. The ability to achieve such innovations as efficient flow lines, just-in-time inventory practices, and a fully integrated supply chain are dependent on material and components that are near-perfect from the beginning and remain that way over the life of the product. Achievement of the Collaborative Product Definition Management research vision will enable realization of these essential objectives. If successful this solution will reduce the time and effort to generate product specifications. By meeting design intent products will go to market after a shorter development time and at a lower cost. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Morris, Robert COHESIA CORPORATION OH Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 98896 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339721 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Packaging of Integrated Advanced Power Electronics Through the Development of Silicon-Carbide (SiC) Based High-Temperature Multichip Power Modules (MCPMs). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to investigate and prove the feasibility of creating high-temperature multichip power modules that utilize silicon-carbide (SiC) power switches at temperatures in the range of 300- 600 deg C. By taking advantage of the key benefits of this emerging semiconductor (which includes high-temperature operation, low switching losses, very high switching frequencies, and high power densities) the entire field of power electronics has the potential to become completely revolutionized on multiple fronts. SiC power switches, with reduced switching losses, would improve the overall electrical efficiencies of power electronic systems. The ability to operate at high-temperatures would greatly reduce the size and weight of heat sinking strategies (perhaps by as much as an order of magnitude) and possibly remove the requirement for power module heat sinks all together. The project involves developing high-temperature (300-600 deg C) multichip power modules (MCPMs) that integrate control and SiC power electronics into a single compact module. Feasibility of such an approach to power electronics will be proven at the conclusion of the Phase I grant with the demonstration of a 3kW MCPM half-bridge power converter utilizing experimental prototype SiC power switches and operating at temperatures of 300 deg C. Since current silicon electronics are typically limited to approximately 150 deg C maximum temperature of operation, the high-temperature research in this SBIR Phase I project has the potential to greatly enhance scientific understanding of high-temperature failure mechanisms, thermal induced electronic packaging stresses, and long-term interconnect reliability issues in addition to technical advancement of state-of-the-art power electronics systems. The commercialization of SiC based MCPMs has the potential to find benefit in nearly every electric motor drive, power supply, and power converter conceivable. The application of such MCPMs could save electrical energy consumption worldwide, due to the improved electrical efficiency of SiC power switches alone. Furthermore, an immediate commercialization application is possible in the development of high-temperature geological petroleum exploration instrumentation. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lostetter, Alexander Arkansas Power Electronics International, Inc. AR T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99802 5371 HPCC 9139 1519 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339738 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Sign Parameter-to-Text Input Software for People Who Are Deaf. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop assistive technology software that provides an accessible input interface for people who are Deaf. Many Deaf individuals have difficulty with reading and writing English text. Although text is within the visual modality, it is not always accessible from a language perspective. The objective of this project will be to develop Sign Parameter-to-Text technology, which will allow Deaf individuals, who are fluent in American Sign Language, the ability to search for signs based on linguistic parameters such as handshake, location, and movement. Once the user finds the sign, semantically equivalent English words will be displayed for selection as the text input. This research will be done by preparing a corpus of signs using a phonological notation system and performing statistical analysis on the data to discover the discriminatory features which can optimize the search capabilities. Based on these features, this project will develop search algorithms, a proposed graphical user interface and exploration of hardware input devices which correspond intuitively with the interface. The proposed interface features and functionality will be discussed with a focus group for design feedback. Design requirements and feasibility studies will be documented. The commercialization of this technology will result in a product that provides an accessible input interface to off-the-shelf-software such as word processing, email and instant messaging programs and will complement other writing supports such as automated spelling and grammar checking and word prediction as well as English writing tutorials. Additionally, this technology has educational value and may increase the English literacy and writing skills of Deaf individuals. This research will add a distinct input component to VCom3D's current Text-to-Sign Animation output system. This research will also contribute to corpus analysis and search engine algorithms based on sign language phonological parameters. RES IN DISABILITIES ED IIP ENG Roush, Daniel VCOM3D, INC. FL Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 1545 SMET 9180 9179 9178 9177 1545 0108000 Software Development 0116000 Human Subjects 0522400 Information Systems 0339747 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Novel Wafer Fabrication Technology for Semiconductor Sensors. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is directed toward the development of cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) single crystal films by using an ion beam layer separation process from bulk single crystals. The separated layers will be transferred and bonded onto Si wafers for applications as substrates for epitaxial growth of mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) films. HgCdTe films are of interest in infrared detectors. The ion beam layer separation process will allow the fabrication of a large number of films from a single bulk crystal, thus providing an economical wafer production technology for infrared detector materials. High-energy (MeV) light ions will be used to produce a buried damaged layer in the bulk crystal. Thermal shock induced by rapid thermal annealing at elevated temperatures may generate lateral crack enabling the layer separation. In Phase I, the feasibility will be demonstrated by finding the conditions of layer separation and by analyzing the separated layer in terms of crystalline quality. The commercial application of this project is in IR photodetectors and focal plane arrays for many industrial and scientific sensor applications including environmental monitoring, chem-bio detection and medical and space sensors. CdTe and (Cd,Zn)Te alloy crystals have been grown by various techniques including zone refining, vertical gradient freeze (VGF), liquid encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) methods, horizontal and vertical Bridgman techniques. Due to variable yields, none of these methods have produced enough material with the quality needed for today's infrared (IR) detector applications. The proposed technique has the advantage of producing many good quality substrates from a single bulk crystal by ion beam slicing, thus providing an economic way of producing reliable and reproducible quality material. Also, large area CdZnTe substrate for the growth of HgCdTe will be possible by stacking smaller slices in a floor tile pattern on cheaper Si substrates. Bonding with Si substrate will also allow the integration of IR detectors with electronics on a single chip. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bhattacharya, Rabi UES, Inc. OH T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99909 5371 AMPP 9163 1794 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339751 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Novel Pathogen Detector for (Bio)aerosols. 0339751 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses an entirely new approach to identification of pathogens in bio-aerosols based on performing and controlling biochemical reactions and microbiological interactions directly in air. Current methods for testing infectiousness of air, e.g., contaminated by biological warfare agents or other pathogens do not provide direct detection of pathogens in air. Aerosol samples are usually converted into a liquid sample, e.g., using wet cyclones, where analysis based on PCR or immunoassays implies long analysis time. Phase I research will demonstrate feasibility of performing sample preparation and highly specific identification of pathogens directly in air without introducing the sample into liquid. The research will aid in developing diagnostic methods that are based on collecting and/or detecting pathogens in breath exhaled or cough, methods to rapidly determine infectiousness of air in an environment, e.g., contaminated by biological warfare agents and point-of-care diagnosticmethods.. The Phase II research will provide full development of a marketable prototype with a number of potential medical applications as well as applications ranging from forensic analysis and air-quality monitoring in farming and agriculture to detection of biological warfare agents in portable field devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zoval, Jim Inventis, Inc. CA Winslow L. Sargeant Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339759 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Direct-Write Probe Card Fabrication Process. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project addresses low cost fabrication of probe cards for use in testing advanced circuit technologies. Currently, high-density probe card assemblies employ more than 1500 test points to provide the increased test coverage necessary for System-on-a-Chip and high pin count devices. At $50/test point, such assemblies often sell for over $75,000 and they wear out in only 1 million wafer touchdowns. These assemblies often require integration of multiple components-sometimes thousands-and require many hours of labor to assemble. This project would promote nanoparticle-based meso-film; laser patterned optical-quality glass ceramics; and inkjet printing processes that will reduce the probe card manufacturing cost, increase test point density, increase contact life, and reduce assembly labor. The Phase I project will be a collaboration of several companies bringing together expertise in 3D laser patterning; material and process development; and nanoparticle manufacturing in a unique and powerful way to tackle an important industry challenge. The commercial application of this project is in testing of advanced electronic circuits in such uses as processes for the manufacture, deposition and functionalization of nanoparticle-based coatings with low sintering temperatures; feature resolution of laser patterned substrates for 3D micromachining applications including MEMS, MOEMS, microreplication, and grating manufacture; test integration-optical, mechanical, and electrical wafer testing being combined in a monolithic substrate; faster product development cycle times and production ramps for advanced processor and microsystem designs; and design of test fixtures for the new wave of electronic products built using direct-write deposition of passive and active electronic structures onto non-silicon substrates. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Casler, Richard PICOSYS, INC. CA William Haines Standard Grant 99553 5371 AMPP 9163 1794 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339761 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Flexible "Human-in-the-Loop" Microsystem Assembly Platform. This Small Business Innovation (SBIR) Phase I research project addresses fundamental issues in the development of human-in-the-loop (HIL) systems for the manufacture of precision microsystem components. Invenios Incorporated, in conjunction with faculty at Johns Hopkins University, proposes to leverage existing NSF-funded research on human-machine collaborative systems (HMCS) in the microsurgical arena to create a generic, yet flexible, microsystem assembly platform (Platform). Invenios/JHU collaboration will build a versatile, HMCS-based microassembly platform and evaluate its performance on three distinctly different micromanipulation tasks: Sub-Micron Optical Alignment, Micro-Mechanical Assembly, and Microsurgery. The goal is to show that a single, common abstract task representation and related graphical user interface can be used to provide significant productivity improvements on all three tasks. If successful, this innovation will lead to the commercialization of a simple and cost-effective Platform that will stimulate on-shore production of components requiring meso- and nanoscale precision and dexterity. The project directly broadens and extends the impact of the work already done in the microsurgical arena at JHU within the NSF-sponsored Engineering Center for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology (CISST). In additional, the JHU/Invenios HMCS platform will be donated to JHU at the conclusion of the Phase I research, enabling this platform to be used by students and researchers to promote education and to extend the research and discoveries into new areas. Through this association with the ERC-CISST, the proposed project will have broad exposure to underrepresented groups and will enhance the educational infrastructure. Finally, by improving the productivity of entry-level workers, the research will ultimately mitigate the need for manufacturers to move operations offshore-again promoting participation of recent immigrants who, in large part, are the labor supply for the microsystem component manufacturers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Casler, Richard PICOSYS, INC. CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99700 5371 HPCC 9139 1654 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0339779 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Software Tool for Teaching Reading Based on Text-to-Speech Letter-to-Phoneme Rules. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop software for interactive teaching of reading, based on letter-to-phoneme rules developed for an entirely different technology, namely computer text-to-speech synthesis (TTS). Awareness of letter-phoneme correspondences is important for learning to read English. However, no tools are available that identify and apply all the letter-to-phoneme rules occurring in any word or name of English. Challenges are to identify which letter-to- phoneme rules are useful for the learner, to determine which words are best presented as exceptions, how to present letter-to-phoneme rules and exceptions effectively for learners, and how to integrate the software into an overall reading program. Phase I will develop a software prototype, criteria for identifying and formulating useful rules, and quantitative methods for assessing the effectiveness of the software. The role of explicit reference to the letter-sound correspondences in the teaching of reading has experienced fluctuations in popularity, in part due to the lack of educators' unanimity about which of the rules that can be deduced are real and helpful. E-Speech's letter-to-phoneme rules have undergone decades of development and serve as an excellent basis for identifying useful word pronunciation rules for learners. The resultant software would enable beginning readers, adult learners, learners of English as a second language, and readers with learning disabilities to learn English word pronunciation, and it could be used by teachers who find students having difficulty with certain words. The technology would provide reading assistance to users on an individual basis, it could allow users to learn in a private setting, and it could be cost-effective, since it could reduce the amount of time required with a human teacher. The technology could be incorporated into other educational software packages and programs. Consequently, it would contribute substantially to gains in American literacy as well as support the internationalization of English. In addition, the software might also become part of a computer-based, standard dictionary of English, supplementing the phonetic transcriptions for all words in a dictionary. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Macchi, Marian E-Speech Corporation NJ Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99713 5371 HPCC 9216 9102 1654 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0339803 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Scalable and Reliable Storage Infrastructure for Web Server Farms. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to study the feasibility of building a scalable and reliable storage system for Web server farms. This system is called WebTank. WebTank is a revolutionary system that employs a combination of unique ideas to address the main challenges encountered in Web server farm environments, namely: scalability, availability, and manageability. With the rapid growth of the Internet and data driven Web services, traditional storage solutions are not able to keep pace with the rapidly expanding storage requirements of Web server farms. This solution allows for independent and practically unlimited scalability of capacity, file access performance, and namespace access performance. It will offer the opportunity of applying a more effective block-level edge caching technique, which enhances the performance and achieves better utilization of the valuable cache memory. WebTank utilizes a unique, very fast coding technique called PND to ensure fast, reliable, and highly available access to data. Many applications will exploit the competitive advantages of the proposed solution including multimedia Web-based services, content management, document storage and delivery, digital imaging, file transfer services, and video on demand. These ideas can also be expanded to build general-purpose file servers that are not subject to performance bottlenecks and capacity limitations. Therefore having an important impact on building next generation NAS devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yang, Shaofeng Data Reliability Inc. MS Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9150 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339808 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Slippability Analysis for Scan Registration and Feature Fitting. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to investigate the problem of globally aligning multiple point scans of a 3D object. Given the digitized scan data for two partially overlapping surfaces, a numerical measure is described that quantifies the resistance encountered by one sliding over the other (lockability versus slippability). This measure is a heretofore missing piece in the design of successful algorithms for aligning multiple partial scans. It is of fundamental importance in building a prioritized schedule that optimally merges the most lockable scans. It is to be expected that a proper fine-tuning of this numerical method will dramatically improve the speed and accuracy of computed alignments, particularly for mechanical shapes. This yields a classification of the defining surface which enables the detection and fitting of primitive features in CAD models directly from the collected point data since these are generally slippable surface elements such as planes, spheres, cylinders, cones, surfaces of revolution and extrusions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fletcher, G. Y. RAINDROP GEOMAGIC INC NC Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339809 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Mission: Planet Y--A Game-based Tool for Middle School Science Learning. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to create a video game, which uses contemporary 3D game engine technology, and will incorporate capabilities for embedded, performance-based student skills assessment, teacher reporting, and teacher administration tools. The game will simulate real-world, complex problem-solving contexts, and offer students the ability to assume the role of a scientist performing investigations within virtual simulations of ecosystems, gathering data from a variety of sources, analyzing the data, and developing a plan for solving the complex problem. Science and gaming experts, educators, parents, and students will inform the Phase I research. The game will be a significant innovation in terms of the content of the educational software currently available and its learning and assessment design. Using the best of what is known from cognitive science research as a basis, the game will maximize student engagement in learning. Current educational software uses assessments that interrupt game play; in the proposed software, assessment will occur continuously in stealth mode. In other words, students will be unaware of ongoing assessment and remain focused on the science activities. The requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 will drive national demand for tools to teach students science skills, including research and problem solving. Mission: Planet Y will provide a model for electronic curricular resources that create a high level of student interest, motivation, and learning in middle school science. Middle school students using Mission: Planet Y--males and females, those with special needs, and the gifted and talented--will enhance their science skills, content knowledge, and interest in ways that will be reflected on state and national tests and in science class participation. The game engine technology developed for middle school science can be modified to create software for other subject areas and grade levels. Phase I research will consider the marketability to individual households, as well as to schools. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Wurzbach, Linda Resources for Learning TX Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99757 1666 SMET 9177 9102 7256 0108000 Software Development 0510604 Analytic Tools 0339811 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Remote Real-Time Methane Detector. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project introduces an innovative gas sensor technology for the remote inspection/monitoring of gas leaks along a gas distribution system. The micro-miniature sensor is a highly engineered instrument based on a proprietary infrared technology using optical and acoustic (opto-acoustic) effects. As an alternative to costly and labor-intensive inspections, the sensor could be deployed for unattended operation in remote gas distribution nodes, e.g. pressure regulator stations, providing round-the-clock, high-speed measurement and notification in real time, a new control technique between the field and utilities control centers. The sensor's round-the-clock monitoring and real-time notification should give the ability to locate and repair gas leaks in a timely manner. The goal of this project is to develop and commercialize the gas sensor to monitor gas leaks in gas compressor, field compressor, pressure regulator and city gate stations, the major sources of gas leak along the distribution network. Target customers are gas transmission and distribution companies, but also Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) serving the oil & gas industry. The objective of this SBIR Phase I project is to build and test a gas sensor prototype to prove the technical and economic feasibility of the opto-acoustic concept and the new features contributing to improved performance. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Baraket, Mourad Carthago International Solutions, Inc. NY Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99590 5371 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339816 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Creating Functionally Decomposed Surface Models from Measured Data. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project deals with the problems of reconstructing complex freeform shapes from measured data. Of primary interest is the creation of well-structured, high- quality CAD models. Several techniques exist to reach this goal. Unfortunately, automatic surfacing systems provide only rough approximations and do not capture the original design intent, while manual segmentation methods are not very stable and require tedious work. Using the functional decomposition paradigm, objects are built up as a collection of large, independent primary surfaces being connected by smaller, dependent feature surfaces, such as fillets or swept surfaces. This project aims to elaborate semi-automatic methods to build up the topology of the object and compute optimal surface representations for the individual point regions. Emphasis is put on different fairing methods to relocate the segmenting curve network and different constrained surface fitting algorithms to assure smooth connections to existing surface geometry. The proposed research starts with theoretical ground work in geometric modeling, followed by a prototype implementation to prove the feasibility and efficiency of the algorithms. This technology should significantly shorten lead-time in related industrial design and manufacturing processes and produce more aesthetic objects. The main applications will be product design, including automotive, aerospace, consumer products, and medical devices. The improved product will help US manufacturing industry to be more competitive in the world market by providing a way to introduce design on demand and engineering on demand services. It will also help US companies increase customer-focused production and reduce the time between product iterations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Varady, Tamas RAINDROP GEOMAGIC INC NC Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0104000 Information Systems 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0339823 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Monitoring Aid for Physical Security (MAPS) Using Computer Vision. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I research project will develop a tool for enhancing physical security operations at large facilities using a novel map-centered interface for video surveillance. The interface will incorporate "perceptual filtering" with automatic detection, tracking and behavior analysis of people using computer vision along with user-specified rules. This Monitoring Aid for Physical Security (MAPS) system will allow the security operator to maintain a high degree of situational awareness and to add capabilities for timely intervention. Phase I research will help in establishing the feasibility of the MAPS concept with the help of a laboratory prototype. The research results generated from this project will help in better coupling human capabilities with those of automated computer vision analysis in order to improve current video surveillance systems, impacting several types of public places. Homeland security efforts include protecting the economic infrastructure (for example, 95% of U.S. commerce goes through the nation's 360 ports) and enabling a more effective crisis management response. Additional security efforts are aimed at airports and public transportation terminals and theft prevention in the retail industry. This monitoring tool will aid the retail industry in reducing its over $25 billion annual loss to employee theft and shoplifting. Other beneficiaries include schools and office building owners and users. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sharma, Rajeev VideoMining Corporation PA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339841 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Iptymer Low-k Dielectric Materials. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project will develop a new class of low-dielectric constant organic polymers for integrated circuit manufacture. The chemical structure of these materials exploits newly defined molecular concepts of free-volume engineering to reach previously unattainable dielectric capacitance levels for matrix materials. The research objectives are to develop synthetic methods for the manufacture of key Iptymer(TM) polymers, manufacture lead Iptymer materials, evaluate material performance against key performance specifications, and explore manufacturing and scale-up economics. At the conclusion of Phase I, lead Iptymer materials with established performance specifications will be available for sample to potential industrial partners. The principal commercial application of Iptymer low-k dielectric materials is as interlayer dielectric matrix materials that are inserted between copper wires of integrated circuits. The lower dielectric constant of these materials will lead to faster circuits. Commercially, successful development of the materials has the potential to be used in a wide array of high performance electronics such as microprocessors and components for wireless communications. This is estimated to be a $400M market by 2006. In addition to these applications, Iptymer materials also have low refractive indices and can be used as optical coatings to enhance the brightness of displays. The economic and technical impact of reliable low-k dielectrics is considerable. Higher bandwidth processing and communication for the same cost is possible with improved materials, and every country, economic group, and industry will benefit from such advances. The societal benefits realized through the extension of electronic tools into areas where their use is now impractical or not affordable will be tremendous, even if consideration is given only to medical equipment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hancock, Lawrence NOMADICS, INC OK T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1794 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339854 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Use of a Visual Programming Environment to Promote Bioinformatics Education. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project targets the need for a visual programming environment in bioinformatics education. A bioinformatics visual programming tool has never been implemented for classroom use and could potentially revolutionize bioinformatics training at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The work, which will be performed in collaboration with, and under guidance of, science and education faculty, will leverage the existing Visual Integrated Bioinformatics Environment (VIBE) software. Currently, there exists a significant shortage of trained personnel with the necessary skill set to extract knowledge and derive benefits from data generated in life science research experiments. The shortage of bioinformaticists is due in a large part to a lack of formal bioinformatics training programs at universities. The current lack of formal bioinformatics training, training tools, and qualified bioinformaticists creates a significant bottleneck in the discovery process because it impairs the ability to fully exploit the vast amounts of data produced at pharmaceutical and agricultural research companies as well as government and academic laboratories. The software will immediately address the existing shortage of bioinformatics education tools and, as a result, will also address the downstream problem of the dearth of qualified bioinformaticists. This project offers an efficient and elegant approach to provide a partial solution to these significant problems. The primary customers for the software are individual bioinformatics professors and students, as well as entire departments and universities that offer a bioinformatics degree. . RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Sasinowski, Maciek INCOGEN INC VA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 1666 SMET 9179 9178 0101000 Curriculum Development 0108000 Software Development 0339863 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Hive Computing For Data Storage. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project proposes to solve a critical problem in the world of mission critical computing: the problem of data storage. The goal of this project is to design a fundamentally new distributed data storage system that improves the reliability and scalability, while driving down the cost, of mission critical systems. This project will design an interlocking data storage mesh that is self-organizing, self-healing, and self-managing. This project will build on research into the design of distributed systems that led to the development of a fundamentally new, mission critical computing technology called Hive Computing. The prices of commodity computers have fallen to such a degree that in many cases it makes the most sense to regard them as disposable, not precious. The problem is that, while this trend is beginning to drive down the cost of compute power, it has not yet affected the world of data storage. As a result, only a relatively small number of businesses and other organizations can afford the high costs of reliability and scalability. The development of the Hive data storage system will solve this problem and produce a number of significant benefits, one of them being that now more businesses would be able to afford the cost of reliability, leading to dramatic reductions in downtime and significant productivity improvements. More scientists would be able to scale their systems, increasing the number and types of questions they could ask and the problems they could solve. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lozano, Roberto Appistray MO Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339878 January 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: High Power Optic Source Enabling Sensor. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project investigates efficient stimulated Raman amplification in the 1620-1750 nm near infrared spectral region. This spectral range overlaps with the first overtone of the strongest vibration resonances. In addition, no efficient high brightness directs emission sources exist in this spectral region resulting in either low power or complex laser systems covering this important spectroscopic region. In this project, high power tunable laser sources will be developed for the remote detection and spectroscopic characterization of organic compounds. The direct outgrowth of this program should enhance the ability to offer to commercial and government customers a qualified optical sensor array detecting the presence of hydrocarbons. This sensor array could be useful in particular to the Petroleum and Gas industry in their refineries and distribution networks. Oil Companies spend over $100M a year in detecting and preventing gas leaks in their facilities. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Torruellas, William Fibertek, Inc. VA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99992 1505 HPCC 9139 7234 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0339879 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Low-Noise AlGaSb Avalanche Photodiodes. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to research the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) epitaxial growth and explore new passivation techniques for very low-noise aluminum gallium antimonide (AlGaSb) avalanche photodiodes (APDs). At one particular composition (~6% Al), the AlGaSb bandgap and valence spin-orbit splitting energy become equal, resonantly enhancing the hole ionization rate. Several groups have reported high (7 to 20) hole-to-electron ionization ratios in AlGaSb. Other semiconductors with 1.0-1.7 micron response lack high hole/electron or electron/hole ionization ratios InGaAs~2, e~1.5, InGaAsP~3) crucial for low noise APDs. For example, the AlGaSb APD excess noise factor should be 2, versus 7.5 for Ge APDs at a gain of 10. Previous AlGaSb APDs were made 10-20 years ago by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE), which had quality and uniformity (e.g. 20% thickness variation) issues, and different optimal compositions were reported. MOCVD with high purity sources will be used to grow more uniform (<3% doping variation, <1% for thickness and composition), higher quality epilayers that can now be better characterized. This should enable the exact composition and epi structure to best use the fairly sharp resonant enhancement. Available APDs in the 1.0 to 1.7 micron range are noisy compared with PIN/trans-impedance amplifiers. The proposed low-noise AlGaSb APDs would allow a single component to replace most of the PIN/trans-impedance amplifier front end, and significantly extend the design space in which optical communications and laser radar systems are constrained. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wojtczuk, Steven Spire Corporation MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99927 5371 AMPP 9163 1631 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339883 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Applications of Morse Theory in Reverse Engineering. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to investigate applications of Combinatorial Morse Theory in Reverse Engineering. It relies on a single mathematical approach: the definition of a continuous function on a polygonal model and the decomposition of the surface based on the gradient flow of that function. Variants of this theory will be used to solve several important problems, including the automatic conversion of triangulations into a set of smooth NURBS surfaces, locally smoothing polygonal models, and identifying feature lines. The major advantage of this over earlier approaches to the conversion problem is the capacity to base the algorithm on a number of different criteria for surface analysis and to achieve the best result by intermingling these different criteria. Morse theory is the key to computing patch layouts that naturally adapt to and follow the shape of the surface, a property that is difficult to achieve but necessary to automatically construct high-quality NURBS surfaces of scanned or triangulated CAD models. Applications for the proposed project can be classified into two usages: o Duplication: referencing a physical part creates a digital model. o Remodeling: a designed digital model is kept to be consistent with a physical reference. The proposed innovation may have significant impact on customers who are not using a digital process today in their design and manufacturing process; this covers 90% of all products being made in the United States. Worldwide manufacturing, only 1% of all products made uses CAD/CAM systems. There are many applications that can benefit from a successful implementation of this proposal, such as CFD analysis on actual parts, digital inventory for legacy parts, historical preservation, and custom-made consumer products including medical devices, shoes, clothes, and wearable computers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Facello, Michael RAINDROP GEOMAGIC INC NC Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339887 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Fabrication of Single-Crystal-Like PMNPT. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses a low cost technology for the mass production of high performance piezoelectric single crystals. The approach will potentially lead to a new generation of engineered piezocrystals exhibiting attributes of low cost, high quality and volume not previously attainable. The proposed technology uses a novel sintering process to overcome conventional limitations to the mechanical strength, size and homogeneity inherent in pure single crystal forms. The approach incorporates a templated grain growth mechanism within the matrix recrystallization process. The plan is to demonstrate highly grain-oriented piezocrystal ceramics with single-crystal-like properties during this program. The success of this technological development will dramatically expedite the transition of new generation piezoelectric devices from laboratory prototypes to their practical deployment in the market. The commercial application of this project is in piezoelectric devices. The technology makes possible new piezoelectric devices with improved performance that is beyond current technology. The anticipated targets for these materials include medical ultrasonic diagnostics and therapeutics, active machine tool control, and vibration suppression in HVAC systems. A recent report by the National Science Foundation estimates the U.S. market piezoelectric ceramic materials at ca. $1.5B. The global market is estimated at over $11B. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhao, Jing Agiltron Incorporated MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99950 5371 AMPP 9163 1794 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339891 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A UML Based Framework for Knowledge Acquisition. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I research project will develop an automated framework for knowledge acquisition. This automated framework will be based on the Principal Investigator's Rhem Knowledge Acquisition Framework and the Unified Modeling Language (UML). This automated framework will provide an environment for developing high-quality, reliable knowledge-based software systems for solving complex tasks that typically require a human expert. This research will advance the state-of-the-art in development of knowledge-based systems. Knowledge acquisition is one of the most difficult and error-prone tasks in building knowledge-based systems. It is a phase in the building of expert systems involving the identification of relevant technical knowledge, recording it, and getting it into computable form so the problem-solving engine of the expert system can apply it. The acquisition of knowledge and data is the most expensive part of building and maintaining expert systems. If this research is successful this commercial tool will significantly reduce the cost of developing knowledge-based systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rhem, Anthony A.J. Rhem & Associates, Inc. IL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0116000 Human Subjects 0522400 Information Systems 0339898 January 1, 2004 STTR PHASE I: Development of Nanostructured Solder Materials. This Small Technology Transfer Research project seeks to advance the fundamental knowledge base and performance of lead-free electronic solders. Current lead-free electronic solders are performance limited by their thermomechanical fatigue and electrical characteristics due to microstructural instabilities, such as coarsening, grain boundary sliding, and ion migration along grain boundaries in these alloys. While nanoscale building blocks have been shown to alloy and provide enhanced properties in polymers, these tools have not been applied to control the dynamics of analogous structures in metals. An opportunity exists to utilize nanoscopic chemical reinforcement to control both microstructural stability and damage accumulation during service for lead-free electronic solder alloys. It is the objective of this project to utilize polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) to impart structural control at the 1-10 nm level in solders. Such control will afford solders with higher strength, durability, and dimensional stability for use as interconnects in aerospace, automotive, consumer and micro-electromechanical systems. The commercial application of this project is in improved, lead-free electronic solders. The identification of the mechanistic and process limitations for such control in alloys will afford insights into the development of solutions for metal fatigue, creep, and service life issues which plague commercial and military aircraft, automobiles, restorative dental amalgams and related prosthetics. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Lichtenhan, Joseph Hybrid Plastics, Inc. MS T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 1505 AMPP 9163 1788 1676 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339934 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Enabling Pedagogical Choice and Cost-Efficiency in the Development of Web-based Curricula. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will answer the following question: Is it feasible to build an efficient methodology and computer-based systems for content authoring and Web-based delivery that truly support multiple approaches to pedagogical practices? Specifically, is it feasible to design an online authoring system and a complementary classroom management system, where the features and benefits of both systems are immediately available to innovative instructional designers? The goal is to research an innovation that will empower content providers to use principled learning theories and associated pedagogical practices for creating new online curricula that support technology-mediated instruction. Specifically, the research will produce a new type of authoring and delivery system where the functionality available--creating course structure, managing multi-media content development, translating course specification into reliable production delivery, accessing course-related activities for students and their teachers, including dynamic learning interactions, and real-time behavior tracking and reporting--reflects the authors' preferred learning theories and pedagogies. Agile Mind proffers a set of enabling tools that support the development of technology-mediated instruction through cost-effective means for producing new curriculum, doing so with a focus on supporting instructional design innovation without compromising the capabilities of the technology. The systems to be produced will address a major problem in education, i.e., the consolidation of content development and dissemination in the hands of a small number of publishing conglomerates and the resulting consequent lack of quality and diversity of choice. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Chaput, Linda AGILE MIND INC TX Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99561 1666 SMET 9177 9102 7256 0101000 Curriculum Development 0522400 Information Systems 0339938 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Variable Azimuth Wave-Equation Imaging (VAWEM). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to investigate the feasibility of a key technology designed to enhance seismic resolution and imaging of deep-water complex geologic structures by using variable azimuth wave-equation migration (VAWEM). VAWEM will provide much greater resolution and accuracy than what can be accomplished today for towed marine streamer data, and at significantly less computational cost. This advanced imaging methodology will improve success rate and cost effectiveness for new field discoveries and increase recovery efficiency for the development of existing fields. This technology does not exist in the industry, it is a fundamental revolutionary advance, and is a necessary building block in any seismic processing system that images 3-D prestack data using wave-equation methods for imaging deep water, under-salt complex geological structures which are the focus of modern oil- and-gas exploration. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bevc, Dimitri 3DGEO DEVELOPMENT INC CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339940 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: High Resolution Infrared Imager. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new materials technology to help drive a revolution in infrared microscopy, using a newly developed technique to grow pure germanium on silicon without crystalline defects. Silicon imagers are widely used, from supermarket scanners to the ultra-sensitive CCDs used in astronomy. Germanium is photosensitive over a much wider spectrum, from visible to well into the infrared. Combining this new spectral ability with fine-line silicon manufacturing could turn infrared dusk into broad daylight Characterization and understanding of material grown by this new technique is limited. Controlling leakage is essential to maximize sensitivity. Pixel geometries to best trade off resolution for noise performance must be identified. The broad impacts from this work would be the near infrared (NIR) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectral range from 800 to 1600 nm, which holds considerable scientific and applied interest. Initial applications could be in medical imaging and pharmaceutical inspection leading into a much broader application field including night and fog vision for security, monitoring of crops, pollution and climate, and range-finding for defense and construction applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG King, Clifford Noble Peak Vision Corp. MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99201 5371 AMPP 9163 7234 1631 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339954 January 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Packaging of MEMS Inertial Sensors for Mechanically Harsh Environments. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I Project will investigate the feasibility of integrating advanced vibration isolation packaging technology with Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) inertial (translational and rotational hybrid) sensors to yield packaged MEMS inertial sensors suitable for mechanically harsh environments, such as automotive and space. To date, many MEMS inertial sensors have been precluded from such applications due to their susceptibility to high frequency vibrations present in these environments. The patent pending vibration isolation packaging technology developed will consist of semi-active mechanical low-pass filters fabricated using MEMS fabrication techniques. This design will be utilized inside microelectronic packaging as high frequency vibration isolation platforms. This effort will combine those two technologies to demonstrate feasibility of the vibration filtering system for MEMS inertial sensors. The primary commercial applications envisioned are in the automotive and industry sector requiring sensor operation in harsh environments. The technologies developed in this work will target those markets that require MEMS sensor performance, in the face of vibrations, above what is currently available. The use of semi-active mechanical damping can improve sensor performance, and hence overall system performance, without large increases in size or cost. Companies who are developing MEMS-based sensors for a variety of applications would be potential customers. These companies would benefit from the availability of an active filtering package for MEMS sensors and could easily integrate The package with their sensor. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Kranz, Michael MORGAN RESEARCH CORPORATION AL Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99998 1505 HPCC 9150 9145 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0339955 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Automatic Extraction and Enforcement of Application-Specific Security Policy. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a Program semantics-Aware Intrusion Detection (PAID) system that derives a security policy from an application's source code, and checks the application's system calls against the resulting policy at run time. Not only can this product derive these policies completely automatically, but also the resulting security policy is tailored to individual applications and thus is highly accurate. Some of the most dangerous cyber security threats are "control hijacking" attacks, which hijack the control of a victim application, and execute arbitrary system calls assuming the identity of the victim program's effective user. These types of attacks are highly perilous because commercial applications with such vulnerabilities appear to be wide spread, as shown in the rampancy of the recent SQL Slammer Worm. System call monitoring has been touted as an effective solution to "control hijacking" attacks because it could prevent remote attackers from inflicting damage upon a victim system even if they can successfully compromise applications running on the system. A weakness of this approach is how to construct accurate security policy that could minimize false positives and negatives. Although various approaches have been tried to solve this problem, none of them is satisfactory. Host-based intrusion detection based on system call monitoring, also referred to as behavioral blocking systems, is a well known tend to err on the conservative or false positive side. The tool will automatically derive accurate security policies corresponding to the system call patterns of individual applications, thus reducing both false positives and negatives to the minimum. The PAID system represents a big step in closing the gap between current behavioral blocking products and the actual needs of real world information technology (IT) systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chiueh, Tzi-cker Rether Networks Incorporated NY Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339956 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Model for Virtual Dialogues with Master Teachers. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will focus on the technological feasibility of the use of the Conversim [TM} dialogue model to convey curricular material. This work includes developing and documenting the protocol for transforming lecture material into an effective virtual dialogue program; measuring student acceptance of learning critical, curricular material this way; and measuring the learning success of the students. This Conversim [TM] model represents a new paradigm in education, one that allows the student to learn through a personal interview of the master teacher. The paradigm includes non-directive, independent learning by conducting face-to-face dialogues with master teachers who are always present, always available, and always willing to converse with people who wish to engage them. Conversim [TM] software combines speech recognition, digital video and personal computer technologies to allow PC users to have "face-to-face" dialogues with video characters. Scientific research has shown that most users enjoy the virtual dialogue experience, many have significant, often accelerated, learning gain, and almost all feel as though they have met the person with whom they have been "talking." Multimedia presentations can be used in concert with the dialogue to clarify concepts and complex topics. Also, the power of the computer for tracking and for innovative, dynamic evaluation strategies is inherent in this model. The broad objective is to make this model and this new paradigm available in all educational institutions that would benefit from its use. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Harless, William INTERACTIVE DRAMA INC. MD Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99972 1666 SMET 9178 9177 7256 0116000 Human Subjects 0522400 Information Systems 0339959 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Expanding the Reach of Cognitive Tutors with a Software Development Kit. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the difficulties of authoring intelligent tutoring systems. Intelligent Tutoring Systems have proven to be highly effective in delivering computer-based instruction, but have historically been expensive and difficult to build, requiring specialized skill in Artificial Intelligence and production systems programming. This proposal describes a Software Development Kit (SDK) composed of four components: Cognitive Model Authoring, Problem Authoring, Tool Authoring, and Curriculum Authoring. The proposed research activity centers around the first of these components: Cognitive Model Authoring. Cognitive Model Authoring is comprised of three separate steps: defining an object hierarchy, defining the goal structure of the problem task, and representing the behavior of the instructional system. The proposal seeks to define an object-oriented visualization of these steps, so that non-cognitive scientists can create cognitive tutors. This tool will decrease the amount of time it an experienced cognitive modeler to author the cognitive model portion of a tutor, and it will also decrease the amount of time it takes to enable a person with no cognitive modeling experience to create cognitive models. The broader impact of the Cognitive Tutor SDK is two-fold: (1) the easier production of new Cognitive Tutors, and hence the ability to bring them to market more quickly; and (2) the development of a Software Development Kit that could be independently marketed, so that other companies can produce intelligent tutors in other domains, languages, countries and markets. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV IIP ENG Ritter, Steven Carnegie Learning PA Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 0 7180 SMET 9177 0101000 Curriculum Development 0108000 Software Development 0339963 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: New Class of Ultra Low Dielectric Constant Polymers for Electronic Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a new class of advanced polymeric dielectrics based on polyphenylene Self-Reinforced Polymers (SRPs). Polymers with superior electrical, thermal and mechanical performance are critical for a variety of advanced electronics packaging and on-the-chip applications. A number of polymers have been proposed as an answer to this problem. All current organic dielectrics, however, have a fatal flaw: they all feature polar moieties that promote high dielectric constants and high moisture uptake. To overcome this problem this project will develop a new type of processable, high temperature, very low dielectric, very low moisture absorbing and low cost dielectrics containing no polar groups for usage in a wide variety of electronic packaging and interlayer dielectric applications. The commercial application of this project is in the broad area of electronic and on-the-chip type products. The absence of low dielectric constant polymers is limiting the development of the next generation of electronic devices. As architectures continue to decrease in size, demands for insulative properties cannot be met by existing materials and consequently emergence of the proposed material will have a significant impact on the industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gagne, Robert Mississippi Polymer Technologies, Inc. MS T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99999 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1794 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339971 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Reflectance Sensitive Image Sensor for Illumination-Invariant Visual Perception. 0339971 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop an adaptive CMOS image sensor that estimates and largely eliminates illumination variations in sensed optical images thus reporting electronic images that are indicative of the reflectance of the viewed scene. Most present and future vision applications including automotive, biometric, security, and mobile computing applications operate in unconstrained environments and have to cope with unknown and widely varying illumination conditions. The proposed research has a potential to broadly impact computer vision performance and reliability. The core innovation is in a signal processing technique for estimating the illumination field from sensed images. The technique efficiently implements as a dense on-chip massively parallel analog processor distributed among the photodetectors to produce a reflectance sensitive image sensor. Image sensors are rapidly finding their way into cars, cell-phones, personal digital assistants, medical and diagnostic equipment, automated drug discovery, cutting edge security, surveillance and biometric systems. To fully realize the potential of electronic imaging in society, the image sensors will need to adapt and provide useful images most of the time even under the harshest of illumination conditions. The proposed research will make this possible and make people.s lives safer, more productive and more enjoyable. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Brajovic, Vladimir Intrigue Technologies, Inc. PA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99692 5371 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339984 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Rapid Application Development Architecture for Product, Process, and Cost Configuration Across Manufacturing Verticals. 0339984 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project explores the feasibility of developing software architecture for backward integration of the knowledge supply chain in the manufacturing industry. It is well known that the decisions made during early stage in design affect a significant portion of the products total cost. The research objectives are to (1) Develop prototype architecture of a tool that includes process configuration with part and tooling for casting initially. (2) Include a geometric analysis of the artifact . Show features in geometry that concern the process and tooling through a generic rules engine that can be used to interface with the geometry. (3) Integrate a hybrid cost analysis approach that can be used dynamically with the design to come up with a method that can allow concurrent cost analysis with what if scenarios. (4) Eventually this tool will be generalized in phase II so that is extendable across verticals in manufacturing using a rapid application development (RAD) methodology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rathod, Nainesh IMAGINESTICS LLC IN Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0339988 January 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Advanced Control of Electron-Beam Deposition for High Precision Optical Coatings. This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project is focused on developing an advanced control system for improving the manufacturing capability of electron-beam deposited optical coatings. The objective is to develop a system that reduces growth rate variations, resulting in higher yield and production rates, thereby reducing manufacturing costs. The system will also enable more precise manufacturing of coating geometry and structure which are required for more advanced applications. Examination of the current control practices and process characteristics reveals significant opportunities for improved performance. Preliminary experiments with silica have shown that deposition rate variations can be reduced by a factor of 4-10 which is shown to significantly improve the optical coating quality. This Phase I research is directed at answering several unresolved technical challenges as well as obtaining a more formal quantification of the performance characteristics of the proposed control system in order to determine its commercial potential. The specific objectives for Phase I include: a) reduction of concept to a general algorithm that is robust on a run-to-run basis; b) development of a control strategy that eliminates problems associated with long deposition runs; c) performance evaluation for other important but difficult to deposit materials; and d) quantifying critical production performance characteristics to better determine the commercial significance to end users. To insure that the control concepts are commercially viable, the research experiments will be conducted on a production scale system and will be focused on commercially important manufacturing objectives and designs. The commercial application of this project is in optical coatings for many important applications in telecommunications, defense, satellites, and high energy lasers. These advanced applications require improvements in manufacturing capabilities in terms of achieving greater precision over a greater number of coating layers while being produced in large volumes and at high rates. Although electron-beam vacuum deposition has been used to manufacture the majority of these coatings due to its economics and processing capabilities, more stringent coating requirements are needed in advanced applications. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Smith, Douglas Vacuum Process Technology,Inc. MA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99958 1505 AMPP 9163 1794 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0339996 January 1, 2004 SBIR PHASE I: Innovative Methodology for Accelerated Quantum Molecular Dynamics. 0339996 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the feasibility of performing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using numerical database representations of quantum mechanical potential energy surfaces (PES). The specific objectives are: (1) Perform ab initio calculations to obtain PES data for a prototype (N2(g)) chemical system; (2) Design a PES database using data from the first objective; (3) Integrate the following software: PES database; tessellation and interpolation algorithms; MD simulation engine; (4)Perform MD simulations using potential energies interpolated from the PES database; and (5) Perform analogous Car-Parinello simulations for speed and accuracy comparisons. The proposed method does not require the complex and time-consuming process of parameterizing force fields for MD simulations, and a PES may be determined to any desired level of theory. The method is general enough for applications in both reactive chemical dynamics and MD simulations where bulk material properties are of interest. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Johnson, Michael CogniTech Corporation UT Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 96551 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0340006 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Multi-Frequency Patch Antennas on Biased Ferrite Substrates for High-Accuracy GPS [7223-680]. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will focus on the design of a new antenna for high accuracy Global Positioning system (GPS) to be used for geodesy, geophysics, meteorology, and transient motion for earthquake studies. A new design is proposed for GPS user antennas that reduces multi-path error and allows multi-frequency operation by using a micro-strip patch antenna on biased ferrite substrates. The desirable properties of biased ferrite will enable a smaller patch, improved antenna pattern, and frequency tunability. Therefore the proposed antenna will be smaller, cheaper, and lighter than existing high-accuracy GPS geodetic antennas, besides enhancing the quality of the GPS measurements thanks to its improved electrical performances. Due to the increasing number of applications of GPS in scientific research studies that require high accuracy positioning, introducing in the market a new multi-frequency low-multi-path smaller and lighter GPS user antenna would give new impulse to the US market of GPS for geodetic equipment. Moreover, the proposed antenna will enable new science applications that depend on dynamic GPS positioning at the millimeter-level. Ferrite Substrate GPS antennas would be widely used in national and international high accuracy GPS measurement campaigns. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Scire-Scappuzzo, Francesca Physical Sciences Incorporated (PSI) MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99838 5371 EGCH 9102 1636 1307 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340008 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: IBARS - An Image Barcode Acquisition and Recognition System for Mobile Commerce. This Small Business Innovation Research(SBIR) Phase I research project seeks to leverage the convergence of processing and sensor technologies in widely available camera-equipped cellular telephones to develop e-commerce applications centered on the acquisition and recognition of barcode images. Modern handheld devices present a convergence of many technologies in a handy package, including networking, voice, cameras, processing, location- sensing and displays. However, small-size and long battery-life requirements lead to limited processing power, limited-resolution cameras, and varying available network bandwidth on such handheld devices. To make the concept feasible, improvements are needed in the algorithms performing computer-vision, image processing, and pattern-recognition, so that they are both computationally efficient and small enough to fit in the memory of consumer devices. Challenges to overcome include being able to unwarp images to account for distortions due to perspective imaging, warping of the substrate, or non-flat surfaces. The image needs to be processed to account for imaging artifacts such as non-uniform lighting, blurring, and highlights. The recognition algorithms in the system must be able to recognize many symbologies, make use of extra information available in images to tackle degradations, and be efficient and small. This Phase I research will tackle these issues to demonstrate feasibility. The proposed downloadable component for barcode and signs recognition will enable many applications including sales, order-fulfillment, information-delivery and others. Merchants, advertisers, information providers and other service providers are likely partners and customers for the proposed technology besides service-providers and OEMs. Medical care delivery, military applications, sign recognition for the visually challenged are also potential users of this technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Doermann, David Applied Media Analysis, Inc. MD Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99953 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0340020 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Embedded Low Power Smart Optical Sensor. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a novel Smart Optical Sensor (SOS) technology (hardware platform and embedded software) that is able to provide localized intelligent image processing capability to existing visible or infrared cameras used in video surveillance systems. Existing video surveillance networks typically utilize multiple visible/infrared video cameras connected to one or more central control station(s) where motion detection and digital video recording take place. The broader impacts from this technology will be computationally intensive smart video processing algorithms -- custom designed, embedded, low power hardware platform placed at the camera location, this can eliminate much of the video transmission bandwidth requirements demanded by current systems, facilitate wireless links between cameras and control stations, reduce the huge amount of video storage equipment, and perform more reliable video surveillance. Such a centralized video surveillance will help meet the ever-increasing demands of homeland security. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tunnell, David GENEX TECHNOLOGIES INC MD Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1631 1517 0104000 Information Systems 0206000 Telecommunications 0340025 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Commoca Internet Protocol Phone - Making Communications Personal. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will design and evaluate a Software Development Platform for the rapid prototyping and implementation of applications that will personalize the communications experience of a wide variety of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) enterprise phone users leading to large productivity gains in industry, government, and academic settings. The proposed product shall provide the capability to make an audio voice connection (telephone call) over a packetized data network. This capability will take advantage of the data networks that exist within enterprises (Local Area Networks), and of the infrastructure of enterprise-to-enterprise networks (Wide Area Networks). The proposed product will ultimately take advantage of the global network infrastructure found in the Internet. The "advantages" being leveraged include both cost and functional capabilities found only in a combined voice and data network. This proposed development opens a window of opportunity for new ODM (Original Design Manufacturers) to enter the market provided that they present cost-advantaged, first to market, disruptive technology offerings that may appeal to the enterprise customers of current OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) that may or may not have VoIP phones in their product portfolio. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Melendez, Jose Commoca, Inc. PR Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9150 9139 9102 0522400 Information Systems 0340035 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Wavelength-Division-Multiplexed Grating-Outcoupled Surface-Emitting Lasers with Quantum-Dot Active Layers. DMI-0340035 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project proposes to demonstrate a monolithic Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) Grating-Outcoupled Suface-Emitting semiconductor (GSE) laser emitting at 1310 nm using quantum-dot (QD) active layers. The QD active layers provide a broad gain bandwidth, reduced temperature sensitivity, narrower linewidths lower chirp compared to conventional quantum well lasers. In addition, QD active layers allow the use of low-cost GaAs substrates. Two-wavelength WDM GSE lasers in a cross-grating configuration emit at different wavelengths from a common aperture that can be efficiently coupled to a single mode fiber. The number of independently controlled wavelengths emitting from a single aperture can be extended to four (Phase II). The knowledge required to develop these lasers requires expertise in materials, optics, gratings, nanostructures, semiconductor processing, thermal transfer, high speed electronics, packaging, systems and telecommunications. Combining the desirable traits of both edge emitting lasers (high power, reliable material, low voltage, use of proven) and vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (low cost, wafer level testing, simple packaging, high integration ability), the advanced research proposed is an innovative photonics technology that has broad applications in telecommunications, information processing, data communications, fiber to the business and home, instrumentation and computations. This technology would hope too lead to the eventual realization of very high data rates (5 Gbps up to 160 Gbps) at very low cost, and the elimination of barriers to deploying fiber to the desktop and to (or closer to) the home. This should also enable ultra high bandwidth connections for business and entertainment. This proposed project hope to provide an enhanced educational experience for students working on this research since it is performed in close collaboration with science and engineering department of a local university. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Amarasinghe, Nuditha PHOTODIGM, INC TX Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99848 5371 HPCC 9145 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0340041 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: iPointer - A Device for Directly Querying Geographic Objects in the Field. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop and test the spatial models, algorithms, and software. They are needed to computationally match the real-time measurements of location and orientation with the best candidate object in a geospatial dataset. Integrating location-orientation information data with a digital landscape model and developing a plausible computational model that targets granularity is key to the success of the project. Unlike the current location-based services, which put digital maps on to GPS PDAs, this project will exploit the use of orientation sensors so that geospatial datasets are not only user centered but also egocentrically oriented. This aspect is germane to our product since no distinction could be made between such cogitative aspects as in front and behind an important outcome of the work will be a set of robust and fast algorithms that will form the core technology of an integrated hardware-software-data product. The benefits to society will be felt in several ways. The project will extend the capability of handheld devices and enable a better understanding of the environment through technology. Developing a spatial query device that is simple, easy to use and more intuitive increases accessibility for non-specialist users. The project will advance infrastructure for research and education through collaboration with the Spatial Information and Engineering (SIE) Department at the University of Maine and by being based at the Target Technology Center, an incubator for science and technical research in Orono, Maine. The project will advance discovery and understanding while promoting Teaching, Training and Learning through collaboration with the GK-12 Sensors Project; working with graduates to trial the sensor technology with high school students, and by developing materials for the GIS day at SIE. Participation of underrepresented groups will be addressed through strengthening information technology research in collaboration with the University of Maine, an EPSCoR institution. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Frank, Chris INTELLIGENT SPATIAL TECHNOLOGIES ME Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 98985 5371 HPCC 9150 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0340042 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Photonic Sensor Arrays for Measurement of Temperature and Pressure in Geothermal Wells. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop a highly-multiplexed high-temperature sensor system to enable distributed temperature and pressure measurements for reservoir management in geothermal wells. The proposed system synergistically leverages recent advances in laser fabrication of in-line fiber interferometers with state-of-the-art high- resolution optical time domain reflectometers. The resulting system will withstand temperatures up to 800 degrees C and will be insensitive to hydrogen-induced spectral attenuation shifts that render Raman spectroscopy methods inaccurate. The commercial application of this project is in the management of energy producing geothermal wells. Electricity generated from these wells has the potential to fill a significant portion of the country's demand for energy. However, costs must be lowered to make geothermal energy economically competitive with fossil fuel energy. Improved geothermal reservoir management is expected to lead to lower energy cost, but requires down-hole instrumentation that can survive the harsh environment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG May, Russell PRIME RESEARCH LC VA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99865 5371 EGCH 1636 1307 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340048 January 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: High Speed Terahertz Tomographic Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) Imaging System. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project proposes to develop the technological and theoretical foundation of a high-speed terahertz (THz) tomographic non-destructive evaluation (NDE) imaging system. It is proposed to construct and evaluate a multiple THz transmitter and receiver module array test-bed to be employed with a commercially availability spectrometer system. This test-bed will be configured in a tomographic configuration and initially employ 4 and 6 elements in Phase I. This test-bed will be used to evaluate 1) the functional parameters and the feasibility of gathering multiple channels of data from an array of modules driven by the same split fiber optic source; and 2) the functional parameters and the feasibility of the reconstruction of 3 dimensional tomographic images from simple test objects scanned by the array. THz imaging has shown great potential, and there is great potential for innovation and research to provide a quantum leap in imaging speed and three dimensional image reconstruction. The image formation rate and three-dimensional image construction have been identified as two of the most important enabling factors in the widespread adoption of this technology for commercial applications. THz tomography offers tremendous market potential in the fields of Non-Destructive Examination (NDE), and homeland security. THz imaging can be used for the NDE of plastic and composite materials in aerospace and other industries, to insure strength and safety of manufactured components. In addition, rapid imaging of concealed explosives, biological agents, chemical weapons, flammables, metallic and non-metallic weapons, and other potentially dangerous items are of great concern to many civilian and governmental agencies (transportation security, law enforcement), and industries such as commercial aviation. This STTR collaboration will foster the developmental collaboration between industry and university in this rapidly advancing field. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Zimdars, David PICOMETRIX, LLC MI Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 1505 HPCC 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0340059 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Low Temperature Synthesis for Device Quality Semiconductor Films. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an integrated method to produce semiconductor devices without heat treatment. It targets an urgent industry need for low temperature deposition of commercially important copper indium diselenide (CIS) thin-films for lightweight photovoltaic modules. Present technology uses expensive vapor phase methods that are unsuitable for large-scale manufacturing or for deposition on plastic substrates. This research will develop a new molecular level concept to deposit electronic grade CIS films at room temperature. Phase I research will demonstrate the proof-of-concept for CIS film with a precisely designed electrochemical approach. Characterization of film properties will validate the approach. Phase II will extend the concepts to produce an innovative device configuration with fewer and safer materials than the state-of-the-art. Project success will lead to a totally new photovoltaic device made with cheaper materials and simpler methods. Its scale-up will use inexpensive commercial equipment. Method implementation will raise specific power ratings and lower manufacturing cost. These factors will translate into a wider spectrum of commercial markets for remote, mobile, or grid-tied power generation, building integration, spacecraft and satellite applications. The initial commercial application of this project will be in the production of solar cells. Broader application to other photovoltaic devices is likely. Project success will greatly impact solar cell production, semiconductor synthesis and nanoscale deposition. The low-temperature, low-cost features will introduce an enormous competitive advantage for any material synthesized with the molecular layer deposition method. The versatile method presents an exciting range of possibilities for novel nanostructures and superlattices, with applications ranging from quantum well lasers to solar cells and high strength structural materials. The immediate product will be a solar cell. Lower cost and mass production will allow this cell to compete with electricity prices for terrestrial power. Deposition on polymer substrates will extend its use for space applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Menezes, Shalini InterPhases Solar, Inc. CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9102 1794 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340071 January 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Fault-Tolerant MPI: An Enabling Strategy, Product Concept, and Enhancement of Production Cluster Computing. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I proposal proposes to develop a scalable, fault-tolerant and reliable message-passing interface. MPI-2 is a key technology for the next several years in enabling scalable parallel computing on massively parallel machines and Beowulf clusters. Fault-tolerance is absent in both the MPI-1 and MPI-2 standards, and no satisfactory products or research results offer an effective path to providing production scalable computing applications with effective fault-tolerance. This proposal addresses fault-tolerance in both the MPI-1 and MPI-2 standards, with attention to key application classes, fault-free overhead, and checkpoint-restart strategies. It connects the resource management infrastructure in use by many types of MPI users in science and industry with the fault-tolerant mechanisms, to be useful in practical scientific computing. If successful this product will provide key new capabilities to parallel programs, programmers, and cluster systems, including the enhancement of existing commercial applications based on MPI, such as CFD applications. The proposed effort is the first towards realizing a fault-tolerant MPI-2, a technology that would be exploited by scientists and engineers across the spectrum, since parallel computing based on MPI is a widespread enabler of scientific discovery. The project expects to increase the adoption of MPI-2, as well as higher productivity parallel computing for clusters and potentially for the grid. The computer science and engineering experience gained through this work will enable better interoperation of MPI implementations and resource allocators, which in turn will further enable efficient production parallel computing. The optimizations targeted at the popular recovery mechanisms, for key classes of applications, can be applied to any middleware and hence would result in improving the performance of applications in general. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Raman, Pirabhu MPI Software Technology, Inc. AL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99958 1505 HPCC 9216 9215 9150 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0340097 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Grid Computing for Energy Exploration and Development. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the implementation of a virtual computer environment that leverages the bandwidth and connectivity of the Internet and computer resources available from multiple geographically dispersed computer systems. This solution will be applied to one of the most compute intensive commercial industries: the 2 billion dollar worldwide seismic imaging market for energy exploration and development. This is a powerful and compelling demonstration of the abilities of the Internet and grid computing to enhance the real time value chain for the end consumer, and will usher in a new business approach for the energy exploration industry, and for other compute intensive markets such as: fluid flow modeling, aeronautics, genetic simulation, computational chemistry, astrophysics, nuclear simulation, and computational physics. The particular demonstration of the Grid technology will be in the seismic computing market ($2 billion per year). This market has been expanding because of the dwindling supply of known reserves and the increased worldwide competition for new sources of oil and gas. The capability to accurately image and evaluate reservoirs before drilling is fundamentally important to exploration companies because of the high cost of drilling wells. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bevc, Dimitri 3DGEO DEVELOPMENT INC CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0340112 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I:Low-Temperature Route to Cu(In,Ga)Se2 for Flexible Photovoltaics. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project provides a new approach to low-temperature processing of a compound semiconductor material, copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS). CIGS is presently being used as the solar absorber layer in some thin film polycrystalline solar cells with world-record efficiencies of 19%. While there is a move in the display and photovoltaic (PV) communities towards continuous roll-to-roll manufacturing owing to cost benefits, roll-to-roll CIGS solar cell processes currently give 6 to 8% efficient modules. This is thought to be due to microstructural limitations in the CIGS absorber layer as a consequence of lower temperature sintering required when using a polyimide substrate. The research objective of this project is to demonstrate improved conversion efficiencies for CIGS solar cells using a low-temperature processing step. To do this, small grain CIGS films will be subjected to conditions that favor grain growth yielding a large-grained polycrystalline semiconductor. Temperature will be carefully controlled and optimized to determine if this process might enable economical substrates such as polyethylene terephthalate. If successful, the approach would be generally applicable to polycrystalline metal chalcogenide electronic materials where performance improvements might be anticipated with a reduction in the number of grain boundaries. The commercial application of this project is in the manufacture of high efficiency, flexible, solar cell semiconductor material. This project allows a feasibility demonstration for a semiconductor growth methodology using CIGS solar cells as the first example. Assuming the low-temperature treatment results in the formation of large-grained materials and gives increased solar conversion efficiencies, the process could be utilized as a plug-in at an existing roll-to-roll CIGS manufacturing facility. The development of 15% efficient CIGS solar cells on flexible and lightweight substrates would address the needs of higher-end solar cell products used in portable electronics such as cell phones and laptops where a 10-year market estimate of $ 5 billion is not unreasonable. While existing PV technologies may meet the cost target for portable PV (i.e. $10/W) these are not applicable given the low-specific power density and inflexibility of the modules thus providing a significant opportunity for an emerging solar cell technology. For this consumer application, the value added through the use of portable PV is the convenience of never "plugging in" to recharge a power system. In addition to CIGS solar cells, this low-temperature growth approach could impact the emerging fields of flexible electronics and electronic textiles through new routes to transistors and/or thermo-electrics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schulz, Douglas CeraMem Corporation MA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1794 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340114 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Linking Curriculum and Assessment: Products and Services from Research to Classroom. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to create a series of interactive curriculum and assessment materials for middle and high school science. These materials will be in the form of computer-based activities that use scaffolded, manipulable models to encourage scientific reasoning. In addition to capturing their answers to specific questions, the activities will monitor students' actions as they engage in exploratory and problem-solving tasks. This rich source of information will be automatically transferred where it will be analyzed and made available to teachers for embedded assessment of students' content knowledge and reasoning skills. The technology produced by this project will enable researchers and educators to create and customize novel education activities that guide and monitor students' actions as they solve increasingly difficult problems using computer models of scientific phenomena. The technology enables extremely fine-grained performance data to be collected from very large numbers of subjects. This combination will create unprecedented opportunities for conducting scientific research in education. Research with computer-based, interactive curriculum materials demonstrates that they impose no extraordinary requirements for teacher professional development, and are disproportionately effective with precisely those students whom traditional science teaching often leaves behind. By bringing up-to-date research results to the classroom in the form of easily accessible reports on student achievement, the project will accelerate a shift away from the current post hoc, multiple-choice testing modality, in favor of real-time embedded assessment of critical aspects of science learning that are difficult to measure by conventional techniques. The project will give teachers a tool that will help them reach underachieving students, coupled with a powerful assessment technique that will provide them with a continuous measure of their students' learning. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV IIP ENG Horwitz, Paul Educational Network Services, Inc. MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99955 7180 SMET 9177 7256 0108000 Software Development 0116000 Human Subjects 0510604 Analytic Tools 0522400 Information Systems 0340121 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Enhanced Dielectric Performance from MagiCap (TM) Polymer. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop thin films of nanoparticle/polymer composites for use as artificial dielectric materials. These artificial dielectrics have the potential to have high dielectric constants while maintaining the low temperature processing ability, adhesion, and flexibility of polymers. The shape, size, and orientation of nanoparticles in the polymer matrix will be controlled at the nanometer scale in order to tune the particle's behavior as dielectric enhancers in the insulating matrix. Nanoparticles having spherical, cubic, and wire shaped geometry and dimensions in the range of 0.4-100 nm will be dispersed into polymer resin and formed into thin film capacitors for testing. The commercial applications of this project will be in improved capacitors for the electronics industry. Such practical, high capacitance materials will enable embedded capacitors for printed wiring board applications. In addition, high energy density capacitors are needed for temporary backup power and pulsed power in electrons, hybrid vehicles, and space applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Flanagan, John NGIMAT CO. GA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 1676 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340130 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Quantum Confined Atom Based Nanophosphors for Future Efficient Lighting. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project involves the confinement of activator ions in nanocrystalline quantum dots to enhance the brightness and efficiency of LED-white lamps. These quantum confined atom (QCA)-nanophosphors involve a single activator ion confined within a 2-7 nm nanocrystal host (quantum dot) of semiconductor and insulator. The project objective involves the fabrication of the nanophosphors and characterization of their optical and thermal properties. The project will demonstrate that the enhanced luminescent and thermal properties of the phosphors can be applied to high brightness white LEDs and conventional lighting products. The improvements in lamp efficiency should be in the 15-50 percent range depending on the specific lamp. The project will also study the dependency of light generation on temperature. This would be of importance not only for the high-flux and high temperature operation of LEDs and arc lamps but would help in a basic understanding of the thermal properties of nanophosphors. The commercial application of this technology is in the replacement of incandescent lamp lighting with solid state LEDs. The cost of producing electricity is $60 billion annually in the US and lighting accounts for 20 percent of the consumption. Replacing incandescent lamps with efficient solid state LED lamps could result in huge savings and a significant reduction in electric consumption. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Bhargava, Rameshwar NANOCRYSTALS TECHNOLOGY LIMITED PARTNERSHIP NY T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99800 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 1676 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340139 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Saving the Black Rhino: Thinking Globally and Acting Locally. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to support the research and development of a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) to support science content learning and environmental awareness among students ages nine to thirteen. Leveraging an existing platform developed through previous National Science Foundation support and a 2000+ user-base, it will develop an educational gaming context in which children will be engaged in investigating the socio-political and environmental dynamics surrounding the creation and maintenance of a game reserve located in Tanzania. Children learning from the Black Rhino Unit will travel around a virtual environment where they can collect environmental data and interview experts to develop an understanding of the game reserve and black rhino, learn about the reasons for the animals' near extinction, its biology, its habitat, and additionally develop an understanding of the Tanzania (climate, population, terrain, political situation, etc). However, the primary learning goal of the Black Rhino unit goes beyond learning about the black rhino with students also having to identify an issue in their local community that they will investigate and report on. With a fully developed online education game made possible through National Science Foundation support and expected supplemental funding, the firm, One Planet Education Network (OPEN), would have a unique and powerful online education-based 3D gaming application and product to sell or license to schools and homes online around the world. This education game development would align with and extend the firm's current portfolio of online science curriculum programs and result in a product that could have worldwide practical impact RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Newman, George The Power of Three, LLC MA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 100000 1666 SMET 9177 0101000 Curriculum Development 0108000 Software Development 0340145 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: High-Resolution Absolute Linear Encoder Based on a Spintronic Sensing Array. 0340145 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will explore the feasibility of developing an absolute, high-resolution linear encoder leveraging the evolving technology of spintronics. An array of magnetic tunnel junction sensors will sense spatially varying magnetic fields generated by lithographically defined micron-scale current carrying conductors with known geometries. Absolute spatial encoding will be achieved by a unique mapping of sensor outputs to linear displacement. The proposed device will be an absolute encoder, which will dramatically reduce power consumption. In the Phase I work, this idea of a magnetic encoder based on tunnel junction technology will be brought from a purely theoretical idea to the prototyping stage. The proposed product will be low-cost, low power, robust, and extremely sensitive compared to existing techniques and thus may create brand new markets for encoder technology. The potential impact of the proposed work will thus be felt in every field requiring precise measurement of displacement, such as personal electronics, robotics, machine tools, wafer handling equipment, scientific and medical imaging, micromanipulation, and motion control systems. The development of an array of magnetic tunnel junctions with submicron resolution will be of great utility in many fields of basic and applied research, particularly in the emerging fields of nanotechnology, biomagnetism, and spintronics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Singh, Gurpreet MICRO MAGNETICS INC MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340149 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Feasibility of Chiral Fiber Polarizer. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to demonstrate the feasibility of a new class of in-fiber polarizers and polarization converters based upon chiral optical fibers. Helical birefringence is imparted to these optical waveguides by twisting fibers with noncircular cores as they pass through a miniature oven. Thus thesechiral fiber gratings (CFGs) do not require coherent irradiation of photosensitive glass, which is used to process fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs), but rather are created in a versatile continuous process from specially prepared glass preforms. They are true fiber devices and do not require any substrates, bulk components, or rigid package. Both the polarizer and polarization converter will be based on CFGs with a pitch of tens of microns. These CFG-based devices, which will be fabricated at dramatically reduced cost, will permit the control of the polarization of transmitted light with high extinction ratio over broad or narrow spectral ranges as dictated by the application. They will have broad application in telecommunications to polarization mode dispersion (PMD) compensation, wavelength- division multiplexing (WDM), and Faraday rotators. Polarizers are also key to sensors relying on optical interference such as gyroscopes. Polarization and frequency selective chiral fibers have applications ranging from telecommunications to sensing. The use of external modulators for high bandwidth fiber telecommunication requires that the incident wave be linearly polarized. This necessitates use of a polarizer since laser sources used in telecommunications generally have random polarization. Further any use of polarization maintaining fiber requires that polarized light be launched into the fiber. Polarizers are also key components in PMD compensation systems. The versatile chiral polarizers may be fabricated from refractory or radiation resistive glasses so that they may function in harsh environments with high levels of radiation, high temperature, or corrosive chemicals. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Neugroschl, Dan CHIRAL PHOTONICS, INC NJ Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99991 5371 HPCC 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0340171 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Environmental Risk Management and Quantification Using Real Options. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project is proposed for developing a methodology and tools for assessing the redevelopment value of environmentally impaired properties. The purpose of this research is to develop a methodology and software to quantify the risk and cost associated with redeveloping such properties. The proposed project involves: (i) identifying and evaluating data for calibrating a valuation model; (ii) developing a valuation model that accurately accounts for uncertainty and the value of management flexibility than other available models); (iii) identifying commercially available products that can support the model; and (iv) developing a working prototype of the model, using the data collected in the first task to check the viability of the prototype. The application of these methodologies represents a unique aspect of this research; this approach reflects the state-of-the-art in research of property valuation, and the proposed project is expected to advance the state-of-the-art in this field. The project offers numerous commercial and societal benefits related to redevelopment of environmentally impaired properties. There are tens of thousands of environmentally impaired properties in the United States, many of which are located near business centers and in areas targeted for redevelopment. Developers can purchase insurance products to mitigate some of this risk, but the costs of currently available insurance products are not based on an accurate evaluation of the true risk. Using the product of this research, developers will be able to more accurately quantify the value of their investment in an environmentally impaired property, will be able to more competitively obtain insurance against unforeseen circumstances, develop better contingency plans in the event that unexpected conditions are encountered, and will be able to identify key management decision points in a proposed redevelopment project. The product of this research will also provide, in some cases, a competitive advantage to redevelopment of environmentally impaired properties over development of undeveloped land. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Espinoza, David GeoSyntec Consultants FL Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 99813 5371 HPCC 9216 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0340172 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Optical Pressure Sensors. 0340172 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop novel optical pressure sensor materials that can be used in low pressure regimes, less than 100 psi, with 1 psi or lower resolution. While conventional "pressure sensitive" materials such as pressure sensitive paints actually respond to oxygen partial pressure, few true optical pressure sensors exist that can claim insensitivity to competing effects such as chemicals, bending, temperature, and electric field. Conventional sensors such as fiber Bragg gratings and fiber Fabry-Perot interferometers will continue to be prohibitively expensive for volume applications for a very long time and cannot match the price performance mark of material- based techniques. This pressure specification covers a wide range of applications where optical sensors (and Fiber-optic sensors in particular) are desirable, including diverse markets such as biomedical and surgical (e.g. intravenous and intra-cranial monitoring), energy (fuel cells and gas turbines), materials processing (plastics and polymers), and petrochemical applications (down-hole temperature and pressure monitoring). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zounes, Maryann IPITEK CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99809 5371 HPCC 9139 9102 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340175 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Learning Context. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project proposes the unsupervised extraction of contextual information from dedicated video surveillance cameras by providing a mechanism to manually inject pieces of semantic, using semantic knowledge as seed information to learn statistical context models for: functional components, Environmental components, targets, temporal components, and integrating the learned contextual information into video surveillance systems. Automatic exploitation of context from video will benefit: core computer vision research areas such as segmentation, background-modeling, tracking, and classification, event detection, automatic unusual behavior detection; abnormal target behavior, weather conditions, sequences of events, and the like and event handling. This project will have the most impact in the homeland security and law enforcement areas. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Haering, Niels ObjectVideo, Inc. VA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 90673 5371 HPCC 9139 9102 0522400 Information Systems 0340181 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Portable SI-HPLC Analyzer. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes the development of a portable and fully automated chromatographic based analyzer. This analyzer will integrate several proven technologies to produce an automated instrument that is compact, robust and easily implemented for on-line, at-site, or field-ready use, especially where complex HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) analyses are needed. Based on Sequential Injection (SI) protocol and HPLC instrumentation, this instrument will be full automated and provide an integrated approach with respect to sample collection, pretreatment, chemical modification, separation and detection of target analytes. This chemical analyzer will exploit several novel technologies including sequential injection, portable high-pressure syringe pumps and sol-gel HPLC columns in its development of this hybrid analyzer referred to as Sequential Injection for High performance Liquid Chromatography (SI-HPLC). Although HPLC is a fundamental fixture in many laboratories; it remains largely a bench-top instrument due to its overall large size, high power consumption and need for manual sample retreatment/preparation prior to analysis. By integrating several evolving technologies, HPLC analysis can be fully automated and conducted at much lower pressures, which will also make this analyzer very compact and truly portable as well as energy efficient. The proposed SI-HPLC instrument will find applications at on-line process control, at-site environmental monitoring or as a multipurpose field-ready analyzer for medical, law-enforcement or military use. The SI-HPLC instrument will be a low cost, portable system that is highly adaptable to different applications since it will rely on an open architecture made possible by software programmability. Sequential Injection technologies make this analyzer ideally suited for use by untrained personnel or for remote autonomous analysis since sample handling and preparation can be completely automated. Examples for SI-HPLC use will be for online process control (e.g. pharmaceuticals) to provide real-time feedback for Quality Control or optimal product yield; at-site monitoring of pesticide or leachate contamination of water sources; or as a field-ready analyzer for mobile hospital units. The SI-HPLC instrument will have broad application since it will employee widely accepted/desired HPLC methodologies into a completely portable and cost-effective field analyzer. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Klein, Garth FIAsolutions WA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340213 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Nanostructured Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Solar Cell. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to focus on the development and optoelectronic optimization of a prototype for a new, leapfrog class of web-coatable solar cells which are flexible with a light weight form factor, have substantially lower absolute cost per area, and a breakthrough cost-performance. The objective of the project is the creation and optimization of a benchtop prototype device with an efficiency, which will represent the highest solar cell efficiency ever achieved in an organic cell. The project's plastic solar cells are based upon a 200 nm thick, nanoscale charge-splitting network which serves as an active layer, self-organized from solution into highly regular coatings that can be tailored to absorb most of the visible light spectrum. These solar cells can be coated onto large-area panels without the use of lithography, vacuum deposition, or high-temperature processes. Commercially, relative to best practice solar cells, based on thin film, inorganic copper indium gallium selenide technology, this new approach has the potential to enable solar cells with a cost per watt that is 2.5x superior to the industry's anticipated CIGS-based cell performance in 2008, an unprecedented level with the potential of making solar electricity economically feasible for a broad market. In addition, with key differentiating attributes including light weight, a flexible form, and a low cost per area, the technology opens up new markets and application segments. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sager, Brian Nanosolar, Inc. CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 1676 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340214 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Interactive Anatomy for Grade 7-12 Students and Teachers. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I aims to extend an interactive anatomy-learning environment from undergraduate into middle school and high school settings. Life sciences education in middle and high school is severely limited because of the cost and complexity of authentic laboratory experiences. This project will provide easy access to powerful data sources with tools for manipulating the data for a learning objective. This environment marks a unique approach to the application of computer technology to the K-12 anatomy and physiology curriculum, specifically grades 7-12, but with applicability to K-6. The environment supports an interactive work model where students engage in the same cycle of observation, interpretation, and action that characterized the historic "dissect and sketch paradigm." This environment allows students to produce an individual and unique visual record of their investigations, while they learn sophisticated computer skills, problem-solving techniques, and health science content. The tools resulting from this research will greatly enhance the ability of middle and high school teachers and students to access federally funded anatomical data such as the National Library of Medicine's Visible Human data sets, needed to learn basic anatomy. Providing this experience virtually improves overall access, and providing it early in a child's learning program might increase the number and quality of health care professionals in the future.. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG McCracken, Thomas VISIBLE PRODUCTIONS INC CO Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 98140 1666 SMET 9177 7256 0522400 Information Systems 0340245 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Ultra Linear FM Transceiver Employing Delta Sigma Modulation in Silicon Germanium. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project investigates a novel digital approach for modulation and demodulation of FMCW signals in precision radar systems and wideband radios. Recent availability of Silicon Germanium technologies supporting clock speeds of 10 GHz make possible this approach for potentially high volume 77 GHz automotive radar and 2 GHz cellular wCDMA applications. Ultimately the SiGe technology will support all digital and microwave circuitry so an entire RF product can be integrated on one low cost silicon-based chip. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project combines two rapidly developing technologies, delta-sigma signal processing of audio and video information, and silicon germanium(SiGe) wafer processing. When the SiGe integrated delta-sigma technique is proven successful for high performance microwave and millimeter wave radios, it has the potential to enable new commercial radio architectures because of the low cost, power and size of SiGe integrated circuits. Investigating the limits of clock frequencies and digital signal processing speeds using SiGe applied to radio modems will contribute greatly to this revolution. A successful delta-sigma modem implementation at microwave frequencies will translate the extensive knowledge of these techniques at lower frequencies to a significant new spectrum of applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Warble, Keith Sensor Technologies & Systems, Inc. AZ Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99448 5371 HPCC 9139 4650 1517 0206000 Telecommunications 0340259 January 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Surface Plasmon Enhanced High Efficiency Near-field Probes. 0340259 This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I research project will develop near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) probes with dramatically increased transmission efficiency that will lead to increased spatial resolution and higher scan speed. High transmission efficiency will be achieved by incorporation of newly discovered near-field surface plasmon affects. NSOM probes using surface plasmon enhancement will have 2-3 orders of magnitude higher transmission than existing probes, allowing faster scanning speeds as well as better spatial resolution. A combination of first principles modeling and nanofabrication of test structures in Phase I will provide proof of concept as well as a guide for Phase II optimization. This program will push the fundamental scientific understanding of near-field optics while simultaneously enhancing the capabilities of commercial NSOM metrology instruments, which have wide applicability in nanotechnology development, lithography and metrology. Plasmon optics have potential applications to a broad range of areas where high efficiency and subwavelength sizes are required including the integration of optics with microelectronics, spatial and spectral optical multiplexing, and data storage applications. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Hollingsworth, Russell ITN ENERGY SYSTEMS, INC. CO Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99963 1505 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340270 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Compact Heat Sink using Microscale Ion Driven Air Flow. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of designing and fabricating a Microscale Ion Driven Air Flow heat sink device. The heat removal rate required to maintain the temperature of consumer electronics at an acceptable level is increasing at an exponential rate. In spite of the rise in heat fluxes, cooling electronics with air continues to be the preferred method of thermal management because of its low cost and simplicity. However, conventional heat-sinking devices are not able to achieve these heat transfer rates in small portable electronics such as laptop computers. The proposed device has the potential to dissipate the same amount of heat as a conventional fan and heat sink, but in 1/10th the size. To prove the viability of this technology, a series of targeted models and experiments will be run. The program will culminate with a system level feasibility study that will demonstrate, through models and experiments, the ability of this technology to cool electronic equipment. The commercial application of this project is a heat sink for use with small portable electronic devices such as laptop computers. The goal of this research is to develop and produce a compact heat sink that will be completely noiseless, lightweight, smaller and cheaper than any other air-cooled heat-sinking device. The heat sink will have broad commercialization potential, particularly in laptop computers, future cell phones, and other mobile computing applications. It will allow the use of high-performance CPUs in these small portable packages. This will also facilitate further miniaturization and integration of computer chips. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Schlitz, Daniel Thorrn Micro Technologies, Inc. IL Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1519 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340283 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: New Algorithms for PTZ Camera Based Object Tracking. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project will investigate and evaluate a new class of moving object-tracking algorithms for PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras in video surveillance systems. In most of today's video surveillance systems, real-time object tracking is performed manually by human operators using PTZ cameras. This is often stressful and inefficient (an operator can only control one PTZ camera at a time) and causes inconsistent results. The proposed project will investigate a new class of algorithms to direct a PTZ camera to track an object of interest automatically. This is done by using an optimal filter with new object and observation models. The project outcome will be software modules that can be integrated into standard video surveillance systems to improve their capabilities. Video surveillance systems are important tools in the fight against crime and terrorism. Most of the systems on the market today are relatively standard DVR's (digital video recorders) with few smart features. The proposed innovation (automatic object tracking) is a smart feature that can significantly improve a standard system's capabilities by allowing it to get better and more useful images. Since this feature is demanded by many end-users, it is highly attractive to equipment vendors and integrators. Hence, it has commercial potential. Finally, by introducing new models for object tracking (detailed in the Project Description), the proposed innovation also advances the state-of-the-art in image processing and computer vision research. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Drake, Laura JunTech, Inc. WI Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0340287 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Efficient Electro-Optical Modulators for Microwave-Photonic Links. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is focused on developing a new type of lightwave transmitter based on the frequency modulation technique. Using the system FM (frequency modulation) gain to overcome the very high radio frequency (RF) insertion loss of optical fiber links, the transmitter should be able to achieve very low voltage operations (estimated to be 0.1V). Furthermore, the laser source and the equivalent modulator could be integrated in a small lightweight chip with a low production cost. The initial study has shown that it is possible to achieve >10 dB RF insertion gain at a < 0 dBm optical power and with a high spur-free dynamic range (SFDR) of > 90 dB-Hz 2/3 and low noise. The result of this work will be the design and development of an integrated chip. With the successful development of the proposed modulator, it should be possible to manufacture very high bandwidth, high efficiency, low voltage?, and low RF insertion loss integrated laser/modulator devices. The outcome of the activity should lead to a marketable product covering the needs of both the military and commercial sectors. For military applications, low-loss RF signal transmissions, RF delay lines, and signal processing units would be the immediate target area of this application because of the great advantages of optical fibers in transmission bandwidth, immunity to electro-magnetic (EM) interference, and size as well as weight. The impact on commercial applications should result in, a low cost, high link budget analog AM CATV optical transmitter with more program channels (200 channels) based on this modulator technique. It could also serve metropolitan sized areas with more program channels and with lower operating and equipment costs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fan, Jenyu Adtech Optics Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99927 5371 HPCC 9139 1631 1517 0104000 Information Systems 0340306 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: High Performance Thin Film Transistors on Plastic Fabricated From Dense Thin-Films of Oriented Semiconductor Nanowires. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a new, high-performance thin-film-on-plastic technology that will provide single-crystal silicon thin-film transistors (TFTs). The project will focus on the challenge of fabricating films and forming high quality electrical contacts (both ohmic for source and drain electrodes, and insulated for gate electrodes) on low-temperature plastic substrates. This project focuses on the basic proof of principle, fabricating individual TFTs on plastic by: (1) the creation of a dense and oriented layer of nanowires adhered to plastic; (2) lithographic patterning of source and drain openings using traditional infrastructure; (3) the creation of high quality ohmic contacts under low temperature conditions; and (4) creation of insulated gate-electrode contacts under low temperature conditions. The commercial applications of this technology will be in the electronics and photonics industries. The unique characteristics of nanowires will enable high-performance macroelectronics on plastic that can be processed using established commercial infrastructure. The research will greatly impact the development of devices for commercial, military, and homeland security markets. Flexible semiconducting films have the potential for replacing amorphous and polycrystalline silicon in important large-area electronics applications such as displays and radio-frequency identification tags. In addition, this fundamental technology can be applied to nanowire materials other than silicon, allowing broader use with materials currently impossible to process onto large area substrates such as gallium arsenide. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Stumbo, David NANOSYS INC CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99976 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 1676 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340327 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Creation of a Massively-Scaleable Emergency Medical Resource Information Exchange System (MEMRIES) Based on an Entity-Attribute-Value (EAV) Database. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is intended to design, develop, and evaluate an innovative web-based software application to address a compelling national need to organize emergency resources. The project will develop an innovative Entity-Attribute-Value (EAV) database design to provide a flexible, scaleable platform to meet the needs for a next generation National emergency resource system. Effective communication systems linking stakeholders responding to emergency events are critical to the Nation's preparedness but a standardized, national-level, flexible system is not yet available. The main Phase One activities are: (1) remodel the current database as an EAV system; (2) design web-based application tools that provide the ability to generate aggregate hierarchical views of the data at multiple levels, and agile messaging; and (3) build a prototype system and convert/replicate a set of current data, using it with the new prototype system for performance, scalability and user evaluation during test scenarios. Commercial application of this project will provide first responders with ability to simultaneously monitor the status of emergency resources, and to distribute messages and queries to emergency personnel in local and regional areas. Successful development and implementation will result in major improvements in the Nation's preparedness. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Barthell, Edward Infinity HealthCare, Inc. WI Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99800 5371 HPCC 9139 0104000 Information Systems 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0340340 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Social Dynamics of Sales in a Global Village. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project proposes to enable company's existing software to extend concepts from social network theory and computer science to create a new data type -the relationship master network. New data types (e.g., customer master) have, historically, solved business problems and created new enterprise software segments (e.g., CRM). While the company's existing software's current focus is on using this relationship to help enterprise sales teams make the appropriate contacts faster and more efficiently (by answering "who knows who?"), this technology supports any referral-based process (e.g., finding jobs). In particular, it only connects parties with mutual interests (e.g., employers and job seekers). Eliminating discovery costs makes it much easier to gain insight into a person or organization - thereby bringing the social dynamics of a village up to global scale. This project will develop a way to prototype components that are significantly more complex than existing products can currently prototype. If successful this project will develop methods, using information in the relationship network, to (1) reconcile the multiple records (each with sparse data) which appear to describe different people or organizations to a record for a single person or organization and (2) identify and extract information of relevance (e.g., biographical information on customers) from the web. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Akella, Prasad Spoke Software CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0340348 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Customized Metasearch Engine. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of the company's metasearch technology by developing a prototype system for automatically creating customized metasearch engines based on the search engines specified by a user (i.e., the URLs of the interface pages of the search engines are provided by the user). A metasearch engine is a system that provides unified access to multiple existing search engines and it is an effective mechanism to combine the coverage of multiple search engines and to reach the portion of the Web that cannot be publicly crawled. Several issues must be addressed. First, different form tags that contain search engine interfaces need to be automatically analyzed so that information useful for connecting to the search engines (i.e., submitting queries and receiving results) through a program can be correctly extracted. Another issue is that various result pages returned by different search engines in response to user queries need to be automatically parsed so that useful information such as the URLs and snippets of retrieved documents can be correctly extracted. A third issue is that retrieved documents from multiple search engines need to be automatically merged into a single ranked list with good retrieval effectiveness while minimizing the need to downloading/analyzing the actual documents. One final issue is that created metasearch engines need to be automatically maintained so they can continue to work correctly when independently managed search engines change. The outcome of this project will contribute to research in several related areas such as distributed information retrieval, autonomous systems, information extraction and self-maintainable systems. Customized metasearch engines can benefit individual users and companies/organizations in their information acquisition. This solution saves users' time and increases productivity SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Liu, King-Lup WebScalers L.L.C. LA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99973 5371 HPCC 9150 9139 0116000 Human Subjects 0522400 Information Systems 0340351 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Development of New Pulsing Mechanisms for Local Electrode Atom Probe Analyses of Electronic Materials. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to adapt the highest spatial resolution analytical technique, atom probe microscopy, to work on silicon-based electronic materials specifically, and semiconductor and insulating materials generally. The semiconductor and information storage industries, large and critical sectors of the US economy, face daunting development tasks which require analytical techniques that provide quantitative three-dimensional images at the atomic scale. Atom probe microscopy is the only known technique that can fill this very large and crucial need but essential research is needed to make it work. The atom probe uses field evaporation to extract one atom at a time from a specimen and determine its identity and location in three dimensions. Our understanding of the basic mechanisms by which field evaporation of silicon occurs must be improved if this technique is to be applied to electronic materials. This research program proposes to systematically explore and document novel methods of achieving the requisite pulsing. The commercial application of this project is in analytical instrumentation to study, develop, and control semiconductor and insulating electronic materials. Microscopy is required for science/technology development in many areas critical to national economy (e.g. advanced materials, microelectronics, and medicine.) As we embark on the century of nanotechnology, it will be essential that microscopy techniques provide a complete picture of materials at the atomic scale. No other existing imaging or analytical technology can determine the 3-D atomic structure with the resolution and elemental identification capabilities of the atom probe. Therefore, development of methods to broaden the types of materials that may be analyzed with the atom probe, as is the goal of this project, will substantially impact the development of new microelectronic devices, new nanotechnologies, and new science. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kelly, Thomas Imago Scientific Instruments Corp WI Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1794 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340357 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Virion Capsulated Nanopowders for Dielectric Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is for a novel methodology to produce nanodimensional formulation additives for use in the passive components industry. Presently available materials are rapidly reaching the point of diminishing return in terms of fired grain sizes, microstructural control and electrical performance. Given the ever-increasing demands of the electronics industry, novel solutions enabling next generation passive components must be developed. Of particular interest to this work are dielectric formulations for the multi-billion dollar multi-layered capacitor industry. The utilization of a novel virion encapsulated nanopowder production technology to produce formulation additives for this marketplace is proposed. Virion encapsulation uses self-assembling protein cages as scaffolding for nanoparticle production. Anticipated benefits of the research include the development of a method to produce nanodimensional multi-metal oxides, development of a novel nanodimensional dielectric system and definition of the processing window for nanodimensional passive component production. The technology being developed in this proposal is a direct application of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology impacts the fundamental nature of the products it enables. Objects become smaller, faster, stronger, lighter, possessing entirely new properties and even combinations of properties not otherwise available. The application of nanotechnology permits both the production of novel products and entirely new manufacturing paradigms. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Avniel, Yuval MicroPowder Solutions, LLC. MT T. James Rudd Standard Grant 100000 9150 AMPP 9163 1788 1676 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340381 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: High-Power Optical Wavelength Converter. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes the development of novel near-infrared coherent light sources. The approach consists of the use of novel means to convert the power of a continuous- wave (CW) multi-watt pump, such as derived from an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), or ytterbium- doped fiber amplifier (YDFA), to a wavelength range where high CW powers are currently not available. The output power will be available via an optical fiber. The wavelength conversion will have high efficiency, of the order of tens of percents. Output power will initially reach several Watts, with possible extension up to several hundred Watts. By this approach, we could in principle make powerful coherent light sources in many wavelength ranges where none have been previously available, in the broad range of 800 to 1800 nm. Each source will be tunable over several hundred nanometers. These light sources should find applications wherever high-power CW coherent sources are Needed. Possible areas of application are: laser surgery, photodynamic therapy, heat treatment, and laser machining, remote sensing, spectroscopy, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Marhic, Michael OPAL Laboratories Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 96746 5371 HPCC 9145 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0340384 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Filtering Objectionable Imagery. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project describes a new and innovative approach for filtering objectionable image content distributed on the Internet. As Internet usage in the workplace has increased, companies have had to deal with issues such as loss of productivity, unnecessary bandwidth usage and legal liability due to employees viewing objectionable image content. This project provides an automated, intelligent, object recognition solution that understands objectionable image content based on attributes beyond, for example, skin color. The research leverages the award-winning machine learning technology for object-recognition in imagery. The methodology is widely recognized within the industry as the first instance of an adaptive software agent technology capable of object recognition through both spectral and spatial processing of image attributes. This project will leverage this technology to develop a visual content filter. The system will not only be able to filter objectionable imagery, it will also provide solutions for filtering any image content, or inversely, providing a user-specific profile for finding imagery of a user's choice. As Internet usage in the workplace continues to increase, the research has strong benefits for government and private industry. The anticipated results are an adaptable commercial system that will continually improve the filtering of objectionable imagery from the database. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Blundell, Stuart VISUAL LEARNING SYSTEMS INC MT Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 100000 9150 HPCC 9150 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0340407 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Germanium Liquid Crystals for Perfect Displays. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to explore the development of a fundamentally new class of ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs) containing germanium. Only one germanium liquid crystal compound has been prepared until this year. A new germanium compound has shown tremendous promise in revolutionizing the scope of FLC devices. The Phase I objectives are to synthesize 20 new compounds and to explore the unique properties of this fundamentally new class of LCs, applying the findings towards commercial application. Anticipated results include an improved understanding of the physical, chemical, and optical properties of these new materials, and the identification of further FLC material and cell advances that need to be achieved in Phase II for subsequent commercialization. The new class of FLCs may afford a more durable device showing broader temperature range and lower birefringence (ease of manufacture), and most of all, operate in both analog and bistable modes. The commercial application of this project is in optical communications. Because germanium FLCs have the potential to afford both analog and bistable operation (a result of bookshelf layer structure) many areas will be opened to commercialization. Phase modulation is the foundation for electro-optical beam steering and optical wave front correction, which find application in free-space optical communications, in beam steering and beam shaping for laser radar in aviation, and in active optics. The new FLCs will also enable higher performance megabit write-heads for emerging holographic data storage, and will be useful for optical information processing. In addition, fast, bistable LCs have been needed for FLC displays, allowing access to the multibillion-dollar projection display market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wand, Michael Displaytech Incorporated CO T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99999 5371 AMPP 9163 1794 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340418 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: MathQuery: Improving Computer-Based Mathematics Assessment Using XML. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project proposes to explore the feasibility of creating a new method for analyzing and evaluating free-form student responses within computer-based assessment and tutorial systems for mathematics. This research will apply new XML technologies in an attempt to evaluate a student's mathematics understanding at a much deeper level than is possible with existing computer-based assessment systems, which will lead to improved assessment reporting and adaptation of mathematics curricula. The proposed method for implementing mathematics assessment not only represents an innovative application of XML technologies to a significant problem in education, namely mathematics assessment; it also proposes a new specification that can be used to supplement emerging standards in computer-based learning and interoperability. Traditional standardized assessment methodologies have been criticized for the low level of skills they evaluate. Improved assessment methods are necessary in order to adapt mathematics instruction to the needs of individual students. The proposed research will also demonstrate that XML technologies can address a range of applications much broader than e-commerce and web publishing. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG DeLand, Donald Integre Technical Publishing Company, Inc. NM Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99947 9150 SMET 9178 9150 7256 0512004 Analytical Procedures 0340422 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Diode-Laser Sensors for Real-Time Control of Semiconductor Processing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project proposes to support the development of a real-time, insitu sensor for the monitoring and control of next-generation semiconductor etch tools. The sensor is based on ultrasensitive diode-laser absorption techniques for measurements of important native etch products (HF, DF, CO). This novel sensor system will measure concentrations of native etch products insitu with high sensitivity, accuracy, speed and specificity, eliminating the need for auxiliary etch stop layers. These auxiliary etch stop layers, which are currently used for control of the etch process, increase layer capacitance, and hence reduce operating speed of the devices in production. This sensor system has direct commercial impact on the next-generation etch tools and their process capabilities. The real-time control afforded by this sensor system will likely become an industry standard and become a critical subcomponent of the semiconductor etch tool market. Application to other plasma-based process tools is a natural extension of this technology, as well as extension to other application areas including industrial process control, vehicle engine testing, and atmospheric and environmental monitoring. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Owano, Thomas LOS GATOS RESEARCH INC CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 100000 5371 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340435 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: PZT Multimorph MOEMS Deformable Mirror. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to fabricate an innovative multi-morph actuator. The feasibility of a micro-mirror actuating technology that can produce a MEMS deformable mirror (DM) with unprecedented capabilities will be researched. Conventional deformable mirrors suffer from inadequate speed, large size, and lack of integrated control electronics. A new actuator design should drastically reduce the power consumption for a DM, which should increase greatly the amount of integration possible with CMOS drive electronics. This extremely low voltage should allow the mirror segments to be assembled onto sub-micron circuits, which drive the mirrors and include integrated high-bandwidth position-feedback circuits. This unique high-force multi-morph actuator should find use in a number of MEMS devices that are based on existing actuation technologies. This micro-mirror technology should also be suitable a variety of other optical applications requiring the high speed switching of micro-mirrors such as in telecommunications and in display technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Helmbrecht, Michael Iris AO, Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 99200 5371 HPCC 9145 9139 1631 1517 0110000 Technology Transfer 0340438 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: High Throughput Screening of High Efficiency Spin Injection Materials in the Transparent Room Temperature Ferromagnetic Doped Indium Oxides. 0340438 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will address the high efficiency spin injection materials. One of the major technical barriers to realize the practical implementation of spin-controlled devices is the development of spin injection contact materials that will effectively inject spin polarized electrons into semiconductors. One approach is the development of room temperature, soft ferromagnetic semiconductors. Based on Intematix's proprietary combinatorial technology of materials research, transition metal doped In2O3, well-known wide bandgap semiconductor, was found to have impurity-free, room temperature ferromagnetism with high solubility of dopants. With many emerging new diluted magnetic semiconductor materials troubled by magnetic impurities, the impurity-free magnetism in doped In2O3 raises a significant possibility of spin polarization in this wide bandgap semiconductor. The goal is to realize a thin film device to confirm its spin injection efficiency, thus paving the way for a wide range of practical device applications in Phase II. The discovery and confirmation of efficient spin injection materials in thin film device setting is the key to the spintronics semiconductor industry, and its potential benefits to the U.S. economy and environment is enormous. It will set off the industry of spin-enabled semiconductor devices from sensors to spin-current amplifying transistors. Once realized, the spintronic devices will quadruple the capacity and speed of conventional semiconductor devices. This will eventually lead to create quantum computers that encode information in four different spin states -- up, down or two mixtures of both -- instead of representing data in binary digits, as is the case at present. Eventually it will create the spintronics industry whose market is projected to be bigger than the current semiconductor industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yoo, Young Intematix Corporation CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99988 5371 HPCC 9139 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0340439 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Accessible Electronic Mathematical Content. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project explores the feasibility of making MathML in a web browser and mathematical expressions in Word seamlessly accessible to people with print disabilities. Print disabilities include blindness, low vision, dyslexia and other learning disabilities. While others have explored aspects of accessibility in stand-alone applications, nobody has integrated access to mathematical content for those with print disabilities into users' existing screen readers or other assistive technology. This proposal brings together work on various aspects of making mathematical content accessible and pushes forward the state-of-the-art in audio rendering of mathematical expressions, navigation of mathematical expressions with audio feedback, and synchronizing audio rendering with highlighting the corresponding subexpression. Accessibility of electronic content is a requirement of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998, Section 508. Increasingly, states are adopting similar requirements for state-funded entities. Accessibility laws apply to all forms of content, not just textual content. These laws enforce the need to make all forms of electronic content accessible, including mathematical content. The results of this work will be incorporated into MathPlayer (a free software add-on for Internet Explorer (IE) that enables IE to display MathML in web pages) and MathType (a software application for authoring and displaying mathematics within word processors). Between these two applications, all MathML in web pages and mathematics in documents can be accessible to people with print disabilities. Many states have laws requiring textbooks to be accessible. The results of this project will present a fast and inexpensive route for publishers of textbooks with mathematical content to satisfy these laws. More importantly, the availability of these books and other documents coupled with accessible authoring of mathematical content has the potential to dramatically enhance the way students with print disabilities are taught and learn mathematics, science, engineering and other technical fields. RES IN DISABILITIES ED IIP ENG Soiffer, Neil Design Science, Inc. CA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 95922 1545 SMET 9180 9179 9178 9177 1545 0522400 Information Systems 0340445 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: The Delivery of Content-Rich Traffic Information to Improve Driver Decision Making. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project is an investigation of the data reduction processes and human/computer interfaces necessary to deliver content-rich traffic information to travelers en route. Large volumes of traffic data, of many types and over large areas, is being gathered by public and private agencies. To be useful to a driver while traveling, this data must be reduced to small amounts of information and delivered in a way that allows easy comprehension with minimal distraction. This research proposes to analyze drivers' needs for traffic information to determine a set of task- and goal-oriented behaviors that can be improved by high-quality traffic information. The set of tasks and goals will determine information-filtering contexts that will allow the specification and bandwidth-efficient transmission of very focused traffic information to in-vehicle personal computing devices. Interface designs will be developed that present the context-specific information using available technologies. The results of this research have potentially broad impacts on society. They will drive the development of better traffic information services that truly support the decisions drivers make as they travel. Applications based on these interfaces can improve individual routing behavior, delivery fleet operations and congestion management. Traffic congestion is a growing problem in most U.S. cities. In some areas, it has become a limiting factor on economic growth. Emphasis has shifted in recent years from providing additional capacity to better utilization of the existing infrastructure. Broad dissemination of traffic information in a form suitable for making optimal routing and trip decisions allows efficiency improvements based on the decentralized decisions of many drivers. Trip modifications based on real-time traffic data can save individual drivers an estimated $3.9 billion in lost time, 225 million hours of travel time, and 340 million gallons of fuel, per year. Similar savings are possible for commercial travel, as well, through improvements in delivery routing, on-time delivery and more efficient dispatching. Many congestion management strategies used by public agencies could benefit from better interfaces between the traffic data collected and the individual drivers on the roads. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cayford, Randall IntelliOne Technologies Corporation GA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 99970 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0340469 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Terrabyte Economical Database Server. 0340469 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is a feasibility study of developing a terabyte size database server using advanced software technology developed for supercomputer cluster and scientific computation. With today.s rapid proliferation of information, organizations are facing the challenge of storing and managing the ever-growing company.s data. Today.s infrastructure solutions are complex and expensive. Besides an economical enterprise class database server, other potential applications are for any information intensive job such as data warehousing and data mining. The innovation will enhance scientific understanding by providing a powerful but affordable computing and data storage platform to conduct research in the areas such as bioinformatic, data mining and text mining. It provides a scientific research tool for small research institutes and educational institutes. The innovation will enhance technological understanding since this is the very first project to study data management and storage using openMosix Linux, PVFS2 and MySQL. The software technologies developed will be freely distributed as Open Source code. Other developers are expected to follow Open Solutions initiative to further develop the technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pang, Kam Open Solutions GP CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 94296 5371 HPCC 9216 9215 9139 0522400 Information Systems 0340484 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Carbon Nanotubes FET Platform for Electronic & Sensors Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project involves the fabrication of a nanoelectronic device research module or kit for use by educational institutions and private sector researchers. The nanoelectronic devices will be used as transducer components in chemical, biological and photonic sensors. The kit will have three components: 1) packaged nanotube based field effect transistors (NTFETs); 2) a functionalization test board (FTB) for testing the devices; and, 3) a data acquisition system by which the users control the FTB. The NTFET development will require refinement of the production of reproducible nanotube array devices on 4" silicon wafers. The proposed work involves extending semiconductor manufacturing to produce 1 nm objects with the attendant challenges of imaging, measurement and process control. The project will optimize the major variables important to the uniform growth of arrays of single-wall carbon nanotubes with the electronic properties necessary for sensor transduction. The work will explore FET geometries and will develop tools and software for nanotube device characterization. The commercial application of this project is a research tool for the electronics market. The impact of the proposed work lies in its potential long-term contribution to the $300 billion electronics industry. Advances in silicon electronics have been driven by reductions in the feature size on the silicon chips. To extend the reach of Moore's Law, nanotubes offer the best path. The transition from silicon electronics to molecular electronics will be facilitated by the introduction of carbon nanotubes into hybrid architectures based on silicon substrates. Commercial availability of the NTFET kit would allow many component makers to study molecular electronic interactions and develop proprietary formulations for NTFET-based sensors. In addition, the academic community will be provided with inexpensive access to a technology with a very high barrier to entry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Gabriel, Jean-Christophe Nanomix, Inc. CA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 99878 5371 AMPP 9163 1794 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0348440 January 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Advanced Proxies for Shared Wireless Internet Access. This Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase II project will develop advanced forms of transparent network proxies for both satellite and terrestrial broadband wireless communications to the Internet. Shared wireless access links to the Internet often exhibit what has been called a traffic / cost anomaly. While almost 90% of the traffic in the network can flow from the Internet to the user, almost 90% of the cost of the access links can be attributed to the channel transmitting packets from the user to the Internet. Wireless Internet access from the user to the Internet is often implemented by means of some variation of a random access ALOHA channel. The interaction of ALOHA channels with TCP and other high level protocols used in the Internet can limit the effectiveness of both TCP and ALOHA for such access. The goal of this NSF SBIR research program is to understand this awkward interaction of standards in the high cost random access channel and to develop a strategy of migration to a more sensible access architecture based upon transparent proxies. The societal and commercial impact of this project will be to increase the capacity of broadband wireless Internet multiple access channels thereby decreasing the cost per user of the channel. This decrease in the cost per user when shared with customers can increase the market for broadband wireless access to the Internet while increasing the profitability for wireless Internet Service Providers. These fast proxies will make wireless Internet access affordable for under-served and un-served end users in rural areas in the United States and in much of the rest of the world. Additionally the technical innovations of this research will serve to advance the current level of understanding of how TCP/IP protocols interact with other protocols in wireless data networks. CENTERS FOR RSCH EXCELL IN S&T SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Abramson, Norman Skyware, Inc. CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 1061000 9131 5373 HPCC 9251 9215 9178 9102 7218 0116000 Human Subjects 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0348771 May 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Uncertainty Analysis of Manufacturing Process Models. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to create a robust software system for performing uncertainty analysis of process simulations for manufacturing. For simulations that are large or that contain many parameters, even the best Monte Carlo, or importance-based sampling methods for uncertainty analysis can be prohibitively expensive. Consequently, systematic uncertainty analyses are rarely implemented for complex systems. This proposal presents a plan to produce a commercially viable package of a new method for quantifying simulation uncertainty, based on polynomial chaos expansions. The method can determine the probability density functions of black-box model responses and can identify quantitatively which of the parameters contribute most to uncertainties in responses for multivariate inputs and outputs. The unique sampling approach enabled by the use of polynomial chaos expansions allows more accurate resolution of probability distribution functions at a very small fraction of the cost to achieve similar results with more traditional uncertainty-analysis methods. While illustrative examples from the chemical manufacturing industries will be used to demonstrate the software functionality, the methodology has broad application to such fields as circuit design, risk management, allocation of experimental resources, chemical plant design and operation of production systems. Due to the ability to handle arbitrary or black-box simulations, the methods can be applied as easily to economic market analysis, or global climate modeling, as to chemical process design. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Meeks, Ellen REACTION DESIGN CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 699220 5373 MANU 9146 1786 0116000 Human Subjects 0308000 Industrial Technology 0348966 February 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Speculative Compilation for Energy Efficiency. 0348966 This SBIR Phase II project will develop energy-aware compiler techniques to reduce power and energy consumption in microprocessors, without affecting performance. Over the past few years, energy consumption by computers has emerged as a major area of intellectual and commercial activity. A key principle behind this approach is to use speculative information available at compile time to reduce power and energy consumption. The key qualifier is speculative: the information does not have to be provably correct. Speculative information that turns out to be correct will enhance energy reduction; if it is incorrect, the worst that will happen is that a penalty (in terms of energy) will have to be paid. The use of such speculative compile-time information opens up a largely unexplored dimension in compilers and computer architectures, to target energy efficiency. The outcome of the proposed effort will not merely be a set of products, but also a vastly increased understanding of the means by which compile-time information can be exploited for energy savings. It is expected that this development effort will have a considerable impact on the theoretical underpinnings of compilers and compiler-architecture interaction, as well as a significant commercial impact. With the increasing prevalence of battery-powered computing devices such as PDAs, mobile telephones, and notebooks, power-aware computing is becoming increasingly important commercially. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Moritz, Csaba BlueRISC Labs MA Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 500000 5373 HPCC 9216 0108000 Software Development 0349022 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: High Performance Transparent AlON via Novel Powder Synthesis. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase II project proposes to develop a high performance transparent aluminum oxynitride (AlON) material, with improved mechanical properties and low cost, via an innovative powder synthesis method. Using nanoparticle sintering, an IR transmission of 80% can be achieved. The smaller grain size leads to a MOR of 400 MPa. The Phase II program proposes to extend the applications of AlON for wide spread commercial applications. Several major forming methods will be developed in this Phase II program so that the forming capability can be established to fulfill all of the different parts for different markets. These products include high intensity discharge lamps, security windows, semiconductor substrates, laser windows, consumer optic windows, orthodontic brackets, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Hida, George Materials and Electrochemical Research Corporation (MER) AZ Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 500000 5373 AMPP 9163 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349333 February 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Integrated Electric and Magnetic Free-Space Sensor for Geosciences. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project proposes to integrate a new, free-space electric field (E) sensor with a recently introduced, miniaturized magnetic induction (B) sensor to form a compact six-channel sensor system. The proposed new E-field + B-field sensor should offer a completely new instrumentation capability for geosciences, providing for the first time measurement of all components of the electromagnetic (EM) field vector at low frequency in a single package without contact to the ground or any other physical object. The Phase II objectives are to develop a system prototype with sensitivity and bandwidth suitable for the majority of applications in geophysical surveying, lightning detection, electromagnetic sounding for detection of buried objects, and for general EM research. A side-by-side comparison with state-of-the-art conventional technology will be performed for magneto-tellurics and lightning detection in collaboration with academic and industry experts. This technology should help develop products for the stand-alone electric and magnetic sensors, as well as a new class of bio-electrode that shares the same basic technology as the E-field sensor. Applications for the bio-electrodes are for human physiologic monitoring such as the electrocardiogram (ECG) and the electroencephalogram (EEG SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Nielsen, Thomas Quasar Federal Systems, Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 708367 5373 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349414 February 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Technology for Integrated Computation and Communication. This Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase II research project proposes to develop a prototype product for an innovative parallel program development and execution technology, which can run parallel programs asynchronously in multiprocessors and supercomputers up to 100 times faster than what is currently possible, without using Message Passing Interfaces (MPI). For more than thirty years it had been assumed that the only way to efficiently compile and execute parallel programs was through MPI. Even though it had been recognized that parallel programs would run faster if executed asynchronously on the basis of data availability, technology needed to do that efficiently was not available, until Technology for Integrated Computation and Communication (TICC) came along. This tuning technology eliminates the need for dynamic checking of temporal coordination, and makes it possible to execute control signal exchange protocols in parallel with computations. More than 40 million messages may be exchanged per second. This eliminates communication bottleneck and allows asynchronous execution of parallel programs based on data availability without using MPI. TICC defines the semantics of causal statements and provides a very efficient implementation for them. TICC brings the following additional facilities: (1) Component based parallel program development environment, (2) Dynamic debugging of parallel programs (3) Dynamic monitoring and changing of messages and message traffic, (4) Dynamic repair and failure recovery, (5) Dynamic reconfiguration, and (5) Dynamic evolution parallel software systems. These have the consequent benefit of reducing parallel program development and maintenance costs, making them more easily and widely available. This, together with decreasing costs of multiprocessors, has the potential to usher in a new era of desktop supercomputing by 2007, with profound impact on science, technology, industry, education, theories of computation and communication, and society in general. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Srinivasan, Chitoor EDSS., Inc. FL Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 500000 5373 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0349441 March 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Nanostructured Optical Fiber Breathing Sensors. 0349441 Mecham This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop and commercialize optical fiber sensors for the quantitative measurement of humidity and air flow for breathing diagnostics. Prior Phase I work has demonstrated that these physically small and mechanically robust sensors respond over a wide range of relative humidities with a response time of microseconds, and are orders of magnitude faster than commercially available devices. The Phase II project will develop sensor thin film chemistries with improved response time, design and fabricate an optical fiber sensor optoelectronic support instrumentation system, and beta-test the sensors and systems with clinicians and physicians. The primary commercial impact of this project will be on home health care and clinical research. Additional applications will be in the industrial gas flow, automotive and transportation areas. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Ruan, Hang Nanosonic Incorporated VA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 500000 5373 AMPP 9163 1788 0116000 Human Subjects 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349460 January 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Animated Real-Time Road Traffic Visualization for Broadcast and the Internet. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims at 2D/3D visualization of real-time traffic/traveler data (incidents, speed/density, public events) and computer traffic simulations. The rapid production of data-driven, information-rich animations has previously proved very difficult. With the notable exception of weather forecast animations, requiring highly expensive complex multi-computer systems, quality animations are routinely produced weeks ahead of time for television documentaries. Traffic/traveler data represents particular challenges such as the fact that data changes very frequently and becomes stale in minutes. Much of this data is in textual form, as reported on-scene by police or emergency crews. Reliability and utility to the traveler are concerns. Consequently, the four major weather broadcast companies have scarcely addressed the traffic market. This project will develop traveler data processing algorithms for predicting travel time, mining large databases of traffic information, and intelligent text- processing. It will also develop traffic micro-simulations, automating data-driven animation, and exploiting programmable graphics hardware for broadcast-quality real-time informative animations. The expected results of this project are: 1) algorithms providing useful information to travelers/commuters from raw real-time police reports and sensor data; and 2) a product animating real-time traffic/traveler information for TV broadcast and the Internet, exploiting gradual improvements of raw data, as departments of transportation equip highways with speed/density sensors, and enforcement agencies open their servers. The Federal Highway Administration reports that the cost of traffic congestion in 1999 came to $78 billion nationwide, including 4.5 billion hours of lost time and 6.8 billion gallons of fuel wasted. Most transportation experts estimate that the ability to quickly provide accurate traffic information as proposed in this project has many benefits: 1) for drivers to plan alternative routes, keep on their schedules, and to reduce stress, 2) for overall congestion and better road maintenance, 3) for safety and road-rage mitigation, and 4) for improved pollution control. CENTERS FOR RSCH EXCELL IN S&T SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Gueziec, Andre Triangle Software CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 914608 9131 5373 CVIS 9251 9231 9178 9102 7218 4096 1038 0116000 Human Subjects 0206000 Telecommunications 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0349464 February 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Web-Based International Trade Knowledge Discovery System (TradingCube). This Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase II project will focus on applied research for the development and implementation of a commercial Web-Based International Trade Knowledge Discovery System. It will address the significant need for organizations supporting international trade and for small and medium-sized business to have improved access to information and dynamic analyses of world markets in a single source. This product will provide subscribers with dynamic analyses of world markets for baskets of goods allowing them to extract actionable information to make strategic and tactical decisions while enabling the functionality of a novel combination of tools including knowledge discovery, data management technologies, web technologies, international trade economics and strategic analysis. This project will focus on: 1) Implementing a prototype based on the results of the Phase I feasibility study within a web portal framework, 2) Developing a library of international trade analyses, interactive maps and graphics, 3) Developing a meta-business directory and implement an international trade search engine, and 4) Developing personalization features and snapshot reports. The proposed product will contribute to applications of knowledge discovery in the international trade domain, data warehousing, information hierarchies, and clustering-indexing techniques to support analytical queries. In addition it advances research in the application of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). SVG is a language for describing two-dimensional dynamic and interactive graphics in XML. The product addresses one of the fundamental areas on which trade promotion can have a significant impact --access to actionable information that will help businesses maximize export potential. In the process it will contribute to economic growth, education and participation of small businesses and underrepresented groups in international trade. The development process and product will involve researchers and students from several disciplines. The potential market includes any commercial, private or public organization with the need to find and evaluate international trade opportunities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sanchez, Carlos TradingCube Inc. PA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 499895 5373 HPCC 9215 0116000 Human Subjects 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0349497 January 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Relational Bayesian Modeling for Electronic Commerce. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will focus on scale-up and validation of the company's relational model discovery technology, with specific application focus on web-visitor behavior modeling. In Phase I research the company developed a modeling paradigm based a synthetic variable language for relational Bayesian modeling. Its synthetic variable language is the first comprehensive effort to develop a principled way to represent, discover, and perform probabilistic inference with mixed intra-table, cross-table, and multi-table relational features. This capability provides the basis for construction of comprehensive, integrated models of relational data. Models constructed capture the rich detail of web visitor behavior and can be used to make inferences about web visitor intent (e.g., whether or not a purchase in planned) in real- time. These results are not obtainable by any other modeling technology. The technical objectives for the Phase II project are to: (1) develop a complete language to establish solutions to outstanding issues in our synthetic variable capability, (2) engineer the infrastructure needed for commercial deployment, (3) construct deployable models of web visitor behavior to identify opportunities for intervention, and (4) conduct field-trials of model-based interventions to establish the business value of our approach. A paradox of modern society is that we possess so little knowledge relative to the amount of data we collect and store. E-commerce provides a paradigmatic example of this paradox. E-Commerce platforms collect unprecedented amounts of information about customer interactions, yet today's E-commerce applications do not provide the service expected by customers or the performance demanded by online retailers. Online retailers are demanding increasingly sophisticated marketing and merchandising technologies. The proposed product will empower online merchants and service providers by enabling efficient and integrated understanding of online consumer behavior. The proposed product will bring in a new class of customer centric (instead of page-centric) web-based interactions that will contribute to the evolution of the World Wide Web as a communication medium. The company's technology also applies to offline scientific analysis as a method for hypothesis generation in complex relational data as in the E-commerce domain. This technology enables scientists to make better use of the data at their disposal. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG D'Ambrosio, Bruce ESHOPPERTOOLS.COM INC OR Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 949894 5373 HPCC 9216 0116000 Human Subjects 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0349517 February 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Multimodal High-Conductivity Filler for Epoxy Molding Compounds. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will focus on developing more efficient semiconductor packaging materials, which is one of the key challenges of the electronics industry where increasing power and reduced size of integrated circuits is creating heat dissipation challenges. Most epoxy molding compounds used to encapsulate semiconductors contain fused silica (55-70% by volume) to maintain a compatible thermal expansion coefficient and impart moisture resistance. However, the resulting thermal conductivities of the composite compounds are very low (<1 W/mK). The low thermal conductivity of the epoxy molding compound increases the operating temperatures, which in turn decreases the reliability and processing speed of microprocessors. As semiconductor clock speeds continue to increase and chip sizes decrease, the need for higher thermally conductive molding materials has become a stark necessity. In Phase I of this project multi-modal distributions of high-conductivity diamond powder where optimized to obtain high packing densities (over 72% by volume) in epoxy molding compounds. The resulting thermal conductivities of diamond/epoxy composites were almost 8 times higher than conventional silica-filled epoxies and almost 30 times higher than the epoxy matrix. The thermal expansions of silica and diamond filler are similarly low, thus allowing better matching to silicon. In this Phase II project significantly higher thermal conductivities are to be achieved by optimizing the epoxy/hardener system with the diamond filler to improve bonding and thereby improving the heat transfer mechanism. The diamond filler will be used as a direct substitute for commercially available silica filler, requiring little or no modification of existing equipment or processing. The diamond/epoxy molding compound will effectively act as a heat-spreader. The diamond filler will allow higher switching speeds, thinner oxide gates and increased reliability of electronics. The project team will work with an epoxy molding compound (EMC) manufacturer to introduce the diamond filler into the commercial market towards the end of Phase II. Commercial markets for this EMC technology include high-performance aerospace, automobile and microelectronic packaging applications, where heat dissipation from the packaging material outweighs the increased material cost. The increased thermal conductivity offered by the diamond filler will benefit the business and scientific community by increasing computing speed and hardware reliability. Studies indicate that heat dissipation and associated thermal problems are the most critical factors in determining the efficiency and reliability of electronic devices. In terms of scientific and educational value, EMC's incorporating the optimized diamond filler will exhibit the maximum thermal conductivity obtainable and serve as the upper-limit benchmark in thermal conductivity for the composite material. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sommer, Jared Sommer Materials Research, Inc. UT T. James Rudd Standard Grant 499422 5373 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0349519 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Commercialization of Perfluorocyclobutyl Polymers for Integrated Optics and Other High Performance Applications. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to pursue commercialization of perfluorocyclobutyl (PFCB) polymer products successfully developed during Phase I. High performance fluoropolymers, whose structure can be readily adjusted to achieve performance targets and which can be easily processed are in demand for next generation technologies including integrated optics, fuel cell membranes, gas separation membranes, and deep UV lithography. Tetramer's patented PFCB polymers exhibit superior processing and performance advantages including excellent molding and extrusion capability, unmatched thermal stability, zero by-products during polymerization and fabrication, and the ability to tune properties for these large market applications that promise significant growth from to their global economic attractiveness and strategic military importance to the United States. This distinctive activity will enhance scientific and technological knowledge in both academia and industry for such diverse technically driven fields as lower cost higher data rate integrated optics, fuel cell membranes, white light LEDs, and gas separation membranes and particularly the discipline of polymer chemistry due to its structural versatility. After protecting intellectual property, Tetramer plans to share the results through published papers, and university and industrial seminars. This project will also contribute to US global leadership in the above fields of strategic commercial and military interest. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Wagener, Earl TETRAMER TECHNOLOGIES, L.L.C. SC Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 655980 5373 AMPP 9251 9178 9163 9150 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349577 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Engineering Broad-Spectrum Disease Resistance in Crop Plants. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase II project proposes to further optimize the techniques for engineering broad-spectrum disease resistance in crop plants. Protection of crops against pathogens is one of the most significant unmet needs in agriculture. Despite billions of dollars spent on fungicides and other crop protection chemicals, significant economic losses continue to occur every year. Prior Phase I work has established that overexpression of the transcription factor AtERF1 confers resistance against several fungal pathogens in Arabidopsis thaliana. The objectives of the Phase II project are to characterize AtERF1 crop homologs, to demonstrate AtERF1 function in the tomato crop, to optimize the technology by targeting expression to different tissues, to broaden the spectrum of resistance through combinatorial expression with other transcription factors, to optimize AtERF1 function by creating derivatives with enhanced activity, and to improve understanding of AtERF1 function by characterization of targets in Arabidopsis and tomato. The commercial impact of this project will be significant as there is clearly a market need for conferring broad spectrum disease resistance in economically important crop plants. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Century, Karen Mendel Biotechnology Incorporated CA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 997984 5373 BIOT 9181 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349580 February 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Automatic Classification of Magnetocardiograms. 0349580 This SBIR Phase II research project will incorporate machine-learning techniques into agneto-cardiography (MCG) that measures minute magnetic fields emitted by the heart's electrophysiological activity, based on SQUID technology and operable in typical (magnetically unshielded) hospital rooms, for early non-invasive diagnosis of heart disease. The overall objective of this project is to identify and localize, using MCG, cardiac ischemia, the leading cause of death in the US. The focus will be on excellent predictability, ease of tuning, and user transparency of machine learning tools. Upon successful completion of this project MCG has the potential to become the new gold standard for the detection of cardiac ischemia in patients presenting with suspicion of acute coronary syndrome. Worldwide, the lack of inexpensive and non-invasive cardiac diagnostic techniques causes unnecessary delays in the recognition of acute coronary heart disease and its treatment. The feasibility of MCG to diagnose heart disease has been demonstrated. Machine learning tools provide quantitative methods for the automated diagnosis of heart disease. After successful completion of this project, physicians and nurses in leading U.S. hospitals can be trained in automated MCG diagnosis. It will also usher the use of machine learning tools for medical diagnosis in general. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Ross, Alexander CARDIOMAG IMAGING INC NY Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 486749 5373 HPCC 9139 0116000 Human Subjects 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0349581 January 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: A Hydro Optical Analysis System (HOPAS) for Environmental Monitoring of Water Quality. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II research proposes to complete the development of an environmental information system - the Hydro-Optical Analysis System (HOPAS). HOPAS combines an advanced radiative transfer model with a powerful nonlinear programming algorithm to enable transforms of optical water measurements into information on the composition and concentration of materials that effect water quality. For the first time, measurements of the light field from satellites, aircraft, moorings, and ships can be rapidly inverted to obtain accurate estimates of phytoplankton, suspended mineral particles, and dissolved materials. HOPAS will enable scientists, environmental engineers, and aquatic resource managers to use easily obtained in situ or remotely sensed optical data to understand and manage aquatic ecosystems. HOPAS will alleviate the need for expensive, labor-intensive laboratory analysis of water samples for use in addressing water quality issues, including microbial growth in drinking water supplies, surface pollutants from farms, industries, vessels, and domestic sources, algal blooms, fisheries and mariculture, and protection of coral reefs and sea grass beds. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG O'Brien, Francis SYSTEMS SCIENCE APPLICATION, INC. CA Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 491760 5373 EGCH 9186 0116000 Human Subjects 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0349601 March 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: A Simple and Practical Solid-State 157nm and 193nm Coherent Light Source for Applications in Lithography Development. This SBIR Phase II project will develop a new generation of fully-coherent, solid-state, vacuum-Ultraviolet (UV) light sources at 157nm and 193nm, to support the next generation of semiconductor fabrication and metrology, as well as for applications in basic research. Currently available UV excimer sources have limitations such as poor spatial coherence, making them unsuitable for metrology. Therefore, the most promising route to generate fully-spatially-coherent VUV sources is to up convert light from the visible-infrared region of the spectrum, where coherent laser sources already exist. However, a significant technical obstacle towards this goal is the lack of reliable solid-state nonlinear-optical crystals that work in the deep-UV. Unavoidable residual absorption at wavelengths <200nm can lead to long-term damage of nonlinear optical crystals, requiring constant replacement. Furthermore, for frequencies <193nm, no suitable nonlinear optical crystal currently exists. Therefore, gaseous nonlinear-optical media are an attractive alternative to crystals for generating light at wavelengths <200nm. This SBIR Phase II project will use four-wave mixing in gas filled hollow waveguides to develop a tabletop VUV laser capable of generating 10's of mW, and possibly 100's of mW of light at 157nm and at 193nm, in a fully coherent beam, at the very high (10kHz) repetition rates necessary for applications in metrology. This project has the potential to have a very broad impact on the semiconductor and electronics industries, as well as in basic science. Progress in both the complexity and the speed of microprocessors, DRAM memory, and other integrated electronics has been driven by the ability to make increasingly dense IC's, with ever-smaller feature sizes. This has been enabled by the development of higher-resolution lithographic "steppers" and the use of ever-shorter wavelengths of light for lithography. Because no bright, tabletop, sources currently exist, most short-wavelength materials, nano- and chemical science must take place at synchrotron sources, where access is limited and the sources are not optimized. Therefore, significant gains in productivity could occur with the availability of such a source. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Backus, Sterling KAPTEYN-MURNANE LABS INC CO William Haines Standard Grant 465249 5373 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0349602 January 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Authentication of Mobile Video Recordings (MVRs) Based on Real-Time Hybrid Digital Watermarking. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Program Phase II project is aimed at the refinement and commercialization of the authentication technology developed during Phase I that enables the deployment of digital Mobile Video Recordings (MVR) system. A very large fleet of patrol vehicles operated by the law enforcement community that record events involving contact with civilians collects MVR data daily. Due to staggering costs associated with operating current analog, non-indexing system, there is an overwhelming needs for a computerized digital MVR technology. However, its deployment is hindered by legal acceptance, because digital medium can be easily altered. Authentication plays a critical enabling role by providing an effective means to safeguard the integrity of MVR content. To capitalize upon this emerging trend of digital MVR, the company proposes as a commercialization strategy to market the innovative technology in a package in an authenticated acquisition system, consisting of a digital video camera and a software suite for on-the-fly video watermarking, off-line MPEG compression and watermark verification. This compact and low-cost acquisition system leverages on existing in-car laptop for processing and storage, and is specifically designed to meet stringent operational requirements set forth by next generation MVR system. It integrates seamlessly with existing IT infrastructure and computerized MVR management systems. MVR has provided an effective way of protecting law enforcement agencies, their officers and the public they serve. The MVR authentication provides an enabling technology for the acceptance and deployment of cost-saving computerized MVR technology for the law enforcement community nationwide. It allows for safe elimination of the labor-intensive process associated with safeguarding the integrity of MVR content, because watermarking is done on the fly and there is no time window at which MVR data are ever unprotected. With the deployment of digital MVR system equipped with watermark authentication technology, the costs associated with operating the system will be greatly reduced allowing for the savings to be redeployed to other law enforcement endeavors. Within the next three years a comprehensive national digital facial database will be created to support Homeland Security. As an integral component of the in-car laptop, this technology will serve as the front line in capturing the data for submission to the national database. CENTERS FOR RSCH EXCELL IN S&T SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Wu, Zhenyu MY EZ Communications LLC NJ Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 785000 9131 5373 HPCC 9139 0116000 Human Subjects 0522400 Information Systems 0349604 February 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Evolving Object Neural Networks. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II research project will investigate the problem of generating evolutionary object neural networks for controlling characters in classes of entertainment software, with consideration given to genres of massively multiplayer online games. The objective of the research is to identify and develop general self-adaptive routines and software tools that can be incorporated in a software developer's kit (SDK) that is suitable for licensing to third-party developers. A series of experiments conducted within a statistical framework will identify first- and second-order effects of parameter choices for the evolutionary control of game characters, which will be incorporated into the SDK. R&D will be aimed at generating the most rapid evolutionary learning for game characters while having the smallest code "footprint." Additional research will facilitate automatic play testing and optimization of artificial intelligence in games. The scientific and technical understanding of hybridizing evolutionary computation and neural networks will be enhanced by the careful study of the nonlinear effects of parameter choices in the studied settings If successful this product will ease the transition of video games from development to products. The development of an SDK that will help reduce the time and cost of segments of video game production by 50-80%. The software developed may serve as educational classroom aids in university courses. Furthermore, the strong correlation between video games and military simulations suggests important contributions to dynamic planning in combat simulations, as well as extensions to optimizing courses of action in business operations, such as supply-chain management. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Fogel, David NATURAL SELECTION, INCORPORATED CA Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 499642 5373 HPCC 9139 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0349609 March 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Nanoporous Silica Slurries for Enhanced Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) of Low k Dielectrics. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project aims to develop unique chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) slurries based on nanoporous silica particles that will meet or exceed CMP needs of low k dielectrics for the 80 nm and beyond semiconductor manufacturing nodes. The integration of low k dielectrics (dielectric constant 2.2 < k < 3.3) with copper metal lines is expected to considerably reduce RC (resistance x capacitance) delay for > 10 GHz CMOS expected devices in the next 3-5 years. One of the key issues plaguing the semiconductor industry is the chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of copper/tantalum/low k dielectric materials. The low k dielectrics are fragile and are susceptible to both delamination and scratching (increased defectivity). Standard slurries employing hard abrasives may not meet the requirements for sub-80 nm CMOS devices which are expected to employ low k dielectric materials. The program proposes to develop & commercialize gentle CMP slurries based on nanoporous silica particles which exhibit reduced hardness and better stability. Combined with unique chemical formulations, these slurries are expected to achieve lower defectivity (surface scratching) and lower stress polishing than standard slurries. In this Phase II project extensive experiments will be conducted both in-house and with our partners (semiconductor chip manufacturers) to optimize performance and integration issues. Commercially this research activity has significant impact not only in the semiconductor manufacturing areas, but also in may other areas such as biotechnology and nanotechnology, which are the key areas identified by the government for the future viability of US business. First and foremost it will ensure US can maintain its lead in CMP, even though semiconductor manufacturing jobs have been migrating overseas. As CMP slurries is the largest value added application of the nanoparticle technology (> 50%) excellence in this area will provide employment to nanotechnology graduates in the near future and could be a direct application of the skills they have acquired. This research will lead to the creation of faster electronic devices, which will in turn benefit the society to become more economically productive. The development of nanoporous particle technology can have applications in several other areas including controlled drug delivery systems. CENTERS FOR RSCH EXCELL IN S&T SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Singh, Deepika SINMAT, INC. FL William Haines Standard Grant 636889 9131 5373 AMPP 9251 9178 9163 9102 7218 1788 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349610 March 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Ultra-Broadband Ferrite Circulators/Isolators. 0349610 This Small Business Innovative Research Phase II project addresses the development of Innovative Ultra-Broadband Ferrite Circulators/Isolators. A conventional 3-port ferrite stripline junction circulator involves a low-Q ferrite stripline resonator so that at the circulation frequencies standing-wave resonant modes are excited dumping microwave energy from the input port to the output port but not the isolation port. Operation of a conventional ferrite circulator is nonreciprocal, and the transmission bandwidth is roughly proportional to the inverse of the Q-factor of the resonator, due to the standing-wave nature of the excited resonant modes. A new picture of ferrite-circulator operation utilizing traveling-wave coupling of microwave signals at the circulation frequencies haa been discovered. This is in contrast to the operation of the conventional circulators employing standing waves for coupling. As such, ultra-broadband operation of the circulators results, whose bandwidth has been measured in Phase I to cover from 1.6 to 16 GHz for a prototype device. It is not possible to acheive this bandwidth with a conventional circulator. This leads to a new generation of ferrite circulators or isolators. Using the LTCC technology facilitates mass production in large quantities. As such, generic microwave circulators and isolators can be fabricated at low costs suitable for universal applications covering across many frequency bands. Ferrite-circulator operation does not require a ferrite resonator anymore. This requirement has been constantly enforced by the operation of a conventional circulator for more than 50 years. There is always a tremendous need for circulators or isolators which are able to provide signal-path separation or protection over many frequency bands, as demanded by the measurement of a broadband signal and by a narrow electromagnetic pulse. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG How, Hoton HOTECH INC MA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 500000 5373 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0349621 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Cost-Effective Manufacture of High-Power Li-Ion Batteries for NGV. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes a prototype Lithium-ion battery that has inherent cost advantages for a NGV FreedomCar and hybrid electric vehicle, HEV, requiring compact pulse-power. The unique rolled-ribbon cell can meet the cost requirements and deliver thousands of pulses and recharges. The battery design projects power at 2-4kW/kg and power density at 7.5kW/liter similar to an ultracapacitor, with 20 times greater specific energy at 100- 120Wh/kg . The rolled-ribbon design is a technology that enables US producers to compete by lowering the materials requirement, packaging and safeguard costs of a large high-power battery. It fulfills the need for high power at low cost. In addition, this disc-shaped design exhibits excellent passive thermal management with inherent safety. Gasoline savings will reduce air pollution and oil imports. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Kaun, Thomas INVENTEK CORP IL Cynthia A. Znati Standard Grant 1053892 5373 AMPP 9251 9231 9178 9163 7218 1403 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349630 February 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Artificial Intelligence Software for Student Assessment in Chemistry Education. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project builds Phase I work on development of meaningful interactive tutoring and assessment capabilities for chemistry education software. Despite clearly articulated teacher and student demand for improvement, this area has been repeatedly identified as that where existing offerings are weakest. Quantum Simulations proposes a new and different approach, adapting and incorporating new concepts from artificial intelligence (AI). More than just assigning a grade, meaningful opportunities will be created for students to learn directly from the assessment itself. The proposed technology will benefit all students; however, it is specifically targeted to help those who have the greatest need--such as students of average or marginal performance and students from historically underserved groups-- by lowering barriers to accessing high-quality science instructional software. Quantum Simulations has partnered with members of the Department of Education's STAR Schools program to further these goals. Quantum Simulations' customers include textbook publishers, software providers, hardware vendors and distance learning companies. A prominent textbook publisher, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, has entered into a long-term contract and has partnered with Quantum Simulations to commercialize this Phase II technology, resulting in rapid dissemination to an established end user base. PROGRAM EVALUATION EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IIP ENG Johnson, Benny Quantum Simulations Incorporated PA Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 770000 7261 7180 5373 1666 SMET 9178 9177 7218 0108000 Software Development 0116000 Human Subjects 0349659 January 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Lean Physics: Streamlining the Supply Chain Using Factory Physics. 0349659 This SBIR Phase II project involves the creation of an innovative Methodology and software Toolkit that can substantially improve the supply chain of virtually any manufacturing firm. The proposed Support Tools offers a comprehensive system that combines the best of the "software only" and the "best-practices" approaches with a framework to create a new paradigm for production system improvement. Algorithms based on this framework will provide important diagnostic and analysis tools that show how and where major improvements to the supply chain should be made. Execution algorithms that "bolt onto" existing supply chain management systems will provide the means to improve productivity, reduce inventory, and increase customer responsiveness without having to replace existing implementations. The toolkit can also be delivered over the Internet, providing a cost effective alternative to smaller companies. Commercial versions of this innovation could enable widespread adoption of a new and more effective paradigm of manufacturing logistics. With the loss of 2.3 million jobs in the last three years, the issue of manufacturing productivity is critical as is the need for supply chain tools which integrate production software systems with operational initiatives to improve productivity and cost competitiveness. Widespread adoption of this methodology and tools could have a profound influence on the competitiveness of U.S. industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Spearman, Mark Factory Physics, Inc. TX Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 1069000 5373 MANU 9251 9231 9178 9148 9102 5761 5514 1465 1049 0116000 Human Subjects 0308000 Industrial Technology 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0349663 March 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Mobility Agents for Persons with Cognitive Disabilities. This Smal Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop Mobility Agents that help persons with cognitive disabilities use public transportation systems. The realization of an operational system that wirelessly connects users to real-time bus information through Mobility Agents depends on the fact that public transportation systems are increasingly equipped with GPS (Global Positioning System) systems connected to control centers through dedicated wireless networks. Controllers use this infrastructure to schedule and optimize operations and avoid organizational problems such as bunching. Agentsheets proposes to use this existing infrastructure to compute highly personalized information and deliver it on PDAs or cell phones to persons with cognitive disabilities. Wireless devices with location aware Mobility Agent services that help travelers use public transportation systems, permit caregivers to customize these agents, and monitor the progress of travelers by means of utilizing The Pragmatic Web, a framework for highly customizable Web information; and Deductive Tracking, a combination of sensor fusion and minimalist common sense AI that creates more reliable tracking information. Agentsheets will explore design and implementation issues for agent-based real-time user interfaces on handheld devices; build the system, and test it in a real-world setting using the Boulder bus system as a public transportation test bed. The Mobility Agents technology turns general GPS-based information into personalized, practical information. Customization mechanisms range from simple preferences to rule definition, and are relevant to the fields of End-User Development/Programming, Visual Languages, and Human Computer Interaction. Deductive Tracking contributes to Sensor Fusion and Artificial Intelligence. Parts of a Phase I 3D engine, used in the real-time transportation visualization, have been made available to other research organizations and are already in use. This technology proffers assistance to persons with cognitive disabilities. The elderly and other groups will also benefit from the same technological developments. This technology creates new service organizations. It reduces the need for human escorts, increases the autonomy of persons with cognitive disabilities, and decreases the need for federal support. ... SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Repenning, Alexander AGENTSHEETS INC CO Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 512000 5373 OTHR HPCC 9251 9178 9139 1545 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0207000 Transportation 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0349669 March 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: HIVbase, Data Integration Software to Support the Study of Chronic Viruses. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will provide HIV researchers with progressive approaches to manage and analyze genetic data. There is a crisis developing in biology, in that completely unstructured information does not enhance understanding. Today's HIV investigators possess massive amounts of research information in user-hostile formats, error- filled spreadsheets, outdated databases, and directories containing thousands of individual files. These researchers need advanced protocols for extracting value from their disorganized information. Phase I feasibility study proved that the proposed solution provides a quality link between collection and the analysis of data that has never before been available to HIV researchers. This link helps HIV researchers do their job and ultimately promotes understanding for the most deadly and costly epidemic of our time. This project aims to solving researchers problems through the development of software that combines the power of unique data storage and integration with novel applications for data mining, analysis, and data retrieval. The goal is to provide researchers with a combination of modern querying, database, and analysis approaches. The initial target market for the proposed product is made of HIV researchers and their associated facilities. This market is large, growing in multiple directions, and in need of this product. HIV infects an estimated 40 million people and is being funded at record levels from both government and private organizations. The major significance of the proposed product is in its ability to assist accelerate the efforts of the many scientists, epidemiologists and pharmacologists to make important discoveries relating to this on-going and tragic epidemic CENTERS FOR RSCH EXCELL IN S&T SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Lamers, Susanna Gene Johnson, Inc. FL Errol B. Arkilic Standard Grant 679504 9131 5373 HPCC 9216 9215 9150 9102 0116000 Human Subjects 0510204 Data Banks & Software Design 0349683 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Development of an Electrically Regenerated Diesel Particulate Filter. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to develop an effective diesel particulate filter (DPF) that can be reliably regenerated with integral electrical heating elements. A fabrication process will also be developed that ensures economical manufacturability of the filter in high volumes. The greatest challenge in the design of reliable particulate filter and trap systems has been achieving adequate regeneration, or the oxidation (burning) of particulates that accumulate in the filter substrate diesel engine operation. The objectives of Phase II will include designing an actively regenerating filter structure, optimization of EC material for use in the DPF substrate, development of manufacturing processes suitable for scale up to volume production, construction of prototype DPF substrates, testing, and ultimately integration of the EC-integrated DPF into a functioning DPF system ready for field testing. The anticipated result of the Phase II project is an actively regenerating EC-integrated DPF prototype substrate suitable for field testing in the US EPA.s Voluntary Retrofit Program. The EC-integrated DPF will fulfill new emissions controls scheduled to take effect in 2007. There is presently a compelling need for a compact, simple-to-maintain, durable, and effective diesel particulate filter for both new and existing diesel- powered vehicles. The EC-integrated DPF could potentially reduce diesel particulate emissions by 9.5 million tons annually, preventing thousands of premature deaths due to respiratory illnesses, cancer and heart disease. . SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Ferguson, Luke Harmonics, Inc. WA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 499326 5373 AMPP 9163 1406 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349687 January 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Anthrax Detector for Mail Sorting Systems. 0349687 Farquharson This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will develop two prototype anthrax detector systems designed to screen mail entering a postal facility and/or to identify and to stop distribution of anthrax containing mail as it passes through a sorter. These systems will be able to detect 2 micrograms of spores captured from a letter containing as little as 100 micrograms, as well as similar concentrations on contaminated surfaces. The Phase I project demonstrated feasibility by successfully developing a vacuum/filter collection system that captured Bacillus cereus spores from an envelope passing through a mail sorter, which were detected by Raman spectroscopy. Some 23 micrograms of B. cereus spores were measured in 9 seconds using 1064 nm excitation, with an estimated limit of detection of 10 micrograms or 1 million spores in 10 seconds. The Phase II project will complete the design of the anthrax detector system, with improved sensitivity nd selectivity. The broader impact of this project will be on the safety and security of mail handling and delivery across the United States. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Farquharson, Stuart REAL-TIME ANALYZERS, INCORPORATED CT F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 511985 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349689 March 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Mouthrinse Generator for Plaque and Halitosis Control. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II will develop and commercialize electrochemically operated devices that will revolutionize the oral hygiene industry by providing an on-demand generation of mouthwash in a portable device and in an irrigator. The mouthwash generated in these devices will be effective in controlling halitosis and dental plaque and will also provide tooth whitening. In the Phase I study, all of the proposed objectives and specified criteria of success were accomplished to amply establish the proof of concept and feasibility of the project. In Phase II, further optimization of the parameters will be followed by the design and fabrication of prototypes in conjunction with a prominent company dealing with turnkey manufacturing, and the testing of 100 portable units in a clinical setting. The commercial impact of this project will be in the area of oral hygiene products. It is broadly estimated that up to 85 million Americans have halitosis, and over 35 million suffer from periodontal disease. Thus, the cost effective devices to be developed in this project are expected to have a large market potential in the $ 4.7 billion oral care industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Tennakoon, Charles Lynntech, Inc TX F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 492100 5373 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349691 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Purification of Metallic Nitride Nanomaterials by Chemical Separation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will involve production and purification of a powerful Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) contrast agent based on a newly discovered nanomaterial (Trimetasphere), consisting of a metallic nitride nanocluster inside a fullerene type cage. Trimetaspheres recently demonstrated a factor of 21 times improved relaxivity over currently used MRI contrast agents. The project will involve designing and building a powder-feed continuous reactor, including large rod capability, developing chemically-based separations techniques and optimizing heat treatment of the chemically separated Trimetaspherses mixtures. The nanoproduction and chemical-based separations techniques for these Trimetasphere nanomaterials will provide the basis for the large-scale production of the Trimetasphere based MRI contrast agents. Commercially, these Trimetaspheres have tremendous medical applications that will benefit US citizens with better medical care through improved diagnostics, new pharmaceuticals, and simultaneous diagnostic and treatment reagents, at a fraction of current cost. The development of more sensitive contrast agents, if translated into smaller, less expensive MRI instruments, will open entirely new markets for the equipment manufacturers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Wilson, Stephen Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA William Haines Standard Grant 724884 5373 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349694 March 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Improved Magneto-Optical Imaging Films Employing Surface Plasmon Resonance. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II research project is to develop an improved magneto-optical (MO) visualizer based on a laser-scanning polarimeter and a MO imaging film (MOIF) utilizing surface plasmon resonance. In Phase I, the feasibility of substantial improvements in spatial and magnetic field resolutions and imaging bandwidth over existing methods were demonstrated. In Phase II, the MO material quality and sensor design will be further optimized. The visualizer will be adapted to maximize the many advantages offered by the improved MOIF material. Software will be developed to provide automatic system control and conversion of the acquired image into the quantitative spatial magnetic field distribution. The capabilities of the prototype systems and sensors will be evaluated in terms of magnetic field resolution, spatial resolution and speed through the imaging of electrical current patterns and data storage devices. Commercial market needs include sensors, instruments and systems for improved magnetic field imaging. Applications include magnetic character reading, magnetic code reading for security, superconductor research, spin valve and magnetic RAM research and manufacturing, integrated circuit electrical current imaging, structural composite stress imaging using magnetic and magnetostrictive materials, flaw detection in metals, biomedical tagging and identification of cancer and other cells, research and testing of MEMS actuators and devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Lindemuth, Jeff Lake Shore Cryotronics, Inc OH T. James Rudd Standard Grant 498774 5373 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0349704 January 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: A Novel Resonant-Enhanced Crystallization (REC) Process. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to develop a novel Resonant-Enhanced Crystallization (REC) process for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry applications. REC technology is expected to be superior to the conventional crystallization process that incorporate impeller stirring for crystallization, due to its enhanced mass and heat transfer, lower shear (or reduced crystal breakage), and improved crystal size distribution. The commercial impact of the project would be on pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. REC technology will make the crystallization process more attractive to pharmaceutical separation and purification operations. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Draper, Jeffrey RESODYN CORPORATION MT Gregory T. Baxter Standard Grant 524000 5373 BIOT 9251 9181 9178 9150 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0349712 February 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Innovative Protein Microarrays. 0349712 Drukier This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project proposes to develop a novel supersensitive multiphoton detection system for protein chips (P-chip/MPD) for applications in drug discovery and in early detection of prostate cancer and breast cancer. The commercial impact of the proposed work will be in the area of diagnostic proteomics. The diagnostics industry is large, currently estimated at around 10 billion dollars per year. The most profitable and dynamically growing fields are those that permit early detection of cancer and therapy monitoring, or provide toxicity assays for new drugs. It is expected that the P-Chips/MPD developed in this project will eventually capture a significant share of the diagnostic proteomics market. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Drukier, Andrzej BioTraces Inc VA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 974421 5373 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349718 March 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: The Accessible Semantic Web. This Small Busees Innovation Research Phase II Project proposes to develop an Accessibility Markup Language (AML) that annotates digital representations of English text with linguistic information needed for proper translation into other modalities, as required by persons with physical or cognitive disabilities. As an exemplar of the technology, VCom3D will develop, demonstrate, and evaluate the application of AML to making Web content accessible in American Sign Language (ASL). This development will entail the implementation of an Encoder to create AML from English text, and a Decoder to generate grammatical ASL from AML. Multinational corporations and institutions have recognized the economic and social need to make information and instruction accessible to persons around the world for whom English is, at best, a second language. To address this issue, international organizations, including the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) are defining methodologies for using Controlled Languages, systems of annotation and, in the future, the Semantic Web to increase accessibility in other languages. These same emerging technologies and infrastructure can provide an unprecedented opportunity to make information available to underserved Americans with sensory, cognitive, and cultural differences. This project will demonstrate the application of emerging information technology to make information accessible to Deaf persons, and will provide resources for further research into ASL linguistics. The initial commercial product based on this technology will be a translation and authoring tool that substantially automates the creation of grammatical, animated ASL from English text. This product will be used to increase access by Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and adults to digital information and to promote inclusive education and employment in accordance with the New Freedom Initiative, recent amendments to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Sims, Edward VCOM3D, INC. FL Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 871133 5373 SMET 9261 9251 9231 9180 9178 9177 9102 7218 1545 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0522400 Information Systems 0349724 January 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Automatic Information Awareness. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to study and implement a large-scale information awareness system which will fuse, present and provide an alert as to the existence of newly available information from large bodies of documents based on each user's profile. The amount of information available electronically has been growing at such a rate that it is not only impossible for people to identify the nature of the information content as it is made available, but it is even more out of the question for people to absorb the actual information content. Thus, awareness of and synthesis of the content of information has now become the real challenge. This project will enable users to specify their interests and to detect new information trends matching each individual user's interests, based on the relevance and importance of newly available information. By extracting information from unstructured texts, categorizing it, and fusing it, each user will be presented with a unique view of the content. Teragram profiler technology allows users to specify information needs for the future. It will provide an alert mechanism based on user specified interests contained in user profiles, measurement and formulation of information speed, volume, decay; and fusion of information found in multiple documents. Such techniques will enable the next generations of information retrieval systems in which information will be tailored to the users' interests thus enabling easy access to relevant information found in large repositories. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Schabes, Yves Teragram Corporation MA Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 998080 5373 HPCC 9216 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0349727 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Reactive Multilayer Joining of Metals and Ceramics. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project proposes to develop technology for joining metallic and ceramic components; this is a reactive joining process that uses reactive multilayer foils as local heat sources for melting solders. These foils are a new class of nano-engineered materials, in which self-propagating exothermic reactions can be initiated at room temperature using a hot filament or laser. By inserting a multilayer foil between two solder layers and two components, heat generated by the reaction in the foil melts the solder and consequently bonds the components. This new method of soldering eliminates the need for a furnace or protective atmospheres and, with very localized heating, avoids thermal damage to the components. The reactive bonding process is far more rapid than most competing technologies, and results in strong and cost-effective joints. The last and potentially most important benefit is the fact that joining with multilayer foils enables the use of lead free solders and therefore offers tremendous environmental benefits. The broader impacts that could result from this project could be to microelectronic packaging facilities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Van Heerden, David REACTIVE NANOTECHNOLOGIES INC MD Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 999254 5373 MANU 9146 1468 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349729 January 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Crystalline Ferroelectrics Combined with Transistor Technology. This Small Business Innovative Research Phase II project will focus on developing tunable microwave devices that utilize ferroelectric thin films for their electronic properties. Specifically, barium strontium titanate (BST) thin films are being used to develop new classes of tunable microwave devices, including phase shifters, delay lines and frequency-agile filters. Currently, these ferroelectric devices suffer from two drawbacks: easily formed planar devices demand very large tuning voltages on the order of 100 Volts , while easily tuned parallel plate devices require sophisticated processing techniques. These problems have inhibited the development of commercially viable components. The current project proposes combining silicon based circuitry with ferroelectric devices on the same substrate. For example, a silicon charge pump circuit can be integrated on-chip to provide high tuning voltages for a ferroelectric phase shifter. The voltage will be isolated to the chip and less than 3 Volts would be needed to externally drive the device. Combining silicon semiconductor technology with ferroelectrics will enable development of devices which take advantage of ferroelectric's dielectric properties and overcome the current roadblocks in the way of commercializing these devices. Commercially, a great deal of interest has emerged in the use of ferroelectric thin films in the wireless industry because of the material's ability to dramatically improve the functionality of existing devices. For example, a ferroelectric duplexer is possible which has one third the size of existing duplexers, while using 40% less power. Today's multiband handsets use up to four filters, so the potential for ferroelectrics is tremendous. A key wireless handset manufacturer identified at least six applications for tunable devices inside their telephones. Overall, the wireless telecommunications market has spawned the need for small, low power, high bandwidth microwave components. Over $50 billion of wireless handsets were sold in 2002, with $6 billion being spent on RF semiconductor components. With the trend towards highly functional wireless appliances like PDA's, the demand for wireless components will continue skyrocketing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Zhao, Zhiyong NGIMAT CO. GA T. James Rudd Standard Grant 512000 5373 MANU 9251 9178 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349730 March 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Highly Efficient, Long Lifetime, and Inexpensive Nanocrystal Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance the performance of light emitting diodes based on semiconductor nanocrystals (NanoLEDs) to the same level of that of organic/polymer light emitting diodes (OLEDs). The key parameters of NanoLEDs targeted for this Phase-II program are 2000 hours operation lifetime, above 200 Cd/m2 brightness, and 0.5-2% external quantum efficiency. The Phase-II program will improve the performance of the NanoLEDs through a unique design of the nanocrystal thin layer in the devices. This design enables the ligands of all nanocrystals to be inter- and intra-particle cross-linked, which results in the thermally stable nanocrystal thin films required for high performance devices. The three dimensionally cross-linked ligands are short and have quasi-conjugated electronic structures, instead of the traditional long aliphatic ligands. This choice aims to dramatically improve the charge injection and charge transport in the NanoLEDs. New types of nanocrystals to be used will diminish the re-absorption and energy transfer in the densely packed nanocrystal thin films identified in literature. With the committed support from a state agency and extensive collaboration with mainstream industry it is expected to commercialize this technology in the display and lighting industry within five years. The commercial potential of NanoLEDs is enormous. NanoLEDs possess nearly all of the advantages of OLEDs, but with readily tunable and narrow emission profiles. OLEDs are currently being used in active commercial development. The commercial goal in the Phase-II is to boost the performance of the NanoLEDs to at least the same level of that of the polymer LEDs, the low end of OLED devices. The first generation of NanoLEDs will be used in portable electronic devices. When the lifetime of NanoLEDs is extended over ten years, they will be used for other display technologies and in the lighting industry. NanoLEDs will one day change the way we see the world. Based on industry estimation, the near-term market for flexible LEDs, including NanoLEDs, will be $5 billion in 2005. After they are adapted to the mainstream of the flat panel graphics and lighting applications, the market size is going to be at least tens of billions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Li, Lin Song NANOMATERIALS AND NANOFABRICATION LABORATORIES AR T. James Rudd Standard Grant 468743 5373 MANU 9150 9146 5371 1505 0110000 Technology Transfer 0349736 February 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Discovery Analyst: A Data Mining System for Image Databases. This Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase II project will develop a highly innovative data mining software tool that is capable of mining imagery and spatial information stored in a database management system (DBMS). Billions of dollars have been spent in converting the world's vast supply of paper maps into digital, geographically referenced, data for geographic information systems (GIS) applications because location matters in almost every instance of decision-making for both government agencies and private sector businesses. The proliferation of relational, spatial, and now visual data from high-resolution satellites, all stored in a common DBMS architecture, offers organizations the opportunity for knowledge discovery in databases; however, the technical challenges of maintaining, navigating, and mining these data are formidable. Current workflow approaches are disjointed and exclusive of image data. The product resulting from this project will allow all of the data to be queried and mined in a holistic workflow approach yielding potential useful discoveries through its primary innovations not presently available in data mining software; 1) Seamless integration of data mining and feature extraction workflows, 2) Mining content of high-resolution earth imagery stored in spatial databases, 3) Cleanup of GIS databases, and 4) Advanced query generation and data mining technology. Market research confirms that companies are investing in data mining software and high- resolution commercial satellite imagery. The proposed product will have commercial applications in both traditional GIS application areas (forestry, defense, civil government, agriculture) and emerging vertical markets for GIS applications (banking and financial, telecommunications, security, manufacturing, retail and healthcare. There is a powerful demand for the knowledge acquisition vital to all location-based government decision-making processes. This significantly impacts the quality of management in our national security, resource handling, and the quality of our environment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Blundell, Stuart VISUAL LEARNING SYSTEMS INC MT Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 500000 5373 HPCC 9216 9150 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0349740 March 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Automated Personalized Rich Media Broadcast Generation. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II research project will create a prototype system that will cut through the overload of audio/video (rich media) content by generating personalized broadcasts from a library of rich media documents. Building upon existing expertise in dealing with rich media, the proposed research will apply and refine the techniques discovered in phase I to organize relevant material using both the context of the documents and the topics of the selected material. The prototype will also apply the phase I results to identify and fill in the critical gaps between segments of material extracted from the source documents with bridging text that will provide necessary context and structure, allowing the system to present the relevant material as a single coherent broadcast. This research will result in new techniques that allow separately obtained passages of audio/video (or even text) to be joined together coherently. It will also provide techniques for organizing information based on both contextual and topical cues. These techniques will be applicable in any context in which information in natural language form is being extracted from a source collection. Furthermore, the research results will provide cost efficiencies for a number of specific important vertical markets (e.g. finance, broadcast news monitoring, etc.). The resulting software products will dramatically reduce the costs of the currently manually intensive information extraction process employed by firms in these markets. More generally, the software products that are derived from the company's current technology platform will also increase individuals' ability to find and absorb relevant information from diverse information sources, many of which are entirely intractable today. This ability is important in a wide range of communities such as academic institutions, intelligence agencies, homeland security agencies, financial institutions, and news broadcasters. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Rubinoff, Robert STREAMSAGE INC DC Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 494723 5373 HPCC 9215 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0349752 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Neutralizing Utility Mercury Control Sorbents for Fly Ash Use in Concrete. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project proposes to optimize and commercially apply a newly discovered carbon material that simultaneously exhibits high gas-phase adsorption of mercury and low wet-concrete adsorption of organic surfactants. Such a material is necessary if coal-fired power plants are to inexpensively retrofit sorbent-injection technology to comply with new limits on mercury emissions while continuing to sell their fly ash wastes as substitutes for cement in concrete construction applications. The material will be tested at both the pilot and full scales, paving the way for product commercialization. The broader impact that could be achieved from this project will be a solution a serious pending economic and environment problem. The substitution of power-plant fly ash for manufactured Portland cement in construction applications is one of America's biggest recycling successes. Fly ash could lower the construction-industry concrete costs, increase the technical performance of the concretes, and preserve the environment by conserving energy and reducing both waste disposal and CO2 emissions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Zhou, Qunhui SORBENT TECHNOLOGIES CORP OH Cheryl F. Albus Standard Grant 875000 5373 AMPP 9163 9102 1630 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349756 February 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Nematode Intestinal Proteins as Anthelmintic Targets. 0349756 Hresko This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project proposes to develop transgenic roots that are resistant to nematode infection, through expression of small proteins, protein domains or peptides which when ingested by the nematode interfere with the function of essential proteins of the nematode intestine. The longer term goal of the project is to develop transgenic crops (soybeans, corn and cotton), that are resistant to parasitic nematodes. In Phase I research, essential proteins exposed in the nematode intestinal lumen were identified as outstanding targets for anti-nematode agents produced by plants. These proteins are accessible to the environment since the lumenal membrane of the intestine is the surface through which nutrients are absorbed by the nematode. This Phase II project is expected to show that transgenic expression of nematode intestine-toxic peptides at the site of infection would create inhospital host plants for plant parasitic nematodes and would result in resistant crops which do not require application of toxic chemicals for nematode control. The commercial impact of this project will be on nematode control in major crops. Plant parasitic nematodes are reported to cause $80 billion in crop yield damage annually. The current chemical solutions are limited, environmentally damaging, and toxic to the applicators. Transgenic resistance to nematodes will provide an economically competitive and environmentally safe alternative. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Hresko, Michelle Divergence, Inc. MO F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 961021 5373 BIOT 9181 9102 0203000 Health 0510102 Role-Terrestrial Ecosystem 0349758 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Low-Voltage Poling of Waveguides in Nonlinear Optical Materials. This SBIR Phase II project will develop the processing steps for the fabrication of highly quality periodically poled waveguides in potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP). Periodically poled waveguides enable highly efficient, quasi-phase matched (QPM), nonlinear optical wavelength conversion of continuous wave and high-peak power quasi- continuous lasers. The fabrication process, established during the Phase I effort, utilizes low-voltage pulses combined with a novel electrode configuration to periodically pole channel waveguides embedded in a KTP chip. The use of standard off-the-shelf KTP channel waveguides will significantly increase yields, allow greater design flexibility, and decrease manufacturing expenses while providing a large QPM conversion efficiency that will enable a range of commercially significant applications. Specific products include the frequency doubling of pulsed and continuous wave infrared diode lasers for use in bio- analytical instrumentation and fluorescent spectroscopy, waveguide-based difference frequency mixing modules for generating tunable, narrow band near-infrared sources for environmental monitoring, spectroscopy at hard-to-reach wavelengths, and all-optical switching in communication networks. This project should result in efficient frequency doubling of diode lasers, which will Have beneficial impacts in medical, environmental, and scientific applications. In the Medical field, the availability of small, low power consumption, cost-competitive visible Lasers will enable the creation of portable bio-analytical instrumentation (e.g. a bedside flow cytometry system). In the environmental field, small inexpensive spectroscopically useful infrared sources will enable new and improved remote sensing systems. Additionally, the KTP waveguide technology developed in this effort is expected to contribute to advanced research in a variety of fields including ultra short pulse wavelength conversion, development of waveguide optical parametric devices, and the efficient generation of correlated photon pairs for quantum optical studies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Battle, Philip ADVR, INC MT William Haines Standard Grant 771700 5373 MANU 9251 9231 9178 9150 9146 7218 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349759 February 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Integrated Fire Modeling Software. 0349759 This Small Business Innovation Research project will develop an integrated fire modeling software package for use in building design and accident analysis. This will increase public safety by providing widespread access to state-of-the-art fire simulation. Modeling fires using a rigorous scientific approach makes it possible to predict the course of an evolving fire and its impact on the building occupants, contents, and structure. The software will help designers implement new fire safety codes and standards that allow the use of Performance-Based design as an alternative to Rule-Based design. Performance-based design and post-accident analysis offer the potential to reduce injury, loss of life, property damage, and the overall cost of constructing and maintaining buildings through advanced technology. This project will accelerate the introduction of new fire simulation technology into the fire safety industry. In the United States, the total cost of fires is over $100 billion annually, with a loss of more than 4,000 lives. Driven by the availability of the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) from NIST and new performance-based fire safety standards, the fire safety industry is responding to these costs by adopting greater use of fire simulation. As a result, there is an emerging market for fire simulation software that is powerful, yet easy to use. The potential market includes fire safety engineers (design), companies involved in accident review and litigation, Authorities Having Jurisdiction (regulation), and fire service personnel (suppression and investigation). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Hardeman, Brian THUNDERHEAD ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS, INC KS Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 504900 5373 CVIS 9251 9178 9150 1038 0108000 Software Development 0116000 Human Subjects 0510403 Engineering & Computer Science 0349769 January 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Nanocrystalline Diamond Coated Cutting Tools. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop nanocrystalline diamond coatings on tungsten-carbide cutting tools with technical attributes that surpass the current generation of chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond coatings as well as tools made from polycrystalline diamond (PCD) wafers. The problem with CVD diamond coatings for cutting tools is poor surface finish and weak adhesion. Nanocrystalline CVD diamond deposited using microwave plasma (MP) techniques overcomes these problems with a smooth finish that is well adhered. This makes the nanocrystalline diamond a potential competitor to PCD diamond by lowering the price and increasing productivity. The research proposed for Phase II will use a 30kW MP-CVD reactor to investigate the relationships between nanocrystalline structure and technical performance. The structure will be controlled by process variables. Technical performance will be measured by mechanical testing and field testing on the proposed target application of machining cast aluminum-silicon alloy. The anticipated technical result will be direct correlations between structure, properties and performance that can be used to optimize nanocrystalline diamond coatings for machining automotive drive-train components. Commercial applications of nanocrystalline diamond coatings are far reaching due to applications in the cutting tool industry that promote the use of hard-to-finish advanced materials; applications in pulp and paper for cutting and guides, applications in textiles for guides and applications in various bearing surface applications such as deep-well oil drill-head bearings. The National Institute of Health is also sponsoring research on nanocrystalline diamond applications in biomedical hardware surfaces subject to wear. Additionally, environmental impact of cutting fluid and related waste from machining processes are driving manufacturers to implement dry machining processes. MP-CVD nanocrystalline diamond tooling is the ideal tool for dry machining nonferrous materials. CENTERS FOR RSCH EXCELL IN S&T SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Thompson, Raymond VISTA ENGINEERING INC AL William Haines Standard Grant 1195999 9131 5373 AMPP 9251 9232 9178 9163 9150 9102 7218 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349771 March 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Self-Imaging Transmitters for Remote Sensing. This SBIR Phase II project will develop and demonstrate self-imaging laser technologies for eyesafe remote sensing applications. Laser based remote sensing applications require a variety of output formats, including amplitude modulated (AM) and frequency modulated (FM) continuous wave (CW) lasers; and pulsed lasers. There are currently no eye safe technologies available with the adaptive waveform capabilities to satisfy these requirements. At eye safe 1.5-micron wavelengths, bulk solid-state lasers are not capable of high average power operation; and conventional fiber laser systems are not capable of handling high peak powers due to optical damage and nonlinear effects. A patent-pending diffraction limited self-imaging waveguide laser technology has been developed that use an adaptive waveform that has the potential to satisfy the average and peak power requirements simultaneously. There are two objectives for the Phase II research- 1) to design a self-imaging laser system with adaptive waveform capability, and 2) to demonstrate an adaptive waveform 1.5-micron laser transmitter. It is anticipated that >20 W of diffraction limited, eye safe average laser power will be achieved with adaptive waveform capability demonstrated. This eye safe self-imaging waveguide laser module is targeted as an enabling technology with broad reaching impact. The specific markets include remote sensing markets of wind and aerosol detection and 3- D imaging. This technology should have a significant impact because current sensors are complex and costly. Other applications include hazard alerting for windshear, gust front, and turbulence detection; wake vortex detection, tracking, and measurement; and detection and tracking of hazardous bioaerosols. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Bellanca, Mary Jo COHERENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC CO Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 458011 5373 MANU 9146 0110000 Technology Transfer 0349772 February 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Use of Inducible Antimicrobial Peptides for Rapid Diagnosis, Prevention, and Management of Disease in Finfish Aquaculture. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase II Project proposes to develop a new approach for controlling disease in the aquaculture industry. This approach is based on the use of a recently discovered natural antibiotic compound in hybrid striped bass (HSB) called bass-hepcidin. Hepcidin is an antimicrobial peptide (i.e. bactericidal molecules) that is part of the fish's innate immune system. Prior Phase I work has demonstrated that HSB (and probably many finfish) respond to disease challenges by increasing their hepcidin levels. This finding is useful because elevated hepcidin levels indicate that fish are being challenged by disease, and artificially increasing hepcidin levels (by feed additives or other means) may stimulate the fish's immune response to assist in combating disease. This Phase II project will develop an ELISA diagnostic test for hepcidin and conduct follow-on clinical studies with several important aquaculture species. If successful, this research may result in the development of two types of hepcidin-based products that will be of immense value to aquaculturists: 1) hepcidin test strips that provide an instant positive-negative indication of the presence of disease processes, analogous to pregnancy test kits, and 2) feed additives that stimulate the production of hepcidin in finfish, to be used to control disease outbreaks. The commercial impact of this project will be significant as there is clearly a market need for products to control infectious diseases in fish that cause tremendous economic loss, of the order of $ 3 billion, each year. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Carlberg, James KENT SEATECH CORPORATION CA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 499812 5373 BIOT 9181 0521700 Marine Resources 0349776 January 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Separation of Light Hydrocarbon Mixtures by Pervaporation. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project focuses on the separation of light hydrocarbon mixtures-specifically, propylene/propane mixtures-by membrane pervaporation. A preliminary analysis indicated that the recovery of propylene from reactor purge gas streams using separation systems based on these materials is economically attractive. These purge streams are numerous-more than 400 streams of this type exist worldwide - but too small to be treated by distillation. Nonetheless, the amount of propylene involved is substantial. An estimated 685 million pounds of propylene are recoverable from reactor purge streams in the United States alone. In the Phase II project, the current best membrane will be optimized, scaled up and formed into bench-scale membrane modules. This project involves the separation of propylene/propane mixtures; application to the separation of many other mixtures is possible. The proposed membrane pervaporation process addresses a market need - the economical recovery of propylene, a valuable chemical feedstock, from propane-containing waste gas streams that cannot be satisfied by alternative technologies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Pinnau, Ingo MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH, INC. CA Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 500000 5373 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349777 February 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Overexpression of Membrane Proteins from Hyperthermophilic Bacteria - Refinement of a Novel Expression System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project proposes to continue the development and refinement of a novel membrane protein expression system utilizing a unique group of bacteria capable of synthesizing a vast amount of membrane proteins and supporting extensive internal membrane structures. Membrane proteins are of significant medicinal importance. However, efforts to study membrane proteins are often hampered by their low level of biosynthesis. An efficient membrane protein overexpression system will facilitate their biochemical and biophysical characterization. This will allow for the economical mass production of membrane proteins essential for large-scale structural genomics effort as well as for industrial applications. The commercial impact of the project will be on drug discovery work by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Additional impact will be in areas of biology and physiology where processes are modulated by membrane proteins (for example, in agriculture). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Nguyen, Hiep-Hoa TransMembrane Biosciences CA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 500000 5373 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0349778 January 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Adaptive Personalization and Context Management for Location-Based Mobile Devices (AdaptTribe). This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II research project develops personalized user-interfaces for location-based services. This adaptive proximity-based personalization algorithm recommends nearby venues based on predicted user interest and distance. It will further develop a highly distributed algorithm that allows handsets to perform part of the calculation, dramatically reducing computation costs that central servers would otherwise bear. This context-based user-interface allows users to chain operations, concentrating activities by proximity, and avoiding retyping. This project will expand the user- interface advancements to include personalizing categories, and a user-interface approach that mixes categories with individual venues. In addition it will explore algorithms that mix different types of venues on the same screen. Identity federation will help retailers and portals more readily deal with intermediary services. Self-service retail interfaces can allow traditional "brick-and-mortar" retailers to cost-effectively provide "click-and-mortar" services to consumers. A SOAP-based web-service will allow portals to filter data and configure look-and-feel more precisely. However, the proposed <object> tag mechanism will likely be good enough for most portals, as the output format can be configured easily through CSS, and filtering can be performed through the company's self-service portal interface The end result of this project is a product that can be incorporated in enterprise logistics applications that help field personnel find, reserve, use and store resources while being able to improve the speed that consumers navigate user-interfaces, even when location is irrelevant. The in-handset personalization may ensure better privacy and security, even in non-location based applications. The product will use proximity to maximize value: building business-consumer relationships, enhancing social harmony and strengthening communities, as a result. CENTERS FOR RSCH EXCELL IN S&T SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Greening, Daniel BIGTRIBE CORPORATION CA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 1052001 9131 5373 HPCC 9251 9216 9178 0116000 Human Subjects 0206000 Telecommunications 0349782 February 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Novel Breath Diagnostic Instrument for Detection of Disease. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to develop a carbon isotope ratio analyzer based on Off-Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy to measure the ratio of the isotopic abundances of 13C to 12C in exhaled breath. The compact analyzer will serve as a medical diagnostic instrument and will operate in a point-of-care setting. The instrument combines robust telecommunications-grade diode lasers with Off-Axis ICOS, an innovative technology that provides extremely long optical paths (several kilometers typical) for ultrahigh sensitivity. The instrument will be inexpensive, portable and easy to use and report measurements of 13CO2/12CO2 with sufficient sensitivity and precision to replace mass spectrometry in 13C-labeled breath tests for diagnosis of several diseases. Prior Phase I work has successfully demonstrated a laboratory instrument with a precision of 0.24 per mil (0.024%) in less than 6 minutes. In Phase II, a prototype instrument capable of autonomous operation, will be developed and tested in on-going clinical trials. The commercial impact of the project will be significant, as the proposed instrument will aid in quick diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases at the doctor's office, thereby enhancing rates of patients' compliance with treatment regimens. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Baer, Douglas LOS GATOS RESEARCH INC CA F.C. Thomas Allnutt Standard Grant 577779 5373 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0349784 February 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Interactive Earth: Tools for Earth Systems Science. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to research and develop ways to increase accessibility and utilization of Earth systems science data and visualizations for secondary school teachers and students. The commercial product will consist of a DVDROM, curriculum, and web site. Building on WorldLink Media, Inc.'s previously published CD product, Interactive Earth, the firm will develop an integrated tool set for data display and image interpretation that will enable students to inquire, hypothesize, analyze, discover, and communicate with peers-replicating the work of real scientists. Much more than a static software program, the Interactive Earth DVD-ROM will be part of a "learning platform" that includes an in-depth curriculum package, access to a rich archive of global data via the web, and professional development opportunities. Partnerships with NASA's Earth Observatory web site and the World Resources Institute's EarthTrends project will enable classroom access to extensive global data sets and visualizations. TERC, a research and education organization, will develop a curriculum that aligns with the National Science Education Standards. This SBIR project recognizes the vital interplay between a curriculum developer (TERC), data providers (NASA and World Resources Institute), and a media designer and tool-builder (WorldLink) in creating exemplary learning materials. Earth science is of national strategic importance as a field of research and innovation. The potential contribution to our schools and students is not just in Earth systems science, but in the broader applicability of the skills developed by students to related domains of science, math, geography, and other fields. These thinking skills include inquiry, visual literacy, understanding systems and models, and the ability to apply knowledge and problem solving to a range of real-world issues. CENTERS FOR RSCH EXCELL IN S&T SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Bergstrom, Kirk WorldLink Media, Inc. CA Ian M. Bennett Standard Grant 811998 9131 5373 SMET 9261 9251 9231 9178 9177 7256 7218 0101000 Curriculum Development 0108000 Software Development 0349787 February 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Spray Forming Titanium Alloys Using the Cold Spray Process. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop a new, low-cost methods for direct fabrication of metal parts at near-net shapes (NNS). This technology is critical for many industries and in particular, for manufacturing parts of expensive metals and alloys such as titanium. Such technologies have an impact on many industries because of the potential to quickly manufacture complicated parts with minimal waste. Currently used methods typically involve melting and solidification, which can cause high residual stresses, undesirable phases, and other problems. To solve the problems described a new method for spray forming is being used. This method is based on using the cold spray process avoiding undesired material, chemistry, and phase properties associated with thermal spray-forming methods. Studies conducted during Phase I demonstrated the feasibility of the cold spray process for rapid prototyping and direct fabrication of spray form shapes of Titanium alloys. The anticipated result of this activity is to deliver a technology yielding superior material properties of sprayed material and reduce cost of manufacturing. The broader impacts of cold spraying near net-shapes technology could be very important technology for aerospace, including aircraft, military aircraft and spacecraft. This technology is promising for many other industries including automotive, medical, power, chemical, sport goods, and others. The proposed research activity will enhance scientific and technological understanding of the spray processes based on using high-speed particle flow. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Blose, Richard KTECH CORPORATION NM Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 464407 5373 AMPP 9163 9150 1633 0308000 Industrial Technology 0349884 February 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Scalable Synthesis and Processing of Nanocrystalline Hydroxyapatite. 0349884 Ahn This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II Project proposes to use a newly developed synthetic nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (HAP) bone material to produce high-strength, resorbable synthetic bone implants for anterior cruciate ligament surgeries. This material solves the problem of current orthopedic implants (made of polymer and/or metal) which either permanently reside as foreign material in the body or quickly degrade into a formless mass of non-ossified, non-load bearing tissue. The objectives of the Phase II work are to concurrently scale up manufacturing processes for HAP to near-commercial levels while developing an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) prototype product for testing in vivo. The commercial impact of this project will be in the area of orthopedics. The proposed technology will help decrease the time of healing in surgeries requiring implants (fractiures, ACL) and will minimize the need for second surgeries to remove the screws and/or to correct for morbidities. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II STTR PHASE II IIP ENG Ahn, Edward Angstrom Medica, Incorporated MA Gregory T. Baxter Standard Grant 999998 5373 1591 AMPP 9163 1788 0308000 Industrial Technology 0350370 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase II: Development of NZP-Based Advanced Thermal Barrier Coatings. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will further develop and optimize the NZP (sodium zirconium phosphate type) ceramic-based thermal barrier coating (TBC) technology for use in advanced turbine and power generation systems. These advanced systems drive the need for higher operating temperatures to achieve better efficiencies without compromising durability. Such requirements heighten the threat of: (i) microstructural changes which reduce thermal barrier effectiveness; (ii) premature oxidative spalling; and (iii) susceptibility to mechanical stresses in conventional yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)-based TBCs. Some NZP ceramics have very low thermal and oxygen conductivity, excellent thermal cycling resistance and high temperature stability but also have low thermal expansion. Phase I demonstrated the feasibility of thermal spraying simple and functionally graded (to minimize thermal expansion mismatches) TBCs of NZP with YSZ that are better thermal barriers and also have very good thermal cycling resistance to 1200 degrees C. The primary goal for Phase II is to complete the scientific and engineering development in order to commercialize the NZP-based TBC technology. A team of academic and industrial collaborators will work under the guidance of committed end-users to achieve this goal. Potential successful development of the NZP-based TBC concept will enable applications in high efficiency power generating systems and gas turbine engines; specifically, for turbine vanes and blades, and combustors and afterburners. Coatings based on NZP can also double up as environmental barrier coatings (EBCs), and find use in diesel engines and as abradable seals. The financial benefits of the NZP-based coatings could be over $100M arising from reduced component maintenance and fuel and operational costs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Nageswaran, Ramachandran SMAHT Ceramics, Inc. UT William Haines Standard Grant 173764 5373 AMPP 9165 1467 1444 0106000 Materials Research 0308000 Industrial Technology 0353332 February 1, 2004 Planning Grant Proposal for Establishing Research Site for I/UCRC Connection One. A planning meeting will be held to study the feasibility of establishing a research site for the Industry /University Cooperative Research Center "Connection One", lead by Arizona State University at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The research focus of the proposed research site will be basic and applied interdisciplinary research in secure optical and electrical data transport, switching, and processing. This research will include materials, devices, systems, and information technology, requiring long-term commitment to achieve the orders of magnitude improvements needed in the speed, density, power, cost, and reliability of secure data transport and communications. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG Shur, Michael Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute NY Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 16000 5761 1360 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 123E 0000 0355539 May 1, 2004 Center for Child Injury Prevention Science (C-ChIPS). A planning meeting will be held for the Center for Child Injury Prevention Science (C-ChIPS) to become an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center. Its mission will be to ensure the safety of children by conducting scientific research on the prevalence and predictors of child injury, and evaluation, development, testing and dissemination of commercial technology and public education programs for prevention. Work will build on existing collaborations that leverage the capabilities, interests, and expertise of the Center faculty and its industrial partners. The Center's research projects will address three scientific themes: Safety Monitoring and Risk Assessment; Hazard Evaluation and Testing; and Prevention Technology Development. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Winston, Flaura The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia PA Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 202246 5761 OTHR 129E 0000 0400575 February 15, 2004 University of Hawaii Partnership with the NSF I/U CRC for Telecommunications Systems. The University of Hawaii has established a partnership with the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Telecommunications Circuits and Systems at Arizona State University known as "Connection One". The Hawaii Center for Advanced Communications will provide the capabilities, expertise, and research facilities for doing the research. The vision for the next generation wireless communications technology calls for fully integrated, low cost, expanded broadband and high data rate applications/services, seamless hands-off between heterogeneous networks, full mobility with minimum latency. These constraints make it exceedingly difficult to design affordable wireless systems. Confronting these technology challenges will require breakthroughs and innovative multidisciplinary research contributions across the multi-layer wireless communication network system. COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH RET SUPPLEMENTS INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS SPECIAL PROJECTS - CISE ELECT, PHOTONICS, & DEVICE TEC HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IIP ENG Iskander, Magdy Wayne Shiroma Anders Host-Madsen Mehmet Demirkol University of Hawaii HI Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 403768 7298 7218 5761 1714 1517 1360 SMET OTHR 9177 9150 7218 5976 5944 115E 1049 0000 0206000 Telecommunications 0400000 Industry University - Co-op 0407458 March 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Integrated Optical Monitor for Hybrid Opto-Electronic Transmitter. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project describes a hybrid integrated circuit that consists of a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) fabricated on a III-V semiconductor wafer that is flip-chip bonded to a Silicon chip that contains a CMOS circuit used for driving the VCSEL and a Silicon detector that is used for monitoring the output power of the laser. Semiconductor lasers are typically supplied with discrete, external detectors that are used for power monitoring. We propose an integrated detector structure that would provide a simpler, more efficient, and cheaper solution. In this proposal, monitor detectors are designed into the Silicon CMOS laser driver circuits and are flip-chip bonded to the VCSELs creating a compact, three-dimensional circuit structure. This technology provides an optoelectronic-VLSI integrated circuit solution that can be accomplished in large arrays to achieve low cost. The result is wafer-level integration, packaging, and testing of photonic-on-VLSI leading to tremendous manufacturing efficiencies for transceiver modules. The commercial benefit of the proposed work is very straightforward. Monitoring functionality is critical for telecommunications and storage-area-network applications, but is currently not available with arrayed VCSEL transceivers that were originally produced for intra-system links for data-com applications. There is a strong market-pull for incorporating this functionality into parallel optical links. The invention would also enable more quantitative research into VCSEL degradation and lifetime measurements because of built-in real-time monitors on every VCSEL. Thus far this type of studies have relied on intermittent measurements on small sample populations. The invention would allow, for the first time, continuous, real-time reliability data to be gathered on VCSELs from deployed systems in the field. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Cunningham, John Sina Investments NJ Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 33334 5371 HPCC 9139 5371 1517 0104000 Information Systems 0206000 Telecommunications 0407497 July 1, 2004 Solid State NMR Studies of Structurally Disordered Lithium Battery Cathodes - Collaborative Research with the Rutgers University I/UCRC Program. This collaborative effort is between Hunter College CUNY and Rutgers University under the auspices of the existing Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers program at Rutgers. The research at Hunter College will provide NMR spectroscopic support to the materials research efforts at Rutgers, primarily those involving evaluation of new high capacity amorphous Li ion cathode materials. A comprehensive program of multinuclear solid state NMR will be conducted in collaboration with the Rutgers groups; materials synthesis and characterization performed at Rutgers, and NMR performed at Hunter. One CUNY doctoral student will be supported to work at both locations. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Greenbaum, Steven CUNY Hunter College NY Rathindra DasGupta Standard Grant 56000 5761 SMET OTHR 9251 9178 9102 1049 0000 0412083 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Powder Porcessing Routes for Making Submicron Hydrotalcite and Zirconia-Glass Materials. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a feasibility study to produce two-submicron inorganic powders via solvent-free processing routes. One of the materials is the anionic clay known as hydrotalcite, which is used as an antacid and a PVC additive. The other material is a glass-zirconia composite, which is a promising candidate for making glass-ceramic dental materials. Structure-function relationships suggest that production of these two types of inorganic powders in particle sizes at or below one micron should translate into materials with improved performance over commercially available forms. For both target materials, the key advantages over current manufacturing methods are simplicity in terms of the processing steps; solvent-free manufacturing; and cost. Mechanochemical production of submicron powders should also compete favorably with more exotic syntheses leading to nanosized powders. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Larsen, Gustavo LNKChemsolutions NE Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1984 0308000 Industrial Technology 0412294 March 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: New Encoding System for Detection of Pathogens. 0339561 This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project entails development of a novel on-chip electronic encoding bead-array detection system for simultaneous multiplexed detection of pathogenic agents. This technology will offer a quick and highly sensitive identification method for pathogens or toxins. Most current systems for the fast detection of pathogens are based on fluorescent dye labeling and optical detection of the signal, which are prone to photobleaching and are likely to fall short when multiplex detection is required. This new electronic encoding and chip-based system is highly flexible and can be used for direct detection and identification of whole pathogens, toxins or DNA/RNA. The method will have a broad impact on a number of bioanalytical fields because it will be capable of rapid, highly sensitive and multiplexed identification of pathogens or their toxins. The proposed research will have broad impact and applications in molecular diagnostics, and detection of infectious disease and biological agents. The applications will range from the detection of pathogens and biological warfare agents in environmental, agricultural and medical samples to infectious disease in clinical, molecular diagnostic and forensic applications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fu, Tsu-Ju Catenae, Inc. CA Muralidharan S. Nair Standard Grant 33334 5371 HPCC 9139 1639 1517 0308000 Industrial Technology 0413357 April 1, 2004 Improved Reliability and Congestion Management with Closed-Loop Control Strategies for FACTS Devices. In collaboration with PSERC, the Power Systems Engineering Research Center, the Principal Investigator proposes to investigate the use of alternative control signals for FACTS devices, with the objective of improving the use of transmission facilities and optimizing the transfer capability of the high voltage grid. The project will focus on developing closed-loop dynamic system models for integrating FACTS devices into a control structure that will incorporate new control signals based on transmission congestion, transmission losses, and transmission and energy prices. This project will also create new opportunities for students to learn about one of the largest industries in the economy - an industry of significant national interest at the core of our infrastructure, which has been suffering from a steady decline in student interest and therefore course enrollment. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Cardell, Judith Smith College MA Alexander J. Schwarzkopf Standard Grant 50000 5761 OTHR 0000 0413399 August 1, 2004 OSU-Purdue Center for Tree Genetics. This action joins the Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center (HTIRC) with an existing National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC), the Tree Genetic Engineering Research Cooperative (TGERC) at Oregon State University. Both centers share the same goal: the study of technologies to genetically improve trees for use in intensively managed tree plantations. The objectives, structure, and policies of TGERC are well established, and similar to those of the HTIRC. With formation of the joint center joint annual meeting will convene at one site; a single Industrial Advisory Board will be convened to make business decisions; and members of both centers will be alerted prior to publication for exercise of their intellectual property options for research from the center. Research will continue to be conducted in a largely autonomous manner at each center, including the planning and execution of projects; reporting, including annual reports; implementation of LIFE forms and their discussion; proposals for other grant funding; and research fund management. INDUSTRY/UNIV COOP RES CENTERS IIP ENG Strauss, Steven Amy Brunner Victor Busov Oregon State University OR Rathindra DasGupta Continuing grant 90000 5761 OTHR 0000 0413603 January 15, 2005 SGER: Exploration of Broader Academic Institution Participation in PFI. This is a SGER proposal to study how the Partnerships For Innovation Program can involve a broader range of academic institutions including smaller research universities and community colleges, particularly those located in rural areas, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities in catalyzing and enabling innovation through creating and disseminating new knowledge, enhancing a scientific and technological workforce and promoting an infrastructure that fosters innovation. There is a significant body of research that describes university-industry partnerships and the role of major research universities in innovation. There is a gap in this growing literature on university-industry partnerships and innovation that does not adequately cover these types of institutions. The goal of this award is to study the roles of these smaller academic institutions in the innovation enterprise. The effort explores policies, practices, programs and linkages that smaller academic institutions use to stimulate and enhance innovation. The research consists of on-site, in-depth case studies of at least 10 small universities and community colleges that are currently involved in innovation partnerships. The effort involves forming a national advisory committee of nationally prominent individuals in the field of innovation partnerships, identifying the domain of innovation partnerships, defining the types of institutions appropriate for the study, and developing the case studies. PARTNRSHIPS FOR INNOVATION-PFI IIP ENG Palmintera, Diane Innovation Associates VA Sara B. Nerlove Standard Grant 99672 1662 OTHR 9237 0000 0413910 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: All Natural Biobased High Performance Composites for Industrial Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop workable composites from plant based materials (such as rice hulls, bamboo and jute), using expoxidized soybean oil as a polyurethane bonding resin. The commercial application of this project will be in the manufacture of household and office furniture. The bio-based composites are expected to be mechanically strong, cost effective, lightweight and resistant to fire and water. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hecht, N ADVANCED CERAMICS RESEARCH, INC AZ Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99804 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0417963 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Trackless Welding of Large Steel Structures. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of development of an affordable, flexible, and trackless apparatus and process for full penetration welding of large steel structures. The project will address two critical issues in arc welding; complete joint penetration and joint line tracking. The project will develop an automated welding system including a movable weld backing and trackless mechanism for welding large steel structures. A prototype machine will be designed and experimentally verified based on the requirements of arc welding production. The successful development of the technology will improve significantly automatic equipment for fabricating heavy weldments of large steel structures, productivity and weld quality, and reduce welding cost. The broader impacts (commercial applications) are expected in fabricating heavy weldments within the shipbuilding, high-pressure vessel, pipelines, heavy crane, power generation and aerospace. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhang, Shaobin S&B Wise Weld Company KY Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 86222 5371 manu MANU 9150 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0418020 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Proteome Epitope Tags-Based Antibody Arrays for High-Throughput, Proteome-Wide Kinase Pathway Profiling. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop antibody arrays for studying kinase proteins based on the Protein Epitope Tags (PETS) method. This method relies on a computational process to mine the human genomic sequence to find good tags using a nearest-neighbor approach to filter out similar tags. The commercial application of this project will be to make available effective antibody arrays as protein analysis tools for use in biomedical research and diagnostics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Meng, Xun Epitome Biosystems, Inc. MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0418244 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Environmental Neurotoxicity Using Zebrafish. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop and validate zebrafish assays for testing of industrial chemicals for developmental neurotoxicity with reduced cost and shorter turn around times compared with available methods. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of environmental toxicology. The impact of neurotoxins on the development of fetuses and children has been established for a few contaminants such as lead, but remains largely unexplored for most contaminants. Therefore, the development of a proven animal model will be both scientifically and commercially useful. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Willett, Catherine PHYLONIX PHARMACEUTICAL INC MA George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9104 0313040 Water Pollution 0418277 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Dynamic Torsional Knee Ankle Foot Orthosis (DTKAFO) for Lower Extremity Deformities. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project will develop a Dynamic Torsional Knee Ankle Foot Orthosis (DTKAFO) for the treatment of Metatarsus Adductus/Varus (MTA), Internal Tibial Torsion (ITT) and Talipes Equinovarus (TEV). The DTKAFO offers an easy-to-use brace that combines the manipulation aspects of physical therapy, the positioning of serial casting and the compliance benefits of thermoplastic bracing. The design of the DTKAFO will be finalized via prototype development and with close input from orthopedic surgeons. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of orthopedics for treatment of congenital foot deformities in children. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Donovan, John-Paul AtlanticProCare ME Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 90688 5371 BIOT 9181 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0418537 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Target-Based Rational Design of Novel Insect Control Products. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will manipulate insect behavior by interfering with the codling moth olfactory pathway. This will result in inhibition in mating of moths and laying of unfertilized eggs. The commercial application of project will be as an "anti-pheromone" product in the area of pest management. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Woods, Daniel Inscent, Inc CA George B. Vermont Standard Grant 99650 5371 BIOT 9109 0201000 Agriculture 0418748 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Development of a Multiplexable, Label-Free DNA Diagnostic Assay. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a multiplexable diagnostic assay for DNA detection. The approach uses NanoBarCode (NBC) technology to localize fluorescent DNA probes that are coupled to the NBC particles through thiol-linkages. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of DNA detection. The proposed DNA hybridization assay, if successfully developed, could be used to detect genetic disorders and biological warfare agents. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Penn, Sharron NANOPLEX TECHNOLOGIES, INC CA George B. Vermont Standard Grant 99977 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0418989 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Enabling High Output Carotenogenesis in Plant Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the technical feasibility of enhancing isoprenoid biosynthesis by mevalonate pathway addition to plastids of a eukaryotic model. Isoprenoids, as carotenoids, serve as natural colorants in plant products and also have a market as human dietary supplement. Increasing the output of carotenoids in cultivated plants and microalgae is of considerable interest as a way to provide these isoprenoids as natural products from renewable sources rather than from chemical synthesis. The commercial application of this project will be on the aquaculture and the ornamental horticulture industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Champagne, Michele KUEHNLE AGRO SYSTEMS HI George B. Vermont Standard Grant 92850 5371 BIOT 9109 0201000 Agriculture 0419067 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Designer Cellulases for Biomass Conversion. 0419067 Coleman This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes the use of "directed evolution" to improve the properties of cellulose enzymes for use in the wood pulping process. The current process for converting wood chips and other biomass to paper fibers is a highly energy intensive thermal process. Cellulases can reduce the energy requirements, but are thermally unstable and have generally slow hydrolysis rates. Directed evolution, microbial mutation and rapid screening for improved enzymes, will be used to develop a microbial strain producing more thermally stable, faster acting enzymes. The commercial application of this project will be to improve the energy efficiency of the wood pulping process. Improved enzymes will be used to facilitate cellulose breakdown and reduce process energy requirements. It is estimated that a 10% reduction in energy input would save about $300 million worldwide annually. The information gained from this study could also be applied to other similar enzymatic processes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Coleman, William KAIROS SCIENTIFIC INC. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9104 0313040 Water Pollution 0419082 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: In-Process Fiber Web Characterization. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a model relating the light attenuation and scattering data to the basis weight as well as optical diagnostics for in-process measurement of web uniformity. Nonwoven polymer fiber webs are used as a primary component in a variety of products including, composite materials, medical textiles, civil engineering fabrics, filters, hygiene products, cosmetics accessories, etc. More than forty automotive parts employ fiber webs. The overall market of these products is estimated to be $100B. Maintaining the uniformity of webs is the quality issue of foremost importance in the manufacturing of nonwoven polymer fiber webs. Recent advancements in the understanding of ensemble scattering by fiber webs are enabling the development of optical diagnostics for the basis-weight uniformity measurements. The broader impact from this technology will be enhancing the efficiency and productivity of a significant manufacturing sector. From an academic point of view, this project will seek to identify the bulk parameters of a complex system using ensemble measurements and empirical modeling. Dissemination of the results of this work would provide scientists clues to handling the response of other similar complex systems, like multiphase suspensions and emulsions encountered in chemical processing. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Naqwi, Amir POWERSCOPE INCORPORATED MN Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99726 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419083 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Improved Processing of High-Flux, High-Temperature Hydrogen Separation Membranes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop new processing approaches for fabrication of mixed proton-electron conducting membranes that will be used in the future for economical production of high-purity hydrogen derived from biomass and coal. The objective of this Phase I program will be to demonstrate the feasibility of novel processing methods to fabricate thin (< 15 micon thickness), supported mixed proton-electron-conducting membranes. The novel processing methods will be demonstrated via fabrication of supported membranes on small porous disk supports. The hydrogen separation properties of these membranes at elevated temperatures will be evaluated using a bench-scale test system. The impact of the proposed research would include facilitation of commercialization of hydrogen-powered vehicles and improvement of the economics and environmental impact of stationary power generation processes. Such development would also lessen the dependence of the Nation's economy on foreign oil imports. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Higgins, Richard CeraMem Corporation MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419100 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Commercial Combustion Synthesis of Homogeneous Lots of Carbon Nanotubes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project intends to demonstrate the technical and commercial feasibility of cost- and energy-efficient conversion of carbon-containing feedstocks to well- defined carbon nanotubes. The proposed work will include a) the proof of concept of high-yield synthesis of carbon nanotubes in premixed flames with catalyst precursors added to the initial feed gas and b) the establishment of correlations between yields and characteristics of carbon nanotubes and experimental. Results will provide qualitative insight in the formation mechanism(s) whereas kinetic modeling will assist in the identification of optimized operating conditions. The unique electrical, mechanical and chemical properties of carbon nanotubes allow for a large range of applications. Some of them, such as their use as field emitters in flat panel displays, are approaching market maturity while an inexpensive supply of well-defined carbon nanotubes is currently missing. Results of the proposed work are expected to have a significant impact on the achievement of the technological and commercial potential of carbon nanotubes. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Richter, Henning NANO-C, INC MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99583 5371 AMPP 9163 1407 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419104 July 15, 2004 SBIR Phase II: All-Optical Method to Detect and Diagnose Optical Faults in Advanced Optical Networks. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a prototype optical network monitoring system based on the enabling technology demonstrated in Phase I. Optical networks must be continuously supervised to ensure high availability and reliability. Advanced networks will use optical routing for cost savings and provisioning flexibility. This trend obsoletes current optical signal quality monitoring techniques. The proposed system, designed specifically for these advanced networks, utilizes an all-optical, in-channel detection method. It not only monitors performance but also performs on-line diagnosis of optical faults. This system operates in a real network environment including the presence of polarization mode dispersion, a phenomena which has frustrated other monitoring approaches. This technology is targeted to develop advanced networks that cost 50% less to deploy and maintain than existing systems. This represents an enormous cost savings for telecommunications carriers and ultimately all data communications consumers. The demand for telecommunications bandwidth continues to grow rapidly. The market for optical networking equipment and strong growth is predicted. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE II IIP ENG Melman, Paul Newton Photonics, Inc. MA Juan E. Figueroa Standard Grant 499226 5373 HPCC 9139 1517 0104000 Information Systems 0419106 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Formulation of Environmentaly Friendly Lubricants Based on Polymeric Materials for Cold Forging Process. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) is focused on environmentally friendly lubricants for cold forging processes based on polymeric formulation and the develop of methodology based on coupling tribochemistry with severity of deformation modes of specific forging processes. The new lubricant formulation concept is based on combination of internally stabilized emulsion polymers along with advances in adhesion chemistry and synthetic lubricants. This lubricant is aimed at replacing zinc phosphate coating. The effort will include development of a quick and robust online lubrication system for the newly formulated lubricants. In recent years the U.S. forging industry has undergone significant shrinkage due to intense global competition, technological changes, and environmental and economic factors. Serious environmental concerns may cause the phase out of the current lubrication system for cold forging based on zinc phosphate coatings. This project, in cooperation with NC State University, targets an environmentally friendly lubricant to assist the forging industry. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Stark, David Sisu Chemical, LLC NC Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 98492 1505 AMPP 9163 1984 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419114 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Sublancin 168 for Bacillus Spores Detection, Inactivation and Decontamination. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop methods to use Sublancin 168 for detection, inactivation and decontamination of Bacillus spores. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of detection and control of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ooi, Guck Sun BioMedical Technologies, Inc CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 97928 5371 BIOT 9104 0313040 Water Pollution 0419154 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Fluidics Design for Development of a Massively Parallel Oligonucleotide Synthesizer (MPOS) for the Production of Genome Scale Reagent Sets in Pico-Molar Quantities. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a liquid handling and robotic system for the generation and dispensing of oligonucleotides . The commercial application of this project will be to provide cheap and efficient instrumentation for molecular biology research. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Kaysen, James GENETIC ASSEMBLIES INC WI George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0419155 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Nanostructured Mixed Ionic/Electronic Conducting Catalyst for Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of exploiting nanostructured mixed ionic and electronic conductor (MIEC) ceramic anode material for direct electrocatalytic oxidation of hydrocarbon in solid oxide fuel cell applications. The proposed catalyst consists of an electrical conducting phase, Sr0.88Y0.08TiO3, coated with an oxidation catalyst, Ce0.80Y0.20O0.19. Both phases are known MIECs ideal for fuel electrode materials in view of electrode polarization. Commercial potential of the proposed technology includes solid oxide fuel cell applications, direct hydrogen generation for portable or stationary fuel cell systems for communication, computers, electric and hybrid vehicles, home utility suppliers, power source for appliances, military aircraft, electric wheelchairs, and medical power supply systems. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Xiao, T. Danny US NANOCORP, INC. CT Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1788 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419180 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Synthesis of Novel Compounds by Modified RNA. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a novel method, Evolutionary Chemistry, to simultaneously generate and select from a library of small molecules, using modified RNA both as a catalyst and as an amplifiable tag for detection of binding to a target. The commercial application of this project will be to streamline the process of discovery of new compounds for therapeutic and agricultural use. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Elich, Tedd Cropsolution, Inc. NC Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99510 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419187 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: High-Density Microcapillary Bioplate. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a new microcapillary bioplate platform for biochemical analysis using a new sealing fabrication technique. The advantages of this approach will be to add the following attributes to high density glass microcapillary bioplates: improved reliability and elimination of cross-contamination through disposability, complete flexibility in diameter and length of capillaries, use of 100,000 to 10 million capillaries per standard plate, improved capillary uniformity, dramatic reductions in cost and process times, and reduction of environmental contaminants. The commercial application of this project will be to provide the biotechnology research community with less expensive and potentially disposable microcapillary plates for combinatorial biochemical assays. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Krans, Joseph Incom Inc MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419193 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Environmentally Benign Antifouling Coatings From Dendritic Nanotechnology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop the technology for manufacturing nano-structured polymer coatings that will prevent aquatic biofouling of submerged man-made surfaces in an environmentally safe way. The unique cellular structure of the nano-domained coatings proposed will not only combine all the most desirable properties of the existing anti-biofouling coatings but will also provide for complete or at least significantly reduced pollution by effective binding (through a combination of strong chemical complexation forces and physical steric hindrance) of selected repellants for the fouling nuisance organisms. This program will focus on the coatings for ship/boat hulls used in both marine and fresh water environments. These unique nano-structured coatings are also expected to have a very broad impact and large commercial effects in a variety of other water-based industries, ranging from shipping, fishing, tourism and defense, to production of energy in hydroelectric plants, protection of shorelines, production of potable water by desalination of sea water or from biofoulant-infested fresh-water sources, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Dvornic, Petar DENDRITECH, INC MI Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99211 5371 AMPP 9163 1984 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419198 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Twisted Polygonal Fiber Composite Technology for Creating Safer Low Cost High Ductile Concrete Structures. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new concrete reinforcement technology. Helix fiber is designed to solve the fundamental problem with cement-based materials - their brittle nature. When concrete is overloaded it tends to fail suddenly, unlike materials such as steel that will bend and actually harden when overloaded. This shortcoming causes problems ranging from cracks in sidewalks to catastrophic failures of concrete structures. Helix is a toothpick-sized, coated metallic-wire which is shaped then twisted and is added at the concrete ready mix plant, Helix fibers are randomly dispersed and reinforcing concrete in all directions. Each individual fiber acts like a tiny screw locked into the concrete, Helix combines unprecedented performance with economy. The project will focus on developing the fiber design and proving its effectiveness. The project will ultimately focus on cost optimization and proving the technology's effectiveness for large-scale commercial construction applications. The technology will enable a new generation of concrete-based composites that behave more like steel, making them safer and longer lasting. The broader impacts from this project could be significant. Helix is a major advance in the development of high performance fiber reinforced cement composites which could offer a combination of high tensile strength, ductility, toughness and impact resistance. These composites are suitable in structural applications (i.e., blast-impact and seismic-resistant structures) and in stand-alone applications (thin sheet products for housing, buildings, bridge decks, etc.). SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Chandrangsu, Kulsiri POLYTORX LLC MI Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 98845 5371 ampp AMPP 9163 9102 1984 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419205 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Semisynthetic Synthesis of Mutacin 1140. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop new preparative strategies for the peptide antibiotic Mutacin 1140 and related derivatives. Current fermentation and synthetic routes are impractical. In-vitro testing suggests that Mutacin and its derivatives may work on drug-resistant bacterial strains. The peptide backbone of the antibiotic will be produced by cloning and expressing a 22mer artificial gene. The structure will then be modified to a range of derivatives synthetically. The commercial application of the proposed project is in the area of antibiotics to combat human infectious diseases. Screening has indicated effectiveness against a wide range of gram positive and some gram-negative pathogens including multidrug resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hillman, Jeffrey Oragenics Corporation FL Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419214 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Non-Destructive Hydrogen Embrittlement Detection for High Strength Steels Using Induced Positron Annihilation Technologies. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a field use, nondestructive measurement capability for hydrogen embrittlement (HE) damage in high-strength alloys based on induced positron annihilation. The primary objective of this project will be to demonstrate this innovative technology for the detection, quantification, depth profiling, and assessment of damage progression for hydrogen embrittlement in high-strength alloys associated with critical aerospace components. Numerous aerospace components (e.g., landing gear) have been shown to be subject to early HE failure long before the expected end of life thereby impacting flight safety. Consequently, a physically-based detection tool will be developed that can be used to detect and measure HE in high-strength alloys at any point in the damage progression suitable for manufacturing and field measurement applications in numerous industries. Development of this portable HE detection tool will significantly improve manufacturing process-control/quality control for critical manufacturing processes of concern, while improving safety and radically changing requirements for component maintenance, surveillance and replacement criteria. This revolutionary advancement in HE detection capability will provide a competitive advantage for the aerospace and other industries by providing a fundamentally new approach for the detection of HE. The broader impacts of this project will be continued work on Induced Positron Annihilation applications to hydrogen embrittlement damage. This work will provide information not only on current damage, but also on the remaining life of components. This technology will improve process control/quality control and safety, and will positively impact many aspects of the design, manufacturing, and use of components in numerous industries. This technology will result in safer and less expensive operations of potentially hydrogen embrittled machinery; providing long term benefits to manufacturers, maintainers, and operators of machinery subject to this type of damage. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Urban-Klaehn, Jagoda Positron Systems, Inc. ID Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 94330 9150 MANU 9150 9146 1984 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419218 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Development of Fourth Generation High Temperature Materials. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop and characterize the structure property- processing relationships for a novel class of phenylethynyl terminated thermosetting polyimide/inorganic hybrid resins. There exists a growing need for polymer matrix composite (PMC) materials capable of 371-454C (700-900F) extended service life durability that: (i) are compatible with existing fabrication procedures (autoclave, resin transfer molding, resin infusion, etc.), (ii) exhibit at least equivalent mechanical performance and chemical resistance to state of the art polyimides, and (iii) can withstand the aggressive service environments of defense aerospace, missile, and NASA and Air Force launch vehicle applications. Materials with these properties do not presently exist, but are enabling for these and many other future systems. Current state of the art PMCs are limited to, at best, 343C (650F) extended service temperatures for aggressive environments required in defense applications, deep sea drilling, commercial aircraft engines, and reusable launch vehicle (RLV) technology. Necessary balancing of processing and performance combined with fundamental limitations in organic chemistry yield this limit. This project's novel hybrid approach combines known structure-property-processing relationships of state of the art thermosetting polyimides developed at Air Force and NASA research laboratories with the current understanding of inorganic and organic/inorganic hybrid polymers provided by academia and industry. Building the proposed "Fourth Generation" materials from the molecular level represents a state of the art technology. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Lincoln, Jason Performance Polymer Solutions Inc. OH Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99633 1505 AMPP 9163 1984 1771 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419220 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: High Strength Low Cost Ceramic Matrix Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop new high strength ceramic matrix composites using low cost processing techniques. Ceramic matrix composites represent an important class of materials for high performance applications including armor and structural materials. These composites are lightweight, temperature resistant, and corrosion resistant. Reinforcing whiskers, such as silicon carbide, have been used to increase the tensile strength and fracture toughness of ceramic composites. Properties such as tensile strength are directly related to the mechanical and chemical interactions between the reinforcing material and ceramic matrix. This project will focus on a simple low cost method of controlling the interfacial interactions between an alumina matrix and the silicon carbide whisker-reinforcing phase of a ceramic matrix composite. The successful demonstration of this innovation should lead to a better understanding of ceramic matrix composite as well as the development of a low cost method for production of ceramic matrix composites for application as high strength, lightweight materials for structural and protective armor applications. The market growth will be fueled by the development of low cost methods of improving composite properties SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Evenson, Carl Eltron Research, Inc. CO Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99998 5371 AMPP 9163 1984 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419233 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Label-Free Biochip for Rapid Detection of Botulinum Toxins. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a highly sensitive and selective label-free biochip assay for rapid detection of botulinum toxins. The proposed method uses surface-plasmon-resonance (SPR) technology incorporating peptide cleavage at the surface of the SPR waveguide. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of botulinum toxin detection in food, biological samples and the environment. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Shine, Nancy List Biological Laboratories, Inc CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99995 5371 BIOT 9107 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419242 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Solid Acid Catalyst with Optimally Distributed Active Sites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a novel solid acid catalyst for paraffin alkylation in an effort to provide refiners with a cost-effective alternative for producing clean fuels without the need for corrosive liquid acids. A new family of multifunctional catalysts is being developed, that significantly reduce catalyst deactivation rates. This is achieved through optimal distribution of the active sites within the catalyst pellet. During Phase I, the new class of solid acid catalysts will be synthesized, characterized and tested for paraffin alkylation. Performance of this catalyst will be compared to the performance of conventional solid-acid catalysts. Emissions from cars are the single most important factor responsible for poor air quality in US. With its high octane number, low vapor pressure and absence of aromatic and olefinic compounds, alkylate is an ideal clean fuel component because it is low polluting and has low toxicity. The alkylation process using this new catalyst system will be fundamentally safer and cleaner, side-stepping the use and generation of toxic chemicals. The catalyst promises significantly improved yields and selectivities, Improved economic performance translates into enhanced utilization of feedstocks, reduced requirements for materials of construction, and sustainable energy savings. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Mukherjee, Mitrajit Exelus, Inc. NJ Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419257 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Highly Efficient Exhaust Cleanup Technology for Environmentally Benign Processing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel integrated reactive abatement module (IRAM) that effectively removes solidifying chemicals from the exhaust effluent of deposition and etch manufacturing processes. Growing safety concerns and escalating costs dedicated to environmental protection is one of the drivers to continuously migrate semiconductor manufacturing outside of the US. In this project, hazardous chemicals will be reactively converted into inert solid films over a removable high-area filtration element. An integrated high-speed downstream pressure control will actively suppress IRAM-induced pressure fluctuations that may affect the process. The reactive process will apply highly effective chemical reactions to convert the solidifying chemicals into stable inert films. Objectives include superior maintainability of low-pressure exhaust manifolds and pumps and substantially improved safety of device processing systems, hence promoting safe and environmentally benign semiconductor manufacturing at a competitive cost. Broader impact: Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) and Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) are considered the cornerstones of semiconductor manufacturing technology. In the last decade these manufacturing-technologies have also migrated into the explosively growing area of nano-technology. These process techniques emit reactive, toxic and solidifying chemicals and produce a hazardous and destructive residue in low-pressure exhaust manifolds that clogs up the conduits and destroys the vacuum pumps. Slow and inefficient chemical reactions, driven by the typically low pressure and low temperature conditions in exhaust manifolds, convert the reactive exhaust mixture into hazardous residue instead of completely reacted inert films. Frequent maintenance requires ambient exposure of these hazardous-residue-containing exhaust manifolds with risks to the workers and the workplace. Growing safety concerns and escalating cost dedicated to environmental protection severely hampers the semiconductor industry and reduces its competitiveness in the US. Overcoming this deficiency, IRAM technology will apply environmentally benign chemistry with a localized production of short-lived highly reactive species capable to completely extracting the solidifying chemicals out of exhaust streams to produce inert solid films. This novel chemistry has a broad range of device processing applications and can positively impact manufacturing costs. Key Words: CVD, RIE, ALD, abatement, semiconductor manufacturing, LPCVD, foreline, EH&S, environmental health and safety. E.B.A 5/24/04 SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sneh, Ofer Sundew Technologies, LLC CO Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99630 5371 AMPP 9163 1440 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419282 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Novel Corrosion Inhibiting Inorganic Coatings for Magnesium Alloys. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is concerned with the development of a radically new class of molten-salt produced anodized coatings for the advanced corrosion protection of magnesium alloys. More specifically, this proposed work will develop the electrochemical basis and technical effectiveness of this new class of recently discovered inorganic coatings. These new coatings are producible via low temperature non-aqueous molten-salt electrolytes and will contribute toward increasing magnesium alloy usage as part of the national effort (United Sates Automotive Materials Partnership) to reduce vehicle weight and increase vehicle mileage. Corrosion of magnesium is an important problem in its industrial use especially in the transportation industry. The discovery of a new class of inorganic anti-corrosion coatings presents an opportunity for significant improvement in corrosion protection for magnesium. The potential applications of this research include coatings for aeronautical as well as vehicular magnesium engineering components and devices. Additionally the electrolytes used to prepare this new class of coatings are environmentally benign and do not have the waste disposal problems associated with currently used coatings. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Simmons, Walter Terrasimco Incorporated WV Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 95385 9150 1505 AMPP 9163 9150 1984 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419287 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Development of Anticancer Drugs Using Novel Drug Delivery Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a novel delivery vehicle for anti-cancer drugs using guanidine-modified molecule-based systems. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of anti-cancer therapies. This drug delivery system may enable or improve the performance of known pharmaceuticals by modulating their administration regimen or intake routes. It may also help salvage many clinically proven therapeutics that were abandoned due to their low cellular uptakes and / or poor solubility and bioavailability. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Yu, C.J. GlyPort, Inc. CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0419311 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Compacting Fly Ash to Make Bricks. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new method to make bricks using fly ash, which is a byproduct or waste material generated at coal-fired power plants. This new method for making bricks is simple and effective. It uses pressure instead of high temperature to make bricks, thereby reducing cost and conserving energy, at the same time recycling an otherwise wasted material. Preliminary research showed that strong bricks could be made this way, though the resistance of such bricks to freezing/thawing encountered in winter needs substantial improvement before such bricks can be used commercially. While current industry standards requires that bricks must pass at least 50 freezing/thawing cycles, the fly ash bricks produced at present can pass less than 10 cycles. This research explores several novel methods to improve the freezing/thawing property of such bricks, enabling them to meet standards and become commercially viable. The information generated will enhance current knowledge in the freezing/thawing effects on bricks, and in the understanding of crack formation during manufacturing of compacted products. The research enhances the state-of-the-art of a few technologies in making bricks. The broader impacts from this project could be significant. Much of the fly ash generated at coal-fired power plants is unused, ends up in landfills and slurry ponds. Using fly ash to make bricks not only produces a valuable commercial product but also reduces a major waste disposal problem for power plants. Furthermore, manufacturing ordinary clay bricks requires using high temperature (around 2,000 degrees F), which is energy-intensive and costly. In contrast, the fly ash bricks can be produced at room temperature, using only a fraction of the energy used in making clay bricks. The energy cost of making conventional clay bricks is very high, fly ash bricks are expected to cost much less than clay bricks to produce. As compared to conventional concrete bricks, which use cement, this new technology uses low-cost fly ash and hence costs less to produce. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Liu, Henry Freight Pipeline Company MO Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 97915 5371 ampp AMPP 9163 1984 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419313 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Catalytic Filter for Hydrogen Production. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project explores the development of a catalytically active filtration device for the reduction of particulates and carbon monoxide in reformate or syngas. It is generally recognized that significant improvements in the performance of water gas shift catalysts would greatly reduce the cost of producing hydrogen from hydrocarbon feedstocks. A novel water gas shift catalytic system, with the additional capability to remove particulates that may be generated during reforming of solid and liquid fuels, will be synthesized, characterized and demonstrated. The proposed technology will be particularly well-suited to reducing the cost of hydrogen production via coal gasification, biomass gasification, diesel reforming and gasoline reforming, but can also be applied to natural gas steam reforming process improvements. Successful application of the proposed technology will lower the cost of producing hydrogen, thereby reducing fuel, fertilizer and refined metal costs. Simplified production of hydrogen will also facilitate the commercial use of fuel cells, which will reduce fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fokema, Mark ASPEN PRODUCTS GROUP, INC MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99733 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419326 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Development of Manufacturing Processes for High Thermal Conductivity Carbon Skeletal Structures for Use in Metal and Metal Matrix Components. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I will develop novel metal and metal matrix composite (MMC) materials that incorporate high thermal conductivity carbon (HTCC) inserts. There is a critical need for advanced materials with improved thermal properties capable of meeting the thermal management requirements of current and future high power electronic systems. The objective of this project is the development of the fundamental basis for the manufacturing processes and procedures required to produce cost-effective HTCC skeletal structure cores. This manufacturing technology would enable cost effective metal-HTCC and MMC-HTCC material systems with a thermal conductivity greater than that of copper and which have a coefficient of thermal expansion that can be adjusted between 6.0 and 10 ppm /degrees C to match that of an electronic package. The heat dissipation rate of electronic systems has increased dramatically as a result of ongoing advances in semiconductor materials, compression of circuit physical architecture, size reduction of packaging envelops and faster switching speed. High power electronics have reached heat flux levels of up to 500 W/cm2 and this level is projected to exceed 1,000 W/cm2 within several years. The results of this project couldl enable the manufacture of HTCC-based materials that achieve the target thermal properties critical to satisfying thermal management solutions for high power applications. The broader impacts that could derive from this project could be in advanced high power military and industrial systems (e.g., phased-array radar systems, high energy laser systems, power control, distribution and management systems), telecommunication base stations and finally high-end computers (e.g., servers, work stations, etc.). The commercial market for these HTCC-based materials will develop over a three to five year period, during which time HTCC-based materials will achieve widespread use in a broad spectrum of military, industrial, and commercial electronic applications driven by the need to reduce system packaging envelop coupled with the need to use more efficient, high temperature semiconductor materials that have higher heat fluxes and higher heat dissipation rates. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Connell, James ADVANCED THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES MA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99591 5371 MANU 9146 1468 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419361 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Injection Molded Copper Composites for High K Structures. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop copper-graphite and copper-SiC composites with 40-50V% reinforcement loading using a microencapsulated powder metallurgy process. These microencapsulated powders will be combined with injection molding for the low cost fabrication of highly complex parts such as a finner radiator. The project will demonstrate an economical solution to metal matrix composite microstructural control and reliability problems, and will develop a new, high performance class of materials able to be used with injection molding and rapid prototyping equipment. The broader impacts from this technology would be first demonstration of injection molded metal matrix composites, opening up and entirely new range of properties/cost for performance materials. The combination of high thermal performance and low cost solves a number of problems with waste heat management in automotive/transportation, space vehicle, heating and climate control, as well as electronics and power conditioning applications. Furthermore, the ability to injection mold highly loaded metal matrix composites will be immediately translatable into structural, optical, and wear/mechanical components. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sherman, Andrew POWDERMET INC OH Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99994 5371 MANU 9146 1468 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419363 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: High Performance Polycarbonate Nanocomposites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop high performance polycarbonate nanocomposites. Polycarbonate possess poor abrasion and chemical resistance and shows crazing and cracking upon stress. Incorporation of clay particles in a polymer matrix can overcome above-mentioned problems. However, the major obstacle to successful fabrication of polycarbonate-clay nanocomposites is related to the thermal stability of organoclay. Degradation of organoclay leads to decreased mechanical properties and lowered transparency accompanying with bad color. Nanoparticles are also good additives for improving mechanical properties and abrasion of polymers. The proposed polycarbonate nanocomposites will be used in a wide range of applications, such as automobiles, cell phone, computers and other business equipment, sporting goods, consumer electronics, household appliances, CDs, DVDs, food storage containers and bottles, which require polycarbonate to be hard, stiff, tough and color stable. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Zhu, Jin NEI CORPORATION NJ Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99991 5371 AMPP 9163 1984 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419374 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Highly Active and Selective Hydroxylation Catalysts for Combinatorial Biocatalysis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of using "directed evolution" to create highly active, selective hydroxylation enzymes for use in combinatorial biocatalysis of potential drugs. Such protein catalysts will be capable of direct hydroxylation of non-activated carbon centers without oxidation of other sensitive functionality; a transformation that is virtually impossible using traditional chemistry. Using highly active bacterial enzymes as a starting point, random mutants will be generated and clones capable of targeted hydroxylations will be selected by using by using high-through-put screening methods. Existing bacterial P450 enzymes do not have the required selectivity. Mammalian P450 systems that work effectively in-vivo, are difficult to express and are slow in catalysis. The potential of this technology for combinatorial library creation will be demonstrated using drug scaffolds. The commercial application of the proposed technology will initially be to provide research oxidation catalysts for the development of new drug candidates. New classes of oxygenated candidates for testing will be prepared. Subsequently, the catalysts may be used in the actual synthesis of the new drugs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lalonde, James Altus Biologics Inc MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 0 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419383 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Software for Micro RNA Detection and Analysis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to refine a neural network method for the identification of functional RNA molecules, specifically with extension to eukaryotes. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of antisense RNA therapeutics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Fogel, Gary NATURAL SELECTION, INCORPORATED CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 98909 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419401 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Nanoparticle-Stabilized Vapor-Selective Membranes. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project focuses on vapor-selective membranes that are stabilized through the addition of nanoscale fillers. Vapor-selective membranes, which preferentially permeate the larger molecules in a gas mixture, are used in industrial separation applications such as organic monomer recovery in polyolefin production and natural gas dew point adjustment. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a membrane material with modest selectivity, is typically used in separations of this type. Polymers with superior selectivity properties have been identified, but these materials suffer performance degradation over time due to physical aging. Recently, we have discovered that the addition of certain nanoscale fillers stabilizes these highly-selective polymers. In the proposed project, such fillers will be added to high-performance, vapor-selective polymers to yield novel, stable nanocomposite membranes. Successful development of the proposed membranes would allow the recovery of hydrogen from refinery streams that cannot be cost-effectively separated with conventional technologies, including currently available membranes. Flaring of these off-gas streams results in an estimated annual loss of $300 million to U.S. refineries. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Merkel, Tim MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH, INC. CA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 1505 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419406 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Ultrananocrystalline Diamond as Wear Resistant and Protective Coating for Mechanical Shaft Seal Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop wear resistant and protective coatings for mechanical shaft seals based on a novel material called Ultrananocrystalline (tm) diamond. Diamond, because of its hardness, chemical inertness and low friction coefficient is an obvious candidate for coating mechanical shaft seals. Conventional CVD diamond technology (based on H2/CH4 gas chemistry), which produces microcrystalline (or nanocrystalline) diamond is not suitable because of large grain sizes and high internal stresses. The new process based on Ar/CH4 gas chemistry produces diamond with small grain sizes (2-5 nm) and a surface roughness of about 20-30 nm which is ideally suited for such applications. Mechanical shaft seals are used in almost every industry. The main functions of these seals are to ensure that the pumping fluid does not escape the system and to protect the fluids from contaminants. Presently, silicon carbide (SiC) is the material of choice for most of the seals used in these industries. However, several studies have shown that due to poor friction properties of this material, almost 20% of the energy is lost due to friction. By improving the efficiency of shaft seals in these devices by just factor of two, it is estimated that a worldwide energy savings of 6x109 Kw-hr/year could be achieved. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Netzel, James ADVANCED DIAMOND TECHNOLOGIES IL Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99824 5371 AMPP 9163 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419421 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Enhancing the Efficacy of a Novel Cancer Drug through Combinatorial Chemistry. 0419421 Stevenson This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to enhance the efficacy of a new anti-cancer drug, based on a novel lead molecule, through combinatorial chemistry. Preliminary data have shown that this drug, in higher doses, has the ability to kill cancerous cells while leaving non-cancerous cells unaffected. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of anti-cancer therapeutics for treatment of breast cancer. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Phillips, Paige Luna Innovations, Incorporated VA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99927 5371 BIOT 9107 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419441 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Microchip Assay for Glycosylated Hemoglobin. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop an integrated microchip system for glycosylated hemoglobin (GHb). The approach adapts existing protocols for GHb detection using capillary gel electrophoresis and pulsed amperometric detection. The commercial application of this project will be to provide an economic glucose monitoring device for diabetics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Willard, Dale Advanced MicroLabs, LLC CO George B. Vermont Standard Grant 98520 5371 1505 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419445 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Ceramic Matrix Infiltration Process for Net-Shape Reinforcement YAG Preforms to Produce Cost-Effective High Temperature Ceramic Matrix Composites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a low cost high temperature oxide ceramic composite for turbine blade application, with 1700C service temperature capability, excellent strength retention, creep resistance, high fracture toughness and isotropy. Tailored porosity structures have been fabricated with interconnected passages suitable for infusion with an oxide matrix for high strength composites. Sapphire/alumina chemically modified ceramics (CMC) have been tested at high temperatures and have shown three orders of magnitude better creep resistance than polycrystalline alumina composites. The solutions provided by this new technology for ceramic composites will address the serious cost/performance problems associated with current fiber based oxide ceramic composites. By elimination of high cost fiber and preforming steps, these oxide composites will cost orders of magnitude less than current state of the art oxide composites. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Roy, Ronald Foster-Miller Inc MA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99950 5371 AMPP 9163 1984 1771 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419453 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Novel Wireless Combined Neural Recording and Stimulating Headstage. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project will develop a miniature implantable, remotely powered, and wireless recording and stimulating device. The ability to electrically stimulate the nervous tissue using the same implant with the same electrode arrays would allow for experimental paradigms involving a real-time feedback loop, where the current state of the neural area-of-interest serves to modulate the manner in which it is stimulated. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of neuroprosthetics. The neuroprosthetic market is projected to be of the order of 1 billion dollar a year by 2005. There are over 220,000 paraplegics in the United States and 1 million worldwide who are paralyzed from spinal cord injury or from multiple sclerosis. Age related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa affect more than 10 million people around the world. When this implantable wireless recording and stimulation system becomes available, human clinical prosthetics designed to cure or alleviate these afflictions will come one step closer to reality. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Morizio, James Triangle Biosystems, Inc. NC Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99250 5371 BIOT 9181 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419456 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: New Approaches for Including Renewable Resource Materials in Epoxy Resin Products to Reduce Styrene Emissions and Provide Recycling Capability. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project to develop a variety of thermoset plastics incorporating biodegradable polymer components as replacement for environmentally undesirable styrene reactants. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of renewable resource based biodegradable polymers for broad industrial use. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wagener, Earl TETRAMER TECHNOLOGIES, L.L.C. SC Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99996 5371 BIOT 9181 9150 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0419457 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A New Hydrogen Source From Toxic Hydrogen Sulfide. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will target the development of a process to produce valuable hydrogen and sulfur from toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Current commercial technology converts H2S into water and sulfur, thereby losing a valuable source of hydrogen. Sulfur polymerization mechanisms for the proposed process have determined using computational chemistry. As a result, new sulfur polymerization agents were identified and will be verified experimentally in this work. New catalyst supports have also been identified and will be evaluated. The amount of hydrogen consumption to remove sulfur represents from 25 to 40% of the total hydrogen requirement. Hence, putting the hydrogen in H2S on total recycle within a refinery could significantly reduce capital and operating costs. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Plummer, Mark MPr&d, LLC CO Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99134 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419460 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Multiwavelength Laser Spectroscopy System for Non-Invasive Bio-Assay. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I research project will demonstrate the feasibility of a light source for a portable and wearable near infrared, multi-wavelength spectroscopy unit. This will enable portable, non-invasive blood spectroscopy by the displacement of tungsten filament based light sources with compact, efficient light sources based on semiconductor lasers. A laser technology platform that is scalable in a cost effective manner to access the clinically relevant 1350nm to 2450nm wavelength range, which includes an optimal fingerprint range for the sensing of blood ethanol, urea or glucose, will be demonstrated. This will result in a robust and efficient light source / spectroscopy platform that will enable dramatic performance improvements and size reductions in systems for optically based non-invasive monitoring of human health. The commercial application of this project will in the management and treatment of diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that affects millions of Americans. It is well known that much of the chronic damage from this disease results from inadequate monitoring of blood sugar levels over time. A robust strategy for real time monitoring and intervention in glucose level variation will have a revolutionary impact on the quality of life for these millions, and millions more worldwide. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Thornton, Robert r. l. thornton and associates CA George B. Vermont Standard Grant 99800 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419472 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Microelectrochemical Assays for Malaria Parasites. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project is to develop an electrochemical detection method for analysis of liver stage plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites, with the intent of eliminating interferences, while achieving speed and sensitivity. The commercial application of this project will be that the proposed product could lead to an effective malaria vaccine, which could have significant impact on world health. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Aguilar, Zoraida VEGRANDIS, LLC AR Michael R. Ambrose Standard Grant 100000 9150 BIOT 9181 9150 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419526 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: High Rate Synthesis of Diamond and Other Superhard Materials. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will further develop a prototype high pressure/high temperature apparatus, which will be capable of generating pressures of 10-30 GPa at 2000-5000C in mm3 volumes. Having realized this objective, samples of high quality single crystal and polycrystalline diamond by controlled crystallization from a high purity carbon melt will be prepared and evaluated. This will substantiate the unique capabilities of the apparatus. Concurrently functionally-graded nano-TiC/WC/Co and nano-diamond/WC/Co anvil materials will be prepared. This new class of superhard/tough materials as well as the process to fabricate them at high rates will have applications including punch and die sets, wire drawing dies, forging blanks, drill bits, machine tools for example. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Voronov, Oleg DIAMOND MATERIALS INC NJ Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1984 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419555 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Portable Water Ecosystem Oxygenator. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIlR) Phase I project will develop a portable device for oxygenating streams and other surface water bodies using a combination of aeration and Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF), a process often used in settling tanks. The commercial application of this project will be to improve surface water quality in a variety of water bodies and to help restore habitats. The proposed product is expected to find a place in three specific market segments of the U.S. environmental industry, the ecosystem restoration market, the bioremediation market and the wastewater treatment market. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Thompson, Clay BLUEINGREEN AR Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 9150 BIOT 9150 9104 0313040 Water Pollution 0419557 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Innovative Selective Laser Sintering Rapid Manufacturing Technique Using Nanotechnology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will use a rapid manufacturing method to produce high performance structural components. This process will combine nanotechnology with Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), and a Rapid Prototyping (RP) additive layered build fabrication method. The use of SLS RP technique will facilitate true, flexible manufacturing of small batch of parts, while avoiding product-line tooling, under utilization of skilled labor and the need to maintain high overhead facilities costs. The SLS rapid manufacturing method will contribute to the concept of just in time manufacturing as well as lean manufacturing. Current thermoplastic polymer powders (Nylon 11 or Nylon 12) used in SLS are lacking in fire resistance and high strength/high heat resistance characteristics. It is anticipated that nanomodification of Nylon 11 will result in the expected polymer performance characteristics, i.e., fire resistance, high strength and high heat resistance for Nylon 11 and will expand the market opportunities for SLS users and Nylon 11 resin manufacturers. The broader impacts from this technology could be an unique, low specific gravity polymer powders (Nylon 11) that are fire-resistant, possess high strength and high heat resistance that ordinarily require large amounts of flame retardant additives as well as large amounts of reinforcing agents, and additives. The use of nanoparticles avoids the use of hazardous flame retardant additives such as halogenated or nitrogen/phosphorous materials, all of which contribute to smoke and toxicity when burning. Use of small amounts of nanoparticles (~7%) provides sufficient strength and heat resistance as compared to 20 to 30% conventional inorganic filler (glass fiber, mineral fiber, etc). The multifunctional characteristics of the nanoparticles could lead to low specific gravity polymer powders and substantial weight savings in finished part fabrication. This new rapid manufacturing method will be greatly embraced by SLS users who are qualified to provide parts to the U.S. Defense Industry. The ability to quickly and economically provide spare parts for aging legacy weapon systems through a seamless procurement mechanism of just in time could produce enormous cost savings. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Koo, Joseph Koo & Associates Internatinal, Inc. TX Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99997 5371 MANU 9146 1467 1052 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419578 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Local Vapor Fuel Cell. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I proposal will overcome the most critical problems associated with the construction of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC): complex, bulky and heavy cell structures, low fuel efficiency, and high cost. These issues have severely impeded the successful commercialization of DMFCs for powering portable electronic devices. A commercially viable local vapor fuel cell (LVFC) will be developed which features (1) an integrated system design (with a compact, light-weight, and simple cell structure), (2) a highly efficient fuel conversion (high electro-catalytic efficiency and low fuel crossover), and (3) low cost. The high fuel efficiency is achieved by making the anode catalyst operate on fuel vapors at a higher local temperature. PEM fuel cells generate electricity from oxygen and hydrogen, and emit only water and heat as by-products. Fuel cells offer a great combination of high power generating efficiencies with superior environmental performance (no noise and pollution). The fuel cell is commonly considered to be the engine that will drive the future hydrogen economy of the US and the world. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Huang, Wen Nanotek Instruments, Inc. OH Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 9150 AMPP 9163 9150 1972 1505 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419579 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Combining Molecular Design and Chemical Process Simulation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of integrating molecular modeling with chemical process simulation in order to provide a mainstream tool for chemical process development and molecular design of custom compounds. Discontinuous molecular dynamics (DMD) simulation is combined with thermodynamic perturbation theory (TPT) to provide a basis for highly leveraged computational effort in all aspects of molecular modeling. Demonstrations would include applications for thiophenes, phosphates, and octanol/water partitioning. Extrapolations to polymers would involve characterizing PRISM parameters based on molecular simulations of oligomers. Molecular modeling represents the future of chemical product design, but its present isolation from process design creates substantial obstacles to its use as a mainstream tool for the majority of chemical engineers. The resulting product will be an option within a suite of Process Models. With this option, engineers will be able to draw the chemical structure of a newly conceived product, estimate its properties from DMD/TPT simulation, and economically evaluate the chemical process design within 24 hours. This capability will reduce dramatically the time from conception to production of new compounds and materials. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Massey, Nathan CHEMSTATIONS INC TX Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99173 5371 1505 AMPP 9163 1938 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419585 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Microfluidic CD Biochips for Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project proposes to develop a novel microchip based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay on compact disk (CD-ELISA) for rapid detection of biological molecules. The commercial application of this project will be for detection of food-borne pathogens and toxins. The proposed system is expected to have the advantages of low cost, simple operation, parallel detection, fast response, and ease of automation. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Tang, I-Ching Bioprocessing Innovative Company, Inc. OH George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 1505 BIOT 9107 9102 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419602 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Low-Cost Metal Foams Produced by Novel Manufacturing Technique. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I will develop a novel method to fabricate low-cost foamed aluminum materials that will exhibit high-energy absorption capability, high strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios. There has been a significant interest in porous metal foams for use in the automotive, marine, and aerospace industries. Most methods of producing the metal foams are quite expensive and cannot be easily scaled up to mass production. Commercially available foamed materials are sometimes difficult to machine or to join because of the presence of abrasive ceramic particles within the metal matrix required for the foaming process. This novel foaming process will be capable of producing closed-cell foamed aluminum panel or rod forms in various cell sizes and densities using a low-cost manufacturing approach. The foamed aluminum will be produced at lower cost in comparison to current state-of-the-art foaming methods. The foamed aluminum can be used in automotive and aerospace applications requiring high strength and stiffness to weight ratios. The broader impact from this technology would be an aluminum foaming technology that could be more versatile, economical, and tailorable than current foaming processes. Conventional machining and welding techniques can be used to shape and join the foamed aluminum. The foaming technology will also be applicable to other metal systems, such as copper and magnesium. The foaming process will open a wide range of technological applications within the aerospace, architectural, marine, and automotive industries, due to the material's high strength and stiffness to weight ratio. Lightweight foamed aluminum will enable high fuel efficiencies and improved crashworthiness through energy absorption in automobiles and aircraft. The foamed aluminum material should exhibit high sound-absorption capabilities and be more structurally isotropic than honeycomb aluminum panels. Lightweight foamed aluminum can be used in architectural applications for signs and panels- by itself or in sandwiched composite panels. The proposed fabrication approach should produce foamed aluminum at 20-40% less cost in comparison to conventional powder metallurgy techniques. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sommer, Jared Sommer Materials Research, Inc. UT Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99938 5371 MANU 9146 1984 1771 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419607 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Rapid Detection of Infectious Agents. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a biosensor for the rapid detection of infectious agents such as pathogenic bacteria. The key technology in the proposed work is the use of magnetostrictive materials, which when exposed to a time varying magnetic field, can be made to resonant at a characteristic frequency. The resultant oscillation amplitudes can be monitored by a pick up coil. The commercial application of this project will be in a number of areas, including the detection of biological warfare agents, bacterial infections in hospitals, and contaminations in food and water supplies. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Wikle, Howard Weld Star Technology, Inc AL Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 9150 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419608 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Compact, Lightweight Flexible Fuel Reformer for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project evaluates the advantages of a Flexible Fuel Reformer (FFR) for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) that employs unique mechanical construction and operation to enable extended catalyst life in the presence of coke and sulfur. Phase I research activities will measure and model basic functional parameters such as pressure drop, flow distribution, heat transfer, temperature distribution, reaction kinetics, and catalyst deactivation and regeneration rates as they relate to hydrogen production. This simple reaction model will be extended to a transient behavior model that will predict the commercial feasibility of the reformer concept. The FFR will be able to operate with a variety of liquid fuels such as gasoline and diesel fuel. Because it will be made in modular form it will be easily sized to produce hydrogen for fuel cells which generate anywhere from 5kW-50kW of power. The FFR will be the first compact, lightweight, economical reformer able to provide a steady supply of hydrogen using distillate fuel. This capability will result in widespread commercial application. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Whittenberger, William CATACEL CORP OH Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 98000 5371 1505 AMPP 9163 5371 1972 1505 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419647 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: A New Hyperspectral Imaging Spectrometer. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I research project will develop a hyperspectral imaging spectrometer for high-throughput, low-light biomedical imaging. This instrument will collect optical spectra for hundreds of picture elements (pixels) simultaneously from a small working distance, enable multiplexing with fluorescent dyes that have overlapping spectra, avoid light losses from bandpass filters, and allow accurate removal of fluorescent background. Although spectral imaging instruments are available for microscopic applications and for remote sensing from the air, instruments with sufficient spatial and spectral resolution for fluorescent gel scanning or multi-well plate reading of signals from cells is very limited. The proposed instrument will fill this gap with an innovative optical design that utilizes the asymmetry of "push broom" imaging spectrometers to efficiently gather light and greatly reduce optical aberrations. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of biomedical imaging. The proposed instrument will be valuable in biomedical research, disease diagnosis, and drug development. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Swanson, Rand RESONON INC. MT Michael R. Ambrose Standard Grant 99999 1505 BIOT 9181 9150 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0419651 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Hydrodesulfurization Catalysts for the Production of Ultra-Clean Transportation Fuels. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate new materials for use in industrial hydrodesulfurization (HDS) processing. This project will focus on transition metal phosphide catalysts, a novel class of compounds recently discovered to be highly active towards HDS, and the effect of the support material on their chemical and catalytic properties. The support materials that we will investigate for this project are mixed oxides consisting of silica, zirconia, or titania. The primary objectives of Phase I research are: o Determine the nature of the interaction between the active phase and the mixed oxide supports. o Determine how the support chemistry and microstructure affect the catalytic activity and stability of a transition metal phosphide catalyst. Commercial opportunities exist for new HDS catalysts capable of producing ultra-clean transportation fuels. The environmental regulations being implemented world-wide to reduce the impact of pollutants such as SO2, responsible for acid rain, from car exhaust, along with the declining quality of fossil fuel feedstocks, will provide substantial motivation for the refineries to seek alternative catalyst materials. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sawhill, Stephanie SIENNA TECHNOLOGIES, INC. WA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419659 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: High-Efficiency PTFE Membranes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will support the development of high efficiency expanded-PTFE (ePTFE) membranes. Inexpensive, asymmetric membranes will be developed, which offer high filtration efficiencies in the nanometer range and considerable energy savings over conventionally fabricated membranes. In this Phase I work, we will demonstrate our concept and produce membranes which are capable of achieving 99% filtration efficiency in the 20 nm size range, and which show >50% savings in energy requirements over the best performing competing products. These advanced ePTFE membranes have application in existing industries as diverse as air purification, microelectronics and pharmaceuticals manufacturing, viral filtration and for the protection of sensors. Our manufacturing process can be performed on a batch or a roll-to-roll basis and could ultimately be adapted to produce a family of ePTFE membranes with multifunctional separations capabilities which do not sacrifice cost for efficacy. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pryce-Lewis, Hilton GVD CORPORATION MA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99785 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419666 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Automated, High-Throughput Protein Line-Array Biochips. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop an automated method for fabricating and analyzing microarrays without the use of a robotic spotter. The method involves the use of a PDMS (poly- dimethylsiloxane) microfluidic tool for depositing and interrogating linear protein arrays with an interface to 96 well plates. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of protein microarrays for use in biological and pharmaceutical research. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Nelson, Bryce GenTel Incorporated WI George B. Vermont Standard Grant 98079 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419671 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Variable Diameter Fiber Reinforced Biopolymers for Minimally Invasive Orthopedic Implants. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project proposes to develop a new composite to be used in hip replacements. The composite includes variable diameter ceramic fibers in bone cement. The commercial application of this project will be in the field of orthopedics . The use of minimally invasive orthopedic implants, using injectable, polymer based biomaterials with high strength and stress resistance, will offer a new approach to treating orthopedic fractures and ailments. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Mason, James Granger Engineering IN George B. Vermont Standard Grant 99988 1505 BIOT 9181 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0419682 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Carbon-Coated Nano-Structured Electrodes for Next-Generation Lithium-Ion Ultra-Capacitors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the key technical challenge for realizing the substantial improvements in high storage capacity, high charge-discharge rates promised by the next generation of nanomaterial-based lithium-ion electrodes in supercapacitor configurations. The innovative approach proposed uses mono-disperse nano-sized particles of lithium titanate spinel (anode), individually coated with a structured carbon overlayer, and compacted into appropriate structures for performance testing in a thin-film hybrid superconductor prototype. The proposed design should provide dramatically enhanced access to lithium ion and electrical connectivity involving the entire assembly of nanomaterials. Industry estimates the value of the primary battery markets over $13 billion, secondary battery markets for electronics applications , toys and games, and telephones around $2 billion; while NiMH cell sales are slowly falling ($1.5 billion), lithium-ion cells are holding steady at $2 billion. Success here will provide a breakthrough in performance for cost effective electrode materials that will stimulate significant growth in the commercial lithium-ion power device markets. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Spitler, Timothy ALTAIR NANOMATERIALS INC NV Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 9150 AMPP 9163 9150 1972 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419700 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: An Improved Multi-Sensor Manufacturing System for Scrap Metal Sorting. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project will combine two methods of optoelectronic sortation onto a single manufacturing platform for high speed sorting of scrap metal. The project is aimed at sorting scrap metals and alloys, both low Z and high Z, at previously unattainable accuracy and speed;however, it may be applicable to other material sorting and identification applications such as for chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and ceramic materials. The technology platform of optoelectronic manufacturing technologies for analyzing copper-rich, aluminum-rich, zinc-rich, titaniumrich, cobalt- and nickel-rich alloys at previously unachievable accuracy and high speeds into known alloys to meet smelter alloy specifications. The technology platform is not only aimed at sorting alloys into base metal groups, but can also sort a wide range of alloys by each alloy grade or type. The system is fully automatic and does not require operator intervention. The broader impact from this project could be a new technology that potentially could revolutionize the way nonferrous metals from plants are handled. Instead of disposing of the metals in a landfill, or selling them as metal mixtures, where they will contribute to land and water pollution or be sold at low prices, they will instead be separated, refined, sorted and resold into commercial end uses as high-grade, recycled metal. This project is aimed at validating small scale, cost effective rapid sortation technology having the potential of replacing large smelting and refining operations with small scale sorting operations. The market niche opportunity represents about $2 billion of a total potential $50 billion worldwide aluminum smelting and casting market. Mixed nonferrous concentrates from these sources and mixed scrap metal from thousands of metals dealers and scrap yards will be upgraded, creating significant value. Moreover, The new technology will also reduce environmental pollution because it does not generate emissions such as those produced by refineries, metal smelters and heavy-media plants. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Spencer, David wTe Corporation MA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9146 1464 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419707 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Production and Characterization of Recombinant Gelatin in Transgenic Rice Cell Cultures. This Small Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project will evaluate a rice cell culture system for the production of recombinant gelatin (rGelatin) designed for improved capsule performance. The commercial application of this project will be on capsule manufacturers serving the pharmaceutical industry. Plant systems used to create rGelatin will offer a lower cost production system compared to other recombinant platforms. Such a recombinant product will be safer than animal-derived gelatin and more acceptable to many consumers. Further, the proposed technology will have the potential to produce customized rGelatin for specific applications. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Baez, Julio FibroGen, Inc. CA George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 1505 BIOT 9109 0201000 Agriculture 0419715 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: High-Performance Hydrocarbon Reforming Catalysts for Fuel Cell Systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will focus on the development of high-performance hydrocarbon reforming catalysts for fuel processors of fuel cell systems. The objective of this research project is to determine feasibility of novel composite materials approach for development of reforming catalysts with high activity for hydrocarbon reforming reactions, resistance to degradation via carbon deposition, and tolerance to sulfur impurities in the hydrocarbon fuels. The approach is based on the identification of formulations and use of synthesis methods to provide ultimate dispersion of catalytic metals within a stable support material that contributes to the reforming reactions. The Phase I research results will establish an approach for designing highly active and durable catalysts for use in fuel cell systems operating on existing fuels such as natural gas, propane, diesel, gasoline, and aviation fuels. New energy systems are required that can operate on fossil fuels and generate less greenhouse gases and polluting emissions. The proposed program supports the nation's goals of increasing energy efficiency, reducing polluting emissions, and reducing the use of imported energy resources to meet U.S. needs. The proposed catalyst technology is applicable to a number of power generation applications in residential, industrial, automotive, and military markets. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Swartz, Scott NEXTECH MATERIALS LTD OH Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419718 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Powder-Powder Mixing and Powder-Liquid Mixing by a Novel High-Intensity Vibrational Mixer. This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of using high intensity resonant vibrational energy as the basis for developing an efficient, scalable mixer for solid-solid and liquid-solid powder processing applications. Conventional powder mixers are ineffective when mixing very small particles or when loading particles into viscous liquids. Currently available mixers cannot reach the level of homogeneity that industry demands. Vibratory mixers have the capacity to meet these mixing demands, but the existing technology is limited in intensity and has not been shown to be scalable. This project will extend this technology to particle mixing applications required for the powder processing industry. The broader impacts from this technology could enhance the scientific understanding of solid-solid and liquid-solid mixing in a high intensity resonant vibrational field. More generally, the results will have scientific merit that can be extended to other complex, nonlinear dynamic systems. The resulting technological benefits will allow on site mixing and color blending in addition to custom formulation of nanocomposite coatings. By enabling more powder processing applications, new high performance materials will be realized. Replacing conventional coating techniques with powder coating applications will reduce VOC emissions substantially. This technology could enhance the durability of maintenance type coatings, which in turn will gain in popularity due to improved quality and functionality. The initial commercial targets of this technology will be the polymer powder coating and particle-loaded polymer industries. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Pierce, Joel RESODYN CORPORATION MT Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 5371 MANU 9150 9146 1468 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419728 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Identification of Nematicidal Peptides by Phage Display. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop transgenic plants that are resistant to plant-parasitic nematode infection and damage. The approach is to use phage display technology to identify small peptides that bind to and interfere with the function of important intestinal proteins. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of nematode control of plants. With the phasing out of methyl bromide, which has caused environmentally negative impacts, the agricultural community faces a major loss of a product that protected plants against soil-borne pathogens including nematodes. The development of transgenic plants that target plant-parasitic nematodes will alleviate one of the major problems of growing crops. Furthermore, the transgenic plants will reduce the amount of chemical nematicides that are being used for plant-parasitic nematode control. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Hresko, Michelle Divergence, Inc. MO Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9109 0201000 Agriculture 0419730 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Support Material Characterization for Ultrasonic Rapid Prototyping. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will result in the characterization of the mechanical and physical properties requirements for a support material for an ultrasonic consolidation rapid prototyping process. Ultrasonic excitation is known to affect the deformation characteristics of metals, either through superposition effects as a high frequency cyclic load, or through excitation of the lattice structure, resulting in enhanced dislocation mobility. Experimental generation of a shear stress-strain curve for aluminum undergoing shear loading with superimposed ultrasonic excitation is required to determine what properties a support material must have in order to ensure that uniform contact stresses can be maintained in the interlaminar zone during material deposition in ultrasonic consolidation. Work in this area has been undertaken for tensile mean stresses only, with superimposed ultrasonic shear. This project will provide shear loading on the specimens, and ultrasonic shear, combined with extensive characterization of the resulting dislocation substructures in the bond zones. This will contribute to increased fundamental understanding of plastic deformation of metals in the presence of ultrasonic excitation. The broader impact from this technology could be the ability to expand processing capability in wire drawing, extrusion, tube drawing, and to ball milling to name a few. The data that is derived from this technology could be of great interest to scientists concerned with ultrasonic effects on deformation of metals. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG White, Dawn Solidica, Inc. MI Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 98217 5371 MANU 9146 9102 1467 1052 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419732 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Device for In-Ovo Imaging of the Early Chicken Embryo. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project will develop methods to automatically image and detect the early embryo in the chicken egg while sustaining hatch. A freshly laid fertile egg contains quiescent cells known collectively as the blastoderm. The blastoderm is covered by a membrane, and its position is not fixed as it rotates freely near the yolk surface. Automation of either the injection or sampling process mandates a procedure that automates the imaging of the blastoderm. Research will focus on optimizing hardware and software to produce an imaging system that can be used to sense the blastoderm in two dimensions. The commercial application of this project will be on the poultry industry, for production of pharmaceuticals in eggs and / or for producing transgenic chickens with superior traits. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Rybarczyk, Phillip EMBREX, INC. NC Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99798 5371 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419742 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Plant Bioreporters for Arsenic. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research Phase I project is to develop genetically-modified tobacco and fern plants to sense bioavailable arsenic, a humam carcinogen, that is widely dispersed in the environment. The commercial application of this project will be to assist in detection and cleanup of environmental contaminants. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Elless, Mark EDENSPACE SYSTEMS CORP VA Michael R. Ambrose Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9104 0313040 Water Pollution 0419757 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Lithium Reservoir Nanocarbons for Lithium Ion Batteries. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will leverage recently-published research which indicates that new types of anode nanocarbons can produce high reversible lithium (Li) storage capacity and stable cycle capability. The work will use hollow carbon nanofibers to produce Li-ion electrode performance which is close to or surpasses theoretical values (i.e., the electrical performance of LiC6). The unique morphology of these fibers, i.e., a hollow core, stacked cup, structure and open, graphitic planes, is expected to facilitate reversible Li-ion intercalation. Over the past decade, lithium ion has developed into a mainstream battery technology with considerable commercial impact. Safe, rechargeable, inexpensive Li-ion batteries are enjoying a growing customer base in diverse markets - from consumer electronics to space vehicles. As mature as this industry is, there are still good prospects for achieving major performance improvements through the use of advanced materials. The unique morphology of the carbon nanofibers and the fact that these materials can readily be transitioned into an existing client base of Li-ion battery producers and users holds great promise for this cutting-edge research. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Jacobsen, Ronald APPLIED SCIENCES, INC. OH Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99497 5371 AMPP 9163 1972 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419802 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: An Efficient, Linear, Free Radical Source for Compound Thin Film Deposition. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an efficient and flexible device to produce a neutral, linearly-extended, free radical flux for photovoltaic and semiconductor industry applications. This source can produce atomic chalcogen species (sulfur, selenium, tellurium) and other types of free radicals (such as atomic oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen or chlorine) for formation of various compound thin films by reactive methods. The project objectives are to increase the chalcogen utilization efficiency, to reduce equipment maintenance cost and to offer higher deposition rate and lower substrate temperature without film quality reduction. The source is flexible, can run over a great range of process parameters, and can be incorporated into many kinds processes such as metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), evaporation or sputtering for reactive thin film deposition. Most importantly, this source can increase the production efficiency of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) and CdTe thin films, which are the next generation of solar energy absorbers. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Guo, Sheyu Energy Photovoltaics, Inc. NJ Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99862 5371 AMPP 9163 1972 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419821 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Continuous Adsorption Technology for Oxygen Enrichment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate a novel technology that exploits micro-scale enhanced heat and mass transport phenomena, and micro-fabrication mass production methods. The proposed device will have no moving parts, will operate at ambient pressure, and can be used as a micro-component or assembled into a larger architecture to perform separations at high production rates. Enriching the oxygen content of combustion air with a device as easy to use as an air filter would increase the efficiency of domestic furnaces and hot water heaters, would decrease fuel use and CO2 and NOx pollution in steel making and aluminum production, and could even enhance the performance of ultra-high altitude air-breathing engines. At the smaller scale, continuous adsorption provides the simple, reliable micro-architecture needed to purify fuel cell feed gases. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Walker, David Separation design Group, LLC PA Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 99622 5371 AMPP 9163 1417 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419827 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: A Smart Disposable Plastic Lab-On-A-Chip for Point-Of-Care Monitoring of Cardiac Markers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a rapid and reliable point-of-care system for detection of cardiovascular disease and myocardial infarction biomarkers. The biochip proposed in this work could significantly reduce the detection time while simultaneously detecting multiple cardiac markers. The commercial application of this project will be in the healthcare equipment market aimed at emergency monitoring and care. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Lee, Jae Siloam Biosciences LLC OH George B. Vermont Standard Grant 99450 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419835 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: System Engineering of a Ranque-Hilsch Thermocycler. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an improved thermocycler for high speed PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) using a systems engineering approach, thereby improving the throughput of PCR by two orders of magnitude. The commercial application of this project will be to improve the performance characteristics of a critical instrument in clinical and biological research. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES IIP ENG Whitney, Scott Megabase Research Products NE Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99780 9150 BIOT 9181 9150 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419855 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Actively Seeded Microwave Processing of Multifunctional Silicon Carbide. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will have a novel approach for the rapid fabrication of low-cost and net-shape, silicon carbide components with specifically tailored multifunctional properties. These materials will be produced by microwave-induced pyrolysis of an actively seeded, high-purity preceramic polymer. The control of processing parameters will allow for direct control over material micro/nano-structure, mechanical, electrical and/or thermal characteristics, and physical properties including porosity and gas permeability. A variety of polymeric precursors to silicon carbide have been formulated that contain silicon and undergo a polymer-to-ceramic conversion when heated at temperatures above 800C, which allows the production of highly three-dimensionally covalent refractory components that are difficult to fabricate via the traditional powder processing. In order to reduce processing time and provide a larger throughput rate, nonconventional heating systems, such as microwave heating, are being investigated. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Singh, Manju AMSETA CORP NY Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99993 1505 AMPP 9163 9102 1984 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419861 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Development of Smart Material Using Natural Fiber Reinforced Composite. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project targets the development of an innovative environmentally friendly active-passive natural fiber-reinforced composite (APNFC) material that can be used for control of noise and vibrations in a wide variety of noisy environments. The development of this innovative material concept is a result of integrating two emerging technologies, natural fiber-reinforced composites having excellent acoustical properties, and state-of-the-art active noise control technology. The unique design of the proposed composite material will reduce noise transmission over a broad band of frequencies through a combination of absorption and dissipation phenomena. The success of this research will revolutionize the design of practically all noise generating machines. This material can lead to manufacture of a wide variety of 'quiet' machinery and/or appliances; for example, quiet vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers, washers/dryers, and aircraft cabins. Currently, no material is known to exist which has the capability to provide passive-plus-active control. Noise and vibration control pose a challenging problem in various engineering disciplines. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Whitmer, Christopher VIBROACOUSTICS SOLUTIONS INC IA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 1984 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419871 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Microfluidic Injector for Small, High Efficiency Engines. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop and demonstrate a MEMS-scale integrated microfluidic fuel injector for small internal combustion engines to improve their efficiency. This will allow the use of these engines in small autonomous aircraft for long endurance science missions. The development of a high efficiency engine with a microfluidic fuel injector will allow long range missions to be flown. The long range, long endurance capability of the unmanned air vehicles (UAV) hinges on the availability of a suitable high efficiency engine: the MEMS fuel injector enables complete burning of the micron-sized fuel droplets, thereby boosting fuel efficiency. The cleaner burning also results in reduced emissions. The same technology can be applied to larger engines as well for other applications. Work is ongoing with several university groups and federal agencies to develop UAVs for scientific and tactical missions. The microfluidic injector developed in this effort can also be modified and made available for other manufacturers' engines. It can be used to improve fuel efficiency, and reduce emissions on other small engines, such as those used in garden tools, and recreational/sport vehicles. The spin-off applications of the core microfluidic ejection technologies include: biomedical and chemical sampling and delivery, direct writing and packaging for electronics/optoelectronics manufacturing, solid freeform fabrication, optical device fabrication, advanced spraying techniques, electronic chip and board cooling, etc. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sherwood, Tom KalScott Engineering Inc. KS Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 5371 AMPP 9163 9150 1443 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419876 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: A Novel Electrospray Ionization Ion Mobility Spectrometer for Real-Time Detection of Biotoxins and Other Proteins. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I research project will demonstrate an innovative application of ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS) and electrospray ionization (ESI) aimed at separation and detection of biologically active macromolecules in environmental and food product sample matrices. This innovative application of ESI-IMS will enable real time aqueous phase measurement of protein bio-toxins and other proteins of public health significance without the need for expensive diagnostic reagent additions or complex sample preparation procedures. The commercial application of this project will be in the areas of homeland security, environmental monitoring and food safety. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Coleman, Thomas dTEC Systems L.L.C. WA Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 1505 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419903 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Antibacterially-Active Nanoparticles. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project proposes to synthesize covalently-bonded drugs within 40 - 140 nm diameter, hydrophilic spheres made by the process of emulsion polymerization. These nanoparticles would be able to enter cells and release a high concentration of an antibiotic near the target site. The commercial application of this project will be for the treatment of antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Jang, Seyoung Nanopharma Technologies, Inc. FL George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 1505 BIOT 9181 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0419915 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Non-Traditional Material Removal. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will use abrasive jet technology for manufacturing/finishing of micro-optics. In contrast to well known abrasive jet finishing, where material removal relies on the kinetic energy of impinging particles, the approach in this project will be based on the material removal caused by the fluid shear flow, which occurs when an impinging jet spreads over the surface. This mode of material removal is very stable, improves surface integrity and provides very smooth surfaces at high removal rate. This project will use a new jet flow embodiment, which allows significant reduction in polishing tool size. The technology will allow for the creation of a precision manufacturing process for optics with diameters less than one to several millimeters for medical instrumentation, telecommunication industry, printers, cameras, DVD players, etc. The broader impacts of this technology, if successful, could be the creation of a precision manufacturing process for small and micro-optics. The optic mold industry would benefit by having a means to finish (and re-finish) aspheric molds leading to higher precision and more repeatable and reliable process. The ability to manufacture millimeter or smaller sized lenses would allow for the use of precision lenses for applications such as coupling devices used in the telecommunications industry, medical instrumentation, cameras, DVD players, printers, etc. Finally, all industries would benefit from the fact that the size of precision optics could be dramatically reduced, thereby shrinking the size and weight of optical systems. Additionally, technology could also be used as a high precision micro-machining tool in manufacturing of MEMS and other micro devices. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Shorey, Aric QED Technologies, Inc. NY Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99440 5371 MANU 9146 1468 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419921 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Real Time Ultrasonic Control of Bolt Tightening. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop real-time ultrasonic control of the tightening of bolted assemblies, using a varying, stress-dependent, wave speed algorithm. Existing technology uses ultrasonic measurement to verify the fastener tensile force by measuring its elongations after it has been tightened and disregards the wave varying speed, included in our control algorithm. The project will determine the sound wave speed and the stress level correlation in solids, developing an algorithm to vary the wave speed according to fastener elongation, integrating the ultrasonic device and the new algorithm into the assembly tool, and assessing the validity of the tabulated stress factor in ultrasonic measurements. The broader impacts resulting from this project will be improvement in the transportation safety of passenger cars and trucks, it is seen that his could help the U.S. economy and local economy by increasing productivity through reduced downtime and warranty costs associated with failed machines and products. Significant benefits to many industries, the aerospace, transportation systems, nuclear and fossil power generation plants as well as the automotive industry. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Abdalla, Hatem Sandalwood Enterprises Incorporated MI Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 99558 5371 MANU 9146 5514 1467 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419936 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: DiseaseBlockTM Plants with Immunity to Ralstonia, Xanthomonas and Xylella. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to optimize plant transgenic phage protein-based antibacterial technology. Specifically, this project will refine the methodologies needed to create transgenic tomatoes that express holins, lytic proteins produced by bacteriophages, in the amount needed to kill plant-pathogenic gram negative bacteria. The follow-on work will focus on controlling the most serious bacterial diseases of geranium, citrus, grape and rice. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of transgenic crops to control a number of very important plant diseases for which limited options currently exist. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Ramadugu, Chandrika Integrated Plant Genetics, Inc. FL Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9109 9102 0201000 Agriculture 0419980 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Advanced Prosthetic Hand. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project will develop a conceptual design for a context-based reflex-controlled prosthetic hand. This work would set the stage for full development of a dexterous prosthetic hand in which the reflexive hand motor control would be implemented locally on the prosthetic based on a suite of sensors, including pose, proximity, finger-torque, and myo-electric sensors. This would free the user to focus on higher-level functional control in a natural and intuitive way. The research objectives of this project are (1) to select optimal kinematics, trading off dexterity with cost, weight, and durability, (2) to develop the reflex control algorithm, and (3) to propose a complete conceptual design that can be further developed and tested in Phase II. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of prosthetics for use by people with upper limb amputation and congenital birth defects. Development of a prosthetic hand promises to improve the quality and normalcy of life for the roughly 10,000 patients of upper-limb amputation annually in the United States alone as well as the thousands more suffering from congenital birth defects that leave the person without a hand. The international community will likewise benefit as well. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Townsend, William Barrett Technology Inc MA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99843 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0419982 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Dynamic Signal Processing and Information Extraction for E-noses. 0419982 Neil Euliano Dynamic Signal Processing and Information Extraction for E-noses This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project focuses on the development and implementation of the next generation of e-nose signal processing and dynamic pattern recognition systems, specifically tuned to the properties of odors. We will also implement proof of concept experiments for creating an exhaled-breath propofol detector for non-invasive monitoring of anesthetic blood levels. The commercial application of this project will be to improve the current e-nose selectivity by at least an order of magnitude better, thus removing the last impediment to wide spread use of e-nose technology. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Euliano, Neil Convergent Engineering, Inc FL Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 100000 5371 1505 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0419995 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Nanostructured MicroArray Technology. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project proposes to develop a method of coating a substrate with a dense array of nanowires in order to control surface properties for use in microarrays. This surface treatment offers several interesting characteristics that could dramatically enhance the performance of microarrays for genomic and proteomic analysis. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of microarrays for use in biological and biochemical research. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Daniels, Hugh NANOSYS INC CA Om P. Sahai Standard Grant 99983 5371 BIOT 9107 0308000 Industrial Technology 0419999 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: MEMS Mirror Arrays for Bioimaging Applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project will demonstrate the feasibility of manufacturing large-throw, optically flat, high resolution and fast response-speed deformable mirrors (DM). The DM is a critical component in adaptive optics, which can be applied to improve medical imaging technology. The device consists of Segmented Membrane Arrays (SMA) and bottom electrodes with Backside Solder Bump (BSB) fabricated by micromachining technology. The design will use arrays of mirror pixels to eliminate the cross talk between adjacent elements. The mirror pixels will be made of stress-free single crystalline silicon (SCS) to ensure optically flat surfaces. The commercial application of this project will be in a number of areas, including bio imaging instruments, telescope systems, 3D data storage systems and free-space optical communications. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Tsao, Tom Umachines, Inc. CA George B. Vermont Standard Grant 99986 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0420006 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Anatomically & Physically Realistic, Multi-Dimensional Simulation Software for Respiratory Drug Delivery. 0420006 Sundaram This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes to develop anatomically and physically realistic simulation software for respiratory drug delivery by applying computational fluid dynamics methods from the aerospace industry. The commercial application of this project will be to enable drug companies to examine the effect of their specific drug on different individuals. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG Sundaram, Shivshankar CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION AL George B. Vermont Standard Grant 99897 5371 BIOT 9181 9150 0308000 Industrial Technology 0420022 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Device for the Activation of Nanoparticle-based Cancer Therapies. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project will develop a device for the in-vivo activation of nanoparticles for the minimally-invasive treatment of solid tumors and for the prophylactic treatment of potential routes of metastatic spread with minimal damage to surrounding tissues. Nanoshells are a new class of nanoparticles that can be designed to absorb light in the near-infrared, wavelengths where tissue is minimally absorptive. Prior nanoshell research has demonstrated its promise for a significant new class of cancer therapies. However, the optical and thermal properties of this new class of materials, the interaction of these properties with the optical properties of human tissue, and, in particular, this interaction at near-infrared wavelengths, are not well understood. This Phase I research will first determine the properties of this new class of materials in vivo and then optimize laser power, laser pulse characteristics (repetition rate, duration and duty cycle), and fiber optic delivery modes. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of cancer therapy. The nanoshell-based therapy is expected to be useful for a broad range of cancer types, with significant advantages relative to other treatments. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG O'Neal, Dennis NANOSPECTRA BIOSCIENCES, INC. TX George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0420028 July 1, 2004 SBIR Phase I: Efficient Production of Broad Spectrum, Salt Tolerant, Antimicrobial Peptides for Controlling Diseases in Finfish and Shrimp Culture. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a cost effective method for the synthesis and purification of antimicrobial peptides (AMP) that can be used to combat bacterial and viral diseases in aquaculture systems. The commercial application of this project will be significant in the area of aquaculture in light of a lack of effective disease treatments that are currently available. The discovery that fish and invertebrates themselves produce potent, broad-spectrum, AMPs may allow safer alternatives to chemical antibiotics for controlling diseases. High efficiency, low-cost, production of AMPs, coupled with their unique mode of killing action, may also allow development and application of new classes of natural antibiotics. SMALL BUSINESS PHASE I IIP ENG VanOlst, Jon KENT SEATECH CORPORATION CA George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 5371 BIOT 9117 0521700 Marine Resources 0420046 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Benign Thin Film Composite Particles for Protection from UVA/UVB - Rays. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop composite TiO2/ZnO (Titania /Zinc Oxide) particles capped with an Al2O3 nanolayer for benign protection from UVA/UVB - rays. Titania (TiO2) provides excellent protection against UVB - rays. Zinc oxide (ZnO) protects against UVA-rays very efficiently. The manufacture of composite particles via novel Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) thin film technology allows for the synthesis of composite particles with dual effectiveness. In the first aspect of this work, ZnO will be deposited on nanosized TiO2 particles by ALD. In the second aspect of this work, nanolaminated films of TiO2 and ZnO will be prepared on the surface of submicron sized spherical silica (SiO2) particles. The large substrate SiO2 will provide a particle size for the "UVA/UVB sun blockers" that will be large enough to prevent pore blockage in human skin. In both instances, the composite particles will be capped with an alumina (Al2O3) nanolayer that will allow easy dispersion of these particles in non-aqueous formulations. The Al2O3 nanolayer will also prevent direct contact of the active TiO2/ZnO with the skin, thus protecting the skin from potential UV-hot activated reactions. The particles will be tested for UVA/UVB transmittance and Sun Protection Factors (SPF) will be calculated. The broader impacts of the technology could be the ability to produce ultrafine particles with designed electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, rheological properties, this technology could have significant commercial impact on microelectronics, defense, hard-metals, cosmetics, drug delivery, energetic materials, and polymer/ceramic nanocomposites. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Buechler, Karen ALD NANOSOLUTIONS, INC. CO Joseph E. Hennessey Standard Grant 100000 1505 AMPP 9163 9102 1984 0308000 Industrial Technology 0420047 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: UV-Photocatalytic TiO2 Films on Nanosized Ferromagnetic Substrate Particles. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project provides for the commercialization of composite UV-photocatalytic TiO2 nanofilms deposited by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) on nanosized ferromagnetic iron particles. The iron nanoparticles are formed in-situ prior to ALD processing where conformal, pinhole-free, chemically bonded films of TiO2 are deposited on the surface of each individual substrate nanoparticcle. The substrate iron particles maintain a high magnetic moment and are protected from oxidation by the TiO2 film. The novel catalyst particles can be used to passively decontaminate polluted streams and can then be removed magnetically from the decontaminated sites and regenerated for further use. The ALD nanocoating of individual ultrafine particles to control individual ultrafine particle surface chemistry is enabling technology that is unparalleled compared to more conventional CVD, PVD, PE-CVD, or wet chemistry solution processing. It is now possible to produce ultrafine particles with designed electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, rheological, or other properties. Markets for such functionalized ultra-fine powders include microelectronics, defense, hardmetals, cosmetics, drug delivery, catalytic materials, energetic materials, and polymer/ceramic nanocomposites, among others. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Buechler, Karen ALD NANOSOLUTIONS, INC. CO Rosemarie D. Wesson Standard Grant 100000 1505 AMPP 9163 1401 0308000 Industrial Technology 0420048 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Engineering Geobacter for Enhanced Electricity Production. 0420048 Mahadevan This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project proposes to improve the bioelectrical energy generation capacity of the micro-organism Geobacter sulfurreducens through a novel metabolic engineering approach based on an integrated computational and experimental strategy. The commercial application of this project will be in the area of biomass processing, for conversion of waste biomass to value added products (i.e. electricity). STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Mahadevan, Radhakrishnan GENOMATICA INC CA George B. Vermont Standard Grant 100000 1505 BIOT 9181 0203000 Health 0510402 Biomaterials-Short & Long Terms 0420061 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I:High Pressure Disaggregation of IVIg Formulations For Increased Yield and Safety. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project proposes to use high pressures for disaggregation and proper refolding of aggregated proteins in commercial IVIg (immunoglobins for intravenous administration) formulations. The commercial application of this project will be in improved quality of therapeutic proteins for intravenous administration. Increased process yields will lower patient costs for IVIg therapies, and IVIg formulations with dramatically diminished aggregate content will lower side effects and reduce the risk of severe complications. STTR PHASE I IIP ENG Hesterberg, Lyndal BaroFold, Inc. CO George B. Vermont Standard Grant 98181 1505 BIOT 9181 0308000 Industrial Technology 0420083 July 1, 2004 STTR Phase I: Forming of Cast Titanium Structures by Transformation Superplasticity. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project examines the feasibility of using a casting transformation superplastic forming (TSP) hybrid process to produce affordable, high quality titanium parts, primarily for the aerospace industry. The project is aimed at preserving the advantages and reducing the cost and processing time, by exploring the attributes of investment casting and TSP. TSP is slow relative to conventional SPF, but investment casting can provide near net shape, greatly reducing the time required for TSP to achieve a final desired shape. Conversely, cast titanium microstructures are only amenable to superplastic forming by TSP. In this project, blanks will be cast and undergo TSP to selected final forms. Specimens will be inspected/tested for dimensional control, pre- and post-TSP microstructural characterization, and mechanical properties. The ability to produce complex titanium components by this approach could offer a significant cost savings allowing for even more widespread use of titanium. The broader impacts from this technology would be a new casting process. If successful, this technology could be used immediately to replace more expensive SPF for forged/machined structures, as well as allowing for more sophisticated and complex shapes. There would be a pay-off through weight reduction (thinner walls) as well as a reduction in bulk and weight for related support structures, increasing the thrust-to-weight ratio and overall fuel efficiency of ae