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The U.S.
Commerce Department’s National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today announced
27 new awards under its Advanced
Technology Program (ATP). A total of 35 companies, including
four joint ventures, are involved in the new projects, which
were chosen on the basis of difficulty, technical innovation
and the potential for significant benefits to the nation's
economy.
Funding
will assist companies developing technologies such as a new
platform for developing monoclonal antibody treatments for
cancer and infectious diseases; an innovative microjet system
for more controlled drug delivery; a collaborative information
technology platform for education; a dramatically improved
design for diesel engines; and a vastly improved facial recognition
system for ID checkpoints. The new awards represent a total
of up to $74.9 million in ATP funding and an industry share
of up to $58.2 million, if all projects are carried through
to completion.
The
ATP supports projects that industry cannot fully fund on its
own because of significant technical risks. ATP awards are
made on the basis of rigorous, competitive peer review considering
scientific and technical merit of each proposal. In addition,
awards are based on the potential for broad-based economic
benefits, the need for ATP funding, and evidence of a clear
commercialization pathway and broad diffusion.
As a
non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s
Technology Administration, NIST develops and promotes measurement,
standards and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate
trade and improve the quality of life.
The
27 awards went to:
- Advanced Digital Imaging Research, LLC (League City, Texas)
3-D Face Recognition for Security Screening
Develop and test a real-time, three-dimensional facial recognition system that combines the advantages of both 3D and 2D imaging for use at airport security checkpoints. Read more.
- Aether Wire & Location, Inc. (Nicasio, Calif.)
Instant Networks Using Coin-sized Ultrawideband (UWB) Localizers
Develop and test coin-sized components for a low-cost wireless network offering highly accurate three-dimensional positioning and radio-frequency communications. Read more.
- Cabot Superior MicroPowders (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Enhancing the Performance of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells
Develop and test a new family of surface-modified carbon support materials for platinum catalysts that will double the power density of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Read more.
- Carnegie Speech Company (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Focused Individualized Realistic Student Tutoring (FIRST)
Develop a software architecture for creating individually focused tutoring programs in language learning and basic mathematics that can pinpoint the learner's errors in real time, offer targeted correction, and judge when to switch focus to maximize learner progress. Read more.
- Discera, Inc. (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
Fully Integrated Gigahertz Receiver Front End
Develop microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices and processing methods for making the front end for a "radio receiver on a chip" that is much smaller, cheaper, and more efficient than today's multichip receivers. Read more.
- FAST VDO LLC (Columbia, Md.)
High-Definition Video Disc (HDVD)
Develop and demonstrate compression technology for recording and playback of high-definition video content on a standard DVD using the current red-laser DVD player. Read more.
- First Genetic Trust, Inc. (Rutherford, N.J.)
Secure Genetic Repository to Enable a Nationwide Post-Marketing Drug Surveillance and Research Network
Design a prototype of an anonymous clearinghouse for sensitive patient medical data that will enable large-scale studies of the genetic basis of adverse drug reactions and research into personalized medicines. Read more.
- Geometric Informatics, Inc. (Sommerville, Mass.)
Geometric Surface Classification and Identification by Conformal Structure
Develop and refine novel algorithms based on modern geometric
theories for classifying, analyzing, and identifying 3D
information that is independent of surface distortion, embedding,
lighting, and image resolution for use in biometrics, management
of 3D geometry databases, medical imaging and entertainment.
Read
more.
- Ingersoll Machine Tools, Inc. (Rockford, Ill.)
Development of Micro- and Meso-Scale Machine Tool Technology
Develop ultraprecise miniaturized machine tools for micro/meso scale commercial machining applications at a fraction of current machine costs, with a wide range of industrial applications including optics, electronics, medicine, biotechnology, communications, and avionics. Read more.
- Kiara Networks, Inc. (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Ultracompact Low-cost Tunable Components for Reconfigurable Optical Networks and Spectroscopic Sensors
Design and demonstrate a novel technology platform to enable the fabrication of low-cost and ultracompact tunable optical components for reconfigurable optical networks and spectroscopic sensors. Read more.
- Leadscope, Inc. (Columbus, Ohio)
A Distributed ChemTox Platform for Predicting Chemically Induced Toxicity
Develop a technology platform that will extract information from heterogeneous toxicology databases and use it to accurately predict the toxicity of compounds that might be useful as pharmaceuticals or other chemical products. Read more.
- MesoFuel, Inc. (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Compact Pure Hydrogen Generation Systems for PEM Fuel Cell Applications
Develop and demonstrate a compact system for safely generating pure hydrogen fuel to boost the efficiency of proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks by up to 50 percent. Read more.
- Molecular Imprints, Inc. (Austin, Texas) in partnership with Motorola, Inc. Motorola, Labs (Tempe, Ariz.); Photronics, Inc. (Brookfield, Conn.); KLA-Tencor Corporation (Milpitas, Calif.); and the University of Texas at Austin (Austin, Texas)
Nano-Imprint Lithography Infrastructure for Low Cost Replication at the 65 nm Node and Beyond
Design and demonstrate technology for step and flash imprint lithography (S-FIL), a novel method of transferring integrated circuit patterns to the surface of a semiconductor wafer by molding of three-dimensional features potentially as small as 20 nanometers or less. Read more.
- Nomadics, Inc. (Stillwater, Okla.)
Microsphere-Based Spectroscopic Instruments
Develop a highly sensitive spectroscopic detection system, based on microspheres, for the analysis of chemicals and biomolecules to allow implementation of integrated lab-on-chip nanofluidic methods, initially targeted at acceleration of drug discovery. Read more.
- Optical Research Associates (Pasadena, Calif.)
Fundamental Algorithms for Direct Tolerancing and Illumination Optimization
Develop innovative algorithms for the design and tolerancing of microlithography optics at 193 and 157 nanometers and algorithms for illumination source optimization in the extreme ultraviolet at 13 nanometers to improve throughput of advanced semiconductor fabrication lines through 2014. Read more.
- Precision Photonics Corporation (Boulder, Colo.)
High-Speed Optical Frequency Metrology for Spectroscopy, Interferometry, and Optical Communications
Develop a femtosecond laser as a "ruler" for measuring optical frequencies much more rapidly and accurately than is now possible, to enhance optical communications, semiconductor manufacturing, medical diagnoses, and other activities. Read more.
- Rohm and Haas Company (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Project Columbus: Discovering Whole New Worlds of Polar Polymers
Develop a new catalysis technology platform that will enable cost-effective production of new families of high-performance acrylic polymers and copolymers. Read more.
- Sangamo BioSciences (Richmond, Calif.)
Targeted Activation of Multiple Genes in Plants Using a Single Engineered Transcription Factor
Develop and test technology for introduction of a transgene for a single molecular switch into plants to activate simultaneously multiple genes involved in synthesis of commercially important products. Read more.
- StrataGent Life Sciences, Inc. (Los Gatos, Calif.)
Microjet Patch for Transdermal Drug Delivery
Develop a novel wearable transdermal drug delivery system
using programmable arrays of high-energy microjets for painless
and precisely controlled and timed administration of any
drug, including injectibles. Read
more.
- Syrrx, Inc. (San Diego, Calif.)
High-Throughput Crystallization of Membrane Proteins Using Heterogeneous Nucleants
Develop nanoscale arrays and processes that improve the crystallization of medically important proteins, facilitating investigation of these proteins as possible targets for the design of new medicines. Read more.
- The POM Group, Inc. (Auburn Hills, Mich.) in partnership with Nuvonyx, Inc. (Bridgeton, Mo.) and Stellite Coatings (Goshen, Ind.)
Rapid, Ultraprecision Direct Metal Deposition Technology
Develop direct-metal deposition and nanoscale surface-finishing technologies for an innovative high-speed process for making complex tools and dies. Read more.
- The ReJen Company (Warshoe Valley, Nev.) in partnership with Alvin Lowi & Associates (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.)
High-Efficiency Regenerated Cycle Reciprocating Engine
Build and test a diesel engine that will exploit the principle of thermal regeneration to increase energy efficiency from about 35 percent to 55 percent and reduce emissions. Read more.
- Tissue Regeneration Inc. (Medford, Mass.)
Engineered Rotator Cuff Tendon Tissue
Design and develop a tissue engineering strategy for rotator
cuff tendons utilizing a patient's own bone marrow cells
and a novel biomaterial to increase surgical success and
reduce cost and rehabilitation time. Read
more.
- United Technologies Research Center (East Hartford, Conn.) in partnership with Oculus Technologies Corporation (Boston, Mass.)
Integrated Concurrent Design of High Efficiency Commercial Buildings
Develop and demonstrate the ability to increase the energy efficiency of commercial buildings through the use of integrated concurrent engineering design process and software tools in the application of heating, cooling, ventilation, hot water, and combined heat and power systems. Read more.
- Vaccinex, Inc. (Rochester, N.Y.)
Development of a Human Monoclonal Antibody Discovery Technology
Develop a new library-based technology platform to select a broad array of fully human monoclonal antibodies in mammalian cells for therapeutic use in treating cancer, inflammation, and infectious diseases. Read more.
- Whoola Inc. (Dallas, Texas)
Peer-to-Peer Virtual Reality Learning Environments
Develop a peer-to-peer based architecture for educational software that enables rich, immersive virtual-reality instructional projects built around "groups of groups" of learners and including individualized learner support and evaluation. Read more.
- Zebra Imaging, Inc. (Pflugerville, Texas)
Rapid Full-Color Digital Hologram Recorder
Develop and test a novel system, including new pulsed lasers, for recording full-color digital holograms with output up to 60 times faster than existing systems. Read more.
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