Contact: Michael Baum, michael.baum@nist.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NIST 97-05
Feb. 12, 1997
Contact: Michael Baum ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
(301) 975-2763 OPENS FOUR COMPETITIONS
michael.baum@nist.gov INCLUDING NEW TISSUE ENGINEERING
PROGRAM
A new effort focusing on the rapidly growing field of tissue
engineering is among four Advanced Technology Program competitions
announced today by the Commerce Department's National Institute of
Standards and Technology.
The new competitions will provide a total of up to $57 million in
first-year, cost-shared funding. Up to $12 million is available for the
newly established Tissue Engineering focus area. Up to $15 million is
available in each of three ATP technology focus areas: Digital Data
Storage, Component Based Software and Technologies for the Integration
of Manufacturing Applications.
The Advanced Technology Program co-funds with industry the
development of innovative, high-risk technologies with the potential for
important, broad-based economic benefits for the United States. ATP
focused programs target specific technical and business goals in broad
technology areas to be reached within a specific time--typically about
five years. These goals generally require the parallel development of a
suite of interlocking R&D projects.
The ATP competitions announced today in the electronic listings of
Commerce Business Daily include:
* Tissue Engineering--A new ATP focused program, Tissue
Engineering addresses a suite of technologies drawing on
biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, genetics, biomedical
engineering and materials science.
Tissue engineering combines cells with both synthetic and naturally
derived biomaterials to replace damaged or defective organs or tissues,
such as bone or skin.
Nascent technologies include:
- large-scale culturing of human and animal cells--including
skin, muscle, cartilage, bone, endothelial and stem
cells--to replace damaged components in humans;
- fashioning naturally derived or synthetic biomaterials
into temporary scaffolds that provide a substructure for
the body's own cells to regrow;
- encapsulating cells required to produce essential
enzymes, proteins or hormones--such as pancreatic beta
cells required to produce insulin--in engineered
biomolecular cages that allow them to function normally
in a foreign host without triggering immune responses;
- designing the functionality of biocompatible polymers to
cover implants and shield them from adhesion of
circulating proteins and other adverse rejection
responses; and
- developing transgenic animals as sources of cells,
tissues and organs for xenografts.
Tissue engineering solutions are potentially safer, more
successful for the patient, less expensive, and could become more
readily available than present-day therapies. Collectively,
tissue engineering technologies have the potential to address
diseases and disorders that account for about half of the nation's
total healthcare costs. Deadline for the submission of proposals to
this competition is 3 p.m. Eastern time, June 11, 1997.
* Digital Data Storage--First competed in 1995, this program
addresses the needs of the data storage industry, which is
projected to grow to a $1 trillion annual market worldwide in the
next decade. The program focuses on six key technical goals to
support high-performance, high-density data storage, including
storage media, recording heads, tribology, tracking, electronics
and software. Deadline for the submission of proposals to this
competition is 3 p.m. Eastern time, May 28, 1997.
* Component Based Software--First competed in 1994, the goal of this
ATP focused program is to develop the technologies needed to enable
systematically reusable software components relatively small,
carefully engineered software elements suitable for a broad array
of applications. These technologies would enable software companies
to build specialized components that can be sold to systems
integrators and custom builders, who would combine them with other,
largely purchased, off-the-shelf components to create high-quality
custom applications. The current competition particularly
emphasizes technologies that support semantic-based software
composition in large-scale endeavors across multiple domains or in
enterprise-wide systems, and technologies that support the
necessary business infrastructure for a commerce in software
components. Deadline for the submission of proposals to this
competition is 3 p.m. Eastern time, May 28, 1997.
* Technologies for the Integration of Manufacturing Applications--First
competed in 1995, the overall technical goal of this ATP focused
program is to develop and demonstrate the technologies needed to
create affordable, integrable manufacturing systems those that can
be rapidly integrated and reconfigured and, in the long run, that can
automatically adjust their performance in response to changing conditions
and requirements. The new competition emphasizes technologies to support
reusable component systems for manufacturing execution systems (MES)
software, both in discrete manufacturing and process-oriented industries.
Deadline for the submission of proposals to this competition is 3 p.m.
Eastern time, May 28, 1997.
ATP awards are designed to help industry pursue risky, challenging
technologies that have the potential for a big pay-off for the nation's
economy. ATP projects focus on enabling technologies that will create
opportunities for new, world-class products, services and industrial
processes, benefiting not just the ATP participants but other companies
and industries--and ultimately consumers and taxpayers. The ATP's
cost-shared funding enables industry to pursue promising technologies
that otherwise would be ignored or developed too slowly to compete in
rapidly changing world markets.
Both individual, for-profit companies and consortia including at
least two for-profit companies may qualify for ATP awards. Non-profit
independent research organizations, universities and federal
laboratories also may participate as subcontractors or partners in joint
ventures. Projects may run for up to three years for individual
companies or up to five years for joint ventures. Proposed projects must
focus on the development of high-risk, enabling technologies that
underlie potential products, industrial processes or services and that
have the potential for broad public benefits. The ATP will not support
product development work.
Projects are selected through a rigorous peer-review process
examining the strength of both technical and business planning.
Proposers whose projects are not selected may request a detailed
debriefing on the reasons for ATP's decision.
To provide potential applicants with general information on the
ATP, proposal selection criteria, the proposal evaluation process and
other information, the ATP will sponsor a public meeting (Proposers'
Conference) on March 17, 1997, at the Holiday Inn in Gaithersburg, Md.
Breakout sessions will provide details on the individual focused program
competitions.
Attendance at this Proposers' Conference is not required to
participate in the ATP competitions. ATP is considering additional
Proposers' Conferences covering specific focused program competitions.
Should any additional conferences be arranged, that information will be
published in Commerce Business Daily and on the ATP World Wide Web site.
Information on the Gaithersburg, Md., public meeting, all ATP 1997
competitions, the Commerce Business Daily announcements and copies of
the ATP Proposal Preparation Kit may be obtained from the ATP by phone:
1-800-ATP-FUND, fax: (301) 926-9524, or e-mail: atp@nist.gov. Additional
information also may be obtained on the Internet from the ATP World Wide
Web site: http://www.atp.nist.gov. The text of the Commerce Business
Daily announcements may be read at http://www.atp.nist.gov/atp/competit.htm.
A non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department's Technology
Administration, NIST promotes U.S. economic growth by working with
industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards.
-30-
News and information on the National Institute of Standards and
Technology are available on the World Wide Web at http://www.nist.gov.