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The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is offering to fund research projects that address specific challenges in the fields of advanced manufacturing, climate change and clean energy, cybersecurity, health care and bioscience.
The NIST SBIR program seeks to fuel technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role small business plays in meeting federal R&D needs and bringing to market innovations derived from federal research and development. The program also works to increase participation by socially and economically disadvantaged persons and women-owned small business concerns.
These SBIR “Phase I” awards are intended to determine if the proposed research is feasible, and to gauge how well the awardee performs that research. The awards can provide up to $100,000 over a performance period of seven months. Awardees that successfully complete their Phase I research projects will be eligible to apply for Phase II funding to develop the technology further.
The NIST 2015 SBIR solicitation names 15 specific technologies for development and an opportunity for technology development of commercially promising NIST-developed technologies.
In the category of Advanced Manufacturing, they include:
- Category-Theoretic Tools to Support Manufacturing Information Integration
- Computer Aided Standards Development (CASD) – A Software Tool to Automate Standards Development Process
- High-Throughput Manufacturing Methods for Engineered MRI Contrast Agents
- Laser Power Meter for Manufacturing Applications
- Optical Microscopy as Applied to Fabrication of Atomic-Scale Devices
- Predictive Modeling Tools for Metal-Based Additive Manufacturing
- Stroboscopic Method for Dynamic Imaging in a Transmission Electron Microscope at GHz Frequencies
- Tuning Germanium Crystal Reflectivity and Mosaic
In the category of Climate Change and Clean Energy, they include:
- Large-Area, Uniform Infrared Detector Development for 1 μm to 4.5 μm
In the category of Cybersecurity, they include:
- A Verifier for Multicore C11 or C++11 Code
- Access Control Policy Tool
- Analysis and Visualization Tools for Automated Email Abuse Reports
- Improving Robustness and Security in Home Routers
In the category of Health Care and Bioscience, they include:
- Dual Pulse Continuum Laser Source for Time-Domain Coherent Raman Imaging
In addition to the research areas above, NIST also is accepting proposals for further development of commercially promising technologies that have been developed at NIST. The Technology Partnerships Office at NIST will provide the awardee with a no-cost research license for the duration of the SBIR award. When the technology is ready for commercialization, a commercialization license will be negotiated with the awardee.
Applications may be submitted for the development of any NIST-owned technology that is covered by a pending U.S. non-provisional patent application or by an issued U.S. patent. Available technologies can be found on the NISTTech website.
In the interest of fair competition, communication with NIST concerning a specific technical topic or subtopic during the open solicitation period is not allowed, with the exception of the public discussion group on the SBIR website. All questions and responses will be publicly, though anonymously, posted on the discussion group website.
Read the 2015 SBIR proposal solicitation for a full explanation of the SBIR process, rules and the specific challenges the proposals should address. The solicitation is available at www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=275010. Unsolicited proposals, i.e. proposals that do not address the challenges outlined in the SBIR proposal solicitation, will not be accepted. The solicitation closes May 15, 2015.
For general information about the NIST SBIR program, call (301) 975-4188 or send an email to sbir@nist.gov.
For more information, see the original solication at www.nist.gov/tpo/sbir/sbir-031115.cfm
