Dive Brief:
- The National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded more than $1.2 million to 12 small businesses in eight states for research and development projects in semiconductor manufacturing and other critical areas, according to a May 15 press release.
- The awards will fund R&D efforts related to NIST’s own research areas. This includes cybersecurity, quantum computing and the creation of devices that can monitor personal exposure to PFAS.
- After phase one projects are completed, which may be performed within six months, awardees can seek phase two funding of up to $400,000, which can take up to two years.
Dive Insight:
One of the awardees from the funding round is MyExposome, a company focused on technology for personal environmental monitoring. The Pennsylvania-based company received $98,900 to conduct research needed for silicone wristbands that monitor personal exposure to PFAS. In recent months, the forever chemicals have come under increased federal oversight and litigation in recent months for their link to negative health and environmental impacts.
Tracking PFAS has been a recent focus for NIST. In February, the institute launched a database to help researchers identify and categorize unknown PFAS, hoping to improve the monitoring of the forever chemicals in the environment.
Photonics technology company EMode Photonix is making a new type of photodetector that can be used with chip-scale components to enhance the efficiency of gas and chemical detection. The company will use $100,000 to make advanced photonic design more accessible and cost-effective, according to its website.
Other awardees are focused on biotechnology — Wisconsin-based Calimetrix was granted $105,284 to make an imaging test object of the human liver. The imaging test object is meant to create more accurate and comparable measurements of liver fat concentration using MRI, CT scans and other methods, aiming to improve patients’ clinical outcomes.
The company has been a SBIR awardee several times before in 2018, 2019 and 2023, according to its website.
The recent funding is similar to a round announced by NIST in January, where it also awarded ten small businesses over $3 million for research and development in tech-based industries.
