National Science Foundation

Brainsoft specializes in the development of technologies that leverage human brainwaves to control objects and analyze the relationship between brain activity and emotional and intellectual states. The company creates innovative interfaces that enable intuitive navigation, allowing users to interact with devices based on their mental and emotional conditions. By focusing on the interception and analysis of brainwaves, Brainsoft aims to support researchers in advancing their understanding of brain activity, ultimately benefiting society through improved insights into human cognition and behavior.

NanoSpy, Inc. was founded in 2017 to establish the new state-of-the-art in rapid pathogen detection. Using proprietary and patent-pending technologies, we leverage our expertise in biomedical engineering, microbiology, nanomaterials, and mechanical engineering to dramatically simplify the detection process with a new paradigm in biosensor platforms. Sensitivity, specificity, and speed now are combined in one convenient test that delivers results fast! In 20 minutes, NanoSpy biosensors can detect a single targeted pathogen at 5 CFU/mL or less from common buffer samples taken right at the point of detection. No time-consuming enrichment process. No environmentally hazardous reagents. No laboratory requirements. Translation: No time wasted. No decisions delayed.

Frugi Biotechnology is a synthetic biology company based in Ames, Iowa, founded in 2020. The company specializes in developing modular, paper-based diagnostics aimed at managing viral outbreaks. Frugi's services include creating custom cell-free extracts that facilitate the building and testing of learn cycles for clients involved in protein biomanufacturing and protein discovery. This allows clients to detect pathogens in a simplified and cost-effective manner, enhancing the capabilities for outbreak management and response.

SoilSerdem, founded in 2020 and headquartered in Ames, Iowa, specializes in developing soil fertility maps through an optimized soil sampling method. The company utilizes machine learning algorithms and remotely sensed data to enhance the accuracy and resolution of soil maps. This innovative approach provides farmers and agronomists with detailed, actionable insights that support their workflows and improve operational efficiency. By enabling precise and sustainable management of soil resources, SoilSerdem aims to help its clients achieve greater profitability in their agricultural practices.

SKROOT Laboratory specializes in the development of wireless sensor systems designed for biotherapeutic process developers. The company has created a unique sensor sticker that, when applied to a reactor and paired with a reader, provides a wireless, non-invasive platform capable of continuously measuring critical parameters such as cell concentration, foaming, and temperature in upstream cell vessels and single-use bioreactors. This innovative technology enables operators to closely monitor bioprocesses, significantly reducing the risk of advancing costly conditions and accelerating the time to market for biotherapeutic products.

Theion Agriculture is a company based in Iowa City, Iowa, that specializes in developing fertilizer additives aimed at enhancing the growth rates of leafy greens in indoor farming environments. Founded in 2017, Theion's products are designed for application across various crops, including leafy greens, legumes, and maize. By providing these innovative additives, the company enables farmers to improve crop yields and focus on maximizing productivity in their operations.

Cloud services have become ubiquitous to all major 21st century economic activities. However, cloud services and technologies can be significantly more powerful than they are now. A persistent barrier to further advancement has been the lack of a large-scale and open cloud research platforms. With funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Chameleon project will provide such a large-scale platform to the open research community allowing them explore transformative concepts in deeply programmable cloud services, design, and core technologies. Chameleon will allow users to explore problems ranging from the creation of Software as a Service to kernel support for virtualization. This broad range of supported research includes many other areas such as developing Platforms as a Service, creating new and optimizing existing Infrastructure as a Service components, investigating software-defined networking, and optimizing virtualization technologies. The Chameleon testbed, will be deployed at the University of Chicago and the Texas Advanced Computing Center and will consist of 650 multi-core cloud nodes, 5PB of total disk space, and leverage 100 Gbps connection between the sites. While a large part of the testbed will consist of homogenous hardware to support large-scale experiments, a portion of it will support heterogeneous units allowing experimentation with high-memory, large-disk, low-power, GPU, and co-processor units. The project will also leverage existing FutureGrid hardware at the University of Chicago and the Texas Advanced Computing Center in its first year to provide a transition period for the existing FutureGrid community of experimental users. To support the broad range of experiments experiments described above, the project will support a graduated configuration system allowing full user configurability of the software stack, from provisioning of bare metal and network interconnects to delivery of fully functioning cloud environments. A special feature of Chameleon is that it provides for an exceptionally close integration of clouds and networks, which substantially enhances the capabilities of both. In addition, to facilitate experiments, Chameleon will support a set of services designed to meet researchers needs, including support for experimental management, reproducibility, and repositories of trace and workload data of production cloud workloads. The project is led by the Computation Institute at the University of Chicago and partners from the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas at Austin, the International Center for Advanced Internet Research at Northwestern University, the Ohio State University, and University of Texas at San Antonio, comprising a highly qualified and experienced team. The team includes members from the NSF supported FutureGrid project and from the GENI community, both forerunners of the NSFCloud solicitation under which this project is funded. Chameleon will also form a set of partnerships with commercial and academic clouds, such as Rackspace, CERN and Open Science Data Cloud (OSDC), and will partner with other testbeds, notably GENI and INRIA's Grid'5000 testbed.

SKROOT Laboratory specializes in the development of wireless sensor systems designed for biotherapeutic process developers. The company has created a unique sensor sticker that, when applied to a reactor and paired with a reader, provides a wireless, non-invasive platform capable of continuously measuring critical parameters such as cell concentration, foaming, and temperature in upstream cell vessels and single-use bioreactors. This innovative technology enables operators to closely monitor bioprocesses, significantly reducing the risk of advancing costly conditions and accelerating the time to market for biotherapeutic products.

ETALYC is a software as a service (SaaS) provider. We focus on improving traffic operations through the integration of modern technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, and big data analytics. ETALYC’s products harness the widespread data collected from various transportation modes, such as connected vehicles or GPSs, to analyze and optimize traffic flow in various areas.

3D Health Solutions develops a novel 3D canine organoid model to study oral drug permeability and metabolism. The company is based in Ames, Iowa.

N-Sense, LLC, established in 2017 and located in Ames, Iowa, specializes in developing a soil nitrate sensor system designed for real-time measurement of soil nitrate concentrations. This innovative technology can be attached to farm implements, allowing farmers to accurately assess nitrogen levels while on the move. By enabling precise application of nitrogen fertilizers, N-Sense's system helps farmers optimize their fertilizer use, enhancing farm profitability and reducing the environmental impact of over-application. The company's product empowers farmers to identify and manage soil variations within fields, promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

Parametric Studio is an Ed-Tech company specializing in engineering-centric, project based STEM software. We are a team of industry leaders, engineers, educators, artists, gamers, and makers that believe in the importance of STEM education. We believe in the power of gaming, engineering design, and project-based learning to catalyze STEM education and encourage the next generation of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and leaders. Parametric Studio combines real tools with approachable interfaces, gaming, educational content, and hands on prototyping to create novel STEM solutions for the classroom, camps, or for home.

Sumatra Biorenewables, LLC is a startup that specializes in the production of trans‐3‐hexenedioic acid (3HDA), a novel biobased monomer manufactured from biologically‐produced muconic acid (MA). The introduction of 3HDA in polyamides or polyesters through copolymerization or compounding provides an ethylenic bond that enables the production of materials with tailored functional properties without altering the intrinsic nature of the polymeric material.

Actibiomotion develops physical modeling and motion analysis systems, as well as software, for the transportation and machinery industries. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Coralville, Iowa.

Innovas Technologies provides automatic condenser and chiller tube cleaning systems that improve energy efficiency and reduce maintenance. The company's system provides condenser tube cleaning systems for on-load cleaning of surface condensers in steam or combined cycle plants, cleans heat exchangers naturally and sustainably without costly process shutdowns or chemicals, and enables its clients to improve the energy efficiency of water-cooled chillers and central chilled water plants in a cost-effective manner.

GlucanBio is a developer of innovative biomass conversion technology that focuses on producing furan derivatives such as furfural, HMF, DMF, THF, and FDCA. Originating from research at the University of Wisconsin and the Center for Biorenewable Chemicals at Iowa State, the company's processes fractionize biomass under mild conditions, resulting in cost-effective production of specialty and commodity chemicals. This approach not only enhances performance but also supports clients in transitioning toward sustainable practices. With a team that includes experts in catalysis and early-stage commercialization, GlucanBio is well-equipped to address technical challenges in the industry and capitalize on strong market opportunities.

Unlocking the inner scientist in everyone through a mobile-first education platform Substrate is a mobile education platform delivering a fresh method for educators who teach complex concepts in science. Unlike traditional passive approaches, and fragmented tools, Substrate is accessible, complementary and refreshingly engaging. Built on the mechanics of nature, we’re reimagining education, one element at a time. Substrate is designed to deliver a unified mobile learning experience anytime, anywhere. Bite-sized sessions encourage repeated practice. Our goal is to complement existing teaching approaches and customize according to instructional needs. Integration with formal courses powers deeper insights. Excite learners, activate content, and upgrade learning outcomes. Built with game design principles, students naturally progress toward mastery. Our mission is to better lives by deepening the world’s understanding of science. With support from institutions like the National Institutes of Health, we're well on our way.

iotaMotion, Inc. is a company based in Iowa City, Iowa, that specializes in the development and manufacturing of cochlear ear implants aimed at treating hearing loss. Founded in 2015, the company focuses on innovating surgical techniques through its robotic assistive surgical system, which facilitates the precise insertion of cochlear implant electrodes. This technology standardizes the implant process while allowing for a personalized approach tailored to each patient’s needs. By collaborating with healthcare professionals and thought leaders in the field, iotaMotion strives to enhance the effectiveness of cochlear interventions, ultimately improving outcomes for individuals with hearing impairments.

GlucanBio is a developer of innovative biomass conversion technology that focuses on producing furan derivatives such as furfural, HMF, DMF, THF, and FDCA. Originating from research at the University of Wisconsin and the Center for Biorenewable Chemicals at Iowa State, the company's processes fractionize biomass under mild conditions, resulting in cost-effective production of specialty and commodity chemicals. This approach not only enhances performance but also supports clients in transitioning toward sustainable practices. With a team that includes experts in catalysis and early-stage commercialization, GlucanBio is well-equipped to address technical challenges in the industry and capitalize on strong market opportunities.

ASL Analytical, founded in 2005 and based in Coralville, Iowa, specializes in chemical sensing technology aimed at real-time monitoring and control of chemical species within bioprocesses. The company offers an innovative online bioprocess monitor that circulates a small sample from a bioreactor in a sealed and sterilized loop, allowing for continuous monitoring. This technology is factory-installed and calibrated to specific process conditions during an initial bioprocessing run. By enabling global biotechnology companies to optimize bio-product development and production, ASL Analytical enhances process efficiency and accelerates the time to market for biopharmaceuticals.

NanoMedTrix specializes in nanoparticle technology that enhances imaging techniques such as fluorescence, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computer tomography (CT), and ultrasound imaging (UI). Founded in August 2012 by Joe Assouline in Coralville, Iowa, the company focuses on developing a non-invasive diagnostic tool aimed at the biomedical community. This innovative platform is designed to target solid tumors, including bladder, colorectal, and neural tumors, facilitating early detection of cancers. By combining various imaging modalities, NanoMedTrix's technology simplifies the diagnostic process for physicians, enabling them to identify cancers at earlier stages.

OmegaChea is a biotechnology company that creates a scalable technology based on microbial engineering to generate bio-based specialty chemicals such as lubricants, surfactants, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.

They produce artistic, fun, and scientifically accurate tools to engage children in science both at school and at home. We already have a series of books and are now expanding into video games. They have received an NSF SBIR Phase I grant to start creating an ecologically-themed video game for children in grades 1-5. It will be released in three tablet apps starting in Q1 2014 for home use and packaged together with lesson plans, worksheets, and assessment tools tied in with the new Common Core Standards for school use. They are working with top ecologists at UC-Davis to model the video game based on real-life data and science. This product fills a unique niche since there is currently no ecology focused video game aimed at teaching scientific process skills for this age group.