National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF), established in 1950 and located in Alexandria, Virginia, is an independent federal agency dedicated to advancing fundamental research and education across all scientific and engineering disciplines. With an annual budget of approximately $7.8 billion, the NSF operates America's Seed Fund, which allocates nearly $200 million each year to support startups and small businesses through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. This initiative provides non-dilutive funding of up to $1.5 million to assist in research and development efforts, thereby facilitating the transformation of scientific discoveries into commercially viable products and services. By helping to de-risk technology, the NSF plays a crucial role in fostering innovation and addressing societal challenges through scientific advancements.

James Donlon

Program Director

Sean L. Jones

Assistant Director for Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Sethuraman Panchanathan

Director

Ben Schrag Ph.D

Program Director and Policy Liaison, SBIR / STTR

Past deals in Kentucky

Western Kentucky University, off of College Heights Blvd in Bowling Green, has over 170 amazing undergraduate and 50 graduate school fields of study to choose from. Some of the many interesting offerings at WKU include advertising, dental hygiene, early childhood education, economics, graphic design, health care administration, nursing, paralegal studies, performing arts, women’s studies, zoology, and more. For the quintessential college experience, look no further than the amazing campus facilities and events of WKU. The Hilltoppers’ football team was recently promoted to Division 1-A, allowing them to compete for national bowls and titles. Western Kentucky University also has international appeal with study-abroad programs and the Chinese Flagship program, which integrates the learning of the Chinese language into a student’s education for those interested in international careers. Financial aid is available to eligible students at WKU the form of grants, student employment, loans, veterans’ benefits, tuition waivers, and scholarships. The school itself offers academic scholarships, alumni grants, departmental scholarships and Kentucky state assistance. Job fairs and employment preparation seminars aren’t the only career services you can expect from the career center. Employers often post job leads on the website board, exclusive to WKU students. Internships are also available to students looking to gain work experience in their fields of choice.
The University of Louisville is a public university located in Kentucky and is part of the state's university system. It offers a wide range of academic programs, including bachelor's degrees in 70 fields, master's degrees in 78 disciplines, and doctorate degrees in 22 areas. The institution is recognized as one of the top public research universities in the United States, as evidenced by its ranking in a 2009 report from Arizona State University's Center for Measuring University Performance, which evaluated various aspects such as total research output, federal research funding, and faculty achievements. The university is comprised of 12 distinct schools and colleges, including the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, J.B. Speed School of Engineering, and the School of Medicine, among others. This diverse academic structure supports a comprehensive educational environment aimed at fostering research and professional development.

Bellarmine University

Grant in 2022
A rigorous, respected, personal Catholic education featuring diverse academics on a small but lively campus is what you can expect at Bellarmine University. Located in Louisville, one of the nation’s most vibrant small cities, Bellarmine’s campus is also a center of rich academic, social and cultural activity. Over 70 student organizations give students the opportunity to perform with music ensembles, work at the campus radio station, go bowling, discuss art, perform in plays and meet others with similar career interests. Academics at Bellarmine are, however, the most outstanding part of the Bellarmine experience. Small class sizes aren’t the only great feature of Bellarmine’s educational life. Bellarmine’s commitment to rigor and excellence also makes for an intense learning experience with expert faculty. Majors at Bellarmine are also highly diverse. Accounting, Arts Administration, Education, Media and Cultural Studies, Nursing, Professional Writing, Psychology, and Religion are just a sampling of the highly varied offerings. Graduate programs in such fields as Business, Physical Therapy and Spirituality are also available. As if that weren’t enough, Bellarmine even goes so far as to offer certificate programs in such professional fields as Respiratory Therapy and pre-professional degrees in Law, Medicine, Dentistry and others. To gain experience and professional contacts, many students also take advantage of Bellarmine’s vast internship opportunities. Admissions criteria differ depending on one’s degree-level and area of study. In addition federal financial aid offerings for eligible students, Bellarmine encourages students to seek out private scholarships and also offers tuition payment plans.
Bluegrass Community and Technical College is a college in Kentucky Community where students find confidence, collaboration, compassion, and success. and Technical College.

Pascal Tags

Grant in 2022
Pascal Tags, founded in 2018 and based in Louisville, Kentucky, specializes in chipless identification technology aimed at enhancing inventory management. The company has developed an innovative RFID tag that operates without a microchip, allowing for effective tracking of inventory items. This technology provides an alternative solution for manufacturers, shippers, and consumers to monitor products throughout the supply chain, from production to retail and even in homes. By enabling precise location tracking with a single tag, Pascal Tags addresses the growing need for efficient inventory control in various sectors.

HeXalayer

Grant in 2021
HeXalayer (based in Louisville, KY) has developed a new generation of high-capacity lithium-ion battery technology using a patent-pending innovative carbon material called IML Graphene. The nanomaterials-based technology significantly improves the capacity of rechargeable batteries.

Synaptek

Grant in 2021
Synaptek offers a digital platform designed to streamline concussion management for clinicians and service providers. This HIPAA-compliant mobile application simplifies the processes of testing, tracking, and reporting concussions, thereby enhancing athlete health and recovery. By integrating concussion testing, documentation, and analytics into one user-friendly solution, Synaptek enables athletic trainers to save time, improve communication, and make informed clinical decisions. The platform aims to optimize the management of concussions, benefiting both healthcare professionals and the athletes they serve.

Hummingbird Nano

Grant in 2021
Hummingbird Nano is a company specializing in the development of ultra-smooth, circular channel microfluidic chips, produced in a single solid form. Their innovative technology allows for the creation of products that were previously unattainable with existing manufacturing methods, while also reducing costs for current high-priced products, making them more accessible. Hummingbird Nano's manufacturing approach combines the speed of injection molding with the flexibility of 3D printing, transforming the production process for small components like microfluidic chips and micro-optics. The company's focus is on precision engineering, enabling the assembly of micro-scale components into larger systems with nanometer-scale accuracy. This advancement aims to enhance chip performance and design flexibility, ultimately contributing to broader innovation and societal benefits.
Active Therapy Systems is a company based in Nicholasville, Kentucky, founded in 2017. It specializes in developing an interactive exercise platform designed to provide in-home therapies for individuals living with Parkinson's disease. The platform aims to enhance the management of Parkinson's through personalized therapies and remote patient monitoring, allowing users to engage in activities that may help alleviate their symptoms. By focusing on the specific needs of those affected by Parkinson's, Active Therapy Systems seeks to improve their quality of life and promote greater independence in daily activities.

ChameleonCloud

Grant in 2020
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.

Pascal Tags

Grant in 2019
Pascal Tags, founded in 2018 and based in Louisville, Kentucky, specializes in chipless identification technology aimed at enhancing inventory management. The company has developed an innovative RFID tag that operates without a microchip, allowing for effective tracking of inventory items. This technology provides an alternative solution for manufacturers, shippers, and consumers to monitor products throughout the supply chain, from production to retail and even in homes. By enabling precise location tracking with a single tag, Pascal Tags addresses the growing need for efficient inventory control in various sectors.
The University of Louisville is a public university located in Kentucky and is part of the state's university system. It offers a wide range of academic programs, including bachelor's degrees in 70 fields, master's degrees in 78 disciplines, and doctorate degrees in 22 areas. The institution is recognized as one of the top public research universities in the United States, as evidenced by its ranking in a 2009 report from Arizona State University's Center for Measuring University Performance, which evaluated various aspects such as total research output, federal research funding, and faculty achievements. The university is comprised of 12 distinct schools and colleges, including the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, J.B. Speed School of Engineering, and the School of Medicine, among others. This diverse academic structure supports a comprehensive educational environment aimed at fostering research and professional development.

HeXalayer

Grant in 2019
HeXalayer (based in Louisville, KY) has developed a new generation of high-capacity lithium-ion battery technology using a patent-pending innovative carbon material called IML Graphene. The nanomaterials-based technology significantly improves the capacity of rechargeable batteries.
Active Therapy Systems is a company based in Nicholasville, Kentucky, founded in 2017. It specializes in developing an interactive exercise platform designed to provide in-home therapies for individuals living with Parkinson's disease. The platform aims to enhance the management of Parkinson's through personalized therapies and remote patient monitoring, allowing users to engage in activities that may help alleviate their symptoms. By focusing on the specific needs of those affected by Parkinson's, Active Therapy Systems seeks to improve their quality of life and promote greater independence in daily activities.

Bert Thin Films

Grant in 2017
Bert Thin Films, LLC is a manufacturer based in Louisville, Kentucky, specializing in copper paste for solar panel production. Founded in 2014, the company has developed a patented product known as CuBert™, which serves as a direct substitute for traditional silver paste used in solar panel manufacturing. This innovative copper-based paste can be applied using the same screen-printing equipment and fired in existing belt furnaces, allowing solar panel manufacturers to adopt the material without any significant changes to their production processes. By utilizing Bert Thin Films' copper paste, manufacturers can achieve considerable cost savings while maintaining production efficiency.

RedLeaf Biologics

Grant in 2017
RedLeaf Biologics, Inc. produces natural food colors and antioxidants for human and livestock applications. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky.

Breath Diagnostics

Grant in 2016
Breath Diagnostics, Inc. specializes in the development and manufacturing of a non-invasive diagnostic tool aimed at the early detection of lung cancer through breath analysis technology. Founded in 2014 and based in Louisville, Kentucky, the company has created a product called OneBreath, which employs a proprietary silicon microchip to capture specific Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from a single exhaled breath sample. This technology enables quantitative analysis using conventional mass spectrometers, allowing for highly accurate detection of lung cancer with parts per billion precision. By focusing on early diagnosis, Breath Diagnostics aims to reduce patients' exposure to costly and invasive medical procedures, potentially saving lives and lowering healthcare costs. The company's research has involved over 700 patients, underscoring its commitment to improving cancer detection outcomes.

PowerTech Water

Grant in 2016
PowerTech Water, Inc. is a company that specializes in developing and marketing advanced water treatment products. Its flagship offering, CapCo, is an electrochemical filter designed to effectively remove various metals from water, addressing the needs of industries such as batteries, microelectronics, electroplating, automotive, metal finishing, mining, food and beverage, and oil and gas. The filter targets a range of metals, including lead, copper, manganese, iron, silver, gold, mercury, zinc, nickel, and aluminum. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, PowerTech Water aims to provide water-intensive industries with access to affordable and environmentally friendly clean water solutions.

Liberate Medical

Grant in 2016
Liberate Medical, LLC is a medical device company focused on improving the treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by developing innovative technologies. Founded in 2013 and based in Crestwood, Kentucky, the company has created VentFree, a system that utilizes non-invasive neuromuscular electrical stimulation to contract abdominal wall muscles in sync with a patient’s breathing. This approach aims to minimize disuse atrophy of these muscles, potentially decreasing the duration of mechanical ventilation required for adult patients. By enhancing respiratory muscle function, Liberate Medical seeks to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs associated with pulmonary disorders.

Hummingbird Nano

Grant in 2016
Hummingbird Nano is a company specializing in the development of ultra-smooth, circular channel microfluidic chips, produced in a single solid form. Their innovative technology allows for the creation of products that were previously unattainable with existing manufacturing methods, while also reducing costs for current high-priced products, making them more accessible. Hummingbird Nano's manufacturing approach combines the speed of injection molding with the flexibility of 3D printing, transforming the production process for small components like microfluidic chips and micro-optics. The company's focus is on precision engineering, enabling the assembly of micro-scale components into larger systems with nanometer-scale accuracy. This advancement aims to enhance chip performance and design flexibility, ultimately contributing to broader innovation and societal benefits.

Pyrochem Catalyst

Grant in 2016
Developer of catalysts and specialty materials for automotive exhaust and reforming applications designed to help in high-temperature catalytic processes. The company's materials help in natural gas conversion to synthesis gas in high aromatic, high sulfur, and high-temperature environments, enabling businesses to save capital and operating costs by providing uninterrupted performance for extended periods.

RedLeaf Biologics

Grant in 2016
RedLeaf Biologics, Inc. produces natural food colors and antioxidants for human and livestock applications. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky.

Inquiry Technologies

Grant in 2015
Developer of a digital hiring platform intended specifically for fair and second chance labor pools. The company’s patented product and services support a dual-sided employer-employee training model for soft skills that is easily accessed and highly personalized, yet scalable at enterprise levels. Our model effectively identifies and matches employers with the best candidates from second and fair chance employees, provides a network of related resources, and trains either side with the skills needed to ensure the success of these placements. The platform saves employers time and money, dramatically improves the jobseeker’s odds of getting hired, helps fill jobs in areas of critical need, and reduces much of the stigma associated with portion of the workforce.

TutorGen, Inc

Grant in 2015
We are driven to find a better path to learning, one that will create lasting change. At TutorGen, that path begins in research and comes to life in the classroom and workplace. We bring together evidence-based approaches with technology and an unwavering focus on the learners, educators, developers, and content creators who use our products.

EIE Materials

Grant in 2015
EIE Materials specializes in nanotechnology and LED phosphors. EIE Materials was founded in 2013 by Jonathan Melman and Rob Nordsell.

PowerTech Water

Grant in 2015
PowerTech Water, Inc. is a company that specializes in developing and marketing advanced water treatment products. Its flagship offering, CapCo, is an electrochemical filter designed to effectively remove various metals from water, addressing the needs of industries such as batteries, microelectronics, electroplating, automotive, metal finishing, mining, food and beverage, and oil and gas. The filter targets a range of metals, including lead, copper, manganese, iron, silver, gold, mercury, zinc, nickel, and aluminum. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, PowerTech Water aims to provide water-intensive industries with access to affordable and environmentally friendly clean water solutions.

Bert Thin Films

Grant in 2014
Bert Thin Films, LLC is a manufacturer based in Louisville, Kentucky, specializing in copper paste for solar panel production. Founded in 2014, the company has developed a patented product known as CuBert™, which serves as a direct substitute for traditional silver paste used in solar panel manufacturing. This innovative copper-based paste can be applied using the same screen-printing equipment and fired in existing belt furnaces, allowing solar panel manufacturers to adopt the material without any significant changes to their production processes. By utilizing Bert Thin Films' copper paste, manufacturers can achieve considerable cost savings while maintaining production efficiency.

Pyrochem Catalyst

Grant in 2014
Developer of catalysts and specialty materials for automotive exhaust and reforming applications designed to help in high-temperature catalytic processes. The company's materials help in natural gas conversion to synthesis gas in high aromatic, high sulfur, and high-temperature environments, enabling businesses to save capital and operating costs by providing uninterrupted performance for extended periods.

Liberate Medical

Grant in 2014
Liberate Medical, LLC is a medical device company focused on improving the treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by developing innovative technologies. Founded in 2013 and based in Crestwood, Kentucky, the company has created VentFree, a system that utilizes non-invasive neuromuscular electrical stimulation to contract abdominal wall muscles in sync with a patient’s breathing. This approach aims to minimize disuse atrophy of these muscles, potentially decreasing the duration of mechanical ventilation required for adult patients. By enhancing respiratory muscle function, Liberate Medical seeks to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs associated with pulmonary disorders.

ParaTechs

Grant in 2014
ParaTechs is a privately held biotechnology company established in 2004, originating from intellectual property developed at the University of Kentucky. The company focuses on creating innovative technologies and products that facilitate discovery and development within the biotechnology sector. ParaTechs has developed a technology that enhances mouse embryo transfer processes, significantly reducing costs and eliminating the need for anesthesia and recovery typically associated with traditional surgical methods. This advancement allows researchers to expedite the introduction of novel products into the biotechnology industry. ParaTechs actively seeks partnerships through commercial licensing and collaborative research initiatives to further its mission and expand its impact in the field.

Hummingbird Nano

Grant in 2014
Hummingbird Nano is a company specializing in the development of ultra-smooth, circular channel microfluidic chips, produced in a single solid form. Their innovative technology allows for the creation of products that were previously unattainable with existing manufacturing methods, while also reducing costs for current high-priced products, making them more accessible. Hummingbird Nano's manufacturing approach combines the speed of injection molding with the flexibility of 3D printing, transforming the production process for small components like microfluidic chips and micro-optics. The company's focus is on precision engineering, enabling the assembly of micro-scale components into larger systems with nanometer-scale accuracy. This advancement aims to enhance chip performance and design flexibility, ultimately contributing to broader innovation and societal benefits.

EIE Materials

Grant in 2014
EIE Materials specializes in nanotechnology and LED phosphors. EIE Materials was founded in 2013 by Jonathan Melman and Rob Nordsell.

TutorGen, Inc

Grant in 2013
We are driven to find a better path to learning, one that will create lasting change. At TutorGen, that path begins in research and comes to life in the classroom and workplace. We bring together evidence-based approaches with technology and an unwavering focus on the learners, educators, developers, and content creators who use our products.

Tier 1 Performance

Grant in 2013
Tier 1 Performance Solutions, LLC provides online learning and knowledge management solutions to commercial, non-profit, and government organizations. It offers Performance1, a performance content management system that accelerates content authoring and delivery; Library1 system, a collection of media assets, such as illustrations, animations, images, interactions, and activities; Method1, a process for developing learning modules; and online help and other electronic performance support systems for software deployment. The company was founded in 1993 and is based in Covington, Kentucky.

EIE Materials

Grant in 2013
EIE Materials specializes in nanotechnology and LED phosphors. EIE Materials was founded in 2013 by Jonathan Melman and Rob Nordsell.

CEINT

Grant in 2013
The Center for the Environmental Implications of NanoTechnology (CEINT) is exploring the relationship between a vast array of nanomaterials— from natural, to manufactured, to those produced incidentally by human activities— and their potential environmental exposure, biological effects, and ecological impacts. Headquartered at Duke University, CEINT is a collaborative effort bringing together researchers from Duke, Carnegie Mellon University, Howard University, Virginia Tech, University of Kentucky, and Stanford University. CEINT academic collaborations include on-going activities coordinated with faculty at Baylor, Clemson, North Carolina State, and North Carolina Central universities, with researchers at NIST and EPA government labs, and with key international partners.

Inquiry Technologies

Grant in 2013
Developer of a digital hiring platform intended specifically for fair and second chance labor pools. The company’s patented product and services support a dual-sided employer-employee training model for soft skills that is easily accessed and highly personalized, yet scalable at enterprise levels. Our model effectively identifies and matches employers with the best candidates from second and fair chance employees, provides a network of related resources, and trains either side with the skills needed to ensure the success of these placements. The platform saves employers time and money, dramatically improves the jobseeker’s odds of getting hired, helps fill jobs in areas of critical need, and reduces much of the stigma associated with portion of the workforce.

CitiLogics

Grant in 2013
CitiLogics, LLC specializes in developing models and analytics for the water and wastewater industry, focusing on urban water infrastructure management. Founded in 2009 and based in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company provides a range of services including real-time model and SCADA integration, hydraulic and water quality model development, and distribution system water quality management. CitiLogics also offers online water quality monitoring, GIS and statistical data analysis, and custom software solutions. One of its notable products is Polaris, which combines a SCADA HMI emulator with real-time network model forecasts and scenario management tools for optimizing operational strategies. As a subsidiary of Xylem Inc., CitiLogics leverages research-level engineering expertise to address practical challenges faced by its clients in managing urban water resources.

Ambiharv

Grant in 2013
Ambiharv has established cutting–edge research and technology in harvesting energy from the environment. This unique technology requires significantly less power than existing products. The significance of this research has been recognized by a National Science Foundation grant (Phase I). Ambiharv continues to develop and apply this advanced technology to MEMS commercial applications in all industries.

ZoomEssence

Grant in 2013
ZoomEssence specializes in designing and producing custom powder flavors for food and beverage brands, focusing on enhancing taste and aroma in their products. Using its patented no-heat "cold brew" Zooming process, the company transforms liquid flavors into powder form, capturing their full sensory potential. This innovative method, along with its proprietary DriZoom technology, allows for a more flavorful and aromatic product while eliminating the need for traditional spray drying techniques. Founded in 2008, ZoomEssence is a leader in powder flavor science and technology, holding multiple patents that support its advanced and energy-efficient flavor creation methods. The company operates facilities in Sayreville, New Jersey, and Hebron, Kentucky.
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