SBIR 

SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION

RESEARCH PROGRAM

PHASE I and PHASE II 

AWARDS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology

Department of Commerce
INTRODUCTION

Abstracts of Awards for Fiscal Year 2019 SBIR Program

Note: Certain non-ASCII characters may not be represented accurately in this 

document. In cases where there may be doubt, please direct your questions 

to sbir@nist.gov. 
Fiscal Year 2019 List of Awardees

Award Number Company Name Phase

70NANB19H044 AirFlow Sciences Corp. Phase I

70NANB19H046 Fullmoon Sensors, Inc. Phase I

70NANB19H039 Graphene Waves, LLC Phase I

70NANB19H043 Intact Solutions, Inc. Phase I

70NANB19H082 nVariate, Inc. Phase I

70NANB19H040 OmniVis LLC Phase I

70NANB19H048 Parman Tech, LLC Phase I

70NANB19H042 QATCH Technologies, LLC Phase I

70NANB19H041 Robotic Materials Inc. Phase I

70NANB19H047 Sandbox Semiconductor Inc. Phase I

70NANB19H049 Tourney Consulting Group, LLC Phase I

70NANB19H045 XALLENT, LLC Phase I

70NANB19H075 Advanced Silicon Group Phase II

70NANB19H079 AlphaCore, Inc. Phase II

70NANB19H077 Applied NanoFlourescence, LLC Phase II

70NANB19H080 Cyberpoint International Phase II

70NANB19H078 H3D, Inc. Phase II

70NANB19H081 InfoBeyond Technology LLC Phase II

70NANB19H076 Nikira Labs, Inc. Phase II

 

 
FY 2019 PHASE I AWARD

Title: Advanced Instrumentation for Non-Nulling Stack Velocity Testing

Firm: Airflow Sciences Corp.

12190 Hubbard St.

Livonia, MI 48150-1737

Principal Investigator: Matthew Gentry

Phone: 734-525-0300

Email: mgentry@airflowsciences.com

Award Amount: $100,000

Abstract: Industrial facilities, manufacturing plants, and electric power plants that burn 

fossil fuels exhaust the combustion products to atmosphere through their smokestacks. 

Stack pollutant emissions are quantified using manual testing methods developed in the 

1960s, which are prone to error if non-axial flow exists in a stack.

Recently, NIST has been working on an improved technique of performing 3D flow 

testing for smokestacks which will greatly reduce the complexity, duration, and potential 

for human-error. Advanced data acquisition systems and software are required to 

accommodate the NIST test methodology. These systems must be highly accurate but 

also able to operate in potentially harsh environmental conditions since the testing is 

conducted year round on outdoor platforms of smokestacks.

This project will develop an advanced data acquisition system suitable for the NIST 

“non-nulling” test technique. The system requires highly accurate pressure sensors, 

working collectively to acquire data from multiple velocity probes. In addition, the system 

must have capability to purge the probe pressure lines of any debris or condensation 

that would degrade accuracy, operate in harsh weather, and provide a straightforward 

interface to an operator. The system will thus involve both advanced instrumentation 

along with custom software to follow the NIST “non-nulling” protocol.

Commercial Applications: The instrumentation developed during this research will be 

applicable to smokestacks at large industrial facilities, allowing them to more accurately 

quantify and minimize their pollution emissions. The system will be accurate but easy to 

use, allowing stack testing personnel (from the plant site or from third-party stack testing 

companies) to obtain high-quality data with less effort

than current methods. In addition, the instrumentation will be applicable to other 

industrial personnel that use EPA Method 2F test procedures. This encompasses 

activities such as large horsepower fan performance testing, combustion optimization of 

boilers, and HVAC equipment testing at nuclear power plants.
Title: Continuous Monitoring of Natural Gas Infrastructure for Increased Community 

Resilience using Voltammetric Sensors

Firm: Fullmoon Sensors, Inc.

68 Olmsted Rd.

Stanford, CA 94305

Principal Investigator: Ehsan Sadeghipour

Phone: 412-251-3390

Email: ehsan@fullmoonsensors.com

Award Amount: $99,980

Abstract: Fullmoon Sensors has the first chip-level sensors capable of identifying and 

quantifying molecules in the air. At the core of the technology are printed voltammetric 

sensors, which are operated using cyclic voltammetry, an electrochemical technique 

that probes for the redox potential, a unique signature of molecules. This sensing 

principle for the detection of carbon monoxide and methane has been demonstrated in 

two journal papers and Fullmoon Sensors has two patents on this technology. In Phase 

I, a signal analysis algorithm for edge computing will be built. The development of this 

algorithm is a critical piece of the sensing solution being developed. Performing signal 

analysis at the edge rather than in the cloud will allow for the generation of highly 

valuable data with minimum power usage. This is important for building sensing nodes 

that would stay in the field several years with minimum maintenance, and communicate 

data even after catastrophic events. To gather this data, our test setup to test our 

sensors for the detection of ethane and natural gas will be upgraded. The goal of this 

two phases SBIR project is to be ready to field test our sensing technology with our 

partners PG&E and SoCalGas.

Commercial Applications: Fullmoon Sensors has received non-dilutive funding from 

California natural gas utilities, PG&E and SoCalGas, which plans to deploy voltammetric 

sensing nodes as part of a chemical sensing network to continuously monitor their gas 

emissions and comply with state regulations. The business model will be to sell sensing 

nodes directly to operators, and they will own them. The data output of the sensors is 

very rich, which means analytics can be subsequently sold to customers. Addressing 

the problem of natural gas leaks will increase the resilience of communities by making 

the distribution of this resource safer.

Title: Developing Commercial Quantum Resistance Standard Based on Epitaxial 

Graphene
Firm: Graphene Waves, LLC

9711 Washingtonian Blvd., Ste 550

Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Principal Investigator: Yanfei Yang

Phone: 301 520-6065

Email: yanfei.yang@graphenewaves.com

Award Amount: $100,000

Abstract: Graphene Waves will develop a quantum Hall resistance (QHR) standard 

based on graphene that can be deployed for general electrical calibration in industries. 

Current QHR standard is based on GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure and requires 

expensive liquid helium to operate. The continuous increase in price and unstable 

supply chain of liquid helium limit the QHR standard to be only affordable by the top 

National Metrology Institutes. With the advanced technology for graphene and the 

liquid-helium-free cryocooler, a QHR standard based on graphene will be available for 

on-site electrical calibration in industries worldwide. Further research is needed to 

reduce the production cost of graphene, enhance the stability of graphene in working 

environment, and simplify the calibration process for QHR standards. Graphene Waves 

will develop a method for large-scale production of epitaxial graphene, a technique to 

tune and stabilize the carrier density in graphene, as well as to design the prototype of 

graphene Hall bar arrays. The results will pave the way for the development of a 

cryogen-free QHR calibration system in the future phase. Their research on graphene 

will not only impact calibration and metrology industries, but also shed the light on novel 

electronics and photonics.

Commercial Applications: The ultimate outcome of this project is a portable, costeffective QHR calibration system that is accessible on-site and year-round by the 

calibration and metrology industry. It has a significant impact on the accurate 

measurement to ensure the quality and consistency of products and services for 

aerospace, pharmaceutical and other industries. The main result from Phase I research 

is an affordable, robust QHR standard based on graphene that can be operated without 

liquid helium. Also, the low-cost, ultra-high-quality graphene to be developed in Phase I 

has great potential in novel electronics and photonics for quantum computing and 5G 

networks.

Title: Direct Performance Evaluation of Additive Manufacturing Process Plans

Firm: Intact Solutions, Inc.

211 South Paterson St.

Madison, WI 53703
Principal Investigator: Goldy Kumar

Phone: 608-334-9646

Email: gkumar@intact-solutions.com

Award Amount: $100,000

Abstract: Additive manufacturing is steadily advancing towards fulfilling its promise of 

customized and on-demand production of functional parts. However, performance of asmanufactured parts can differ significantly from the as-designed parts because the asmanufactured geometry differs from the as-designed geometry and the as 

manufactured material properties are not known. Attempts to predict performance of asmanufactured parts are hampered by the complexity of the as-planned geometry and 

the unknown as-manufactured material properties. Intact Solutions will demonstrate the 

feasibility of performing accurate structural simulation directly from additive 

manufacturing plans. This will be achieved by extending Intact Solutions’ momentbased interoperable simulation technology to incorporate material properties through a 

combination of analytical, experimental, and data-driven methods. The approach will be 

driven by manufacturing plans and available material information from NIST’s AMMD. A 

significant component of the proposed research is to utilize and improve the data from 

the AMMD in the next generation simulation technology that will support validation, 

planning, and optimization for additive manufacturing processes.

Commercial Applications: The ability to computationally assess performance of asmanufactured components directly from process plans can lead to dramatic savings in 

time and material costs in additive manufacturing throughout US industry. If successful, 

the developed simulation technology will serve three major customers: (1) 

manufacturing service industry that depends on rapid generation and evaluation of 

process plans, (2) aerospace, defense, and medical industry where performance of 

mission-critical printed components is determined by the process plan and its 

parameters; and (3) small businesses and maker communities that increasingly rely on 

additive manufacturing but are unable to predict whether 3D printed components will be 

functional.

Title: Gap-Free Model-Based Engineering for Manufacturing and Analysis: Digital 

Thread without Translation

Firm: nVariate, Inc.

1101 W. 34th St.

Austin, TX 78705

Principal Investigator: Benjamin Urick

Phone: 512-934-4765
Email: benurick@nvariate.com

Award Amount: $99,993

Abstract: Modern Model-Based Enterprise / Engineering (MBE) systems rely on 

freeform surfaces built as complex combinations of geometric primitives to define 

engineered objects. Unfortunately, the intersection of freeform surfaces in MBE 

applications results in highly approximated solutions, degrading models that cost billions 

annually by US industry to fix. Current technology limits the abilities of users in the 

digital thread who inherit these gap-ridden models: additive manufacturing/3D printing, 

computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), etc. Entire branches of industry have been set 

up to deal with the expensive problem of repairing, translating, and meshing models. 

Commonly referred to as “the trim problem”, it is considered to be the core issue 

hindering MBE progress. nVariate has developed technology that solves this problem, 

making the MBE model gap-free. The methodology uses a three-stage process to 

provide a well-defined mathematical mapping between conventional trimmed and gapfree models. The procedure can be integrated into existing MBE frameworks utilizing 

existing data structures throughout the digital thread. nVariate’s approach solves the 

problem natively, discretely, and seeks to make it available in native MBE software as a 

plug-in.

Commercial Applications: It is the goal of nVariate to provide a transition of their 

innovation from academic research to a private commercial software product. nVariate 

sees the algorithm's ability to fix geometric models as an easily integrable software 

plugin for existing MBE platforms, a conventionally accepted means in industry of 

commercially integrating with current users. This product will accept native application 

information and internally produce a model in the same format without gaps or openings 

at the surface intersections.

Title: A Portable Vibrio cholerae Concentrator for Sensitive Pathogen Detection in 

Water

Firm: OmniVis LLC

320 North St.

West Lafayette, IN 47906

Principal Investigator: Katherine N. Clayton

Phone: 415-309-9524

Email: kclayton@omnivistech.com

Award Amount: $97,087
Abstract: This SBIR Phase I project will develop an easy to use, inexpensive, and 

portable bacterial concentrator to enable more sensitive cholera pathogen (Vibrio 

cholerae) detection. Cholera affects communities across 41 countries, including 

Mozambique in 2019 after Cyclone Idai and Yemen in 2017. Current methods used to 

detect the cholera pathogen in water involves a 3 to 5-day procedure due to the low 

concentrations of the bacterium found in the water. The proposed device intakes 1L of 

water from an environmental water source and concentrates the solution down to 1mL, 

enriching the

bacteria contained within the sample. Therefore, the enriched sample can be used in 

conjunction with our handheld Vibrio cholerae detection device to identify low, but 

dangerous, bacterial levels. This project will first develop an easy-to-use portable water 

detection device. The concentrator’s usability after construction will be evaluated. 

Secondly, the capture and concentration efficiency of the device will be tested by 

filtering and measuring varying concentrations of polystyrene fluorescent particles that 

pass through the filter. Lastly, the capture efficiency of Vibrio cholerae spiked 

environmental water samples will be determined. The final step will provide critical 

knowledge toward both the ability to enrich for Vibrio cholerae and the degree of which 

fouling of the filter will take place.

Commercial Applications: The commercial potential of this SBIR project is an 

inexpensive and easy to use portable device that concentrates the cholera pathogen in 

environmental water sources. Contaminated water sources place populations at risk for 

contracting cholera. When contracting cholera, patients exhibit symptoms of severe 

diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration. When the patient is left untreated, cholera can 

ultimately lead to death. This project proposes a portable bacterial concentrator to 

enrich for Vibrio cholerae. Bacterial enrichment can enable humanitarian aid 

organizations to detect low, but dangerous, levels of Vibrio cholerae. Downstream, this 

technology will save the time and costs currently associated with cholera outbreaks 

through early detection and can be expanded to other infectious diseases.

Title: Laser Particle Separation

Firm: Parman Tech, LLC

9231 Shafers Mill Dr.

Frederick, MD 21704

Principal Investigator: John Curry

Phone: 240-405-9670

Email: jjcurry@parmantech.com

Award Amount: $100,000
Abstract: Parman Tech is dedicated to commercializing a NIST technology for sorting 

nano-particles. This technology uses the force of light to gently guide particles along 

different paths depending on the size of makeup of each particle.

Commercial Applications: Separation of nano-particles by size is essential to new 

therapeutics in the pharmaceutical industry including biologics, gene therapy, and nanomedicine.

Title: Microcapillary Quartz Sensors for Screening Injectability of High Concentration 

Protein Formulations

Firm: QATCH Technologies, LLC

551 Dairy Glen Rd.

Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Principal Investigator: Zehra Parlak

Phone: 678-908-3112

Email: Zehra.parlak@qatchtech.com

Award Amount: $99,983

Abstract: The objective of this SBIR Phase I project is to determine the feasibility of 

viscosity characterization of high concentration protein formulations (HCF) by QATCH’s 

microcapillary quartz technology. HCFs are non-Newtonian fluids with shear-thinning 

behavior and they are administered to patients by subcutaneous or muscular injections. 

The injectability of HCFs depends on the viscosity at high-shear-rates (usually over 

100,000 1/s). QATCH’s proposed technology implements a microfluidic capillary 

viscometer on a quartz resonator. This unique combination can interrogate low shearrate regimes while also measuring the thickness-shear mode resonances of the quartz 

resonator, which observe viscosity values over 1,000,000 1/s. As a result, the viscosity 

of HCFs can be characterized over a wide range of shear-rates with very small fluid 

volumes. In preliminary studies, QATCH had demonstrated that microfluidic quartz can 

measure viscosity at high-shear-rates experimentally and had modeled the response of 

the microfluidic quartz resonators to capillary filling of shear-thinning fluids. To 

accomplish the objective of this SBIR proposal, QATCH will test the low and high-shear 

rate measurement capability of the system and then calculate the required injection 

forces for well-studied formulations.

Commercial Applications: Biopharmaceutical therapeutics have a global market size 

over $200B and there will be over 8,000 products in the pipeline by 2020. These 

therapeutics are mostly high concentration protein formulations (HCF) which have to be 

administered by injections, but may encounter injectability problems. By developing a 

technology that uses a very small sample volume and yet delivers a broader viscosity 
behavior range, QATCH addresses the unmet need of early-stage injectability testing. 

Due to QATCH’s extremely small volume requirements and disposable sensor units, 

biopharmaceutical companies will 1)make decisions on preclinical scale-up after 

confirming injectability, 2)save protein costs, and 3)save personnel time.

Title: Easy-to-use, Autonomous Bin-picking and Assembly Operations for the 

Manufacturing Industry

Firm: Robotic Materials Inc.

1860 38th St.

Boulder, CO 80309

Principal Investigator: Nicolaus Correll

Phone: 303-717-1436

Email: nikolaus@roboticmaterials.com

Award Amount: $100,000

Abstract: Robotic Materials will develop a series of object manipulation primitives to 

pick up and assemble standard mechanical parts such as screws, gears and pulleys 

that can be configured without any programming skills. Building up on a smart robotic 

gripper, 3D perception and machine learning algorithms, they will design a graphical 

user interface for the Universal Robot E-Series that allows a user to label arbitrary 3D 

objects, identify assembly points, and issue pick-up and assembly commands, which 

are modeled by standard industrial assembly tasks that have been identified by NIST’s 

manufacturing group. Specifically, Robotics Materials will provide routines for peg-inhole and hole-on-peg assemblies that are defined by circular or rectangular holes or 

extrusions, as well as pick-up routines for arbitrary objects from clutter or in bins. The 

underlying algorithms have already been validated, making the focus of this project to 

develop interfaces that make their configuration as simple as possible, only requiring an 

user to present an individual object, labeling it, and selecting a desired action. With the 

focus of this Phase I project on demonstrating the viability of this approach and trading 

ease-of-use with functionality, a Phase II will extend this approach to a larger class of 

objects and tasks.

Commercial Applications: Making operations such as bin picking and assembly 

available to non-programmers at a fraction of the cost of existing systems will 

dramatically broaden the possible applications for collaborative robots and enable use 

cases that were previously too expensive or too difficult to automate. Combining 3D 

perception and computation inside the gripper also enables automation in spaces where 

space constraints prevented the use of external camera systems. Not requiring any 
additional infrastructure also enables quickly adapting a robot for different applications, 

even at the same day.

Title: Advanced Manufacturing and Material Measurements Software Tool Weave TM for 

the Acceleration and Automation of SEM image analysis in the Semiconductor Industry

Firm: Sandbox Semiconductor Inc.

54 Rainey St.

Austin, TX 78701

Principal Investigator: Meghali Chopra

Phone: 214-288‐7926

Email: Meghali.Chopra@sandboxsemiconductor.com

Award Amount: $99,975

Abstract: In this Phase I SBIR project, SandBox SemiconductorTM will develop an 

Advanced Manufacturing and Material Measurements software tool called Weave TM for 

accelerating and automating SEM image analysis for the semiconductor industry. 

During the development of a new manufacturing process line for a semiconductor 

device, tens of thousands of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images are taken and 

measured as feedback to test and optimize the hundreds of processes required to 

fabricate a given device design. Measurements of critical dimensions (“CDs”) are 

extracted from these images, for example the top and bottom widths and depths of 

trenches. Weave TM will automate the extraction of the CDs from a single or stitched 

image. This automation will improve accuracy and reduce measurement variability by 

avoiding human bias, improving data standardization for SEM processing, and 

accelerating and reducing the cost of process development. The proposed work will 

leverage innovations in image processing from NIST’s Image Analytics Program as well 

as SandBox Semiconductor’s process modeling and prediction suite, SandBox 

StudioTM. 

Commercial Applications: Measurement and analysis of SEM images in the 

semiconductor industry is a time-consuming and expensive process that inherently 

produces imperfect, user-biased results. An automated metrology tool like Weave TM will 

reduce costs, help to standardize SEM process data, accelerate semiconductor process 

development, and remove user-bias. Currently, analysis of metrology typically 

comprises 8% of the total cost of a wafer. Weave TM will reduce metrology analysis time 

four-fold. This reduction will dramatically reduce metrology costs for semiconductor chip 

and equipment manufacturers and shorten their process learning cycles.
Title: Development of a Neutron-based Nondestructive Test Method for Concrete 

Petrography and Chemical Analysis

Firm: Tourney Consulting Group, LLC

3401 Midlink Dr.

Kalamazoo, MI 49048

Principal Investigator: Neal S. Berke

Phone: 269-384-9980

Email: nberke@tourneyconsulting.com

Award Amount: $99,345

Abstract: To evaluate the technical feasibility of prompt gamma neutron activation 

(PGAA) as an alternative to a set of standard destructive tests of concrete petrography 

including aggregate type, water/cement ratio, aggregate/binder ratio, density, chloride 

content and chloride bulk diffusion constant; and to determine the specifications for the 

design of a dedicated commercial laboratory-based PGAA facility for the petrography of 

concrete.

Commercial Applications: Time and costs to determine chloride content in concrete 

as well as the water-to-binder ratio and binder to concrete ratio will be reduced using a 

nondestructive method. As only one specimen is required for several simultaneous 

analyses, sampling will be reduced which is of particular benefit in reducing downtime at 

field locations. Analysis of other chemicals in cement components and concrete will 

provide additional revenue sources. This will decrease response time, increase 

throughput, and improve profitability.

Title: Nanomachine Device for Semiconductor Process Control Monitoring

Firm: XALLENT, LLC

95 Brown Rd. Suite 271

Ithaca, NY 14850

Principal Investigator: Kwame Amponsah

Phone: 607-262-0515

Email: kwame.amponsah@xallent.com

Award Amount: $100,000
Abstract: Conventional characterization and test methods are increasingly ineffective 

when applied to structures less than 100 nanometers, causing challenges across R&D, 

process control and failure analysis. An increasing number of subtle defects become 

prominent drivers of failure as device size and operating margins decrease, e.g., 

processing anomalies in thin gate oxides, substrate problems related to doping, line 

width variations. Thus, there is urgent demand for tools and techniques to nondestructively characterize semiconductor devices and thin film materials. Xallent will 

develop a radio frequency nanomachine device to utilize for defect identification, 

measurement of thin film material thickness, permittivity and conductivity.

Commercial Applications: This SBIR Phase I project will focus on the development of 

a radio frequency nanomachine diagnostic device to utilize for early detection of defects 

during semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing. The underlying motivating factor 

stems from a lack of non-destructive testing solutions with high resolution, accuracy and 

sensitivity necessary for identifying defects at the nanoscale. In addition, the 

nanomachine device could be used to measure the thickness of thin film materials, 

conductivity and permittivity. A successful outcome of this project will allow for yield 

improvement, reduction of chip waste, and faster introduction of electronic products to 

market.

FY 2019 PHASE II AWARD

Title: Developing Silicon Nanowire Sensors to Measuring Host-Cell Proteins at a 

Biomanufacturing Line

Firm: Advanced Silicon Group

173 Bedford Rd.

Lincoln, MA 01773

Principal Investigator: Marcie Black

Phone: 954-471-1357

Email: marcie@advancedsilicongroup.com

Award Amount: $400,000

Abstract: Advanced Silicon Group’s biosensor is made of silicon nanowire arrays 

functionalized with antibodies to measure the concentration of specific proteins. They 

will take a sensor that has been demonstrated for use in measuring a set of generic 

host cell proteins and will apply the sensor to measure a set of proteins for a specific 

cell line. In doing so, they will demonstrate the utility of the sensor to be used as a cell 

line-specific platform for biomanufacturers who require custom sensors to measure host 

cell proteins for their specific cell lines. They will then make a portable system, including 
both the hardware and software, and bring it to a biomanufacturer’s line to do 

measurements side by side with ELISA tests. Lastly, they will teach their staff to run 

measurements using the sensors and system and use their feedback to write a manual 

for use.

Commercial Applications: Advanced Silicon Group’s sensors have the potential to 

make drugs safer for patients by providing biomanufacturers a rapid quantifiable 

measurement of host cell proteins. The test requires minimal hands-on time, is low-cost, 

and simple to use. The sensors will be able to detect a wide range of protein 

concentrations, monitor multiple proteins simultaneously, and measure proteins at low 

concentrations even when submerged in a high concentration of another protein. This 

will allow manufacturers to test at multiple points in their manufacturing process and to 

focus on reducing harmful HCPs by modifying the manufacturing process or improving 

the purification process.

Title: IF Conversion System for High-Bandwidth Multiplexed Sensors Arrays

Firm: AlphaCore, Inc.

398 S. Mill Ave.

Tempe, AZ 85281

Principal Investigator: Lloyd Linder

Phone: 480-494-5618

Email: engineering@alphacoreinc.com

Award Amount: $400,000

Abstract: Alphacore will develop an Intermediate Frequency (IF) Conversion System 

for High-Bandwidth Multiplexed Sensors Arrays. The team has already successfully 

developed and evaluated a prototype board in Phase I. The goal in Phase II to achieve 

three primary objectives:

1. Optimize the design and performance of an integrated single-board Intermediate 

Frequency Conversion System.

2. Develop software to allow for flexible and simple user interfaces for control of 

amplification and attenuation settings and IQ calibration.

3. Demonstrate end to end performance of the system as part of a cryogenic detector 

readout.

Commercial Applications: Readout systems for MKID arrays developed by NIST for 

homeland security, medical imaging, radio telecopy, nuclear non-proliferation detection 

systems. Other applications include readout systems for superconductor-based 

quantum computing and general laboratory RF diagnostics.
Title: Multimode Chiroptical Spectrometer for Nanoparticle Characterization

Firm: Applied NanoFluorescence, LLC

3701 Kirby Drive

Houston, TX 77098

Principal Investigator: Tonya Cherukuri

Phone: 713-521-1450

Email: tkc@appliednano.com

Award Amount: $399,976

Abstract: Applied NanoFluorescence, LLC (ANF) will develop a new scientific 

instrument optimized for the advanced characterization of near-infrared fluorescent 

nanoparticles that can exist as left- or right-handed structures (enantiomers). Singlewalled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are the leading current example of such 

nanomaterials. ANF proposes a novel multi-mode chiroptical spectrometer that can 

distinguish left and right enantiomers through their different interactions with circularly 

polarized light. The instrument will offer four complementary measurement modes: (1) 

fluorescence-detected circular dichroism (FDCD) spectra with tunable visible excitation 

(400-700 nm) and near-infrared emission (900-1600 nm); (2) rapid excitation-emission 

fluorimetry covering the same visible excitation and near-infrared emission ranges; (3) 

direct near-infrared circular dichroism absorption spectra; and (4) normal near-infrared 

absorption spectra. Unlike existing FDCD instruments, mode (1) will offer spectral 

selection of the emission wavelength, thus allowing structure-specific measurements of 

CD spectra in unsorted SWCNT samples. Mode (2) will measure full excitation-emission 

maps with peak signal-to-noise ratios above 100 in less than 2 minutes. All four 

measurement modes will operate under integrated computer control. The combined 

results will offer powerful analyses of complex nanoparticle samples and their coatings, 

guiding research, product development, quality control, and commercial applications.

Commercial Applications: Emerging bio-applications of nanomaterials will require 

enantiomeric control to ensure medical efficacy and safety. However, there are currently 

inadequate analytical tools for distinguishing nanoparticle handedness. The project will 

develop a novel instrument to address this need. It will perform fast, sensitive, 

quantitative analysis of complex nanoparticle samples, including handedness. Phase I 

research has enabled ANF to offer a new excitation-scanning spectrofluorometer, for 

which a customer order has already been received. In Phase II ANF will develop a fully 

refined commercial instrument with four spectral modes and unique capabilities to 

support advanced nanoparticle separation and quality control in manufacturing.
Title: TheSieve

Firm: Cyberpoint International

621 E. Pratt Street

Baltimore, MD 21202

Principal Investigator: Mark McLarnon

Phone: 410-779-6700

Email: mmclarnon@cyberpointllc.com

Award Amount: $368,135

Abstract: CyberPoint International will design a cross platform product for the 

autonomous execution of live forensic investigations of personal computers, laptops and 

servers leveraging the NIST NSRL corpus and a combination of at least 3 forms of 

machine learning/artificial intelligent algorithms for the processing of preliminary digital 

evidence titled TheSieve. They will build upon work from their Phase I research effort to 

develop the suspicion score for a file based on an ensemble learning approach for 

features including entropy, location, size and file type. TheSieve will be a multi-tier 

product for conducting a live investigation requiring zero installation on target systems. 

TheSieve possesses the ability to automatically execute evidence collection and 

analysis techniques using a deterministic rule engine which fires during each step of 

analysis of a single host. Leveraging probability-based decision tree modeling, 

TheSieve will automatically offer suggestions on a target system under investigation at 

the end of collection and analysis. At the conclusion of this research effort, TheSieve 

will be a functional minimally viable product for conducting a live investigation of 

malicious code events or system misuse for Mac OS X and Linux endpoints and re-train 

data models based expert user feedback.

Commercial Applications: Consultation with industry experts shows a lack of 

availability of investigation software for OS X and Linux. In addition, Cyberpoint 

International is unable to identify a commercial product which offers autonomous 

operation or is driven by machine learning for classification. Given sufficient interest, 

they can restructure TheSieve to offer third-party products the ability to interface with 

TheSieve intelligent models for classification and analysis. 

Title: Dual Plane 3D Compton Scattering Imager with Pixelated CZT Detectors for 1-

10MeV Gamma Ray

Firm: H3D, Inc.

812 Avis Dr.

Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Principal Investigator: Hao Yang

Phone: 734-661-6416

Email: hao@h3dgamma.com

Award Amount: $400,000

Abstract: In Phase I, H3D proved that the current setup achieves better than 8mm 

spatial resolution for 2.2MeV prompt gammas. However, 1mm spatial resolution 

presents a significant challenge for the current setup due in part to limited timing 

resolution and count rate. A new analog ASIC will be developed to replace the current 

analog ASIC that will have better timing resolution and deliver higher count rates. In 

addition, the dynamic range of the new analog ASIC will increase to 9MeV to measure 

prompt gammas from elements other than hydrogen. In parallel to the analog ASIC 

development, a dual plane hybrid Compton camera will be built with our existing digital 

ASIC. This ASIC has similar timing resolution and dynamic range to the new analog 

ASIC but operates at lower count rates. It will serve as a testbed for high-energy 

gamma imaging studies during Phase II. The goal of these studies is to identify and 

approach the limits of spatial resolution for our dual plane imager by optimizing both the 

imager design and source-detector configuration. The final goal is to achieve 1 mm 

spatial resolution at 2.2MeV with 1% H concentration in 3 dimensions.

Commercial Applications: This technology has wide commercial applications 

including fieldable active interrogation for in situ inspection of mechanical structures to 

identify faults, such as degradation in bridges, nuclear facilities, and other critical 

structures of great interest. In addition, the newly developed high-resolution imaging 

capability is a good solution for in-vivo beam range verification for proton therapy.

Title: CSAT: A User-friendly Efficient NIST-spec Information System Development 

Guideline Tool

Firm: InfoBeyond Technology LLC

320 Whittington Pkwy.

Louisville, KY 40222

Principal Investigator: Bin Xie

Phone: 502-371-0907

Email: Bin.Xie@InfoBeyondtech.com

Award Amount: $399,998
Abstract: NIST developed risk management framework and guidelines that assist 

agencies to implement integrated, organization‐wide programs to manage information 

security risk, and further developed Cloud Security Architecture Tool (CSAT) to facilitate 

in this matter. However, NIST’s CSAT needs further improvement and implementation 

of new functions such that it can be commercialized as an Enterprise‐grade product. In 

this project, InfoBeyond will develop of a user‐friendly, efficient, reliable, and generic 

CSAT. Their CSAT will be delivered: (i) an Enterprise CSAT standalone version, and (ii) 

a CSAT Cloud version. Specifically, their CSAT is built over a Java Spring and Angular 

Web –based architecture to support state‐of‐the‐art operational flexibility through user‐

friendly GUI. It overcomes the NIST’s CSAT limitations such as an outdated Windows‐

based software architecture. In such an architecture. InfoBeyond’s CSAT efforts are 

two‐fold: (i) Enhancement of the existing NIST's CSAT functions, (ii) Implementation of 

new functions. More specifically, their CSAT enhances the NIST’s CSAT functions, such 

as report composition and generation, heatmap, and user interfaces. Meanwhile, 

InfoBeyond’s CSAT implements new features, e.g., collaborative user mode for 

generating the guideline report. All these improvements and the new features facilitate 

government agencies’ adoption of secure cloud solution effectively.

Commercial Applications: CSAT can be widely used as a Risk Management 

Framework (RMF) tool for guiding the selection of NIST‐grade privacy and security 

controls before implementation. It helps Federal governments or contractors to reduce 

development cost, time, and manpower by using our tools to quickly define their cloud 

information system requirements in NIST SP guidelines. Further, CSAT can be a RMF 

tool used for financial and stock companies, enterprises, hospitals, insurances, and 

many other business domains. CSAT helps them to optimize information system 

architecture in a lowest cost, while increasing the security robustness by systemically 

providing NIST guideline and risk management.

Title: Compact Raman Fiber Optic Probe with Inline Spectral Filtering

Firm: Nikira Labs, Inc.

1931 Old Middlefield Way

Mountain View, CA 94043

Principal Investigator: Manish Gupta

Phone: 650-906-0274

Email: manish.gupta@nikiralabs.com

Award Amount: $299,162

Abstract: Nikira Labs Inc. will develop a compact Raman fiber optic probe with inline 

spectral filtering that improves fiber-coupled Raman measurements by filtering out 

Raman scattering from the excitation fiber and elastically scattered laser light from the 
collection fibers. The technology will enable compact fiber probes for Raman studies in 

vivo and other difficult to access areas. It will complement existing Raman spectroscopy 

efforts that are ongoing at NIST including tissue studies and broadband coherent antistokes Raman scattering measurements. In Phase I, Nikira Labs demonstrated 

technical feasibility by deploying semi-soft materials on single-mode fiber, multi-mode 

fibers, and fiber optic bundles. In Phase II, Nikira Labs will improve the coating process 

and fabricate higher quality, hard oxide dielectric films. These coatings will be deposited 

on a Raman fiber probe to generate a compact Raman fiber optic probe with inline 

spectral filtering.

Commercial Applications: In Phase III, Nikira Labs Inc. will commercialize the Raman 

fiber optic probes for numerous markets including research and development 

laboratories, in vivo medical procedures, and non-invasive blood glucose monitoring.