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SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCHThe National Science Foundation (NSF) awards Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) grants to stimulate technological innovation that meets federal research and development needs. NSF's SBIR budget for 1997 is $50 million. The program makes it financially possible for small firms to undertake high risk, cutting-edge research with strong potential for commercial results. The following are a few of the many SBIR success stories. For more information on SBIR programs, see: http://www.eng.nsf.gov/sbir/ POLLUTION SOLUTION: BETTER BACTERIANSF has supported a young company with SBIR funding to explore areas of advanced biotechnology to solve effluent and hazardous waste problems. Envirogen Inc. of Lawrenceville, N.J., began in 1988 with 10 employees. It now has more than 200 on its payroll, and the firm is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Among the firm's successes, Envirogen reports that it has identified special strains of bacteria that eliminate a long-time groundwater pollution problem. Tests show that the newly found strains of bacteria move through aquifers and produce enzymes which can break down complex contaminants, such as trichloroethylene, more effectively than current technology. Envirogen's chief executive says that some of the new technologies have proven so successful that in many cases corporate cleanup costs are lower than pursuing legal avenues to seek relaxed regulations. The New Jersey Technology Council recently named the firm "Environmental Company of the Year." SIDE BY SIDE BY GAUSSIANSCIENTIFIC Computing Associates of New Haven, Conn. and software firm Gaussian of Pittsburgh, Penn., are producing a parallel version of Gaussian 94, a leading computational chemistry program used in research laboratories worldwide. This product, developed with the help of an NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant, has helped the manufacturer design software to permit researchers to run more time- and cost-efficient chemistry simulations using networked desktop workstations and parallel supercomputers. The aim is to bring new commercial products to market more quickly. Gaussian 94 is used in medicine for designing drugs, in chemical processing for developing catalysts, and in other chemical reaction studies such as jet fuel combustion. COMPUTER CONTROL FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIESWesTest Engineering of Farmington, Utah has developed new credit card-sized integrated circuit boards, called Darci Cards, to allow people with disabilities control over standard laptop or tabletop computers. Named for a little girl who was born without limbs, the integrated circuit boards, developed with the help of an NSF SBIR grant, plug into a computer's PCMCIA slot. This allows the computer to be controlled by switches, joysticks or pointing devices. With Darci Cards, a person with a disability can access control menus, input text and surf the Internet with the blink of an eye or puffs of breath. NSF supported two years of research and development by Westest. The latest version of Darci Cards, brought to market in late 1996, uses an updated Morse code to provide computer access. NSF has extended the SBIR grant while the firm is developing Macintosh, NT and PC versions with scanning arrays, as well as expanded and on-screen keyboards. See also related SBIR Fact Sheet.
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