The money is out there, but how will you access it? Check out a special funding workshop and learn the nuts and bolts of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Learn how you can enter the multi-billion dollar federal funding arena, and discover which opportunities are best suited to your business or innovation.

The workshop is set for May 15, 2009 from 8 – 10 AM, at  114 Mervis Hall, University of Pittsburgh Oakland

Topics include:

• Strategies to make your technology appealing to R&D funders

• Pre-qualification issues for potential participants

• Steps for applying for federal SBIR research

• Proposal writing tips to make your innovation stand out

• Technology value realization

• Trends in innovation

• Overview of participating federal agencies

Develop a comprehensive understanding of the SBIR/STTR programs that will enable your business to expand its horizons. The funding you need is waiting for you – now learn how to get it! Space is limited and reservations are required.

Register today by calling 412.648.1542 or emailing ieeregistration@katz.pitt.edu.

SBIR Advance is an in-depth program covering all aspects necessary for writing winning grants to the federal government, specifically focused on, but not limited to the NIH. The program is designed to provide qualified life sciences entrepreneurs and early-stage research and development companies with:

- Grant application strategy development

- Proposal writing assistance

- One-on-one consultation and access to SBIR experts

Each workshop will include:

- An overview of the Federal SBIR program

- Tools and references to research specific application types

- Requirements to follow during proposal preparation and post-award guidelines

- Principal investigator requirements and company eligibility

- The internal agencies’ review process

- Each section of the SBIR proposal application in detail, including all forms

- Phase II product development plan preparation

- Basic accounting practices to follow when working with governmental entities (as well as establishing indirect rates and job costing techniques)

Immediately following the SBIR Advance workshop the entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to meet one-on-one with the SBIR consultants to answer any company-specific questions and immediately begin working on grant strategy relevant to their company’s stage of development.

Workshops are FREE to eligible participants. All training materials and meals are included. Space is limited to life sciences companies.

Questions & Applications:
Contact Uwe Winzen, uwinzen@plsg.com, 412-770-1647

Nokomis was founded in 2002 to provide advanced technical solutions to the defense industry.  The company is a HUBZone certified small business with headquarters located in Charleroi, PA (Pennsylvania’s 12th congressional district). 

One of the company’s areas of expertise is in low profile, conformal antenna design.  Nokomis’ designs are used in military and non-military systems.  The company has a proven track record of successful execution and transition of SBIR funded technology through previous awards from NASA, the Air Force, Army, Navy, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and National Science Foundation (NSF).

The digitally controlled antenna arrays for this NASA SBIR enhance the ability to develop and steer antenna beams using antenna structures that are conformal to aeronautical vehicles.  A focused beam reduces signal to noise ratio which increases signal quality.  This provides greater communication range and bandwidth for a wireless system.  Aside from a physical antenna design that will need to perform in both launch and deep space environments, algorithms that perform the beam forming will be developed by Nokomis.

The SBIR program provides funding to small businesses for exploring high return on investment technologies.  The research conducted during this SBIR program will result in a technology that not only provides advanced conformal antenna capability for aeronautical vehicles, but will also have potential applications in areas like cellular base stations, WiFi systems, and airport infrastructure and safety.

“This project represents a new direction of technology development for RE2 and will build upon RE2’s strong background in robotics research and robust software engineering capabilities to provide a solution that meets the needs of today’s military,” stated Dr. Patrick Rowe, vice president of research and development for RE2, Inc.
 
During the six-month Phase I program, RE2 will research and develop enhancements for existing route planning technology that calculates the safest path through a post-combat or urban area, taking into account information about various threats. Threats include the chance of sniper attack, risk of encountering improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and hostile local reaction to military presence. The RE2 team will also implement an intuitive graphical user interface software tool to display map and route information in an easy-to-understand format, and allow the user to quickly update the threat information as new intelligence is obtained in order to plan a new, safer route.
 
“In addition to improving our military’s ability to safely navigate through hostile environments, we envision that this technology will also be applicable to commercial markets in the future, thus expanding our product offerings outside of the Department of Defense,” said Jorgen Pedersen, president and CEO of RE2, Inc.

Quantum Simulations, Inc., a developer of artificial intelligence (AI) tutoring, assessment and professional development software, has received a $500,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop the first-ever artificial intelligence-based teaching simulation software for science delivered in real time over the Internet. Similar to a classroom “flight simulator”, this technology will offer a convenient opportunity to test and expand a teacher’s preparedness through practice with realistic situations.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics’ congressionally mandated annual report, The Condition of Education, there is a significant shortage of qualified science and mathematics teachers in the United States. An increasing number of middle schools and high schools are forced to rely on new and out-of-field teachers to fill the gap for teaching these subjects, often resulting in a substantial decline in the quality of instruction and individual attention students receive.

To better prepare teachers for the classroom, Quantum is developing the Quantum Mentors, an AI-based software designed to help instructors prepare for teaching difficult subjects such as chemistry by simulating student/teacher interactions in a virtual online learning environment before getting in front of a live class. With Quantum, teachers will be able to:

• Enter their own problems from textbooks or other resources
• Review content and key concepts that are proven to cause students the most difficulty
• Deepen their own content understanding
• Learn to respond to student questions more effectively
• Practice proven pedagogical techniques for improving student understanding
• Conduct self-monitoring and assessment

“This is especially helpful for new teachers, but could also benefit experienced ones who notice students faltering or not responding well on certain topics,” stated Jeanne Suehr, reviewer and chemistry teacher at Yough High School in Herminie, Pennsylvania. “As teachers, we always benefit from feedback, but often our administrators are not science certified and can’t really help on subject-specific matters.”

In the virtual Quantum classroom, student avatars raise their hands to ask questions about the teacher’s chosen topic and problem. The artificial intelligence programming simulates students at varying levels of comprehension and knowledge. Clicking or “calling” on the student allows them to ask their question and, in a simulated live classroom environment, teachers read and hear the students’ questions and practice how to handle a wide range of questions related to the problem the teacher has entered into the system. At any time during their training session, teachers can ask the virtual Mentor, a master teacher, questions about key concepts, specific steps in a problem or proven teaching techniques that improve student performance and conceptual understanding.

“The Quantum Mentors will provide teachers with unlimited access to training where they can work at their own pace,” states Mr. Dale Holder, Quantum’s Chief Academic Officer and master teacher. “The ability to stay ahead of the class and have the urgently-needed tools to prepare lesson materials will be a time-saving resource and excellent confidence builder for new and out-of-field teachers.”

Company: Quantum Simulations Web Site: www.quantumsimulations.com Location: Murrysville, PA 15668 Description: Quantum develops artificial intelligence (AI) tutoring, assessment and professional development software for science, mathematics and accounting that empowers teachers and inspires students from middle school through college to achieve more. Quantum’s intelligent learning software is available stand-alone or integrated with their partners’ web-based homework products and Learning Management Systems. Read more.