Governor Terry McAuliffe announced $2.7 million in funding to support 40 Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund awards representing targeted areas of promising research commercialization, including advanced manufacturing, cyber security, energy, environment, information technology, life sciences, and unmanned systems.
“The Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund has provided funding to Virginia’s innovators at critical points in their research, helping them find solutions to important state, national and international problems,” said Governor McAuliffe. “These awards will contribute to the Commonwealth’s growing leadership position in technology innovation and research excellence, while generating significant long-term economic benefits and growing the new Virginia economy.”
During this round, applications were invited under five programs to support the private sector, academia and nonprofit research institutes across the state: Commercialization, Eminent Researcher Recruitment, Matching Funds, SBIR Matching Funds, and STTR Matching Funds.
Applications underwent a four-step review process beginning with administrative compliance performed by the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) and followed by a subject matter evaluation reviewed by subject matter experts drawn from industry, academia and government. Applications were then evaluated by members of theResearch and Technology Investment Advisory Committee (RTIAC), a board of university, industry and economic development experts who made recommendations for funding to the CIT Board of Directors for final approval. Managed by CIT, the CRCF supports technology priorities identified in the Commonwealth Research and Technology Strategic Roadmap.
“The projects funded through this program have the potential to create solutions for some of the most pressing issues we face today.” said Karen Jackson, Virginia’s Secretary of Technology. “As we continue to build the new Virginia economy, investments in the commercialization of new technologies is a catalyst for new company development and job creation for future generations.”
The following CRCF projects will be awarded, contingent upon acceptance of award terms and conditions:
Commercialization Program
- 418 Intelligence Corp. (Herndon), Development of a Reusable Cyber Tournament Module for Competition Based Analyst Skills Development, Mr. Mark Jaster, $50,000, Cyber Security
- Altede LLC (Blacksburg), Altede–Allergy Test Development: Fast, Easy and Affordable Tests for Food Allergens, Starting with Gluten, Mr. Edward Champion, $50,000, Life Sciences
- Arcus Analytics (Fairfax), An Integrated Data Management Platform for Maintaining Civil Infrastructure, Mr. David Perkins, $49,909, Information Technology
- Contraline, LLC (Charlottesville), A Vas-Occlusive Male Contraceptive that Can Be Reversed Non-Invasively Using UV-Photodegradation, Mr. Kevin Eisenfrats, $50,000, Life Sciences
- Counter-Drone Research Corporation (Vienna), Rogue UAS Detection and Interdiction – Mobile Prototype Development, Mr. Tim O’Shea, $50,000, Unmanned Systems
- DHK Storage, LLC (Herndon), Data Center Power Efficiency and Cooling, Mr. David Klein, $50,000, Energy
- Excavation Alert Systems, LLC. (Charlottesville), SignalTape Utility Protection System, Mr. Ryan Dunn, $25,000, Energy
- FluxTeq LLC (Blacksburg), Inexpensive BTU Meter Used to Increase Building Energy Efficiency, Mr. Rande Cherry, $46,650, Energy
- GreenOps Ammo Inc. (Williamsburg), Commercialization of Environmentally Benign Shotgun Ammunition, Mr. Jason McDevitt, $49,600, Environment
- Land Design Technologies LLC (Blacksburg), Storm Quality Quantity Toolset (Storm Q2) Software Development, Dr. Randy Dymond, $50,000, Environment
- metallum3d Inc. (Crozet), Microwave Densification for Metal 3D Printing, Mr. Nelson Zambrana, $50,000, Advanced Manufacturing
- RTM Vaccines (Richmond), Human Lyme Vaccine Proof of Concept for Commercial Development, Dr. Richard Marconi, $50,000, Life Sciences
- Sonotherm LLC (Charlottesville), Energy Efficient, Ductless HVAC System Using Thermoacoustic Technology, Dr. Don Jordan, $49,466, Energy
- Spheringenics, Inc. (Richmond), Product Development for a Sustained Release Biologic Delivery System, Dr. Christopher Dosier, $50,000, Life Sciences
- TruWeather Solutions (Reston), Micro Road Weather Data to Accelerate Fielding of Autonomous Transportation Vehicle, Mr. Donald Berchoff, $50,000, Unmanned Systems
- Ultrasonic Probe LLC (Glen Allen), Periodontal Probe based on Ultrasound Technology, Mr. Jack Singer, $25,000, Life Sciences
Eminent Researcher Recruitment Program
- George Mason University (Fairfax), Recruitment of Eminent Scholar in Bioengineering in Partnership with INOVA Health System, Dr. Kenneth Ball, $250,000, Life Sciences
Matching Funds Program
- College of William and Mary (Williamsburg), Manufacturing of Boron Nitride Nanotube-Based Thermal Management Materials for High-Performance Electronics, Dr. Hannes Schniepp, $100,000, Advanced Manufacturing
- Eastern Virginia Medical School (Norfolk), Screening for Safe Biochemical Methods to Induce Expression of Tissue Repair Protein, Dr. Xiaoli Zhao, $100,000, Life Sciences
- George Mason University (Fairfax), A Multiplexing Photoacoustic Theranostic System for Treatment of Breast Cancer, Dr. Carolina Salvador-Morales, $99,989, Life Sciences
- George Mason University (Fairfax), Development of DRGN1, a Komodo Dragon-Inspired Peptide for Wound Care, Dr. Monique van Hoek, $100,000, Life Sciences
- University of Virginia (Charlottesville), Development of a Device to Improve Lithium-Ion Battery Reliability, Dr. Gary Koenig, $100,000, Energy
- University of Virginia (Charlottesville), High-Bandwidth Line-Speed Network-Processing Framework, Dr. Kevin Skadron, $100,000, Information Technology
- University of Virginia (Charlottesville), Fiber-Optic Based Thermoreflectance and Optical Property Measurement System, Dr. Patrick Hopkins, $100,000, Advanced Manufacturing
- Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond), Dual Function Anti-Metastatic Agents for Triple Negative Breast Cancer Treatment, Dr. Nicholas Farrell, $100,000, Life Sciences
- Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond), Development of Highly Efficient Materials for the Conversion of Solar Energy into Heat for Domestic Water Heating and Solar Water Desalination, Dr. M. Samy El-Shall, $100,000, Energy
- Virginia Institute of Marine Science (Gloucester Point), An Innovative Mechanism for Reducing Nitrogen and Phosphorus Inputs to Virginia Waters, Dr. Kirk Havens, $99,450, Environment
- Virginia Tech (Blacksburg), Computed Tomography Without Moving Parts for Fast and Portable Biomedical Imaging, Dr. Guohua Cao, $100,000, Life Sciences
SBIR Matching Funds Program
- Cerillo, LLC (Charlottesville), Improvement of a Miniaturized Multiwell Plate Reader, Mr. Kevin Seitter, $50,000, Life Sciences
- dbS Productions LLC (Charlottesville), Integration of Enhanced UAV Sensor Sweep Widths with Search & Rescue Find Software, Mr. Robert Koester, $50,000, Unmanned Systems
- Ghodousi, LLC (Alexandria), Assistive Digital Vision for the Blind, Dr. Arman Ghodousi, $49,940, Life Sciences
- NanoSafe Inc. (Blacksburg), Mobile Analytical Platform for Lead Detection in Drinking Water, Dr. Cary Hill, $50,000, Environment
- Service Robotics & Technologies (Arlington), SRT’s Map-based Facility Management System for Robots and Smart Devices, Dr. Gregory Scott, $50,000, Information Technology
- SoundPipe LLC (Charlottesville), Enhanced Drug Delivery with GUIDE-Tx and Microbubbles, Dr. Joseph Kilroy, $50,000, Life Sciences
- Spheringenics, Inc. (Richmond), Sustained Release Delivery System for Treatment of Chronic Wounds, Dr. Christopher Dosier, $50,000, Life Sciences
- Springbok, Inc. (Charlottesville), A Non-Invasive Image-Based Skeletal Muscle Analytics Tool, Dr. Xue Feng, $50,000, Life Sciences
- SynaptiCAD (Blacksburg), Commercialization of Blockchain Technologies, Dr. Peter Menegay, $49,783, Information Technology
STTR Matching Funds Program
- Acomhal Research, Inc. (Roanoke), Development of Biodegradable Nanoparticles Encapsulating a Novel Therapeutic Peptide to Eradicate Glioblastoma Cancer Stem Cells, Dr. Samy Lamouille, $50,000, Life Sciences
- BEM Controls (Falls Church), An Agent-based Self-Learning System for Efficient Building Operations and Automated Participation in Electricity Markets, Dr. Saifur Rahman, $49,650, Energy
- ElectraWatch, Inc. (Charlottesville), Field Probe to Measure Degree of Sensitization (DoS) of 5XXX Aluminum Alloys, Mr. Ryan Dunn, $50,000, Advanced Manufacturing
Source: McAuliffe announces Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund Awards : Augusta Free Press
