Technology programs get funding from Utah Centers of Excellence

Eighteen technology programs have been awarded Centers of Excellence funding to continue their work.

The Utah Board of Business and Economic Development approved funding levels Friday. Michael Keene, state science adviser and director of the Centers program, said about a dozen projects had applied but did not receive funding this year.

Deseret Morning News

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595065764,00.html

Approved projects (with approximate funding levels) include:

* Advanced Imaging LADAR, Utah State University; $135,000 for developing an airborne high-resolution, laser-based 3-D color-imaging platform for both military and civilian use. The project has received $135,000 in Centers funding in the past.

* Direct Machining and Control, Brigham Young University; $75,000 for developing a method that allows a manufacturing machine controller to directly interpret CAD/CAM models, resulting in superior resolution for complex shapes. The project has received $242,000 in the past.

* Global Knowledge Management, University of Utah; $120,000 for developing Knowledge Fusion and Dynamic Knowledge Refreshing software to enable next-generation data-mining technology. The project has received $113,000 in the past.

* High-Speed Information Processing, USU; $145,000 for designing fast algorithms for application-specific integrated circuits, which have value in most military and compact consumer electronic devices. The project has received $260,000 in the past.

* Homogeneous DNA Analysis, U.; $144,000 for developing a simple and inexpensive method for genotyping DNA samples from patients or disease organisms in a doctor’s office. The project has received $150,000 in the past.

* Petroleum Research, U.; $56,000 for developing cost-effective solutions for liquid hydrocarbon production, handling and transportation. It optimizes petroleum recovery, process control and production automation in oil and gas fields. The project has received $431,000 in funding previously.

* Compliant Mechanisms, BYU; $56,000 for accelerating and streamlining commercial applications of devices that obtain their motion from the deflection of flexible parts rather than from pin joints. The project has received funding totaling $490,000 in the past.

* Therapeutic Biomaterials, U.; $130,000 for developing applications for biopolymers and hydrogels for clinical use in wound repair, prevention of surgical adhesions and extending the life of donated organs.

* Miniature Unmanned Air Vehicles, BYU; $110,500 for the rapid design of airframes and miniaturized autopilot and guidance systems for tiny UAVs that can be operated by novices, with expected military and civilian applications.

* Advanced Communications Technology, BYU; $105,000 for improved wireless communications and data transmission through the use of multiple-input multiple-output (or MIMO) technology with multiple antenna elements.

* Alternate Strategies of Parasite Removal, U.; $125,000 for refining a safe, nontoxic and rapid treatment of pediculosis.

* Nanosize Inorganic Material Powders, U.; $90,000 for commercializing a novel, cost-effective process (molecular decomposition) for the manufacture of nanosize powders, used for nanotechnology applications.

* Biomedical Microfluidics, U.; $120,000 for technology that controls the movement of fluids in channels smaller than a human hair, with micropumps that can deliver tiny quantities of drugs being one product example.

* Advanced Satellite Manufacturing, USU; $25,000 for leveraging the capabilities of Utah’s Space Dynamics Laboratory to develop and commercialize a low-cost, modular small-satellite platform for research, science and military missions.

* Profitable Uses of Agricultural Byproducts, USU; $50,000 to develop cost-effective technologies to treat animal wastes, generating biogas that can be used to produce energy, and nutrient to be used in soil amendments. The project has received $425,000 in past funding.

* Cromdi, U.; $150,000 for new visualization technology that facilitates the rapid and accurate analysis of large quantities of complex and continuously changing data, with applications in medicine and finance. The project has received $527,000 in the past.

* Smart Sensors, USU; $115,000 for the development and commercialization of sensor-based products, such as an application for the detection of faults in aircraft wiring. The project has received $445,000 in the past.

* Titanium boride surface hardening, U.; $85,000 to develop harder, longer-lived components and devices for the aerospace, biomedical and industrial markets. It has received $72,000 in the past.

The Centers of Excellence Program also designated $164,000 for commercialization consultation and planning grants.