The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded over $1.2 million to 12 small businesses through its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. These awards will fund research and development projects in various fields, including cybersecurity, quantum computing, healthcare, semiconductor manufacturing, and more.
The selected projects, all Phase I SBIR awards, aim to establish the feasibility and commercial potential of the proposed research. After completing Phase I, awardees can apply for Phase II funding of up to $400,000 to continue their efforts.
Some of the notable projects include:
– Advanced SEM simulation software for the semiconductor industry
– Hyperspectral imaging with AI for bioreactor monitoring in the biopharmaceutical industry
– A multimodality quantitative phantom for liver disease imaging
– A novel authenticator for passwordless login access using biometrics and cryptography
– A quantum waveguide infrared photodetector for enhanced gas and chemical detection
– A binary pseudo-random array for enhancing optical imagers
– A noise-free excitation method for semiconductor quantum dots
– Silicone wristbands for monitoring personal exposure to PFAS compounds
– A framework for updating encryption algorithms in response to changing threats
– A tool for automating cybersecurity analysis and mapping vulnerabilities to NIST standards
– A cybersecurity architecture for safeguarding real-time data exchange in autonomous vehicles
– A machine learning-based tool for energy-efficiency modeling in residential homes
These projects demonstrate NIST’s commitment to supporting innovative research and development in critical areas that can drive technological advancements and improve various industries.
Keywords: Quantum, Cryptography, Biometrics, Quantum Dot, Post-quantum
