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| About WSSI | About SBIR/STTR | Getting Started | Wyoming Award Winners | News & Events |
| 1.0 ONLY 26 DAYS TO THE WSSI STATE CONFERENCE!
Registration is easy - call toll free - 877-733-3618 ext. 1 or go on-line - www.uwyo.edu/outreach_s/wssi/register.asp FREE booth space for Wyoming SBIR Phase I or II Award Winners with a paid registration - contact Jill Kline. Private booth space is available for $100 - contact Jill Kline for details. This year's agenda includes a Pre-conference Networking Reception at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center; representatives from five federal agencies - DOD, DOT, NASA, NIH, & NSF; a session specifically for newcomers to the program, a full day phase I proposal preparation with SBIR experts Mark Henry and Randy Dipner from Personal Business Consultants (PBCinc) out of Denver, plus much more. For complete details and the near complete agenda, visit the WSSI Web Site!
Where: Cody Holiday Inn Hotel Rates (mention appropriate code to receive these reduced rates): $79 for 1-2 adults at the Holiday Inn (use code WSB) or the Comfort Inn (use code SBR); $59 for the Village Cabins (use code SBIR) with 1-2 adults and $79 for 3-4 adults or families needing two bedrooms. Hotel web site: www.blairhotels.com — Hotel email: blair@blairhotels.com — Hotel phone: 800-527-5544 Conference Fees: $105 on or before May 14; $130 after May 14 &mdash Fees include: Pre-conference Networking Reception and FREE admission to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, five meals including the Awards Banquet, and conference material. Conference Registration/Information: Call toll free: 877-733-3618 ext. 1, For a printable form to mail or fax or to register on-line visit — www.uwyo.edu/outreach_s/wssi/register.asp Questions? Contact Jill Kline at: 866-703-3280, or (307) 682-2660, or email jillkline@vcn.com. Check out Cody, Wyoming! return to CONTENTS |
| 2.0 LARAMIE COMPANY RECEIVES $3.7 MILLION IN FEDERAL GRANTS LARAMIE - About $3.7 million in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding has helped launch CC Technology, Inc., on the road to commercial success. CC Technology has used federal funding to develop technology products that detect and identify various chemical and biological species, including those of forensic and anti-terrorism interest. DeltaNu™, a subsidiary division formed in 2002, developed the necessary instrumentation for these products. For more information, visit www.deltanu.com "The emergence of CC Technology as a leading contender in the optical sensing marketplace is an outstanding example of how SBIR seed capital grants can be employed to launch entrepreneurial enterprise, to commercialize innovative new products and to create jobs without the need for conventional equity capital," said Gene Watson, program manager of the Wyoming SBIR/STTR Initiative. Dr. Keith Carron, who is president and CEO of the company, said CC Technology/DeltaNu has received invaluable assistance from the Wyoming Business Council and many of its partners, including the Small Business Development Center, Research Products Center, Mid-America Manufacturing Center and the Wyoming SBIR/STTR Initiative, in addition to the Laramie Economic Development Corporation. "All in all, our success is very closely tied to the assistance that all of these organizations and people continue to provide - we couldn't do it without them," Dr. Carron said. Dr. Keith Carron and Dr. Robert Corcoran, both professors in the UW Chemistry Department, formed CC Technology in Laramie in 1997. Today CCT/DeltaNu has five full-time and six part-time employees. The company designs, assembles and markets its products from its Laramie facility. Parts fabrication is outsourced to Rocky Mountain Precision in Thermopolis and to other Wyoming businesses whenever possible. The federal funding has made developing products much easier. Under the federal SBIR program, Wyoming businesses have the potential to receive up to $850,000 per project through a two-stage application process. The Wyoming Business Council and the University of Wyoming Research Office formed the Wyoming SBIR/STTR Initiative to provide companies with the expertise in filling out the complicated applications. In addition, the Wyoming Business Council sponsors a Phase 0 program, which gives companies $5,000 grants to develop successful applications. So far CC Technology has received four SBIR Phase 0 grants to prepare competitive proposals for the federal SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. CC Technology has applied for and received more than $3.7 million in grants to develop its products from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. CCT/DeltaNu began selling their first product, the Advantage 200ATM Raman Spectrometer, in early 2002 to the industrial and educational markets. Today, this instrumentation is used in undergraduate chemistry at colleges and universities. DeltaNu's new product, Inspector RamanTM, a battery-operated, hand-held instrument, has been designed for forensic analysis of substances at a crime scene, reducing delays associated with remote lab analysis. The Inspector Raman system was introduced at the recent American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) annual meeting. When the director of the FBI Crime Laboratory saw the new instrument, he immediately invited DeltaNu personnel to come to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia to demonstrate the instrument's capabilities. A Raman Microscope is an upcoming product based on the Inspector Raman design. Raman microscopy is a rapidly growing form of spectroscopic analysis and the price/performance advantage of DeltaNu's microscope should propel this instrument into a leading role in the marketplace. The product will be introduced in early summer 2004. In 2003, 10 Wyoming small businesses, including CC Technology, received 13 federal grants totaling over $3 million. For more information, visit www.uwyo.edu/sbir. The mission of the Wyoming Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. For more information on the WBC, please visit their web site at www.wyomingbusiness.org. |
| 3.0 BUSCH/CHAMPION AWARD NOMINATIONS DUE TODAY! Nominations for the WSSI Champion and Busch Awards are due TODAY! Please email your nominations to: ewatson@wyoming.com. An awards ceremony will be held during the WSSI conference banquet dinner on June 2. The WSSI CHAMPION award will honor those individuals who have made significant contributions to furthering the SBIR and STTR programs in general and the Wyoming SBIR/STTR Initiative in particular. The BUSCH award, named in recognition of the ground-breaking achievements of Dr. Chris Busch in co-founding and managing the nationally acclaimed Wyoming SBIR Initiative, will recognize those Wyoming individuals and businesses who have used SBIR and STTR funding to successfully develop and commercialize their innovative product concepts. Appropriately, Chris is widely known for emphasizing that commercialization is the end goal of the SBIR and WSSI programs and that no SBIR/STTR project can be considered successful until the product or service is commercialized. Previous Champion award winners: 2003 – Mike Petera, Voice Viewer Technology of Powell; 2002 – Dr. David Walrath; 2001 – Governor Jim Geringer; Senator Mike Enzi; Dr. Richard Anderson; and Dr. Chris Busch. Previous Busch award winners: 2003 – Inter-Mountain Labs (Chinook Division) of Sheridan for the commercialization of their Infrasonic Avalanche Detector; 2002 – CC Technology; 2001 – Dr. William Britz & Dr. Gail Heidbrink, Britz-Heidbrink, Inc., Wheatland; Duane Powers, Hawkins & Powers, Aviation, Inc., Greybull; John Wickman, Wickman Spacecraft and Propulsion, Casper; Ernie Schmidt, Wyoming Sawmills, Inc., Sheridan. return to CONTENTS |
| 4.0 DOD SBIR 04.2 SOLICITATION IS OPEN/DOD SBIR 04.3 SOLICITATION HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The DoD SBIR 2004.2 solicitation is open for proposal submission from May 3 to June 17, 2004. Two DoD components -- the Department of the Navy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) -- have R&D topics in this solicitation under which Phase I proposals are sought. In addition the Navy has added three quick response topics that are now part of the 04.2 solicitation. You can access the solicitation, which contains detailed information on the parameters of the SBIR program and how to submit a proposal, and topic files at www.dodsbir.net/solicitation. You may also search the topics by going to www.dodsbir.com/Topics. Proposals must be submitted via the DOD SBIR Submission website at http://www.dodsbir.net/submission following the instructions contained in the solicitation, including the instructions specified in the topic files for the DoD component to which you are applying. Submissions must include the proposal cover sheets, technical proposal, Company Commercialization Report, and cost proposal to be considered a complete proposal. Small businesses submitting proposals through the Submission website may modify their proposals at any time until the solicitation closing on June 17, 2004 at 6am EST. Offerors bear the risk of website inaccessibility due to heavy usage in the final hours before the solicitation closing time, so plan ahead and submit early. If you have any questions please contact the DoD SBIR help desk at 866-724-7457 or by email at sbirhelp@brtrc.com. The DoD SBIR 2004.3 solicitation has been issued for public release. You can access the solicitation instructions and topic files at www.dodsbir.net/solicitation. You may also search the topics by going to www.dodsbir.com/Topics. The DoD will begin accepting proposals on July 1, 2004 and will close to proposals on August 12, 2004 at 6am EST. Plan ahead and submit your proposal early to avoid the risk of website inaccessibility due to heavy usage on the final day. If you have any questions please contact the DoD SBIR help desk at 866-724-7457 or by email at sbirhelp@brtrc.com. |
| 5.0 WELLDOG SELECTED AS RED HERRING 100 FINALIST Company selected from field of 500 candidates from 10 countries LARAMIE- WellDog Inc., a natural gas exploration technology company, has been selected as one of 200 finalists in the Red Herring 100 Top Private Companies annual list. The final cut will be announced at an awards event in Monterey, California on May 18, 2004. Since 1996, editors at business technology magazine Red Herring have selected a group of private companies that are "emerging as the brightest stars in the business universe," according to Red Herring Online. Laramie-based WellDog has developed a new, proprietary technology that quickly locates natural gas in coal beds and other unconventional natural gas reservoirs. The platform technology helps producers find natural gas faster, cheaper, and with less environmental impact. To compile the list, Red Herring's editors conduct a thorough analysis of companies that have the potential to disrupt current markets or to create entirely new ones. Companies are reviewed based on financial data and subjective criteria such as the quality of management; execution of strategy; and dedication to research and development. Review methods are similar to those favored by investment bankers and venture capitalists. This year, the list "once again sets the standard as the industry's definitive list of private technology companies impacting the market place, revealing where new fortunes are likely to be made," according to Red Herring Online. ABOUT RED HERRING ABOUT WELLDOG INC. |
| 6.0 OTHER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES POSTED IN THE SSTI WEEKLY DIGEST FUNDING SUPPLEMENT The SSTI Weekly Digest Funding Supplement is a listing of funding opportunities (OTHER THAN SBIR) offered by the federal government, foundations, and other agencies. Although the Supplement is not exhaustive, the opportunities listed in each week's issue do provide application information, eligibility criteria, and submission deadlines and collectively offer a glance at what is available. The latest issue of the Funding Supplement is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/supplement.htm and includes the following opportunities: Federal Funding Opportunities
Foundation Funding Opportunities
Additional funding opportunities and complete solicitation listings are available through FedBizOpps and the Federal Register. |
| 7.0 UPCOMING CONFERENCES/TRAININGS/SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS
Give your marketing a KICC and make the Colorado connection! The first in a series of workshops that targets industries in surrounding states! If you want to grow by marketing your products to customers in the Rocky Mountain region, this is a working meeting you need to attend. The conference opens with a reception at 5 pm on May 12 at the Cheyenne Depot Museum. The event runs from 8 am to 4 pm on May 13 at the Hitching Post Inn. The cost of the conference is $95 before May 7 and $110 afterwards. To register by phone, call 1.877.733.3618 ext. 4. During this day-long event you'll meet with experts one-on-one from Colorado industries like:
Experts you'll hear from: High Tech Manufacturing Logistics and Supply Chain Management Value Added Ag and Food Processing Telecommunications Energy Construction Take advantage of this educational and networking event that can introduce you to techniques for connecting with Colorado businesses. Learn more about trends in your industry and how to market to neighboring states. return to CONTENTS
This two day meeting, organized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will focus on Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding opportunities available explicitly to small businesses that have innovative biomedical or behavioral research ideas with commercial potential. A particularly unique and valuable aspect of this conference is the opportunity for you to interact one-on-one with NIH Program Directors, Grants Management Specialists, and Scientific Review Administrators. This conference will benefit those who are new to SBIR/STTR as well as those who are more experienced. We have some great sessions planned this year! Phase II awardees: This year we're offering a great opportunity to showcase through a poster session some of your successful results derived from NIH-supported projects. I hope some of you will take advantage of this opportunity. See below for more information.
ATTENTION PHASE II AWARDEES!!!
Monday, November 1 through Thursday, November 4! Description: The National Science Foundation, in association with the Department of Defense and the Small Business Administration, and all 11 SBIR agencies is sponsoring this 2004 National Fall SBIR/STTR Conference. Program Managers and representatives from all participating agencies will provide insight into how to work with their respective agencies and answer your own special questions during the one-on- one opportunities. Who Should Attend: Sales and Marketing Professionals, Small Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, University Researchers with a business/entrepreneurial streak, Scientist seeking commercialization strategies, all small businesses in need of securing federal funding resources. Extra Bonus: Conference participationguarantees enty into the co-located Small Business Tech Expo (SBTE) sponsored in part by NASA. The expo will showcase new technologies, support services avialable to small business and technology development, and commercialization opportunities.
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| 8.0 COMPETITION TIP: INTEGRATE & CONSOLIDATE!!! Proposal draft review cycles generally lead to additional words to flesh out concepts, plans and approaches. This additive process easily can lead to a proposal that is "overstuffed," and that appears patched together and incoherent to the reviewer. Concepts may be touched on several times in different parts of the proposal, but never concisely and precisely "nailed down" anywhere. Therefore, as the proposal preparation progresses, the team must take care to insure that newly added content is integrated smoothly into the proposal story. Material presented in different sentences, paragraphs and sections must be consolidated so that the proposal comes across as a clear, concise and coherent presentation to reviewers. Adding content to a proposal is much easier than integrating and consolidating the information. Attention to adding content without adequate rework leads to a proposal that is disorganized and pushes the available page limit. This leads to decreased margins, reduced font size, and small graphics. The proposal then is hard to read and difficult to understand. To gain the desired level of integration and consolidation in a proposal, entire sections or subsections sometimes must be completely rewritten in proposal review cycles. It is usually difficult to "throw away" hard work done writing parts of a proposal, but investment in the rewrite process usually yields a much higher quality product. So focus on delivering an integrated and consolidated proposal during the review cycles, not just to adding information. The chances of capturing a win will be higher!!! This competition tip first appeared in the March 24, 2000 issue of the Wyoming SBIR Newsletter. Follow this link to a complete set of Competition Tips. |
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9.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND PUBLICATION INFORMATION
TO BE ADDED TO OR REMOVED FROM THE DISTRIBUTION LIST FOR THIS NEWSLETTER, SEND NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, AND EMAIL ADDRESS TO jillkline@vcn.com. Prepared by: Jill Kline, WSSI Outreach Coordinator, 307.682.2660 or toll free in Wyoming, 866.703.3280, jillkline@vcn.com, and Gene Watson, WSSI Program Manager, 307.742.7162, ewatson@wyoming.com. This newsletter is published every other week as part of the Wyoming SBIR/STTR Initiative (WSSI). The mission of the Initiative is to increase the number of federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program awards to Wyoming. The Wyoming Business Council (WBC) funds the initiative which is administered by the University of Wyoming Research Office. Please contact Jill Kline (see contact information above) with your comments. |