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| About WSSI | About SBIR/STTR | Getting Started | Wyoming Award Winners | News & Events |
| 1.0 ELEVEN 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 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 complete agenda, visit the WSSI Web Site!
Where: Cody Holiday Inn Hotel Rates (these rates will only remain in effect now while supplies last) (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: $130 &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 After May 27, participants must register at the door. 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 FIVE WYOMING COMPANIES RECEIVE USDA PHASE I AWARDS! Congratulations to the following five USDA Phase I award winners! Green-Ag, LaramiePrincipal Investigator: Tom Rardin Project Title: Yard Waste As A High-value Feed Source Awarding Agency: USDA Award: $80,000 Summary: Our nation generates some 220 million tons of municipal solid waste annually, with organic waste from urban/suburban areas filling one-third of all landfill space. The largest volume of the organic wastes (20%) consists of yard clippings. In other words, 14 million tons of yard clippings pour into our landfills each year. Moreover, the need to buy feed for livestock represents an ever-greater economic hardship for livestock producers--especially in times of extreme drought. Many livestock producers are being forced to sell livestock early, cut herd size, or liquidate herds altogether. The Phase I goal is to demonstrate the concept of collecting grass clippings from urban/suburban areas and processing and preserving them to create an economical, safe, high-value feed source that is acceptable to livestock. This phase is designed to expand upon encouraging preliminary results obtained by Green-Ag using both fresh and ensiled grass clippiings with emphasis on use during traditionally winter months. Specifically, Phase I work will address key issues regarding 1) economics of supply chain, 2) a practical and reliable method of preparation (ensiling), 3) acceptability of the feed source by various livestock species, 4) safety of the raw materials (grass clippings) and of the ensiled product, and 5) a viable method for replicating/deploying the system on a commercial basis. Hawkins and Powers Aviation, Inc., Greybull Principal Investigator: Duane Powers Project Title: Computer Controlled Automatic Loading Water Bucket System for Aerial Firefighting Awarding Agency: USDA Award: $80,000 Technical Abstract: Aerial firefighting is a dangerous and demanding business, which is evidenced by the numerous loss of life during the "fire season". Millions of dollars worth of equipment has been destroyed in the fight to protect people and valuable natural resources from the devastation of wildfires. Due to the recent reduction in the large fixed wing air tanker fleet there has been an increased demand placed on the use of helicopters and a greater than before emphasis on safety in the firefighting industry. The costs of using helicopters to fight wildfires ranges from $650.00-$8,000.00 per hour. Current systems use a slung water bucket with cinch straps, plugs, zippers, or a load cell with a manually operated valve to control weight. These methods are at best inefficient and increase the workload for the pilot during dangerous hovering operations. The objective of the SBIR Phase I Grant is to research and develop a computer-controlled water bucket system to automate the loading phase and incorporate a load splitting feature. The new system will increase the safety and efficiency of helicopters in aerial firefighting.
Heartland BioComposites, Laramie Principal Investigator: Heath Van Eaton Project Title: Market development for the manufacture of wood substitute composites made from agricultural biomasses and recycled plastics. Awarding Agency: USDA Award: $80,000 Heartland BioComposites Research Team: Heath Van Eaton: President/General Manager, Heartland BioComposites, LLC Brad Sutherland: Executive Director, Goshen County Economic Development Corp. David Walrath: Professor/Testing Director, University of Wyoming's Material Testing Lab Marti Hubbs: Executive Secretary, Wyoming Wheat Grower's Association Julie Shiflett: Economist, Juniper Economic Consulting Ralph Cutillo: Senior Process Engineer/Technical Consultant, Coperion Corporation
Abstract This USDA-SBIR Phase I grant will prove the feasibility of Heartland BioComposites ability to identify an array of innovative marketing strategies to produce its composite wood substitutes in Torrington, WY and sell its products in regional markets. Torrington and surrounding Goshen County offers people an ideal quality of living, but farmers are facing factors that make it difficult to operate and new industries are not locating to the area. Heartland BioComposites will add income to farmer's and other sources of biomass (primarily wheat straw) by creating a new market for the biomass to be used as the company's main raw material input and will create a variety of well-paying jobs that will provide much needed income and benefits to its rural citizens. The new industry will focus on applying its advanced processing technology in its research to accomplish new market development by analyzing all of the available and necessary inputs in Goshen and surrounding Counties, consulting and working with economists and other related professionals, performing preliminary tests with the resulting-available biomasses, and developing new target markets for its superior form of wood substitutes. High Plains Solar Wind, Cheyenne Principal Investigator: Ted Hanlon Project Title: Reliable, Remote Power Supply Awarding Agency: USDA Award: $80,000 Abstract: Inadequate infrastructure stifles rural development. Electrical Power is often not available where it is needed and the cost of supplying electricity by conventional means can be prohibitively high. At the same time, commercially available wind turbines are not well suited to fill this need-from either a life-cycle-cost or a technical standpoint. High Plains Solar Wind, LLC is endeavoring to develop a wind turbine system that can competitively and reliably supply power in remote rural locations. The development of an advanced rotor system is fundamentally important. Criteria for a successful rotor system that addresses cost, efficiency, and reliability have been developed. Current technology cannot fulfill these criteria. Advanced simulation techniques will be used to optimize a 3.6 meter diameter rotor system. The optimization variables will include cost, efficiency and longevity. Advanced manufacturing techniques will be investigated and optimized for the final design. Three novel means of limiting the rotor maximum speed will also be investigated. Additional High Plains Solar Info: High Plains Solar Wind, LLC designs and installs solar and wind powered renewable energy systems at any home, cabin, ranch or industrial site that cannot get economical electrical power in any other way. They have found that commercially available wind turbines cannot always meet their customers' needs: The commercial turbines often cost too much and are not as reliable as they should be. High Plains Solar Wind has embarked on a project to develop a Wyoming Made wind turbine that is cost effective and reliable. They have just received a SBIR Phase I grant from the USDA to investigate the feasibility of an advanced wind turbine blade design. Additionally, they are working with the University of Wyoming Mechanical Engineering Department to optimize the hub design and the generator design. Marketing is often a roadblock in Wyoming, because of our perceived isolation. To facilitate marketing, High Plains Solar Wind has just completely revamped their e-commerce website, with the help of another Wyoming company (Bighorn Marketing). At the same time that they are optimizing the wind turbine design, they hope to optimize their marketing effort, so that customers worldwide have the opportunity to utilize cost effective, Wyoming Made wind power. Mountain Meadow Wool Co., BuffaloPrincipal Investigator: Valerie Spanos and Karen Hostetler Project Title: Feasibility Study for Early Stage Wool Processing in Wyoming. Awarding Agency: USDA Award: $80,000 Team Members: Dr. James G. Thompson, Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, UW Gail Gordon, M.A., Academic Professional, UW Cooperative Extension Services, Department of AGricultural & Applied Economics and Department of Family & Consumer Sciences Roger H. Coupal, Extension Specialist, Department of Agricultural Economics, UW Summary: This study will explore the feasibility of developing a wool processing facility in Wyoming. Agriculture is an important basic industry in Wyoming providing communities with stability in a state which relies heavily on natural resource extraction. Export sales bring new dollars into the state but economic growth and development opportunities are dependant on increasing activities in basic industries such as agriculture. Wool is an export commodity. Value is added outside the state. Development of an infrastructure to add value to wool in the state could increase economic growth and development. The most basic value adding step is wool washing (scouring). Large scale wool scouring equipment used throughout the world requires high volumes of wool to be economically viable. Small scale equipment is outdated and environmentally unsound. By adapting recent technological advancements to a moderate sized facility utilizing Wyoming's wool production capacity, Wyoming could create a new opportunity for further enhancing its own unique value added products. Producers, while interested in the results are reluctant to undertake such a product without first having a market. A thorough feasibility study will illustrate whether or not, and under what conditions, such a facility would be economically beneficial to Wyoming's rural communities. |
| 3.0 MAY PHASE 0 AWARD WINNERS Congratulations to the May Phase 0 award winners! return to CONTENTS |
| 4.0 WORKSHOP OFFERED - PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS - LEARN HOW TO PROTECT YOUR IDEAS Casper, WY - On Thursday, May 27, from 9:00 until noon, the Wyoming Small Business Development Center, and the Casper Area Chamber of Commerce are sponsoring the seminar, "Patents and Trademarks - Pathways to Progress". The program will take place in the SBDC Conference Room, 300 S. Wolcott, Ste. 300. Registration for the program is $20 and deadline to register is May 21 (TODAY!) Contact the Casper SBDC at (307) 234-6683 to register. Learn about patents, trademarks and copyrights. What type of protection should be used for which invention/idea? How do you market and license your invention to an established company? We will discuss how to handle your invention prior to filing for intellectual property protection to limit public disclosure, and what diligence you need to complete before filing for formal legal protection (marketability assessment, "prior art" searches, etc.). You will also learn what your attorney will do for you and what happens after your application goes to the U.S.P.T.O. Finally, we will discuss license agreements and contract terms. Tony Nevshemal, Director of the Wyoming Research Products Center at the University of Wyoming will be teaching this seminar. He has an MS in biology (biochemistry) from the University of Iowa and an MBA from Drake University. Tony has spent the last 10 years working at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., subsidiary of DuPont, as a manager in the technology transfer and licensing office, responsible for negotiating research and commercial agreements regarding intellectual property acquisition and management. Contact the Casper SBDC office at (307) 234-6683 for additional information. |
| 5.0 NEW NIH SOLICITATION OFFERED - SBIR/STTR E-LEARNING FOR HAZMAT AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE Letter Of Intent Receipt Date: July 26, 2004 APPLICATION RECEIPT DEADLINE: August 19, 2004 Full solicitation available at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-ES-04-004.html PURPOSE OF THIS RFA This Request for Application (RFA) must be read in conjunction with the current OMNIBUS SOLICITATION OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, and FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION FOR SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) AND SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) GRANT APPLICATIONS. The solicitation (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbirsttr1/index.pdf [PDF] or http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbirsttr1/index.doc [MS Word]) contains information about the SBIR and STTR programs, regulations governing the programs, and instructional information for submission. All of the instructions within the SBIR/STTR Omnibus Solicitation apply. return to CONTENTS |
| 6.0 DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HSARPA SBIR FY04.2 RELEASED Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) has released their FY04.2 solicitation which officially opens on June 14, 2004 and closes on July 14, 2004. The six topics for this offering are:
H-SB04.2-002 Real-Time Malicious Code Identification H-SB04.3-003 Alternatives to Cl2 in Municipal Water Purification H-SB04.4-004 Wide-Area TIC Neutralization H-SB04.5-005 Innovative Techniques for Concealed Weapons or Explosive Detection at a Distance H-SB04.6-006 Improved And Innovative Cooling Garments For Emergency Responders A description of all these topics can be found in the solicitation at: www.hsarpasbir.com/SolicitationDownloadFY042.asp HSARPA Help Desk: All questions about this solicitation, the proposal preparation and electronic submission should be submitted via the website: www.hsarpasbir.com Or, call the Help Desk toll free number: 1-800-754-3043.,/p> HSARPA SBIR website: www.hsarpasbir.com offers electronic access to the SBIR solicitation, submission of frequently asked questions (FAQs), answers to FAQs, and hyperlinks to other useful information. All Phase I and Phase II proposals must be submitted via the electronic submission website at www.hsarpasbir.com. General questions about HSARPA SBIR Program: General questions pertaining to the HSARPA SBIR program should be submitted to faq@hsarpasbir.com or call the HSARPA SBIR Program Contact: Mr. Tim Sharp, SBIR Program Manager, 703-797-4527. Technical Questions about Solicitation Topics: This solicitation is issued for pre-release on the HSARPA Website from 14 May, 2004 through 14 June, 2004. During this time, you may email topic questions to faq@hsarpasbir.com, before you prepare a proposal for the FY04.2 solicitation. Technical questions will be researched and answers provided in a timely manner. Contact with HSARPA after the 14 June, 2004, pre-solicitation closing date, is restricted for reasons of competitive fairness, and therefore, all written questions submitted to faq@hsarpasbir.com will be answered and posted electronically for general viewing to the HSARPA website, www.hsarpasbir.com. All proposers are advised to monitor the www.hsarpasbir.com website during the solicitation period for questions and answers, and other information relevant to the topic under which they are proposing. The HSARPA SBIR program is funded at $19.6m for FY 2004 and they are currently awarding 66 phase I contracts in 8 topic areas. Over 360 proposals were submitted for their FY2004.1 solicitation. |
7.0 UPCOMING CONFERENCES/TRAININGS/SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS
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. |
| 8.0 COMPETITION TIP: TELL "HOW"!!! SBIR Phase 1 solicitation instructions always emphasize presentation of DETAILS in the work (or research) plan, and usually state that the work plan should constitute a substantial portion of the total proposal. The solicitations also instruct proposers to tell WHAT will be done and HOW the work will be carried out. For example, the NSF instructions for the Phase 1 Research Plan state in part "The description should include...WHAT is planned and HOW the research will be carried out." The USDA Phase 1 Work Plan instructions say " ...indicate HOW and where the work will be carried out." Work plans in draft proposals we review usually say WHAT is to be done, but often do not convey HOW the work proposed will be executed. Similarly, formal comments from agency review processes highlight this deficiency. Providing the HOW as well as the WHAT information in the work plan is essential (though not sufficient) to achieve excellence in the proposal presentation, and to secure the best chance for a win. Crafting a detailed and well thought out work plan that provides the WHAT and HOW (together with other required information) is hard work. For example, it is much easier to say simply that "temperature will be measured" without providing details HOW the temperature measurements will be made - what instruments, what test facility, what range, etc. Careful, persistent and disciplined teamwork is the best way to achieve a quality work plan and proposal. While some highly skilled and experienced veterans may be able to prepare a high quality work plan (and proposal) in one or two passes, most mortals require an iterative process that includes multiple critical review cycles. Critical proposal reviews by experienced reviewers will identify voids in the work plan (and other parts of the proposal), and identify especially the need for more definition of HOW proposed work is to be performed. The proposal preparation team must then respond to the needs identified by the critical reviews, and fill the voids. Our experience suggests that one review and rework cycle takes about a week, and that four or five of these cycles generally leads to a high quality work plan and proposal. So, describe HOW proposed work will be executed, in addition to saying WHAT will be done. Describing HOW proposed work will be done is key to a high quality work plan and proposal, and for achieving a good chance to win!! This competition tip first appeared in the March 31, 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. |