More Small Businesses Get a Taste of DHS's R&D Money
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology directorate announced March 13 that 22 small businesses will get up to $100,000 for up to six months to participate in technology contracts for homeland security solutions. These businesses aren't household names, of course, but they no doubt appreciate the awards and the exposure.
In Phase I, firms will define the scientific, technical, and commercial merit of a concept. Firms with successful concepts may be invited to apply for a two-year Phase II award up to $750,000, leading to a prototype stage. Businesses had to be for-profit and have 500 or fewer employees. Visit www.dhs.gov and click on the Press Room link to read the list. The five areas of awards are: System for Designing and Evaluating Chemical or Biological Agent Sensor Networks; Mobile Peripheral Device for Biological Analysis; Advanced Unattended Ground Sensors Technologies; 3-D Visualization System to Show First Responders and Assets within Building Structures in Urban Areas for Situational Awareness; and Automated Scenario/Script Builder for Simulation-Based Training Systems.
"I am pleased to announce this sixth set of awards to small businesses to develop innovative technology that will help meet the department's mission to protect the homeland," said Jay M. Cohen, Under Secretary for S&T. "We are already seeing excellent results from the first set of awards of April 2004, and I am confident that our [Small Business Innovation Research] program will continue to make great research contributions."