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Biological and Chemical Technologies (BC)
Prakash Balan (pbalan@nsf.gov)
Ruth Shuman (rshuman@nsf.gov)
Jesus Soriano (jsoriano@nsf.gov)
Administrative Information
The required one-page project summary should discuss the intellectual merit and broader impacts in two separate paragraphs (<200 words per paragraph) that specifically answer the following questions:
- Paragraph 1) Intellectual merit: What is the problem to be solved? How will the problem be solved? What is the innovation in the proposed approach?
- Paragraph 2) Broader impacts: Why is your solution better than competitive technologies? Who is going to buy your solution? Who are the other key players?
If the above questions are not addressed, the proposal will be returned without review.
Proposals must address the potential for commercialization of the innovation and how the project would ultimately lead to revenue generation. It is important that the proposed technology increase the competitive capability of industry, be responsive to societal needs, and be sensitive to solving "real" problems driven by critical market requirements. There is considerable overlap between the subtopics and proposers should pay attention to the areas indicated under each subtopic to assist the program in placing these proposals on review panels.
Letters of Support for the Technology
Inclusion of letters of support for the technology within the proposal is strongly encouraged. Letters of support act as an indication of market validation for the proposed innovation and add significant credibility to the proposed effort. Letters of support should demonstrate that the company has initiated business connections with relevant stakeholders (potential customers, strategic partners, or investors) for the proposed innovation and that a real business opportunity exists, should the technology prove feasible. The letter(s) must contain affiliation and contact information of the signatory stakeholder.
Importance of Communication with Program Officer
A company considering a proposal submission is encouraged to communicate (via email) with the cognizant program officer to help gauge the responsiveness to the solicitation (see below for contact information). When contacting the cognizant program officer, please provide a brief 2-3 page executive summary with background on: 1) company/team including experience with previous SBIR awards, 2) market opportunity, 3) technology/innovation, and 4) competition. You may contact the program officer via email at any time before the submission deadline. Note, however, that communication with the program officer will become increasingly difficult as the deadline nears.
Biological Technologies
BT1 - Sustainable Biotechnology Applications: New approaches for meeting the world's future nutritional needs. Target areas for improvement may include (but are not limited to) drought tolerance, improved nutritional value, enhanced disease resistance, and higher crop yield. Proposers should give consideration to technologies that enhance biodiversity, produce less carbon dioxide, and use less water and fertilizer. (Cognizant Program Officers: Ruth Shuman; rshuman@nsf.gov, and Jesus Soriano; jsoriano@nsf.gov).
BT2 - Biosensors: Biosensors are sensors that contain a biologically-based sensing element. Proposed projects might include but are not limited to real-time sensors, microbial component-based sensors, sensors for monitoring fluxes of metabolites, nanobiotechnology-based sensors, biomedical sensors, micro- or nanofluidic-based sensors, and disease and toxin monitoring. Other types of sensors should refer to the EI topic. (Cognizant Program Officer: Jesus Soriano; jsoriano@nsf.gov)
BT3 - Life Sciences Research Tools: Developing novel technologies that will advance scientific research across the biological spectrum. This may include enabling technologies for drug discovery (high-throughput screening assays and platforms, and high-content screening assays and platforms; novel high-content screening technologies based on characterization of physical properties of cells are of high interest). Proposals should focus primarily on the development of innovative consumables, processes, and services where there is significant market opportunity. (Cognizant Program Officer: Ruth Shuman; rshuman@nsf.gov)
BT4 - Bioinstrumentation: The development of technology for novel or improved instrumentation primarily for biological research applications. (Cognizant Program Officer: Ruth Shuman; (rshuman@nsf.gov) and Juan Figueroa; (jfiguero@nsf.gov)
BT5 - Synthetic Biology and Metabolic Engineering: Using synthetic biology to engineer novel biologically-based (or inspired) functions that do not exist in nature. Proposed projects may include creating new manufacturing capability by designing microorganisms, plants, and cell-free systems for the production of novel chemicals and biomolecules. Applications may include (but is not limited to) health-care products, food ingredients, chemicals, and other biomaterials such as enzymes and bio-based polymers. (Cognizant Program Officer: Ruth Shuman; rshuman@nsf.gov)
BT6 - Fermentation and Cell Culture Technologies: Proposed projects might include but are not limited to novel or improved microbial fermentation or mammalian and plant cell culture technologies, bioreactors, processes, scale-up, development of expression platforms, and purification. (Cognizant Program Officer: Ruth Shuman; rshuman@nsf.gov)
BT7 - Computational Biology and Bioinformatics: Developing and applying computationally intensive techniques (e.g., pattern recognition data mining, machine learning algorithms, and visualization) and may include but are not limited to sequence alignment, gene finding, genome assembly, drug design, drug discovery, protein structure alignment, protein structure prediction, prediction of gene expression and protein-protein interactions, genome-wide association studies and the modeling of evolution. Proposed projects might include the creation and advancement of databases, algorithms, computational and statistical techniques and theory to solve problems arising from the management and analysis of biological data. (Cognizant Program Officer: Ruth Shuman; rshuman@nsf.gov)
Biomedical Technologies
BM1 - Materials for Biomedical Applications: Proposed projects might include but are not limited to biomaterials, bio-mimetic and bio-inspired materials, improved implants, bio-device coatings and anti-microbial coatings. Development of new nanomaterials should refer to the NM topic. (Cognizant Program Officer: Ruth Shuman; rshuman@nsf.gov)
BM2 - Diagnostic Assays and Platforms: Proposed projects should focus on transformational diagnostic technologies. Proposed projects might include but are not limited to non- or minimally-invasive disease diagnosis, detection, and monitoring, biomarker development, disease-specific assays, and point-of-care testing for diseases. (Cognizant Program Officer: Ruth Shuman; rshuman@nsf.gov)
BM3 - Drug Delivery: Proposed projects might include but are not limited to new formulations, devices or methodology for the delivery of genes, biologics or small molecule drugs. Development of new nanomaterials for drug delivery should refer to the NM topic. (Cognizant Program Officer: Jesus Soriano; jsoriano@nsf.gov)
BM4 - Tissue Engineering and Biomanufacturing: Proposed projects might include enabling engineering and manufacturing approaches and technologies that will advance the research, development, quality control, and production of artificial tissues and their derivatives in scientific, therapeutic or commercial applications. (Cognizant Program Officer: Jesus Soriano; jsoriano@nsf.gov).
BM5 - Regenerative Medicine: Proposed projects might include novel methods or technologies to replace or regenerate damaged or diseased animal or human cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish their normal function. Engineering or manufacturing of artificial tissues should refer to the BM4 topic. (Cognizant Program Officer: Jesus Soriano; jsoriano@nsf.gov).
BM6 - Biomedical Engineering: Using engineering approaches to develop transforming methods and technologies that will solve problems in medicine, improve health care delivery, reduce health care costs, or advance product development. Proposers are encouraged to form an interdisciplinary team that includes relevant engineering as well as biology/health related expertise. (Cognizant Program Officer: Jesus Soriano; jsoriano@nsf.gov)
BM7 - Biomechanics: Developing novel motion or structural biomechanic technologies for the improvement of human motion. Proposers are highly encouraged to form interdisciplinary teams that include relevant engineering, computational as well as biology/health related expertise. (Cognizant Program Officers: Jesus Soriano; jsoriano@nsf.gov, and Murali Nair; mnair@nsf.gov).
BM8 - Medical Imaging Technologies Proposed projects might include but are not limited to novel or improved imaging techniques for localization and diagnosis of infectious events, imaging technologies for the detection and localization of cancer, detection and/or imaging agents. (Cognizant Program Officer: Jesus Soriano; jsoriano@nsf.gov).
Environmental Technologies
ET1 - Energy Storage, Management and Use: Proposed projects might include new technology and approaches for direct conversion, storage, and use of renewable sources of energy for applications ranging from small scale (consumer level) to large grid scale energy applications. Projects may include new technology that leads to substantial enhancement in energy storage capacity, energy use efficiency, and management compared to currently available technologies. This topic specifically excludes photovoltaics; see the NM topic. (Cognizant Program Officer: Prakash Balan; pbalan@nsf.gov)
ET2 - Renewable Fuels and Energy: Proposed projects might include new and novel approaches to biomass conversion to energy; novel methods to generate energy from marine, plant, algal, and microbial bio-energy sources; electrochemical technologies; and methods for distributed bioenergy production and use. Proposed projects might include development of commercially viable renewable fuel options, but are not limited to drop-in replacements to petroleum-based transportation fuels that also reduce SOx, NOx, particulate, and/or other emissions that have a negative environmental impact. For example, projects might address bio-fuels and the development of low cost raw materials that make this technology cost competitive with petroleum derived fuels. (Cognizant Program Officer: Prakash Balan; pbalan@nsf.gov)
ET3 - Waste Treatment: Such applications include novel process technologies for energy efficient remediation, water treatment (wastewater and drinking water), energy efficient waste recycle and reuse technologies. Waste streams could be solid industrial and municipal waste. (Cognizant Program Officer: Prakash Balan; pbalan@nsf.gov)
Chemical Technologies
CT1 - Bio-Based Chemicals and Renewable Chemical Process Technology: Novel chemical and biochemical processes built on sustainable, energy efficient, and waste minimization or waste elimination paradigms, from renewable biomass feedstocks leading to the production of bio-based chemicals as competitive and sustainable alternatives to commercial chemicals derived from non renewable sources; new or novel scalable green chemistry process technologies; processes that facilitate energy efficient chemical recycling and recovery for reuse from waste consumer and industrial products that would result in waste minimization and reduced environmental pollution. (Cognizant Program Officer: Prakash Balan; pbalan@nsf.gov)
CT2 - Separation Technologies: Separation technologies and materials that enable ease in phase separations, reduce or eliminate the amount of waste generated and energy required, and promote a sustainable environment with substantial improvements in energy efficiency and separation efficiency with applications such as, but not limited to, separations for multi-component solid, liquid and gas streams, inorganic and organic chemicals, fuels, new processes for critical and strategic metals and minerals extraction, novel purification processes; recycle and recovery by separation of higher value materials from waste, air pollution mitigation to remove gaseous pollutants, particulates and pathogens; novel separation techniques and media as disruptive improvements to current established separation technologies, including but not limited to organic/inorganic membranes, porous media and nano structured materials in applications including drinking water, wastewater treatment, food, medical and pharmaceutical applications, industrial chemicals, and microelectronics applications to name a few. (Cognizant Program Officer: Prakash Balan; pbalan@nsf.gov)
CT3 - Renewable Polymers: Proposals could include technologies related to novel polymeric materials designed to replace current materials that are produced in a non-sustainable manner, have hazardous by-products and/or, are not biodegradable. Examples include, but are not limited to, novel polymeric materials and coatings from recycled materials, polymers, plastics, additives, sealants, elastomers, textiles and coatings from a bio-based or renewable feed stock source, bioengineered plastics and biochemically produced polymers and precursors that lead to biodegradable polymers. (Cognizant Program Officer: Prakash Balan; pbalan@nsf.gov)
CT4 - Catalytic Process Technology: Catalytically (including biocatalytic approaches) produce commodity, specialty chemicals and fine chemicals from renewable sources with substantially improved energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact compared to current approaches. New or novel green chemistry catalytic processes; processes that facilitate energy efficient recycling and chemicals recovery for reuse from waste consumer and industrial products that would result in waste minimization and reduced environmental pollution. Systems with novel homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts and biocatalysts, co-catalysts, promoters, and/or supports that are highly active, selective and long-lived compared to the state-of-the-art; catalysts that are based on environmentally friendly and non-toxic metals, non-metallics and earth-abundant elements, enabling simplification of complex multistep chemistries into fewer steps and ideally a single step with byproduct elimination and substantial reductions in energy costs and capital equipment costs, that lead to superior process technology alternatives to existing technologies; cost effective retrofittable catalytic (and biocatalytic) technologies to existing process technology that lead to significant breakthrough improvements in process efficiency, productivity, energy and capital efficiency, waste minimization and reduced environmental impact (Cognizant Program Officer: Prakash Balan; pbalan@nsf.gov)
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