News

2008 Maryland Incubator Company of the Year Award- ASR&D has been selected as one of the finalists for the 2008 award

ASR&D Awarded Nasa Phase 1 STTR for humidity sensor- Click Here

January 2008, ASR&D Sensors highlighted for infrastructure saftey applications in the Detroit Free Press.
ASR&D was awarded a Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) grant for a project to develop porous packaging for microfluidic sensors
ASR&D succesfully completed two NASA STTR phase I projects in January 2007. The first project, entitled “Passive wireless hydrogen sensors using Orthogonal Frequency Coded acoustic wave devices”, involved development of hydrogen sensors for application to leak detection. A more detailed description of the Phase I project can be found at http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/SBIR/abstracts/05/sttr/phase1/STTR-05-1-T6.02-9879.html . The second project, entitled “Passive wireless cryogenic liquid level sensors using Orthogonal Frequency Coded acoustic wave devices”, involved development of liquid level sensors for use inside cryogenic liquid storage tanks. Additional information on this Phase I project can be found at http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/SBIR/abstracts/05/sttr/phase1/STTR-05-1-T6.02-9878.html .
ASR&D was selected for two NASA STTR Phase II Awards, follow on programs to the Phase I projects. Information regarding the Phase II Projects can be found at: http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/SBIR/abstracts/05/sttr/phase2/STTR-05-2-T6.02-9878.html and also http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/SBIR/abstracts/05/sttr/phase2/STTR-05-2-T6.02-9879.html .The two research projects are under NASA’s Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. Both projects are cooperative research and development efforts between ASR&D and University partners, including the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL. and Temple University in Philadelphia.
August 2007, The Sheboygan press features an article about the ASR&D designed and developed concrete maturity sensor.
ASR&D was awarded a Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) grant for a project to evaluate the performance of ASR&D's wireless concrete maturity sensing products. More information regarding the MIPS grant winners can be found
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Below is a published article discussing ASR&D and the MIPS grants:

MIPS Grants Worth $3.6M Awarded to 23 Partnerships in Maryland

By Karen Buckelew

A wide range of projects, from homeland security to biotechnology, at firms from the Eastern Shore to College Park, are benefiting in the latest round of grants from the Maryland Industrial Partnerships program.

The program known as MIPS, an initiative of the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, announced a $3.6 million round of grants to support 23 research partnerships between local companies and researchers in the state's university system.

It is the third round of grant awards boosted by the 18-year-old program's first budget increase ever, which lawmakers approved for fiscal 2007 and 2008.

The budget grew 74 percent, from $1.35 million to $2.35 million annually.

But with cuts to the university system looming as the state copes with its deficit, Program Director Martha J. Connolly said it is possible fiscal 2008 could be the last year for the increase.

For now, MIPS is relishing its ability to use the money for a broader range of projects than ever before, said Connolly.

"We've got a wide array of things -- homeland security, renewable energy, environmental mediation," Connolly said. "It allows us to continually change the focus of the projects so the program can ... be easily adaptable to emerging technologies."

This round of grants, announced Monday, combines $1.5 million from MIPS and $2.1 million in matching funds and in-kind contributions from the companies.

The grants go to researchers at University System of Maryland institutions, to fund their collaborations with the firms. The winning projects run the gamut from ethanol fuel production and water quality to medical treatments and image recognition software.

MIPS provides participating companies with access to the university's resources, including both the expertise of its scientists and the equipment that otherwise likely would be too costly for a small firm's budget.

The researchers, both graduate students and professors, get the chance to see their science in action, working with a product headed for commercialization, Connolly said. And if the scientists create a new invention through the program, they have the opportunity for intellectual property and potential royalties.

"They get to participate in applied research that has real-world applications," Connolly said of the university researchers. "They get to publish their results. Often, students end up taking jobs in these companies."

That helps companies put down roots in Maryland and hopefully expand in the state, with all the economic benefits thriving technology and biotechnology industries bring, Connolly added.

About $2.05 million in MIPS money remains available to fund around 25 projects in the fiscal year's final round of grants, to be selected in February or March.

Jacqueline Hines, president of Arnold-based Applied Sensor Research and Development Corp., said the company's $106,856 MIPS project with a College Park researcher is a boon. Without it, the company would have to hire a new employee or a consultant to conduct tests on its sensors, intended to evaluate the maturity of concrete used in new construction of buildings and bridges.

Hines' firm was founded two years ago and employs five.

"As a small business, it's a big advantage to have access to this kind of program," Hines said.

Before this funding round, MIPS had administered $28.9 million in grants for partnerships with 388 companies -- including local success stories Martek Biosciences Corp. and MedImmune Inc. -- since its founding in 1987. Those firms have contributed $119.6 million to support the collaborative projects with academic researchers.

Originally published by Karen Buckelew.

Source: The Daily Record (Baltimore)