SMALL BUSINESS AWARDS SPUR CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH

Small high technology firms in 28 states have received grants from the
National Science Foundation (NSF) to conduct cutting-edge, high risk,
potentially high-payoff research under the Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) Program.

This year, 200 Phase I awards for a total of $9.52 million were made to 157
firms, thirty-five percent of which went to minority and female owned
firms.  Under Phase I of the three- phase program, NSF awarded up to
$50,000 to each firm, selected from 1500 proposals submitted in June 1991.
 Funded projects range from research on a low leakage Gallium Phosphide
particle detector for physics applications to research on custom keyboard
overlays for disabled computer users.

Upon completion of Phase I research, awardees are encouraged to submit
proposals for an extensive Phase II research program. These Phase II
proposals are reviewed for technical merit and for commercial success
potential.  The most promising of these proposals are eligible for grants
up to $300,000 for a period of two years.  Private investors fund Phase
III product development, manufacturing, and marketing efforts.  Cumulative
private investment, and product sales attributable to the SBIR Program
from NSF grants now exceed $1 billion.  Awards in previous years have
resulted in diverse commercial products.  Included among these commercial
products is hybrid striped bass farmed in the warm effluent water from
geothermal sources.  These fish are available today in supermarkets across
America.  In other developments, another SBIR awardee, Advanced Technology
Materials, Inc., formed a joint venture with Millipore Corp. to make
peripheral equipment for gas systems used in making semiconductors.  These
companies believe the potential market for this technology is $200
million.  The same firm received an equity investment of $4.8 million from
Sierra Ventures, in combination with eight other venture capital firms. 
Advanced Technology Materials received two Phase I awards in the 1991 NSF
SBIR solicitation.

The National Science Foundation is an independent agency of the federal
government established in 1950 to promote and advance scientific progress
in the United States.  NSF accomplishes its mission primarily by
competitively awarding grants to educational institutions for research and
education in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering.

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