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Brimrose Receives SBIR Grant for Nondestructive Testing
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Long known for its research and development prowess, Brimrose Technology Corp. (BTC) has been awarded two Phase I and two Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants in a matter of weeks. The total amount is nearly $2 million.

Even by Brimrose Tech’s own high R&D standards—which have resulted in more than $100 million in federal contracts across its 30-year history—this is a major development. The company uses its R&D contracts to directly feed its strong product base. Eighty percent of Brimrose revenues come from product revenues.

"It is gratifying to know that the U.S. government sees this amount of value in Brimrose Technology research," said Dr. Sudhir Trivedi, the director of R&D at BTC. "All of our customers, including the U.S. government, know that Brimrose will work hard to deliver what we say we will. These awards do not come in a vacuum. They are based on many years of successful collaborations and demonstrations and solid results."

BTC has been awarded a Phase II STTR from the Missile Defense Agency at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama with BTC Senior Scientist Dr. Dajie Zhang acting as principal investigator. The objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of producing light weight and thermally manageable integrated optical systems suitable for airborne and space high power directed energy applications. This project will focus on improving two of the most important parts of a high energy mirror design, the highly reflective mirror surface, and the light weight and stiff multifunctional substrate. The award is for $999,477.00.

The company also has been awarded a Phase II STTR from NASA Langley Research Center for $749,494 for "Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter-Based Polarimetric Spectral Sensor with Progressive Algorithm for Material Analysis and Mapping." Dr. Trivedi is the principal investigator. The STTR addresses the NASA Planetary Science Mission to advance scientific knowledge of the origin and history of the solar system and the potential for life elsewhere. The work expands on the AOTF-based SWIR spectropolarimetric imaging system developed in Phase I which will be further optimized and integrated with optimal algorithm/software in Phase II. BTC believes this will be a useful tool in determining the chemical composition and physical characteristics of planets of interest, short period comets, primitive meteorites and asteroid bodies, and in identifying the sources of simple chemicals important to prebiotic evolution and the emergence of life. The award is for $749,494.

NASA has awarded BTC a Phase I SBIR regarding "Novel Approach in Fabrication of Shielding Composite Materials by Emerging Field Assisted Sintering Technique." The Principal Investigator is Dr. Trivedi. The objective is to develop a radiation shielding material system that is sufficiently strong to serve as a load-bearing structure. Such a materials system does not currently exist. The ideal shielding material for space applications should preferably be light weight with good mechanical strength and good thermal conductivity. BTC is proposing a novel approach to fabricate reinforced composite materials for radiation shielding applications using a powder metallurgy approach with sintering via the innovative Field Assisted Sintering Technology (FAST). The award is for $124,887.

NASA has awarded Brimrose Tech a Phase I STTR related to "Instrumentation for Multiple Radiation Detection Based on Novel Halides for Nuclear Planetology." BTC is proposing a spectrometer that employs a single room temperature semiconductor detector that can perform both gamma and neutron spectroscopy. The proposed detector is based on novel halide materials. The halide materials are new wide band-gap semiconductor detector materials that can provide radiation detection with low cost, high performance and long term stability. BTC will be collaborating with Fisk University on this contract. The amount of the award is $124,859.

BTC is the research laboratory of the Brimrose Corporation of America, a high-tech company involved in advanced materials development, AO components, near IR spectrometers, as well as high-tech solutions for the U.S. military. For more information, contact office@brimrose.com.
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