| Midwest Region Opportunities |
FLC Technology Locator
Get one-on-one personalized assistance from the FLC's Technology Locator! The Technology Locator will help you take your technology transfer collaboration efforts to the next level by putting you in contact with the laboratories, agencies or individuals conducting work in your area of interest. Read more
Current Technology Transfer Opportunities
- The 2011 national meeting of the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, from May 2-5, 2011, at the Nashville Marriott. The FLC Program Committee is seeking session proposals to ensure a comprehensive slate of program offerings at the meeting. You are invited to participate in next year's meeting by submitting a proposal for a panel session. This is an opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise on a wide range of topics relevant to successful implementation of federal technology transfer. Submissions are due September 20, 2010. See this document for details.
- The National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Manufacturing Sector Council is seeking partners to lead or contribute to its goals identified in the NORA National Manufacturing Agenda. This includes program priority areas such as contact with objects and equipment, falls, musculoskeletal disorders, hearing loss, cancer, health disparities, small businesses, and catastrophic incidents. For more information, visit the NIOSH Partnership Opportunities website at www.cdc.gov/niosh/r2p/partner.html, or contact Greg Lotz, Program Manager, at (513) 533-8462 or Michael Baskett, Program Coordinator, at (513) 533-8153.
- Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities (TWU). NIOSH is seeking partners to provide feedback to the TWU agenda, implement the agenda, identify research or activities in your organization that apply to one or more strategic goals, or become involved in research or activities in one or more strategic goal areas. Refer to the Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities Fact Sheet for more information on how to become involved. Project contact: Max Kiefer, (303-236-5944).
- NIOSH Field Effort to Assess Chemical Exposure Risks to Gas and Oil Workers. There is a lack of existing information regarding the variety and magnitude of chemical exposure risks to oil and gas extraction workers. To determine if risks are present, NIOSH wants to develop partnerships with the oil and gas extraction industry to identify, characterize and (if needed) control workplace chemical exposures. Workers, managers, supervisors, and health and safety professionals involved in oil and gas drilling and servicing operations are encouraged to participate in the field effort. For more information, refer to the attached flyer. Project contact: Eric Esswein, (303-236-5946).
- Do You Work With Agricultural Pesticides? NIOSH Needs Your Help. To improve worker safety and health, NIOSH is seeking feedback on the personal protective equipment (PPE) concerns of agricultural pesticide handlers. Workers, their employers, and organizations that work on their behalf are encouraged to contact NIOSH to discuss safety and health concerns. This project is expected to continue through 2011. Project contact: Kimberly Faulkner, (412-386-5004).
- NIOSH Looking for Facilities to Provide Access for Occupational Safety and Health Research. Are you in the manufacturing or construction industry and concerned about workplace safety and health? NIOSH's Industry Wide Studies Branch (IWSB) is in need of partnerships with facilities willing to provide site access for conducting exposure assessment studies. Interested companies should contact the listed scientific contact for more information.
- For 2',2'''-Dithiobisbenzanilide (CAS# 135-57-9, DTBBA, a plasticizer), contact Steve Wurzelbacher, (513-841-4322).
- For 2-Methoxy-4-nitroaniline (CAS# 97-52-9, 2M4Na, a dye), contact Steve Wurzelbacher, (513-841-4322).
- For Diacetyl in food production, (CAS# 431-03-8), contact Brian Curwin, (513-841-4432).
- For manganese compounds in welding fumes, contact Kevin Hanley, (513-841-4113).
- JamAlert. To better improve safety and protect workers, NIOSH developed the JamAlert system, which automatically terminates power to a machine (such as a baler) when a jam is detected and initiates a system that prevents the machine from being turned back on before the jam is cleared. This technology was granted a patent (U.S. Patent 7,493,854) on February 24, 2009. The newly developed JamAlert could be adapted to machinery that is prone to jamming and/or requires a secondary level of lockout control. This innovation could benefit workers in farming or manufacturing (i.e., baler operators). NIOSH is interested in identifying partners to further test and move the technology into the workplace. Scientific Contact: John Powers, (304-285-6219). Licensing Contact: Kathleen Goedel (513-533-8686)
- QuickFit Earplug Test Device. The QuickFit earplug test device is a simple, inexpensive, handheld device that lets earplug users check the fit of their earplugs and test their effectiveness against potentially hazardous noise. Workers in construction, mining, farming, and manufacturing could benefit from this device. The QuickFit can also be used in homes, schools, or recreational settings. NIOSH is looking for partners to commercialize this device. Scientific Contact: Bob Randolph (412-386-4660). Licensing Contact: Kathleen Goedel (513-533-8686).
- Safety Rail System. The NIOSH-designed roof bracket-safety rail system offers the construction industry a combination safety rail and scaffolding apparatus that is easy to use while being secure, durable and compact. The system creates a moveable safety barrier so if a worker loses balance, the fall is immediately prevented. NIOSH is seeking partners to manufacture and commercialize this patented technology (U.S. Patent 7,509,702) Scientific Contact: Tom Bobick (304-285-5986), Licensing Contact: Kathleen Goedel (513-533-8686).
- Wearable Kneel Sit Device. This device provides relief and comfort for individuals kneeling for long durations while working or doing household activities such as gardening. Providing comfort increases productivity on the job. Workers in shipbuilding, construction, farming, automobile services, and carpet and flooring installation could significantly benefit from this product. NIOSH is seeking partners to commercialize this patented technology. (U.S. Patent 7,152,919). Scientific Contact: Steve Hudock (513-533-8183) Licensing Contact: Kathleen Goedel (513-533-8686)
- Breakthrough Textiles to Maintain Lifetime Vehicle Value - The global automotive company IVECO S.p.A., part of the FIAT Group, invites proposals for vehicle interior fabrics that will not deteriorate throughout a vehicle's lifetime. Textiles and protective treatments presented as a combined approach to this challenge will be considered.
- Low-Friction Hard Surfaces - A central European academic/industrial development consortium invites proposals for producing very hard, very low-friction surfaces.
- Reduced Weight High Performance Glazing for Buses and Commercial Vehicles - The global automotive company IVECO S.p.A., part of the FIAT Group, invites proposals to reduce the weight of the current glazing used in buses and commercial vehicles; in addition is looking for glazing that sheds water quickly and resists water spotting and dirt accumulation; and finally wants to include adjustable chromic functionality.
- Seeking: High-barrier, non-foil, flexible food packaging for long-duration storage at minimal weight. This organization is seeking a commercially available, flexible, non-foil food-grade packaging that offers high oxygen and moisture barriers. The packaging must withstand high temperature processing, high pressure processing, or microwave processing. It should be light in weight, and able to protect food for up to five years. This organization is seeking new non-foil, flexible food packaging technologies that have adequate oxygen and water barrier properties to maintain food's quality over a 3-5 year shelf life when stored at ambient temperatures. Oxygen ingress can result in oxidation of the food and loss of quality or nutrition. Water ingress can result in quality changes such as difficulty rehydrating the freeze-dried foods. Currently, the packaging used for this organization's rehydratable foods and natural-form foods does not have adequate oxygen and moisture barrier properties to allow for even an 18-month shelf life. Current packaging used for the heat processed (retorted) products is a multi-laminate that includes a foil layer. As a consequence, the material cannot be used for high-pressure processing and microwave sterilization, two emerging food process technologies that promise to provide a higher-quality product. The packaging material needs to be flexible enough to withstand vacuum packaging, but still strong enough to resist punctures by sharp pieces of dried food (pasta, for example).
- Seeking: Technology to protect antioxidants against oxidation. We need to identify technologies and materials that protect biological antioxidants such as beta-carotene and lutein from heat, oxygen, light, and mineral interactions; protect antioxidants against oxidation through the extrusion and drying process; and protect antioxidants against oxidation through shelf storage. Carotenoids such as beta-carotene and lutein are added to commercially marketed food products to make immune or other health-related claims. However, these antioxidants require over-formulation to survive heat during process and achieve the desired shelf life length of the product. We are interested in identifying possible technologies that protect these antioxidants against oxidation, enabling them to survive through extrusion and extend shelf-life. It is known that commercially available hydrogenated fat encapsulation does not survive the extrusion process. It is also known that the cross-linking process of encapsulation has a limited effect in protecting carotenoids through an extrusion process, but is better than typical hydrogenated fat encapsulation.
- Seeking: Wide variety of new additive materials and strategies to achieve greater stiffness, higher heat resistance, and lighter weight in thermoplastics. A few common additives and fillers are used in thermoplastics such as polypropylene and polyethylene to add or modify properties such as stiffness, heat resistance, tensile strength, and weight. We're seeking new additive materials that are not commonly used in order to assess their ability to impart improved properties to thermoplastics. Talc, wollastonite, and glass fibers are common conventional additives. Typically, talc can comprise 10-30% of polypropylene by weight. Talc, in particular, produces a stiffer plastic, but the resulting composite is relatively dense. Glass fiber can provide similar stiffness at even lower usage levels, but it presents other challenges such as undesirable surface defects. Every additive is a balance. We'd like to consider new additives, modifiers, or agents-ingredients that are not commonly added to thermoplastic-in a set technology.
- Seeking: Fully reversible adhesion and fastening systems to replace fastening adhesives. Almost all Fem-care protective pads, including panty liners and light adult incontinence napkins, feature a positioning adhesive protected by a siliconized material sheet to be removed and disposed before use. The pressure-sensitive adhesive should insure reliable adhesion (safe attachment) but also easy removal (safe detachment). We are interested in identifying alternative fastening technology that doesn't require expensive useless release technology and that is able to insure better stay in place, fit, comfort and panty release. Additionally identified alternatives should be cost-actionable and approved for use in the hygienic disposable field. We're looking for fastening systems stable over 2 years' time that can be converted with no or limited process modification; it has to resist packaging stress and work effectively during application, wearing and removal. Finally, cost and safety profile need to be equal to or better than current technology.
- Seeking: Coloring of fibers. We are seeking a method of coloring blends of synthetic fibers (mainly polyester) and cellulose (mainly viscose) fibers at preferably ambient temperature, non- or mildly toxic, preferably in an impregnation bath mixed with other add-on chemicals, and in a single step. In most cases we want to color white fibers into black. We produce a lot of nonwoven fabrics by blending polyester and viscose fibers. However, the presence of both components (polyester/viscose) in textiles causes some difficulties in the dyeing process. Polyesters are difficult to dye because they show a hydrophobic character. Because of this, the dyestuff molecules may diffuse into the fiber interior. Polyester fibers show a hydrophobic character, and swell to a very small extent at ambient temperatures. Hence, the access of the dyestuff molecules to the fibers inside is very difficult. This fact, together with an absence of active chemical groups in polyester's macromolecules, makes it impossible to apply the majority of dyestuffs apart from disperse dyes. The often applied pressure/heat method requires a suitable, intricate technology that causes complicated multiple step processes and increases the energy consumption. A dyeing process for polyester fiber at low temperature has been reported; however, the main disadvantage is the environmental problems produced by using toxic carriers.
- Seeking: Low-friction razor blade coatings. Seeking friction reduction coatings, equal to or superior to PTFE and suitable for application to metal components of manual shaving devices. Most modern razor blades are coated in the final stage with a thin, low-friction PTFE coating. This material significantly reduces the cutting force of a blade through hair, significantly improving shaving performance. A next generation of material that could offer lower friction than the current PTFE materials would be highly desirable. The material needs to display friction or cutting force characteristics that are lower than PTFE. Material would need to adhere to metal components. Material would need to withstand the rigor of the shaving process and remain on the edge during shaving. Material needs to be able to be bio-inert. Preferred partners will offer existing knowledge and materials that can be configured and tested within six months. Should further research be necessary, project proposals should have a 0-2 year timeline, with significant milestones at 3-month intervals.
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