On December 2, 2022 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued its Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Phase I Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. NOAA Phase I SBIR awards provide up to $175,000, which funds a six month period of performance for conducting feasibility and proof of concept research. The tentative award start date for the FY23 competition is August 1, 2023.
US Patent 11,415,859 – Exclusive and Non-Exclusive Patent Licenses Available Background Nitric oxide (NO) is important to radical chemistry in Earth’s atmosphere. In the troposphere the catalytic reaction of NO with the hydroperoxy and organic peroxy radicals NO+RO2/HO2 →NO2 +RO/HO is frequently the rate-limiting step for the production of tropospheric ozone (O3), and causes the buildup of O3 from anthropogenic emissions of NO. Oxidation of NO also results in the formation of nitric acid, and consequently nitrate aerosols and nitrogen deposition. Current research in atmospheric science seek to understand radical chemistry cycling in low NO regimes. The ability to measure atmospheric NO at very low mixing ratios and with low uncertainty will be crucial to address questions in atmospheric chemistry research and in other fields of research for the foreseeable future. For example, measurement of NO in exhaled human breath is also an important diagnostic of various medical conditions including asthma. Summary of the Invention NOAA has developed a device and method to measure nitric oxide (NO) in the atmosphere with laser induced fluorescence using a fiber laser source to excite NO near 215 nm (A(v’=1) <- X(v’’=0) electronic transition). The technique can distinguish NO isotopologues (14N16O, 15N16O, 14N18O) and can be used to measure the isotope ratios. Nitrogen dioxide can be measured by photolyzing it and measuring the nitric oxide product. The technique uses a light source of sufficient power in the wavelength range of 300-410 nm, and illuminates the sampled gas either in the sampling inlet or in the fluorescence detection cell. The invention can be used to measure NO with very high precision (low part per trillion mixing ratios). Licensing Information NOAA is seeking qualified licensees to manufacture and sell this technology, which has been Patented in the United States. Interested parties should contact the NOAA TPO at noaa.t2@noaa.gov for more information.
NOAA laboratories regularly partner with private sector companies to conduct work that is mutually beneficial and helps to accomplish the NOAA mission.
Geocollaborate Tool is improving situational awareness and decision making across many economic and government sectors We are exposed to a wide variety of extreme weather events, such as wildfires, floods, earthquakes, severe storms, and volcanic eruptions. Natural hazards turn into disasters when lives are lost and livelihoods are damaged or destroyed. Some hazards, whether manmade or natural, become catastrophic disasters or large scale mass casualty events, which bring entire regions to a standstill.
The NOAA patented Clean Harvest Cable Grid (US Patent 10,966,415 B2) allows marine mammals, including sea turtles and other large marine animals, to escape from large fish trawls with minimal impact to normal fishing operations or target catch retention. The Type I (TI) shown above was designed to work in high profile fish trawls. NOAA has patented this technology and is making it available under an Open Source license to ensure designs are compliant and do not harm sea turtles or other marine mammals. For more information, please contact Nick Hopkins at NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center.