Awards to six Arizona businesses are being made through the Arizona Innovation Accelerator (AIA) of the Arizona Department of Commerce. The AIA is focused on helping Arizona's emerging technology & bioscience businesses excel by promoting innovation among entrepreneurs to help bring their discoveries to market.
The grant awards fall under two programs that are part of the Arizona Innovation Accelerator. Technology Assessment Grants offer independent, expert review of technology under development. Emphasis is placed on determining if the technology already exists, is a good candidate for intellectual property protection & likely to find an attractive market. AZFAST Grants are specifically designed for entrepreneurs to develop & commercialize global technology by accessing Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) & Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) federal funding.
"Encouraging research & development in Arizona is a critical component of our efforts to foster innovation in our state," said Jan Lesher, Director of the Arizona Department of Commerce. "Providing companies with this valuable information & assistance is important to Arizona's economy and its future."
The awards:
Innovis Technologies is commercializing a technology that was developed at the University of Arizona for the rapid detection & identification of dangerous microbes such as E. coli in food, water, & environmental samples.
A 4D Anatomy system is set to revolutionize medical training & education by eliminating the need for cadavers & providing a more effective means of medical study.
inXsol is working on a life saving program to be used by emergency response teams.
Nonlinear Control Strategies develops photonics software solutions for the semiconductor laser & nanophotonics/plasmonics communities.
Polar Laser Laboratories developed an ultrafast fiber-laser technology which is providing solutions for Affordable High-Energy Lasers.
Ridgetop Group's engineers design commercial & radiation-hardened mixed-signal, data conversion & signal conditioning circuits.