Project Grant 1456407

This SBIR Phase I project, awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084), aims to develop a novel liquid crystal polymer (LCP) called Tullomer to address limitations in fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing. The $275,000 grant, awarded to Z-Polymers, Inc., will fund the optimization of Tullomer's monomer ratios, integration of nucleation additives, and control of mesogenic state formation to enhance...

SBIR Phase I: Acoustic Molding Technology for Metal Additive Manufacturing Ultrasonium Inc. received a $305,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084), effective October 1, 2025, through March 31, 2026, to develop and validate acoustic molding technology for metal additive manufacturing. The project will investigate the feasibility of using ultrasonic phased arrays to...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) provides $405,431 to The Regents of the University of California, doing business as University of California, Berkeley, to conduct collaborative research on developing polymers with adaptive molecular structures that can withstand extreme conditions. The key objectives are to: 1) pioneer the use of double-threaded polymers to fabricate slide-ring polymers for enhanced...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Grant, funded under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049), aims to develop polymers with unprecedented mechanical properties and processibility for use in advanced applications like wearable sensors, soft actuators, and energy harvesting devices. The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) is leading this collaborative $350,229 research effort, which uses a systematic, data-driven approach to create adaptive polymer networks...

Fluidform Inc. received a $249,644 Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project Grant from the National Science Foundation to develop additive manufacturing techniques for silicone elastomers and thermosets using freeform reversible embedding. The grant was awarded on May 1, 2021 under the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA #47.041) to support innovation, creativity, and excellence in engineering research. Specifically, the funding will enable Fluidform to advance...

TD Polymers LLC received a $304,633 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084) effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. The company will develop and validate compostable multilayer polymer films with programmable biodegradation profiles engineered through multilayer coextrusion technology. The core deliverable addresses the gap between current biodegradable...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Engineering (CFDA 47.041) totaling $344,918 will establish a collaborative research program at Florida International University (FIU) to develop advanced data-driven approaches for additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing of materials with locally tunable electrical and mechanical properties. The research aims to create new polymer resin formulations for digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing that can...

Exopolymer, Inc. received a $648,366 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Project Grant from the Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop new fermentation-derived biopolymer ingredients. Under this two-year award running from September 2021 to August 2023, Exopolymer will finalize the commercial development of one or more biopolymer products that outperform hyaluronic acid in moisture binding and skin penetration performance. Work will include...

This federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) provides $550,000 in funding to the University of Illinois to research a novel mold-free manufacturing process for polymer parts. The project aims to develop a fast and cost-effective "growth printing" technique that uses a self-propagating polymerization front, inspired by natural growth processes, to rapidly cure liquid polymer resins without the need for expensive molds....

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a 4-year, $400,000 Project Grant under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) to Trustees of Boston University for their research project titled "COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DMREF: CLOSED-LOOP DESIGN OF POLYMERS WITH ADAPTIVE NETWORKS FOR EXTREME MECHANICS." The project aims to develop an integrated experimental and computational platform for accelerated discovery and design of novel polymers exhibiting unprecedented...