Technology Companies Garner Research Grants
by July 31, 2006 12:00 am 53 views
Since June, five Fayetteville technology companies have been awarded a combined $1.45 million in grants.
There were a total of eight separate awards, seven of which were Phase I, generally worth less dollar-wise.
But successful completion of Phase I research on a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award or a Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTTR) award makes a company eligible for Phase II money, which is generally greater.
Grants are important because they give burgeoning companies working capital so they can continue specific research projects.
Four of the companies are clients of Virtual Incubation Corp. Calvin Goforth, president of VIC said his clients have landed nine grants worth a total of $1.4 million since the first of the year. Some of his companies are waiting to hear if they’ve been awarded Phase II money.
Space Photonics Inc. has garnered $6.5 million in total grants since 1999, and in September the company announced it had started work on a four-year, $16.2 million program for the Air Force to develop optical communications for space.