High-Tech Small Businesses Receive Tibbetts Awards for Innovative and Outstanding Contributions

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) presented 25 high-tech small businesses with the honorable Tibbetts award and inducted two firms into its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Hall of Fame for the critical role they played in research and development for the government and for their success in driving innovation and creating new jobs.

The Tibbetts Awards, given by SBA, honor outstanding small businesses and individuals who participate in the SBA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The two Hall of Fame inductees are past participants of the SBIR program and represent the very best of the 30-plus-year SBIR program.

"It is the innovative entrepreneurs and high growth small businesses like our award recipients and Hall of Fame inductees who help power our economy and move it forward  by creating new jobs and making our industries globally competitive," said Maria Contreras-Sweet, SBA Administrator. "Their accomplishments remind us all of how integral the success of high growth small businesses are to making our country more globally competitive."

The Tibbetts Awards, named after Roland Tibbetts, who was instrumental in developing the SBIR program, are presented to companies and individuals from all over the United States who are beacons of promise and models of excellence in high technology.

Tibbetts award winners are selected based on the economic impact of their technological innovation, and on whether they have met federal research and development needs, encouraged diverse participation in technological innovation, and increased the commercialization of federal research.

Two types of Tibbetts Awards exist: awards for businesses that have participated in the SBIR/STTR award programs, and awards for individuals who have supported the SBIR/STTR Programs but who have not received economic assistance from the program.

Another category is the SBIR Hall of Fame Awards, which recognize companies with a long period of extraordinary success of research, innovation, and commercialization within the SBIR program.

The SBA's SBIR/STTR programs accounted for more than $2.5 billion in FY 2013 in federal research and development funds and is coordinated by the SBA in cooperation with 11 federal agencies.

The presentations were made yesterday at the White House by Associate Administrator Javier Saade and featured guest speaker Dr. Shirley Malcom.

Companies

Actuated Medical, Inc. -- Bellefonte, PA; Adventium Enterprises, LLC dba Adventium Labs – Minneapolis, MN; ChemImage Sensor Systems (CISS) – Pittsburgh, PA; Corvid Technologies – Mooresville, NC; Eldertide LLC – Dresden, ME; Exquadrum, Inc. – Adelanto, CA; Geocent, LLC – New Orleans, LA; HemoShear, LLC – Charlottesville, VA; Inrad Optics – Northvale, NJ; IRIS Media, Inc., dba IRIS Educational Media – Eugene, OR; Mainstream Engineering – Rockledge, FL; NanoMech, Inc. – Springdale, AR; Novan, Inc. – Durham, NC; Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (dba as Pacific Biosciences) – Menlo Park, CA; Pacific Engineering, Inc. –  Roca, NE; Parion Sciences – Durham, NC; QorTek, Inc. – Williamsport, PA; Realtime Technologies, Inc. – Royal Oak, MI; Robotic Research, LLC – Gaithersburg, MD;  Sentient Corporation – Buffalo, NY; STAR Cryoelectronics, LLC— Santa Fe, NM; Structural Composites, Inc. – W Melbourne, FL; Tactus Technologies –Akron, NY.

Individuals

Richard A. Bendis – Rockville, MD; John Pucci – Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.

Hall of Fame

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. – Sunnyvale, CA; Ultra-Scan Corporation – Buffalo, NY.

For more information about SBIR/STTR programs, please visit www.sbir.gov.

Release Number: 14-37

Contact: Tiffani S. Clements (202) 401-0035
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

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SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration