Innovative and Outstanding High-Tech Small Businesses Receive Tibbetts Awards

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today honored eighteen high-tech small businesses and three individuals in Washington, D.C., for the critical role they play in research and development for the government and for their success in driving innovation and creating new jobs.

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The Tibbetts Awards, given by SBA, honor outstanding small businesses and individuals who participate in the SBA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. In addition, three past participants in SBIR who represent the very best of the 30-plus-year SBIR program were named to the third annual SBIR Hall of Fame class.

"The people who power our economy, make our industries more globally competitive and create new jobs are the outstanding and innovative entrepreneurs like those we honor with Tibbetts Awards," said Karen Mills, SBA administrator. "In particular, our three 2013 Hall of Fame inductees illustrate how innovative entrepreneurs can continue to show strong economic growth and technical innovation, reminding us all how central the success of high growth small business can be 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 award program, and awards for individuals who have supported the SBIR Program but who have not received economic assistance from the program.

Another category, created last year, 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 Small Business Innovation Research program accounted for more than $2.5 billion in FY 2012 in federal research and development funds and is coordinated by the SBA in cooperation with 11 federal agencies.

The presentations were made at the White House by Administrator Mills, Senator Mary Landrieu, Chair of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee and Rebecca Bagley, CEO and President of NorTech.

Companies

Accuray, Inc. -- Sunnyvale, CA; Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation – Cambridge, MA; Beacon Interactive Systems, LLC – Cambridge, MA; CPSI Biotech – Owego, NY; Design Interactive, Inc. – Oviedo, FL; Ecovative Design, LLC – Green Island, NY; GS Engineering, Inc. – Houghton, MI; Harmonia Holdings Group, LLC – Blacksburg, VA; Institute of Disabilities Research and Training (IDRT), Inc. – Wheaton, MD; Kutta Radios, Inc. – Phoenix, AZ; MBF Bioscience – Williston, VT; Modular Robotics – Boulder, CO; Ocean Renewable Power Company, LLC – Portland, ME; Orono Spectral Solutions, Inc. – Bangor, ME; Protochips, Inc. – Raleigh, NC; Syntonics, LLC – Columbia, MD; Tier1 Performance Solutions, LLC – Covington, KY; Torrey Hills Technologies, LLC – San Diego, CA

Individuals

Richard Flake, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/XPP) – Wright-Patterson AFB, OH; Joe Hennessey, Ph.D., NSF SBIR/STTR Senior Advisor – Arlington, VA; Tizoc Loza, Northrop Grumman Corporation – Falls Church, VA

Hall of Fame

Aerovironment, Inc. – Monrovia, CA; Autonomous Technologies Corporation – Orlando, FL; Biogen-Idec – Weston, MA

For more information about SBIR, please visit SBA's extensive Web site at http://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-innovation-research-program-sbir-0.

Release Number: 13-21

Contact: Dennis Byrne (202) 205-6567
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration