SBA Accepting Nominations for Small Business Innovation Research Awards
December 18, 2012
2013 SBIR Tibbetts Awards and SBIR Hall of Fame Awards to be presented in May
WASHINGTON,DC – December 18, 2012 – The U.S. Small Business Administration isseeking nominations for awards honoring the critical economic role smallbusinesses play in federally funded research and development throughSBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small BusinessTechnology Transfer (STTR) programs.
Two awards will be given:the “Hall of Fame” award recognizing companies that have an extendedperiod of extraordinary success of research, innovation, and productcommercialization; and another, the “Tibbetts Award” with twocategories, one for companies that have participated in the SBIR/STTRprograms, and another for individuals who advocate on behalf of theprograms.
This past May, Sensor Electronic Company, Inc. ofColumbia, a manufacturer of UV light emitting diodes (LED), was selectedas a 2012 Tibbetts Award winner.
The Tibbetts Awards are namedafter Roland Tibbetts, who was instrumental in developing SBIR, a highlycompetitive program to ensure small businesses get a chance to competefor federal research and development funding, along with theopportunities it provides to profit from commercialization of thetechnologies they develop.
The SBIR and STTR programscurrently account for more than $2.5 billion per year in federal R&Dfunds and are coordinated by the SBA in cooperation with 11 otherfederal agencies with large external research and development budgets.
The awards are presented to companies and individuals that are beacons of promise and models of excellence in high technology.
Typical of past Tibbetts Award winners are:
- AnArizona bio strategies company whose genetic engineeringaccomplishments help combat Gaucher’s disease, a rare genetic diseaseusually fatal in childhood, and
- A three-time award winner fromCalifornia that developed a state of the art manufacturing facility forthe production of aerospace quality composite products for missiledefense and commercial space.
Selections for TibbettsAwards are based on several factors, including the economic impact ofthe technological innovation, overall business achievement anddemonstration of effective collaborations.
Hall of Famewinners have typically included Fortune 500 and 1000 companies likeQualcomm and Genzyme. Genzyme, a 2012 Hall of Fame award winner, evolvedfrom a tiny start-up with just a handful of employees to one of theworld’s leading biotech companies. This Massachusetts-based companyfocuses on developing innovative products and services for major unmetmedical needs such as rare genetic disorders, organ transplant,osteoarthritis, and renal disease.
Nominations for these awardsopened December 17, 2012 and will close 5 PM EST on January 31, 2013. Awards will be presented in Washington, DC, in May 2013. To submit anomination, please visit http://tibbetts2013.challenge.gov/ (Tibbetts Awards – companies and individuals) and http://sbirhof2013.challenge.gov/ (Hall of Fame Awards).
