Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced 38 companies, seven organizations and 14 individuals as the winners of the prestigious Tibbetts Award for their accomplishments in creating cutting-edge technologies. The Tibbetts Awards, named after Roland Tibbetts, the founder of the SBIR Program, honors these awardees for the exceptional successes they achieved through SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.
“For nearly four decades, the SBIR and STTR programs have been assisting small businesses with launching ideas from conception to market. The Tibbetts Awards highlight our nation’s next generation of competitive creators who help push the U.S. economy into the future,” said SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza. “SBA continues to play a key role in administering these research and technology funding programs, providing ‘seed money’ to help our nation’s greatest and most innovative research entrepreneurs start, grow and transition into high-growth companies. The companies and the technologies they create played a unique role in job creation, the building of new industries and communities and addressing the nation’s most pressing challenges.”
The Tibbetts awards also recognize the creative and impactful way organizations and individuals have supported the rising tech entrepreneur, especially in creating success with underrepresented communities. Details on each of the winners can be found on www.tibbettsawards.com.
The products and services developed across various industries include: artificial intelligence, genetics, nanotechnology, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, clean energy, sensors, aerospace and telecommunications. These stories demonstrate the substantial economic and social benefit of the SBIR and STTR programs and their impact on our economy. Past Tibbetts awardees include: Qualcomm, 23andMe, Symantec and Broadcom.
The SBIR/STTR programs are a key pillar in the federal government’s strategy for a strong national economy, providing seed capital to innovative entrepreneurs in science, technology and engineering. The program, known as America’s Seed Fund, focuses on funding critical technology areas that are too high risk or early-stage for traditional venture capital.
Since its inception in 1982, the program has awarded over 170,000 awards with over $50 billion in funding to small businesses through the 11 participating federal agencies. It boasts one of the highest returns on taxpayer investment when measuring federal funding and economic impact.
The 2020 Tibbetts Award Winners are as follows:
Companies Category
2B Technologies (Boulder, CO)
Actuated Medical, Inc. (Bellefonte, PA)
AM Biotechnologies, LLC (dba Raptamer Discovery Group) (Houston, TX)
ASAT, Inc. (Cottage Grove, OR)
ATA Engineering (San Diego, CA)
Backyard Brains (Ann Arbor, MI)
Bascom Hunter Technologies, Inc. (Baton Rouge, LA)
BioSensics LLC (Newton, MA)
BlackBox Biometrics, Inc. (Rochester, NY)
Block MEMS, LLC (Southborough, MA)
Blue Canyon Technologies (Boulder, CO)
Braxton Technologies, LLC (Colorado Springs, CO)
Colorado Engineering, Inc. (Colorado Springs, CO)
Curi Bio (Seattle, WA)
Design Interactive, Inc. (Orlando, FL)
Endurica, LLC (Findlay, OH)
Fuchs Consulting, Inc. (Leesburg, VA)
Harmonia Holding Group, LLC (Blacksburg, VA)
ImmunogenX, LLC (Newport Beach, CA)
KCF Technologies, Inc. (State College, PA)
Orbit Logic (Greenbelt, MD)
Pain Care Labs (a dba of MMJ Labs ) (Atlanta, GA)
Porifera, Inc. (San Leandro, CA)
QT Medical (Diamond Bar, CA)
re:3D Inc. (Houston, TX)
Red Balloon Security, Inc. (New York, NY)
Referentia Systems, Inc. (Honolulu, HI)
Ripple, LLC (Salt Lake City, UT)
RockStep Solutions, Inc. (Portland, ME)
Sabel Systems Technology Solutions, LLC (Gainesville, VA)
SafeLi, LLC (Shorewood, WI)
SIMBA Chain (Plymouth, IN)
SinnovaTek (Raleigh, NC)
SubUAS LLC (Hillsborough Township, NJ)
Ubiquitous Energy, Inc. (Redwood City, CA)
UltraVision Corporation (North Palm Beach, FL)
Vita Inclinata Technologies (Broomfield, CO)
Zeteo Tech, Inc. (Sykesville, MD)
Organizations Category
Arrowhead Center (Las Cruces, NM)
BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting, LLC (Chelsea, MI)
Delaware Small Business Development Center (Newark, DE)
Louisiana Technology Transfer Office (Baton Rouge, LA)
Michigan State University Foundation (East Lansing, MI)
Oklahoma Catalyst Programs (Norman, OK)
Wisconsin Center for Technology Commercialization (Madison, WI)
Individuals Category
Mr. Edward Baron – Braxton Technologies (Colorado Springs, CO)
Dr. Jodi Black – NIH Office of Extramural Research (Bethesda, MD)
Dr. David Boone – Orthocare Innovations (Edmonds, WA)
Mr. Anthony Brescia – Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (Patuxent River, MD)
Dr. Rodney Couick – General Services Administration (O’Fallon, IL)
Dr. Richard Duke – University of Colorado (Aurora, CO)
Dr. Imre Gyuk – Department of Energy (Washington, DC)
Mr. Thomas Hill – Naval Air Systems Command (Lakehurst, NJ)
Dr. Stephen Lee – U.S. Army Research Office (Durham, NC)
Mr. David Metzger – Arnold & Porter, Retired (Washington,DC)
Mr. Dave Noel – Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (Virginia Beach, VA)
Dr. Jack Syage – ImmunogenX (Newport Beach, CA)
Ms. Abby Trotter – Life Science Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
Mr. Thomas Wavering – University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK)
About the SBIR and STTR Programs
The SBIR/STTR programs represent the nation’s largest source of early stage research and development funding for small businesses. The programs are administered by the SBA in collaboration with 11 federal agencies, who collectively supported more than $4 billion a year in federal research and development funding. www.sbir.gov.
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more visit www.sba.gov.