WorldLink Media

Wowiwe Instruction is a company that received a SBIR Phase I grant for a project entitled: An Environmental Geology Game for Discovery-oriented Science and Mathematics Education. Their research project aims to solve a growing need for environmental science education. The project focusses on the development of a dynamic, group-based, immersive virtual environment (IVE). The primary innovation of the project lies at the intersection of three fruitful lines of research. First, IVEs show improved learning gains in science classrooms. Second, group learning is increasingly important, both from an employer's viewpoint and an educator's viewpoint. Finally, the fast-paced, immediate nature of our society requires individuals to respond quickly and effectively to dynamic events. The combination of these three will lead to a new, and potentially more intrinsically motivating, method of teaching environmental science. A study will be performed to determine the efficacy of the approach in terms of both learning outcomes and attitudinal measures, using high school students in a controlled laboratory setting. The 'degree of casual adoption' among high school students will be assessed through the 'landing site' developed for a related project. At the conclusion of the project, the IVE will be a fully-contained experimentally validated software package feasible for Phase II distribution to a number of markets. In the recent OECD international study of developed countries, the US ranked 21st in the percentage of the population with a high proficiency of environmental science skills and knowledge. This presents a marketable need for experimentally validated pedagogical software solutions that align with state and national standards. Meanwhile, environmental issues are reaching the forefront of national thought. This provides unique commercial opportunities for environmentally focused IVE software. Key players in the market include educational publishers and software developers. Competing technology is mainly non-immersive video clips, simple one-off activities, or in the best case, static games with a single outcome. Our solution is better than products developed by these companies because it leads the way by bringing three emerging technologies to bear on an environmental science curriculum. This project is tailored to take advantage of the One-to-One Initiative arising in states such as Michigan and Maine, through a combination of exit screens and landing sites with potential to be accessed by thousands of students per year. The software developed from this project will be purchased by high school students interested in environmental science and 'green' issues currently topical, and by parents interested in providing their children a more complete and socially relevant science education.

Fusion Research Technologies, LLC is a Cambridge, MA based company that has received a grant(s) from the Department of Energy's SBIR/STTR program. The abstract(s) for these grant award(s) are provided as well since they provide insights into Fusion Research Technologies, LLC's business and areas of expertise. The interaction of a thermonuclear plasma and its surrounding "container" significantly affects the performance of magnetic fusion devices, ultimately influencing fusion's viability as an energy source. This project will allow researchers to "see" the effects of these complex processes and provide essential data for understanding and designing fusion devices.

ExploreLearning is a company that received a SBIR Phase II grant for a project entitled: Modular Online Simulations for Math and Science with Integrated Assessment of Complex, Standards-Aligned Learning Objectives. Their will produce a commercial version of PathfinderPlus, an online system that integrates assessment of complex, standards-based instructional objectives within interactive simulations and makes the resultant data available in a timely and efficient manner to students, teachers and administrators. In order to effectively implement curriculum standards-based educational reforms (e.g., as mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act), teachers need guidance in linking students' day-to-day learning to these standards and in adapting subsequent instruction based on students' progress against the standards. Existing educational technology products, however, are explicitly correlated only to the macro-level terminal objectives in each state's curriculum standards. As a result, these products do not provide diagnostic information regarding component knowledge and skills, and they thereby fail to support teachers in understanding more precisely where students are having difficulties within a given terminal objective. PathfinderPlus provides a comprehensive online library of highly interactive learning objects that track student' actions as they use them. The system analyzes the generated data to create assessment probes which yield results that are indexed against a hierarchy of component knowledge and skills related to each state's terminal objectives. This analysis provides students, teachers and other educational stakeholders with a roadmap to success in meeting their state's curriculum standards. In terms of broader impacts, the successful production of a fully functional, commercial PathfinderPlus product will break significant technical ground in the field of large online repositories of interactive learning objects. The deployment of ExploreLearning's XML specification HILO ML (Highly-Interactive Learning Object Markup Language) separates the pedagogical logic of a learning object's adaptive behavior from its technical instantiation. This separation enables the efficient development of the volume of scripts required by a system that covers entire courses (e.g., Algebra). The use of a four-tiered architecture to link fine-grained pedagogical events (i.e., pedagogically-meaningful interactions between students and the online simulations) to macro-level terminal objectives provides a flexible, modular foundation for the system. In terms of impacts on K-12 education, PathfinderPlus will foster alignment with standards-based curricula, support teachers in integrating technology effectively and efficiently into their classrooms, and provide a new approach for measuring the impact of educational technology on student learning. In addition, the system's use of interactive simulations as the medium for assessment enables a broader range of more complex, higher-order instructional objectives to be assessed (e.g., problem solving strategies and skills), as compared to traditional probes used in computer-based applications such as multiple-choice questions.

VisTrails, Inc. is a Salt Lake City, UT based company that has received a grant(s) from the Department of Energy's SBIR/STTR program. The abstract(s) for these grant award(s) are provided as well since they provide insights into VisTrails, Inc.'s business and areas of expertise. This project will develop the framework to capture and manage all the steps that are taken by a user interacting with existing scientific visualization systems. The result will be a complete audit trail of the computational processes that are required to reproduce an image or discovery.

Aerophase, Inc. is a Longmont, CO based company that has received a grant(s) from the Department of Energy's SBIR/STTR program. The abstract(s) for these grant award(s) are provided as well since they provide insights into Aerophase, Inc.'s business and areas of expertise. Biodiesel is a key component in US plans to reduce dependence on foreign oil and decrease the environmental impacts of using fossil fuels—but current feedstocks and production technologies prevent it from being cost-competitive. This project will provide enabling technologies for a costeffective, energy-efficient method of producing biodiesel fuels from a variety of lowercost feedstocks. Biodiesel is a key component in U.S. plans to reduce dependence on foreign oil and decrease the environmental impacts of using fossil fuels—but current production technology is not cost-competitive. This project will provide enabling technologies for a cost-effective, energy-efficient method of producing biodiesel fuels.

Particle Accelerator Corporation is a Downers Grove, IL based company that has received a grant(s) from the Department of Energy's SBIR/STTR program. The abstract(s) for these grant award(s) are provided as well since they provide insights into Particle Accelerator Corporation's business and areas of expertise. This project will develop a viable proton and light-ion accelerator for both research and commercial use while eliminating some of the most pronounced technical difficulties, expense, maintenance, and required expertise faced in conventional accelerators. Proton and light-ion accelerators have many research and medical applications, providing one of the most effective treatments for many types of cancer. The development of broad, highly-accurate accelerator models with powerful optimization tools and user-friendly interfaces will enhance not only the HEP program but also benefit established and future applications of accelerators in science, technology, and medicine ranging from treatment of cancers, radiopharmaceuticals, and medical isotope production to secondary production beams for material science and basic research in nuclear physics.