Funding Opportunities: Private Sector
R&D Partnerships

The R&D Partnership Program supports two types of proposals: Phase I and Phase II. The Phase I program is intended for first-time partners who do not have prior university-industry collaboration. A company that has had prior collaboration with the university but is exploring partnerships with a new faculty member is also eligible to submit a Phase I proposal. The maximum cost share for a Phase I proposal is $10,000.

The Phase II program is intended for more mature university-industry partnerships. Prior participation in a Phase I grant proposal is not required for submission of a Phase II proposal. The maximum cost share for a Phase II proposal is $25,000. Phase II recipients are required to submit at least one grant proposal to a federal agency during the duration of the project. This proposal can be submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) program or any other federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program.

A Phase I or Phase II project must have at least two PIs: one from academia and one from industry. Any tenured or tenure-leading faculty member affiliated with a Nebraska research university is eligible to participate in the program. Any science or technology-based research or development project deemed important to the economic growth of a company is eligible. Proposals will be selected on a competitive basis.

Check the RFP page periodically for our active RFPs if you have a collaborative project that may qualify for funding.

Because proposals, with the exception of the budget sheet, are prepared according to NSF SBIR and STTR programs, the following web site may also be helpful: www.eng.nsf.gov/sbir.

Prior Recipients:
2010
Phase I
"Experimental study of plasmonic enhanced molecular detection using microfluidic controlled aggregation", Dr. Gregory Bashford, Dept. of Biological Systems Engineering, UNL, and Michael Furtaw, LI-COR Biosciences

"Self Healing Dental Composites", Dr. Stephen Gross, Dept. of Chemistry, Creighton University, and Mark Latta, GG Materials Research

Phase II
"Improved Detection Technologies for Biologically-Active Contaminants in Water", Dr. David Hage, Dept. of Chemistry, UNL, and Dr. Daniel Snow, School of Natural Resources,UNL, and Jack Silver, Teledyne Isco

2009
Phase I
"Research of Solar Panel types and orientation to maximize collection of solar power in Nebraska", Dr. David Sidebottom, Dept. of Physics , Creighton University, and Mr. Marc Nichols, Division Manager, Sustainable Energy and Environmental Stewardship (SEES)

Phase II
"Identifying Reusable Platforms through Ontology-Driven Product Line Analysis", Dr. Harvey Siy, Dept. of Computer Science, UNO, and Mr. George Royce, I/S Enterprise Architecture and Security

"Creating Knowledge for Business Intelligence: Strengthening the Long-Term Partnership with Nebraska Furniture Mart", Dr. Yong Shi, Dept. of Computer Science, UNL, and Mr. Jim Fried, Nebraska Furniture Mart.

2008
Phase II
"New principles and application of spectroscopic ellipsometry for chemical and biochemical sensing", Dr. Mathias Schubert, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, UNL, and Dr. John Woollam, President, J.A. Woollam Co., Inc.

2007
"Tailoring Advanced Magnetocaloric Functionality for Magnetic Refrigeration with Nanostructured Transition Metal Heterolayers", Dr. Christian Binek, UNL, and Larry Fritz, Teledyne Isco, Inc.

2006
"Process Development for a Recombinant Cattle Vaccine against Cryptosporidium parvum", Dr. Michael Meagher, UNL, and Graham Cox, Schering Plough Animal Health

"Innovation of Screening System for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Virus", Dr. Vyacheslav Rykov, UNO, and Alexander Kasiyanov, GR Exypnos, Inc.

2005
"Advanced Informatics for Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography",
Dr. Stephen Reichenbach, UNL, and GC Image, LLC