Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs (Sept. 13, 2006): Research Lab selections earn small business awards.

ROME, N.Y. -- Two small businesses nominated by Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate engineers have been selected as winners of the 2006 Tibbetts Award by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The award is named for Ronald Tibbetts who is considered the father of the congressionally directed Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Program.

Scheduled to receive the awards during ceremonies held Sept. 26 in Washington, D.C., are ITCN of Dayton, Ohio, and Lumidigm Inc. of Albuquerque, N.M.

ITCN, a small veteran-owned business with 18 employees, was nominated for the award by Barbara L. Fran-tom and Phillip H. Powers of the directorate's Information Systems Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The company is developing technology to identify aircraft network cabling problems.

Lumidigm, one of New Mexico's 40 fastest-growing technology companies for the past two years, was nominated by Thomas J. Parisi of the directorate's Information Grid Division at the AFRL Rome Research Site. The company has developed a sensor that collects identifying fingerprint information from both the surface and subsurface of the skin--a radical departure from conventional optical fingerprint technology.

The SBIR program funds early-stage research and development at small high-technology companies. It is designed to stimulate technological innovation; increase private sector commercialization of federal research and development; increase small business participation in federally funded research and development; and to foster participation by minority and disadvantaged firms in technological innovation.

Selection criteria for the Tibbetts Award include the economic impact of technological innovation, business achievement and effective collaborations, and demonstrated state and regional impact.

Crumb is with Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs.