November 1st, 2008
Smart Environmental Sensor System Receives CDC Funding
Algenta Technologies announced that it has recently received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control - Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response (COTPER), under the National Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The award is a Phase I grant that provides supplemental support of Algenta’s research on a “Intelligent Environmental Monitoring System”.
The SBIR program is designed to stimulate technological innovation among private-sector businesses while providing the government new, cost-effective, technical and scientific solutions to challenging problems. "We appreciate the continued support of the CDC and COTPER, and their recognition of the significance of the research we are conducting," said Dan Smith, a Senior Technical Staff Member at Algenta, and the principal investigator on the project.
This Phase I project will develop technology to allow for real time readings of environmental conditions at stockpile sites. It will be able to issue alerts to staff using a variety of communication methods when conditions deviate outside an established norm. The distributed nature and full forensic recording of all the sensor data creates a large pool of information that can be mined and included in other models. This is especially useful in modeling the extended shelf life of assets that have environmental requirements such as CHEMPACK and RADPACK. The real time features, alert notification, and data analysis portions of this system will reduce storage costs by extending shelf life, and increase the nation’s emergency preparedness with accurate asset storage information. A prototype of the technology will be available to collaborating institutions in 2009.
About Algenta Technologies
Founded in 1999, Algenta Technologies is a research and development firm specializing in data management, integration services, and Internet technologies for government and business computing. The company offers a range of highly specific products and services designed to give power to people through easy integration and access to data.
Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response
CDC’s Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response (COTPER) helps the nation prepare for and respond to urgent public health threats by providing strategic direction, support, and coordination for preparedness activities across CDC. Each year, COTPER receives over $1 billion from Congress to build and strengthen national preparedness for public health emergencies including natural, biological, chemical, radiological, and nuclear incidents. This funding supports a range of activities at CDC and state and local public health departments.
