Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund Annual Report, July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020
Summary
The Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) Annual Report for July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020, submitted October 1, 2020 by the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) as Fund Administrator on behalf of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority. The Executive Summary states that between the program's inception in FY2012 and its sunset on June 30, 2020, nearly 380 projects totaling more than $30 million were approved for funding. It reports FY2020 outcomes of approximately $136 million in follow-on monies, nearly $1.7 million in in-kind contributions, eight new companies formed and approximately 49 products or services launched. Appendices cover FY2020 award details, funding totals and RTIAC members.
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“Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund Annual Report, July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020.”
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Commonwealth Research
Commercialization Fund
Advancing Technology and Economic
Development in Virginia by Investing in Priority
Research and Commercialization Activities
ANNUAL REPORT
July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020
Submitted by the Fund Administrator:
Center for Innovative Technology
on behalf of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority
October 1, 2020
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................... i
Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 1
Program Impact ............................................................................................................................................ 1
Program Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 3
FY2020 Solicitation........................................................................................................................................ 4
Program Administration ............................................................................................................................... 5
Preparations for FY2021 ............................................................................................................................... 6
APPENDIX A: FY2020 Award Details.............................................................................................................. 7
APPENDIX B: FY2020 Funding Totals .......................................................................................................... 14
APPENDIX C: RTIAC Members ..................................................................................................................... 15
i
Executive Summary
In accordance with Code of Virginia § 2.2-2233.1 G and 2.2-2221 and on behalf of the Virginia Innovation
Partnership Authority (VIPA), the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) respectfully submits this report
regarding the performance of the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) in FY2020.
The CRCF, managed by CIT, accelerated innovation and drove economic development in the
Commonwealth, while solving important state, national, and international problems through technology
research, development, and commercialization. Between the program’s inception in FY2012 and its
sunset on June 30, 2020, nearly 380 projects around the Commonwealth totaling more than $30 million
were approved for funding.
Economic outcomes reported in FY2020 by CRCF award recipients identified early returns on the
Commonwealth’s investment: approximately $136 million in follow-on monies to support further
technology advancement, nearly $1.7 million in in-kind contributions, eight new companies formed, and
approximately 49 products or services launched. In support of the Fund’s goal to commercialize high-
potential technologies, annual outcomes reported by awardees reflect the maturation and evolution of
their organizations and technologies as they advance toward market entry. Outcomes are discussed
below.
In FY2020, CIT offered one CRCF solicitation, which resulted in 30 awards totaling $2.48 million and
leveraging the Commonwealth’s investment with more than $13 million in matching funds. These
projects, along with those in the CRCF portfolio, are being performed by companies, universities, and
research organizations across the state and align with Virginia’s key strategic technology priorities as
outlined in the Commonwealth Research and Technology Strategic Roadmap (hereafter referred to as
“the Roadmap”). The Roadmap, most recently published by the State Council of Higher Education for
Virginia (SCHEV) in October 2019, identifies research areas worthy of economic development and
institutional focus because of their promise of driving economic growth in Virginia.
The FY2020 CRCF program was supported by a $2.8 million General Fund appropriation. Funds available
to award reflected CIT’s administrative fee as well as monies from previous grants that had not been
fully expended or had been declined.
Program Impact
CRCF awards sought to solve current and longstanding global challenges in industries such as life
sciences, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, energy, and unmanned systems. CRCF has funded
projects ranging from therapeutics for glioblastoma to transforming agricultural crop protection to
1
connected and autonomous vehicle solutions to optimizing wireless communications. Among the many
outcomes reported during FY2020, at least one CRCF award recipient was acquired, four organizations
reported Series A investment of more than $3 million and with one receiving $25 million, and several
award recipients were positioned to pivot their CRCF-funded research to help address the COVID-19
pandemic. One organization reported that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided funding for
two clinical trials, a Virginia university initiated a preclinical program for the development of a key
peptide, and yet another award recipient reported that they submitted their first Investigational Device
Exemption pre-submission packet. CRCF awardees also reported honors ranging from a National Science
Foundation (NSF) CAREER award, to being selected as a Jefferson Science Fellow to the National
Academies of Science, to receiving the Tibbetts Small Business and Distinguished Researcher awards.
Lastly, an Eminent Researcher Recruitment project has had a crucial role in the establishment of a new
Pharmaceutical Engineering PhD program for one Virginia university. CRCF projects have the potential to
provide a profound and lasting benefit to citizens of the Commonwealth and to society at large by
enhancing quality of life and economic development.
CRCF awards have, primarily, supported early-stage technology development, setting the technology on
a commercialization path and making it attractive for further investment and/or licensing. Milestones
along this often multi-year path include clinical trials; FDA and other regulatory approvals; investment
from federal, private, or other sources; beta product releases; and pilot programs. Fund investments
have resulted in companies created, expanded, or acquired; products launched; revenue generated;
intellectual property developed and licensed; key personnel recruited; and other outcomes beneficial to
Virginia and beyond.
FY2020 reports1 submitted by award recipients demonstrate exciting returns on investment for the
Commonwealth, and aggregate figures are provided below.
Investments
Follow-on Funding In-Kind Contributions Undisclosed Source Additional Leverage
$135,586,789 $1,659,148 $666,000 $594,769
In FY2020, CRCF awardees reported more than $138 million investment in CRCF-funded technologies,
including follow-on funding, in-kind contributions, and additional leverage. Follow-on funding is
comprised of $72 million in federal grants and $47 million received through capital raises, along with
numerous sources of private funding; an additional $666 thousand was received from undisclosed
sources. For CRCF awardees, in-kind support typically consists of waived salaries or equipment
donations and additional leverage represents monies that awardees reported, beyond their original
match commitment.
1
FY2020 reports were received between August 16, 2019 and August 15, 2020. Reports provided outcomes for
the awardee’s previous 12 months, or for final reports, for the duration of the project.
2
Growth and Expansion
New Companies Enhancements
Revenue New Jobs Jobs Retained
Formed and/or Expansions
$16,643,667 168 162 8 29
Three CRCF awardees reported revenue figures of more than $2 million each. One CRCF award recipient
was acquired by a large organization. Along with increasing a physical footprint, a number of award
recipients reported enhancements to their facility and/or equipment.
Products or Services
Anticipated for Release within 12
Newly Commercialized Under Development
Months
49 90 13
In total, 139 products or services were reported as introduced to the market in FY2020 or planned for
release over the next year. Thirteen technologies were reported as under development, including at the
beta, demo, or prototype stages, as well as in pilot programs.
Intellectual Property
Patents Granted Patents Pending
57 157
CRCF award recipients reported intellectual property creation, including U.S., international, PCT, and
provisional patents. Their reports also cited several patents under development, invention disclosures,
trade secrets, and copyrights. Additionally, several organizations are actively pursuing licensing
agreements for their technology.
Each year CIT assesses and refines CRCF reportable criteria to best reflect the types of economic
outcomes being demonstrated in the Commonwealth. For example, CIT began tracking follow-on
investment and jobs in FY2015; since that time, awardees have reported more than $593 million in
follow-on funding, more than $20 million of in-kind support, more than $105 million in sales and
revenue, and more than 1,800 jobs created or retained.
Program Overview
Since the inception of the CRCF program in FY2012, 1,062 applications were submitted from all nine GO
Virginia regions and, from these submissions, 3782 projects were offered funding. These awards total
more than $30 million and are being leveraged with more than $85 million in matching funds, including
federal awards.
2
378 projects were offered funding since CRCF’s inception; 20 awards have been declined.
3
CRCF projects with the potential to positively impact Virginia’s technology future have covered the
following technology sectors: advanced manufacturing, aerospace, communications, cybersecurity,
energy, environment, information technology – including data analytics, life sciences, modeling and
simulation, nuclear physics, transportation, and unmanned systems. Per legislative direction, CRCF
projects advance technology sectors identified in the version of the Roadmap current when a given
solicitation was announced.
CIT leveraged its programs to facilitate company creation and growth. In relation to other CIT programs,
CRCF was part of a pipeline, working closely, for instance, with the Federal Funding Assistance Program
(FFAP), the GAP family of funds, and the Virginia Unmanned Systems Center. CRCF also complemented
other funding programs in the Commonwealth, such as the Virginia Research Investment Fund (VRIF),
the Virginia Catalyst (formerly known as VBHRC, the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation),
the Commonwealth Health Research Board (CHRB), and the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission.
FY2020 Solicitation
One solicitation was offered in FY2020 that included five programs: Commercialization, Eminent
Researcher Recruitment, Matching Funds, SBIR Matching Funds, and STTR Matching Funds. Applications
were invited from academia, federal labs, other nonprofit research institutions, university research
consortia, and the private sector.
Commercialization Program
The Commercialization Program supported validation and commercialization activities for high-
potential technologies in the proof-of-concept, prototype, or minimum viable product (MVP)
development phases that had a reasonable probability of enhancing the Commonwealth’s national
and global competitiveness. The maximum award amount increased from $50,000 to $75,000.
Eminent Researcher Recruitment Program
The Eminent Research Recruitment Program supported public colleges and universities seeking to
acquire or enhance research superiority in qualified technologies through the recruitment of a top
scholar to its faculty. Research commercialization and collaboration with the private sector are
important activities for the hired researcher. The maximum award amount was $250,000.
Matching Funds Program
The Matching Funds Program enabled public and private higher education institutions, federal labs
and other nonprofit research institutions in Virginia, and university research consortia that included
Virginia college and university member institutions to leverage federal, private, or other funds
designated for the commercialization of high-potential technologies and economic benefit to
Virginia. The maximum award amount increased from $100,000 to $150,000.
4
SBIR and STTR Matching Funds Programs
The SBIR and STTR Matching Funds Programs accelerated high-potential technology development
and commercialization efforts by Virginia-based businesses that had recently won a Phase I and/or
Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
award. The maximum award amount increased from $50,000 to $75,000.
Projects were invited under five technology sectors: clean energy, cybersecurity, data analytics, life
sciences, and unmanned systems.
In FY2020, CIT received 183 eligible Letters of Intent (LOIs) in response to the Request for Proposals
(RFP). Of these, 61 LOIs were approved for application and 49 applications were ultimately received
from 44 discrete organizations and 49 discrete principal investigators. Applicants requested
approximately $4.5 million and these requests spanned all programs and industry sectors and seven of
the nine GO Virginia regions. Thirty awards were announced for $2.48 million, leveraging the
Commonwealth’s investment with more than $13 million in matching funds. Awarded projects also
represented all industry sectors, four of the five programs, and six of the nine GO Virginia regions.
A brief overview of each project announced for award in FY2020 is provided in Appendix A.
Program Administration
Administrative activities in FY2020 included overseeing the solicitation, outreach, and award
management for projects funded in FY2012 through FY2019. The fee for Fund management was
$370,582.
As Fund Administrator and with the support of the Research and Technology Investment Advisory
Committee (RTIAC)3 and the Office of the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, CIT developed the
approach for the FY2020 solicitation, including updated program guidelines, an enhanced application
and review process, and continued use of an online grants management system, CyberGrants, to
facilitate application submission and reporting. CIT led a multi-step review process, starting at the LOI
stage. LOIs were reviewed by CIT for administrative compliance and then underwent a business and
technology-oriented evaluation by external reviewers. Reviewers included members of the RTIAC as well
as investment professionals and other subject matter experts. Applicants whose LOIs were most highly
rated were invited to submit a proposal. Once all proposals were received, CIT performed an internal
compliance review to determine those applications that would advance to examination by subject
matter experts. These experts, including individuals from industry, academia, government, and the
venture capital community, evaluated and rated proposals. Again, those applications that scored highest
3
The RTIAC is a legislatively-established body comprised of representatives drawn from higher education,
economic development, research institutes, venture capital firms, and technology corporations.
5
advanced to and were reviewed and ranked by two additional members of the RTIAC. Based on the
assessments of the RTIAC, projects were recommended to the CIT Board of Directors for funding; the
Board made final award decisions, after which awards were announced.
The list of FY2020 RTIAC members is included as Appendix C.
CIT maintains information on the Fund, including awards and current solicitations, on its website,
www.cit.org. In FY2020, press releases announced the request for proposals and, subsequently, award
recipients. Outreach and communications also included social media, email announcements, webinars,
and speaking engagements. Outreach was enhanced by additional communication networks, including
CIT’s GAP team, FFAP, and the Virginia Unmanned Systems Center; Virginia’s regional technology
councils; individual colleges and universities and other higher education institutions; the Virginia
Biotechnology Association (VABIO), regional Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International
(AUVSI) chapters, accelerators, investment groups and other organizations that provide support to
entrepreneurs, and economic professionals throughout Virginia.
Following the Governor’s June 2020 press release announcing awards, CIT invited award recipients to
prepare and issue their own press releases. Several awardees pursued the opportunity and CIT
facilitated providing a quote from then-President and CEO, Ed Albrigo. In addition, CIT’s Marketing and
Communications team engaged in outreach to local media outlets and monitored for stories related to
the recent awards. There was coverage from industry press across the state, as well coverage beyond
Virginia.
Also as Fund Administrator, CIT managed awards announced in prior years and produced the FY2019
Annual Report. This included assessing project performance on an ongoing basis. Additionally, CIT
provided support to external organizations, state agencies, and researchers from academia, industry,
and other members of the technology community that desired information about the Fund and future
solicitations. Throughout the year, CIT provided oversight to ensure compliance with the CRCF
guidelines and other requirements.
Preparations for FY2021
In 2020 the General Assembly and Administration created the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority,
or VIPA. Established by Code of Virginia § 2.2-2351, VIPA brings consolidated and significant strategy,
funding, and oversight for innovation commercialization and entrepreneur support under one entity.
The CRCF program was sunset on June 30, 2020 and transitioned, along with the previously mentioned
VRIF program, to the newly created Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) per Virginia Code §
2.2-2359. The FY2020 Annual Report of the Virginia Research Investment Committee (VRIC), which
addresses the VRIF, will be submitted separately by SCHEV.
6
APPENDIX A: FY2020 Award Details
GO Virginia Period of Principal CRCF
Award Recipient Project Title Project Description Match
Region Performance Investigator Award
COMMERCIALIZATION PROGRAM
Commonwealth Region 7 – Cloud Search Tool for CTP’s automated export classification tool will 07/01/2020 – Mr. Tom $74,705 $75,029
Trading Partners, Northern Export Commodity integrate neural networks and deep learning 04/30/2021 Fergus
Inc. Virginia Classification algorithms to improve efficiency and accuracy in
determining the export classification of defense
articles and dual-use commodities, assisting U.S.
exporters with their compliance requirements under
the EAR and ITAR.
Cowden Region 2 – A Smart Docking Cowden Technologies is developing a battery 06/15/2020 – Mr. Mickey $75,000 $109,000
Technologies, LLC Roanoke / Station for Drones charging and data retrieval docking platform that can 06/14/2021 Cowden
New River / be installed on a drone and provide autonomous
Lynchburg guidance control while docking, undocking, and
securing the drone to the platform. The technology
will enable drones to operate remotely without
human intervention.
Eksdyne Inc. Region 2 – A Magnetohydro- Eksdyne is developing "Flux" actuators – silent, 06/15/2020 – Mr. Joshua $74,915 $96,098
Roanoke / dynamic Actuator configurable, flexible devices responsible for 06/15/2021 Eckstein
New River / System for Robotics controlling systems with no moving parts, designed
Lynchburg for advanced robotic motion.
GATACA LLC Region 2 – GAT for NGS: A CRCF funds will be used to automate and 06/15/2020 – Dr. Johanna $75,000 $76,186
Roanoke / Bioinformatics Tool commercialize GATACA's bioinformatics product 02/15/2021 Craig
New River / for Hepatitis B Virus powered by artificial intelligence: GAT/MLv1.0, a
Lynchburg Quasispecies – novel tool that profiles dangerous mutant strains
Incorporating from molecular viral populations that perpetuate
Machine Learning viral infections. GATACA will focus first on the
Hepatitis B virus.
Lumin Region 9 – Promoting Residential Lumin is proposing to develop a technology capable 07/01/2020 – Mr. Michael $64,917 $64,972
Greater Solar PV Development of automatically keeping solar PV production within a 12/31/2020 Hibshman
Charlottesville Through Curtailment safe threshold for charging energy storage systems
of Excess Production during grid outages. This technology will allow solar
Off-Grid PV systems to be sized according to on-grid
household needs, without being limited in size by off-
grid considerations.
7
GO Virginia Period of Principal CRCF
Award Recipient Project Title Project Description Match
Region Performance Investigator Award
Meru Region 4 – Development of the Meru Biotechnologies is developing cancer 06/15/2020 – Mr. Daniel $75,000 $75,000
Biotechnologies, Greater Minimum Viable biomarkers and opioid detection test kits for their 05/31/2021 Rodenhaver
LLC Richmond Product for a Free novel analytical instrument. This technology will
Solution Biomolecular provide lower cost and rapid access to lifesaving data.
Characterization
Device
Onclave Region 7 – Secure IoT: A Zero- Onclave Networks is developing a technology that 06/15/2020 – Mr. James $75,000 $405,352
Networks, Inc Northern Trust Platform for will enable industries to protect 5G and legacy 06/14/2021 Taylor
Virginia Elimination of OT systems without rebuilding the network
Attack Surface infrastructure. Specifically, CRCF funding will allow
the team to ensure secure integrations, address
industry integrations, and explore how the
technology might drive digitalization across industries
given the sizable projected IoT market.
Organizing4Innov Region 7 – Using Team-Learning Organizing4Innovation is developing a predictive 07/01/2020 – Dr. Floor $50,450 $51,595
ation Northern and Teamwork- analytics model with the potential to provide teams 07/01/2021 Blindenbach
Virginia Quality Indicators as with unique insight into their behavior, allowing them
Objective to motivate members to become better innovators
Performance and team players, helping them to understand what
Assessments to Vet they do well and where they fall short, and giving
Early-Stage Innovation them actionable feedback that will help the team
Teams perform better.
SCOUT Inc. Region 7 – Demonstrating Small SCOUT is developing an on-site satellite inspection 06/15/2020 – Mr. Sergio $74,816 $74,816
Northern Satellite Technology to technology that will enable small satellites to conduct 12/15/2020 Gallucci
Virginia Enable Satellite Health autonomous rendezvous, approach, and observation
Inspections in of spacecraft at resolutions much greater than 100x
Geostationary Orbit beyond what exists today. CRCF funding will allow
SCOUT to develop the core of its technology, SCOUT-
Vision: a high-capability small satellite sensor package
capable of inspecting objects kilometers away at <1
cm/px resolution.
Sentinel Robotic Region 5 – Sentinel Aerium: Sentinel Robotic Solutions is developing the Sentinel 07/01/2020 – Mr. John $75,000 $75,000
Solutions, LLC Hampton American-Made Class Aerium, a market-disruptive, American-made, vertical 03/31/2021 Robinson
Roads I UAS with Disruptive takeoff and landing, ruggedized, multi-use, small
Flight Endurance unmanned aerial system with flight times 3x greater
Technology than sUAS currently available that will significantly
expand the uses for small UASs.
8
GO Virginia Period of Principal CRCF
Award Recipient Project Title Project Description Match
Region Performance Investigator Award
Service Robotics Region 7 – A Software Command SRT is proposing to build a global command center 07/01/2020 – Dr. Gregory $75,000 $82,506
& Technologies Northern Center for Scheduling for smart device management, strengthening the 06/30/2021 Scott
Virginia and Optimizing Robots central controller component of their patent, while
and Humans in Smart filling an unmet market need for a stand-alone
Buildings software system that can schedule device
maintenance and human tasking, prioritized by
importance for completion and by location within the
facility.
Techulon Inc Region 2 – PPNA-Based Techulon is developing a platform technology that 07/01/2020 – Dr. Nrusingh $75,000 $999,974*
Roanoke / Antimicrobial makes novel therapeutics accessible to selectively 12/31/2020 Mohapatra
New River / Therapeutics Against target and kill four groups of pathogens: MRSA,
Lynchburg Multi-Drug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, and
Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter baumannii, as well as Borelia spp. and
Acinetobacter Candida spp. With CRCF funding, the team will focus
on developing a novel peptide-peptide nucleic acids
(PPNA) targeting A.baumannii.
TOTAL: $864,803 $2,185,528
MATCHING FUNDS PROGRAM
Old Dominion Region 5 – Blockchain- ODU is seeking to integrate software development 06/15/2020 – Dr. Sachin $150,000 $150,000
University Hampton Empowered Cyber- and commercialization activities for Bloxure, a 06/14/2022 Shetty
Roads Resilient IoT Security networked device identity management platform.
Solution These efforts will significantly enhance the maturity
of Bloxure and ensure commercial viability and
implementation with Sentara Healthcare's
operational environment at multiple sites.
University of Region 9 – Machine Learning Following a decade of development, UVA has 07/01/2020 – Dr. Leon $137,453 $150,000
Virginia Greater Technology for developed and commercialized a system for closed- 06/30/2021 Farhi
Charlottesville Prediction of Future loop glucose control in Type 1 diabetes. CRCF funding
Glucose Fluctuations will allow the team to further enhance the system by
to Enable a New developing a new technology that can predict the
Generation of next-day glycemic variability for an individual and,
Adaptive Glucose thereby, enable a new generation of adaptive glucose
Control in Diabetes control in diabetes with markedly enhanced safety
and efficacy.
University of Region 9 – Novel Automated Accurate and timely monitoring of plant health status 07/1/2020 – Dr. Xi Yang $150,000 $150,000
Virginia Greater System to Measure has a wide range of applications in many areas of the 6/30/2022
Charlottesville Plant Health Commonwealth and beyond, for example, precision
agriculture, forestry, and environmental monitoring.
9
GO Virginia Period of Principal CRCF
Award Recipient Project Title Project Description Match
Region Performance Investigator Award
UVA is developing a technology to monitor plant
health automatically or by using an unmanned
autonomous vehicle.
Virginia Region 4 – Development of Novel VCU is developing a unique catalyst system that can 07/01/2020 – Dr. Frank $150,000 $150,000
Commonwealth Greater Heterogeneous Cross- be used in pharmaceutical applications to produce 06/30/2021 Gupton
University Richmond Coupling Catalysts for drug active ingredients. These catalysts are important
Pharmaceutical because they are not only extremely reactive and
Applications efficient, but also avoid contamination of the drugs
with heavy metals.
TOTAL: $587,453 $600,000
SBIR MATCHING FUNDS PROGRAM
Agrology Region 7 – Commercializing a Agrology is building a precision agriculture system to 06/15/2020 – Mr. Tyler $75,000 $750,000*
Northern Precision Agricultural guide crop farmers to maximum profit and yield with 12/15/2020 Locke
Virginia System for Irrigation, minimal fertilizer, pest and disease sprays, and
Fertilizer, and Spray irrigation applications.
Scheduling
Azimuth1 Region 7 – EnviMetric: Geospatial Azimuth1 is developing a tool that will show the most 06/15/2020 – Mr. Jason $75,000 $995,000*
Northern Statistical Tools for likely extent of groundwater contamination by 06/15/2021 Dalton
Virginia Environmental generating statistical estimates of down-gradient
Screening of distances of contaminant travel to be applied during
Commercial Real Phase I Environmental Site Assessments for
Estate Sales commercial real estate transactions.
Babylon Micro- Region 9 – Designing a Disruptive With CRCF funding, Babylon Micro-Farms is proposing 06/15/2020 – Mr. Graham $75,000 $223,102*
Farms Inc. Greater Platform for a means to effectively and efficiently automate 11/30/2020 Smith
Charlottesville Hydroponic Vertical systems of hydroponics. By integrating machine
Farming: Addressing learning models analyzing plant growth and harvest
Challenges in Effective yield, the Babylon doser will generate feedback
Urban Farming and modulating growth conditions and fully automate
the Elimination of hydroponic operation.
Food Deserts
BEM Controls, LLC Region 7 – WiseMrkt: A Platform BEM Controls will develop a number of algorithms to 07/01/2020 – Mr. Rasheq $75,000 $1,049,914*
Northern for Transactive Energy help building owners improve energy savings and 03/31/2021 Rahman
Virginia and Demand utilities and better prioritize assets to be optimized
Response Applications during demand response events.
10
GO Virginia Period of Principal CRCF
Award Recipient Project Title Project Description Match
Region Performance Investigator Award
Burnshire Region 8 – Inverter Controlled With CRCF funding, Burnshire Hydroelectric will test 07/20/2020 – Dr. Robert $74,981 $899,235*
Hydroelectric LLC Shenandoah Multigenerator whether adding an additional generator to a 12/11/2020 Harvey
Valley hydropower drive shaft will add range of operation,
particularly during low river flow periods when typical
generators cease to operate.
Federal Foundry Region 7 – Structured and CRCF funds will enable Federal Foundry to develop an 06/15/2020 – Mr. $73,140 $753,298*
LLC Northern Unstructured HR analytic tool to help government contracting 06/14/2021 Geoffrey
Virginia Analytics to Support companies search for and evaluate potential Orazem
Hiring, Staffing, and partners.
Partnership Decision
Making
ICBiome, Inc. Region 7 – A WGS-Based Through federal and prior CRCF funding, ICBiome has 06/15/2020 – Dr. Srini Iyer $75,000 $218,843*
Northern Genomics Platform for developed novel cloud technologies for genomics- 12/15/2020
Virginia Early Identification of based pathogen diagnostics. Through this latest
MRSA Transmission in award, the team seeks to develop a visual demo and
ICU Settings webinar that showcases the success of their SBIR
Phase 1 MRSA project, as well as a pilot evaluation of
their genomics surveillance product at a Children's
Hospital.
KeViRx, Inc Region 9 – Development of Novel CRCF funds will allow KeViRx to further develop a 06/15/2020 – Dr. John $75,000 $309,033*
Greater Small Molecule newly discovered class of small molecules that inhibit 06/14/2021 Lazo
Charlottesville Inhibitors of the the activity of one of the most potent cancer-causing
Oncogenic Protein protein tyrosine phosphatases, which is highly
Tyrosine Phosphatase expressed in ~50% of human malignancies, including
PTP4A3 for the drug-resistant ovarian cancer and acute myelogenous
Treatment of Human leukemia.
Cancers
Micro Harmonics Region 2 – Cryogenic Isolators for The design and production of compact cryogenic 06/15/2020 – Ms. Diane $75,000 $766,532*
Corporation Roanoke / High-Frequency Ship isolators for use in drone-mounted threat detection 06/14/2021 Kees
New River / Radar and Drone and structural inspection systems, as well as
Lynchburg Inspection Systems shipboard radar systems operating at 26-40 GHz, is
the focus of this Micro Harmonics project. In
addition, CRCF funding will support innovative new
methods of producing key ceramic isolator parts by
using additive manufacturing techniques.
11
GO Virginia Period of Principal CRCF
Award Recipient Project Title Project Description Match
Region Performance Investigator Award
ReAlta Life Region 5 – Peptide Inhibitor of This CRCF project will advance the commercial 06/15/2020 – Dr. Neel $59,446 $1,497,741*
Sciences Hampton Complement C1 (PIC1) readiness of the PIC1 technology currently under 06/14/2021 Krishna
Roads as a Treatment for development by ReAlta Life Sciences, as well as
Hypoxic Ischemic establish quality assurance programs for
Encephalopathy (HIE) manufacturing and supply of GMP-grade PIC1 and on-
site evaluation of the Phase I human testing site at
which first-in-human clinical trials will be conducted.
Tympanogen, Inc. Region 4 – Preparation of a During this project, Tympanogen will prepare the 06/15/2020 – Dr. Elaine $75,000 $1,479,163*
Greater 510(k) Application for 510(k) application for a novel nonsurgical eardrum 12/31/2020 Horn-
Richmond FDA Clearance of a repair patch and submit it to the FDA. Ranney
Gel Patch for
Nonsurgical Eardrum
Repair
WynnVision LLC Region 4 – Preventing Ventilator- In the U.S., more than 300,000 patients each year 07/01/2020 – Dr. Olga $75,000 $708,940*
Greater Associated Infections receive mechanical ventilation with a high risk for 06/30/2021 Zolotarskaya
Richmond complications and poor outcomes, including death.
To address this unmet need, WynnVision will use
CRCF funding to prevent or greatly reduce such
infections by using an economical treatment for
silicone endotracheal tubes that kills disease-causing
pathogens while being nontoxic to human tissue.
TOTAL: $882,567 $9,725,801
STTR MATCHING FUNDS PROGRAM
AgroSpheres, Inc. Region 9 – AgroSpheres Enabled AgroSpheres is developing an RNAi bioinsecticide to 06/15/2020 – Mr. Ameer $75,000 $300,000*
Greater RNAi Delivery for control the invasive Fall Armyworm, one of the most 02/01/2021 Shakeel
Charlottesville Agriculture common causes of damaged turfgrass.
Li Industries, Inc. Region 2 – Effective Materials Li Industries is developing a direct battery recycling 06/15/2020 – Mr. Nolan $75,000 $225,000*
Roanoke / Separation for Low- process that increases the sustainability of the 06/14/2021 Schmidt
New River / Cost Lithium Ion lithium-ion battery lifecycle by isolating and
Lynchburg Battery Direct regenerating cathode materials of end-of-life lithium-
Recycling ion batteries for reuse. This CRCF project aims at
improving upon and developing new methods of
separating out the cathode materials to achieve
higher purity recycled materials.
TOTAL: $150,000 $525,000
TOTAL CRCF FY2020 AWARDS: $2,484,823 $13,036,329
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APPENDIX B: FY2020 Funding Totals
FY2020 AWARD FY2020 AWARD FY2020 MATCH
PROGRAM
COUNT TOTAL TOTAL
Commercialization Program 12 $864,803 $2,185,528
Matching Funds Program 4 $587,453 $600,000
Eminent Researcher Recruitment 0 $0 $0
Program
SBIR Matching Funds Program* 12 $882,567 $9,725,801
STTR Matching Funds Program* 2 $150,000 $525,000
ALL PROGRAMS 30 $2,484,823 $13,036,329
* Matching funds provided toward the CRCF include federal awards and may include additional
awardee-contributed match as well
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APPENDIX C: RTIAC Members
In FY2020, the following individuals were members of the Research and Technology Investment Advisory
Committee (RTIAC), the group responsible for making CRCF award recommendations to the CIT Board of
Directors.
Steve Clinton, former Vice President and COO – Sebesta, Inc. (retired)
Morris Foster, Vice President for Research – Old Dominion University
Cheryl Giggetts, Principal Consultant – CTA Consultants, LLC
Keith Holland, Associate Vice Provost for Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors – James
Madison University
Dennis Manos, Vice Provost for Research and Graduate/Professional Studies – College of
William and Mary
Steven Moret, President and CEO – Virginia Economic Development Partnership
Srirama Rao, Vice President for Research and Innovation – Virginia Commonwealth University
Venkat Rao, Program Director for Health Market Strategy – Parsons
Scott Tolleson, Partner – Promethean Investments, LLP
Craig Wanke, Senior Principal Engineer – The MITRE Corporation
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