WASHINGTON, D.C. – A central Ohio small business will receive funding to conduct research and development. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that Hyper Tech Research, Inc. of Columbus received $1,000,000 through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant program.

“Small businesses are the engines of our nation’s economy, creating nearly two-thirds of new jobs,” Brown said. “With the help of SBIR grants, innovators and entrepreneurs at companies across Ohio and our country are helping to develop clean energy technology, create life-saving medical devices, and take other technological strides that will change and improve American lives.”

Hyper Tech Research, Inc. will use the funding to develop improved light, or photon, sources used in materials research, industry, and medicine, including: the processing of semiconductor chips for computers, determining the age of materials through radiocarbon dating, sterilizing medical equipment and food products, and diagnosing and treating cancer.

Brown pushed for the renewal of the SBIR program which cleared the Senate in Dec. 2011 as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011. SBIR is a competitive program that encourages American-owned and independently operated small businesses to reach their technological potential by awarding them crucial funds to aid in a technology’s startup and development stages.  Together with the Small Business Technical Transfer (STTR) program, the SBIR program has delivered more than $233 million to more than 240 Ohio small businesses to develop innovative technologies and grow and create jobs over the previous three decades.

Including qualified small businesses in the Research and Development (R&D) arena fosters high-tech innovation, creates jobs, and boosts our nation’s entrepreneurial spirit as it meets its specific research and development needs. 

SBIR specifically targets the entrepreneurial sector because the risk and expense of conducting serious R&D efforts are often beyond the means of many small businesses, which is why SBIR funding is so important.

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