Brown Announces Four Southwest Ohio Companies Selected for NASA Contracts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Four southwest Ohio small businesses have been selected for NASA research contracts. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced that Cincinnati, Middletown, and Dayton-based firms have won NASA-funded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contracts under the Small Business Administration (SBA) to help federal research, development, and commercialization of NASA-related technology projects. 

“Ohio’s small businesses and workers have long contributed to technological advances in the aviation and aerospace industries,” Brown said. “The companies selected for the next generation of NASA research and development projects prove that Ohio is still great at moving America forward. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-based industries will continue to seek out talented Ohioans who are soaring to new heights and attracting new jobs to our state. It’s great to see southwest Ohioans contributing to NASA’s important work in the decades to come.”

Brown pushed for the renewal of the SBIR/STTR program which is expected to clear the Senate today 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 STTR program, the SBIR program has delivered more than $233 million to 244 Ohio small businesses to develop innovative technologies and grow and create jobs over the previous three decades.

By including qualified small businesses in the nation's Research and Development (R&D) arena, high-tech innovation is fostered, jobs are created, and the United States gains 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.

Details on the SBIR and STTR awards are below.  

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