Alchemy Inc

URBAN ALCHEMY (UA) PROPOSES A COMMUNITY-BASED PUBLIC SAFETY PROJECT IN CENTRAL EAST AUSTIN (CEA), TEXAS. THE INITIATIVE WILL REDUCE CRIME IN THIS PREDOMINANTLY BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD AND INCREASE TRUST IN TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS IN THE 78702, 78721, AND 78723 ZIP CODES. CEA STRUGGLES WITH A VERY HIGH CRIME RATE. AUTO AND PROPERTY THEFT, ALONG WITH GUN LAW VIOLATIONS, DRUG CRIMES, AND SEX CRIMES HAVE BEEN ON THE RISE. FURTHER, THE COMMUNITY FACES HIGH RATES OF POVERTY, SUBSTANCE USE, AND HOMELESSNESS. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVISE A REPLICABLE MODEL FOR CRIME INTERVENTION, INCREASE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND AWARENESS OF PUBLIC SAFETY, AND REDUCE THE DRIVERS OF CRIME AND INCIDENTS OF LESS SERIOUS OFFENSES. SOME STRATEGIES THAT WILL BE USED INCLUDE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, COMMUNITY EVENTS, SERVICE REFERRALS, AND DEPLOYING TRAUMA-INFORMED COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS. UA IS A NATIONAL NONPROFIT THAT FOCUSES ON COMMUNITY-BASED PUBLIC SAFETY. UA STAFF, KNOWN AS PRACTITIONERS, ARE TRAINED TO DE-ESCALATE CONFLICT, CONNECT PEOPLE TO SERVICES, AND BRING PEACE TO CHAOTIC PUBLIC PLACES. OVER 95% OF PRACTITIONERS HAVE LIVED EXPERIENCE WITH INCARCERATION OR HOMELESSNESS. UA IS A BLACK-LED ORGANIZATION, AND 92% OF ITS STAFF ARE BIPOC. UA WILL PARTNER WITH HUSTON-TILLOTSON UNIVERSITY (HT), A HISTORICALLY BLACK UNIVERSITY LOCATED IN THE PROJECT AREA. HT WILL WORK WITH UA TO COLLECT QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DATA FROM THE COMMUNITY AND REPRESENTATIVE SECTORS. FOLLOWING THIS LANDSCAPE AND PLANNING DATA COLLECTION, FACULTY WILL HELP FORMULATE A MODEL, STRATEGIES, ASSOCIATED THEORY OF CHANGE, AND EVALUATION PLAN. TWO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS SUBRECIPIENTS. HUNGRY HILL FOUNDATION AND WE CAN NOW ARE BOTH BASED IN CEA. BOTH ORGANIZATIONS ARE BLACK-LED AND HIGHLY RESPECTED IN THE COMMUNITY. THEY PROVIDE A VARIETY OF PROGRAMS, SERVICES, AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES IN CEA. THEY ALSO WORK ON PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES AND ARE CONSIDERED CREDIBLE MESSENGERS IN THE COMMUNITY. AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH (APH) WILL SERVE AS THE PROJECTS CONDUIT TO PUBLIC SAFETY, SOCIAL SERVICES, AND OTHER GOVERNMENT RESOURCES. APH IS A BLACK-LED ORGANIZATION WITH THE CULTURAL COMPETENCE TO WORK EFFECTIVELY AND RESPECTFULLY IN CEA. THIS TEAM WILL ALSO SEEK OTHER AGENCIES, NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS, AND PRIVATE RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THE WORK. ALL KEY PARTNERS IN THIS PROJECT ARE BLACK-LED.

THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM IS TO ADDRESS SECONDARY ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF THE COVID19 PANDEMIC BY LEVERAGING PRIVATE SECTOR CONTRIBUTIONS, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATIONS IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE FOURTH PILLAR OF THE COVID19 RECOVERY STRATEGY.

SBIR PHASE II: NEURAL ALGORITHMS FOR MULTIMODAL SENSORY ANALYSIS

SBIR PHASE II: LOW POWER HARDWARE-SOFTWARE SUBSYSTEM FOR INTELLIGENT SENSORY STREAM ANALYSIS

STTR PHASE I: ALUMINUM OXIDE COATINGS AS FLUORINE-FREE HYDROPHOBIC BARRIERS FOR PAPER -THE BROADER/COMMERCIAL IMPACT OF THIS SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PHASE I PROJECT FOCUSES ON DEVELOPING AN ALTERNATIVE COATING TO PER- AND POLY-FLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES. THESE CHEMICALS FEATURE STRONG CARBON-FLUORINE BONDS THAT ARE EXTREMELY PERSISTENT IN THE ENVIRONMENT AND HAVE RECENTLY BEEN SHOWN TO BE HAZARDOUS TO HUMAN HEALTH. THESE PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL COMPOUNDS ARE WIDELY USED IN INDUSTRIAL AND PERSONAL USE APPLICATIONS, INCLUDING AS WATER-PROOF COATINGS FOR PAPER, CLOTHING, AND PACKAGING MATERIALS, AS SURFACTANTS, AND AS FLAME-RETARDANT AND STAIN-REPELLENT COATINGS, AMONG MANY OTHER APPLICATIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE A REPLACEMENT COATING THAT IS INEXPENSIVE, NON-HAZARDOUS, AND CAN BE APPLIED TO A WIDE RANGE OF SURFACES, SUCH AS FOR TEXTILES OR PAPER PRODUCTS, WHICH ARE THE PROJECT?S INITIAL MARKET TARGETS. THE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IS BASED ON A FLUORINE-FREE, EARTH-ABUNDANT MINERAL COATING, USING A CLASS OF MATERIAL THAT IS NOVEL FOR THESE TYPES OF APPLICATIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL LEAD TO BARRIER COATINGS THAT ARE DURABLE, HIGHLY WATER AND OIL REPELLENT, AND RESISTANT TO SCRATCHING AND CORROSION. THE FINAL PRODUCT WILL SERVE AS A DROP-IN REPLACEMENT SUBSTITUTE FOR THESE COATINGS. PHASE 1 WILL FOCUS ON PROVIDING NECESSARY DATA ON THE DURABILITY AND INDUSTRIAL FEASIBILITY OF THE TECHNOLOGY. THIS SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PHASE I PROJECT FOCUSES ON GENERATING A VIABLE CHEMICAL COATING THAT CAN REPLACE CURRENT FLUORINATED COATINGS. THESE FLUORINATED CHEMICALS ARE USED ON A WIDE ARRAY OF SURFACES AS ANTI-CORROSION, ANTI-OXIDATION, WATERPROOF, OR OTHER TYPES OF BARRIER COATINGS. THIS PROJECT?S PROPRIETARY MINERAL COATINGS ARE FLUORINE-FREE AND PREPARED FROM EARTH-ABUNDANT, BENIGN MATERIALS. THIS APPROACH ENABLES COATING AT AMBIENT TEMPERATURES AND PRESSURES USING A PROCESS THAT IS NOT PRECEDENTED FOR USE ON ?SOFT? SUBSTRATES LIKE COTTON OR PAPER. THIS RESEARCH WILL START BY DEPOSITING FILMS USING SOLUTION PROCESSIBLE TECHNIQUES LIKE SPRAY OR DIP COATING. THESE FILMS WILL BE INVESTIGATED FOR THEIR HYDROPHOBICITY BY STATIC GONIOMETRY AND FOR THEIR HOMOGENEITY AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITIONS USING SURFACE ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES SUCH AS SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY. THESE FILMS WILL BE INVESTIGATED FOR THEIR DURABILITY WHEN EXPOSED TO ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS SUCH AS FRICTION OR WASHING, AND THE PRECURSOR?S COMPATIBILITY WITH COMMON ADDITIVES FOUND IN COMPETITIVE COATINGS WILL ALSO BE STUDIED. IT IS EXPECTED THAT THIS PROJECT WILL RESULT IN A COATING CHEMICAL AND PROCEDURE THAT CAN GENERATE FUNCTIONAL, DURABLE BARRIER FILMS ON ANY TARGET SUBSTRATE AS A DROP-IN REPLACEMENT FOR CURRENT PER- AND POLY-FLUOROALKYL CONTAINING PRODUCTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

SBIR PHASE I: LOW POWER HARDWARE-SOFTWARE SUBSYSTEM FOR INTELLIGENT SENSORY STREAM ANALYSIS

SBIR PHASE I: NEURAL ALGORITHMS FOR MULTIMODAL SENSORY ANALYSIS

PURPOSE: TO SUPPORT FREE ARTS PROGRAMMING ON SAN JUAN ISLAND WASHINGTON.

IN RECOGNITION OF MYTH AND THE HERO, A HUMANITIES-BASED PROGRAM THAT SUPPORTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADOLESCENT MALES IN COPLEY, OHIO.