Renee Carder
PixelEXX Systems is reimagining tomorrow’s cameras so you can capture, analyze, and interpret the world around us in awe inspiring detail. Ninety percent of the information we process is visual and…
Renee Carder
PixelEXX Systems
PixelEXX Systems is reimagining tomorrow’s cameras so you can capture, analyze, and interpret the world around us in awe inspiring detail. Ninety percent of the information we process is visual and we process it 60,000 time faster than text. Thus, it is not surprising that the review and analyses of visual data is critical to enterprises across all industries. The technology can be found in everything from self-driving cars and drones to medical imaging devices and robots. Smart cameras combined with visual technology will reduce errors, improve production efficiency, combat fraud, and enhance our daily lives. Using nano-sized pixels to collect more light, PixelEXX high performance image sensors and cameras will deliver higher resolution, better sensitivity and dynamic range, and enhanced color—all in an unprecedented form factor.
Renee is a visual neuroscientist with deep experience in designing imaging-based experiments and analyzing the subsequent data to extract complex information. She holds a Ph.D. in Neurobiology, Anatomy and Cell Science, and Neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School.
Project Abstract
Photon detection is a great enabler of pure and applied science with broad reaching benefits. It is not only central to the exploration of the fundamental nature of energy, matter, space and time, but also plays an important role in applications such as light/laser detection and ranging, photography, astronomy, quantum information science, medical imaging, microscopy, and communications. Today, the performance of different classes of photon detectors varies in 1) noise characteristics which sets a floor on the minimum signal intensity that can be observed; 2) saturation characteristics which sets a ceiling on the maximum signal intensity that can be observed; and 3) geometric, absorption and signal conversion characteristics that determine the proportion of the incident signal that can be measured. The company is working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to address these critical performance limitations using of a new class of solid-state photomultipliers that exploit optical resonances in semiconductor materials to enhance light absorption and detection. When combined with the ability to generate a large output signal via internal avalanche multiplication, such sensors would significantly improve photon detection and counting with high resolution and with single photon sensitivity. Initial applications will focus on devices used with scintillation detectors, essential instruments in a variety of fields, serving as an effective means of detecting radiation for industrial, defense, medical, and basic-research applications.
We Are Looking For
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has scientists and facilities with a rare combination of skills, experience and tools for designing and implementing SiPMs which will be crucial to this project’s success.
Critical Need for This Technology
The majority of the data needed for artificial intelligence to have human (or better than human) skills will rely on the ability for computers to translate high quality visual data. This will require cameras with substantially 1) improved image quality, 2) maximum information gleaned from each photon, such as timing, wavelength and polarization and 3) reduced Size, Weight and Power requirements (SWaP).
Competition
CMOS image sensors dominate the imaging sensor market. Our competitors use conventional photo sensors incorporated into either a CCD or CMOS array. Some of our biggest competitors include CMOS image sensor manufacturers: SONY, E2V On Semiconductor, Omnivision as well as industrial camera manufacturers: FLIR, Hamamatsu, Adimec, Keyence, Basler, Point Grey, Cubert-gmbh, Canon etc.
Key Innovation
PixelEXX sensors are based on a completely new type of image sensor—Mie Photo Sensors. Because Mie Photo Sensors interact with light very differently, they allow us to shrink pixel sizes while dramatically improving image performance parameters. Moreover, the combination of pixel selectivity (i.e., wavelength and polarization selectivity) and submicron sizes means we can start to use those pixels very differently. When our competitors measure multiple dimensions of photons they typically rely on scanning, uses filters or other optical devices and experience a trade-off between spectral and spatial resolution. PixelEXX image sensors are able to collect additional information while maintaining high spatial resolution. The full impact of our technology enables advanced imaging through improved accuracy and reproducibility of color representation, spectral analysis, single wavelength imaging and 3-dimensional imaging.
R&D Status of Product
PixelEXX is between technology development level stages 3 and 4:
- Sub-wavelength photo sensors have been modeled in Si and GaA
- GaAs results have been corroborated with experimental data (pixels and arrays fabricated in a commercial foundry).
- The company is currently working at the Cornell NanoScale Science & Technology Facility and expects to have completed their first fabrication run and initial testing of Si pixels before the end of the year.
- The company has demonstrated selective Si Mie photo sensors (i.e., wavelength and polarization angle selectivity) eliminating the need for filters or optical dispersion components.
- The company has developed a deeper understanding of how individual pixels operate in a complex multipixel system
- The company is currently developing a breadboard design
Team Overview
- Renee Carder, Ph.D. – Co-Founder and Vice President
- Kenneth Bradley, Ph.D. – Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
ORNL PI
- Lorenzo Fabris – Radiation Detection Research Staff, Advanced Radiation Detection, Imaging, Data Science, and Applications, Physical Science Directorate
Company Profile Information
- Total Amount Raised: PixelEXX has raised seed funding of less than $150K and over $2M in grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.
- Year Founded: 2007
- Patents: 1 patent pending
- Primary Industry: Semiconductor
- Jobs Created: 2
Company Contact Information
PixelEXX Systems is reimagining tomorrow’s cameras so you can capture, analyze, and interpret the world around us in awe inspiring detail. Ninety percent of the information we process is visual and we process it 60,000 time faster than text. Thus, it is not surprising that the review and analyses of visual data is critical to enterprises across all industries. The technology can be found in everything from self-driving cars and drones to medical imaging devices and robots. Smart cameras combined with visual technology will reduce errors, improve production efficiency, combat fraud, and enhance our daily lives. Using nano-sized pixels to collect more light, PixelEXX high performance image sensors and cameras will deliver higher resolution, better sensitivity and dynamic range, and enhanced color—all in an unprecedented form factor.
Renee is a visual neuroscientist with deep experience in designing imaging-based experiments and analyzing the subsequent data to extract complex information. She holds a Ph.D. in Neurobiology, Anatomy and Cell Science, and Neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School.
Project Abstract
Photon detection is a great enabler of pure and applied science with broad reaching benefits. It is not only central to the exploration of the fundamental nature of energy, matter, space and time, but also plays an important role in applications such as light/laser detection and ranging, photography, astronomy, quantum information science, medical imaging, microscopy, and communications. Today, the performance of different classes of photon detectors varies in 1) noise characteristics which sets a floor on the minimum signal intensity that can be observed; 2) saturation characteristics which sets a ceiling on the maximum signal intensity that can be observed; and 3) geometric, absorption and signal conversion characteristics that determine the proportion of the incident signal that can be measured. The company is working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to address these critical performance limitations using of a new class of solid-state photomultipliers that exploit optical resonances in semiconductor materials to enhance light absorption and detection. When combined with the ability to generate a large output signal via internal avalanche multiplication, such sensors would significantly improve photon detection and counting with high resolution and with single photon sensitivity. Initial applications will focus on devices used with scintillation detectors, essential instruments in a variety of fields, serving as an effective means of detecting radiation for industrial, defense, medical, and basic-research applications.
We Are Looking For
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has scientists and facilities with a rare combination of skills, experience and tools for designing and implementing SiPMs which will be crucial to this project’s success.
Critical Need for This Technology
The majority of the data needed for artificial intelligence to have human (or better than human) skills will rely on the ability for computers to translate high quality visual data. This will require cameras with substantially 1) improved image quality, 2) maximum information gleaned from each photon, such as timing, wavelength and polarization and 3) reduced Size, Weight and Power requirements (SWaP).
Competition
CMOS image sensors dominate the imaging sensor market. Our competitors use conventional photo sensors incorporated into either a CCD or CMOS array. Some of our biggest competitors include CMOS image sensor manufacturers: SONY, E2V On Semiconductor, Omnivision as well as industrial camera manufacturers: FLIR, Hamamatsu, Adimec, Keyence, Basler, Point Grey, Cubert-gmbh, Canon etc.
Key Innovation
PixelEXX sensors are based on a completely new type of image sensor—Mie Photo Sensors. Because Mie Photo Sensors interact with light very differently, they allow us to shrink pixel sizes while dramatically improving image performance parameters. Moreover, the combination of pixel selectivity (i.e., wavelength and polarization selectivity) and submicron sizes means we can start to use those pixels very differently. When our competitors measure multiple dimensions of photons they typically rely on scanning, uses filters or other optical devices and experience a trade-off between spectral and spatial resolution. PixelEXX image sensors are able to collect additional information while maintaining high spatial resolution. The full impact of our technology enables advanced imaging through improved accuracy and reproducibility of color representation, spectral analysis, single wavelength imaging and 3-dimensional imaging.
R&D Status of Product
PixelEXX is between technology development level stages 3 and 4:
- Sub-wavelength photo sensors have been modeled in Si and GaA
- GaAs results have been corroborated with experimental data (pixels and arrays fabricated in a commercial foundry).
- The company is currently working at the Cornell NanoScale Science & Technology Facility and expects to have completed their first fabrication run and initial testing of Si pixels before the end of the year.
- The company has demonstrated selective Si Mie photo sensors (i.e., wavelength and polarization angle selectivity) eliminating the need for filters or optical dispersion components.
- The company has developed a deeper understanding of how individual pixels operate in a complex multipixel system
- The company is currently developing a breadboard design
Team Overview
- Renee Carder, Ph.D. – Co-Founder and Vice President
- Kenneth Bradley, Ph.D. – Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
ORNL PI
- Lorenzo Fabris – Radiation Detection Research Staff, Advanced Radiation Detection, Imaging, Data Science, and Applications, Physical Science Directorate
Company Profile Information
- Total Amount Raised: PixelEXX has raised seed funding of less than $150K and over $2M in grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.
- Year Founded: 2007
- Patents: 1 patent pending
- Primary Industry: Semiconductor
- Jobs Created: 2
Company Contact Information
Danielle Castley
Danielle Castley is developing a high-temperature, lightweight neutron-shielding technology that will help reduce costs and increase safety in the nuclear industry. This technology operates at a…
Danielle Castley
Becq
Danielle Castley is developing a high-temperature, lightweight neutron-shielding technology that will help reduce costs and increase safety in the nuclear industry. This technology operates at a higher temperature than existing polymer-based neutron-shielding products. The higher temperature resistance of 300oC instead of 180oC introduces significant opportunities for deploying neutron shielding materials in higher-temperature locations within the reactor containment and/or to improve the safety margin in applications originally designed for shielding with a lower operating temperature. Castley holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Dartmouth College and is the founder of Becq.
Project Abstract
Becq is a radiation shielding materials company whose technology will help to reduce costs and increase safety in the nuclear industry. Becq’s core competency is currently neutron shielding technology. Innovation in the neutron shielding market has lagged in the past several decades and Becq’s technology is a breakthrough for the field. Becq’s initial product offering, NE-300, is a lightweight, high-temperature neutron shielding material. The key differentiation of NE-300 over existing materials is a temperature resistance of 300oC instead of 180oC. NE-300’s higher operating temperature introduces significant opportunities for deploying neutron shielding materials in higher-temperature locations within the reactor containment and/or to improve the safety margin in applications originally designed for shielding with a lower operating temperature. While NE-300 currently exceeds the requirements for many applications in the nuclear industry, the Innovation Crossroads program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will allow Becq to perform the additional development necessary to validate the long-term use of this product and prepare it for commercialization.
Becq’s vision is to become first-in-sales in the $1 billion international neutron shield materials market over the next decade by becoming the dominant supplier to the commercial nuclear industry and expanding into the defense and space markets. Becq has the long-term goal of becoming the largest radiation shielding company and one of the largest materials suppliers in the world.
We Are Looking For
- Opportunities for pilot testing in nuclear power plants and government facilities
Critical Need for This Technology
Neutron shields are used in numerous applications in the commercial nuclear industry worldwide to protect reactor components, nuclear workers, and the public from harmful exposure to neutron radiation. Lightweight neutron shields available in the market today are limited in their ability to withstand high temperature environments which has proven to be design limiting for their use. To address growing demand for better performing materials, Becq has developed NE-300, the first high temperature, lightweight neutron shield material that can satisfy current and emerging needs to improve safety and lower nuclear power plant life cycle costs. Becq validated four market segments within the commercial nuclear power market that need a high-temperature, lightweight neutron shield material; nuclear plant operations, spent nuclear fuel management, nuclear power plant decommissioning, and new reactor construction.
Competition
NE-300 is currently unique with its low-density, high operating temperature, and high neutron stopping power per thickness. Existing neutron shielding and absorption materials are either lightweight (1 g/cm3) and low-temperature (<200oC) or heavy (>3 g/cm3) and high-temperature (>300oC).
Key Innovation
Becq’s initial product offering, NE-300, is a unique 300oC high-temperature, lightweight neutron shielding material.
R&D Status of Product
Technical Readiness Level 4
Team Overview
- Danielle Castley, Ph.D. – Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Materials Engineer
- Bill Woodward – Vice President and Principal Engineer
- Ian McDonald – Senior Engineer
ORNL PI
- Philip Edmondson – Group Leader, Radiation Effects and Microstructural Analysis, Physical Sciences Directorate
- Peter Stefanovic – Senior Staff, Used Nuclear Fuel Analyst, Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate
Company Profile Information
- Total Amount of Funding: $2,355,000 (includes GAIN voucher, NSF SBIR Phase I and Phase II, AUS NVC Pitch Competition, and NSF I-Corps)
- Year Founded: 2016
- Patents: 1 patent pending
- Primary Industry: Commercial nuclear
- Jobs Created: 3
Company Contact Information
Danielle Castley is developing a high-temperature, lightweight neutron-shielding technology that will help reduce costs and increase safety in the nuclear industry. This technology operates at a higher temperature than existing polymer-based neutron-shielding products. The higher temperature resistance of 300oC instead of 180oC introduces significant opportunities for deploying neutron shielding materials in higher-temperature locations within the reactor containment and/or to improve the safety margin in applications originally designed for shielding with a lower operating temperature. Castley holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Dartmouth College and is the founder of Becq.
Project Abstract
Becq is a radiation shielding materials company whose technology will help to reduce costs and increase safety in the nuclear industry. Becq’s core competency is currently neutron shielding technology. Innovation in the neutron shielding market has lagged in the past several decades and Becq’s technology is a breakthrough for the field. Becq’s initial product offering, NE-300, is a lightweight, high-temperature neutron shielding material. The key differentiation of NE-300 over existing materials is a temperature resistance of 300oC instead of 180oC. NE-300’s higher operating temperature introduces significant opportunities for deploying neutron shielding materials in higher-temperature locations within the reactor containment and/or to improve the safety margin in applications originally designed for shielding with a lower operating temperature. While NE-300 currently exceeds the requirements for many applications in the nuclear industry, the Innovation Crossroads program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will allow Becq to perform the additional development necessary to validate the long-term use of this product and prepare it for commercialization.
Becq’s vision is to become first-in-sales in the $1 billion international neutron shield materials market over the next decade by becoming the dominant supplier to the commercial nuclear industry and expanding into the defense and space markets. Becq has the long-term goal of becoming the largest radiation shielding company and one of the largest materials suppliers in the world.
We Are Looking For
- Opportunities for pilot testing in nuclear power plants and government facilities
Critical Need for This Technology
Neutron shields are used in numerous applications in the commercial nuclear industry worldwide to protect reactor components, nuclear workers, and the public from harmful exposure to neutron radiation. Lightweight neutron shields available in the market today are limited in their ability to withstand high temperature environments which has proven to be design limiting for their use. To address growing demand for better performing materials, Becq has developed NE-300, the first high temperature, lightweight neutron shield material that can satisfy current and emerging needs to improve safety and lower nuclear power plant life cycle costs. Becq validated four market segments within the commercial nuclear power market that need a high-temperature, lightweight neutron shield material; nuclear plant operations, spent nuclear fuel management, nuclear power plant decommissioning, and new reactor construction.
Competition
NE-300 is currently unique with its low-density, high operating temperature, and high neutron stopping power per thickness. Existing neutron shielding and absorption materials are either lightweight (1 g/cm3) and low-temperature (<200oC) or heavy (>3 g/cm3) and high-temperature (>300oC).
Key Innovation
Becq’s initial product offering, NE-300, is a unique 300oC high-temperature, lightweight neutron shielding material.
R&D Status of Product
Technical Readiness Level 4
Team Overview
- Danielle Castley, Ph.D. – Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Materials Engineer
- Bill Woodward – Vice President and Principal Engineer
- Ian McDonald – Senior Engineer
ORNL PI
- Philip Edmondson – Group Leader, Radiation Effects and Microstructural Analysis, Physical Sciences Directorate
- Peter Stefanovic – Senior Staff, Used Nuclear Fuel Analyst, Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate
Company Profile Information
- Total Amount of Funding: $2,355,000 (includes GAIN voucher, NSF SBIR Phase I and Phase II, AUS NVC Pitch Competition, and NSF I-Corps)
- Year Founded: 2016
- Patents: 1 patent pending
- Primary Industry: Commercial nuclear
- Jobs Created: 3
Company Contact Information
Joe Fortenbaugh
Actinic, LLC
Joe Fortenbaugh is designing, developing, and testing formulations of thermally cured thermosets which can directly and rapidly produce cured composite thermoset materials upon photothermal heating. …
Joe Fortenbaugh
Actinic
Joe Fortenbaugh is designing, developing, and testing formulations of thermally cured thermosets which can directly and rapidly produce cured composite thermoset materials upon photothermal heating. This type of heating can be used to bring rapid, on-demand curing to a wide range of thermally cured thermoset polymers. The goal is to develop silicone and epoxy resin formulations for use in additive manufacturing using carbon fiber, ceramics, graphene, metals, and metal oxides fillers. Joe holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Penn State University.
Project Abstract
Actinic specializes in bringing new thermally cured thermosets to the 3D printing market. They take commercially available materials, reformulate them, and develop the formulations for use in 3D printing. These formulations are capable of extremely rapid heating/cooling cycles (sub microsecond), which allows for the materials to be 3D printed. Actinic is currently expanding their material portfolio and developing a custom-built 3D printing system. This would be particularly significant for the Department of Defense (DOD) and industrial applications where manufacturing at point of use will be critical for solving prototyping, supply chain, and logistical challenges.
We Are Looking For
- 3D printing and engineering expertise to build commercially viable 3D printing system
- Hiring 1 or 2 engineers for our team over the coming year
- Collaboration with other inventors active in the 3D printing space
Critical Need for This Technology
There is an essential need to develop an additive manufacturing technique that enables the processing of purely thermally-cured thermoset polymers and is generalizable to include different types of thermally-cured thermosets. Thermally cured thermosets are widely used in myriad industrial and military applications, such as machine parts, protective coatings, robotics, and medical devices, as they possess high thermal and mechanical stability. In addition, these materials possess attractive features such as being lightweight, ease of manufacturing relative to other high strength materials (e.g., metals/alloys), and inexpensive. Because of these attributes, thermally-cured thermosets currently dominate the traditional manufacturing space for thermoset materials. Highly desirable, however, is an additive manufacturing methodology amenable to processing these materials, as this would enable an “on demand”, energy efficient means of their production, which is currently only possible with photo-initiated polymers. AM has been demonstrated as a platform to rapidly fabricate customizable parts. This would be particularly impactful for DOD and industrial applications where manufacturing at the point of use may provide critical capabilities while decreasing and/or eliminating supply chain and logistical challenges.
Competition
- ACEO
- Carbon3D
- Spectroplast
Key Innovation
Novel formulations of thermally cured thermoset polymers capable of rapid heating/cooling cycles with orders of magnitude increase in rate of curing compared to bulk heating.
R&D Status of Product
Basic 3D printing of formulations
Team Overview
- Joe Fortenbaugh, Ph.D. – Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Ben Lear, Ph.D. – Co-Founder and Penn State Chemistry Professor
ORNL PI
- Christopher Hershey – Research and Development Associate Staff, Advanced Composites Manufacturing, Energy Science and Technology Directorate
- Vlastimil Kunc – Group Leader, Advanced Composites Manufacturing, Energy Science and Technology Directorate
Company Profile Information
- Total Amount Raised: $1,031,500
- Year Founded: 2018
- Patents: 2
- Primary Industry: 3D printing, coatings
- Jobs Created: 2
Company Contact Information
Joe Fortenbaugh is designing, developing, and testing formulations of thermally cured thermosets which can directly and rapidly produce cured composite thermoset materials upon photothermal heating. This type of heating can be used to bring rapid, on-demand curing to a wide range of thermally cured thermoset polymers. The goal is to develop silicone and epoxy resin formulations for use in additive manufacturing using carbon fiber, ceramics, graphene, metals, and metal oxides fillers. Joe holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Penn State University.
Project Abstract
Actinic specializes in bringing new thermally cured thermosets to the 3D printing market. They take commercially available materials, reformulate them, and develop the formulations for use in 3D printing. These formulations are capable of extremely rapid heating/cooling cycles (sub microsecond), which allows for the materials to be 3D printed. Actinic is currently expanding their material portfolio and developing a custom-built 3D printing system. This would be particularly significant for the Department of Defense (DOD) and industrial applications where manufacturing at point of use will be critical for solving prototyping, supply chain, and logistical challenges.
We Are Looking For
- 3D printing and engineering expertise to build commercially viable 3D printing system
- Hiring 1 or 2 engineers for our team over the coming year
- Collaboration with other inventors active in the 3D printing space
Critical Need for This Technology
There is an essential need to develop an additive manufacturing technique that enables the processing of purely thermally-cured thermoset polymers and is generalizable to include different types of thermally-cured thermosets. Thermally cured thermosets are widely used in myriad industrial and military applications, such as machine parts, protective coatings, robotics, and medical devices, as they possess high thermal and mechanical stability. In addition, these materials possess attractive features such as being lightweight, ease of manufacturing relative to other high strength materials (e.g., metals/alloys), and inexpensive. Because of these attributes, thermally-cured thermosets currently dominate the traditional manufacturing space for thermoset materials. Highly desirable, however, is an additive manufacturing methodology amenable to processing these materials, as this would enable an “on demand”, energy efficient means of their production, which is currently only possible with photo-initiated polymers. AM has been demonstrated as a platform to rapidly fabricate customizable parts. This would be particularly impactful for DOD and industrial applications where manufacturing at the point of use may provide critical capabilities while decreasing and/or eliminating supply chain and logistical challenges.
Competition
- ACEO
- Carbon3D
- Spectroplast
Key Innovation
Novel formulations of thermally cured thermoset polymers capable of rapid heating/cooling cycles with orders of magnitude increase in rate of curing compared to bulk heating.
R&D Status of Product
Basic 3D printing of formulations
Team Overview
- Joe Fortenbaugh, Ph.D. – Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Ben Lear, Ph.D. – Co-Founder and Penn State Chemistry Professor
ORNL PI
- Christopher Hershey – Research and Development Associate Staff, Advanced Composites Manufacturing, Energy Science and Technology Directorate
- Vlastimil Kunc – Group Leader, Advanced Composites Manufacturing, Energy Science and Technology Directorate
Company Profile Information
- Total Amount Raised: $1,031,500
- Year Founded: 2018
- Patents: 2
- Primary Industry: 3D printing, coatings
- Jobs Created: 2
Company Contact Information
Thomas Foulkes
AquaQuant Laboratories Inc.
Thomas Foulkes is deploying the next generation of high-performance central processing units and graphics processing units required to feed the power demand for elastic cloud computing, big data…
Thomas Foulkes
AquaQuant Laboratories, Inc.
Thomas Foulkes is deploying the next generation of high-performance central processing units and graphics processing units required to feed the power demand for elastic cloud computing, big data analytics, complex simulations, and artificial intelligence. The technology creates a higher computational density by transferring heat with direct, water immersion cooling across nanoengineered, durable, and scalable hierarchical porous coatings deposited holistically on electronics. Foulkes holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Project Abstract
AquaQuant Laboratories Inc. is commercializing scalable nanostructured surfaces to increase the speed (Gflops) and density (Gflops/m3) of high-performance computation through two-phase, water immersion cooling.
Electronics thermal management requires both nano- and macro-scale perspectives. Thomas Foulkes has researched advanced cooling techniques and electro-thermal co-design to increase the power density of converters for electric vehicles. He founded AquaQuant Laboratories Inc. (AQL) in 2017 to tackle the electro-thermal demands of next generation data centers.
We Are Looking For
- Strategic manufacturing and data center pilot partners
- Government and private funding opportunities
- Industry mentors
Critical Need for This Technology
A computer is only as fast as its heat rejection. Even as Moore’s Law has shrunk transistors to atomic scales, servers still operate at the same frequency they did 15 years ago because of thermal bottlenecks with industry-standard heat transfer methods. In response to stagnating speed, data centers have ballooned in land and resource consumption to keep up with exponentially increasing demand from elastic cloud computing, big data analytics, complex simulations, and artificial intelligence.
Moreover, high performance data centers are a multi-billion-dollar industry and a growing global electrical load. The fraction of US total energy utilized by data centers today is approximately 2% (i.e. ~70 billion kWh or ~40 megatons CO2). Since approximately 20-30% of the average data center power is devoted to rejecting heat, the adoption of new cooling methods should catalyze improvements in computational performance and energy efficiency. Two-phase immersion cooling with water holds promise to address both customer needs.
Competition
- Competing technologies in the data center market for thermal management include:
- Forced air – fans blow ambient or chilled air over heatsinks inside of the servers.
- Cold plate – chilled water or other fluid is routed through plates that conduct heat from the server hotspots.
- Dielectric immersion cooling - servers are submersed in hydrocarbons (i.e. mineral, synthetic or bio oils) and fluorocarbons (i.e. fully engineered liquids) which convect (single-phase) or evaporate (two-phase) heat away from the server hotspots.
- These solutions are ordered in decreasing current market share, but increasing heat flux and thermal performance. AQL’s approach represents a dramatic performance improvement over even state-of-art dielectric immersion cooling methods.
Key Innovation
AquaQuant Laboratories is developing nanoengineered durable and scalable hierarchical coatings for enhanced two-phase heat transfer. These nanostructured surfaces increase the frequency of bubble formation and heat flux, while also ensuring uniform and controllable device temperature.
R&D Status of Product
AquaQuant Laboratories’ technology is still in the R&D stage. Through the Innovation Crossroads program, AQL is leveraging resources at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to conduct accelerated industry-relevant tests on prototype hardware. These test results will shape the minimum viable product for integration into a functional data center.
Team Overview
- Thomas Foulkes, Ph.D. – Founder and Chief Executive Officer
ORNL PI
- Burak Ozpineci – Vehicle and Mobility Systems Section Head, Buildings and Transportation Science Division, Energy Science and Technology Directorate
Company Profile Information
- Total Amount Raised: $545,000
- Year Founded: 2017
- Patents: 1 provisional patent filed
- Primary Industry: Electronics
- Jobs Created: 1
Company Contact Information
Thomas Foulkes: foulkes@pacergy.com
Thomas Foulkes is deploying the next generation of high-performance central processing units and graphics processing units required to feed the power demand for elastic cloud computing, big data analytics, complex simulations, and artificial intelligence. The technology creates a higher computational density by transferring heat with direct, water immersion cooling across nanoengineered, durable, and scalable hierarchical porous coatings deposited holistically on electronics. Foulkes holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Project Abstract
AquaQuant Laboratories Inc. is commercializing scalable nanostructured surfaces to increase the speed (Gflops) and density (Gflops/m3) of high-performance computation through two-phase, water immersion cooling.
Electronics thermal management requires both nano- and macro-scale perspectives. Thomas Foulkes has researched advanced cooling techniques and electro-thermal co-design to increase the power density of converters for electric vehicles. He founded AquaQuant Laboratories Inc. (AQL) in 2017 to tackle the electro-thermal demands of next generation data centers.
We Are Looking For
- Strategic manufacturing and data center pilot partners
- Government and private funding opportunities
- Industry mentors
Critical Need for This Technology
A computer is only as fast as its heat rejection. Even as Moore’s Law has shrunk transistors to atomic scales, servers still operate at the same frequency they did 15 years ago because of thermal bottlenecks with industry-standard heat transfer methods. In response to stagnating speed, data centers have ballooned in land and resource consumption to keep up with exponentially increasing demand from elastic cloud computing, big data analytics, complex simulations, and artificial intelligence.
Moreover, high performance data centers are a multi-billion-dollar industry and a growing global electrical load. The fraction of US total energy utilized by data centers today is approximately 2% (i.e. ~70 billion kWh or ~40 megatons CO2). Since approximately 20-30% of the average data center power is devoted to rejecting heat, the adoption of new cooling methods should catalyze improvements in computational performance and energy efficiency. Two-phase immersion cooling with water holds promise to address both customer needs.
Competition
- Competing technologies in the data center market for thermal management include:
- Forced air – fans blow ambient or chilled air over heatsinks inside of the servers.
- Cold plate – chilled water or other fluid is routed through plates that conduct heat from the server hotspots.
- Dielectric immersion cooling - servers are submersed in hydrocarbons (i.e. mineral, synthetic or bio oils) and fluorocarbons (i.e. fully engineered liquids) which convect (single-phase) or evaporate (two-phase) heat away from the server hotspots.
- These solutions are ordered in decreasing current market share, but increasing heat flux and thermal performance. AQL’s approach represents a dramatic performance improvement over even state-of-art dielectric immersion cooling methods.
Key Innovation
AquaQuant Laboratories is developing nanoengineered durable and scalable hierarchical coatings for enhanced two-phase heat transfer. These nanostructured surfaces increase the frequency of bubble formation and heat flux, while also ensuring uniform and controllable device temperature.
R&D Status of Product
AquaQuant Laboratories’ technology is still in the R&D stage. Through the Innovation Crossroads program, AQL is leveraging resources at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to conduct accelerated industry-relevant tests on prototype hardware. These test results will shape the minimum viable product for integration into a functional data center.
Team Overview
- Thomas Foulkes, Ph.D. – Founder and Chief Executive Officer
ORNL PI
- Burak Ozpineci – Vehicle and Mobility Systems Section Head, Buildings and Transportation Science Division, Energy Science and Technology Directorate
Company Profile Information
- Total Amount Raised: $545,000
- Year Founded: 2017
- Patents: 1 provisional patent filed
- Primary Industry: Electronics
- Jobs Created: 1
Company Contact Information
Thomas Foulkes: foulkes@pacergy.com
Erica Grant
Quantum Lock Technologies LLC
Erica Grant has a Ph.D. in Quantum Computation from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a B.S. in Physics from Virginia Tech. At Virginia Tech, she was a leader in a service organization…
Erica Grant
Quantum Lock Technologies, LLC
Erica Grant has a Ph.D. in Quantum Computation from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a B.S. in Physics from Virginia Tech. At Virginia Tech, she was a leader in a service organization dedicated to educating safety and awareness. Through that organization, she met individuals whose stories were moving. In graduate school, she became interested in the DefCon hacking conferences which published seminars on YouTube that demonstrate security weakness in nearly every field. After learning of the weaknesses in smart locks and how they can be exploited, she clearly saw how her knowledge of quantum information could be applied to securing connected devices.
Project Abstract
Connected devices bring improvements in convenience and efficiency to a business/industry, but every new line of communication offers a point of weakness for cybersecurity attacks. An example is in a manufacturing smart factory where there are entrances that need access control and machines that are given automated tasks. Quantum Lock is creating security for connected facilities and equipment by using quantum physics to tap into the randomness of particle behavior to create completely unpredictable digital keys to facilitate communication between devices. The hardware-software solution connects all equipment and entrances to a centralized hub which encrypts all communication with the quantum digital keys and detects anomalies with a connected ledger.
We Are Looking For
- Security technology designed to secure communication between users, locks on entrances, and equipment.
- Uses quantum random number generator to create random digital keys.
- Keys are encrypted and change each time a facility or machine is accessed.
- A user’s digital keys are stored on keycard, smartphone, or key fob.
- Connects equipment to a central hub for detection with a connected ledger.
- End-to-end encryption between facility entrances, equipment, users, the hub, and the cloud.
- US PCT patent pending.
Critical Need for This Technology
Quantum Lock Technologies is a patent-pending hardware-software solution focused on developing enhanced security for connected facilities and equipment by utilizing completely random keys generated from a quantum random number generator (QRNG). Our target market to investigate as part of Innovation Crossroads is the manufacturing sector. Every year nearly 50% of manufacturing facilities are hacked into and 12% have no security measures in place to prevent cybersecurity attacks. In fact, 35% of all cyber-espionage attacks target the manufacturing sector. Manufacturers have valuable proprietary information that they need to protect. As the factories move toward better automation through connectivity, there are more lines of communication that increase vulnerability. These issues have attracted the concerns of the Department of Energy who announced a $70m FOA in 2019 to build a cybersecurity institute to address the security concerns of smart factories because their increased automation can save the U.S. $25 billion per year in energy costs. With Quantum Lock, the communication of connected devices in manufacturing facilities would be secured and thus proprietary information would be protected allowing facilities to save energy costs through automation.
Competition
We are creating the brains which protect facilities and equipment, and our technology retrofits locks and other equipment with our module to communicate securely. Therefore, we aren’t competing with lock or equipment manufacturers. Instead, we are competing with organizations that aim to either enhance security like IBM Security and ADT Commercial. However, these companies are focused on either protecting the exterior of the facility or the cloud connection. Quantum Lock secures information in the cloud, all facility entrances, and all communication between machinery.
Key Innovation
As facilities and equipment become more connected, efficiency and utility significantly improve. However, these facilities simultaneously become more vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks by exposing many new lines of communication to potential hackers and intruders. Quantum Lock’s technology is aimed at protecting every new point in communication that is vulnerable in a connected facility. Quantum Lock’s technology is designed to simultaneously allow facilities and equipment to be more connected and efficient while enhancing security.
R&D Status of Product
The Quantum Lock team has built the software for the core communication protocols, the app which can be used to access facilities and equipment and has tested the technology in several proof-of-concept prototypes. As we complete our hardware and software designs, Innovation Crossroads gives us the opportunity to work with the cybersecurity group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to rigorously test out system. We also have the opportunity to work with the Manufacturing Demonstration facility as we adapt our technology to fit the needs of the advanced manufacturing market.
Team Overview
- Erica Grant, Ph.D. – Founder and Chief Executive Officer
ORNL PI
- Peter Fuhr – Group Leader, Grid Communications and Security, Energy Science and Technology Directorate
Company Profile Information
- Total Amount Raised: $588,750
- Year Founded: 2018
- Patents: 2
- Primary Industry: Security
- Jobs Created: 1 full-time, contracting 3 contracting
Company Contact Information
Erica Grant has a Ph.D. in Quantum Computation from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a B.S. in Physics from Virginia Tech. At Virginia Tech, she was a leader in a service organization dedicated to educating safety and awareness. Through that organization, she met individuals whose stories were moving. In graduate school, she became interested in the DefCon hacking conferences which published seminars on YouTube that demonstrate security weakness in nearly every field. After learning of the weaknesses in smart locks and how they can be exploited, she clearly saw how her knowledge of quantum information could be applied to securing connected devices.
Project Abstract
Connected devices bring improvements in convenience and efficiency to a business/industry, but every new line of communication offers a point of weakness for cybersecurity attacks. An example is in a manufacturing smart factory where there are entrances that need access control and machines that are given automated tasks. Quantum Lock is creating security for connected facilities and equipment by using quantum physics to tap into the randomness of particle behavior to create completely unpredictable digital keys to facilitate communication between devices. The hardware-software solution connects all equipment and entrances to a centralized hub which encrypts all communication with the quantum digital keys and detects anomalies with a connected ledger.
We Are Looking For
- Security technology designed to secure communication between users, locks on entrances, and equipment.
- Uses quantum random number generator to create random digital keys.
- Keys are encrypted and change each time a facility or machine is accessed.
- A user’s digital keys are stored on keycard, smartphone, or key fob.
- Connects equipment to a central hub for detection with a connected ledger.
- End-to-end encryption between facility entrances, equipment, users, the hub, and the cloud.
- US PCT patent pending.
Critical Need for This Technology
Quantum Lock Technologies is a patent-pending hardware-software solution focused on developing enhanced security for connected facilities and equipment by utilizing completely random keys generated from a quantum random number generator (QRNG). Our target market to investigate as part of Innovation Crossroads is the manufacturing sector. Every year nearly 50% of manufacturing facilities are hacked into and 12% have no security measures in place to prevent cybersecurity attacks. In fact, 35% of all cyber-espionage attacks target the manufacturing sector. Manufacturers have valuable proprietary information that they need to protect. As the factories move toward better automation through connectivity, there are more lines of communication that increase vulnerability. These issues have attracted the concerns of the Department of Energy who announced a $70m FOA in 2019 to build a cybersecurity institute to address the security concerns of smart factories because their increased automation can save the U.S. $25 billion per year in energy costs. With Quantum Lock, the communication of connected devices in manufacturing facilities would be secured and thus proprietary information would be protected allowing facilities to save energy costs through automation.
Competition
We are creating the brains which protect facilities and equipment, and our technology retrofits locks and other equipment with our module to communicate securely. Therefore, we aren’t competing with lock or equipment manufacturers. Instead, we are competing with organizations that aim to either enhance security like IBM Security and ADT Commercial. However, these companies are focused on either protecting the exterior of the facility or the cloud connection. Quantum Lock secures information in the cloud, all facility entrances, and all communication between machinery.
Key Innovation
As facilities and equipment become more connected, efficiency and utility significantly improve. However, these facilities simultaneously become more vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks by exposing many new lines of communication to potential hackers and intruders. Quantum Lock’s technology is aimed at protecting every new point in communication that is vulnerable in a connected facility. Quantum Lock’s technology is designed to simultaneously allow facilities and equipment to be more connected and efficient while enhancing security.
R&D Status of Product
The Quantum Lock team has built the software for the core communication protocols, the app which can be used to access facilities and equipment and has tested the technology in several proof-of-concept prototypes. As we complete our hardware and software designs, Innovation Crossroads gives us the opportunity to work with the cybersecurity group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to rigorously test out system. We also have the opportunity to work with the Manufacturing Demonstration facility as we adapt our technology to fit the needs of the advanced manufacturing market.
Team Overview
- Erica Grant, Ph.D. – Founder and Chief Executive Officer
ORNL PI
- Peter Fuhr – Group Leader, Grid Communications and Security, Energy Science and Technology Directorate
Company Profile Information
- Total Amount Raised: $588,750
- Year Founded: 2018
- Patents: 2
- Primary Industry: Security
- Jobs Created: 1 full-time, contracting 3 contracting