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Don’t miss the

opportunity to

hear from the

SBA SBIR PMs

****

Sign up for one-

on-ones at the

registration desk

(PM bios below)

AGENDA

Huntsville, AL - Southern SBIR Road Tour Agenda

Hosted by Alabama A&M University College of Business &Public Affairs and

The Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Development

In Partnership with The Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, Birmingham

Edward J. Bond Engineering Building, 2nd Floor Auditorium

4900 Meridian St., North Huntsville, AL 35811 April 16 – 17, 2018

April 16, 2018

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Networking Reception Hosted by the Huntsville Madison County Chamber of Commerce, 225 Church Street NW, Huntsville

April 17, 2018 Campus of Alabama A&M University Edward J. Bond Engineering Building

7:30-8:00 am Registration and Networking

8:00 - noon SBIR/STTR Federal Agency Presentations, Panel Sessions, and One-on-One Meetings

REGISTER

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8:00-8:10 am Host Introduction 8:10 – 8:40 am America’s Seed Fund – SBIR/STTR Overview, Office of Innovation and Technology, U.S.

Small Business Administration (SBA)

8:40 – 8:55 am Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC)

8:55 – 9:40 am Reverse Pitches, 5-Minute Agency Elevator Pitch National Aeronautics and Space Administration 8:55 AM

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 9:00 AM

Department of Defense - Missile Defense Agency 9:05 AM

Department of Defense - Navy 9:10 AM

Department of Defense - Special Operations Command 9:15 AM

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 9:20 AM

Department of Health and Human Services - National Institutes of Health 9:25 AM

National Science Foundation 9:30 AM

U.S. Department of Agriculture 9:35 AM

9:45 – 10:25 am Grant Opportunities for a Public Purpose – Moderator: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

Panelists: Debasis Majumdar, Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF) Debasis JP Kim, Program Manager and NIH Extramural Data Sharing Policy Officer, Health and Human Services (NIH) Rachel Melnick, National Program Leader for Agroclimatology, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

10:25 – 10:40 am United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Nicholas McFall, Primary Patent Examiner and Outreach Detailee 10:40 – 11:20 am Staying On Track: Aligning Your Company for Success in the DoD – Moderator: U.S. Small Business

Administration (SBA) Panelists:

Lee Ann Boyer, Navy SBIR/STTR, Department of the Navy

Anthony Aldrich, SBIR Program Manager, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)

Susan Nichols, Program Director, Small Business Programs Office, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

11:20 am – Noon Inside the Head of an Evaluator: Common Mistakes – Moderator: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

Panelists: Nancy Kamei, Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)

John Pucci, SBIR Manager, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sloan Armstrong, SBIR/STTR Operations Manager, Missile Defense Agency, (MDA) Virginia Garrison, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Noon – 12:45 pm Networking Luncheon Briefing and Introduction, Mr. Tom Todt, District Director, SBA Alabama District Office “A Conversation with the Regional Administrator for the U.S. Small Businesses – Region 4, Mr. Ashley Bell

1:00 – 4:00 pm Afternoon Sessions

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1:00 – 2:00 pm Roundtable: Innovation and Entrepreneurship: A Paradigm Shift for Higher Education (HBCUs and MSIs), Minority and Underrepresented Communities – Moderator, Dr. Teresa Merriweather Orok

Dr. Chad Womack, National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (remote) Col. (Ret.) Paula Taylor, Director, Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions Program, DOD, AMC Nichelle Williams Nix, Attorney, Director, Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs, State of Alabama

2:00 – 2:45 pm University Teaming – Moderator, Dr. Teresa Merriweather Orok

Dr. Chance M. Glenn Sr., Professor and Dean – AAMU College of Engineering, Technology, and Physical Sciences, and Executive Director/President, AAMU-RISE Foundation (Research, Innovation, Science and Technology) Dr. Dale Thomas, Director Alabama Space Grant Consortium

2:45 – 3:00 pm Networking break 3:00 – 3:30 pm Writing Winning Proposals – Moderator, Terry Griffin, TechHunt

Proposal Nuts and Bolts – TBD Proposal Graphics – Frank Caravella, CEO, Business Development Support Services

3:30 – 4:10 pm If I Only Knew—Lessons Learned – Moderator, Terry Griffin, TechHunt

CFDRC, Sameer Singhal, Chief Operation Officer

Decibel – Jeff Gronberg, President and CEO Polaris Sensor Technologies – Michele Banish, CEO

4:10 pm – 4:25pm Defining the Next Steps – Greg Sheek, Director, Alabama Launchpad, EDPA 4:25 pm Wrap-up - Assessment/Evaluation 4:30 Adjournment

If you are interested in one-on-one meetings with the SBIR/STTR Program

Managers on the morning of 17 April, sign up at the registration desk

SBIR PM BIOGRAPHIES

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

Jon Borden

Small Business Specialist, SBIR/STTR

Jon Borden currently serves as Small Business Specialist for the Defense Advanced Research

Agency (DARPA).

Spent 28yrs in the Military – 4yrs active duty in the Navy and 24ys spread out across the Army

Reserves, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserves; holding positions of Operations

Specialist, Heavy Equipment Operator, Training Manager, and Senior Command Post Specialist.

His civilian career encompasses 15yrs working in the automotive repair industry going from

changing oil to Shop & Office Managing.

In 2000, he became an Air Reserve Technician (ART) with the Air Force Reserves making his

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reserve and civilian government position the same. He spent a year as a Training Manager in

Wing Headquarters Office before transitioning to a position in the Command Post, as a

Command Post Specialist. He went on to retire from the Air Force Reserves in 2008 as the

Command Post Superintendent.

He transitioned his civilian government employment to the Defense Advanced Research Projects

Agency (DARPA) as the Administrative Assistant to the Director of Security & Intelligence, a

year later he was promoted to the Chief of Policy, Records Management, and Research Services

(PRRS). In this position he over managed the Records Management Office, Public Release

Office, Research Services Office, Mailroom, all DARPA Policies and Guides.

In May of 2016 he accepted a position in the Small Business Office as a Small Business

Specialist, with the expectation of making a difference in the Small Business community.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Rachel Melnick

National Program Leader for Agroclimatology

Dr. Rachel Melnick is the National Program Leader for Agroclimatology and Production

Systems at USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). She is one of ten program

officers managing the department-wide USDA SBIR program. She leads competitive research

and extension programs at USDA NIFA in the Agricultural and Food Research Initiative,

Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems (INFEWS) with NSF, and the

USDA SBIR Plant Production and Protection – Engineering topic area.

Prior to her current position, Dr. Melnick worked as an AAAS Science & Technology Policy

Fellow at USDA NIFA. She also worked as a Research Plant Pathologist (Postdoctoral) at the

USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Sustainable Perennial Crops Lab. She has expertise in

plant-microbe interactions, biological control, drought mitigation, plant disease diagnostics,

working with small business to test biologics, and general crop production. She earned her M.S.

and Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Penn State University and a B.S. in Biology from

Bloomsburg University.

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Missile Defense Agency (MDA)

Mike Madewell

Element Interface Lead, SBIR/ STTR Program

Mr. James Michael (Mike) Madewell serves as the SBIR/ STTR Program Element Interface as

part of the Missile Defense Agency Advanced Research Directorate. In this role, he serves the

technical interface for the program and provides subject matter expertise and mentoring to

hundreds of individuals across MDA, contractors, and other government agencies for various

types of SBIR/STTR activities to include technical topic generation, source selection training

and evaluation activities, Phase I/II award recommendations, Phase II Enhancements, etc. Mr.

Madewell joined the Missile Defense Agency in 2007 supporting the Targets and

Countermeasures program where he served as the Target Front Section Lead and was responsible

for cost, schedule and performance for the program's countermeasure and reentry vehicle

development and testing. Prior to working at MDA, Mr. Madewell worked in various

government and private industries and has over 29 years of experience primarily in radar and

algorithm development, directed energy weapons, targets, and testing. Mr. Madewell has a

Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alabama and a

Master of Science degree in Electronics Engineering from the Southeastern Institute of

Technology.

Department of Defense - Navy

Lee Ann Boyer

Program Manager, SBIR/ STTR Program

Miss Boyer, Lee Ann, is the program manager for the Navy’s Small Business Innovation

Research Commercialization Readiness Program. In executing the program, Lee Ann manages

numerous activities designed to assist small businesses in getting their technology fully

developed, tested, and inserted into products and services used by the fleet and forces.

Additionally, Lee Ann provides subject matter expertise in areas of SBIR/STTR Statutes,

Regulations, and Policies for Navy and DoD as well as supporting all aspects of topic

development and contracting for Navy.

Prior to her current assignment, Miss Boyer was a warranted Contracting Officer. Lee Ann

served as the Deputy Director of Contract and Grant Awards at the Office of Naval Research

where she annually directed the award of over $2B in contracts and grant awards by a staff of

more than 40 and personally managed the contracting efforts for the Navy’s only Federally

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Funded Research and Development Center, the Center for Naval Analyses. Miss Boyer’s

previous contracting assignments included work at the Strategic Systems Program Office for the

Guidance Systems Branch and the Naval Regional Contracting Center Washington where she

quickly progressed from intern to Contracting Officer.

Miss Boyer has a Bachelor of Science degree with Special Honors from Jacksonville State

University, Master of Science degree from Florida Institute of Technology, a Master of

Education degree from Northcentral University, and a Juris Doctorate from George Mason

University. In addition, Miss Boyer has completed the Leadership for a Democratic Society

program at the Federal executive Institute and the Senior Executive Fellows program at the John

F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Lee Ann’s hobbies and interests include her adopted cat Domino, college football, and working

to improve the lives of foster kids.

U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)

Anthony Aldrich

Program Manager, SBIR/ STTR Program

Mr. Anthony J Aldrich is the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Manager for

Special Operations Forces, Acquisition, Technology & Logistics (SOF AT&L), U.S. Special

Operations Command (USSOCOM), MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. He is responsible for all

USSOCOM SOF AT&L SBIR funded activities. Mr. Aldrich has over 15 years of civilian

Federal service.

Mr. Aldrich entered Federal Service in 2002 as a Physicist at Eglin Air Force Base in Fort

Walton Beach, Florida where he served in the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility as a

Hardware-In-the-Loop Test and Evaluation engineer. In 2005, he transferred to the Eglin Range

Support Squadron serving as an Electronics Engineer and Program Manager for the threat radar,

tracking radar and telemetry systems.

Mr. Aldrich transferred to Us Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and

Instrumentation in 2009, where he supported the Range Radar Replacement Program as a Project

Director.

Prior to entering Civil Service, Mr. Aldrich worked at various small businesses designing

Industrial Control Systems, Medical Equipment and Aviation Electronics.

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EDUCATION: University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK - Bachelor of Science degree in Physics,

1984

Department of Health and Human Services – National Institutes of Health

(NIH)

Patricia Swayne

Communications Specialist, SBIR/STTR Program

Patricia Swayne is the Communications Specialist for the NIH SBIR/STTR Program where she

develops the team’s outreach strategy and online presence. Using traditional messaging and

social media engagement, it is her priority to inform and expand the SBIR/STTR community,

while also connecting with demographics that historically have lower application rates (Women-

owned and/or Socially Disadvantaged Small Businesses (WOSDB)). Patricia is invested in

creating opportunities and access to better health for the global citizenship, and inspiring

innovation through relatable stories. Her goal is to translate important, effective information into

a language that everyone can understand.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

John Pucci

Program Director, SBIR/STTR Program

John Pucci is the DHS Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Director. He has

been in that role since May 2016 after joining DHS in October 2015. Prior to that he was the

Operations Manager for the Army SBIR Program from June 2008 until October 2015. He also

served as the Acting Program Manager from December 2009 until June 2010. Mr. Pucci has an

extensive history of supporting research for the Department of Defense (DoD), working at the

Army Materiel Command (AMC DCSRDA) and the Army Research, Development and

Engineering Command RDECOM for 18 years and at the Naval Electronic Systems Command

(NAVELEX) and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) for 14 years

before that.

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Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC)

Michael Merriken

FLC Southeast Regional Coordinator

Mr. Michael Merriken is the Manager for the Technology Transfer Office responsible for

shaping and executing the Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic’s approach

to Federal Technology Transfer by cultivating, developing, and sustaining partnerships with

industry and academia, connecting these organizations and people in order to expand research

opportunities and promote dual use technology. Responsibilities include technology assessment;

marketing of laboratory resources; the establishment, negotiation, and management of

technology transfer agreements; and the negotiation of licenses for intellectual property leading

to the successful commercialization of technologies and products.

Mr. Merriken received a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University

and a M.S. in Human Factors Engineering from Virginia Tech and is currently serving on the

Executive Board and Coordinator for the Southeast Region of the Federal Laboratory

Consortium.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Lynn Garrison

Technology Transfer Lead, SBIR/STTR Program

Lynn Garrison serves as the Marshall Space Flight Center Small Business Technical Advisor in

support of the Small Business Office. Mrs. Garrison is also a Marshall Space Flight Center

Technology Transition Lead for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business

Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which help the agency, meet federal research and

development needs and increase private-sector commercialization of innovations derived from

federal R&D.

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Michael Vinje

Small Business Technology Manager, SBIR/STTR Program

Mike is the Small Business Technology Manager at Kennedy Space Center where he leads KSC

SBIR/STTR activities and assists with technology development. Prior to this role, Mike served

as one of KSC’s Commercial Partnership Development Managers, where he led the development

of agreements for the Sierra Nevada Corporation Dream Chaser and Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch

system.

Mike received a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Washington State University

after serving in the U.S. Army 25th Infantry Division. He began his KSC engineering career in

1999 on the Space Shuttle as a contractor working the Orbiter Main Propulsion Systems, where

he developed repairs and manned the firing room console during test and launch operations. In

2005 he joined the Constellation Program where he served as the KSC lead for the Orion Service

Module until accepting a position with the KSC Center Planning and Development Directorate in

2010. Throughout his career Mike has witnessed firsthand the massive changes enabled by new

technology, and he looks forward to helping industry drive more change in the future.

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Debasis Majumdar

Program Director, SBIR/STTR Program

Debasis Majumdar is a Program Director for the SBIR/STTR Program in the Industrial

Innovation and Partnerships Division of the Engineering Directorate at NSF. Prior to joining

NSF, he was a Research Associate at Saint-Gobain and a Senior Principal Scientist at Eastman

Kodak Company, spanning an industrial career of over 30 years. In that capacity, he was

engaged in applied research, new product development and commercialization, manufacturing

excellence, technology transfer and intellectual property development and management. His

research expertise includes advanced materials comprising polymers, metals, ceramics,

inorganic-organic nanocomposites and functional coatings for a variety of applications such, as

imaging, display and life science. He is a co-inventor of more than 100 US patents and a co-

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author of more than 30 peer reviewed papers and book chapters. Debasis holds a Ph.D. degree in

Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University and a B.Tech. degree in

Metallurgical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.

Department of Health and Human Services – National Institutes of Health

(NIH)

Nancy Kamei

Program Director

Nancy Kamei is a Program Director focused on Medical Devices and Digital Health. In 2017,

after several years of retirement, she joined the Division of Industrial Innovation and

Partnerships to serve the United States’ entrepreneurial ecosystem. For several years, she served

as a National Instructor for the Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) program, interacting with NSF and

National Institutes of Health grantees, which inspired her to join the SBIR/STTR Program and

continue working with innovators and entrepreneurs. Nancy has more than 20 years of

experience as an investor, having selected and managed billions of dollars of investments of both

public equities (Capital Group Companies) and venture capital (Intel Capital). She is also a serial

entrepreneur, having been on the founding team of several Silicon Valley startups (Onyx

Pharmaceuticals). After receiving her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from University of California,

San Francisco, she started her career at Merck and then completed her Master of Business

Administration at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Nancy also has more than 40 years of

service to the non-profit sector. She recently relocated to the Washington, D.C. area after a

lifetime in California.

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Nicholas McFall

Primary Patent Examiner and Outreach Detailee with the Texas

Regional Office

Nicholas McFall is a Primary Patent Examiner who joined the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

in 2011 and examines patent applications related to aircraft and spacecraft. He is also a Licensing

and Review examiner, which involves reviewing applications for referral to defense agencies.

Prior to joining the USPTO, he worked at Gulfstream Aer-ospace on the Flight Sciences team as

both a thermody-namics engineer and a propulsion engineer. He started working on special

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missions aircraft and later worked on the G650. He is currently on detail with the outreach team

of the Texas Regional Office.

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Lee B. Hunt

Trademark Examining Attorney and Outreach Detailee to the

Texas Regional Office

Lee B. Hunt is a trademark examining attorney with the USPTO currently working with the

outreach team at the Texas Regional Office in Dallas. Lee has been with the USPTO for four

years, the first three of which he spent at Office’s national headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

In his tenure with the Office, Lee has mentored and trained newly hired trademark attorneys and

completed a detail with the Office of Trademark Legal Policy.

Lee holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Houston Law Center, a Master’s of

Public Service and Administration from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at

Texas A&M University, and a Bachelor’s of Science from Texas State University. Lee is a

former law clerk to the Supreme Court of Texas, an adjunct professor of law for the University

of Houston Law Center, a former Houston Police officer, and a member of the State Bar of

Texas. Lee, his wife, and three kids, reside in Fort Worth, Texas.

U.S. Small Business Administration - Office of Innovation and Technology

Brittany Sickler

Outreach and Partnership Strategist

Brittany Sickler is the Outreach and Partnership Strategist for SBA’s Office of Innovation and

Technology. Her primary duties advance the goals of the Small Business Innovation Research

and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/ STTR) programs, enabling a diverse range of

small businesses to explore their technological potential and profit from its commercialization.

She focuses on support organizations across the country that grow the pipeline of potential

applicants with breakthrough ideas, and oversees initiatives such as the SBIR Road Tour, Train

the Trainer, and manages the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program.

Sickler spent three years in SBA’s North Dakota District as an Economic Development

Specialist, building and strengthening regional connections with grassroots startup networks and

rural communities. Prior to SBA, she was a Peace Corps Volunteer and Volunteer Leader in

Guatemala in the Sustainable Community Tourism program, focusing on economic development

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and environmental conservation. She was a Masters International Fellow, completing a Master’s

in International Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University.

Sickler also holds degrees in Business Administration and Spanish from Indiana Wesleyan

University. Her career in economic development started in Florida with microlender ACCION

USA, providing small business loans to individuals unable to access traditional credit.

U.S. Small Business Administration - Office of Innovation and

Technology

Edsel Brown

Deputy Director

Mr. Brown has served with the U.S. Small Business Administration since 1990. He is currently

the Assistant Director for the Office of Technology. In this position he provides oversight over

the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer

(STTR) Programs.

In addition to his tenure at the SBA, Mr. Brown has served as a Financial Consultant to several

NASD broker dealers, owned a Liberty Tax Franchise, and operated an Entertainment/Sports

Law practice.

He has been a member of a number of organizations including the DC Chamber of Commerce,

Calvert County Economic Development Commission, National Bar Association, American Bar

Association, NAACP, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity (Life Member)

A native of Plainfield, N. J., Mr. Brown holds B.A. (Government/Political Science) and M.A.

(Public Administration) degrees from Ohio University, and a J.D. (Law) degree from the

University of Toledo College of Law. He is a licensed Attorney.

SBIR DIGITAL AND SOCIAL RESOURCES

Executive Director, The Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic

Development

teresa.orok@aamu.edu

256-372-8879 Office - 256-924-2929 Mobile

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Twitter:

https://twitter.com/SBIRgov

Hashtag #SBIRRoadTour

SBIR Road Tour Preparation Resources:

http://www.sbir.gov/tutorials/

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE SBIR & STTR PROGRAMS?

www.sbir.gov/tutorials/program-basics/tutorial-1

AM I ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SBIR/STTR PROGRAMS?

www.sbir.gov/tutorials/program-basics/tutorial-2

HOW DO I FIND THE APPROPRIATE TOPIC?

http://www.sbir.gov/tutorials/finding-topics/tutorial-1

SBIR OR STTR? WHICH ONE IS RIGHT FOR ME?

www.sbir.gov/tutorials/program-basics/tutorial-3

CONTRACTS VS GRANTS:

http://www.sbir.gov/tutorials/program-basics/tutorial-6

AGENCY INTRODUCTIONS:

www.sbir.gov/tutorials/individual-agency-requirements/

One-on-One Meeting Quad Chart Template:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxB22UK7sIHeVERqcTcxTUlLSXM

Video(s):

SBIR Road Tour – Nebraska 2016 www.ketv.com/article/130-nebraska-entrepreneurs-

compete-for-millions-in-grant-money/7661123

Success Stories:

[Tennessee]

https://www.sbir.gov/sites/default/files/SBA_SuccessStories_Coulometrics.pdf

[Alabama]

https://www.sbir.gov/sites/default/files/SBAsuccess_RadianceTechnologies_FINA L.pdf

[Arkansas]

https://www.sbir.gov/sites/default/files/SBAsuccess_Picasolar%20FINAL.pdf

[Mississippi]

https://www.sbir.gov/sites/default/files/SBA_Success_WorldWinds.pdf

[Louisiana]

https://www.sbir.gov/sites/default/files/SBAsuccess_Geocent_10_20_2015.pdf