The Cornell Center for Materials Research JumpStart program, funded by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), announced Jan. 17 that six companies have been awarded funding during the 2017 spring semester to participate in university collaborations.

JumpStart projects receive up to $5,000 in matching funds for project costs that include faculty and research staff, facilities, services, supplies and materials. Since its inception, 77 companies have benefited from this program.

The 2017 spring semester collaborations:

Boateng Creatives, Newburgh, New York, will collaborate with Alireza Abbaspourrad, professor of food chemistry and ingredient technology, Department of Food Science, to extend the lifetime of the natural fragrances infused in an all-natural body deodorizer.

Calmetrics, Holbrook, New York, will collaborate with Emmanuel Giannelis, professor of materials science and engineering, on a process development for the production of reference standards with National Institute of Standards and Technology traceable calibrations used in screening and verification compliance for the Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive.

Heliohex, Syracuse, New York, will collaborate with Neil Mattson, professor and greenhouse extension specialist, in the School of Integrative Plant Science, to test the effectiveness of new high-powered LED grow lights to invigorate plant growth in the vegetative, flowering and fruiting stages, while reducing power consumption and increasing crop yield in greenhouses.

Ionica Sciences, Ithaca, New York, will collaborate with Christopher Umbach, professor of materials science and engineering, to optimize the surface preparation methods of a structured metal substrate that will significantly improve its ability to enhance Raman signal intensity and can be translated into a scalable process for commercial production.

Opterus R&D, Syracuse, New York, will collaborate with Alan Zehnder, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, on development of a new approach to production of high-performance carbon composite tubes.

Sustainable Waste Power Systems, Kingston, New York, will collaborate with Curt Gooch, senior extension associate in biological and environmental engineering, to identify, develop and document an economic model for an innovative waste management method for the New York dairy industry.

The Cornell Center for Materials Research is a National Science Foundation- and New York state-funded interdisciplinary research center at Cornell University whose mission is to advance, explore and exploit the forefront of the science and engineering of advanced materials.