{"73788":{"#nid":"73788","#data":{"type":"news","title":"U.S. Air Force Awards $750,000 to VentureLab Firm","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EVirtual AeroSurface Technologies (VAST), a company assisted by Georgia Tech\u0027s VentureLab program, has received a Small Business Technology Transfer contract from the U.S. Air Force for $750,000. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Air Force contract brings total funding for VAST to $920,000, including other contracts from the Air Force and the Army.  The flow-control-technology company, a member of Georgia Tech\u0027s VentureLab for the past two years, is the 10th company to be formed and win financing while in VentureLab.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022VAST is commercializing technologies coming out of Prof. Ari Glezer\u0027s flow-control work at School of Mechanical Engineering,\u0022 said Tom Crittenden, VAST\u0027s vice president of research and development and a part-time member of the research faculty in mechanical engineering.  \u0022We believe these technologies are going to have several important real-world applications.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAmong those potential uses are:\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0095 Allowing military and civilian aircraft to fly without wing flaps, thereby greatly decreasing weight and making planes more efficient, maneuverable and reliable;\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0095 Enabling helicopters to fly faster and more efficiently by using flow control techniques to lessen fuselage drag;\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0095 Steering military munitions in flight, making such projectiles more accurate and efficient;\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0095 Altering air flow over tractor-trailer trucks, thereby saving 10 to 15 percent in fuel consumption at highway speeds;\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0095 Regulating the speed of wind turbines, thus protecting them from the disrupting effects of wind variations.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022VAST is working on technologies that could have a revolutionary effect on future aviation, among other things,\u0022 said Stephen Fleming, Georgia Tech\u0027s chief commercialization officer.  \u0022The fact that they\u0027ve gotten major phase-two Air Force funding is very satisfying for Commercialization Services - it\u0027s a big part of what we do here.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFlow-control technology involves the use of tiny jets embedded in a smooth surface such as an airplane wing or a projectile.  The jets are of two types: those that use an electronically driven piezoceramic element to blow out minute puffs of air, and those that use \u0022combustion actuators\u0022 - small explosive charges - to create tiny but powerful jets that can reach supersonic speeds.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECrittenden explained that combustion-actuator technology is best suited to objects that move faster than Mach 0.25, or about 190 miles per hour, such as aircraft wings and munitions. Piezoceramic element technology is better suited to objects moving at speeds below that point. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECrittenden believes the first application of VAST technology could involve flap-less flight control in full-scale unmanned aerial combat vehicles such as the experimental Boeing UCAV.  He envisions applying such flight-control technology to other military aircraft eventually and even to passenger planes someday. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Ultimately, we\u0027d like to become a permanent partner with a large airframe company once the technology is developed enough,\u0022 he said.  \u0022We\u0027ve done a couple of projects with Boeing. ... Hopefully we\u0027ll be able to show them that this is something they should be looking at for their next generation of planes and UAVs.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EVAST originally received a Phase 1 Small Business Technology Transfer contract of about $100,000 from the Air Force for proof-of-concept work. The current second-phase contract of $750,000 is to be spent over two years.  VAST also previously received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research contract from the U.S. Army for $70,000.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022VentureLab helped VAST by giving us access to business knowledge and expertise which we lacked,\u0022 Crittenden said.  \u0022VentureLab helped us assess the markets where the technology could be useful and expand in directions we hadn\u0027t previously considered.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0027s Commercialization Services, a division of the Office of Economic Development and Technology Ventures, helps identify Georgia Tech discoveries with potential commercial value.  When it finds a promising technology, Commercialization Services either helps negotiate technology-licensing agreements with existing companies, or its VentureLab unit assists fledgling companies through the critical feasibility and first-funding phases.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 100\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia 30308 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Rick Robinson (404-385-2562); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:rick.robinson@edi.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Erick.robinson@edi.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:john.toon@edi.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejohn.toon@edi.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Rick Robinson \n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Virtual AeroSurface Technologies is commercializing Georgia Tech innovation"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"Virtual AeroSurface Technologies (VAST), a company assisted by Georgia Tech\u0027s VentureLab program, has received a Small Business Technology Transfer contract from the U.S. Air Force for $750,000.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A VentureLab company has received $750,000"}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2005-10-07 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:34","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2005-10-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2005-10-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"73789":{"id":"73789","type":"image","title":"U.S. Air Force C-17","body":null,"created":"1449178020","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:27:00","changed":"1475894678","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:38"}},"media_ids":["73789"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/me\/people\/academic.faculty\/Glezer_Ari.html","title":"Professor Ari Glezer"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.venturelab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech VentureLab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=jt7\u0022\u003EContact John Toon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-6986\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}