Four New York small businesses have been selected to receive JumpStart awards with the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) for the fall semester.

The CCMR JumpStart program is funded by the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) to help small New York businesses develop and improve their products through university collaborations. JumpStart projects receive up to $5,000 in matching funds for project costs, including the services of faculty and their research staff, facilities services and materials. Since 2005, 27 companies have benefited from the program.

"This summer we again received a number of strong applications, from which these four excellent projects were selected by the JumpStart review board. We are confident that these new collaborations will benefit the participating companies, faculty and students, and support economic growth in New York state as mandated by NYSTAR," said John Sinnott, CCMR industrial programs manager.

This semester's projects:

• Oratel Diagnostics of Hammondsport will work with Antje Baeumner, professor of biological and environmental engineering, to optimize the composition of the company's cellulose-based test strip used to detect the presence of endometriosis in women.
• Tailored Lighting Inc. of Rochester will collaborate with the research group of Les Eastman, the Given Foundation Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, to develop a daylight spectrum solid-state lighting device that will improve the energy efficiency and lifetime of the company's natural light spectrum lamps.
• The Medingen Group LLC of Rochester will engage with Amit Lal, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, to develop a device capable of delivering the sensation of a light-touch massage to the skin using piezo-electric materials that expand and contract when a voltage is applied.
• Cascade Sports of Liverpool will partner with Alan Zehnder, professor and chair of the Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, to optimize the impact attenuation system currently used in the company's line of athletic headgear.

Applications for spring 2010 projects are now being accepted at the CCMR Web site at http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/industry/.