June 2013 - Two of EPA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program awardees received Tibbets Awards at the White House on May 16, 2013. Orono Spectral Solutions and Ecovative Design were among the 21 recipients of this year’s Tibbets Awards. This prestigious award is presented to small businesses and individuals that are exemplary in their work and continue to illustrate the mission and goals of the SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfers programs.

Orono, Bangor, Maine, a 2012 SBIR awardee, produces environmental monitors that can detect and absorb chemical/biological agents in the air and water. Ecovative, Green Island, NY, a 2009 SBIR awardee,  produces biodegradable packaging and building insulation from agricultural byproducts and mushroom roots.

Each year nominations for the Tibbets Awards are submitted from across the country. The award was named after Roland Tibbetts, father of SBIR.  Judging is based on three areas of criteria, technical innovation, business impact, and broader societal and economic benefit.

“Entrepreneurs… are America’s secret sauce,” said Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills. “You’re what drives the nation with business formation and job creation.”

For more information on the Tibbetts Awards visit: About Tibbetts Awards and Hall of Fame
For more information on U.S. EPA’s SBIR Program: EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program
For more information on Orono’s previous SBIR project: Preconcentration Technology for Infrared Analysis of Organophosphates in Water
For more information on Ecovative’s previous SBIR project: Development and Demonstration of a Low Embodied Energy, Construction Material that Replaces Expanded Polystyrene and Other Synthetic Materials
More information on Orono: Orono Spectral Solutions - A Full Spectrum Innovator Exit
More information on Ecovative: Ecovative Design Exit