Tibbetts Award

Tibbetts Award 2013. Roland Tibbetts in center.

The Tibbetts Award ("Tibbie") is a national award made annually to those small firms, projects, organizations, and individuals judged to exemplify the very best in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) achievement. The award was established in 1995 and the first awards were made in 1996.[1] The award was named after Roland Tibbetts of the National Science Foundation.[1]

Tibbetts Awards recognize accomplishments where, in the judgement of those closely involved and often most immediately affected, the stimulus of SBIR funding has made an important and definable difference.

Selection

In selection for Tibbetts Awards, the focus is primarily on:

  • Economic impact of technological innovation
  • Business achievement and effective collaborations
  • Demonstrated state and regional impact and proven support

Tibbetts "Hall of Fame" awards were first presented in 2011, to recognize small businesses that "exemplify notable lifetime achievement in innovation research and that have achieved extraordinary success as a result of the SBIR program."[2]

Hiatus and return

In 2007 the Tibbetts award went on hiatus and was not awarded for the years 2008, 2009, and 2010. In 2011, forty-four companies and eight individuals were selected to receive the award. Tibbets Awards were awarded to businesses ranging from medical device companies such as MedShape Solutions, to electronics manufacturers such as Qualcomm, Inc, and to nanobiotechnology companies such as ANP Technologies.[3] Following 2016, the award again went on hiatus and was not awarded for the years 2017, 2018, and 2019. It returned in 2020 when 38 companies received the Tibbetts award as well as 14 individuals.[4]

About the SBIR Program

The SBIR program awards United States Federal Government funds to small businesses to develop innovative technologies that address important national priorities. Individual agencies set aside a fraction of their research and development funds for the program and competitively award contracts to those firms that propose the best strategies to solve solicitation topics. The topics are chosen to address technical issues that each agency considers important.[5] Roland Tibbetts began the SBIR program as a tiny experimental project at the National Science Foundation. Today, the SBIR program has developed more than $21 billion worth of research by more than 15,000 firms—resulting in more than 45,000 patents. SBIR companies employ more than 400,000 scientists and engineers—making the program the largest concentration of scientific and engineering talent in the United States, exceeding the combined total of all American academic and non-profit institutions. Each year, 11 federal agencies award $2 billion in research contracts as part of the SBIR program.

Past winners

Ben Plowman receives his 2002 Tibbetts Award.


2016

Winner Location
Made In Space, Inc. Mountain View, CA
EnChroma Berkeley, CA
EnChroma's Don McPherson and Andy Schmeder, second and third from left - Accept Tibbetts Award

2015[6]

Winner Location
Bioo Scientific Austin, TX
Precision Combustion, Inc. North Haven, Connecticut

2014

Winner Company
Eric Schmidt & Kevin Mahaffy Exquadrum, Inc
Winner Location
Sentient Science Buffalo, NY
QorTek Inc. Williamsport, PA

2013

Winner Location
Harmonia Holdings Group, LLC Blacksburg, VA
MBF Bioscience Williston, VT
ORPC, Inc. Portland, ME
TiER1 Performance Solutions Covington, KY

2011[7]

Winner Location
Wyatt Technology Corp. Santa Barbara, CA
Williams-Pyro, Inc. Fort Worth, Texas
3C Institute Cary, NC
SA Photonics Los Gatos, CA

2010

Winner Location
Network Foundation Technologies (NiFTy) Ruston, La.
ANP Technologies Newark, Del.
Vecna Technologies, Inc. Cambridge, Mass.
Fiber Materials Biddeford, Maine

2007

Winner Company
Eric Adolphe, Esq OPTIMUS Corporation
Houston Baker National Cancer Institute
Mark E. Bakotic Northrop Grumman Ship Systems
Pallabi Saboo Harmonia Holdings Group, LLC
James I. Finley Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (A&T)
James Nolan Decisive Analytics Corporation[8]
Patty Forbes Formerly Senate Committee on Small Business
Thomas Knight Invistics Corporation

2006[9]

Winner Company
Allen Baker Vital Strategies, Inc.
Stephen Guilfoos Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
Patrick Guire Innovative Surface Technologies, Inc.
Richard Hendel Boeing Company
Mahendra Jain Kentucky Science & Engineering Foundation
Ronald Ignatius Quantum Devices, Inc.

1998[10]

Winner Location
Electronic Concepts and Engineering, Inc Holland, Ohio
Precision Combustion, Inc. North Haven, Connecticut

References

  1. ^ a b "Committee Reports 104th Congres(1995-1996), House Report 104-850". United States Library of Congress.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Tibbetts Award And Hall of Fame". Small Business Innovation Research Program. United States Federal Government.
  3. ^ "Earth Times: Winners 2011 Tibbetts Awards". [dead link‍]
  4. ^ "The 2020 Winners". tibbettsawards.com. US SBA. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  5. ^ "SBIR". Small Business Innovations Research Program. United States Federal Government.
  6. ^ Tibbetts & SBIR HoF Award Booklet sbir.gov
  7. ^ "SBA Announces Winners of 2011 Tibbetts Awards". Small Business Administration. United States Federal Government.
  8. ^ "Tibbetts Awards 2007". Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
  9. ^ "Tibbetts Awards Hall of Fame 2006 | SBIR.gov". www.sbir.gov. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  10. ^ "Tibbetts Awards Hall of Fame 1998 | SBIR.gov". www.sbir.gov. Retrieved February 16, 2024.