OCAST approves Intern Partnerships in Tulsa, Stillwater and Norman

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Three private firms and the University of Tulsa have been approved for funding totaling $207,276 under the OCAST Intern Partnership program. OCAST, the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, is Oklahoma’s technology-based economic development agency.

University faculty and private business leaders direct the efforts of technology-trained college-level students who participate in the program. The intern partnerships operate two years with student salaries equally shared by OCAST and the private company benefitting from the student participation. Intrusion sensors, lithium batteries, advanced nanotechnology and next-generation bio-sensor research are supported under the four internships approved by OCAST.

The OCAST Intern Partnership program has helped Oklahoma small businesses locate hard-to-find technology trained employees.

The most recent program awards follow:

Tulsa

Intrusion Sensors

• University of Tulsa Professor Surendra Singh will oversee work performed by two student interns at Qual-Tron. Directed by two Qual-Tron engineers, the students will work in engineering design, specifications, development, testing and manufacture of intrusion sensors. Such sensors are used in the surveillance industry. Students will be immersed in the industry and will attend trade shows and technical conferences in addition to their work involving mechanical modeling at the Tulsa-based company. $60,000

Stillwater

Lithium Batteries

• Lloyd Salsman of Frontier Electronic Systems Corp. will direct the efforts of one undergraduate intern who will evaluate battery technology research. Lithium batteries are listed as one of 80 critical technologies sought by the Department of Defense. This project will analyze the imagery of stock materials used in the manufacture of nanobatteries. Frontier Electronic Systems considers this technology to be a logical extension of past efforts in satellite power management. The firm plans to use the project to expand its internal capabilities in characterizing nanobattery fabrication processes in order to provide a more decisive response to new areas of space-qualified construction. $27,876

Advanced Materials

• Tom Jobe of Nomadics Inc. will supervise three interns who will contribute to commercial development in the field of biomolecular interaction analysis. Work on the project will be focused on biochemistry, electrical engineering and software engineering. $59,400

Norman

Advanced Nanotechnology

Ricardo Prada Silvy of SouthWest NanoTechnologies Inc. will offer seven interns an opportunity to apply classroom knowledge to real-world projects including (1) developing functionalized single-wall carbon nanotubes based on SWeNT’s commercial products, (2) developing characterization methods of SWeNT’s applications and (3) process development and scale-up of conductive coatings. Interns will represent the University of Oklahoma School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering and the Department of Chemistry. $60,000