UALR’s Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center will host a free webinar to address federal research and development funding opportunities available through the Environmental Protection Agency Small Business Innovation Research program.

The event will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, and led by EPA SBIR Program Manager April Richards and Dr. Tito Viswanathan of Little Rock-based Synanomet, LLC.

Online registration is available at tinyurl.com/pnc7eun.

Dr. Viswanathan, UALR professor of chemistry, serves in the dual positions of chief executive officer and chief scientific officer for Synanomet.

Assisted by the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, the company won a $300,000 SBIR Phase II award from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2013.

The company is developing a nanomaterial-based process for purifying phosphorus-contaminated waters and has exclusive license for the manufacture and use of patent-pending technologies from UALR.

The ASBTDC is also hosting other SBIR educational events this spring. Information about each is available at http://asbtdc.org/training/webinars.

Small companies receive more than $2 billion in federal SBIR/STTR grants and contracts each year for innovative research and product development.

The training is part of ASBTDC’s Federal and State Technology (FAST) project funded by the Small Business Administration for expanded outreach and assistance to science and technology-based small companies. ASBTDC, part of the UALR College of Business, also provides no-cost consulting and market research for innovative entrepreneurs.

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