The Small Business Innovative Research program (SBIR) which sets aside 1.7% of 12 Government Agencies R&D budget for small businesses was initiated by the work of Dr. Arthur Obermayer and Senator Kennedy. Obermayer’s Company, Moleculon,  received the first SBIR Grant from the NSF in 1982 for $25,000. Obermayer worked with Bush and Dole to ensure that the patent rights went to the Company that developed the product and not to the government. Obermayer continued to work with Kennedy and other congressmen to expand this program to other agencies and their R&D budgets. In 2018, the SBIR/STTR program budget was $2.3 billion dollars. The total amount spent of SBIR/STTR was $50 billion dollars. The impact that this has had on small chemical businesses and the technology workforce will be addressed.<br/>

Arthur Obermayer and the billion-dollar SBIR program

2019 Spring National Meeting

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