Non-dilutive Funding for Deep Tech: SBIR, STTR and TTP Explained

Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Time: 4:00 PM

Venue: MIT Music and Theater Arts / Thomas Tull Concert Hall

City: Cambridge, MA

Cover: Free

Register: https://mit.zoom.us/meeting/register/m429pRAlTjuytPe9pavasA Whether you're a faculty member, postdoc, grad student, or simply curious about innovation grant programs, this session is designed for you. Join us for a one-hour session featuring two NSF Program Directors who will walk you through major federal research commercialization grant programs: SBIR, STTR, and TTP (Translation to Practice). Learn how these programs work, how to apply, who is eligible, and how researchers benefit from them. Bring your questions for discussion. Free and open to all. Speakers: Ben Schrag, Ph.D., is the SBIR/STTR Program Director and Policy Liaison. Ben joined the U.S. National Science Foundation as an SBIR/STTR program director in 2009. Ben has worked across several portfolio areas including advanced materials, instrumentation and hardware, nanotechnology and advanced manufacturing. He became the policy liaison for the SBIR/STTR programs in 2016. Ben is a two-time winner of the NSF Director's Award. Prior to NSF, he was the director of research and development at Micro Magnetics, where he led a development effort to commercialize a new magnetic imaging tool for semiconductor metrology. He received his doctorate in physics and served as a visiting scientist at Brown University. Mara Schindleholz is on assignment at the U.S. National Science Foundation as a Program Director for the Translation to Practice (TTP) and Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) programs. She was previously a SBIR/STTR program director at NSF. Mara is also a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories, where she has developed sensor diagnostics and advanced digital technologies for the Department of Energy and the Department of War. Prior to joining Sandia, Mara was a senior materials research engineer at Luna Innovations (now Luna Labs) and a consultant for ElectraWatch (since acquired by Austal USA). Mara received her master’s in materials science and engineering from the University of Virginia. Register: https://mit.zoom.us/meeting/register/m429pRAlTjuytPe9pavasA

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