YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, NOYAN TAPAN. At the venture conference of the US Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) and its Armenian partner Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) in Yerevan on October 24, the scientific research organizations - winners of the grant tender held by CRDF and EIF - were announced. The tender was held under the CRDF Science and Technologies Entrepreneurship Program (STEP). For their developments with Armenian production enterpise-partners, 5 thousand dollars will be given to the Institute of Mathematics (for design and creation of prototype of a new piston pump), to the scientific group led by Ruben Vardanian of State Engineering University of Armenia (SEUA) (for development of new cost-effective photovoltaic solar energy concentrator system), and the group led by Gagik Aivazian (SEUA) (for design, fabrication and marketing of photovoltaic systems based on silicon vertical multi-junction solar cells). The scientific group led by N. Vardanian, laboratory head of the Institute of Microbiology, will receive a grant for developing a new integrated biometallurgical process for gold production, the same institute's group led by Hrachia Hovhannisian - for intensification of probiotics production by means of burdock's raw inulin, while the group headed by Mikael Hovhannisian of the Institute of Botany - for TPS technology used in elite seed-potato production. During the conference, another four reports on applied developments were made. EIF Director Bagrat Yengibarian said that the work on assistance of their authors will continue separately. Natalia Pipia, Manager of SRDF Industrial Programs, underlined the importance of the fact that the scientific groups - tender participants found production enterprises as partners. Jim Butterworth, jury member, expressed a high opinion about the applied developments presented by 10 Armenian scientific groups. The jury was also composed of Hovhannes Avoyan, Director of Sorsio company (Armenia), Chairman of the Union of IT Enterprises, Ara Hamazaspian, Director of the Izmirlian Foundation, and Hayk Papian, Director of Venture Management Advisors company. B. Yengibarian reminded that the above mentioned 10 developments were selected out of 30 bids. According to him, it is envisaged to spend 20 thousand dollars to assist the scientific groups which won the tender. He expressed a hope that such a tender will be held in 2007 as well.

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