Provides Enhanced Environmental and Process Gas Monitoring Capabilities

FRANKLIN, Mass. (February 1, 2010) – Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, announced today that it has acquired NovaWave Technologies, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of advanced chemical sensors for environmental monitoring, industrial and safety applications. NovaWave has 18 employees based in Redwood City, California, and generated annual revenues of $4 million in 2009.
NovaWave has developed an extensive array of laser-based gas measurement systems that use laser technology to enhance sensitivity, specificity, precision and accuracy for multiple applications. The acquisition expands Thermo Fisher’s leadership position in environmental monitoring, process monitoring and isotopic ratio measurements, and provides complementary technology to more accurately measure the presence of critical gases.
“The growing concern regarding climate change and the collective development of regulatory controls present a unique opportunity to showcase our leading Thermo Scientific line of environmental instruments,” said Greg Herrema, president of Thermo Fisher’s Analytical Instruments businesses. “The expansion of our portfolio through NovaWave’s sensors for monitoring greenhouse gases is another great example of how we enable our customers to make the world cleaner.”
In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency recently mandated that facilities exceeding established greenhouse gas emission standards be required to submit annual reports. This includes utilities, oil and chemical refineries; cement, glass, pulp and paper plants; manufacturers of motor vehicles and engines; and confined animal-feeding operations. The technology acquired from NovaWave will reinforce Thermo Fisher Scientific’s leading position in this rapidly developing regulatory arena.
NovaWave will be integrated into Thermo Fisher's Analytical Technologies Segment and provide enhanced measurement capabilities for environmental instruments, scientific instruments and process instruments.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is the world leader in serving science, enabling our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. With 2008 revenues of $10.5 billion, we have approximately 35,000 employees and serve over 350,000 customers within pharmaceutical and biotech companies, hospitals and clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research institutions and government agencies, as well as environmental and industrial process control settings. Serving customers through two premier brands, Thermo Scientific and Fisher Scientific, we help solve analytical challenges from routine testing to complex research and discovery. Thermo Scientific offers customers a complete range of high-end analytical instruments as well as laboratory equipment, software, services, consumables and reagents to enable integrated laboratory workflow solutions. Fisher Scientific provides a complete portfolio of laboratory equipment, chemicals, supplies and services used in healthcare, scientific research, safety and education. Together, we offer the most convenient purchasing options to customers and continuously advance our technologies to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery, enhance value for customers and fuel growth for shareholders and employees alike. Visit www.thermofisher.com .

FAQ

November 13, 2008

  The U.S. Army announced today that NovaWave Technologies was selected to participate in its 2009 Commercialization Pilot Program (CPP). The Army CPP entails a rigorous analysis of SBIR companies that have Phase II projects with transition potential that meet high-priority requirements. Only 25 companies were chosen for CPP participation.

NovaWave’s project entitled “Real-Time, Ultrasensitive Water Supply System Biosensor” is collaboration with the Microparticle Photophysics Laboratory at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, and is supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Construction Engineering Research Laboratory in Champaign, Illinois. The goal of the project was to develop a micro-optical sensor for monitoring urban water supply systems for accidental or intentional contamination with pathogenic biological material.

Dr. Stephen Holler, the Principal Investigator and NovaWave’s Director of R&D, said, “We look forward to continuing to work with the Army in order to deploy this technology to meet the high-priority needs of countering waterborne biological threats both in the U.S. and overseas. CPP will help accelerate this transition.”

In addition to providing a monitoring solution for the military, NovaWave’s technology may be employed domestically, for example, to assure safe water in office buildings and public venues, and monitor recycled wastewater and irrigation water.

More info on the CPP may be found at: https://www.armysbir.com/sbir/cpp_desc.htm .

28 October 2008

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) today announced the selection of a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II proposal submitted by NovaWave Technologies (Redwood City, CA). The SBIR Phase II project comprises developing a compact UV laser-based sensor for Earth science and planetary atmosphere exploration. "The device will be capable of measuring formaldehyde in real-time at ultra-trace levels" said the project Principal Investigator, Dr. Joshua Paul. "The sensor is based on a revolutionary, tunable single frequency UV laser that was successfully demonstrated for the first time during Phase I", he added.  The Phase II sensor will be compact and capable of detecting formaldehyde at ppt levels. The same sensor platform can also be further developed for detecting other important, EPA priority pollutants.

"NASA Applications for this instrument include the interrogation of extraterrestrial atmospheres for trace species, the study of Earth's atmosphere, and the monitoring of cabin air in crewed exploration vehicles." said Dr. James Scherer, President and CEO of Novawave Technologies and added: "We are very optimistic about the commercial applications for this technology, and envision several products resulting from this project that solve critical detection problems that are not sufficiently addressed with existing sensors. Formaldehyde is an important trace atmospheric species and is also important in spacecraft air quality. The same concerns in spacecraft exist in indoor air quality issues here at home, and our sensor will be capable of not only accurately measuring ambient levels but will be capable of sniffing out specific sources in the home."

NASA received 259 Phase 2 proposals. The criteria used to select the winning proposals included technical merit and innovation, Phase 1 results, value to NASA, commercial potential and company capabilities.

29 August 2008

Novawave Technology (Redwood City, CA) was selected by the Department of Energy (DoE) to develop a Real-time, Multispecies Greenhouse Gas Sensor. This SBIR Phase II project will develop compact, low-cost, accurate, and highly reliable trace gas sensors that are suitable for the autonomous sensing of greenhouse gases in the field. "The proposed sensor is based on a novel mid-infrared laser source that reduces the complexity of the sensing approach and increases robustness.” said Principal Investigator and CEO, Dr. James J. Scherer. "This laser will provide high reliability, excellent beam quality, compact size, low power consumption, and room-temperature single-frequency operation."

"This laser source can be combined with a rugged, miniaturized gas sampling system, or be used in a unique, open-path configuration to enable long-term measurements of trace gas fluxes and concentrations in the field." added Dr. H.J. Jost, Director of Environmental Sensing at Novawave Technologies. "The commercial applications of the proposed sensor include greenhouse gas monitoring for geophysical research and emissions compliance, hydrocarbon leak detection, and a variety of industrial process control venues."

August 20, 2008

Redwood City, CA based Novawave Technologies, Inc., was ranked in the Top 100 Businesses in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont list published by Inc. Magazine. Novawave Technologies is a leader in the development of laser-based chemical sensors for commercial and military applications ranging from chemical and biological agent detection to trace explosives sensing.

Inc. magazine today announced its annual ranking of the 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the country. The list is the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy – America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs. Novawave Technologies, Inc. was ranked No. 2,284 with a growth of approximately 160% and was ranked No. 93 in the local San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont list

"We are excited to be among the 5000 fastest growing companies in the United States", said James J. Scherer, CEO of Novawave Technologies. "Our growth clearly demonstrates the interest in very accurate, laser-based sensors and related products."

The 2008 Inc. 5000 list measures revenue growth from 2004 through 2007.  To qualify, companies must be U.S.-based and privately held, independent – not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies – as of December 31, 2007, and have had at least $200,000 in revenue in 2004, and $2 million in 2007. 

July 23, 2008

Matthew Gold of the Technology Inteligence Unit, the science, technology, and innovation analysis arm of the Center for Advanced Defense Studies calls NovaWave Technologies, Inc "Leader in Chemical Sensor Technology" in its technology blog. Gold goes on to say "Clearly, NovaWave has a long-term market lush with opportunities for investment and development. "

You can read the full article here .

May 19, 2008 

The quarterly newsletter of the Missile Defense Agency's Technology Applications program features an article from NovaWave Technologies. It describes a real-time optical-health monitoring system, dubbed a “Canary in a Beam Line,” to fend off damage to laser components before it’s too late.

Based on a Phase II SBIR supporting the Airborne Laser (ABL) program, the system comprises an optical cavity that uses an optical coating very similar to that used in the ABL’s laser. When conditions are such that the cavity begins to deteriorate due to accumulation of contamination, the operator is immediately alerted, fast enough to avoid damage to the primary laser optics. The monitoring system functions on a microsecond timescale, can operate continuously for months at a time, and can detect destructive gases or particulates at parts-per-million to parts-per-billion sensitivity levels.

Read more on the MDA TechUpdate website.

October 22, 2007

Novawave's President and CEO, Dr James Scherer, authored an article in the October 2007 issue of Laser Focus World:

NONLINEAR OPTICS: Quasi-phase-matched DFG lasers for sensing enter the market

Based on an all-fiber-coupled architecture, in which light is launched from solid-state lasers into poled nonlinear media, commercial quasi-phase-matched difference-frequency-generation lasers hit the 3 to 4 µm spectral “sweet spot” for sensing applications.

Read more at Laser Focus World

May 14, 2007

NovaWave Technologies wins DoE Phase I SBIR grant to develop real-time, multispecies greenhouse gas sensor

The Department of Energy (DoE) today selected NovaWave Technologies of Redwood City, California, to develop a compact, low-cost, and highly reliable multispecies trace gas sensor. "Such sensors are presently required for improving our understanding of global climate change, for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions, and for a variety of industrial process control applications. " says CEO and Principal Investigator of the project, Dr. James Scherer. "In particular, highly accurate and robust sensors that are capable of monitoring fluxes and concentrations of multiple trace greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide are needed." Dr. Scherer explained.

The proposed sensor is based on a new, high performance mid-infrared laser source. "This laser will possess many desirable qualities, including high reliability, excellent beam quality, compact size, low power consumption, and room-temperature single-frequency operation at multiple wavelengths." says Dr. Joshua Paul, co-founder of NovaWave Technologies. "This laser will be combined with a rugged, miniaturized gas sampling system to enable long-term measurements of trace gas fluxes and concentrations in field settings."

During this Phase I project, the new, highly efficient, mid-infrared laser source will be constructed and fully characterized. In a next step, the source will be used in conjunction with a compact gas sampling system to demonstrate the fast and accurate determination of atmospherically relevant gas mixtures. Finally, designs for a fully automated multispecies Phase II sensor will be produced.

Dr. H.J. Jost, Director of Environmental Sensing at NovaWave Technologies, adds that the commercial applications of the proposed sensor include trace gas monitoring at AmeriFlux and FLUXNET sites, greenhouse gas monitoring for emissions compliance, hydrocarbon leak detection, and applications in a variety of industrial process control settings.

November 17, 2006

NovaWave Technologies Wins NASA Phase I Grant to Develop Compact, Dual Channel, Mid-IR Laser Spectrometer

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) today announced the selection of a SBIR Phase I proposal by NovaWave Technologies (Redwood City, CA). The proposal seeks to develop a dual channel, compact mid-infrared laser spectrometer for planetary atmosphere exploration. "The device will be capable of measuring trace gases at 3.3 and 4.6 microns without the need for cryogens. By using novel, fiber-coupled, solid state lasers, performance will be improved over traditional tunable diode laser sensors", said the PI of the project, Dr. H.J. Jost. The device could potentially be used for the interrogation of extraterrestrial atmospheres for trace gas species, as well as in the study of Earth's atmosphere. The proposed instrument will have applications in atmospheric chemistry and satellite validation during long duration flights performed on uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAV). "

The sensor platform NovaWave Technologies proposes to develop during Phase I and Phase II has numerous potential applications in trace gas monitoring, pollution monitoring, industrial process control, and medical diagnostics", explains James J. Scherer, President and CEO. "NASA selected this proposal together with 259 others out of 1709 submitted recognizing the cutting edge technology proposed by NovaWave Technologies."