NexID Receives Grants to Fund Further Development, Commercialization of Biometric 'Liveness Detection'

POTSDAM, N.Y., April 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- NexID Biometrics LLC, whose "liveness detection" technology boosts protection in applications with critical security-authentication needs, today announced it has received a series of funding grants totaling $325,000, including a highly competitive award given to emerging companies in central New York state.

NexID, the first company to offer liveness detection software for fingerprint-sensors on mobile devices, said the grants will fund further research, development and commercialization of additional modes of authentication that go beyond its deep expertise in detecting and mitigating attempts to spoof fingerprint scanners used for authenticating entry to secure locations and systems.

NexID will participate with Clarkson University here and West Virginia University in the joint research into biometric security technology sponsored by the National Science Foundation and gain the right to license technology that results from that research. NexID is a venture "spinout" from both institutions, with several of the company's founders serving on their faculty.

To expand the NSF-funded work at Clarkson and WVU, NexID has received a matching grant of $100,000 from Seaway Private Equity Corporation (SPEC) to develop a commercial liveness-detection application for security systems that scan people's faces and the irises in human eyes.  SPEC provides early stage equity capital funding for companies in St. Lawrence County, N.Y., with significant growth potential.

NexID also received a $150,000 Grant for Growth from the Syracuse-based CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity (CEO), which will be augmented by another matching grant from SPEC in the amount of $75,000.  The CenterState CEO grant to NexID was one of only two organizations awarded from among scores of companies that applied for funding.

"We expect this funding to extend and accelerate our operations through the two to three years it may take before NexID begins to realize royalty revenue from the licensing of our technology in these new areas," said Dr. Stephanie Schuckers, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Clarkson University and CEO of NexID.

Privately held, NexID has operated organically since 2007 by licensing the use of its software to makers of traditional fingerprint-scanning systems to authenticate users at international border crossings and to gain access to laptops, systems and secure locations.  NexID's research into spoofing techniques and liveness detection software raises the effectiveness of fingerprint-scanning systems to over 95 percent.

The introduction of fingerprint scanning in popular smartphones, such as Apple's iPhone 5S with TouchID and Samsung's Galaxy S® 5, has caused the market for scanner-equipped mobile devices – and the need to safeguard them from spoofing -- to explode.  Meanwhile, heightened concerns for security around the world are driving global demand for additional modes of biometric authentication.

"We're proud of the renowned expertise in biometrics and cyber security that Dr. Schuckers and NexID bring to Clarkson," said University President Anthony Collins, Ph. D.  "It's an honor for our institution to be associated so closely with their leadership in this highly specialized area.

"Further, as a member of the Seaway Private Equity Corporation's Board of Directors, I'm pleased to see that NexID, truly a global center of excellence in biometrics technology here in the northern New York region, is receiving matching funds to further leverage this opportunity for growth," Collins said.

About NexID Biometrics
NexID Biometrics is a leading software and technology supplier to the biometric-authentication industry. The company develops and licenses liveness detection software that enables fingerprint-scanning technologies to more accurately, and with greater confidence, authenticate scanned images by mitigating spoof-related risks. The company also provides testing and analysis of fingerprint scanning devices to identify existing vulnerabilities to known spoofing strategies. The company's founders represent some of the world's leading authorities on biometric spoof mitigation and liveness detection.

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SOURCE NexID

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Dynasil's RMD Subsidiary Awarded $4 Million in Technology Development Grants by U.S. Department of Energy

WATERTOWN, Mass., Nov. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Dynasil Corporation of America (NASDAQ: DYSL) today announced that its contract research subsidiary, RMD Inc., has received four grants totaling $4.0 million under the U.S. Department of Energy's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs.

"RMD's world-class research in nuclear detection continues to be on the cutting edge of new technologies," said Peter Sulick, Dynasil's Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President. "Advanced nuclear detection materials are being developed for the Department of Energy to further replace helium-3 in the critical areas of homeland security and nuclear fuel accountability."

"From accounting for the country's nuclear fuel supply to monitoring the 15 million shipping containers that enter the U.S.'s ports every year for illicit nuclear materials, the new Phase II research projects RMD is undertaking through these SBIR/STTR Programs exemplify some of the world's most demanding security and safety needs," said Kanai Shah, Ph. D. President of Dynasil's RMD subsidiary. "Dynasil is proud to partner with the Department of Energy on these initiatives." 

"These Phase II grants capitalize on our technical and scientific capability in the development of scintillation materials and solid state sensors for nuclear detection," Kanai Shah said.  "Our work has significant application in the prevention of terrorist attacks and the safe guarding of nuclear materials, as well as in commercial endeavors such as energy exploration, nuclear power plant safety, medical imaging, basic science research and non-destructive testing."

About Dynasil
Dynasil Corporation of America (NASDAQ: DYSL) develops and manufactures detection and analysis technology, precision instruments and optical components for the homeland security, medical and industrial markets including medical imaging and sensors for non-destructive testing. Dynasil has an impressive and growing portfolio of issued and pending U.S. patents.  The Company is based in Watertown, Massachusetts, with additional operations in MA, MN, NY, NJ and the United Kingdom. More information about the Company is available at www.dynasil.com.

Safe Harbor 
This news release may contain forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements regarding future events and our future results are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections and the beliefs and assumptions of our management.  These forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "intends," "may," "could," "expect," "estimate," "anticipate," "continue" or similar terms, though not all forward-looking statements contain such words.  The actual results of the future events described in such forward looking statements could differ materially from those stated in such forward looking statements due to a number of important factors. These factors that could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated or predicted include, without limitation, our ability to develop and commercialize our products, the size and growth of the potential markets for our products and our ability to serve those markets, the rate and degree of market acceptance of any of our products, general economic conditions, costs and availability of raw materials and management information systems, our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our products, competition, the loss of key management and technical personnel, our ability to obtain timely payment of our invoices to governmental customers, litigation, the effect of governmental regulatory developments, the availability of financing sources, our ability to identify and execute on acquisition opportunities and integrate such acquisitions into our business, and seasonality, as well as the uncertainties set forth in the Company's 2012 Annual Report on Form 10 K, as amended on February 14, 2013, including the risk factors contained in Item 1a, the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed on February 13, 2013, May 15, 2013 and August 12, 2013 and from time to time in the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:
Patty Kehe
Corporate Secretary
Dynasil Corporation of America
Phone: (617) 668-6855
pkehe@dynasil.com

SOURCE Dynasil Corporation of America

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