The University of Rhode Island (URI) College of Engineering. Photo Credit: 401 Tech Bridge 401 Tech Bridge (Portsmouth, R.I., U.S.) announced on Dec. 15 Rhode Island-based Canapitsit Customs LLC (Bristol), Nautilus Defense (Pawtucket) and TxV Aerospace Composites (Bristol) as the winners of the company’s Materials Innovation Challenge, which connects innovators to academic resources to accelerate the development of advanced composite materials and technologies. 401 Tech Bridge will provide $105,000 ($35,000 per project) to the University of Rhode Island (URI) College of Engineering. Project funding will support collaboration with URI’s Dynamic Photomechanics Laboratory—led by Mechanical, Industrial and Systems Engineering Professor, Arun Shukla and Assistant Professor, Helio Matos—and its Multiscale and Multiphysics Mechanics of Materials Research Laboratory—led by Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sumanta Das—on modeling, research testing and validation projects.