Established almost coincident with passage of the SBIR enabling legislations, Touchstone Research Laboratory was an early particpant in the program and continues in that capacity. The firm is described as a product development research facility structured around materials testing, industrial problem-solving and applied research with a focus on development of new materials and products. Touchstone Research staff include those with metallurgical, mechanical, aerospace, electrical, and chemical engineering experience; materials scientists; chemists; physicists; computer scientists; and microbiologists. From early on, the firm made investment in materials characterization equipment, machine shops, microbiological laboratory, foundry, rolling mills, a composite facility and hundreds of pieces of analytical equipment. Touchstone's expertise includes advanced carbons, composite metal laminates, iron alloys, aircraft structures, composites, metal matrix composites, aluminum alloys, exhaust systems, powder metallurgy, biofuels, heat exchangers, ceramics, aluminum, ship structures, coal, carbon, steel and coal gasification
