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August 09 Issue - Employee Monthly Magazine
Laboratory researchers win five R&D 100 awards
“Oscars of Invention” recognize 2009’s greatest innovations
Laboratory scientists won five of R&D Magazine’s 2009 R&D 100 Awards, which honor the top 100 proven technological advances of the past year. MagViz, the SIMTECHE CO2 Capture Process, Lasonix, TeraOps Software Radio, and the Artificial Retina Project bring the Laboratory’s R&D 100 awards to 112 since it first entered the competition in 1978.
“The Department of Energy’s national laboratories are incubators of innovation, and I’m proud they are being recognized once again for their remarkable work,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
“Congratulations to our R&D 100 winners, who pushed the frontiers of science to create practical applications that will benefit the nation and the world,” said Laboratory Director Michael Anastasio.
MagViz, a technology that employs ultra-low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to quickly scan even the tiniest amounts of liquids, will enhance passenger safety and, by making airline liquid restrictions obsolete, will speed airport security lines. Michelle Espy of Applied Modern Physics and an interdisciplinary team developed the technology. “MagViz was a huge effort that spanned many organizations across the Laboratory,” Espy said. “We hope that winning this award will help MagViz gain interest from a commercial partner. We think there are many applications for our instrument, ranging from airport security and other industrial applications to low-cost medical imaging instruments.”
Lasonix, a novel process that uses lasers to grow micro- and nanoscale electronics, was developed by James Maxwell of Applied Electromagnetics, and his team. “Winning this award is already bringing visibility to this alternate manufacturing approach and shows how the Laboratory can apply fundamental research to important problems and bring new technologies to fruition for the commercial sector,” said Maxwell, who won a 2008 R&D 100 award for his Laser-Weave™ technology.
The SIMTECHE CO2 Capture Process collects carbon dioxide emitted by fossil fuel power plants and other industrial operations and compresses it. Robert Currier of Physical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy and SIMTECHE Laboratory researchers win five R&D 100 awards “Oscars of Invention” recognize 2009’s greatest innovations worked jointly under a cooperative research and development
agreement to develop the technology. “Our hope is that the award will serve to make more potential commercialization partners aware of the technology and consider it in their pending decisions,” Currier said.
TeraOps Software Radio uses commercial off-the-shelf components to dramatically extend the lifetimes of electronic systems aboard satellites and in space payloads. Mark Dunham of International, Space, and Response and Michael Pigue of Space Instrumentation Systems developed the technology. “Our work is already well known in the industry and nationwide,” Dunham said. “Winning this award is raising our visibility locally and will hopefully lead to Laboratory Directed Research and Development funding.”
The Laboratory shared a fifth award with other national laboratories and private companies for developing the Artificial Retina, a bioelectronic implant that restores useful vision to patients blinded by retinal diseases. John George of Applied Modern Physics, who led the Los Alamos team, said, “My hope is that the R&D 100 award will allow us to pursue our original objective of building a device of at least 1,000 channels. Next-generation systems will lead to a significantly more capable and useful visual prosthetic devices
that will greatly enhance the quality of sight and of life for a much larger population of blind patients.”
— Tatjana K. Rosev
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