FLC Awards Archive
— 2001
Awards for Excellence in Technology Transfer
Department
of Energy
Idaho
National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory
High Void-Fraction Multiphase
Flowmeter
There are approximately 1.5 million
natural gas wells worldwide, many of which produce
“wet gas,” a mixed-phase flow of
<5% liquid by volume. Wet gas is one of the
natural gas industry’s most challenging
measurement problems as the liquid phase of
the flow complicates the measurement, rendering
traditional metering devices inaccurate. Yet,
this is an extremely important measurement to
have with accuracy. The liquid-gas composition
of the flow determines the royalties paid to
producers and—most importantly—indicates
how quickly a natural gas reservoir is being
depleted.
Understanding the need for a device
that would effectively wet gas at the well,
James Fincke invented the High Void-Fraction
Flowmeter. The device functions by accelerating
the flow of natural gas through a constriction,
then decelerating it in an expansion area. The
flow rate of both liquid and gas are deduced
from measurements of pressure drop across the
constricted and expanded areas of the device.
In addition, the flowmeter is scalable to meet
the varying temperature, pressure and liquid-gas
composition of any natural gas well.
Several industry partners worked
with INEEL to successfully bring Fincke’s
invention to the marketplace. Conoco, an internationally
recognized energy company, contributed $25,000
worth of equipment to INEEL to support the research
and development of the flowmeter. Perry Equipment
Corporation (PECO), a provider of equipment
and measurement instruments to the oil and gas
industry, entered into a licensing agreement
with the lab to launch the technology. Prior
to the commercial launch of the flowmeter, PECO
sold its metering division to FMC Smith Instruments
but the licensing effort has continued, with
high profile energy companies—including
British Petroleum—using PNNL’s technology
for their natural gas wells.
The High Void-Fraction Multiphase
Flowmeter is a technology that can bring real
economic benefit to natural gas producers, while
providing the first cost-effective means of
managing a precious natural resource. Because
it provides accurate measurement at the site
of the well, this technology makes the sharing
of pipelines—and the reduced environmental
impact and economic benefit that brings—more
financially attractive. These factors ultimately
contribute to improved gas production costs
for operators that could lead to savings for
the consumer.
RSP-Tooling™ Process
for Manufacturing Prototype and Production Tooling
Nearly all the manufactured goods
we use every day require precise, customized
tool steel molds and dies to produce them. New
technology is needed by U.S. manufacturers and
the U.S. tool and die industry to increase competitiveness
in global markets by reducing costs, as well
as lead time in getting products to market.
A technology developed by INEEL’s Dr.
Kevin McHugh, Rapid Solidification Process (RSP)
Tooling™, can lower costs and lead time
by eliminating operations such as machining,
grinding, polishing and heat treatment. In addition,
it can produce tools that last up to 20 percent
longer, thus lowering the cost of replacing
tools that wear out during use.
Dr. McHugh’s technology
involves converting a mold design to a tool
pattern and then spray forming a thick deposit
of tool steel (or other alloy) on the pattern
to accurately capture its shape, surface texture
and detail. The resulting metal block is removed
from the pattern, machined square and used as
an insert in a holding block.
Technology transfer processes
used for RSP-Tooling™ included U.S. and
foreign patents, a cooperative research and
development agreement (CRADA), and a licensing
agreement with Global Metal Technologies, Inc.
(GMTI), an Illinois-based die caster for the
international automotive market and a major
supplier to Ford, GM and Daimler-Chrysler. Under
the licensing agreement, GMTI will use the technology
to develop commercial product equipment for
the tool and die industry.
The commercialization of RSP-Tooling™
will provide the tool and die industry with
an attractive alternative to conventional fabrication
processes, with the potential to revolutionize
tool production in automotive and other industries.
As advanced tool-making equipment becomes available
through RSP-Tooling™, manufacturers will
be able to get new products to market faster
and at less cost, making U.S. industry more
competitive in world markets. This streamlined
process, which blurs the line between prototype
and production tooling, it will be much easier
for designer to try out and perfect new products—dramatically
reducing the cycle time between concept and
commercialization.
Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory
Continuous Glucose Sensor
for Diabetes Patients
Complications of diabetes are
the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure,
and amputations in the U.S. Diabetic patients
must test their blood sugar frequently to avoid
the dangers associated with the extremes of
high and low blood sugar. Current methods of
measuring blood glucose levels, using a fingerstick,
are painful and inconvenient. Many diabetes
patients therefore do not monitor their glucose
as frequently as they should, leading to complications.
A continuous blood glucose sensor, developed
by the Lawrence Livermore team and MiniMed,
Inc. (MMI) of Northridge, California, provides
a more convenient way to measure blood sugar.
The sensor consists of engineered
molecules embedded in a biocompatible polymer
that is placed under the skin. It is illuminated
by the light of a given wavelength from a small,
handheld instrument and the resulting fluorescence
measured by a small detector in the device.
The molecule undergoes fluorescence in the presence
of glucose, with the brightness of the light
corresponding to the current glucose level in
the tissue.
The technology transfer process
between Lawrence Livermore and MMI—one
of the world’s leading manufacturers of
insulin pumps—began in 1995 with a cooperative
research and development agreement (CRADA) and
has continued with a licensing agreement with
the two partners. After additional work and
clinical trials are completed, it is expected
that the Continuous Glucose Sensor will be marketed
on a large scale.
This technology will ultimately
have a great impact on the lives of diabetes
patients—including 16 million in the U.S.
alone. Studies have proven that improvements
in blood sugar control is directly related to
decreased risks for long-term diabetic complications.
By providing a minimally invasive way to continuously
monitor blood glucose levels, in combination
with the use of an insulin pump, even greater
declines in complications and premature death
from diabetes may be achieved.
Oak
Ridge National Laboratory
High-Thermal-Conductivity
(HTC) Graphite Foam
High-Thermal-Conductivity (HTC)
Graphite Foam, developed by a team at ORNL,
is a highly efficient, low-density heat-sink
material. It outperforms traditional materials
such as extruded aluminum heat sinks in electronic
components, metal radiators in cars and trucks,
and carbon-composite thermal radiators in spacecraft.
The successful transfer of this
technology resulted from a cooperative research
and development agreement (CRADA) between ORNL
and Poco Graphite, Inc. of Decatur, Texas. At
the heart of the ORNL-Poco Graphite partnership
is the aggressive protection of intellectual
property, including domestic and international
patents and trademarks. The Department of Energy
has shown great interest in moving HTC Graphite
Foam to the commercial forefront by making the
development of this technology the number one
priority of the Engineering Electronics Technology
Team by the U.S. Council for Automotive Research
(USCAR) consortium for cooling power electronics.
The HTC Graphite Foam Team was the recipient
of the R&D 100 Award last year.
Both economical and environmental
benefits are offered by HTC Graphite Foam. Chemically
inert and able to withstand very high temperatures,
HTC Graphite Foam is manufactured inexpensively
from a petroleum distillation by-product—thus
resulting in an environmentally friendly technology.
A low density material, HTC Graphite Foam sells
for just under $100 per pound, amounting to
pennies for electronic heat sinks and a few
dollars for car radiators. Most importantly,
this technology has the potential to revolutionize
many markets. This material can be used in lightweight
composite engine components, as well as in components
in evaporative cooling and refrigeration equipment,
heat exchangers, capacitors, and a host of other
applications.
Microcantilevers: Versatile
Microscopic Sensors
This ORNL team has successfully
developed microscopic sensors called microcantilevers,
which are hairlike, silicon-based devices that
are at least 1,000 times more sensitive and
smaller than currently used sensors. These microcantilevers,
or “microscopic diving boards,”
project from miniature chips about the size
of a grain of rice. They can detect and measure
relative humidity, temperature, pressure, flow,
viscosity, sound, ultraviolet and infrared radiation,
chemicals, and biomolecules such as DNA, proteins,
and enzymes. Microcantilever sensors are rugged,
reusable, and extremely sensitive, yet they
cost little and consume little power. Another
advantage in using the sensors is that they
work in air, vacuum, or under liquid environments.
The team transferred the microcantilever
sensor technology through a combination of cooperative
research and development agreements (CRADAs)
with two companies—Graviton, Inc. of San
Diego; and Tracer Detection Technology Corporation
of Syosset, New York. In addition, the technology
transfer process was expanded to license the
technologies created by the two partner companies,
but also with a third company, Sarcon Systems
of Knoxville, Tennessee. This effort between
ORNL and its industrial partners is producing
tangible results in terms of creation of capital
and jobs within the U.S. Product development
is helping to create new federally funded research
programs involving miniature field-demonstration
sensors for a variety of needs.
The creation of a new billion-dollar
industry can be traced to the successful transfer
of the microcantilever sensor technology. As
new applications for this technology evolves,
new companies and new jobs will be created.
Established companies will benefit was well
with micromachining and integrated circuit technology
perfected to mass-produce the microcantilever
chips. The microcantilever sensing platform—coupled
with electronic processing and wireless communication—provides
the basis for truly self-configuring sensor
information networks that eliminate the need
for labor intensive and inefficient on-site
testing.
RABiTS™: Substrate
for Second-Generation Superconducting Wire
For the promise of high-temperature
superconductivity to be realized, practical
processes are needed to manufacture useful lengths
of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wires.
The goal is to produce robust, economical, and
scalable processes for making wire that can
carry sufficient current at a high temperature
(such as the temperature of liquid nitrogen).
One such process, developed by the ORNL team,
produces the Rolling-Assisted, Biaxially Textured
Substrate (RABiTS™). Team researchers
found that certain metals could be coated with
superconducting layers if the surface was first
textured properly. The textured surface of RABiTS™
aligns the superconducting layers applied to
it, thus enhancing their performance. The second-generation
HTS wires are less expensive because they are
made from nickel or nickel alloys instead of
silver alloys, and they exhibit unprecedented
electrical performance in strong magnetic fields.
Five U.S. companies teamed with
ORNL to transfer the technology, including Oxford
Superconducting Technology; MicroCoating Technologies,
Inc.; EURUS Technologies, Inc.; 3M Company;
and American Superconductor Corporation. The
vehicles used in the technology transfer process
included cooperative research and development
agreements (CRADAs) and licensing agreements.
The collaboration between ORNL and its commercial
partners led to the creation of a significant
number of jobs, $1 million of privately sponsored
research tied to commercial licensing, accelerated
development of the next generation of HTS wire.
The ORNL team has received other public recognition
for RABiTS™, including an R&D 100
award, a Lockheed Martin NOVA Award, and a U.S.
Department of Energy Office of Science, Division
of Material Sciences Award.
The benefits derived from RABiTS™
are significant and far-reaching. The capabilities
of electrical equipment using this technology
have improved, resulting in highly efficient
motors, compact generators and transformers.
In addition, underground electrical transmission
lines have increased high current capacity.
These improvements will ultimately result in
more cost-efficient energy use, with an annual
savings of $1 billion expected in 20 years.
Polymer Boot Heater
On the production lines at Delphi
Automotive Systems, workers fitted protective
boots over automotive rack-and-pinion steering
assemblies by forcing the boots into place by
hand. Because extended use of this technique
can cause repetitive-motion damage to their
joints, Delphi workers would have to be relieved
every 30 to 60 minutes. In looking for a solution
to this problem, the Saginaw, Michigan-based
company needed to replace its method with one
that would be safe and comfortable for its workers,
as well as being efficient and cost-effective.
Delphi found the answer they needed at ORNL.
The Polymer Boot Heater, developed
by an ORNL team, heats only the tightly fitting
areas of the boots so that they can be installed
without physical exertion. A unique, patented,
infrared-based, selective heating device, the
Polymer Boot Heater rapidly expands the leading
part of the boot for east mounting onto a metal
housing. The heater takes four to six seconds
to expand each boot, so it can meet or exceed
Delphi’s current production rate of 225
to 500 boots fitted per hour.
To transfer this technology, Delphi
collaborated with the ORNL team and Infrared
Technologies, LLC, an Oak Ridge, Tennessee based
company. Delphi and ORNL worked together on
a cooperative research and development agreement
(CRADA) and the resulting patent for the Polymer
Boot Heater is licensed to Infrared Technologies,
which is currently marketing the device.
While the immediate beneficiary
of this technology is Delphi Automotive and
its employees, automotive companies worldwide
can use the Polymer Boot Heater. In addition
to being cost effective, the technology solves
an ergonomic problem of repetitive motion damage
that workers face, improves productivity, produces
high quality results and can safely double production
rates.
Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory
EMSL Publisher—Enabling
Collaboration among Computer Platforms
EMSL Publisher is a powerful word
processing and presentation tool that offers
the ability to run the same software on any
computer platform. It enables users to work
together on complex documents over the Internet
without the usual loss of format or readability
that can occur when a specific type of software
is used on different computer systems. This
technology features discrete components that
software developers an embed into their own
products, eliminating the need to develop a
word processing code themselves and enabling
them to get new products on the market sooner.
When first developed five years
ago by PNNL, this new technology was clearly
ahead of its time and potential users needed
to be convinced of its benefits. Award winner
Christopher Parkinson initiated a marketing
effort that included demonstrating the software
at professional conferences, writing and distributing
a press release, and contacting media, e-commerce
sites and software vendors to generate interest
in the EMSL Publisher. After successfully responding
to 1,000 inquiries about the technology, Parkinson
decided to research other technology transfer
possibilities. As a result of his contacts,
PNNL entered into a licensing agreement with
e-commerce vendor Flashline.com to sell EMSL
Publisher on its web site. Once EMSL Publisher
made its debut on the web site, large software
vendors, including Oracle and Cisco Systems
showed interest and PNNL’s commercialization
efforts increased, resulting in sales within
two months of the EMSL Publisher’s first
appearance on Flashline.com. Presently, additional
license and distribution agreements are in place
with a number of major software vendors, with
the EMSL Publisher being used as the foundation
for new products.
This technology is proving to
be beneficial to individuals who collaborate
and publish on the Internet. Even complex documents
with detailed graphics can be exchanged with
losing its format or readability—a unique
capability not available with other word processors.
With EMSL Publisher, compatibility problems
between networks are overcome because diverse
operating platforms, such as Macintosh, UNIX,
and PC, are linked, rather than separate networks,
making it possible to have efficient word processing
over the Internet as before.
Multi-Blade Knife Failure
Detector for Food Processing
The French fry is one of the world’s
most popular foods. Americans alone consume
more than 15 billion pounds yearly, according
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Improvements
in fry processing technology that increase output
and minimize losses are essential to profitability
and dominance in a highly competitive market
that operates on large volumes and small profit
margins. When a cutting knife failure goes undetected,
40 tons of prime potatoes are reduced to truckloads
of defective strips in just one hour. The manufacturer
must often pay to have these strips removed
for animal feed, as well as handle in an environmentally
compliant manner the potato sludge created.
The PNNL team solved this problem by developing
and transferring the Multi-Blade Knife Failure
Detector (KFD) for Food Processing.
Potato processing plants are wet
and noisy, with numerous sources of equipment
vibration and electrical transients. The KFD
overcomes those obstacles through the use of
acoustic emissions and wireless communications
to instantly detect knife failures and signal
blade replacement. The entire process of detection,
alarm and knife replacement signal takes less
than one second. The KFD can also function while
submerged in liquid. Moreover, the device’s
PC-based software permits it to be tailored
to specific plant environments and product properties.
PNNL worked with two industry
partners to transfer the technology: Lamb-Weston,
Inc. of Reston, Washington and Delta Computer
Systems, Inc. of Vancouver, Washington. Lamb-Weston
developed a preliminary concept design for the
device and brought it to the attention of PNNL.
The team collaborated with Lamb-Weston, a food
production company, to bring the device from
the drawing board to functionality through the
Department of Energy’s Technical Assistance
Program, as well as a licensing arrangement.
Delta Computer Systems became involved in the
effort when they were chosen as the vendor that
would manufacture the KFD. The KFD has successfully
been installed in eight of Lamb-Weston’s
11 French fry plants worldwide, giving the company
an edge over its competitors who do not use
the device.
The KFD delivers a competitive
advantage by ensuring high quality, while reducing
costs associated with labor, product loss, and
environmentally compliant waste disposal. Looking
to expand the use of the technology, PNNL is
marketing the technology to other industries
including chemical processing, forest products
and equipment diagnostics.
Radionuclide Detection
Technologies
Since the earliest nuclear tests
in the years following World War II, the world
has been living under the threat of nuclear
attacks. The proactive nuclear testing done
by India and Pakistan three years ago showed
that testing can still escalate international
tensions and possibly result in a nuclear war.
Detection of radionuclides is the only method
to provide absolute proof of a nuclear explosion.
Radionuclide detection technology is so reliable
that the United Nations’ Comprehensive
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) requires a network
of 80 monitoring stations worldwide employing
this technology. Although 15 monitors are already
in place, the continued success of CTBT depends
on the deployment of additional detectors.
Two new identification devices,
developed by the PNNL team, represent a quantum
leap beyond other monitoring devices. The radionuclide
aerosol sampler analyzer (RASA) and the automated
radioxenon sampler analyzer (ARSA) have greater
sensitivity than other detection systems, are
fully autonomous, and give near real-time results.
They can also prove that a nuclear explosion
occurred, which other technologies are unable
to do. The deployment of the PNNL devices will
bring the world into compliance with the CTBT
and permits immediate, highly accurate monitoring
for the treaty.
Because of the urgency behind
creating a network of CTBT monitoring stations,
the PNNL team has vigorously pursued the transfer
of these technologies to make them available
globally. By entering into a partnership with
both the Air Force and DME Corporation of Orlando,
Florida, a manufacturer of safety and diagnostic
equipment, PNNL (under its parent agency, the
Department of Energy) was able to have the technology
produced for national and international sales
within a one-year period. This technology transfer
was unique in that DOE and the Air Force formed
an interagency team to rapidly and successfully
transfer extremely complex, state-of-the-art
instruments to a small business. At present,
there have been two international sales of the
detectors to Germany and South Korea with sales
to other countries pending.
The radionuclide detection technologies
developed by the PNNL team have unique and irreplaceable
roles in reducing the threat of nuclear war.
This will provide as global benefit as evidence
of a country testing nuclear weapons will immediately
trigger an avalanche of international actions,
such as onsite inspections and economic sanctions.
In addition, the detectors will act as a deterrent
for nuclear weapon proliferation because countries
will think twice about detonating nuclear devices,
knowing that there will be international consequences.
Yttrium-90 for Cancer
Treatment
One of the most significant contributions
to nuclear medicine has been the development
of an efficient method for retrieving the medical
isotope yttrium-90 (90Y) as a decay product
of stockpiled strontium-90. This process, developed
by the PNNL team, enables the routine separation
of this valuable medical isotope in the highly
purified form required by the Food and Drug
Administration for use in human clinical trials.
90Y is regarded by nuclear medicine specialists
as the therapeutic isotope of choice for treating
advanced cases of lymphoma, leukemia, and solid
tumors of the brain and other organs. It works
well as a “smart bullet” isotope
when the 90Y is linked to targeting molecules
such as monoclonal antibodies that bind it directly
to the cancer cells where the isotope decays
and emits beta radiation that kills cancer cells
without damaging nearby healthy cells.
After developing and patenting
this technology, the PNNL team successfully
marketed a number of regular customers before
a 15-fold demand for the technology dictated
turning to the private sector. The team transferred
the technology and its licensing to NEN Life
Science Products Inc. of Boston, with NEN producing,
marketing, shipping and selling the isotope.
Currently NEN provides 90Y on a weekly basis
to more than 50 hospitals worldwide for the
treatment of critically ill cancer patients.
This technology stands to benefit
up to 1.3 million new cancer patients in the
U.S., and countless more around the world. Based
on a decade of clinical use, 90Y attached to
cancer targeting molecules has proved to be
more effective than conventional chemotherapy
or external beam radiotherapy in extending the
life span and improving the quality of life
for patients with several types of advanced
cancer. A demonstration of the effectiveness
of 90Y was provided by a clinical trial with
130 Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients conducted
at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Most of these patients had failed to respond
to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy
treatments, but nearly 90 percent showed positive
responses to the highest doses of 90Y labeled
antibodies used in this study.
90Y is not only a successful example
of technology transfer in action, but is proof
that a valuable medical isotope can be extracted
from a byproduct of nuclear weapons production—an
example of the Department of Energy’s
ability to convert nuclear “swords”
into medical “plowshares.”
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