For release: Sept. 13, 2007

Contacts: 
Deb Covey, Associate Director, 515-294-1048
Breehan Gerleman Lucchesi , Public Affairs, 515-294-9750

AMES LABORATORY NAMED OUTSTANDING LABORATORY

Federal Laboratory Consortium recognizes Ames Lab’s technology transfer success

AMES, Iowa— The U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory has been named the Federal Laboratory Consortium’s 2007 Outstanding Laboratory for the Mid-Continent Region.  The Outstanding Laboratory award recognizes Ames Lab for exceptional transfer of technologies to other research organizations and to the private sector.

Ames Laboratory has demonstrated significant success in technology transfer in the form of licensing intellectual property. In fiscal year 2006, Ames Lab, the smallest DOE national laboratory in terms of budget and staff, ranked first in the DOE lab system for licensing income. 

Much of the income is due to the success of lead-free solder invented by senior metallurgist Iver Anderson and his research team.  In 2006, The European Union strictly limited the use of lead in consumer electronics sold in Europe, and given the global nature of the electronics industry, the ban on lead was effectively worldwide.  Since the European ban on lead, Ames Lab’s lead-free solder has played a key role in electronics manufacturing, with over 60 companies licensing the technology.  To date, lead-free solder has generated more than $13 million in royalty income.  Anderson’s work on lead-free solder is funded by the DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials, Science and Engineering Division.

“I congratulate Ames Laboratory on receiving the FLC Outstanding Laboratory Award and for their success in technology transfer,” said Pat Dehmer, the Department of Energy’s Associate Director of Science for Basic Energy Sciences. “Lead-free solder is a great example of the worldwide impact of DOE research.”

Ames Lab also provides research and industrial clients with high-quality specialized materials available only from the Lab’s Materials Preparation Center.  The MPC, a DOE User Facility, is recognized throughout the worldwide research community for its unique capabilities in the preparation, purification, and characterization of rare earth, alkaline-earth, and refractory metal materials.  In fiscal year 2006, the MPC processed more than 145 orders, transferring the Lab’s unique materials technologies to other government laboratories and to many companies.

Debra Covey, associate laboratory director, accepted the Outstanding Laboratory award at the Federal Laboratory Consortium’s Far West and Mid-Continent joint regional meeting on September 12.

“I am thrilled to accept the award on behalf of the Laboratory and our scientists and staff,” said Covey. “This award acknowledges the importance of the cutting edge materials research that is performed at Ames Laboratory and recognizes that the MPC provides an extremely valuable service to not only DOE, but other federal agencies and research organizations worldwide.”

Ames Laboratory, celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2007, is operated for the Department of Energy by Iowa State University. The Lab conducts research into various areas of national concern, including the synthesis and study of new materials, energy resources, high-speed computer design, and environmental cleanup and restoration.

The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) is the nationwide network of federal laboratories that provides the forum to develop strategies and opportunities for linking laboratory mission technologies and expertise with the marketplace.

###

Return to 2007 Press Releases