Lura Powell, director of the Advanced Technology Program of the Department of Commerce, will describe her program on Wednesday (April 15) at 9:15 a.m. at Los Alamos National Laboratory's Civilian and Industrial Technologies Program office, 2237 Trinity Drive in Los Alamos. Representatives of regional technology companies are encouraged to attend the public presentation.
During her one-day visit, Powell will also review an array of Los Alamos technologies ranging from metal chemistry to biotechnology.
The ATP is a partnership between government and private industry to accelerate the development of high-risk technologies that promise significant commercial payoffs and widespread benefits for the economy. ATP projects are designed to stimulate joint research ventures that link small suppliers with users. The program also links companies with universities and national laboratories. More than half of ATP awards go to small companies.
"We are very pleased to showcase some Los Alamos innovations and share with our regional technology companies this opportunity to learn firsthand about access to potential federal funds," said Pat Unkefer, leader of the Laboratory's Chemical Technologies for the 21st Century Program.
Research priorities for the ATP are set by industry and awards are made on the basis of rigorous peer-reviewed competitions.
Powell's program does not fund product development directly but makes awards for "enabling technologies" that are necessary for the evolution of new products, processes, and services. The ATP is administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Technology Administration.
Powell, a chemist, spent 23 years with the NIST laboratory research programs. She was chief of the Biotechnology Division at NIST from 1991 to 1995, where she managed programs in DNA technologies, bioprocess engineering, biosensor technology and structural biology.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Washington Group International for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.