ERDC researchers awarded Excellence in Technology Transfer

10 June 05--VICKSBURG, MS--Researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, Miss., recently received Excellence in Technology Transfer Awards from the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC).

Dr. Phil Malone, Joe Tom and Dr. Chuck Weiss, all of the ERDC Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL), and Bruce Sabol, ERDC Environmental Laboratory (EL), were presented the awards at the FLC awards ceremony May 4.

The Excellence in Technology Transfer Award is presented to individuals who have successfully transferred federally developed technologies to private industry. The FLC awards are the standard in the technology transfer world, with laboratories from all federal agencies submitting nominations each year. These awards offer special recognition to not only the winning laboratories, but to the parent agency as well.

This year, the Department of Defense received three awards for the Navy and six for the Army, the first time the Army has received six FLC awards. Corps laboratories were last presented FLC awards in 1998.

Malone, Tom and Weiss received awards for the, "Introduction of Bullet Trapping Foamed Concrete for Live-Fire Training Ranges." The GSL team developed, patented and introduced the commercial sector to a foamed fiber-reinforced concrete that can be cast in blocks and panels to capture impacting bullets without producing dangerous ricochets.

The concrete formulation was originally developed for use in Army live-fire training mazes and enclosures for grenade training. The development team modified the concrete's composition to minimize the leaching of lead and other potential pollutants into soil, resulting in a non-hazardous material for disposal purposes. The material is also fireproof. The estimated savings to the Army alone are $180 million per year.

The federal team worked with industry partners through cooperative research and development agreements to market the new material. As a result of this partnership, three patents being issued and the Army was issued the trademark SACON® to promote product identity. In 2004, GSL issued a license to Mississippi Prison Industries Corporation, making SACON® economically available to law enforcement groups across the country.

"The GSL team feels honored that the FLC has bestowed this great award upon us," Weiss said. "This award also recognizes the importance of our industry partners who have been instrumental in bringing this technology to the public sector."

Sabol received an award for developing the, "Submersed Aquatic Vegetation Early Warning System (SAVEWS)," a cost-effective hydroacoustic system to detect and map submersed aquatic vegetation. This patented technology has been licensed and commercialized by BioSonics, Inc., of Seattle, Wash. The system is being marketed under the name EcosSAV in a suite of software designed for use in aquatic habitat and resource assessments.

SAVEWS has made the once costly and labor-intensive exercise of locating and mapping aquatic vegetation much more efficient. With technology like SAVEWS, taxpayers benefit from better management of aquatic resources and the ecological services provided by aquatic habitats and ecosystems. The benefit from this technology will be seen for many years to come.

"I was honored to receive the award and to participate in the conference," Sabol said. "There is a tremendous potential at federal laboratories like ERDC to generate useful and marketable technologies."

The ERDC is the premier research and development facility for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with more than 2,000 employees, $1.2 billion in facilities, and an annual research program approaching $700 million. It conducts research in both military and civil works mission areas for the Department of Defense and the nation.