Inventors Hall of Fame
Established in 2002, the INL "Hall of Fame" provides public recognition and monetary awards based on levels of creativity. So far, five inventors have been recognized for being named on at least 15 U.S. patents, five inventors for having at least 10 patents and 42 for five patents.
To date, INL has inducted 52 inventors into the "Hall of Fame" who have amassed nearly 350 inventions and received $330,000 in recognition as part of their lifetime achievement awards. These special awards are funded from licensing agreements that provide royalty income to the laboratory. Efforts to advance technologies created at INL and license them continue to pay dividends for the inventors and the national laboratory.
Inventor of the Year
The top five finalists for the INL Inventor of the Year are selected based on inventive achievements presented before a selection committee. To be eligible, the finalist has to be a current Battelle Energy Alliance employee for the fiscal year of consideration and named as an inventor on at least one patent issued to the Laboratory. To be selected as a finalist, the selection committee considers any triggering event and impact on society. A triggering event may include any invention, lifetime achievement, licensing or funding achievement, royalties from licensing, awards (e.g. R&D 100 Award), publications, etc. The impact on society aspect takes into account any recognition the inventor has brought to the Laboratory, with particular emphasis to the inventor's contribution in nuclear energy research, energy efficiency research, energy related research, national security research, etc.
The winner receives a plaque and a $10,000 monetary award and is also honored along with the Inventor of the Year from each Battelle site at the Battelle Memorial Institute awards reception held in Columbus, Ohio every Spring. The other four finalists receive a plaque and are recognized at the Honors Banquet.
Technician of the Year
Since 2003, the INL has also recognized the technicians within the laboratory. Through a selection process, the INL honors these INL technicians who have made extraordinary contributions to the development or transfer of new technology in support of the INL mission in research and development.
This award was created to recognize the vital and often overlooked role that technicians play in the success of our programs through their support of research and technical staff. The award honors each individual contributor who was key to the success of an Research and Development project, the development of the Research and Development program, or the development and on-site or commercial deployment of INL-originated technology.
