CNS research teams named 2015 R&D 100 Award finalists

 

CNS partners with universities on significant technology advances

Two teams of Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC researchers at the Y-12 National Security Complex are finalists in the 2015 R&D 100 Awards program.

The LISe Thermal Neutron Imager, or LTNI, and a sensor named ChIMES, which is short for Chemical Identification by Magneto-Elastic Sensing, were selected as finalists by a panel of 70 independent judges. The winners will be announced November 13 at the conference in Las Vegas.

LTNI (pronounced litany) was developed through a collaboration with three Tennessee universities—the University of Tennessee, Fisk University, and Vanderbilt University. The imager builds upon a lithium crystal that won an R&D 100 Award in 2013. Applications for the imager include research, diagnostics/medical imaging, law enforcement, and national security.

ChIMES, the other finalist, is an inexpensive, small, and portable chemical sensor with virtually limitless applications, including detection of chemical and biological warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals, explosives, and illegal drugs. The sensor is the product of a three-year collaboration with scientists from the University of Tennessee.

CNS Development Director Randolph Dziendziel said the health of the nuclear security enterprise is dependent on these types of partnerships.

“CNS considers university collaborations essential to the vitality of our future-focused technology,” Dziendziel said. “Collaboration with critical partners like UT helps us to multiply the efforts of our internal staff with a goal of accelerating technology insertion and making a difference in how efficiently we accomplish our mission,”

To learn more about the 2015 R&D 100 Awards and Technology Conference, go to http://www.rd100awards.com/.

 

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