Oak Ridge Today

CNS, UT chemical sensing technology wins R&D 100 Award

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ChIMES CNS and UT RD100

The ChIMES team’s investigators each brought unique expertise to the project. (Photo courtesy CNS)

 

An inexpensive, small, and portable chemical sensor developed by Consolidated Nuclear Security researchers at the Y-12 National Security Complex and the University of Tennessee received a prestigious R&D 100 Award.

ChIMES, which is short for Chemical Identification by Magneto-Elastic Sensing, was selected as a revolutionary technology by a panel of 70 independent judges. This low-cost sensor has virtually limitless applications, including detection of chemical and biological warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals, explosives, and illegal drugs, a press release said.

The sensor is the product of a three-year collaborative effort between CNS and scientists from the University of Tennessee. Y-12 researcher Vincent Lamberti, who managed the project, said: “The R&D 100 award reflects the importance in having strong partners in the advancement of a new technology. ChIMES surely would not have succeeded without the steady stream of innovations that were created in our collaboration with UT.” [Read more…]

ORNL wins six R&D 100 awards

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BAAM-RD100-ORNL-2015

The Big Area Additive Manufacturing-CI system, developed by ORNL and Cincinnati Incorporated, was among ORNL’s six 2015 R&D 100 award winners. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have received six R&D 100 awards, increasing the lab’s total to 193 since the award’s inception in 1963.

The competition, sponsored by R&D Magazine, recognizes advances in the nation’s most impactful technologies and the scientists and engineers who led the effort. This year, ORNL researchers earned awards for the following innovations:

The Big Area Additive Manufacturing-CI system was developed by ORNL researchers and Cincinnati Incorporated. BAAM-CI also received an Editor’s Choice award from R&D Magazine. [Read more…]

CNS research teams named 2015 R&D 100 Award finalists

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LISe Thermal Neutron Imager Sensor Board

The LISe Thermal Neutron Imager sensor board bears the Y‑12 and UT logos. At the center is the lithium crystal that creates the images. The imager is nominated for a 2015 R&D 100 Award. (Photo by Y-12 National Security Complex)

 

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. [Read more…]

Two UT College of Engineering groups finalists for R&D 100 List

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By University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee College of Engineering recently got some good news, as R&D Magazine named two research groups to its list of finalists for the R&D 100.

The joint UT-Y12 Lithium Indium Diselenide Thermal Neutron Imager (LTNI) project includes Assistant Professor Eric Lukosi and Y-12 Joint Assistant Professor Ashley Stowe, both of nuclear engineering, while the joint UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Universal Grid Monitoring and Analyzing System (UGMAS) includes Governor’s Chair Yilu Liu, Research Assistant Professor Yong Liu, and Lingwei Zhan of electrical engineering and computer science.

A panel of judges and editors selected groups for inclusion as nominees based on the magazine’s determination of the most technologically significant products introduced in the past year. [Read more…]

ORNL has 13 finalists for R&D 100 Award

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

Thirteen technologies from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been selected as finalists for R&D 100 Awards, the annual technology prizes given by R&D Magazine. ORNL is lead developer in 10 of the technologies and a partner developer in another three technologies that made the finalist list.

R&D Magazine has changed the format of the annual awards substantially, with a list of finalists announced first. The competition also has new “Market Disruptor” and “Green Tech” categories, and finalists can be listed in those categories as well as the technical categories. ORNL has five Market Disruptor finalists and one Green Tech finalist.

The R&D 100 winners will be announced in November at an event in Las Vegas. Here are the finalists: [Read more…]

Five ORNL scientists rated among world’s most influential

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Ramamoorthy Ramesh

Ramamoorthy Ramesh

Five Oak Ridge National Laboratory physicists, including Deputy for Science and Technology Ramamoorthy Ramesh, have been named by Thomson Reuters as some of the best and brightest of our time.

The list consists of scientists whose work has been most frequently cited by peers as identified by Thomson Reuters platforms. Citation data was divided into two categories—2002-2012 and 2012-2013—with the latter labeled “hot papers,” ranking in the top 0.1 percent by citations in their field. Seventeen researchers earned this distinction while some 3,200 were included in the second section of the ranking with citations ranking in the top 1 percent for their field and year of publication.

Ramesh, who was actually listed in two categories—physics and materials science—was named to his position at ORNL in June 2013 after serving as the Plato Malozemoff Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Physics at the University of California, Berkeley, with a joint appointment as a faculty senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He holds a doctorate in materials science from the University of California, Berkeley, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2011 in recognition of his contributions to the science and technology of functional complex oxide materials. [Read more…]

ORNL wins eight R&D 100s

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Jun Qu ORNL R&D 100 Award

Jun Qu displays a flask of the ionic liquid anti-wear additives for fuel-efficient engine lubricants, one of ORNL’s eight 2104 R&D 100 Award winners. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have received eight R&D 100 awards, presented by R&D Magazine in recognition of the year’s top technological innovations.

“These awards recognize the tremendous value of our national labs,” said Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. “Research and development at the national labs continues to help our nation address its energy challenges and pursue the scientific and technological innovations necessary to remain globally competitive.”

The eight awards bring ORNL’s total of R&D 100 awards to 187 since their inception in 1963. This year, ORNL scientists and engineers received awards for the following technologies: [Read more…]

Y-12 neutron detector wins R&D 100 Award

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Y-12 Neutron Detector

Ashley Stowe, Y‑12 senior development chemist, working with Fisk University, developed a single-crystalline device that will be used in handheld nuclear nonproliferation and homeland security applications. (Submitted photo)

A Y-12 nuclear nonproliferation technology offering significant possibilities in the homeland security field was among those listed on the R&D Magazine 51st Annual R&D 100 Awards. The honor salutes the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace during the past year.

The LISeTM, a high-efficiency thermal neutron detector based on the 6LiInSe2 crystal, is the first large, single-crystal semiconductor of high resistivity that contains lithium and directly detects thermal neutrons with high efficiency. The single-crystalline device will be used in handheld nuclear nonproliferation and homeland security applications to find fissile materials. Its simpler, more compact design, and higher efficiency are key improvements that will appeal to users. [Read more…]

ORNL wins six R&D 100 awards

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Da Vinci Fuel-in-Oil Measurement System

The Da Vinci Fuel-in-Oil Measurement System is among the six Oak Ridge National Laboratory technologies recognized with a 2013 R&D 100 award. (Submitted photo)

Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory have received six R&D 100 awards, presented each year by R&D Magazine in recognition of the year’s most significant technological innovations.

“My sincere congratulations to the winners of this year’s R&D 100 Awards,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “The scientists and engineers who developed these award-winning technologies at the cutting edge facilities across our national labs are keeping Americans at the forefront of the innovation community and assuring our nation’s economic competitiveness and national security.”

The six awards bring ORNL’s total of R&D 100 awards to 179 since their inception in 1963. This year, ORNL scientists and engineers received awards for the following technologies: [Read more…]

Y-12 cleaning technology licensed by local engineering firm

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Y-12 SIMWyPES Cleaning Technology

MK Technologies CEO and founder Mike Carroll and director of strategic development and acquisition Chris Van Beke met Y-12 chemist and inventor Ron Simandl in his Y-12 laboratory to see the SIMWyPES production process along with a sampling of its numerous applications. From left, Simandl shows Van Beke and Carroll two of a variety of items enhanced with SIMWyPES technology. (Submitted photo)

A Knoxville engineering resources firm recently became the newest licensee of technology developed at the Y-12 National Security Complex, a press release said.

MK Technologies Corporation is now the exclusive commercial patent licensee of SIMWyPES, a method of enhancing cleaning items so they leave dry surfaces ultraclean.

The environmentally friendly method of removing contamination on a nanoscale level incorporates a highly effective nontoxic proprietary treatment that transfers no residue to cleaned surfaces. A variety of items including cloths, swabs, polishers, filters, and sponges can be treated. The company plans to start production in 2013.

Y-12 senior chemist Ron Simandl had the lead in inventing this technology, which was originally developed to remove residual amounts of unwanted particulates from dry, solid surfaces. Engineered to permeate the cleaning medium suited to the job at hand, it can be employed to remove submicron particles in a wide range of manufacturing industries in which surface cleanliness and air purification are critical.

The method also has a wide range of household applications, several of which are of particular interest to the licensee. Specific uses around the home include removing brake dust and dry road dirt from alloy wheels, preparing surfaces for painting, filtering air flow, dry-mopping floors, and dusting.

Simandl, a 35-year Y-12 employee, holds 11 U.S. patents. Two of his inventions have won R&D 100 awards, one of which was for this newly licensed technology.

The coveted R&D 100 awards, considered “Oscars of Invention,” are given annually to the world’s top 100 innovations as determined by R&D Magazine. SIMWyPES earned the award in 2008.

Regarding the method’s development, Simandl noted that “the trick was finding the right combination of ingredients.”

MK Technologies CEO and founder Mike Carroll said: “This technology is synergistic with our existing products that improve safety in industrial processes and safely remediate and handle toxic materials. We also plan to use it to create more effective filters for use in medical facilities to help prevent the spread of infection and in public spaces to help contain the spread of diseases or biological agents. We are especially excited about uses that benefit the everyday consumer. This technology will help make personal environments safer and will make cleaning activities more effective. Its versatility is impressive.”