Other Awards

One hundred discoveries and innovations from the Department of Energy that have resulted in improvements for American consumers (1977- 2000)

The Energy @ 23 awardees were recognized by a DOE Citizen Judges panel for their top-flight contribution to American consumers. These awardees were selected from the list of 100 scientific and technological innovations nominated for consideration that were developed by DOE between 1977 and the year 2000. The highest ranked innovations demonstrated benefits to the American public, a contribution to U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace and the potential for significant future growth.

Rolling Assisted Biaxially TexturedSubstrates (RABiTS) - 1996
Superconductivity applications such as RABiTS already account for revenues of $3 billion annually. This technology enables the application of a large number of devices which are slated to improve the quality of life, save money and provide significant consumer comforts. Superconductivity today is the basis for a large established industry and will soon influence every aspect of our lives.

The recent discovery of high temperature superconductors in 1986 having much higher operating temperatures has re-energized research efforts around the world to develop new, valuable products that will have a major impact on our way of life well into the 21st century.

The RABiTS technology enables the fabrication of long lengths of flexible, single-crystal-like, high-temperature ceramic superconducting wires with very high current-carrying capabilities. As the manager of the Department of Energy's Superconductivity Programs said, "We now have a new path to the goal we've pursued since the 1986 Nobel Prize-winning discovery - a superconducting wire that can be used in motors, generators, and other energy systems while operating at liquid-nitrogen temperatures." This technology also enables the fabrication of a number of other electomagnetic devices which require near single crystal-like materials for high performance but essentially consisting of polycrystals so that the technology is cost effective.

More than eight patents have been granted and several are pending. Five companies, 3M, Oxford Superconducting Technology, Microcoating Technologies, EURUS Technologies and American Superconductor Corporation are currently working to commercialize this technology.

Future potential applications of high temperatures include applications in the areas of the electric power industry ($12 billion), the medical industry ($18 billion), the transportation industry ($5 billion), and research applications ($9 billion).

Energy @ 23 Award
Lab-on-a-Chip - 1993

Lab-on-a-Chip is a novel technology pioneered at a DOE laboratory over the past decade. Conceptualized in the late 1980s, the first experimental work funded by the DOE in the early 1990s led to seminal patents for what is emerging as a new commercial technology sector. The Laboratory-on-a-Chip is an important consumer discovery due to the potential monumental change it will have on chemical and biochemical experimentation and analysis. Just as the microelectronics industry has brought informational and computational powers to our fingertips, our technology will bring access to chemical information to the man on the street as well as industry.

This technology has broad application including the discovery of new drugs, clinical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, manufacturing process control, and forensics. The DOE patents were licensed to Caliper Technologies, a start-up company that is now publicly traded, in 1995. Caliper's initial focus has been to develop the technology for drug discovery and biotechnology research applications.

Caliper launched the first Lab-on-a-Chip product in Sept 1999, through a joint venture with Hewlett Packard (Agilent). Hewlett Packard has publicly stated that they believe the Lab-on-a-Chip market sector will eventually exceed $1B per year.

The benefits of this technology over previous state of the art include:
Computer controlled automation of chemistry
Reduction of reagent and waste volumes by a factor of 10,000 to 1,000,000
Speed enhancement by a factor of 10 to 100
Increased precision and accuracy
Highly parallel systems for high throughput experimentation
Inexpensive replaceable assay specific microchips

R&D 100 Award

1999
Rolling Assisted Biaxially Textured Substrates (RABiTS?)
Developers: Goyal; Budai; Norton; Specht; Christen; Kroeger; Paranthaman; List; Feenstra; Lee; Beach; Martin; Hatfield; Mathis; Park (post doc); Cui (post doc); Verebelyi (post doc); Williams; Cantoni (post doc); Kerchner; Chirayil (post doc) Metals and Ceramics Division; Solid State Division; and Chemical and Analytical Sciences

1997
Methylated Sol-Gel Sorbent (M-SGS)
Developers: M. E. Sigman and A. B. Dindal; Chemical and Analytical Sciences Division; G. Wachob; Supelco, Inc.

1996
Laboratory-on-a-Chip
Developers: J. M. Ramsey and S. C. Jacobson; Chemical and Analytical Sciences Division

1993
C12EAN OUT Catalyst and Process
Developers: W. L. Griffith, A. L. Compere, and W. P. Huxtable; Chemistry Division; J. M. Googin; Development Division, Y-12 Plant; B. G. Davis; Engineering, Y-12 Plant; Thornton et al.; R&D Solutions; Jerus and Pfenig; United Catalyst

1986
Multi-Mode Ionization Detector (MMID)
Developers; M. V. Buchanan and M. B. Wise; Analytical Chemistry Division

1985
Pulsed Helium Ionization Detector Electronics System (PHIDELS)
Developers: R. A. Todd; Instrumentation and Controls Division R. S. Ramsey; Analytical Chemistry Division

1983
Processes for Silver Recovery from Photographic and Photoreproduction
Developers: F. A. Posey and A. A. Palko; Chemistry Division

1982
Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometer
Developers: J. H. Stewart Jr., J. M. Katzenberger, and B. L. Rosovsky; Analytical Chemistry Division

1980
Process for Uranium Recovery (“DEPA-TOPO Processed Uranium”)
Developers: F. J. Hurst; Chemistry Division; D. J. Crouse; Chemical Technology Division

1977
One Atom Detector
Developers: J. P. Young, Analytical Chemistry Division; G.S. Hurst, M. H. Nayfeh, M. G. Payne, and E. B. Wagner, Health Physics Division

1976
Anaerobic Upflow Packed Bed Bioreactor (“Actifil Anflow Systems”)
Developers: W. L. Griffith and A. L. Compere; Chemistry Division; J M. Googin; Development Division, Y-12 Plant

1967
Radioisotopic Light Source
Developers: H. H. Ross; Analytical Chemistry Division

ORNL research featured in Analytical Chemistry(Anal. Chem. 73(13) (2000) 370A-378A)

The feature article on the subject of 'data mining' examined all articles published in Analytical Chemistry between June 1998 and August 2000 (2,000 total publications)

ORNL was listed as the most prolific single institution with 45 submissions (the University of California was lumped together with LANL and LLNL and had a combined total of 83).

The most prolific author was Mike Ramsey (Laser Spectroscopy and Microinstrumentation Group Leader, CASD) with 19 articles.

Analytical Chemistry is the number one ranking journal in its field in 'Impact Factor' (a measurement of a journal's prominence based on the number of citations per article).

Articles in Energy & Fuels in 2000

Two journal articles published in 2000 by ORNL authors are included among a group of six listed by the editor of the American Chemical Society journal Energy & Fuels that illustrate the quality and impact of papers published in the journal. Principal authors are Jonathan Woodward, Phillip Britt, and A. C. Buchanan, Chemical Sciences Division. The articles and all authors are:

(1) "Enzymatic Hydrogen Production: Conversion of Renewable Resources for Energy Production," by Jonathan Woodward, Kimberley A. Cordray, Robert J. Edmonston, Maria Blanco-Rivera, Susan M. Mattingly, and Barbara R. Evans (BES was a co-sponsor).

(2) "Impact of Restricted Mass Transport on Pyrolysis Pathways for Aryl Ether Containing Lignin Model Compounds," by Phillip F. Britt, A. C. Buchanan III, and Elizabeth A. Malcolm (BES was the sole sponsor).