DNA analysis on a chip
Caliper Life Sciences saw the potential for ORNL’s Microfluidic Lab-on-a-chip and licensed the technology in 2002. The success of the technology contributed to Waltham, Mass.-based PerkinElmer Inc.’s decision to buy Caliper in 2011 for $600 million.
The company produces a variety of robust, easy-to-use, miniaturized chips that analyze samples of RNA, DNA, proteins and other compounds down to a few millionths of a liter.
Caliper founders include Mike Ramsey, who was on ORNL’s staff at the time and has since joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina.
Wireless temperature sensors
SensArray long made tools for measuring temperature uniformity in heating silicon computer chips, but there was a problem: Wires from the sensors were getting in the way and potentially altering the measurements.
The solution came from ORNL’s Bob Lauf and Don Bible, who developed technology to transmit the information wirelessly. SensArray licensed their ORNL patent in 2001, and in 2007 the company was purchased by Milpitis, Calif.-based KLA-Tencor.
The company’s Process Probe 1730 allows precise measurements from minus-150 degrees to 300 degrees Celsius.
Where is everybody?
ORNL’s LandScan is the community standard for global population distribution, producing data at 1 kilometer resolution averaged over 24 hours.
This information is especially valuable for Minneapolis-based East View Geospatial, which licensed the technology in 2008. East View Geospatial uses LandScan data to provide geospatial information to clients ranging from the energy, avionics, telecommunications and defense industries to humanitarian organizations and academic institutions.
See also:
- ORNL shares its know-how
- September workshop looks for progress that lasts
- ORNL's national reach
- Technology in the wider economy
- Who is ORNL's next big tech success story?
