ASPIRE/ARCH THE TECHNOLOGY Argonne National Laboratory has developed a method for moving Argonne-developed inventions to private industry, combining systematic invention evaluation (ASPIRE) and a specially created corporation designed to commercialize selected inventions (ARCH). ASPIRE: Argonne inventions are evaluated for technical feasibility and value to industry through a systematic process developed by Argonne's Technology Transfer Center. The process is known as ASPIRE (Argonne System for Patent and Invention Report Evaluation). Every Invention Report filed by Argonne employees is reviewed through this process, and formal recommendations regarding technical feasibility and market considerations are prepared. After a series of concurrence reviews, the recommendations are provided to the ARCH Development Corporation for further evaluation of market potential and commercialization. Inventors are notified which inventions have no commercial interest to ARCH so that they may seek rights to their own inventions if they desire. ARCH: Under the implementation of Public Law 98-620 and a recently revised contract with the U.S. Department of Energy, The University of Chicago, as Argonne's operator, may title to inventions made under federal funding at Argonne (as well as the University). Inventions selected through ASPIRE and acquired by the University are transferred to the Argonne National Laboratory/ The University of Chicago Development Corporation (ARCH), which licenses or otherwise commercializes them. was formed by Argonne and the University in 1985 as an Illinois not-for-profit corporation. Revenues generated by ARCH will be used for operating expenses awards to inventors, and further development of inventions made at Argonne and the University of Chicago. TECHNOLOGY RECIPIENTS The recipients of the ASPIRE/ARCH method are industry, individual inventors, and the Laboratory. USES AND BENEFITS ARCH Since March 1984, when ASPIRE was initiated, about 275 Invention Reports, some stemming from as early as 1981, have been reviewed. In FY 1986 alone, more than 90 Invention Reports were reviewed. were referred to ARCH for further consideration. About 25% of these The ASPIRE/ARCH system is working well. Two technologies--a helium-dilution refrigerator and a toxic gas detector--have been licensed through ARCH, and licensing negotiations related to several other important Argonne inventions are well underway. DOE Argonne National Laboratory THE AFFILIATES PROGRAM: CAPITALIZING ON ARGONNE'S LEAD IN SUPERCONDUCTIVITY THE TECHNOLOGY For 75 years, superconductivity has remained largely a scientific curiosity, achievable only at temperatures near absolute zero. Until recently, applications of superconductivity were limited by the high cost of liquid-helium-based coolant systems. Last year's discovery of new, high-temperature superconducting materials may inaugurate developments that make superconductivity a broadly marketable technology. Argonne is a leader in high-temperature superconductivity, with nearly 100 scientists working on all aspects of superconductivity, from basic research to fabrication to economics. With ARCH Development Corporation, Argonne has established an Affiliates Program in Superconductivity to assist in transferring the results of this critical research to industry. The ARCH/Argonne Affiliates Program is the first to take advantage of world-class scientific expertise and facilities combined with the business acumen of a not-for-profit corporation linked to a prestigious business school. This unique combination will allow Affiliate members the opportunity to establish a strong position in the rapidly developing field of superconductivity. The governing boards of ARCH, Argonne, and the University of Chicago include a number of prominent industrial leaders whose counsel will be invaluable to the Affiliates program. TECHNOLOGY RECIPIENTS Large and small businesses interested in being at the forefront of superconductivity research. USES AND BENEFITS The ARCH/Argonne Affiliates program is designed to provide industry firsthand access to Argonne's cutting-edge research in superconductivity. This close interaction will allow industries to assess the market impact of this new technology and to determine the match between their corporate aims and Argonne's research directions. Close relationships can be established early to facilitate subsequent working arrangements, which can include joint ventures, consortia, or one-on-one cooperative research and development agreements. The Affiliates fee structure has been designed for both large and small businesses. In addition, an Argonne membership has been established for those who wish limited participation in follow-on research. TECHNICAL VOLUNTEERS/INTERGOVERNMENTAL PERSONNEL ACT ASSIGNMENTS THE TECHNOLOGY The Naval Underwater System Center (NUSC) has developed and used extensively two mechanisms to transfer Federal technology to State and local governments and industry. The Center designed and established the first Technical Volunteer Service (TVS) in a Federal laboratory in which NUSC professional staff volunteer their time and technical expertise to provide information and assistance to State and local governments and nonprofit organizations. The Center uses the mobility provisions of the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) of 1970 to initiate personnel exchanges between NUSC and State and local governments and academic institutions. TVS: NUSC personnel design or adapt municipal and intermunicipal communications systems and public address systems in town halls and schools; adapt hydrophones to unusual uses for educational experimental purposes; unscramble evidentiary tape recordings; evaluate computer and energy systems requirements for cities; evaluate the need of the handicapped of all ages and retrofit equipment and develop computer software to meet those needs. IPA: NUSC professional staff have been assigned in technical advisory capacity-building position in State and local governments in the Northeast. Assignments have been diverse both in nature and focus. An assignment to a state municipal league stimulated private industry to approach the municipal market; to a state legislature resulted in translation of scientific data into more informed legislation; to a consortium of six midwestern cities resulted in the acquisition and administration of a cable television franchise, which improved communications among the cities and promoted governmental, educational and public access use of the cable. A NUSC staff member was assigned to the New York City Police Department Motor Transport Division. He designed an automated fuel monitoring system for the Department, wrote the specifications, evaluated bids, supervised the installation, and critiqued it for NYCPD. TECHNOLOGY RECIPIENTS The recipients of the NUSC program are State and local governments, nonprofit organizations serving the handicapped, and industries which can meet the NUSC-identified needs of these organizations. USES AND BENEFITS TVS participants developed computer software which enables young adults suffering from cerebral palsy to improve their fine and gross motor control. The New York City Police Department fuel monitoring system resulted in savings of approximately $2 million in its first year of operation, making the payback time of startup and capital costs less than one year. The system has been expanded city-wide, and replicated in other state and municipalities. Commercial organizations have developed systems to meet the demand. HOT-AIR SOLDER LEVELER A hot-air solder leveler invented at Sandia National Laboratories in the early 1970s revolutionized the fabrication of printed wiring boards. The leveler has cut circuit board processing time by 90 percent and spawned three new industries generating over $150 million annually in sales. In 1969, the new process of reflow soldering needed a method for applying molten solder thicker than was possible with plating or liquid leveling. Early experiments showed feasibility, and the idea was presented by T. A. Allen in 1969 for funding. In 1970-71, implementing of ideas began, and the prototype hot-air leveler was developed. The first paper was presented by Allen in October 1973 at the California Circuits Association in Anaheim. Over 300 inquiries were received, and three companies were licensed to produce the machine. The machine gained wide use in Europe before the United States changed over to the new process. More than ten companies have produced the leveler (eight of them also supplying chemicals) and four specialty companies are hot-air leveling millions of boards annually as a contract service to PC users in 20 "solder station" outlets. Two new machine producers (in Germany and England) offered levelers in 1986, and one in the United States was added in 1987. The process has accommodated the following new PC designs: flex circuits, multiwire, rigid flex, vapor phase soldering, and surface mount components, among others. Modified machines are used for terneplate products. DOE - Sandia National Laboratories LAMINAR AIR FLOW CLEAN ROOM Willis Whitfield, at Sandia National Laboratories, conceived and developed the laminar air flow clean room--the uniform flow of filtered air which removes virtually all airborne contamination. This technological advance created a new U.S. industry, now a $300 million-a-year business. In 1959 Whitfield was asked to investigate the inadequacy of clean rooms to maintain cleanliness levels for Sandia's weapon components, particularly in the production phases. Clean rooms were essentially the same as the ones developed during World War II to assemble gyroscopes and bombsights. High efficiency filters in conventional ventilating systems, constant cleaning of the room to remove contamination, and special clothing for workers were ineffective measures for the assembly of delicate weapon components. In 1961 Whitfield designed the clean room based on an elegantly simple idea: "sweep" the room with a uniform flow of filtered air that removes virtually all the airborne contamination in the room. The design proved so efficient that a large downflow clean room was soon built at Sandia. In January of 1962 the first significant item of technology was publicized in a full-page story in the Lab News, Sandia's employee newspaper, and the news release was issued later that month. Whitfield presented a formal paper on his clean room work in April 1962 to the National Meeting of the Institute of Environmental Sciences in Chicago. Although a number of publications across the country had picked up the story in the early months of 1962, the big payoff came in April when Time magazine ran a story on Sandia's clean room breakthrough. This article quickly brought the new technology to the attention of government and industry, both in the United States and abroad. Industry quickly adopted the laminar clean room design. Whitfield's original 8-by-10-foot prototype was converted by Western Electric into a 20,000-square-foot clean room for the assembly of pushbutton telephones; RCA assembles television picture tubes in a facility of the same size at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The laminar flow concept resulted in an environment 100 times cleaner than conventional clean rooms of the era, and soon became the basis for Federal Standard 209 (Clean Room and Work Station Requirements, Controlled Environment). Laminar flow clean rooms affected a tremendous number and variety of industries, most notably microelectronics fabrication and pharmaceuticals. The clean room concept has also had a major impact on the medical field. Hospital pharmacies use "clean benches" (an adaption of the clean room concept) for mixing machines. Employing the air hood apparatus, also invented by Whitfield, the clean bench applies laminar air flow principles to a limited work area. Penicillin particles in the air had been getting mixed with other drugs and the clean bench put an end to that kind of contamination. In January 1966, the first operating room in the United States to be converted to laminar air flow was at Bataan Memorial Hospital (now Lovelace Medical Center) in Albuquerque. In addition to hospitals, other organizations were affected as well: aerospace contractors, biological and food processing concerns, and more. DOE - Sandia National Laboratories |