Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer

Navy Excites Students About Math and Science Through Virginia Demonstration Project
In August 2008, over 90 middle-school students built, programmed and deployed robots on fictional missions to save lives, deliver humanitarian aid, and construct sea bases at the Naval Research: Science and Technology for America's Readiness (NSTAR) Virginia Demonstration Project (VDP) summer camp. The camp was the culmination of a school year project between scientists and engineers at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) and local county school systems. Thousands of students will be engaged in similar scenarios—designed to mimic real engineering challenges—as the program expands nationwide in the future with the support of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering National Defense Education Program.

NASA Langley Space Vehicle Foam Useful for Watercraft, Electronics, Auto Industry, and More
In 1997, a team of scientists working in the Advanced Materials and Processing Branch at NASA Langley Research Center invented a polyimide foam to be used as a candidate for insulation on NASA's space shuttle and future space vehicles. PolyUMAC, Inc., of Hialeah, Florida, a foam manufacturer and supplier, wanted to improve its products and move into new markets that would require more advanced products. After receiving and testing some samples, Juan Miguel Vazquez, one of the firm's owners, wanted to develop a new version—a polyimide foam that would be easier and less expensive to produce in large quantities, as well as one that would have a lower density. In 2002, PolyUMAC licensed the foam.

Energy Savings for Existing Cryogenics Plants
The Ganni Cycle Energy Saving Cryogenic Process yields significant energy savings for existing cryogenics plants supporting research accelerators with few or no additional components. This process and the Jefferson Lab team that developed the process were honored in June 2007 with one of only 17 White House Closing the Circle Awards for environmental stewardship.

This process allows existing cryogenic cooling plants to be reconfigured for more efficient operations and will have the greatest impact in the development of new facilities. The original operational paradigm was much like driving your car with the gas pedal fully depressed and using the brake to control your speed. This new process uses reduced operating pressures when full capacity isn't needed. This allows the cryogenic cooling system to operate efficiently while still meeting the research program's cryogenic needs. At Jefferson Lab, implementation of the Ganni Cycle process has resulted in energy savings of over $33,000 per month in cooling costs and increased the time between compressor maintenance periods from 45,000 hours to 74,000 hours. In addition, this process improves system reliability, availability, stability, and efficiency.

Already, several other research facilities that use cryogenic cooling have incorporated this new process into their operations in order to save energy and money. A collaboration with Brookhaven National Lab that applied portions of the Ganni Cycle to the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) cryogenic system reduced refrigerator electric power consumption by 35%, and at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Lab, optimization of its cryogenic plant led to a 32% reduction in electric power. The promise of this process, both for existing and planned facilities, led to a CRADA with Linde Process Plants, Inc., and the Ganni Cycle has been successfully transferred to industry.