FEDERAL LABORATORY

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

Fiscal Year 2014

Summary Report to The President and the Congress
Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer

Fiscal Year 2014

Summary Report to the President and the Congress

Prepared by:

National Institute of

Standards and Technology 

U.S. Department of Commerce

October 2016
i 

This page intentionally left blank 
ii

FOREWORD

The Department of Commerce is pleased to submit this Fiscal Year 2014 Technology Transfer 

Summary Report to the President and the Congress. This report illustrates the continuing efforts 

of Federal laboratories to ensure that the Nation’s investment in innovative research is 

transferred from our laboratories to the American people. 

Federal laboratories, through their basic and mission-oriented research and development (R&D) 

investments, have historically been at the forefront of scientific discovery, invention, and 

technological innovation. Technology transfer facilitates the practical application of Federal 

research directly through the transfer of laboratory results and by providing non-federal entities

opportunities to partner with Federal laboratories on innovative research of mutual interest. Over 

the years, new products, services, and the formation of new companies have occurred through 

technology transfer initiatives.

The Presidential Memorandum (PM), Accelerating Technology Transfer and Commercialization 

of Federal Research in Support of High-Growth Businesses, (October 2011)1

 and the 

Administration’s Lab-to-Market initiative2 have emphasized the important role that innovation 

plays in accelerating the development of new industries, products, and services that lead to 

economic growth and job creation. In response to these directives, agencies have engaged in 

efforts to accelerate technology transfer activities, improved and expanded the collection of 

technology transfer metrics, and established performance goals and evaluation methods to 

enhance the efficiency and impact of their technology transfer activities. 

This report fulfills the requirement of Title 15 of the United States 

Code, Section 3710(g) (2), for an annual report summarizing the use of 

technology transfer authorities by Federal agencies. It highlights the 

achievements of Federal technology transfer and includes data on the 

use of specific transfer authorities. Future editions of this report will be 

used to continue to keep the President and the Congress informed of the 

on-going efforts of Federal laboratories to expand our technology 

transfer efforts in partnership with U.S. industry, academic institutions, 

non-profit foundations, and state, local and tribal governments. These 

efforts will continue to play a vital role in building the Nation’s 

economic strength.

Willie E. May

Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology &

Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology 

1 https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/28/presidential-memorandum-accelerating-technologytransfer-and-commerciali 2 https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/03/14/lab-market-accelerating-research-breakthroughs-and-economicgrowth
iii

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Overview of Federal Technology Transfer.................................................................... 1

Federal Technology Transfer Summary...................................................................................... 4

Chapter 2 Agency Performance in FY 2014................................................................................. 30

Department of Agriculture (USDA).......................................................................................... 31

Department of Commerce (DOC)............................................................................................. 40

Department of Defense (DoD) .................................................................................................. 54

Department of Energy (DOE) ................................................................................................... 62

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) .................................................................. 82

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)................................................................................ 91

Department of the Interior (DOI) .............................................................................................. 98

Department of Transportation (DOT) ..................................................................................... 109

Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) ...................................................................................... 121

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)............................................................................... 133

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)...................................................... 143

Chapter 3 Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 152

Appendix A................................................................................................................................. 154

Appendix B................................................................................................................................. 162

Appendix C................................................................................................................................. 168
iv

This page intentionally left blank
1

Chapter 1 Overview of Federal Technology Transfer

Many Federal agencies conduct R&D activities that result in the creation of new technologies. In 

most cases, these technologies are created to support specific needs of an agency’s mission. In 

other cases, they are spontaneous creations of ongoing research. Regardless of how they are 

created, Federal technologies often have significant value that goes beyond an agency’s mission.

It is the role of an agency’s technology transfer office to identify this value and provide the most 

effective means to transfer it outside of the agency.

Federal legislation provides a variety of vehicles through which Federal technologies can be 

transferred.

3 These vehicles facilitate the potential commercialization of inventions, enable the 

use of Federal laboratory facilities by non-Federal entities, and allow for the establishment of 

research partnerships between Federal government laboratories and other entities. This includes 

the processing of patent applications and licenses as well as Cooperative Research Agreements 

(CRADAs) and other mechanisms that convey knowledge, ownership rights, or establish formal 

research agreements. 

Collaborative research is particularly important to the technology transfer process and in many 

ways is fundamental to every agency’s mission. By bringing together thousands of highly 

qualified researchers and world class research facilities, collaborative research between Federal 

and non-Federal organizations greatly enhances research capabilities, core competencies, and 

creativity. This in turn leads to the flow of new ideas, new tools, more efficient techniques, new 

processes and products, and new businesses. Collaborative research also helps agencies attract 

and retain talented scientific personnel through rewards and royalty sharing opportunities.

The Presidential Memorandum (PM), Accelerating Technology Transfer and Commercialization 

of Federal Research in Support of High-Growth Businesses, (October 2011)4 specifically 

addresses the need to improve technology transfer operations in order to better address the needs 

of businesses and, in particular, of small businesses that are especially vulnerable to a slowmoving bureaucratic system.5

 The PM and the more recent Lab-to-Market initiative,6 have led 

agencies to review their operations and propose new ways to improve overall customer 

 3 The primary legislation addressing Federal technology transfer includes the Stevenson-Wydler Technology 

Innovation Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-480), Patent and Trademark Act Amendments of 1980 (P.L. 96-517) (Bayh-Dole 

Act), Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 (P.L. 97-219), Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 

(P.L. 99-502), Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-418), National Competitiveness 

Technology Transfer Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-189), American Technology Preeminence Act of 1991 (P.L. 102-245), 

Small Business Research and Development Enhancement Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-564), National Department of 

Defense Authorization Act for 1994 (P.L. 103-160), National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 

(P.L. 104-113), Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-404), Energy Policy Act of 2005 

(P.L. 109-58), and the America COMPETES Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-69). Numerous other acts indirectly affect 

federal technology transfer activities. 4 https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/28/presidential-memorandum-accelerating-technologytransfer-and-commerciali 5 https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/28/presidential-memorandum-accelerating-technologytransfer-and-commerciali 6 https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/03/14/lab-market-accelerating-research-breakthroughs-and-economicgrowth
2

experience. These improvements include efforts to streamline operations in order to open doors 

to more efficient technology transfer opportunities. Other improvements target the way 

customers interact with the federal system. 

This annual report summarizes the technology transfer activities and transfer vehicles used by 11

Federal agencies that have significant Federal laboratory operations: 7

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Department of Commerce (DOC)

Department of Defense (DoD)

Department of Energy (DOE)

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Department of the Interior (DOI)

Department of Transportation (DOT)

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA)

Each of these agencies has established programs for promoting the transfer and 

commercialization of technologies developed in its R&D laboratories and has provided the data 

contained in this report. The DOC’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 

prepared and organized this report. An electronic version of this report is available at

http://nist.gov/tpo/publications/federal-laboratory-techtransfer-reports.cfm. 

Federal R&D Spending 

Spending on R&D by the Federal government supports a wide variety of agency-specific 

missions, e.g., military objectives, health and human services issues, energy development, space 

exploration, etc. In FY 2014, the total Federal budget for R&D was $130,847 million. Of this, 

$88,870 million (68%) was used to support R&D activities that occurred outside of Federal 

laboratories. This includes funding for grants, cooperative agreements, awards, etc. The 

remainder, $41,977 million (32%) supported R&D activities that occurred inside Federal 

laboratories. This includes $32,514 to support intramural activities and $9,463 million to support

federally funded R&D centers (FFRDCs).8 These funds constitute the amount of Federal funds 

that can be used to support research that creates technologies developed in Federal laboratories

and the accompanying technology transfer activities which are the focus of this report. As 

shown in the table below, the percent of an agency’s budget that was available to support the 

development and transference of Federal technologies varied significantly among agencies.

 7 In this report, the term “Federal laboratory” refers to any laboratory, any federally funded research and 

development center, or any center established under section 7 or section 9 of 15 U.S.C. § 3705 or § 3707 that is 

owned, leased, or otherwise used by a Federal agency and funded by the Federal Government, whether operated by 

the Government or by a contractor. 8 For a list of FFRDCs see http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf06316/
3

Federal Obligations for R&D

By Agency FY 2014 ($ million)

9

(a) Intramural activities cover costs associated with the administration of intramural and extramural programs by Federal 

personnel as well as actual intramural performance.

(b) FFRDC = federally funded research and development center.

In FY 2014, DoD spent the largest amount of funding for intramural activities and FFRDCs, 

$19,663 million (30% of its R&D budget). HHS was second with $6,904 million (22% of its 

R&D budget) and DOE was third with $6,883 million (72% of its R&D budget).

 9 National Science Foundation (NSF), National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Federal 

Funds for Research and Development, Preliminary Results for FY 2014, Table 10.

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf14316/content.cfm?pub_id=4418&id=2

Total R&D Intramural(a) FFRDCs(b)

Intramural 

and 

FFRDCs Percent

All Agencies $130,847 $32,514 $9,463 $41,977 32%

 DoD $65,841 $18,296 $1,367 $19,663 30%

 HHS $31,490 $6,523 $381 $6,904 22%

 DOE $9,604 $906 $5,977 $6,883 72%

 NASA $9,635 $1,458 $1,268 $2,726 28%

 USDA $2,372 $1,514 $0 $1,514 64%

 DOC $1,613 $1,145 $2 $1,147 71%

 Other Agencies $6,718 $540 $254 $794 12%

 DOI $836 $721 $13 $734 88%

 VA $600 $600 $0 $600 100%

 DHS $615 $261 $120 $381 62%

 DOT $973 $286 $81 $367 38%

 EPA $550 $264 $0 $264 48%
4

Federal Technology Transfer Summary

Every Federal agency that conducts R&D to improve the results from its technology transfer and 

commercialization activities is required to prepare and submit an annual report of its technology 

transfer activities as described in 15 U.S.C. § 3710(f). These reports contain details on each 

agency’s technology transfer program as well as agency plans to use technology transfer to 

advance the agency’s mission and to promote U.S. competitiveness.10 The following tables 

summarize Federal technology transfer activities for the five-year period from FY 2010 through 

FY 2014.

11 In addition to data provided by agencies, this report uses selected information

derived from data provided by the National Science Foundation to provide additional details 

about the nature of work conducted.

Federal Invention Disclosures and Patenting

The protection of intellectual property can be vital to attracting the additional investment and 

product development resources necessary for early stage research products to be brought to their 

full commercial potential. Federal laboratory achievements in the areas of invention disclosures 

and patents issued are often cited as metrics of the active management of intellectual assets and 

technical know-how by Federal agencies.

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of invention disclosures reported by Federal 

agencies increased by 7% to 5,103. The number of patent applications filed increased by 30% to 

2,609, and the number of patents issued increased by 32% to 1,931. NASA reported the largest 

number of invention disclosures (1,683) in FY 2014, followed by DOE (1,588) and DoD (963). 

These three agencies accounted for 83% of all invention disclosures reported in this fiscal year.

In FY 2014, DOE reported the largest number of patent applications (1,144) and patents issued 

(693). DoD was second in both categories (916 and 670) and HHS was third (216 and 335). 

These three agencies accounted for 87% of patent applications and 88% of patents issued.

 10 For a list of agency technology transfer reports see http://nist.gov/tpo/publications/agency-technology-transferreports.cfm

11 Technology transfer data are routinely adjusted over time to account for new information resulting from changes 

in reporting procedures, patent decisions, programmatic changes, etc. Throughout this report, data prior to FY 2014 

have been adjusted where necessary, to reflect the most accurate estimates for each year reported.
5
6

Technical Area Summary of U.S. Federal Agency Patents

The chart below uses data from the U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) to illustrate the technical areas 

covered by patents issued to Federal agencies in FY 2014. The chart shows the percentage of 

patents issued to Federal agencies by technology area based on a fractional count of patents.12 In 

FY 2014, the largest number of patents issued involved measurements.

13

USPTO Patents Assigned to Selected U.S. Federal Agencies by Technology Area: FY 2014

Federal Licenses

Licensing of federally developed technologies is one of the primary mechanisms used to create 

incentives for industry to invest the resources necessary to develop and commercialize nascent 

leading-edge technologies. Successful development and commercialization creates benefits to the 

economy and contributes to competitiveness and domestic economic growth. The ability to grant 

licenses to the non-federal sector to develop and commercialize government-owned technologies 

helps protect federally developed innovations, which would not be further developed into 

commercial products or services otherwise. The terms and conditions under which Federal 

intellectual property is licensed vary based upon many factors, including the extent of 

development of the technology, the financial resources needed to further develop the technology 

for consumer use, fields of use, projected market impact, and other factors.

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active licenses reported by Federal 

laboratories increased by 37% to 20,822. Total active licenses include all types of licenses: 

invention licenses, trademark licenses, copyright licenses, etc. The number of new licenses 

 12 In this summary, patents are credited on a fractional-count basis (i.e., for patents with assignees from multiple 

federal agencies, other U.S. institutions, or foreign institutions, each federal agency receives fractional credit on the 

basis of the proportion of its participating institution(s)). Furthermore, fractioning is used at the level of Internal 

Patent Classification (IPC) codes to ensure that the sum of patents across technology areas is equal to the total 

number of patents as each patent can be assigned to more than one technology area. Source: Prepared by ScienceMetrix using USPTO data indexed in LexisNexis (Elsevier). Used with permission. 13 Definitions for all technology areas addressed are included in Appendix B.
7

increased by 363% to 9,908. A significant part of this increase is due to a large number of 

trademark licenses issued by DHS. The number of invention licenses decreased by 3% to 3,956. 

Invention licenses refers to inventions that are patented or could be patented. The number of new 

invention licenses decreased by 25% to 377. The number of income-bearing licenses increased 

by 15.4% to 5,985, and the number of exclusive licenses decreased by 40% to 579. 

DHS reported the largest number of total active licenses, 10,313. All of these licenses were 

trademark licenses. DOE was second with 5,861 licenses and NASA was third with 2,381

licenses. These three agencies accounted for 89% of all licenses reported in FY 2014. 

DOE reported the largest number of invention licenses (1,560), followed by HHS (1,186) and 

USDA (363). Together these three agencies accounted for 79% of invention licenses. 

DOE reported the largest number of income-bearing licenses (4,215), which was significantly 

higher than all other agencies combined. HHS was second (845) followed by USDA (412). 

Together these three agencies accounted for 91% of income-bearing licenses. 

USDA reported the largest number of income-bearing exclusive licenses (299), followed by 

DOE (141) and NASA (66). Together these three agencies accounted for 87% of income-bearing

exclusive licenses. 
8

Federal Income from Federal Licenses

Licensing income includes income received for earned royalties from partners, license issue fees, 

minimum annual royalties, paid-up license fees, and reimbursement for full-cost recovery of 

goods and services provided by the lab to the licensee, including patent costs. Between FY 2010

and FY 2014, income from all licensing increased by 35% to $194.2 million. Income from 

invention licenses increased by 34% to $185.3 million and total earned royalty income increased 

by 27% to $156.1 million. 

HHS accounted for the most licensing income in FY 2014 ($137.2 million) followed by DOE

($37.9 million), and DoD ($10.9 million). Together these three agencies accounted for 96% of 

reported licensing income.
9

Federal Collaborative R&D Relationships

Collaborative R&D relationships between Federal laboratories and non-Federal collaborators are 

widely viewed as an effective and economical means of transferring technology through joint 

research. These relationships create a mutually advantageous leveraging of Federal agency and 

collaborator resources and technical capabilities, as well as provide avenues for both the 

collaborator and the Federal laboratory to gain new competencies and develop new skills. 

One frequently used mechanism for establishing joint research relationships is the Cooperative 

Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). The CRADA is a multifaceted mechanism 

that can be used to address several kinds of partnership needs. A “traditional CRADA” refers to 

formal collaborative R&D agreements between a Federal laboratory and non-federal partners. 

Other special CRADA arrangements are used by Federal agencies to address special purpose 

applications such as material transfer agreements or agreements that facilitate technical 

assistance activities.

In addition to CRADAs, agencies have other specific authorities that also facilitate cooperative 

R&D relationships, such as Space Act Agreements (NASA) or Other Transaction Authorities.
10

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of active CRADAs increased by 10% to 9,180. The 

number of new CRADA agreements increased by 8% to 4,170. The number of traditional 

CRADAs increased by 3% to 4,891 while other collaborative R&D relationships increased by 

32% to 27,182.

In FY 2014, DoD reported the largest number of CRADAs (2,762), followed by DOC (2,359) 

and VA (1,618). DoD reported the largest number of traditional CRADAs (2,281), followed by 

VA (1,618) and HHS (378). USDA reported the largest number of other collaborative R&D 

relationships (17,005), NASA was second (6,058), and DOC was third (3,031).

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

CRADAs, Total Active 8,374 8,240 8,307 8,830 9,180

New CRADAs 3,850 4,125 4,836 4,354 4,170

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 4,772 4,569 4,292 5,258 4,891

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 20,538 25,367 24,717 27,051 27,182
11

Trends in Federal Technology Transfer Activities

Technology transfer activities are not spontaneous events. Inventions typically require years, if 

not decades of research effort before they are disclosed. A review of a patent application may 

take five years or more before the patent is awarded. It may also take several years to license a 

Federal patent or form the collaborative commitment behind a CRADA. To get an understanding 

of how technology transfer activities are performing over time, it is helpful to view the trends in 

key metrics. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to isolate trends from raw data because 

technology transfer metrics fluctuate widely. However, by converting metric values to a 

common scale or index, we can develop a simple tool to illustrate trends. 

Index values are calculated by dividing the value of a metric in a given year (year “t”), by its 

value in a base year (year “i”), and then multiplying by 100. 

IIIIIIIIII VVVVVVVV tt = VVVVVVVV tt

BB BB VVVVVVVV ii

100

The base year chosen for this report is FY 2011, the year of the PM. The index value for each 

metric in the base year would therefore be equal to 100. In the years that follow, index values 

change as the value of the metric in year “t” changes and the value in the base year, “i” remains 

the same. 

For example, to calculate the index value for patents issued in FY 2012, we divide the number of 

patents issued in FY 2012 by the number of patents issued in the base year (FY 2011) and then 

multiply by 100. Using data from the table on page 6 of this report, the index value for patents 

issued in FY 2012 is 154.

IIIIIIIIII VVVVVVVV FFFF2012 = 2,228

1,449 100 = 154

Because the index value of 154 is greater than 100, we can interpret this as a 54% increase in the 

number of patents issued between FY2011 and FY2012. In FY 2013, the index value for patents 

issued is 128 which we can interpret as a 28% increase between FY 2011 and FY 2013. 

We then calculate index values for key metrics (e.g., invention disclosures, patents issued, 

invention licenses, and CRADAs) and plot the values in the chart below. For illustrative 

purposes, we also calculate index values for the Federal Intramural Research Budget using data 

from page 3 of this report. Note that all index values have a value of 100 in the base year, FY 

2011.
12

To show the trend for a given metric, a straight line is positioned in the middle of the plotted 

values for that metric.14 For example, in the chart below, index values for patents issued are 

show in purple and the trend line for patents issued is positioned in the middle of the purple 

points. It is important to note that each trend line is drawn independent of other measures, they 

do not suggest causal relationships, nor do they forecast future trends. A trend line is a simple 

tool that illustrates the general tendency of a measure over a given period of time. 

 14 Trend lines in this report are plotted using Microsoft Excel. 

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Index Value (FY 2011 = 100)

Trends in Federal Technology Transfer Activities (FY 2011 - FY 2014)

● Invention Disclosures (red) ● Patents Issued (purple) 

● Invention Licenses (green) ● Traditionial CRADAs (orange)

● Federal Intramural Research Budget (blue)

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Index Value (FY 2011 = 100)

Trends in Federal Technology Transfer Activities (FY 2011 - FY 2014)

Inventions Disclosures

Federal Intramural Research Budget
13

Trend lines plotted for patents issued, invention licenses, and traditional CRADAs all have a 

positive slope which means that the reporting of these activities, which stem from past and 

present efforts, have been increasing during this period of time. In other words, Federal agencies 

have been promoting the transfer of technologies from Federal laboratories using these transfer 

mechanisms. 

The trend line for invention disclosures is relatively flat indicating the that during this period, the 

reporting of new inventions has been consistent with no significant increases or decreases. The 

trend line for the Federal Intramural Research Budget, which includes the budget for intramural 

programs as well as the budget for FFRDCs, has also been relatively consistent over these years.

Science and Engineering (S&E) Articles

Although intellectual property has traditionally been tracked in terms of the number of patents, 

licenses, and collaborative efforts, most Federal research results are transferred through 

publication of S&E articles. Unfortunately, a uniform tracking system for S&E articles across all 

Federal agencies does not exist; however, data from Thomson Reuters’ Web of Science database 

can provide insight into the nature of S&E articles published by technology area even though not

all articles published by Federal agencies are included in the publications covered by these 

databases. For example, in FY 2014, Thomson Reuters reports that Federal researchers authored 

or coauthored 39,438 articles using a whole-count basis (where each agency gets full credit for 

each article even if the article has co-authors from different agencies). Using additional data 

provided by agencies in their annual reports on technology transfer activities that takes into 

account publications not included in the Thomson Reuters’ database, the number of publications 

increases to 44,378.15 

The Thomson Reuters’ databases provide the additional benefit of identifying publications by 

their science and engineering categories. Using a fractional-count basis, the number of 

publications reported by Thomson Reuters was 16,769 articles. Of this, the greatest number of 

articles address research in Biological Sciences (22%), Medical Sciences (20%), Physics (16%), 

Geosciences (12%), Engineering (11%), and Chemistry (9%).

16

 15 Thomson Reuters’ data was prepared by Science-Metrix under the direction of NSF. 16 Articles are credited on a fractional-count basis (i.e., for articles with collaborating institutions from multiple 

Federal agencies, other U.S. institutions, or foreign institutions, each Federal agency receives fractional credit on the 

basis of the proportion of its participating institution(s)) and are classified by the year they entered the database, 

rather than the year of publication, and are assigned to a Federal agency on the basis of the institutional address(es) 

listed in the article. Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using Thomson Reuters’ Web of Science database. All 

rights reserved. Used with permission.
14

S&E Articles Authored by Selected U.S. Federal Agencies, by S&E Fields: FY 2014

Citations within U.S. Patents

Thomson Reuters’ data also provides insight into the commercial relevance of S&E articles 

authored by Federal researchers through the number of articles cited in U.S. patents. In 2014, 

more than 14,000 articles authored or coauthored by Federal researchers were cited in U.S. 

patents. Of these, the greatest number of articles addressed research in Biological Sciences 

(44%), Medical Sciences (22%), Chemistry (11%), Physics (10%), and Engineering (9%).

Citation of U.S. S&E Articles Authored by Selected U.S. Federal Agencies, in USPTO 

Patents, by S&E Field: FY 2014
15

Small Businesses Involved in Active Traditional CRADAs

The Federal Technology Transfer Act, codified under 15 USC 3710a(c)(4)(A), requires Federal 

agencies to give special consideration to small business firms and consortia involving small 

business firms when establishing CRADAs. The definition as to what qualifies as a small 

business is given by the Small Business Administration and varies by industrial sector. For R&D, 

a business with fewer than 500 employees is considered a small business.

17 For the purpose of 

this study, we use the measure of 500 employees or fewer to classify a company as a small 

business. Unfortunately, owing to various administrative issues, not all agencies are able to

report small business data at the time of the preparation of this report. A partial set of data is 

available for six agencies. This data reveals that out of 5,127 traditional CRADA agreements 

with these agencies, 578 (11%) involve small businesses as participants.

Licenses Granted to Small Businesses

In addition to CRADAs, agencies support small businesses through the licensing of technologies. 

Again, owing to various administrative issues, data from only seven agencies are available at the

time of this report. This data reveals that out of 10,294 active licenses granted by these agencies, 

664 (6%) were issued to small businesses.

 17 See https://www.sba.gov/content/summary-size-standards-industry-sector

Number of Active CRADAs 

Involving Small Businesses 

Total Number of 

Active CRADAs

% Small 

Business

DOC 49 2,359 2%

DOE 241 704 34%

DOT 10 50 20%

EPA 24 129 19%

USDA 102 267 38%

VA 152 1,618 9%

Total 578 5,127 11%
16

Startup Companies Supported

Many federally developed technologies are transferred through the actions of startup companies. 

Companies that have been in existence for five years or less and have spun off federally 

developed technologies or have received critical technical support of their core development 

areas from Federal laboratories provide an effective means of transferring technologies.

Unfortunately, while most agencies have a long history of working with startup companies, few 

have established systematic methods to identify and track the startup companies they nurture. At 

present, preliminary data from five agencies identifies 71 companies that started between the 

years of 2009 and 2014, and have received critical technical support from Federal laboratories.

Technology Transfer Impact Studies

The coordinated efforts of the PM and the Lab-to-Market initiative have proposed a number of 

actions to accelerate and improve the transfer of new technologies from the laboratory to the 

commercial marketplace. With each of these initiatives, Federal agencies have been asked to 

develop and implement plans to monitor and assess the impact of technologies developed in and 

transferred from Federal laboratories. In response, agencies are now engaged in efforts to 

Number of Active Licenses 

Granted to Small 

Businesses

Total Number of 

Active Licenses

% Small 

Business

DOC 7 41 17%

DOE 297 5,861 5%

DOT 1 1 100%

EPA 20 41 49%

HHS 77 1,555 5%

NASA 109 2,381 5%

USDA 153 414 37%

Total 664 10,294 6%

Number of Startups 

Supported

DOC 4

DoD 9

HHS 17

NASA 28

USDA 13

Total 71
17

monitor and analyze the impact of their current and future technology transfer efforts on the 

economy. The economy can refer to specific end users (e.g. licensees, consumers), companies, 

industries, markets, neighborhoods, regions, or the entire globe. The measured impact can 

involve changes in economic measures (such as net benefits, business revenue, business profits, 

personal wages, and/or jobs), physical measures (such as performance or efficiency), or social 

measures (such as training performance, communications, or behavior).

Over the past 40 years, hundreds if not thousands of impact studies have been commissioned by 

Federal agencies. Unfortunately, few of these studies have actually assessed the impact of 

Federal technologies18 or the efficacy of mechanisms used to transfer technologies outside of a 

Federal agency.19 Most federally commissioned impact studies have focused on regulatory 

impacts20 or on the impacts of extramural programs.21 Only a few studies have actually assessed 

the impact of technologies developed in and transferred from Federal laboratories. The following 

examples illustrate the extent to which Federal technology transfer impacts have been assessed to 

date.

DOC

Between 2000 and 2011, DOC commissioned sixteen impact studies for specific technologies 

developed and transferred from NIST.

22 These studies measured impact in terms of net benefits 

received over time. Impact measures include net present value (NPV), which is the value of 

net benefits discounted over time; internal rate of return (IRR), which is the return on the 

investment achieved by the agency (e.g. NIST); social rate of return (SRR), which is the return 

on investment achieved by society; and benefits to cost ratio (BCR), which is the ratio of the 

net present value of benefits to the net present value of costs.23

Results from these studies are summarized in the table below. For thirteen of these studies, the 

SRR values ranged from a low of 27% to a high of 1,056% and had a mean value of 254%. 

However, given the standard deviation is rather large (327%), the median value of 154% is 

more representative of the typical study. In other words, for the technologies included in these 

thirteen studies, society experienced a typical return of 154%. Sixteen studies calculated 

BCRs. The BCR values ranged from a low of 4 to a high of 249 and had a mean value of 46. 

Once again, given the large standard deviation for the sample (69), the median value of 9 is 

 18 Measuring the Impacts of Federal Investments in Research, A Workshop Summary, Committee on Measuring 

Economic and Other Returns on Federal Research Investments, The National Academies, 2011, 

http://www.nap.edu/catalog/13208/measuring-the-impacts-of-federal-investments-in-research-a-workshop

19 The evolving state-of-the-art in technology transfer research: Revisiting the contingent effectiveness model, Barry 

Bozeman, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733314001127 20 https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/inforeg/regpol/circular-a-4_regulatory-impact-analysis-aprimer.pdf

21 See https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/mgmt-gpra/index-gpra 22 See http://nist.gov/tpo/economic-impact-studies.cfm 23 The IRR is often called the private rate of return (PRR) when applied to a single firm and the social rate of return 

(SRR) when applied to the innovator, subsequent imitators, and the users of the technology (i.e., one or more 

industries or even the entire economy). The difference between the two in terms of economic benefits realized is a 

rough measure of the degree of diffusion of the technology beyond the innovator. The SRR is usually the main

metric for government research programs because the impact target is at least the industry level. For additional 

information on how net benefits are measured see http://nist.gov/director/planning/upload/report03-1.pdf
18 

more representative of the typical study. Therefore, for the technologies included in these 

sixteen studies, society received $9 in benefits from every dollar invested by NIST. These 

measures, as well as other impact measures discussed below, can now serve as benchmarks 

against which future measures of impact can be compared.

Summary of NIST Impact Studies

DoD

DoD commissioned several studies to assess technology transfer impacts using a macroeconomic 

approach. Under this approach, a computer program was used to simulate how an economy 

responds to a large number of licenses and CRADAs. A summary of results from three different 

studies are presented in the table below.

In the first study (DoD Licenses Study) researchers estimated the aggregate impact of 602 

license agreements that were in effect during the 2000-2011 period.24 Impact was measured in

terms of economic output (sales), value added (economic growth), employment, income, and tax 

revenues. Based on the model used to estimate impact, the 602 licenses reviewed increased

economy-wide sales by $36.3 billion and value added by $17.4 billion. The model also estimated

that 163,067 jobs were created and this led to an estimated increased labor income by $10.6 

billion. Federal, state, and local tax revenues were estimated to increase by $3.7 billion. 

In another study (DoD Licenses and CRADA Study) researchers simulated the impact of licenses

and CRADAs that were in effect during the 2000-2011 period.25 Using data obtained from 361 

companies, the study estimated that economy-wide sales increased by $2.9 billion and value 

added increased by $1.6 billion. There were 17,818 jobs created that increased labor income by 

$1.0 billion. Federal state and local tax revenues increased by $331 million. 

24 National Economic Impacts from DoD License Agreements with U.S. Industry: 2000-2011, 

http://nist.gov/tpo/publications/upload/National-Economic-Impacts-from-DOD-License-Agreements-2013.pdf. 

This and other economic-impact studies were conducted for DoD by TechLink, a federally funded technology 

transfer center at Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, in collaboration with the Bureau of Business and 

Economic Research (BBER) at the University of Montana, Missoula, Montana. Since 1999, TechLink has served 

as DoD’s principal national “partnership intermediary,” helping to develop technology transfer partnerships 

between DoD’s laboratories and U.S. industry nationwide. TechLink’ s primary focus is helping DoD labs to 

transfer their inventions to U.S. companies through license agreements. TechLink currently brokers or facilitates 

approximately 60% of all DoD license agreements with industry. See: http://techlinkcenter.org/economicimpacts. 25 http://nist.gov/tpo/publications/upload/TechLink_Economic_Impact_Report_2012.pdf

SRR BCR

Number of Studies Reporting 13 16

Min 27% 4

Max 1056% 249

Mean 254% 46

Std Dev 327% 69

Median 154% 9
19

The third study (Navy CRADA and Licenses Study) was commissioned by the U.S. Navy and 

used the same macroeconomic approach to simulate the impact of licenses and CRADAs during 

one year, 2009. This study surveyed 101 organizations that were involved with 103 CRADAs 

and licensing agreements with the U.S. Navy.26 The study estimated that during 2009, these

agreements generated a total output of $545 million; of that, $200 million is associated with the 

direct sales of technology transfer partners and $345 million is associated with resulting 

economic effects that rippled throughout the nation. Employment increased by 2,630 jobs; 670 of 

these jobs were in companies with technology transfer agreements and 1,960 jobs were created

by purchases and household spending. Federal state and local tax revenues increased by $62 

million.

Selected DoD Impact Studies

NASA

Over the past forty years, NASA has used a variety of approaches to measure the impact of 

technologies it develops. More recent studies have systematically analyzed the technologies 

featured in NASA’s annual Spinoff publication.27 In one study, 187 technologies featured in the 

Spinoff magazine between 2007-2010 were examined to measure benefits, due in part or in full, 

to NASA’s influence on the subject company’s product or service.28 This analysis allowed 

NASA to identify a subset of quantitative measures that capture the predominant categories of 

benefits. In some cases, the benefits can be fully attributed to the original NASA technology, 

although in most cases the application of NASA technology is a contributing factor to the 

innovation that ultimately generates the benefits. The five standard categories of quantifiable 

benefits and units of measure identified by this study were jobs created, revenue generated, 

productivity and efficiency improvements, lives saved, and lives improved. The report 

determined that as a result of developing and transferring these technologies, 9,200 new jobs 

were created along with $1.2 billion in revenues and $6.2 billion in productivity and efficiency 

improvements. The report also claimed that 12,000 lives were saved and 86 million lives were 

improved as a result of new ultrasound diagnostics and cardiac therapy devices technologies.

 26 See: http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/studies/t2.pdf 27 See http://spinoff.nasa.gov/ 28 See http://spinoff.nasa.gov/pdf/IAC%202011%20Quantifying%20Spinoff%20Benefits.pdf

DoD 

Licenses 

Study

DoD 

CRADAs and 

Licenses 

Study

Navy 

CRADAs and 

Licenses 

Study

Year(s) covered 2000-2011 2000-2011 2009

Companies Surveyed 483 361 101

Output ($ million) $36,300 $2,935,000 $545

Value added ($ million) $17,400 $1,553,000 n.a

Employment 163,067 17,818 2,630

Labor Income ($ million) $10,600 $1,049,000 n.a

Tax revenue ($ million) $3,700 $331,000 $62
20

NASA Impact Studies

Summary of Quantifiable Benefits Featured in Spinoff (2007-2010)

NIH

In FY 2014, NIH played a pivotal role in the U.S. medical innovation sector by investing $30.4 

billion in R&D, making it the largest source of biomedical research funding in the United 

States.29 In FY 2014, 82% ($24.5 billion) of NIH’s research budget supported the extramural 

activities of more than 300,000 research personnel at more than 2,500 universities and research 

institutions with 11% ($3.4 billion) supporting NIH’s intramural program, which managed the 

largest institution for biomedical science on earth, employing a scientific staff of over 1,200 

principal investigators and 4,000 post-doctoral fellows. 

NIH focuses on basic and early applied research activities which have led to the discovery of 

underlying mechanisms and new therapies for disease. NIH researchers have typically relied on 

publications to transfer discoveries to companies and the broader research community engaged in 

applied research, and in turn, this effort has led to the discovery of new drugs, vaccines and 

devices for the treatment and prevention of diseases. Technology transfer efforts at NIH have 

therefore historically placed a greater emphasis on publications and citations than other more 

typical mechanisms.29 While these continue to play an important role, the advent of technology 

transfer legislation has led the NIH to play a more active role in capturing the value of new 

inventions through patenting and licensing.

In more recent years, technological advances brought about by the biotechnology revolution 

have changed the role of public and private researchers with the ability to transfer basic research 

discoveries more readily to applied and developmental research. Now, NIH’s Intramural 

Research Program (IRP) plays a more direct role in the applied-research phase of drug discovery 

and makes significant contributions to the development of biomedical products.

30

 29 In FY 2014, NIH’s total R&D budget was 96% ($30.4 billion) of the total HHS R&D budget ($31.5 billion). 30 In an effort to enhance its ability to measure the impact of research publications, researchers at NIH have recently 

developed a new metric called the Relative Citation Ratio (RCR). The RCR normalizes a publication’s citation 

numbers across disciplines, so that publications from biomedical fields with different citation rates can be compared. 

It is calculated by dividing the number of citations a paper received by the average number of citations an article 

usually receives in that field. That number is then benchmarked against the median RCR for all NIH-funded papers. 

This allows articles to be assessed on the basis of their relevance in their own field, and highly influential articles 

will be recognized even if they are published in an obscure journal. The development of the RCR metric is still at an 

early stage and needs improvement. If successful, it will be one of the many tools that NIH uses to monitor and 

assess impact. Other developments include tools to measure the impact of intramural publications, content analysis, 

and econometric analysis to assess publication rates.

Estimated 

Impact

Companies 

Reporting

Jobs Created 9,200 75

Revenue Generated $1.2 billion 83

Productivity and Efficiency Improvements $6.2 billion 46

Lives Saved 12,000 20

Lives Improved 86 million 18
21

One way this is happening is by managing the inventions made by IRP researchers, which are 

then patented and licensed to the private sector for commercial development. Examples include 

the first AIDS drugs (antiretrovirals), vaccines against hepatitis and HPV, treatments for cancer, 

and diagnostics for HIV. NIH has also licensed unique biological materials to companies for use 

in commercial products. For example, Synagis® (palivizumab), used for the prevention and 

treatment of a serious lower respiratory tract viral infection in children, traces its beginnings to 

the IRP as a mouse monoclonal antibody against respiratory syncytial that binds itself to the 

virus. NIH inventions cover the spectrum of disease areas, including cancer, infectious diseases, 

neurology, ophthalmology, cardiovascular, nanotechnology, and beyond. 

One of the studies that has attempted to assess the impact of technologies transferred from NIH 

has found that compared to other US public-sector research institutions, NIH inventions have had 

a disproportionately greater impact on the overall number of products produced, drugs granted 

orphan status and drugs granted priority review.31 This study examined 22 new Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA)-approved drugs, vaccines, or new indications for existing drugs that were 

developed over the past 40 years and were the direct result of NIH transferred technologies.

Scientists in six different NIH institutes worked on these discoveries that were eventually 

patented by NIH and licensed to 18 different companies. The licenses were then used to produce

11 new chemical entities, three therapeutic biologics, six vaccines and two in vivo diagnostics 

which were used in the fields of infectious-diseases, oncology, cardiology and immunology. The 

total global net sales in 2010 of drugs from these NIH licenses amounted to $6.9 billion, an 

amount that exceeded NIH’s total intramural R&D budget in FY 2014.

DOE

DOE’s mission is to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing energy, 

environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.

To carry out this mission, DOE maintains several laboratories and research centers throughout 

the country including sixteen government-owned contractor-operated (GOCO) laboratories and 

one government-owned, government-operated (GOGO) laboratory. Contractors operating GOCO 

laboratories include individual universities, university consortia, private companies, and

nonprofits. Despite being operated by non-Federal organizations, GOCO laboratories are 

considered Federal laboratories and, in general, technologies created within and transferred from 

these labs are considered part of the Federal technology transfer effort.

DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has commissioned several

studies to assess the impact of programs operating in DOE’s GOGO and COGO facilities,

including research performed by the Advanced Manufacturing Office, Federal Energy 

Management Program, Geothermal Technologies Office, Fuel Cell Technologies Office, Solar 

Energy Technologies Office, Vehicle Technologies Office, Water Power Program, 

Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office, and Wind Program.32 These studies

 31 “NIH inventions translate into drugs and biologics with high public health impact”, by Sabarni K. Chatterjee and 

Mark L. Rohrbaugh, Nature Biotechnology, volume 32, number 1, January 2014. 

http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v32/n1/full/nbt.2785.html

32 http://energy.gov/eere/analysis/program-evaluation-eere-planned-and-completed-evaluations#fuel The following 

studies are available:
22

provide a rich assessment of program-attributed outcomes, such as energy saved, power plant

capacity, emissions reduction, health benefits, economic performance, and knowledge diffusion.

These studies were commissioned prior to the Administration’s initiatives to assess technology 

transfer impact and are primarily focused on impacts of extramural research done by companies 

collaborating with DOE researchers. The technologies assessed were, for the most part, 

developed outside of DOE laboratories and are not considered part of Federal technology 

transfer activities. However, these studies identify the important role that Federal technologies 

play in the success of these programs and attribute a portion of the assessed benefits to DOE. 

For example, the table below shows results from a 2010 study “Retrospective Benefit-Cost 

Evaluation of DOE Investment in Photovoltaic Energy Systems” that breaks down benefits 

attributed to DOE funding and extramural research.33

 

• Retrospective Benefit-Cost Evaluation of DOE Investments in Photovoltaic Energy Systems, by O'Connor, A., 

R. Loomis, and F. Braun, 2010. http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/05/f22/solar_pv.pdf,

• Benefit-Cost Evaluation of U.S. DOE Investment in Energy Storage Technologies for Hybrid and Electric Cars 

and Trucks, Albert N. Link, Alan C. O'Connor, Troy J. Scott, Sara E. Casey, Ross J. Loomis, J. Lynn Davis 

(RTI International), December 2013. http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/05/f22/2013_bca_vto_edvs.pdf,

• Retrospective Benefit-Cost Evaluation of U.S. DOE Vehicle Combustion Engine R&D Program: Impacts of a 

Cluster of Energy Technologies, by Al Link, 2010. 

http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/05/f22/advanced_combustion_report.pdf,

• Retrospective Benefit-Cost Analysis of U.S. DOE's Geothermal Technologies R&D Program Investments, by 

Gallaher, M., A. Rogozhin and J. Petrusa. August 2010. 

http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/05/f22/geothermal12.01.11_0.pdf, and

• Retrospective Benefit-Cost Evaluation of U.S. DOE Wind Energy R&D Program: Impact of Selected Energy 

Technology Investments, Tom Pelsoci, 2010. http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/05/f22/wind_bc_report10-

14-10.pdf 

33 Retrospective Benefit-Cost Evaluation of DOE Investments in Photovoltaic Energy Systems, by O'Connor, A., R. 

Loomis, and F. Braun, 2010. http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/05/f22/solar_pv.pdf
23

(a) EPA’s Co-Benefits Risk Assessment (COBRA) model is a tool used to estimate the health and economic benefits of air quality 

policies.

Another DOE study which does focus on Federally developed technologies illustrates the 

important role of different types of technology transfer mechanisms. This study assessed the

impact of DOE’s effort to support the development of Polycrystalline Diamond Compact (PDC) 

drill bits. Until the late 1970s, most oil and gas wells were drilled using a device called the rollercone drill bit. In 1977, a new drill bit design, using a synthetic material made of diamond grains,

was invented by General Electric. This Polycrystalline Diamond Compact (PDC) drill bit was 

Quantified 

Benefit 

Minimum 

Attribution to DOE 

Unit of 

Measure 

Economic Benefits 

Net economic benefits $15,024.90 $15,024.90 Million, 2008$

Public rate of return 17%

Net present value at 7% [Base year = 1975] $1,458.90 Million, 2008$ 

Net present value at 3% [Base year = 1975] $5,724.70 Million, 2008$ 

Benefit-to-cost ratio at 7% 1.83

Benefit-to-cost ratio at 3% 3.24

Environmental Health Benefits 

Monetized via COBRA(a) $237.23 $39.80 Million, 2008$ 

Avoided mortality 32.65 5.48 Deaths

Avoided infant mortality 0.07 0.01 Deaths

Avoided chronic bronchitis 21.98 3.69 Cases

Avoided nonfatal heart attacks 51.03 8.57 Attacks

Avoided resp. hospital admissions 7.63 1.28 Admissions

Avoided CDV hospital admissions 15.88 2.67 Admissions

Avoided acute bronchitis 54.87 9.2 Cases

Avoided upper respiratory symptoms 490.69 82.29 Episodes

Avoided lower respiratory symptoms 650.84 109.15 Episodes

Avoided asthma ER visits 29.52 4.99 Visits

Avoided minor restriced activity (MRAD) days 27,036.52 4,535.47 Incidences

Avoided work loss days 685.87 123 Days

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Benefits 

Avoided carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) 6,815,103 1,062,473 Tons

Avoided methane emissions (CH4) 132 21 Tons

Avoided nitrous oxide emissions (N2O) 583 90 Tons

Avoided particulate matter emissions (PM) 1,232 207 Tons

Avoided sulfur dioxide emissions (SO2) 2,634 463 Tons

Avoided ammonia emissions (NH3) 16 3 Tons

Avoided volatile organic compounds emissions (VOCs) 1,090 181 Tons

Energy Security Benefits 

Equivalent avoided petroleum consumption 4,790,478 827,189 Barrels of oil 

equivalent 

Knowledge Benefits 

DOE-attributed patent families in photovoltaics 274 Patent families 

DOE publications in photovoltaics 900 Publications

Percentage of leading U.S. PV company patents linked to DOE 30%

Evaluation of DOE's Investment in Photovoltaic Energy System

Summary Cost-Benefit Analysis Results, 1975-2008
24

superior in design to existing roller-cone drill bits and had the potential to significantly reduce 

the time and cost of drilling wells, especially through hard or rocky materials.34

From the very beginning, DOE played an important role in developing and helping industry 

adopt the new PDC drill bit technology. DOE researchers made significant contributions to 

improving bit design, overcoming performance flaws and limitations, and spurring the 

innovation that resulted in overall market success of PDC drill bits. As part of the effort, DOE’s 

Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) provided numerous field tests and researched fundamental 

studies of rock-cutter interaction and frictional heating of the cutters. This research advanced the 

general understanding of how cutters induce failure in the rock. SNL also analyzed chip 

formation using finite-element modeling in rock using an advanced two-dimensional software

program that they also developed. Other technologies that SNL developed and transferred to 

industry include:

• a wide range of thermal and stress models for a variety of cutter configurations, materials, 

and rock properties;

• analytical procedures for predicting the temperature of PDC cutters over a wide range of 

downhole conditions;

• a variety of single-cutter tests with an advanced milling machine modified to record 

three-axis forces;

• advanced software tools that compares bit designs, and gains detailed information on 

individual cutters so that the bit design could optimally place the cutters to produce 

uniform cutter wear; and

• full-scale bit tests that supported several field tests of experimental and commercial bits. 

In addition to the many reports and test results that were delivered to industry customers, SNL 

researchers published a series of papers that examined the effects of bit design, weight-on bit 

issues, rotary speed, bit bounce, drilling fluids, etc.; all of which helped develop and quantify 

critical design and performance characteristics of the new PDC technology. 

In addition, a CRADA agreement was signed between DOE and four drill bit companies that led 

to full-scale field tests of drill bits using SNL’s Diagnostics-While-Drilling system. These tests 

demonstrated that real time knowledge and control of drilling conditions greatly benefited bit 

performance in hard rock, which is a necessity for PDC applications in geothermal drilling. SNL 

transferred full data sets from these tests to each CRADA partner to support their separate 

developments. All test bits provided valuable information to their respective manufacturers for 

further development of hard-rock PDC bits. As a result of this research, the superior wear 

performance of PDC bits gradually increased and the use of PDC bits now dominates the oil and 

gas drilling industry. 

 34 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Geothermal Technologies Program, 

“Drilling 1976-2006 A History of Geothermal Energy Research and Development in the United States,”

http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/02/f7/geothermal_history_2_drilling_0.pdf
25

In 2010, an impact study was performed to estimate the economic benefits attributed to SNL’s 

efforts to support the development of PDC drill bits.

35 This study found that SNL’s research 

activities between 1980 and 2008, which included publications, CRADAs, software

development, user facilities, etc., generated a net present value of benefits worth between $7.8 

billion to $18.5 billion depending on the discount rate used. The related benefit-to-cost (BCR)

was estimated to be between 295 to one and 451 to one again depending on the discount rate, and 

the IRR for SNL’s investment in PDC drill bit technology project was estimated to be 139%. At 

the time of this study, approximately 60% of worldwide oil and gas well footage was drilled 

using PDC drill bits. By 2015, this estimate had increased to 90%. 

Efforts to Enhance Technology Transfer Outcomes and Entrepreneurship

In addition to individual agency streamlining activities and developing new metrics to quantify 

technology transfer impact, Federal agencies have also been involved in activities that have been 

designed to promote awareness and enhance the effectiveness of technology transfer activities.

The Innovation Corps Program

In 2011, the National Science Foundation (NSF) established the Innovation Corps (I-CorpsTM)36

program to help scientists and engineers focus their attention upon critical business-related issues 

that are fundamental to the commercialization of new and emerging technologies. Originally 

designed to broaden the impact of NSF-funded basic research projects, pilots of this successful 

program have recently been initiated to help other Federal agencies enhance the economic 

impact of their own technology transfer efforts.

Recently, NIH collaborated with NSF to establish a pilot of the I-CorpsTM program. This new 

program was designed to accelerate the development and commercialization of new products and 

services arising from projects supported by currently funded NIH Small Business Innovation 

Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards. The program set up a 

nine-week boot camp in which experienced, business-savvy instructors worked closely with 

teams of researchers to help them explore potential markets for their federally funded 

 35 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, “Retrospective Benefit-Cost Evaluation of 

U.S. DOE Geothermal Technologies R&D Program Investments: Impacts of a Cluster of Energy Technologies” 

August 2010, prepared by Michael Gallaher, Alex Rogozhin, and Jeff Petrusa, RTI International.

http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/05/f22/geothermal12.01.11_0.pdf

36 See http://sbir.cancer.gov/resource/icorps/

Economic 

Return

NPV (3% discount rate) $18.4 billion

NPV (7% discount rate) $7.8 billion

BCR (3% discount rate) 451 to 1

BCR (7% discount rate) 295 to 1

IRR 139%

DOE's PDC Drill Bit R&D (1980-2008) 
26

innovations. Researchers learned how to build scalable business models around new 

technologies, protect intellectual property, and develop regulatory and reimbursement strategies. 

Four NIH institutes participated in the pilot program: the National Cancer Institute; the National 

Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; and 

the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. 

DOE has launched a similar pilot program to accelerate the transfer of innovative clean energy 

technologies from the DOE’s National Laboratories into the commercial marketplace. This 

program, known as Lab-Corps,

37 aims to better train and empower DOE national lab researchers 

to transition their discoveries into high-impact, real world technologies in the private sector. LabCorps, which builds on the I-CorpsTM model, is designed to provide a specialized technology 

accelerator and training curriculum for the national laboratories that enables lab-based teams to 

gain direct market feedback on their technologies and pursue the development of startup 

companies, industry partnerships, licensing agreements, and other business opportunities. Six 

DOE national laboratories have been selected to participate in the Lab-Corps pilot program. Over 

the next year, these labs will assemble, train, and support entrepreneurial teams to identify 

private sector opportunities for commercializing promising sustainable transportation, renewable 

power, and energy efficiency lab technologies. 

Entrepreneur in Residence Programs

Several agencies have established Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) programs that mentor 

technical researchers on the fundamentals of commercializing new technologies. While these 

programs vary across agencies, the common goal is to provide sound entrepreneurial advice from 

experienced business experts to accelerate technology transfer. Topics that are common to these

programs include methods of establishing market values, managing intellectual property rights, 

performing due diligence, fund raising, and requirements for starting a new business.

DOE's EIR initiative was started in 2007 by the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable 

Energy to address long-standing concerns that national laboratory inventions were not being 

sufficiently transferred into the marketplace. By placing venture capital-sponsored entrepreneurs 

at key national laboratories, the program accelerated laboratory technology transfer by enabling 

start-up entrepreneurs to work directly with the laboratories and bridge the gap between leading 

scientific and business talent – conducting technology assessments and proposing business 

structures to commercialize promising technologies. Entrepreneurs worked directly with 

laboratory staff for a hands-on look at various inventions and potentially viable technologies. 

The NIH Office of Technology Transfer began its first EIR program in 2012. The EIRs are 

charged with three key activities: 1) review NIH technologies to assess commercial relevance; 2) 

work with the private sector to facilitate commercialization of the NIH technologies into 

marketable products; and 3) educate scientists on life science product development and 

commercialization. 

 37 See http://energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-new-lab-program-accelerate-commercializationclean-energy
27

USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has seven Technology Transfer Coordinators 

(TTCs) stationed in different geographical areas around the country. Each TTC acts as a type of 

EIR. The TTCs are engaged in numerous activities including planning, administrating, 

coordinating, and evaluating technology transfer activities of their assigned geographic region’s 

research programs in order to effect the optimum transfer of research for development and 

commercialization. They work closely with ARS researchers to select the most beneficial and 

expeditious mechanism(s) for technology transfer on a case-by-case basis. They participate in the 

planning of research programs and preparing material that illustrates ARS research results and 

accomplishments. 

NIST has also initiated an EIR program in cooperation with the Maryland Technology 

Development Corporation. Through this initiative experienced EIRs and NIST researchers come 

together to identify commercial opportunities for technologies emerging from NIST’s 

laboratories. NIST EIRs are not full-time paid positions; rather, they are guest researchers who 

undertake a variety of tasks to identify the commercial value of NIST technologies and mentor 

and educate NIST researchers on career opportunities in technological entrepreneurship. 

Lab-to-Market Initiative

Building on the Administration’s Startup America initiative to promote high-growth 

entrepreneurship, as well as the ongoing implementation of the PM, the Lab-to-Market initiative 

has proposed a number of actions to accelerate and improve the transfer of new technologies 

from the laboratory to the commercial marketplace. Implementation, including the preparation of 

government-wide plans, is being coordinated as a Cross Agency Priority goal under the 

Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization Act (P.L. #111-352).

Developing Human Capital

Research agencies will finalize a government-wide plan to develop the Nation’s human 

capital assets for promoting technology transfer, including:

1. Significantly expanding the number of individuals with private-sector experience in 

technology transfer who serve within the research agencies for limited-term 

fellowships and “Entrepreneur in Residence” engagements; 

2. Establishing clear ethical and policy guidelines that enable and encourage Federal 

researchers to work outside government for limited periods on 

industrial/entrepreneurial detail, as appropriate; and 

3. Providing widespread opportunities for experiential entrepreneurship education 

among both students and investigators who work on federally funded R&D projects, 

including by expanding eligibility for competitive programs such as the NSF 

Innovation Corps across research agencies.

Empowering Effective Collaborations

Research agencies will finalize a government-wide plan to implement new policies that 

further streamline and promote technology transfer collaborations, including:

1. Increasing the priority level of R&D commercialization activities and outcomes at 

Federal laboratories, consistent with agency mission and commercialization strategy, 

including:
28

a. institutionally through Management and Operating contracts with 

government-owned contractor-operated labs; and 

b. individually through the annual performance plans of relevant Federal 

employees, including Senior Executive Service personnel with R&D 

responsibilities, where appropriate;

2. Optimizing technology transfer authorities and best practices across Federal 

laboratories in order to remove barriers to collaboration with external entities, as 

appropriate, including efficient CRADA authorities, updated intellectual property 

policies, effective Laboratory-Directed R&D programs, and relatively low patent fees 

for small businesses and universities; and 

3. Increasing the impact of technology transfer activities by fully utilizing existing 

authority for all research agencies to (a) co-fund joint projects between agencies, and 

(b) leverage charitable gifts to advance R&D commercialization. 

Opening R&D Assets

Research agencies will work with the Federal Laboratory Consortium, the National Technical 

Information Service, and the Presidential Innovation Fellows program to implement a 

national framework for (a) all intellectual property developed by Federal laboratories to be 

easily discovered, reasonably understood, and rapidly licensed by U.S. entrepreneurs and 

innovators, wherever appropriate; and (b) all research agencies to maximize their ability to 

provide U.S. entrepreneurs and innovators with access to federally funded research facilities 

and equipment, where appropriate and consistent with agency mission, including by:

1. Fully including relevant data about both (a) Federal laboratory intellectual property

and (b) R&D facilities, equipment, use policies, and agency contact information in 

the implementation of the Open Data Executive Order (EO 13642) and Open Data 

Policy (OMB Memorandum M-13-13), such that this data is open and machinereadable, available to third parties through application programming interfaces, and 

tagged with concise summaries and other relevant metadata;

2. Dramatically reducing the time, cost, and complexity of executing intellectual 

property licenses, by adopting the most innovative and effective approaches from 

industry, universities, and Federal agencies;

3. Improving agencies’ abilities to (a) transfer excess/surplus property to innovators and 

entrepreneurs, through a combination of effective platforms, policies, and outreach; 

(b) facilitate the use of core facilities, including clarifying policies for partnership 

agreements to access underutilized facilities and use of third-party platforms to 

streamline access; and (c) facilitate direct use of equipment and facilities that are not 

part of core facilities, including authority to provide temporary access on a cost 

recovery basis; and

4. Working with university stakeholders to achieve these outcomes to the maximum 

extent possible for university inventions and facilities as well as Federal laboratory 

inventions and facilities, with an emphasis on the broad-based economic and social 

impact of federally funded R&D.
29

Fueling Small Business Innovation

Research agencies with SBIR and STTR programs will work with the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) and the Presidential Innovation Fellows program to finalize a 

government-wide plan to maximize the economic impact of these programs, consistent with 

the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011 and subsequent SBA policy memoranda, 

including by: 

1. Ensuring that all SBIR/STTR solicitations are open and machine-readable, available 

to third parties in real time through application programming interfaces, and 

discoverable through at least one unified and comprehensive Federal government 

search tool;

2. Streamlining the SBIR/STTR application process for small businesses by allowing 

submissions to multiple agencies based on a common small business profile, reducing 

the time from application to award to below the current cross-agency median, 

allowing small businesses to predictably track the progress of their applications, and 

reducing or eliminating lag time between successful Phase I completion and Phase II 

awards for meritorious applicants, wherever possible;

3. Reducing undue burdens on small businesses during the award performance period, 

wherever appropriate, including by streamlining accounting and reporting 

requirements and allowing flexibility for small businesses to adapt their performance 

benchmarks based on new commercialization pathways discovered during the 

performance period; 

4. Publishing and sharing best practices for Phase III commercialization from all 

agencies on a regular basis, based on relevant commercialization data, and 

encouraging small business awardees to commercialize federally funded R&D; and 

5. Encouraging alignment of SBIR/STTR solicitation topics with the annual 

memorandum from the Director of OMB and the Director of OSTP describing multiagency science and technology priorities.

Evaluating Impact

The Interagency Workgroup on Technology Transfer will finalize a plan to develop and 

report the following R&D commercialization metrics:

1. Building on the implementation of the PM, which includes new metrics tracking 

commercialization outputs (e.g., number of intellectual property licenses, number of 

CRADAs, number of new startups created), developing additional metrics that track 

the goals set forth in this executive actions’ plan, such as reducing the processing 

time required to complete intellectual property licensing agreements, increasing the 

number of federally-funded researchers who receive experiential entrepreneurship 

education, and increasing the percentage of federally funded intellectual property and

facilities that can be discovered through open and machine-readable data; and

2. Working with the research community to develop outcome metrics that capture 

longer-term economic impact (e.g., dollars of follow-on capital attracted, revenue 

generated, jobs created, and new products developed by companies commercializing 

federally funded R&D).
30

Chapter 2 Agency Performance in FY 2014

Each Federal agency prepares and submits an annual report covering data on technology transfer 

as described in 15 USC 3710(f). These reports include details on each agency’s technology 

transfer program and plans to use technology transfer to advance the agency’s mission and 

promote U.S. competitiveness.38

This chapter provides a comparable summary of the content of these 11 Federal agency reports. 

Three main topic areas are addressed: 

• Statistical data on the agency’s technology transfer activity levels for a number of 

measures (e.g., cooperative R&D relationships, invention disclosure and patenting, and 

intellectual property licensing) for the most recently closed fiscal year (FY 2014) and 

several prior years (chiefly, FY 2010-2014); 

• Reported examples of successful downstream outcomes arising from the agency’s 

technology transfer activities, such as new products or improved industrial processes 

available in the marketplace that arise from the transfer and commercialization of 

Federal lab inventions; and 

• Streamlining activities at each agency to lower administrative burden and make 

technology more accessible. 

 38 See http://nist.gov/tpo/publications/agency-technology-transfer-reports.cfm
31

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

President Abraham Lincoln coined the phrase “the People’s Department” acknowledging the role 

of USDA in solving problems that benefits all people every day. Thus, well before the coining of 

the modern day phrase of “technology transfer,” it was the culture of USDA to deliver solutions 

to the people of the United States. Today, USDA broadly defines technology transfer as the 

adoption of research outcomes (i.e., solutions) for public benefit. A seemingly simple statement, 

the process of adoption is complicated, requiring integration of many assets from disparate 

sources in the successful delivery of solutions. “Public benefit” is achieved through many 

mechanisms including public release of information, tools, and solutions (e.g., germplasm, 

plants, and other materials), adoption and enhancement of research outcomes by partners through 

collaborative research, formal CRADAs authorized by the Federal Technology Transfer Act 

(1986), direct federal, state, or local technical assistance, or through licensing of biological 

materials or protected intellectual property directly to not-for-profit entities and for-profit private 

sector firms. Additionally, successful adoption of USDA knowledge and research outcomes 

typically requires complementary assets and services provided by multiple agencies in USDA, 

including agencies that are not primarily engaged in direct research in the physical and life 

science arenas.

Private sector involvement in technology transfer adds the benefits of creating new or expanded 

businesses, jobs, and economic prosperity. Science-based innovations from USDA intramural 

research - often developed through public-private partnerships (PPPs) - create new or improved 

technologies, processes, products, and services that benefit the nation by increasing productivity, 

increasing efficiency (keeping costs low), and enhancing global competitiveness for the U.S. 

agriculture sector. Thus, technology transfer functions are critical to accelerating utility of public 

R & D investments, creating economic activity, and in job creation and sustainable economic 

development.

The ARS has been delegated authority by the Secretary of Agriculture to administer the patent 

program for ARS, and to review CRADAs and administer technology licensing programs for all 

intramural research conducted by USDA. These activities are housed in the Office of 

Technology Transfer.

On October 28, 2011, following a series of reports identifying the status of technology transfer 

from Federal funds and Federal laboratories, the White House issued the PM – “Accelerating 

Technology Transfer and Commercialization of Federal Research in Support of High-Growth 

Businesses.” Issuance of this PM provided an unprecedented opportunity for unifying technology 

transfer across USDA S&T agencies as the mechanism to deliver these outcomes for public 

good. In the USDA’s response to the PM (http://www.nist.gov/tpo/publications/upload/USDATech-Transfer-Plan.pdf), several initiatives were identified to promote technology transfer and 

commercialization. These initiatives will usher in a new era of unprecedented collaboration 

among agencies of USDA to enhance services and opportunities to the customers and 

stakeholders of the USDA. 
32

USDA Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of invention disclosures received decreased by 21%, 

from 149 to 117. The number of patent applications filed has been somewhat volatile over the 

five-year period. The number of patents issued increased by 84% from 45 to 83 in FY 2014. A 

principal reason for the significant increase in the number of issued patents is due to changes in 

the operation of the invention disclosure review committees. These changes have improved the 

quality of the committee discussion, which has led to an improvement in the quality of patent 

applications, as well as more vigorous and successful patent prosecution. 

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

New Inventions Disclosed 149 158 160 191 117

Patent Applications Filed 113 124 122 157 119

Patents Issued 45 49 69 65 83
33

USPTO Patents Assigned to USDA by Technology Area: FY 201439

 39 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using the Web of Science database. All rights reserved. Used with 

permission.
34

USDA Licenses

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active licenses increased by 20% to 414

licenses in FY 2014. New licenses increased by 36% to 30 licenses from a previous 22 in FY 

2010. The number of total active invention licenses increased by 16% to 363 licenses.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Licenses, Total Active 344 358 384 400 414

New Licenses 22 35 34 25 30

Invention Licenses, Total Active 313 322 341 351 363

New Invention Licenses 18 29 28 19 28

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 340 354 379 397 412

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 248 257 277 291 299
35

USDA Income from Licensing

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total income from all active licenses increased by 

35% to $4.9 million in FY 2014. The income from invention licenses increased by 33% to $4.7 

million. Total earned royalty income increased 17% from $3 million in FY 2010 to $3.6 million

in FY 2014.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Total Income, All Active Licenses $3,641 $3,989 $3,806 $4,386 $4,928

Invention Licenses $3,566 $3,855 $3,671 $4,054 $4,733

Total Earned Royalty Income $3,075 $3,137 $3,060 $3,354 $3,611
36

USDA Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active CRADAs decreased by 2% to 267 

agreements. The number of new CRADAs per fiscal year decreased by 35% to 60 new 

agreements in FY 2014. Total active traditional CRADAs decreased by 12% during the five-year 

period, totaling 193 agreements in FY 2014. Other collaborative R&D relationships increased by 

32%, totaling 17,005 relationships in FY 2014.

USDA Efforts to Streamline Technology Transfer Operations

The Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) within the USDA’s ARS put into place two different 

interagency funded agreements to provide technology transfer services (policy advice, agreement 

review, patenting / licensing services, etc.) to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service’s (APHIS) and USDA’s Forest Service. 

273 92 292 102 274 65 259 86 267 219 207 211 211 60 193

12,943

15,837 15,878

17,344 17,005

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

USDA Collaborative R&D Relationships

CRADAs, Total Active New CRADAs

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active Other Collaborative R&D Relationships

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

CRADAs, Total Active 273 292 274 259 267

New CRADAs 92 102 65 86 60

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 219 207 211 211 193

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 12,943 15,837 15,878 17,344 17,005
37

Changes were made to ARS’s National Patent Committee invention disclosure review process to 

more effectively and efficiently utilize limited resources. These changes have improved the 

quality of the committee discussions to determine the most appropriate approach for getting 

research results adopted. Patent protection is only pursued if a patent-license is required to 

transfer the research results.

OTT and the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, who manages the SBIR 

program for USDA, initiated a collaboration where SBIR applicants that need research expertise 

are encouraged to contact ARS for help; ARS encourages its CRADA partners to submit SBIR 

grant proposals.

USDA Downstream Success Stories

Food Environment Atlas

Local officials throughout the country can now easily gauge the characteristics of their food 

environment and target actions that alleviate problems with the availability of healthy food 

options for the people in their counties or State using the Economic Research Service (ERS) 

Food Environment Atlas (http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-environment-atlas.aspx). 

The Atlas maps 211 indicators that contribute to U.S. counties’ and States’ food environments –

from the number of fast food outlets per capita, to average food prices for various products, and 

the rate of diabetes. Because ERS determined the location and derived the characteristics of the 

nation’s food deserts – places where grocery stores do not exist or are not easy to get to --

national, State and local governments can target food access investments so that the 29.7 million 

people with low access (those who live in low-income areas more than 1 mile from a 

supermarket) will have better choices and better health in the future. In FY 2014, ERS released 

an update of the Atlas, with all variables updated to the most recent date at the time (2012 and 

2013). In addition, new variables include Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program (SNAP)

policy variables, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), very low 

household food security, characteristics of farmers’ markets, and State-level obesity rates for 

2012. 

Portable Method for Identifying Harmful Bacteria from Food

Rapid detection of harmful bacteria in food is necessary to prevent foodborne illness and 

safeguard public health. The Bacterial Rapid Detection using Optical Scattering Technology 

(BARDOT) developed by the ARS funded researchers at Purdue University’s Center for Food 

Safety Engineering (CFSE) in West Lafayette, Indiana, is easy to use and allows rapid 

identification of bacteria. A new portable BARDOT instrument was developed by CFSE 

scientists and was evaluated by ARS scientists in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania. The system is able 

to identify known pathogenic bacteria, including pathogenic E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria 

monocytogenes. The pathogen identification capabilities coupled with the portability of this new 

BARDOT instrument have tremendous potential for improving the response to foodborne illness 

outbreaks because the method can travel to the source, thereby reducing the time to detection. 

The utility of the BARDOT system was demonstrated by its ability to detect Salmonella in 

peanut butter within 24 hours with an accuracy of 98%. This is comparable to the current 

USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Service method, which requires about 72 hours. The 
38

patented BARDOT system is licensed and available for use worldwide. Because this method is 

faster and more efficient, it is very likely to be quickly adapted by industry.

New Soil Nitrogen Test Helps to Reduce Fertilizer Applications

Current soil nutrient tests do not account for all sources of plant available nitrogen. Fertilizer 

recommendations based on these tests frequently overestimate application amounts, leading to a 

financial loss for the farmer and an increased environmental impact from the excess amounts. 

Cooperation between ARS scientists in Temple, Texas, and industry has led to the development 

and commercialization of a method to rapidly and inexpensively determine the total plant 

available nitrogen in soils. Since its introduction in September 2010, the new testing method, 

known as the "Haney Soil Health Test," has been adopted by 40 university and commercial soil 

testing laboratories. The estimated nitrogen fertilizer savings realized from reduced application 

recommendations based on analysis of 3,000 soil samples was $2.5 million.

Soil Health Management Systems Increase Soil Productivity and Resilience

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been a leading advocate in 

promoting increased awareness of soil health on agricultural lands and facilitating the adoption 

of soil health management systems by its clients and partners. With the role out of the “Unlock 

the Secrets of the Soil” campaign in the fall of 2012, farmers and ranchers across the country 

have responded with great interest, seeking ways to implement the soil health planning principles 

that NRCS is promoting. Farmers are contributing their ingenuity and innovation as they adapt 

information and technology for soil health management systems, with the help of NRCS 

technical assistance, to fit into their varied cropping systems. As producers adjust their 

management systems to include more soil and crop management practice and activities that add 

diversity, minimize soil disturbance, keep living roots growing and maintain residue cover, many 

are reporting decreased vulnerability to extreme rainfall and drought episodes, and higher quality 

and quantity of production. NRCS remains committed to leading the effort to provide precise 

science-based, effective assistance and leadership for the land users to increase their soils’ 

sustained productivity and contributions to critical ecosystem services such as water quality, air 

quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, and food security. 

Release of the Newest Version of the Free Mobile Forestry Software, i-Tree 2014

The Forest Service is making it easier than ever for homeowners and urban planners to discover 

the economic and ecological value of their trees, with the release of the free mobile software tool 

i-Tree 2014. Since it was first released in 2006, the free tools found in the i-Tree suite have made 

it possible for communities, non-profit organizations, consultants and students to analyze 

individual trees, parcels, neighborhoods, cities and entire states. The software has also become a 

global ambassador for the Forest Service – the world’s largest forest research organization –

where it is put to work in more than 100 countries. In 2014, two of i-Tree’s most popular tools, 

Design and Canopy, were expanded with new features and another tool, Hydro, has been 

redesigned. i-Tree Design allows users to evaluate the benefits of a single tree or multiple trees 

using Google Maps. Design currently allows users to identify location, species and size of trees 

on the property and get a snapshot of how that tree is benefiting the homeowner today. In the 

new version, Design also allows homeowners to estimate not only current benefits, but also 

potential future benefits and the benefits they have received over the life of the tree. These 

benefits include energy savings, pollution removal and rainfall interception. One of i-Tree’s most 
39

popular tools, Canopy, is used in many countries to create quick estimates of tree canopy cover. 

In the 2014 version, Canopy includes estimates of ecosystem services and values related to 

carbon sequestration and storage, and pollution removal. Hydro, one of i-Tree’s most 

sophisticated tools, estimates tree impacts on stream flow and water quality. Receiving a 

thorough make-over in the new version, the tool was made more user-friendly and its capabilities 

were broadened from only watershed level analyses to city scale analyses. Users will also be able 

to produce new reports and an executive summary of hydrologic results. The Northern Research 

Station of the Forest Service, Davey Tree Expert Company, the National Arbor Day Foundation, 

the Society of Municipal Arborists, the International Society of Arboriculture, and Casey Trees 

established a cooperative partnership to further develop, disseminate and provide technical 

support for the i-Tree suite.

Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Uses Science-Based Food Safety Information to 

Educate Consumers

FSIS plans, coordinates, conducts, and updates consumer food safety education campaigns and

related outreach activities. Key components of FSIS’ consumer educational program operation

include the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline, the USDA Food Safety Discovery Zone traveling 

exhibit, and the FSIS web-based virtual representative initiative "Ask Karen”. Social media also 

is an integral part of the agency’s educational outreach. The Agency uses YouTube, Twitter, and 

Facebook, to communicate to customers, stakeholders and consumers throughout the year. The 

@USDAFoodSafety Twitter account saw significant growth this year due to a new effort to 

communicate on non-traditional topics. FSIS amplified our food safety message using pop 

culture events like the premier of Sharknado 2 and National Cheeseburger Day to engage 

audiences in discussion about those topics. The FoodSafety.gov Facebook account also 

experienced a surge in growth this year through the complimentary advertising donated by the 

Ad Council. Because of this campaign, the account gained 80,000 more ‘likes’, and the page 

reached more than 6 million views this year.

Functional Analysis of the Potato Aphid Transcriptome

University of California, Riverside scientists with support from National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative have undertaken a functional analysis of 

the potato aphid transcriptome. Plant resistance is the paramount method for controlling pests 

and pathogens as pesticides are harmful to the environment. It is clear that gene-mediated 

defenses in plants profoundly affect microbial pathogen survival and alter feeding behavior and 

survival of piercing-sucking insects. However, the precise effects of plant defenses on these 

microbes and insect pests are not well understood. UC Riverside researchers achieved several 

impacts: 1) Developed potato aphid transcript sequence resources which are now accessible to 

the scientific community at public universities and in private industry. In addition, they produced 

de novo assembly programs to assemble the transcriptomes of several insects including the 

potato aphid, a devastating pest of potato and tomato. This program is now being utilized by 

researchers to assemble the transcriptome of any organism. In addition, they produced a highthroughput gene silencing approach for piercing-sucking insects to understand the functions of 

specific genes. As a result, a powerful tool has greatly impacted the research community (in 

universities and private industry) and has established the foundation for novel technologies to 

engineer novel plant defense genes into crops.
40

Department of Commerce (DOC)

Technology transfer plays an important role in DOC’s mission to promote job creation, 

economic growth, sustainable development, and improved standards of living for all Americans. 

DOC works in partnership with businesses, universities, state, tribal and local governments, and 

communities to promote innovation and improve the nation’s overall competitiveness in the 

global economy. DOC pursues these objectives through policies and programs directed at 

strengthening the nation’s economic infrastructure, facilitating the development of cutting-edge 

science and technology, providing critical scientific information and data, and managing national 

resources. 

DOC conducts R&D in areas of science and technology at the laboratory facilities of NIST, the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National 

Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)’s Institute for Telecommunication 

Sciences (ITS). Technology transfer, which is a key part of the programmatic activities in these 

laboratories, connects technological advances of DOC’s science and engineering programs to the 

American economy.

In addition to the technology transfer efforts of DOC laboratories, DOC is responsible for 

coordinating technology transfer activities across federal agencies. DOC coordinates the 

Interagency Workgroup for Technology Transfer (IAWGTT) through NIST, which facilitates

interagency discussion on policy, new approaches to technology transfer, and lessons learned 

from agency technology transfer programs. 40 NIST also serves as the host agency for the Federal 

Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC), which is a nationwide network of 

federal laboratories that provides a forum to develop strategies and opportunities for linking 

laboratory mission technologies and expertise with the marketplace. 

DOC’s role in coordinating technology transfer activities across federal agencies was further 

expanded by the PM. The purpose of the PM is to foster innovation by increasing the rate of 

technology transfer and the economic and societal impact from federal investments in R&D. The 

PM directs agencies with federal laboratories to take actions to establish goals to measure 

performance, streamline administrative processes, and facilitate local and regional partnerships 

in order to accelerate technology transfer and support private sector commercialization. The aim 

is to increase the successful outcomes of agency technology transfer and commercialization

activities significantly over the next 5 years, while simultaneously achieving excellence in each 

agency’s focused research activities.

Section 2 of the PM calls for establishing performance goals, metrics, and evaluation methods, as 

well as implementing and tracking progress relative to those goals, specifically directing that 

“[the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with other agencies, including the National Center 

for Science and Engineering Statistics, shall improve and expand, where appropriate, its 

collection of metrics in DOC’s annual technology transfer summary report, submitted pursuant 

to 15 U.S.C. Section 3710(g)(2).” 41 

 40 Agencies participating in the IAWGTT, established pursuant to Executive Order 12591 of April 10, 1987, include 

USDA, DOC, DoD, DOE, HHS, DHS, DOI, DOT, VA, EPA, and NASA. 41 For a list of available reports see http://www.nist.gov/tpo/publications/doc-annual-reports-techtransfer.cfm
41

More information about DOC technology transfer is available on the following websites:

NIST: http://www.nist.gov/tpo/index.cfm;

NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov/; and

ITS: http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov.

DOC Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of new inventions disclosed increased by 52% to 47

disclosures in FY 2014. The number of patent applications filed experienced a 25% increase to 

25 applications filed. The number of patents issued during this five-year period increased by 

50% to 18 patents in FY 2014.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

New Inventions Disclosed 31 26 52 41 47

Patent Applications Filed 20 17 21 26 25

Patents Issued 12 16 13 16 18
42

USPTO Patents Assigned to DOC by Technology Area: FY 201442

 42 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using the Web of Science database. All rights reserved. Used with 

permission.
43

DOC Licenses

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active licenses decreased by 11% to 41

licenses in FY 2014. New licenses remained constant at 7 licenses in both FY 2010 and FY 

2014. 

46

40 41 40 41

7

5 6 5

7

46

40 41

39

41

7

5 6 5

7

29

26 25

28

26

12 12 12

15 14

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

DOC Licenses

Licenses, Total Active New Licenses

Invention Licenses, Total Active New Invention Licenses

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Licenses, Total Active 46 40 41 40 41

New Licenses 7 5 6 5 7

Invention Licenses, Total Active 46 40 41 39 41

New Invention Licenses 7 5 6 5 7

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 29 26 25 28 26

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 12 12 12 15 14
44

DOC Income from Licensing

All income from licensing comes from invention licenses. During the five-year period, from FY 

2010 to FY 2014, there was a 7% decrease in total income from all active licenses, from $237 

thousand in FY 2010 to $220 thousand in FY 2014.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Total Income, All Active Licenses $237 $277 $248 $151 $220

Invention Licenses $237 $277 $248 $151 $220

Total Earned Royalty Income $237 $277 $248 $151 $220
45

DOC Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active CRADAs increased by 5% to 2,359

agreements. The number of new CRADAs per fiscal year decreased by 3% to 2,100 new 

agreements in FY 2014. Total active traditional CRADAs increased by 106% during the fiveyear period, totaling 206 traditional agreements in FY 2014.

DOC Efforts to Streamline Technology Transfer Operations

NIST has undertaken several efforts to streamline and simplify the technology transfer process. 

NIST has revised its standard CRADA documents, reducing that document’s overall size by 

approximately one third. This effort has helped to expedite the CRADA negotiation and review 

process by eliminating provisions not needed for the great majority of NIST collaborations. 

NIST has also set up a website to enhance communications with outside parties who are 

interested in developing partnerships with NIST, and implemented several new licensing 

programs to encourage small businesses to participate. These programs lay out key terms in 

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

CRADAs, Total Active 2,253 2,245 2,410 2,428 2,359

New CRADAs 2,159 2,192 2,844 2,289 2,100

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 100 98 153 196 206

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 2,897 2,899 2,782 2,977 3,031
46

advance to ease concerns of small businesses about overall licensing costs. NIST is conducting 

detailed analysis of the flow of documents to understand where significant delays occur within 

its system. In many cases, these delays are with the partner and NIST does not have direct 

control. However, through ongoing efforts to identify and understand issues experienced its

partners, NIST will continue to identify new ways to simplify and streamline technology transfer 

practices. 

DOC Downstream Success Stories

NIST: US Companies Commercializing NIST Chip-Scale Atomic Magnetometer 

Technologies

Geometrix, the world leader in commercial atomic magnetometers, recently announced a 

Technology License and Development Agreement with leading semiconductor manufacturer 

Texas Instruments (TI) to develop and produce chip-scale atomic magnetometers based on

technology invented by NIST. Geometrix and other companies use atom-based magnetometers 

for ultraprecise measurements of magnetic fields for everything from detecting concealed 

weapons, to locating underwater pipes and cables, to remote detection of vehicles and 

monitoring perimeters, to unique medical imaging of the heart and brain, and for fundamental 

research about the earth and other planets. 

Atom-based magnetometers are among the most sensitive and accurate ways to measure 

magnetic fields, but have previously been relatively large, high-power devices, limiting their 

deployment and use in the field. NIST pioneered chip-scale atomic magnetometers about the size 

of sugar cube and using the equivalent of AA battery power. Geometrix and TI plan to use the

NIST technology to develop commercial chip-scale magnetometers that can be deployed on 

unmanned aerial vehicles, made into large arrays for medical imaging, inserted into small spaces 

such as pipes, and for many other field applications not possible with existing large, powerhungry magnetometers. The partnership combines Geometrix’s expertise in commercial 

magnetometer applications with TI’s microfabrication capabilities. 

NIST scientists consulted directly with Geometrix and TI on the NIST technology, and the 

companies are also using NIST chip-scale atomic magnetometer patents that NIST placed in the 

public domain to encourage tech transfer. NIST scientists Drs. John Kitching (NIST Fellow), 

Svenja Knappe and Elizabeth Donley lead the NIST chip-scale atomic magnetometer technology 

development program and their accomplishments were recognized with a 2014 DOC team Gold 

Medal.

NIST: Mouse Cell Line Authentication

In 2013, NIST signed a CRADA with DNA Diagnostics Center, Inc. and has been working 

collaboratively with the company during 2014 to further develop NIST’s mouse cell 

authentication technology invented by Dr. Jamie Almeida and Dr. Kenneth Cole. DNA 

Diagnostics Center has also obtained a non-exclusive license to commercially develop mouse 

cell line authentication test kits that use STR DNA technology to characterize mouse DNA. This 

product will provide researchers the appropriate quality control measures to ensure cell line 

integrity. NIST has also granted a research license to a cell biorepository so that further research 
47

can be done regarding the application of NIST’s technology to cell authentication and quality 

control.

NIST: nSoft Consortium

In 2014, NIST extended the CRADAs of the partners in NIST’s nSoft Consortium. The 

consortium was started in 2012 to further NIST’s mission to promote U.S. innovation and 

industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science and reducing barriers for 

industrial research programs at peer-review based user facilities. Current partners include 

Chevron Phillips, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Genentech, Kimberly-Clark, MedImmune, and 

Solvay. Through engagement of its partners, in the planning, development, and execution of 

research programs, nSoft is providing (1) predictable and timely access to neutron facilities, (2) 

R&D programs focused on high impact issues in soft materials manufacturing, and (3) increased 

scientific capacity through training programs and collaborative activities. The consortium is led 

by the NIST Polymers Division, featuring a long history of service to the U.S. economy through 

advanced characterizations of soft materials, and the NIST Center for Neutron Research 

(NCNR), a world leading neutron facility. 

NIST: World’s Smallest Reference Material is Big Plus for Nanotechnology

NIST recently issued Reference Material (RM) 8027, the smallest known reference material ever 

created for validating measurements of these man-made, ultrafine particles between 1 and 100 

nanometers (billionths of a meter) in size.

RM 8027 consists of five hermetically sealed ampoules containing one milliliter of silicon 

nanoparticles—all certified to be close to 2 nanometers in diameter—suspended in toluene. To 

yield the appropriate sizes for the new RM, the nanocrystals are etched from a silicon wafer, 

separated using ultrasound and then stabilized within an organic shell. 

"For anyone working with nanomaterials at dimensions 5 nanometers or less, our wellcharacterized nanoparticles can ensure confidence that their measurements are accurate," says 

NIST research chemist Vytas Reipa, leader of the team that developed and qualified RM 8027.

Silicon nanoparticles such as those in RM 8027 are being studied as alternative semiconductor 

materials for next-generation photovoltaic solar cells and solid-state lighting, and as a 

replacement for carbon in the cathodes of lithium batteries. Another potential application comes 

from the fact that silicon crystals at dimensions of 5 nanometers or less fluoresce under 

ultraviolet light. Because of this property, silicon nanoparticles may one day serve as easily 

detectable "tags" for tracking nanosized substances in biological, environmental or other 

dynamic systems.

NIST: Reliable RNA Analysis Now Easier with NIST 'Dashboard' Tool

A new, innovative “dashboard” from NIST won’t help you drive your car, but it will help enable 

reproducible research in biology.

In a recent paper in the journal Nature Communications, an international multi-laboratory team 

demonstrates a new software tool, the “erccdashboard,” to evaluate the performance of 

experimental methods used to study gene expression. The analysis tool is designed for use with 
48

RNA spike-in controls developed by the NIST-hosted External RNA Controls Consortium 

(ERCC**). These ERCC controls are produced from the DNA Sequence Library for External 

RNA Controls (Standard Reference Material 2374) that was issued by the agency in 2013.

“In gene expression experiments, scientists try to understand how a cell’s biological activities 

arise from the genetic information contained in its genome by simultaneously quantifying the 

thousands of RNA molecules expressed by that genome,” says Sarah Munro, lead author on the 

Nature Communications paper.

Munro says that the validation provided by the “erccdashboard” is essential to ensure that these 

complex experiments are reproducible. “The results of gene expression experiments are often 

used in making medical decisions such as identifying which drug is best for a particular patient,” 

she explains. “Our new software tool gives researchers the ability to gauge the performance of 

their methods for any experiment, evaluate repeatability and reproducibility of experiments over 

time and between laboratories, and provide confidence that the results can be trusted.”

Previously, Munro says, there was no standard, technology-independent approach for analyzing 

the data obtained from gene expression experiments. “The ERCC control materials made the 

development of our new method validation tool, the “erccdashboard” possible,” she explains.

The new NIST software, Munro says, provides a simple ‘turnkey’ mechanism for biologists to 

assess any gene expression experiment. “Its performance metrics are designed to be independent 

of the type of measurement technology used for an experiment, so results can be compared as 

technologies improve over time,” she says. “Using the dashboard will enable reproducible 

research and prevent researchers from drawing erroneous conclusions from low-quality 

experimental data.”

NIST: Standardized Performance Testing for Emergency Response Robots

With support from DHS, engineers in NIST’s Intelligent Systems Division pioneered the use of 

standardized performance testing for emergency response robots used in bomb-response and for 

urban search-and-rescue operations. Since 2005, 15 NIST tests have been adopted as standards 

by ASTM International, and about 40 more are under various stages of development or review. 

To date, more than 100 response robots, both experimental and commercial, have run the 

gauntlet of NIST test methods at Response Robot Evaluation Exercises and in support of robot 

procurements. Over the last few years, the suite of performance tests has been duplicated at sites 

around the United States and in Germany, Japan, and soon, Australia.

NIST: Advanced Computer Fire Modeling and Visualization Software

NIST’s Fire Research Division scientists and engineers recently enhanced the capabilities of 

NIST's advanced computer fire modeling and visualization software suite, the NIST Fire 

Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and Smokeview (SMV). This powerful suite of tools is used 

worldwide in research, fire investigation, firefighter training, and development of fire-protection 

design and standards. The just-released sixth version of the software features improved physics 

and more accurate numerical methods for predicting smoke concentrations and soot deposition, a 

new turbulence model, and other significant improvements. Since they were first issued for 

public use in 2000, FDS and Smokeview have proven to be a disruptive technology and the most 
49

important advance in the field of fire protection research and engineering in the last decade. In 

presenting the prestigious Sjölin Award to the FDS team, the International Forum of Fire 

Research Directors said that FDS "has become the tool of choice by both the fire research and 

fire engineering communities.”

NIST: Automated Fault Detection in Building Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning 

Systems

NIST enabled technology is now a requirement in the newest California building energy code 

(Title 24, Part 6), which became effective on July 1, 2014. One of the largest uses of energy in 

buildings is the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. HVAC systems 

sometimes operate with mechanical faults and control logic errors that significantly increase the 

energy consumption because the problems are masked by the fact that comfort conditions are 

still met or nearly met. NIST researchers, supported in part by the California Energy 

Commission, have developed and demonstrated fault detection and diagnostic (FDD) algorithms 

suitable for implementation in existing building control equipment. These algorithms use data 

from sensors already installed in building systems to identify faults and alert building operators 

so that corrective action can be taken. Commercial products that implement FDD techniques 

based on NIST research are now available. 

NIST: Awards

Three scientists from NIST’s Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) have won 

the Joseph F. Keithley Award for Advances in Measurement Science. This award recognizes 

“physicists who have been instrumental in the development of measurement techniques or 

equipment that have impact on the physics community by providing better measurements.”

• John Unguris

• Robert J. Celotta

• Daniel T. Pierce

Physicists John Kitching and Svenja Knappe of NIST’s Time and Frequency Division received 

2014 Rank Prizes in optoelectronics "for the creation and demonstration of the first chip-scale 

atomic clock." Also sharing the prize is Leo Hollberg, who led their research group in 2004 

when the chip-scale atomic clock was invented. The Rank Prizes are presented every two years 

by the charitable Rank Foundation in the United Kingdom. The prizes are awarded in London to 

individuals who have made a significant contribution to certain scientific fields, including 

optoelectronics, "where an initial idea has been carried through to practical applications that 

have, or will, demonstrably benefit mankind."
50

NOAA: Funding Expands Uses of Commercial Environmental Sample Processor

The Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) provides in situ

robotic collection and analysis of subsurface water samples for 

harmful algae, their toxins and other microorganisms. Funding 

from NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, 

Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR) 

supports agency and partner expansion of the utility of the ESP, 

which was initially developed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium 

Research Institute (MBARI),43 CSCOR sponsored projects are 

piloting ESP deployments to advance operational harmful algal 

bloom forecasting in the Gulf of Maine,

44 Puget Sound,45 and 

Southern California Bight.

46 Other CSCOR funding is reducing 

ESP production costs and increasing its robustness under field 

conditions.47 In October 2014 McLane Research Laboratories, 

Inc. was licensed by MBARI to manufacture, sell, and service the ESP.

48

NOAA: New Coastal Survey Technique Aids Coastal Managers and Navigation

After Tropical Cyclone (later termed Hurricane) Arthur roared up the coast of North Carolina 

and Virginia this summer, NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey began flying survey missions to 

take aerial photographs to document damage, erosion, and potential impacts to navigation. This 

collection of coastline imagery, now available online, employs new photographic techniques that 

NGS experts expect will lead to better post-storm surveys in the future.49 For the first time, NGS 

surveyors collected oblique imagery, or images taken at an angle rather than straight down. The 

advantage to this type of approach is that it allows the team to photograph a wider area and also 

improves the visibility of vertical structures, such as the sides of buildings, as opposed to only 

the tops of buildings as typically seen in traditional imagery. This new layered approach provides 

better visual context than the imagery gathered by surveyors in past missions. 

In the aftermath of events such as hurricanes, data contained in NOAA aerial photos provide 

emergency and coastal managers with the information they need to develop recovery strategies, 

facilitate search-and-rescue efforts, identify hazards to navigation and hazardous materials

(HAZMAT) spills, locate errant vessels, and provide documentation necessary for damage 

assessment through the comparison of before-and-after imagery.

NOAA: Space Weather Data and Products in Commercial Enterprises

The American Commercial Space Weather Association (ACSWA) is an association of 

companies that promotes space weather risk mitigation for critical national infrastructure related 

to national daily life, economic strength, and national security.50 ACSWA, in conjunction with 

its member companies, is playing a vital role by identifying important data and technology gaps 

 43 http://www.mbari.org/esp/ 44 http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=137 45 http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=148 46 http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=152 47 http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=118 48 http://www.mclanelabs.com/news_article/mclane-sells-esp-direct-researchers

49 http://storms.ngs.noaa.gov/storms/arthur/oblique/index.html 50 http://www.acswa.us/
51

that can be filled by private or government actions and by developing value-added products and 

services for the benefit of human and property safety as well as for vibrant commerce.

NOAA: Awards and Recognition

Climate.gov Wins two Webby Awards and a People’s Voice 

Award in 2014

NOAA’s Climate.gov website was selected by the International 

Academy of the Digital Arts & Sciences to receive two Webby 

Awards in the "Government" and "Green" categories. They also 

garnered a People's Voice Award in the "Green" category (placing 

second overall in the "Government" category).

NOAA Technology Transfer Awards

NOAA selected four projects to receive the Agency’s Technology 

Transfer Award in 2014. These projects exemplified the highest 

standard for developing a new technology in cooperation with 

private sector partners in the service of NOAA’s mission. 

• Ralph Ferraro, Limin Zhao, Robert Kuligowski, and Donna McNamara, 

National Environmental Satellite, Data, & Information Service

For greatly increasing the usefulness of state-of-the-art NOAA polar satellite 

information to the television broadcast community.

• James Farr, National Ocean Service

For providing the chemical industry, first responders, and emergency planners with 

comprehensive access to critical chemical compatibility predictions.

• Frances VanDolah, National Ocean Service

For the commercialization and regulatory approval of NOAA biotechnology ensuring 

the safety of U.S. shellfish and reducing impediments to international trade.

• Petrus Tans, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research

For developing and successfully transferring the revolutionary AirCore technology a 

revolutionary technology for collecting air continuously from 100,000 ft. to the 

surface with exceptional data resolution.

ITS: Telecommunication Standards

ITS participated in and substantially contributed to the 2014 ITU Radio Communication Sector 

(ITU-R) Study Group 3 meetings. ITS engineers led the Correspondence Group on Building 

Entry Loss which was critical to Long-Term Evolution (LTE) deployment of standards across 

the world and represents millions, if not billions of dollars, in potential commercial development. 

Intense participation by ITS staff in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards 

development process on behalf of the First Responder Network Authority (First Net) resulted in 

Proximity Services and Group Communications requirements being included in the final agenda 
52

for 3GPP Release 12 and Mission Critical Push to Talk being included in the final agenda for 

3GPP Release 13. These features are critical to ensuring that LTE can meet public safety’s 

requirements and a prerequisite to allowing FirstNet to offer mission-critical voice on the new 

Band Class 14 nationwide interoperable public safety communications network when these 

capabilities become available.

ITS: Table Mountain Research

The Table Mountain Field Site and Radio Quiet Zone supports fundamental research in the 

nature, interaction, and evaluation of telecommunication devices, systems, and services. Each 

year, private companies, universities and other organizations conduct research at Table Mountain 

under CRADAs. 

• In FY 2014, several companies used the Table Mountain site under a CRADA to 

safely test and demonstrate Laser Detection and Ranging (LADAR) technologies 

under development in atmospheric conditions and at distances relevant to potential 

applications, to fully test the functionality of new antenna designs during product 

development, and to safely and accurately test an Adaptive Tactical Laser System 

(ATLAS) compensated beacon adaptive optics (CBAO) system under development.

• For the past eight years, the University of Colorado’s Research and Engineering 

Center for Unmanned Vehicles safely and accurately tested collective and 

autonomous sensing and communication technologies for small unmanned aircraft at 

Table Mountain.

• Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies is in its fourteenth year of field-testing and

characterizing components, subsystems and systems for eye-safe coherent laser radar.

This has benefited NTIA and DoD.

ITS: Video Quality Research

Both Consumer Digital Video Library (CDVL) and the Video Quality Metric (VQM) tools are 

used by industry and academia for research into new techniques for transmitting video. These 

video clips may be used to test codes, to evaluate new display technologies, or for validation 

testing of new standards. For example, ITU-T Study Group 12 has used CDVL clips for research 

into the development of parametric models and tools for multimedia quality assessment and the 

MPEG committee opened a conversation with ITS about using the CDVL video clips for 

validation testing of new video coding standards. 

ITS: Public Safety Broadband Demonstration Network

ITS’ Public Safety Broadband (PSBB) Demonstration Network facilitates accelerated 

development of testing for emerging LTE broadband equipment specific to public safety. The 

PSBB Demonstration Network was established in the ITS labs in FY 2010 by the Public Safety 

Communications Research program. This network provides a central and independent test 

bed/laboratory to help public safety understand 3GPP Band 14 LTE. Through CRADAs that 

protect their intellectual property, manufacturers and carriers test the deployment of 700 MHz 

systems under development in this multi-vendor environment and execute public-safety specific 

test cases to provide proof of concepts and improve the quality of future systems. This 

cooperative program provides ITS with guidance to develop technical contributions toward LTE 

standards to support public safety and FirstNet requirements. This work advances the 
53

development of new public safety communications equipment that will eventually operate on the 

nationwide public safety broadband network.
54

Department of Defense (DoD)

The Defense Laboratory Office (DLO) provides overall policy guidance for and oversight of 

Department-wide technology transfer efforts. DLO ensures, to the maximum extent practicable, 

that DoD developed technologies demonstrating commercial viability are integrated into the 

private sector; that technologies developed outside of the DoD that demonstrate national security 

utility are transferred into the Defense acquisition process; and that those technologies 

demonstrating both commercial and national security applications are made available to the DoD 

as well as industry and academia.

DoD is unique in applying the principles, practices, and tools of technology transfer in the 

execution of its mission. DoD funds and develops mission-focused technology, and technology 

transfer statutory authorities enable it to promote and facilitate the commercialization of that 

technology for both military and civilian purposes. Concurrently, DoD is a technology buyer as it 

strives to purchase new technology embodied in products and systems to meet the challenges 

faced by our warfighters. In many instances, technology transfer and technology transition are 

becoming a seamless path to fielding new technology critical to responding to the new and 

dynamic threats of asymmetric warfare, the global war on terrorism, and the ever expanding role 

of civil assistance and disaster recovery worldwide. In the 1980’s, when much of the technology 

transfer legislation was enacted, the Federal government, including DoD, was the principle 

funding source for R&D. Consequently, technology transfer was viewed as a “spin out” to the 

marketplace, a stimulus to the domestic economy, and a return on investment for taxpayer 

funded R&D. Today, the majority of U.S. R&D is industry funded. This shift in funding has led 

to a greater emphasis on technology transfer as a collaborative effort between DoD labs and their 

partners in industry, academia, and state and local government.

Each of the Military Services, Defense Agencies, and Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) 

maintain technology transfer websites to inform the public and make available general 

information. The websites are:

• http://www.acq.osd.mil/chieftechnologist/index.html;

• http://www.arl.army.mil/main/Main/default.cfm?Action=6;

• http://www.onr.navy.mil/en/ScienceTechnology/Directorates/Transition/Technology-Transfer-T2.aspx;

• http://www.mda.mil/business/opportunities.html.
55

DoD Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of new inventions disclosed increased by 38% to 

963 disclosures in FY 2014. The number of patent applications filed experienced a 110% 

increase. The number of patents issued during this five-year period increased by 120% to 670

patents in FY 2014.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

New Inventions Disclosed 698 929 1,078 1,032 963

Patent Applications Filed 436 844 1,013 942 916

Patents Issued 304 523 1,048 648 670
56

USPTO Patents Assigned to DoD by Technology Area: FY 201451

 51 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using the Web of Science database. All rights reserved. Used with 

permission.
57

DoD Licenses

New licenses decreased by 52% to 24 licenses from a previous 50 in FY 2010. The number of 

total active invention licenses decreased by 13% to 297 licenses. Total active income bearing 

licenses increased by 66%, from 134 licenses in FY 2010 to 223 licenses in FY 2014.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Licenses, Total Active 397 633 520 527 n/r

New Licenses 50 63 44 59 24

Invention Licenses, Total Active 341 431 432 425 297

New Invention Licenses 50 63 44 59 6

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 134 214 356 264 223

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 67 51 120 n/r n/r
58

DoD Income from Licensing

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total income from all active licenses decreased 

by 19% to $10.9 million in FY 2014. The income from invention licenses decreased by 16% to 

$10.9 million.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Total Income, All Active Licenses $13,424 $15,682 $7,055 $21,575 $10,890

Invention Licenses $13,026 $15,364 $6,552 $20,859 $10,890

Total Earned Royalty Income $10,848 $7,702 $6,335 $20,438 $10,890
59

DoD Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active CRADAs decreased by 15% to 2,762

agreements. The number of new CRADAs per fiscal year decreased by 7% to 671 new 

agreements in FY 2014. Total active traditional CRADAs decreased by 9% during the five-year 

period, totaling 2,281 agreements in FY 2014.

3,248

2,554

2,400

2,682 2,762

720 762 757 769 671

2,516

1,685

1,328

2,076

2,281

287

988

0

606 581

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

DoD Collaborative R&D Relationships

CRADAs, Total Active New CRADAs

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active Other Collaborative R&D Relationships

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

CRADAs, Total Active 3,248 2,554 2,400 2,682 2,762

New CRADAs 720 762 757 769 671

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 2,516 1,685 1,328 2,076 2,281

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 287 988 0 606 581
60

DoD Downstream Success Stories

Navy Dive Mask Enables Sailors and Civilian Divers to Safely Operate in Prohibitive 

Conditions

The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) negotiated a 

technology partnership via a CRADA, and partially exclusive patent licensing agreement with 

Sound Metrics Corporation, based in Lake Forest Park, Washington, for the Advanced Diver’s 

Mask-Mounted Display System (ADMMDS). 

The ADMMDS enhances the viewing area for divers working in dark murky waters to 

effectively survey and assess their surroundings. The transformational flip-up, flip-down device 

is like an “underwater night vision” system that allows divers to see what they are doing, 

whether they are looking for mines, scanning for intruders, inspecting ship hulls, recovering a 

body, searching for evidence, or studying fish behavior. 

Army: The Hardened Alternative Trailer System (HATS)

HATS was developed through collaborative efforts between the Army Engineer Research and 

Development Center's (ERDC) Geotechnical and Structural Laboratory and the Department of 

State's (DOS) Bureau of Diplomatic Security. HATS is a hardened structure intended for high 

threat, expeditionary non-permanent deployment with the capability of re-deployment post 

original installation. It is a blast, forced entry (FE) and ballistic resistant (BR) expeditionary 

structure. It is designed to meet ISO certification and is an intermodal system. It does not require 

"armoring" but rather simply uses only mild steel plate and common hollow steel shapes and 

accompanied with the appropriate level of FE and BR commercial products (doors, windows, 

louvers, and utility/other penetration types). It is scalable to meet increasing or decreasing threat 

levels and is flexible in that it can be configured for just about any function. The HATS concepts 

include stacked units for multi-story requirements and removing walls so that multiple units can 

be ganged together to create large open floor plan areas.

The HATS has been tested to meet and exceed DOS design basis threat levels. Currently there 

are 177 units are in various stages of fabrication, completion and installation. 

Air Force

Since the summer of 2013, the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Information Directorate 

has planted the seeds for two new, innovative commercialization initiatives to allow a broad 

spectrum of potential startup candidates to harvest the Directorate’s intellectual property 

portfolio for potential startup activities. It consists of two integral parts. First is the 

Commercialization Academy a three-stage experiential education and technology acceleration 

program run by the Directorate and its collaborators. The goal of the Academy is to develop 

student entrepreneurs who can contribute meaningfully to startups and industry. Students are 

paired with the Directorate’s intellectual property portfolio and inventors to develop investorgrade commercialization plans. The Academy attracted 24 students from 11 New York colleges 

and universities. After an intense semester of business modeling and venture development, an 

impressive five Academy teams formed new startup companies, licensed their AFRL 

technologies and will continue development via local seed funds and business accelerators that 

were attracted to invest in the AFRL commercialization effort. 
61

The Technology Transfer Accelerator program is the second initiative. Partnering with DOD, 

AFR managed this new, innovative startup accelerator, called New York Furnace, contracted 

through Arizona State University, and designed to form, fund, incubate and launch new 

companies. Furnace is an intensive, nine-month accelerator experience for startups, which 

provides seed funding, office space, and access to top industry mentors to commercialize 

discoveries made in Air Force laboratories. This new process helps entrepreneurs to create new 

startup companies, while also offering some technologies to existing companies in the New York 

region to help them grow and develop. Through AFRL initiatives, the program attracted the 

support of a wide range of local, regional, and state-wide economic development organizations, 

colleges and universities, startup incubators, accelerators, angel investors, and venture capitalists. 

State and local economic development organizations pledged $400K and venture capitalists 

offered the potential of $1.5M in seed funds. New York Furnace has 8 teams proceeding to 

create small businesses and competing for funding and entry into future markets. Of those eight 

teams, five are the ones referenced earlier.

The Commercialization Academy and the Technology Transfer Accelerator programs are a winwin for the students, the labs and the community. Students have the opportunity to work with 

real-world technologies and have unique access to the lab and researchers. The labs have 

increased visibility into their portfolio of technologies and other resources, leading to more 

licenses, better access to talent, and more innovative thinking. The Commercialization Academy 

and Technology Transfer Accelerator programs benefit the community through new 

entrepreneurial ventures, more innovative homegrown talent, and a new channel into the 

goldmine of laboratory technologies previously seen as inaccessible.
62

Department of Energy (DOE)

DOE plays a key role in moving innovative energy technologies developed in research labs 

across the country into the commercial marketplace, fueling the innovation engine that powers 

the U.S. economy. Bridging the gap between R&D and commercial deployment is crucial to the 

DOE’s mission, because it creates globally competitive industries in the United States, enables 

significant cost-savings for industries and consumers, and creates jobs for Americans.

DOE's National Labs tackle the critical scientific challenges of our time -- from combating 

climate change to discovering the origins of our universe -- and possess unique instruments and 

facilities, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. They address large scale, complex 

R&D challenges with a multidisciplinary approach that places an emphasis on translating basic 

science to innovation. Specifically, the National Laboratories:

• Conduct research of the highest caliber in physical, chemical, biological, and 

computational and information sciences that advances our understanding of the world 

around us;

• Advance U.S. energy independence and leadership in energy technologies to ensure the 

ready availability of clean, reliable, and affordable energy;

• Enhance global, national, and homeland security by ensuring the safety and reliability of 

the U.S. nuclear deterrent, helping to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass 

destruction, and securing the nation’s borders; and

• Design, build, and operate distinctive scientific instrumentation and facilities, and make

these resources available to the research community.

DOE oversees the construction and operation of some of the Nation’s most advanced R&D user 

facilities, located at national laboratories and universities. These state-of-the-art facilities are 

shared with the science community worldwide and offer some technologies and instrumentation 

that are available nowhere else. In fiscal year 2014, these facilities were used by over 30,000 

researchers from universities, national laboratories, private industry, and other federal science 

agencies.52

Science and engineering are not linear, nor are they uniform, but the DOE’s system of National 

Labs, user facilities, research centers and shared research facilities, makes the pursuit of 

discovery -- and the many solutions that result -- both a collaborative enterprise and a shared 

national resource. Collaboration with industry and academia is essential to develop, demonstrate, 

deploy and commercialize the output from DOE’s broad R&D investments. 

In February of 2015, DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) was established to expand 

the commercial impact of DOE’s portfolio of Research, Development, Demonstration and 

Deployment (RDD&D) activities over the short, medium and long term. The OTT will work 

closely with the national laboratories and engage with industry to promote scientific and 

technological innovation to advance the economic, energy, and national security interests of U.S. 

 52 Department of Energy, Office of Science. User Facilities. http://science.energy.gov/user-facilities/
63

industries. In doing so, OTT will coordinate and encourage more effective technology transitions 

across the RDD&D spectrum from its national laboratories. 

DOE Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of new inventions disclosed decreased by 2% to 

1,588 disclosures in FY 2014, however this fluctuates annually with increases in FY 2011 and 

FY 2013. The number of patent applications filed experienced a 19% increase. The number of 

patents issued during this five-year period increased by 44% to 693 patents in FY 2014.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

New Inventions Disclosed 1,616 1,820 1,661 1,796 1,588

Patent Applications Filed 965 868 780 944 1,144

Patents Issued 480 460 483 554 693
64

USPTO Patents Assigned to DOE by Technology Area: FY 201453

 53 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using the Web of Science database. All rights reserved. Used with 

permission.
65

DOE Licenses

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active licenses decreased by 6% to 5,861

licenses in FY 2014. New licenses decreased by 31% to 573 licenses from a previous 826 in FY 

2010. The number of total active invention licenses increased by 7% to 1,560 licenses.

6,228

5,310 5,328 5,217

5,861

826

822

757

567

573

1,453

1,432

1,428

1,353

1,560

166

169

192

153

171

3,493 3,510 3,340

3,709

4,215

462

315

344

199

141

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

DOE Licenses

Licenses, Total Active New Licenses

Invention Licenses, Total Active New Invention Licenses

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Licenses, Total Active 6,228 5,310 5,328 5,217 5,861

New Licenses 826 822 757 567 573

Invention Licenses, Total Active 1,453 1,432 1,428 1,353 1,560

New Invention Licenses 166 169 192 153 171

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 3,493 3,510 3,340 3,709 4,215

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 462 315 344 199 141
66

DOE Income from Licensing

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total income from all active licenses decreased 

by 7% to $37.9 million in FY 2014. The income from invention licenses decreased by 11% to 

$32.9 million. Total earned royalty income decreased 8% from $25.2 million in FY 2010 to 

$23.3 million in FY 2014.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Total Income, All Active Licenses $40,644 $44,728 $40,849 $39,573 $37,885

Invention Licenses $37,065 $40,600 $36,103 $36,068 $32,869

Total Earned Royalty Income $25,220 $27,107 $28,735 $27,669 $23,321
67

DOE Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active CRADAs increased by 1% to 704 

agreements. The number of new CRADAs per fiscal year increased by 2% to 180 new 

agreements in FY 2014. 

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

CRADAs, Total Active 697 720 742 742 704

New CRADAs 176 178 184 142 180

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 697 720 742 742 n/r

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 0 0 0 0 0
68

DOE Downstream Success Stories

Gas Atomization Process Used for Titanium Parts Production (Ames Laboratory)

Titanium’s strength, light weight, biocompatibility 

and resistance to corrosion makes it ideal for use in 

a variety of parts — from components for artificial 

limbs like those used by wounded veterans 

returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to military 

vehicle components, biomedical implants, and 

aerospace fasteners. Working with titanium can be 

difficult when casting parts because molten 

titanium tends to react with the materials used for 

machine molds.

The gas atomization process makes a fine, spherical powder form of titanium. Manufacturers can 

then press the powder together at high temperatures. The process is ten times more efficient than 

traditional powder-making methods thereby significantly lowering the cost of the powder to 

manufacturers. Utilizing titanium powder has the benefits of conserving processing time and 

energy, and it produces less waste material.

To make titanium powder, titanium metal is melted using a standard commercial process, then it 

is heated and precisely guided by an Ames Laboratory-patented pour tube into a high-intensity 

atomization nozzle, also patented at Ames Laboratory. The metal is then sprayed out in a fine 

droplet mist. Each droplet quickly cools and solidifies, creating a collection of many tiny 

spheres, forming fine titanium powder. 

The Laboratory’s patents were exclusively licensed to Iowa Powder Atomization Technologies 

(IPAT), a start-up company founded by two former Ames Laboratory employees. IPAT was one 

of three winners of DOE’s America’s Next Top Energy Innovator Challenge in 2012. The 

challenge recognized some of the most innovative and promising startup companies that took an 

option to license DOE-funded technologies. IPAT also won the 2012 Iowa Business Plan 

Competition, honoring top business plans of companies in business for four years or less, with an 

aim of stimulating business development. In FY 2014, IPAT was acquired by a large U.S. 

company.

The technology was developed with funding from DOE’s Office of Science, Basic Energy 

Science and Office of Fossil Energy, Cross-Cutting Materials Program. Other R&D funds were 

provided by the U.S. Army, Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center and the 

State of Iowa through Iowa State University.
69

Sulfur Concrete (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Sulfur concrete was developed more than 

thirty years ago by the United States 

Bureau of Mines. Sulfur concrete is made 

by mixing sulfur, an inexpensive waste 

by-product of the petrochemical industry 

with dicyclopentadiene, a fairly expensive 

organic modifier, with limited availability. 

This has kept the cost of sulfur concrete 

high and therefore, sulfur concrete has not 

been widely used. Brookhaven National 

Laboratory (BNL) together with partners 

from Kazakhstan, have devised an alternative concrete composition and method for making it 

through a process known as stabilized sulfur binder using activated fillers (SSBAF). 

The SSBAF method uses an organic component waste by-product from the petrochemical 

industry, mixed with and coated on filler, such as sand, before being energetically mixed with 

sulfur. This green process recycles industrial byproducts and unlike the process for making 

conventional concrete, does not produce carbon dioxide. This improved sulfur concrete is less 

expensive than conventional sulfur polymer cement, requires no water, and is highly resistant to 

corrosive environments. This sulfur concrete can be used in a number of applications including 

precast concrete products such as pipes, tanks, containers, blocks and slabs.

In 2012, Brookhaven Science Associates, LLC. (BSA), contractor/operator of BNL entered into 

an Option Agreement with Green Sulfcrete, a Long Island NY based company that was formed 

to commercialize the BNL’s sulfur concrete technology. Green Sulfcrete was granted an option 

under the DOE Startup America program. The option was granted for the company to make, use 

and sell sulfur concrete made by the BNL process in certain territories. Recently in 2014, the 

company changed its name from Green Sulfcrete to Sulfcrete and has entered into a license 

agreement with BSA. 

The company was awarded the Phase I SBIR NSF grant. Under sponsored research agreements, 

the company continues to collaborate with BNL to develop the product further. The company 

anticipates entering the market with a product in 2016. The idea for the work was a result of the 

collaboration developed by BNL’s Dr. Kalb with scientists from Kazakhstan during a previous 

DOE Initiative for Proliferation Prevention (IPP) program. The work for this project was funded 

by the laboratory’s technology maturation fund.
70

Electrocatalyst Technology for Fuel Cells in Electric Vehicles (Brookhaven National 

Laboratory)

DOE’s BNL executed a pre-commercial 

license with N.E. Chemcat Corporation, 

Japan’s leading catalyst and precious metal 

compound manufacturer, for electrocatalysts 

that can reduce the use of costly platinum and 

increase the effectiveness of fuel cells for use 

in electric vehicles. The license also includes 

access to innovative methods for making the 

catalysts and an apparatus used to 

manufacture them. The pre-commercial license allowed market and technical development to 

proceed in parallel.

Platinum is the most efficient electrocatalyst for fuel cell reactions, but platinum-based catalysts 

are expensive, unstable, and short-lived. The newly licensed electrocatalysts have high activity, 

stability, and durability, while containing only about one-tenth the platinum of conventional 

catalysts used in fuel cells, reducing overall costs. 

The electrocatalysts consist of a palladium or a palladium alloy nanoparticle core covered with a 

monolayer— one-atom thick—platinum shell. This palladium-platinum combination notably 

improves the rate of oxygen reduction at the cathode of a hydrogen/oxygen fuel cell. This type of 

fuel cell produces electricity using hydrogen as fuel, and forms water as the only byproduct.

Radoslav Adzic, the BNL senior chemist who led the team that developed the catalysts, said, 

“We are delighted that N.E. Chemcat Corporation has licensed our platinum monolayer 

electrocatalyst technology. We hope that it will facilitate the development of affordable and 

reliable fuel cell electric vehicles, which would be very beneficial for the environment since they 

produce no harmful emissions. Also, the use of nonrenewable fossil fuels for transportation that 

contribute to global warming would be greatly reduced.” 

DOE’s Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences Office and the Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy through its Fuel Cell Technology Office funded research that contributed to 

these technologies. 

Modular Positron Emission Tomography Detector (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

A team of scientists from the medical, instrumentation and physics departments at BNL have 

developed a compact modular Positron Emission Tomography (PET) detector. The PET is a 

major diagnostic imaging tool used predominantly in clinical oncology for staging various 

cancers, assessing treatment strategies, and monitoring the effects of therapies. 

Emerging new diagnostic radiopharmaceutical agents that have applications in cardiology and 

neurology will further expand the use of PET. The technology is covered by four United States 

patents. The initial invention, named RatCAP (Rat Conscious Animal PET), allows the 

simultaneous study of neurochemistry and conscious movement. This high-tech, wearable PET 

scanner that monitors brain chemistry enables correlation of the brain’s chemical information 
71

with the animal’s activity. The measurement of chemical messengers in the brain is important to 

understanding many different diseases and conditions such as drug addiction and movement 

disorders like Parkinson’s disease. 

The research team has applied the same compact modular PET technology to produce PET 

scanners for various important preclinical and clinical imaging applications. The preclinical 

applications include PET insert for small animal research magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 

systems that allows dual PET –MRI imaging. The clinical applications include the compact 

wrist PET scanner, a non-invasive tool to determine the arterial input function required in 

bringing quantitative PET to the bedside and the breast PET insert for breast MRI systems that 

facilitate functional evaluation of detected lesions to reduce unnecessary biopsies of false 

positives. 

SynchroPET, a Long Island, NY based startup 

company, entered into an option agreement 

with Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA) the 

contractor/operator of BNL to commercialize 

the technology. SynchroPET was the first BNL 

start- up that was formed under the DOE 

Startup America Program. Recently, BSA has 

entered into a commercial license agreement 

with SynchroPET. The company anticipates 

entering the market with a product in 2016. The 

initial RatCAP technology was developed with 

funding from the DOE Office of Science, 

Biological Systems Science Division.

Nanosys Quantum Dot Enhancement FilmTM for Electronic Displays (Lawrence Berkeley 

National Laboratory)

Nanosys, a startup based on quantum dot 

technology developed at Lawrence Berkeley 

National Laboratory (LBNL), partnered with 

3M and LG Innotek to develop Quantum 

Dot Enhancement FilmTM (QDEF), an 

energy efficient electronic display offering a 

50% wider color spectrum than a standard 

liquid crystal display (LCD) at a price 

comparable to LCDs and without requiring 

additional power.

QDEF is the source of the high color 

accuracy displays in the Kindle Fire HDX7 

and Asus NX500 Notebook PC, released in 2014. The technology is also being demonstrated in 

new high definition (HD) TVs. Widespread use of devices with electronic displays – from tablets 

and smartphones to laptops and HDTVs – means increased energy usage internationally. More 
72

energy efficient displays with uncompromised color accuracy and brightness, as provided by 

QDEF, meet an important energy need. 

The Nanosys display is an engineered sheet with a liquid crystal module and backlight unit 

sandwiching QDEF, a layer of quantum dots (semiconductor crystals only 50 atoms wide) that 

emit light when excited by electricity. The quantum dots’ narrow emission line width – around 

30 nanometers – yields their extremely pure color. Their core shell structure achieves nearly 

100% photon conversion efficiency, creating a more efficient display. 

Researchers at LBNL discovered that quantum dot crystals of different sizes could be made to 

emit multiple colors of light. With further research, LBNL scientists learned to manipulate 

nanocrystals, ultimately forming shapes with improved optical qualities. The foundational 

quantum dot technology was funded by DOE’s Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences.

Nanosys and its partners 3M and LG Innotek commercialized the technology after licensing 

LBNL’s breakthrough nanotechnologies in 2001 in the electronic display field of use. Nanosys is 

based in Milpitas, California and employs approximately 100 people. Its new factory produces 

25 tons of quantum dots annually, enough for 10 million big screen TVs.

Proving the Manufacturability of Malonic Acid from Biomass (Lawrence Berkeley 

National Laboratory)

Lygos, a start-up biotechnology 

company, discovered a new 

environmentally benign way to 

manufacture malonic acid using 

synthetic biology. In less than four years 

from this initial discovery, the 

innovators from Lygos, working with 

experts from the Advanced Biofuels 

Process Demonstration Unit (ABPDU) 

at the LBNL, proved the scalability of 

the new malonic acid biomanufacturing 

process, and at estimated production 

costs that are competitive to 

conventional technologies.

Malonic acid is a high value three 

carbon chemical used for applications in 

a variety of industries, from pharmaceuticals to metals manufacturing. Until recently, the only 

way to make malonic acid and its derivative compounds was from petroleum using toxic 

chemicals such as cyanide and chloroacetate. The Lygos bioprocess is based on a genetically 

engineered microbe producing a non-native enzyme called acyl-CoA hydrolase that can convert 

a cellular precursor to the desired renewable chemical. While the fundamental genetic pathway 

was described in a recent patent, whether the engineered microbe could use sustainable sugars 

from biomass or be up-scaled economically from bench to larger industrial fermentation systems 

was unknown. The expertise and unique facilities at the LBNL ABPDU proved to be critical to 
73

demonstrating that the innovative technology works as envisioned, allowing Lygos to provide 

samples of renewable malonic acid to potential customers and to generate datasets that could be 

used for engineering designs or techno-economic assessments of a future manufacturing plant. 

The journey from malonic acid bioprocess concept to pilot-scale production is emblematic of 

how an innovation can be nurtured at its formative stages by DOE and other federal agency 

support, and the pivotal role that DOE National Laboratories play in bringing innovations to the 

marketplace. Lygos itself was founded based on technologies catalyzed by the DOE Office of 

Science as a part of the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) and support for LBNL. The malonic 

acid bioprocess was further developed with SBIR grants from DOE and USDA, as well as other 

financial assistance provided by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s 

Bioenergy Technologies Office. While not the inventors of the technology, the facilities and the 

people at the ABPDU are supported by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office.

Advancing Storage and Fueling Technologies of Hydrogen Vehicles (Lawrence Livermore 

National Laboratory)

Hydrogen is not new in the pantheon of 

petroleum fuel alternatives, but it remains a 

strong contender. It promises zero tailpipe 

emissions, a long driving range and fast 

refueling times. Many scientists and engineers 

are optimistic that hydrogen vehicles will reduce 

the nation’s energy consumption and curb the 

release of greenhouse gases such as carbon 

dioxide. “Increasing use efficiency is an 

important first step but may not be enough for 

steep reductions in petroleum dependence and 

greenhouse-gas emissions,” says Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientist, 

Salvador Aceves. “We need to advance to a carbonless energy system using hydrogen fuel.”

As California rolls out more hydrogen fueling stations and new hydrogen vehicles roll into 

showrooms, technical issues such as storage, metering and supply chain remain. Because of 

hydrogen’s low density, it is difficult to store the quantities of hydrogen needed to provide the 

driving range achieved by gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles, despite hydrogen’s stellar fuel 

efficiency. Most prototype hydrogen vehicles use compressed hydrogen stored at room 

temperature and high pressure. Cryocompressed hydrogen storage developed at LLNL has the 

potential to meet DOE targets for volumetric and gravimetric efficiency and exceed the 

capacities in today’s compressed tanks.

As a DOE national laboratory, LLNL has long been involved in R&D of alternative energy 

technologies for transportation, including hydrogen fuel. LLNL began research in the 1990s on 

pressurized cryogenic hydrogen storage tank designs and laid the groundwork for several 

CRADA collaborations between 2008 and 2013, including long term collaboration with BMW. 

The BMW collaboration began in 2008. Successes have included an experimental Toyota Prius 

fueled with cryocompressed stored hydrogen. Recent hydrogen delivery advancements at LLNL 
74

include the installation, demonstration, and performance validation of a liquid hydrogen pump to 

fuel cryocompressed systems. These performances analyses are guiding cost projections of 

cyrocompressed dispensing. BMW has since demonstrated integration of hydrogen technology 

into their prototype vehicles. In 2014, LLNL and BMW Group renewed their commitment to 

hydrogen transportation with another CRADA to make the future hydrogen economy a reality. 

This project was funded by the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Fuel Cell 

Technologies Office.

Quantum Computing Goes to Market in Technology Transfer Agreement with Allied 

Minds (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

Researchers at Los Alamos National 

Laboratory (LANL) have made great strides 

over the past two decades in exploiting 

unusual features of quantum mechanics to 

secure information against hackers. Originally 

funded by the Defense Advanced Research 

Projects Agency and Laboratory Directed 

Research and Development Program, the 

technology works by harnessing the quantum 

properties of light to create and manage 

cryptographic keys with unprecedented 

security. Unlike current encryption systems, 

which rely on the assumed difficulty of solving a hard math problem, quantum cryptography 

systems base their security on immutable laws of physics. Consequently, the system will remain 

secure even as adversaries’ skill and computing power grow. This technology enables a 

completely new commercial platform for real-time encryption at high data rates. 

In addition, the LANL team has developed a compact random-number-generation technology 

that seeds cryptographic key generation based on the truly random quantum-optical states of 

light particles known as photons. Because the randomness of this optical state is based on 

quantum mechanics, an adversary cannot predict the outcome of this random number generator. 

This represents a vast improvement over current "random-number" generators that are based on 

mathematical formulas that can be broken by a computer with sufficient speed and power.

This past year LANL signed an exclusive license agreement with Whitewood Encryption 

Systems, Inc. of Boston, Mass., a wholly owned subsidiary of Allied Minds for several Los 

Alamos-created quantum-encryption patents in exchange for consideration in the form of 

licensing fees. Whitewood plans to bring the potential for truly secure data encryption to the 

marketplace after nearly 20 years of development at the nation's premier national-security 

science laboratory.

Whitewood will be addressing scalability, one of the most difficult problems in securing modern 

communications. The company must do this at low-cost, low-latency, and within high-security 

systems to effectively service increasingly complex data security needs.
75

Probing Fukushima with Cosmic Rays Should Help Speed Cleanup of Damaged Plant (Los 

Alamos National Laboratory)

LANL, in partnership Toshiba Corporation, is using a Los Alamos technique called muon 

tomography to safely peer inside, the cores of the Fukushima Daiichi reactors to create highresolution images of the damaged nuclear material inside without ever breaching the cores 

themselves. Muon tomography and development of its application at Fukushima was made 

possible in part through Los Alamos’ Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program. 

DOE supported work of the Los Alamos team with other research groups, including several 

Japanese institutions and the University of Texas. 

Muon radiography (also called cosmic-ray radiography) uses secondary particles generated when 

cosmic rays collide with upper regions of Earth’s atmosphere to create images of the objects that 

the particles, called muons, penetrate. The process is analogous to an X-ray image, except muons 

are produced naturally and do not damage 

the materials they contact.

In developing muon tomography, Los 

Alamos researchers found that by placing 

a pair of muon detectors in front of and 

behind an object, and measuring the 

degree of scatter the muons underwent as 

they interacted with the materials they 

penetrated, they could gather detailed 

images. The method works particularly 

well with highly interfering materials (so-called “high Z” materials) such as uranium. Because 

the muon scattering angle increases with atomic number, core materials within a reactor show up 

more clearly than the surrounding containment building, plumbing and other objects. 

Consequently, the Los Alamos muon tomography method shows tremendous promise for 

pinpointing the exact location of materials within the Fukushima reactor buildings.

As part of the partnership, Los Alamos will assist Toshiba in developing a Muon Tracker for use 

at the Fukushima plant. The initiative could reduce the time required to clean up the disabled 

complex by at least a decade and greatly reduce radiation exposure to personnel working at the 

plant.

Under an exclusive licensing agreement, Los Alamos’s muon tomography technology also been 

deployed by Decision Sciences International Corporation in portal monitors that use muon 

tomography at a major seaport for cargo-container scanning as well as at other locations.
76

Cerium Oxide Coating for Alloy Protection Solutions (National Energy Technology 

Laboratory)

The National Energy Technology Laboratory’s 

(NETL) novel coating provides an easy, 

inexpensive way to apply a protective coating to 

complex metal parts of varying shapes and sizes. 

The coating, developed by researchers at NETL’s 

Albany, Oregon site, helps to increase the 

oxidation resistance of nickel-based superalloys, 

as well as ferritic and austenitic stainless steels, by 

diffusing into the metal. In most cases, this 

coating improves metal oxidation resistance by a 

factor of two to three. 

The coating has applications in markets such as advanced, next-generation power plant 

components; solid oxide fuel cells; heaters and heat exchangers; or any other application where 

oxidation-resistant metals are needed. In order to produce power more efficiently and cleanly, 

the next generation of power plant boilers, turbines, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and other 

essential equipment will have to be operated at extreme pressures and temperatures, in what is 

known as the "ultra- supercritical" range. This range involves pressures up to 5,400 psi and 

temperatures up to 1,400°F. Even nickel-based superalloys and stainless steels suffer from 

excessive oxidation at these conditions, leading to the premature failure of components. Coating 

the metallic components with this coating, followed by thermally treating the alloy so that the 

cerium diffuses into the surface of the bulk metal alloy, is a solution for the prevention of 

excessive oxidation.

Researchers at NETL have developed a simple and robust method of applying a Cerium Oxide 

(CeO2) slurry with an activator compound to the surface of a metal component by brushing, 

spraying, or dipping. This low-cost process ensures a uniform coating on parts of complex 

shapes that are difficult to coat using sputtering, vapor deposition, or traditional pack 

cementation. Analysis of the coatings after thermal treatment showed that the CeO2 reacts with 

the metal surface to form a Ce-rich layer, with a Cr-Mn sublayer, resulting in a protective surface 

layer with a microstructure that greatly slows the oxidation rate. In most cases, the cerium 

surface treatment improved oxidation resistance by a factor of 2 to 3, and in a few alloys it 

resulted in to an order of magnitude improvement in performance.

As a result of a partnership with the Oregon State University (OSU) Advantage Accelerator, 

NETL licensed its patented, R&D award-winning Cerium Oxide Coating in 2014 to an OSU 

researcher. The researcher in turn founded Oregon startup, Total Alloy Protection Solutions 

(TAPS) and has been exploring key markets and finalizing a business model to develop the ideal 

path for the coating’s commercialization. Plans are underway to selling the coating to heat 

exchanger fabrication companies. The Cerium Oxide Coating technology was developed with 

funding from the Office of Fossil Energy, Fuel Cell Program. This technology was a project in 

the Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance which is collaboration between the Federal 

Government, private industry, academic institutions and national laboratories devoted to the
77

development of low-cost, modular, and fuel-flexible solid oxide fuel cell technology suitable for 

a variety of power generation applications.

Building-Integrated Supercomputer Provides Heating and Efficient Computing (National 

Renewable Energy Laboratory)

The new Energy Systems Integration Facility 

(ESIF) at the National Renewable Energy 

Laboratory (NREL) is meant to investigate 

new ways to integrate energy sources so they 

work together efficiently. One of the key tools 

to that investigation – a new supercomputer, is 

itself a prime example of energy systems 

integration. NREL teamed with HewlettPackard (HP) and Intel to develop the 

innovative warm-water, liquid-cooled 

Peregrine supercomputer, which not only 

operates efficiently but also provides hot 

water to the ESIF, meeting all of the building's heating needs.

Peregrine is the first installation of the new HP Apollo Liquid-Cooled Supercomputing Platform. 

It provides the foundation for numerical models and simulations that are enabling NREL 

scientists to gain new insights into a wide range of energy systems integration issues. This 

innovative high-performance computer (HPC) can do more than a quadrillion calculations per 

second as part of the world's most energy-efficient HPC data center.

As HPC systems are scaling up by orders of magnitude, energy consumption and heat dissipation 

issues are starting to stress the supporting systems and the facilities in which they are housed. 

But unlike most other computers that are air-cooled, Peregrine is cooled directly with warm 

water, allowing much greater performance density, cutting energy consumption in half, and 

creating efficiencies with other building energy systems. Peregrine’s warm-water cooling system 

eliminates the need for expensive data center chillers and heats the water to 103°F, allowing it to 

help meet building heating loads. At least 90% of the computer's waste heat is captured and 

reused as the primary heat source for the ESIF offices and laboratory space. The remaining waste 

heat is dissipated efficiently via evaporative cooling towers.

The ESIF is designed to address the key challenge of delivering distributed energy to the grid 

while maintaining reliability. It’s a complex problem involving systems within systems and 

leveraging Big Data—and the Peregrine serves as a powerful new tool in NREL’s ongoing work 

to find a solution. But although it's a cutting-edge facility, the ESIF is not some esoteric 

experimental building tucked away from the public. It was designed for partners—and since it 

opened for business, NREL’s world-class facility has attracted many commercial partners.

The ultra-efficient HPC data center earned a 2014 R&D 100 Award and helped the ESIF earn 

R&D Magazine’s 2014 Laboratory of the Year award and DOE’s 2013 Sustainability Award.

The technology was developed with funding from Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy.
78

Hawaiian Electric Advances Solar Inverters (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) 

Thanks to a SunShot collaboration at DOE’s 

NREL, more than 2,500 additional Hawaiian 

Electric customers will connect solar power 

to the electrical grid later this spring, with 

potentially many more to follow. This 

partnership between NREL, Hawaiian 

Electric Company, and SolarCity is funded 

by DOE’s SunShot Initiative and is helping 

researchers and utilities better understand 

how to use solar technologies in a safe, 

reliable and cost effective way.

Currently, solar power customers across Hawaii are feeding about 20 times more solar power on 

average into Hawaii’s electric grid compared to those on the mainland United States. 

Unfortunately, there are 2,700 solar-powered homes on circuits that are currently exceeding the 

minimum day-time load and are unable to be connected to the grid. In order to resolve this issue, 

Hawaiian Electric and SolarCity have been testing advanced inverters at the Energy Systems 

Integration Facility (ESIF) at NREL in Golden, Colorado.

The project uses advanced computer modeling software to analyze and address these highpenetration solar scenarios. Power inverters convert the direct-current power (in this case, solar 

energy) into alternating currents which are then used by an electrical grid. The advanced 

inverters used in this project include features that allow Hawaiian Electric’s power grid respond 

to electrical disturbances, such as the loss of a power plant or a large load tripping offline.

Advanced solar inverters and power electronics are increasingly enabling solar generation to be 

deployed on a major scale, lowering the cost of electricity and environmental impact of 

electricity generation. Researchers at NREL’s ESIF Facility completed testing of load rejection 

overvoltage last fall and have been a testing ground fault overvoltage since. This research will 

result in computer models that allow Hawaiian Electric to connect new customers’ solar power 

systems to the electrical grid.

This is not the first collaboration for SolarCity and Hawaiian Electric either. Hawaiian Electric, 

SolarCity, and the University of Hawaii demonstrated smart inverters in the field previously, also 

with the support of the SunShot Initiative.

Catalytic Ethanol Upgrading: A Technology to Breach the Blend Wall (Oak Ridge 

National Laboratory) 

Bio-Ethanol is the leading renewable transportation fuel in use today, accounting for 10% by 

volume of gasoline blends sold in the United States. Unfortunately, the lower energy density of 

ethanol and limitations in the existing transportation fuel infrastructure create a “blend wall” that 

limits ethanol adoption to approximately its current level. Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

(ORNL) has developed a catalytic ethanol upgrading technology that efficiently and costeffectively converts ethanol into drop-in replacements for gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel, 
79

enabling the nation to breach the blend wall and increase the adoption of this renewable fuel 

source. 

Unlike other conversion technologies that typically operate at high temperatures and pressures 

and require 2 to 2.5 ethanol molecules to produce 1 molecule of hydrocarbon blend-stock, the 

ORNL process occurs at relatively low temperature and at atmospheric pressure and requires 

only 1.6 ethanol molecules to produce 1 molecule of blend-stock. By increasing the yield and 

reducing the process cost, this revolutionary 

technology is expected to help the United 

States meet its renewable fuel standard targets 

and help the European Union achieve its 

Sustainable Aviation Fuel goals.

In 2014, ORNL licensed the technology to 

Vertimass, LLC, an entrepreneurial startup 

company whose management team includes 

seasoned entrepreneurs, bio-fuel experts, and 

scientists. Vertimass is now raising capital to 

continue product development and build its 

first facility. In October 2014, DOE 

announced Vertimass had been awarded a grant to accelerate its commercial development of the 

technology.

The ethanol upgrading technology was initially conceived in the DOE Bioenergy Science Center, 

and developed with support from the ORNL Laboratory Directed Research and Development 

program, DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy, and the ORNL Technology Transfer royalty fund.

Friction Stir Welding for Fuel-Efficient Vehicles (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

To reduce the weight of vehicles for greater fuel efficiency and fewer emissions, a joining 

process called friction stir welding was transferred to industry for creating quality lighter-weight 

welded panels made of aluminum. A team including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 

(PNNL), General Motors, TWB Company LLC, and Alcoa developed and deployed the 

technology for high-volume automotive use. This research was funded by DOE’s Office of 

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy-Vehicle Technologies Office.

Conventional laser welding technologies have been used for welding steel blanks, which are 

“stamped” to create vehicle parts. Laser welding, however, has proven to be more problematic 

for joining the more lightweight aluminum alloys. 

The DOE-PNNL industry team turned to friction stir welding, which was originally patented by 

others in the early 1990s for the aerospace industry. Over a three-year period, the team devised a 

way to use the same technology to join aluminum sheets of various thicknesses at much higher 

welding speeds to support the high volume required by the automotive sector, without melting 

the material or compromising the integrity of the vehicle or passenger safety. 
80

What made this technology transfer so successful was involving the entire supply chain in the 

development and transfer, including R&D partners, the material supplier, the component 

supplier, and the end user/vehicle manufacturer. The partnership resulted in this technology 

being used for the first time for both equal- and dissimilar-thickness joining of aluminum alloys 

at welding velocities that support high-volume production. 

Since this technology was transferred to TWB Company LLC, the company now can join more 

than 200,000 automotive components on a single machine and can provide welded aluminum 

blanks to the domestic automotive market in support of production of lighter, more efficient 

vehicles. Alcoa was able to expand automotive product lines supporting production of aluminum 

welded blanks. GM gained significant technical knowledge for how the company could apply the 

technology to future vehicle production. Additionally, it now has a qualified supplier for 

aluminum welded blanks.

The technology transfer advances U. S. economic competitiveness while supporting the goal of 

more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly highway transportation technologies that will 

enable the nation to use less petroleum.

Bacillus Anthracis Diagnostics (Sandia National Laboratory)

Bacillus anthracis, the bacteria that causes anthrax, is 

commonly found in soils all over the world and can cause 

serious, and often fatal, illness in both humans and 

animals. The bacteria can survive in harsh conditions for 

decades. Current detection technology of the bacteria 

requires that samples be propagated in a laboratory that 

uses specialized tools and require a consistent power 

supply, which is not always available in the developing 

world. Another disadvantage of the current technology is 

cost. The average diagnostic test for anthrax is about $30, 

which is out of the reach of many farmers, who face the consequences of not testing their 

animals including spread of infection and loss of their livestock.

Sandia’s new technology BaDx (Bacillus anthracis Diagnostic) was inspired by the laboratories’ 

International Biological Threat Reduction Program. The new device, which is more like a 

pocket-sized laboratory, could cost around $5-7 and does not require specialized tools to use. 

BaDx provides enhanced sensitivity with no requirement for batteries or electric power to 

operate. The device is hardy against wide temperature variations making it especially useful in 

parts of the world where anthrax is prevalent, but refrigeration and lab facilities are lacking. 

Sandia’s BaDx technology was developed with funding from Sandia’s Laboratory Directed 

Research and Development Program and licensed in 2014 to a New Mexico small business that 

specializes in the design and manufacture of technologies and services for nuclear security and 

international safeguards. Sandia researchers hope to expand the BaDx technology and use the 

basic device design to develop tests for other types of disease-carrying bacteria such as 

salmonella and group A streptococcus, which causes strep throat. Future devices could be 
81

created to detect infectious diseases in humans and stem the spread of infectious diseases during 

epidemics.

Hybrid Microwave Technology (Savannah River National Laboratory) 

Hadron Technologies, Inc., a microwave technology and 

systems development and manufacturing company with 

offices in Tennessee and Colorado, signed an exclusive 

license for a Hybrid Microwave and Off-Gas Treatment 

System developed by the Savannah River National 

Laboratory (SRNL), DOE’s applied science laboratory 

located at the Savannah River Site.

The agreement gives Hadron the exclusive rights to 

manufacture and sell the SRNL-developed system. The 

microwave system is used to support gas sample analysis as 

part of SRS national defense mission. Laboratory 

experimentation has shown that the new form of hybrid 

microwave is capable of performing functions that 

traditional microwave systems could not achieve. The 

system achieves extremely high temperatures by enabling materials that usually do not react to 

microwave energy to absorb it and rapidly heat up. Metals, which normally cannot be 

introduced into a microwave, not only can be treated in the system, but they are actually used to 

help increase the temperature of the lower chamber, enabling faster degradation of waste 

materials.

Combining the hybrid microwave energy system with the patented microwave off-gas treatment 

system provides a tandem process that treats not only primary wastes (both solids and liquids) 

but also secondary wastes such as gaseous effluents. In laboratory scale testing, secondary 

gaseous wastes resulting from the primarily waste treatment process were successfully reduced 

to acceptable or non-detectable levels.

Equipment using these technologies could be used to destroy a wide variety of substances 

ranging from medical wastes to harmful viruses and drugs such as methamphetamine, while still 

allowing for DNA analysis of the destroyed material. This innovative microwave technology 

affords solutions to a number of obstacles within the commercial and government markets. The 

hybrid microwave technology currently has seven patents. Hadron is currently focusing on 

marketing this technology for applications within industry. The technology was developed with 

funding from Office of Environmental Management, Waste Management Program.
82

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Research at HHS is conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

The NIH has as its mission to conduct and support of biomedical research to improve the public 

health. The NIH Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) is responsible for identifying, evaluating, 

protecting, and marketing technologies derived in NIH intramural laboratories. OTT transfers 

these technologies through licenses to the private sector, where they can be further developed 

into products used in the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of disease.

NIH’s annual technology transfer report is available online at:

http://www.ott.nih.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pdfs/AR2014.pdf.

More information about HHS technology transfer activities is available on the following 

websites:

• CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/technology/; 

• NIH: http://www.ott.nih.gov/; and 

• FDA: http://www.fda.gov/ScienceResearch/CollaborativeOpportunities /default.htm.

Effectively measuring the public health outcomes that result from such technologies is 

challenging and complex. Traditionally, efforts to measure the effect of technology transfer 

activities focus on outputs such as the number of patents and licenses or the amount of royalties 

generated. However, this approach does not depict the full scope of activities and may distort the 

importance of ensuring that novel biomedical inventions are commercialized.
83

HHS Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of new inventions disclosed increased by 4% to 351

disclosures in FY 2014. The number of patent applications filed experienced a 26% decrease.

The number of patents issued during this five-year period decreased by 29% to 335 patents in FY 

2014.

337

351 352

320

351

291

272

233 230

216

470

270

453

428

335

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

HHS Invention Disclosures and Patenting

New Inventions Disclosed Patent Applications Filed Patents Issued

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

New Inventions Disclosed 337 351 352 320 351

Patent Applications Filed 291 272 233 230 216

Patents Issued 470 270 453 428 335
84

USPTO Patents Assigned to HHS by Technology Area: FY 201454

 54 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using the Web of Science database. All rights reserved. Used with 

permission.
85

HHS Licenses

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active licenses decreased by 20% to 1,555

licenses in FY 2014. New licenses decreased by 21% to 212 licenses from a previous 269 in FY 

2010. The number of total active invention licenses decreased by 4% to 1,186 licenses. 1,941 1,613 1,465 1,4261,555 269 264 231 184 212 1,240 414 1,090 1,069 1,186 217 106192 152 117 848 849 809 809

845

24

27

24

125

34

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

HHS Licenses

Licenses, Total Active New Licenses

Invention Licenses, Total Active New Invention Licenses

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Licenses, Total Active 1,941 1,613 1,465 1,426 1,555

New Licenses 269 264 231 184 212

Invention Licenses, Total Active 1,240 414 1,090 1,069 1,186

New Invention Licenses 217 106 192 152 117

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 848 849 809 809 845

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 24 27 24 125 34
86

HHS Income from Licensing

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total income from all active licenses increased by 

70% to $137.2 million in FY 2014. The income from invention licenses increased by 68% to 

$133.8 million. Total earned royalty income increased 28% from $91.4 million in FY 2010 to 

$116.8 million in FY 2014. $80,923 

$98,453 

$110,576 

$116,448

$137,249

$79,805 

$82,842 

$108,308 

$103,664

$133,814

$91,374 

$96,605 

$110,930 

$116,601

$116,765

$0

$20,000

$40,000

$60,000

$80,000

$100,000

$120,000

$140,000

$160,000

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

HHS Income from Licensing ($000s)

Total Income, All Active Licenses Invention Licenses Total Earned Royalty Income

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Total Income, All Active Licenses $80,923 $98,453 $110,576 $116,448 $137,249

Invention Licenses $79,805 $82,842 $108,308 $103,664 $133,814

Total Earned Royalty Income $91,374 $96,605 $110,930 $116,601 $116,765
87

HHS Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active CRADAs increased by 19% to 532 

agreements. The number of new CRADAs per fiscal year increased by 18% to 98 new 

agreements in FY 2014. Total active traditional CRADAs increased by 26% during the five-year 

period, totaling 378 agreements in FY 2014.

447

430

377

427

532

83 81 93 104 98

300 284

245

313

378

0 0 0

114

154

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

HHS Collaborative R&D Relationships

CRADAs, Total Active New CRADAs

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active Other Collaborative R&D Relationships

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

CRADAs, Total Active 447 430 377 427 532

New CRADAs 83 81 93 104 98

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 300 284 245 313 378

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 0 0 0 114 154
88

HHS Efforts to Streamline Technology Transfer Operations

Technology transfer at NIH was carried out in 2014 by its component Institutes and Centers 

(ICs) through the offices of their respective Technology Development Coordinators (TDCs) and 

by the central NIH Office of Technology Transfer (OTT), collectively the NIH Technology 

Transfer Community. The efforts of the TDCs and OTT, which include complementary and 

coordinated activities, together comprise the NIH Technology Transfer Program. 

The OTT also manages the patenting and licensing of inventions made by FDA scientists and, 

beginning in 2013, inventions made by intramural scientists working at the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention (CDC). Thus, the OTT activities, but not the IC activities, apply to NIH 

as well as FDA and CDC intramural inventions.

In 2013, the Advisory Committee to the NIH Deputy Director for Intramural Research 

(ACDDIR) established an ad hoc committee to assess the OTT to determine how this office 

function relates to and services the overall technology transfer needs at NIH. In 2014, this 

committee, along with the NIH Technology Transfer Steering Committee (TTSC), made up of 

senior NIH leadership, provided recommendations for improvements. The principal 

recommendation was to align authority and responsibility for the implementation and execution 

of patenting and licensing within the NIH Institutes and Centers. In September 2014, the NIH 

Steering Committee accepted the recommendation that direct patenting and licensing functions 

and associated staff be decentralized and aligned with the NIH ICs effective October 1, 2015. 

The FDA and the CDC were considering how they want to manage their patenting and licensing 

activities. Another recommendation under review is to establish a central technology transfer

enterprise web-based system to better share data in real time between the various components of 

NIH technology transfer operations. 

HHS Downstream Success Stories

NIH: The Breast Cancer Startup Challenge

The Breast Cancer Startup Challenge (BSSC) is a partnership between the National 

Cancer Institute, the OTT, the Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI) and the Avon 

Foundation for Women. The primary goals of the BCSC are to accelerate the process of 

bringing emerging breast cancer technologies to market and to stimulate the creation of startup 

businesses around the inventions. The BCSC was comprised of nine patented technologies from 

the NCI intramural program and one from an Avon funded research facility judged appropriate 

for startups and showing great promise to advance breast cancer research. Teams of business, 

legal, medical/scientific, engineering, computer science students, seasoned entrepreneurs as well 

as others from industry competed by creating business plans, performing live pitches and 

developing elevator speeches focused on developing and commercializing the inventions. In 

March 2014, the challenge winners and finalists launched their startups, began to raise funding 

and negotiate a license for the invention. As a result of the BCSC, more than 270 challenge

competitors received startup and entrepreneurship training, 10 breast cancer-related 

inventions are being advanced, and 11 startups that can help create new jobs were 

launched. In recognition of this innovative program, NCI and OTT staff received 
89

a group award from the National Cancer Institute and an HHS innovates Secretary’s Pick 

Award. 

Based on the successful BSSC model, the Neuro Startup Challenge (NSC) was launched 

in September 2014, centered around 16 unlicensed brain- related inventions from 

multiple NIH institutes. In this challenge, 61 teams comprised of graduate-level 

medical and business students and postdocs, as well as seasoned entrepreneurs, were 

accepted into the competition to create strategic business plans and launch

startups to develop and commercialize the selected inventions. The CAI is continuing its 

partnership role with NIH Technology Transfer in this new challenge, and Heritage 

Provider Network is engaged as the philanthropic partner.

NIH: Expansion of Carey Business School Project

NIH expanded its project with the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University in 

Baltimore, which conducts graduate level business educational programs with a specific focus on 

healthcare and health technology development. Operating under a Memorandum of 

Understanding (MOU) Agreement, OTT staff worked with MBA students and faculty in their 

“Discovery 2 Market” classes for feasibility analysis and recommendations regarding 

technologies from the portfolio of NIH and FDA intramural inventions.

In FY14, this program was expanded to include MBA students in classes at both the Baltimore, 

MD, and Washington, DC, campuses of the university. By providing actual current healthcarerelated inventions for student analysis, OTT licensing and patenting managers receive 

additional feedback and insight into the market dynamics and commercial potential 

associated with inventions in their portfolios. As a result, NIH technology managers 

received several promising leads for both licensing and research collaborations with 

industry. OTT efforts with this program in FY14 were recognized with an FLC

Mid-Atlantic Regional Award and was selected as a Semi-Finalist in the “HHS Innovates” 

award program.

NIH: Noted Publications

“Leveraging Public Private Partnerships to Innovate Under Challenging Budget Times,” Portilla, 

L.M. and Rohrbaugh, M.L. Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry, Vol. 14, pp. 326-329 (2014).

“NIH Inventions Translate into Drugs and Biologics with High Public Health Impact,” 

Chatterjee, S.K. and Rohrbaugh, M.L., Nature Biotechnology, Vol. 32, pp. 52-58 (2014).

“Licensing the Technology: Biotechnology Commercialization Strategies Using University and 

Federal Labs” Steven M. Ferguson and Uma S. Kaundinya In: Craig Shimasaki, ed. 

Biotechnology Entrepreneurship: Starting, Managing, and Leading Biotech Companies, pp.185-

206, Elsevier Inc. (2014).

NIH: CRADAs

NIH continued its efforts to improve the efficiency of the NIH CRADA program. A trans-NIH 

CRADA Working Group completed its efforts to develop clearer model terms to be used in 

CRADAs. This language is being used in a newly developed automated system called “CRADA 
90

Builder.” A contract was awarded to a vendor to automate the process to “build” CRADAs 

customized to the needs of the collaboration (“CRADA Builder”). The goal of CRADA Builder 

is to create a document that best reflects the intent of the research and moves away from the use 

of one-size-fits-all model agreements that often require extensive and time consuming revisions. 

At the end of 2014 the system was in its beta phase of design and is expected to be launched 

more broadly in 2015. 
91

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

The DHS’s Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA) resides within the Science 

and Technology Directorate. The ORTA develops and institutes policies to facilitate technology 

transfer in accordance with 15 U.S.C. § 3710 in consultation with and assisted by the Office of 

the General Counsel’s Technology Programs Law Division supporting S&T and the Department.

These policies are applicable throughout the Department and its laboratories. The ORTA’s 

responsibilities include the following:

• Standardizes, reviews, negotiates and approves DHS CRADAs, licensing, and other 

technology transfer agreements in collaboration with the Office of the General Counsel’s 

Technology Programs Law Division;

• Prepares application assessments for selected R&D projects in which the DHS Laboratory 

is involved and may have commercial applications;

• Provides and disseminates information on federally owned or originated technologies 

which have potential application to State and local governments and private industry;

• Prepares and provides an annual report to Congress and the President through submission 

to NIST;

• Develops training programs on technology transfer and intellectual property for DHS 

employees; and

• Establishes an intellectual property program for DHS to track and prosecute patents and 

other intellectual property and to develop a royalty and rewards policy.

More information about DHS technology transfer activities is available on the following website:

http://www.dhs.gov/technology-transfer-program.
92

DHS Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of new inventions disclosed increased by 414% to 

36 disclosures in FY 2014. The number of patent applications filed experienced a 150% increase. 

The number of patents issued during this five-year period increased by 200% to 3 patents in FY 

2014.

Data from the USPTO identifies the patent(s) issued to DHS are in the technology areas of 

Analysis of Biological Materials (34%), Measurement (33%), and Transport (33%).

55

 55 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using the Web of Science database. All rights reserved. Used with 

permission.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

New Inventions Disclosed 7 38 40 20 36

Patent Applications Filed 2 12 10 4 5

Patents Issued 1 0 0 4 3
93

DHS Licenses

All DHS licenses in FY 2014 were trademark licenses. Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the 

number of total active licenses increased dramatically by 2,152% to 10,313 licenses in FY 2014. 

New licenses increased by 1,821% to 8,797 licenses from a previous 458 in FY 2010. The 

number of trademark licenses increased significantly in FY 2014 as a result of several, new 

public-private initiatives including “America’s PrepareAthon!” campaign run by the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism 

(C-TPAT) program led by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, the Electronic 

Immigration System (ELIS), “SELF-CHECK” and “E-VERIFY” programs run by the U.S. 

Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Each of these programs involve hundreds of 

users who have signed license agreements.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Licenses, Total Active 458 495 523 1,265 10,313

New Licenses 458 418 37 733 8,797

Invention Licenses, Total Active 0 0 0 0 2

New Invention Licenses 0 0 0 0 0

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 0 0 0 0 1

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 0 0 0 0 0
94

DHS Income from Licensing

In FY 2014, DHS reported $3,000 in income from licenses.

DHS Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active CRADAs increased by 339% to 158

agreements. The number of new CRADAs per fiscal year increased by 529% to 88 new 

agreements in FY 2014. Total active traditional CRADAs increased by 278% during the fiveyear period, totaling 121 agreements in FY 2014.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

CRADAs, Total Active 36 62 94 114 158

New CRADAs 14 31 53 76 88

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 32 55 89 91 121

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 3 11 11 6 31
95

DHS Downstream Success Stories

Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC)

Conditional License Renewed for Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) Vaccine that can be 

Produced on U.S. Mainland

The DHS S&T HSARPA CBD Agro-defense program and ONL PIADC worked together with 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agriculture Research Service at PIADC on a novel 

recombinant FMD cattle vaccine that was licensed by the USDA Center for Veterinary Biologics 

in 2012. In 2014, the conditional license was granted a two-year renewal and an expanded FMD 

vaccine development agreement was signed with the global animal health leader in FMD vaccine 

manufacturing and sales. The FMD vaccine is molecular-based and because highly contagious 

FMD virus is not used in the manufacturing process, it can be produced safety in the United 

States. Another advantage is that this is a DIVA vaccine, which provides the optional capability 

to vaccinate livestock to live versus be disposed in the event of widespread or catastrophic FMD 

outbreak. 

Chemical Security Analysis Center (CSAC)

Food Defense Modeling and Simulation Capability Improvements with Archer-DanielsMidland (ADM)

In September the CSAC and ADM entered into a CRADA to jointly improve Food Defense 

modeling and simulation capability available to both the food industry and to the Federal 

Government. The ADM and CSAC collaborative model draws upon ADM’s extensive expertise 

in food processing unit operations modeling, and CSAC’s ground breaking toxicological 

modeling. Together, a joint model was developed and made available to the entire food industry 

through the University of Minnesota's National Center for Food Protection and Defense’s 

website. This activity provides industry and the Federal Government with new tools that will 

greatly assist in meeting the requirements being promulgated under the Food Safety 

Modernization Act (FSMA).

Chemical Terrorism Risk Assessment Desktop Tool Transition

The CSAC has successfully transitioned the Chemical Terrorism Risk Assessment (CTRA) 

Desktop Tool software to the HHS Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority 

(BARDA). The Tool, which was developed based on the detailed and compressive models and 

input data sets from the CTRA, has been adapted from a high performance computing (HPC) 

platform to a desktop computer allowing individual users to quickly explore specific elements of 

the full CTRA. The Tool permits an in depth, detailed analysis of the individual factors that 

impact the threat, vulnerabilities, consequence, and ultimately the risk, associated with a 

chemical terrorism event or an accidental catastrophic chemical release. Transition to additional 

partners is planned in FY15.

Continued Success in Partnership Between CSAC and Chlorine Institute

The CSAC has continued and expanded its partnership with the Chlorine Institute (CI), through 

the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) established in 2013, with a 

string of successful transition and collaborative activities in 2014. Using experimental data and 

findings from CSAC’s Project Jack Rabbit chlorine release trials, the CSAC conducted new 

modeling and updated the chlorine release scenarios in CI’s Pamphlet 74, which is the industrial 
96

best-practices guidance for the safe handling of chlorine. Additionally, CSAC transitioned the 

new findings and modeling to the chemical and rail industries and the emergency response 

community through several national-level events and training sessions hosted by CI and the 

Association of American Railroads. 

The CRADA partnership significantly expanded in 2014 to include CI’s contribution of hundreds 

of tons of chlorine for use in CSAC’s Jack Rabbit II program where a series of 5 to 20-ton 

chlorine releases will be conducted in the Fall of 2015 and 2016 at the US Army’s Dugway 

Proving Ground, UT, to fill key data gaps and improve the understanding of catastrophic toxic 

chemical releases of this nature. CI will also participate directly in the experiments by providing 

emergency response contractors to safely conduct all chlorine transport and handling operations.

Borders and Maritime Security Division (BMD)

Ground Based Technologies: Canada-U.S. Sensor Sharing Pilot

The BMD developed and tested a correlated surveillance picture using complementary U.S. and 

Canadian sensors to provide a joint surveillance picture simultaneously to both U.S. Customs 

and Border Protection (CBP) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). This joint 

surveillance picture improves CBP’s and RCMP’s ability to secure the U.S.-Canada terrestrial 

borders by achieving complete awareness of high-risk border areas (eliminating blind spots) 

while providing a model for future border surveillance sensor sharing opportunities with 

international partners.

Air Based Technologies: Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety (RAPS)

The BMD partnered with industry to assess 30 commercial-off-the-shelf Small Unmanned 

Aircraft System (SUAS) platforms in emergency response and law enforcement scenarios 

resulting in a full set of Test Reports available on www.firstresponder.gov. The test reports 

inform potential SUAS users of the utility of these systems, best practices for safe and effective 

use, and save on the cost of performing their own evaluation while helping guide potential SUAS 

acquisition decisions. This is facilitating and accelerating the use of SUAS to fill capability gaps 

for both DHS operational components (CBP, FEMA, U.S. Coast Guard) and First Responders 

(fire services, search and rescue, law enforcement, and major disaster responders). It is estimated 

that thousands of first responder organizations will now not need to conduct their own SUAS 

field testing, saving in excess of $30M while also accelerating the acquisition and integration of

SUAS into their operations.

Cargo Container Security: National Capital Region Secure Delivery

The BMD partnered with industry to initiate a pilot with the Federal Protective Service (FPS) to 

use commercial off-the-shelf electronic security devices to secure and track deliveries (packages, 

cargoes) between federal facilities in the National Capital Region. The pilot involves evaluating 

an array of commercially available security devices and their associated supply chain 

management system for tracking deliveries. During the pilot, the electronic security devices are 

used to monitor deliveries after first being screened for explosives and firearms at the Remote 

Delivery Screening facility. The devices detect unauthorized door openings, off-route 

deviations, and excessive delays along delivery routes to federal facilities. The pilot automates 

current manual processes, saving government resources while increasing the security of and 

expediting the flow of deliveries around the National Capital Region.
97

Cargo Container Security: Secure Hybrid Composite Container

The BMD successfully completed the development and testing of the Hybrid Composite 

Container (constructed of both steel and composite materials) with embedded sensors to detect 

and report tampering or unauthorized intrusion. The container improves the security of the global 

supply chain while simultaneously expediting the flow of commerce by reducing/eliminating the 

need for CBP to scan or manually inspect the container’s contents. The initial development was 

done in partnership with the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs and currently DoD and DOS 

are investigating the use of the composite container to meet their unique cargo security needs. 

Development of a production line for the composite container provides government and industry 

the opportunity to perform a more detailed cost/benefit analysis, bolstering future 

commercialization opportunities. 
98

Department of the Interior (DOI)

Technology transfer for DOI includes a range of activities designed to disseminate scientific and 

technical information and knowledge within DOI and to other Federal and non-Federal entities, 

including the public. It includes but is not limited to publications, exchange of scientific and 

technical information, protecting and licensing intellectual property rights, and sharing or 

otherwise making available for scientific or technical purposes the expertise and specialized 

scientific material and resources that DOI manages. In general, technology transfer activities 

within DOI are consistent with its mission to protect and manage the Nation’s natural resources 

and cultural heritage; to make available scientific and other information about those resources; to 

honor trust responsibilities to Tribes; and to supply energy for the future. 

This section draws on DOI’s annual technology transfer report for FY 2014, which describes the 

actions DOI took in FY 2014 to advance technology transfer. These range from developing and 

distributing new technologies to provide earthquake early warning alerts to developing systems 

to help reduce collisions between birds and man-made objects to testing new coatings 

technologies to protect water infrastructure from invasive mussels. It also describes progress on 

meeting the objectives of DOI’s Technology Transfer Plan, submitted to the Office of 

Management and Budget, to advance its technology transfer activities. These activities 

demonstrate the innovation, expertise and dedication of the DOI’s employees, including its many 

scientists and engineers.

The FY 2014 enacted budget for DOI included $828.4 million for research and development. 

Much of the funding was for applied research ($665.7 million), while basic R&D received $52.2 

million and $110.5 million, respectively. The programs supported through these funds generate 

large amounts of knowledge, information, and technology, which help DOI meet its mission 

objectives and are transferred to resource managers, stakeholders, and the general public.

DOI’s bureaus have varying levels of involvement with scientific and technical research and 

innovation, and technology transfer. In FY 2014, as in previous years, the majority of 

technology transfer activities being reported by DOI under the Federal Technology Transfer Act 

of 1986 (FTTA) was undertaken by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). It is the largest R&D 

organization within the DOI, both in terms of budget and personnel, and typically accounts for 

almost 80% of DOI’s R&D budget. 

DOI’s scientists, engineers and other technical personnel advance the state of knowledge related 

to DOI’s resources, and ensure that this information is accessible to resource managers, private 

industry, and the general public. The vast majority of DOI’s technology transfer activities use 

traditional technology transfer mechanisms such as publications of peer reviewed papers and 

reports, webpage postings, fact sheets, and presentations at meetings and conferences. In 2014, 

USGS and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) personnel, for example, authored or coauthored over 7,500 reports, books, fact sheets, and other publications, including over 2,200 

scientific journal articles. Bureaus also use other conventional approaches to share scientific and 

technical resources and expertise with each other, universities and other entities to address 

resource management issues. For example, six bureaus are active participants in the network of 

Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs), a collaboration among 358 partners, including 
99

14 Federal agencies and over 300 non-Federal partners (including universities, Tribes and tribal 

organizations, State agencies, museums, aquariums, arboretums, and conservation organizations) 

organized into 17 CESUs, each hosted by a university.

Bureaus that are active in R&D, or have research capabilities that complement U.S. commercial 

interests, may also utilize technology transfer agreements authorized by the FTTA to join forces 

with non-Federal partners. Such agreements allow DOI’s bureaus and private sector industries to 

pool their expertise and resources to jointly create and advance technologies that could help 

fulfill agency missions while helping U.S. industries innovate and commercialize technologies 

that can strengthen our national economy and create jobs. 

• DOI's annual technology transfer report is available online at: 

https://www.doi.gov/techtransfer/annual-doi-reports-on-technology-transfer

• More information about DOI technology transfer activities is available on the 

following website: https://www.doi.gov/techtransfer/. 
100

DOI Invention Disclosures and Patenting

From FY 2010 to FY 2014, the number of new inventions disclosed increased to six disclosures. 

The number of patent applications filed experienced a 43% decrease. The number of patents 

issued decreased by 60% to two patents in FY 2014. The percent changes in invention 

disclosures and patents seem relatively large because their absolute numbers are low for DOI. 

This is because DOI’s technology transfer focus has been on acquiring and spreading knowledge 

and information rather than inventions and patents.

Data from the USPTO identifies the patent(s) issued to DOI are in the technology areas of Other 

Special Machines (50%), Materials, Metallurgy (33%), and Measurement (17%).56

 56 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using the Web of Science database. All rights reserved. Used with 

permission.
101

DOI Licenses

From FY 2010 to FY 2014, the number of total active licenses decreased by 36% to 18 licenses 

in FY 2014. There were no new licenses in FY 2014. The number of total active invention 

licenses decreased by 30% to 16 licenses.
102

DOI Income from Licensing

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total income from all active licenses decreased 

by 28% to $58 thousand in FY 2014. The income from invention licenses decreased by the same 

amount, as all income received came from invention licenses. Total earned royalty income was 

$58 thousand in FY 2014.
103

DOI Collaborative R&D Relationships

From FY 2010 to FY 2014, the number of total active CRADAs increased by 38% to 601

agreements. The number of new CRADAs per fiscal year increased by 416% to 423 new 

agreements in FY 2014. Total active traditional CRADAs increased by 21% during the five-year 

period, totaling 35 agreements in FY 2014.
104

DOI Efforts to Streamline Technology Transfer Operations

In FY 2014, the Department continued to build on actions initiated in FY 2011, to institutionalize 

technology transfer programs within the Department and to enable all bureaus to more 

effectively and efficiently implement the FTTA and related legislation while maintaining focus 

on their missions. These actions included:

• Adoption of the new Departmental Manual chapter establishing policy and procedures for 

implementing and administering technology transfer agreements.

• Development of a technology transfer website to provide information on relevant bureau 

programs and activities, as well as opportunities for other agencies, and private and nonprofit institutions to cooperate with the Department’s scientists, engineers and technical 

personnel. The website will be updated, as necessary. 

• The National Park Service (NPS) issued its benefits-sharing policy on December 19, 

2013, and the benefits-sharing handbook on September 29, 2014.

• Following significant interest within bureaus to use prize competition authority under the 

America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 to advance innovations to fulfill 

mission goals, the Department initiated the development of policy and procedural 

guidance for offering and administering prize challenges and competitions.

DOI Downstream Success Stories

Seconds Matter — Earthquake Early Warning System

Earthquakes pose a national challenge 

because 75 million Americans live in 

areas of significant seismic risk across 

39 states. Most of our Nation’s 

earthquake risk is concentrated on the 

West Coast of the United States. In the 

next 30 years, California has an 

estimated 99.7% chance of a magnitude 

6.7 or larger earthquake. Today, the 

technology exists to detect earthquakes 

so quickly that an alert can reach some 

areas before strong shaking arrives. 

Seconds matter in earthquake safety. 

Advance warnings of 20 to 40 seconds 

can give enough time to slow and stop 

trains and taxiing planes, to prevent cars 

from entering bridges and tunnels, to 

move away from dangerous machines 

or chemicals in work environments 

and to take cover under a desk, or to 

Schematic illustrating the principle behind USGS’s 

ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System. 

Illustration Courtesy -- USGS

 
105

automatically shut down and isolate industrial systems. Taking such actions before shaking 

starts can reduce damage and casualties during an earthquake. It can also prevent cascading 

failures in the aftermath of an event. For example, isolating utilities before shaking starts can 

reduce the number of fire initiations.

The principle behind the earthquake early warning 

system is that information can be sent through 

electronic communication systems virtually 

instantaneously, whereas seismic waves travel 

through the shallow Earth at speeds ranging from 

one to a few kilometers per second (0.5-3 

miles/sec). When an earthquake occurs, both 

compressional (P) waves and transverse (S) waves 

radiate outward from the epicenter. The P wave, 

which travels fastest, trips sensors placed in the 

landscape, causing alert signals to be sent ahead, 

giving people and automated electronic systems 

some time (seconds to minutes) to take 

precautionary actions before damage can begin 

with the arrival of the slower but stronger S waves 

and later-arriving surface waves. 

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), in 

partnership through a CRADA with Early 

Warning Labs (EWL) of Santa Monica, CA, is

working to distribute earthquake early warning 

alerts. USGS and EWL researchers aim to 

improve the distribution of alerts, and initiate 

automated actions to earthquake early warning alerts using data from the USGS ShakeAlert 

system. 

EWL is developing new technologies and a robust cloud server environment able to handle low 

cost mass distribution of these warnings. In addition, EWL is researching and developing 

automated response standards and systems that will allow public and private users to take predefined automated actions to protect lives and assets. 

As part of its ongoing research, EWL is developing working prototype installations in California 

to demonstrate its findings in real-life scenarios while allowing the USGS and partners the 

opportunity to conduct hands-on testing and demonstrations. As a result of this partnership, 

limited market ready solutions will be available pending partial or full rollout of the ShakeAlert 

system. These new technologies will help alert to the public to prepare for an impending 

earthquake and allow time for emergency responders to react more quickly. 

Development of a System to Reduce Collisions between Birds and Aircraft

USGS has long conducted research involving the movement, survival, and behavior of birds. 

Bird strikes occur when birds come into contact with moving or fixed objects. Collisions with 

Screenshot of a computer screen with an early 

warning alert sent via the ShakeAlert system. 

Illustrations: Courtesy — USGS.
106

aircraft, for instance, usually kill the birds while also potentially posing a danger to aircraft and 

any passengers. In order to minimize such collisions, the USGS Geology, Minerals, Energy and 

Geophysics Science Center (GMEGSC) is collaborating with Technology International 

Incorporated of Virginia, a private entity, to develop a bird deterrence method and system. 

Recent GMEGSC research into avian navigation has shown that birds use naturally occurring 

infrasonic (low frequency) acoustic signals within the atmosphere below the range of human 

hearing (<20 Hz) for determining the direction and, possibly, distance of their navigational goal. 

The objective of the CRADA project is to develop a cost effective system for repelling birds 

from areas around aircraft and other high value targets in order to eliminate any potential for 

aircraft or facility damage. This will be accomplished by producing an infrasonic beam within 

the target area that would repel birds by either jamming their navigational signal, or by 

producing a sound pressure level high enough to cause discomfort and avoidance. The 

infrasound frequency and intensity should be at levels that preclude harm to the birds (or 

humans). In addition, the infrasound frequency range should not interfere with any current 

operational aircraft of ground-based sensor systems. Although the primary purpose of the 

system is collision avoidance between aircraft and birds during daily flight operations without 

impacting mission requirements, the system will also prevent other forms of damage caused by 

birds nesting and perching in unwanted areas. If the demonstration projects yield positive 

results, this technique will potentially improve bird and aircraft safety. 

Reducing Bat Fatalities from Wind Turbines

Prior to the late 1990’s, fatal collisions of bats with tall man-made structures such as buildings 

and communication towers were extremely rare events. Since then a large and growing number 

of utility scale wind turbines have increased bat fatalities to the point that they could 

detrimentally impact bat populations. In addition, legally protected species, such as the 

endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and the Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus 

semotus), are also falling victim to turbines. The phenomenon of bat collisions with wind 

turbines is new and needs to be studied scientifically to help reduce, if not prevent, such 

collisions in the future. As part of this effort, scientists from five USGS science centers 

partnered with industry (BP Alternative Energy) using a Technical Assistance Agreement, and a 

conservation organization (Bat Conservation International) to conduct a field experiment to test 

whether bats are attracted to wind turbines. The research involved manipulation of turbine blade 

speeds, then simultaneously combining and comparing different methods of monitoring bat 

fatalities (carcass searches) and activity (radar, acoustic monitoring, and video surveillance) 

among the different blade speeds. This effort included development of a novel video 

surveillance method using thermal videography for remotely imaging bats and birds flying in the 

dark at the heights of wind turbines (greater than 30-story buildings). 
107

 Left (A): Field technicians conducting fatality searches around wind turbine. Center (B): Carcass of hoary 

bat (Lasiurus cinereus) found beneath turbine on bare ground. Right (C): Footage from the thermal 

videography system revealed that bats approach and interact with wind turbines in consistent and 

predictable ways. Photo credits: Paul Cryan.

Videography revealed that bats more often approached wind turbines high above the ground and 

from the downwind side when the wind was blowing. This strong pattern strengthened as wind 

speed increased and when turbine blades were experimentally prevented from turning at full 

speed, but decreased in high winds when turbine blades spun normally. Bats also appeared at 

turbines more often during bright moonlit nights. These patterns suggest that bats might follow 

air currents around tree-like structures and use visual cues at night, but may not be able to tell a 

tree from a wind turbine with slow or stopped blades. Bats may be more likely to approach 

turbines when they sense airflow patterns resembling trees, but then might be put at risk if wind 

speed rapidly increases and pushes turbine blades to speeds faster than bats can perceive or 

outmaneuver. The new findings may have practical implications toward the goal of reducing or 

avoiding bat fatalities at wind turbines. By identifying and substantiating the causes of bat 

mortality, solutions may be developed to reduce bat mortality while minimizing costs to the 

wind-energy industry. 

Mobile Condition Assessments for Cultural Resources

The National Park Service (NPS) provides technical information and tools to 

Federal/State/local/Tribal agencies to assist in response and recovery efforts for natural and 

cultural resources damaged by natural disasters. To facilitate recovery of historic buildings and 

other cultural sites, the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) has 

developed a mobile system to inventory damaged resources and assess their condition. This 

system, called MoCA (Mobile Condition Assessments), can be used on iPad, iPhone, and 

Android devices. Response and recovery teams can quickly conduct assessments in the field. 

When an Internet connection is available, data is synchronized between devices and a server. 

MoCA enables responders to assess impacts and allocate recovery resources more effectively.

This system uses open source software. Each survey is designed for rapid assessment in areas 

with no data connection. The first release includes a building damage assessment. Surveys for 

archeological sites, trees, and other cultural landscape features will follow in subsequent 

releases.

North Slope Coastal Imagery Initiative

The North Slope of Alaska is a region of both onshore and offshore oil development and 

stretches 6,000 km (4,000 mi) from Cape Lisburne, Alaska, to the Canadian border. The 

A B C
108

shoreline is entirely permafrost and, as a result, includes unique coastal processes and habitats. 

Because of its extreme environment, were an oil spill to occur in that area clean up would be a 

significant challenge. The objective of this Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement 

(BSEE) project is to develop a coastal imagery-based response tool that could be implemented 

on the North Slope and used to assist the Federal On-Scene Coordinator and Incident Command 

with a decision-support system for spill response. This tool provides online access to over 30 

hours of geo-referenced high-definition videography and more than 16,000 high resolutions, georeferenced photographs. The provision of geo-referenced, high resolution imagery provides the 

Federal On-Scene Coordinator and Incident Command with invaluable information to support 

their decision-making during an oil spill incident.
109

Department of Transportation (DOT)

DOT is the Federal steward of the nation’s transportation system. DOT consists of multiple 

modal Operating Administrations, which carry out mission-related Research, Development, and 

Technology (RD&T) programs in support of the DOT strategic goals: Safety, Quality of Life in 

Communities, Environmental Sustainability, State of Good Repair, Economic Competitiveness, 

and Environmental Sustainability. In 2004, the Research and Innovative Technology 

Administration (RITA) was charged by its enabling legislation with coordination of DOT-wide 

RD&T and technology transfer activities. In the Omnibus Bill of 2014, RITA was elevated to the 

Office of the Secretary and given a new name – the Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Research and Technology. 

DOT defines technology transfer as the process of transferring and disseminating transportation 

related scientific information to stakeholders who may apply it for public or private use. DOT’s 

current approach to technology transfer is diverse and unique to each mode of transportation. 

Each modal Operating Administration conducts mission specific deployment activities tailored to 

its mode and type of research. 

Technology Transfer activities are executed by DOT agencies and include the following 

laboratories: 

• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): The FAA’s Federal laboratory is the William J. 

Hughes Technical Center (Atlantic City International Airport, New Jersey); 

• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA): Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center 

(McLean, VA); 

• Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R): John A. Volpe 

National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center, Cambridge, MA); 

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): Vehicle Research and Test 

Center (VRTC). 

DOT’s annual technology transfer report is available online at: 

http://www.transportation.gov/open/research-facilities.

More information about DOT technology transfer activities is available on the following 

websites: 

• FAA: http://faa.gov/go/techtran

• FHWA: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/everydaycounts and 

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/goshrp2

• OST-R: https://www.volpe.dot.gov/work-with-us/technology-transfer 
110

DOT Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of new inventions disclosed increased from one

disclosure in FY 2010 to three disclosures in FY 2014. The number of patent applications filed

went from two in FY 2010, to five in FY 2013 and zero in FY 2014. The number of patents 

issued during this five-year period went from four in FY 2010 to one in FY 2014.

Data from the USPTO identifies the patent(s) issued to DOT are in the technology area of 

Measurement.

57

 57 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using the Web of Science database. All rights reserved. Used with 

permission.

1

2 2

13

3

2 2

1

5

0

4

0

4

1 1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

DOT Invention Disclosures and Patenting

New Inventions Disclosed Patent Applications Filed Patents Issued

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

New Inventions Disclosed 1 2 2 13 3

Patent Applications Filed 2 2 1 5 0

Patents Issued 4 0 4 1 1
111

DOT Licenses

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active licenses decreased from three in FY 

2010 to one license in FY 2014. There were no new invention licenses reported in FY 2014. The 

total active invention licenses decreased from three licenses in FY 2010 to zero in FY 2013 and 

FY 2014.

3 3 3 3

1

0

1 1

0 0

3 3 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

3 3

2

3

1 1 1

0 0

1

0

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

DOT Licenses

Licenses, Total Active New Licenses

Invention Licenses, Total Active New Invention Licenses

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Licenses, Total Active 3 3 3 3 1

New Licenses 0 1 1 0 0

Invention Licenses, Total Active 3 3 3 0 0

New Invention Licenses 0 0 0 0 0

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 3 3 2 3 1

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 1 1 0 0 1
112

DOT Income from Licensing

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, total income from all active licenses increased by 53% to $26 

thousand in FY 2014. In FY 2014, there was no income from invention licenses, a 100% 

decrease. The total earned royalty income increased from $3 thousand in FY 2010 to $26 

thousand in FY 2014.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Total Income, All Active Licenses $17 $18 $7 $9 $26

Invention Licenses $17 $15 $7 $12 $0

Total Earned Royalty Income $3 $8 $6 $12 $26
113

DOT Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active CRADAs increased by 127% to 50

agreements. The number of new CRADAs was 10 in FY 2014. 

DOT Efforts to Streamline Technology Transfer Operations

DOT is increasing coordination between Operating Administrations (OA) through the 

designation of identified technology transfer points of contact from each OA R&D program. 

These efforts are already providing enhanced efficiencies in the collection of intellectual 

property and technology transfer information necessary for the completion of the annual 

Technology Transfer Performance Report. Other efforts for streamlining its operations include:

22

25

29

40

50

0

8

12

8

10

0 0

3 3

7

29

39

14

26

30

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

DOT Collaborative R&D Relationships

CRADAs, Total Active New CRADAs

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active Other Collaborative R&D Relationships

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

CRADAs, Total Active 22 25 29 40 50

New CRADAs 0 8 12 8 10

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 0 0 3 3 7

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 29 39 14 26 30
114

• increasing its federal laboratory participation in Lab-to-Market directives through the 

development of a website that will improve public awareness and access to information 

on DOT’s technology transfer operations;

• developing training materials to assist R&D personnel to incorporate various technology 

transfer best practices into their research programs;

• developing a new DOT intellectual property policy, which will include streamlined 

procedures for the submission and review of potential invention disclosures, as well as 

improving total effectiveness and reductions in cost;

• preparing simplified model agreements for use or adoption by the OAs and/or DOT’s 

Federal laboratories to reduce resources and time spent on negotiation; and

• reviewing the possibility of entering into an agreement with a third party intermediary for 

further improving the visibility of DOT’s research facilities and equipment, its research 

capabilities, and the technologies available for licensing.

DOT Downstream Success Stories

Partnering with States for Better, Faster, and Smarter Ways to Build Highways

Every Day Counts (EDC) is the Federal Highway 

Administration’s (FHWA) initiative to advance a 

culture of innovation in the highway community in 

partnership with States. Through this collaborative, 

State-based effort, FHWA coordinates rapid 

deployment of proven, market-ready strategies and 

technologies to shorten the project delivery process, 

enhance roadway safety, and improve environmental 

sustainability. The initiative is designed to create a new 

sense of urgency in pursuing better, faster, and smarter 

ways to build highway infrastructure. Through the EDC initiative, the highway community has 

created a national innovation deployment network and established the foundation for a culture 

committed to innovation.

Since EDC’s inception, every State Department of Transportation (DOT) has utilized at least two 

of the promoted innovations. For example, transportation agencies have designed or constructed 

more than 2,500 replacement bridges using Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) technologies 

since the inception of this program. ABC is a suite of technologies (innovative planning and 

construction methods, designs, and materials) that allow for accelerated construction of bridges, 

significantly reducing traffic delays and road closures and often reducing project costs. Using 

ABC, transportation agencies have been able to replace bridges in as little as 48 to 72 hours and 

reduce the planning and construction of bridge projects by years. The Nevada DOT replaced two 

bridges in Mesquite using Slide-in Bridge Construction (SIBC) method. The roadway was shut 

down for just 56 hours compared to the months of construction zone delays under traditional 

construction methods. The SIBC approach translated into saving an estimated $12.7 million in 

time and fuel costs for commuters. When a span of the I-5 Skagit River Bridge in Washington 

collapsed after being struck by a truck carrying an oversize load, a temporary bridge was quickly 
115

put in place while a new bridge was built adjacent to the original alignment, out of the way of 

traffic. In one night, the temporary bridge was removed and the new bridge was slid into place.

As the bridge sector increasingly moves towards the use of ABC technologies, researchers at the 

FHWA’s Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) in McLean, VA, continue 

studying materials, structural performance, and novel connection details to address the needs of 

bridge owners and highway stakeholders. TFHRC-developed solutions are being deployed today 

to rapidly and safely construct bridges while minimizing the impact on the traveling public.

More examples of EDC success stories can be found at www.fhwa.dot.gov/everydaycounts/

FHWA Sustainability Tool Facilitates Local Partnerships for More Sustainable Highways

FHWA launched the 

Infrastructure Voluntary 

Evaluation Sustainability 

Tool (INVEST), FHWA’s 

sustainability selfassessment tool that enables 

State Departments of 

Transportation (DOTs) and 

Metropolitan Planning 

Organizations (MPOs) to 

evaluate and improve the 

sustainability of their 

transportation plans, 

projects, and programs. 

INVEST is helping State 

DOTs, MPOs, and others 

consider sustainability through every phase of the transportation infrastructure lifecycle, 

including system planning, project design and construction, maintenance, and operation. The 

tool helps transportation agencies make informed decisions with limited resources to balance 

economic, social, and environmental factors.

For example, INVEST helped the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) improve the 

sustainability of the largest project in ODOT history, the replacement of the Cleveland Innerbelt 

Bridge on I-90, now called the George V. Voinovich Bridge. The high priority bridge 

replacement project involves a coast-to-coast interstate highway and affects a historic district and 

a high traffic sports complex. As such, ODOT saw achieving sustainability goals as critical and 

targeted major savings in fuel, steel, water, and waste. ODOT used INVEST to validate 

sustainability achievements and found that the project was meeting and exceeding its goals. In 

fact, the project:

• Saved more than 100,419 gallons of diesel fuel – enough to power a big-rig from 

Cleveland to Salt Lake City... and back, 145times.

• Recycled more than 5,658,078 pounds of steel. About the weight of 1,414 average-size 

sedans.

• Saved 22 million gallons of water. Enough to power a shower around the clock for 

almost eight years.
116

• Prevented more than 125,143 cubic yards of waste from entering landfills – more than 

twice the concrete it took to build First Energy Stadium – home of the Cleveland 

Browns.

• Separated storm water from combined sewers draining 20 acres, treating the separated 

runoff with extended detention basins and reducing pollution to the Cuyahoga River.

Many more INVEST case studies can be found at www.sustainablehighways.org.

FHWA Provides Incentives to States to Field Test Research Results

In coordination with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials 

(AASHTO) and the Transportation Research Board, FHWA is encouraging transportation 

agencies to field test and deploy research results, referred to as SHRP2 Solutions, to determine if 

they will ultimately be adopted as standard business processes and practices. SHRP2 is the 

second Strategic Highway Research Program, which was established by Congress in 2005 to 

undertake highway research to address critical state and local challenges, such as aging 

infrastructure, congestion, and safety. The research results are now being made available in a 

series of effective solutions that will improve the way transportation professionals plan, operate, 

maintain, and ensure safety on America’s roadways.

Through the SHRP2 Implementation Assistance Program (IAP), FHWA provides financial and 

technical assistance to eligible State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), Metropolitan 

Planning Organizations, local transportation entities and others to help offset the costs and risks 

of early adoption of innovation.

For example, more than 60,000 traffic incident 

responders in 45 states and the District of Columbia 

have been trained using a new curriculum developed 

through SHRP2. The National Traffic Incident 

Management (TIM) Responder Training program was 

designed to build teams of well-trained responders, 

including police, fire, highway workers, emergency 

medical, towing and public works, who collaborate onscene. Participants learn “safe quick clearance” 

techniques such as the correct placement of response 

equipment and traffic control devices and how to 

create a safer work area. This SHRP2 program will enable responders to more quickly clear 

crashes, which will reduce secondary accidents and traveler delays due to resulting congestion.

So convinced of its value, several States are now requiring their law enforcement, fire/rescue, 

emergency medical services, DOT, towers, and other emergency responders to take the training.

More examples of SHRP2 solutions in action can be found at www.fhwa.dot.gov/goshrp2.

NHTSA’s Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) Communications Technology

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Vehicle-to-Vehicle 

Communications Program, in collaboration with Intelligent Transportation Joint Program Office, 

developed, tested, and evaluated this new communications safety technology that is now ready to 

deploy. A broad range of stakeholders including vehicle manufacturers, other USDOT modes, 

academia, industry associations, state and local transportation departments, and equipment 
117

suppliers collaborated with NHTSA in this effort. This program led to a decision by USDOT to 

issue a proposal to require the technology in all new vehicles in a future year. Manufacturers are 

announcing plans that they are ready to deploy the technology in conjunction with the rule.

The program deployed roughly 3,000 vehicles in the Ann Arbor, MI area to demonstrate the realworld interoperability of Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) radios, whether 

original equipment or retrofit, from multiple vendors installed in different vehicle types (cars, 

trucks, tractor-trailers, buses) from different vehicle manufacturers. As part of establishing 

DSRC interoperability, the program demonstrated the feasibility of using automotive grade GPS 

receivers for positioning; completed initial scalability testing via simulation and real world tests 

to show the technology could “scale” to potentially millions of vehicles in the future when 

deployed; and showcased the feasibility of the technology in a variety of real world 

environments via performance testing in multiple urban and rural settings. To address security 

and privacy concerns associated with DSRC, the approach leveraged proven public key 

infrastructure (PKI) technology, adapting PKI for a mobile environment. And finally, the 

program also evaluated the performance of several safety applications using DSRC information 

as inputs for driver warnings, such as Intersection Movement Assist and Left Turn Assist, and 

gathered information on drivers’ reactions to those applications.

SafetyHAT: Successful and Rapid Transfer of a 

New Transportation System Safety Hazard 

Analysis Tool

In March 2014, Volpe, the National Transportation 

Systems Center, released for licensing the Safety 

Hazard Analysis Tool (SafetyHAT). This software 

tool facilitates hazard analysis using the SystemTheoretic Process Analysis (STPA). STPA is a 

hazard identification method based on a top-down 

system engineering approach and control systems theory. While some familiarity with STPA is 

expected before using this tool, one of the primary goals of SafetyHAT is to help safety analysts 

become proficient with the STPA method. It includes transportation-oriented guide phrases and 

causal factors that tailor the STPA method to transportation systems.

SafetyHAT guides analysts through the preparatory and analysis steps of STPA, and leverages 

the power of a relational database to organize and manage the large quantity of data that the 

analysis may produce. It facilitates the documentation of hazard analysis. It has also prompted 

inquiries on how STPA might be used for assessing human behavior as part of railroad grade 

crossing safety systems, cyber-security threats, and infrastructure safety hazards arising from 

extreme weather events.

SafetyHAT is available for public use and can be downloaded for free at 

http://www.volpe.dot.gov/advanced-transportation-technologies/advanced-vehicletechnology/safetyhat-transportation-system Diverse SafetyHAT users include span all 

transportation sectors, as well as in energy, healthcare, insurance industries, and the military. In 

the first nine months since its public release, SafetyHAT attracted more than 200 users 

worldwide, distributed across industry (41%), the public sector (36%), and academia (23%).
118

Wake Turbulence Research Increases Airport Capacity and Is Making Air Travel Safer, 

Greener

As airplanes move through the air, counter-rotating horizontal tornadoes are generated off the 

wings. This phenomenon, known as wake turbulence, creates a potentially dangerous situation 

for trailing aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) counts on experts at Volpe 

Center to understand the behavior of wake turbulence and to recommend adjustments to aircraft 

separation standards. Volpe’s experts performed the following research:

• Collecting data at or near airports, often 

pioneering methods and equipment used to 

conduct the observations.

• Analyzing the data, systems, and 

procedures to inform FAA policies and 

regulations.

• Supporting efforts to implement new wake

turbulence procedures around the globe

• Volpe Center research on aircraft wake 

turbulence in support of FAA was instrumental in increasing capacity at Memphis 

International Airport by 19%, as well as making air traffic safer and greener. A new 

infographic at http://www.volpe.dot.gov/content/infographic-wake-turbulenceseparation-standards- aircraft provides an easy-to-read data visualization describing 

how our improved understanding of wake turbulence results in airspace efficiencies.

FAA Beam Structure Test Article and Fixture

The FAA William J. Hughes 

Technical Center federal laboratory 

(WJHTC) is the research arm of the 

FAA and supports its core mission 

areas of air traffic management, 

airport technology and aircraft safety. 

Among the many capabilities at the 

WJHTC, supporting aircraft safety 

initiatives is a major national 

resource: the Full-Scale Aircraft 

Structural Test Evaluation and 

Research (FASTER) facility is a 

state-of-the-art core capability developed to perform structural testing of legacy and next 

generation fuselage structures. Since its inception, the test fixture features a unique adaptation of 

mechanical, fluid, hydraulic, and electronic components capable of applying synchronous 

mechanical-temperature and humidity loading profiles which simulate the operational loads that 

fuselage structures are subjected to while in flight, Figure 1. Numerous test programs have been 

successfully completed through partnerships with other government agencies, industry and 

academia. The data obtained from the tests are used to analyze, calibrate and verify methods for 

fatigue and damage tolerance assessments.
119

In a joint effort under a CRADA, the FAA and 

Boeing have been investigating the reliability and 

performance aspects of adhesive bonded 

technology through test and analysis of bonded 

repairs on metallic fuselage panels using the 

FASTER facility. To date, the focus has been on 

fuselage structure applications which are relatively

thin and are subjected primarily to in-plane loads. 

Additional future efforts have been identified for 

bonded repairs of thicker structures such as 

primary beam component structure representative 

of typical wing and stabilizer components which 

are subjected to much more complex loads.

To further leverage resources and to take advantage of the experience and expertise of both 

Boeing and the FAA, the current CRADA will be extended to include bonded repairs to generic 

primary beam structures (metallic and composite). As a first step, Boeing and the FAA have 

partnered in establishing test capabilities at the WJHTC for beam structures. Moving towards 

that goal, Boeing has furnished over $500K worth of instrumentation and test equipment to the 

FAA.

Aircraft Geometric Height Measurement Element (AGHME) 

The United States and global economies are heavily impacted by the ability of the FAA and the 

aviation industry to maintain safe and cost-effective transportation of people and cargo.

CRADA No. 09-CRADA-0257 facilitates the research of new 

procedures that will result in significant airline industry 

savings, which can then be passed onto aviation users. The 

“AGHME” capability increases the number of flights that can 

fly at any given time and decreases the global problems of 

flight delays, congestion, and pollution.

In-flight aircraft are required to maintain a minimum vertical 

separation, while at the same time, maintaining safety and 

security in the flight space. The Reduced Vertical Separation 

Minimum (RVSM) Program was developed to institute 

minimum separations in both the United States and abroad. A 

benefit of RVSM is cost per flight fuel burn savings, which are 

projected to be approximately $5.3 billion over the eleven-year

period between 2005 and 2016, with $393 million in savings in 

the first year increasing at a rate of 2% per year. This amounts 

to an approximate 2% savings for U.S. domestic air fleet 

operations. With the rise in jet fuel prices, the savings will exceed $13.4 billion; a 152% 

increase. Fuel burn savings are directly attributable to RVSM’s improved routing, altitude 

selection, and delay reductions. FAA regulations and International Civil Aviation Organization 

(ICAO) treaties require aircraft and operators to be approved for participation in the RVSM 
120

program and, to this end, onboard altitude equipment must be verified as accurate. Continued 

joint work between the WJHTC and Diakon within the CRDA is necessary to complete 

development of the AGHME’s capability and reach full commercialization potential.

Train Energy and Dynamics Simulator

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has funded the development of a Train Energy and 

Dynamics Simulator (TEDS) computer program for conducting longitudinal train dynamics 

simulations. Longitudinal train dynamics affect several elements of train performance, including 

stopping distances, run-in/run-out forces, schedules and energy efficiency. An effective set of 

tools to study longitudinal train performance is therefore essential to the FRA’s mission to 

improve the safety and performance of train operations. Such simulations offer invaluable 

opportunities for conducting safety and risk evaluations, energy consumption studies, incident 

investigations, and train operation studies. TEDS is a state-of-the-art software program designed 

and developed by the FRA, for studying and simulating train safety and performance.

TEDS can be used for a variety of studies, including:

• Incident investigations, energy consumption studies, and evaluating operating rules;

• Examining the impact of proposed speed limits on rail line capacity;

• Evaluating of mixed equipment consists and operating practices on safety and 

efficiency;

• Studying of the effect of new equipment design on train operations;

• Train handling parametric studies;

• Developing Positive Train Control (PTC) braking algorithms;

• Motive power optimization for trains and routes; and

• Evaluating the effects of train braking systems, such as electronically controlled 

pneumatic brakes, on train operations.

Recent Applications

TEDS has been used for several accident investigations, including:

• Lac-Mégantic – July 6, 2013;

• Union Pacific train derailment, Colfax, CA – January 20, 2013;

• Derailment at Ellicott City, MD – August 21, 2012;

• Derailment of BNSF intermodal train, Doublea, AZ – April 7, 2012;

• Derailment of long heavy UP train, Colton, CA – October 18, 2011; and

• Rear-end collision of BNSF coal train, Red Oak, IA – April 26, 2011.

FRA used this software program extensively used for the analysis of alternative braking 

arrangements to support Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s current 

rulemaking efforts related to trains carrying flammable, hazardous materials.

A small group of transportation experts, the National Transportation Safety Board, Transport 

Canada, and some consultants/contractors are also using the TEDS software program. This 

limited release has been successful with the users exercising multiple elements of TEDS for 

generating results that are critical to their application/study.
121

Department of Veteran Affairs (VA)

The VA, through the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) Office of Research and 

Development (ORD), conducts a robust research program whose fundamental mission is to 

advance the healthcare of Veterans. The Office of Research and Development (ORD) aspires to 

discover knowledge, develop VA researchers and health care leaders, and create innovations that 

advance health care for our veterans and the nation. VA’s Technology Transfer Program (TTP) 

operates within ORD. TTP has three main areas of focus 1) protection and commercialization of 

intellectual property, 2) facilitating technology transfer and CRADAs between academic 

partners, local VAMC’s and industry and 3) educating investigators within VA about their rights 

and obligations regarding intellectual property management and cooperative research activities. 

Technology Transfer within the VA involves multiple players nationwide, including 

investigators within VA Medical Centers (VAMC), academic affiliates, Non-profit Corporations 

and commercial partners. The VA conducts basic and applied clinical research to discover new 

treatments and therapies for diseases that affect our nation’s Veterans at more than 100 

VAMC’s, each of which is a federal laboratory. The majority of investigators at these 

laboratories also have appointments with their local academic affiliate, usually a medical school. 

Consequently, the majority of VA inventions are jointly owned by VA and its academic 

affiliates. Most jointly owned inventions are managed under cooperative invention management 

agreements with these affiliates. The agreements allow the affiliates to take the lead in 

commercializing jointly owned inventions. TTP cooperates with local academic affiliates in the 

patenting and licensing of jointly owned technologies. TTP works closely with the Office of 

General Counsel (OGC) Specialty Team Advising Research (STAR) attorneys on intellectual 

property management issues and cooperative research agreement review. TTP receives invention 

disclosures and conducts a review and evaluation of the inventions. This evaluation is then 

provided to STAR attorneys who issue a determination of rights (DOR) decision to the inventors 

regarding the government’s interest in such invention. After the DOR is issued, TTP seeks 

patent protection where appropriate, and begins efforts to find commercialization partners for 

any VA owned invention. TTP also works closely with local VA-affiliated nonprofit research 

and education corporations (NPC). NPCs were authorized by Congress to provide flexible 

funding mechanisms for the conduct of research and education at VA facilities nationwide. 

Currently there are over 80 NPCs. Research agreements, including CRADAs, are initiated by the 

local VAMC with the negotiation and administration of such agreements being handled by a 

local NPC. TTP and STAR collaboratively provide a review such of such research agreements 

prior to signature. 

Explanation of the Agency’s FY Results and Plans for Conducting its Tech Transfer 

Function Mission:

This year TTP lost two people resulting in a redistribution of work load and focus. TTP 

concentrated its effort on five key initiatives: increasing the quantity and quality of Invention 

Disclosures (ID); streamlining the DOR process by which the Federal Government determines its 

ownership rights in any invention; evaluating existing mechanisms for coordinating intellectual 

property management activities with affiliates; management of the CRADA review process; 

selection and implementation of new contracts to improve office operations. 
122

Initiative-Intellectual Property Management 

This year TTP saw an increase in the number of invention disclosure submissions. This increase 

is the result of outreach activities performed by the technology transfer specialists (TTS) within 

TTP. This year training was held for six VA Centers of Excellence on the protection of 

intellectual property. These Centers of Excellence are the sites of rehabilitation research that 

attract scientists from academia, industry, and medicine into the VA to focus on finding research 

solutions to the needs of Veterans with disabilities. Such visits to the VA Centers of Excellence 

have historically resulted in the generation of new invention disclosures. For example, a new 

disclosure came out of a visit to the National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research at the 

VA Portland Health Care System. The invention, OtoID, is an extended frequency portable 

audiometer for ototoxicity monitoring. A patent application has been filed and prototypes have 

been made. TTP is now in negotiations with a company which is a world leader in hearing 

healthcare diagnostics who can develop a product which will benefit Veterans.

Many researchers work at both VA and an academic affiliate, making ownership determinations 

a more complicated process than at other Federal agencies. A new process for making ownership 

determinations was implemented this year that outlines the role of TTP and OGC and clarifies 

the information that is required to formulate a recommendation regarding Government rights in 

an invention. The implementation of this new process has already resulted in an increase in the 

number of DORs issued this year. Streamlining the DOR process allows the VA and our 

academic affiliates to more effectively engage in the commercialization of the technology. 

Initiative-Coordination of Intellectual Property Management with Affiliates 

Due to the fact that most VA researchers also have academic appointments the VA has 

negotiated Cooperative Technology Administration Agreements (CTAAs) with the majority of 

its larger academic affiliates. The CTAAs describe a mechanism for handling jointly-owned 

inventions, including a formula for sharing revenue and expenses from patenting and licensing 

activities. Under the CTAA, the affiliate always has the right to take the lead in developing an 

invention, except for inventions made pursuant to a VA CRADA, which are rare. TTP has 

developed a new Intellectual Management Agreement (IMA). This new agreement is compliant 

with current federal regulations and will insure VAs contribution to commercialization of new 

technologies is recognized. TTP focused this year on contacting affiliates whose existing CTAA 

required updating. Active negotiations are underway with these affiliates with a goal to finalize 

the updating of these agreements in FY 2015. 

Initiative-Licensing Activities 

Potential commercialization partners often desire to have a brief period to test new technologies 

prior to committing to a standard license agreement. Therefore, TTP developed a new 

Commercial Evaluation License model this year. This agreement is a short-term non-exclusive 

license agreement to allow a licensee to conduct feasibility testing, but not sell products based 

upon a new VA technology. TTP then negotiated its first Commercial Evaluation License this 

year for an invention developed by a nurse at the San Diego VA Medical Center. VA’s patient 

care focus often provides the opportunity for our patient care providers to develop technologies 

that benefit our veterans and the public health. The invention is for universal sterile drapes to 

cover large patient handling machinery in the operating room. This invention helps maintain 
123

sterility during patient prepping and clinical procedures using patient lift systems, therefore 

minimizing the risk of transmitting nosocomial infections. Based on the successful testing of the 

licensed technology, the licensee is now in the process of negotiating an exclusive license. TTP 

also negotiated a number of new non-exclusive licenses for internal use of research tools. These 

non-exclusive licenses for patented or unpatented technologies, provide companies with access 

to reagents and tools that help accelerate their internal development programs. 

Initiative-CRADA Process

VA Medical Centers conduct hundreds of clinical trials each in collaboration with 

pharmaceutical companies, the National Institutes of Health, and universities. These trials seek to 

find new therapies that will improve Veterans health. The VA has executed over 400 CRADAs 

per year over the past five years. Over 70% of these CRADAs are clinical trial CRADAs. VA 

has negotiated 16 Master CRADAs primarily with large pharmaceutical companies for clinical 

studies. These agreements can be signed at the local level with minimal review by central office 

staff. This year VA updated 3 of these Masters and finalized one new agreement. Currently an 

additional 5 new Master agreements are in negotiation. A new master Start up Agreement was 

also finalized this year that allows the local Non-profit Corporation (NPC) to recover expenses 

associated with initiation of a clinical study even if a CRADA is not ultimately signed. Master 

Agreements are important in that they expedite and facilitate the negotiation process on these 

complicated agreements ultimately benefiting VA’s ability to conduct research and participate in 

clinical studies. 

In FY 2014 VA had 1,618 active CRADA and 505 new CRADA’s were negotiated. 

Approximately 75% of these CRADAs were for clinical studies. These CRADAs represent over 

$35 million in sponsored research dollars available to VA research centers in FY14, up from $34 

million in FY 2013 and $32 million in FY12. This positive trend is expected to continue in FY 

2015 as industry sponsored research involving Veterans participation in clinical studies 

involving experimental therapies grows. 

Initiative-Office Operations Support

In FY 2014 TTP awarded a database contract for a knowledge management system. This new 

system will improve TTPs ability to track invention disclosures, patent prosecution activities, 

commercialization efforts, and agreement processing. It will also provide the office with the 

ability to track royalty receipt and distribution. The implementation of this system required the 

combined efforts of everyone in the office and is expected to facilitate TTP’s management of 

technology transfer activities more effectively in the coming years. 

Initiative -Education of Investigators and Partners 

One of TTP’s most significant challenges is to ensure that VA inventors themselves disclose 

their inventions to VA. TTP continued to conduct informational programs for VAMCs and their 

academic affiliates to educate investigators on the proper reporting of VA inventions, and 

enhance the commercialization of inventions made by VA researchers. This year TTP staff 

conducted training at six VA Centers of Excellence on the basics of intellectual property 

protection and the VA Technology Transfer Program. 
124

The NPCs play a significant role in facilitating VA research activities by negotiating CRADAs 

on behalf of the VA for research conducted at the affiliated VAMCs. This year TTP participated 

in three two-day training sessions held for new Executive Directors of regional NPCs. The 

training provided the new directors with information about the CRADA process, and an 

overview of permitted modifications to such agreements. STAR and TTP conducted town hall 

meetings with the NPCs to explain the CRADA review process and the respective roles of STAR 

and TTP in this important activity. 
125

VA Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of new inventions disclosed increased by 78% to 

304 disclosures in FY 2014. The number of patent applications filed experienced a 92% increase. 

The number of patents issued during this five-year period decreased by 50% to 4 patents in FY 

2014.

171

191

335

273

304

13

29 37

25 25

8 7 9 3 4

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

VA Invention Disclosures and Patenting

New Inventions Disclosed Patent Applications Filed Patents Issued

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

New Inventions Disclosed 171 191 335 273 304

Patent Applications Filed 13 29 37 25 25

Patents Issued 8 7 9 3 4
126

USPTO Patents Assigned to VA by Technology Area: FY 201458

 58 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using the Web of Science database. All rights reserved. Used with 

permission.
127

VA Licenses

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active licenses increased by 17% to 197

licenses in FY 2014. New licenses decreased by 50% to 3 licenses from a previous 6 in FY 2010. 

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Licenses, Total Active 169 192 197 194 197

New Licenses 6 11 8 9 3

Invention Licenses, Total Active 169 192 197 203 197

New Invention Licenses 6 11 8 9 3

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 14 12 9 13 15

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 9 8 9 10 10
128

VA Income from Licensing

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total income from all active licenses increased by 

125% to $376,000 in FY 2014. The income from invention licenses was the same as income 

from all active licenses. Total earned royalty income increased 183% from $133,000 in FY 2010 

to $376,000 in FY 2014.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Total Income, All Active Licenses $167 $401 $391 $146 $376

Invention Licenses $167 $401 $391 $146 $376

Total Earned Royalty Income $133 $401 $392 $390 $376
129

VA Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active CRADAs increased 81% to 1,618

agreements. The number of new CRADAs per fiscal year increased by 3% to 505 new 

agreements in FY 2014. Total active traditional CRADAs increased by 95% during the five-year 

period, totaling 1,618 agreements in FY 2014.

895

1,477 1,510 1,550

1,618

491 450

522

453

505

829

1,444 1,430

1,550

1,618

0 0 0 0 0

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

VA Collaborative R&D Relationships

CRADAs, Total Active New CRADAs

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active Other Collaborative R&D Relationships

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

CRADAs, Total Active 895 1,477 1,510 1,550 1,618

New CRADAs 491 450 522 453 505

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 829 1,444 1,430 1,550 1,618

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 0 0 0 0 0
130

VA Efforts to Streamline Technology Transfer Operations

The goal of VA’s technology transfer plan is to increase the number and pace of effective 

technology transfer and commercialization activities in partnership with non-federal entities, 

including companies, academic research organizations, and nonprofit entities. In fiscal year (FY) 

2012, the agency set ambitious goals for itself. However, FY 2013 became a re-building year for 

VAs technology transfer program with changes in personnel, and hiring of a new Director and an 

additional technology transfer specialist. This year, OGC, a key partner in VA’s technology 

transfer activates, initiated a pilot program, the Specialty Team Advising Research (STAR). The 

STAR team consisted of eight attorneys in regional offices specifically designated to support 

local VAMC research activities including technology transfer activities such as the review of 

research agreements, such as CRADAs, and intellectual property activities, such as approval of 

intellectual property licenses and inventors’ determination of rights.

Ultimately TTP narrowed its focus this year to addressing five key initiatives: increasing the 

number and quality of Invention Disclosures (ID); streamlining the determination of rights 

(DOR) process by which the Federal Government determines its ownership rights in any 

invention; evaluating existing mechanisms for coordinating intellectual property management 

activities with affiliates; management of the CRADA review process; and selection and 

implementation of new contracts for office operations.

• Invention Disclosure Management 

TTP established a goal in FY 2012 of improving the number and quality of invention 

disclosures (IDs). One of TTP’s most significant challenges is to ensure that VA 

inventors themselves disclose their inventions to VA. While inventors invariably disclose 

their inventions to VA academic affiliates, they are often not aware of their duty to 

disclose their inventions to VA. Academic affiliates should make VA investigators aware 

of this requirement, but there is no consistency in the affiliates’ actions in this area. As a 

result, in FY 2012 TTP began to make site visits to VAMCs and academic affiliates to 

raise awareness of TTP itself and of the procedures and regulations inventors are required 

to follow regarding disclosing inventions to VA. This outreach resulted in significant 

increases in both our ID rate and royalty revenues. Current travel restrictions have led us 

to explore remote educational techniques such as webinars. The initial seminars were 

well received and will be continued and expanded in the FY14. 

• Streamlining the DOR Process 

Increasing the number and quality of TTP inventions requires close cooperation with our 

academic affiliates. Many researchers work at both VA and an academic affiliate, making 

ownership determinations a more complicated process than at other Federal agencies. 

Because the decision to take ownership of an invention made by a Federal employee is a 

legal determination, TTP works with STAR, which formally issues a legal Determination 

of Rights memorandum, based upon an invention evaluation recommendation by TTP. 

Patents are then filed by the VA for those inventions that 1) VA has asserted rights 2) the 

academic affiliate is not taking the lead on intellectual property management. TTP 

identified administrative impediments to the development of an effective invention 

evaluation and subsequent DOR. By working with STAR, a new process has been 
131

developed that will permit more timely processing of IDs and lead to an increase in the 

number of potential VA inventions. Clarity in the government’s position on ownership of 

jointly developed intellectual property will also support our affiliate’s ability to seek 

licensing partners.

• Coordination of Intellectual Property Management with Affiliates 

More than 10 years ago, when VA began its technology transfer activities, TTP negotiated 

CTAAs with the majority of its high volume academic affiliates. The CTAAs describe a 

mechanism for handling jointly owned inventions, including a formula for sharing revenue 

and expenses from patenting and licensing activities. Over time, several significant 

limitations to the CTAA have become apparent, including:

• A requirement in CTAAs that the academic affiliate report to VA any activity taking 

place with jointly owned technologies. These agreements are not consistent with 

regards to the date such report must be provided to VA and they do not describe data 

elements or a report format. As a result, the timing, nature, format, and quality of the 

data TTP receive are highly variable;

• Under the CTAA, the affiliate always has the right to take the lead in developing an 

invention, except for inventions made pursuant to a VA CRADA, which are rare. 

TTP has found many inventions where all work was done at VA (often the case with 

inventions made under Center of Excellence funding), but since one of the VA 

researchers also has an affiliate appointment, the affiliate can, and usually does, take 

the lead. This leads to fragmentation of the intellectual property estate and worse, a 

loss of control over intellectual property that could complicate the successful 

commercialization of VA’s research. Often, a commercial product is an effective 

way for Veterans and the public to see direct benefit from research; and

• CTAAs currently contain a mechanism by which VA’s share of patent expenses are 

offset against income generated by a license. Unfortunately, CTAAs give VA no 

voice in patenting decisions. As a result, some affiliates have undertaken expensive 

international patent filing campaigns to which VA would not have agreed had VA 

held some control over the decision. 

TTP will develop and implement a revised CTAA model to address these and other issues.

Having identified these issues with the existing CTAAs TTP determined that development 

of a new invention management agreement (IMA) was necessary. Working with OGC 

TTP has developed a new IMA and is discussing implementation of the new agreement 

with various academic affiliates. This new agreement is compliant with Federal 

regulations and will insure VAs contribution to commercialization of new technologies is 

recognized. 

• CRADA Review Process

For the past five years, the VA has executed over 400 CRADAs per year, the majority of 

which are clinical CRADAs, which permit VA researchers to collaborate with 

pharmaceutical and biomedical companies to develop new solutions to health care 
132

challenges facing veterans. These studies ultimately lead to the development of new 

commercial products that benefit the public’s health. 

Historically the VA has relied on Model and Master agreements with selected 

pharmaceutical companies to manage these cooperative studies. Model agreements are 

templates for general use with specific types of research activities such as basic research, 

principal investigator initiated clinical research, data collection studies, company 

sponsored clinical studies phase 1,2 and clinical studies phase 3,4 and investigational 

device studies. Master agreements are templates, which may not be modified and are 

negotiated with selected industry partners for specific types of research projects. 

Unmodified agreements based upon a VA Model Agreement are generally reviewed and 

approved by STAR without TTP review. However, increasingly these agreements are 

significantly modified by the industry partner resulting in more CRADAs coming to TTP 

for review. TTP focuses its review on those elements of the agreement involving 

intellectual property rights. 

This year, considerable effort was spent training the new staff within TTP and STAR on 

Federal technology transfer policies and regulations as well as VA policies and 

regulations regarding the conduct of clinical studies. Since both TTP and STAR are 

involved in the review of these CRADAs, coordination of this review is critical. The 

teams have begun an evaluation of the CRADA review process based upon the past 

years’ experience directed at streamlining the review process. In FY 2014, VA will seek 

to update existing Masters and negotiate new Masters with the goal of reducing the 

number of modified agreements that need significant review by TTP and STAR. In 

addition, existing model agreements will be evaluated and updated as necessary to reflect 

current policy and regulations.

• Office Operations Support

TTP completed its analysis of workflow early in FY 2013 and determined that the 

existing database did not adequately support the scope of its technology transfer 

activities. A functional, intuitive database is critical to managing the various phases of the 

technology transfer lifecycle. A contract for a new database was finally awarded in 

September. When operational, this software will enhance the program’s capabilities in 

portfolio management; improve our ability to track metrics and provide deliverables to 

academic affiliates and increase accountability and the ability to manage data. 

In FY 12 TTP was required to replace existing contracts with its outside law firms who 

had been managing its intellectual property portfolio with new contracts. The VA will 

solicit additional contractors to assist in the management of new patent applications. 

VA TTP is an important link in the process of ensuring Veterans receive access to the 

latest technologies developed by VA researchers. The program also helps VA and the 

American public to receive their fair share of royalties from patents and joint ventures 

with non-governmental agencies and private companies. VA is proud to support the 

President’s goal of using technology transfer as a driver of successful innovation in the 

United States. 
133

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

EPA’s Federal Technology Transfer Act (FTTA) Program was established to promote 

collaboration between private sector and Federal researchers. EPA offers exceptional 

opportunities to develop and commercialize new technologies. Through the authority given to 

EPA by the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-502), EPA facilitates the 

transfer of new technologies to the marketplace while protecting intellectual property rights of all 

parties.

Partners in the FTTA Program have the benefit of collaborating with world-class EPA scientists 

involved in leading-edge research. Collaboration enhances the quality of research projects and 

helps move environmental technologies into the marketplace, resulting in better protection of 

human health and the environment.

• EPA’s annual technology transfer report is available online at:

http://www2.epa.gov/ftta/epa-reports-congress-technology-transfer

• More information about EPA technology transfer activities is available on the 

following website:

http://www2.epa.gov/ftta.
134

EPA Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of new inventions disclosed changed greatly, ending 

the way it began with 5 disclosures in both FY 2010 and FY 2014. The number of patent 

applications filed experienced a 200% increase. The number of patents issued during this fiveyear period decreased by 44% to 5 patents in FY 2014.

5

8

18

8

5

3

8

10

7

9 9

12

17

16

5

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

EPA Invention Disclosures and Patenting

New Inventions Disclosed Patent Applications Filed Patents Issued

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

New Inventions Disclosed 5 8 18 8 5

Patent Applications Filed 3 8 10 7 9

Patents Issued 9 12 17 16 5
135

USPTO Patents Assigned to EPA by Technology Area: FY 201459

 59 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using the Web of Science database. All rights reserved. Used with 

permission.
136

EPA Licenses

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active licenses increased by 11% to 41

licenses in FY 2014. New licenses increased by 200% to 6 licenses from a previous 2 in FY 

2010. The metrics remain fairly stable throughout the five-year period.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Licenses, Total Active 37 45 42 42 41

New Licenses 2 6 2 2 6

Invention Licenses, Total Active 37 45 42 42 41

New Invention Licenses 2 6 2 2 6

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 37 42 39 36 34

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 7 9 10 10 9
137

EPA Income from Licensing

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total income from all active licenses decreased 

by 18% to $439 thousand in FY 2014. The income from invention licenses decreased by the 

same amount, as all income from licenses come from invention licenses. Total earned royalty 

income increased 123% from $197 thousand in FY 2010 to $439 thousand in FY 2014.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Total Income, All Active Licenses $536 $383 $727 $193 $439

Invention Licenses $536 $383 $727 $193 $439

Total Earned Royalty Income $197 $135 $201 $193 $439
138

EPA Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active CRADAs increased 93% to 129 

agreements from a previous 67 in FY 2010. The number of new CRADAs per fiscal year

increased by 6% to 35 new agreements in FY 2014. Total active traditional CRADAs increased 

by 4% during the five-year period, totaling 52 agreements in FY 2014.

EPA Efforts to Streamline Technology Transfer Operations

In its response to the Presidential Memo of 2011 on Accelerating Technology Transfer, EPA 

committed to enhancing its training outreach, including through virtual methods. The inclusion 

of FTTA in the annual ethics training, conducted via the computer for nearly all staff, upheld this 

commitment to enhanced technology transfer training.

67

84

92

112

129

33

26

22

51

35

50

54

63

55 52

0 0 0 0 0

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

EPA Collaborative R&D Relationships

CRADAs, Total Active New CRADAs

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active Other Collaborative R&D Relationships

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

CRADAs, Total Active 67 84 92 112 129

New CRADAs 33 26 22 51 35

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 50 54 63 55 52

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 0 0 0 0 0
139

EPA Ethics Training for All Staff Incorporates FTTA and Protection of Intellectual 

Property

In the fall of 2012, EPA’s annual online ethics training was released. This training meets the 

government-wide requirement at 5 CFR 2638.704. Each year, a different focus area is selected, 

around which the training is structured. For 2012, the training focused on collaborations and 

agreements with external parties. Recognizing that this topic intersected neatly with EPA’s work 

under the Federal Technology Transfer Act (FTTA), the FTTA staff worked closely with the 

ethics staff to incorporate a module dedicated to the Federal Technology Transfer Act, 

development and protection of intellectual property, and patenting. This made-to-order module 

included information on CRADAs and other FTTA agreements, such as Materials Transfer 

Agreements; discussed how to identify intellectual property and established that intellectual 

property belongs to the Federal government if it was developed during the course of work; and 

highlighted protection of intellectual property through patents and licensing of patents.

EPA employees who file financial disclosure reports are required to take annual ethics training. 

However, at EPA, many more people take the training than are required. Typically, more than 

13,000 of EPA’s 16,000 employees take the training. By seizing the opportunity to insert training 

into the annual ethics course, FTTA staff capitalized on reaching a broad audience. While the 

FTTA staff conducts training every year for various EPA laboratories and offices, this was the 

first time that FTTA principles and mechanisms have been presented to the EPA workforce so 

broadly. At this critical time of diminishing budgets and an evolving research structure at the 

Agency, the knowledge of tools available under the FTTA statute can be very valuable to staff 

looking for opportunities to collaborate or leverage research dollars.

EPA Downstream Success Stories

EPA Collaborated with the Kellogg Foundation and Calhoun County, MI to Ensure Safe 

Drinking Water at Schools and Childcare Facilities

Water is essential to our lives, and plays an important role in overall health. Accessible drinking 

water in schools and child care facilities is important and it offers children a healthy drinking 

option. As we encourage our children to drink tap water we need to ensure that the water they 

are drinking is safe. 

The EPA partnered with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Calhoun County, MI in a three-year

project to reduce children’s exposure to lead in drinking water. This CRADA project involved

multiple EPA offices; it was spearheaded by the Office of Water (OW), and was supported by 

the Office of Research and Development (ORD) and numerous regional laboratories.

EPA focused attention on lead as the contaminant of concern, because young children are at 

particular risk from lead exposure. The best way to know whether a school or early childhood

facility might have elevated levels of lead in its drinking water is by testing the water at the tap. 

Testing water in schools and childcare facilities is especially important because children spend a 

significant portion of their day in these facilities where they are likely to consume water.

 

Under the CRADA, the Calhoun County Public Health Department tested for lead in drinking 

water at 82 (of 132 eligible) schools and childcare facilities in the Calhoun County, MI area. 
140

EPA’s OW and ORD provided technical assistance, and Regions 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, and 10 conducted

the analyses on the samples collected. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation provided financial support 

to Calhoun County for this effort. Where unsafe lead levels were discovered, various 

technologies were implemented to remediate or mitigate the contamination. These remediation

efforts included flushing and plumbing component replacement. ORD and OW assisted in the 

identification of the appropriate remediation technology.

There are numerous benefits to this collaboration. The data collected for this project provide 

valuable information on lead variability in schools and childcare facilities, before and after 

remediation. The data helps inform other schools across the nation about the frequency with 

which they should conduct lead testing. The project also highlights cost-effective remediation 

practices and technologies that schools can implement to reduce lead in drinking water, 

providing EPA and the early childhood education community valuable information on 

remediation options and costs. Overall, the project resulted in a decrease in lead exposure to 

children and teaching staff at the facilities where these children spend a significant portion of 

their day.

The final document, Managing Lead in Drinking Water at Schools and Early Childhood 

Education Facilities, was published in February 2016 (Link 1). This document is one of many 

tools EPA shares with school decision makers to assist them in developing a lead testing 

program. The agency will continue to work with partners to promote research in key areas and 

on efforts to protect children from lead. 

EPA’s Water Cluster Initiative Advances Goal of Moving Water Technologies out of EPA’s 

Labs and into the Marketplace

In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Risk Management Research 

Laboratory (NRMRL) formed the water technology cluster team (Cluster Team) to move water 

technology out of EPA’s Cincinnati laboratory and into the private sector. The Cluster Team 

encouraged the development of a water technology innovation cluster in the Greater Cincinnati 

area to help achieve this goal. It also facilitates technology transfer efforts of EPA researchers in 

Cincinnati. 

In 2014 the Cluster Team received the FLC’s Midwest Region Award for Excellence in 

Technology Transfer. In early 2010, the Cluster Team took the lead in catalyzing the 

development of a water technology cluster – a grouping of businesses and other organizations in 

water – in the southwest Ohio, northern Kentucky, and southeast Indiana area. This area was 

selected because of its solid water-related R&D infrastructure as well as a large grouping of 

water-related businesses. These efforts led to the January 18, 2011 launch of the Confluence 

water technology innovation cluster (www.watercluster.org).

The Confluence group supports technology transfer by locating regional companies with 

business interests that complement EPA-developed technologies in order to transfer the 

technology into the private sector. Confluence also champions and highlights EPA technology 

research, development, and deployment (RD&D) in the cluster region. EPA and Confluence 

complement one another by coordinating joint activities for technology transfer events and 

leveraging test bed and water-related protocol efforts to expedite technology acceptance. 
141

In addition to the Cluster Team’s work with Confluence, it fosters, promotes, and supports the 

technology transfer efforts of EPA researchers in Cincinnati by:

• Seeking opportunities to transfer EPA technologies into the marketplace and sponsoring 

collaborative efforts through RD&D with industry, consortia, academia, etc.;

• Matching potential partner collaborators with the appropriate EPA Cincinnati 

researchers;

• Assisting management and researcher staff with designing and developing CRADAs or 

MOUs;

• Hosting training forums, workshops and seminars on patenting, collaboration, and more;

• Working with management and staff to negotiate access to EPA laboratories and research 

facilities;

• Supporting EPA Cincinnati research staff in identifying and protecting intellectual 

property (IP); and

• Coordinating with private partners to assure confidential business information and IP is 

protected.

Through these activities, the Cluster Team fosters critical linkages between the EPA and private 

industry. The Cluster Team supports and facilitates RD&D and economic development of 

organizations within the Cluster Region, creating much clearer pathways for collaboration and 

the commercialization of innovations developed from the collaborations between EPA research 

staff and private industry.

The Cluster Team has supported technology innovation through the funding of 17 water 

technology collaborative research projects and workshops/events from fiscal years 2011 to 2013. 

All of these projects involve regional collaborations with utilities, regional technology R&D 

companies, universities, etc., and include joint research, patenting, and/or new technology 

development and commercialization. 

The Cluster Team has developed numerous agreements to support collaboration between EPA 

and the private sector. The Cluster Team has facilitated eight CRADAs for water-related 

technologies, with an additional six CRADAs proposed or in progress. In FY 2012-13 the 

Cluster Team also helped to design and develop nine MOUs, nine Non-Disclosure 

“confidentiality” Agreements (NDAs), and six reports of invention.

The Cluster Team has involved other federal agencies in water technology transfer in the greater 

Cincinnati area by: 

• Coordinating a partnership between EPA and DOC, the State Department, and EPA’s 

Export Initiatives Workgroup to help link EPA researchers and local companies to 

international technology RD&D opportunities;

• Establishing a working relationship with the DOC for the purpose of international 

technology transfer, leading to an EPA roundtable discussion with experts regarding IP; 

and

• Designing and implementing two SBIR proposal preparation and regional resources 

workshops to help technology transfer partners take advantage of available federal funds.
142

The Cluster Team has made significant steps toward bringing EPA-developed technology into 

widespread use by fostering commercialization through public-private partnerships. The Cluster 

Team has brought focus on the use of CRADAs as a major tool to accommodate innovation, 

technology transfer, and commercialization to support regional economic development while 

fulfilling EPA’s primary mission of protecting human health and the environment. 
143

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA’s Technology Transfer program is a true national asset. It brings together the Agency’s 

most capable problem-solvers with America’s brightest commercial and entrepreneurial leaders 

in partnerships that transfer groundbreaking NASA technologies to the public. It provides 

solutions for challenges in the fields of health and medicine, industrial production, 

communication, transportation, consumer goods, public safety, and many more. And, in so 

doing, it helps create new products, new markets, and new jobs that enhance the quality of life in 

America and fuel the U.S. economy.

The program has two primary objectives: identification, protection, and transfer of agency 

intellectual property assets, and communication of the societal benefits related to NASA 

technology transfer. It supports an office at each of NASA’s ten field centers, an intellectual 

property management tool, the NASA Technology Transfer System (NTTS), and the Spinoff 

Program Office. 

This year, NASA’s Technology Transfer program proved extremely successful with many 

significant advances in numerous key areas. Multiple new initiatives were launched to expedite 

work, enable more efficient operations, and ensure more NASA technologies make their way 

into the private sector. 

An agency-wide software catalog was published containing well over 1,000 technologies from 

all the NASA field centers. It is available both on-line and in hardcopy at no cost to the public at 

large. NASA is proud to be the first federal agency to produce such a comprehensive offering. 

And we are heartened by the enthusiastic public interest and extensive media coverage the 

catalog release received, including two Wired magazine articles in one month, a first!

The program also made significant advances in developing a new approach to agency-level 

portfolio management for all of NASA’s patented and patent-pending technologies. In addition, 

new and modernized agency technology transfer polices have been written and published. The 

new technology transfer portal has gone live online. And cross-agency working groups have 

been created that are providing a coordinated, one-NASA approach based on lessons-learned to 

challenges and concerns in the areas of outreach, invention disclosure reporting, and all other key 

technology transfer-related areas. 

This year, NASA Technology Transfer program was the recipient of several major awards, most 

notably from the Federal Laboratory Consortium and R&D magazine. Finally, significant 

increases in the quantitative metrics used to measure federal technology transfer were made. 

Invention capture was up 4%; there was an 18% increase in the volume of software transferred; 

and the number of Space Act agreements increased by 38%. Clearly, NASA’s new and 

innovative approaches to technology transfer are paying important and measurable dividends –

for the Agency, the U.S. economy, and the American public.

Response to the President’s Call to Accelerate Technology Transfer

NASA’s Technology Transfer program has very successfully completed the second year of its 

five-year plan for accelerating technology transfer. As called for by the President in the October 

2011 memorandum “Accelerating Technology Transfer and Commercialization of Federal 
144

Research in Support of High-Growth Businesses,” NASA developed a framework for increasing 

the rate, quality, and quantity of its technology transfer activities. This framework includes seven 

core objectives that cover the waterfront of NASA’s technology transfer activities. The 

objectives are as follows:

• Revise Agency policies to ensure alignment with NASA’s commitment to technology 

transfer best practices;

• Identify strategies to build partnerships for technology development, transfer, and mutual 

benefit; 

• Strategically acquire and manage intellectual property;

• Increase the number of new technologies reported by NASA civil servants and 

contractors; 

• Develop and implement innovative methods for technology licensing;

• Increase Agency use of CRADA authority to accelerate licensing of resulting 

technologies; and 

• Increase the release of NASA-developed software to new users.

NASA’s Technology Transfer program uses these objectives as the framework for defining 

specific annual agency-level goals. Each summer, a team of program managers meets to review 

the objectives and determine what types of initiatives should be worked within each of the topic 

areas. Then, these proposed initiatives are presented to the broader NASA technology transfer 

community, who come to consensus on the approved initiatives, which then become that year’s 

goals. Schedules are drafted and milestones are set. Progress against the annual goals is 

reviewed at least monthly. 

In addition to the framework of the objectives, several core principles have been established: (1) 

streamline and automate as many features as possible; (2) create a seamless and integrated way 

for the outside world to interact with NASA; and (3) minimize competition between the NASA 

field centers in order to work as a coordinated, strategic and intentional program. 

At the conclusion of the 2014 fiscal year, NASA’s Technology Transfer program has made 

significant progress and has ambitious plans for 2015. 
145

NASA Invention Disclosures and Patenting

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of new inventions disclosed decreased by 3% to 

1,683 disclosures in FY 2014. The number of patent applications filed experienced a 3% 

decrease. The number of patents issued during this five-year period decreased by 10% to 117

patents in FY 2014.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

New Inventions Disclosed 1,735 1,723 1,642 1,618 1,683

Patent Applications Filed 150 130 131 146 146

Patents Issued 130 111 129 116 117
146

USPTO Patents Assigned to NASA by Technology Area: FY 201460

 60 Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using the Web of Science database. All rights reserved. Used with 

permission.
147

NASA Licenses

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total active licenses decreased by 57% to 2,381

licenses in FY 2014. New licenses decreased by 49% to 256 licenses from a previous 498 in FY 

2010. The number of total active invention licenses decreased by 45% to 253 licenses.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Licenses, Total Active 5,515 3,363 3,013 2,538 2,381

New Licenses 498 396 324 259 256

Invention Licenses, Total Active 456 309 284 266 253

New Invention Licenses 36 20 26 33 39

Income Bearing Licenses, Total Active 271 262 241 220 198

Income Bearing Exclusive Licenses 122 105 88 77 66
148

NASA Income from Licensing

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of total income from all active licenses decreased 

by 54% to $2.1 million in FY 2014. The income from invention licenses decreased by 55% to 

$1.9 million. Total earned royalty income decreased 81% from $2.3 million in FY 2010 to $430 

thousand in FY 2014.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

Total Income, All Active Licenses $4,517 $3,012 $3,375 $2,183 $2,085

Invention Licenses $4,229 $2,877 $3,137 $1,837 $1,920

Total Earned Royalty Income $2,280 $1,525 $1,353 $307 $430
149

NASA Collaborative R&D Relationships

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, the number of Space Act Agreements increased 38% from 

4,379 agreements in FY 2010 to 6,058 in FY 2014.

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

CRADAs, Total Active 0 0 0 0 0

New CRADAs 0 0 0 0 0

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 0 0 0 0 0

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 4,379 5,384 5,749 5,656 6,058

(Space Act Agreements)
150

NASA Downstream Success Stories

Every year since 1976, NASA has been publishing the prestigious Spinoff report, a compendium 

of successfully commercialized NASA technologies. This year, NASA highlights 44 different 

technologies commercialized by companies from over 20 states. With the release of this, its 38th

issue, NASA has now recorded over 2,000 stories related to how specific, mission-driven 

technologies have found second lives outside of NASA and “come back down to Earth” to 

benefit our nation’s daily lives. These stories exemplify NASA’s best and brightest engineers 

and scientists sharing NASA-developed technologies with U.S. industry, which in turn helps 

America maintain its economic competitive edge. 

The NASA technologies featured in Spinoff help create jobs, produce billions of dollars in 

revenue, save lives, and improve the quality of lives in countless other ways. These feature 

stories also illustrate to the American taxpayer that an investment in NASA yields numerous 

positive returns. The following Spinoff summaries highlight this year’s accomplishments. The 

full text version of these stories, and more, can be found on the NASA Spinoff website, at 

http://spinoff/nasa/gov. 

New Engine to Save Billions in Fuel Costs

Through collaboration with NASA, its personnel and facilities, Pratt & Whitney has developed a 

geared turbofan engine that is up to 16% more fuel-efficient than other models and up to 75% 

quieter. The primary innovation is a gearbox that allows an engine’s fan and turbine to spin at 

different speeds—fans are more efficient when they turn slowly, and turbines are more efficient 

when they spin quickly. (This has been called the “paradox” of modern engine design, as these 

two components have always run on the same shaft and therefore couldn’t run at different 

speeds.) This technology not only helps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but also saves 

airlines millions of dollars in fuel costs every year.

Vast Water Reserves Found in Drought-Prone Northern Kenya

Using NASA Landsat satellite and other remote sensing topographical data, Radar Technologies 

International (RTI) developed an algorithm-based software tool called WATEX that can locate

areas likely to hold underground water sources. In September 2013, RTI announced an incredible 

discovery: beneath the surface of a nearly dry area in northern Kenya, at least 66 trillion gallons 

of deep water was found. Combined with the 898 billion gallons of rainfall diverted into the 

basin annually, the previously untapped catchment system has the potential to improve the lives 

of future generations. RTI has also successfully used WATEX to locate water in other locations, 

including Sudan and Afghanistan.

World’s First 3D Endoscope Suitable for Brain Surgery

A joint effort between NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) and the Skull Base Institute in Los 

Angeles produced the Multi-Angle Rear-Viewing Endoscopic Tool (MARVEL), the first 

endoscope suitable for brain surgery that is capable of producing three-dimensional imagery. 

MARVEL provides surgeons with a visually more comprehensive understanding of the tight 

working space within the human skull. Additionally, it is the first device of its kind that can steer 

its lens back and forth, further enhancing visibility. It is anticipated that MARVEL will find 

broad applications for the use of this instrument with numerous types of surgical procedures, 
151

which could potentially improve safety, expedite patient recovery, and ultimately reduce medical 

costs.

NASA Wing Design Now Ubiquitous in Commercial Aircraft

In the 1960s and ’70s, NASA’s Richard Whitcomb nearly single-handedly developed an airplane 

wing that operated more efficiently near the speed of sound than any wing design that existed. 

The “supercritical” airfoil turned out to be more efficient at subsonic speeds and since then has 

become ubiquitous in use, saving airlines billions of dollars every year in fuel costs while 

simultaneously reducing engine emissions. Though present now in almost every single aircraft 

flying today, Whitcomb’s supercritical wing was given its first feature article in Spinoff in 2015.

Amazon Web Services Makes NASA Data and Models Available to All

Agency data is in high demand but isn’t always publicly available. An effort called NASA Earth 

Exchange data sets (NEX) enabled data access to numerous scientists; however, this availability 

was still restrictive, serving only about a thousand scientists. Amazon entered into a Space Act 

Agreement with NASA to make NEX publicly available (OpenNEX) as well as provide 

supercomputing resources. In this way, scientists can not only make use of the data, but also 

have the ability to run simulations using NASA models. The White House highlighted the 

partnership for its contributions to administration initiatives: Open Data, Big Data, and Climate 

Data.
152

Chapter 3 Conclusion

Technology transfer is an active and essential mission of Federal R&D laboratories. By 

leveraging our Nation’s innovative nature and investing in science and technology, we 

strengthen our economy and American competitiveness in world markets. In recent years, 

agencies have engaged in efforts to increase the rate and efficacy of technology transfer activities 

and thereby improve the economic and societal impact from Federal R&D investments.

This report provides a summary of the technology transfer activities of all 11 Federal agencies 

that are actively involved in R&D. This summary is derived from each agency’s annual 

technology transfer reports that are located online at http://nist.gov/tpo/publications/agencytechnology-transfer-reports.cfm

Statistical data provided in this report indicate that there has been an increase in invention 

disclosures and patenting activities over the five-year span from FY 2010 through FY 2014. 

During this period, Federal invention disclosures increased by 7%, patent applications increased 

by 30% and patents issued increased by 32%. In FY 2013, the top four technical areas in which 

Federal patents were awarded were Measurement Techniques (13%), Biotechnology (9%), 

Computer Technology (8%), and Electrical Machinery (7%).

Between FY 2010 and FY 2014, total active licenses increased by 37%, new licenses increased 

by 363%, invention licenses decreased by 3%, new invention licenses decreased by 25%, 

income-bearing licenses increased by 15%, and exclusive licenses decreased by 40%. Income 

from all licensing increased by 35%, income from invention licenses increased by 34%, and total 

earned royalty income increased by 27%.

Federal collaborative R&D relationships increased by 10%, new CRADA agreements increased 

by 8%, and non-traditional CRADA agreements increased by 32%.

In FY 2014, Federal researchers published 44,378 papers. More than half of these papers were in 

the fields of biological sciences (22%), medical sciences (20%) and physics (16%). In FY 2014, 

more than 14,000 papers cited in U.S. patents were authored or coauthored by Federal 

researchers. Of these papers, 77% involved research in the fields of biological sciences (44%), 

medical sciences (22%), and physics (11%).

Initial effort to determine the number of small businesses involved in Federal CRADA 

agreements reveals that out of the 5,127 traditional, Federal CRADA agreements from agencies 

that tracked small business participation, 11% involve small businesses as participants. Federal 

agencies also support small businesses through the licensing of technologies. Initial data reveal

that of the 10,294 active, Federal licenses from agencies that were able to identify company size, 

6% were issued to small businesses. 

Federally developed technologies are also transferred through the actions of young startup 

companies. Companies that have been in existence for five years or less and have spun off 

federally developed technologies or have received critical technical support for their core 

development areas from Federal laboratories evidence the effective transfer of Federal 
153

technologies. Review of preliminary data from four agencies identifies 71 companies that started 

between the years of 2009 and 2014, and have received critical technical support from Federal 

laboratories.

Finally, in response to the PM and Lab-to-Market initiative, this report shows that agencies have 

made steady progress in their efforts to improve the transfer of technologies from Federal 

laboratories. By projecting trend lines for patents, invention licenses and CRADAs over the 

years since the PM was issued, there is clear evidence that efforts to streamline and improve 

processes have been successful. Agencies are now engaged in efforts to assess the impact of 

these efforts to determine the extent to which Federal technology transfer promotes economic 

growth, the creation of new products, and employment opportunities. 
154

Appendix A

Federal Invention Disclosure and Patenting
155

Federal Invention Disclosure and Patenting (continued)
156

Federal Licenses
157

Federal Licenses (continued)
158

Federal Income from Licensing ($000s)
159

Federal Income from Licensing (continued) ($000s)
160

Federal Collaborative R&D Relationships

Agency Metric FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

USDA CRADAs, Total Active 273 292 274 259 267

New CRADAs 92 102 65 86 60

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 219 207 211 211 193

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 12,943 15,837 15,878 17,344 17,005

DOC CRADAs, Total Active 2,253 2,245 2,410 2,428 2,359

New CRADAs 2,159 2,192 2,844 2,289 2,100

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 100 98 153 196 206

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 2,897 2,899 2,782 2,977 3,031

DOD CRADAs, Total Active 3,248 2,554 2,400 2,682 2,762

New CRADAs 720 762 757 769 671

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 2,516 1,685 1,328 2,076 2,281

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 287 988 0 606 581

DOE CRADAs, Total Active 697 720 742 742 704

New CRADAs 176 178 184 142 180

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 697 720 742 742 n/r

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 0 0 0 0 0

HHS CRADAs, Total Active 447 430 377 427 532

New CRADAs 83 81 93 104 98

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 300 284 245 313 378

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 0 0 0 114 154

DHS CRADAs, Total Active 36 62 94 114 158

New CRADAs 14 31 53 76 88

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 32 55 89 91 121

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 3 11 11 6 31

DOI CRADAs, Total Active 436 351 379 476 601

New CRADAs 82 295 284 376 423

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 29 22 28 21 35

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 0 209 283 322 292

DOT CRADAs, Total Active 22 25 29 40 50

New CRADAs 0 8 12 8 10

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 0 0 3 3 7

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 29 39 14 26 30
161

Federal Collaborative R&D Relationships (continued)

Agency Metric FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

VA CRADAs, Total Active 895 1,477 1,510 1,550 1,618

New CRADAs 491 450 522 453 505

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 829 1,444 1,430 1,550 1,618

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 0 0 0 0 0

EPA CRADAs, Total Active 67 84 92 112 129

New CRADAs 33 26 22 51 35

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 50 54 63 55 52

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 0 0 0 0 0

NASA CRADAs, Total Active 0 0 0 0 0

New CRADAs 0 0 0 0 0

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 0 0 0 0 0

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 4,379 5,384 5,749 5,656 6,058

Total Metric FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

CRADAs, Total Active 8,374 8,240 8,307 8,830 9,180

New CRADAs 3,850 4,125 4,836 4,354 4,170

Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 4,772 4,569 4,292 5,258 4,891

Other Collaborative R&D Relationships 20,538 25,367 24,717 27,051 27,182
162

Appendix B

Technology Area Classifications

Mapping of International Patent Classifications to Technology Area61

Analysis of Biological Materials – Includes the investigation or analysis of specific methods not 

covered by other groups. Materials analyzed include: food, water, metals, explosives, oils, paints, 

paper, textiles, concrete, resins, wood, and biological material.

Audio-Visual Technology – Includes but is not limited to: advertising, signs, labels or nameplates, seals, arrangements or circuits for control of indicating devices using static means to 

present variable information, scanning details of television systems, color television systems, still 

video cameras, loudspeakers, microphones, stereophonic systems, and printed circuits. 

Basic Communication Processes – Includes but is not limited to: generation of oscillations, 

modulation, amplifiers, control of amplification, impedance networks, tuning resonant circuits, 

pulse technique, and general coding, decoding, or code conversion.

Basic Materials Chemistry – Includes but is not limited to: preservation of bodies of humans or 

animals or plants, nitrogenous fertilizers, explosive or thermic compositions, detonating or 

priming devices, means for generating smoke or mist, manufacture of matches, organic dyes, 

coating compositions, natural resins, preparation of glue, adhesives, drying or working-up or 

peat, cracking hydrocarbon oils, production of acetylene by wet methods, lubrication 

compositions, and detergent compositions. 

Biotechnology – Includes but is not limited to: compounds of unknown constitution, peptides, 

apparatus for enzymology or microbiology, micro-organisms or enzymes, fermentation or 

enzyme-using processes to synthesis a desired chemical compound or composition or to separate 

optical isomers from a racemic mixture, and measuring or testing processes involving enzymes 

or micro-organisms. 

Chemical Engineering – Includes but is not limited to: boiling, evaporating, sublimation, cold 

traps, crystallization, solvent extraction, displacing liquid, degasification of liquids, filters 

comprising of loose filtering material, cartridge filters of the throw-away type, processes of 

filtration, regeneration of the filtering material or filter elements outside the filter for liquid or 

gaseous fluids, separation of different isotopes of the same chemical element, chemical or 

physical laboratory apparatus for general use, separating solid materials using liquids or using 

pneumatic tables or jigs, centrifuges, flotation, spraying apparatus, treating textile materials by 

liquids, bleaching, drying solid materials or objects by removing liquid therefrom, and plasma 

technique. 

 61 Derived from The World Intellectual Property Organization’s International Patent Classification (IPC) 

Correspondence Table (http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/ipstats/en/statistics/patents/xls/ipc_technology.xls) 

and IPC Searchable Classification Database, Version 2016.01 

(http://web2.wipo.int/classifications/ipc/ipcpub/#refresh=page).
163

Civil Engineering – Includes but is not limited to: construction of roads, sports ground, 

platforms and refuge islands, landing stages for helicopters, machines for making railways, 

bridges, devices providing protection against weather, street cleaning, ship-lifting devices, 

foundations, excavations, embankments, dredging, water installation, sewers, water-closets or 

urinals with flushing devices, general building constructions, building materials, skylights, 

gutters, stairs, floors, locks, handcuffs, swimming pools, hinges for doors, windows, or wings, 

safes or strong-rooms for valuables, bank protection devices, ladders, earth or rock drilling, 

mining or quarrying, large underground chambers, and safety devices. 

Computer Technology – Includes but is not limited to: digital computers in which all of the 

computation is effected mechanically, digital fluid-pressure computing devices, optical 

computing devices, electric digital data processing, analog computers, recognition of data, 

counting mechanisms, image data processing or generation, speech analysis or synthesis, speech 

recognition, and static stores. 

Control – Includes but is not limited to: systems for controlling or regulating non-electric 

variables, ticket-issuing apparatus, time or attendance registers, handling or coins or of paper 

currency or similar valuable papers, con-freed or like apparatus, signaling or calling systems, 

traffic control systems, educational or demonstration appliances, ciphering or deciphering 

apparatus for cryptographic or other purposes involving the need for secrecy, and railway or like 

time or fare tables.

Digital Communication – Includes but is not limited to: transmission of digital information, 

selective content distribution, and wireless communication networks.

Electrical Machinery, Apparatus, Energy – Includes but is not limited to: incandescent 

mantles, lighting devices or systems, non-portable lighting devices or systems, cables, 

conductors, insulators, magnets, inductances, transformers, capacitors, electric switches, electric 

discharge tubes or discharge lamps, electric incandescent lamps, spark gaps, emergency 

protective circuit arrangements, dynamo-electric machines, electric heating, static electricity, and 

generation of electric power by conversion of Ingra-red radiation, visible light, or ultraviolet 

light.

Engines, Pumps, Turbines – Includes but is not limited to: steam engines, rotary-piston or 

oscillating-piston machines or engines, steam engine plants, cyclically operating valves for 

machines or engines, lubricating of machines or engines in general, cooling of machines or 

engines in general, internal-combustion piston engines, gas-turbine plants, jet-propulsion plants, 

starting of combustion engines, machines or engines for liquids, wind motors, positive- and nonpositive displacement pumps, generating combustion products of high pressure or high velocity, 

fusion reactors, nuclear reactors, nuclear power plant, conversion of chemical elements, 

obtaining energy from radioactive sources, and nuclear explosives. 

Environmental Technology – Includes but is not limited to: fire-fighting, separating dispersed 

particles from gases, combinations of devices for separating particles from gases or vapors, 

disposal of solid waste, reclamation of contaminated soil, gathering or removal of domestic or 

like refuse, water treatment, cremation furnaces, and measurement of nuclear or x-radiation.
164

Food Chemistry – Includes but is not limited to: new plants or processes for obtaining them, 

treatment of flour or dough for baking, preserving by canning, dairy products, edible oils or pats, 

coffee, tea, cocoa, coca products, protein compositions for foodstuffs, feeding-stuffs specially 

adapted for animals, brewing of beer, recovery of by-products of fermented solutions, wine, 

preparation of vinegar, production of sugar juices, extraction of sucrose from molasses, and 

drying sugar.

Furniture, Games – Includes but is not limited to: tables, desks, office furniture, chairs, child 

furniture, special furniture, household or table equipment, furnishings for windows or doors, 

kitchen equipment, sanitary equipment, toilet accessories, domestic washing or cleaning, 

apparatus for physical training, design or layout of courts, bowling games, card games, indoor 

games, merry-go-rounds, swings, toys, devices for theaters and circuses, racing and riding sports 

equipment and accessories.

Handling – Includes but is not limited to: labeling or tagging machines, containers for storage or 

transport of articles of materials, transport or storage devices, handling think or filamentary 

material, elevators, escalators, moving walkways, cranes, capstans, winches, tackles, pulley 

blocks, hoists, applying closure members to bottles, and filling or emptying of bottles, jars, cans, 

casks, barrels, or similar containers. 

IT Methods for Management – Includes data processing systems or methods, specially adapted 

for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial, supervisory or forecasting purposes.

Machine Tools – Includes but is not limited to: chemical means for extinguishing fires, rolling 

of metal, working or processing of metal wire, making forged or pressed metal products, making 

metal chains, making gears or toothed racks, thread cutting, soldering, welding, abrasive or 

related blasting with particulate material, tools for grinding, hand-held nailing or stapling tools, 

handles for hand implements, workshop equipment, saws for wood or similar material, working 

veneer or plywood, dovetailed work, removing bark or vestiges of branches, and accessory 

machines or apparatus for working wood or similar materials.

Macromolecular Chemistry, Polymers – Includes but is not limited to: polysaccharides, 

treatment or chemical modification of rubbers, derivatives of natural macromolecular 

compounds, use of inorganic or non-macromolecular organic substances as compounding 

ingredients, and compositions of macromolecular compounds.

Materials, Metallurgy – Includes but is not limited to: foundry molding, casting of metals, 

working metallic powder, non-metallic elements, ammonia compounds, cyanogen compounds, 

compounds of alkali metals, chemical composition of glasses, manufacture of iron or steel, 

processing of pig-iron, production or refining of metals, alloys, and changing the physical 

structure of non-ferrous metals or non-ferrous alloys.

Measurement – Includes but is not limited to: measuring linear dimensions, measuring 

distances, surveying, navigation, gyroscopic instruments, measuring volume, weighing, 

measurement of mechanical vibrations, measurement of intensity or velocity, measuring 
165

temperature or quantity of heat, measuring force, testing static or dynamic balance of machines 

or structures, sampling, investigating strength properties of solid materials by application of 

mechanical stress, investigating density or specific gravity of materials; investigating flow 

properties of materials, investigating or analyzing materials by use of optical or thermal means, 

and investigating or analyzing materials by the use of nuclear magnetic resonance, electron 

paramagnetic resonance or other spin effects.

Mechanical Elements – Includes but is not limited to: fluid-pressure actuators, fluid dynamics, 

devices for fastening or securing constructional elements or machine parts, shafts, couplings for 

transmitting rotation, springs, means for damping vibration, belts, cables, ropes, chains, fittings, 

gearing, pistons, cylinders, pressure vessels, valves, devices for venting or aerating, pipes, 

frames, casing, lubricating, safety devices in general, steam traps, gas-holders of variable 

capacity, vessels for containing or storing compressed gases, pipe-line systems, and control 

devices or systems insofar as characterized by mechanical features.

Medical Technology – Includes but is not limited to: diagnosis, surgery, identification, dentistry, 

veterinary instruments, filters implantable into blood vessels, physical therapy apparatus, 

containers specially adapted for medical or pharmaceutical purposes, methods or apparatus for 

sterilizing materials, devices for introducing media into or onto the body, electrotherapy, 

radiation therapy, ultrasound therapy, and x-ray technique.

Micro-Structural and Nano-Technology –Includes but is not limited to: micro-structural 

devices or systems, processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of 

micro-structural devices or systems, specific uses or applications of nano-structures, and nanostructures formed by manipulation of individual atoms, molecules, or limited collections of 

atoms or molecules as discrete units. 

Optics – Includes but is not limited to: optical elements, spectacles, apparatus or arrangements or 

taking photographs, photosensitive materials for photographic purposes, apparatus for processing 

exposed photographic materials, photomechanical production of textured or patterned surfaces, 

electrography, devices used stimulated emission, and holographic processes or apparatus.

Organic Fine Chemistry – Includes but is not limited to: cosmetics or similar toilet 

preparations, general methods of organic chemistry, acyclic or carbocyclic compounds, 

heterocyclic compounds, steroids, derivatives or sugars, nucleosides, nucleic acids, and 

combinatorial chemistry.

Other Consumer Goods – Includes but is not limited to: machines for making cigars, smoke 

filters, match boxes, shirts, corsets, outwear, suspenders, artificial flowers, wigs, masks, feathers, 

hats and head coverings, characteristic features of footwear, buttons, pins, buckles, jewelry, 

coins, walking sticks, umbrellas, purses, luggage, hairdressing or shaving equipment, apparatus 

or methods for life-saving, bookbinding, filing appliances, implements for writing or drawing, 

apparatus or tools for artistic work, saddles, stirrups, upholstering methods, ropes or cables in 

general, musical instruments with associated blowing apparatus, and methods or devices for 

protecting against, or for damping, noise or other acoustic waves in general.
166

Other Special Machines – Includes but is not limited to: soil working in agriculture or forestry, 

planting, sowing, fertilizing, harvesting, mowing, threshing, cultivation of vegetables, 

manufacture of dairy products, animal husbandry, shoeing of animals, machines or equipment 

for making, slaughtering, processing meat, machines or apparatus for treating harvested fruit, 

preparing grain for milling, shaping clay or other ceramic compositions, working stone or stonelike materials, shaping or joining of plastics, additive manufacturing, manufacturing or shaping 

of glass, sugar extraction, weapons for projecting missiles without the use of explosive or 

combustible propellant charge, small arms, apparatus for launching projectiles or missiles from 

barrels, weapon sights, targets, explosive charges, blasting, and ammunition fuses.

Pharmaceuticals – Includes but is not limited to: preparations for dentistry, medicinal 

preparations characterized by special physical form, medicinal preparations containing organic 

and inorganic active ingredients, medicinal preparations containing peptides, preparations for 

testing in vivo, electrically conductive preparations for use in therapy or testing in vivo, 

radioactive non-metals and metals, specific therapeutic activity of chemical compounds or 

medicinal preparations, and containing or obtained from roots, bulbs, leaves, bark, seeds, grains, 

flowers, stems, branches, or twigs.

Semiconductors – Includes semiconductor devices and electric solid state devices not otherwise 

provided.

Surface Technology, Coating – Includes but is not limited to: apparatus and processes for 

applying liquids or other fluent materials to surfaces, layered products, coating metallic material, 

enameling of metals, non-mechanical removal of metallic material from surfaces, cleaning or degreasing of metallic material by chemical methods other than electrolysis, and single-crystal 

growth.

Telecommunications – Includes but is not limited to: transmission systems for measured values, 

waveguides, resonators, aerials, transmission, broadcast communication, multiplex 

communication, secret communication, jamming of communication, telephonic communication, 

and scanning, transmitting, or reproducing documents.

Textile and Paper Machines – Includes but is not limited to: appliances or methods for making 

clothes, manufacture of brushes, making articles of paper or cardboard, processes for the 

manufacture or reproduction of printing surfaces, typewriters, stamps, printing plates or foils, 

mechanical treatment of processing of leather in general, preliminary treatment of fibers, 

spinning or twisting, crimping or curling fibers, shedding mechanisms, auxiliary weaving 

apparatus, knitting, braiding or manufacturing of lace, sewing, embroidering, mechanical or 

pressure cleaning of carpets, decorating textiles, and paper-making machines.

Thermal Processes and Apparatus – Includes but is not limited to: methods of steam 

generation, superheating of steam, methods or apparatus for combustion using fluid or solid fuel, 

burners, grates, feeding fuel to combustion apparatus, regulating or controlling combustion, 

ignition, domestic stoves or ranges, air-conditioning, fluid heaters, ice production, steam or 

vapor condensers, other heat exchange apparatus, and cleaning of internal or external surfaces of 

heat-exchange or heat-transfer conduits.
167

Transport – Includes but is not limited to: vehicle wheels, vehicle tires, vehicle suspension 

arrangements, windows, windscreens, arrangement or mounting of propulsion units or of 

transmissions in vehicles, propulsion of electrically-propelled vehicles, power supply lines or 

devices along rails for electrically-propelled vehicles, vehicles adapted for load transportation, 

arrangement of signaling or lighting devices, vehicle brake control systems, air-cushion vehicles, 

locomotives, body details or kinds of railway vehicles, rail vehicle suspensions, shifting or 

shunting of rail vehicles, guiding railway traffic, hand-propelled vehicles, vehicles drawn by 

animals, trailers, cycle stands, cycle saddles or seats, brakes specially adapted for cycles, rider 

propulsion of wheeled vehicles or sledges, ships or other waterborne vessels, offensive or 

defensive arrangements on vessels, marine propulsion or steering, auxiliaries on vessels, lighterthan-air aircraft, airplanes, helicopters, equipment for fitting in or to aircraft, flying suites, 

parachutes, and cosmonautics. 
168

Appendix C

Fields and Subfields of S&E Publications Data62

Agricultural Sciences: dairy animal sciences, agricultural and food sciences

Astronomy

Biological sciences: general biomedical research, miscellaneous biomedical research, 

biophysics, botany, anatomy and morphology, cell biology, cytology, and histology, ecology, 

entomology, immunology, microbiology, nutrition and dietetics, parasitology, genetics and 

heredity, pathology, pharmacology, physiology, general zoology, miscellaneous zoology, general 

biology, miscellaneous biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, virology

Chemistry: analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, polymers, general 

chemistry, applied chemistry, inorganic and nuclear chemistry

Computer sciences

Engineering: aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical 

engineering, mechanical engineering, metals and metallurgy, materials engineering, industrial 

engineering, operations research and management, biomedical engineering, nuclear technology, 

general engineering, miscellaneous engineering and technology

Geosciences: meteorology and atmospheric sciences, geology, earth and planetary sciences, 

oceanography and limnology, marine biology and hydrobiology, environmental sciences

Mathematics: applied mathematics, probability and statistics, general mathematics, 

miscellaneous mathematics

Medical sciences: endocrinology, neurology and neurosurgery, dentistry, environmental and 

occupational health, public health, surgery, general and internal medicine, ophthalmology, 

pharmacy, veterinary medicine, miscellaneous clinical medicine, anesthesiology, cardiovascular 

system, cancer, gastroenterology, hematology, obstetrics and gynecology, otorhinolaryngology, 

pediatrics, psychiatry, radiology and nuclear medicine, dermatology and venereal disease, 

orthopedics, arthritis and rheumatism, respiratory system, urology, nephrology, allergy, fertility, 

geriatrics, embryology, tropical medicine, addictive diseases, microscopy

Other of life sciences: speech/language pathology and audiology, nursing, rehabilitation, health 

policy and services

 62 SOURCES: The Patent BoardTM, and National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering 

Statistics, Integrated Science and Engineering Resources Data System (WebCASPAR) database system, 

http://webcaspar.nsf.gov. Science and Engineering Indicators 2012. Used with permission.
169

Physics: acoustics, chemical physics, nuclear and particle physics, optics, solid state physics, 

applied physics, fluids and plasmas, general physics, miscellaneous physics

Social sciences: economics, international relations, political science and public administration, 

demography, sociology, anthropology and archaeology, area studies, criminology, geography 

and regional sciences, planning and urban studies, general social sciences, science studies, 

gerontology and aging, social studies of medicine
The cover image is derived from an image of a twelve-vortex array in a rotating Bose-Einstein condensate. The complete image 

appears in “Volume Visualization of Bose-Einstein Condensates” by P. M. Ketcham, D. L. Feder, C. W. Clark, S. G. Satterfield, T. 

J. Griffin, W. L. George, B. I. Schneider and W. P. Reinhardt. National Institute of Standards and Technology, NISTIR 6739, April 

2001. Dr. Eric A. Cornell of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, along with a team of other scientists, won the 

2001 Nobel Prize in Physics for research leading to the landmark 1995 creation of the Bose-Einstein condensate and early 

studies of its properties. The Bose-Einstein condensate is a new form of matter that occurs at just a few hundred billionths of a 

degree above absolute zero.