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Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer

Fiscal Year 2010

Summary Report to the President and the Congress

Prepared by:

National Institute of 

Standards and Technology

U.S. Department of Commerce

August 2012

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 i
Dan Shechtman, professor at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, was on a two-year 

sabbatical and worked as a guest researcher at NIST from 1981 to 1983 when he discovered the 

quasicrystal—an arrangement of atoms thought to be forbidden by nature. In recognition of this 

discovery, Professor Shechtman was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. A graphic of an 

electron diffraction pattern from a quasicrystal is incorporated into the design of this cover.

Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report ii
FOREWORD

The Department of Commerce is pleased to submit the FY 2010 Federal Interagency 

Technology Transfer Summary Report to the President and the Congress. This report captures 

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.

In the past year, the President issued the Presidential Memorandum entitled “Accelerating 

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

Business.” This Presidential Memorandum reiterated the importance of innovation to accelerate 

the development of new industries, products and services that lead to job creation. This report 

will help serve as a baseline to measure our continued progress toward achieving the ambitious 

challenge issued to the Federal agencies to significantly increase technology transfer over the 

next five years, while achieving excellence in performing our mission-focused research.

With the Administration’s focus on job creation and restoring rapid economic growth, comes 

an appreciation of the importance of invention and technological innovation as drivers of these 

goals. Federal laboratories, through their mission-oriented research and development, have 

historically been in the forefront of producing scientific discoveries, technological innovation 

and inventions. Over the years, many of these have found their way into commercial markets 

as the basis for new products, services and the formation of new companies, through the 

technology transfer initiatives of these laboratories.

This report fulfills the requirement of United States Code Title 15, 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 technology transfer authorities. We will use future editions of this report to continue to 

keep the President and 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 the Nation’s economic 

strength.

Patrick D. Gallagher

Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology 

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 iii
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Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................1

 Scope ....................................................................................................................1

 Technology Transfer Principles and Approach .......................................................... 2

 Cooperative Research and Development ................................................................ 2

 Intellectual Property Management .......................................................................... 3

CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................... 5

 Strengthening Performance Metrics ........................................................................ 5

 Current Performance and Metrics ........................................................................... 8

CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................. 23

 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) .............................................................. 23

 Department of Commerce (DOC) ........................................................................ 24

 Department of Defense (DoD) ............................................................................. 29

 Department of Energy (DOE) ............................................................................... 31

 Department of the Interior (DOI) .......................................................................... 36

 Department of Transportation (DOT) .................................................................... 38

 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ................................................................. 42

 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ................................................ 44

 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ........................................ 48

 Department of Agriculture (USDA) ....................................................................... 50

 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) ..................................................................... 53

CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 57

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Collaborative Relationships for Research and Development .............................10

Table 2: Invention Disclosure and Patenting .................................................................13

Table 3: Profile of Active Licenses ................................................................................16

Table 4: Characteristics of Licensing Bearing Income ...................................................19

Table 5: Income from Licensing .................................................................................20

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 v
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Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report vi
CHAPTER 1

Overview of Federal Technology Transfer

Federal laboratories continuously partner with many non-federal organizations in industry, 

academia, the non-profit sector, as well as state, local and tribal governments. Through 

these partnerships, Federal agencies are better able to transform the results of their research 

into economic and social value. Agencies utilize a variety of authorities and agreements to 

evaluate, protect, transfer, and monitor the utilization and commercialization of technologies 

developed, in whole or in part, by Federal laboratories. While focusing on important national 

interests, Federal laboratories continue to develop many new technologies, products, and 

applications that solve some of our greatest challenges. By making these discoveries accessible 

to private, academic and other government entities, Federal research and development (R&D) 

provides expertise and resources resulting in viable products that give the United States a 

competitive edge in today’s global market and improve the quality of life for all Americans.

This report summarizes information from individual reports prepared by each Federal agency 

conducting R&D within its laboratories. The Department of Commerce’s (DOC) National 

Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) prepared and organized this report. An electronic 

version of this report is available at: http://www.nist.gov/tpo/publications/index.cfm.

Scope

This report summarizes the technology transfer achievements of the eleven Federal agencies 

that have significant Federal laboratory operations:

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Department of Commerce (DOC)

Department of Defense (DoD)

Department of Energy (DOE)

Department of the Interior (DOI)

Department of Transportation (DOT)

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 

All of these agencies have established programs for transferring the technology and intellectual 

property arising from their laboratory R&D endeavors.

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 1

1
Technology Transfer Principles and Approach

Promoting U.S. economic growth and creating jobs through the transfer and commercialization 

of Federally-developed technologies is a high priority for Federal laboratories and their 

technology transfer offices. Collaboration between Federal laboratories and non-federal 

organizations allows greater access to research outcomes and plays an important role in 

the efficient and timely development of innovative technologies and new products. Efficient 

technology transfer activities ensure that tax payer investments in cutting edge and fundamental 

research and development significantly benefit the domestic economy through the transfer of 

rights to develop, refine, use and market new technologies for the benefit of the public. Since 

Federal research activities are often driven by a Federal agency’s mission, many economically 

viable advancements might be overlooked, or otherwise go unused, without dedicated efforts 

by Federal technology transfer offices to promote the dissemination and utilization of the 

results. Effective technology transfer promotes real economic growth through the development 

of new products, medical treatments, services, and other innovations that reach the market, 

and through the creation of jobs resulting from the further development, manufacture and 

marketing of these new goods and services. In addition to strengthening domestic and regional 

economies, successful partnerships with non-Federal entities provide additional benefits 

including:

• Stimulating the flow of ideas between government and other research sectors

• Creating new small businesses 

• Attracting and retaining talented scientific personnel within Federal laboratories

• Providing support to the mission of each agency

• Accelerating the development and reducing the costs of products and services to reach the

marketplace

• Supporting further research by generating licensing revenue 

• Rewarding innovative accomplishments of Federal inventors through royalty sharing

• Creating a wide variety of new and efficient products in health care, defense, domestic 

security and many other sectors of the economy

Federal technology transfer offices typically rely on the following principal mechanisms to 

facilitate the transfer of federally developed technologies. 

Cooperative Research and Development 

Relationships for cooperative research and development between Federal laboratories and nonfederal collaborators are widely viewed as an effective and economical means of technology 

transfer and joint research. These efforts confer a mutually advantageous leveraging of Federal 

agency and collaborator resources and technical capabilities, and provide avenues for both 

partners to gain new competencies and develop new skills. 

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

Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). CRADAs are agreements between Federal 

laboratories and one or more collaborators to work together on a R&D project with a defined 

scope of work. CRADAs allow Federal laboratories to participate in R&D partnerships for purposes 

that include developing and advancing promising new technologies toward commercialization. 

Many agencies have other specific authorities which also facilitate cooperative R&D. 

2 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
Intellectual Property Management

Invention Disclosure 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, general publications and patents obtained are often cited as metrics of the active 

management of intellectual assets and technical know-how by Federal agencies. 

Licensing

Licensing is one of the primary mechanisms to create incentives for industry to further develop 

and commercialize leading-edge technologies. Successful development and commercialization 

benefits the economy generally and contributes to competitiveness and economic growth. 

Without the ability to grant licenses to develop and commercialize government-owned 

technologies and inventions, many innovations would languish within laboratories and would 

not be further developed into products or services. The terms and conditions under which 

Federal intellectual property is licensed vary, reflecting on many factors including the state of 

readiness for the market place, the financial resources needed to further develop the technology 

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

Other Commercialization Mechanisms 

Other than licensing, there is a wide variety of technology transfer methods used by Federal 

agencies. Different mechanisms are used when licensing may not be necessary to efficiently or 

effectively transfer the technology. Some of the mechanisms used by Federal laboratories are 

tailored to support the specific focus, needs and mission of a particular Federal laboratory or a 

particular technology. Some of these other technology transfer mechanisms include:

• Presentations at conferences, workshops, and inquiries

• Utilization of guest researchers and facilities users

• Outreach to trade and technical media

• Technical publications and other reports 

• Development of Standard Reference Materials

• Development of Standard Reference Data

• Development of documentary standards

• Material transfer licenses

• Calibration services

• Collaborative research agreements (e.g., Memoranda of Understanding (MOU), 

Clinical Trial Agreements)

Technology Transfer Metrics and Data

In order to enhance the ability of researchers to understand and analyze the impact of Federal 

research and technology transfer activities, NIST has assembled and made available in a single 

location, a core dataset that includes data from previous editions of this report. The dataset 

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 3
draws on information from a decade of reports and presents data that have been consistently 

collected over a long time series, e.g., CRADA data from 1987-2009 and Federal R&D 

obligation data from 1982-2009.

The dataset also includes data on obligated funds for research at Federal laboratories and 

federally funded research and development centers. These data are drawn from various 

National Science Foundation (NSF) surveys and contain information at the department and 

agency level. The dataset also contains R&D deflators and the gross domestic product (GDP) 

deflator that can be used to control for the changing purchasing power of R&D expenditures. 

This information is available at: http://www.nist.gov/tpo/publications/index.cfm under the 

heading/subheading: “Federal Laboratory (Interagency) Technology Transfer Summary Reports/

Federal Technology Transfer Data 1987 - 2009, October 2011.”

4 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
CHAPTER 2

Performance in Fiscal Year 2010

Strengthening Performance Metrics

To improve and develop better measures of the effectiveness of Federal technology transfer, the 

Federal Interagency Working Group for Technology Transfer (IAWGTT) meets regularly and is 

composed of agency representatives and technology transfer experts from across the Federal 

government. The IAWGTT serves as a coordination point for Federal technology transfer 

policy and helps to identify and discuss best practices, emerging concerns and trends through 

dialogue, interagency comparisons and sharing experience. Through the IAWGTT, Federal 

agencies jointly discuss and review new and better means to improve both quantitative and 

qualitative measurements of technology transfer activities and means to improve dissemination 

of federally developed technologies. 

The 2009 edition of this report included a discussion of a study conducted by the Government 

Accountability Office (GAO) of the effectiveness of technology transfer at DOE laboratories. 

The GAO report noted that technology transfer was not consistently defined and has proved 

difficult to measure. While the GAO report did not make specific recommendations for 

improved metrics, it led to a re-examination of metrics within DOE, and has been considered 

in on-going work to develop improved metrics for technology transfer from Federal 

laboratories.

The Institute for Defense Analysis Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) released a study 

entitled “Technology Transfer Commercialization Landscape of the Federal Laboratories” in 

June of 2011 (available at https://www.ida.org/upload/stpi/pdfs/p-4728nsfinal508compliantfe

dlabttcreport.pdf). This study began in 2010 and was funded by the Department of Commerce, 

Economic Development Administration, in conjunction with the National Institute of Standards 

and Technology. STPI performed an extensive literature review and interviewed representatives 

from 13 agencies, 26 laboratories, and 33 related organizations to develop an understanding 

of commercialization from Federal laboratories and serve as a baseline for future actions. The 

reported noted the substantial activity and a variety of innovative approaches taken by Federal 

laboratories to accomplish the technology transfer mission.

This study noted nine factors that led to technology transfer. These factors, outlined by STPI, 

are:

1. Laboratory mission. Technology transfer varies across laboratories due to the

diversity and scope of their missions. Some laboratories are more inclined towards 

technology transfer that leads to commercialization because it is in the interest of 

achieving the mission of the laboratory, agency, or subagency.

2. Laboratory management. Differences between Government-Owned, GovernmentOperated (GOGO) and Government-Owned, Contractor-Operated (GOCO) 

laboratories can affect technology transfer and commercialization activities. GOCO 

laboratory leadership is often explicitly tasked to perform technology transfer and 

commercialization, while GOGO laboratories must comply with certain government 

regulations that do not affect GOCOs.

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 5

2
3. Congressional support and oversight. Despite congressional support for 

technology transfer at the federal laboratories, congressional action and oversight 

can have the unintended consequence of encouraging a risk-averse culture towards 

technology transfer. Furthermore, technology transfer activities can be undermined when 

congressional priorities shift, as technology transfer requires long-term support.

4. Agency leadership and laboratory director support. Support from agency 

leadership and laboratory directors can have a marked effect on technology transfer 

and commercialization activities. For example, laboratory directors who support 

technology transfer may provide resources, flexibility, and creative license to their 

ORTAs. Those ORTAs who are not supported by their laboratory leadership can be 

severely constrained.

5. Organization and coordination of technology transfer and 

commercialization activities. The centralization/decentralization of technology 

transfer functions at the agency and laboratory levels affects the speed of 

implementation of technology transfer actions, the consistency of policies across 

laboratories within an agency, and the ability to share best practices. The location of 

ORTAs within an agency and laboratory can affect the visibility of technology transfer.

6. Offices of Research and Technology Applications. Operations that seem to affect 

technology transfer and commercialization include the responsibilities of the office; the 

science, technology, and business expertise of the staff; the processes of the office; and 

the legal authorities available to the laboratory and how ORTA staff interpreted them.

7. Researchers. Laboratory researchers, whose participation in technology transfer 

and commercialization processes varies across laboratories, may lack the knowledge, 

ability, and incentives necessary to undertake the research, administration, and business 

development involved in successful technology transfer.

8. Government-industry interactions. Federal laboratories are not visible and 

accessible to industry, and certain regulations make it difficult for federal laboratories 

and industry to interact. According to partnership intermediaries, groups designed to 

broker partnerships between the laboratories and industry, industry is largely unaware 

of opportunities to collaborate with the federal laboratories.

9. Resources. Resources devoted to technology transfer and commercialization vary 

across laboratories and agencies. Further, the extent to which the agencies and 

laboratories leverage federal, state, and local programs that support technology-based 

economic development may also affect technology transfer and commercialization.

With regard to metrics, the STPI report also noted the difficult task of devising a single set of 

metrics than spans the broad missions across agencies and laboratories. STPI proposed “the 

inclusion of process or activity metrics that can describe technology transfer within the diverse 

missions.” STPI also specifically noted that the metrics contained within earlier editions of this 

report supported the needs of all users who might require indices that reflect the performance 

and impact Federal technology transfer activities. However, they also recognized the burden 

and expense of gathering additional information that still may not accurately reflect the impact 

of technology transfer across widely varying missions and programs of the various Federal 

agencies conducting mission-oriented scientific research and engineering. 

6 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
The White House Interagency Working Group on Innovation and Entrepreneurship has been 

examining the issue of technology transfer in 2009 and 2010. Much of the earlier efforts 

were focused on university technology transfer and Small Business Innovation Research 

Program. In 2010, the efforts were more directly focused on technology transfer from Federal 

laboratories including coordination with the IAWGTT. This effort led to the release of a 

Presidential Memorandum issued in October 2011 entitled “Accelerating Technology Transfer 

and commercialization of Federal Research in Support of High-Growth Business” (see http://

www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/28/presidential-memorandum-acceleratingtechnology-transfer-and-commerciali). 

The Presidential Memorandum notes the role of Federal laboratories in fueling the creation 

of new industries and U.S. global competitiveness. The stated aim of this memorandum is 

“to increase the successful outcomes of these activities significantly over the next 5 years, while 

simultaneously achieving excellence in our basic and mission focused research activities.”

The President further directed “the following actions be taken to establish goals and measure 

performance, streamline administrative processes, and facilitate local and regional partnerships 

in order to accelerate technology transfer and support private sector commercialization.”

1. Establish Goals and Measure Progress 

• Each agency is tasked to develop 5-year plans and measures to increase the 

pace of technology transfer within 180 days

• The IAWGTT is tasked to recommend opportunities for improving technology 

transfer from Federal laboratories

• The Secretary of Commerce is directed to improve and expand, where 

appropriate, the metrics in future editions of this report

• All agencies with Federal laboratories are encouraged to include technology 

transfer in laboratory evaluations.

2. Streamline the Federal Government’s Technology Transfer and Commercialization Process

• Review licensing and CRADA procedures to reduce time required

• Improve access to information on government technologies and licenses in 

a public database and develop strategies to increase the usefulness of this 

information

• Streamline SBIR processes

3. Facilitate Commercialization through Local and Regional Partnerships

• Have federal laboratories participate in regional technology innovation clusters

• Use existing authorities to locate business support programs on or near federal 

laboratories

• Strengthen collaboration between the laboratories and their local region

The actions to implement this Presidential Memorandum will be reported in future editions of 

this report.

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 7
Current Performance and Metrics

Each Federal agency performing research and development is required to prepare and 

submit an annual report of its technology transfer activities 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 to promote U.S. competitiveness. In 

addition, specific data is required to measure the level of basic technology transfer, including:

• Number of patents filed

• Number of patents granted

• Number of licenses and details regarding the license

• Earned royalty income and other royalty statistical information

• Disposition of royalty income

• Number of licenses terminated for cause

• Discussion of other relevant parameters unique to the agency

The tables and charts included present a brief cross-agency summary of the utilization of the 

above technology transfer tools. Although the standard metrics required by statute continue 

to demonstrate robust use of these tools, they only address part of the full picture. It remains 

far easier to assemble statistics on technology transfer activities than to quantify actual 

downstream benefits and the effectiveness of the transfers because of the many variables 

and factors involved in commercializing nascent technologies. For example, knowledge 

gained from initial research may not make an immediate impact on the public, but may open 

new avenues for discoveries that lead to future products, medical treatments, and services. 

Technology distribution and use has evolved new mechanisms and Federal laboratories have 

embraced these approaches along with the more standard business model. Accelerating 

innovation requires multiple strategies and new metrics to evaluate progress. For example, 

open innovation demonstrates the value and potential for intellectual property outside the 

patent/license model. Open source software from Federal research has been proven to have a 

significant impact on US business without a measurable income stream to the laboratory and is 

not evident in the statistics presented here. Likewise, fellowships, post-doctoral appointments, 

and other on-going mechanisms for improving our research by training new scientists also 

result in knowledge and expertise moving from laboratories to businesses as well as universities. 

Anecdotal evidence and success stories demonstrate the broad range of successful outcomes 

of technology transfer such as life-saving treatments, increased security or awareness about 

dangers and hazards, and new business start-ups. Chapter 3 of this report highlights a small 

sampling of the numerous positive impacts and outcomes of Federal technology transfer 

activities.

The following tables summarize the technology transfer activities compiled from each agency’s 

report for a five year period from fiscal year 2006 through fiscal year 2010. The total figures 

from the eleven agencies indicate that licenses, income bearing licenses, income from licenses, 

and earned royalty income generally trended upward over this period. However, invention 

disclosures, patent applications filed, and patents issued remained steady over the same 

period. The number of active CRADAs declined slightly in fiscal year 2008 but rebounded 

to new heights in 2009. Overall, these total figures and trends from the technology transfer 

activities of the Federal government represent a steady, mature program, as shown by the 

8 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
consistently high and relatively stable volume of CRADAs, licensing, patenting, and earned 

royalty income activities. 

In Table 1, “Traditional CRADAs” refer to collaborative research and development by a Federal 

laboratory and non-Federal partners. “Non-traditional CRADAs” are used with non-Federal 

collaborators for special purposes such as material transfers, specialized equipment calibrations 

or other technical assistance which may produce information which needs to be protected 

from disclosure. In table 3, “other IP licenses” include licenses for copyrighted software (not 

including open source software licenses, which are also copyrighted software), open channelweb and noncommercial software, biological materials, and other forms of intellectual property.

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 9
Table 1: Collaborative Relationships for Research and Development

FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010

DHS • CRADAs, total active in the FY - - 23 23 36

- New, executed in the FY - - 8 6 14

• Traditional CRADAs, total active in the FY - - 21 22 32

• Non-traditional CRADAs, total active in FY - - 2 1 4

• Other collaborative R&D relationships - - 3 5 3

DOC • CRADAs, total active in the FY 3,008 2,778 2,390 2,386 2,399

- New, executed in the FY 2,158 1,865 1,583 1,501 1,408

• Traditional CRADAs, total active in the FY 149 154 131 101 101

• Non-traditional CRADAs, total active in FY 2,859 2,624 2,259 2,296 1,411

• Other collaborative R&D relationships1 2,114 2,672* 2,816 2,828 2,897

DOD • CRADAs, total active in the FY 2,999 2,971 2,596 2,870 3,248

- New, executed in the FY 705 641 745 659 720

• Traditional CRADAs, total active in the FY 2,424 2,383 1,993 2,247 2,516

• Non-traditional CRADAs, total active in FY 575 588 603 622 732

• Other collaborative R&D relationships 0 0 3 1 287

DOE • CRADAs, total active in the FY 631 697 711 744 697

- New, executed in the FY 168 182 178 176 176

• Traditional CRADAs, total active in the FY 631 697 711 744 697

• Non-traditional CRADAs, total active in FY n/r n/r n/r n/r n/r

• Other collaborative R&D relationships 0 0 0 0 0

DOI • CRADAs, total active in the FY 82 170 170 248 436

- New, executed in the FY 38 112 98 74 82

• Traditional CRADAs, total active in the FY 31 20 33 36 29

• Non-traditional CRADAs, total active in FY 51 150 137 212 407

• Other collaborative R&D relationships 0 0 0 0 0

DOT • CRADAs, total active in the FY 59 36 23 22 22

- New, executed in the FY 6 7 6 7 0

• Traditional CRADAs, total active in the FY 59 36 23 0 0

• Non-traditional CRADAs, total active in FY 0 0 0 0 0

• Other collaborative R&D relationships 0 0 0 2 2

EPA • CRADAs, total active in the FY 94 84 112 112 67

- New, executed in the FY 16 18 49 83 33

• Traditional CRADAs, total active in the FY 83 67 74 51 50

• Non-traditional CRADAs, total active in FY 11 17 38 61 17

• Other collaborative R&D relationships 0 0 0 0 0

1 Includes domestic and foreign guest researchers and other researchers working at NIST under CRADAs, Facility

Use Agreements and Intergovernmental Personel Act (IPA) agreements

10 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
- DHS began compiling and reporting data in 2008. 

n/r = Data not reported. 

* Updated to reflect other R&D relationships that now include software use agreements that do not have an end date and are now 

being tracked and reported.

** Limited use of CRADA authority; NASA often employs Space Act Agreements instead.

# For 2009 and 2010, only Agricultural Research Service (ARS) data was reported for the purpose of this report. Totals do not 

include data from Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) or Forest Service (FS). Minor differences may be noted on 

USDA FY10 Technology Transfer Report (on-line).

 Reflects revisions from FY2009 Report.

Table 1: Collaborative Relationships for Research and Development (continued)

FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010

HHS • CRADAs, total active in the FY 164 284 453 457 447

- New, executed in the FY 66 68 83 105 83

• Traditional CRADAs, total active in the FY 92 206 295 284 300

• Non-traditional CRADAs, total active in FY 72 79 158 173 147

• Other collaborative R&D relationships 0 0 0 0 0

NASA • CRADAs, total active in the FY 1 1 1 1 1

- New, executed in the FY 0 0 1 0 0

• Traditional CRADAs, total active in the FY 1 1 1 1 1

• Non-traditional CRADAs, total active in FY 0 0 0 0 0

• Other collaborative R&D relationships** 4,275* 3,812* 4,076* 4,507* 4,246*

USDA • CRADAs, total active in the FY# 195 230 252 259 287

• - New, executed in the FY 57 69 76 85 99

• Traditional CRADAs, total active in the FY 163 184 202 217 233

• Non-traditional CRADAs, total active in FY 22 23 28 42 54

• Other collaborative R&D relationships 3,477 4,084 5,466 9,960 11,214

VA • CRADAs, total active in the FY 37* 82* 221* 623 895

- New, executed in the FY 26* 52* 155* 438 491

• Traditional CRADAs, total active in the FY 33 74* 207* 581 833

• Non-traditional CRADAs, total active in FY 2 4 10 46 66

• Other collaborative R&D relationships 0 0 0 0 18

TOTALS • CRADAs, total active in the FY 7,268 7,326 6,923 7,759 8,525

- New, executed in the FY 3,238 3,009 2,961 3,113 3,106

• Traditional CRADAs, total active in the FY 3,666 3,819 3,664 4,245 4,768

• Non-traditional CRADAs, total active in FY 3,592 3,485 3,235 3,499 3,749

• Other collaborative R&D relationships 9,738 10,164 11,411 16,319 18,667

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 11












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Table 2: Invention Disclosure and Patenting

FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010

DHS • New inventions disclosed in the FY - - 10 32 7

• Patent applications filed in the FY - - 0 2 2

• Patents issued in the FY - - 1 2 1

DOC • New inventions disclosed in the FY 14 32 40 41 34

• Patent applications filed in the FY 5 8 21 20 19

• Patents issued in the FY 7 3 2 7 11

DOD • New inventions disclosed in the FY 1,056 838 1,018 831 698

• Patent applications filed in the FY 691 597 590 690 436

• Patents issued in the FY 472 425 462 404 304

DOE • New inventions disclosed in the FY 1,694 1,575 1,460 1,439 1,616

• Patent applications filed in the FY 726 693 904 919 965

• Patents issued in the FY 438 441 370 520 480

DOI • New inventions disclosed in the FY 5 7 7 4 5

• Patent applications filed in the FY 2 5 7 8 7

• Patents issued in the FY 5 6 1 4 5

DOT • New inventions disclosed in the FY 3 2 3 3 1

• Patent applications filed in the FY 3 2 0 1 1

• Patents issued in the FY 0 3 2 1 1

EPA • New inventions disclosed in the FY 12 16 9 8 5

• Patent applications filed in the FY 13 15 6 3 3

• Patents issued in the FY 10 10 4 9 9

HHS • New inventions disclosed in the FY 442 447 437 389 363

• Patent applications filed in the FY 166 261 164 156 113

• Patents issued in the FY 164 379 278 397 153

NASA** • New inventions disclosed in the FY 1,749 1,514 1,324 1,412 1,722

• Patent applications filed in the FY 142 127 122 141 144

• Patents issued in the FY 85 68 90 93 129

USDA • New inventions disclosed in the FY 105 126 133 154 164

• Patent applications filed in the FY 83 114 123 123 112

• Patents issued in the FY 39 37 30 24 44

** Reflects revisions from NASA prior year submissions*OIR

 Reflects revisions from FY2009 Report. 

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 13
Table 2: Invention Disclosure and Patenting (continued)

FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010

VA • New inventions disclosed in the FY 157 175 164 150 168

• Patent applications filed in the FY 27 25 13 37 31

• Patents issued in the FY 5 8 10 15 10

TOTALS • New inventions disclosed in the FY 5,193 4,486 4,365 4,423 4,783

• Patent applications filed in the FY 1,912 1,825 1,938 2,086 1,830

• Patents issued in the FY 1,284 1,405 1,272 1,497 1,143

- DHS began compiling and reporting data in 2008.

 Reflects revisions from FY2009 Report. 

14 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report














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Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 15
Table 3: Profile of Active Licenses

FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010

DHS • All licenses, number total active in the FY - - 18 63 458

- New, executed in the FY - - 0 45 458

• Invention licenses, total active in the FY - - 0 0 0

- New, executed in the FY - - 0 0 0

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY - - 18 63 63

DOC • All licenses, number total active in the FY 111 222 29 40 41

- New, executed in the FY 83 187 2 12 5

• Invention licenses, total active in the FY 111 222 29§ 40 41

- New, executed in the FY 83 187 2 12 5

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 0 0 0 0 0

DOD • All licenses, number total active in the FY 444 495 365 432 397

- New, executed in the FY 56 67 52 57 50

• Invention licenses, total active in the FY 438 460 351 386 341

- New, executed in the FY 56 67 52 57 50

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 6 35 14 46 56

DOE • All licenses, number total active in the FY 5,916 5,842 6,196 5,752 6,224

- New, executed in the FY 652 606 685 455 357

• Invention licenses, total active in the FY 1,420 1,354 1,418 1,452 1,453

- New, executed in the FY 203 164 177 139 166

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 4,496 4,488 4,748 4,300 4,771

DOI • All licenses, number total active in the FY 21 15 19 21 28

- New, executed in the FY 1 1 1 4 4

• Invention licenses, total active in the FY 20 15 18 18 23

- New, executed in the FY 1 0 1 3 3

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 1 0 1 1 1

DOT • All licenses, number total active in the FY 5 5 5 2 3

- New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0 0

• Invention licenses, total active in the FY 5 1 5 3 3

- New, executed in the FY 4 0 0 0 0

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 0 0 0 0 0

EPA • All licenses, number total active in the FY 35 38 37 40 37

- New, executed in the FY 2 5 2 3 2

• Invention licenses, total active in the FY 35 38 37 40 37

- New, executed in the FY 2 5 2 3 2

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 0 0 0 0 0

16 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
Table 3: Profile of Active Licenses (continued)

FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010

HHS • All licenses, number total active in the FY 1,535 1,418 1,675 1,584 1,941

- New, executed in the FY 290 293 277 221 269

• Invention licenses, total active in the FY 1,213 915 1,376 1,304 1,240

- New, executed in the FY 253 234 233 198 217

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 322 460 352 327 683

NASA • All licenses, number total active in the FY 2,856* 3,520* 3,912* 4,181* 3,901

- New, executed in the FY 655* 721* 633* 803 498

• Invention licenses, total active in the FY 308* 316* 330* 146 354

- New, executed in the FY 47* 45* 34* 49 36

• Other IP licenses1, total active in the FY 2,548* 3,204* 3,582* 3,835 3,547

USDA • All licenses, number total active in the FY 332 339 328 329 343

- New, executed in the FY 25 25 28 25 22

• Invention licenses, total active in the FY 332 339 328 329 343

- New, executed in the FY 25 25 28 29 26

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 0 0 0 0 0

VA • All licenses, number total active in the FY 112 130 153 163 169

- New, executed in the FY 11 18 23 10 6

• Invention licenses, total active in the FY 112 130 153 163 169

- New, executed in the FY 11 18 23 10 6

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 0 0 0 0 0

TOTALS • All licenses, number total active in the FY 10,186 10,352 11,098 10,926 13,542

- New, executed in the FY 1,495 1,463 1,377 1,250 1,671

• Invention licenses, total active in the FY 4,163 3,935 4,172 4,239 4004

- New, executed in the FY 711 728 544 517 511

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 6,023 6,405 6,972 6,730 9,121

- DHS began compiling and reporting data in 2008. 

1 NASA “Other IP licenses” refer to copyrights, most of which arise out of JPL.

* Updated to reflect corrected data.

§ Reflects a change in the way licenses for technological products are defined for technology transfer purposes , e.g., sale of

 standard reference material and data are no longer considered as granting licenses to use material and data.

 Reflects revisions from FY2009 Report. 

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 17


















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18 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
Table 4: Characteristics of Income Bearing Licenses

FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010

DHS • All income bearing licenses, number - - 0 0 0

• Exclusive - - 0 0 0

DOC • All income bearing licenses, number 30 35 25 27 26

• Exclusive 17 16 14 15 15

DOD • All income bearing licenses, number 112 194 210 227 134

• Exclusive 64 84 70 78 67

DOE • All income bearing licenses, number 2,822 3,291 4,397 3,339 3,489

• Exclusive 353 352 372 411 462

DOI • All income bearing licenses, number 18 14 16 18 19

• Exclusive 9 4 5 4 5

DOT • All income bearing licenses, number 4 4 4 3 3

• Exclusive 3 2 1 3 3

EPA • All income bearing licenses, number 35 38 37 40 37

• Exclusive 6 6 7 8 7

HHS • All income bearing licenses, number 849 901 1,057 899 838

• Exclusive 134 144 149 111 113

NASA • All income bearing licenses, number 249* 254* 271* 276* 271

• Exclusive 106* 110* 119* 122* 122

USDA • All income bearing licenses, number 330 337 313 314 321

• Exclusive 233 241 223 222 230

VA • All income bearing licenses, number 93 115 138* 144 150

• Exclusive 24 44 61 64 69

TOTALS • All income bearing licenses, number 4,537 5,165 6,444 5,274 5,286

• Exclusive 949 999 1,014 1,035 1,092

- DHS began compiling and reporting data in 2008. 

* updated to reflect corrected data.

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 19
Table 5: Income from Licensing (Dollars reported in thousands)

FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010

DHS • Total income, all licenses active in FY - - $0 $0 $0

• Invention licenses - - $0 $0 $0

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY - - $0 $0 $0

• Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) - - $0 $0 $0

DOC • Total income, all licenses active in FY $194 $225 $293 $336 $237

• Invention licenses $194 $225 $293 $336 $337

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY $0 $0 $0 $0 0

• Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $170 $217 $293 $336 $337

DOD • Total income, all licenses active in FY $10,963 $14,246 $16,057 $16,439 $13,424

• Invention licenses $10,961 $14,240 $16,048 $16,165 $13,026

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY $2 $6 $9 $274 $397

• Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

DOE • Total income, all licenses active in FY $35,572 $39,165 $49,318 $43,496 $40,642

• Invention licenses $32,211 $34,933 $43,108 $40,238 $37,066

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY $3,362 $4,233 $6,210 $3,258 $3,576

• Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $18,332 $18,759 $31,718 $28,901 $25,220

DOI • Total income, all licenses active in FY $47 $57 $79 $89 $80

• Invention licenses $47 $57 $79 $89 $80

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

• Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $46 $57 $79 $89 $80

DOT • Total income, all licenses active in FY $22 $34 $18 $44 $17

• Invention licenses $22 $34 $18 $44 $17

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY $0 $0 $0 0 $0

• Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $22 $34 $9 $34 $3

EPA • Total income, all licenses active in FY $632 $544 $1,038 $849 $536

• Invention licenses $632 $544 $1,038 $849 $536

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

• Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $29 $107 $571 $255 $397

HHS • Total income, all licenses active in FY $83,097 $88,799 $97,609 $85,059 $80,923

• Invention licenses $82,187 $67,108 $94,712 $83,041 $79,805

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY $909 $19,128 $2,897 $998 $1,119

• Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $63,250 $70,743 $80,805 $77,251 $76,665

20 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
Table 5: Income from Licensing (Dollars reported in thousands) (continued)

FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010

NASA • Total income, all licenses active in FY $4,734* $3,651* $2,802* $3,144* $3,850

• Invention licenses $4,512* $3, 462* $2,725* $2,288* $3,589

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY $344* $201* $71* $105* $252

• Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $2,161* $1,520* $1,711* $732* $1,798

USDA • Total income, all licenses active in FY $3,162 $3,634 $3,978 $5,383 $3,646

• Invention licenses $3,162 $3,364 $3,978 $5,383 $3,646

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

• Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $2,337 $2,687 $3,035 $4,428 $3,080

VA • Total income, all licenses active in FY $138 $358 $141 $202 $167

• Invention licenses $138 $358 $141 $202 $167

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

• Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

TOTAL • Total income, all licenses active in FY $138,689 $149,974 $170,926 $154,285 $143,662

• Invention licenses $134,280 $123,775 $161,810 $148,721 $138,209

• Other IP licenses, total active in the FY $4,409 $23,367 $9,116 $4,544 $5,344

• Total Earned Royalty Income, (ERI) $86,348 $93,956 $117,669 $112,013 $107,520

- DHS began compiling and reporting data in 2008. 

n/a = Data not available from agency.

* updated to reflect corrected data.

 Reflects revisions from earlier years' reports. 











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Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 21
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22 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
CHAPTER 3

Outcomes and Impact of Technology Transfer Activities

Reports of the successful commercialization of Federally-developed technologies cut across 

industrial sectors and demonstrate the broad reach of technology transfer into the lives of 

American citizens. The cases provided below are examples of the downstream outcomes 

arising from technology transfer activities.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 

Mission Statement

The DHS’s Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA) is housed in the Science 

and Technology Directorate. The ORTA is responsible for developing and instituting policies 

to facilitate technology transfer in accordance with 15 USC 3710 throughout DHS and its 

laboratories. The ORTA’s responsibilities include:

• Standardizing and approving DHS Cooperative Research and 

Development Agreements (CRADAs), licensing, and other technology 

transfer agreements;

• Preparing application assessments for selected research and 

development projects in which the DHS Laboratory is involved and may 

have commercial application;

• Providing and disseminating information on Federally owned or 

originated technologies which have potential application to state and 

local governments and private industry;

• Preparing and providing an annual report to Congress and the 

President through submission to the National Institute of Standards and 

Technologies (NIST);

• Developing training programs on technology transfer and intellectual 

property for DHS employees; and

• Establishing an intellectual property program for DHS to track and 

prosecute patents and other intellectual property, and to develop a 

royalty and rewards policy.

The DHS has laboratories with varying capabilities throughout the United States. With the 

exception of the Coast Guard Research and Development Center, the DHS laboratories 

listed are within the Science and Technology Directorate. Data included in this report was 

provided by:

• Chemical Security Analysis Center (CSAC)

• Coast Guard Research and Development Center

• Environmental Measurements Laboratory (EML)

• National Biological Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC)

• Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC)

• Transportation Security Laboratory (TSL)

• Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).

For more information on DHS laboratories and their capabilities, visit the website at

http://www.dhs.gov/xres/labs/.

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 23

3
2010 DHS Downstream Outcome Success Stories

Advanced Use of Force Training System Partnership

The Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) recently presented its prestigious Interagency 

Partnership Award to Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) and the Naval Air 

Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) for their collaborative efforts in the 

development of the Advanced Use of Force Training System. The award recognizes the efforts 

of federal science and 

technology employees from 

at least two different agencies 

who have collaboratively 

accomplished outstanding 

work in the process of 

transferring a technology.

The collaborative efforts 

of FLETC and NAWCTSD 

resulted in the production of 

a prototype simulator that 

can enhance the training, 

performance and safety of law enforcement officers across the nation. NAWCTSD developed 

the system by leveraging DOD technology and FLETC provided law enforcement expertise 

during the development and continues to test the system at multiple sites. 

Department of Commerce (DOC) 

Mission Statement

At the Department Commerce, research and development in numerous areas of science 

and technology is conducted at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Institute for 

Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) within the National Telecommunications and Information 

Administration (NTIA). 

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/

• ITS: http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/programs/tech_transfer/

National Institute of Standards and Technology

NIST’s mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing 

measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and 

improve quality of life. NIST laboratories develop and disseminate measurement techniques, 

reference data, test methods, standards, and other technologies that support U.S. industry, 

scientific research, and the activities of many federal agencies. In carrying out its mission, NIST 

works directly with industry partners, academia, associations, and other government agencies.

24 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is to understand 

and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine 

resources to meet the Nation’s economic, social, and environmental needs. This mission will 

become ever more critical in the 21st century as national needs intensify concerning global 

warming, freshwater supply, and ecosystem management.

National Telecommunications & Information Administration/Institute for 

Telecommunication Sciences

The Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) is the chief research and engineering arm of 

the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). ITS supports NTIA 

telecommunications objectives of promoting advanced telecommunications and information 

infrastructure development in the United States, enhancing domestic competitiveness, improving 

foreign trade opportunities for U.S. telecommunications firms, and facilitating more efficient 

and effective use of the radio spectrum. ITS also serves as a principal federal resource for 

solving telecommunications concerns of other federal agencies, state and local governments, 

private corporations and associations, and international organizations.

2010 DOC Downstream Outcome Success Stories

Advanced Combinatorial Testing Suites

A NIST software testing tool, the “Advanced Combinatorial Test Suites” (ACTS), is available 

to industry, academia and other government agencies. The software provides a systematic 

means for testing complex software failure modes, caused by the interaction of changing 

software parameters, during high user/high data volume operations. A 2002 study1 by the US 

Department of Commerce found that ineffective or incomplete software testing costs US industry 

$59.5 billion a year. 

ACTS generates failure test suites based on possible modes of system failure defined by various 

combinations of system operating parameters. ACTS can accommodate combinations of 2 

to 6 different parameter. Prior to ACTS, construction of test scenarios for combinations of 

2 to 6 parameters, even with the fastest processors, required many hours or days for large 

and/or complex configurations. The ACTS tool represents a breakthrough in software testing 

technology; it constructs smaller test suites in a fraction of the time required of other available 

tools.

The NIST ACTS team used an innovative approach – distribution of test copies via world-wideweb – to field test the ACTS software. In January 2009 the ACTS team initially distributed 185 

copies of ACTS on an open-source basis to targeted federal agencies, academic institutions, 

and private sector firms. Recipients were urged to share the technology with others having 

an interest in software testing. Through the use of innovative social networking based 

marketing, the number of systems deployed increased to more than 800. As a part of the 

overall technology transfer effort, NIST team members were available to all recipients for 

technical consultation and collaboration. At present, the total number of ACTS units deployed 

throughout the world, both through target distribution and user sharing, is estimated to be in 

excess of 5,000 and growing.

1Gregory Tassey, “The Economic Impacts of Inadequate Infrastructure for Software Testing,” Planning Report 02-2, May 2002, 

http://www.nist.gov/director/prog-ofc/report02-3.pdf

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 25
RoboCrane® Erects New Safe Confinement Structure for Chernobyl Nuclear Plant

A modified version of the RoboCrane®, a unique floating platform developed by NIST, will be 

used for cleanup operations over the destroyed reactor number four at the former Chernobyl 

nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine. PaR Systems, a company based in Minneapolis/

St. Paul, Minn., licensed the computer-controlled roving tool platform for use in the area 

immediately surrounding the exploded reactor core to help erect the New Safe Confinement 

structure for the reactor.

The RoboCrane®, developed at NIST in the 1990s, expands on the principle of a Stewart 

platform, a device that uses three sets of paired winches (motor-driven spools of cable) 

to suspend and manipulate a platform with six degrees of freedom (lateral, longitudinal, 

vertical, roll, pitch and yaw). Stewart platforms are commonly used as the base for flight 

simulators. The platform’s precision maneuverability throughout a large space, and its ability 

to accommodate a large variety of tools, make it ideal for this type of cleanup operation. PaR 

will affix a variety of interchangeable tools to the end of the spine, including a robotic arm, drill, 

jackhammer, shear, high-power vacuum system and closed circuit television viewing system, all 

of which will be operated remotely.

Tsunami Training 

NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) Center for Tsunami Research (NCTR) 

has developed training programs to assist states and collaborating countries to improve 

tsunami readiness for their citizens. Training includes instruction in the development and 

implementation of tsunami forecast systems, and in providing “train the trainer” classes for 

improving tsunami readiness at the local level.

• Tsunami Awareness Training

The NCTR and the Natural Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC) at the 

University of Hawaii have developed a training course for emergency management 

officials. The course focuses on tsunami mitigation, risk analysis, preparedness, and 

recovery. In 2010, 125 students attended three courses presented in Honolulu (HI), Pago 

Pago (American Samoa), and Camp Murray, (WA).

• ComMIT Training

A Community Model Interface for Tsunami (ComMIT) is a major avenue to transfer 

modeling expertise and capabilities from NOAA to other countries, primarily countries 

in the Indian Ocean. ComMIT can also be used to transfer modeling information 

between these countries. The community model is a critical tool for building tsunamiresilient communities. It provides tools for the construction of tsunami inundation maps 

under different scenarios and for real-time tsunami forecast applications. The United 

Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization and the United States Agency 

for International Development provided funds to PMEL/NOAA to develop ComMIT, and it 

allows nations access modeling tools via an internet-enabled interface. ComMIT enables 

government agencies and others in the region to run tsunami models, using data from 

local or remote databases. This approach allows nations without a significant cadre of 

trained modelers to build tsunami modeling capability for forecast and hazard assessment. 

Further, it allows nations with restrictions on sharing geo-spatial data to input that data 

locally and not share it with other web-based model users. Most importantly, the internetbased approach creates a virtual regional and global community of modelers using the 

same tools and approaches to understand tsunami threats. In 2010, seventeen scientists 

received training in ComMIT at Daejeon, Republic of Korea. 

26 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
Transforming Fish Wastes into Useful Products

Scientists at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) have partnered with the 

State of Alaska’s Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and a private sector fish 

processing plant in Sitka, AK to develop a process for economically transforming fish processing 

wastes into high quality fish meal and oil for aquaculture feeds. The process uniquely combines 

a double drum dryer process commonly used in other industries and includes a plant design 

from a previous (NWFSC) research. The process was successfully piloted at the Center and 

demonstrated to industry.

This new technological breakthrough includes: 1) creation of a method to stabilize the waste 

enabling managers to “bank” the material when it is either in excess or under the amount 

needed for efficient processing, 2) using a mobile plant to handle multiple fisheries and operate 

more days per year, and 3) using drum dryers to gently dehydrate the meal and preserve 

quality. The process produces high quality fishmeal, oil, gelatin, and bone meals that perform 

well in fish feeds and pet food.

The process can be used in a variety of remote and seasonal fisheries that cannot use existing 

waste refining technology. It promises to reduce coastal nutrient pollution from seafood 

processing plants worldwide while providing an environmentally sound source of fishmeal and 

oil for aquaculture and the animal feed industries. With funding from AIDEA, several seafood 

processors in Sitka, Alaska plan to build a plant that will transform the 17 million pounds of 

waste dumped into Sitka harbor every year into useful products having an estimated annual 

value of at least $3.5 million.

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 Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs). The following 

are brief descriptions of some of these recent CRADAs:

• For the past four years, the University of Colorado’s Research 

and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles has conducted 

measurements on the performance of ad hoc wireless networks with 

both ground-based and airborne terminals at Table Mountain. 

• In FY 2010 several companies have performed antenna, Light Detection 

and Ranging (LIDAR)/Global Positioning Satellite (GPS), and other 

testing at the Table Mountain turntable facility under a CRADA. 

• Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies is in its eleventh year fieldtesting and characterizing components, subsystems and systems for eyesafe coherent laser radar. This has benefited NTIA and the Department 

of Defense. 

• In FY2010, ITS performed testing for the National Weather Service to 

identify the strengths and weaknesses in commercial NOAA weather 

radio receivers.

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 27
Department of Defense (DoD)

Mission Statement

The mission of the DoD Office of Technology Transition is to ensure, to the maximum extent 

practicable, technology developed for national security purposes is integrated into the private 

sector of the United States in order to enhance national technology and industrial base, 

reinvestment and conversion activities.

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, 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 principal 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.

More information about DoD technology transfer is available on the following websites:

http://www.acq.osd.mil/ott/techtransit

http://www.arl.army.mil/main/Main/default.cfm?Action=6

http://www.onr.navy.mil/en/Science-Technology/Directorates/Transition/TechnologyTransfer-T2.aspx http://www.wpafb.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=6026

http://www.mda.mil/business/tech_apps.html

http://www.jfcom.mil/about/industry.htm

28 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
2010 DoD Downstream Outcome Success Stories

National Center for Simulation

The Naval Air Warfare Training Systems Division actively participates in a not-for-profit National 

Center for Simulation that includes all the military services, NASA Kennedy Space Flight Center, 

the University of Central Florida and over 300 modeling and simulation companies. In 

addition, the Naval Center shares spaces and engages in a number of project collaborations 

in two “Partnership Buildings” adjacent to but outside of the Navy’s installation. In these 

partnership buildings, the Navy is working side-by-side with the National Institute of Justice 

and their Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the Marine Corps Program Managers 

for Training Systems, and the University of Central Florida. Through these collaborative 

relationships with other Government Activities, academia, and leading edge companies the 

military and in particular the law enforcement community can realize significant benefits in the 

fast moving dynamics of software development.

Institute for Development and Commercialization of Advanced Sensors Technology

The Air Force Research Laboratory Sensors Directorate initiated a collaborative relationship 

several years ago that brings together state and local economic development interests in 

Dayton, Ohio, three Ohio universities to start (Ohio State University, Wright State University, 

and the University of Dayton), and a number of small and large businesses into what can best 

be described as a hands-on-business incubator. This activity is the Institute for Development 

and Commercialization of Advanced Sensors Technology (IDCAST). IDCAST provides a 

collaborative environment to foster research, development, and commercialization of remote 

sensing and chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear, and explosive sensor technologies. With 

the facilities and equipment at IDCAST, collaborative teams from industry (over 30 companies), 

academia (now six Ohio universities) and several Federal Labs, specific projects are undertaken 

to develop and mature promising technologies that have both military and commercial 

applications. Prototyping, test and evaluation, product engineering, and scale-up to 

manufacturing, all benefit from this collaborative work space. Technologies are being adapted 

for wide area airborne sensor technology for video monitoring of large areas, use of sensors 

for improved water quality monitoring, a commercial product that would enable highly accurate 

breast cancer surgery, and a different adaptation of the cancer cell detection technology that 

enables real-time quality control of microcircuit manufacturing.

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 29
Department of Energy (DOE) 

Mission Statement

The Department of Energy’s seventeen national laboratories and several of its facilities conduct 

much of its fundamental and applied research, and they license to and collaborate with industry 

and academia to develop and commercialize a wide spectrum of products and processes for 

commercial use. Technology partnering has been an important focus for DOE technology 

transfer, and it is a significant means for DOE laboratories and facilities to engage Federal, 

private and academic entities in arrangements to advance the process of technology development 

and commercialization. These arrangements leverage capabilities of DOE’s top notch scientists 

and world-class facilities, including national user facilities, computational facilities, and science 

laboratories, with industrial research and production facilities. 

The Department oversees the construction and operation of some of the Nation’s most advanced 

research and development 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. These facilities include particle 

and nuclear physics accelerators, synchrotron light sources, neutron scattering facilities, genome 

sequencing facilities, supercomputers, and high-speed computer networks. In the 2009 fiscal year, 

these facilities were used by more than 21,000 researchers from universities, national laboratories, 

private industry, and other federal science agencies. 

In an effort to enhance technology transfer activities and facilitating access to its facilities, the 

Department recently appointed its first full-time Technology Transfer Coordinator who is working 

with the Laboratories to streamline and increase efforts to partner with industry. The Coordinator 

is also teaming with others to identify and implement new and innovative ways to accelerate the 

time-to-market for innovations arising at the laboratories.

The Department launched a new single-entry web presence for all the DOE laboratories 

conducting technology transfer: http://technologytransfer.energy.gov. This website goes beyond 

simply providing information on technology transfer arrangements at DOE. It provides searching 

capabilities across multiple databases to help identify laboratories and investigators who have 

capabilities in a searcher’s desired subject matter, including contact information to ease and 

increase the potential for partnering and licensing laboratory technologies. Combined with direct 

access to laboratory and laboratory technology transfer websites, information on partnering 

with DOE laboratories, and additional access to related web resources to enhance collaborative 

opportunities and success of licensed technologies, the searching capabilities provide a vast and 

easy-to-use resource for individuals, small and large businesses, and any potential collaborator or 

licensee.

2010 DOE Downstream Outcome Success Stories

Argonne Battery Technology Helps Power Chevy Volt

Early in 2011, the new Chevy Volt became the first mass-produced plug-in hybrid electric 

car. The development of the vehicle took many years and includes important breakthrough 

technology from the DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory in the nearly 400-lb. battery that 

powers the vehicle in electric mode. 

30 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
The battery’s chemistry is based in part on a revolutionary breakthrough pioneered by scientists 

at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. The new development helps 

the Volt’s battery—a lithium-ion design similar to those in a cell phone or laptop—last longer, 

run more safely and perform better than batteries currently on the market. 

This success was many years in the making and began in the late 1990s, when the DOE’s 

Office of Basic Energy Sciences funded an intensive study of lithium-ion batteries. These 

materials developed from that program significantly extend the range for an electric vehicle. 

At its most basic level, a lithium battery is composed of a negatively charged anode and a 

positively charged cathode. Between them is a thin membrane that allows only tiny, positively 

charged lithium ions to pass through. When a battery is fully charged, all of the lithium ions are 

contained in the anode. When the battery is unplugged from the charger and then used, the 

lithium ions flow from the anode through the membrane to react with the cathode—creating an 

electrical current. 

The innovators focused on improving the cathode, the 

positively charged material. They began by using incredibly 

intense X-rays from Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source

synchrotron to monitor and understand reactions that occur 

in lithium batteries—in real time. Next, they set out to modify 

and optimize the cathode materials. Using new synthesis 

methods, they created lithium- and manganese-rich 

materials that proved remarkably more stable than existing 

designs.

Because manganese-rich cathodes are more stable than 

those used in today’s batteries, the new batteries are safer 

and less likely to overheat. Manganese is inexpensive, so the 

battery will cost less to manufacture. The researchers also 

increased the upper charging voltage limit to 4.6 volts—

higher than the usual operating voltage—which resulted in a 

tremendous jump in the battery’s energy capacity. 

The battery design is a radical leap forward because it is 

cheaper, safer, and longer-lasting. Batteries for electric and 

plug-in hybrid cars are much larger—and thus far more 

expensive—than laptop batteries, and they make up a large percentage of the car’s price. It is 

predictable that lowering the cost of the battery will lower the cost of all-electric and hybrid cars, 

and subsequent improvements will improve battery performance even further. Based on lab 

data, it is expected that the next generation of batteries will last twice as long as current models. 

LG Chem licensed the technology from Argonne and used the materials to create the battery 

supplied for the 2011 Volt. GM has also licensed the technology for its own tests.

This T-shaped battery, a replica of 

the battery used in the Chevy Volt, 

includes Argonne cathode technology. 

LG Chem licensed the materials and 

created the battery. Image courtesy 

General Motors. 

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 31
Sealing in Energy Savings

If every home in the United States sealed its leaky HVAC ducts, the nation would save 

approximately $5 billion annually in energy costs. Typical ductwork systems, both residential 

and commercial, lose 25-40 percent of heating and cooling energy; even newly installed 

systems experience 10-30 percent leakage. 

Solving this energy-wasting problem, once a costly, labor-intensive process, can now be 

achieved in four to eight hours using technology developed at Lawrence Berkeley National 

Laboratory and funded by the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy 

together with the California Institute for Energy Efficiency, the EPA and the Electric Power 

Research Institute (EPRI). Aeroseal, LLC commercialized the technology, and scores of 

Aeroseal dealers employing trained staff provide service to homeowners and building owners 

nationwide.

The Aeroseal technology uses airborne adhesive particles to seal leaks from inside the ducts 

reaching previously unfixable leaks at low cost and minimal disruption to building occupants. 

Sealant particles of two to twenty micrometers are injected into a duct system while specialized 

software allows both technician and customer to view the process in real time. Prior to sealing, 

furnaces, fans and grilles are blocked, directing all adhesive particles towards cracks, leaks, 

and holes. Aeroseal’s technique has been proven to seal from 70 to 90 percent of duct leaks 

and is guaranteed to last for ten years.

Besides sealing ducts in thousands of residences, Aeroseal has been used successfully in 

commercial buildings across the country. Most notably, it has reduced energy use in HVACintensive buildings such the Cleveland MetroHealth Hospital, university residential buildings in 

Buffalo, New York and Boston, and casinos and a city center complex in Las Vegas. 

Aeroseal was named one of “This Old House” magazine’s Top 100 Home Products for its 

proven ability to reduce home energy costs. 

The Aeroseal technology injects aerosolized vinyl polymer 

particles into a pressurized duct system. The particles stay 

suspended in the air stream until they reach leaks, where they 

are deposited and build up at the leak edges until the leaks 

The Aeroseal Hardware Kit are sealed. 

32 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
Securing the Water Supply: 

AquaSentinel Licensed to an East Tennessee Start Up Company

A Tennessee startup, SecureWaters Inc., recently licensed technology developed at the 

Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to monitor the safety of water supplies. 

Municipal, military and other governmental organizations that are responsible for safeguarding 

water supplies now have access to this water monitoring technology, called AquaSentinel, which 

offers around-the-clock detection of waterborne toxic agents. 

AquaSentinel can help protect reservoirs, lakes and streams that furnish drinking water 

supplies. Over the past decade, there has been an increased awareness of the water supply’s 

vulnerability both to accidental contamination and to bioterrorist attacks. 

AquaSentinel, developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, uses naturally occurring algae 

that act as tiny biosensors. Like microscopic canaries in a coal mine, the algae provide an early 

warning of water contamination by responding to toxins with variations in their photosynthetic 

behavior. Fluorometer measurements capture any photosynthetic changes in the algae, and 

the resulting data are then transferred by encrypted wireless telecommunications to a remote 

facility, where operators can respond to any potential threats. It uses the fundamental principles 

of photosynthesis and state-of-the-art optoelectric instrumentation to provide continuous, 

unattended protection of sunlight-exposed primary source drinking water supplies. Because 

algae naturally grow in all water that is exposed to light, the monitoring technique is applicable 

for detection purposes in all reservoirs, rivers and lakes that serve as drinking water supply 

sources. 

In addition to its applications in threat detection, AquaSentinel can be used as a tool for 

companies or utilities to demonstrate environmental compliance. The generated monitoring 

data is archived for 30 days, allowing users to access historical measurements and determine 

whether water quality standards are within mandated limits. With this technology, facilities 

can continually monitor their own effluent in a cost-effective manner. It eliminates the need to 

randomly collect water samples in the field, does not require special training, is self-operating 

and self-cleaning.

LandScan broadens its environmental and humanitarian 

applications into serving telecon, avionics and insurance fields

East View Cartographic (EVC) has become an exclusive commercial distributorship for the 

LandScan High Resolution Global Population Dataset. The license will enable the company to 

apply its marketing and distribution power to increase access to the dataset worldwide. Based 

in Minneapolis, Minn., EVC is a leading provider of authoritative worldwide maps, geospatial 

data, and GIS production services. 

LandScan, an R&D 100 Award winner, refines the best available census data using geographic 

information system and remote sensing technologies and has emerged as an international 

community standard for sustainable development, environmental protection, disaster response 

and humanitarian relief. Research using LandScan has resulted in publications on subjects 

of interest to policy decision makers such as predicted effects of global climate change. For 

example, after the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of late 2004, LandScan was used to 

estimate the number of people affected and where to send emergency supplies.

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 33
Developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), LandScan 

has already seen success in a number of research, educational, humanitarian and corporate 

applications and has become one of the most successfully licensed products out of ORNL. In 

addition to being a powerful database for environmental and humanitarian applications, there 

is strong demand from telecom, insurance and avionics customers from around the world, as 

well as from media and risk management companies. The license to East View Cartographic 

will help put this valuable population dataset into the hands of more users. 

LandScan was developed with funding from the Department of Defense and is updated 

annually by a team from ORNL’s Computational Sciences and Engineering Division.

Shedding light on need for more efficient bulbs 

Reflector Compact Fluorescent Lamps (R-CFLs) were initially developed as an 

alternative for incandescent reflector lamps commonly found in popular 

recessed can lighting fixtures. During the course of Pacific Northwest National 

Laboratory’s (PNNL’s) lighting work, researchers discovered the number 

and types of existing R-CFLs was limited, and that the R-CFLs experienced 

high failure rates when used in existing residential recessed downlight fixtures. 

Additionally, they didn’t deliver enough light, were not ENERGY STAR® compliant, 

and were more expensive. 

PNNL’s Emerging Technology Program initiated the R-CFL Technology Procurement 

– Phase 1 to spur the introduction of improved, energy efficient, R-CFL products into 

the marketplace. By identifying improvements and developing new specifications for advanced, 

high-performance R-CFLs, PNNL provided lighting manufacturers and buyers with minimum 

specifications for energy-efficient R-CFL models that operate reliably while also delivering the 

desired light levels, and that fit into existing light fixtures. 

The Technology Procurement project was so successful in aiding technology transfer that it 

became self-sustaining, and the R-CFL testing specifications developed by PNNL were adopted 

by DOE in the latest draft of the revised ENERGY STAR specification for the reflector lamp 

category of CFLs.

Sixteen new R-CFL models are now available for purchase in the marketplace, including 

from major retailers such as Costco, Lowe’s, and Home Depot. PNNL continues to serve as a 

distribution point of contact for these 16 models.

Department of the Interior (DOI)

The United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a bureau of DOI. The mission of the USGS is 

to serve the nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the 

Earth, minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters, manage water, biological, 

energy, and mineral resources, and enhance and protect our quality of life.

Since delivery of science information is a primary purpose of the agency, technology transfer 

activities with the public sector and the private sector, including academia and non-profits, 

typically support the collection and transference of scientific data (knowledge dissemination). 

high failure rates when used in existing residential recessed downlight fixtures. 

Additionally, they didn’t deliver enough light, were not ENERGY STAR® compliant, 

PNNL’s Emerging Technology Program initiated the R-CFL Technology Procurement 

34 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
The USGS cooperates with its public and private collaborators to help them maintain necessary 

services, better understand the environmental consequences of their commercial and noncommercial activities, and to develop new products and services.

Bureau of Reclamation

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is responsible for water and hydropower deliveries 

throughout the 17 Western states. Reclamation’s stated mission is to “manage, develop, and 

protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner 

in the interest of the American public.” In support of this mission, Reclamation operates 348 

reservoirs and 58 hydroelectric plants, making it the nation’s largest wholesale water supplier 

and the second producer of hydroelectric power in the West. Reclamation conducts and 

sponsors research in the following four mission-related focus areas:

• Water & Power Infrastructure Reliability & Safety

• Water Delivery Reliability

• Reservoir & River Operations Decision Support

• Water Supply Technologies

Reclamation research solutions should demonstrate mission relevancy by improving 

Reclamation water management practices, increasing water supply, and/or ensuring costeffective power generation operations that benefit Reclamation’s project managers and 

stakeholders, western water community, other federal agencies, non-federal sector and the 

general public. 

More information about DOI technology transfer is available on the following websites:

United States Geological Survey: 

http://www.usbr.gov/research/science-and-tech/research/results/index.html

Bureau of Reclamation: 

http://www.usgs.gov/tech-transfer/index.html

2010 DOI Downstream Outcome Success Stories

Improving Earthquake Hazard Assessments 

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), a publicly regulated utility providing service 

within California, is engaged in a long-term, multi-element, action-based seismic risk 

management program to reduce the impact of future earthquakes on the performance of their 

gas and electric systems, and to maintain acceptable levels of customer service. To further this 

program, PG&E and the USGS have been involved in a series of CRADAs since 1992. 

In 2009, the USGS and PG&E extended their CRADA for five years. In this period, PG&E 

seeks (1) the development and rapid application of data, methods, and technologies that 

improve earthquake hazard assessments in the regions where its electric power and natural 

gas facilities, service centers, and office buildings are located and where its customers live 

and work; and (2) the improvement of emergency response to earthquake occurrence by 

incorporating real-time earthquake hazard information. 

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 35
The USGS Earthquake Program, under the auspices of the National Earthquakes Hazards 

Reduction Program, includes a broad range of applied earthquake hazards research, data 

compilation and archiving, and distribution of earthquake information products and services. 

The PG&E CRADA complements the USGS Earthquake Program, and is carried out using 

the capabilities of five USGS Science Centers (Earthquake, Geology and Geophysics, Pacific 

Coastal and Marine, California Water, and Geologic Hazards).

Protecting Plants from Harsh Conditions

The USGS co-owns a patent with Montana State University (MSU) entitled “Use of Endophytic 

Fungi to Treat Plants” that teaches methods of protecting plants from harsh environmental 

conditions such as drought and extreme heat (U.S. Patent No. 7,232,565 B2, issued June 19, 

2007). This is accomplished by inoculating a target plant with endophytic fungi isolated from 

Curvularia species grass found in geothermal zones of the Lassen Volcanic and Yellowstone 

National Parks. The extracted fungi, a microorganism, may be inoculated into plants, plant 

parts, seedlings, or seeds. These microorganisms are too small to see, even with electron 

microscopes, but are believed to occupy the intercellular spaces of plant tissues. Within host 

plants, they seem to produce bioactive substances and, possibly in concert with the plant’s 

genome, help such plants adapt to harsh external conditions. Inoculated plants demonstrate 

asymptomatic stress tolerance and enhanced plant growth. 

Additional benefits conferred by such treatments to plants are protection from metals and 

metal ions (that can harm or kill plants) and from abnormal pH (both acidic and alkaline). 

The potential for the invention is significant for both crop plants and other plants, particularly 

in light of the possibility of harm to plant life caused by climate change. In addition to other 

agricultural uses, these microorganisms may ultimately be shown to be beneficial in medical 

and industrial applications. The invention is currently exclusively licensed by MSU to a U.S. 

company that is seeking patent protection in Europe, Brazil, and China, in addition to the U.S.

Controlling Invasive Quagga and Zebra Mussels

Invasive quagga and zebra mussels are spreading rapidly through the western U.S. and could 

impair or interrupt water and hydropower deliveries as well as create long term ecological 

impacts. Mussels can attach to virtually all water related infrastructure surfaces and thereby 

clog water delivery systems, pumps, debris racks, cooling water systems, and fire protection 

systems. Reclamation is directing research and development toward several approaches 

to detect and control invasive mussels. One effort is through a CRADA with Marrone Bio 

Innovations to conduct research trials to help bring Zequanox to market for this field of use. 

Zequanox is a naturally occurring soil microorganism that can selectively kill large numbers 

of invasive mussels, but is not harmful to water quality or other organisms. Zequanox is a 

technology patented by New York State Museum who is working in partnership with Marrone 

Bio Innovations to mature their technology.

Reclamation and Municipal Utilities Turn Impaired Waters into Useable Waters

The Colorado River is the principal source of water for irrigation and domestic use in Arizona, 

southern California, and southern Nevada. Ensuring adequate water availability for this region 

of the country is an ongoing challenge. Research continued in 2010 under a CRADA between 

Reclamation, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Southern Nevada Water 

Authority and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District to help address this challenge. 

The CRADA objective is to research best methods and new processes for purifying a variety of 

36 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
impaired source waters so that they can be added to the overall water supply of the Colorado 

River by utilizing Reclamation’s Yuma Desalting Plant in Yuma, AZ. CRADA partners conducted 

the research at the Water Quality Improvement Center which is a Reclamation water treatment 

research center co-located at the Yuma Desalting Plant. Research findings will serve to advance 

the capabilities to purify waters not only along the Colorado River, but will be applicable to 

other national and international desalination and water reuse facilities.

Department of Transportation (DOT) 

Mission Statement

The U.S. Department of Transportation (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, Livable Communities, State of Good Repair, Economic 

Competitiveness, and Environmental Sustainability. In 2004, the Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration (RITA) was charged by its enabling legislation4 with coordination of 

DOT-wide RD&T and technology transfer activities.

DOT defines technology transfer as the process of transferring scientific technology 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 its own type of deployment activities tailored to its mode 

and type of research. 

Technology Transfer activities are executed by the following DOT laboratories: 

• Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA): The FAA’s Federal laboratory 

is the William J. Hughes Technical Center located at the Atlantic City 

International Airport, New Jersey. 

• Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Turner-Fairbank Highway 

Research Center (McLean, VA),

• The Research and Innovative Technology Administration’s (RITA) 

John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center, 

Cambridge, MA). 

2010 DOT Downstream Outcome Success Stories

FAA Cooperative Research

Many CRADAs and other agreements have been established between the FAA and its partners, 

which are examples of the synergistic benefits of FAA’s Technology Transfer Program. The 

William J. Hughes Technical Center is one of world’s leading aviation engineering, research, 

development and testing facilities, and serves as the national scientific test bed for the FAA. The 

FAA Technology Transfer Program at the laboratory provides an opportunity for government, 

academia, state and local governments, and industry to access our advanced technologies, 

state-of-the-art facilities, and the expertise of our highly skilled scientists and engineers. This 

access benefits the FAA and the collaborating party to develop products and technologies that 

can play an active role in maintaining our world leadership in aviation. 

4P.L 108-426, November 30, 2004 (118 STAT.2423).

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 37
• A cooperative research and development agreement between the FAA 

and the Boeing Corporation established the National Airport Pavement 

Test Machine at the William J. Hughes Technical Center.

• Engineered Arresting Systems Corporation developed a soft ground 

arrestor system using light weight cellular concrete to safely stop aircraft 

that outrun the runway end providing deceleration and a safe stop. This 

technology has been deployed at many airports to date and has been 

successful at saving lives with little damage to the aircraft. 

FHWA Innovation Delivery and Technology Deployment 

FHWA is responsible for the delivery of technologies and innovations to end users, which 

include State Departments of Transportation, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and other 

highway stakeholders. For this reason, FHWA must develop strong partnerships with those 

who use and implement highway technologies and with those responsible for making decisions 

related to funding innovations. 

Because FHWA does not implement technologies, the agency utilizes technology transfer 

or innovation delivery activities including workshops, seminars, and conferences; technical 

assistance; peer exchanges; cooperative research and development projects; information 

dissemination centers; technical reports; news releases; and journal and magazine articles. 

Examples of successful technology transfer activities carried out by FHWA and partners are 

discussed below.

FHWA working with States on Pavement Rehabilitation and Construction

As state transportation agencies balance the need to rehabilitate and reconstruct existing 

highways with the goals of reducing congestion and improving safety, accelerated construction 

is more important than ever. A new software tool, Construction Analysis for Pavement 

Rehabilitation Strategies (CA4PRS), assists agencies in accelerating construction. The software 

was developed under an FHWA pooled fund study by the Institute of Transportation Studies 

at the University of California, Berkeley. The states of California, Minnesota, Texas, and 

Washington participated in the study. Through the pooled fund study, these states now have 

access to the CA4PRS and its technical support.

CA4PRS can be used to identify optimal highway rehabilitation strategies that balance the 

construction schedule with projected inconvenience to drivers and transportation agency costs. 

The program’s scheduling module estimates project duration, while its traffic module quantifies 

the impact of work zone lane closures on the traveling public. The cost module estimates total 

project cost (including construction, traffic handling, and supporting costs). 

In 2009, FHWA made the implementation of CA4PRSa high priority. In support of this 

deployment, FHWA worked with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation 

Officials (AASHTO) Technology Innovation Group to promote the use of the CA4PRS and other 

construction analysis software tools as a means of assisting highway agencies in accelerating 

construction and reducing traffic impacts, particularly in heavily traveled urban areas.

States that have used CA4PRS successfully to date include California, Utah, and Washington 

State. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) used it in the design stage of a 

project on I-15 in Ontario to select the most efficient rehabilitation strategy for the roadway. 

Caltrans’ use of the software on a previous project on I-15 in Devore resulted in a 25 percent 

38 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
reduction in construction and traffic control costs, for a total savings of $6 million, as well as 

saving $2 million in road user costs. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/deployment/ca4prs.cfm

Next Generation Simulation (NGSIM)

Operation of roadways is growing more and more complex. Today’s transportation 

professionals are faced with evaluating many diverse and comprehensive solutions to address 

congested transportation facilities. Instead of simply deciding how many lanes to design for 

a new freeway or how long the turn bays should be at a traffic signal, practitioners are now 

required to analyze such complex strategies as ramp metering, adaptive traffic signal control, 

complicated weaving patterns, multimodal corridor management plans and congestion pricing. 

Traffic simulation analysis tools can help evaluate these complex solutions by modeling realworld transportation networks on a system-wide scale that is difficult with more traditional 

methods. It is critical these traffic simulation tools be accurate and trustworthy, so that they can 

be used to make sound investment decisions.

U.S. DOT began the Next Generation Simulation (NGSIM) (ngsim.fhwa.dot.gov) program in a 

new role of market facilitator that manages public resources in a focused way. The goal is to 

influence and stimulate the commercial modeling market by fostering an environment of 

public-private coordination. This new role has resulted in a unique public-private partnership 

between the U.S. DOT, transportation consulting companies, university researchers and 

commercial simulation software developers. U.S. DOT is not developing software, but 

instead is fostering conditions under which the software is developed by private vendors. The 

government’s role is one where a core of open behavioral algorithms has been developed, 

along with supporting documentation and validation data sets that describe the movement 

and interaction of multimodal travelers and vehicles within the roadway system. Four core 

algorithms (freeway lane selection, cooperative/forced freeway merging, arterial lane selection, 

and oversaturated freeway flow) and four data sets (I-80 in Emeryville, CA; U.S. 101 and 

Lankersham Boulevard in Universal City, CA; and Peachtree Street in Atlanta, GA) have been 

developed under NGSIM. 

Commercial software developers are showing great interest in NGSIM. PTV (www.vissim.us), 

Traffic Simulation Systems (www.tss-bcn.com) and Quadstone (www.paramics-online.com), 

developers of the traffic simulation models VISSIM, AIMSUN and Paramics, respectively, have 

incorporated the freeway selection algorithm into their products on a test basis and validated 

the algorithm, meaning that the results of the simulation can be trusted as an accurate forecast. 

Over the coming year, responsibility for continued development, maintenance and support of 

NGSIM will be transferred from the government to an Open Source community. In an Open 

Source community, software is distributed to a community’s members, with membership open 

to all interested individuals, many of whom contribute to the development, maintenance and 

support of that software. NGSIM’s many developers and users applaud NGSIM’s transition to 

an Open Source environment and see it as key to making the software even more useful. 

Intelligent Transportation Systems Deployment Analysis System (IDAS)

Transportation planners use software models to get answers to key questions about the future, 

such as: “What benefits can I expect if I make this particular investment?”, “Will those benefits 

outweigh the costs?”, and “Which scenario would give me the most value for my money: doing 

a lot, doing only a little, or doing nothing?” Most models, however, forecast using average 

conditions, such as a typical weekday with good weather and no traffic incidents, and ignore the 

extreme cases, such as a holiday weekend with a severe snowstorm and multiple crashes on the 

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 39
freeway. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and other operational improvements excel at 

tackling those extreme conditions, making the bad traffic days more like the average. The tools 

that many transportation planners use to determine benefits and costs often miss the benefits 

offered by ITS and improved operations.

ITS Deployment Analysis System (IDAS) (http://idas.camsys.com/) was developed to address this 

need. IDAS estimates the benefits and costs of over 60 different types of ITS technologies and 

operational improvements, either working individually or in combination with each other. IDAS 

operates as a post-processor to travel demand models. In other words, transportation planners 

take the outputs of their travel demand models and input them into IDAS. IDAS then outputs the 

benefits and costs of ITS and operational improvements under all types of conditions, from typical 

to extreme. The benefits estimated include reduced travel time, reduced delay, reduced crashes, 

reduced costs, increased throughput, and increased travel time reliability. U.S. DOT sponsored 

the development, maintenance and support of IDAS, which is available for purchase for $795 

through the McTrans Center for Microcomputers in Education (http://mctrans.ce.ufl.edu/). 

IDAS has been used successfully in dozens of studies nationwide, including analysis of both ITS 

and operational improvements, as well as more traditional capacity and freight improvements. 

Nathan Masek of the Mid-Region Council of Governments in Albuquerque, NM used IDAS to 

evaluate the costs and benefits of individual ITS projects and the results were surprising: a benefitto-cost ratio of 10:1 for large projects, compared with 2:1 or 3:1 for smaller projects. He said 

that IDAS “provided us a clear, comparative mechanism to evaluate benefits of projects that 

aren’t necessarily apparent or considered in the normal project programming and prioritization 

process.”

Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) for Large Trucks and Buses

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Compliance, Safety, Accountability 

(CSA) Program is a novel way to carry out its safety mission of reducing large truck and bus 

crashes, injuries, and fatalities on our nation’s highways. It enables the Agency and its State 

Partners to better target high risk motor carriers for early intervention, and to assess the safety 

performance of a much larger segment of the motor carrier industry. FMCSA developed the CSA 

program with the assistance of the Volpe Center. CSA consists of three primary components. 

(1) The Safety Measurement System (SMS), (2) CSA progressive interventions and (3) the Safety 

Fitness Determination rule. The first two elements were the focus of work during this time period. 

SMS organizes violation and crash data associated with a given motor carrier into seven 

behavioral areas, called Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs): Unsafe 

Driving, Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service), Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, 

Vehicle Maintenance, Cargo-Related, and a Crash Indicator. SMS then generates “Alerts” for 

motor carriers whose violations in a given behavioral area, or crashes, indicate that they should 

be candidates for CSA Intervention. Every month, the CSA SMS evaluates centrally collected 

data describing violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and commercial motor 

vehicle crashes, in order to: assess the relative safety performance of regulated truck and bus 

companies (motor carriers); determine the specific safety problems exhibited by a motor carrier; 

monitor whether safety problems are improving or getting worse; and identify candidates for 

interventions. 

The CSA Intervention tools can reach more carriers to improve unsafe behaviors early on: 

they range from warning letters for carriers with emerging problems to Onsite Comprehensive 

Investigations for carriers with recurring safety problems, and enable officials to move beyond 

fact-finding and simple verification of problem areas to a deeper exploration of why the 

violations occurred and how they can be corrected in order to save lives on the road. 

40 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

Mission Statement

EPA’s Federal Technology Transfer Act Program was established to promote collaboration 

between private and federal research. EPA offers exceptional opportunities to develop and 

commercialize new technologies. EPA facilitates the transfer of new technologies to the 

marketplace while protecting intellectual property rights of all parties.

Partners in the FTTA Program will 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 the environmental technologies into the marketplace more quickly, 

resulting in better protection of human health and the environment. 

Highlights of several outcomes of the Agency’s technology transfer activities are provided 

below. For more information please visit: http://www.epa.gov/osp/ftta.htm.

2010 EPA Downstream Outcome Success Stories

Arsenic Removal from Drinking Water

Some environmental scientists never see the end result of their work; typically findings become 

a piece of a larger puzzle. But for drinking water specialists at EPA’s National Risk Management 

Research Laboratory, the effort to discover the best available technology for arsenic removal in 

small communities can be readily traced from the laboratory studies to the actual adoption by 

local water utilities.

Arsenic is an odorless, tasteless element that enters ground water drinking sources through 

erosion of natural deposits or from human-made sources. Chronic exposure to low levels of 

arsenic has been linked to skin, kidney, lung and bladder cancers, as well as neurological and 

cardiovascular effects. In 2001, EPA established a new, lower level of 10 parts per billion for 

arsenic in drinking water, which impacted around 5,000 water systems, the majority of them 

small systems serving fewer than 10,000 people.

Recognizing the technical and financial burden the new standard could impose on small 

drinking water systems, EPA conducted a technology demonstration program to test a variety 

of arsenic-removal technologies in small systems across the country. Beginning in 2003, EPA 

drinking water specialists worked with communities at 50 sites in 27 states to select an optimum 

removal technology from approximately twenty available. 

Concurrent with the full-scale, “real-world” testing of the arsenic demonstration program, 

NRMRL researchers conducted lab and pilot studies on ways to reduce costs and improve the 

performance of the technologies. In one example, lab and pilot testing of onsite regeneration 

of the media led to substantial reductions in the operational cost of the adsorptive media 

process. Following successful testing, the State of California approved the technique for a fullscale demonstration at Twentynine Palms, CA. Success at this site led to a second full-scale test 

at a demonstration project in New Hampshire. Other utilities have now expressed interest in 

the process.

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 41
These projects are unique in that they show EPA researchers at work—not only in the laboratory, 

but also in the on-site application of research results and their real-world impacts on 

communities. For more information, please go to the EPA Arsenic Research website.

Water Sample Concentrator

The possibility of terrorists or criminals intentionally contaminating drinking water with 

pathogenic microorganisms is a significant public health concern. This concern has given rise 

to the need to rapidly and effectively sample water to detect small concentrations of potentially 

dangerous microorganisms. Historically, analysis of water for the presence of low levels of 

microorganisms requires that either a large volume sample be collected and transported to a 

laboratory where the sample is concentrated before analysis, or concentrated in the field with 

cumbersome, yet delicate laboratory equipment.

In response to these challenges, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 

partnership with the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), developed a 

rugged and automated field deployable sample concentration device. The device significantly 

reduces the sample volume by concentrating the microorganisms contained in a large 

sample into a small volume of water. The device can concentrate the microbes contained 

in a 26-gallon sample into less than 2 cups of water, often in under an hour. Following 

concentration, the smaller, concentrated sample can be more easily and safely transported 

to a laboratory. A patent for this technology is pending. The device has been used by the 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Geological Survey, and water utilities in 

Connecticut and Oregon.

The device was primarily developed for helping to protect the Nation’s drinking water from 

bioterrorism attacks. The water sample concentrator could also be used by water utilities during 

their routine regulatory compliance sampling. This routine sampling includes testing for several 

different microorganisms in drinking water. The ultrafiltration device has potential to be used 

whenever a large volume of water needs to be concentrated, examples which include sampling 

the following:

• Bilge water on shipping vessels 

• Process control liquids from the brewing and pharmaceutical industries 

• Surface water for environmental studies 

• Decontamination water from cleanup areas.

In 2007, the EPA hosted the Clean Water Partnership Summit, which was held to foster 

partnerships between the EPA and private sector organizations. At this summit the EPA 

developers of the concentration device met with a representative of Teledyne-Isco, a 

manufacturer of environmental sampling devices. This initial meeting eventually led to a 

licensing agreement between INL and Teledyne-ISCO. 

The water sample concentrator was recognized among the top 100 innovations of 2009 by 

R&D magazine and was placed on the R&D 100 list.

42 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 

Mission Statement

Research at the Department of Health and Human Services 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 the 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.

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 reflect the full scope and complexity of these 

technology transfer activities in terms of their impact, and may, in fact, over-emphasize the 

importance of commercializing biomedical inventions and innovations.

NIH has created a Product Showcase (http://www.ott.nih.gov/productshowcase/default.aspx) 

that displays products from its intramural research program utilized every day to detect, treat 

or prevent disease or assist researchers as they continue to explore ways to develop newer and 

more effective health care products and procedures. The Showcase includes products that are 

now or have been on the market. Some are FDA-approved and many do not necessitate FDA 

approval.

For more information about the HHS technology transfer program please visit: 

• CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/techTran; 

• NIH: http://www.ott.nih.gov/ and

• FDA: http://www.fda.gov/ScienceResearch/CollaborativeOpportunities/default.htm

2010 DHHS Downstream Outcome Success Stories

MenAfriVac® Meningitis Vaccine for Sub-Saharan Africa.

Under a novel partnership mechanism organized by PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology 

in Health), NIH Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) licensed a conjugate vaccine technology 

developed by Dr. Che-Hung Robert Lee and Dr. Carl Frasch of the U.S. Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) to the Serum Institute of India, which agreed to produce the vaccine 

cheaply in exchange for technical know-how. The collaboration agreement was been described 

in SciDev.Net as an “intriguing model” of vaccine development in developing countries, in 

which a vaccine with specific characteristics tailored to a particular population is developed 

at a modest cost and provisions to ensure sustainable access are built in from the start. “The 

collaboration is the first of its kind,” S. S. Jadhav, Executive Director of the Serum Institute, is 

quoted as saying in SciDev.Net. “The key was the transfer of technology from NIH.”

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 43
The result of this unique collaboration was MenAfriVac®, a meningitis vaccine specifically 

developed for sub-Saharan Africa. Country-wide vaccination with MenAfriVac® began in 

December 2010, and to date almost 20 million people have been vaccinated. It is PATH’s 

goal to vaccine 300 million by 2015. This vaccine addresses a significant public health issue 

in Africa’s “meningitis belt”, where regular epidemics over the past century have sickened 

hundreds of thousands, with about ten percent resulting in death. With nearly half a billion 

people in sub-Saharan Africa, the impact of meningitis can be enormous, costing families 

months of disposable income to receive appropriate treatment and placing a significant 

burden on the region’s healthcare infrastructure. The vaccine, in effect, holds promise for 

unprecedented change in the countries of Africa’s meningitis belt and their people.

Prostate Cancer Immunotherapy

While the research and development required to bring a cancer treatment to market is 

long and expensive, the benefit for patients is incalculable. Dr. Jeffrey Schlom, Chief of the 

Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology at the NIH National Cancer Institute, led the 

scientific team that developed PROSTVAC, a prostate cancer immunotherapy that triggers the 

patient’s own immune system to attack prostate cancer cells. An exclusive patent license was 

granted to Bavarian Nordic to further develop the technology. The company recently released 

encouraging clinical data at the American Society for Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. Phase 

2 clinical trials demonstrated an improved survival of 8.5 months, on average. In contrast, 

the only approved treatment currently available for advanced prostate cancer is a form of 

chemotherapy, which extends survival by an average of only 2.4 months.

Rapid Quantitative Assay to Detect 

Interferon-Alpha Subtypes and Allotypic Variants

Different forms of interferon (IFN) mRNA transcripts and proteins are induced at different levels 

in response to a variety of physiological and pharmacological stimuli. The detection of the 

individual forms has utility not only in the research laboratory, but also potentially to monitor 

vaccine efficacy, autoimmune disease, chronic infections, or tumor therapy. Because the 12 

human IFN-α genes share a high degree of sequence homology, their individual transcripts are 

extremely difficult to quantify using conventional methods. By overcoming this technological 

hurdle, this highly sensitive and specific quantitative real-time PCR assay provides a tool for 

better determining which IFN-α mRNAs responds to a particular treatment and to what extent, 

both in cell culture and in vivo, allowing to differentiate between several IFN-α transcripts in one 

single assay. A kit of primer/probe sets complementary to the coding sequence avoids spurious 

detection of degraded mRNA and enhances the correlation between the IFN-α subtype that is 

measured by the assay of the invention and the protein that is actually expressed.

Technology for the Detection of HIV

The 2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic found that since 1981, HIV caused an estimated 

25 million deaths worldwide. Despite the success of antiretroviral drugs to slow the rate of AIDS 

deaths, HIV still remains a challenging public health problem. As of 2007, about 33 million 

people in the world were living with AIDS. There is a strong need for improved diagnostics to 

provide more rapid and sensitive identification of the virus. New HIV infections occur faster 

than people can be treated. Recognizing the most recent infections at the individual level would 

allow for prevention programs to target those areas more effectively, and in turn, slow the HIV 

infection rate dramatically. 

44 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
Dr. Bharat Parekh of the CDC has lead a team to develop unique tests that not only detect 

HIV-1, but also identify how recently a person has been infected with HIV-1; this allows for 

identification of HIV infection hot spots. Specifically, he developed novel peptides that can 

detect all HIV-1 strains for incidence estimation. Initially, the product used the BED peptide, a 

synthetic protein. However, synthetic production was difficult and prevented widespread use 

of the test. As a result, CDC scientists created a unique multi-subtype recombinant protein 

developed from HIV-1 that could identify all strains of HIV-1. Unlike the synthetic peptide, the 

new protein can be expressed and purified from E. coli, which greatly simplifies the production 

process while enabling production of substantially larger quantities of protein. 

Dr. Parekh used invention reports to disclose his inventions to the CDC Technology Transfer 

Office. This resulted in licenses to companies in the United States, Ireland, India, and China. 

Dr. Parekh provided these companies with information and biological materials to replicate 

the tests. His laboratory members trained key scientists from the companies in a hands-on 

approach to ensure a successful transfer of technology. CDC staff worked closely with company 

personnel to ensure consistency of the test kits developed for all the testing assays. 

Dr. Parekh’s efforts led to ground breaking assessments of new infection rates in the United 

States and South Africa. His tests have been used in many countries including: Brazil, India, 

China, Thailand, Botswana, and more. Currently, he is transferring new technologies to the 

companies for newer improved test kits. The result of this technology transfer will lead to better 

detection and surveillance of HIV, thereby indicating where prevention programs should be 

implemented.

Therapeutic Antibodies for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Infection

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the single most important cause of serious lower respiratory 

tract disease in the infant and young child. It is estimated that up to 125,000 hospitalizations 

occur each year in the United States associated with pneumonia or bronchiolitis from RSV 

infection in children less than 1 year of age. The importance of RSV as a cause of serious lower 

respiratory tract disease in children has made it a high priority for prevention and treatment. 

Efforts to develop an RSV vaccine have so far failed and no highly effective antiviral therapy 

has been found. The first candidate vaccine, formalin inactivated RSV, was associated with an 

increase in disease severity and several deaths when vaccinated children were later infected 

with RSV in the community. Multiple live virus vaccine candidates have been tried, but none 

has been found safe and effective. Because no vaccine is available, CDC scientists began to 

investigate the use of therapeutic antibodies for the prevention and treatment of RSV infection. 

Of the 11 viral proteins encoded by the RSV genome, only the F and G glycoproteins induce 

neutralizing antibodies and long-term protective immunity. Although RSV-F is most critical to 

cellular infectivity, RSV-G is more tightly linked to pathogenesis. CDC scientists identified and 

characterized a chemokine motif, CX3C, located in the conserved region of the G protein. This 

motif modulates the host response to RSV infection in animals and binds to the corresponding 

chemokine receptor, CX3CR1. Several monoclonal antibodies previously developed by CDC 

that bind to the G protein were also found to block binding to CX3CR1. Importantly, it was 

determined that these antibodies decreased RSV disease in animal models.

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 45
CDC scientists identified a CRADA partner, Trellis Bioscience, to collaborate on additional 

studies to prove the viability of the antibodies directed against the G protein as potential 

therapeutic antibodies against RSV. Together, scientists at CDC and Trellis identified high-affinity 

fully human antibodies that mimicked the mouse monoclonal antibodies in in vitro assays and 

mouse models. Based on the positive results obtained during the collaboration, Trellis obtained 

an exclusive patent license to take these RSV anti-G antibodies into human trials and bring a 

commercial product to the market that shows improved safety and efficacy over the currently 

available antibodies. These RSV anti-G antibodies have the potential to dramatically decrease 

the number of hospitalizations and deaths of infants, children, and elderly persons, due to 

respiratory tract disease caused by RSV infection.

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA) 

Mission Statement 

Since its creation in 1958, NASA’s mandate has included the broad dissemination of its 

research results for the public benefit. In FY 2011 a new Office of Chief Technologist was 

created to serve as the focal point for overall coordination of the agency’s technology 

development efforts as well as managing a new Space Technology Program. The Innovative 

Partnerships Program was merged into this new Office. The technology transfer functions 

that were performed by the Innovative Partnerships Program are now the responsibility of 

the Innovative Partnerships Office (IPO) within the Office of Chief Technologist. In addition 

to its NASA Headquarters office, the Innovative Partnership Office has locations within each 

of NASA’s ten centers, and is dedicated to fostering technology transfer and technology 

development partnerships with industry, academia, government agencies, and national 

laboratories. The IPO is responsible for facilitating intellectual property protection and transfer 

of NASA developed technology for commercial application and other public benefit. NASA 

continues to seek dual use technology development partnerships that advance agency mission 

goals and at the same time apply NASA technology for the benefit of commerce and the public 

good. 

Each year, NASA documents examples of notable successes from its technology transfer 

efforts in its annual Spinoff magazine publication. The magazine is available online at 

http://wwww.sti.nasa.gov/tto, and hard copies are available on request. To date, over 1,700 

examples of technology transfer successes have been documented in the publication, all of 

which are searchable through an online database available through www.sti.nasa.gov/spinoff/

database. In addition, NASA has established a website called NASA Home and City, located 

at http://www.nasa.gov/city, which helps to make the public aware of NASA’s contributions to 

the quality and safety of everyday life. NASA participates with several other federal agencies 

in highlighting technologies available for licensing for commercial and research application. 

Details on this and other initiatives are available on the Office of Chief Technologist web site: 

http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/home/index.html

46 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
2010 NASA Downstream Outcome Success Stories

NASA Provides Critical Support in Chilean Miner Rescue

Perhaps one of the most poignant examples of NASA technology transfer in 2010 took place 

not in the upper reaches of space, but over 2,000 feet deep within the San Jose mine, Chile. It 

was there on August 5, 2010 that 33 miners became trapped in a mine collapse. At the request 

of the Chilean government, a NASA team led by Dr. Michael Duncan, Deputy Chief Medical 

Officer, NASA Johnson Space Center, along with physician Dr. James Polk, psychologist Dr. 

Albert Holland, and engineer Clint Cragg, traveled to Chile to provide their expertise. NASA 

experience in spacecraft design and life support systems enabled the development of a rescue 

capsule that could fit within the narrow confines of a rescue shaft drilled into the safe haven 

area occupied by the miners. NASA experience in human factors both physiologically and 

psychologically provided guidance on what nourishment would safely sustain the miners, while 

at the same time helping these men cope with the extreme, potentially deadly environment they 

faced. In tandem with Chilean rescuers, the NASA team support was essential in safely bringing 

the 33 miners, one man at a time, to the surface from the collapsed mine on October 13, 2010.

Bacteria Provide Cleanup of Oil Spills, Wastewater

This year, NASA technology aided in clean-up efforts after the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon 

oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. Through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) 

contracts with Marshall Space Flight Center, Micro-Bac International Inc., of Round Rock, Texas 

developed a phototrophic cell for water purification in space. Inside the cell were millions of 

photosynthetic bacteria. Micro-Bac proceeded to commercialize the bacterial formulation it 

developed for the SBIR project. The formulation is now used for the remediation of wastewater 

systems and waste from livestock farms and food manufacturers. Strains of the NASA-derived 

bacteria also feature in microbial solutions that treat environmentally damaging oil spills, such 

as the one in the Gulf.

Inflatable Antennas Support Emergency Communication 

After the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, emergency relief workers had access to Internet 

and telecommunications, thanks to NASA technology. Glenn Research Center awarded Small 

Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to ManTech SRS Technologies, of Newport 

Beach, California, to develop thin film inflatable antennas for space communication. With 

additional funding, SRS modified the concepts for ground-based inflatable antennas. GATR 

(Ground Antenna Transmit and Receive) Technologies, of Huntsville, Alabama, licensed the 

technology and refined it to become the world’s first inflatable antenna certified by the Federal 

Communications Commission. Capable of providing Internet access, voice over Internet 

protocol, e-mail, video teleconferencing, broadcast television, and other high-bandwidth 

communications, the systems have provided communication during the wildfires in California, 

and after Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi.

Signal Processing Methods Monitor Cranial Pressure 

Innovative methods for transferring NASA technology came to the marketplace this year. 

Technologies licensed during the first successful auctioning of government-owned intellectual 

property now contribute to methods for assessing the flow of blood around the brain, and 

measurement useful for medical diagnosis and prediction of brain blood flow-related problems, 

such as stroke, dementia, and traumatic brain injury. Dr. Norden Huang of Goddard Space 

Flight Center invented a set of algorithms (called the Hilbert-Huang Transform, or HHT) for 

analyzing nonlinear and non-stationary signals that developed into a user-friendly signal 

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 47
processing technology for analyzing time-varying processes. At an auction managed by Ocean 

Tomo Federal Services LLC, licenses of 10 U.S. patents and 1 domestic patent application 

related to HHT were sold to DynaDx Corporation, of Mountain View, California. 

Miniature Cameras Promise Minimally Invasive Brain Surgery

An ongoing partnership between JPL and the Skull Base Institute (SBI) has resulted in the 

development of the “Multi-Angle and Rear Viewing Endoscopic tooL” (MARVEL), an auxiliary 

endoscope, that a surgeon would use in conjunction with a conventional endoscope to obtain 

additional perspective. The role of the MARVEL in endoscopic brain surgery would be similar 

to the role of a mouth mirror in dentistry. Such a tool is potentially useful for in-situ planetary 

geology applications for the close-up imaging of unexposed rock surfaces in cracks or those 

not in the direct line of sight. SBI has licensed the technology and has a Space Act Agreement in 

place for further development

Implantable Medical Devices Benefit Millions

A flexible, high strength, lightweight polymer, Langley Research Center’s Soluble Imide was 

licensed by Medtronic Inc., of Minneapolis, Minnesota, for use as insulation on thin metal wires 

connected to its implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy devices for patients experiencing 

heart failure. The devices resynchronize the contractions of the heart’s ventricles by sending 

tiny electrical impulses to the heart muscle, helping the heart pump blood throughout the body 

more efficiently. Each year, 6 million patients benefit from Medtronic’s technology.

Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Mission Statement 

This report covers technology transfer activities and metrics for the Agricultural Research Service 

(ARS), the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service’s Wildlife Services (APHIS-WS), and the Forest 

Service (FS). This report includes tabular metrics of inventions, licenses, and Cooperative 

Research and Development Agreements for ARS, APHIS-WS, and FS. 

For more information about USDA technology transfer, log onto the following URLs:

• ARS: http://www.ars.usda.gov/partnering

• APHIS-WS: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/

• FS: http://www.fs.fed.us

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) 

ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high 

national priority and provides information access and dissemination to:

• Ensure high-quality, safe food, and other agricultural products; 

• Assess the nutritional needs of Americans; 

• Sustain a competitive agricultural economy; 

• Enhance U.S. natural resources and the environment; and

• Provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and 

society as a whole.

48 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service – Wildlife Services (APHIS-WS)

APHIS-WS provides Federal leadership and expertise to resolve wildlife conflicts and creates a 

balance that allows people and wildlife to coexist peacefully. Current program activities include 

threatened and endangered species conservation, the protection of public health and safety, 

wildlife disease surveillance and monitoring, a nationally coordinated research effort, and other 

activities and programs.

Forest Service (FS)

The mission of FS is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and 

grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.

2010 USDA Downstream Outcome Success Stories

Developing, Implementing and Distributing an Improved Emergency Aid Food (ARS)

Over the last 50 years the Food-for-Peace program, through Title II of Public Law 480, has 

distributed food to people overseas at risk of hunger and malnutrition, providing nutritionally 

balanced meals in times of emergency. The USDA FSA administers the Food-for-Peace 

program, buying U.S. grown commodity products which are in-turn handed over to the United 

States Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID distributes the foods through 

Non-Governmental Organizations. 

The meals have been supplied as uncooked fortified corn- or wheat- soy blends, with oil, 

vitamins and minerals. These uncooked Corn Soy Blend meals have had many problems 

ranging from off-flavors (products going stale due to rancid fats), segregation of particles which 

intensifies malnutrition (vitamins and mineral settling to the bottom of the bag), and off colors 

(as vitamins and iron react with starch, protein, and fat under high temperatures in tropical 

countries). 

USDA researchers have collaborated to 

deliver an improved, novel emergency aid 

product for needy populations world-wide. 

The USDA team developed a fully-cooked 

Instant Corn Soy Blend product. In addition 

to a new product, the team developed new 

approach to purchase and distribute the 

product through the transfer of the process 

and product to AbilityOne, a company hiring 

the severely handicapped. This is first time 

the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) has 

issued a product request for a new emergency 

food. This technology transfer outcome was achieved through public release of information, 

and won an FLC Mid-Atlantic Region Technology Transfer Award. Dairy and Functional Food 

Research Unit, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 49
Diagnostic Tests for Rapid Response to H1n1 Pandemic Influenza (ARS)

When swine origin H1N1 influenza (pH1N1) was first identified, its importance in the infection 

of livestock and poultry, which can be infected with many influenza strains, was unknown. 

This resulted in a critical need for a rapid and accurate 

diagnostic test for veterinary specimens by veterinary 

diagnostic laboratories that could quickly identify and 

differentiate the pH1N1from other influenza viruses. The 

H1N1 Pandemic Influenza Veterinary Diagnostic Test 

Development Team developed and validated a realtime polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for field 

application and transferred the protocols to the National 

Animal Health Laboratory Network and to a number of 

international laboratories. These tests are now in common 

use. This technology transfer outcome was achieved 

through use of Material Transfer Agreements, and won an ARS Superior Technology Transfer 

Award. Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, Athens, Georgia

System for Delivering Poultry Litter below the Soil Surface (ARS)

Excessive nutrient losses cost producers substantial income, and severely degrade air and 

water quality in many watersheds with intensive poultry production. Research has shown that 

nutrient losses from poultry litter applied to farmland are minimized if the litter is incorporated 

by applying it in shallow trenches beneath the soil surface. Development of a single-shank, 

tractor-drawn implement has proven that the incorporation technique can be mechanized, 

but making this technology a practical option for producers requires a multiple-shank litter 

incorporator. An effective litter distribution system requires 

all of the shanks to simultaneously receive a steady supply 

of dry poultry litter particles small enough to flow easily 

through the shank portals. To meet this need, ARS invented 

an auger system that can pulverize dry poultry litter 

while transporting it from a bulk bin through rectangular 

openings whose size and location simulate shank portals. 

This system provides effective litter distribution and 

eliminates the need for pre-treating (grinding) the litter 

before loading, removing a major obstacle to adoption 

of the technology by producers. This technology was licensed to 

an industry partner in 2010. Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research 

Center, Booneville, Arkansas, in cooperation with Pasture Systems 

and Watershed management Research Unit, University Park, 

Pennsylvania, and the National Soil Dynamics Laboratory, Auburn, 

Alabama

Immunocontraceptive Vaccine for Wildlife (APHIS-WS)

Deer populations have increased from only about 500,000 deer across the United States 

in the early 1900’s to over 15 million today. Although this recovery is considered a 

wildlife management success story, deer are causing many problems, particularly in urban 

environments. Ornamental trees and shrubs in residential and commercial areas suffer 

damage as deer seek alternative food sources. High populations of deer result in numerous 

50 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
deer/vehicle collisions and pose a serious threat to motorists. It is estimated that there are over 

700,000 deer-vehicle collisions each year that result in more than 200 human fatalities and 

29,000 injuries. In addition to vehicle accidents, deer have been implicated in the distribution 

and transmission of Lyme disease.

Over the past 14 years, scientists from the NWRC have worked to develop a new wildlife 

Immunocontraceptive (GonaConTM) to help reduce overabundant urban white-tailed deer 

and other overabundant wildlife populations. GonaCon is a vaccine that causes deer to 

remain infertile for up to 5 years following a single injection. This multiyear single-shot 

vaccine stimulates the production of antibodies that bind to gonadotropin-releasing hormone 

(GnRH)—a hormone necessary for production of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. 

By binding to GnRH, the antibodies reduce GnRH’s ability to stimulate the release of these sex 

hormones. As long as a sufficient level of antibody activity is present in the bloodstream, sexual 

activity is decreased, and vaccinated animals remain infertile. In September 2009 Wildlife 

Service’s NWRC obtained a registration for GonaCon with the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) for use with female white-tailed deer 1 year of age or older. NWRC anticipates 

its use primarily in urban/suburban areas where other management tools cannot be used. 

Vaccinated animals show a decrease in sexual activity and breeding behavior. There is no 

known danger associated to humans or wildlife from eating deer that have been vaccinated 

with GonaCon. In addition to deer, GonaCon has proven effective for use with numerous other 

wildlife species, including California ground squirrels, prairie dogs, Norway rats, feral cats and 

dogs, wild horses, elk, and bison. Future research will be directed toward registering GonaCon 

for use with other wildlife species and for prevention of wildlife disease transmission.

Learning How Birds Perceive Aircraft (APHIS-WS)

Two-thirds of bird strikes resulting in serious aircraft damage occur between zero and 500 feet 

above ground level. However, a substantial number of strikes also occur between 501 and 

3,500 above ground level. At that height, certain ground-level dispersal methods, like loud 

noises or bird-chasing dogs, are ineffective. National Wildlife Research Center researchers in 

Sandusky, Ohio, and their collaborators from Indiana State University, Purdue University, Precise 

Flight, Premises Control, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are learning more about 

how birds detect and respond to approaching aircraft. Specifically, researchers are investigating 

how birds detect and respond to object approach (such as aircraft), and whether changes to 

wavelengths and pulse frequencies of aircraft lighting can make aircraft more visible to birds. 

Vision is a primary sensory pathway in birds. While birds, like humans, see in color, they have 

different photoreceptors and can see beyond the range humans can. Research was conducted 

with captive Canada geese using a 10-ft wingspan, remote-controlled plane outfitted with the 

Precise Flight lighting system with geese with clipped wings were placed in a 56-foot diameter 

enclosure, surrounded by high-speed video cameras to capture the birds’ response to the 

approaching plane. The plane made multiple approaches to each set of birds, some with the 

lights on and some with them off. Researchers are evaluating the video footage frame by frame 

to see if the lights improved the birds’ detection and avoidance of the plane. In addition, via 

the Purdue laboratory, the researchers are quantifying the visual capabilities of Canada geese, 

particularly their sensitivity to color, contrast of the aircraft to surrounding light conditions, 

movement, and their ability to clearly resolve an approaching object at distance. The 

behavioral and physiological findings are promising and researchers are optimistic their efforts 

will result in new methods to help birds detect and avoid aircraft in the air. This will add another 

tool in the wildlife hazard mitigation toolbox and complement existing wildlife management on 

airports. This technology transfer outcome was achieved through public release of information.

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 51
New “Green” Adhesive for Wood Composites (FS)

Traditional plywood, particleboard, and other composite products made from petroleumbased adhesives release harmful formaldehyde vapors, a potential human carcinogen. 

Formaldehyde fumes from these materials can also cause short-term symptoms such as watery 

eyes, burning sensations in the eyes, nose and throat, and skin irritation, especially in sensitive 

people. Charles Frihart, Ph.D., a research chemist at the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Products 

Laboratory (FPL), led a joint research effort with FPL and Ashland Hercules Water Technologies 

to develop a new adhesive that contains soy flour, a special water-resistant additive, and other 

modifiers. Together these ingredients form a polymer glue used for interior wood products 

such as decorative plywood and engineered wood flooring. This new glue performs as well 

as the existing petroleum adhesives, but does not contain formaldehyde. New regulations on 

reducing formaldehyde emissions from wood composites and the need to meet green building 

standards are strong driving forces behind the research. Further development of soy adhesives 

is continuing under the partnership between FPL and Ashland Hercules. The team has one 

issued patent, several patents pending, and their joint efforts have received additional support 

in the form of grants from the United Soybean Board. This technology transfer outcome was 

achieved through CRADA and license.

Technology for Measuring Duff Moisture Content Improves Safety of Forest Fires (FS)

FS inventors developed a machine to quickly assess moisture content in the duff, or the surface 

of the forest floor. Their invention is a portable unit that can be carried to the forest and test 

the moisture of forest duff using electrical calculations and surface probes. This way, people 

in charge of containing a fire can determine in a few minutes, rather than days, the moisture 

levels in the duff and thereby provide better control of fires. This technology was licensed to a 

private sector partner.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates, through the Veterans Health Administration 

(VHA), a substantial research program in connection with the research programs at many of the 

medical institutions with whom VA is affiliated. As a result, many of our researchers also hold 

academic appointments with our affiliates. Some of our best and most beneficial inventions 

have come out of this setting and VA wants to continue to promote this research environment 

and relationship, as it benefits our veterans and the public generally.

Although VA can assert an ownership right in inventions made by our employees under 

Executive Order 10096, and its implementing regulations, it cannot and does not do so to the 

exclusion of our university partners or the inventors. Since many of VA’s researchers hold dual 

appointments with VA and a university, VA recognizes that the universities may have an interest 

in an invention made at a VA facility, leading to joint ownership.

To further enhance the unique relationship and the cooperation between the research 

affiliates and VA, and to facilitate the technology transfer process, the Office of Research 

and Development’s (ORD) Technology Transfer Program (TTP) developed a Cooperative 

Technology Administration Agreement (CTAA). This agreement encompasses the obligations 

of the universities and the interests of VA while fostering the relationship between the two 

organizations. It further outlines relevant definitions, terms, and conditions for handling 

52 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
intellectual property (IP) on behalf of both organizations. Using the CTAA allows ownership 

to remain with VA while providing the university unimpeded access and authority to patent 

and market the IP in question. Using CTAAs creates a mutually beneficial situation for VA 

and its academic affiliates while strengthening, and/or expanding existing partnerships to the 

advantage of both organizations. Currently VA has 59 active CTAAs with some of the leading 

research institutions. The agreements have been extremely efficient in handling jointly owned 

intellectual property and we have not encountered any substantive problems. 

Mission Statement

The mission of the VA TTP is to serve the American public by translating the results of worthy 

discoveries made by VA researchers into clinical practice. To facilitate this effort, VA continues 

working with and establishing collaborations with our academic affiliates (University Medical 

Schools) using the CTAA. Use of the CTAA allows VA to access existing intellectual property 

expertise at the respective university negating the need to recreate the wheel. This results in 

a mutually beneficial situation for VA and its academic partners while strengthening existing 

collaborations. 

VA has entered into more Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and 

licenses over the past year and continues to actively work on more agreements for the future of 

VA’s Technology Transfer program. 

The overall goals of the VA program are to:

• Move VA innovations from “bench” to “bedside”. 

• Continue building internal/external IP capacity and expertise.

• Continue to maintain and improve IP database system.

• Refine system for acquiring patents and property rights.

• Continue negotiating CTAAs.

• Continue internal and external education program.

• Educate staff at all levels within VA about the current technology transfer 

policy. 

• Retain ownership and internal licensing rights to ensure access by 

veterans to new technologies resulting from VA’s research investment.

• Support high quality intramural research program and move discovery 

from the laboratory to clinical practice in a timely manner. 

• Insure that inventors and their host VA medical centers receive optimal 

advice and support, so that they may realize equitable compensation 

and recognition.

• Continue to maintain and improve the TTP web page.

• Enhance and expand the partnership with academic affiliates in the area 

of technology transfer.

• Continue to fund cutting-edge research that leads to discoveries or 

inventions that advance medical science and benefit our veteran 

patients, investigators, the taxpayer, and the nation.

Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report Fiscal Year 2010 53
VA Technology Transfer Success Stories

Success in technology transfer does not necessarily come from licensing technologies that meet 

large market needs. Sometimes success comes from meeting the need of a unique patient 

population. VA is focused on the often unique needs of veterans, so VA has a strong interest in 

innovations that help veterans with disabilities. 

Recently, in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh, VA and Pitt licensed two technologies 

aimed at increasing mobility among wheelchair using veterans. One invention was for a hybrid 

electric wheelchair and power scooter. The invention offers greater mobility and potentially 

lower cost. The other, licensed to Accessible Design, Inc., was for an invention ideally suited 

for younger athletic disabled veterans. It covers the design of a highly adjustable chair for use 

in athletic events such as shot put, discus and javelin. It offers lower cost compared to custom 

chairs, and ease of adjustment for each individual and each athletic event. 

Additionally, an invention titled “Preservation of the Properties of Mesenchymal Stem Cells 

During the Expansion on a Three-Dimensional Extracellular Matrix Made by Bone Marrow 

Stromal Cells”, developed at the Little Rock, AR VA Medical Center and the University of 

Arkansas, Little Rock, has been licensed to StemBioSys, LLC. StemBioSys manufactures and 

develops novel, proprietary stem cells. This invention will help the company facilitate its goals to 

become a leading supplier of Mesenchymal stem cells.

Lastly, an invention titled “Fused Stem Cells for the Treatment of Diabetes and Methods 

Thereof”, developed at the Salt Lake City VA Medical Center and the University of Utah, has 

been licensed to Insugen, LLC. Insugen and is focused on the development of stem cell-based 

methods for the treatment of diabetes.

More information is available on the VA’s Technology Transfer Program website:

http://www.research.va.gov/programs/tech_transfer/default.cfm

54 Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Report
CONCLUSION

Technology transfer is an active and essential mission of Federal laboratories. By leveraging 

our nation’s innovative assets and investing in science and technology, we strengthen our 

economy and American competitiveness in world markets. This report details the results of 

technology partnering activities cultivated in the Federal sector. 

The statistical data provided in this report indicate that over the five-year span from 2006 

through 2010 show a very mature and robust program. Generally, the trends for the various 

outputs are relatively flat, indicating little change over the reporting period.

Collaborations at Federal labs using CRADAs are trending upward for both active and new 

CRADAs although there is a slight decline in new CRADAs. This decline is very small but the 

overall trend for active CRADAs indicates that CRADAs are lasting longer. With over 8,000 

active CRADAs, and the use of other tools available for laboratories to collaborate beyond a 

formal CRADA, such as NASA Space Act Agreements or DOE Work for Others, it is easy to see 

that Federal laboratories are reaching out to collaborate with other organizations.

Although the number of new inventions reported demonstrates a declining trend over the five 

year window, the number has increased over the past three years. However, the numbers 

still show a fairly flat trend. The new patent applications and issued patents over the same 

time period agree with this flat trend. The number of “other” licenses shows an upward 

trend in contrast to standard invention licensing which is consistent with the flat trend seen in 

the invention disclosure and patenting tables. License income also reflects this consistency, 

although it has declined since FY2008. 

These numbers, however, do not tell the whole story. Technology transfer is far more than 

patenting and licensing of disclosed inventions arising out of mission-driven research. Federal 

laboratories transfer many technologies through a variety of mechanisms not reflected by 

numbers and charts. Other important, but often overlooked, mechanisms include post-doctoral 

fellowships and the subsequent return of these talented individuals to the private sector or to 

academia, and student fellowships from high school through graduate level. A number of 

studies and workgroups are underway to evaluate technology transfer and appropriate metrics 

in order to accurately describe and measure the role of Federal research in supporting our 

over-all economic well-being. 

The success stories in this report provide examples of how society benefits from technology 

transfer activities across the Federal laboratories. As technology advances and the needs of 

the economy change, Federal laboratories will continue to play a vital role in keeping America 

in the forefront of innovation. Federal research supports our economic and international 

competitiveness by successfully transferring and facilitating commercialization of Federally 

created technologies. 

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