Annual Report on Technology Transfer:

Approach and Plans, Fiscal Year 2011 Activities and Achievements

U.S. Department of Commerce

Report prepared by:

National Institute of Standards and Technology

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Pursuant to the

Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-404)

January 2012
ii

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FOREWORD

This report summarizes technology transfer activities and achievements of the Department of 

Commerce’s Federal laboratories for fiscal year (FY) 2011. At the Department of Commerce, 
iii

technology transfer is a significant part of the mission and programmatic activities of the 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), and the National Telecommunications and Information 

Administration’s (NTIA) Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS). Accordingly, this 

report focuses on the activities of these agencies.

This report is submitted in accordance with the statutory requirement for annual “agency reports

on utilization” (15 U.S.C. Section 3710(f)) under the Technology Transfer Commercialization 

Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-404). All Federal agencies that direct one or more Federal laboratories 

or conduct other activities under Sections 207 and 209 of Title 35, United States Code, are 

subject to the requirements of Section 3710(f).

This report summarizes the Department’s overall and laboratory-specific approaches, and its 

plans for technology transfer. The report focuses on current year activities and 

accomplishments, and also provides statistical information for FY 2007 through FY 2011. 

This report has been organized and prepared with the participation of the NIST, NOAA and 

NTIA/ITS technology transfer offices. An electronic version of this report and versions from 

previous fiscal years are available online at: http://www.nist.gov/tpo/publications/index.cfm.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 - Department of Commerce Overview..................................................................... 1

Summary of Technology Transfer Activities FY 2007 – FY 2011 ............................................ 2

CHAPTER 2 - National Institute of Standards and Technology................................................. 5

Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer............................................................................ 5

Additional Details in FY 2011.................................................................................................. 10

Downstream Outcomes from NIST Technology Transfer Activities....................................... 15

CHAPTER 3 - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.......................................... 20

Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer.......................................................................... 20

Additional Details in FY 2011.................................................................................................. 22

Downstream Outcomes from NOAA Technology Transfer Activities .................................... 27

CHAPTER 4 - National Telecommunications and Information Administration 

Institute for Telecommunication Sciences.................................................................................. 38

Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer.......................................................................... 38

Additional Details in FY 2011.................................................................................................. 40

Downstream Outcomes from ITS Technology Transfer Activities.......................................... 44

SUMMARY................................................................................................................................... 45
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1

CHAPTER 1

Department of Commerce Overview

Technology transfer plays an important role in the Department of Commerce’s (hereinafter, the 

Department) mission to promote job creation, economic growth, sustainable development and 

improved standards of living for all Americans. The Department works in partnership with 

businesses, universities, state governments, and communities to promote innovation and to 

improve the nation’s overall competitiveness in the global economy. The Department pursues 

these objectives through policies and programs directed at strengthening the Nation’s economic 

infrastructure, facilitating the development of cutting-edge science and technology, providing 

critical scientific information and data, and managing national resources. 

The Department conducts research and development (R&D) in numerous areas of fundamental 

and advanced science and technology at the National Institute of Standards and Technology

(NIST), the laboratory facilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) 

Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS). Technology transfer is a key part of the 

programmatic activities in each of these agencies’ Federal laboratory systems. Technology 

transfer is about connecting the technological advances from the Department’s science and 

engineering programs to the American economy.

In addition to the technology transfer efforts of the Department’s own laboratories, the 

Department is responsible for coordinating technology transfer activities across Federal agencies. 

Through NIST, the Department coordinates the Interagency Workgroup for Technology 

Transfer, which facilitates interagency discussion on policy, new approaches to technology 

transfer, and lessons learned from agency technology transfer programs. NIST also serves as the 

host agency for the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer, the nationwide 

network of Federal laboratories that provides a forum to develop strategies and opportunities for 

linking laboratory mission technologies and expertise with the marketplace. 

The Department also has a leading role in leveraging the resources of the Federal government to 

enhance the understanding and promotion of innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization 

in America. In an effort to advance these goals, NIST and the Department’s Economic 

Development Administration (EDA) coordinated a multi-agency effort to understand the current 

state of affairs in commercializing technologies developed in Federal laboratories. The results of 

this high-level study are helping to set the stage for future collaborative work between 

Department bureaus and other Federal agencies.

More information about Department of Commerce 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/
2

Summary of Technology Transfer Activities FY 2007 – FY 2011

This annual report provides comprehensive statistics on the technology transfer activities of the 

Department’s Federal laboratories. This information covers intellectual property 

(patents/licenses), cooperative research and development relationships, and other technology 

transfer mechanisms. This report also highlights examples of successful downstream results

(e.g., commercially significant technologies) from these technology transfer activities. 

The Department’s technology transfer activities include more than cooperative R&D agreements 

(CRADAs), patenting, and licensing. Technology transfer is also accomplished through 

technical publications, technical support development for industrial standards and reference 

materials, other public dissemination such as meetings and workshops, and opportunities for 

guest researchers, post-doctoral fellows, students and other collaborating professionals from 

across the United States to participate in Federal laboratory activities. 

The Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-404, codified in 15 

U.S.C. Section 3710(f)) requires each Federal agency which operates or directs one or more 

Federal laboratories or which conducts activities under 35 U.S.C. Sections 207 and 209, to report 

annually to the Office of Management and Budget on the results of its technology transfer 

activities. The following tables present the required data. The information presented in this 

report is based on a stable framework of metrics that has been used traditionally to evaluate the 

effectiveness of technology transfer. The Department continues to explore the development of 

additional useful metrics for technology transfer statistics. 

Invention Disclosure and Patenting

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● New inventions disclosed

 NIST 

NOAA 

ITS

Department

29

3

0

32

40

0

0

40

36

5

(3)

0

41(3)

30

4

0

34

25

1

0

26

● Patent applications filed

 NIST 

NOAA 

ITS 

Department

6

2

0

 8

(1)

18

3

0

21

19(3)

1

0

20(3)

18(4)

1

0

19

(4)

15

0

0

15

● Patents issued 

 NIST

NOAA 

ITS

Department

3

0

(1)

0

3

2

(2)

1

0

3

(2)

7

0

0

7

10(4)

1

(4)

0

11

(4)

12

2

0

14

(1) Reflects correction of data from FY 2007 Report.

(2) Reflects correction of data from FY 2008 Report.

(3) Reflects correction of data from FY 2009 Report.

(4) Reflects correction of data from FY 2010 Report.
3

Licensing – Profile of Active Licenses 

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY 

2010

FY 

2011

● All Department of Commerce licenses 222(1) 29 40 41 32

Patent licenses 

NIST

NOAA

ITS

Department

 30(1)

6

10

 46

(1)

23

 6

 0

29

33

7

0

40

35

6

0

41

26

6

0

32

Other invention licenses 

ITS

 

176 0 0 0 0

(1) Reflects correction of data from FY 2008 Report.

Characteristics of Licenses Bearing Income

FY 

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● All income-bearing licenses 

Department 35 25 27 26 24

 - Patent licenses 

 NIST

NOAA

ITS

21

4

10

21

4

0

22

5

0

22

4

0

21

3

0

 ▫ Exclusive, partially exclusive,

non-exclusive 

 NIST

 NOAA

ITS

 Department

16, 0, 5

 0, 0, 4

 0, 0, 10

16, 0, 19

14, 0, 7

 0, 0, 4

 0, 0, 0

14, 0, 11

15, 0, 7

 0, 0, 5

 0, 0, 0

15, 0, 12

15, 0, 7

 0, 0, 4

 0, 0, 0

15, 0, 11

14, 0, 7

 0, 0, 3

 0, 0, 0

14, 0, 10

Income from Licensing 

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● Total income Department $224,847 $292,647 $335,889 $237,259 $276,567

 NIST 

 NOAA

 ITS

$195,347

$22,000

$7,500

$223,640

$69,007

$0(2) 

$197,445

$138,444(1)

$0

$202,216

$35,043

$0

$169,347

$107,220

$0

(1) Increase is due to a license with The Walt Disney Company for NOAA's Science on a Sphere for a one-time 

royalty of $75,000.

(2) ITS no longer licenses Video Quality Metric (VQM) technology. This software is available free of charge via 

open-source download.
4

Collaborative Relationships for Research and Development

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● CRADAs*

 ▪ Traditional CRADAs 

NIST 

NOAA

ITS

 Department

140

5

 9

154

121

 4

 6

131

 65(1)

 5

 31

 101

66

6

 29

101

103(4)

7 

 23

133

 ▪ Non-traditional CRADAs 

 NIST

ITS

Department

2,348

 276

2,624

2,224

 35(2)(3)

2,259

2,284

 12

2,296

1,399

 12

1,411

1,372

 9

1,381

*CRADA = Cooperative Research and Development Agreement

(1) Decrease in CRADAs attributed to successful conclusion of multi-party CRADA Consortiums.

(2) In 2008, ITS removed some of its telecommunication analysis services from the Web. These services provided

network-based access to research results, models, and databases supporting applications in wireless system design 

and analysis. As a result, there was a significant decrease in the number of CRADAs between the government and 

industry that allowed for improvement to these models. ITS is working on a newer geographic information system-

(GIS-) based platform for the modeling services, which will be available in the future.

(3) Reflects correction of data from FY 2007 Report.

(4) Increase in CRADAs due to new multi-party CRADA Consortiums.

Later chapters provide agency-specific information and details on the above metrics. 
5

CHAPTER 2

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a broad mission to promote U.S. 

innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and 

technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve the quality of life. 

An important part of NIST’s activities is to anticipate future measurement and standards needs of 

U.S. industry. Rapidly evolving sectors like nanotechnology, biotechnology, homeland security, 

information technology, and advanced manufacturing need sophisticated technical support 

systems in order to flourish and grow. NIST laboratories develop measurement techniques, test 

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

industry, scientific research, and the activities of many other Federal agencies. In carrying out its 

mission, NIST works directly with industry partners (individually and through consortia), 

universities, standards organizations, other domestic and foreign associations, and other 

government agencies.

NIST’s technology transfer activities are designed to disseminate the Institute’s fundamental 

research results and its measurements and standards research results to industry and other 

interested parties. In order to provide leading-edge scientific and technical work, NIST is 

required to have expertise in multiple disciplines, to maintain high levels of collaboration with

organizations and people with diverse capabilities, and to have highly specialized facilities and 

tools. For more than a century, NIST’s laboratories have successfully collaborated with others to 

provide the measurement techniques and technical tools needed by America’s innovators. NIST 

uses many different collaboration mechanisms to promote innovation and ensure that the 

resulting technologies are broadly disseminated. 

Additional details on NIST’s technology transfer program are available at:

http://www.nist.gov/tpo/index.cfm.

NIST uses the following mechanisms to transfer its knowledge, intellectual property and other 

technical assets: 

 Patents and licensing

 Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs)

 User Facilities

 Technical Publications

 Participation in Documentary Standards Committees

 Standard Reference Materials

 Standard Reference Data
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 Calibration and Accreditation Services

 Software Tools

 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grants

 Guest Researchers 

 Conferences, Workshops, and Inquiries

 Training

Patents and Licensing

NIST actively seeks to identify commercially valuable inventions that result from its research. A 

Patent Review Committee evaluates each reported invention’s potential to promote U.S. 

innovation and industrial competition. NIST will seek patent protection when a patent: 

(1) would enhance the potential for an invention’s commercialization; (2) would have a positive 

impact on a new field of science or technology and/or the visibility and vitality of NIST; or (3) 

would further the goals of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) or 

other agreement. NIST conducts periodic informational sessions and meetings with NIST staff 

to emphasize the importance of NIST invention policies and procedures, and of the use of these 

policies and procedures to advance their research and fulfill NIST’s mission. (See: 

http://tsapps.nist.gov/techtransfer/)

Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs)

Cooperative research and development between Federal laboratories, academia and outside 

partners is an effective means for technology transfer. Beyond the improved know-how and new 

technologies that result, these joint efforts often help collaborators to leverage each other’s

resources and technical capabilities. They also provide mechanisms for collaborators to gain 

new technical competencies and acquire new skills. Cooperative Research and Development 

Agreements (CRADAs) are a mechanism for establishing joint relationships with industry 

academia, and state and local governments. A CRADA is an agreement between a federal 

laboratory and one or more partners to collaborate on defined R&D projects. The legal authority 

for CRADAs was created by the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 with the aim of 

encouraging federal laboratories to participate in R&D partnerships to advance promising new 

technologies toward commercialization. (See: http://www.nist.gov/tpo/collaborations/crada.cfm)

User Facilities

To support U.S. industry, academic institutions, NIST, and other government laboratories, NIST 

operates two unique and valuable laboratory user facilities – the NIST Center for Neutron 

Research (NCNR) and the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST). The NCNR

is a national center for research using thermal and cold neutrons. Many of its instruments rely on 

intense beams of cold neutrons emanating from an advanced liquid hydrogen moderator. The 

CNST supports the development of nanotechnology from discovery to production. The CNST

operates a national shared-use nanofabrication and measurement facility (the NanoFab), 

complemented by a multidisciplinary research staff creating next-generation tools for advancing 

nanotechnology. (See: http://www.nist.gov/user-facilities.cfm)
7

Technical Publications

Technical publications are one of the major mechanisms NIST uses to disseminate the results of 

its research to industry, academia, and other agencies. NIST staff author more than 1,200 

publications in peer-reviewed journals each year. (See: http://nvl.nist.gov/)

NIST publicizes its planned, ongoing and recently completed work in the trade and technical 

press, which is typically followed by the organizations most likely to have an interest in NIST’s 

research and services. In addition to news releases, websites and contacts with the media, NIST 

publishes Tech Beat, a biweekly plain language newsletter of recent research results.

(See: http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/tech-beat/index.cfm) 

Participation in Documentary Standards Committees

Documentary standards codify, among other things, measurement methods, standard practices,

and product specifications. Econometric studies have concluded that standards contribute 

significantly to economic growth. The econometric work reviewed and evaluated by Swann 

(2010) 1arrives at several conclusions. Among these conclusions: development of standards are 

integral to innovation; documentary standards contribute to economic growth at least as much as 

do patents; and the macroeconomic benefits of the development of standards extend beyond the 

benefits to the companies that use the standards. 

NIST’s participation in the development of consensus documentary standards is one of the 

mechanisms used to transfer NIST measurement-science research and other technologies to 

market use. NIST participation in standards committees enables its scientists and engineers to 

bring NIST technology and know-how directly to standards-setting bodies. NIST participation 

also helps NIST respond programmatically to needs of the private sector. NIST reports its 

activities in standards development to the Office of Management and Budget and to Congress, as 

required by the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-113). 

(See: http://gsi.nist.gov/global/index.cfm/L1-1)

Standard Reference Materials

Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) are a definitive source of measurement traceability in the 

United States. Measurements made using SRMs can be traced to a common and recognized set 

of basic standards that provide the basis for measurement compatibility among different

laboratories. The certified property values for SRMs often depend on the development of unique 

measurement capabilities within NIST. SRMs have been specified in many documentary 

standards and many are distributed by other reference material organizations, e.g., the LGC in 

the United Kingdom. (See: http://www.nist.gov/srm/index.cfm)

Standard Reference Data

The NIST Standard Reference Data (SRD) program provides critically evaluated numeric data to 

scientists and engineers for use in technical problem-solving, research and development. Many 

types of reference data are critically important in the engineering of structures, optimizing

 

1

Peter Swann, G.M., Report for the UK Department of Business, Innovation, and Skills (BIS), 

2010 http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/innovation/docs/e/10-1135-economics-ofstandardization-update.pdf
8

chemical processes, and other industrial applications. Standard Reference Data are extracted 

from the scientific and technical literature, or developed from measurements made at NIST 

laboratories, and are critically evaluated for accuracy and reliability. NIST’s SRD databases 

cover many areas of science, including analytical chemistry, atomic and molecular physics, 

biotechnology, and materials sciences. (See http://www.nist.gov/srd/index.cfm)

Calibration and Accreditation Services

The NIST laboratories provide physical measurement services for their customers, including 

calibration services, special tests, and measurement assurance programs. NIST’s calibration 

services are designed to help manufacturers and users of precision instruments achieve the 

highest possible levels of measurement quality and productivity. NIST calibrations often 

provide the basis for companies that provide calibration services and calibration equipment. 

(See: http://www.nist.gov/calibrations/index.cfm)

The National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) is a voluntary and feesupported program to accredit laboratories that are found competent to perform specific tests or 

calibrations, or types of tests or calibrations. Through laboratory accreditation, NIST efficiently 

leverages its primary calibration services to support a broader base of secondary calibrations 

conducted within the private sector. (See: http://www.nist.gov/pml/nvlap/index.cfm)

Software Tools

NIST provides a wide variety of application software programs and testing tools to U.S. industry, 

academia and other interested users. NIST develops standards, conformance tests, tools, and 

methods to evaluate the quality of software and to assess the software’s conformity to standards. 

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)

NIST’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program provides funding to small high 

technology U.S. firms. The program offers qualified small businesses the opportunity to propose 

innovative ideas that meet specific NIST research and development needs, and have the potential 

for commercialization. (See: http://www.nist.gov/tpo/sbir/index.cfm)

Guest Researchers

Technology transfer involves not only inventions, innovations, data, patents and licenses, but 

also “people.” Each year thousands of researchers visit NIST to participate in collaborative 

projects. (See: http://www.nist.gov/tpo/collaborations/guestresearchers.cfm). While inventions 

with commercial potential are an important element of technology transfer, hosting innovative

guest scientists at NIST is of equal importance in accomplishing NIST’s technology transfer 

mission. NIST hosts many term-appointment researchers and non-NIST employees working as 

guest researchers, collaborators, student fellows, and post-doctoral fellows. After their tenures at 

NIST, many seek career opportunities in academia, the private sector, or the Federal government. 

While some guest researchers’ work at NIST may result in inventions, all of them will leave 

NIST with technical and research skills that place them on the cutting edge of their disciplines. 

NIST’s guest researchers bring to their careers, and to their employers, new skills, knowledge 

and a desire to employ them in innovative ways. Moreover, these “NIST alumni” bring to their 

employers knowledge of how to collaborate with Federal laboratories, and knowledge of Federal 

resources that are available to assist companies as they create and develop new and improved 
9

technologies. This focus on NIST alumni reflects NIST’s view that technology transfer involves 

people transferring knowledge as well as “innovative things.”

NIST has been recognized2as a vital contributor to encouraging and supporting the nation’s

efforts in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. As part of its 

mission, and to help create a long-term and well-qualified workforce for standards and 

measurement research, NIST has several education outreach programs and partnerships that 

enrich basic research programs, such as:

 the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program (See:

http://www.nist.gov/surfgaithersburg/index.cfm);

 the Summer High School Internship (SHIP) program (See: 

http://www.nist.gov/hrmd/staffing/ship.cfm); and 

 the NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers (See: 

http://www.nist.gov/iaao/teachlearn/index.cfm). 

 the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) (See: 

http://www.boulder.nist.gov/bdprepo.htm).

NIST has also begun a program to provide students and post-doctoral fellows with information 

on the use of science in industry, including co-sponsoring a career fair with other agencies and 

Rockville Economic Development, Inc. 

In addition, NIST jointly operates the following research organizations, established to promote 

cross-disciplinary collaborations (see: http://www.nist.gov/locations.cfm):

 JILA3, Boulder, CO, a world-class physics research institute jointly operated by NIST 

and the University of Colorado at Boulder 

 Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, Rockville, MD, an interdisciplinary 

partnership in cutting-edge biotechnology between NIST and the University of Maryland 

 Joint Quantum Institute, College Park, MD, a new institute for advancing quantum 

physics research that is jointly operated with the University of Maryland

 Hollings Marine Laboratory, Charleston, SC, a national center for coastal ocean science, 

in which NIST is one of five Federal, state, and university partners

Conferences, Workshops, and Inquiries

Some of the most important mechanisms for technology dissemination are communication, 

education, and interaction among researchers, developers and users of technology. NIST hosts

numerous conferences, workshops, and other meetings each year to facilitate the transfer of 

technology. Further, NIST staff answer e-mail, telephone, and mail inquiries from the public, 

including inquiries from researchers requesting information and details about NIST technical 

developments and research results. 

 

2 The Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) gave its 2011 award for excellence in the support of STEM education 

to six NIST employees. 

3 When first established by NIST and the University of Colorado-Boulder, JILA stood for “Joint Institute for 

Laboratory Astrophysics.” At present, according to common usage, JILA stands for “JILA,” a joint NIST-UC 

research institute, reflecting the greatly broadened scope of this very successful collaboration.
10

Training

Over the past five years, approximately 6,000 students have participated in NIST Seminars.

During FY 2011, about 1,200 students participated in over 60 NIST measurement and 

documentary standards seminars. These seminars were taught by: scientists from other National 

Metrology Institutes in the Americas; officials from U.S. federal agencies; weights and measures 

officials from state governments; laboratory staff from U.S. industry calibration laboratories; and 

middle-school science teachers. In addition to laboratory and classroom courses, NIST offers

special webinars to participating students.

Additional Details in FY 2011

Pursuant to the reporting requirements of the Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 

2000 and other relevant legislation, NIST provides on the following pages numerical data on its

transfer of knowledge and technology to the private sector. The data provide numerical details 

on collaborative relationships for research and development (CRADAs and other kinds of 

relationships), invention disclosures, patenting, and licensing. The data also include other 

technology transfer mechanisms utilized by the NIST laboratories, e.g., Standard Reference 

Materials, Standard Reference Data, technical publications produced, calibration tests, and guest 

researcher collaborations. 

NIST regularly assesses the downstream impact of its research projects and technologies. NIST 

utilizes a diverse, yet complementary, set of performance indicators and measures to evaluate its 

programmatic performance over time. NIST’s performance evaluation system accommodates

the Institute’s diverse products, and addresses the intrinsic difficulty of measuring the results of 

Federal investments in scientific and technological products and services. NIST evaluates its 

performance and plans its work through: economic impact studies; peer review and other forms 

of external assessment; customer feedback; and quantitative output metrics. From 2000 to 2009, 

14 economic impact studies were conducted on NIST research programs. These studies show 

that the ratio of overall return on investment is 36:1.

4 Additional details on NIST economic 

performance measures are available online at 

http://www.nist.gov/director/planning/impact_assessment.htm. NIST also reports its 

performance through the Department’s annual performance plan submitted under the

Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (Pub. L. 103-62), as amended, and through 

NIST Financial Statements. 

 

4 Various internal NIST studies overseen by Dr. Gregory Tassey, Senior NIST Economist.
11

Collaborative Relationships for Research and Development

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● CRADAs*, total active in the fiscal year (1) 2,488 2,345 2,349 1,465 1,475

 - New, executed in the fiscal year 1,585 1,577 1,492 1,390 1,402

 ▪ Traditional CRADAs, (2) total active in 

the fiscal year

140 121 65566 1036

 - New, executed in the FY 20 12 19 16 516

 ▪ Non-traditional CRADAs, (3) total active 

in the fiscal year

2,348 2,224 2,284 1,399 1,372

 - New, executed in the fiscal year 1,565 1,565 1,473 1,374 1,351

● Other types of collaborative R&D 

relationships

 ▪ Guest scientists and engineers during the 

fiscal year (4)

2,672 2,816 2,828 2,897 2,899

*CRADA = Cooperative Research and Development Agreement.

(1) “Active” means agreements in force at any time during the fiscal year. “Total active” is comprehensive of all agreements 

executed under CRADA authority (15 U.S.C. 3710a).

(2) CRADAs involving collaborative research and development by a Federal laboratory and non-Federal partners. 

(3) CRADAs used for special purposes, such as laboratory accreditation, materials transfer or technical assistance that may result 

in protected information.

(4) “Guest scientists and engineers” includes foreign and domestic guest researchers and researchers working at NIST under 

Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) agreements, CRADAs, and Facility Use Agreements.

(5) The decrease in CRADAs is attributable to the successful conclusion of multi-CRADA Consortiums. 

(6) The increase in CRADAs is attributable to new multi-CRADA consortiums. 

Licensing Details

Multiple inventions included in a single license are counted as one license. Licenses that include 

both patents and copyrights (hybrid licenses) are reported as patent licenses and are not counted

as copyright licenses.
12

Profile of Active Licenses

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● All licenses, number total active in the 

fiscal year (1)

30 23 33 35 26

 ▫ New, executed in the fiscal year 5 2 11 5 4

 ▪ Invention licenses, total active in the 

fiscal year

30 23 33 35 26

 ▫ New, executed in the fiscal year 5 2 11 5 4

 - Patent licenses, (2) total active in the 

fiscal year

30 23 33 35 26

 ▫ New, executed in the fiscal year 5 2 11 5 4

 - Material transfer licenses 

(inventions), total active

0 0 0 0 0

 ▫ New, executed in the fiscal year 0 0 0 0 0

 - Other invention licenses, total active 

in the fiscal year

0 0 0 0 0

 ▫ New, executed in the fiscal year 0 0 0 0 0

 ▪ Other IP licenses, total active in the 

fiscal year

0 0 0 0 0

 ▫ New, executed in the fiscal year 0 0 0 0 0

 - Copyright licenses (fee-bearing) 0 0 0 0 0

 ▫ New, executed in the fiscal year 0 0 0 0 0

 - Material transfer licenses (noninventions), total active0 0 0 0 0

 ▫ New, executed in the fiscal year 0 0 0 0 0

(1) “Active” means in force at any time during the fiscal year. 

(2) Includes pending patent applications.

Licensing Management 

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● License negotiation time,(1) licenses 

granted in the fiscal year

 ▪ Invention licenses (Patent licenses) (2)

 ▫ Average, months

 ▫ Minimum

 ▫ Maximum

2.0

1.0

3.0

10.5(3) 

3.0(3)

2.0

4.8

3.0

7.0

3.0

2.0

4.0

1.9

1.0

4.5

● Licenses terminated for cause, number in 

the fiscal year

 ▪ Invention licenses (Patent licenses) (2) 0 0 0 0 0

(1) Date of license application to date of license execution. (Date of license application is the date the laboratory 

formally acknowledges the written request for a license from a prospective licensee and agrees to enter into 

negotiations.)

(2) Patent licenses include licenses of pending patent applications.

(3) These numbers reflect an increase in income-bearing licenses, which take longer to negotiate than royalty-free 

research licenses.
13

Income from licensing comes from a variety of sources: license issue fees; earned royalties;

minimum annual royalties; paid-up license fees; reimbursement for full-cost recovery of goods;

and services provided by the laboratory to the licensee (including patent costs).

Characteristics of Licenses Bearing Income

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● All income-bearing licenses,

(1) total 

number 21 21 22 22 21

 ▫ Exclusive

 ▫ Partially exclusive

 ▫ Non-exclusive

16

0

5

14

0

7

15

0

7

15

0

7

14

0

7

 ▪ Invention licenses (Patent licenses),(1) (2) 

 total distributed, income-bearing 21 21 22 22 21

 ▫ Exclusive

 ▫ Partially exclusive

 ▫ Non-exclusive

16

0

5

14

0

7

15

0

7

15

0

7

14

0

7

 ▪ Other IP licenses, income-bearing 0 0 0 0 0

● All royalty-bearing licenses, (3) total 

number 21 21 22 22 21

 ▪ Invention licenses, royalty-bearing 21 21 22 22 21

 - Patent licenses,(2) royalty-bearing 21 21 22 22 21

 ▪ Other IP licenses, royalty-bearing 0 0 0 0 0

(1) Detailed statistics are required under the Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106- 

404) [15 U.S.C. Section 3710(f)].

(2) Patent licenses include licenses of pending patent applications.

(3) Royalties are only one component of total license income.
14

Income from Licenses 

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● Total income, all licenses active in FY (1) $195,347 $223,640 $197,445 $202,216 $169,347

 ▪ Invention licenses (patent licenses)(2) $195,347 $223,640 $197,445 $202,216 $169,347

 ▪ Other IP licenses, total active in the FY

fiscal year

0 0 0 0 0

● Total Earned Royalty Income (ERI) (3)(4)$195,347 $223,640 $197,445 $202,216 $169,347

 ▫ Median ERI $15,000 $20,000 $15,625 $3,438 $1,844

 ▫ Minimum ERI $1,280 $640 $320 $1,245 $1,500

 ▫ Maximum ERI $169,067 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000

 ▫ ERI from top 1% of licenses dw dw dw dw Dw

 ▫ ERI from top 5% of licenses dw dw dw dw Dw

 ▫ ERI from top 20% of licenses dw dw dw dw Dw

 ▪ Invention licenses (Patent licenses)(2) )(4) $195,347 $223,640 $197,445 $202,216 $169,347

 ▫ Median ERI $15,000 $20,000 $15,625 $3,438 $1,844

 ▫ Minimum ERI $1,280 $640 $320 $1,245 $1,500

 ▫ Maximum ERI $169,067 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000

 ▫ ERI from top 1% of licenses dw dw dw dw dw

 ▫ ERI from top 5% of licenses dw dw dw dw dw

 ▫ ERI from top 20% of licenses dw dw dw dw dw

 ▪ Other IP licenses, total active in the FY

FFFYfiscal year 

$0 $0 $0 $0 $0

“n/a” means that the data are not available from the agency at time of this report.

“dw” means data withheld to protect proprietary information.

(1) Total income includes license issue fees, earned royalties, minimum annual royalties, paid-up license fees, 

reimbursement for full-cost recovery of goods and services provided by the laboratory to the licensee including 

patent costs and Standard Reference Data.

(2) Patent license tally includes licenses to pending patent applications.

(3) “Earned royalty” is a royalty based on use of a licensed invention (usually, a percentage of sales or of units 

sold). Not a license issue fee or a minimum royalty payment.

(4) Detailed statistics are required under the Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-

404) [15 U.S.C. Section 3710 (f)].

Disposition of Invention License Income

FY 

2007

FY 

2008

FY 

2009

FY 

2010

FY 

2011

● Income distributed (1)

 ▪ Invention licenses, (Patent licenses),(2) 

 total distributed

$195,347 $223,640 $197,445 $202,216 $169,347

 - To inventor(s) (3) $65,100

(33%)

$75,140

(34%)

$66,757

(34%)

$72,157

(36%)

$56,698

(33%)

 - To NIST (3) $130,247

(67%)

$148,500

(66%)

$130,688

(66%)

$130,058

(64%)

$112,649 (4)

(67%)

(1) Income includes royalties and other payments received during the fiscal year.

(2) Patent licenses include licenses on pending patent applications.

(3) Percentages indicate amounts of total licensing income to inventors and to NIST.

(4) This number reflects the distribution of $1,500 of license income to National Institutes of Health.
15

Other Performance Measures Deemed Important by the Agency

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) 

available (1) 1,285 1,282 1,283 1,283 1,177

Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) units 

sold (2) 32,614 33,373 29,769 31,667 32,864

Standard Reference Data (SRD) titles 

available (3) 109 102 120 120 120

Number of calibration tests performed (4) 27,489 25,944 18, 609 17,697 18,195

Technical publications in peer-reviewed 

journals(5) 1,272 1,271 1,463 1,243 1,210

(1) Direct and verifiable count of SRMs available to customers at the close of the fiscal year. The number 

of SRMs available for sale illustrates the breadth of measurements supported by NIST. Over time, NIST 

expects slight growth in the number of SRMs available.

(2) Direct and verifiable count of NIST SRM units sold during the fiscal year. In recent years, NIST had 

been expecting a continuing slight decline in the number of SRM units sold.

(3) Direct and verifiable count of SRD products developed and disseminated by NIST. Of the titles 

currently available, about 40% are available for sale, and 60% are free online systems. Over time, a larger 

percentage of SRDs will be distributed via the Internet. 

(4) Calibration tests performed by the NIST laboratories. 

(5) Annual number of NIST’s technical publications appearing in scientific peer-reviewed journals. 

Downstream Outcomes from NIST Technology Transfer Activities

NIST Reference Data for Machining Helps Industry to Improve Models and Simulations

NIST's unique experimental setup for analyzing fundamental process characteristics for 

machining of metals is used to generate a wealth of data that are used by companies in the 

manufacturing industry, such as GE Aerospace, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney/United Technologies, 

and Kennametal, through their use of commercially available modeling software developed by 

Third Wave Systems (TWS). 

NIST's setup includes state-of-the-art dual spectrum (visible and infrared), high-speed camera 

enabling simultaneous visible and IR images to measure temperature distribution, strain, and 

strain rates at the material-cutting tool interface to validate and improve machining simulation 

models.
16

Commercialization of NIST Atomic Clock Technology

The NIST Time and Frequency Division has become a world leader in research, metrology, and 

development of chip-scale atomic clocks (CSAC) and similar chip-scale atomic devices, 

including magnetometers and gyroscopes. The program began with in-house development of a 

miniature all-optical atomic clock, which led to subsequent support from DARPA for 

development of microminiature versions. Today, NIST assists in the commercialization of the 

technology. Symmetricom, Inc., has begun commercial deliveries of CSACs, a technology 

invented and nurtured within the Time and Frequency Division. In addition to Symmetricom, 

Honeywell and Teledyne have development programs for captive applications.

CSACs will enable portable, low-power electronic devices to have unprecedented performance 

and innovative new functionality. Symmetricom CSACs are manufactured in Beverly, Mass.

The product unveiled by Symmetricom weighs less than 35 grams (about 1.25 ounces) and 

operates on only 115 milliwatts of 3.3 VDC power. It serves as a precise and stable oscillator 

that is more than two orders of magnitude better than quartz-oscillator technology.

With this improved performance, GPS receivers can determine their position more quickly and 

operate more reliably under impaired conditions. Systems that depend on GPS, such as cellular 

telephone networks, can hold synchronization longer during GPS signal interruptions. And 

where GPS is not available at all, underwater, early adopters of CSACs include makers of 

underwater seismic sensors—hydrophones or geophones using time difference-of-arrival 

techniques.

In military applications, CSACs will be used in backpack-mounted radios and IED jammers 

needed in settings with few roads, such as Afghanistan, where 70 percent of patrols move on 

foot. These applications require precise synchronization so that soldiers do not jam their own 

communications and navigation systems, while blocking detonation signals. The CSACs’ low 

power consumption and increased stability significantly reduce the weight of the batteries that 

the soldiers must carry, and allow longer mission durations.

Making Connections for Microfluidic Technology

Researchers and industry practitioners of microfluidic technologies—a cutting-edge approach 

used, for example, to develop advanced medical assays or to examine the behavior of complex 

fluids—face a universal plumbing problem. Fabricating the tiny channels, chambers and valves 

inherent to microfluidic “lab-on-a-chip” devices is now routine, but the means of connecting 

these devices to the pumps and analytical equipment needed to support them involves a 

haphazard collection of gluing, clamping and awkward screw ports. To address this problem, in 

2009 NIST researchers developed and patented an elegant system of magnetic connectors that 

enable supporting tube lines to be attached to the input and output ports of microfluidics devices 

in a convenient, rapid and reliable way. Whereas gluing connections can take hours, the 

magnetic connectors hook up in seconds, and over the range of pressures used in microfluidics

do not leak.

In 2010, SFC Fluidics LLC (www.sfc-fluidics.com), a small business headquartered in Arkansas, 

licensed the NIST magnetic connector technology. Over the last year, SFC Fluidics has 

successfully established and marketed an entire product line of QuickConnectTM devices that 
17

leverage nearly every innovation described in the NIST patent application. QuickConnectTM 

products can rapidly attach single lines, and tube manifolds to microfluidic devices, and they can 

be switched to other devices in seconds. In addition, one type of connector can act as valves to 

control flow to devices. Overall, the QuickConnectTM products will help researchers more 

efficiently prototype and test lab-on-a-chip platforms, and potentially accelerate the development 

of technologies such as point-of-care medical devices. 

NIST, ASTM Land a One-Two Punch to Fight Explosives Terrorism

SRMs are among the most widely distributed and used NIST products. The agency prepares, 

analyzes and distributes more than 1,000 different carefully characterized materials that are used 

throughout the world to check the accuracy of instruments and test procedures used in 

manufacturing, clinical chemistry, environmental monitoring, electronics, criminal forensics and 

dozens of other fields.

Trace-explosives detectors (TEDs) are an increasingly common sight at airports and on loading 

docks, and emergency response personnel carry them to evaluate suspicious packages. A new 

test material developed by NIST in cooperation with ASTM International enables users of these 

products to evaluate their performance and reliability.

SRM 2906 Trace Explosives Calibration Solutions fully satisfies the need for independent test 

materials with low uncertainties in concentrations necessary for reliable TED evaluation. SRM 

2906 is consistent with ASTM International’s Standard Practice E2520 Standard Practice for 

Verifying Minimum Acceptable Performance of Trace Explosive Detectors. Equipment vendors 

may use the SRM, in conjunction with the consensus standard, to improve and optimize their 

designs and demonstrate to their customers how well their machines function. Buyers may use 

the SRM to make sound procurement decisions. The combination of a validated standard practice 

and SRM will provide TED users with a reliable means of verifying initial and continuing field 

performance of their equipment, contributing to the fight against explosives terrorism.

Free Online Tool Aids Decisions on Fire Sprinkler Systems for Homes

For the many states, communities, new-home builders and prospective buyers now mulling over 

the pluses and minuses of installing residential fire suppression sprinklers, NIST has developed a 

free online tool to help them sort through the costs and benefits of the technology. NIST's new, 

Web-based "sprinkler use decisioning" tool enables experts and non-experts alike to assess the 

cost-effectiveness of fire sprinklers for their particular jurisdiction, development, or dwelling.

More than 200 communities and a handful of states, including California, Maryland, and South 

Carolina, have adopted the code. So has Pennsylvania. But the Pennsylvania House of 

Representatives recently voted to repeal the mandate, sending the measure on to the State Senate 

for its consideration. Debate and disagreement over proposed sprinkler ordinances have flared in 

other areas as well.

The NIST tool can help to inform these kinds of policy discussions, providing the means for 

"apples to apples" comparisons of different installation scenarios. It is based on the economic 

framework that NIST researchers developed in their 2007 report, Benefit-Cost Analysis of 
18

Residential Fire Sprinkler Systems (NISTIR 7451, David T. Butry, M. Hayden Brown, Sieglinde 

K. Fuller).

Commercial Industrial Training Seminars Incorporate NIST Machining Videos

Industrial training seminars, such as those developed by Peterson Tool Company (PTC) for the 

Precision Machined Products Association (PMPA) National Technical Conference, incorporate 

NIST machining videos. PMPA represents an industrially diverse base of small and medium 

manufacturing companies that produce highly engineered components using advanced 

production technologies. 

In the case of PTC, training seminars relied heavily on videos created at NIST using the NIST 

MAnufacturing Deformation MAcrovideography System (MADMACS). MADMACS uses a 

multi-camera system to teach practitioners about machining process control, chip management, 

tool design, surface quality, and product integrity. The MADMACS videos depict a variety of 

desirable and undesirable cutting process behaviors at an unprecedented combination of high 

magnification, resolution, and frame rate in visible and infrared spectra. 

NIST Engineering Laboratory and Safe and Effective Fire Fighting

NIST-led research into wind driven fire-fighting tactics has provided the fire service with the 

technical information necessary to implement positive pressure ventilation (PPV) tactics in a 

manner to enable safe and effective fire-fighting and provide effective evacuation of building 

occupants. Fire departments across the USA and Canada have incorporated the results into 

operational procedures, leading to a transformational change in fire department tactics.

Positive pressure ventilation uses portable fans to pressurize or blow air into structures. When 

used properly, PPV provides cooler and safer conditions for building occupants to evacuate and 

better conditions for fire fighters to work. While fire departments are equipped with PPV fans, 

they might not understand enough about ventilation, whether naturally occurring or generated by 

PPV fans, to effectively and safely deploy PPV fans. The technical challenge was to develop the 

measurement science necessary to understand positive pressure ventilation and natural wind 

effects on building fires, and then to transfer that information in a manner usable by the Nation’s 

firefighters. 

New Website Offers Easy Access to NIST Disaster and Failure Study Data

For more than 40 years, scientists and engineers at NIST have studied structural failures caused 

by natural disasters, fires and man-made factors, and used the lessons learned to recomend

improvements in building and fire codes, standards and practices. With the launch of the Disaster 

and Failure Events Data Repository, NIST has begun to make this valuable information 

accessible more easily online.

The repository will ensure that data collected during and after a disaster or failure event, as well 

as data generated from related research, are organized and maintained to enable study, analysis 

and comparison with future severe disaster events. It also will serve as a national archival 

database where other organizations can store the research, findings, and outcomes of their 

disaster and failure studies.
19

As the database grows, it will include data on significant hazard events; how buildings and other 

structures performed during those events; associated emergency response and evacuation 

procedures; and the technical, social and economic factors that affect pre-disaster mitigation 

activities and post-disaster response efforts. By making these data available online, NIST hopes 

to support the development of standards and new technologies that will enable more efficient 

collection and dissemination of data on disaster and failure events.

Individual Staff Researcher Awards with Technology Transfer Impact

In 2011, NIST researchers received numerous external awards for their achievements in science 

and technology. One such type of award is the election of NIST researchers as Fellows in 

scientific, engineering, and standards organizations, a distinction reserved for a select few with 

extraordinary records of accomplishments. Some NIST staff elected as Fellows of the American 

Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Physical Society (APS): 

 Joseph Stroscio for “distinguished contributions to the fields of surface and condensed matter 

physics, particularly for the development of scanning tunneling microscopy.” (AAAS 

Fellow)

 Muhammad Arif for “pioneering contributions in neutron interferometry, imaging and 

detection, with applications ranging from precise measurements of neutron scattering lengths 

to the imaging of flows in hydrogen fuel cells.” (APS Fellow)

 Thomas Silva for “fundamental contributions to the experimental studies of the spin-torque 

oscillators, their interactions, and collective states, and for the development of new 

quantitative experimental methods for the investigation of magnetization dynamics in films 

and nanostructures.” (APS Fellow)

 John Kasianowicz for “pioneering contributions to the field of biophysics including 

detection, identification, characterization, and quantification of biological and chemical 

polymers, and for the development of a new method for protein structure determination.”

(APS Fellow)
20

CHAPTER 3

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) mission is: to understand and 

predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts; to share that knowledge and information 

with others; and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. This 

mission will become ever more critical in the 21st century as national issues related to climate 

change, limited freshwater supply, ecosystem management, and homeland security intensify. 

NOAA is one of the Nation’s premier scientific agencies. NOAA science and technology impact 

the daily lives of the Nation’s citizens, and have a significant impact on the national economy. 

About one-third of the U.S. economy is weather-sensitive. Industries related to agriculture, 

energy, construction, health, travel, and transportation are almost entirely weather-dependent. 

Weather data and forecasts play a critical role in these major economic sectors. Weather-related 

information is transferred to industry and the public via the media, internet, and NOAA Weather 

Radio. Federal, state, and local governments and the public use weather warnings to save lives 

and prevent destruction of property. Television stations, and many weather-related firms, use 

weather data and forecasts in their daily operations. Industry uses NOAA data in home 

construction and design, crop selection, disease control, and fuel delivery and supply. Weather 

data have been used for deciding such diverse applications as automobile fuel delivery system 

design, the best time to market umbrellas, and even for determining optimum conditions for 

breeding honeybees. Accurate and longer range weather forecasts depend on an ongoing 

program of research and development.

Research by NOAA’s laboratories is primarily aimed at assisting NOAA’s operational 

components. Recent examples demonstrating the direction of NOAA’s research are weather 

forecasting, solar emission forecasting, estimating fish stocks, predicting water resources, 

tsunami warning, and charting ocean bottom topography. Research results are transferred to 

NOAA’s operational components to improve prediction, management, and other mission 

activities.

NOAA provides details of its research and technology to the public in the form of information 

products and services. These include weather and climate forecast data, El Niño prediction and 

monitoring, tides and currents, satellite imagery, fishery statistics, information on protected 

species, air quality, coastal conditions, beach temperatures, nautical charts, and databases on 

climate, oceans, ice, atmosphere, geophysics and the sun. 

NOAA's primary technology transfer mechanism has historically been the open dissemination of 

scientific and technical information to individuals, industry, government, and universities. This 

means of transfer is consistent with the agency’s mission and scientific tradition. Although 

NOAA finds this method of technology transfer to be more efficient and economical, NOAA 

continues to transfer certain intellectual property through licenses and Cooperative Research and 

Development Agreements (CRADAs) when it provides a competitive edge to U.S. companies.
21

In FY 2011, NOAA’s technology transfer program disseminated applications resulting from its 

meteorological and oceanographic technologies to individuals, industry, government, and 

universities. In addition, NOAA provided daily weather forecasts and warnings through the 

media and NOAA Weather Radio. NOAA also transferred its technology through presentations 

at scientific meetings, publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and through NOAA 

scientific and technical publications. 

NOAA collaborates with other Federal research agencies on topics of joint interest in science and 

technology development. For example, NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

teamed up to provide new experimental air quality forecast guidance that enables state and local 

agencies to issue more accurate and geographically specific air quality warnings to the public. 

The annual cost of poor air quality to the U.S. from air pollution-related illnesses has been 

estimated at $150 billion. 

To ensure that the United States benefits from and fully exploits scientific research and 

technology developed abroad, NOAA collaborates and shares information with organizations in 

countries throughout the world. Through these international relationships, NOAA receives 

technology that may eventually benefit U.S. industries and public users. For example, the 

understanding and forecasting of global phenomena that occur in the atmosphere, oceans, and on 

the sun require worldwide collaboration and information sharing. This is accomplished through 

formal agreements with individual countries and participation in international organizations, 

such as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic 

Commission (IOC), and the International Astronomical Union (IAU). NOAA participates in 

international scientific programs, such as in the Global Earth Observation System, and shares 

technology and scientific data. This effort involves 88 countries, the European Commission, and 

64 international organizations. NOAA also provides technical assistance and training to 

individuals from other countries, and participates in an international visiting scientist program. 

Further, NOAA shares environmental data through its participation in the World Data Center 

program.

In the future, NOAA will continue to direct its technology transfer and international 

collaboration activities toward four mission goals: 

1. Climate Adaptation and Mitigation: An informed society anticipating and responding 

to climate and its impacts; 

2. Weather-Ready Nation: Society is prepared for and responds to weather-related events; 

3. Healthy Oceans: Marine fisheries, habitats, and biodiversity are sustained within healthy 

and productive ecosystems; and 

4. Resilient Coastal Communities and Economies: Coastal and Great Lakes communities 

are environmentally and economically sustainable. 
22

Additional Details in FY 2011

Collaborative Relationships for Research & Development

FY 

2007

FY 

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● CRADAs*, total active in the fiscal year (1) 5 4 5 6 7

 - New, executed in the fiscal year 0 1 2

(4) 2 2

 ▪ Traditional CRADAs,(2) total active in the fiscal 

year

5 4 5 6 7

 - New, executed in the fiscal year 0 1 2

(4) 2 2

 ▪ Non-traditional CRADAs,(3) total active in the 

fiscal year

0 0 0 0 0

 - New, executed in the fiscal year 

 

0 0 0 0 0

● Other types of collaborative R&D relationships 0 0 0 0 0

CRADA = Cooperative Research and Development Agreement.

(1) “Active” = legally in force at any time during the fiscal year. “Total active” is comprehensive of all agreements 

executed under CRADA authority (15 USC 3710a).

(2) CRADAs involving collaborative research and development by a Federal laboratory and non-Federal partners.

(3) CRADAs used for special purposes, such as material transfer or technical assistance that may result in protected 

information.

(4) FY 2009: Correction made to “newly executed” CRADAs; there were two not one as previously reported. 

Licensing Details

Profile of Active Licenses

FY

2007

FY 

2008

FY 

2009

FY 

2010

FY 

2011

● All licenses, number total active in the FY (1) 6 6 7 6 6

 ▫ New, executed in the FY 3 0 1* 0 0

 ▪ Invention licenses, total active in the FY 6 6 7 6 6

 ▫ New, executed in the FY 3 0 0 0 0

 - Patent licenses,(2) total active in FY 6 6 7 6 6

 ▫ New, executed in the FY 3 0 0 0 0

 - Material transfer licenses (inventions), total 

active

0 0 0 0 0

 ▫ New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0 0

 - Other invention licenses, total active in the 

FY

0 0 0 0 0

 ▫ New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0 0

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

 ▫ New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0 0

 - Copyright licenses (fee bearing) 0 0 0 0 0

 ▫ New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0 0

 - Material transfer licenses (non-inventions), 

total active

0 0 0 0 0

 ▫ New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0 0

 - Other, total active in the FY 0 0 0 0 0
23

FY

2007

FY 

2008

FY 

2009

FY 

2010

FY 

2011

 ▫ New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0 0

Multiple inventions in a single license are counted as one license. Licenses that include both patents and copyrights

(hybrid licenses) are reported as patent licenses and are not included in the count of copyright licenses.

(1) “Active” = legally in force at any time during the FY. 

(2) Patent license tally includes patent applications which are licensed.

* One-Time License only with one-time flat fee royalty

Licensing Management 

FY 

2007

FY 

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● Elapsed execution time,

(1) licenses granted in the 

FY

 ▪ Invention licenses

 ▫ Average, months

 ▫ Minimum

 ▫ Maximum

5.0

6.0

7.0

* 7.0 7.0 7.0

 - Patent licenses (2)

 ▫ Average, months

 ▫ Minimum

 ▫ Maximum

5.0

6.0

7.0

* 7.0 7.0 7.0

● Licenses terminated for cause, number in the 

FY

 ▪ Invention licenses 0 0 0 0 0

 - Patent licenses (2) 0 0 0 0 0

Data included in this table (intentionally) addresses only invention licenses, with patent licenses distinguished as a 

sub-class.

* No new licenses were executed in FY 2008.

(1) Date of license application to the date of license execution. (Date of license application is the date the lab 

formally acknowledges the written request for a license from a prospective licensee and agrees to enter into 

negotiations.)

(2) Patent license tally includes patent applications which are licensed.
24

Characteristics of Licenses Bearing Income

FY

2007

FY 

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY 

2011

● All income-bearing licenses, total number 4 4 5 4 3

 ▫ Exclusive

 ▫ Partially exclusive

 ▫ Non-exclusive

0

0

4

0

0

4

0

0

5

0

0

4

0

0

3

 ▪ Invention licenses, income-bearing 4 4 5 4 3

 ▫ Exclusive

 ▫ Partially exclusive

 ▫ Non-exclusive

0

0

4

0

0

4

0

0

5

0

0

4

0

0

3

 - Patent licenses,(1) income-bearing 4 4 5 4 3

 ▫ Exclusive

 ▫ Partially exclusive

 ▫ Non-exclusive

0

0

4

0

0

4

0

0

5 

0

0

4

0

0

3

 ▪ Other IP licenses, income-bearing 0 0 0 0 0

 ▫ Exclusive

 ▫ Partially exclusive

 ▫ Non-exclusive

 - Copyright licenses (fee-bearing)

 ▫ Exclusive

 ▫ Partially exclusive

 ▫ Non-exclusive

● All royalty-bearing licenses,

(2) total number 4 4 5 4 3

 ▪ Invention licenses, royalty-bearing 4 4 5 4 3

 - Patent licenses,(1) royalty-bearing 4 4 5 4 3

 ▪ Other IP licenses, royalty-bearing 0 0 0 0 0

 - Copyright licenses (fee-bearing) 4 4 5 4 3

In general, license income can result from various sources: license issue fees, earned royalties, minimum annual 

royalties, paid-up license fees, and reimbursement for full-cost recovery of goods and services provided by the lab to 

the licensee including patent costs.

(1) Patent license tally includes patent applications which are licensed.

(2) Note that royalties are one component of total license income.
25

Income from Licenses

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● Total income, all licenses active in the FY (1) $22,000 $69,007 $138,444(4) $35,044 $107,220

 ▪ Invention licenses $22,000 $69,007 $138,444 $35,044 $107,220

 - Patent licenses (2) $22,000 $69,007 $138,444 $35,044 $107,220

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

 - Copyright licenses

● Total Earned Royalty Income (ERI) (3) $22,000 $69,007 $138,444 $35,044 $107,220

 ▫ Median ERI $4,000 $9,007 $19,000 $5,000 $34,000

 ▫ Minimum ERI $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000

 ▫ Maximum ERI $9,000 $25,000 $75,000 $17,044 $69,000

 ▫ ERI from top 1% of licenses $9,000 $25,000 $75,000 $17,044 $69,000

 ▫ ERI from top 5% of licenses $9,000 $25,000 $75,000 $17,044 $69,000

 ▫ ERI from top 20% of licenses $9,000 $25,000 $75,000 $17,044 $69,000

 ▪ Invention licenses $22,000 $69,007 $138,444 $35,044 $107,220

 ▫ Median ERI $4,000 $9,007 $19,000 $5,000 $34,000

 ▫ Minimum ERI $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000

 ▫ Maximum ERI $9,000 $25,000 $75,000 $17,044 $69,000

 ▫ ERI from top 1% of licenses $9,000 $25,000 $75,000 $17,044 $69,000

 ▫ ERI from top 5% of licenses $9,000 $25,000 $75,000 $17,044 $69,000

 ▫ ERI from top 20% of licenses $9,000 $25,000 $75,000 $17,044 $69,000

 - Patent licenses (2) $22,000 $69,007 $138,444 $35,044 $107,220

 ▫ Median ERI $4,000 $9,007 $19,000 $5,000 $34,000

 ▫ Minimum ERI $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000

 ▫ Maximum ERI $9,000 $25,000 $75,000 $17,044 $69,000

 ▫ ERI from top 1% of licenses $9,000 $25,000 $75,000 $17,044 $69,000

 ▫ ERI from top 5% of licenses $9,000 $25,000 $75,000 $17,044 $69,000

 ▫ ERI from top 20% of licenses $9,000 $25,000 $75,000 $17,044 $69,000

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

(1) Total income includes license issue fees, earned royalties, minimum annual royalties, paid-up license fees, and

reimbursement for full-cost recovery of goods & services provided by the lab to the licensee including patent 

costs.

(2) Patent license tally includes patent applications which are licensed.

(3) “Earned royalty” = royalty based upon use of a licensed invention (usually, a percentage of sales or of units 

sold). Not a license issue fee or a minimum royalty. 

(4) Increase is due to a license with Walt Disney for NOAA's Science on a Sphere for a one-time royalty of 

$75,000.
26

Disposition of License Income

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● Income distributed (1)

 ▪ Invention licenses, total distributed $22,000 $69,007 $138,444 $35,044 $107,220

 - To inventor(s) $12,200

(55%)

$22,802

(32%)

$45,153

(33%)

$14,514

(41%)

$34,266

(32%)

 - To other $9,800

(45%)

$46,205

(68%)

$93,291

(67%)

$20,530

(59%)

$72,954

(68%)

 - Patent licenses, (2) total distributed $22,000 $69,007 $138,444 $35,044 $107,220

 - To inventor(s) $12,200

(55%)

$22,802

(32%)

$45,153

(33%)

$14,514

(41%)

$34,266

(32%)

 -To other $9,800

(45%)

$46,205

(68%)

$93,291

(67%)

$20,530

(59%)

$72,954

(68%)

Invention licenses are the chief policy interest regarding disposition of income; content of table reflects this focus.

(1) Income includes royalties and other payments received during the FY.

(2) Patent license tally includes patent applications which are licensed.

Other Performance Measures Deemed Important by the Agency:

FY 

2007*

FY 

2008*

FY

2009*

FY

2010

FY

2011

Journal articles published 909 838 789 709 1,034

Technical reports published 284 258 186 158 150

*Publication counts have been recently updated by the NOAA Laboratories for FY 2007, FY 2008 and FY 2009.

GREAT LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL 

RESEARCH LABORATORY

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

Website hits (HTML pages) 2,244,420 3,086,605 2,790,351 2,941,319 3,598,240

Website downloads (PDF pages)—

brochures, research papers, technical 

memos, etc.

65,740 110,880 93,400 95,137 107,078
27

Downstream Outcomes from NOAA Technology Transfer Activities

Hail and Severe Storm Risk Management Initiative (NSSL)

Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) and the National Severe Storm Laboratory 

(NSSL) are collaborating on research and development of operational weather risk management 

solutions for insurance and other industries impacted by severe storms. Storm-related damage is 

a growing problem for insurance carriers and their customers. AER uses targeted scientific 

analysis and builds applications for business to pinpoint the location and severity of weather 

events like straight-line winds, hail, rain and tornadoes. 

The alliance combines NSSL’s resources in weather radar data processing with AER’s expertise 

in providing data-driven solutions that improve industry practice. As part of a Cooperative 

Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), NSSL provided AER access to highresolution radar data across the continental United States so AER could develop value-added 

products and test the products in the insurance industry. AER in turn provided insurance industry 

feedback and quality control assessments to NSSL for inclusion back into their radar algorithms.

AER also announced the AER RespondTM hail analysis service, which leveraged NSSL data to 

enable insurance carriers to reduce loss adjustment expense and cycle times by integrating 

property-specific analytics into the hail claims workflow. The expanded real-time hail and rain 

capabilities complement AER’s existing services related to hurricanes, wildfires and other 

natural hazards.

“NSSL is world renowned for their knowledge and leadership in storm observation and 

prediction,” said Paul Walsh, AER senior vice president. “Pairing this data with the insurance 

expertise and analytic capabilities within our enterprise enables AER to provide a gamechanging weather risk management capability for the insurance industry. An example is AER 

Respond, which catastrophe teams can use to reduce expense and claims cycle times, determine 

resource demand and logistics, and validate the date of loss of each weather-related claim.”

Cooperative Partnerships for an Improved Great Lakes Observing System (GLERL)

NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) takes an open design 

approach to developing new observing system technology. Scientists and engineers publish 

designs in peer-reviewed literature and on the Internet, allowing private companies and other 

agencies to benefit equally from advances. Sometimes they choose to work with GLERL 

directly, providing mutual benefit. Cooperative partnerships have developed with Nortek, 

Fondriest Environmental, and SeaLandAire that have helped advance real-time observation 

technology in the Great Lakes region and at GLERL. Examples of cooperative technologies and 

applications include: 

 Real-time ice observation technology

 Buoy hull designs

 Fixed platform, buoy-based, and autonomous vehicle sensor arrays

 Single and two-point mooring systems

 Bottom platforms

 Near-shore wave measurement systems
28

 Battery and solar power systems

 Data logging technologies

 New communications technologies.

These projects benefit the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS), a Regional Association of the 

Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

modeling research, researchers from other institutions, the Coast Guard, commercial shippers, 

fishermen, and the public.

Expanded Use of Biofuels in Federal Marine Vessels: Technology Transfer to U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers and Others (GLERL)

NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) worked with technology 

they had developed to convert hundreds of Federal vessels to the use of Bio-products for fuels 

and lubricants, eliminating their dependency on oil based products. GLERL has had significant 

success transferring this technology to other vessels and organizations. The latest result of this 

effort was a feasibility study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The study used 

GLERL’s methodology to convert four working USACE vessels (36 to 97 feet long) in different 

locations (CA, MO, OH, and DC) to biodiesel (B100) fuel, and to monitor respective operational 

and environmental parameters. The impact of technology developed at GLERL appears to be 

poised to expand from current use on hundreds of vessels (approximately 500) to future use on 

thousands of vessels.

Tsunami Training (PMEL)

The Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) NOAA Center for Tsunami Research 

(NCTR) has developed and updated multiple training curricula to assist states and cooperating 

nations to improve tsunami readiness for their citizens. Training includes Tsunami Awareness 

aimed at emergency management, instruction in the development and implementation of tsunami 

forecast systems through the web-enabled ComMIT interface, and the award-winning “Trainthe-Trainer” classes aimed at emergency managers and decision makers for improving tsunami 

readiness at the local level.

Tsunami Awareness Training

The NCTR, in conjunction with the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC) at 

the University of Hawai’i, has developed a training course targeting emergency management, 

firefighters, police, health providers, and public works employees. The 6.5 hour long course was 

posted on the FEMA website and made available as AWR-217 on 3 December 2010. The focus 

of the course is on tsunami mitigation, risk analysis, preparedness, and recovery. 

Five courses were presented in FY 2011. Pilot course #3 occurred 6-8 October 2010 in Honolulu,

HI, Tsunami Teacher class was presented 6-10 December 2010, and a Tsunami Awareness Pilot 

for NDPTC was presented to approximately 50 students on 7 October 2010 in Camp Murray, 

WA. On 18 November 2010, a Vertical Evacuation, question and answer workshop was attended 

by 50 people at Camp Murray, WA and on 21 April 2011, an Earthquake and Tsunami 

Preparedness Fair for Kids was held for 50 participants of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe. A total of 

150 students were trained over the course of FY2011.
29

ComMIT Training

A Community Model Interface for Tsunami (ComMIT) provides an easily accessible avenue to 

transfer modeling expertise and capabilities from NOAA to, and between, worldwide coastal 

constituencies, such as Indian Ocean countries. USAID and UNESCO provided funding to 

PMEL to develop ComMIT and accompanying tools now available to enable government 

agencies and regional researchers to run tsunami models, using data from local or remote 

databases, with an Internet-enabled interface. Access to tools for the construction of tsunami 

inundation maps under selectable scenarios and for real-time tsunami forecast applications 

provides an easily accessible, critical tool for building tsunami-resilient communities. This 

approach allows nations without a significant cadre of trained modelers to build tsunami 

modeling capability for forecast and hazard assessment, 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 significantly, the Internet-based approach creates a virtual regional and global 

community of modelers using the same tools and approaches to understand tsunami threats, all 

the while providing the capability to share information and insights among themselves. 

In 2011, ComMIT training was provided to 28 students in Citeko, Indonesia from 4-8 October

2010, to 17 students in Moputo, Mozambique from 14-18 February 2011, and to 14 students in 

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from 5-11 March 2011. A total of 59 students were trained in the use of 

ComMIT in FY 2011.

Tsunami “Train-the-Trainer” Training

The Washington State Train-the-Trainer program is a joint effort of the NOAA Center for 

Tsunami Research (NCTR) and the Washington state Emergency Management Division (WA 

EMD) to provide an educational curriculum suitable for training qualified Tsunami Public 

Education Instructors. On 7 June 2011, WA EMD hosted Gray’s Harbor County Tsunami Trainthe-Trainer Workshop in Montesano, WA. The workshop was the 3rd Annual during which 

NCTR staff, in collaboration with WA EMD, conducted a Trainer program with the goal of 

graduating qualified Tsunami Public Education Instructors, as identified by WA EMD. A total of 

30 personnel from counties and communities along coastal Washington jurisdictions such as 

Emergency Management and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) participated in 

the workshop. 

This critical component of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program’s educational Plan 

has been recognized as an outstanding educational program. The Overall Award in Excellence in 

the category of Outreach to the General Public went to Washington State Military Department. 

The Emergency Management Division Award went to the Tsunami Public Education Instructor: 

Train the Trainer (T-3) Program, as announced on 9 March 2011. Complete information is 

available at: http://www.wsspc.org/awards/2011/PR_awards11_FINAL.pdf

NOAA’s Hydrometeorology Testbed Legacy Project in California (ESRL PSD and GSD)

The California Department of Water Resources (CA-DWR) has signed a five-year agreement 

with NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) to provide CA-DWR with a 21stcentury solution to their water management and flood control issues. This joint project between 

CA-DWR, ESRL, and the Scripps Institute for Oceanography (SIO) is part of CA-DWR’s 

Enhanced Flood Response and Emergency Preparedness (EFREP) Program. This project builds 

on research conducted under NOAA’s Hydrometeorology Testbed (HMT).
30

During northern hemisphere winters, the western coast of North America is battered by 

landfalling storms. The impact of these storms is a paramount concern to California, where 

water supply and flood protection infrastructure are being challenged by the effects of age, 

increased standards for urban flood protection and projected climate change impacts. In 

addition, there is a built-in conflict between providing flood protection and the other functions of 

major water storage facilities in California: water supply, water quality, hydropower generation, 

water temperature and flow for at-risk species, and recreation.

Because antecedent soil conditions can determine whether a storm produces a flood, soil 

moisture sensors are being placed at 43 sites across the state. CA-DWR is partnering with SIO 

to install soil moisture sensors in the upper elevations of CA by taking advantage of existing 

infrastructure at interagency Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) sites. ESRL is 

installing soil moisture sensors at lower elevation sites and primarily at California Department of 

Forestry fire station (CalFire) facilities.

Water vapor is the primer that fuels precipitation, and GPS technology provides a viable method 

of measuring the column-integrated water vapor. Hundreds of GPS receivers exist in California 

for geodetic science. By installing surface meteorology sensors with the GPS receivers, and by 

upgrading real-time communications, these GPS receiver sites can provide water vapor 

measurements in real time. ESRL is partnering with UNAVCO, the operators of the Plate 

Boundary Observatory (PBO) where many GPS receivers already exist, to provide water vapor 

measurements from 37 locations across the state.

The snow level is also a significant variable with respect to flooding in mountainous watersheds 

because it determines the surface area throughout the watershed that is exposed to snow versus 

rain. Engineers at ESRL have invented new compact, frequency-modulated, continuous wave 

radar at S-band designed to measure the snow level at much reduced cost compared to the 

traditional pulsed-Doppler radars used by ESRL scientists for this purpose. As part of this 

project these “snow-level radars” are being installed in ten key watersheds across the state.

The winds contained in the low-level jets of landfalling winter storms contribute to the heavy 

orographic precipitation on the windward slopes of the coastal and inland mountain ranges of 

California. These jets are often accompanied by enhanced water vapor in the so-called warm 

conveyor belt of extratropical storms. The narrow band of enhanced integrated water vapor is 

also referred to as an atmospheric river (AR). ESRL scientists have combined a wind profiler 

with a GPS receiver and other meteorological sensors to form an AR observatory (ARO). Four 

coastal AROs are being installed as part of this project.

To take full advantage of the observing networks being installed and to provide advanced lead 

time of high impact weather, this project involves a numerical weather prediction component 

using the HMT WRF ensemble. Special display systems that can provide this value-added 

information in the Weather Forecast Office and River Forecast Center settings are also being 

implemented. Finally, decision support tools, that will allow water managers and other decision 

makers to make optimal use of the information, are being developed. Observation and modeling 

datasets are available on dedicated ESRL web pages. Observation datasets are also available 
31

through the NOAA MADIS program and are sent to NWS Western Region with SHEFencoding.

Air Quality Model Internationally Used for Forecasting

HYSPLIT (HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) model registered user 

statistics is 3,121 hits for FY 2011. This number includes users from the commercial sector, 

government (Federal, state, and foreign), universities (US and foreign), military, non-profits, and 

private pilots (balloonists, glider pilots). The HYSPLIT model is a complete system for 

computing simple air parcel trajectories to complex dispersion and deposition simulations. The 

model can be run interactively on the web through ARL's Real-time Environmental Applications 

and Display sYstem (READY) or the executable code and meteorological data can be 

downloaded to a Windows or Mac PC and run using a graphical user interface. The model code 

is made available to other organizations (government and academia) in order to facilitate 

improvements to the model through collaborative research and development efforts. ARL 

scientists have also provided a yearly workshop on the practical use of the model for air quality 

analysis and forecasting to small groups of users on a first-come basis since 2004. A subset of 

the workshop has been presented several times in Spain as part of a collaborative effort between 

ARL scientists and the University of Huelva - Centro Internacional de Estudios y Convenciones 

Ecológicas y Medioambientales (CIECEM). 

Earth System Modeling Framework (ESRL Director’s Office)

The Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF) is high performance, open source software for 

building complex models. It was developed collaboratively by multiple agencies and is used 

with Weather Service, Department of Defense, NCAR, NASA, DOE, and other model codes. 

ESMF contributes to NOAA's ability to develop integrated environmental modeling systems.

These modeling systems often require grid and other transformations between the software 

components representing different physical domains or processes. ESMF is used to "couple" the 

components together and it also provides software libraries for common modeling functions that 

many codes can share. Within ESRL, the ESMF software was used to couple the Flowfollowing finite volume Icosahedra Model (FIM) developed in the Global Systems Division to 

the new NOAA Environmental Modeling System (NEMS) developed at the national Centers for 

Environmental Prediction. The FIM-NEMS coupling has the potential to improve NOAA 

weather model forecasts by increasing the scalability and resolution of the forecast model.

NOAA/AOML Research Products Transitioned and Used by Partners

During 2010-2011, multiple NOAA/AOML research products were developed, transitioned, and 

implemented in a variety of cooperative venues with governmental and non-governmental 

partners, including other Federal agencies, states, foreign nations, universities, and the private 

sector.

New Parameterization Leads to Improved Storm Size Prediction (AOML)

Hurricane data assimilation requires a background field (generally a prior forecast or other 

numerical forecast) to initialize the next forecast cycle. Often, storms in the background field 

may be too large or too small, so the storm size needs to be corrected based on observations. 

Prior to 2011, the operational Hurricane Weather Research and Forecast Model (HWRF) utilized 

a single parameter (the radius of maximum wind) to initialize the new forecast cycle. In the 

2011 operational HWRF upgrade, a second parameter (radius of the outermost closed isobar) 
32

was developed and implemented. This new parameter improves the overall forecast and leads to 

more accurate hurricane track and intensity forecasts, which are shared with many of NOAA’s 

weather partners.

Real-time Quality Control Software Enables Incorporation of Real-Time Tail Doppler 

Radar into Operational Hurricane Forecast Models (AOML)

During the 2010 and 2011 hurricane season, NOAA P-3 Hurricane Aircraft were outfitted with a 

Tail Doppler Radar (TDR) and the collected data were transmitted to NCEP Central Operations 

(NCO) and Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) for assimilation into a parallel run of the 

operational Hurricane Weather and Research Forecast Model for Hurricane Tomas (2010) and 

Hurricane Irene (2011). Once collected, the TDR data are quality-controlled (QC) by 

AOML/HRD personnel on-board the P-3s using an AOML/HRD developed real-time, automated 

Doppler quality control software product. The data are then delivered to NCO and EMC for use 

in a parallel model experiment. 

NOAA/AOML H*WIND Product Used by DHS-FEMA for Hurricane Irene Post-Storm 

Damage Assessment (AOML)

Since 1996, the AOML Hurricane Research Division has developed, implemented, and operated 

the H*Wind product. The H*Wind product is designed to provide an integrated tropical cyclone 

observing system in which wind measurements from a variety of observation platforms are used 

to provide an objective analysis of the distribution of wind speeds in a hurricane prior to and 

after landfall. This product is designed to improve understanding of the extent and strength of the 

wind field, and to improve the assessment of a hurricane’s intensity and its attendance damages. 

Recently, the W*Wind project has developed an experimental swath map that is available in 

image and gridded form as well as GIS shape files. During Hurricane Irene, 42 swath maps were 

created and provided to DHS-FEMA for their post-storm damage assessment.

Unified Dropsonde Quality Assurance and Visualization Capability Developed (AOML)

In conjunction with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), NOAA/AOML has 

developed a Unified Dropsonde Quality Assurance and Visualization Capability. The joint 

AOML and NCAR project provides an operational software suite to quality control GPS 

dropsondes in real time from NOAA and Air Force research and reconnaissance aircraft. The 

software also provides National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasters with increased capability to 

visualize and assess dropsonde data in real time and for post-storm analyses. The software is 

currently being tested by NOAA, the Air Force, and NCAR, and is expected to be fully 

operational in FY 2012.

National Ocean Service

National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)

Many technologies developed by NCCOS are made available to the organization funding or 

requesting the technology, and links to the innovation are available on the web to any interested 

parties.

Modeling Coastal Estuarine Systems

Coastal Resource Managers hesitate to use existing modeling tools for coastal systems because 

of the complexity of the systems and models. NOAA created a downloadable software tool to 

simplify the process of modeling coastal systems where the user does not have to manipulate 
33

complex equations and spreadsheets. This tool can evaluate different water quality scenarios and 

display the likely outcomes on a map so managers can easily view the implications of 

management decisions. This tool requires only user input of routinely monitored water quality 

data and displays the output in tables, graphs and maps. In 2011, NOAA delivered the beta 

version of the tool to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to test in two 

estuaries with known depth information and optical water quality data.

Pathogen spread, risk model

This year, NOAA transferred a model to Maryland that forecasts where and when pathogens are 

most likely to be found in the Chesapeake Bay based on salinity and temperature of the water in 

a given location. These models generate three-day forecasts for state and county health officials. 

They, in turn, use these forecasts to target water quality monitoring, and to put out public health 

messages at high risk times. When pathogens are present, cooking shellfish and washing open 

wounds after contact with coastal waters minimizes risk of infection and sickness. Not only is 

this partnership reducing the number of people getting sick from pathogens, but it is saving these 

offices money because they can limit their monitoring to the places and times that are most 

problematic. The model does not predict the abundance of pathogens or the susceptibility of 

people to illness. The Center for Disease Control is responsible for research on susceptibility.

International workshop

In response to a request from the European Union, partners from Portugal, Sweden, and Israel 

were trained on theoretical aspects of the Bio-optical Water Quality Model and its application for 

monitoring and managing seagrass ecosystems. Funded by the European Union, this workshop 

was part of collaboration between NCCOS, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center 

(SERC) and European Partners in the Cooperation in Science and Technology Program.

Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Monitoring

NCCOS researchers are developing indices to monitor changes in health, social and economic 

conditions resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. Through measures collected from 

secondary sources, NCCOS researchers developed and created an operational structure for 

social, economic, demographic and environmental indicators while developing methodology and 

conducting data collection of baseline indicators in counties impacted by oiled shorelines.

Algal Bio-fuel Research 

NCCOS researchers have joined with the Department of Energy’s Savannah River National 

Laboratory to focus on understanding potential algal toxicity in large scale algal bio-fuel 

research efforts.

Tracking Algal Bloom Toxins

NCCOS provided Ohio EPA forecasts and tracks of Microcystis algae bloom densities along 

Lake Erie beaches and drinking water intakes, which enabled them to focus meager resources on 

areas where noxious blooms may be concentrated to search for high toxin levels.

National Geodetic Survey

New technology is developed at the NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey by NOAA employees or 

in cooperation with university and other outside partners. None of the technology developed is 
34

licensed or patented. For most applications, scientific papers are published in a variety of 

scholarly journals. 

International Technology Transfer Through Cooperation

NGS hosted visiting scientists from Taiwan, Germany, Mongolia, South Korea and China. 

Scientists from a variety of national and international institutions were invited and supported for 

mutual research projects at NGS. 

U.S. IOOS Coastal and Ocean Modeling Testbed (COMT)

COMT uses targeted research and development to accelerate the transition of scientific and 

technical advances from the coastal and ocean modeling research community to improve 

identified operational ocean products and services. Initiated as a pilot project with Southeastern 

Universities Research Association (SURA), the COMT has developed a robust cyber 

infrastructure to facilitate model assessment based on community standards. Thorough analyses 

of several models addressing issues of coastal inundation, shelf and estuarine hypoxia are 

complete and results from each of these areas are being transitioned into NOAA’s operational 

framework including; a coupled Sea, Lake, Overland, Surge From Hurricanes (SLOSH)/ 

Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) model in testing at the National Hurricane Center for use 

in operational forecasts, a multi-year hypoxia data set now available through NDBC, 

biogeochemical operating equations transitioning to NOAA CSDL, and a simplified single term 

dissolved oxygen model transitioning to NOAA CO-OPS for use with the Chesapeake Bay 

Operational Forecasting System (CBOFS.) Based on these successes, the Testbed is developing 

governing documents and a priority planning process to continue engagement of the COMT to

develop coastal and ocean models and tools and improving research-to-operations and 

operations-to-research. More information can be found at http://testbed.sura.org.

Real-time Processing Components of the Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System 

(MADIS)

MADIS components were transitioned to the NWS National Center for Environmental 

Prediction (NCEP) and the NWS Telecommunications Operation Center (TOC), with the official 

declaration of Initial Operating Capability (IOC) signed in October 2010. Full Operational 

Capability (FOC) testing is scheduled for March 2013. MADIS includes quality controlled 

observations from NOAA, other government agencies, universities, aircraft, and private sector. 

With MADIS, NOAA can effectively leverage investments of non-NOAA observing systems 

resulting in huge cost savings.

Geo-Targeted Alerting System (GTAS)

GTAS is an implementation of the latest developments in plume modeling, high resolution 

weather models, and network enabled operations. The GTAS project determines how state and 

local governments can better use advanced technologies, weather, and toxic plume models for 

emergency response on a near real-time basis and quickly evacuate areas in danger of chemical 

spills, chemical attacks, smoke, dust, volcanic ash, etc. All GTAS tasks sponsored by the 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 

were transitioned to seven Weather Forecasting Offices (WFOs) and many Emergency Operation 

Centers (at city, county and state levels). The project, funded by FEMA's IPAWS program, is 

now stood up at seven WFOs. Global Systems Division (GSD) partnered with the Air Research 

Laboratory (ARL) and the National Ocean Services' (NOS) Office of Response and Restoration 
35

to stand up the systems. The GTAS program may expand dependent on future FEMA funding.

Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) 

Global Sciences Division updated and transitioned several hundred AWIPS-1 Smart Tools and 

Display-2-Dimensional (D2D) drawing tools to AWIPS-2 for use on the first AWIPS-2 deployed 

system at the Omaha WFO. This was an emergency request from the National Weather Service 

(NWS)/Office of Science and Technology (OS&T) since Omaha NWS forecasters could not 

operate AWIPS-2 without them. Only a few of these tools had been previously requested. GSD 

completed this tasking within a few months and received praise from the highest levels of NWS.

The Real-time processing components of the Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System 

(MADIS) were transitioned to the NWS National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) 

and the NWS Telecommunications Operation Center (TOC), with the official declaration of 

Initial Operating Capability (IOC) signed in October 2010. Full Operational Capability (FOC) 

testing is scheduled for March 2013. MADIS includes quality controlled observations from 

NOAA, other government agencies, universities, aircraft, and private sector. With MADIS, 

NOAA can effectively leverage investments of non-NOAA observing systems resulting in huge 

cost savings.

Programmable Flask Package Technology Transferred to Commercial Suppliers

The Global Monitoring Division developed a computer controlled air sampling system 

(Programmable Flask Package 12-pack or PFP) that automatically takes air samples for later 

trace gas analysis. The technology and design for the system was transferred to companies 

(Atmospheric Observing Systems and High Precision Devices (both in Boulder, CO) that were 

willing to construct the PFPs. The PFPs weigh ~60 pounds and cost in the region of $25K each. 

In addition to the 150 units that NOAA has purchased, the two companies are selling the systems 

around the globe. 

AirCore

AirCore is a NOAA-patented, revolutionary, exceptionally cheap and robust system for sampling 

profiles of the atmosphere’s composition from the edge of space to the surface. The AirCore is 

essentially a long thin tube that is carried aloft by a high altitude balloon that is parachuted to 

earth from up to 25 miles above the surface. As the thin coil descends air pressure fills the tube 

which is capped when reaching the surface. The air molecules do not mix and the varying 

composition of the atmosphere can be analyzed by pumping the air out of the tube and analyzing 

small amounts in sequence. This technique is rapidly being adopted by research institutes, 

NASA, and university groups.

Greenhouse Gas Observation Systems

Working closely with Chinese and Brazilian scientists, GMD has shared knowledge on all 

aspects of greenhouse-gas observation, from actual measurement to network design, including 

building and helping to maintain instrumentation. Now the Chinese Academy of Meteorological 

Sciences (China) and Institute for Nuclear and Energy Research (Brazil) are running nationwide 

GHG networks similar to that of the United States. Data compatibility and standards are 

equivalent across the networks. 

CarbonTracker
36

CarbonTracker is a computer-based data assimilation and atmospheric model system developed

over the past decade to keep track of carbon dioxide uptakes and releases at the Earth's surface 

over time. It uses actual greenhouse-gas measurements coupled with observed meteorology and 

feedbacks from biosphere, fossil fuel combustion and ocean uptake to map areas of CO2 release 

and uptake on time scales of days. NOAA’s Global Monitoring Division has trained numerous 

scientists both in the US and abroad how to operate CarbonTracker (a many month process) 

including scientists from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Korean Meteorological 

Agency, Brazil’s Centro de Previsão de Tempo e Estudos Climáticos and agencies in the 

Netherlands and Australia that all now have national CarbonTracker programs. 

SkySonde

SkySonde is a complex but highly reliable and accurate laptop-based telemetry program 

developed by the Global Monitoring Division to collect data and transmit it to the ground in real 

time from ascending balloon-borne ozone and water vapor sondes. This program was 

immediately adopted by NASA and the US Navy for their similar balloon programs.

Associated with this system is software that allows balloon launching users to see a prediction of 

where the balloon will travel as well as where it may land. This provides the launch personnel a 

good idea of where the balloon is traveling and if the launch should be avoided or balloon flight 

terminated due to the payload going towards an airport or any other potentially dangerous area. 

This software is used by many civilians and other researchers alike. 

Continuous Light Absorption Photometer

The Continuous Light Absorption Photometer is a new instrument developed by the Global 

Monitoring Division to continuously monitor the light absorption characteristics (black carbon 

content) of atmospheric aerosols in real time. The units have been adopted as a core instrument 

for aerosol measurements at World Meteorological Organization Global Atmosphere Watch 

stations and are now deployed at 12 global stations with an additional 12 global sites awaiting 

construction and delivery of the units.

Prestigious Awards for NOAA’s Science and Technology received in FY 2011

NOAA Technology Transfer Award:

A group of PMEL scientists and engineers was awarded the FY2011 NOAA Technology 

Transfer Award "For developing a sensor to measure carbon dioxide concentrations in the 

surface ocean and overlying atmosphere and transferring this design to a commercial vendor." 

Award winners were Christopher Sabine, Stacy Maenner Jones, Randy Bott, Christian Meinig, 

Patrick McLain, Noah, Lawrence-Slavas.
37

Individual Staff Researcher and Division Awards with Technology Transfer Impact:

Dusan Zrnic was awarded the 2010 Technology Transfer Award for "developing a novel way to 

measure linear orthogonal polarimetric variables without a switch that was patented and 

transferred to the private sector producing significant savings in the implementation of 

commercial dual polarization radars." 

NSSL's Radar Research and Development Division was honored for scientific and engineering 

excellence in converting complex military technology used for tracking aircraft and missiles to a 

civilian weather detection radar. The phased-array radar has shown severe weather detection 

improvements of four and five times faster. In addition, the scanning flexibility is leading to new 

scanning strategies and improved data gathering methods. The faster data is also being used to 

initialize storm scale models that are required to move from a "warn-on-observation" to a "warnon-forecast" environment. 
38

CHAPTER 4 

National Telecommunications and Information Administration 

Institute for Telecommunication Sciences 

Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer

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.

In 2003, ITS added a new metric under the “Other Performance Measures” category: number of 

publications approved through the Editorial Review Board (ERB) process. This metric provides 

a useful working indicator of the number of quality publications released to the public. In 2004,

ITS added a measure for participation on standards committees. In 2006, ITS added another 

metric: the total number of hits on the publications listed on the “ITS Online Documents.” This 

metric provides more directly an indication of ultimate benefit to the public.

ITS uses three principal means for achieving technology transfer: cooperative research and 

development; technical publications; and leadership and technical contributions in the 

development of telecommunications standards.

Cooperative Research and Development 

CRADAs, based on the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (FTTA), are a means through 

which ITS aids the private sector. The FTTA provides the legal basis for, and encourages, 

shared use of government facilities and resources with the private sector in advanced 

telecommunications technologies. 

These partnerships aid in the commercialization of new products and services, as well as enhance 

the capabilities of ITS laboratories. They also provide insights into industry’s needs for 

productivity growth and competitiveness. This enables ITS to adjust the focus and direction of 

its programs for effectiveness and value.

In FY 2011, ITS’ efforts in technology transfer and commercialization fostered cooperative 

telecommunications research in areas where U.S. companies can directly benefit from improved 

competitiveness and market opportunities. These efforts will continue in future years. ITS also 

participated—as it has for a number of years—in CRADAs with private-sector organizations to 

design, develop, test, and evaluate advanced telecommunication concepts. The private industry 
39

partner benefits through such cooperative relationships, as does the Institute, because the partner 

is able to research in commercially important areas that it would not otherwise undertake.

To date, major contributions to personal communication services (PCS), local multipoint 

distribution service (LMDS), ultra wideband (UWB), and Broadband over Power Line (BPL) 

technologies have been achieved through CRADAs. These have aided U.S. efforts to rapidly 

introduce new socially constructive communications technologies. More recently, CRADAs in 

the areas of objective audio and video quality, advanced antennas for wireless systems, and 

remote sensing and global position (GPS) technology have allowed ITS to contribute to the 

development of new products and services.

Technical Publications

Publication has historically been the means through which ITS has transferred research results to 

other researchers, the commercial sector, and government agencies. Many of these 

publications—both internal reports and monographs and peer-reviewed articles in external

scientific journals—have become standard references in several telecommunications areas. 

Technical publication remains a principal means for ITS technology transfer. Most of these 

technical publications are released only after going through an internal peer review process 

managed by the ITS Editorial Review Board (ERB). Of the publications released through the 

ERB process in recent years, approximately one-half were approved for external publication in 

the scientific literature.

Development of Telecommunication Standards

This method of ITS technology transfer directly addresses improvement of U.S. competitiveness 

in telecommunications. For several decades, ITS has provided leadership and technical 

contributions to organizations, both national and international, responsible for developing 

telecommunication standards. For example, a plurality of the technical recommendations of the 

International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a treaty organization, are based on research 

conducted at ITS. Also, key national quality-of-service standards developed under the American 

National Standards Institute (ANSI) T1 committee for video, audio, and digital data incorporate 

research results obtained at ITS.

ITS continues to chair numerous committees and working groups in the ITU, ANSI T1 (now 

ATIS – Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions), and other telecommunication 

standards organizations, providing technical leadership that is trusted by the commercial-sector 

participants. ITS’s technical inputs are relied upon as technically advanced and sound, and as 

unbiased by commercial interests. 

In FY 2011, ITS continued its technical leadership and contributions to communications 

standards for public safety, particularly for first responders. ITS’s primary area of contribution 

has been interoperability standards and testing procedures. ITS’s objective video quality 

measurement method has been made a national standard by ANSI. This method was also the

best-performing metric in comparison testing by the ITU with other methods from around the 

world.
40

Additional Details in FY 2011

Collaborative Relationships for Research & Development

FY

2007

FY 

2008 

(1)

FY 

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● CRADAs, total active in the fiscal year (1) 285 41 43 41 32

 - New, executed in the fiscal year 280 7 18 15 17

 ▪ Traditional CRADAs,(2) total active in the fiscal 

year

9 6 31 29 23

 - New, executed in the fiscal year 4 6 10 9 10

 ▪ Non-traditional CRADAs,(3) total active in the 

fiscal year

276 35 12 12 9

 - New, executed in the fiscal year 276 1 8 6 7

● Other types of collaborative R&D 

relationships

 ▪ Collaborative standards contributions,(4) (5)

 total active in FY

25 25 20 21 21

 -New, executed in the fiscal year 9 10 5 1 0

CRADA = Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. 

(1) In 2008, ITS took down from the Web some of its telecommunication analysis services. These services 

provided network-based access to research results, models, and databases supporting applications in wireless 

system design and analysis. As a result, the number of CRADAs between the government and industry, which 

allowed for improvement to these models, were down significantly. NTIA-ITS is working on a newer 

geographic information system- (GIS-) based platform for the modeling services, which will be available in 

future years.

(2) “Active” means in force at any time during the fiscal year. “Total active” includes all agreements executed 

under CRADA authority (15 USC 3710a).

(3) CRADAs involving collaborative research and development by a Federal laboratory and non-Federal partners.

(4) ITS’ Telecommunications Analysis Services (TA Services) is Internet-accessible through Web-based electronic 

CRADAs. TA Services provides analysis support to private industry and public agencies in the areas of 

wireless system design and evaluation, and site selection. The service is provided on a cost-reimbursable basis, 

24 hours a day, 7 days a week, throughout the year. TA Services currently reaches numerous government and 

private-sector users across the nation, providing the latest versions of ITS-developed telecommunications 

models, databases, and tools. Use of the CRADA makes TA Services available to users in a short time and on a 

cost-reimbursable basis. Additionally, CRADA partners provide useful evaluations of the ITS software used.

This information aids ITS to improve existing software tools for wireless system design and analysis and to 

develop new ones, benefiting both ITS’ own research capabilities and the resources that outside users can draw 

upon. The CRADA agreement also allows ITS to gain valuable insights from users’ feedback about the rapidly 

changing needs of industry and government in telecommunications technology.

(5) ITS works with industry to apply research results to the development of telecommunication performance 

standards and guidelines. In FY 2011 ITS worked collaboratively with the ITU, the Telecommunications 

Industry Association, the ATIS, and various Federal public safety groups to interpret and analyze standards and 

regulations.
41

Invention Disclosure and Patenting

FY 

2007

FY 

2008

FY

2009

FY 

2010

FY

2011

● New inventions disclosed in the fiscal year (1) 0 0 0 0 0

● Patent applications filed in the fiscal year (2) 1 0 0 0 0

● Patents issued in the fiscal year 1 0 0 0 0

● Active patents, end of the fiscal year 8 7 7 2 2

(1) New invention disclosed and provisional patent filed.

(2) Includes: U.S. patent applications, foreign patent applications filed on cases for which no U.S. application was 

filed, divisional applications, and continuation-in-part applications. Excludes: provisional, continuation, duplicate 

foreign, and PCT applications.

Licensing Details

Profile of Active Licenses

FY

2007

FY

2008*

FY 

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● All licenses, number total active in the fiscal 

year 

(1) (2)

186 0 0 0 0

 ▫ New, executed in the fiscal year 179 0 0 0 0

 ▪ Invention licenses, total active in the fiscal year 186 0 0 0 0

 ▫ New, executed in the fiscal year 179 0 0 0 0

 - Patent licenses,(3) total active in the fiscal 

year

10 0 0 0 0

 ▫ New, executed in the fiscal year 3 0 0 0 0

 - Material transfer licenses (inventions), 

total active

0 0 0 0 0

 ▫ New, executed in the fiscal year 0 0 0 0 0

 - Other invention licenses, (4) total active in 

the fiscal year

176 0 0 0 0

 ▫ New, executed in the fiscal year 176 0 0 0 0

 ▪ Other IP licenses, total active in the fiscal 

year

0 0 0 0 0

Multiple inventions in a single license are counted as one license. Licenses that include both patents and copyrights 

(hybrid licenses) are reported as patent licenses and not included in the count of copyright licenses.

* The number of licenses for FY2008 through FY 2011 is zero because ITS no longer licenses Video Quality Metric 

(VQM) technology. Instead, ITS has made this software available via open-source download.

(1) “Active” = legally in force at any time during the fiscal year. 

(2) As of FY 2008 VQM software is available for download without a license.

(3) Patent license tally includes patent applications that are licensed.

(4) International copyright licenses (non-fee-bearing) for VQM technology
42

Licensing Management 

FY

2007

FY

2008*

FY 

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● License Negotiation time,

(1) licenses granted 

in the fiscal year 

 ▪ Invention licenses (Patent licenses) (2)

 ▫ Average (or median), months

 ▫ Minimum

 ▫ Maximum

1.0

0.5

1.5

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

● Licenses terminated for cause, number in the 

fiscal year

 ▪ Invention licenses (Patent licenses) (2) 0 0 0 0 0

Data included in this table (intentionally) address only invention licenses, with patent licenses distinguished as a 

subclass.

* The number of licenses for FY 2008 through FY2011 is zero because ITS no longer licenses Video Quality Metric 

(VQM) technology. Instead, ITS has made this software available via open-source download.

(1) Date of license application to the date of license execution. (Date of license application is the date the laboratory 

formally acknowledges the written request for a license from a prospective licensee and agrees to enter into 

negotiations.)

(2) Patent licenses include patent applications that are licensed.

Characteristics of Licenses Bearing Income

FY

2007

FY

2008*

FY 

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● All income-bearing licenses, total number 10 0 0 0 0

 ▫ Exclusive

 ▫ Partially exclusive

 ▫ Non-exclusive

0

0

10

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

 ▪ Invention licenses, (Patent licenses), (1)

income-bearing

10 0 0 0 0

 ▫ Exclusive

 ▫ Partially exclusive

 ▫ Non-exclusive

0

0

10

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

 ▪ Other IP licenses, income-bearing 0 0 0 0 0

● All royalty-bearing licenses, total number 0 0 0 0 0

 ▪ Invention licenses, (Patent licenses) royaltybearing0 0 0 0 0

 ▪ Other IP licenses, royalty-bearing 0 0 0 0 0

In general, license income can result from various sources: license issue fees, earned royalties, minimum annual 

royalties, paid-up license fees, and reimbursement for full-cost recovery of goods and services provided by the 

laboratory to the licensee including patent costs.

* The number of licenses for FY 2008 through FY2011 is zero because ITS no longer licenses Video Quality Metric 

(VQM) technology. Instead, ITS has made this software available via open-source download.

(1) Patent licenses include patent applications that are licensed.

(2) Note that royalties are one component of total license income.
43

Income from Licenses

FY

2007

FY

2008*

FY 

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● Total income, all licenses active in the 

fiscal year (1)

$7,500 $0 $0 $0 $0

 ▪ Invention licenses (Patent Licenses) (2) $7,500 $0 $0 $0 $0

 ▪ Other IP licenses, all active licenses in 

FY

$0 $0 $0 $0 $0

● Total Earned Royalty Income (ERI) (3) $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

 ▪ Invention licenses (Patent licenses) (2) $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

 ▫ Median ERI $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

 ▫ Minimum ERI $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

 ▫ Maximum ERI $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

 ▫ ERI from top 1% of licenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

 ▫ ERI from top 5% of licenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

 ▫ ERI from top 20% of licenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

▪ Other IP licenses, total active in the 

fiscal year

$0 $0 $0 $0 $0

* The number of licenses for FY2008 through FY2011 is zero because ITS no longer licenses Video Quality Metric 

(VQM) technology. Instead, ITS has made this software available via open-source download.

(1) Total income includes license issue fees, earned royalties, minimum annual royalties, paid-up license fees, 

and reimbursement for full cost recovery of goods and services provided by the laboratory to the licensee 

including patent costs.

(2) Patent licenses include patent applications which are licensed.

(3) “Earned royalty” means royalty based upon use of a licensed invention (usually, a percentage of sales or of units 

sold). Not a license issue fee or a minimum royalty. 

Disposition of License Income

FY

2007

FY

2008*

FY 

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

● Income distributed (1)

 ▪ Invention licenses, (Patent licenses), (2)

 total distributed

$7,500 $0 $0 $0 $0

 - To inventor(s) $5,050

(67%)

$0 $0 $0 $0

 - To other (3) $2,450

(33%)

$0 $0 $0 $0

Invention licenses are the chief policy interest regarding disposition of income; the content of this table reflects this 

focus.

* The number of licenses for FY2008 through FY2011 is zero because ITS no longer licenses Video Quality Metric 

(VQM) technology. Instead, ITS has made this software available via open-source download.

(1) Income includes royalties and other payments received during the fiscal year.

(2) Patent license tally includes patent applications which are licensed.

(3) To ITS/NTIA.
44

Other Performance Measures Deemed Important by the Agency

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY 

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

Technical publications produced 3 15 12 17 15

Total number of hits on online 

publications 1,426,125 1,526,409 3,020,629 3,667,000 3,850,350

See “Technical Publications” above in the first section of this report for additional information on this topic. 

FY

2007

FY

2008

FY

2009

FY

2010

FY

2011

Technical publications produced - ITS 3 15 12 12 15

Collaborative contributions - ITS 25 25 20 20 25

Downstream Outcomes from ITS Technology Transfer Activities

The following are examples of downstream outcomes from ITS technology transfer efforts:

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 five 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 2011, 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 twelfth year field-testing and 

characterizing components, subsystems and systems for eye-safe coherent laser radar.

This has benefited NTIA and the Department of Defense. 
45

SUMMARY

Technology transfer is an essential mission of the Department of Commerce, using our Nation’s

innovation and investment in science and technology to strengthen our economy and 

competitiveness in world markets. This report details the results of technology partnering 

activities originating from the Department of Commerce’s Federal laboratories. Federal research 

is a complex process that provides the opportunity for new ideas and innovations to be 

successfully marketed to serve citizens. The success stories in this report provide examples of 

how society benefits from technology transfer activities across the Department of Commerce’s 

Federal laboratories. As knowledge advances and the needs of the economy change, the 

Department of Commerce will continue to play a role in keeping America in the forefront of 

innovation and supporting our economy by aiding in the transfer and commercialization of 

knowledge.