Far West Labs Win 6 FLC Tech Transfer Awards - Federal Laboratories in the Far West Region won 6 FLC Awards for Excellence in Technology Transfer. The Awards were presented in a ceremony given May 6, 2003 at the FLC National Meeting in Tucson, AZ. The laboratories with award winning technologies were:
NFESC Awards License for NoFoam Technology - The Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center has licensed their NoFoam technology to JR Thomas International Inc., of Ventura California. [ More... ]
2003 FLC Harold Metcalf Award goes to Dr. Mike Sullivan - The FLC has presented Dr. Mike Sullivan of the Naval Air Warfare Center, Point Mugu, the prestigious Harold Metcalf Award. The Metcalf Award is presented to an FLC Representative for sustained significant service
to the FLC as an organization.
Far West Technology Saves Lives - During the Christmas holiday of 2002, four small boys lost their lives after falling through
the ice in the Merrimack river in Massachusetts. An elderly gentleman who lives in a house facing the river was trying to throw a
rope out to them but couldn't reach them. When the police arrived on scene, they had to borrow his rope and could only reach one boy
25 feet out.
LIFE-SAFER Inc., a small west coast company (that has a CRADA with the Naval Air Warfare Center at Point Mugu, CA), has developed a
device (Personal Retriever) for static-water drowning intervention, that can help save lives and is especially helpful in situations
such as the tragedy in Massachusetts.
A Fireman/EMT from the New England area who is very familiar with LIFE-SAFER's Retriever Project offered to donate some retriever
disks to the local police and fire departments. On January 10, 2003 just a few weeks after the Merrimack river drowning incident,
a training session in how to use the Retriever was underway. About 10 minutes into the training session a call came in:
"People through the ice in the river."
Henry Hernandez, 32, of Lawrence, MA, had fallen into the frigid Merrimack river while trying to save a dog. Sergeant Michael McGrath
and Officer Daron Fraser fell through the ice while attempting to rescue Hernandez. Called to the scene just 10 minutes after the
Personal Retriever rescue disks training session started, Officers Brian Voisine and David Moynihan used the device to pull McGrath
and Fraser out of the river. City firefighters rescued Hernandez.
The LIFE-SAFER Personal Retriever rescue disks proved to be a valuable life saving tool in the city's ice rescue arsenal.
New Licensing Opportunities from NAWCWD Point Mugu - The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Div. at Point Mugu, CA has 4 new licensing opportunities available. They are:
Contact: Dr. Mike Sullivan NAWCWD, phone: 805-989-9208 email: sullivanme@navair.navy.mil or visit the NAWCWD-PM web site at http://techtransferpm.nawcwd.navy.mil/.
GAO Issues Report on Intellectual Property: Federal Agency Efforts in Transferring and Reporting New Technology - A summary of this report as well
as the complete 102 page file is available at: www.zyn.com/flcfw/gaoreport.htm
FLC Far West & Mid Continent Regional Meeting - Approximately 60 people attended the FLC Regional Roundup in Jackson
Hole, WY, September 17-19, 2002. The program was rich in the latest and greatest marketing techniques and tools. Attendees learned of on-line educational opportunities
from Cenquest as well as other online resources and mechanisms to help market and commercialize technologies. Homeland security was also highlighted throughout the meeting. People
participated from all over the Mid-Continent and Far West regions as well as those affiliated with the NASA Mid-Continent Technology Transfer Center. We also had a few speakers from
outside the region including John Bacon from John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. One thing everyone agreed on (besides the program, of course) was the great location – it
was terrific! Overall, the meeting was proclaimed a great success.
Federal Laboratory Licensing Opportunity Leads to Success - Laboratory technology designed to detect hidden weapons is focus of new company.
DOE Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland Washington has licensed a technology, which uses millimeter waves to generate holographic images, to SafeView Inc., a new corporation based in Menlo Park, Calif. This technology was designed to rapidly identify hidden weapons, explosives and other contraband-even plastic, ceramic and other non-metallic weapons-through clothing.
SafeView's chairman, Mike Lyons said "We believe that the imaging system has enormous potential for use in screening people at points of entry to mass transit systems including airports, subways and trains; border crossings; government installations such as courtrooms, military bases, prisons, embassies and office buildings; crowded public places such as sports arenas, concert halls and museums; and commercial buildings." [ More... ]
Two Far West DOE Laboratories and Two Universities Form New Bioproducts Research Institute -
New research institute will turn agricultural byproducts and wastes into energy and useful products
The DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Idaho National Environmental Engineering Laboratory (INEEL) have partnered with Washington State University and the University of Idaho to form the Northwest Bioproducts Research Institute.
Under terms of the new agreement, the participating universities and federal research laboratories will collaborate to form a nationally renowned, multi-disciplinary research and development program.
They will examine and develop methods for converting agricultural and food processing residue and wastes into bio-based fuels, power and industrial products, such as chemicals for plastics, solvents and fibers. Industry,
processors and growers will be able to use and profit from the institute's products and technologies and, in some cases, will profit from the discoveries through licenses. [ More... ]
SBA to Limit Federal Lab Subcontracting for SBIR Awards
An SBA policy directive is expected to prohibit Federally Funded Research & Development Centers (FFRDC) from being listed as a subcontractors on SBIR proposals. The OMB is currently reviewing this policy directive and it is expected that they will approve its inclusion in the upcoming SBA Policy Directive (PD) for the SBIR program.
The SBA has stated that it will be very liberal in granting exemptions for SBIR FFRDC subcontracting but only after an award is made. Due to potential conflict of interest, a federal facility or FFRDC may not be part of an SBIR proposal submission.
The agencies most likely to be affected are DOE and USDA. There is a strong debate in progress with excellent arguments on both sides of the issue. For in depth information concerning this topic, go to www.zyn.com/sbir/sba-policy1.htm
