FLC Awards Recognize Federal Lab Success Bringing Technologies to the Public  

Released: January 16, 2024

(WASHINGTON, DC – January 16, 2024) – The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) is honoring 32 FLC Award winners from 8 federal agencies for their contributions to technology transfer, which turns cutting-edge research into impactful products and services. 

The FLC represents over 300 federal laboratories, agencies and research centers nationwide. Through education, promotion and the facilitation of relationships and partnerships, the FLC supports this tech transfer community to shepherd technologies out of government labs and into the marketplace, where they improve the economy, society and national security. 

This year’s winners represent government-led projects focused on a range of technologies, from agriculture to defense. Award recipients will be honored in person at the 2024 FLC Awards Ceremony and Banquet, held during the FLC National Meeting, April 9-11, 2024, at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel in Dallas, Texas. Adding to the celebration, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the FLC. The media are welcome to attend. 

“Technology transfer benefits our nation and improves our daily lives in many areas. Each year, our judges go through a very competitive process to select only a few to be recognized at our annual Awards Ceremony,” said Paul Zielinski, Executive Director of the FLC. “These award winners exemplify the very best in technology transfer and are deserving of this prestigious honor.” 

The 2024 FLC Award winners are listed below by award category: 

EXCELLENCE IN TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AWARD: Honors outstanding work by federal labs in collaborating with industry, academia or other labs to bring technologies from the lab to the marketplace. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture 

• Agricultural Research Service, Aerial Electrostatic System for Weather Modification 

U.S. Department of Defense 

• Defense Information Systems Agency, DISA Accelerates Cloud Adoption in the DoD 

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), SUBMAT: A Temporary Roadway System Ingeniously Solves a Long-Standing Problem 

• MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Timely Address Space Randomization (TASR) 

U.S. Department of Energy 

• Argonne National Laboratory, Adapter Makes Legacy EV Chargers “Smart” and More Accessible 

• Oak Ridge National Laboratory,  Advanced Cybersecurity System Will Bring Greater Precision to National Security 

• Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Direct Air Capture of CO2: Low Cost, Energy Efficient, Scalable 

• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, LLNL/EVOQ Therapeutics  

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Changing Lives in PASLI/APDS Patients, Disease Discovery and Treatment 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 

• Veterans Administration, TrackMate: The World’s First Digital Disinfection Tracking System 

 

IMPACT AWARD: Honors federal labs whose technology commercialization efforts have made a tangible and lasting impact on society or the marketplace. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture 

• Agricultural Research Service, Catfish Germplasm Release 

U.S. Department of Defense 

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Rapidly Deployed Modular Protective System Guard Tower for Counterinsurgency Operations 

U.S. Department of Energy 

• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Visual Sample Plan: Statistical Sampling for Confident Decision-Making 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, FDA-Approved RSV Vaccine Based on NIAID’s Prefusion F Protein Technology 

 

INTERAGENCY PARTNERSHIP AWARD: Recognizes agency and/or laboratory employees from at least two different agencies who have collaboratively accomplished outstanding work in transferring technology from lab to market.  

U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 

• DoD Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), DHS Science and Technology Directorate and DHS Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency Office for Bombing Prevention, ERDC-DHS Collaboration Achieves Far-Reaching Perimeter Security Solutions 

U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior 

• U.S. National Poultry Research Center, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Department of Interior (DOI) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, DOI Geological Survey, Protecting Wildlife: The California Condor Project 

 

STATE AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AWARD: Celebrates technology-focused partnerships between federal labs and state or local economic development groups that have had a positive impact. 

U.S. Department of Energy 

• Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory, TRGR Technology Readiness Initiative Program 

 

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER INNOVATION AWARD: Recognizes the successful use of innovative or unconventional approaches, such as in-house competitions, to significantly increase the lab’s technology transfer partnerships and results.  

U.S. Department of Defense 

• Defense Health Agency, Assistive Technology Transfer: Moving Military Technology From Concept to Product 

U.S. Department of Energy 

• Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Technology Transfer Researcher Liaisons (TTRL) Program Provides a Valuable Bridge 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

• National Institutes of Health, New Enterprise Technology Transfer System Revolutionizes Tech Transfer at NIH 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 

• Veterans Administration, VA T2 Auditing Program 

 

New this year: OUTSTANDING RESEARCHER/SMALL RESEARCH TEAM AWARD: Recognizes outstanding individual researchers or small research teams involved in technology transfer activities who have provided leadership and noteworthy support to the technology transfer process, furthering their agency’s mission and, thus, that of the FLC. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture 

• Soheila J. Maleki, Ph.D. and Dr. Hsiaopo Cheng, Ph.D., Agricultural Research Service 

U.S. Department of Defense 

• Sustainment Management System (SMS) Team, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) 

U.S. Department of Energy 

• Kyle Gluesenkamp, Ph.D., Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

 

OUTSTANDING TECH TRANSFER PROFESSIONAL: Recognizes the efforts of an FLC laboratory technology transfer professional (or team) who has demonstrated outstanding work in transferring a technology in a manner significantly over and above what was called for in the normal course of their work. 

U.S. Department of Commerce 

• Michael J. Hall, Ph.D., National Institute of Standards and Technology 

U.S. Department of Energy 

• Samantha Updegraff, J.D., Sandia National Laboratories 

 

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD: Honors a federal laboratory employee who has demonstrated outstanding work in the past year despite being relatively new to the technology transfer profession.  

U.S. Department of Defense 

• Stacy Mills, 711th Human Performance Wing (711 HPW) Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) 

U.S. Department of Energy 

• Cecilia Gentle, Ph.D., Argonne National Laboratory 

HAROLD METCALF AWARD FOR FLC SERVICE: Celebrates one federal laboratory employee who has provided significant service over time to the FLC as an organization.  

U.S. Department of Defense 

• Jenna Dix, Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Crane Division 

 

LABORATORY DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD: Given to a federal laboratory director, who is typically not a technology transfer professional, for his or her notable support of the lab’s technology commercialization efforts. 

U.S. Department of Energy 

• Martin Keller, Ph.D., National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

 

REGIONAL AWARDS: The FLC has six regions across the country. Each region is invited to submit for regional recognition demonstrating excellence in technology transfer. 

Southeast Region: Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Safe Impact Resistant Electrolyte (SAFIRE) Enables Safer Lithium-Ion Batteries 

Mid-continent Region: Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories, Long-lasting Disinfectant 2.0 

 

About the FLC  
The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) is a formally chartered, nationwide network of more than 300 federal laboratories, agencies and research centers that foster commercialization best practice strategies and opportunities for accelerating federal technologies from out of the labs and into the marketplace. To learn more, visit www.federallabs.org.  

 

Media contact:   
Carolina Olivieri  
FLC Marketing and Communications Director   
1+202-960-1781  
[email protected]