FLC Far West & Mid-Continent Regions Set to Honor the Best of Federal Laboratory Innovation

Released: August 24, 2021

(WASHINGTON, DC – August 24, 2021) The Federal Laboratory Consortium’s (FLC) Far West and Mid-Continent regions will honor outstanding federal innovation at their annual award ceremony on August 25 at 1:25 p.m. EDT.

FLC awards showcase the partnerships that are the core element of successful technology transfer—the process of moving federal innovation out of the lab and into the marketplace.

The 14 regional awards—five from the Far West region and nine from the Mid-Continent region—represent technological advances in agriculture, cybersecurity, clean energy, sustainability, reducing weather-related flight delays, and healthcare.

These regional labs are part of a nationwide network of 300+ federal labs, agencies and research centers engaging in this collaborative technology transfer process, which benefits society and national security. The FLC Awards recognize laboratories and their employees who have excelled.

“The pandemic has taught all of us the importance of regional relationships for a robust economy, and the achievements of these federal laboratories will help drive our nation’s economic recovery,” said Paul Zielinski, Executive Director of the FLC.

Far West Award winners:

Outstanding Commercialization Success

• U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Grain Legume Genetics and Physiology Research Unit for developing eight new dry seed legumes for commercial use.

Outstanding Partnership Award

• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for connecting clean energy entrepreneurs with university and laboratory testing facilities.

Outstanding Technology Development Award

• Idaho National Laboratory for developing a cybersecurity system to protect computer-controlled networks from hackers.
• The Ames Research Center at NASA for developing a tool that improves weather-related air travel delays.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Pacific West Area for developing an artificial tick feeding method for disease research.

Mid-Continent Award winners:

Excellence in Technology Transfer

• Sandia National Laboratories for an innovative software design giving the optical metamaterials field a critical boost.

Partnership Award

• The National Renewable Energy Laboratory for creating a ‘partnership for partnerships’ to support clean energy start-ups.
• The U.S. Air Force, 59th Medical Wing Science & Technology for executing a record number of partnerships.

Notable Technology Award

• Los Alamos National Laboratory for a quantum encryption technology to boost cyber security for electrical grids and for moisture sensors to make biofuel production more efficient.
• Sandia National Laboratories for developing a method to improve availability of large nanoparticle supercrystals and for creating a device to warn people with epilepsy of an oncoming seizure.

Outstanding Technology Transfer Professional

• Jean Schulte from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory; and
• Eric Rosenberg from the U.S. Air Force, 67th Cyberspace Wing

For more information on the award winners and their technologies, visit the 2021 Far West & Mid-Continent Regional Awards Program.

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, Marketing Director, [email protected]