Four laboratories from the Northeast Region received 2007 FLC Awards for Excellence in Technology Transfer at a ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 17. The award recognizes federal laboratories and their partners for successfully transferring federally developed technologies. Twenty-four awards in the category were presented to 21 laboratories representing 5 federal agencies nationwide. The Northeast Region laboratories honored include:

Plum Island Animal Disease Center (Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer) - From left: Edward Linsenmeyer, FLC Chair; Dr. William Golde; Peter Gollobin; Dr. Richard Brenner, FLC Agency Representative, U.S. Department of Agriculture; J. Susan Sprake, FLC Vice-Chair.

Plum Island Animal Disease Center - Greenport, N.Y.

This team developed a technology that bleeds mice humanely for research projects. The Center, affiliated with the Department of Agriculture, created a device that is a 2" strip of surgical steel with a triangular blade that controls penetration depth. Different point lengths accommodate different size mice. The technique has increased the accuracy of experiments that require multiple samples from the same animal. This simple method to draw blood has reduced the suffering of laboratory mice. Internationally, researchers are rapidly adopting this technology and have purchased over a million lancets in less than a year.

Team members: Drs. William Golde and Luis Rodriguez, Plum Island Animal Disease Center; Peter Gollobin, MediPoint.

U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command, Natick Soldier Center - Natick, Mass.

This team received an award for their technology, a portable chemical sterilizer (PCS). The Natick, Massachusetts-based laboratory created for medics a lightweight, durable, and reusable apparatus that can easily be transported and that conveniently sterilizes contaminated medical equipment without requiring electricity. Beyond the battlefield the PCS can benefit other markets such as community hospitals for emergency backup sterilizer units, and global entities supporting worldwide disaster relief efforts and humanitarian aid in third-world countries.

Team members: Dr. Christopher Doona, Florence Feeherry, and Dr. Irwin Taub (deceased), U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command, Natick Soldier Center; Drs. Dave Baer and Albert McManus, U.S Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Institute of Surgical Research.

Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Award for Excellence in Tech Transfer) - From left: J. Susan Sprake, FLC Vice-Chair; Lynn Murray, FLC Laboratory Representative, Volpe Center; Eloy Martinez; Karina Jacobsen; David Tyrell; Jo Strang; Michelle Priante; Edward Linsenmeyer, FLC Chair.

John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center - Cambridge, Mass.

This team developed crash energy management (CEM) passenger rail equipment, which will improve the safety of cab car-led passenger trains in the event of collisions with locomotive-led trains. CEM improves crashworthiness with crush zones designed to collapse in a controlled fashion during a collision, distributing the crush among the unoccupied areas of the train. New rail equipment with the CEM features is expected to be in service in 2009.

Team members: Michael Carolan, Karina Jacobsen, Daniel Parent, A. Benjamin Perlman, Michelle Priante, Kristine Severson, and David Tyrell, John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center; Charlie Bielitz, Grady Cothen, Cindy Gross, Eloy Martinez, Gunars Spons, Jo Strang, and Tom Tsai, Federal Railroad Administration.

Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport (Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer) - From left: Edward Linsenmeyer, FLC Chair; Cynthia Gonsalves, FLC Agency Representative, Department of Defense; Dr. Theresa Baus, NUWC; Hugh Murphy; James Pollock; Dottie Vincent, FLC Agency Representative, U.S. Navy; John Williams, FLC Agency Representative Alternate, U.S. Navy; J. Susan Sprake, FLC Vice-Chair.

Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport - Newport, R.I.

The members of this team were honored for development of the Blue Rose Fiber Optic Perimeter Security and Detection System. Blue Rose detects an intruder via changes in the buried optical fiber caused by sound waves in the ground. The system alerts the operator with an audio alarm as well as a visual display of the location of the intrusion along the perimeter. An integrated camera system utilizes GPS information relayed by Blue Rose to tilt, pan and zoom to the precise location for further visual identification of the intruder. This technology is being made available as a commercial product for perimeter security at airports, power plants, oil and gas refineries, commercial and domestic buildings, pipelines and international borders.

Team members: Dr. Fletcher Blackmon, Roger Howlett, Gerard Poirier, James Pollock, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport; Hugh Murphy, Purvis Systems, Inc.