Northeast Region Labs Among FLC Award Winners

Two laboratories from the Northeast Region have been selected as winners of 2008 FLC awards. The awards, which recognize outstanding technology transfer efforts from laboratories across the country, will be presented in Portland, Oregon, on May 8. Read more

2008 NE Region Spring Meeting Review

The Northeast Region held its spring meeting February 20-22 in Pomona, New Jersey. The three-day meeting drew a large number of technology transfer professionals from government, industry, and academia, as well as members of the FLC Executive Board. Read more

Efficient Catalysts for Making Oxygen for Artificial Photosynthesis

Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Institute for Molecular Science in Japan are trying to mimic part of the complex natural process of photosynthesis with the goal of making nonpolluting fuels such as hydrogen for use in fuel cells. In the March 10, 2008, web release of the journal Inorganic Chemistry containing a forum on "Making Oxygen," the scientists report they were able to mimic the "water oxidation catalysis" that occurs in natural photosynthesis. Read more

Navy Lakehurst Wins Chief of Naval Operations Environmental Awards

Naval Air Engineering Station (NAES) Lakehurst recently received two 2007 Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Environmental Awards for Natural Resources Conservation for Small Installations, and for Environmental Quality for Non-industrial Installations. The CNO Environmental Awards Program recognizes ships, installations, and individuals (or teams) for their exceptional environmental stewardship. Read more

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Held For SSC-Natick Facility

On March 7, the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center (SSC) in Natick, Massachusetts, held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Thermal Test Facility (TTF). This facility will provide the center's researchers with unprecedented capabilities to evaluate the effect of flame and thermal threats against protective clothing and individual equipment. It also will assist in the development of new and improved materials for flame and thermal protection for the individual soldier. Read more

Cream of the Crop: Genetic Preservation of Crops

During the 900-day German siege of Leningrad during World War II, the city's food supply dwindled and eventually disappeared. More than half a million Russians starved to death, powerless against the fate imposed by a ruthless war. But some died willingly. In the world's largest seed bank—stocked with hundreds of thousands of plant specimens by the Russian botanist Nikolai Vavilov and his colleagues—many staff members chose to die rather than consume the edible genetic materials they'd been maintaining since the 19th century. Read more