View the PDF version of the Northeast Regional Newsletter — Winter 2012

Happy New Year, and welcome to the first issue of our newsletter for 2012. The past 12 months brought positive developments to the Northeast Region as more of our laboratories sought partnerships to fully exploit the technologies they worked tirelessly to create. Federal laboratories are key to the economic health of the regions in which they are based, and reaching out to local partners to advance a “homegrown” technology is a way to help these regions withstand the financial uncertainties that befall too many communities. Read more

NEFSC - Ribbed Mussels Offer Possible Natural Way to Improve Urban Water Quality

Using a 20-foot by 25-foot mussel raft in New York City’s Bronx River as their field location, researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Northeast Fisheries Science Center's (NEFSC) Milford Laboratory in Milford, Conn., have begun a two-year pilot study to test how effectively ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) can remove nitrogen and other excess nutrients from the water. Scientists are monitoring the condition of the mussels, which are growing on lines hanging below the raft, as well as local water quality over time to see how each responds. Read more

Volpe Scientist Recognized by White House with Early Career Award

The White House recently named John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center employee Dr. Kristin C. Lewis as the recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. Read more

New Microscope at Brookhaven Lab Promises Unprecedented Experimental Opportunities in Materials Science

A new class of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic microscope has been developed at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The microscope will be used for advanced research on a wide range of technologically important materials systems. This new class of microscope was invented by Raymond Browning of R. Browning Consultants and funded by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) contracts. A prototype of the new instrument, a vector potential photoelectron microscope (VPPEM), has been built in collaboration with the NIST Synchrotron Methods Group at the laboratory’s National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS). Read more

R.I. Governor, Congressional Delegation Help NUWC Newport Break Ground for New $20.7 Million Facility

The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport broke ground for a new $20.7 million electromagnetic sensor facility on October 31.  R.I. Governor Lincoln Chafee, Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and Congressman David Cicilline attended and participated in the groundbreaking. Read more

Picatinny Arsenal Sweeps 6 of 10 Greatest Inventions

Innovating. Elegant simplicity. Ease of use.

Army senior science leadership used these words to describe this year's 2010 Army Top Ten Greatest Inventions, or AGI, during an awards ceremony October 11 in Washington, D.C.  Picatinny teams swept 6 of the 10 AGIs during the ceremony, making this the installation's most bountiful to date. Read more