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Top director
Ames Laboratory director named FLC Laboratory Director of the Year.
- Tom Barton, director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory
and a distinguished professor of chemistry, is the Federal Laboratory Consortium
for Technology Transfer Laboratory Director of the Year.
The Laboratory Director of the Year award is given to directors who have
made outstanding contributions supporting technology transfer activities
at their laboratory. The award will be presented May 7 at the FLC National
Meeting in Tucson, Ariz.
"It is an honor to be recognized by the FLC because this organization
represents the best in efforts to help federal laboratories, such as the
Ames Laboratory, strengthen ties with industry," said Barton. "These
ties are essential if we are to help build Iowa's and our nation's economy."
"This is a well-deserved honor for Tom Barton," said Iowa State
University President Gregory Geoffroy. "He has worked tirelessly in
shaping the focus of Ames Laboratory and making sure that Ames Lab is accessible
to industry. His efforts have helped make the laboratory a rich resource
for Iowa business and industry, and it has helped generate economic growth
for the state."
The FLC is a nationwide network of more than 700 federal laboratories and
centers and their parent departments and agencies. The FLC's primary focus
is moving federal laboratory research and technology into the mainstream
of the U.S. economy.
"Because of the competitiveness and prestige of the award, being selected
as a recipient is an honor which recognizes both the excellence of the director's
efforts and the facility's technology transfer program," said Ann Rydalch,
chair of the FLC.
Barton has been the director of the Ames Laboratory since 1988. The laboratory
has a workforce of approximately 500 employees, more than half of who are
scientists and engineers. Its estimated budget for 2003 is $29 million.
The laboratory's technology transfer program provides numerous opportunities
for companies to collaborate with the lab, from contract research to licensing
of patents. Since 1986, 136 U.S. patents have been issued on technologies
resulting from Ames Laboratory research. In addition, Ames Lab research
has been the basis for 14 start-up companies. The most recent of these is
CombiSep Inc., an Ames, company that manufactures the MCE 2000, a sophisticated
instrument for separating and measuring a variety of chemical compounds.
In addition to his duties as director of Ames Laboratory, Barton is also
director of Iowa State's Institute for Physical Research and Technology,
a position he's held since 1998. In 1999, Barton was elected a member of
the National Advisors Group for the FLC. This select panel of approximately
15 people provides guidance to the FLC in pursuing its technology-transfer
goals and making the organization more effective. The group includes senior
agency officials, laboratory administrators and industry leaders.
Ames Laboratory is operated for the Department of Energy by Iowa State University.
The laboratory conducts research into various areas of national concern,
including energy resources, high-speed computer design, environmental cleanup
and restoration, and the synthesis and study of new materials. More information
about Ames Laboratory can be found at www.ameslab.
Around LAS
April 7-27, 2003
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