The container is an electro/optical-mechanical system that secures high value items from disclosure, theft, tampering and espionage. The technology uses additive-manufacturing techniques for concurrent creation of a container and arbitrarily complex-shaped 3D tamper-sensitive features within its walls and lid. Encrypted boards stored inside permanently record the complete security history of the protected items.
John Bernardin, Alessandro Cattaneo, Jack Gioia, Alexandria Marchi and David Mascarenas led the team of Graham Arinder, Aaron Juntunen, Ryan Maki, Peter Meyerhofer and Alexander Rose.
The highly scalable safety system quickly detects damage and defects in large structures in the oil and gas industries and civil infrastructure. Distributed acoustic sensors and integrated software noninvasively monitor structures, regardless of size, complexity or access limitations. This cost-effective solution can extend the life of large capital investments and protect natural resources and the environment.
Los Alamos led the joint entry with Chevron U.S.A. and Evident-Scientific/Olympus. Alp Findikoglu directed the Los Alamos team, including Taeho Ju.
In addition to the R&D 100 Award, ALArM won the Bronze Medal Special Recognition Award for Market Disruptor – Products, which highlights any product from any category that has changed the game in any industry.
Watch a video of this Acoustic Large-Area Monitoring technology
The full-structure, 3D nondestructive evaluation tool rapidly identifies subtle, hidden material defects, such as corrosion, cracking and delamination, which can undermine structural integrity. ASSESS can inspect metals, plastics, composites and additively manufactured components. The integrated field-deployable instrument leverages continuous ultrasonic excitation and laser Doppler vibrometry to perform inspections at stand-off distances.
The Los Alamos team consisted of Ian Cummings, Joshua Eckels, Peter Fickenwirth, Eric Flynn, Erica Jacobson, Matthew Luceadams, Alison Root and Adam Wachtor.
Watch a video of this Acoustic Steady-State Excitation Spatial Spectroscopy technology
The technology revolutionizes the process of polymer design and optimization for bioplastics production of biodegradable material. The software uses machine-learning models and polymer informatics to identify and optimize new biopolymer chemistries and physical properties. The technology screens millions of possible polymer combinations to save significant time and resources compared to trial-and-error of traditional R&D.
Joseph Dumont led the Los Alamos team of Carl Iverson, Babetta Marrone and Ghanshyam Pilania.
BioMANIAC also won also won the Bronze Medal Special Recognition Award for Market Disruptor – Services, which any service from any category as one that forever changed the R&D industry or a particular vertical within the industry.
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The nimble and user-friendly software package provides tools for analytical epidemiological decision support. It fully accounts for geographical factors and human interventions that influence epidemic outcomes. EpiGrid is fully documented and includes worked examples that span the relevant epidemiology, biology, geography and mitigation scenarios. EpiGrid has aided the U.S response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paul Fenimore led the Los Alamos team of Adam Atchley, Kate Bubar, Jessica Conrad, Mira Dimitrijevic, Leticia Cuellar-Hengartner, Carrie Manore, Benjamin McMahon, Jake Miner, Judith Mourant, Angelika Saeger, Sarah Voter and Kristen Wilding.
EpiGrid also received the Silver Medal Special Recognition for Battling COVID-19. This award highlights any innovation that was employed to battle the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
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The capacitive energy modules power energetic X-ray and electron beam generating devices. A design from first principles using sophisticated design and simulation software and state-of-the-art components has produced durable modules that generate higher energy photons and produce a higher X-ray dose than existing units. The higher X-ray dose results in clearer radiographs of dense objects moving at extremely high speeds. These radiographic images can be used to refine computer models for device behavior under extreme conditions.
Kalpak Dighe led the Los Alamos team of Robert Sedillo, Timothy Byers and John Wilson.
The novel type of broadband antenna “slings” tightly focused wave packets precisely toward a target location. Unlike conventional antennas, they use polarization currents, animated within a dielectric material to faster-than-light speeds, as their emission mechanism. LightSlingers provide better coverage, efficiency, bandwidth and security than traditional antennas or phased arrays, in a sturdier package with far fewer components.
Andrea Schmidt and John Singleton led the Los Alamos team of Connor Bailey, Frank Krawczyk, Helen Lu, Kimberly Nichols and James Wigger.
LightSlingers also won the Gold Medal Special Recognition for Green Technology Award, which recognizes innovations that help make our environment greener and our goal toward energy reduction closer; and the Bronze Medal Special Recognition for Corporate Social Responsibility Award, which honors organizational efforts to be a greater corporate member of society.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a member of the Intel Neuromorphic Research Community, developed the open-source ONBA to provide low-power machine learning (ML) on brain-like (neuromorphic) computers. The algorithm runs on Intel’s Loihi chip, which emulates how the brain communicates via voltage spikes. Providing learning entirely on-chip greatly reduces power usage compared with standard computer architectures. Energy-efficient neuromorphic architectures decrease the carbon footprint of ML and support autonomous devices, such as drones, satellites and robots.
Andrew Sornborger led the team of Alpha Renner, Forrest Sheldon, Jordan Snyder, Louis Tao and Anatoly Zlotnik.
Nuclear technology, including nuclear power and nuclear medicine, needs safeguards to prevent the unintended spread of nuclear materials. SOFIA provides rapid nondestructive isotopic analysis of radioactive materials without taking a sample or even opening typical containers. SOFIA’s simple infrastructure requirements and compact size are optimal for nuclear fuel cycle facilities, medical isotope production and environmental monitoring laboratories.
Los Alamos led the joint entry of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado-Boulder. Mark Croce directed the Los Alamos team of Matthew Carpenter, Eric Feissle, Katrina Koehler, Daniel McNeel, David Mercer, Katharine Schreiber, Sophie Weidenbenner and Ryan Winkler.