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NEWS | March 8, 2017

NSWC Crane's Brooke Pyne Wins National FLC Award

By NSWC Crane Public Affairs

CRANE, Ind. – Brooke Pyne, the technology transfer (T2) manager at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane), has been named the National T2 Rookie of the Year by the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC).

The FLC Rookie of the Year Award recognizes the efforts of an FLC laboratory T2 professional who has demonstrated outstanding work in a manner significantly over and above what was called for in the normal course of their work during the past year. The nominee must be new to T2 with three years (or less) experience in a T2 position.

Pyne is the first-ever winner of this award from any Naval Surface Warfare Center. She took over as T2 manager in November 2014. Pyne will receive her award on April 26 at the Omni San Antonio Hotel.

In the two-plus years since then, Pyne has helped elevate NSWC Crane’s T2 program to an unprecedented level in terms of numbers of signed T2 agreements, strategic partnerships with state organizations, universities, and industry, and the size and quality of the lab’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio. NSWC Crane currently has 153 signed T2 Agreements and 524 items in its IP portfolio.

“I am truly humbled, honored and grateful to have been nominated, let alone selected, for this award,” Pyne said. “It is an even greater honor to be placed in such distinguished ranks as past honorees, most of whom are now T2 colleagues that have influenced the evolution and direction of the NSWC Crane T2 Program." 

Pyne also attracted and leveraged approximately $1 million in government funding and university resources for T2 activities. These types of T2 activities will be instrumental in the execution of collaboration between NSWC Crane and local universities through a $16 million grant from the Eli Lilly Endowment.

Under Pyne’s leadership, NSWC Crane’s IP portfolio has increased by over 40 percent, and Crane’s collaborative research and development agreements (CRADAs) and patent license agreements (PLAs) have hit record numbers. In addition, the processing time for T2 agreements, which used to take multiple months, has been cut to just weeks. Pyne accomplished this through leading and implementing a new approval process as well as a tracking/managing tool.

As a result of her efforts and experience, Pyne was elected to serve as the FLC’s Executive Board, serving as the Midwest Regional Coordinator for a two-year term.

“This award is a true reflection of the dedication and support of NSWC Crane leadership and the fostered environment that offers expanded opportunity and breeds success,” Pyne said. “This award is more appropriately deserved by the entire NSWC Crane T2 team, along with our many internal and external partners who have collaborated in achieving the NSWC Crane T2 vision."

NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with focus areas in Expeditionary Warfare, Strategic Missions and Electronic Warfare. The warfare center is responsible for multi-domain, multi- spectral, full life cycle support of technologies and systems enhancing capability to today’s warfighter.