WEST BETHESDA, Md. –
Naval
Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division Technology Transfer Director Dr.
Joseph Teter and Deputy Director Alyssa Littlestone were recognized for their
work at the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) for Technology Transfer Regional Awards ceremony, Nov. 3 in Rockville, Maryland.
The FLC is
the nationwide network of federal laboratories that provides the forum to develop
strategies and opportunities for linking laboratory mission technologies and
expertise with the marketplace. The FLC was formally chartered by the Federal
Technology Transfer Act of 1986 to promote and strengthen technology transfer
nationwide. Today, approximately 300 federal laboratories and centers and their
parent departments and agencies are FLC members.
Teter, Littlestone
and Dr. Alison LaBonte of the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) were awarded the
Interagency Partnership Award for their work in setting up a new type of
collaborative agreement called, appropriately enough, an Interagency Agreement,
to help execute the DoE’s Wave Energy Prize. This award is given to federal
science and technology employees from at least two agencies that have collaboratively
accomplished outstanding, groundbreaking work in the area of technology
transfer.
Carderock
has been engaged in this interagency agreement with the DoE since fall 2014. The
goal of this effort was to create an opportunity for industry, academia and the
federal government to work together to further alternative wave energy
solutions for the future. The contest is a “design-build-test” competition for
industry and academia, with a potential for prizes to be awarded of more than
$2 million.
“This
agreement is one that the Navy has not used much, if any, and will allow us to
partner with DoE under an agreement much like a memorandum of understanding but
that has a little more weight to it,” Teter said.
The
devices being designed will capture energy from the physical motion of waves
and help to achieve the DoE’s goal of doubling the energy capture, ultimately
making wave energy more affordable. There have been limitations and challenges
that have prevented these devices from making it onto the market as an
affordable energy solution up to this point.
“The
great thing about this agreement is we are looking at wave energy convertor
technologies that will be brought to us by up to 10 different companies,” Teter
said. “They are going to compete against each other, but specifically against
the criteria that the DoE has put forward.”
LaBonte
said she felt honored to have received this award as a result of the
collaboration. “Carderock has embraced the opportunity to work with DoE on the
Wave Energy Prize from the get-go and ever since that time has demonstrated
their commitment to the initiative by amplifying it with their people, ideas and
technical capacity building,” she said.
A key
part of this operation is the use of Carderock’s Maneuvering and Seakeeping
basin (MASK) in West Bethesda, Maryland. “It is the only place in the world where
we can put these different companies’ technologies in one spot, do the same
kind of measurement on each one and really be able to compare them one-to-one,”
Teter said.
In the
past, industry leaders have been unable to exactly characterize these new types
of devices, Teter said. “So now we have come up with one criteria set to
characterize them. Everybody will be on an even playing field and the results
will be shared with everyone,” he said.
“The
Wave Energy Prize is a great example of federal laboratory collaboration in
order to execute a novel technology competition – gathering apples-to-apples
data from up to 10 teams’ wave energy devices in the most advanced wavemaking
facility,” LaBonte said.
Up to 10
of the top participants will be announced in 2016 and will start testing
their creations at the MASK later in the year.
“Support
for the Wave Energy Prize from both agencies is strong, not only at the
division/technology program level, but extends up to our leadership at both
agencies,” LaBonte said. “I can’t wait to showcase the technologies during the
final tank testing in summer 2016 to our leadership and others who have helped
make the Wave Energy Prize happen at Carderock.”
The
other award Carderock took home was the Rookie of the Year
award that was given to Littlestone for her outstanding work in the technology
transfer field this past year.
Littlestone
accepted her position in the Technology Transfer office in February 2014 and since
then, the number of cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs)
and partnership income has increased by 300 percent.
As
deputy director of technology transfer, Littlestone facilitates partnerships,
manages the lab’s intellectual property and communicates with Carderock
researchers and management, industry representatives and local and federal
government sectors. She has also participated in numerous industry outreach events,
workshops, training sessions and forums.
Littlestone
has also helped Technology Transfer Director Dr. Joseph Teter increase the
annual metrics for active CRADAs and educational partnership agreements to
record highs in fiscal years 2014 and 2015.