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Seven enter Inventors’ Hall of Fame

Seven inventors were honored for each conceiving of five U.S. patented inventions in their careers and were inducted into the INL Inventors “Hall of Fame.” A retired INL inventor was recognized for reaching the next “Hall of Fame” plateau that represents 10 or more U.S. patented inventions.

The only national laboratory to recognize lifetime achievements for accruing five, 10, 15 and 20 U.S. patented inventions, the INL “Hall of Fame” was established in 2002 to provide public recognition and monetary awards based on levels of creativity. So far, six inventors have been recognized for being named on at least 10 U.S. patents, and 32 inventors for having at least five U.S. patents.

To date, INL has recognized in the “Hall of Fame” 30 inventors who have amassed more than 190 inventions and received about $135,000 in recognition as part of their lifetime achievement awards.

These special awards are funded by royalty income from licensing agreements with the Laboratory. Efforts to advance technologies created at INL and license them continue to pay dividends for the inventors and the Laboratory.

New environmental, energy and manufacturing technologies

Among the contributions recognized this year were over a dozen patents involving environmental technologies, more than half a dozen in energy technologies, a patent on spray forming technologies to produce molds, dies and related tooling, plus patents on new methods for producing metallic materials and forming hardened surfaces. An example of an environmental technology is the invention of a new way to monitor indoor air for contaminants.

These and many of the other patents have exceptional potential for application in areas including health, manufacturing, environmental cleanup, national security, nuclear and fossil-fuel energy systems and renewable energy systems.

John Johnson, a retired INL employee now living in Ashland, Ore., received special recognition and $12,500 for achieving both five and 10 U.S. patents, mainly in ultrasonic sensors and exotic control techniques.

Six new Hall of Fame members are credited with five U.S. patented inventions and received $2,500. They include:

• Mark Argyle, who has conducted distinguished research in process chemistry and nuclear technologies
• Robert Fox, who works in the areas of process chemistry, analytical chemistry, separations science and supercritical fluids
• Stuart Janikowski, who specializes in process and environmental chemistry research
• Kevin Kostelnik, who has five inventions in the area of environmental remediation technology and institutional management of residual contaminants
• Eric Larsen, who has completed significant research in the fields of instrumentation and control of industrial processes
• Ann Marie Phillips,who has worked mainly in buried waste containment and sensor monitoring systems

More Patents, More Successes

A patent received by Reed Hoskinson, Richard Hess, Kevin Kenney, John Svoboda and Thomas Foust will contribute to rural economic development and harvesting renewable energy from plant materials. The patent, titled “Method and Apparatus for Selectively Harvesting Multiple Components of a Plant Material,” was granted for methods and inventions to harvest grain from plant material and at least one additional component of the plant material during a single pass of the equipment.

Another patent reflects the collaborative efforts of Joel Hubbell and Buck Sisson. They earned three patents in 2004. One was for the “Deep Lysimeter,” a hydrological instrument used to sample liquids or monitor soil or substrates. Another was for the “Horizontal Advanced Tensiometer,” which can monitor water pressure and soil positions in order to determine how surrounding soil and rock hold water. The third patent, titled “Portable Suction Lysimeter,” was issued to Hubbell and Sisson for inventing a method for retrieving a liquid sample through use of a portable sampling device.

Scott Harris, Joel Johnson, Jeffrey Neiswanger and Kevin Twitchell received a patent for the improvement to call centers. Called “Systems Configured to Distribute a Telephone Call, Communication Methods and Methods of Routing a Telephone Call to a Service Representative,” this technology was the core technology for @Work Technologies Corporation, a 1998 startup company.

This year, 97 inventors were recognized, representing 32 patents issued, including three international patents. The patents granted during 2004 offer technological advances in a variety of areas, including energy systems, environmental protection and cleanup, chemical management, homeland defense, military and personal security, and many more.