October 18, 2006—R&D Magazine recently announced the winners of the 44th Annual R&D 100 Awards, which recognize excellence in innovation on a global scale. The year-long judging process selected products and technologies that “will have a definitive impact on research, industry, and daily life.”
Winners were chosen in the categories of: Analytical Instruments, Materials & Metals, Communications, Mechanical Systems, Electronic Equipment, Microscopy, Energy/Environmental, Process Technology, Exclusives, Safety, Laboratory Equipment, Software, Lasers, Vacuum/Semiconductors, and Life Science.
Some of the winning products and technologies relevant to FMs include:
- the OptiNet Facility Monitoring System from Acuity, which continuously monitors a facility’s indoor environment so adjustments can be made to optimize the building’s ventilation for energy efficiency and environmental quality;
- Quantapoint QuantaCAD software that enables 3-D laser-scanned models of existing buildings to be accessed within 3-D CAD tools so modifications can be made;
- a nano-composite polymer particle engineered by scientists at DOE’s Idaho National Lab to remove arsenic concentrations from water, rendering it safe to drink;
- a rigid, lightweight carbon foam from GrafTech useful in safety structures, aerospace manufacturing, and military defense applications;
- an environmentally friendly industrial cleaning and grease-removal process from Mitsubishi Electric;
- a fingerprint identification system from Mitsubishi Electric;
- a compact card from DOE’s Lawrence Livermore National Lab and Field Forensics to screen for explosives;
- a broad-area, high-resolution, real-time motion imagery system for surveillance applications from DOE’s LLNL;
- a detection technology from MesoSystems Technology that allows fast response to aerosolized pathogens used in a bioterrorist attack; and
- a dehumidification system and a hybrid solar lighting system from DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
For a full list and more information about the 2006 awardees, visit R&D.
