HELPING BUSINESS
Partners with companies such as BP-Amoco, Astronautics of America, Inc., 3M, Atlas Scientific

NEW BUSINESS STARTUP
Contributed to the startup of 16 new companies nationwide, including CombiSep, Carbon Energy Technology Inc., Advanced Analytical Technologies Inc., MTEC Photoacoustics, Edge Technologies, Innovative Materials, Inc., and Integrated Sensor Technologies

EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Encourages student interest in math and science through programs such as High School and Middle School Science Bowls, and the DOE's Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) , and Academies Creating Teacher Scientists (ACTS) programs. Winner of the 1998 Ames Laboratory/ISU Regional High School Science Bowl also won the DOE National Science Bowl title.

HISTORY
Ames Laboratory was officially founded in May 1947 following work to produce purified uranium for the Manhattan Project. The Lab is celebrating 60 years of successful partnership between a federal agency and a state-run university.

CONTRACT
Government-owned, contractor-operated research laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. Ames Laboratory’s contract is operated for the DOE by Iowa State University.

BACKGROUND

• Estimated FY08 budget of $30 million
• More than 400 full- and part-time employees, including 230 scientists and engineers
• More than 280 non-paid associates in departments throughout Iowa State University.
• Graduate students make up over 20 percent of work force
• Annual payroll of approximately $16 million
• Supplies approximately 18 percent of federally sponsored research funding received by ISU
  

MISSION

• Conduct basic and applied research in the chemical, materials, mathematical, engineering and environmental sciences, and physics in support of the Department of Energy’s mission and vision
• Transfer technologies to improve industrial competitiveness
• Educate the next generation of scientist and engineers

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Materials design, synthesis and processing
• Analytical instrumentation/device design/fabrication
• Condensed matter theory (including photonic band gap and other novel materials)
• Materials characterization, X-ray and neutron scattering, solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and spectroscopy/microscopy
• Separation science

RECENT SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS

• Significant advancements in research on left-handed materials, also known as metamaterials, could lead to the development of a flat superlens with the power to see inside a human cell.
• Patented lead-free solder formula licensed by more than 60 companies worldwide to help meet restrictions banning lead from consumer products.
• Exploring the use of mesoporous nanoparticles to selectively deliver drug or gene therapies inside targeted cells while leaving healthy cells untreated and unharmed by dangerous side affects.
• Developed a software program that can quickly analyze and detect if a computer image has been altered with other secretly embedded, or steganographic, computer data.
• Discovery of the structure of fuel cell membranes using nuclear magnetic resonance imaging.
• Developed polymer materials that self-assemble and react to changes in temperature and pH similar to naturally occurring proteins and biomolecules.

SPECIALIZED RESEARCH CENTER

• Materials Preparation Center is a specialized research center managed by DOE's Office of Basic Energy Sciences that provides advanced materials to industry, university and government research centers. MPC is recognized throughout the worldwide research community for its unique capabilities in the preparation, purification, and characterization of rare earth, alkaline-earth, and refractory metal materials.

AWARDS

• 16 R&D Awards since 1984. Latest in 2006 for development of a novel software engineering tool that greatly eases the problem-solving and decision-making process for engineers.
• European Union’s Descartes Prize for Excellence in Scientific Collaborative Research in Physics in 2005.
• Six National Academy of Engineering inductees.
• National Academy of Science inductee in 2002.
• American Chemical Society Awards in both Chromatography and Theoretical Chemistry in 2002.
• Federal Laboratory Consortiuum's 2007 Outstanding Laboratory, Mid-Continent Region