Press Release
Hybrid Plastics and Air Force Research Laboratory Receive Federal Laboratory Consortium’s Excellence in Technology Transfer Award

ountain Valley, August 3, 2000:  Hybrid Plastics has announced receipt of the 2000 Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer from the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) for the transfer of Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (POSS) Nanotechnology to the private sector. Joining a select number of individuals receiving these coveted awards, the teams at Hybrid Plastics and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) were recognized for their technology transfer accomplishments during FLC’s annual banquet in Charleston, SC.
Described as one of the most coveted awards in the field of technology transfer, the FLC Awards for Excellence in Technology recognizes individuals for their outstanding work in transferring technology developed at Federal Laboratories into the marketplace. Award candidates are chosen each year for demonstrating uncommon creativity and initiative in the transfer of technology that significantly benefits industry, state an local governments and the public in general. This year a panel of technology transfer experts form industry, academia, state and local governments as well as the federal laboratory system selected 105 winners from 18 laboratories and 7 federal agencies.

The technology transfer between Hybrid Plastics and AFRL took the form of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) as well as the licensing of Air Force patents. Hybrid Plastics assembled an expert team of scientists, engineers and business people to transition POSS™ technology from AFRL, and launched commercial production of POSS feedstocks in less than three months.

Nanostructured™ Chemical Technology promises to usher in the next generation of polymers, pharmaceuticals, and coatings. Originally developed to meet the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) demand for light weight, ultra-high performance polymeric materials, POSS™ reagents, monomers, and polymers have been used in numerous applications ranging from rocket motors to medical prosthetics. POSS feedstocks are hybrid inorganic (silicon based) and organic (carbon based) systems, which can be viewed as discrete, chemically modified particles of silica (sand). POSS™ nanostrutures are unique in that they are truly nanoscopic (one billionth of a meter) in size and that they can be used as true chemical feedstocks rather than nonreactive clay or silica particles.

POSS™ nanostructured reagents, monomers, and polymers produce turnkey chemical technology that works in existing manufacturing equipment, thus affording users of the technology immediate benefits. Hybrid Plastics’ nanostructured chemicals are currently distributed globally in the R&D chemicals market through Aldrich and Gelest chemical companies. Hybrid Plastics is the only commercial supplier of POSS™ technology, and has joined with several industrial partners for specific R&D ventures and product development..

Sponsored by the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer and now in its 16tth year, the Awards for Excellence in Technology Transfer solicits nominations from more than 700 research laboratories – representing 17 federal departments and agencies – with over 100,000 scientists and engineers. Previous award winning technologies have not only generated millions of dollars in revenues, but have also increased the competitiveness of U.S. industries.