Luncheon to honor ORNL patent recipients

In the race for technology, research at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge facilities resulted in 54 newly issued patents inventions last year. Sixty-one researchers contributed to the patents and will be honored at the annual Inventors Forum Luncheon at noon on Thursday, May 1 at the Garden Plaza Hotel.

Inventors will receive copies of their patents and congratulatory letters from Richard Genung, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation (LMER), and Bob Van Hook, president of Lockheed Martin Energy Systems (LMES). First-time patent recipients will receive silver acorns to indicate membership in the Inventors Forum.

Nine inventors contributed to three or more patents: Curtis B. Ayers, John B. Bates, Donald A. Casada, Nancy J. Dudney, Howard D. Haynes, Robert J. Lauf, Charles D. Scott, Richard L. Tyndal and Tuan Vo-Dinh.

Nick Glover, managing partner of Venture Alliance, a Knoxville company designed to create new business ventures, will deliver the keynote address at the luncheon. His lecture, "New Business Dynamics," will highlight necessary expectations and responsibilities of business entrepreneurs.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by LMER for the Department of Energy, and the Y-12 Plant and East Tennessee Technology Park are managed by LMES.