The award was presented in the Color Microscopy category as part of NASA-sponsored ORNL research on the application of single crystals of stainless steel to investigations of gravitational effects on solidification and stainless steel microstructures. The ORNL project recorded the melting and solidification of stainless steel during a test of gravitational force in a NASA DC-9 research aircraft. The award-winning entry is called "Gravitational Effects On Solidification Microstructures In A Single Crystal Ternary Alloy."
ORNL's Solid State Division worked with NASA on the project. The test has practical applications for construction and steel fabrication processes, including future construction operations in space.
ORNL personnel working on the project are D. P. Corrigan, an Oak Ridge Associated Universities postgraduate research trainee working in ORNL's Solid State Division; Lynn Boatner of the Solid State Division; Janie Gardner of ORNL's Metals and Ceramics Division; and Allison Baldwin of ORNL's Graphics and Photography Services.
ORNL, one of DOE's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation.