December 11, 1995 — Dr. Anthony V. Palumbo, group leader for microbial interactions in the Environmental Sciences Division of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), was invited by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to participate in the review of the 1995 Small Business Innovation Research Phase I proposals on biotechnical, biophysical and macromolecular systems.
The foundation's mission is to promote the progress of science and engineering. Each year, the NSF provides grants to small businesses to attempt high-risk, high-quality research that will likely lead to commercial applications. Palumbo and a panel of 11 researchers reviewed the applications from this year's small business applicants in the area of biological instrumentation. The panelists then recommended applicants to phase II of the proposal process.
Biological instrumentation includes biological imaging such as nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, bioreporters and biosensors, DNA technology and computer programs. Bioreporters are bacteria that glow in response to their environmental conditions. He has worked with them for the last five years at ORNL and they are the basis of a large research project at ORNL. Bioreporter and biosensor techniques are also special areas of interest for Palumbo. As a result of his knowledge on the subject and his participation with phase I, Palumbo may be invited to participate during the review phase II of proposals. There, applicants develop the products proposed during phase I.
Palumbo did postdoctoral work at ORNL three years before becoming a full-time staff researcher in the Environmental Sciences Division. He received a bachelor of science degree in biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and master's and doctorate degrees from North Carolina State. He completed postdoctoral work at the University of North Carolina, the University of Tennessee and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Palumbo lives in Oak Ridge with his wife, Joanne, and their daughters, Jennifer, 16, Kristen, 11, and Amy, 8.
ORNL, one of DOE's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, which also manages the Oak Ridge K-25 Site and the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant.