Technology Beyond the Fence; Opportunities at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Y/PG-3386
Oak Ridge, Tennessee: Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, c1993. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Staplebound. 48 pages, plus covers. Illustrations (many in color). This booklet contains a brief overview of the Y-12 development, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities and a collection of one-page write-ups of some of the technologies available for transfer to private industry. The Y-12 National Security Complex is a United States Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration facility located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It was built as part of the Manhattan Project for the purpose of enriching uranium for the first atomic bombs. It is considered the birthplace of the atomic bomb. In the years after World War II, it has been operated as a manufacturing facility for nuclear weapons components and related defense purposes. Y-12's primary missions since the end of the Cold War have been to support defense needs through stockpile stewardship, assist on issues of nuclear non-proliferation, support the Naval Reactors program, and provide expertise to other federal agencies. Y-12 is also responsible for the maintenance and production of all uranium parts for every nuclear weapon in the United States arsenal. Y-12 is responsible for the production and maintenance of the "secondary" aspect of thermonuclear devices. Y-12 has a history of providing secure storage of nuclear material for both the United States and other governments. Martin Marietta became Lockheed Martin in 1995 so this publication was produced somewhat earlier than that date. Technology transfer, also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization. It occurs along various axes: among universities, from universities to businesses (and vice versa), from large businesses to smaller ones (and vice versa), from governments to businesses (and vice versa), across geopolitical borders, both formally and informally, and both openly and surreptitiously. Often it occurs by concerted effort to share skills, knowledge, technologies, methods of manufacturing, samples of manufacturing, and facilities among governments or universities and other institutions to ensure that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users who can then further develop and exploit the technology into new products, processes, applications, materials, or services. It is closely related to (and may arguably be considered a subset of) knowledge transfer. Horizontal transfer is the movement of technologies from one area to another. At present[when?] transfer of technology (TOT) is primarily horizontal. Vertical transfer occurs when technologies are moved from applied research centers to research and development departments.
Technology transfer is promoted at conferences organized by such groups as the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Association of University Technology Managers, and at "challenge" competitions by organizations such as the Center for Advancing Innovation in Maryland. Local venture capital organizations such as the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association (MAVA) also sponsor conferences at which investors assess the potential for commercialization of technology.
Technology brokers are people who discovered how to bridge the emergent worlds and apply scientific concepts or processes to new situations or circumstances. A related term, used almost synonymously, especially in Europe, is "technology valorization". While conceptually the practice has been utilized for many years (in ancient times, Archimedes was notable for applying science to practical problems), the present-day volume of research, combined with high-profile failures at Xerox PARC and elsewhere, has led to a focus on the process itself.
Whereas technology transfer can involve the dissemination of highly complex technology from capital-intensive origins to low-capital recipients (and can involve aspects of dependency and fragility of systems), it also can involve appropriate technology, not necessarily high-tech or expensive, that is better disseminated, yielding robustness and independence of systems. Condition: Very good.
Keywords: Technology Transfer, Y-12, Oak Ridge, Research and Development, Computer-Aided Manufacturing, Prototype, Process Prove-in, CRADA, Cooperative Research, Numerical Control, Precision Manufacturing, Agile Manufacturing, Nondestructive Testing
[Book #80361]
Price: $50.00