The NASA Government Invention of the Year Award is awarded to the invention “Boron Nitride Nanotubes,” at Langley Research Center, the agency’s Office of the General Counsel has announced.
NASA Langley in Hampton, Virginia; the Department of Energy’s Jefferson Lab in Newport News, Virginia, and the National Institute of Aerospace in Hampton collaborated on the research and develop for this technology. Technology development was supported in part by the Department of Energy, the Office of Naval Research and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The invention includes a novel approach to synthesizing high-quality boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) without a metal catalyst using a high pressure and temperature method. This is the first breakthrough discovery to produce high quality BNNTs without any catalyst at a scalable amount since the first BNNT synthesis was reported back in 1994.
The BNNTs produced from this process are lightweight, stable, and exhibit high strength. This heat resistant material can be used at high service temperatures and for radiation shielding.
A runner-up award was given to NASA Langley for its “Solid Freeform Fabrication Apparatus and Methods; Closed Loop Process Control for Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication and Deposition Process; Use of Beam Deflection to Control Electron Beam Wire Deposition Process.”
NASA develops and funds the development of many innovations. The annual program recognizes inventions that have significantly contributed to NASA programs, or that exemplify the agency’s mission to transfer cutting edge technology to U.S. industry.
