image: Element3 hosted Texas Governor Greg Abbot for a ribbon cutting at their new lithium extraction facility in Midland, Texas. From left, U.S. Space Force mobilization assistant to the chief of space operations Major General John M. Olson (Ret.), Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian, DOE director of the Office of Technology Commercialization and Chief Commercialization Officer Anthony Pugliese, Governor Greg Abbott and founder and CEO of Element3 Hood Whitson.
Credit: Credit: Element3
The Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) awards recognize outstanding achievements in the successful transfer of technology from laboratory to industry. The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory was recently awarded six FLC awards, including the 2026 Excellence in Technology Transfer Award, for technology commercialized by Element3 that enables the extraction of lithium from oil and gas wastewater.
Lithium is a critical material for advanced manufacturing and national defense. The breakthrough suite of technologies licensed by Element3 will help secure a domestic supply of lithium.
Nationally lauded as signifiers of excellence, the FLC awards denote exceptional contributions that bridge the challenging gaps often facing researchers between laboratory discoveries and marketplace success. Their real-world impact results in myriad benefits for society, from economic to security and beyond.
ORNL honorees for the Excellence in Technology Transfer Award include Parans Paranthaman, Corporate Fellow; Ramesh Bhave, distinguished staff scientist; Jennifer Caldwell, Technology Transfer director; Edna Gergel, patent agent; Andreana Leskovjan, senior commercialization manager; and Leslie Smith, commercialization manager.
“ORNL’s innovative researchers and the Technology Transfer organization consistently overachieve on the DOE mission to transition valuable technology from the Lab into the hands of industry to create impact,” said Shaun Gleason, director of ORNL’s Partnerships Office. “Winning six highly prestigious FLC awards in a single year is a testament to both the quality of the innovations that the ORNL staff produce and the commitment to excellence of our technology transfer team.”
Impact Award
The 2026 Impact Award for “Strategic Redesign: ORNL and Geovox’s Enduring Global Security Partnership,” recognizes research innovation with a powerful influence on the marketplace. Deployed over more than a dozen countries on four continents, the Geospace Heartbeat Detector, which plugs easily into existing computer systems, has become international standard for detecting concealed passengers. ORNL honorees include Jennifer Caldwell, Technology Transfer director, and Eugene Cochran, group leader of the Technology Commercialization Group. This award is shared with Colin Frazier, Geospace Technologies senior director of security.
Outstanding Researcher or Small Research Team Award
The 2026 Outstanding Researcher or Small Research Team Award recognizes a researcher or team with “the most significant contributions to federal technology transfer”. This year’s winner, Vlastimil Kunc, an ORNL Corporate Fellow, serves as section head in ORNL’s Composites Science and Technology section in the Manufacturing Science Division. An expert in additive and hybrid systems, fiber-reinforced polymers, and composite applications, Kunc’s leadership has nurtured ORNL partnerships with industry and contributing to expansion of technology transfer from the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, which has contributed to an estimated $5.5 billion in follow-on funding for its partners.
Outstanding Technology Transfer Professional Award
The 2026 Outstanding Technology Transfer Professional Award recognizes an individual’s “outstanding work in transferring a technology in a manner significantly over and above what was called for”. This year’s winner, Eugene Cochran III, serves as Technology Commercialization group leader. Managing complex portfolios while negotiating high-value commercialization agreements, Cochran exemplifies effective leadership amid all facets of technology transfer.
Technology Transfer Innovation Award
The 2026 Technology Transfer Innovation Award for “Students and Startups Team Up to Accelerate ORNL’s Technology-Driven Commercialization,” recognizes a project that connected startup founders from Innovation Crossroads, a Lab Embedded Entrepreneurship node at ORNL, with marketing students from the University of Tennessee’s (UTK’s) Haslam College of Business. Kelly Wampler, Innovation Crossroads program manager at ORNL, shares this award with UTK professor Christine White.
Rookie of the Year Award
The 2026 Rookie of the Year Award recognizes the efforts of an early-career, full-time lab-based tech transfer professional with three years of experience in the role or less who demonstrates “outstanding work in the field of technology transfer in a manner significantly over and above what was called for” alongside normal duties. ORNL’s nomination, Mark Wienhold, strategic partnership agreement specialist, was recognized with an honorable mention.
Honorees will receive their awards and public recognition in a ceremony on a national stage at the FLC National Meeting in Seattle, Washington, on May 13, 2026.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science. – Chris Driver