Army Makes Global Innovator List

 ADELPHI, Md. -- The Department of the Army made the Thomson Reuters 2012 Top 100 Global Innovator list, along with the Department of the Navy.

The U.S. government, which was not on last year's Global Innovator list, has invested heavily in innovation, especially as related to matters of national security, according to the Reuters website.   There are six U.S. Army Research Laboratory scientists who were recognized as "Prolific Inventors" in the U.S. Army patent portfolio analysis that analyzes patent data and related metrics used that has determine the Army's placement.   Ronald E. Meyers, leader and principal investigator for the Quantum Imaging Information Science and Technology (QUIIST) mission program of the Computational and Information Sciences Directorate (CISD); Keith S. Deacon, who is part of Meyers' team, Dr. Michael Wraback, Nitride Semiconductor Optoelectronics Team leader for the Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate (SEDD) and ARL Fellow; Dr. Robert C. Hoffman, materials expert for the Laser Protection Team, SEDD; Dr. Richard T. Jow of the Electrochemistry Branch of SEDD and ARL Fellow; and Dr. Alan S Edelstein, a team leader with the Acoustic & EM Sensing Branch of SEDD and ARL Fellow, were among a list of 20 of the Army's top inventors 2009--2011.   "The ARL scientist and engineer commitment to excellence in basic and applied research; and the transformation of the outcomes to innovative, pragmatic patents is an occasion to be celebrated," said Ozden Ochoa, associate director of science and technology for ARL.  According to selection criteria, "Organizations on the Global Innovator list were required to have a minimum of 100 inventions published in 2009--2011 covered by patents." The report also states the Army had 327 inventions published and ARL inventors accounted for 46 of those.   Ron Meyers, a quantum physicist, had the most patents filed, 11, and will accompany the Hon. Heidi Shyu, assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology, as she receives the award on behalf of the Army at the ceremony on April 30 in the Pentagon.   Meyers has performed research for the Army since 1982. The achievement he said he's most proud of is moving ghost imaging from a physics curiosity to a practical far-reaching technology now under development for the Army.  Hoffman has also been with the Army since the 1980s. He started with the Night Vision Laboratory at Fort Belvoir, Va. His first three patents, including technologies needed to protect Army systems from laser threats, he feels are most significant for the Army.   Looking across the spectrum of his work, Wraback believes the two patents that describe a new composition of material and method of manufacturing that will enable the development of low-cost, high-efficiency ultraviolet light emitting diodes (LEDs) that the Army could use in compact, low-cost bioagent fluorescence detection and water purification and monitoring will be most significant.   "Innovation is the foundation for economic prosperity and technological advancement," said David Brown, managing director, Thomson Reuters IP Solutions. "Our Top 100 Global Innovator methodology demonstrates the insight that can be gleaned from the analysis of patent data and confirms the fact that companies focused on innovating drive growth and financial success."  The Global Innovator methodology is based on four principle criteria: overall patent volume, patent grant success rate, global reach of the portfolio, and patent influence as evidenced by citations.   For more information on the Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovator program and to download the full report, visit http://www.top100innovators.com.  Story Continues