Return to Virginia Business - March 2002

by Garry Kranz

Dick Brown likes to think small. And light. The project manager for Atlantic Research Corp., which designs missile and rocket-propulsion technologies, knows that the smaller and lighter the materials used, the better. His Gainesville firm, for instance, is designing the Pac-3, a composite warhead for an anti-missile missile that will replace the PATRIOT weapon used during the Gulf War. "On a rocket, anything that isn't fuel is weight," says Brown. "We're always trying to get rockets lighter, so we use advanced materials that are lighter but able to withstand very high temperatures. Because in our business performance is the critical thing."

It's not all rocket science, however. Atlantic Research also makes advanced materials for civilian uses such as special inflators for automobile airbags. Another product: a fiberglass-and-resin-braided composite bridge decking on Interstate 81 near Roanoke.
Atlantic Research has plenty of company. Virginia's growing advanced materials industry is influencing the creation of newer, and in many cases improved, products. These lighter, more durable materials are "enabling technologies" for many industries, including aerospace, construction, defense, electronics, medical and biotech and telecom. The research can be bedeviling, but expectations remain high. "Advances in those sectors are dependent in part on advances in materials technology," notes Nancy Vorona, senior industry director for advanced materials with Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology.

The state has the right ingredients - aggressive research-and-development activity at state universities, two prominent federal research laboratories and a number of key industry players - to concoct a potent recipe for the industry's growth. Virginia also is pouring more money into R&D. During the next five years, for example, Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology will provide $2.4 million to Old Dominion University to advance research into controlling energy to create new materials. And that's just one project. Money also is earmarked to match other federal or state awards, including $100,000 a year for three years to the University of Virginia. That money, which augments a federal National Science Foundation grant of $5 million, will help fund U.Va.'s materials research center.

One promising area involves lasers that can be used for micro-machining special materials. Scientists from Old Dominion University and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility lab are working with Siemens Automotive in Newport News to study how to use laser-drilling techniques to fabricate a new kind of gasoline fuel injector. Using lasers to cut holes that are smaller in diameter than a human hair - something not possible with conventional drilling machines - Siemens is developing prototypes that will be sold to automakers for use in selected test vehicles. Siemens expects the new injectors will decrease emissions, provide better performance and improve fuel efficiency.

Indeed, the free-electron laser, or FEL, at Jefferson Lab is the most visible symbol of Virginia's advanced materials technology. It is an ultra-powerful yet highly controllable light beam. The FEL has produced up to 2,000 watts of light, about five times more than its nearest competitor in Japan. A mere 10 watts are sufficient to quickly burn through any known material. The laser could help develop corrosion-resistant metals, more durable and bacteria-free textiles and other advanced materials. Before, lasers were too inefficient or didn't have the power to perform even routine manufacturing tasks. Jefferson Lab's laser changed that. "... There ought to be advantages to Virginia businesses," says Dr. Fred Dylla, who manages the FEL program. "The laser program started out as pure basic science, but the same technology is being repackaged for industrial applications."
Dominion Virginia Power is using the FEL to make high-performance components for power plants. Treating components with a high-powered laser beam could make them more resistant to wear and corrosion. "Presently there are few alternatives to the materials in use in our power stations. When an alternative is found, it often takes years of testing to prove the material will withstand the severe duty imposed by the thermodynamic cycle," says Greg Kessel, a consulting engineer overseeing Dominion's FEL research.

Laser-based materials also are being researched at Norfolk State University. Scientists at NSU have developed laser powders that are painted on objects, effectively making the object itself the laser. This material gives off a certain kind of light that can be spotted only by laser beams, making it ideal for military uses such as identifying objects from a distance.

Besides using lasers, scientists are thinking small. Really, really small. The state has a burgeoning nanotechnology industry. The Center for Innovative Technology, for instance, has provided seed money for a nanotech initiative in which materials can be manipulated on an atomic level to change their properties. Benefiting are researchers from Virginia Tech, Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia.

Through nanotechnology, new materials can be created with improved capabilities. Atlantic Research, for instance, uses nanomaterials as additives to strengthen polymers and resins. By heating acetylene gas to extremely high temperatures, and firing it into a special furnace, Old Dominion scientists can create thousands and thousands of carbon nanotubes. These infinitesimal structures, which taken collectively resemble a pile of soot, have strong bonding properties that make them ideal for forming new composites.

One breakthrough was pioneered by Virginia Tech scientist Rick Claus. Using a process known as self-assembly, Claus and his colleagues are able to build thin-film materials layer by molecular layer. These materials are used for a range of manufacturing tasks. The new process could result in a manufacturing procedure that is cheaper and more environmentally friendly, researchers say.

Although it's not technically nanotechnology, Norfolk State is pushing the envelope on how to make smaller computing devices with stunning memory capacity. Computers now store vast amounts of information magnetically on the surface of hard drives. NSU researchers want to make a denser material that stores information optically in the body of a hard drive. "You can imagine having billions of layers stacked on top of one another and therefore being able to store even more information," says Dr. Larry Mattix, director of the Center for Materials Research at NSU. IBM is helping NSU secure a materials patent and is developing a prototype for testing the new device.

Not only are materials getting smaller, they are getting smarter. In labs at Virginia Tech, researchers are working to embed sensors and actuators in materials so they can sense phenomena around them. They can measure changes to materials caused by temperature, movement or applied force. Smart materials could be used in bridges to help detect structural fatigue, or to absorb noise and vibration in automobiles. Moreover, smart materials are helping BP Solar spot manufacturing defects sooner. The company's facility near Williamsburg produces about 175,000 solar panels each year. Using lasers and temperature-detecting optical sensors to spot impurities and temperature variations on the glass surface, researchers from ODU and BP Solar think they can make the devices more efficient and less costly to manufacture. Measurable gains have been noticed since BP started the process about a year ago. Vice President Scott Albertson says line yields have increased 16 percent, and the new solar panels produce 15 percent more light.

While the breadth of research in Virginia seems encouraging, it is still hard to assess just what impact materials research is having on the state's economy. There are no standard industrial classification codes for tracking the industry "because the defining characteristic of an advanced material is innovation," according to an industry report prepared by Chmura Economics & Analytics, a Richmond-based econometrics company. Still, the Chmura report presents data that shows the significance of the materials industry to Virginia. Of the 90,000 Virginians working in the materials industry, nearly 60 percent earn annual wages topping $50,000 - more than $15,000 higher than average wages for all other industries.

Advanced materials technology is one path toward making sure Virginia sustains economic growth, but it is also a long-term proposition. University-based spinoffs or other start-ups will take years to mature and emerge as economic powerhouses. Finding ways to transform manufacturing and fabrication takes on more immediate significance, and Virginia could play a pivotal role. Despite the steep learning curve, Virginia scientists are convinced that the "next big thing" will be found in very small materials.

Return to Virginia Business - March 2002