Technological and Medical Advances
In the 1940s, Battelle's Vice-President of Engineering, John Crout made it possible for Battelle researchers, including William Bixby and Paul Andrus, to develop Chester Carlson's concept of dry copying. Carlson had been turned down for funding by more than a dozen agencies including the U.S. Navy. Work led to the first commercial xerographic equipment, and to the formation of Xerox corporation.
Battelle also developed the first nuclear fuel rods for nuclear reactors, numerous advances in metallurgy that helped advance the United States space program, algorithms and coatings that led to the first optical digital recorder developed by James Russell, which paved the way for the first compact disc, and the first generation jet engines using titanium alloys.
Other advances included the armor plating for tanks in World War II, Snopake, the first correction fluid, developed in 1955; the fuel for the first nuclear submarine, the Nautilus; development of the Universal Product Code in 1965, cruise control for automobiles in 1970, and the first all-sputtered photovatic cell for solar energy in 1974. In 1987, PIRI, a fiber-optics venture with Mitsubishi and NTT, was launched, which resulted in a $1.8 billion market. A fun note, in conjunction with Kevin M. Amula, Battelle Geneva developed "No-melt" chocolate in 1988.
Battelle has made numerous medical advances, including a 1972 breakthrough development of special tubing to prevent blood clots during surgical procedures, and more recently, the development of reusable insulin injection pen with Eli Lilly and Co..
Battelle provides funds for a public policy research center at The Ohio State University to focus on scholarly questions associated with science and technology policy. The Battelle Center for Science and Technology Policy began official operation in July 2011.
Read more about this topic: Battelle Memorial Institute
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