The Hall of Fame, now in its tenth year, recognizes innovative technology leaders and companies that have made a significant contribution to Idaho’s technology community. Bestowed upon only two inductees each year, this honor recognizes INL as a leader within the state of Idaho, promoting the growth and development of the technology ecosystem, creating new and innovative systems, deploying emerging technologies and pioneering disruptive approaches to solving demanding issues.
At the same ceremony, three INL nominees were recognized at the 14th annual Idaho Innovation Awards, presented by Stoel Rives LLP, Trailhead and the Idaho Technology Council (ITC), with support from Deloitte.
The Advanced Electrolyte Model (AEM) was recognized as a finalist in the Commercialized Innovation of the Year. Developed by Dr. Kevin Gering, AEM is a computer simulation program designed to give fast information on the properties of complex electrolyte formulations and how they can influence the performance of batteries. Since version 1.0 was first made available in 2010, AEM has been licensed to universities and industrial users, including chemical and automotive companies and a major lithium-ion cell manufacturer. Commercialization efforts at INL have been led by Ryan Bills.
Dr. Henry Chu, a Directorate Fellow and the chief technology officer of Defense Systems for National & Homeland Security at INL, was honored as a finalist/winner in the Innovator of the Year category. As the chief research scientist in INL’s Defense Systems Directorate, Chu’s main responsibilities are research and development, demonstration and manufacture of armor grade materials as well as specialized protective systems and solutions for critical military and civilian infrastructures, facilities and installations.
A team of INL researchers had their technology, Wireless radio Frequency signal Identification and protocol Reverse Engineering, or WiFIRE, recognized as a finalist in the Early-Stage Innovation of the Year category. Co-developed with the University of Utah School of Computing, WiFIRE is a breakthrough technology that provides real-time wireless communications security by continuously monitoring the wireless spectrum. WiFIRE revolutionizes protection and analysis by including capabilities for real-time identification of multiple signal types used by different frequencies, tracing system communication activities and reporting the presence of authorized and unauthorized wireless users.