Featured Science - Rare-Earth Magnet Research Honored by DOE and R&D Magazine

Rapid solidification processing through gas atomization. For more information about recent rare earth magnet research - more

Laboratory researchers from the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and Ames Laboratory won the Significant Implication for Department of Energy Related Technologies award in the Metallurgy and Ceramics category of the 1996 Materials Sciences Research Competition. The work was also honored with an R&D 100 Award by R&D Magazine in 1997.

The research, entitled "A Metallurgical Approach Toward Alloying Applied to Rapid Solidification Processing of Rare-Earth Permanent Magnet Systems," has proven that by using a gas atomization processing technique, a new generation of alloy can be created which exhibits better corrosion resistance and a significant increase in hard magnetic properties. The Office of Basic Energy Sciences sponsors an annual competition to recognize individual laboratory scientists who have conducted outstanding research of special merit.

R&D Magazine has been celebrating the top 100 technological innovations of the year since 1963. Rare-earth magnets have significant magnetic strength, making them ideal for applications such as computers or cell phones. INEEL researchers Daniel J. Branagan, Timothy A. Hyde, and Charles Sellers share the honors with Ames researchers Matthew J. Kramer, R. William McCallum, and Kevin W. Dennis.