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Promising partnerships

Y-12 partner Adaptive Methods plans to employ more than 100 people over the next 4 years to manufacture Y-12's life-saving portable disaster shelter.

Successful partnerships are much like long-lasting friendships. They're chosen carefully, cultivated and enjoyed to the end. Y‑12 pursues the right partnerships to transfer advanced technologies developed “inside the fence” to real-world applications. These technologies then benefit the country by creating jobs, stimulating the economy and rolling out revolutionary and often world-changing concepts.

“Everybody benefits when the transition is successful,” said Keith Buckner, vice president of manufacturing for Adaptive Methods.

“Y‑12 has been transferring innovative technologies to the private sector for more than 10 years, and during the past year, we dramatically increased our partnership pursuits,” said Tammy Graham of Y‑12's Technology Transfer organization.

The Rapid Deployment Shelter System (RDSS), an ingenious, portable disaster shelter, is a textbook model of a successful licensing partnership and transfer. Adaptive Methods in Chattanooga, Tenn., licensed the technology, which Y‑12 developed at the request of the U.S. Army. Adaptive Methods began a small manufacturing operation with plans to produce the systems and employ more than 100 engineers and production personnel over the next 4 years.

“Great vision without great people is irrelevant,” said Keith Buckner, vice president of manufacturing for Adaptive Methods. “We created a partnership with Y‑12 and got the right people on the bus. We had to be careful not to bite off more than we could chew when we signed on to produce the RDSS, but everybody benefits when the transition is successful.” Y‑12 plans to continue using that particular partnership model because the inventor and expertise remain available to the licensee throughout the commercialization process.

The RDSS technology was the brainchild of Lee Bzorgi, a lifelong tinkerer and Y‑12 inventor. The compact shelters can be used as surgical suites, temporary housing, command and control centers, mobile pharmacies, decontamination areas and classrooms. Each unit is transported as a standard tractor trailer–size container. Then, with the press of a button, it unfolds robotically into a fully equipped, rigid-walled 400-square-foot shelter. “We started the design and fabrication of the RDSS surgical shelter prototype at Y‑12 with a great sense of urgency because we knew we were making a product that would save lives,” said Bzorgi.

Recognized as one of the world's top 100 technological innovations in 2007 by R&D Magazine, the RDSS technology was licensed in 2009 and won the Early Innovator Award from the Chattanooga Technology Council. Soon the units will be on the move to provide relief around the globe. Response teams will welcome each delivery but probably be unaware of the partnership that started it all.

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