As the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) expands its technology maturation program, the NNSA inaugural Innovation Day on Oct. 8 was created to foster a collaborative environment for the Department of Defense and industry partners to explore potential collaborations.
Attendees in Arlington, Virginia, included small business owners, industry leaders and technology innovators, along with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and others. The goal was to enable a better understanding of specific market needs and challenges in technology adoption.
LLNL's Innovation and Partnerships Office (IPO) Director Matthew Garrett attended alongside Business Development Executive Yash Vaishnav and Implantable Microsystems Group Leader Razi Haque. During the NNSA keynote, Executive Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator David Hoagland also highlighted two LLNL technologies with notable industry impact, namely:
- DYNA-3D, a software widely used by the auto industry for avoiding auto collisions,
- and BBO-8520, an anti-cancer drug candidate currently under Phase I clinical trial by BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics
The event was designed as a pivotal platform to showcase and discuss technological growth and collaboration. It focused on emerging technology trends in renewable energy, human-machine interfaces and integrated sensing and cyber.
In that vein, LLNL's Haque participated in a pitch event featuring speakers across NNSA laboratories for funding toward partnerships. During the event, Haque discussed LLNL's microfabrication technology designed for next-generation medical implants and the pipeline his team has worked through to take early-stage technologies from the Laboratory to the clinic.
Haque's team at LLNL holds deep knowledge and expertise in thin-film microfabrication techniques and has a goal of translating advanced manufacturing technology to help millions of patients with neurological disease. The group is focused on designing and building extremely small and biocompatible devices (microelectrode arrays) that are implanted directly into or onto the brain. Also known generically as neural interfaces, these electrodes can monitor and optionally stimulate neural activity using a variety of different modalities. Thin and flexible, the arrays minimally interfere with normal functions or behavior, allowing for long-term studies of brain circuitry.
A strong relationship with bioengineers, neuroscientists and surgeons nationwide is critical to Livermore's research efforts. For instance, Livermore's microfabrication expertise complements clinical science expertise at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). A Livermore-UCSF team developed a method to implant the electrodes into deep brain tissue with the aid of a removable insertion tool.
The impact of joint efforts like the Livermore-UCSF team are reflected in a comment from FedTech Senior Associate Ish Singh in an NNSA announcement about Innovation Day: "This [event] presents a rare opportunity for industry participants to position themselves at the forefront of the technological renaissance through collaboration, innovation and a steadfast commitment to securing a sustainable future."
IPO is the focal point for LLNL's engagement with industry and aims to enable U.S. national security and economic competitiveness by bringing scientific breakthroughs to market through research collaborations, technology commercialization and empowering entrepreneurship.
