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Nuclear Facilities Resource Center to test the effects of space radiation on satellite components. "We couldn't buy these kinds of resources," says Earl Fuller, president of Novus. "Having access to the facilities as well as to the people resources is proving to be a tremendous relationship . . . Sandia is a business resource, a place [where] I can access world-class facilities."
No longer the lab behind the fence Although the national laboratories have long been considered a treasure trove of expertise and equipment, these resources have been out of reach of the business community. Sandia National Laboratories hopes to rectify this situation by providing large and small businesses with access to this storehouse of knowledge through user facilities. "We've built up this national treasure, but by and large, it's been behind a fence," says Ted Dellin of the Electronics Quality/Reliability Center (EQRC), one of the user facilities. "It's a fast, inexpensive way of doing something for industry ... we can now use the facilities to really open up the [national] labs." A user facility, which must be approved by the Department of Energy, is defined as a physical site or collection of sites with the resources to conduct technical research. To ensure that there is no direct competition with the private sector, these resources must not be readily available elsewhere in the United States. Sandia currently has 10 user facilities and hopes to have about two dozen by the end of 1995. Each user is required to pay the full cost of the service before any work is done at the facility, although part of the fee can be waived for small businesses and nonprofit organizations; use of the facility by industry must not interfere with the facility's primary mission. Sandia expects to sign more than 100 such agreements with industry this year. Novus Technologies has used the
Combustion Research Facility can be used for research and control of combustion processes such as studies of combustion-generated pollutants. Contact W. J. McLean (510-294-2687). Electronics Quality/Reliability Center is suitable for electronics reliability and failure analysis studies of electronic components from cables to connectors to high-speed integrated circuits. Contact Ted Dellin (505-844-2044). Explosives Components Facility can be used for research on energetic materials and components. Contact Lloyd L. Bonzon (505-84^8989). Intelligent Systems & Robotics Center is for applications to areas as diverse as manufacturing, environmental cleanup, biomedicine, and weapons dismantling. Contact Pat Eicker (505-8445827). Laser Applications is for satellite control and tracking using a large Cassegrain beam director/telescope and high-power lasers. Contact Norm Blocker (505-844-9462).
Mallinckrodt to purchase J . T. Baker The Mallinckrodt Group (St. Louis, MO) has announced that it will purchase J. T. Baker (Phillipsburg, NJ) from Richardson-Vicks, a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble. The purchase of Baker, manufacturer of laboratory, process, and microelectronic chemicals, will complement the
three divisions of Mallinckrodt that manufacture human and veterinary health products and specialty chemicals. The addition of Baker is expected to nearly double the size of Mallinckrodt's Performance and Laboratory Chemicals Group and provide immediate expansion into European markets. Included in the purchase of Baker are headquarters and R&D,
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Current user facilities
Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 67, No. 5, March 1, 1995
Materials and Process Diagnostics Facility has expertise in many areas, including microscopy, metallography, and polymer degradation. Contact Thomas Headley (505-844-4787). National Solar Thermal Test Facility and Design Assistance Center can be used for tests requiring intense heat and for collecting light with large-scale optics. Contact David Menicucci (505844-3077). Nuclear Facilities Resource Center is suitable for studying radioactive materials, gamma irradiation, and radiation metrology. Contact Ted Luera (505-845-3026). Primary Standards Laboratory administers standards for the nuclear weapons complex, including radiation, physical, and electrical standards. Contact Ralph Johnson (505-845-8241). Technology Information Environment for Industry can be used to access Sandia's computers and prototyping, testing, and diagnostic equipment. Contact James A. Ang (505-844-3966).
manufacturing, and sales facilities in North America, Europe, and the Far East. The amount of the cash-for-stock transaction will be made public after the deal is closed. Both companies have a long history in the chemical business. Mallinckrodt was founded in 1867 by Edward Mallinckrodt and Baker in 1904 by John Townsend Baker.
